Murder and Difference

" ... An important contribution to current literary concerns with the ideologies of texts ... " Society of Old Testament Study Book List " ... She points the way into as yet little-explored territory, broadly engaging literary theory as well as ideological criticism ... She moves beyond both narrowly historical and exclusively text-centered criticism ... " Theology Today " ... Bal has given us both a coruscating feminist critique of biblical scholarship and a fund of provocative exegetical insights ... Required reading for anyone who wants to know where serious biblical scholarship is heading." Shofar

• Preface The ObjectIntroductionI. DISCIPLINARY CODES1. The Historical CodeThe History of the TextsThe History of the PeopleConnoted History2.The Theological CodeTHe use of the Theological CodeReligious Codes3. The Anthropological CodeThe Concept of JudgeThe Ethnographic ContextThe Oral Code4.The Literary CodeThe Polemic Lyric CodeThe Nonpolemic Lyric CodeThe Narratological CodeThe Aesthetic Literary CodeII. TRANSDISCIPLINARY CODES5. The Thematic CodeClosing and Opening of ThematicsThe Theme as Starting PointThe Thematic Code at WorkThe Thematic Code as CensorThe Code as Method6.The Gender CodeThe Gendered SubjectThe Gender Code and the NarrariveThe Gender Code and the SongConclusionReferencesIndex