Lillian Klein (Abensohn)

Lillian Klein (Abensohn) received her Ph.D. in English literature from University of California, Irvine Campus, and her M.S.B.A. from Boston University. She taught literature, specializing in Bible, at the University of Maryland, Munich Campus, for twenty years before returning to the United States to teach at American University. She is the author of The Triumph of Irony in the Book of Judges and From Deborah to Esther: Sexual Politics in the Hebrew Bible as well as many articles published in A Feminist Companion to the Bible. Since her retirement from academic teaching in 1997, she has also achieved recognition as an artist in oil on canvas.

Articles by this author

Peninnah: Bible

The second wife to Elkanah in the Hannah narrative, Peninnah is unloved—hence hated—but fertile. She represents a woman who accepts social paradigms without examining them, thus acting out the type of jealousy between co-wives known from the matriarchal texts of Genesis.

Hannah: Bible

Hannah, the second and barren yet preferred wife of Elkanah, promises to return her child to YHWH if he grants her a son. Her prayers are answered, and she follows through on her pledge to YHWH. Hannah’s narrative emphasizes the importance of fertility and childbirth in Israeli artistic narratives and presents a portrayal of an independent and resourceful woman.

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Lillian Klein (Abensohn)." (Viewed on November 2, 2024) <http://qa.jwa.org/encyclopedia/author/klein-lillian>.