Journal for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies (JIBS)
ISSN: 2633-0695
JIBS is a peer-reviewed, open access journal dedicated to publishing cutting edge articles that embody interdisciplinary, social justice-oriented, feminist, queer, and innovative biblical scholarship. We welcome submissions that challenge canonical and/or disciplinary norms and boundaries or that query the field of biblical studies’ relationship to the broader investigation of human religion, culture, and literature. JIBS will publish two issues a year in summer and in winter.
Current Issue
Alexiana Fry, “Shall I Fear? The Irony of Affective Politics in Judges 19,” 1–15
KEYWORDS: Judges 19, Affect Theory, Fear, Levite, Irony
In Judges 19, the Levite from Ephraim, together with his concubine, on their journey back home pass by Jebus and refuse to stay in the hometown of the Jebusites, remarking that “we will not stop at a foreign city where there are no Israelites” (Judges 19:12). It is an ironic comment made as it is precisely within the city of Israelites in Gibeah that danger and violence will occur. This narrative portrayal is particularly poignant in the current context of the United States that is dominated by fear, specifically through the bodies of those who are deemed “other” in terms of their ethnicity. Meanwhile, it may be that the greatest threat in the United States today lies within its own walls, i.e., in the majority demographic. This paper explores the biases majority culture holds towards the supposed morality of “other” ethnicities and nationalities, considering questions regarding what is considered “normal” or “safe.” The fear that characterises the downfall of the narrative reaches beyond ethnic othering to gender and sexual othering as well, not only inside the text, but in interpretation and reception as well. Yet, the narrative shows this as baldly ironic in order to face it; whereas the United States and scholars within have yet to truly name the problem in order to maintain the ideals of hierarchy, power, and White supremacy.
Ellen De Doncker, “Incestual Duplication by Female Sex Offenders: Lot’s Daughters (Genesis 19:30–38) as Challenge to Typologies and Violent Family-Systems,” 16–37
KEYWORDS: Genesis 19; Lot’s daughters; Lot; male rape; sex offender typologies; systematic psychology; female-to-male sexual violence; forced to penetrate
Against the background of the often female-focused view of sexual abuse victims, this paper addresses the issue of male-identifying victims of sexual violence through the lens of the Bible. I tackle one particular form of sexual abuse: female-on-male sexual violence, of the “forced/made to penetrate” type through a re-reading of Genesis 19:30–38. Bearing in mind that this narrative was written in a social context differing in multiple ways from current societies, I, nonetheless, hope to show its relevance for contemporary practices and thinking. In order to do so, this paper intends to show how the story of Lot and his daughters, as told in Genesis 19:30–38 informs and challenges current perspectives on typologies of female sex offenders. Additionally, in analysing the broader context of the narrative of Lot’s rape by his daughters, the present study aims to incorporate theories of traumatic family systems, all while evaluating in what way this system is present and how it affects the intrafamilial violence. The paper first situates the problem present in the Biblical narrative, and then evaluates the narrative against typologies of female sex offenders and theories of systematic abuse. Next, it assesses the daughters of Lot under a multiform perspective and considers their identity as both victims and abusers. Finally, it aims to show how a biblical narrative could critically inform current typologies of female sex offenders and provide insights considering abusive systems.
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