In this innovative and importantwork Christl M. Maier argues thatthe way Israelites in the exilic andpost-exilic periods spoke of Jerusalemas gendered space - a "female"city - helps us trace reactions to thecrisis of exile and the emergence of anew national-religious identity. Takingup the Zion tradition in Isaiah ofJerusalem, Jeremiah, Hosea, Ezekiel,and Lamentations, Maier exploresmotifs of Jerusalem as mother,daughter, bride, whore, and injuredvictim. Her interpretation of genderedmetaphors also helps us understandcontemporary political and religiousconstructions of gender and politicalpower.