Religion, Biblical Studies

The Book of Esther is written in Hebrew in the Old Testament and in Greek in the Apocrypha. Although the Book of Esther is written as an historical account, no evidence has surfaced to prove its historical authenticity. An analysis of the story indicates that it is modeled after ancient paganistic rites. Esther herself appears to be modeled after a Great Goddess who reigned supreme over a matriarchal society more than 10,000 years ago. The value of the Book of Esther lies in the reshaping of gender roles for the survival of a rising group of patriarchal people, the Jews. Esther is venerated today by Jews during the holiday of Purim. Traces of her story, however, are evident in the Christian celebration of Easter, suggesting that she continues to be transformed to suit the needs of diverging groups of people.

Contrary to the generally accepted interpretation of Genesis 34 that Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah, was raped, What Dinah Thought, by Deena Metzger, and The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant, clearly state that Dinah loved Shechem, the man who was alleged to have raped her, and had consensual sexual relations with him. These twentieth century American novels are written in the rabbinic tradition of interpreting biblical verse, known as midrash. Metzger recreates Dinah as a contemporary Jewish woman, who travels to Israel to find and marry the reincarnated Shechem, a contemporary Arab. In contrast, Diamant imagines Dinah's life in biblical times, tracing her story prior to her birth to her death. This thesis distinguishes Metzger's and Diamant's novels from rabbinic midrash and analyzes whether their interpretation, that Dinah was not raped, is valid.