Baker Academic
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Civic Masculinity - Le Donne
Here is an excerpt from my latest book. I would say that the research I did in this chapter was the most surprising to me. I had not anticipated taking the book in this direction, but my reading on various forms of masculinity compelled me to do so. Had I not built upon this research, the book would have gone in a completely different direction. Pp 119-121:
-anthony
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Interesting post. Thanks for this. Do you know how age affected these dynamics? And what are the other exceptions to this general rule? eg. was it acceptable to be celibate in pursuit of a task, an education, or a vocation until a certain age?
ReplyDeleteI've done a fair amount of reading on honour as a cultural dynamic and this is the first time I've seen it overtly linked to the requirements of land inheritance (an impulsion to have children) and thus to celibacy. I can see the former, but wonder if the latter has exceptions and acceptable delays.
Son of Abba, yours is a really important question and one that I discuss at length in the book.
DeleteIn short, the age of twenty seems to be an important one for the rabbis (both Y. and B.) as most seem to see 20 as the upper limit of puberty. This is to say that most boys would hit puberty before 20, but you could be almost sure of puberty by the age of 20. Of course, the rabbis post-date Jesus and so caution is warranted. It just so happens that we have evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Babatha documents that the age of 20 was important in Jesus' time too. For some it was the upper limit of an acceptable marriage age; for others young adults could not marry until 20. But in all cases, we should probably think in terms of "20ish"... In short, fathers and mothers would begin thinking about matching their children for marriage shortly after puberty. Thereafter, the pressure to find a match would have continued to build.
-anthony
I'm sure you cover this in your book, but does the fact that Jesus seemed to have subverted traditional family roles (I have in mind texts like Luke 8:19-21 and 14:25-26 in mind) play a role in how you apply this information to Jesus?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your question ED,
DeleteThe two passages you mention read:
Luke 8:19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Luke 14:25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
I do indeed discuss these in the book alongside a number of others that give the impression that Jesus promoted a non-traditional form of collectivism.
-anthony