Women and the Bible (BS9779T)

Content

In this unit, students will undertake an in-depth exegetical and theological study of selected Old Testament and New Testament texts featuring women. Students will engage with the historical, literary and theological contexts for these texts, and integrate perspectives from contemporary feminist approaches. This will raise and encourage evaluation of the core critical questions emerging from feminist biblical discourse. Students will also explore theological and intertextual connections between the Old and New Testaments, especially as they relate to the portrayal and theology of women and feminist issues.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Introduction to the Old Testament or Introduction to New Testament

Pedagogy

Lectures, guided readings, Socratic dialogue, flipped classroom

Indicative Bibliography

• Bach, Alice. Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 1999.
• Bauckham, Richard. Gospel Women. Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
• Fuchs, Esther. Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Hebrew Bible As a Woman. JSOTSup. 310. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
• Giles, Kevin. What the Bible Actually Teaches on Women. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018.
• Hull, Patricia K. & Jacqueline E. Lapsley (eds). After Exegesis: Feminist Biblical Theology. Essays in Honor of Carol A. Newsom. Edited by Patricia K Tull. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2015.
• McCabe, Elizabeth A. (ed.) Women in the Biblical World: A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives. Lanham: University Press of America, 2009.
• Meyers, Carol L. Rediscovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013.
• Newsom, Carol A., Sharon H. Ringe, Jacqueline Lapsley (eds.), Women’s Bible Commentary. 3rd ed.; Louisville: John Knox Press, 2012.
• Peppiatt, Lucy. Rediscovering Scripture’s Vision for Women: Fresh Perspectives on Disputed Texts. Downers Grove: IVP, 2019.
• Wray, T.J. Good Girls, Bad Girls of the New Testament: Their Enduring Lessons. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.

Assessment