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THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jesus and the Traditional Community
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jesus and the Traditional Community
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jesus and the Traditional Community (Mark 2: 1- 3:6) Four of the five stories that follow begin, as stories before them did, as stories of healings (paralytic; man with a withered hand), or calling disciples (Levi the toll collector), or events that occur on the Sabbath (plucking…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Jesus' Parables of God's Realm
The Women's Bible Commentary - Jesus' Parables of God's Realm
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jesus’ Parables of God’s Realm Chapter 4 presents a more extended example of Jesus’ teaching—teaching in parables, colourful little stories that suggest a comparison to think about, to puzzle over. The dominant comparison is of the realm of God and the life of seeds. Although the…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jerusalem's Hopeful Future
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jerusalem's Hopeful Future
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jerusalem’s Hopeful Future (Isaiah 60: 1-22; 62: 1-12; 66: 7-13) Chapters 60–62 at the center of Third Isaiah echo language and themes of Second Isaiah most closely. Chapter 60 addresses Jerusalem much as Isaiah 49 had, directing her eyes to see her children coming from afar and,…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jonah's Second Call
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jonah's Second Call
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jonah’s Second Call (Jonah 3:1-10) Jonah 3:1 echoes 1:1: “The word of the Lord came to Jonah.” As in the first scene, the Deity commands Jonah to “arise,” “go,” and “call out” (3:2, my trans.). This time, however, Jonah does not flee but immediately obeys. It seems that Jonah get…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Limited Divine Hospitality
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Limited Divine Hospitality
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Limited Divine Hospitality Not all discussions of foreign nations in Isaiah are so dispiriting. Isaiah 25 offers one of the best loved of all portraits, one which Christians often associate with eucharistic liturgies…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Money, Shame and Authority
The Women's Bible Commentary - Money, Shame and Authority
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Money, Shame and Authority Because of subtle differences between chapters 8 and 9, many scholars regard them as two separate letters, even though they concern the same topic: instructions regarding a collection of money in Paul’s Gentile congregations to be sent as a gift to the …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - New Covenant
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - New Covenant
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
New Covenant Jeremiah 31: 31-34 A fundamental aspect of that restored society is that in it everyone “from the least of them to the greatest” will live in covenant relationship. In this famous passage (31:31–34), God promises to make a new covenant with the whole of Israel…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Moses' Final Words and His Death
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Moses' Final Words and His Death
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Moses’ Final Words and His Death (Deuteronomy 32: 1- 34: 12) As noted in the introduction to this essay, the Deuteronomic redactors shaped the whole of their book as the last will and testament of Moses. After the discussion of law and covenant, redactors have appended materials …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Personified Daughter Zion
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Personified Daughter Zion
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Personified Daughter Zion (Isaiah 47: 1-15; 49: 14 – 50: 3; 51: 17 – 52: 12; 54: 1-17) Babylon’s fall is imagined throughout Isaiah 41–48, climaxing in chapter 47, where Daughter Babylon herself is taunted. Once tender and delicate, she will now sit throneless in the dust. She wi…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Partners in a Heavenly Calling
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Partners in a Heavenly Calling
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Partners in a Heavenly Calling (Hebrews 1: 1- 4: 16) The first part, 1:1–4:16, focused on Jesus as Son of God and apostle, speaker from God to human beings, uses Scripture to compare “the son” to both the angels (1:1–2:4) and Moses (3:1–6)…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Re-creation of Land and People
The Women's Bible Commentary - Re-creation of Land and People
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Re-creation of Land and people In chapters 36 and 37 God acts not just to renew Israel and the land, but to re-create them entirely. Chapter 36 has the re-creation of both people (36:26–27) and land (36:1–15, 35) in view, whereas 37:1–14 famously focuses on the rebirth of the peo…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sapphira
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sapphira
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Sapphira Sapphira’s story is perhaps the ideal example of the competing interpretative stances promoted by Luke’s narrative. Reading darkly, that is, from those without power or privilege, Sapphira’s story illustrates a divine option for a community in which there are no class di…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Restoration and the Return of the Divine
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Restoration and the Return of the Divine
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Restoration and Return of the Divine (Ezekiel 25: 1- 48: 35) The oracles against the nations in chapters 25–32 form a kind of hinge in the book, as the scathing, judgment language against Israel comes to an end after the sign-action involving the lack of mourning observance for E…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sexual Immorality and Lawsuits
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sexual Immorality and Lawsuits
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Sexual Immorality and Lawsuits (1 Corinthians 5-6) Paul closes the preceding section by offering the Corinthians a choice: “What would you prefer? Am I to come to you with a stick, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” (4:21). Underscoring that choice, the next section opens w…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sex and Spirituality
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Sex and Spirituality
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Sex and Spirituality (1 Corinthians 7: 1-40) Paul begins here to respond to the issues the Corinthians raised in their earlier letter. His obvious concern in this chapter, to present arguments that are balanced in their treatment of women and men, is striking…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2) The books of Samuel begin with the story of the birth of a son to a woman previously childless. According to the narrative, Hannah, the favored wife of Elkanah, has no children, because YHWH has “closed her womb.” Ha…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status Negotiations