Households and Holiness: The Religious Culture of Israelite Women

By Carol L. Meyers

For too long, some scholars have overlooked women's role in the Israelite religion. Others have treated it as part of ""non-orthodox"" religion. Carol Meyers identifies this problem and seeks to correct narratives about Israelite women and religion in scholarship.

Households and Holiness provides a clear and succinct overview of the religious lives of Israelite women. Meyers stresses the diversity of religious practices in ancient Israel, including ""magic"" as an important avenue of inquiry. She argues we must examine practices as well as beliefs. The book explores anthropology, archaeological evidence, ethnographic data, and textual sources. Meyers focuses not on women's religion but rather on women's religious culture.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1506488609
• ISBN13: 9781506488608
• Release Date: June 2023
• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Length: 100 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

It's a very small short book with an original premise.

Meyers maintains that many of women's ancient religious practices took place in the home not the temples and have therefore been overlooked by Biblical scholars. In order to get an accurate picture of the religious lives of ancient Hebrew women one must take into account all aspects of archeology, ethnography, and anthropology as well as Biblical texts and put them into context.