>I have been reading some of the books I have selected to read this summer. My list is long and it includes different types of books. Some of them are in the areas of biblical studies while others deal with ethics, political science, and fiction.

I have already finished reading Elie Wiesel’s Night. I wrote a review of the book and published it here. Now, I am reading Alan M. Dershowitz’s The Genesis of Justice (New York: Warner Books, 2000). The subtitle of the book explains what the book is all about: Ten Stories of Biblical Injustice that Led to the Ten Commandments and Modern Law.

All ten stories are taken from the book of Genesis. So far, I am enjoying reading and learning some interesting things.

I have selected a quote from the book that is directly related to what bibliobloggers do: biblical study. Dershowitz, a professor of law at Harvard University, wrote:

A midrash describes how man “toils much in the study of the Torah.” Maimonides believed that Torah study is so demanding that husbands engaged in this exhausting work should be obliged to have sex with their wives only “once a week, because the study of Torah weakens their strength.” For comparative purposes, rich men who don’t work must have sex with their wives “every night,” and ordinary laborers “twice a week” (p. 3).

I could make many comments on this quote, but I am going to refrain. I believe, and Dershowitz agrees, that biblical scholarship should not interfere with anyone’s sex life.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Biblical Scholarship, Sex

var addthis_pub = ‘claude mariottini’;