The Matriarch as Model: Sarah, the Cult of the Saints, and Social Control in a Syriac Homily of Pseudo-Ephrem

The Matriarch as Model: Sarah, the Cult of the Saints, and Social Control in a Syriac Homily of Pseudo-EphremJournal of Early Christian StudiesSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/SZI2BHD7/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.David L.EastmanThe Matriarch as Model: Sarah, the Cult of the Saints, and Social Control in a Syriac Homily of Pseudo-Ephremhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/SZI2BHD7https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/SZI2BHD7https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/SZI2BHD7Journal of Early Christian Studies21:22013241-259The creative re-telling of biblical stories represents an important element of reception history, for texts take on new meanings in these generative contexts. This article explores the presentation of Sarah in an account of the Aqedah found in a fifth-century Syriac verse homily. The pseudonymous author features Sarah prominently, in particular her longing to commemorate Isaac after his apparent death. Here Sarah’s desires are specifically couched in the language of the cult of the saints, making her a model of late antique female piety. However, her activities are also restricted by the voice of Abraham, and she willingly concedes. I argue that the author of this homily presents Sarah as a model of female piety but also female subservience, in order to reinforce patriarchal control over female itinerancy and cultic practice. Eastman, David L. “The Matriarch as Model: Sarah, the Cult of the Saints, and Social Control in a Syriac Homily of Pseudo-Ephrem.” Journal of Early Christian Studies 21:2 (2013): 241–59. David L. Eastman, The Matriarch as Model: Sarah, the Cult of the Saints, and Social Control in a Syriac Homily of Pseudo-Ephrem, Journal of Early Christian Studies 21:2 (2013): 241–59.AbrahamEphremEphremiana [Syriac]GenesisIV-VII CEOld TestamentPseudo-EphremSarahV CEexegesishymnographywomen