Honors Thesis Archive

Author	Christina Fetherolf
Title	To Marry God: The Portrayal of God as an Abusive Husband in Ezekiel
Department	Religion
Advisors	Barbara Keiser and Warren Copeland
Year	2008
Honors	University Honors
Full Text	View Thesis (431 KB) At the author's request, an electronic copy of this thesis is only available to on-campus users.
Abstract	"To Marry God" offers a close reading of Ezekiel 16 in its historical, social and literary context in order to understand and evaluate the depiction of God as abusive husband. The author's main argument is that Ezekiel's use of the marriage metaphor cannot be understood outside of the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy. Background on the historical situation is provided, along with a discussion of the marriage metaphor's use within the canon. The paper ends with an attempt to bring the issue to modern-day relevance.