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Mixed Marriages in Ezra 9-10: An Anti-Caste Reading to Unravel the Intricacies of Caste.

Record Type:	Electronic resources : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	Mixed Marriages in Ezra 9-10: An Anti-Caste Reading to Unravel the Intricacies of Caste./
Author:	Chukka, Sweety Helen.
Published:	Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, : 2023,
Description:	273 p.
Notes:	Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 85-02, Section: A.
Contained By:	Dissertations Abstracts International85-02A.
Subject:	Biblical studies. -
Online resource:	https://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=30425714
ISBN:	9798380123969

Mixed Marriages in Ezra 9-10: An Anti-Caste Reading to Unravel the Intricacies of Caste.
Chukka, Sweety Helen.

Mixed Marriages in Ezra 9-10: An Anti-Caste Reading to Unravel the Intricacies of Caste. - Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2023 - 273 p.

Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 85-02, Section: A.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, 2023.

This dissertation aims to examine the problem of mixed marriages presented in Ezra 9-10 and employs an anti-caste reading hermeneutic to discuss the intricacies of caste present in the text. Upon the return of exiles under the leadership of Ezra, authorized by the Persian Empire, some Persian officials complained to Ezra about the irreconcilable nature of mixed marriages. Employing purity terminology, some officials have claimed that the "holy seed" has mixed with the daughters of the people(s) of the land(s) practicing abominations similar to the autochthonous nations indicated in Deuteronomy 7:1-4. By way of introducing an alterity discourse, the so-called mixed marriages are shown as polluting the genealogical purity of the "holy seed" (Ezra 9) and violating geographical boundaries (Ezra 10). In Ezra 10, the so-called mixed marriage discourse is taken to the next level. Shecaniah, a Persian military official, declared the marriages as illegitimate and proposed the expulsion of "foreign" women and children as the solution to the violation. Ezra, the priest, the Persian authorized official, subscribes to the proposal and makes the people swear that they would do as suggested. However, the expulsion proposal was unsuccessful because some returnees demonstrated resistance to the prohibitions of mixed marriages. If one carefully analyzes the texts, it becomes evident that under the guise of constructing identity, some of the officials have constructed a caste system that centers the prominence of endogamous marriages even when there has not been a universal principle of endogamy in the Hebrew Bible. The problem in examining Ezra 9-10 by favoring the voices and experiences of the people(s) of the land(s) is the potential danger of falling into the trap of anti-semitic discourse.In this study, the writer first articulates an anti-caste hermeneutical proposal to avoid the trap of anti-semitism. Anti-caste hermeneutic discussed in the first chapter creates a space to hold multiple marginalities in tension yet adopts a reading strategy that favors the least marginalized without engaging in Oppression Olympics. This chapter presents "caste" as a lens to examine Ezra 9-10 for two reasons: first, as a Dalit Woman from India, any hierarchy in Indian context, can be understood better with the lens of "caste" (in the first chapter, I discuss the reasons for choosing "caste" as a category instead of "Dalit"). Second, to discuss that the mixed marriages are an internal problem within the returnees and the lens of "caste" delineates the ways in which, a system of caste is constructed by one group of officials against their own people. In chapter 2, the writer presents an overview of scholarship on Ezra 9-10 into four categories: historical-critical methods, socio-scientific methods, contextual methods, and empire critical methods. Chapter 3 provides translation, text-critical notes, translation notes of Ezra 9-10, a textual analysis that predominantly establishes the close relationship of the officials and Ezra to the Persia empire, a source-critical analysis of Ezra 9-10, and a commentary. The fourth chapter explores the construction of identity by some officials in Ezra 9-10 and its connections to the construction of the caste system as discussed by B. R. Ambedkar and Isabel Wilkerson arguing that Ezra 9-10 is an ideological construction of the caste system that arranges people hierarchically and outcastes some people. The fifth chapter counters the officials' presupposition that the endogamous principle is a universal and homogenous social practice in the Hebrew Bible. Exploring some examples of mixed marriages in the Pentateuch and from texts around the Persian period, the writer presents that mixed marriages were not a homogeneous or a dominant social practice and that not all returnees opposed mixed marriages. Employing an anti-caste lens, the writer presents endogamy, identity, purity, and "foreignness" as a dangerous combination characteristic of the caste system. In conclusion, the writer summarizes the study, highlights the significance of the methodology articulated in this study to the field of Dalit theology, and finally in an excursus provides an outlook for further research by juxtaposing Numbers 27:1-11 with Ezra 9-10.

ISBN: 9798380123969Subjects--Topical Terms:

2122820
Biblical studies.
Subjects--Index Terms:

Anti-caste hermeneutic

Mixed Marriages in Ezra 9-10: An Anti-Caste Reading to Unravel the Intricacies of Caste.
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500 $a Source: Dissertations Abstracts International, Volume: 85-02, Section: A.
500 $a Advisor: Menn, Esther.
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520 $a This dissertation aims to examine the problem of mixed marriages presented in Ezra 9-10 and employs an anti-caste reading hermeneutic to discuss the intricacies of caste present in the text. Upon the return of exiles under the leadership of Ezra, authorized by the Persian Empire, some Persian officials complained to Ezra about the irreconcilable nature of mixed marriages. Employing purity terminology, some officials have claimed that the "holy seed" has mixed with the daughters of the people(s) of the land(s) practicing abominations similar to the autochthonous nations indicated in Deuteronomy 7:1-4. By way of introducing an alterity discourse, the so-called mixed marriages are shown as polluting the genealogical purity of the "holy seed" (Ezra 9) and violating geographical boundaries (Ezra 10). In Ezra 10, the so-called mixed marriage discourse is taken to the next level. Shecaniah, a Persian military official, declared the marriages as illegitimate and proposed the expulsion of "foreign" women and children as the solution to the violation. Ezra, the priest, the Persian authorized official, subscribes to the proposal and makes the people swear that they would do as suggested. However, the expulsion proposal was unsuccessful because some returnees demonstrated resistance to the prohibitions of mixed marriages. If one carefully analyzes the texts, it becomes evident that under the guise of constructing identity, some of the officials have constructed a caste system that centers the prominence of endogamous marriages even when there has not been a universal principle of endogamy in the Hebrew Bible. The problem in examining Ezra 9-10 by favoring the voices and experiences of the people(s) of the land(s) is the potential danger of falling into the trap of anti-semitic discourse.In this study, the writer first articulates an anti-caste hermeneutical proposal to avoid the trap of anti-semitism. Anti-caste hermeneutic discussed in the first chapter creates a space to hold multiple marginalities in tension yet adopts a reading strategy that favors the least marginalized without engaging in Oppression Olympics. This chapter presents "caste" as a lens to examine Ezra 9-10 for two reasons: first, as a Dalit Woman from India, any hierarchy in Indian context, can be understood better with the lens of "caste" (in the first chapter, I discuss the reasons for choosing "caste" as a category instead of "Dalit"). Second, to discuss that the mixed marriages are an internal problem within the returnees and the lens of "caste" delineates the ways in which, a system of caste is constructed by one group of officials against their own people. In chapter 2, the writer presents an overview of scholarship on Ezra 9-10 into four categories: historical-critical methods, socio-scientific methods, contextual methods, and empire critical methods. Chapter 3 provides translation, text-critical notes, translation notes of Ezra 9-10, a textual analysis that predominantly establishes the close relationship of the officials and Ezra to the Persia empire, a source-critical analysis of Ezra 9-10, and a commentary. The fourth chapter explores the construction of identity by some officials in Ezra 9-10 and its connections to the construction of the caste system as discussed by B. R. Ambedkar and Isabel Wilkerson arguing that Ezra 9-10 is an ideological construction of the caste system that arranges people hierarchically and outcastes some people. The fifth chapter counters the officials' presupposition that the endogamous principle is a universal and homogenous social practice in the Hebrew Bible. Exploring some examples of mixed marriages in the Pentateuch and from texts around the Persian period, the writer presents that mixed marriages were not a homogeneous or a dominant social practice and that not all returnees opposed mixed marriages. Employing an anti-caste lens, the writer presents endogamy, identity, purity, and "foreignness" as a dangerous combination characteristic of the caste system. In conclusion, the writer summarizes the study, highlights the significance of the methodology articulated in this study to the field of Dalit theology, and finally in an excursus provides an outlook for further research by juxtaposing Numbers 27:1-11 with Ezra 9-10.
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