Sexual Hospitality in the Hebrew Bible: Patronymic, Metronymic, Legitimate and Illegitimate Relations

This book explores the myriad of legitimate and illegitmate relations in the Hebrew Bible. From patronymic marriage, where the husband claims exclusive rights over his wife's sexuality and attributes her offspring unto his line and kin to metronymic conjugal systems which allow women to remain in her abode, while the male consort commutes or joins the woman and her kin, the author examines the customs involved. The study ranges from abstention to promiscuity, to relinquishing control over one's body as an offering to a transcendent entity. The book explores the socio-economic context of women's lives, their capacity for agency and resistance.