Women in the Story of Jesus: The Gospels through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters eds. by Marion Ann Taylor and Heather E. Weir

Abstract

Reviewed by: Women in the Story of Jesus: The Gospels through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters eds. by Marion Ann Taylor and Heather E. Weir Nancy Calvert-Koyzis marion ann taylor and heather e. weir (eds.), Women in the Story of Jesus: The Gospels through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016). Pp. xi + 276. Paper $35. In their newest addition to their work on nineteenth-century female biblical interpreters, Marion Ann Taylor and Heather Weir define reception history as "what the text has meant and how it has been received and appropriated by diverse readers using a variety of media throughout history" (p. 3). This means that women's voices are valued in new ways, [End Page 181] from those whose assumptions about the role of women are typical for their day to those who are engaged in critical scholarship. Some of the biblical interpreters in the book approach the Bible with a more heartfelt or "womanly" approach that was based on common assumptions about woman's "nature" (p. 11) as opposed to what was viewed as a "manly," purely rational approach (p. 10), although some female interpreters successfully mixed the two (p. 12). Taylor and Weir divide readings from these interpreters into three major sections. The first, "Hearts and Hands: Woman's Spirituality," comprises eight interpreters who comment on Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary and Martha of Bethany. Clara Lucas Balfour, who was the mother of six children, writes about Mary the mother of Jesus from the standpoint of her humility but, perhaps more tellingly, from the standpoint of her strength in the face of maternal sorrow that "would penetrate the inmost recesses of her spirit" (p. 35). Elizabeth Stuart Phelps maintains that, although the writers, commentators, translators, and preachers of the Gospels had all been men, only women can really understand Mary's thoughts and feelings when, at the visit of Gabriel, "she is left to meet the consequences of the will of God upon her life" (p. 45). Both Balfour (p. 29) and Elizabeth Rundle Charles see Mary as providing redemption (pp. 74-75) from Eve's initiation of the Fall. When it comes to Mary and Martha, all the authors note the contrast between the two sisters and work to redeem Martha's busy domestic concerns because they identified with her (p. 78). For Esther Copley, Martha's downfall was carrying her hospitality to excess in "unnecessary pomp and splendor" (p. 81), while for Balfour, Martha's stress was due to a "very numerous assembly" (p. 85). Interestingly, while they praise Mary for her ministrations to Jesus with ointment (see Etty Woosnam, p. 103), only one mentions the possible connection between her and the woman who anoints Jesus in Luke 7:36-39 (p. 109), who is said to be a "sinner" in Luke 7:36-39. Each of the sections that address particular biblical women contains helpful study questions to assist readers in analyzing the material. In the second major section, "Unsealed Lips: Women Preaching," thirteen interpreters consider Anna in the temple, the woman at the well, and Herodias and Salome. The section contains both examples of women's sermons and their arguments for the ability and authority of women to preach. Due to space limits, a few examples will suffice. Both Elizabeth Baxter (p. 130) and Elizabeth Wilson (p. 132) believe Anna's preaching in the temple provides an example and support for female preachers. As for the Samaritan woman, Balfour comments on how her intelligence was the reason for the favorable response to her evangelism (pp. 142-43). Because the example of the Samaritan's woman's preaching simply pointed to Jesus, Baxter believed that women of her time could also do the same especially because Jesus "rejoiced to see her testimony" (p. 147). Phoebe Palmer believed Christian men had ignorantly kept women "in bondage" by "sealing the lips" that "God had commanded to speak" and were guilty before the "Head of the church" because they would not consider the question of women preaching (pp. 150-51). In the third section, "Unveiled Eyes: Women and the Biblical Text," fifteen interpreters write about...