Full Description
To remedy a scholarly lacuna on the study of adoption in the Hebrew Bible, chapters in this volume examine this topic from a variety of perspectives, including trauma, transfers of children, motives for adoption, the performance of parenthood, and studies of metaphor and practice. Divided into three sections, part one highlights the absence of specific adoption terminology and demonstrates the need for deeper considerations of methodological approaches and the categories we—as modern readers—bring to the texts. Part two considers the practices and language that we do see around ancient adoptions, and focuses on the actions and implications of transferring children or parentage. Finally, part three focuses on divine adoption and metaphors and motifs that speak to the dual themes of loss and gain that are entwined in adoption.
As a whole, Adoption in the Hebrew Bible highlights the prevalence of adoptive practices and draws attention to the fluidity underlying constructions of 'family' in the Hebrew Bible and also the wider ancient Near East. The theme of adoption centres both parents and children, thereby complicating scholarly constructions of families in ancient societies and reminding readers of the fragility, strength, and importance of belonging in a family.
Contents
1. Introduction: Adoption and Familial Complexity in the Hebrew Bible, Cat Quine
Part One: It's Complicated: Adoption, Surrogacy, and Parental Challenges
2. Absence of Adoption in the Hebrew Bible? Childist, Comparative, and Cross-Cultural Insights in Response to a Textual Conundrum, Julie Faith Parker
3. 'I Will Be Built Up Through Her': Surrogacy and Adoption in The Hebrew Bible, Janice P. De-Whyte
4. Centering the Child: The Adoption Metaphor in Nathan's Parable (2 Samuel 12:1-4), Yael Landman
Part Two: Adoption in the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East
5. Claiming the Unclaimed: The Role of Feet in Adoption and Levirate Marriage, Kristine Henriksen Garroway
6. 'Vandalized Innocence': Ezekiel 16 and Ancient Near Eastern Marriage Adoptions, Ekaterina E. Kozlova
7. 'The Seed of Men' (1 Sam 1:11) or How to Hybrid-Foster a Future Leader, Ekaterina E. Kozlova
Part Three: Identity and the Impact of Adoption
8. 'He Was to Her as a Son': The Intercultural Adoption of Moses and Its Implications, Paba Nidhani De Andrado
9. 'Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child': Considering the Metaphor of Divine Adoption in the Context of Trauma', L. Juliana Claassens
10. Coming Home to Zion: Yahweh's Adoption and Restoration of the Nations, Kevin Burrell
Index
