Under Her Wings: Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament

by Jennifer Houston McNeel

A comprehensive study of motherhood in the New Testament
 
Mothers and motherhood-related themes are present throughout the New Testament, yet they have not received sufficient attention from biblical scholars. Under Her Wings fills this gap by exploring the literary, historical, feminist, and theological significance of mothers and motherhood in the New Testament.
 
Balancing critical scholarship with sensitivity to the importance of the Bible, author Jennifer Houston McNeel analyzes the stories of mothers in the Gospels and Acts, mothers referred to in New Testament letters and Revelation, and metaphorical uses of motherhood throughout the New Testament. Following this comprehensive survey, she draws together the motherhood-related themes that have been explored throughout the book—new life, suffering, identity, caregiving, and influence—and offers reflections on why the study of mothers in the New Testament matters.
 
Readers of Under Her Wings will come away with a clearer understanding of what motherhood signifies in the New Testament, and of the meanings and themes that are being communicated when mothers appear in the text. They will also learn how the historical realities of women in the ancient world should inform our reading of mothers as biblical characters and maternal metaphors. Comprehensive and insightful, this book is a valuable resource for seminarians, scholars, and readers interested in the intersection of biblical studies and motherhood.

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2025

About the author

Adjunct Assistant Professor in Biblical Greek at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

Reviews

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bible is androcentric. Most of the primary characters are male, and patriarchy is prominent. Nevertheless, there are enough passages that speak of women or use feminine imagery to allow us the opportunity to broaden our picture of God and the community of faith. When it comes to motherhood in the New Testament, most stories involving actual mothers are found in the Gospels. In contrast, more metaphorical imagery is found in the Gospels and the remainder of the New Testament. It is good to be reminded with some regularity of this truth.

Jennifer Houston McNeel provides us with an insightful look at the role mothers and motherhood play in the New Testament in her book "Under Her Wings: Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament." McNeel is a faculty member at St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Her scholarly work has been focused on the social world of the New Testament, with special interest in the role of women in the New Testament. She writes on this topic in part because the Bible tends to be androcentric, so we need to look deeper at what is to be found there regarding motherhood. She also engages in this scholarly work because she is, herself, a mother. While this book isn't devotional or autobiographical, that does not mean that the fact of her being a mother doesn't mean her personal experience doesn't color her approaches. Thus, this is a book rooted in both personal and academic interests. She also notes that while mothers play important roles in the biblical story, they are largely absent from biblical studies. The fact that she has taken up this task is good news to the reader of scripture who desires a fuller picture.

The focus of "Under Her Wings" is on mothers and motherhood in the New Testament. However, NcNeel recognizes that you can't study the role of mothers and motherhood in the New Testament without taking stock of the mothers who inhabit the Old Testament as well as the ways mothers are understood in the Greco-Roman World. Thus, the first chapter is titled "New Testament Motherhood in Context." With that in mind, she offers brief descriptions of mothers in the Old Testament and in the Greco-Roman world. She doesn't go into depth, but she reminds us that there is a larger context in which this conversation takes place.

Having set the context, McNeel begins her journey through the New Testament, beginning with the "Women of Matthew's Birth Narrative," in Chapter 2, which is titled "Unconventional Motherhood. That word unconventional is important because it speaks to the four mothers who are present in the genealogy as well as Mary's own experience that includes both connection and suffering. From Matthew's birth narrative, we turn in chapter 3, which is titled "Connected Mothers." This chapter focuses on "Mary and Elizabeth in Luke's Birth Narrative." While these two mothers are the focus, NcNeel also connects Mary with Hannah, including their prayers, which, though different, have connections. In addition, McNeel discusses Mary's labor and delivery, her mindfulness, and suffering. She also notes that Mary would have been Jesus' primary teacher. She writes that "No other New Testament Gospel gives as much attention to women and motherhood at the beginning of the story as Luke does" (p. 43). That is an important point to remember. Chapter 4 focuses on "The Mother of Jesus in the Gospel of John," in a chapter titled "Mothering a Grown-up Messiah." This chapter reminds us that John may not have a birth narrative, but his mother plays an important role in the story, beginning with the wedding at Cana and then at the foot of the cross at the end of the story. Thus, his mother appears at important moments in the story.

When we turn to chapter 5, the focus changes from Mary to other mothers and the role of motherhood as found in the miracle stories of the Synoptic Gospels. This chapter is titled "Mothers in Crisis" and begins with the story of the healing of Simon's Mother-in-law, which appears in all three synoptic gospels. She raises important questions, including why Peter's mother-in-law was present, questions that help us better understand the role that families play in the lives of women. The other mothers include the largely undefined mother of Jairus' daughter, the Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman and her sick daughter, who is healed through this encounter, along with the widow of Nain, whose son Jesus raised from the dead in Luke.

Not all of the stories are positive. So in a chapter titled "Bad Mothers?" McNeel lifts up the ambivalent words found in the synoptic gospels about family. So we have the stories about Jesus' own family, as well as the mother of the man born blind in John, who ignores her son. Then there is the mother of James and John, who demands that Jesus favor her sons. We can't forget Herodias and what she put her daughter through. Thus, we have portrayals of mothers that range from the ambiguous to the evil.

What we've read so far lifts up in one way or another the role of actual mothers, but then there are metaphorical images of motherhood that are found in the Gospels. Thus, chapter 7 is titled Mother Jesus. One of the best-known metaphors is Jesus' use of the image of the Mother Hen to describe his desire to protect and nurture Jerusalem. A bit more esoteric is the concept of Jesus as Sophia (wisdom). There is also birth imagery in the Gospel of John, including Jesus' message to Nicodemus that he needed to be born from above. McNeel points out that "When the Bible employs female imagery, motherhood plays a prominent role. God, Jesus, Jerusalem, Woman Wisdom, and the Spirit are all portrayed as mothers in the Gospels" (P. 91).

Chapter 8 is titled "A Brief Interlude" because there is very little information about mothers in the Book of Acts. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is mentioned in Acts 1 along with some other women and his siblings, but otherwise she is largely absent. Then there is Mary, the mother of John Mark, who hosts the community to which Peter appears after being liberated from jail. Finally, there is Timothy's mother, who gets a brief mention.

With the transitional text of the Book of Acts noted, we move to the remainder of the New Testament. Chapter 9 is titled "Motherhood Sidelined." Here, McNeel focuses on the undisputed or earlier letters of Paul. Here, we see how Paul makes use of Old Testament mothers, including Eve, Sarah, Hagar, and Rebecca. Both Hagar and Rebecca are examined in relation to Sarah. There are also women Paul mentions who may have been mothers, with special focus on Rufus' Mother, mentioned in Romans 16. He speaks of Rufus' mother being a mother to him. There is also the unnamed step-mother who is in an inappropriate relationship with her step-son in 1 Corinthians. Then there is Paul's own mother, whom he mentions in passing, "or at least to her womb as his place of origin." Ultimately, Paul gives little attention to mothers and motherhood in his letters. That being said, he does make use of metaphors of motherhood in these earlier letters. In chapter 10, titled "Mother Paul," beginning with the reference to the connection of birth pangs to the end times in 1 Thessalonians, as well as the reference to creation experiencing labor in Romans 8. Paul even describes himself in terms of being a woman in labor in Galatians 4. Here, Paul speaks of being pregnant with the Galatian believers. In another passage in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul speaks of being untimely born, which might have several meanings. Then in 1 Thessalonians, Paul makes an unusual turn by describing himself as a nursing mother. In a related move, Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians of feeding the believers with milk, which may have breastfeeding connotations. While these images are not unique to Paul, they are unusual.

From these letters, in chapter 11, titled "Saved through Childbearing?", we turn to the later or disputed letters, such as Colossians, Ephesians, and the Pastorals. While these chapters have much to say about women, she focuses on motherhood. She addresses questions of authorship and social location before examining the household codes in Colossians and Ephesians. She also takes note of the role of mothers in pastoral epistles, including the controversial statement about women being saved through childbearing. I won't provide her interpretation, but she does address it, as best as one can. Then there is a discussion of widowed mothers and more. One thing she does is note that, as the church moves from movement to organization, we see the authors of these letters seeking to guide the believers to try to fit into their context so they can survive and continue their mission.

From Paul, including both disputed and undisputed letters, we move to Hebrews and the General Epistles in chapter 12, "Foremothers and Spiritual Milk. There are references in these letters to God giving birth, more breastfeeding imagery, and descriptions of the church as mother in 2 John 1. There are also references to Old Testament mothers, especially in Hebrews. These include the foremothers of Hebrews 11, including Sarah, Moses' biological and adoptive mothers, Rahab, along with the women who received their dead through resurrection. Sarah and Rahab appear elsewhere in these letters. The focus in these letters is identity, so these mothers provide resources for those discussions.

The final chapter before a concluding chapter focuses on "Mothers and Motherhood in Revelation," which is discussed in Chapter 13, titled "A Dragon in the Delivery Room." This may be the most intriguing chapter in the book, as she discusses the various ways women are portrayed in Revelation, including the virgin-whore dichotomy. I agree with her assessment of the way women and mothers are portrayed in Revelation, such that "in many ways, what we find in Revelation when it comes to women and mothers is not a pretty picture" (p. 175). We need to take her concerns seriously because if Revelation promises a world free from oppression, that should include the way we envision women and mothers. Unfortunately, Revelation, like much of the Bible, patriarchal culture colors the presentation.

In her conclusion to "Under Her Wings," Jennifer Houston McNeel reminds us that this topic is important because "motherhood is a topic that impacts everyone. Every human being enters this world through the body of a mother." (p. 181). McNeel does a masterful job in laying out the way mothers and motherhood are portrayed in the New Testament. While this is deeply rooted in scholarship, it is accessible to a general audience. With that in mind, discussion questions have been placed at the end of each chapter.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A comprehensive study of the mothers mentioned in the New Testament as well as references to motherhood.

What is one topic in biblical studies for which there is significant material but little scholarship? Jennifer Houston McNeel contends that mothers and motherhood is one of those. Some has to do with the space mothers are given in male-written and dominated texts. And then there is the historic dominance of men in preaching and scholarship. This book is an important step in redressing this imbalance. McNeel undertakes a comprehensive study of the mothers who appear in the pages of the New Testament as well as the references, often metaphorical, to motherhood.

She begins by setting the context of mothers in the Old Testament and in Jewish and Greco-Roman culture. The genealogies of scripture emphasize families and every named person, mostly men, had a mother! But the society was patriarchal, though free women had opportunities to manage their households. At the same time, childbirth was perilous, and the purview of midwives and female family and friends. While male metaphors dominate God talk, female images also are used.

Then McNeel turns to the birth narratives, beginning with the four unusual mothers who appear in Matthew’s genealogy. None are conventional. Nor is Mary in Matthew and McNeel likens Joseph to Uriah, the righteous Hittite. He marries her despite the scandal. In Matthew, she is silent. But this is hardly the case in Luke. She engages Gabriel and gives assent, if not consent (McNeel explores the ambiguities in her submission to God’s will). McNeel not only explores the encounter between Mary and Elizabeth but has a fascinating section on Mary as Jesus’ teacher. But how does one mother a grown-up Messiah? McNeel’s next chapter considers John’s portrayal of their relationship at the wedding at Cana and at the cross.

Having considered Mary’s motherhood, the next chapters turn to other mothers in the gospels. First McNeel looks at the accounts of four mothers in crisis: Simon’s mother-in-law, the mother of Jairus daughter, the Syro-Phoenician woman, and the widow at Nain. The one thing in common beyond the urgency of their crises was that none of them are named. These were good mothers, but not all mothers are good. McNeel treats the cases of three mothers which range from ambiguous to evil: the mother of the man born blind who protects her own interests, the mother of James and John, who promotes the interests of her sons (and perhaps herself), and Herodias who exposes her daughter to horror to gain revenge upon John the Baptist. Scripture gives us both exemplars and cautionary tales of motherhood.

Before moving on from the gospels, McNeels considers the metaphors of motherhood associated with Jesus. He speaks of himself as a mother hen. There are allusions to Proverbs Mother Wisdom in his call for people to come to him in Matthew 11:28-30 and he is the logos. Likewise, Jesus uses the imagery of birth to describe the new life he brings. When Jesus speaks of rivers of living water springing from him, the word Jesus uses, koilia, can mean either stomach or womb. Water and blood flow from his side as he gives birth to the church.

Acts is dealt with briefly, because the only references are to Mary, the mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of John Mark, and the unnamed mother of Timothy. McNeel sees Acts as an interlude in the story of mothers, to become more prominent in the early church. In the undisputed letters of Paul, McNeel finds actual mothers sidelined. Women are co-workers in the gospel mission, playing prominent roles in many situations. But we don’t learn if they were mothers.. However, she observes Paul using a number of metaphors of motherhood. He uses birth pang imagery for the end times and speaks of creation groaning as if in labor. Then he speaks of his own birth and apostleship as untimely. He describes himself tenderly as a nursing mother with the Thessalonians. But he chides the Corinthians for needing milk rather than solid food.

McNeel treats the controversial material material in the pastorals as part of the non-authentic Pauline letters, written at a later time, reflecting the transitional issues facing the church. Meanwhile she notes the commending of Lois, Eunice, and others. She addresses different options for understanding women being saved through childhood, acknowledging problems with all but opting for a straightforward reading of the text, albeit not in individual terms.

McNeel treats Hebrews and the general epistles together, focusing on the faith of Sarah, Rahab, and unnamed mothers. Revelation presents us with the contrast of the virgin and the whore, which may smack of patriarchal norms. Yet Revelation anticipates a new creation where all oppression ends.

The concluding chapter summarizes themes running through this study: new life, suffering, identity, caregiving, and influence. Not only are mothers important in the biblical story, but motherhood images are at the heart of the gospel. This challenges us to combat androcentrism in biblical interpretation.

While I might take issue with some of the author’s ideas about Pauline authorship, overall I deeply appreciated the approach to the study of mothers which foregrounded these women in a helpful way for me. The fact that many women are nameless, in comparison to men, is disturbing. It reminds me that while scripture is both inspired and authoritative, it is also a human document. As a male reader, this book challenges me to notice the portrayals of women. It challenges me to question but also to appreciate. Particularly as a Protestant, we give Mary short shrift. It was illuminating to consider her as the childhood teacher of Jesus. And it was a gift to think of the motherhood images of Jesus, to be “under her wings,” as it were.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.