Introducing the Women's Hebrew Bible

Description

This book introduces readers to the diverse field of feminist studies on the Hebrew Bible. Not organized as a traditional introduction to the "Old Testament," the manuscript does not follow a biblical book-by-book structure, but provides an introductory survey of the history and issues as they relate to feminist readings and readers of the Hebrew Bible. Accordingly, feminist scholars of the Bible, their career struggles, and biblical texts, characters, and themes stand in the forefront of this introduction. The volume is biased toward "Western" feminist scholarship because of the historical developments of feminist scholarship in general and biblical studies in particular. Yet, the chapters also include African, Asian, and Latin American perspectives on feminist studies of the Hebrew Bible. In short, the book offers an overview on the historical, social, and academic developments of reading the Hebrew Bible as the "Women's Hebrew Bible."

Susanne Scholz is Professor of Old Testament at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, USA. She holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. Her research interrogates past and present cultural-political discourses on the Hebrew Bible, with an emphasis on feminist/gendered hermeneutics. She can be reached at susanne-scholz.com.

"I simply love this book. This book offers precisely those elements that one needs in order to fall in love with women's readings of the Hebrew Bible. It first takes the reader on a historical train ride visiting the major stops of feminist approaches to the Hebrew Bible. Then, the readers' horizon in expanded by a critical reading of the life stories of four true great ladies: Phyllis Trible, Athalya Brenner, Marie-Theres Wacker, and Elsa Tamez, and how and why they became epigones of Hebrew Bible feminist scholarship. The book then dives into all the sorts of methodologies that Feminists have been using. In the fourth chapter, the author uses "rape stories" to exemplify the hermeneutical issues that feminists have to deal with. The author then takes on the post-modern and post-colonial readings in order to truly contextualize feminist interpretations of the Hebrew Bible. In the last chapter, the author reflects on the future of the feminist approaches of the Hebrew Bible and pleads for creative readings of Biblical texts that connect the Biblical texts with the socio-political, academic, and religious developments in the world. Truly, there are not many books that combine history of methods and research with true life stories of great persons and their impact on scholarship, and that push biblical scholars to go beyond the critical readings and connect the interpretations with the world we live in."- Kristin De Troyer, Claremont Graduate University, USA -- Kristin De Troyer, Claremont Graduate University "In Introducing the Women's Hebrew Bible Susanne Scholz's sensitivity to the diversity in feminist biblical scholarship is very refreshing and encouraging. She truly recognizes that contributions from non-western contexts are significant in fostering the continual relevance of feminist approaches to the reading of the Hebrew Bible. The book is not just for beginners but is an essential read for seasoned biblical interpreters." - Dora Rudo Mbuwayesango, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Hood Theological Seminary -- Dora Rudo Mbuwayesango, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Hood Theological Seminary "Susanne Scholz, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, has written an excellent introduction to women's bible scholarship, with specific regard to the Hebrew Bible...Susanne Scholz leaves the reader with several powerful impressions: first, that it should be impossible for any thinking person to attempt to understand the Hebrew Bible without serious consideration of its feminist critique; second, that the women she highlights and others have courageously shone light on aspects of texts that male scholars have ignored for centuries; and third, that feminist bible scholarship has a way of breathing new life and relevance into ancient texts thus giving them a renewed meaning for the 21st century. This is a book for scholars and lay people alike, and an easy but eloquent introduction to a vibrant and valuable field." - Rabbi Dr. Charles H Middleburgh "Susanne Scholz blends the academic and the personal in a succinct, erudite, even-handed but outspoken, methodologically sound Introduction to biblical Feminisms. In so doing, she pays homage to "classical" biblical scholarship as well as helps to usher in a new style of academic scholarship, in which gender and other social considerations would extend not only to biblical female characters, but also to the life concerns of contemporary female/feminist readers and beyond. I was one of those readers Scholz interviewed for her book-and am proud to have been included in it. The case studies are exemplary. In short, this book manages not only to describe the past of feminist biblical scholarships, but also to point to their future." - Athalya Brenner, Professor of Hebrew Bible, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands -- Athalya Brenner "Practical, stimulating, highly intellectual, and accessible for every scholar interest in feminist studies in the Hebrew Bible."- Yeong Mee Lee, Professor of Old Testament, Hanshin Graduate School of Theology, Korea "This book is a fine contribution to the series to which it belongs." -The Bible in Review -- Dianne Bergant "For a wide-ranging introduction to the history, major figures, and key issues with regard to feminist interpretation of the HB, Susanne Scholz's book is an excellent resource...The volume succeeds well in the goal Scholz sets for herself, to offer newcomers an entry point to explore the riches of this rapidly growing field. I was particularly impressed by the chapter narrating the respective journeys of key scholars in the field. Even those familiar with the work of these scholars may not have always been aware of their unique stories as the challenges they faced in becoming the scholars they are today." -L. Juliana Claassens, Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, October 2008 -- L. Juliana Claassens "This book is a very readable introductory survey of the entire field of feminist biblical studies-the history, the participants, the methods, and the main topics addressed by feminist biblical scholars. I heartily recommend it to the uninitiated. It opens the field, and it changes perceptions. No one will be able to see these stories quite the same way again." -Lisbeth S. Fried, Hebrew Studies, November 2008 "This book is meant as an 'appetizer inviting readers' especially the next generation 'to join the unfolding conversations in feminist biblical studies. The appetizer is tasty indeed....Scholz has produced a book that will not only be valuable in biblical and feminist studies but is a worthy resource for a broader readership, both scholarly and more generally, to learn more about this field...This book does well in capturing something of the diversity and plurality in feminist biblical studies... Scholz's book is meant rather to be an invitation, particularly to new generations, to engage in and continue the discussions." - The Bible and Critical Theory -- Michael Carden "This valuable introduction to feminist scholarship calls for a third generation of feminist scholars to tackle issues of oppression on a global scale." Expository Times, December 2009 "Studying the lives of biblical women from an entirely feminist perspective may be a challenging endeavor. Susanne Scholz, a German-born professor of Religious Studies at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, introduces the reader to various aspects of that school of thought in this book, thirteenth in the Introductions in Feminist Theology series... This readable and thought provoking text will interest feminist groups."-Congregational Libraries Today -- Evelyn Pockrass "This is an engaging book which introduces the reader to various dimensions of feminist study of the Holy Bible." 32.5 (2008) -- J.E. Tollington * Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *