V. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible
Aschkenasy, Nehama. Woman at the Window: Biblical Tales of Oppression and Escape. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998. 181 p. $18.95.
The author, who directs the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Connecticut, finds in windows an image of the restricted place women held in the biblical world. Against the backdrop of that image, she explores how biblical women circumvented and escaped that place. The women considered include Bathsheba, Dinah, Ruth, Deborah, Michal, Hannah, and Abigail; and it is striking how well, by replacing "children" with "women", the chapter headings in this year's study would categorize these stories.
Bach, Alice, et al, eds. On the Cutting Edge: The Study of Women in the Biblical World: Essays in Honor of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza. Harrisburg, Penn.: Continuum, 2004. 288 p. $29.95.
From the publisher's catalog: "These essays in honor of Professor Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza draw on international feminist scholarship indebted to her ground-breaking achievements in the areas of biblical studies, feminist thought and social justice. The contributors represent a wide variety of backgrounds, commitments, methodologies, talents and interests. It exemplifies what Schussler Fiorenza has called 'critical collaboration': women thinking together and creating together."
Bakan, David. And They Took Themselves Wives: The Emergence of Patriarchy in Western Civilization. New York: Harper and Row, 1979. 186 p. Out of print.
Though published 25 years ago, this book is written with sensitivity to the dramatic changes already underway back then in American family life. Focusing on the Pentateuchal stories, the author uncovers mother-centered ("matrocentral") voices, especially within the stories of Sarah, that challenge the patriarchy otherwise so noticeable in the biblical texts. The author concludes that the Bible can support modern, nontraditional views of family life and the nurture of children.
Bellis, Alice Ogden. Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes: Women's Stories in the Hebrew Bible. Louisville: Westminster, 1994. 281 p. $24.95.
Prof. Bellis introduces readers to feminist interpretation of the Bible, both its methods and best-known practitioners, through analysis of stories about women in Hebrew scripture. Stories discussed that are also included in this year's spiritual growth study are: Isaac and Ishmael, the infant Moses, Jephthah's daughter, the deal-making mothers, and Elijah and the widow's son. At the time of writing, the author taught Old Testament at Howard University Divinity School.
Darr, Katheryn Pfisterer. Far More Precious than Jewels: Perspectives on Biblical Women. Louisville: Westminster Press, 1991. 223 p. $24.95.
This book fashions a synthesis of historical-critical, traditional rabbinical, and modern feminist methods of reading the Old Testament. Four chapters focus successively on Ruth, Sarah, Hagar and Esther. Within the commentaries on Sarah and Hagar are reflections on the childhoods of Isaac and Ishmael. At the time of writing, the author taught Hebrew Bible at Boston University School of Theology.
Dennis, Trevor. Sarah Laughed: Women's Voices in the Old Testament. Nashville: Abingdon, 1994. 197 p. Out of print.
Dennis offers literary analysis of the biblical texts on Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Hannah, Bathsheba and the women of Exodus 1-4, who saved Moses' life and raised him. Throughout he highlights the initiative women show. He also uncovers male bias in the telling of the women's stories, and warns against perpetuating biblical misogyny in modern times.
Dube Shomanah, Musa. Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Chalice Pr, 2000. 221 p. $32.99
The author opens with an African adage: when the white man first met the African, the white man owned the Bible and the African, the land; soon it was reversed. The author explores the implications for African women Bible readers of what is inescapably the Bible's colonialist heritage for them. A third of the book brings an African feminist reading to the story of the Canaanite woman's daughter (Matt. 15:21-28). The author, who is senior lecturer in Biblical Studies at the University of Botswana, is cited in this year's spiritual growth study.
Dube Shomonah, Musa, editor. Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible. Atlanta, Ga.: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. 254 p. $24.95
This trail-blazing book, cited in this year's spiritual growth study, gathers essays from members of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Among the topics explored are the dynamics of oral storytelling (so central to African identity), European perspectives embodied in Christian missionary translations of the Bible into African languages, and what the scholar can learn from studying the Bible with laypersons (which has implications as well for intergenerational Bible study). The editor contributes an essay on Jairus' daughter (Mk 5:22-43).
Essex, Barbara J. Bad Boys of the Bible: Exploring Men of Questionable Virtue. Cleveland: Pilgrim Pr, 2002. 122 p. $14.00 [complemented by an earlier book: Bad Girls of the Bible: Exploring Women of Questionable Virtue, Cleveland: United Church Press, 1999. 115 p., $14.00]
This book, written from a feminist viewpoint and against the grain of tendencies within patriarchal traditions to valorize the men of the Bible, explores moral compromise and failure within the lives of Adam, Cain, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Jephthah and Samson. Though of the stories retold in this year's spiritual growth study, only Cain's and Jephthah's are considered here, the issues of trouble and threat this book considers apply as well to the lives of Ishmael and Isaac, Joseph, the baby Moses, and the captive girl.
The author, a UCC minister, coordinates community life at the Pacific School of Religion
Fewell, Danna Nolan and David Gunn. Gender, Power and Promise: The Subject of the Bible's First Story. Nashville: Abingdon, 1993. 207 p. Out of print.
By the Bible's first story, the authors mean the prehistory and narrative of ancient Israel, from the Garden of Eden to the division of the ancient Israelite state (Genesis through Kings). They examine this epic from the standpoint of its more marginal characters, especially the women and children. Stories discussed include from this year's spiritual growth study: Isaac and Ishmael, the baby Moses, Jephthah's daughter, Elijah and the widow's son, and the deal-making mothers. At the time of writing, Prof. Fewell taught at Perkins School of Theology, and Prof. Gunn at Texas Christian University.
Frankel, Ellen. Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on Torah. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996. 354 p. $16.95
This unusual book (cited in this year's spiritual growth study) retells the contents of the Pentateuch from women's vantage points. Structured according to the Jewish lectionary (which divides the Pentateuch into 54 sections, called parashiot), the book fashions a dialogue between the biblical stories and many of its women characters, for example, Eve, Sarah, Hagar, and Miriam. The author draws from traditional rabbinical literature, and from her own creative imagination.
Hollyday, Joyce. Clothed with the Sun: Biblical Women, Social Justice, and Us. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1994. 241 p. $14.00
Hollyday retells the stories of biblical women so as to highlight their presence, stimulate imagination about their lives, and strengthen commitment to the values they represent. Especially relevant to this year's spiritual growth participants are the chapters on Sarah and Hagar, Jephthah's daughter, Miriam, the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:8-24), the woman with the blood flow (Mark 5:21-34), and the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:21-28).
Jeansonne, Sharon Pace. Women of Genesis: From Sarah to Potiphar's Wife. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990. 152 p. $17.00
The author, who at the time of writing taught Bible at Marquette University, interprets the stories of women in Genesis against the grain of the biblical bias towards patriarchy. Drawing on techniques of literary analysis, she examines the stories from the standpoint of characterization, dialogue, narrative perspective, ambiguities and lacunae, repetition, settings, names and epithets (this year's spiritual growth study especially notes the presence and absence of names in the Bible). The women discussed are Sarah, the daughters of Lot, Hagar, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Dinah, Tamar, and Potiphar's wife.
Lancaster, Sarah. Women and the Authority of Scripture: A Narrative Approach. Harrisburg, Pa.: Trinity Press, 2002. 198 p. $24.00
The author, who teaches at the Methodist Theological School of Ohio, and is an ordained elder in the North Texas Conference of the UMC, draws from feminist theology the idea that revelation has roots not only in the Bible text, but also in the personal experience and community of its readers. A narrative approach to revelation alerts readers to the power of stories to shape our lives, through the identifications we make with characters in them, and so to the need for critical awareness of how we choose to be influenced.
Millett, Craig Ballard. Archetypes of Women in Scripture. San Diego, Calif: LuraMedia, 1991. 168 p. Out of print.
This book draws on Jungian theory and goddess symbolism in the work of Jean Shinoda Bolen to specify seven archetypal images of women in scripture: the Father's Daughter, Sister, Wise Woman, Wife, Mother, Daughter, and Catalyst. Each of the types favors an inclination either towards independence or relationality, and carries a dark side that must be integrated. The relational figures are especially relevant to family themes: Sarah, a Mother archetype, provides a lens on Isaac and Ishmael; while Mary, a Daughter archetype, illumines Jesus' childhood. The author is a UCC minister.
Nunnally-Cox, Janice. Foremothers: Women of the Bible. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1981. 167 p. Out of print.
This is an introductory survey of stories about women in the Bible. The author cites the verses of the stories and comments briefly. The stories of Ishmael and Isaac, the Canaanite woman's daughter, the baby Moses, Jephthah's daughter, Elijah and the widow's son, and Jairus' daughter all receive attention here. Concluding chapters address the roles of women in the Pauline and patristic literature. The author, an Episcopal priest, was a hospital chaplain at the time of writing.
Russell, Letty, ed. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985. 166 p. $16.95.
Though most of these essays, collected by pioneer feminist theologian, Letty Russell, address theoretical issues in feminist biblical criticism, two of the essays specifically examine stories discussed in this year's spiritual growth study. See Sharon Ringe's "A Gentile Woman's Story" (on the Canaanite woman's daughter, Matt 15:21-28) and Cheryl Exum's "Mother in Israel," on the stories of the matriarchs, including Sarah and Hagar.
Schalberg, Jane. The Illegitimacy of Jesus: A Feminist Theological Interpretation of the Infancy Narratives. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995. 262 p. $28.50
This thoughtful book explores the thesis that, according to the earliest stories of Jesus' birth, he was born by normal earthly means, but illegitimately. The author explores the hints of the "illegitimacy tradition" in both Christian and Jewish literature and suggests the recovery of it could open up "fuller human realities and deeper theological potential"(p. 197) for the nativity narratives. This could provide some insight into how children function as lesson objects in the biblical narrative. At the time of writing, the author taught at the University of Detroit.
Schneider, Tammi J. Sarah: Mother of Nations. Harrisburg, Penn.: Continuum, 2004. 144 p. $24.95
From the publisher's catalog: "Sarah, the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac in Genesis is a central biblical character because of her role in the establishment of the people later called Israel. In recent years the image of Sarah has not fared well in scholarship where she is depicted as petty, indulgent, self-absorbed, and the oppressor of Hagar. This study examines Sarah and her role in Genesis to understand how women function in the biblical text, how the biblical writers constructed women's roles, and how this impacts a modern reading of the Hebrew Bible."
Schroer, Silvia and Sophia Bietenhard, eds. Feminist Interpretation of the Bible and the Hermeneutics of Liberation. New York: Sheffield Academic Press, 2003. 178 p. $90.00
This collection of scholarly essays hails from a conference of feminist Bible scholars convened in Switzerland to explore the ideas of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza (see below). The largely theoretical essays highlight the impact of cultural perspective on reading the Bible, including, for example, such oral traditions of story-telling as inform African and African-American cultures. It provides some tools for interpreting the story telling method of Linda Hollies in our study book. Among the international roster of contributors are Musa Dube Shomonah and Renita Weems, both cited elsewhere on this bibliography.
Schussler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. Bread Not Stone: The Challenge of Feminist Biblical Interpretation. Boston: Beacon, 1995. 223 p. $23.00
The author is one of the premier theorists of feminist Bible interpretation. Schussler-Fiorenza grapples with difficult texts and aims to disarm patriarchal currents in scripture which impact stories of both children and women, while still receiving from it the "bread" that nourishes. She illustrates feminist critique through an analysis of the New Testament household codes (Col. 3:18-4:1).
Trible, Phyllis. Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984. 128 p. $15.00
Professor Trible, professor emeritus at Union Theological Seminary, provides a model for reading violent biblical stories such as Hagar with Ishmael and Jephthah's daughter which are also featured in this year's study. By boldly confronting the violence in these stories, Trible hopes to disarm them, and render them vehicles of greater self-understanding for us, their readers.
Wainwright, Elaine M. Shall We Look for Another? A Feminist Rereading of the Matthean Jesus. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1998. 178 p. $18.00
Citing the ground-breaking work of Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza (see above), for her contributions to feminist readings of male characters in the Bible, especially Jesus, the author offers here both theoretical reflections on feminist interpretation, and focused readings of specific sections within Matthew, including Matt 15:21-28 (the Canaanite woman), featured in this year's spiritual growth study. The author teaches Bible at the Catholic Theological College in Banyo, Australia.
Weems, Renita J. Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of Women's Relationships in the Bible. San Diego: LuraMedia, 1988. 145 p. $12.95
Written with particular sensitivity to African American readers, this book interprets the stories of, among others: Hagar and Sarah, Jephthah's daughter, and the baby Moses. Though the uniting metaphor is sisterhood, children figure in several of the chapters, including the last on Lot's daughters, which evokes a meditation on mother-daughter relationships.