Subversive Sequels in the Bible (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A fresh look at familiar stories, by a master Bible teacher

"In this ground-breaking book, Judy Klitsner presides over a conversation between pairs, or sequences, of biblical narratives. Paying close attention to the nuances of biblical language, she expertly maps the way in which passages echo and subvert one another. Her alert ear and vigorous writing style reveal new intertextual structures, within which later narratives reconsider earlier ones, revising and often redeeming them ... A moral and religious passion animates this innovative study." Avivah Zornberg, Torah scholar and author (including the JPS classic Genesis: The Beginning of Desire).

"Ms. Klitsner is an excellent teacher whose insights into biblical narrative will deepen the reader's engagement and understanding." - Rabbi David Silber, Founder and Dean of the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education

Judy Klitsner pairs biblical stories to show how a later text will often comment on, or even subvert, an earlier one. The author draws on her fluent command of Hebrew commentary and her broad reading of ancient and modern exegesis, and creates a rare dialogue between feminist and traditional Bible commentary. Using the method of parshanut (interpretation) and her own unique approach to biblical texts, Klitsner draws bold, surprising parallels between biblical passages, revealing previously unexcavated layers of meaning. The result is a series of fresh and original readings of familiar narratives, accessible to both novice and experienced readers of the Bible.

With her fresh, original readings of familiar narratives, Klitsner illustrates the dynamic nature of bibical attitudes regarding issues of ongoing relevance, such as the self, gender relations, and relations between Jews and non-Jews.

From the Publisher

2009 National Jewish Book Award Winner, Scholarship category

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 230 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Publications Society; 1st edition (October 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827608888
• ISBN-13: 978-0827608887
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #383,474 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #69 in

  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Sacred Writings > Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) > Criticism & Interpretation

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inner Biblical Interpretation, November 6, 2009

By	Derek Leman (Snellville, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While I do not share some of Klitsner's presuppositions, her book qualifies immediately in the most important virtue of a book on Biblical interpretation: she helps readers see the text in new ways. Occasionally her exposition is strained but for every non-sequitur there are dozens of insightful connections in inner Biblical interpretation.

The first chapter draws attention to connections between the Jonah story and the earlier Noah story:

(1) Noah sent a dove (Hebrew, yonah) to see if the flood was ended; Jonah is, of course Yonah.

(2) God flooded the world because of hamas (violence, injustice); in Jonah, the Ninevites repented of their hamas and turned away from it.

(3) Noah and Jonah's stories both involve boats, sea journeys, and water-induced catastrophe (even though Nineveh is nowhere near the sea).

(4) The Noah story is about judgment without mercy; the Jonah story is about mercy over judgment.

(5) Noah ends his career in self-induced slumber and drunken self-destruction; Jonah begins his quest sleeping in the hold of the ship, then asking to be drowned in the sea, and at the end praying for God to take his life.

(6) Noah is ambivalent about the destruction of the world while God is unrelenting; in Jonah, God wants to save the wicked, but Jonah is unwilling.

Klitsner is more willing than I to question God's motives in the story, as she apparently views the Biblical narratives as human writings about God. Thus, it is possible, in her view, that the Noah story represents an earlier and inferior view of Divine judgment and mercy. My own theology differs a bit from hers, not being as willing to find fault with God in the Flood account. I would say that context was different between the Flood and Nineveh and that the Judge of all the earth does right. In fact, the repentance of Ninevah, if you believe Jonah is based on real events, was temporary and did not save them. In the end, the Assyrians like the generation of the flood, paid the price for their hamas and went down in history as a defeated empire and a despised people.

Nonetheless, Klitsner's insight into the verbal parallels, puns, and interconnections has forever changed the way I will read both Noah and Jonah. She is an interesting thinker and reader. I recommend this book to those who are not beginners in Bible reading. If you are a beginner, perhaps get it and put it on your list for after you have learned a bit more and you are ready to handle a little controversy. I especially recommend this book to those for whom Bible reading has become stale or whose faith in the God of the Bible is waning.

You can see my review of the first chapter here at [...]

Derek Leman
[...]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voyage of discovery, November 1, 2009

By	H. Zukier - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Submitted by Prof. Henri Zukier

In Subversive Sequels in the Bible, Judy Klitsner explores the complex relationship between various familiar Biblical tales in a manner that is at once both surprising and convincing. What is convincing is the degree to which these narratives interact with common theme and language. What is surprising is that the results of such an examination yield a subversive yet stubbornly reverent approach to Bible study. Klitsner is a masterful guide on a thrilling voyage of discovery of hidden meanings and dynamics in the classical texts. Klitsner shakes up our old certainties about our most ancient and seemingly familiar biblical narratives, with counterintuitive, but ultimately compelling insights. She casts this familiar universe in a very different, bright light.
Written with a minimum of academic jargon, this work is accessible, enjoyable and valuable to scholar and layperson alike and may be one of a very few examples of literary close readings of Hebrew texts that brings the sophistication of ancient Hebrew literature to the English speaking public.
An easily summarized example is Klitsner's first chapter comparing the narrative of Noah and his ark to that of Jonah (Hebrew for "dove"). Under Klitsner's lens, these two stories are in dialogue about the dynamic nature of both human transcendence and Divine compassion. Whereas Noah is the surviving prophet in a drowning world - Jonah is the drowning prophet in a world redeemed. One story (Noah) ends with the sending of a dove and begins with the saving of many animals. The other begins with the sending of a "dove" (Jonah) and ends with a verse about saving many animals.
I won't spoil the adventure of discovering with Klitsner the intricate inversion of theme and language that creates this theological dialogue between the stories. Yet, the whole treatment is greater than the sum of its parts. The author picks up on the way in which the Jonah story redeems the Noah story and with it the chance for human triumph with its stubborn hopeful "perhaps?" over the gravity and despair of our presumed fate.
What links the various essays in the book is the tight literary analysis and its striking methodology of reading texts as "intertextually" related. Stories are seen as sequels that mine and undermine prior tales. No longer seen as ancient statements of monolithic messages, these stories echo into other stories and eventually resound beyond the pages of the Bible. The result is a highly relevant approach to Bible reading that ultimately invites the reader into an ongoing moral and theological symposium.
Most of the book is dedicated to a rereading of various women's narratives in the Bible -from Eve and Sarah, and Rebecca and Rachel of Genesis to Deborah and Hannah, and Mrs. Manoach. Here too, to the satisfaction of traditionalists and feminists alike, the stories are read with a respect for the original stories together with a mindfulness of the ways in which later stories subvert and elevate the status of Biblical women in an ongoing conversation about biblical woman's relationship to self, to man, and to God. Be prepared for a ride. Very highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Subversive Sequels: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other, February 6, 2010

By	Sacramento Book Review "SacramentoBookReview.com" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

It's no surprise that Biblical narratives borrow from each other. The four gospels of the New Testament are, basically, four retellings of the same story. But that doesn't keep a book like Judy Klitsner's //Subversive Sequels in the Bible// from shedding new light on familiar stories. From her examination of the parallels between Noah and Jonah to her interpretation of the narratives that feature women, Klitsner employs a modern literary voice to convey subject matter that can easily become impenetrable scholarly mumbo jumbo.

As much as I enjoyed this, though, I feel like I should offer a word of caution: some readers might take umbrage at Klitsner's statements that the Bible contains stories about Jehovah written by humans. Personally, I don't take offense to this, but since there are plenty of people who view the Bible as the inspired word of God, it's worth noting.

Klitsner has written a special, insightful, surprising book. Her devotion to the subject matter is obvious, even if the conclusions she draws are likely to be seen as controversial.

Reviewed by Amanda Mitchell