ABSTRACT
This essay explores the study of gender in ancient Israel and provides an overview of what we can reconstruct about real women’s lives in the Iron Age southern Levant (ca. 1200–586 BCE). After consideration of some of the issues involved in using the Hebrew Bible as a primary source of information about women and sexual and gender minorities in ancient Israel and a brief description of what the biblical text reveals about women, it will review what archaeological remains, including extra-biblical texts, can contribute to our understanding of Israelite women’s lives. Looking at current trends in gender studies in the larger ancient Near East, this essay suggests some ideas on where we might go from here.
