Womanist Midrash, Volume 2: A Reintroduction to the Women of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings

by Wilda C. Gafney

Womanist Midrash, Volume 2, continues Wilda Gafney’s unique and imaginative work of in-depth explorations of the well- and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures.


This volume focuses on women and girls in Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. As in her successful and widely read first volume, Gafney uses her own translations and offers midrashic interpretations of the biblical text rooted in the African American preaching and rabbinic traditions to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Grounded in rigorous scholarship, this volume employs solid womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Afro-Asiatic world, expanding conversations of and about biblical interpretation.

Genres: Religion

278 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2024

About the author

The Rev. Wil Gafney, Ph.D. is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the author of Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to Women of the Torah and of the Throne, a commentary on Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah; Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel; and co-editor of The Peoples’ Bible and The Peoples’ Companion to the Bible. The first two volumes of her Women’s Lectionary are due this spring. She is an Episcopal priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and licensed in the Diocese of Fort Worth, and a former Army chaplain and congregational pastor in the AME Zion Church. A former member of the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the Germantown Jewish Center in Philadelphia, she has co-taught courses with and for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Seminary in Wyncote, PA.

Reviews

[Catherine McNiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pre-ordered this book years ago, literally the day I discovered it existed. How has no one read this yet??

Update: this book is phenomenal as I knew it must be. I didn't start from the beginning, but the first page that I read had me in tears. Profound and beautiful truth telling.

[Sara Pantazes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource book for Biblical scholars. Dr. Gafney pulls out every woman mentioned, both named and unnamed, in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, summarizes their stories, pulling in extra analysis through the Hebrew words and details of life in these times. At the end of each story, she adds her own womanist interpretation and shares sacred imaginings about these women. Fantastic work that I'm glad exists in the world for the church to learn from.

[Kate Mumey · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️ so excited to use this in my seminary independent study! perfect timing and incredible work!

[Ya Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again I’m surprised at how fun it is to read about the women in these stories.