The chapter reviews the interpretation of the visions of Babylon and new Jerusalem by scholars wo... more The chapter reviews the interpretation of the visions of Babylon and new Jerusalem by scholars working from feminist and womanist perspectives and queer theory. Attention is given to the ways in which cities and nations were personified in art from the Roman period and the implications of personification for the city-women portrayed in Revelation. The portrayal of Babylon as a prostitute draws on a wide range of associations from antiquity, which enables the imagery in Revelation to critique the Roman order and call upon readers to dissociate themselves from it. By way of contrast, the image of new Jerusalem as a bride and wife evokes different connotations, and enables the personified city to shape readers’ sense of what it means to be people of God.
Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, 2008
The Book of Revelation is arguably one of the most influential and yet puzzling books in Christia... more The Book of Revelation is arguably one of the most influential and yet puzzling books in Christian history. Among the images of Revelation which modern biblical scholars have labeled as the 'most puzzling' is that of a multitude of 144,000 male virgins. This article examines this metaphorical representation of faithful followers of the Lamb in relation to the constructions of masculinity in the first-century Roman Empire. In so doing, it becomes evident that this imagery functions as part of Revelation's rejection of Roman discourse, including the pro-family rhetoric of the Empire and popular depictions of the hyper-masculine male. In contrast, Revelation imagines a community defined in ambiguous gender terms that will take on a feminine gender role in relation to the Lamb or the risen Christ. This reading of the 144,000 virgins deepens our understanding of Revelation, especially as it contributes to the construction of early Christian gender ideologies.
Thinking and Seeing with Women in Revelation, 2013
Introduction Chapter 1: Seeing with John: Revelation, Vision and Metaphor Chapter 2: Seeing and T... more Introduction Chapter 1: Seeing with John: Revelation, Vision and Metaphor Chapter 2: Seeing and Thinking with the City-Bride: Revelation's Bridal Imagery in Context Chapter 3: Becoming the Bridal City: Envisioning the Bride with Late Medieval Visionaries Chapter 4: "Coming into Wedding": Reading and Viewing Revelation in the American South Conclusion: Unveiling the Visible
The Oxford Handbook of New Testament, Gender, and Sexuality, 2019
Despite much scholarship on Revelation’s feminine imagery, there has been limited attention to ho... more Despite much scholarship on Revelation’s feminine imagery, there has been limited attention to how the narrative as a whole participates in constructing the gender identity of its audience(s). Situated within a historical and social context in which ideal personhood was imagined in masculine terms, however, this gender identity is best understood in terms of masculinity, albeit a complexly imagined and anti-imperial masculinity, and as John’s attempt at “making men.” Revelation’s appropriation of the dominant culture’s discourses about masculinity serve as a tool for resisting that culture’s portrayal of the true man as one who succeeds in competition and who finds success in marrying and bearing children. Therefore, John undoes the gender expectations of his context, as he presents his audience a new model for being ideal men, ideal followers of the Lamb.
The chapter reviews the interpretation of the visions of Babylon and new Jerusalem by scholars wo... more The chapter reviews the interpretation of the visions of Babylon and new Jerusalem by scholars working from feminist and womanist perspectives and queer theory. Attention is given to the ways in which cities and nations were personified in art from the Roman period and the implications of personification for the city-women portrayed in Revelation. The portrayal of Babylon as a prostitute draws on a wide range of associations from antiquity, which enables the imagery in Revelation to critique the Roman order and call upon readers to dissociate themselves from it. By way of contrast, the image of new Jerusalem as a bride and wife evokes different connotations, and enables the personified city to shape readers’ sense of what it means to be people of God.
Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, 2008
The Book of Revelation is arguably one of the most influential and yet puzzling books in Christia... more The Book of Revelation is arguably one of the most influential and yet puzzling books in Christian history. Among the images of Revelation which modern biblical scholars have labeled as the 'most puzzling' is that of a multitude of 144,000 male virgins. This article examines this metaphorical representation of faithful followers of the Lamb in relation to the constructions of masculinity in the first-century Roman Empire. In so doing, it becomes evident that this imagery functions as part of Revelation's rejection of Roman discourse, including the pro-family rhetoric of the Empire and popular depictions of the hyper-masculine male. In contrast, Revelation imagines a community defined in ambiguous gender terms that will take on a feminine gender role in relation to the Lamb or the risen Christ. This reading of the 144,000 virgins deepens our understanding of Revelation, especially as it contributes to the construction of early Christian gender ideologies.
Thinking and Seeing with Women in Revelation, 2013
Introduction Chapter 1: Seeing with John: Revelation, Vision and Metaphor Chapter 2: Seeing and T... more Introduction Chapter 1: Seeing with John: Revelation, Vision and Metaphor Chapter 2: Seeing and Thinking with the City-Bride: Revelation's Bridal Imagery in Context Chapter 3: Becoming the Bridal City: Envisioning the Bride with Late Medieval Visionaries Chapter 4: "Coming into Wedding": Reading and Viewing Revelation in the American South Conclusion: Unveiling the Visible
The Oxford Handbook of New Testament, Gender, and Sexuality, 2019
Despite much scholarship on Revelation’s feminine imagery, there has been limited attention to ho... more Despite much scholarship on Revelation’s feminine imagery, there has been limited attention to how the narrative as a whole participates in constructing the gender identity of its audience(s). Situated within a historical and social context in which ideal personhood was imagined in masculine terms, however, this gender identity is best understood in terms of masculinity, albeit a complexly imagined and anti-imperial masculinity, and as John’s attempt at “making men.” Revelation’s appropriation of the dominant culture’s discourses about masculinity serve as a tool for resisting that culture’s portrayal of the true man as one who succeeds in competition and who finds success in marrying and bearing children. Therefore, John undoes the gender expectations of his context, as he presents his audience a new model for being ideal men, ideal followers of the Lamb.
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Papers by Lynn Huber