Wisdom's Feast

An Invitation to Feminist Interpretation of the Scriptures

Barbara E. Reid

• Verlag: Eerdmans
• Jahr: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781467445436
• Thema: Theologie & Religion
• Thema: Bibelkritik & -auslegung

Woman Wisdom in Proverbs 9 invites any who want to learn her ways to come and eat at her table—an image for the rich and satisfying teaching that she offers. In this book Barbara Reid invites readers to this feast, drawing on women's wisdom to offer fresh new interpretations of biblical texts in a way that promotes equal dignity and value for women and men alike. Reid begins by presenting feminist methods of biblical interpretation and explaining why they are important, giving attention not only to gender perspectives but also to race, class, and culture as determinative factors in how one understands the biblical text. She then presents fresh, readable feminist interpretations of selected Old and New Testament texts. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions for group or personal use. Making feminist interpretation of Scripture understandable, compelling, and usable, Wisdom's Feast will be valuable to any readers hungry to learn from the rich insights of feminist biblical scholars.

Chapter 1

Creation of the World and of Humankind

God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

Gen 1:27–28

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken.”

Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Gen 2:18–25

Traditional Readings of the Creation Stories

The creation stories in Genesis 1–3 are often used to argue for women’s inferiority and for their domination by men. Traditional readings see the creation of man as the paradigm, with woman created as an afterthought. Created second is often interpreted as being second best and inferior. For the woman to be created from the man’s rib is seen as her deriving from the man, and therefore subordinate to him. The story of the entrance of sin into the world in Genesis 3 is often read as saying that woman is a temptress, the weaker sex, who capitulates first and thus is to be ruled over by man according to divine decree. We will take up Genesis 3 in the next chapter. In this chapter we study Genesis 1 and 2 and will see that, when read from a feminist perspective, these chapters tell of God’s creation of woman as equally good and equally made in God’s image, not to be ruled over by man but to be in harmonious partnership with one another to care for creation and to participate in God’s ongoing creative activity.

Myth of Origins, Not Historic Event

First, it is important to realize that Genesis 1–3 does not describe actual historical events; rather, these chapters relate myths of origins. “Myth” does not mean that it is not true. On the contrary, myth expresses the truth of what we know to be and tells in story form how it came to be so. Myths bind people together at the deepest level, giving meaning to why things are the way they are. They help societies to know where they fit in the scheme of things and how to order their lives in community.

Every culture has its myths of origins. It is startling how many of the features of ancient Israel’s creation stories are parallel to those in other ancient Mesopotamian creation accounts. There are, however, significant differences. While Babylonian creation myths also tell of humanity being made from clay and of human beings created in pairs, a distinct difference in Israel’s creation stories is that human beings are not made to be slaves of the gods, but rather are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27) and share in God’s creative activity.

Two Creation Accounts

It is easy to see that there are two different accounts of creation in Genesis 1 and 2, written in two very different styles, by two different authors. The first account, in Genesis 1:1–2:4a, is rhythmic and liturgical in nature, describing creation as a seven-­day process, beginning with the creation of light and culminating with the creation of humankind on the sixth day, after which God takes a sabbath day to delight in it all. The second account, in Genesis 2:4b–25, begins with the creation of a human being, then describes how God fashions the plant and animal world, culminating in the creation of woman to be companion to the man. In the first account, God is called Elohim and seems distant from the creatures, creating by divine pronouncement. In the second, God is called Yahweh and is described in human terms, walking and talking with human beings. Most biblical scholars believe that the second account is the older of the two.

In 1878 Julius Wellhausen proposed that there were four sources—dubbed J, E, D, and P—in the Pentateuch, a hypothesis that has had wide acceptance by biblical scholars. In recent years, however, questions have been raised about the number of sources and their dating. Wellhausen thought that the “J” source, which uses the name Yahweh for God (called “J,” from the German spelling Jahweh), dated to the ninth or tenth century BCE, originating in Judah, the southern part of Israel, and glorifying the monarchy created by David and Solomon. The “E” source calls God “Elohim” and features divine communications through dreams and angels. The “D” source pertains to the book of Deuteronomy and deals primarily with the covenant. The “P” (i.e., Priestly) source often uses “El Shaddai,” usually translated “God Almighty,” in the book of Genesis. This tradition is thought to have originated in Judah, with a school of priests who gathered together Israel’s cultic and legal traditions during or shortly after the time of the Babylonian exile (597–538 BCE). This school is also thought to be responsible for bringing the various sources together to edit them into the Pentateuch after the exile.

The two sources thought to lie behind Genesis 1–3 are J and P. While today some scholars date the J source much closer to P, the important thing to know is that there are two different explanations at work in Genesis 1–3 for how creation came about and what God’s intent is for humanity within creation. We will look first at Genesis 1:1–2:4a, from the P source, and then at Genesis 2:4b–25, from the J source.

Genesis 1:1–2:4a

The first creation story is majestic and rhythmic, emphasizing God’s mastery over chaos, as God creates order and sets boundaries, placing all in right relation. From a “formless void” and a “face of the deep” covered in darkness, God creates a world in which light is separated from darkness, day from night, sky from the waters below, sea from dry land, sun from moon, with the whole earth teeming with vegetation and animals. After each new act, there is a refrain, “And God saw that it was (very) good” (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

The Goodness of Creation Two very important theological affirmations emerge from this story. One is that the world and everything that God created is good. In fact, at the end of the sixth day, as God surveys everything that has been made, the final declaration is, “Indeed, it was very good” (v. 31). There is nothing tha...

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. Creation of the World and of Humankind
• 2. The Entry of Sin into the World and Its Aftermath
• 3. Parables of Female Godliness
• 4. Mary: Prophet of a New Creation
• 5. Women Healed and Healing
• 6. Deacon Phoebe and Other Women Ministers
• 7. Mary Magdalene, Junia, and Other Apostles
• 8. Pitting Mary against Martha: Conflicts over Women’s Roles
• 9. From Death to New Life
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Subject and Name Index
• Scripture Index