Hebrews seems like unpromising material for feminist interpretation, although it is the only New Testament writing for which female authorship has been seriously posited. Mary Ann Beavis and HyeRan Kim-Cragg highlight the similarities between Hebrews and the book of Wisdom/Sophia, which share cosmological, ethical, historical, and sapiential themes, revealing that Hebrews is in fact a submerged tradition of Sophia-Wisdom. They also tackle the sacrificial Christology of Hebrews, concluding that in its ancient context, far from symbolizing suffering and abjection, sacrifice was understood as celebratory and relational. Contributions from Filipina (Maricel and Marilou Ibita), Jewish (Justin Jaron Lewis), historical (Nancy Calvert-Koyzis), and First Nations (Marie Annharte Baker) perspectives bring additional scholarly, cultural, religious, and experiential wisdom to the commentary.
From the Wisdom Commentary series
Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God's vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.
The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.
Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.
Industry Reviews
"The reader will find in this accessible and challenging commentary a wonderfully wide range of sources and approaches to the text. Of special note are background materials from Judaism and parallel poetic renderings from Aboriginal Scriptures."The Rev. Bonnie B. Thurston, Ph.D. Author of Maverick Mark: The Untamed First Gospel
"Feminist theological commentary has long shed much-needed corrective light on venerable Christian tradition from the margins, but it's currently evolving to a whole new level in the robust Wisdom Commentary series. Coming on the heels of magisterial single volume commentaries like the three editions of The Women's Bible Commentary and theFeminist Biblical Interpretation: A Compendium of Critical Commentary on the Books of the Bible and Related Literature, this new multi-volume series digs even deeper into the biblical tradition with both outstanding critical scholarship and impressive verve. Nuanced and deeply sensitive in its interaction with the scriptural text, this commentary is outstanding in every respect."Mark M. Mattison, Christian Feminism Today
"Mary Ann Beavis and HyeRan Kim-Cragg's refreshing, liberating, and empowering commentary makes the book of Hebrews come alive. Hebrews provides new insights, provocative interpretations, and imaginative ways of reading the letter to the Hebrews. It combines superb scholarship with lucid writing and will make a splendid addition to anyone's library. Hebrews is wisdom for the ages."Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Associate Professor of Theology, Earlham School of Religion
"A delightfully complex commentary on Hebrews that will be useful to anyone wishing to connect scripture with contemporary questions of justice."The Christian Century
"In the wake of this fine commentary, it is clear that the Epistle to the Hebrews-in the context of Philo and the Wisdom of Solomon-is widely welcoming and open to the articulation of the feminine in all things theological. That, however, was not nearly so clear prior to this commentary. That is the important gain of this compelling volume: we now can read the letter afresh with eyes open and alert to its sapiential, gender-challenging dimension that is voiced in a literary--historical context and that insists on being taken with theological seriousness."Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
"This volume, co-authored by Mary Ann Beavis and HyeRan Kim-Cragg, is a surprisingly good read. I say surprisingly because Hebrews is one of the densest and (supposedly) non-feminist books in the New Testament. Beavis and Kim-Cragg bring a scholarly, occupational, and ethnic diversity to an otherwise (seemingly) monolithic work."Teresa J. Hornsby, Professor, Religious Studies, Drury University
"The Wisdom Commentary series is like no other. Students of Hebrews would do well to have this book on their shelves. Readers are called to the interpretive circle to build upon and even disagree with these interpretations in a common effort to gain Wisdom."Amy L. Peeler, Wheaton College, Currents in Theology and Mission
"I found this multi-vocal feminist exposition of Hebrews as a `submerged tradition of Sophia' innovative, imaginative and an intriguing read."Gordon Campbell, Journal for the Study of the New Testament
