Children, Motherhood, and the Social Death of Childless Women: The Social and Theological Construction of Infertility in the Hebrew Bible and in Cameroon

This paper reviews the biblical mandate to have children in tension with the claim that God holds the exclusive power to open and close wombs. What are the social and cultural implications of this theological assertion for procreative disadvantaged women in the Hebrew Bible (Sarah [Gen.16], Rebecca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biblical interpretation
Main Author: Yafeh-Deigh, Alice (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2020
In: Biblical interpretation
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Sterility / Childlessness / Reproduction / Woman / Cameroons / Old Testament
IxTheo Classification:FD Contextual theology
HB Old Testament
NCF Sexual ethics
Further subjects:B Procreation
B Infertility
B Childlessness
B Gender
B Children
B pronatal societies
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Summary:This paper reviews the biblical mandate to have children in tension with the claim that God holds the exclusive power to open and close wombs. What are the social and cultural implications of this theological assertion for procreative disadvantaged women in the Hebrew Bible (Sarah [Gen.16], Rebecca [Gen. 25], Rachel [Gen. 29–30], Samson’s mother [Judges 13], and Hannah [1 Sam 1])? Focusing on children’s value, I will examine the implications of procreative sexual ethics for Cameroonian women with permanent infertility. The conclusion further proposes a reconceptualized and subversive motherhood model using the Naomi-Ruth narrative, constructing family beyond biology or genetics.
ISSN:1568-5152
Contains:Enthalten in: Biblical interpretation
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685152-2805A005