What do you think?
Rate this book
Genesis: A Feminist Companion to the Bible
This volume in the acclaimed feminist companion to the bible series, edited by Athalya Brenner, draws together a range of leading biblical commentators to discuss one of the most challenging and fascinating biblical texts for feminist interpretation, the book of Genesis.
276 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1993
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 18, 2026
This is a smart, well argued, and fascinating compilation of essays. Obviously, based on the title, these essays are an analysis of The Book of Genesis from a feminist perspective. There are 22 essays here. The opinions presented vary. In fact, many have ideas which are incompatible with each other. But those variations in ideas can can be appealing to those who like to consider a variety of points of view.
The book was first published in 1993, so it does not include the latest feminist ideas and concepts. I looked up the biographies of all the essayists. They mostly are academics who specialize in feminist Biblical studies.
The book appeals to me because I am interested in the Bible and literary criticism. I am also interested in feminist ideas and theory. Over the years I have read a fair amount in those areas. I just reread The Book of Genesis. With that, I am thinking that number of people interested in all of three of those subjects is limited. Thus, I think that this work might appeal to a narrow group of people.
I should note that the book I read here is called A Feminist Companion to Genesis. It was edited by Athalya Brenner-Idan. There is another book called A Feminist Companion to Genesis (Second Series) also edited by Athalya Brenner-Idan. This other book, with a similar name, is a different set of essays. To add to the confusion, some sites describe this earlier set of essays, that I read, A Feminist Companion to the Bible 2, because it is the 2nd in a series on feminism and the Bible. Neither Amazon nor Goodreads is clear on any of this. In fact, Goodreads seems to be tying the reviews for both books together.
This book will be very appealing to certain readers. For those interested in these subjects, this is an enlightening and worthwhile read.
The book was first published in 1993, so it does not include the latest feminist ideas and concepts. I looked up the biographies of all the essayists. They mostly are academics who specialize in feminist Biblical studies.
The book appeals to me because I am interested in the Bible and literary criticism. I am also interested in feminist ideas and theory. Over the years I have read a fair amount in those areas. I just reread The Book of Genesis. With that, I am thinking that number of people interested in all of three of those subjects is limited. Thus, I think that this work might appeal to a narrow group of people.
I should note that the book I read here is called A Feminist Companion to Genesis. It was edited by Athalya Brenner-Idan. There is another book called A Feminist Companion to Genesis (Second Series) also edited by Athalya Brenner-Idan. This other book, with a similar name, is a different set of essays. To add to the confusion, some sites describe this earlier set of essays, that I read, A Feminist Companion to the Bible 2, because it is the 2nd in a series on feminism and the Bible. Neither Amazon nor Goodreads is clear on any of this. In fact, Goodreads seems to be tying the reviews for both books together.
This book will be very appealing to certain readers. For those interested in these subjects, this is an enlightening and worthwhile read.
May 19, 2011
A couple of chapters had interesting ideas: Simkins' :Gender Construction" and Sharon's "The Doom of Paradise."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews