The very suggestion that there may be homoeroticism in Hebrew narrative may seem odd given the supposition that the religion and culture of ancient Israel resolutely opposed same sex erotic relationships. The apparent prohibition of homosexuality in Leviticus and the story of Sodom from Genesis have been made to speak for the whole Hebrew Bible. The oddity of this situation has not been lost on some interpreters who have recognized that the story of Sodom tells us no more about attitudes toward what we call homosexuality than the story of the rape of Dina tells us about attitudes toward heterosexuality. Prof. Jennings says that the well-known eroticism of the Hebrew Bible is not confined to heterosexuality but also includes an astonishing diversity of material that lends itself to homoerotic interpretation. In Part one, Jennings examines saga materials associated with David. It is no innovation to detect in the David and Jonathan’s relationship at least the outline of a remarkable love story between two men. What becomes clear, however, is that the tale is far more complex than this since it involves Saul and is set within a context of a warrior society that takes for granted that male heroes will be accompanied by younger or lower status males. Thus the complex erotic connections between David and Saul and David and Jonathan play out against the backdrop of a context of “heroes and pals.” The second type of same sex relationship explored has to do with shamanistic forms of eroticism in which the sacral power of the holy man is both a product of same sex relationship and expressed through same sex practice. This section deals with Samuel and Saul and Elijah and Elisha. These are not warriors but persons whose sacral power is also erotic power that may find expression in erotic practices with persons of the same sex. The third type of same sex relationship discusses we now call transgendered persons, especially males, and their erotic relationship to (other) males. Here the book explores the transgendering of Israel by several prophets who use this device to explore the adultery and promiscuity that they wish to attribute to Israel, as well as the story of Joseph.
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"Over against the hegemony of the religious right and its ferocious homophobia, Jacob's Wound shows that the Bible is a profoundly positive, homoerotic text. Through a careful reading of texts, Ted Jennings reclaims the Bible from those who would use it to oppress others. This is a liberating reading." —Roland Boer, Senior Logan Research Fellow at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University, author of Marxist Criticism of the Bible, and managing editor of The Bible and Critical Theory
“Prophetic voices have tended to give up on the Bible, and in so doing have handed it over to reactionary agendas. Jennings refuses to allow the Bible to be dominated in this way. Drawing on a vast array of biblical and theological resources, Jennings offers us ‘other’ readings of the Bible, both by reading unfamiliar texts and by reading familiar texts in unfamiliar ways.” —Dr. Gerald West, Senior Professor in Hebrew Bible and Director of the Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research, in the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
“While not focusing on women’s experience in the Hebrew Bible, this volume makes a significant contribution to understanding the homoerotic dimensions of the text.” –WATERwheel, 2005 (Waterwheel )
"The book is written in colloquial language, and, indeed, I found the author's use of language blunt, clever, entertaining, and fresh, which is not often the case in scholarly writings....the book's structure is well organized.... I am sure it will be popular." - RBL, July 2006
"There is much in Jennings' book that I admire. He deftly sifts through existing scholarship to recover the terms and forms of ancient Israel's worship of a 'hypermasculine divinity' whose ravishing of his male followers provided a model both for the warrior-leader's sexual relations with his male attendant and for the healer's cure of the sick through the infusion of phallic energy."- Raymond-Jean Frontain, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Jan-Feb 2007 (The Gay and Lesbian Review )
"Jacob's Wound remains one of the most stimulating and provocative books on the Hebrew Bible to appear in recent years. I will use it next time I teach on the Bible and homosexuality, and the class discussion it will provoke will be impassioned and productive." - Stephen D. Moore, The Theological School, Drew University, USA; The Journal of the History of Sexuality, September 2008 (Stephen D. Moore )
“Over against the hegemony of the religious right and its ferocious homophobia, Jacob’s Wound shows that the Bible is a profoundly positive, homoerotic text. Through a careful reading of texts, Ted Jennings reclaims the Bible from those who would use it to oppress others. This is a liberating reading.” —Roland Boer, Senior Logan Research Fellow at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University, author of Marxist Criticism of the Bible, and managing editor of The Bible and Critical Theory
“The book is written in colloquial language, and, indeed, I found the author’s use of language blunt, clever, entertaining, and fresh, which is not often the case in scholarly writings….the book’s structure is well organized…. I am sure it will be popular.” - RBL, July 2006
“There is much in Jennings’ book that I admire. He deftly sifts through existing scholarship to recover the terms and forms of ancient Israel’s worship of a 'hypermasculine divinity’ whose ravishing of his male followers provided a model both for the warrior-leader’s sexual relations with his male attendant and for the healer’s cure of the sick through the infusion of phallic energy.”- Raymond-Jean Frontain, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Jan-Feb 2007 (, )
“Jacob’s Wound remains one of the most stimulating and provocative books on the Hebrew Bible to appear in recent years. I will use it next time I teach on the Bible and homosexuality, and the class discussion it will provoke will be impassioned and productive.” - Stephen D. Moore, The Theological School, Drew University, USA; The Journal of the History of Sexuality, September 2008 (, )
“Prophetic voices have tended to give up on the Bible, and in so doing have handed it over to reactionary agendas. Jennings refuses to allow the Bible to be dominated in this way. Drawing on a vast array of biblical and theological resources, Jennings offers us ‘other’ readings of the Bible, both by reading unfamiliar texts and by reading familiar texts in unfamiliar ways.” —Dr. Gerald West, Senior Professor in Hebrew Bible and Director of the Ujamaa Centre for Biblical and Theological Community Development and Research, in the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
“While not focusing on women’s experience in the Hebrew Bible, this volume makes a significant contribution to understanding the homoerotic dimensions of the text.” –WATERwheel, 2005 (Waterwheel )
"The book is written in colloquial language, and, indeed, I found the author's use of language blunt, clever, entertaining, and fresh, which is not often the case in scholarly writings....the book's structure is well organized.... I am sure it will be popular." - RBL, July 2006
mention- The Catholic Biblical Quarterly/ 68, 2006
"There is much in Jennings' book that I admire. He deftly sifts through existing scholarship to recover the terms and forms of ancient Israel's worship of a 'hypermasculine divinity' whose ravishing of his male followers provided a model both for the warrior-leader's sexual relations with his male attendant and for the healer's cure of the sick through the infusion of phallic energy."- Raymond-Jean Frontain, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Jan-Feb 2007 (The Gay and Lesbian Review )
"Jacob's Wound remains one of the most stimulating and provocative books on the Hebrew Bible to appear in recent years. I will use it next time I teach on the Bible and homosexuality, and the class discussion it will provoke will be impassioned and productive." - Stephen D. Moore, The Theological School, Drew University, USA; The Journal of the History of Sexuality, September 2008 (Stephen D. Moore )
“Over against the hegemony of the religious right and its ferocious homophobia, Jacob’s Wound shows that the Bible is a profoundly positive, homoerotic text. Through a careful reading of texts, Ted Jennings reclaims the Bible from those who would use it to oppress others. This is a liberating reading.” —Roland Boer, Senior Logan Research Fellow at the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University, author of Marxist Criticism of the Bible, and managing editor of The Bible and Critical Theory
“The book is written in colloquial language, and, indeed, I found the author’s use of language blunt, clever, entertaining, and fresh, which is not often the case in scholarly writings….the book’s structure is well organized…. I am sure it will be popular.” - RBL, July 2006
“There is much in Jennings’ book that I admire. He deftly sifts through existing scholarship to recover the terms and forms of ancient Israel’s worship of a 'hypermasculine divinity’ whose ravishing of his male followers provided a model both for the warrior-leader’s sexual relations with his male attendant and for the healer’s cure of the sick through the infusion of phallic energy.”- Raymond-Jean Frontain, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Jan-Feb 2007 (, )
“Jacob’s Wound remains one of the most stimulating and provocative books on the Hebrew Bible to appear in recent years. I will use it next time I teach on the Bible and homosexuality, and the class discussion it will provoke will be impassioned and productive.” - Stephen D. Moore, The Theological School, Drew University, USA; The Journal of the History of Sexuality, September 2008 (, )
About the Author
Theodore W. Jennings, Jr. is Professor of Biblical and Constructive Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary and the author of Introduction to Theology, The Insurrection of the Crucified (Explorations Press), and The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament.
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Theodore W. Jennings Jr. is Professor of Biblical and Constructive Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago. With interests ranging across Christian doctrine and biblical theology, his recent writings include Jacob's Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel; Reading Derrida, Thinking Paul; and The Insurrection of the Crucified.As an astonishingly fresh understanding of what we mean by the significance of Jesus death--in history and theological reflection--Jennings's book contributes strongly to our theological resources for classroom and theologians as well as clergy and others who preach.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
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Take Back your Faith,
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This review is from: Jacob's Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel (Paperback)
Jennings has written an excellent book which gives an excellent introduction to homoeroticism in the old Testament. This book is a nice complement to his work The Man Jesus Loved which is about the new testament.
Gay people should not be ashamed about who we are as we attend church. There is no reason for us to drift away from our faith as we explore our sexuality. Read this an be free.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Christian understanding of the Hebrew Bible,
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This review is from: Jacob's Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel (Paperback)
Sadly, this is the only book I could find on the topic. It is a Christian interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. The problem being that the Hebrew Bible is very cryptic and almost every good interpretation is done by learned Jews.
Unfortunately, those learned Jews have opted to not go near this subject. Therefore, this book is the only book available. It is thought provoking, better than nothing, and clearly filled with misunderstandings of the Hebrew Bible.
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