Reconceiving Infertility: Biblical Perspectives on Procreation and Childlessness

343 Pages·2002·3.405 MB·English

by  Candida R. Moss

Reconceiving infeRtility

R e c o n c e i v i n g
i n f e R t i l i t y
Biblical Perspectives on
Procreation and Childlessness
candida R. Moss and Joel S. Baden
PRinceton UniveRsity PRess
PRinceton and oxfoRd
copyright © 2015 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, new Jersey 08540
in the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
6 oxford Street, Woodstock, oxfordshire oX20 1tW
press.princeton.edu
Jacket art: Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di vanni filipepi, 1444 /5–1510),
Annunciation, tempera on panel, galleria degli Uffizi, florence, italy. Bridge­
man images
All Rights Reserved
iSBn 978­0 ­ 691­ 16483­ 0
library of congress control number: 2015935300
British library cataloging­ in­ Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in linux libertine o
Printed on acid­ free paper ∞
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
for John and Adela

contents
PReface  ix
acknowledgments  xi
intRodUction  1
chapter 1: The Matriarchs as Models  21
chapter 2: The Blessing and the curse  70
chapter 3: Mother Zion and the eschaton  103
chapter 4: The Son of god and the
conception of the new Age  140
chapter 5: chastity, Marriage, and gender
in the christian family  171
chapter 6: Barrenness and the eschaton  200
conclusion  229
notes  239
BiBliogRaPhy  291
PRimaRy soURce index  313
sUBject index  325

PReface
This book is intended for a wide range of potential audiences. As
academics, we hope that it will make a contribution to the critical
study of the Bible and its cultural contexts, and so be of use to
our colleagues in the academy. We have, however, written it in
such a way that, without sacrificing any detail or argumentation,
it may be accessible to quite different groups of readers. Because
we are dealing with a topic that has present and practical real­
world ramifications, we hope also to reach audiences in arenas
that deal in practical ways with infertility: medical professionals,
social workers, counselors, therapists, and clergy. And, of course,
we have written this book in the hope that it might be of use to
those who suffer from infertility themselves, and seek ways to
understand their experience within the context of a biblical and
religious framework.
in the following pages we open to discussion anew the ques­
tion of how the Bible, in both the old and new testaments, might
speak to the condition of infertility. no singular argument is im­
printed on the text; rather, we work through case studies of texts
and themes, each of which contributes a different perspective on
the issue. As scholars and historians, we are committed to read­
ing in a historically responsible way, with attention to the ancient
cultures from which the biblical texts emerged and the potential
range of meanings that we might plausibly attribute to the biblical