Book Note | The Bible and Feminism: Remapping the Field

Yvonne Sherwood, editor, with Anna Fisk. The Bible and Feminism: Remapping the Field. New York: Oxford, 2017.

Biblical Studies and feminist criticism, both internally and historically complicated disciplines, have often shared a fraught relationship. Both the subtitle and introduction of The Bible and Feminism make explicit the book’s ambitious aim: to reconfigure how these fields intersect. Yvonne Sherwood’s introduction begins with the observation that, “In the years before, it was possible – though never very plausible – for some colleagues and students to argue that feminist criticism was now marginal or superfluous as the main battles had been won. It is impossible to make these arguments now” (p.1) Sherwood then outlines the cultural and political shifts of the last few years, in which feminist movements remain as necessary as ever. Like so many feminist studies of biblical literature, therefore, this volume speaks about gender politics in the ancient world with an eye to modern discourses. As the terrain of the field shifts, so must our maps.

At over 700 pages and 36 chapters with an introduction, this book defies summary. The first section, “Prophets and Revolutionaries,” focuses on a variety of figures in feminist biblical scholarship (including characters like Mary or Eve and interpreters like Julia Kristeva or Sor Juana). The second section, “An Unconventional Tour of the Biblical Canon,” includes commentary on familiar topics in feminist scholarship on the Bible (like Eve, the adulterous woman in John 7, or the affirmation that “both male and female” [Genesis 1:26] are made in the image of God) and unfamiliar ones (like queer readings of Moses and Eglon). Lastly, the third section, “Offpage,” looks beyond the ways biblical texts are read to consider their performance and application. Abstracts of each essay are also available on Oxford Scholarship Online; they are written by the author of each chapter, so in this book note, I will focus on a few essays that stood out to me as representative of a very strong set of contributions.

A number of the chapters advocate different approaches or methods in feminist biblical studies, in particular emphasizing what is traditionally called “reception history.” The authors move beyond traditional examples from Western art and medieval saints, focusing rather on literature, pop culture, manifestos, and more. In her chapter on Toni Morrison’s novels, for example, Ilana Pardes writes,

Generations of readers have thought of the Bible through Dante, Milton, and Melville and yet literary exegesis has rarely been seen as an integral part of the exegetical history of this founding text. Whereas traditional Judeo-Christian commentary (be it the Midrash or St. Bernard’s sermons) and biblical scholarship have held prominent positions in the exegetical canon, literature has been regarded, more often than not, as a separate realm, admirable in its aesthetic power but irrelevant for textual analysis, providing no guidance in deciphering the unformulated meanings of scriptural texts and the complex links between them…I would go so far as to suggest that the hermeneutic projects of writers are vital to the understanding of the Bible as well as to the exploration of its cultural roles in diverse historical settings (p.135).

In addition to Pardes’ chapter, contributions by Jorunn Okland, Jennifer Leader, Pamela Kirk Rappaport, Sara Moslener and others engage with various kinds of literary exegesis, touching upon such work as the manifesto of a right-wing murderer, the writings of Emily Dickinson, and Bibles published to promote evangelical purity culture.

The creativity of this volume is also seen in the diverse academic disciplines of its contributors. In addition to biblical scholars, the editors have enlisted the expertise of scholars trained in feminist theory and related disciplines. For example, the poet Alicia Ostriker contributed the chapter “The Wandering Jewess: Feminism Seeks the Shekhinah.” This partly autobiographical chapter employs midrash, poetic rewritings of biblical texts, and biblical history to wrestle with topics that would work well in a biblical studies classroom. Her wide-ranging essay includes an argument for theological shifts that go beyond the bounds of traditional biblical scholarship:

Lives lacking a spiritual dimension are shallow lives; something essential is missing from them. We know also that the God of male monotheism is an idol more permanently dangerous than any human dictator. I trust that in today’s political climate this statement needs no proving. If we who hope for a less-self-destroying planet do not invent/imagine/create a somewhat more benign divinity, who will? And if not now, when? (p.196)

Essays from Anna Fisk on Mary Magdalene and Yvonne Sherwood on motherhood and queerness also integrate autobiography with biblical scholarship. Fisk reads her own experience of mourning a friend’s death alongside Jane Schaberg’s work on Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus. Sherwood discusses her own experience in family court with reference to stories of biblical mothers and fathers, which are often queerer than readers expect (in particular, Mary of Nazareth).

Other contributions include meta-analyses of the field from scholars such as Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Her essay warns feminist biblical scholars to beware the dangers of neo-liberalism. She focuses on the subtitle of the book when she writes, “If the field needs remapping we must ask: Who mapped the field in the first place and still controls the ‘copyright’ to this work? Who has the ‘power’ to map the field anew and to determine its remapping?” (p.183) In addition to discussing the tensions and pitfalls within the field of feminist biblical studies, she also focuses on the demands of the academy and academic publishing, including the emphasis on profit margins. Moreover, she interrogates the intellectual framework behind copyright laws, intellectual property, and “self-plagiarism.”

Overall, this book combines tightly focused contributions with essays that apply a wide-angle lens to the field. By offering readers insights from multiple perspectives, this volume gestures toward under-explored territory in biblical studies. It is a relatively expensive and expansive work, however, so will likely be encountered in a piecemeal way by most readers. For those with the time, energy, and access, I recommend engaging with the whole work. Academic libraries should certainly invest in this volume to make it more widely available. This book serves as an invaluable resource for orienting graduate students to the field as well as a guide for experienced scholars and interested lay readers. These essays, easily accessible on Oxford Scholarship Online through many academic libraries, would also enrich course syllabi and classroom discussion.

Kathleen Gallagher Elkins, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Theology & Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. Mary, Mother of Martyrs: How Motherhood Became Self-Sacrifice in Early Christianity (FSR Books, 2018) is her first book. She does additional research in childhood studies, trauma theory, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.