The Corinthian Women Prophets: A Reconstruction through Paul's Rhetoric

by Antoinette C. Wire

I am impressed. Wire's method, a close scrutiny of Paul's rhetoric to reconstruct the audience of the letter, is intriguing and fruitful. Ross Shepard Kraemer, Editor of 'Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, and Monastics' Antoinette Wire has written an excellent and much-needed book on the Corinthian women prophets. A careful analysis of the rhetoric of Paul's argument has enabled Wire to reconstruct the theological understanding of the Corinthian Christian women and to show how Paul's loss of social status in becoming a Christian affected his theology and how their gain in status influenced theirs. An important book for feminist biblical scholarship, for our understanding of early Christianity, and for our understanding of how social status and theology may interrelate. Joanna Dewey, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.

326 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been waiting all semester for some free time to read this book, and it is with great regret that I must report it to be *incredibly* dry. I have written on Paul's letter to the Corinthians in the past, specifically in its focus on women, and I thought this would be a really interesting perspective on the topic, but it wound up just being ... well ... boring. If I'm ever writing about it again, I can see using this book as a research device, but there's just no point in trying it for a pleasure read.