= Article =
S. ANTHONIOZ, « Sagesse et genre. Une approche biblique »,
Res Antiquae 13, Bruxelles, 2016.
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This article aims at proposing a study of wisdom and more precisely of sages, both men and women, be they called ḥākām or ḥakāmâ, and reflect upon the question of gender. A brief overview of biblical references seems to show the lack of concern for women sages. However many are they who have been held in high esteem for their wise behavior as the woman from Teqoa (2 Sam 14:1-24), the woman from Avel-Beth-Maaka (2 Sam 20:14-21), Rahab, the prostitute (Jos 2:1-24), Avigaïl, the beautiful woman (1 Sam 25:2-42) and also the woman who killed Abimelek (Jg 9:53). Their portraits show these women’s pragmatism and capacity in facing reality to save their own clan or city or even the royal Davidic dynasty. However they all belong to a literary corpus that are narratives commemorating the past. If one now turns to the so-called sapiential literature, made of the books of Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth or Ben Sira, it becomes clear that no woman is in authority of any “book.” Interestingly also the corpus has been placed under the unique authority of king Solomon. The study of all these different portraits therefore highlights a biblical typology of wisdom according to sexes. However a sixth figure, Wisdom personified, will be brought into the debate as it allows precisely to reflect upon the question of gender.
Mots clés : sagesse, sages, genre, personnification
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