Identity

1. Identity Identities are complex and multiple and grow out of a history of changing responses to economic, political, and cultural forces, almost always in opposition to other identities. - Kwame Anthony Appiah

2. Identity Questions • How do we identify ourselves to other people? • What things constitute our self-understanding?

3. Born to a Levite family (Exod 2:1-2) Raised by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exod 2:10) Knows himself as a Hebrew (Exod 2:11-12, 13-15a) Looks like an Egyptian (Exod 2:19) Understands himself as an alien (Exod 2:22) Moses

4. Exod 3:6 “ I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” Exod 3:11 “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” Exod 3:13-15 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The god of yourancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of yourancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my title for all generations.” The Burning Bush

5. Generic name for God is ‘elohim The Tetragrammaton is the personal name of God. It is considered sacred and so not said aloud. YHWH or hwhy hyha‘ehyeh is used in 3:14 Hebrew verb ‘to be’ is hyh or ‘hyh. Exod 3:14 is a 1cs form. The divine name is like a 3ms form. The Masoretes knew you do not pronounce the name. So when they added vowels, they remind us of the tradition and put the vowels for ‘adonai or ‘lord’ on the four letters The result is Yahowaih – which becomes in English “Jehovah.” The Tetragrammaton

6. Gen 11:39-12:1 says God called Abram to leave all that he has known including the “father’s house” (bet ‘av); the ‘family household’ is a shared lineage as well as a social grouping Not necessarily a residential unit (although it can be); it is more about shared relations and grows through births, wives marrying in, adoptions, and having resident workers and slaves People organized in this way for land use and inheritance, production of goods related to survival, and protection; could be 50-100 people When Isaac is to take a wife, a servant is sent back to Abraham’s bet ‘av (Gen 24: 40, for example); but note also the mention of bet ‘em or the mother’s house (Gen 24:28) Similar story involving Jacob in Gen 28 when he is sent back to the house of his mother’s father for a wife. Patrilineal genealogy with some key women thrown in Who cannot carry on the line: Ishmael (Hagar, Egyptian is mother) Canaanite women (Gen 24:4) Esau (married to Hittite women; Gen 26:34-35; Gen 28:6-9) The Family

7. Isaac his Abraham’s son; He marries Rebekah; Rebekah is Abraham’s great niece and Isaac’s 1st cousin once removed; Rebekah is Jacob’s mother; Rachel and Leah are Jacob’s wives and his mother’s nieces; Isaac is Jacob’s father; Rachel and Leah are his 1st cousins twice removed

8. Why not marry outside of the family? • Identities are complex and multiple and grow out of a history of changing responses to economic, political, and cultural forces, almost always in opposition to other identities. - Kwame Anthony Appiah • Clearly we are being told that this family is NOT Canaanite; living in and amongst these people means that there is a necessity not to be confused with them • Also consider the time period these stories were edited – 6th and 5th centuries BCE. Much of the population is in exile in Babylon and that is the region where this family originates.

9. When Genesis was being edited and the Torah gathered, it was the post-exilic period Judaism was starting in the wake of the destruction of the Temple There was a threat that the people could lose their identity as “Israelites” with the loss of the land and the locus of their faith tradition There were multiple responses to the question of what makes one a person who follows this tradition Ezra offer a “conservative” response Ezra 9:1-2 reads in part: “The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the land with their abominations…..for they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons. Thus the holy seed has mixed itself with peoples of the land.” Ezra forbids such marriages (9:12) Ezra orders that foreign wives be divorced (10:10-11) Brief Visit to the post-exilic period

10. Women were seen as the “carriers of culture” No formal schooling Children of both genders spend significant time with their mothers; boys only go to fields and other work when physically large enough to assist the men What they learn about life and the way things are done comes mostly from their mothers Women performed key rituals In the family household in a small village, little formal religious worship Many of the activities of faith took place in the home “Household” gods and goddesses Women had power in the household and thus influenced religious practice in a dramatic way Why Women Were The Problem

11. Note how Sarah takes control when she cannot get pregnant; “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go into my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children through her.” (16:2) Abram reminds Sarai when there is a problem, “Your slave-girl is in your power, do to her as you please.” (16:6) When Hagar runs, God tells her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her.” (16:10) Sarah, of course, has Hagar cast out as well; “Cast out this slave woman with her son….” (21:10) Rebekah makes the choice to go to Isaac (sight unseen): Gen 24:58 Rebekah sets up Jacob’s success with his father (27:5-17) and then protects him (27:46) Rachel and Leah compete with one another for affection and assure Jacob a large family (29:31-30:24); look especially at mandrake incident (30:14-18) They support Jacob in his decision to return to Canaan (31:14-16) Rachel is wily to protect her husband from her father (31:25-35) The role of women in families

12. Subsistence Average life spans: 40 for men, 30 for women As many as half of children born did not reach adulthood; you needed 2x the number of pregnancies to get family size desired Poor diet and chronic malnutrition Higher rates of disease Avg family size of 4-8 people (extended family) Agricultural and herding lives were labor intensive and you needed people to do basic tasks: Clearing fields, planting and harvesting Preparing food for consumption and storage – and creating the utensils necessary for both Gathering the material for clothing, shoes, household items – spinning material – and then making it Tending animals and making items from their produce Why is family important?

13. Abram – tent (13:3-5; 18:1). Nomadic existence. Sheep and goats were the general mainstays of a herd Avg herd size was 50-100 animals Milk, wool, hides, bone/horns, meat, fertilizer and animals for sale were the produce Goats reproduce more quickly and have short life cycles. That makes for good milk and a source of meat The wool of a sheep made it of great value By Jacob’s generation, it was houses (27:15; 29:13) “Four-room” or “pillared” house most common Several dwellings can be grouped together around a common courtyard for a family grouping Nomadic/pastoral life is then combined with more agricultural pursuits Living Arrangements

14. Beersheba – Families shared homes or lived in proximity to one another Pillars subdivide the rooms Work areas and living areas Courtyard for stabling animals Household tasks done near the entrance Long-term storage often in the back 2nd floor could be added for sleeping Roof was generally on poles and made of branches Four-Room House

15. The bet ‘av is patrilineal (descent traced through the male line) and patrilocal (women join the household of their husband) Women’s place in the household was assured first by their fathers; when they married the power shifted to their husbands in his familial household and, upon the death of the husband, women depended on their son(s); See Gen 21:10 “the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac” Relationships within the family were ordered carefully; once large enough, the bet ‘av also becomes part of a mispacha or clan Clans are larger kinship groupings; marriage is within the clan or endogamous Ownership of any land or goods passed through the male line; women did not stand to inherit Eldest sons have some priority in inheritance, although all sons get a share. Of greater significance, eldest sons typically had more stature within these groupings Inheritance

16. Sarah cannot get pregnant and so gives Hagar, her servant, to Abraham as a surrogate The enmity between the two women results in a rift that prevents this plan from succeeding Ishmael, while oldest, is displaced by Isaac; Gen 21:10 “Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.” Esau sells his birthright to his younger brother Rebekah and Jacob scheme to fool Isaac into blessing the younger Jacob goes away and returns with a large family; the promised continues through him The Younger Over the Older

17. Judah (eventual line of King David) has 3 sons by a Canaanite women; he is Jacob’s fourth son First son married to Tamar (no mention of nationality), but dies childless Levirate law kicks in; Deut 25:5-6 “When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go into her, taking her in marriage, and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed to the name of the deceased brother, so that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.” Second son Onan does not perform the function correctly and dies; Judah reluctant to give his third son Tamar is shamed by being send to her father’s house to live and wait (38:11) Judah’s wife dies; Tamar fools him and gets him to sleep with her She becomes pregnant and has twins by Judah More Problems with Descendents

18. Dinah is Jacob’s only daughter (mother Leah) Abraham had no girls and neither did Isaac, so the problem of who the women in the family would marry had not arisen Shechem, son of Hamor, a prince of the region and a Hivite, sees her and has sex with her Is it rape? The language can be read more than one way. It can say he takes her (as in marriage), sleeps with her, and humiliates her (because he has not done it the correct way) It can also say that he takes her (as in grabs), and forces her into sex. While not rape in the ancient world by law, it would be sexual violence and would be a violation of her father and family. Shechem does want to marry her which is the Israelite legal remedy for sleeping with an unmarried woman; Exod 32:16-17 “When a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to be married, and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife. But if her father refuses to give her to him, he shall pay the amount equal to the bride-price for virgins.” More on Marriage Outside of the Clan

19. How are two non-kinship groups to relate? Hamor and Shechem promote an exchange of women and a cooperative living arrangement (Gen 34:8-12) Jacob’s family (deceitfully) require circumcision. That is the sign of the covenant. Are they expecting complete adherence? When the men of the town are sore and recovering, they attack and take their wealth and families for their own Note Dinah was with Shechem throughout (34:26) Note Deut 7:1-4a: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy, and he clears away the many nations before you – the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you – and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for that would turn your children from following me to serve other gods.” Marriages outside the clan (continued)

20. Elimelech’s family from Judah leaves Bethlehem (bet lechem – house of bread) and goes to Moab to escape famine Elimelech is married to Naomi and they have two sons – Mahlon and Chilion While in Moab, the sons marry. Mahlon to Ruth and Chilion to Orpah All three men die; there are no children. The women are left alone Naomi is from Judah. With no husband or kin, she has no one to care for her and must return home for any real hope of survival If Ruth and Orpah stay behind, they have some chance at a new marriage to a man from their region (Ruth 1:8) Orpah returns home; Ruth leaves it all behind and goes with Naomi Back to the post-exilic period and a somewhat different response (Ruth)

21. 2:1 lets the reader in on something important: “Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz” The possibility of the levirate law kicks in here as Elimelech’s family name might die out otherwise It has not yet occurred to Naomi; but meanwhile Ruth just happens to be gleaning in his fields and catches his eye Note how many times Ruth is called a Moabite: 1:4, 22; 2:2, 6, 21; 4:5, 10. She is also compared to Abraham, leaving country and kin for something new (2:11) Naomi hatches a plan once she knows it is Boaz – seduction by Ruth (3:1-13) She succeeds after a brief complication; Ruth and Boaz are married But the child they have is not Mahlon’s. Obed is called Naomi’s in 3:17 and Boaz’ in 4:21. Ruth (a Moabite!!) is King David’s great-grandmother Ruth (continued)

22. 18:1-5: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not follow their statutes. My ordinances you shall observe and my statutes you shall keep, following them: I am the Lord your God. You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances; by doing so one shall live: I am the Lord.’” 20:22-26: “You shall keep all my statutes and ordinances, and observe them, so that the land to which I bring you to settle in may not vomit you out. You shall not follow the practices of the nation that I am driving out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. But I have said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples. ……….You shall be holy to me; for I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from the other peoples to be mine.” Leviticus weighs in

23. Incest prohibitions “uncovering nakedness” is sexual contact outside of acceptable parameters Male-dominated or patriarchal hierarchy where women are under the control of men The texts we read in Genesis violate some of these prohibitions (18:18 for example) showing that the law developed over time and can vary in different generations Identity is to be gleaned from being unlike neighboring countries The evidence is scant as to whether neighboring countries practiced the things forbidden in these texts The idea is that being “set apart” is one of the things that constitutes being part of God’s community Family Ties

24. Family is a primary source of identity in this ancient period The bet ‘av or father’s house is the building block; the mispacha or clan is next You were known by who your parents (with emphasis on the father) were. Father/mother, husband/wife, son-in-law/daughter-in-law, brother/sister were just some of the roles you could assume. Of course, you were often many of these things simultaneously. Death could really rearrange the family structure. Births and marriages did so to a lesser extent. Other familiar forms of identifying oneself have not yet come into play There are no set geographical borders to give you any sense of a national identity and government as well as judicial affairs tended to be handled by families and so you would not have identity as a resident of a particular village The “people” of God were not yet known as the “people of Israel.” While Jacob’s name is changed in Gen 32:28 to Israel, the line continues to be his family. It is safe to say “Israelites” or “those descended from Jacob” by the time Exodus gets going, but the unification of this people as a people must wait for the covenant and then is consolidated when they come into the land and start really building a nation Some Tentative Conclusions