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Cover of: The Priestly Language of Gender
Sarah Shectman

The Priestly Language of Gender

Section: Articles
Volume 8 (2019) / Issue 4, pp. 416-430 (15)
Published 30.01.2020
DOI 10.1628/hebai-2019-0027
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  • 10.1628/hebai-2019-0027
Summary
The Priestly author in Leviticus 1–16 uses terms connected to sex and gender, both gender-specific terms like זכר ,אשה ,איש, and נקבה and gender-neutral terms such as אדם and נפש, as technical terminology. P's precise usage reflects a carefully structured view of the world and of the cult that is aimed at safeguarding the people's purity. In addition, P seems to recognize the difference between biological sex and gender related to personhood, something more akin to what we might term socially constructed gender.