The Tanakh is a text that touches on many aspects of human existence, including the dark sides. In this talk, we will be looking at biblical passages that deal with the issue of rape. Texts to be considered include narratives and poetry, as well as legal and prophetic texts. Ultimately, we will see that there are a number of biblical views on the subject, some of which may be disturbing to the modern reader, while others sound quite contemporary.

Carl Ehrlich is Professor of Hebrew Bible in the Department of Humanities at York University, where he has also served as Coordinator of Religious Studies. He has authored The Philistines in Transition: A History from ca. 1000-730 B.C.E. (1996), Understanding Judaism (2004, republished: 2010), and Bibel und Judentum: Beiträge aus dem christlich-jüdischen Gespräch (2004), as well as numerous articles and chapters. His current projects include a cultural history of Moses, a new annotated translation of the Hebrew Bible into German, a commentary on Chronicles, and a collection of essays on purity and holiness in ancient Israel, Judaism, and Christianity.