Marion Ann Taylor

Joy A. Schroeder

Women Biblical Interpreters Through the Centuries

Voices Long Silenced

Hundreds of women studied and interpreted the Bible between the years 100–2000 CE, but their stories have remained largely untold. In this book, Schroeder and Taylor introduce readers to the notable contributions of female commentators through the centuries. They unearth fascinating accounts of Jewish and Christian women from diverse communities—rabbinic experts, nuns, mothers, mystics, preachers, teachers, suffragists, and household managers—who interpreted Scripture through their writings. This book recounts the struggles and achievements of women who gained access to education and biblical texts. It tells the story of how their interpretive writings were preserved or, all too often, lost. It also explores how, in many cases, women interpreted Scripture differently from the men of their times. Consequently, Voices Long Silenced makes an important, new contribution to biblical reception history. This book focuses on women's written words and briefly comments on women’s interpretation in media, such as music, visual arts, and textile arts. It includes short, representative excerpts from diverse women’s own writings that demonstrate noteworthy engagement with Scripture. Voices Long Silencedcalls on scholars and religious communities to recognize the contributions of women, past and present, who interpreted Scripture, preached, taught, and exercised a wide variety of ministries in churches and synagogues.

Women Biblical Interpreters through the Centuries

In this volume on Jeremiah, part of the Bible in Medieval Tradition series, Joy Schroeder provides substantial excerpts from seven noteworthy biblical interpreters who commented on Jeremiah between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. Her translations of these texts are the first-ever English renderings of medieval commentaries on Jeremiah. After surveying early and medieval Christian authors and their interpretive approaches, Schroeder offers original translations of medieval writings on twenty-four chapters of Jeremiah. In addition to her clear, readable translations of works by such authors as Thomas Aquinas, Nicholas of Lyra, and Denis the Carthusian, Schroeder provides an introduction to each author, locating him within his historical and theological context. The well-chosen selections in this masterful volume together illustrate the rich diversity of medieval approaches to biblical interpretations. Book jacket.

The Book of Jeremiah

Joy A. Schroeder offers the first in-depth exploration of the biblical story of Deborah, an authoritative judge, prophet, and war leader. For centuries, Deborah's story has challenged readers' traditional assumptions about the place of women in society. Schroeder shows how Deborah's story has fueled gender debates throughout history. An examination of the prophetess's journey through nearly two thousand years of Jewish and Christian interpretation reveals how the biblical account of Deborah was deployed against women, for women, and by women who aspired to leadership roles in religious communities and society. Numerous women-and men who supported women's aspirations to leadership-used Deborah's narrative to justify female claims to political and religious authority. Opponents to women's public leadership endeavored to define Deborah's role as "private" or argued that she was a divinely authorized exception, not to be emulated by future generations of women. Deborah's Daughters provides crucial new insight into the history of women in Judaism and Christianity, and into women's past and present roles in the church, synagogue, and society.

Joy A. Schroeder

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