Eve was created from Adam’s rib. She had a body, and a female body. But the Pentateuch gives little attention to the female body as such. Women are described as beautiful, or not (Leah). But only Deuteronomy 49:25 uses, for instance, the word “breast” ( shad ). (The word translated as “breast” in Leviticus is specifically used of animal breasts; the Hebrew is chazeh .)
The wisdom literature uses the word shad frequently. Often, it refers to breasts as sources of nourishment for infants (Job 3:12; 24:9; Psalm 22:9), but the Song of Songs, which uses the word eight times, the focus is on the beauty of a woman’s breasts (1:13; 4:5; 7:3, 7, 8; 8:1, 8, 10; see also Proverbs 5:19), as well as the rest of her body. The one who admires and desires his beloved’s breasts is not an infant seeking milk but an adult man, King Solomon, seeking to consummate his love.
The advance from Mosaic to Davidic eras, from priest to king, involves a recognition and appreciation of female bodies.
And: Is wisdom perhaps somehow linked with this interest in female bodies? Is wisdom about desire for, delight in, and exploration of, a beloved? For Bezalel and Oholiab, wisdom is skill, specifically in artistic design and construction. For Solomon, wisdom is also skill, specifically, it appears, skill in love-making.
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