Early Chapters, 1-2

[Rachel-K]

Please use this thread to discuss the first two chapters of the novel.

[Carmenere_lady]

Well that was some beginning. So many human emotions were presented. Love, lust, sadness, happiness, jealosy, fear and contentment to name just a few. We see the passing of one generation to the next. So many years between these ladies and our world yet our humanness remains the same.
Jacob's wives seem to get along fairly well, I wonder if it would have been any different had they been strangers rather than sisters. I'm thinking there would have been more rivalries for Jacob's affection had they not known each other.
I think that Ms. Diamant's writing is so vivid I seem to enter the tent whenever I pick up the book.
Looking forward to the next section.

[Peppermill]

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rkubie wrote:
Please use this thread to discuss the first two chapters of the novel.

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Names: The DK Family Bible provides these tidbits:

"The name Leah means 'cow,' and Rachel means 'ewe.' These names were popular with herdspeople because they symbolized prosperity."

"Their {Leah and Rachel} conflict is reflected in the names that they gave their children, such as Reuben, which means 'see, a son,' and Naphtali, which means 'my struggle.'" (Leah's first born and Bilhah's second child.)

[Anita Diament gives Bilhah only one live child: "Poor Bilhah. After Dan, all her babies--a boy and two girls--died before weaning. But she never let her sorrow poison her heart, and she loved the rest of us instead." p.61

In the Biblical account, Leah's six sons are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, (pause), Issachar, and Zebulun, and finally her daughter, Dinah.

In The Red Tent, Leah's seven sons are: Reuben, Simon, Levi, (miscarriage), Judah, (pause), Zebulun ("exalt" ), Naphtali and Issachar. Dinah, of course, is still her daughter.]

[shatril]

That is interesting information about the names, I did not know that. It made this section much more interesting for that information. I do agree, the emotions are wide and varied. I just loved this book the first time, and the second time is just as wonderful.

Shatril

[Peppermill]

Here's a detail of the carving of Asherah appearing on an ivory box:
Asherah Carving

In this Wikipedia article, note the section "In Israel and Judah":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah

Another, not straightforward, perspective:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1942&letter=A

A very different image, the woman without legs (click on image for larger view -- this may be a photo of a replica, but I have seen photos of what I have presumed to be the original):
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/asherah.html

I have no judgment about the scholarship of the information behind this site, but the artistry is pleasant:
http://www.spiralgoddess.com/Asherah.html

Message Edited by Peppermill on 11-04-2007 12:38 AM

[Carmenere_lady]

Thanks so much for the information, Peppermill and for reminding me that I can Google this stuff too. Sometimes I'm still living in the early 20th Cent. Shame on me!!

[Peppermill]

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Carmenere_lady wrote:
Thanks so much for the information, Peppermill and for reminding me that I can Google this stuff too. Sometimes I'm still living in the early 20th Cent. Shame on me!!

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Yeh, I don't intend to belittle anyone else's search skills, and, sometimes, like this one, I don't take the time to go really deep with my searching. But even then, I do try to provide a little bit of value added -- hopefully at least increasing the relevancy to what we are reading or, at a minimum, suggesting that these are sites from which I got something worthwhile -- if you like, start your own research here. And I will love it if you come back with something I overlooked or didn't explore, but you consider worth sharing or drawing to our attention.