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8 - Family, Clan, and Tribe in the Book of Genesis

from Part II - Social World of Genesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2022

By
Naomi A. Steinberg
Edited by
Bill T. Arnold
Bill T. Arnold
Affiliation:
Asbury Theological Seminary, Kentucky
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Summary

Kinship studies are central for interpreting the ancestral narratives of Genesis. These studies are integral to understanding institutions such as marriage, as well as customary and traditional backgrounds to adoption, bartering, children, and many others, and provide a context for a close reading of this book in the texts of Genesis 12–50. In what follows, I rely on the Hebrew contextual application of the terms for family, clan, and tribe – the kinship units of ancient Israel – and define kinship as a culturally determined emphasis on blood and marriage as the preferred method for constructing the Israelite family, rather than solely on blood line.1

Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Genesis , pp. 168 - 187
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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Chapman, Cynthia R. The House of the Mother: The Social Roles of Maternal Kin in Biblical Hebrew Narrative and Poetry. ABRL. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016.Google Scholar
Donaldson, Mara E. “Kinship Theory in the Patriarchal Narratives: The Case of the Barren Wife.” JAAR 49 (1981): 77–87.Google Scholar
Meyers, Carol. “’To Her Mother’s House’: Considering a Counterpart to the Israelite Bêt ´āb.” Pages 39–51, 304–7 in The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis: Essays in Honor of Norman Gottwald on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday. Edited by Jobling, David, Peggy, L. Day, and Sheppard, Gerald T.. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1991.Google Scholar
Oden, Robert A. “Jacob as Father, Husband, and Nephew: Kinship Studies and the Patriarchal Narratives.” JBL 102 (1983): 189–205.Google Scholar
Perdue Leo, G., Blenkinsopp, Joseph, Collins, John J., and Meyers, Carol, eds. Families in Ancient Israel. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1997.Google Scholar
Petersen, David L. “Genesis and Family Values.” JBL 124 (2005): 5–23.Google Scholar
Prewitt, Terry J. “Kinship Structures and Genesis Genealogies.” JNES 40 (1981): 87–98.Google Scholar
Schloen, J. David. The House of the Father as Fact and Symbol: Patrimonialism in Ugarit and the Ancient Near East. Studies in Archaeology and History of the Levant 2. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2001.Google Scholar
Schneider, Tammi J. Mothers of Promise: Women in the Book of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Stager, Lawrence E. “The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel.” BASOR 260 (1985): 1–35.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. “The Genealogical Framework of the Family Stories in Genesis.” Semeia 46 (1989): 41–50.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1993.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. The World of the Child in the Hebrew Bible. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Williams, Dolores S. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993.Google Scholar
Wright, C. J. H., “Family.” Pages 761–68 in vol. 2 of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by Freedman, D. N.. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992.Google Scholar
Chapman, Cynthia R. The House of the Mother: The Social Roles of Maternal Kin in Biblical Hebrew Narrative and Poetry. ABRL. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016.Google Scholar
Donaldson, Mara E. “Kinship Theory in the Patriarchal Narratives: The Case of the Barren Wife.” JAAR 49 (1981): 77–87.Google Scholar
Meyers, Carol. “’To Her Mother’s House’: Considering a Counterpart to the Israelite Bêt ´āb.” Pages 39–51, 304–7 in The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis: Essays in Honor of Norman Gottwald on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday. Edited by Jobling, David, Peggy, L. Day, and Sheppard, Gerald T.. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1991.Google Scholar
Oden, Robert A. “Jacob as Father, Husband, and Nephew: Kinship Studies and the Patriarchal Narratives.” JBL 102 (1983): 189–205.Google Scholar
Perdue Leo, G., Blenkinsopp, Joseph, Collins, John J., and Meyers, Carol, eds. Families in Ancient Israel. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1997.Google Scholar
Petersen, David L. “Genesis and Family Values.” JBL 124 (2005): 5–23.Google Scholar
Prewitt, Terry J. “Kinship Structures and Genesis Genealogies.” JNES 40 (1981): 87–98.Google Scholar
Schloen, J. David. The House of the Father as Fact and Symbol: Patrimonialism in Ugarit and the Ancient Near East. Studies in Archaeology and History of the Levant 2. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2001.Google Scholar
Schneider, Tammi J. Mothers of Promise: Women in the Book of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Stager, Lawrence E. “The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel.” BASOR 260 (1985): 1–35.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. “The Genealogical Framework of the Family Stories in Genesis.” Semeia 46 (1989): 41–50.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1993.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. The World of the Child in the Hebrew Bible. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Williams, Dolores S. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993.Google Scholar
Wright, C. J. H., “Family.” Pages 761–68 in vol. 2 of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by Freedman, D. N.. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992.Google Scholar
Chapman, Cynthia R. The House of the Mother: The Social Roles of Maternal Kin in Biblical Hebrew Narrative and Poetry. ABRL. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016.Google Scholar
Donaldson, Mara E. “Kinship Theory in the Patriarchal Narratives: The Case of the Barren Wife.” JAAR 49 (1981): 77–87.Google Scholar
Meyers, Carol. “’To Her Mother’s House’: Considering a Counterpart to the Israelite Bêt ´āb.” Pages 39–51, 304–7 in The Bible and the Politics of Exegesis: Essays in Honor of Norman Gottwald on His Sixty-Fifth Birthday. Edited by Jobling, David, Peggy, L. Day, and Sheppard, Gerald T.. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1991.Google Scholar
Oden, Robert A. “Jacob as Father, Husband, and Nephew: Kinship Studies and the Patriarchal Narratives.” JBL 102 (1983): 189–205.Google Scholar
Perdue Leo, G., Blenkinsopp, Joseph, Collins, John J., and Meyers, Carol, eds. Families in Ancient Israel. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1997.Google Scholar
Petersen, David L. “Genesis and Family Values.” JBL 124 (2005): 5–23.Google Scholar
Prewitt, Terry J. “Kinship Structures and Genesis Genealogies.” JNES 40 (1981): 87–98.Google Scholar
Schloen, J. David. The House of the Father as Fact and Symbol: Patrimonialism in Ugarit and the Ancient Near East. Studies in Archaeology and History of the Levant 2. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2001.Google Scholar
Schneider, Tammi J. Mothers of Promise: Women in the Book of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Stager, Lawrence E. “The Archaeology of the Family in Ancient Israel.” BASOR 260 (1985): 1–35.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. “The Genealogical Framework of the Family Stories in Genesis.” Semeia 46 (1989): 41–50.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1993.Google Scholar
Steinberg, Naomi. The World of the Child in the Hebrew Bible. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Williams, Dolores S. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993.Google Scholar
Wright, C. J. H., “Family.” Pages 761–68 in vol. 2 of The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by Freedman, D. N.. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992.Google Scholar

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