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Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne
Womanist Midrash is an in-depth and creative exploration of the well- and lesser-known women of the Hebrew Scriptures. Using her own translations, Gafney offers a midrashic interpretation of the biblical text that is rooted in the African American preaching tradition to tell the stories of a variety of female characters, many of whom are often overlooked and nameless. Gafney employs a solid understanding of womanist and feminist approaches to biblical interpretation and the sociohistorical culture of the ancient Near East. This unique and imaginative work that is grounded in serious scholarship will expand conversations about feminist and womanist biblical interpretation.
546 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
467 people are currently reading
2880 people want to read
About the author
Wilda C. Gafney
13 books80 followersThe 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
September 8, 2017
I am afraid to write a review for this book simply because I fear no words I put together will do it justice. On every page, this book blew my mind or melted my heart.
I learned so much from this book. While Gafney is a Hebrew and Bible scholar and incredibly knowledgeable in translation and interpretation, she never makes the reader feel like they can not understand the text as well. Each time she would define and explain the text in Hebrew, it would open my eyes to a whole new world.
While the book is extensive in academic interpretation and information of the text, my heart was more touched than my mind. Gafney's Midrash of the verses often left me in tears. I was suddenly there, in the text, living, feeling, and breathing each word. She would repeat the phrase "When I use my sanctified imagination..." when she would begin her Midrash. By the middle of the book, my body would have a visceral reaction to this little phrase, knowing that something holy and profound and inspired was about to come my way. I am looking forward to reading so much of this book again and again.
I learned so much from this book. While Gafney is a Hebrew and Bible scholar and incredibly knowledgeable in translation and interpretation, she never makes the reader feel like they can not understand the text as well. Each time she would define and explain the text in Hebrew, it would open my eyes to a whole new world.
While the book is extensive in academic interpretation and information of the text, my heart was more touched than my mind. Gafney's Midrash of the verses often left me in tears. I was suddenly there, in the text, living, feeling, and breathing each word. She would repeat the phrase "When I use my sanctified imagination..." when she would begin her Midrash. By the middle of the book, my body would have a visceral reaction to this little phrase, knowing that something holy and profound and inspired was about to come my way. I am looking forward to reading so much of this book again and again.
April 8, 2020
How to begin?!?!?! Forget ministry... I'm just going to head down the road to Fort Worth, take all of her classes, and become a Hebrew Bible scholar. Well, not really. But it's tempting.
I originally picked this up because I had heard such great things from others who I admire. I am always on board to read commentaries on women in the Hebrew Bible; it was one of my favorite things to explore in undergrad. Furthermore, I looked through my shelves and realized I had no works of theology or biblical scholarship written by women of color. I had a few books about Christian life and faith, and some on race relations, but none that veered more toward the academic side of study. So glad to have changed that now!
Gafney's scholarship is INCREDIBLE! Her writing and teaching is MASTERFUL. I'm sure she could put to shame anyone who challenged her knowledge and competence of scripture, or her ability (and her CALLING) to teach/preach it--SHAME I tell you. I am just blown away. Okay, onto the actual book:
Goodness.... she does not shy away. Yes, Abraham is the father of our faith.... but.... he also sex trafficked his own sister/wife, impregnated a woman against her will, allowed for her abuse, and then sent her and her son into the wilderness... not great. Yes, Moses delivered the Israelites from slavery.... but.... he also calls for slaughter and genocide even though God does not demand it.... AND he he denies the daughters of Zelophehad their inheritance granted to them BY GOD... RUDE. Do not even get me STARTED on David. Yes, he is one of the few characters in the Old Testament who understood the importance of monotheism... but that's pretty much the only good thing he's got going for him, in my opinion. I pray there is a special place in heaven for the women in his life who had to endure him.
These important figures in our faith were heroes in some ways and horrific villains in other ways. They have two or three redeeming qualities or moments, sure. Patriarchy, on the other hand, has no redeeming qualities. There is no "right way." If the most important characters in scripture, whom God spoke with and commanded directly, could not lead or rule over women without also subjecting them to grave injustice, what makes anyone think patriarchy, as a model for relationships and authority in the church, bears good fruit? In fact, it bears a lot of bad fruit. Scripture shows. History shows. The MeToo movement shows. Let's leave patriarchy behind and love God and one another. Amen? Amen.
We can not go back and hold Abraham, Moses, David, and others accountable for the crimes they committed against women, but we can and should and must do so today.
Gafney also points out how patriarchy is, in many ways, responsible for pitting women against one another and and leads women to become perpetrators of crimes against one another. This is womanist midrash, not merely feminist. Gafney points out how women in scripture betrayed/abused/disenfranchised other women, and she reminds us how we have continued to do so throughout history. She brings to light more modern and ongoing conflicts which continue to reflect patterns of cruelty and exclusion between people and women of different races/nations/ethnicities.
This book is not easy to read. It is disturbing to me that consent, which figures so essentially in our conversations about sex today, seemingly had little or no importance to characters in the Hebrew Bible. Does this mean consent did not matter to God? It is awful to read women listed out with animals as though they are simply property. Did God not care enough to correct this misconception when bestowing the law to Moses? Or is this how God viewed women as well? The section on forced impregnation was also especially troubling. Are women no more than wombs?
What provides readers hope and comfort is the voice Gafney grants to characters, some named and some just imagined. We know women were present, even if they were not named. We know they played essential roles, even if they were not given a voice. Midrash is a means through which to give them names, stories, and voices. It grants us permission to use our sanctified imagination. It reminds us that women matter, and it's important to consider stories of scripture from their perspective. In doing so, we may praise them for their resilience, curiosity, cleverness--their grit and grace. We may critique them for the part they play in perpetuating injustice. We may be in solidarity with them and they may be in solidarity with us. We may mourn those who did not survive the crimes committed against them. We may be encouraged by those who did survive. We may remember their names. We may remember they too are children of God.
Okay, this accidentally turned into a book report. I'm done now. :)
I originally picked this up because I had heard such great things from others who I admire. I am always on board to read commentaries on women in the Hebrew Bible; it was one of my favorite things to explore in undergrad. Furthermore, I looked through my shelves and realized I had no works of theology or biblical scholarship written by women of color. I had a few books about Christian life and faith, and some on race relations, but none that veered more toward the academic side of study. So glad to have changed that now!
Gafney's scholarship is INCREDIBLE! Her writing and teaching is MASTERFUL. I'm sure she could put to shame anyone who challenged her knowledge and competence of scripture, or her ability (and her CALLING) to teach/preach it--SHAME I tell you. I am just blown away. Okay, onto the actual book:
Goodness.... she does not shy away. Yes, Abraham is the father of our faith.... but.... he also sex trafficked his own sister/wife, impregnated a woman against her will, allowed for her abuse, and then sent her and her son into the wilderness... not great. Yes, Moses delivered the Israelites from slavery.... but.... he also calls for slaughter and genocide even though God does not demand it.... AND he he denies the daughters of Zelophehad their inheritance granted to them BY GOD... RUDE. Do not even get me STARTED on David. Yes, he is one of the few characters in the Old Testament who understood the importance of monotheism... but that's pretty much the only good thing he's got going for him, in my opinion. I pray there is a special place in heaven for the women in his life who had to endure him.
These important figures in our faith were heroes in some ways and horrific villains in other ways. They have two or three redeeming qualities or moments, sure. Patriarchy, on the other hand, has no redeeming qualities. There is no "right way." If the most important characters in scripture, whom God spoke with and commanded directly, could not lead or rule over women without also subjecting them to grave injustice, what makes anyone think patriarchy, as a model for relationships and authority in the church, bears good fruit? In fact, it bears a lot of bad fruit. Scripture shows. History shows. The MeToo movement shows. Let's leave patriarchy behind and love God and one another. Amen? Amen.
We can not go back and hold Abraham, Moses, David, and others accountable for the crimes they committed against women, but we can and should and must do so today.
Gafney also points out how patriarchy is, in many ways, responsible for pitting women against one another and and leads women to become perpetrators of crimes against one another. This is womanist midrash, not merely feminist. Gafney points out how women in scripture betrayed/abused/disenfranchised other women, and she reminds us how we have continued to do so throughout history. She brings to light more modern and ongoing conflicts which continue to reflect patterns of cruelty and exclusion between people and women of different races/nations/ethnicities.
This book is not easy to read. It is disturbing to me that consent, which figures so essentially in our conversations about sex today, seemingly had little or no importance to characters in the Hebrew Bible. Does this mean consent did not matter to God? It is awful to read women listed out with animals as though they are simply property. Did God not care enough to correct this misconception when bestowing the law to Moses? Or is this how God viewed women as well? The section on forced impregnation was also especially troubling. Are women no more than wombs?
What provides readers hope and comfort is the voice Gafney grants to characters, some named and some just imagined. We know women were present, even if they were not named. We know they played essential roles, even if they were not given a voice. Midrash is a means through which to give them names, stories, and voices. It grants us permission to use our sanctified imagination. It reminds us that women matter, and it's important to consider stories of scripture from their perspective. In doing so, we may praise them for their resilience, curiosity, cleverness--their grit and grace. We may critique them for the part they play in perpetuating injustice. We may be in solidarity with them and they may be in solidarity with us. We may mourn those who did not survive the crimes committed against them. We may be encouraged by those who did survive. We may remember their names. We may remember they too are children of God.
Okay, this accidentally turned into a book report. I'm done now. :)
August 31, 2022
A momentous scholarly achievement, brilliantly researched and told.
July 8, 2020
Wilda Gafney is a master. In this technical, but not to technical, overview of the women mentioned in the Torah, as well Israels' royal women--both in the united monarchy, and in Judah and Israel after that. It is truly an incredible work, and Gafney's midrashes are creative and compelling. Gafney's comment on the text brings it to life, and brings it new life. I am truly grateful to have been led and taught by Gafney. What an achievement!
July 27, 2023
Wilda Gafney has written a masterpiece here. Her treatment of the Hebrew Bible is intelligent, reverent, and rich, but also profoundly creative and engaging. She gives voice to so many wonderful women in scripture who are too often overlooked. She is also reminds us that they are more than just mothers, and also had agency and impact on the Biblical story. I also enjoyed how she did a phenomenal job challenging the dominant voice of the authors and editors of the Hebrew Bible who frequently failed to recognize those on the margins.
Overall, I feel that I learned a lot, and I found the book wonderfully engaging.
Overall, I feel that I learned a lot, and I found the book wonderfully engaging.
September 12, 2022
Rev Dr Wil Gafney is a Hebrew scholar who uses her extensive knowledge and research to breathe life into the women of the Hebrew scriptures. Women who seem to be merely a passing footnote are pondered with concern and empathy. Notorious women are cast in a new light. Grammar is teased out to reveal the women hidden between the lines. Reading this book broadened my perspective on women's agency and activity in the Bible.
August 22, 2017
Dr. Gafney's Womanist Midrash is an informative and insightful look at the women in the texts of the Hebrew Bible. Dr. Gafney's aim is to acknowledge (by name, as often as possible) the women in, around, and behind the text. This was extremely helpful to me, because I have been trained to read the Scriptures with from an androcentric viewpoint, where the women are included in the text as props for the actions of the dominant men. Dr. Gafney's book aims to humanize those women in the eyes of readers.
Because this is a self-acknowledged Midrash, Dr. Gafney makes interpretive choices. Not all of her "sanctified imagining" (a term used repeatedly throughout the book) can be fully supported by the text, but she goes to great pains to ensure that those interpretive choices are well-grounded within the text of the Hebrew Bible, ancient interpretive traditions, and the culture of the time.
I think this book is a very important book for ministers to read, because it causes us to question our received interpretations of many biblical passages. I consider myself to have a fairly open mind when it comes to biblical interpretation, and yet Dr. Gafney's womanist perspective provides commentary and insights that I, as a straight, white man in ministry have never before considered (and I find myself now questioning how I could not have ever considered some of these things).
This book is a reminder that the Western, androcentric approach to scripture does not have a monopoly on biblical interpretation, and that serious students of scripture should engage with many other perspectives to try and get a more complete picture of what is going on in the biblical narratives.
Because this is a self-acknowledged Midrash, Dr. Gafney makes interpretive choices. Not all of her "sanctified imagining" (a term used repeatedly throughout the book) can be fully supported by the text, but she goes to great pains to ensure that those interpretive choices are well-grounded within the text of the Hebrew Bible, ancient interpretive traditions, and the culture of the time.
I think this book is a very important book for ministers to read, because it causes us to question our received interpretations of many biblical passages. I consider myself to have a fairly open mind when it comes to biblical interpretation, and yet Dr. Gafney's womanist perspective provides commentary and insights that I, as a straight, white man in ministry have never before considered (and I find myself now questioning how I could not have ever considered some of these things).
This book is a reminder that the Western, androcentric approach to scripture does not have a monopoly on biblical interpretation, and that serious students of scripture should engage with many other perspectives to try and get a more complete picture of what is going on in the biblical narratives.
July 18, 2021
Thorough and thoughtful review of the women in the Old Testament, up through the queens of Israel and Judah. I loved her midrashic interludes and her careful attention to the text. Even the women with the shortest mentions were considered and honored.
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November 5, 2022Years ago I chose the process of Congolese mamas growing, harvesting and cooking luku as my metaphor for working with the biblical text, preparing it for nourishing a community through preaching. So, from its very first paragraph, this book resonates with me; Gafney opens with the metaphor of inviting us to her supper table, a table of the American South, set and served by a black woman. The table, and everything on it, is womanist biblical interpretation.
Gafney acknowledges that womanist is often simply defined as black feminism and goes on to add:
“It is that, and it is much more. It is a richer, deeper, liberative paradigm; a social, cultural, and political space and theological matrix with the experiences and multiple identities of black women at the center. Womanism shares the radical egalitarianism that characterizes feminism at its basic level, but without its default referent, white women functioning as the exemplar for all women.
Her exegetical approach is womanist midrash inspired by rabbinic midrashic approaches to the literal texts of the Scriptures, their translations, and interpretations. As a product of African American Christianity, she is shaped by an ancient tradition of biblical piety and reverence for the Scriptures as the Word of God. As an Anglican priest and preacher, she’s learned to look and listen for the Word of God in, between, over, under, behind and beyond the words in the Word. As Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School, the author or Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel and coeditor of The People’s Bible and The People’s Companion to the Bible, she’s practiced at academic rigour. As a former member of a minyan and occasional Torah teacher in Jewish congregations, she’s experienced midrash as God-wrestling.
I resonate with Gafney’s approach in a second way. Some of the sermons I have thoroughly enjoyed preparing involve a retelling of the story from the perspective of one of the characters. Gafney endorses this method of “sanctified imagination” as midrash. For her, to discover a God who makes sense for black women shaped by generations of biblical interpretation that sanctioned oppression of those like her, she asks God-wrestling kinds of questions of the text, questions like:
• Who is speaking and/or active?
• Where are the women and girls, what are they doing and what are their names?
• When women or other marginalized characters speak and act, whose interests are they serving?
• Who (and where) are the characters without which the story could not have unfolded as articulated?
• What are the power dynamics in in the narrative?
• What are the ethical implications of the text when read from the perspective of the dominant character(s)?
• What are the ethical implications of previous (especially traditional) readings of the text for black women?
• How have black women historically related to the text?
• In what ways do the contemporary circumstances of black women readers shape new and renewed interpretations?
• How do the values articulated in the text and its interpretations affect the well-being of the communities that black women inhabit?
• How does (can) this text function as Scripture for black women?
• Who is (what is the construction of) God in the text? Is s/he/it invested in the flourishing of black women, our families and our worlds?
Gafney reviews the stories of the women named in two sections of the Old Testament--women of the Torah and women of the Throne. In the second section she comments on each of the surprising number of royal women named in Kings and Chronicles.
In essence, this is a particular kind of biblical commentary, and the lens Gafney uses reveals so much that otherwise goes unnoticed.
The sad story of Cozbi is a powerful example of Gafney’s work from the book of Numbers in the women of the Torah section. After a new rule was given that Israelite men could not marry Moabite women, Zimri, an Israelite brings Cozbi, a Midian, (not a Moabite) into the community for a public wedding. Remember, Moses their revered leader received shelter from the Midianites when he fled Egypt after killing a man. In fact, Cozbi’s fellow Israelite, Jethro, took Moses under his wing and taught him lessons about God and about leadership. Moses himself married Zipporah, a Midianite; there was significant precedent for this particular mixed marriage. But Phinehas, a priest and Moses’ grandnephew, grabbed a spear and stabbed the newlyweds to death in front of their friends and family.
Gafney wrestles with how it is possible for the Scriptures to narrate that God vindicated and rewarded Phinehas for his action. Traditional commentaries link the lynching of Cozbi with the defection of Israelites to Moabite worship BUT, Gafney notes, Cozbi and Zimri and not accused of worshipping other gods. The fact that they are having the wedding ceremony at the Israelite shrine may well indicate Cozbi’s acceptance of the God of Israel as her own. Still, in the following verses, Moses repeatedly calls for vengeance against the Midianites. In response, 12,000 Israelite soldiers kill five monarchs of Midian, including Tzur, the father of Cozbi. After the killing, the first thing the Israelite victors do in Numbers 31:9 is to take Midianite women and girls captive to use sexually.
Gafney wonders whether the taboo that Cozbi and Zimri violated was to enter into a consensual intermarriage, rather than one which was forced as victors’ booty. “This taboo does not necessarily reflect the wilderness wandering period in which this story is set; rather, it reflects the fears and concerns of the decimated survivors of a shrinking post-monarchical province under foreign dominations when the written text would have been finalized, edited and canonized. In that and subsequent interpretative contexts, intermarriage becomes a harbinger of extinction.”
Gafney’s midrash, her sanctified imagination, reads against the text and against the portrayal of God in the text.
God! God didn’t do this! A man did this. Pinchas ought to be ashamed of himself! His mother, Putial, is beside herself with grief. The way he did that beautiful girl. He raped her with a spear in front of God and everybody. Talking about “It’s God’s will.” God speaks to him. He may be hearing voices, but my God had nothing to do with that mess.
What? What am I talking about? Child, where are from? It can’t be from anywhere around here if you don’t know what happened yesterday at the Israelite camp--a cold-blooded murder on sacred ground. This war they’re conscripting boys for today is because of that murder.
You see the Midianites and the Israelites are kinfolk from way back; they share the same old-father, Avraham, but have different mothers. The Midianites were born from Qeterah of the deserts; they say she was the love of his life at the end of his life. The Israelites were born from Sarah his own sister--I know, I know we don’t hold to them sorts of ways around here now, but that’s what they do then. Anyway, they say she got his wealth and Qeterah got his heart. There was a ‘nother woman, Hagar, mixed up with them ... but where was I?
The wedding—it was a big to-do. Her Ladyship, Princess Cozbi, only child of King Tzur, took an Israelite for her royal consort. His name was Zimri; he was from good people; his father Sanu was head of his local clan, but he was definitely marrying up. Everyone was looking forward to the celebration and, to tell the truth, some were looking for trouble. But no one expected this.
You see, a while back, the Israelite head-man, Moshe, divorced the senior priest-woman of Midian, left her with their children, and went off and married another woman, even though her family took him in when he was nothing and had nothing. Her father, the great high priest of all Midian, took him as an apprentice in the priesthood, but Moshe didn’t have the attitude. His brother Aharon took his place. Abba Yitro even continued to mentor him, teach him something after he left his daughter, and he tried to get them back together too. That’s the kind of man he is.
Well, people wanted to see if Zipporah was going to be at the royal wedding and what Moshe would say to her and her father. Soon enough, everyone forgot about that… You should have seen the wedding; Cozbi was draped with so much gold and silver that she couldn’t move. They royall Midianite wedding tent was set right in front of the Israelite sacred tent, symbolizing the union of the two peoples. Everyone was there. A feast was already setup: honey bread, date wine, roast quail, slow-grilled goat kid, and minced lamb… And just as Zimri formally presented his beloved to his family, one of the Israelite priests – a priest! --stabbed him with a spear and killed him.
People started running, screaming; it was pandemonium. Then Pinchas turned on Cozbi. He chased her into her own wedding tent. A group of other priests grabbed her honor guard, wrestling them and delaying them just long enough-- they had planned it all out. Pinchas was shrieking how he will cleanse the foreign influence from of Israel by blood and fire if need be. He called her horrible names as he stabbed her in the belly and down below over and over again: “She-devil! Foreign whole! You’ll never use your whore-parts to ensnare another Israelite man! With your blood I atone for the sin of Israel! God grant me and all who follow me peace from your kind for evermore!”
Pinchas and his folks started killing everyone they could find in the wedding party. Moshe ran into the tent of God and prayed for the plague of violence to pass him and his family by and to come to an end. When he finished praying, as they were gathering the dead and tending the wounded, Pinchas said that the Midianites would come looking for vengeance, and the only way to protect Israel was to strike them first. He’d planned it all along. Moshe was beside himself with grief. He stayed in the sacred tent while Pinchas spoke in his name, as his grandfather Aharon used to do. To get people to go along with him, he promised them all the wealth of Midian. There were just enough greedy, craven souls to back him up. And then appealing to the lowest of the low, Pinchas promised every Israelite warrior a Midianite virgin and slaves for every family.
And now look at them. Gearing up for war. Trampling Cozbi’s memory into the dust. They’ve already forgot how they done her. Hmpf. They’ve forgotten that they were slaves. You’d best get your family out of here. It’s not safe for decent folk.
This is the first biblical commentary that I have read from cover to cover. It is shaping me, not simply by pointing to easily overlooked details and information about the stories, but also by reading from a perspective of God who is on the side of the oppressed. I have used that phrase before. This commentary is an example of how to practice that posture, while taking the Scriptures very seriously.
Gafney acknowledges that womanist is often simply defined as black feminism and goes on to add:
“It is that, and it is much more. It is a richer, deeper, liberative paradigm; a social, cultural, and political space and theological matrix with the experiences and multiple identities of black women at the center. Womanism shares the radical egalitarianism that characterizes feminism at its basic level, but without its default referent, white women functioning as the exemplar for all women.
Her exegetical approach is womanist midrash inspired by rabbinic midrashic approaches to the literal texts of the Scriptures, their translations, and interpretations. As a product of African American Christianity, she is shaped by an ancient tradition of biblical piety and reverence for the Scriptures as the Word of God. As an Anglican priest and preacher, she’s learned to look and listen for the Word of God in, between, over, under, behind and beyond the words in the Word. As Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School, the author or Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel and coeditor of The People’s Bible and The People’s Companion to the Bible, she’s practiced at academic rigour. As a former member of a minyan and occasional Torah teacher in Jewish congregations, she’s experienced midrash as God-wrestling.
I resonate with Gafney’s approach in a second way. Some of the sermons I have thoroughly enjoyed preparing involve a retelling of the story from the perspective of one of the characters. Gafney endorses this method of “sanctified imagination” as midrash. For her, to discover a God who makes sense for black women shaped by generations of biblical interpretation that sanctioned oppression of those like her, she asks God-wrestling kinds of questions of the text, questions like:
• Who is speaking and/or active?
• Where are the women and girls, what are they doing and what are their names?
• When women or other marginalized characters speak and act, whose interests are they serving?
• Who (and where) are the characters without which the story could not have unfolded as articulated?
• What are the power dynamics in in the narrative?
• What are the ethical implications of the text when read from the perspective of the dominant character(s)?
• What are the ethical implications of previous (especially traditional) readings of the text for black women?
• How have black women historically related to the text?
• In what ways do the contemporary circumstances of black women readers shape new and renewed interpretations?
• How do the values articulated in the text and its interpretations affect the well-being of the communities that black women inhabit?
• How does (can) this text function as Scripture for black women?
• Who is (what is the construction of) God in the text? Is s/he/it invested in the flourishing of black women, our families and our worlds?
Gafney reviews the stories of the women named in two sections of the Old Testament--women of the Torah and women of the Throne. In the second section she comments on each of the surprising number of royal women named in Kings and Chronicles.
In essence, this is a particular kind of biblical commentary, and the lens Gafney uses reveals so much that otherwise goes unnoticed.
The sad story of Cozbi is a powerful example of Gafney’s work from the book of Numbers in the women of the Torah section. After a new rule was given that Israelite men could not marry Moabite women, Zimri, an Israelite brings Cozbi, a Midian, (not a Moabite) into the community for a public wedding. Remember, Moses their revered leader received shelter from the Midianites when he fled Egypt after killing a man. In fact, Cozbi’s fellow Israelite, Jethro, took Moses under his wing and taught him lessons about God and about leadership. Moses himself married Zipporah, a Midianite; there was significant precedent for this particular mixed marriage. But Phinehas, a priest and Moses’ grandnephew, grabbed a spear and stabbed the newlyweds to death in front of their friends and family.
Gafney wrestles with how it is possible for the Scriptures to narrate that God vindicated and rewarded Phinehas for his action. Traditional commentaries link the lynching of Cozbi with the defection of Israelites to Moabite worship BUT, Gafney notes, Cozbi and Zimri and not accused of worshipping other gods. The fact that they are having the wedding ceremony at the Israelite shrine may well indicate Cozbi’s acceptance of the God of Israel as her own. Still, in the following verses, Moses repeatedly calls for vengeance against the Midianites. In response, 12,000 Israelite soldiers kill five monarchs of Midian, including Tzur, the father of Cozbi. After the killing, the first thing the Israelite victors do in Numbers 31:9 is to take Midianite women and girls captive to use sexually.
Gafney wonders whether the taboo that Cozbi and Zimri violated was to enter into a consensual intermarriage, rather than one which was forced as victors’ booty. “This taboo does not necessarily reflect the wilderness wandering period in which this story is set; rather, it reflects the fears and concerns of the decimated survivors of a shrinking post-monarchical province under foreign dominations when the written text would have been finalized, edited and canonized. In that and subsequent interpretative contexts, intermarriage becomes a harbinger of extinction.”
Gafney’s midrash, her sanctified imagination, reads against the text and against the portrayal of God in the text.
God! God didn’t do this! A man did this. Pinchas ought to be ashamed of himself! His mother, Putial, is beside herself with grief. The way he did that beautiful girl. He raped her with a spear in front of God and everybody. Talking about “It’s God’s will.” God speaks to him. He may be hearing voices, but my God had nothing to do with that mess.
What? What am I talking about? Child, where are from? It can’t be from anywhere around here if you don’t know what happened yesterday at the Israelite camp--a cold-blooded murder on sacred ground. This war they’re conscripting boys for today is because of that murder.
You see the Midianites and the Israelites are kinfolk from way back; they share the same old-father, Avraham, but have different mothers. The Midianites were born from Qeterah of the deserts; they say she was the love of his life at the end of his life. The Israelites were born from Sarah his own sister--I know, I know we don’t hold to them sorts of ways around here now, but that’s what they do then. Anyway, they say she got his wealth and Qeterah got his heart. There was a ‘nother woman, Hagar, mixed up with them ... but where was I?
The wedding—it was a big to-do. Her Ladyship, Princess Cozbi, only child of King Tzur, took an Israelite for her royal consort. His name was Zimri; he was from good people; his father Sanu was head of his local clan, but he was definitely marrying up. Everyone was looking forward to the celebration and, to tell the truth, some were looking for trouble. But no one expected this.
You see, a while back, the Israelite head-man, Moshe, divorced the senior priest-woman of Midian, left her with their children, and went off and married another woman, even though her family took him in when he was nothing and had nothing. Her father, the great high priest of all Midian, took him as an apprentice in the priesthood, but Moshe didn’t have the attitude. His brother Aharon took his place. Abba Yitro even continued to mentor him, teach him something after he left his daughter, and he tried to get them back together too. That’s the kind of man he is.
Well, people wanted to see if Zipporah was going to be at the royal wedding and what Moshe would say to her and her father. Soon enough, everyone forgot about that… You should have seen the wedding; Cozbi was draped with so much gold and silver that she couldn’t move. They royall Midianite wedding tent was set right in front of the Israelite sacred tent, symbolizing the union of the two peoples. Everyone was there. A feast was already setup: honey bread, date wine, roast quail, slow-grilled goat kid, and minced lamb… And just as Zimri formally presented his beloved to his family, one of the Israelite priests – a priest! --stabbed him with a spear and killed him.
People started running, screaming; it was pandemonium. Then Pinchas turned on Cozbi. He chased her into her own wedding tent. A group of other priests grabbed her honor guard, wrestling them and delaying them just long enough-- they had planned it all out. Pinchas was shrieking how he will cleanse the foreign influence from of Israel by blood and fire if need be. He called her horrible names as he stabbed her in the belly and down below over and over again: “She-devil! Foreign whole! You’ll never use your whore-parts to ensnare another Israelite man! With your blood I atone for the sin of Israel! God grant me and all who follow me peace from your kind for evermore!”
Pinchas and his folks started killing everyone they could find in the wedding party. Moshe ran into the tent of God and prayed for the plague of violence to pass him and his family by and to come to an end. When he finished praying, as they were gathering the dead and tending the wounded, Pinchas said that the Midianites would come looking for vengeance, and the only way to protect Israel was to strike them first. He’d planned it all along. Moshe was beside himself with grief. He stayed in the sacred tent while Pinchas spoke in his name, as his grandfather Aharon used to do. To get people to go along with him, he promised them all the wealth of Midian. There were just enough greedy, craven souls to back him up. And then appealing to the lowest of the low, Pinchas promised every Israelite warrior a Midianite virgin and slaves for every family.
And now look at them. Gearing up for war. Trampling Cozbi’s memory into the dust. They’ve already forgot how they done her. Hmpf. They’ve forgotten that they were slaves. You’d best get your family out of here. It’s not safe for decent folk.
This is the first biblical commentary that I have read from cover to cover. It is shaping me, not simply by pointing to easily overlooked details and information about the stories, but also by reading from a perspective of God who is on the side of the oppressed. I have used that phrase before. This commentary is an example of how to practice that posture, while taking the Scriptures very seriously.
July 18, 2024
Finally finished this one. What an excellent introduction to the world of womanist midrash! While Gafney and I certainly find ourselves in different theological homes, I found the practice of reading her midrash of OT women so edifying.
Midrash was a completely new field for me, and I think it is an incredibly beautiful practice. Having been formed in a world of strict exegesis, I was hesitant about an openly eisegetic practice. However, it is rooted in centuries of Jewish tradition. To my surprise, I was overwhelmed by the reverence for the Biblical text.
Gafney brings an important voice to theological conversation and honors the important voices of the Israelite women lost to history.
My critique of this book lies in the second section. While I felt the portion of the book that focused on the women of the Pentateuch was powerful and reverent, the section on the women of the throne seemed a bit more biased. Perhaps this is because there is less information available in the text about these women and therefore more room for midrash. However while I felt that the chapters on Rebekah and Sarah and others dove creatively into the text, the chapters on the royal women seemed to be based more in the author’s imagination.
Forever grateful to the womanist tradition for the term “sanctified imagination” and for sharing their vital perspective on a story from which they’ve often been excluded. And, deeply grateful to Gafney specifically for this gorgeous work.
Midrash was a completely new field for me, and I think it is an incredibly beautiful practice. Having been formed in a world of strict exegesis, I was hesitant about an openly eisegetic practice. However, it is rooted in centuries of Jewish tradition. To my surprise, I was overwhelmed by the reverence for the Biblical text.
Gafney brings an important voice to theological conversation and honors the important voices of the Israelite women lost to history.
My critique of this book lies in the second section. While I felt the portion of the book that focused on the women of the Pentateuch was powerful and reverent, the section on the women of the throne seemed a bit more biased. Perhaps this is because there is less information available in the text about these women and therefore more room for midrash. However while I felt that the chapters on Rebekah and Sarah and others dove creatively into the text, the chapters on the royal women seemed to be based more in the author’s imagination.
Forever grateful to the womanist tradition for the term “sanctified imagination” and for sharing their vital perspective on a story from which they’ve often been excluded. And, deeply grateful to Gafney specifically for this gorgeous work.
November 2, 2024
On the minus side of good. All of the in depth research and development of this topic was overshadowed by a rejection of orthodox truth concerning the text and transmission of Scripture alongside the patricentric nature of the Hebrew Scriptures. I have said this before, but it is far more respectable to hold that liberal argument that “The text doesn’t mean that” when coming across a controversial portion of the Bible then to argue that “The text doesn’t say that.” Lewis might put it this way “My dear Wormwood, You can’t ignore what it says to get scripture closer to your end goal, that’s cheating. You must reinterpret what it does say to move your end goal closer to scripture. The former is too brash and will be noticed immediately, while the latter is more subtle and can be shrouded in academic cloaking to prevent any meddling.”
June 8, 2022
This book is literally the only thing that’s kept me able to keep reading the Bible - really interesting exploration of the layers of Biblical meaning through a womanist lens. We simply must stan Wilda Gafney.
August 13, 2023
This is a book unlike any I’ve ever read and I’m thankful to my priest for allowing me to borrow this from his personal library.
I find it most helpful that it is written by a biblical scholar AND a woman of faith. Gafney brings both an intelligent, critical eye as well as as an abiding love for what the Bible can and should say about humanity and spirituality. There were times during my reading that I asked, “How can this woman know all that she knows and remain a Christian?” I’m sure many women have asked themselves this question, as have I, and it is inspiring to read this expression of critical faith.
First, I do not see this as a radical reinterpretation of biblical truth. Gafney reminds us that every translation brings interpretation. Be it the translation from Hebrew to Greek to English or the translation of God’s word through the masculine eyes of the prophets and writers who heard it. The Bible as we know it today is already a cultural and human interpretation that has been accepted and canonized by successive centuries of masculine, Western civilization word choices.
Gafney returns to the Biblical Hebrew to prove that the pronouns and verbs used to describe God were many times rendered as feminine. Beginning with the story of creation in Genesis with the lovely “She, the Spirit of God pulsed over the face of the waters.” Her point being that “feminists and womanists advocating for inclusive and explicitly feminine God-language are not changing but restoring the text.”
Gafney provides in depth discussion of several biblical stories involving and centering upon women. Her approach is to ask tough questions about how we can interact with the text from a modern perspective and remain women of faith. Some of those questions include- why does God remain silent during certain historical episodes? Does silence perforce mean acceptance of the human behavior involved? What would have been the perspectives of the women silenced by the text? How do we approach a text where God is portrayed as accepting such horrific acts as rape and slavery?
I can not do justice to this book within a few paragraphs. So I want to end with a very liberating idea Gafney brings to us by way of returning to the original Hebrew. For centuries women have been told that we brought sin into the world. But the first use of the word for sin, “chata’t,” is used to describe the murder of Abel by Cain. God may be none too pleased when we do not follow instructions but it is inhumane violence that brings true sin into this world. We would all do well to remember this and for our priests, pastors and ministers to remind the world that political and personal violence against men, women, and children is the true root of misery on Earth.
I find it most helpful that it is written by a biblical scholar AND a woman of faith. Gafney brings both an intelligent, critical eye as well as as an abiding love for what the Bible can and should say about humanity and spirituality. There were times during my reading that I asked, “How can this woman know all that she knows and remain a Christian?” I’m sure many women have asked themselves this question, as have I, and it is inspiring to read this expression of critical faith.
First, I do not see this as a radical reinterpretation of biblical truth. Gafney reminds us that every translation brings interpretation. Be it the translation from Hebrew to Greek to English or the translation of God’s word through the masculine eyes of the prophets and writers who heard it. The Bible as we know it today is already a cultural and human interpretation that has been accepted and canonized by successive centuries of masculine, Western civilization word choices.
Gafney returns to the Biblical Hebrew to prove that the pronouns and verbs used to describe God were many times rendered as feminine. Beginning with the story of creation in Genesis with the lovely “She, the Spirit of God pulsed over the face of the waters.” Her point being that “feminists and womanists advocating for inclusive and explicitly feminine God-language are not changing but restoring the text.”
Gafney provides in depth discussion of several biblical stories involving and centering upon women. Her approach is to ask tough questions about how we can interact with the text from a modern perspective and remain women of faith. Some of those questions include- why does God remain silent during certain historical episodes? Does silence perforce mean acceptance of the human behavior involved? What would have been the perspectives of the women silenced by the text? How do we approach a text where God is portrayed as accepting such horrific acts as rape and slavery?
I can not do justice to this book within a few paragraphs. So I want to end with a very liberating idea Gafney brings to us by way of returning to the original Hebrew. For centuries women have been told that we brought sin into the world. But the first use of the word for sin, “chata’t,” is used to describe the murder of Abel by Cain. God may be none too pleased when we do not follow instructions but it is inhumane violence that brings true sin into this world. We would all do well to remember this and for our priests, pastors and ministers to remind the world that political and personal violence against men, women, and children is the true root of misery on Earth.
April 30, 2019
I accepted a long overdue challenge this year to read more theology by women and POC. To be honest, I was nervous. Not because I thought I would find something "wrong" but because I didn't trust myself to be able to integrate wisdom from Christian experiences so different from mine without going to extremes, trying to figure out who is "right" and who is "wrong."
Enter Wilda Gafney.
Her book was such a gift to me, an undeserved one. I felt drawn in by her incredible intellect, her well-researched view on the text, and her comprehensive and yet human take on the under-told stories of the women of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
Wilda is famous for saying that she won't let a passage go until it gives her a blessing, no matter how ugly that may be. You can FEEL that in her writing. She educated me on the rich concept of "Midrash" (How have I been studying the Bible my whole life and am JUST NOW learning this... oh yeah, white guys.) She was clear when she was taking direct material from the text and when the Spirit-informed imagination of her teaching was taking hold.
I learned SO much.
The book, in and of itself, is heart-breaking. It systematically shows the hundreds of stories that aren't told, and dozens of others that are told in a dramatically one-sided way. (The segment on Moses' wives is particularly good.) She breaks down the implicit rape-culture built into the text and the slaveholders bias that showers so many pages of the OT. I was reminded in an incredibly deep way that to love the Bible is to love something exemplifying deep beauty and deep brokenness. There's no way to cross-stitch these truths away.
I'll be forever changed by this book.
Enter Wilda Gafney.
Her book was such a gift to me, an undeserved one. I felt drawn in by her incredible intellect, her well-researched view on the text, and her comprehensive and yet human take on the under-told stories of the women of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament).
Wilda is famous for saying that she won't let a passage go until it gives her a blessing, no matter how ugly that may be. You can FEEL that in her writing. She educated me on the rich concept of "Midrash" (How have I been studying the Bible my whole life and am JUST NOW learning this... oh yeah, white guys.) She was clear when she was taking direct material from the text and when the Spirit-informed imagination of her teaching was taking hold.
I learned SO much.
The book, in and of itself, is heart-breaking. It systematically shows the hundreds of stories that aren't told, and dozens of others that are told in a dramatically one-sided way. (The segment on Moses' wives is particularly good.) She breaks down the implicit rape-culture built into the text and the slaveholders bias that showers so many pages of the OT. I was reminded in an incredibly deep way that to love the Bible is to love something exemplifying deep beauty and deep brokenness. There's no way to cross-stitch these truths away.
I'll be forever changed by this book.
December 23, 2018
I recently had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Gafney speak at a conference. At one point she stated, “Sometimes the problem with the interpretation of the text is the text itself.” That statement works reasonably well as a summary statement for this book.
This book is an exercise in discomfort for a white American Christian man raised in the Evangelical tradition. Dr. Gafney does an amazing job of finding those people that are marginalized in the text and giving them a voice. And many of those marginalized voices continue to be silenced (or at least overlooked/ignored) in traditional Evangelical interpretations.
I am accustomed to authors explaining away and minimizing some of the particularly troubling sections of the Bible. Gafney does no such thing. In fact, if there is a critique to be had here, it is that while conservative theologians always give the text the benefit of the doubt, Gafney seems to do the opposite. There were a couple of occasions where I certainly didn’t believe her argument was air tight, and I think conservatives would be prone to dismiss her as accepting the worst possible reading.
Having said that, part of the high value in this book is confronting the presuppositions our own experiences cause us to bring to the text. Her experiences as a black woman are far different from mine as a white man, and she naturally notices things in the text that I am simply blind to. It is incredibly valuable to wrestle with many of the issues she brings to light. The issues she addresses in this book are not easy to dismiss or explain away.
Early in the book she asks the question “Is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob truly the God of Hagar, Sarah, Keturah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah?” This question cuts to the heart of the book. There are many “minor” characters that are glossed over in the text. Gafney names them, gives them a voice, asks what they would have thought about the God of Abraham, given the way they were treated by God's people.
Many of her insights I found incredibly poignant and even heart-breaking. Others I simply found incredibly interesting. This was certainly my first experience reading anything positive into the character of Jezebel. For instance, she points out that Jezebel was a foreign woman, married to an Israelite monarch, who manages to maintain fidelity to her religion of origin. Gafney writes “It is probable that Jezebel’s religious devotion is embarrassing for the biblical editors. Her faith was a nonnegotiable, in spite of living in a foreign land and being married to someone with a different, intolerant religion. On the other hand, the Israelites seem to have never met another deity that they wouldn’t try out for a while.”
Some of the most striking sections of the book are where Gafney gives voice to a perspective that is new to me, and something I had honestly never considered before. But it would be dismissive to suggest that this book is simply interesting because it comes from a perspective that differs from my own. It certainly is that, but it is far more than that. While Gafney certainly aims to fill in gaps left in the text with her own perspective, she remains thoroughly engaged with the text itself. Gafney is a scholar, and she is thorough in her handling of the Hebrew text. While she writes in a way that is accessible, it is also not a book for beginners. I highly recommend it.
This book is an exercise in discomfort for a white American Christian man raised in the Evangelical tradition. Dr. Gafney does an amazing job of finding those people that are marginalized in the text and giving them a voice. And many of those marginalized voices continue to be silenced (or at least overlooked/ignored) in traditional Evangelical interpretations.
I am accustomed to authors explaining away and minimizing some of the particularly troubling sections of the Bible. Gafney does no such thing. In fact, if there is a critique to be had here, it is that while conservative theologians always give the text the benefit of the doubt, Gafney seems to do the opposite. There were a couple of occasions where I certainly didn’t believe her argument was air tight, and I think conservatives would be prone to dismiss her as accepting the worst possible reading.
Having said that, part of the high value in this book is confronting the presuppositions our own experiences cause us to bring to the text. Her experiences as a black woman are far different from mine as a white man, and she naturally notices things in the text that I am simply blind to. It is incredibly valuable to wrestle with many of the issues she brings to light. The issues she addresses in this book are not easy to dismiss or explain away.
Early in the book she asks the question “Is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob truly the God of Hagar, Sarah, Keturah, Rebekah, Leah, Rachel, Bilhah, and Zilpah?” This question cuts to the heart of the book. There are many “minor” characters that are glossed over in the text. Gafney names them, gives them a voice, asks what they would have thought about the God of Abraham, given the way they were treated by God's people.
Many of her insights I found incredibly poignant and even heart-breaking. Others I simply found incredibly interesting. This was certainly my first experience reading anything positive into the character of Jezebel. For instance, she points out that Jezebel was a foreign woman, married to an Israelite monarch, who manages to maintain fidelity to her religion of origin. Gafney writes “It is probable that Jezebel’s religious devotion is embarrassing for the biblical editors. Her faith was a nonnegotiable, in spite of living in a foreign land and being married to someone with a different, intolerant religion. On the other hand, the Israelites seem to have never met another deity that they wouldn’t try out for a while.”
Some of the most striking sections of the book are where Gafney gives voice to a perspective that is new to me, and something I had honestly never considered before. But it would be dismissive to suggest that this book is simply interesting because it comes from a perspective that differs from my own. It certainly is that, but it is far more than that. While Gafney certainly aims to fill in gaps left in the text with her own perspective, she remains thoroughly engaged with the text itself. Gafney is a scholar, and she is thorough in her handling of the Hebrew text. While she writes in a way that is accessible, it is also not a book for beginners. I highly recommend it.
May 10, 2025
Absolutely fascinating. So much to think about. I found new insights here, freedom to ask more questions and imagine more, I relished new tidbits of language, and found myself wishing I could ask more questions of the author and the choices she made in her interpretations because I often found myself saying "well I don't see it quite that way..." But I'd say that's part of the point too. She said in her introduction that she was inviting her readers to a feast and encouraged them to try some new things. And we might come away with some new things we like and also some things we'll leave behind. And I feel that's just what I've done. It's been a gift to see the scriptures through womanist eyes, in ways I hadn't thought to look before. And it's been an honor to think more about the lives of the women of the Bible: real people who lived out whole lives around the few words we are given to read.
June 2, 2021
This is definitely an academic text and reads like one. I’m so grateful for the research and scholarship to give voice to the women of the Old Testament. One of the take home points beyond reading and speaking aloud women’s names from ancient history is the fact that “it was not until the 1980s that women were invited to participate [in biblical translation] (in part because there were so few women with PhDs in biblical studies who could have done the work.”
What has been missed of women’s stories from biblical scripture through history by not including women’s voices. What more do we have to learn from scripture when ALL are invited into scholarship and translation!
What has been missed of women’s stories from biblical scripture through history by not including women’s voices. What more do we have to learn from scripture when ALL are invited into scholarship and translation!
July 1, 2021
This book was so interesting, reading about the female characters of the Torah from a womanist (inclusive feminist) perspective. It makes you rethink and deconstruct a lot of the images we have of certain biblical characters and understand the historical context of much of the Old Testament. The book is definitely not a light beach read so I read it slowly over several months, but really recommend it to anyone interested in relooking at the Bible and its female characters.
October 27, 2021
I have so much more to process before I can adequately review this book. In the meantime, I will just say that this book acknowledged, answered, and validated my need to question so many things about translations and Biblical scholarship. Dr. / Rev. Wilda Gafney writes academically and technically, but her beautiful Midrash interpretations were the treat sprinkled throughout the text, bringing alive the humanity and stories of women in the Old Testament who have historically been passed over. Translation matters. Gender identification matters.
April 29, 2023
Beautifully written. Wil Gafney marries a conversational style of delivery with excellent, well-researched, scholarship. I learned SO much and was deeply impacted by this book. Some parts are difficult to read, because the Bible has often been very unkind in its portrayal and treatment of women, but Gafney holds the reader’s hand as both reader and author process the hardest parts and most beautiful parts together. I can’t wait to read more of her work!
November 9, 2018
A must read for anyone interested in women, in womanism, in the Torah or Bible. I was especially moved by the chapter on Genesis, and would have given this book an unabashed 5 stars if I wasn’t so unfamiliar with the later books of the Tanakh/Old Testament that made the last few chapters difficult for me to interact with.
September 20, 2021
A must read. Blew my mind.
November 9, 2021
This audio book opened a religious area I knew little about.
May 13, 2023
This book provided thoughts and insights in response to questions I never would have thought to ask. I would love to purchase this book to refer back to again and again.
April 25, 2024
A fascinating book that helped me understand many of the stories in the Hebrew Bible more fully. Gafney discusses translations in the appendix. It reinforced for me that I want to explore a variety of translations. It would be helpful to learn to read Biblical Hebrew, not something I expect I’ll ever do
July 6, 2020
I am a life-long student of scripture, raised in a tradition that held scripture in high regard. I’m trained in reading Biblical Hebrew and Greek. I’m a pastor with nearly 25 years full-time vocational experience. It’s easy for me to think that I’ve “seen it all” when it comes to studying the text. Turns out, this perception is largely the result of my own limited perspective and cultural privilege.
Dr. Gafney changed the way that I read scripture, enabling me to see things in the text that I had overlooked or been unable to see previously. The chapter on Hagar is simply stunning, and deeply impacted how I read Abraham, Sarah, and even how I think of Islam. The appendix on the art of translation is a helpful and challenging piece for anyone in a position to preach or teach others about what scripture says.
Womanist Midrash is, in my view, essential reading for anyone, like me, who is tasked with teaching about scripture, and who has been largely formed by the received tradition of western theology, made up as it is, of primarily white, European, men. Dr. Gafney offers a gracious corrective to the natural limitations of the perspective so many of us have inherited.
Dr. Gafney changed the way that I read scripture, enabling me to see things in the text that I had overlooked or been unable to see previously. The chapter on Hagar is simply stunning, and deeply impacted how I read Abraham, Sarah, and even how I think of Islam. The appendix on the art of translation is a helpful and challenging piece for anyone in a position to preach or teach others about what scripture says.
Womanist Midrash is, in my view, essential reading for anyone, like me, who is tasked with teaching about scripture, and who has been largely formed by the received tradition of western theology, made up as it is, of primarily white, European, men. Dr. Gafney offers a gracious corrective to the natural limitations of the perspective so many of us have inherited.
September 29, 2020
This book is absolutely stunning. Textually rich and wonderfully illuminating, Womanist Midrash is required reading for everyone. Dr Gafney has written a resource that I can’t imagine being without.
—Tristan Sherwin, author of Living the Dream?:The Problem with Escapist, Exhibitionist, Empire-Building Christianity
—Tristan Sherwin, author of Living the Dream?:The Problem with Escapist, Exhibitionist, Empire-Building Christianity
December 11, 2020
Absolutely brilliant! Dr. Gafney has given me new ways of seeing and engaging with the Old Testament texts, and introduced me to a much more expansive worldview. I am truly grateful for her work. This is a book I could read 5 times and still discover new insights each time.
July 13, 2023
This was so good!! It's definitely the best textbook I've read for a course so far. The way Gafney writes about the characters of the Pentateuch have allowed me to meet them all again and see them in a new light. I don't think I will ever be able to read the Jacob, Rachel, and Leah story the same way again. I also met many characters who only got a passing mention in the Bible and who were fleshed out and given humanity by Gafney. I would recommend this book to anyone as it is such an important read.
December 28, 2023
I am actually not finished with this book, but I am done for now. I will be picking it up every time I read in the Hebrew Bible because Gafney has insights I will never completely absorb. She is so smart, such an original thinker. Christianity is blessed to have her.
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