ABSTRACT
Subordination and fealty to Yhwh are primary markers of golah penitential masculinity which is premised on the deity’s dominant masculinity – his ability to protect and provide for his people. The destruction of his house, the continued captivity of his people and his silence in the face of the transgression of the golah, however, raise doubts concerning this deity’s masculinity. Yhwh’s problematic masculinity is addressed in this narrative world by assigning to him the traits and performances of the Persian kings as represented in the book of Ezra. Not only is he constituted as the hyper-masculine deity of the golah, but he also is an imperial suzerain who employs the Persian kings who do his bidding.
