Daughters of Sodom, Daughters of Zion, Daughters of Mary: Maternal Lament, Inhospitality, and Divine Reversal in Ezekiel 16, Lamentations, and Luke 1

This article traces a maternal thread running through the canon's theology of height, hubris, and divine reversal. Building on the trilogy of papers examining giants, Babel, Babylon, Sodom, and David, it explores how maternal voices function as powerful sites of critique, lament, and hope. In Ezekiel 16, Jerusalem is portrayed as a daughter who surpasses the inhospitality and moral "height" of her "sister" Sodom. Lamentations gives voice to Daughter Zion's raw grief and protest in the aftermath of destruction. Luke's Magnificat then presents Mary as the daughter who embodies the long-awaited reversal: the God who brings down the mighty and lifts up the lowly. By reading these maternal figures together, the study demonstrates that the canon's theology of reversal is not only Davidic but profoundly maternal. Maternal lament becomes a privileged site of prophetic resistance and eschatological hope. This reading offers rich resources for transdiasporic lament and Black Maternal Theology in contexts of ongoing empire and trauma.

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Publication Details

Journal
Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
Published
2026-05-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17613/b6nd6-3rg58
Primary Topic
Development, Ethics, and Society
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Daughters of Sodom, Daughters of Zion, Daughters of Mary: Maternal Lament, Inhospitality, and Divine Reversal in Ezekiel 16, Lamentations, and Luke 1

Edward Chard, Hon. Lect., Mark
Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
Development, Ethics, and Society
article

Daughters of Sodom, Daughters of Zion, Daughters of Mary: Maternal Lament, Inhospitality, and Divine Reversal in Ezekiel 16, Lamentations, and Luke 1

Edward Chard, Hon. Lect., Mark
article en

Abstract

This article traces a maternal thread running through the canon's theology of height, hubris, and divine reversal. Building on the trilogy of papers examining giants, Babel, Babylon, Sodom, and David, it explores how maternal voices function as powerful sites of critique, lament, and hope. In Ezekiel 16, Jerusalem is portrayed as a daughter who surpasses the inhospitality and moral "height" of her "sister" Sodom. Lamentations gives voice to Daughter Zion's raw grief and protest in the aftermath of destruction. Luke's Magnificat then presents Mary as the daughter who embodies the long-awaited reversal: the God who brings down the mighty and lifts up the lowly. By reading these maternal figures together, the study demonstrates that the canon's theology of reversal is not only Davidic but profoundly maternal. Maternal lament becomes a privileged site of prophetic resistance and eschatological hope. This reading offers rich resources for transdiasporic lament and Black Maternal Theology in contexts of ongoing empire and trauma.

Knowledge Commons (Lakehead University)
Biblical Theological Seminary (US)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Development, Ethics, and Society
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