Recent Feminist Approaches to Interpreting the New Testament

Abstract

This article provides an overview of feminist approaches to the New Testament from the period of 2000 to early 2021. Using a broad definition of ‘feminist’ (to include virtually any work focused primarily on women or female issues presented in the biblical text) and a more stringent definition of ‘New Testament’ (including only those texts that are a part of the New Testament canon, but not larger socio-historical studies or extracanonical literature), the article offers an overview of trends in feminist scholarship on the Gospels and Acts, the Pauline epistles, the General Epistles and Hebrews, and Revelation, noting that this body of scholarship may be characterized as being diverse, collaborative, and centered on female characters within the New Testament texts. With open vistas for exploration remaining, the article forecasts a rich future for feminist approaches to the New Testament.