Sexuality in the Babylonian Talmud : Christian and Sasanian contexts in late antiquity / Yishai Kiel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kiel, Yishai, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sex in rabbinical literature.

Sex--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Sex.

Sex--Religious aspects--Zoroastrianism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 302 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

New York : Cambridge University Press, 2016.

Summary:

Within this close textual analysis of the Babylonian Talmud, Yishai Kiel explores rabbinic discussions of sex in light of cultural assumptions and dispositions that pervaded the cultures of late antiquity and particularly the Iranian world. By negotiating the Iranian context of the rabbinic discussion alongside the Christian backdrop, this groundbreaking volume presents a balanced and nuanced portrayal of the rabbinic discourse on sexuality and situates rabbinic discussions of sex more broadly at the crossroads of late antique cultures. The study is divided into two thematic sections: the first centers on the broader aspects of rabbinic discourse on sexuality while the second hones in on rabbinic discussions of sexual prohibitions and the classification of permissible and prohibited partnerships, with particular attention to rabbinic discussions of incest. Essential reading for scholars and graduate students of Judaic studies, early Christianity, and Iranian studies, as well as those interested in religious studies and comparative religion.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title page; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Introduction; Overview; The Babylonian Talmud as a Sasanian Work; Sexuality and Religious Demarcation; Sex and the Interplay of Law and Narrative; Mythologizing Sexuality; Textual Stratification and Synoptic Reading of the Talmud; Pahlavi Literature; Part I; 1 Talmudic, Christian, and Zoroastrian Notions of Sexual Desire; Introduction; Sexual Gratification in Babylonian Rabbinic Culture; The Demonic Reification of Sexual Desire; Extinguishing Desire with Sex; Paul on Sexual Desire

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 27 Oct 2016).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-316-79750-3

1-316-79758-9

1-316-60905-7

1-316-65880-5

1-316-79766-X

1-316-79798-8

1-316-79774-0