Review of Susanne Scholz (ed.), Feminist Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Retrospect; Panel from the 2017 SBL Annual Meeting in Boston (MA)

The current flourishing of varieties of feminist interpretation among religious organizations and in the academy has been going on since at least the 1970s, and has grown to display an amazing diversity of emphases and forms. At the same time, much work still needs to be done. The appearance from Sheffield Phoenix of Susanne Scholz’s three-volume edited work, Feminist Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Retrospect,1 by its breadth of coverage and its conscious attempt to reflect on the work of past decades, offered the Feminist Hermeneutics of the Bible Section of the Society of Biblical Literature an opportunity to assess the distance feminist interpretations have traveled in the last 40–50 years and where we should focus energy for the future. The following papers share the reviews offered by five colleagues at a panel session at the SBL Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, on Sunday, November 19, 2017, and Prof. Scholz’s response. The reviewers represent an array of feminist perspectives that is diverse in race/ethnicity, nationality/culture, gender, age, and stream of religious tradition. The reviews probe not only a variety of dimensions of Prof. Scholz’s work, but also a variety of points of progress and ongoing issues in feminist interpretation

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Die "fremde Frau" in Proverbien 1-9: Eine exegetische und sozialgeschichtliche Studie

In der Dunkelheit lauert die "fremde Frau" (Prov. 7,9.12). Ihr Pfad senkt sich zum Tod (Prov. 2,18). Nicht zufällig stand die Gestalt in der bisherigen Forschung im Dunkel, am Rande des Interesses, während ihre gepriesene Gegenspielerin "Frau Weisheit" allseits Beachtung fand. Die vorliegende Studie erfasst das facettenreiche Porträt der "fremden Frau" in Prov. 1-9 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Metaphorik und der literarischen Bezugnahmen auf traditionsgeschichtlich vorausliegende Texte. Als Thema weisheitlicher Mahnreden aus nachexilischer Zeit zeigt die literarische Figur der "Fremden" das Frauenbild ihres Trägerkreises auf. Die in der Untersuchung erarbeiteten sozialgeschichtlichen Konstellationen der persischen Provinz Jehud machen Benennung und Funktion der "fremden Frau" in Proverbien 1-9 verständlich: "Fremd" im Sinne der Autorinnen und Autoren ist jede Frau ausserhalb der eigenen Familie, die die gesellschaftlich anerkannten Normen für die Beziehungen der Geschlechter bricht. Die Lehrreden warnen vor sexuellen Beziehungen mit Frauen ausserhalb der Ehe und kündigen demjenigen, der die Warnung nicht beachtet, dramatische Folgen wie den Verlust des Besitzes und die soziale Ächtung an. Die Trägergruppe der Texte ist in gebildeten Laienkreisen der städtischen Oberschicht der Provinz Jehud zu suchen, die ihre Lehrreden als aktualisierende Auslegung von Torageboten versteht. Sie setzt sich für den Erhalt bestehender Familienbindungen innerhalb der Vaterhäuser ein, die Grundlage für Wohlstand und hohe soziale Stellung sind

God’s Body and Emotions. Gender Perspectives on Images of the Divine in the Old Testament

The feminist distinction of biological sex and sociological gender has promoted new research on anthropological and theological concepts of the Bible. Western-European feminist theologians have challenged traditional interpretations of God in the Old Testament as androcentric, i.e. centered on maleness and the interests of men. The lecture will demonstrate that the biblical God is not characterized only as male. Instead, the Hebrew Bible offers a range of divine images which may be labeled “feminine” as well as “masculine” and include roles that are today attributed to either men or women.In a first part, the lecture will focus on descriptions of God’s body or, more precisely, of God’s body parts that are mentioned in biblical texts. In Hebrew thought, body parts are perceived as dynamic and symbolize certain abilities. The most frequently mentioned part is God’s face that connotes nearness and attention. Moreover, God’s hand, arm or right hand stand for his might and agency. The analysis of how God’s body is described will reveal that there is no hint at a sexually marked divine body but many references to performances and roles that are mostly attributed to a male gender. The second part of the lecture will deal with female roles attributed to God, especially the metaphor of giving birth (Ps 2,7; 90,2; Dtn 32,18) and the role of a mother (Isa 46,3-4). In the third part, the lecture addresses the question of divine emotions. Although the study of emotions in the Bible is a fairly new issue, the concept of rachamim “compassion, mercy” has long been discussed. Feminist theologians see a connection between rachamim and the Hebrew term rechem “womb” and thus interpret God’s compassion as an emotion that is traditionally related to women. The question of etymology and the implications of such a connection will be discussed