This insightful and thought-provoking study aligns with other NT studies that examine the interactions between the majority, low-status, first-century, ‘common folks’ and NT texts. Yet Zhenya Gurina-Rodriguez presses into largely unexamined territory: how might the lowest of the low, beggars who pervaded the Roman world, engage Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount? Employing several critical methods to construct a ‘beggars-centric hermeneutic,’ and recognizing the diverse experiences of beggars, she reads the Sermon with three beggars – Georgios, Elpida, and Kopreias. The result is an intriguing, multivalent, and compelling study.
— Warren Carter, Phillips Theological Seminary
This is a project of historical imagination, a proposal for how first-century beggars might have heard and responded to passages from the Sermon on the Mount. Inspired by the author’s own concern about modern day inequities and how they affect the most vulnerable among us, the book prompts readers to consider how Jesus’ most well-known teachings intersect with both ancient and modern economic realities.
— Shelly Matthews, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University
Zhenya Gurina-Rodriguez’s carefully constructed exposé into the lives of ancient beggars is a must-read for anyone interested in the daily realities of poverty in the Roman world. Her creation of a beggars-centric hermeneutic and her willingness to utilize historical imagination produce a fresh perspective on Matthew. Perhaps the most stimulating discussion is her profound attention to the ways in which Gospel teachings alienate beggars and others with little to no financial means.
— Anna M. V. Bowden, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary