"Take this child and suckle it for me": wet nurses and resistance in ancient Israel

Using Exodus 2 and other references to wet nurses in the Hebrew Bible as a springboard, this article examines the socio-historical conditions of free and enslaved wet nurses in antiquity through a cross-cultural investigation of Graeco-Roman and rabbinic legal and cultural texts. It then analyzes Ex...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Yee, Gale A. 1949- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage Publications 2009
In: Biblical theology bulletin
Year: 2009, Volume: 39, Issue: 4, Pages: 180-189
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Israel (Antiquity) / Wet nurse / Social history studies
B Bible. Exodus 2,1-10 / Judea / Resistance / Iran (Antiquity)
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Bible. Exodus 2,1-10
B Social history studies
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Using Exodus 2 and other references to wet nurses in the Hebrew Bible as a springboard, this article examines the socio-historical conditions of free and enslaved wet nurses in antiquity through a cross-cultural investigation of Graeco-Roman and rabbinic legal and cultural texts. It then analyzes Exodus 2 as an example of resistance literature during the Persian period to support anti-colonial resistance within the Jewish community in Yehud against Persian control. The wet nurse represents the resistance of the enslaved class to oppression and genocide.
ISSN:0045-1843
Contains:In: Biblical theology bulletin
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0146107909343550