Choosing Tradition: A South Asian Feminist Reading of the Circumcision of Timothy Restricted; Files Only
Gabrielle, Haley (Summer 2023)
Abstract
In this dissertation, I argue that past interpretation of the circumcision of Timothy in Acts 16:1-5 has been fundamentally shaped by a perception of circumcision as a “tradition.” A false binary has too often been constructed between Oriental Judaism and Occidental Hellenism, which incorrectly degrades the former as backwards, legalistic, irrational, authoritarian, and the site of tradition. Previous readers of Acts have rarely considered the possibility that Timothy could have willingly participated in his own circumcision, more often bypassing his character completely while speculating only about Paul’s motivations. Instead, I explore the possibility that Timothy’s circumcision was part of an expression of his own agency.
To support my argumentation, I bring in four major insights from South Asian feminist interlocutors. First, Orientalizing discourse represents Eastern practices as irrational, traditional, and forced. Second, it is necessary to critique liberal notions of autonomy in order to create new space for subjects who act while also being entangled in norms, relationships, and systems of meaning. Next, histories of South Asian entrance into coalition can help us to understand how Timothy and other followers of the Way could enter into a multi-ethnic, multi-religious community while simultaneously preserving their own ethno-religious identities. Finally, a gendered analysis of traditional practices must be wary of the Orientalist presumption that Eastern people groups are fundamentally underdeveloped, hierarchical, and therefore patriarchal; instead, feminists can carefully describe a gendered mode of social organization without assuming the presence of a monolithic, racialized sexism.
Analyzing modern global discourses about circumcision reveals the West’s bias against non-infant and/or religious circumcisions, in addition to a long history of Christian bias against Jewish circumcision. Instead, I propose that we view Timothy’s circumcision in the context of a Lukan construction of circumcision as a joyful, communal act. I argue that Timothy’s circumcision is depicted as the self-expression of a Jewish follower of the Way, who proclaims in his body and with his speech the implications of the Jerusalem council decision for Jews and gentiles alike. The validation of both circumcision and uncircumcision creates space for multiple legitimate ways of embodying sexual moderation and appropriate masculinity.
Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1: Problematizing the Binary of Hellenism and Judaism .................................................. 9
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 9
The Binary of Hellenism and Judaism ...................................................................................... 11
Non-Zero-Sum Hellenization and Diverse Judaism ................................................................. 17
Anti-Jewish, Orientalist Paradigms .......................................................................................... 21
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 28
Chapter 2: The Circumcision of Timothy Reconsidered .............................................................. 30
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 30
The Ethnic Identity of Timothy ................................................................................................ 32
The Judaism of Timothy ........................................................................................................... 42
The Motives for Timothy’s Circumcision ................................................................................ 52
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 59
Chapter 3: South Asian Feminist Perspectives on Agency ........................................................... 61
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 61
South Asian Biblical Interpretation .......................................................................................... 63
South Asian and Jewish Orientalisms ....................................................................................... 71
South Asian Feminism .............................................................................................................. 75
Orientalism ............................................................................................................................ 76
Agency .................................................................................................................................. 79
Coalition ................................................................................................................................ 85
Gender ................................................................................................................................... 90
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 95
Chapter 4: Orientalism: Western Discourse on Circumcision ...................................................... 97
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 97
Modern Circumcision ............................................................................................................. 100
Jewish Circumcision ........................................................................................................... 103
Muslim Circumcision.......................................................................................................... 107
African Circumcision .......................................................................................................... 110
Ancient Jewish Circumcision ................................................................................................. 115
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 124
Chapter 5: Choice: Affirming and Problematizing Agency ....................................................... 126
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 126
Circumcision in the Second Temple Period............................................................................ 128
Agency in South Asian Diaspora Life .................................................................................... 138
Agency in Circumcision in Luke-Acts ................................................................................... 152
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 169
Chapter 6: Coalition: The Way and South Asian Alliances ....................................................... 172
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 172
Models for the Way in Acts .................................................................................................... 174
South Asian Models of Coalition ............................................................................................ 182
Timothy’s Circumcision within Coalition .............................................................................. 189
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 195
Chapter 7: Gender: Jewish and South Asian Feminisms ............................................................ 197
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 197
Circumcision and Accusations of Jewish Patriarchy .............................................................. 199
Circumcision and Gender in the First Century ....................................................................... 207
Circumcision and Gender in Acts 16:1-5................................................................................ 215
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 221
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 223
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 226
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File download under embargo until 16 August 2025 | 2023-06-15 12:47:49 -0400 | File download under embargo until 16 August 2025 |
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