Elsa Tamez & Cynthia Briggs Kittredge 
Philippians, Colossians, Philemon [EPUB ebook] 

Philippians lends itself to a political-ideological reading. To take into account that the document is a writing from prison, and to read it from a political-religious and feminist perspective using new language, helps to re-create the letter as if it were a new document. In this analysis Elsa Tamez endeavors to utilize non-patriarchal, inclusive language, which helps us to see the contents of the letter with different eyes.



Cynthia Briggs Kittredge and Claire Miller Colombo argue that Colossians’s contradictions and complications provide opportunities for entering imaginatively into the world of first-century Christian women and men. Rather than try to resolve the controversial portions—including the household code—they read the letter’s tensions as evidence of lively conversation around key theological, spiritual, and social issues of the time.



Taking into account historical, structural, and rhetorical dimensions of Philemon, Alicia J. Batten argues against the “runaway slave” hypothesis that has so dominated the interpretation of this letter. Paul asks that Onesimus be treated well, but the commentary takes seriously the fact that we never hear what Onesimus’s wishes may have been. Slaves throughout history have had similar experiences, as have many women. Like Onesimus, their lives and futures remain in the hands of others, whether those others seek good or ill.



From the Wisdom Commentary series



Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.



The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.



Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

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Contents

 

List of Abbreviations

List of Contributors

Foreword:
“Come Eat of My Bread . . . and Walk in the Ways of Wisdom”  Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza

Editor’s Introduction to Wisdom Commentary:
“She Is a Breath of the Power of God” (Wis 7:25) Barbara E. Reid, OP

 

Author’s Introduction to Philippians

Philippians 1:1-26
Greetings, Prayers, and Prison

Philippians 1:27–3:1
Causes, Struggles, and Plans

Philippians 3:2–4:3
What Really Matters

Philippians 4:4-23
Words of Gratitude and Farewell

Conclusion

 

Authors’ Introduction to Colossians

Colossians 1:1–2:5
Greetings, Prayers, and Paul

Colossians 2:6-23
Warning against Practices

Colossians 3:1–4:1
Exhortation to Those Who Are in Christ

Colossians 4:2-18
Further Exhortations and Greetings

 

Author’s Introduction to Philemon

Philemon 1-18
Allies and Tension

Philemon 19-25
The Silence of Onesimus

Conclusion

 

Philippians Works Cited

Colossians Works Cited

Philemon Works Cited

Index of Scripture References

Index of Subjects

Over de auteur

Mary Ann Beavis is professor emerita of religion and culture at St. Thomas More College (Saskatoon, Canada). She received MA degrees from the University of Manitoba and the University of Notre Dame; she holds a Ph D from Cambridge University (UK). Her areas of interest and expertise include Christian origins, feminist biblical interpretation, Christianity and Goddess spirituality, and religion and popular culture. She is the author of several single-author and edited books as well as many peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and book reviews.