Open AccessSending Away Foreign Wives in Ezra 9–10: With a Brief Reflection from a Minority Tribal Perspective
Author(s) -
Chingboi Guite Phaipi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
asia journal of theology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0218-0812
DOI - 10.54424/ajt.v35i1.1
Subject(s) - narrative , dismissal , perspective (graphical) , politics , variety (cybernetics) , ethnic group , perception , sociology , action (physics) , social psychology , political science , psychology , gender studies , literature , law , art , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science , visual arts , neuroscience
Ezra 9–10, commonly known as “intermarriage crisis” or “forced divorce of foreign wives,” has attracted a wide variety of interpretations of the dismissal of foreign wives. Some of the proposed rationales include political, social, economic, and ethnic purity. Such rationales, while having their own merits, are not evidenced in the text. This article offers a literary reexamination of what the text portrays about the protagonist group’s motivation to take such stringent action. The protagonist’s strong self-perception is the main factor behind their negative perception of the antagonist “others” and thus its stringent resolution to deal with foreign wives. I also briefly reflect on what a minority Christian tribal today could do with such a strong biblical narrative.