Gnostic Baruch gender dualism
December 30, 2012
tags: Baruch, Sarah Veale
by Theophrastus
I wish to bring to our reader’s attention the following interesting blog post by Sarah Veale: Gnostic Dualism and Gender in Baruch. It is a well done blog post, although it is heretical and contains some vulgarity.
Jim Davila mentioned Veale’s post and quoted the following brief passage from it:
But Baruch does not portray the female or the material world as a holy thing. In all cases, it is something to be subdued by masculine power and separated from higher, transcendent principles. When the female does have power, it is corrupt, evil, embodied and uncontrollable. It’s hard not to see the dualism and its implications on gender at work in this text.
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from → Sacred books, Sexism
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BLT 
Here is a post on the Kabbalah from the same blog, emphasizing its masculine nature.
“This reading of the Bahir suggests that, despite the presence of female imagery in the Kabbalah, the feminine lacks any creative agency. The creative power of the Shekinah is not her own, but rather is instigated by a masculine being. Any power she has, derives from an outside masculine source. Any divinity of the feminine is strictly contained within the referential of the masculine. In other words, the Shekinah, despite her exaltation, lacks any meaningful agency.”
http://invocatio.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/female-agency-in-the-kabbalah/
That was certainly my impression after reading the Sefer Yetsira.
All sorts of interesting stuff in her blog — the Canadian connection, no doubt.
Thanks, Theophrastus; very interesting.
Last night, I bought Willis Barnstone’s The Other Bible, and look forward to reading Baruch in light of Veale’s post. Thanks.
The Other Bible is pretty interesting (but I still recommend Charlesworth’s Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.)
The work in The Other Bible is the Apocalypse of Baruch (or 2 Baruch), different than The Book of Baruch.; I’ll let Jim Davila explain:
Thanks to you (and to Jim) for clarifying. Saved me some time. And I also appreciate your recommendation of Charlesworth’s Old Testament Pseudepigrapha!
J.K.Gayle,
Justin’s Baruch along with Baruch 2 are included in “The Other Bible” so you should be fine. In fact you wouldn’t get Justin’s Baruch if you bought the “Old Testament Apocrypha” (it is New Testament apocrypha), although it is a great recommendation, but spendy.
Whoops, M, I stand corrected — I should have looked further in the table of contents.
You can get the Charlesworth for $40 here (I can always find a free shipping coupon for them online).
And apparently, as mentioned above, the surviving fragments will appear in the sequel to Charlesworth, More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha.
Theophrastus,
$40 is not bad, I remember drooling over that two volume set some years back and they where close to $100 each.
As to More Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, I should read the comments fully before I reply. My bad.
Thanks M (and Theophrastus)! Helpful clarifications.