Gender Distinction in Israelite Personal Names

This book challenges the traditional view that no significant distinction exists between male and female names in the Hebrew Bible by comparing all female names from the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew inscriptions, and Elephantine documents with comparable male names.

It shows clear distinctions, unnoted or dismissed by previous studies, and analyzes more subtle differences as reflecting social and religious customs and values over time. Particular attention is given to the work of Rainer Albertz in Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant (co-authored with Rüdiger Schmitt), where he analyzes the personal names found in epigraphic sources as a complement to the biblical names and a primary source for reconstruction of “household religion” in ancient Israel. Two appendices treat (a) the distribution of female names in the Hebrew Bible, with attention to the implications of distinct literary sources for the biblical female and male names, and (b) detailed analysis of all theophoric female names, with comparison to male names from the same root.

Author Biography

Phyllis A. Bird is Professor Emerita of Old Testament Interpretation at Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary, USA.