Women in the Biblical World

A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives, Volume 2

Edited by Elizabeth A. McCabe

Volume 2 of Women in the Biblical World: A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives encompasses the latest research in feminist biblical scholarship. New angles of interpretation and fresh perspectives regarding often overlooked biblical women will be gained from the pages of this volume. This volume focuses on such women as Tamar, Deborah, Manoah's wife, Queen Vashti, and Job's wife. Attention is also given to socio-historical backgrounds lurking behind the biblical text (such as women in Greco-Roman education and syncretism in Ephesus), demonstrating how these backgrounds directly influenced the writings about women. Some emphasis on contemporary application is also stressed regarding problematic passages, such as 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. This multi-faceted approach to women in the Bible will prove to be invigorating, refreshing, and enlightening for all to read.

University Press of America

Pages: 134 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7618-5387-9 • Paperback • July 2011 • $44.99 • (£35.00)

Women in the Biblical World

A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives, Volume 2

Paperback

Summary

Volume 2 of Women in the Biblical World: A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives encompasses the latest research in feminist biblical scholarship. New angles of interpretation and fresh perspectives regarding often overlooked biblical women will be gained from the pages of this volume. This volume focuses on such women as Tamar, Deborah, Manoah's wife, Queen Vashti, and Job's wife. Attention is also given to socio-historical backgrounds lurking behind the biblical text (such as women in Greco-Roman education and syncretism in Ephesus), demonstrating how these backgrounds directly influenced the writings about women. Some emphasis on contemporary application is also stressed regarding problematic passages, such as 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. This multi-faceted approach to women in the Bible will prove to be invigorating, refreshing, and enlightening for all to read.

Details

University Press of America

Pages: 134 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7618-5387-9 • Paperback • July 2011 • $44.99 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Education / History, Religion / Christian Living / Inspirational, Religion / Biblical Biography / Old Testament, Religion / Biblical Commentary / General, Religion / Biblical Commentary / Old Testament / General, Religion / Biblical Commentary / New Testament / General, Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / Old Testament, Religion / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / New Testament, Religion / Biblical Reference / General, Religion / Biblical Studies / Old Testament / General, Religion / Biblical Studies / New Testament / General, Religion / Christian Education / General, Religion / Christian Living / Social Issues, Religion / Christian Living / Women's Interests, Religion / Education, Religion / Spirituality, Religion / Christian Theology / General, Religion / Sexuality & Gender Studies

Author

Elizabeth A. McCabe earned an M.A. in Biblical Studies at Cincinnati Christian University with a dual concentration in Old Testament and New Testament. She is the editor of Volume 1 of Women in the Biblical World: A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives, as well as the author of An Examination of the Isis Cult with Preliminary Exploration into New Testament Studies.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword
Chapter 2 Preface
Chapter 3 Acknowledgements
Chapter 4 About the Contributors
Chapter 5 Abbreviations
Chapter 6 A Liberating Look at Tamar in Genesis 38
Chapter 7 Who Is Interpreting the Text? A Feminist Jewish Hermeneutic of Deborah
Chapter 8 Manoah's Wife: Gender Inversion in a Patriarchal Birth Narrative
Chapter 9 Defending Queen Vashti in Esther 1:10-12: What Her Attorney Might Say
Chapter 10 A Clever Twist to a Classic Tale: A Fresh Perspective on Job's Wife in Job 2:9
Chapter 11 Hat or Hair in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 or Does It Matter? What Are Christian Women to Do?
Chapter 12 Women in Greco-Roman Education and Its Implications for 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2
Chapter 13 Prayer and Syncretism in 1 Timothy

Reviews

There are few matters that, historically, have been overlooked as much as women's roles in the Bible. Volume 2 of Women in the Biblical World is therefore welcome, as its contributors bring hermeneutical and socio-historical perspectives to bear upon the biblical texts in manners that illuminate familiar stories and traditions in stimulating ways. This book will be essential reading for all interested in how the biblical text portrays women and what [this] means for contemporary society.
— Chris Keith, assistant professor of New Testament and Christian origins, Lincoln Christian University

This volume addresses head-on troublesome passages about women and investigates some of the more enigmatic female characters in the Bible, often challenging traditional readings and engaging feminist interpretations along the way. Written in conversation with a variety of interpretive perspectives, this volume will stand as engaging reading for those interested in biblical perspectives on women, and will prove itself as a useful tool for those who teach others about the place of women in the biblical world.
— Lee A. Johnson, assistant professor of religious studies, East Carolina University

The second volume of Women in the Biblical World: A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives is, once again, edited by Elizabeth A. McCabe. This volume contains eight collected essays, five of which deal with women in the Old Testament and three that address feminist issues in the New Testament....This book adopts the goals of the first volume, shedding light on the role of women in the biblical world, offering additional positive interpretations of passages that androcentric or misogynistic interpreters have used to condemn women, and enlightening readers regarding often overlooked or maligned female characters....These essays move the conversation forward in a positive manner, adding more to the necessary conversation of feminist biblical studies and shedding light on the some of the least- studied aspects of the field.

— Review of Biblical Literature