ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights a category of active women presented as prophetesses-with-child, in contrast to the childlessness of other prophetic women in the Bible. These manless females display their maternal ties by exhibiting their naked breasts and their babies, affirming their ability to discern meaning in life, resist hardship, and enact salvific processes. The models of Jochebed, Miriam, the daughter of Pharaoh, and the widow of Sarepta are analyzed from the paintings at the Dura synagogue and are identified as belonging to this category. The paintings are interpreted according to midrash, applying the version of the story of Moses’ rescue from Ezekiel the Tragedian and linking images with performance by actresses. Further, these women’s independence is considered in comparison to real-life Durene women. I put forward the hypothesis that seat inscriptions in the salles à gradins of temples dedicated to goddesses were, in fact, connected to childbirth.
