The נזם and Navigating Power Structures

Abstract

Important facets of identity can be communicated through dress. Descriptions of dress and body adornment within the text of the Hebrew Bible can therefore be used as a narrative device to convey subtextual information about the wearer. By utilising archaeological research on the role that jewellery plays in age and gender differentiation alongside textual evidence, this article argues that נזם rings are worn by women and children of both genders to convey messages about their valuation, commodification and ownership in relation to a male patriarch. This has important implications for understanding the nuances within the biblical texts themselves and offers new perspectives and interpretative possibilities.