Carol Lyons Meyers ’64

Alumnae Achievement Awards 1999

Biblical Scholar, Archaeologist

Carol Lyons Meyers ’64 is professor of religion and associate director of the Women's Studies Program at Duke University. With an M.A. and Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and years of archaeological fieldwork, Meyers has revealed a more complete picture of women in ancient Israelite society.

She has led major excavations in Israel, including the Sepphoris digs in Lower Galilee. Sepphoris was inhabited from the late Iron Age through the Middle Ages and is now an Israeli national park.

Meyers's analysis of ancient Hebrew and Greek versions of the book of Genesis challenges translations of the Bible that perpetuate notions of original sin and the subjugation of women. Her projects have been widely chronicled in scholarly journals, as well as in mass media such as the New York Times, Newsweek, and the Atlantic Monthly.

The list of her own publications is extensive, as is her list of honors, including Wellesley's Severinghaus Award for outstanding contributions in religion by an alumna.

Through textual scholarship, comparative anthropology, archaeology, and sociohistory, she has redefined "Everywoman Eve" as a hard-working matriarch with joint leadership of the family and home.

Carol is married to Eric Meyers, who is also a professor of religion at Duke. They have two daughters.

Reading List: Works by Carol Lyons Meyers

• Families in Ancient Israel, with L.G. Perdue, J. Blenkinsopp, and J.J. Collins, 1997.

• " Deborah," "Hagar," "Leaven," "Sheba, Queen of," 1993. Articles in the Oxford Companion to the Bible.

• Sepphoris, with E. Netzer and E. Meyers, 1992: A book about the Sepphoris excavations in Galilee, Israel.

• Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context, 1988.

• " Deuteronomy," "Ecclesiastes," "Jeremiah, Book of," "Kings, Books of,"

• "Lamentations," "Leviticus," Nehemiah, Book of," "Proverbs, Book of," "Ruth, Book of," "Song of Solomon," 1988. Articles in the World Book Encyclopedia.