Female Prophetic Traditions in the Old Testament

This article explores the tradition of female prophets in the Old Testament utilizing Isaiah’s woman (Isa. 8.1-4) as a case study. First, it discusses the general evidence for a female prophetic tradition in the Old Testament, locating it in the broader ancient Near East context. It then focuses on examples of women prophets within the Old Testament to demonstrate the role of female prophets in shaping national life and politics despite the gender limitations of women in ancient Israelite society. Following this broader discussion, a case study of Isaiah’s wife is presented to explore her function and role as a prophet. In particular, the role of hannevi’ah as a possible mother within the prophetic guild is examined. Finally, the implications for the Pentecostal community are considered, focusing on retrieving the role of prophetic mothers to function alongside prophetic fathers.

Perpetual Contest

Mieke Bal examines the first autobiographical text written by a woman which concerns the life of the Carthaginian martyr Perpetua. The analysis combines narratology, psychoanalysis, and deconstruction, in a voluntarily anachronistic appropriation of this unique document. Scenes of martyrdom are etched on our retina, because there are so many artworks that represent them. The case Bal analyses, however, is literary, although some of its metaphors and descriptions are vividly visual. Bal speculates that a contest shapes the one that informs Perpetua’s choice for this particular martyrdom: the contest between male and female, or rather, the contest for masculinity. Perpetua’s move away from femininity would lead her, not so much to give up sex as to enjoy it in the only way she could have access to it, turns this story of victimhood into a story of victory: over gender-limitations and over narration.