Rape plots: A feminist cultural study of Genesis 34

Based on the general assumption that all interpretation is perspectival, the dissertation maintains that the establishment of a cultural context sustains the evaluation of an interpretive perspective and the exegesis of a biblical text. This hypothesis is applied to interpretations of Genesis 34 from two historical periods, the nineteenth-century of Germany and the contemporary period of international scholarship. Forensic medical textbooks of nineteenth-century Germany and contemporary feminist scholarship represent the chosen cultural contexts. Correlating interpretations of Genesis 34 with these selected cultural contexts, the dissertation examines ideas about rape to highlight biases that otherwise would remain unnoticed. An exegesis completes the study.;The dissertation proceeds in five steps. First, the description of ideas about rape in forensic medical textbooks of nineteenth-century Germany establishes a cultural contest for biblical interpretations of that period. Second, the analysis of such ideas in commentaries leads to a discussion about the relationship between the ideas in forensic textbooks and biblical interpretations. Third, the study turns to the period since the 1970s of the international community of scholars. As the chosen cultural context for the contemporary period, feminist scholarship makes substantial contributions to the discourse on rape. Fourth, the examination of biblical interpretations from 1970 to 1996 explores the various foci scholars used to obfuscate the rape of the Hebrew woman Dinah as reported in Genesis 34. A discussion about the correlation of feminist scholarship and biblical interpretations yields important insights about context. Fifth, the investigation leads to an exegesis of Genesis 34. Presupposing a contemporary feminist understanding of rape, the study explores the biblical narrative as Dinah's story in which the rape is central.;In conclusion, examining interpretations of Genesis 34 within cultural contexts uncovers and evaluates their perspectives. The exegesis exemplifies that feminist scholarship constitutes a legitimate cultural context for a reading of the biblical narrative. The dissertation contributes to the development of biblical cultural studies from a feminist perspective.