Behind Ancient Bars

Narratives of Incarceration in the Hebrew Bible
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-0-520-42999-4
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 218 Seiten, Trade Paperback, Format (B × H): 217 mm x 139 mm, Gewicht: 302 g

In Behind Ancient Bars, law professor and rabbinical student Hadar Aviram challenges the conventional assumption that incarceration is an artifact of modernity by looking back to depictions of detention and confinement in the Hebrew Bible. Aviram takes readers on a journey through the Hebrew Bible's carceral landscape through creative rereadings of five stories: Joseph in Egypt, Esther in Persia, Daniel in Babylonia, Samson in Gaza, and Jeremiah in Jerusalem. Drawing on her experience as a leading voice against mass incarceration, she finds connections between antiquity and the contemporary understanding of incarceration that encompasses not just the prison itself but also pretrial/immigration detention, bail, electronic monitoring, parole, and postrelease supervision. Infusing ancient biblical stories with fresh life through modern punishment theories, Aviram shows how incarceration has much to teach us about government, the experience of people in confinement, and the strength and resilience of the human spirit across millennia.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Aviram, Hadar

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Bibelwissenschaften
• Rechtswissenschaften Strafrecht
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction
1. Setting and Dating the Biblical Carceral Conversation
2. Joseph in the Joint
3. Dark Esther
4. Daniel's Diet
5. Samson's Rage
6. Jeremiah in the Pit of Mire
7. Ancient Governmentality Through the Lens of Confinement
8. Carceral Transformation and the Crucible of Leadership
Conclusion: Rift and Continuity in Carceral Studies

Appendix: Chronology of Exegetic and Midrashic Sources
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Hadar Aviram is Thomas E. Miller '73 Professor of Law at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, and a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College.