Rahab the harlot in Severian of Gabala ’ s De paenitentia et compunctione ( de Rahab historia ) : Paradox , anti-Judaism and the early Christian invention of the penitent prostitute

The tale of Rahab is, by all accounts, one of the most fascinating, even suspenseful, stories of the Hebrew Bible. In the second chapter of the Book of Joshua, we read that Israelite spies were sent by Joshua to Jericho as scouts. They entered the house of a woman known as Rahab, who was considered to be a prostitute (ה֛נָוֹז, as per Jos 2:1), where they spent the night. When the city authorities came searching for the spies, Rahab hid the spies and told the guards that they had already left the city, sending the guards on a wild goose chase, so to speak. In exchange for this act of protection, Rahab only asks that she and her family be spared when the Israelites invade the city. She indeed confesses:

context, is paradoxical (Raveh 2014:102-104). She exhibits a tension between what Raveh (2014:102) calls the typical 'bad girl' stereotype; yet, she also saves the 'good guys' and makes the victory at Jericho possible. This paradox was maintained in the reception of the story in late antiquity. Raveh (2014) further notes: Their [the Israelites'] passing 'via' the harlot who is destined to convert becomes, in rabbinic literature, a symbol of their domination of the space of the 'heterotopic' other, taming it and civilizing it. (p. 113) Indeed, Rahab becomes the example of the 'ideal proselyte' in rabbinic literature, and the prophetess Huldah (in 2 Kg 22:14-20 and 2 Chr 34:22-28) is actually listed as one of Rahab's descendants (Baskin 1979:141-157).
Rahab was also popular -and equally paradoxical! -in the early Christian imagination. In the New Testament, she is (possibly 1 ) listed in the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:5. In Hebrews 11:31, it is stated that Rahab did not perish because of her faith, while James 2:25 explains that Rahab was justified by her good works (see Hanson 1978:53-60;Japinga 2017:66-70). In the Latin Christian tradition, Ambrose of Milan (c. 340-397 CE) uses the oxymoron casta meretrix ('a chaste harlot') to describe Rahab (see Ambrose, In Lucam 3;cited in Kritzinger 2006:23). Other Latin Christian authors hail Rahab's hospitality, her foresight, her faith and her good works (Kritzinger 2006:24-28). Similar formulations are found in the Greek patristic tradition, as Stander (2006:37-49) has shown. In the Syriac tradition, Ephrem emphasised Rahab's boldness and paradoxicality as a female biblical figure (Botha 2006:1-21).
The tale of Rahab, both in her original Hebrew Bible context and in the literary reception of her story, has received much scholarly attention. Perhaps, one of the most important reasons for this is that the figure of Rahab does exceptionally well to problematise issues of gender, ethnicity and power in antiquity, as Raveh (2014:100-115) has especially demonstrated (see also Japinga 2017:66-70). As noted above, Rahab's reception in early Christianity received special attention in 2006 in a special section in the journal Acta Patristica et Byzantina. In this section, Kritzinger examined Rahab in the Latin tradition, Botha in the Syriac (notably, Ephrem) and Stander in the Greek tradition. A broader overview of the reception of Rahab is also given by Lyons (2008:n.p.).
This study aims to examine one author's reading of Rahab in the Greek Christian tradition, namely, that of Severian of Gabala (d. ca. 408 CE). Details about Severian's life and works are limited, although he has received more attention in recent times (see especially Voicu 2014especially Voicu :563-564, 2019. Severian is often discussed in relation to John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407 CE). After some time of possible friendship, it 1.There is a question about this as there are varying Greek spellings of the name of Rahab. Ῥαχάβ is used in Matthew 1:5 to refer to the mother of Boaz, while the Septuagint and the New Testament use Ῥαάβ to refer to the harlot of Jericho; see especially Stander (2006:37-38) for the various Greek Christian readings of this verse and spelling inconsistency. On the problem itself in the Matthean genealogy, see Quin (1981:225-228) and Bauckham (1995:313-329 (Voicu 2019:259-283). Although they might have been enemies at the end, their approaches to scripture and preaching are quite similar. This article aims to understand an aspect of Severian's biblical interpretation as such, and hopes to, in some way, assist in rehabilitating and making better known the elusive, and in my opinion, misunderstood and misrepresented bishop of Gabala.
The focus will specifically fall on a homily that has been erroneously attributed to Chrysostom, namely, De paenitentia homilia 7 (CPG 4333). The Greek text of the homily is found in Migne's Patrologiae cursus completus: Series graeca (1862), volume 49, where it is placed in a series of homilies also known as De paenitentia, which contains authentic material from Chrysostom. Since 1930, however, De paenitentia homilia 7 has been convincingly reattributed to Severian of Gabala in an extensive analysis by Martin (1930:331-343 There is an English translation of the homily by Christo (1998:86-110); surprisingly, however, Christo (erroneously) assumes the homily to be authentic to Chrysostom. Despite the problems of provenance and authorship in Christo's translation, the translation of the homily itself is not problematic. Stander (2006:37-49) [Migne 1862:63:180, 185-186]; see also the comments of Stander [2006:39-40]). In summary, Chrysostom advises his congregants that they should never be caught having less faith than even a harlot, Rahab, had. Despite the many common homiletical, theological and exegetical similarities often noted between Severian and Chrysostom, 3 we do not find repetition of any of the detailed themes in Severian's homily -for example, as we will see, Rahab as a type of the church, Rahab as a teacher among the gentiles, Rahab putting Israel to shame, and so on -in the authentic Chrysostomic references to Rahab. Both note the faith of Rahab, but this observation is common in most early Christian references to Rahab. While one should be very cautious in using thematic overlaps in arguments of the authenticity of homilies, in this case, the major thematic differences between Severian's use of Rahab and that of Chrysostom support the codicological evidence. There are also ample additional references to Rahab in other Pseudo-Chrysostomic (but not necessarily Severian) works, some of which will be addressed briefly in this study.
3.For more on the similarities (and differences) between Severian's and Chrysostom's approaches, see several essays in Leemans, Roskam and Segers (2019).
In summary, despite misreadings of authenticity, Stander's study (along with Kritzinger and Botha) remains seminal in that it provides us with a contextualisation of Severian's understanding of Rahab in a broader Greek patristic tradition. However, I am of the opinion that there is much more to be said about Severian's use of the figure of Rahab the harlot. In this brief article, I will provide a close and critical reading of Severian's references to the story of Rahab in Paen. How and why could a treacherous harlot, a prostitute, who was considered to be the epitome of vice in early Christian moral deliberations, function as an exemplum for Severian? I will first ask how Severian deals with the problematic and paradoxical aspects of Rahab, namely, the fact that she was a prostitute and also a liar. Then, I will illustrate how Severian transforms Rahab into a Christian heroine and how he deploys these qualities of the transformed Rahab in a potent anti-Judaistic rhetoric. This discussion will finally conclude with a somewhat broader delineation of the importance of Rahab in the development of a curious Christian cultural and moral trope, namely, the penitent prostitute. Such a study of Rahab is significant not only in that it expands our understanding of the history of women and gender dynamics in early Christianity, but it also elucidates the complex and strategic discursive moves employed by male Christian authors to deal with the seemingly 'bad girls' of scripture. For instance, in Chrysostom's first homily In Matthaeum (Migne 1862:57:21), Rahab is linked with other complex female figures such as Bathsheba, Thamar and Ruth, who were all part of Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. In the Pseudo-Chrysostomic work (not by Severian), In sancta et magna parasceve 2 (Migne 1862:50:814), Rahab is associated with the woman suffering from a flow of blood (Mk 5:25-34) and the Canaanite woman (Mt 15:21-28) from the gospels. With this analysis, essentially, we will witness how a male author, like Severian, 'disciplines' and transforms Rahab into an acceptable female exemplum for his audience, and then uses this exemplum to construct Christian identity in contrast to Jewish identity. Christian moral thought. On the one hand, πορνεία could refer, technically, to the profession of harlots; however, for many early Christian authors, as early as the apostle Paul, πορνεία came to refer to sexual promiscuity more generally. While non-Christian Roman authors used to make a distinction between adultery (μοιχεία) and prostitution or sexual promiscuity, it is commonly known that most early Christian authors understood all sexual acts associated with πορνεία -which included prostitution proper, but also illicit sex acts more generally -as the equivalent of adultery (De Wet 2015:222-232). Roman men, for instance, whether married or not, could engage in sexual acts with prostitutes, slaves (many prostitutes were also slaves) and other non-elite persons, without necessarily being labelled as adulterers or morally reprehensible. In essence, adultery was a crime defined by the status and act of the woman, not the man. Adultery was only a possibility if a freeborn married woman (or perhaps, an elite virgin) was involved in the act itself. In early Christian sexual ethics, this understanding of adultery changed considerably. All sexual acts outside of marriage were reprehensible, and subject to being labelled as adulterous (Kuefler 2001:91-93). In Christian thought, πορνεία (in its narrow and broad sense) was particularly immoral (Knust 2006:51-54). In the quotation above, we see that Severian also accepts the uniformity between μοιχεία and πορνεία. Without a second thought, Severian substitutes the commandment in Exodus 20:14, about adultery, with a commandment more contemporary to his audience: οὐ πορνεύσεις, 'you will not commit prostitution/sexual immorality'. Severian therefore reads his own contemporary Christian understanding of adultery and πορνεία back into the text of the Old Testament. Adulterers were meant to be executed (stoned), which means prostitutes, in his mind, should also have been executed (although this is not exactly so in the Hebrew Bible, but that is not the point here). So why should Rahab, a prostitute, be allowed to live? Even before he states what is quoted above, Severian says: condition as a prostitute. Severian is therefore in line with early Christian and Rabbinic thought that reconstructed Rahab as an ideal convert or proselyte. Severian actually ends his de Rahab historia in Paen. by using her as a prime example of the power of repentance, which, we should remember, is the main theme of the homily Paen. Severian restructures the story of Rahab to such an extent that she practically mirrors early Christian practices of μετανοία, which required belief and confession.

Rahab in Severian's anti-Judaistic rhetoric
The fact that Rahab represents the ideal penitent also has ethnic implications in Severian's interpretation of her narrative. As with many other Christian authors, especially with authentic works of Chrysostom, it is not enough for Severian to simply highlight Rahab's faith and repentance. His exegesis soon assumes a polemical tone when he contrasts the faith of Rahab, the harlot, with that of the Israelites. While Rahab acknowledged God while in the filth of Jericho's brothel, Israel, according to Severian, denied God in the desert. In this regard, he refers to Israel's worship of the golden calf. Severian states: [W]hat Israel heard -he who was surrounded by so many miracles and who was tutored by so many laws -he utterly denied, while Rahab, who was shut in a brothel, teaches them. For she says to the spies: 'We learned about all that your God did to the Egyptians' [Jos 2:9]. The Jew says: 'These are your gods who led you out of the land of Egypt' [Ex 32:4]. And the prostitute, not to the gods but to God Himself, attributes the salvation. (Paen. 330.40-47;transl. Christo 1998:99) Severian aims for a sense of irony in these unfortunate statements. Essentially, Rahab, although a gentile, acts like the true Israel through her faith in God. Israel, for Severian, is no better than the heathens in its worship of the calf. Severian refers to Exodus 32:4, emphasising that Israel was actually polytheistic: Wickedness blinds to such a degree, and it fights itself and selfdestructs. They constructed a calf and the ungrateful Israel shouts: 'These are your gods, O Israel, who led you out of the land of Egypt' [Ex 32:4]. These are the gods. He sees one calf. One is the idol that they built. Therefore, why does he say 'These are the gods'? In order to demonstrate that he is worshipping not only that which he sees but the pantheon he imagines. (Paen. 330.32-38;transl. Christo 1998:99) It is to the shame of Israel that they are 'educated' and even 'disciplined' by a heathen prostitute. The emphasis on Rahab's faith, too, functions polemically in this sense. Following Hebrews 11:31, and also expanding on it, Severian lists Rahab with figures such as Abel, Abraham, Noah and Moses, who all came to faith before the law was given. The same argument with regard to Rahab is made by the anonymous author of the Pseudo-Chrysostomic In sancta et magna parasceve 2 (Migne 1862:50:814). This anti-Judaistic rhetoric then enables Severian to set up Rahab as an image or prefigurement (εἰκών) of the church: Rahab is a prefigurement of the Church [Εἰκὼν τῆςἘκκλησίας ἡ Ῥαὰβ], which was at one time mixed up in the prostitution of the demons [τῇ πορνείᾳτῶν δαιμόνων] and which now accepts the spies of Christ, not the ones sent by Joshua the son of Nun, but the apostles who were sent by Jesus the true Savior. 'I learned', she says, 'that your God is up in heaven and down on the earth, and that apart from Him there is no God ' [Jos. 2:11]. The Jews received these things and they did not safeguard them; the Church heard these things and preserved them. Therefore, Rahab, the prefigurement of the Church, is worthy of all praise. (Paen. 330.55-331.2;transl. Christo 1998:100) Rahab's gentile origins serve as a parallel to the church's gentile origins. Severian describes the former gentile religion of the church as prostitution to demons. But as with Rahab, this was also the church's 'former status'. Of course, Severian does not make much of the fact that Rahab is admitted into Israel. We might assume here that Severian, as is the case with Chrysostom, places Rahab in a category of special Israelites (such as Abraham, Joshua, Paul and even Jesus; see Paen. 331.6-10), who set themselves against the views of the majority (for more on this issue, see Jacobs 2006:258-286).
Severian's interpretation of the Rahab narrative shows how disturbingly discourses of gender, culture and ethnicity often overlap in early Christian polemics against Jews (see also Drake 2013:1-18

Conclusion: Rahab and the rise of the penitent prostitute in early Christianity
In conclusion, we have seen in this study that Severian transforms Rahab into a penitent prostitute who becomes a teacher and even a prophet for the gentiles. As an image of the church, Rahab is set in direct opposition to Jewish identity. Yet, what we often fail to realise is that this ethnosexual rhetoric used to construct Christian identity (in opposition to Jewish identity) often resulted in some interesting culturally discursive 'debris'. One of these is the rise and popularisation of the figure of the penitent prostitute in early Christianity, for whom Rahab might have been a perfect scriptural exemplum. Then said the good bishop Nonnus, 'Tell me your name'. She answered, 'My own name was Pelagia, that my father and mother gave me: but the townsfolk of Antioch call me Margarita, because of the pearls with which they jewelled my sins. For I was the devil's jewel and his armoury'. (pp. 183-184) Pelagia's professional name was Margarita, which means 'pearl' in Greek (i.e. μαργαρίτης). Severian refers to Rahab as a 'pearl in the mud' (μαργαρίτης ἐν βορβόρῳ) in Paen. We do not need an explicit link between Rahab and the penitent prostitutes of early Christianity, however, to see the relevance of their impact in the making of early Christian culture and identity. It seems that the findings of Raveh for Rahab in Rabbinic literature concur with what we have seen here in Severian. Raveh (2014:113) refers to a homology between gender identity and group identity, in which gender is used to speak about the ethnic other. What we see from this analysis of Severian's de Rahab historia is that penitent prostitutes from the Bible, of which Rahab is not the only one, and those in the days of Severian himself, were potent symbols of Christian ethno-sexual power and identity discourses. When Severian calls Rahab an image of the church, he calls each Christian to identify with Rahab in some way or another. As Rahab taught about God in the brothel of Jericho, so too does she still function as a pedagogical example for the church. Rahab moves from the margins of scripture to the very centre of theology. By transforming Rahab the harlot into Rahab the penitent, Severian re-imagines the salvation history of the Old Testament in strategically gendered Christian terms.