Womanist Interpretations Of The BiBle
SBLPressWomanist Interpretationsof the Bible
Semeia StudiesSteed V. Davidson, General EditorEditorial Board:Pablo R. AndiñachFiona BlackDenise K. BuellGay L. ByronMasiiwa Ragies GundaMonica Jyotsna MelanchthonYak-Hwee TanSBLPressNumber 85
Womanist Interpretationsof the BibleExpanding the DiscourseEdited bySBLPressGay L. Byron and Vanessa Lovelace
AtlantaCopyright 2016 by SBL PressAll rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or bymeans of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permissionshould be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, SBL Press, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataSBLPressNames: Byron, Gay L., editor. Lovelace, Vanessa, editor.Title: Womanist interpretations of the Bible : expanding the discourse / edited by Gay L.Byron and Vanessa Lovelace.Description: Atlanta : SBL Press, [2016] Series: Semeia studies ; number 85 Includesbibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2016040615 (print) LCCN 2016040794 (ebook) ISBN 9781628371529(pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 9780884141853 (hardcover) ISBN 9780884141846 (ebook)Subjects: LCSH: Bible—Feminist criticism.Classification: LCC BS521.4 .W66 2016 (print) LCC BS521.4 (ebook) DDC 220.6082—dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016040615Printed on acid-free paper.
tion: Methods and the Making of Womanist BiblicalHermeneuticsGay L. Byron and Vanessa Lovelace.1Part 1: Gender and SexualitysThe Invisible Women: Numbers 30 and the Politics of Singlenessin Africana CommunitiesStacy Davis.21esA Womanist Midrash of Delilah: Don’t Hate the Playa Hate the GameWil Gafney.49PrThe Song of Songs: Redeeming Gender Constructions in the Ageof AIDSCheryl B. Anderson.73Part 2: Agency and AdvocacySBLRace, Gender, and the Politics of “Sass”: Reading Mark 7:24–30through a Womanist Lens of Intersectionality andInter(con)textualityMitzi J. Smith.95Antitypes, Stereotypes, and Antetypes: Jezebel, the Sun Woman,and Contemporary Black WomenLove L. Sechrest.113
vicontentsOne More Time with Assata on My Mind: A Womanist Rereadingof the Escape to Egypt (Matt 2:13–23) in Dialogue with anAfrican American Woman Fugitive NarrativeShively T. J. Smith.139“Battered Love”: Exposing Abuse in the Book of JobMarlene Underwood.165Part 3: Foregrounding Women on the MarginsBlack Collectors and Keepers of Tradition: Resources for a WomanistBiblical Ethic of (Re)InterpretationGay L. Byron.187Flowing from Breast to Breast: An Examination of Dis/placedMotherhood in African American and Indian Wet NursesSharon Jacob and Jennifer T. Kaalund.209s“We Don’t Give Birth to Thugs”: Family Values, RespectabilityPolitics, and Jephthah’s MotherVanessa Lovelace.239esPart 4: Illuminating Biblical Children/ChildhoodPrOutrageous, Audacious, Courageous, Willful: Reading theEnslaved Girl of Acts 12Margaret Aymer.265“Nobody’s Free until Everybody’s Free”: Exploring Gender andClass Injustice in a Story about Children (Luke 18:15–17)Bridgett A. Green.291SBL“I Will Make Boys Their Princes”: A Womanist Reading ofChildren in the Book of IsaiahValerie Bridgeman.311
viicontentsPart 5: In ResponseMiracles and Gifts: A Womanist Reading of John 14:12–14 andEphesians 4:11–16Layli Maparyan.331Looking Forward from the Horizon: A Response in AfricanaSisterhood and SolidarityAlthea Spencer-Miller.339Challenged and ChangedKatharine Doob Sakenfeld.349The Road We Are TravelingEmilie M. Townes.359SBLPressContributors.369Ancient Sources Index.375Subject Index.384
LSBsesPr
AcknowledgmentsSBLPressWe are honored that so many of our colleagues responded enthusiastically to our invitation to contribute to this volume. For their commitmentand willingness to press the boundaries of womanist hermeneutics, we aregrateful. We are also honored that this volume includes responses by someof the leading scholars who have embraced womanist theory and praxisand who value the spirit of collaboration this volume represents.We stand on the shoulders of womanist theologians, ethicists, religious scholars, cultural critics, and biblical interpreters who dared to readtheir way through the struggle and to offer rich trajectories and paths forour own explorations. Indeed, “if it wasn’t for the(se) women,” to borrowa phrase from Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, this volume would have neveremerged from its dark womb of knowing. In particular we are grateful forRenita J. Weems and Clarice J. Martin, who have inspired our efforts andmuch of the scholarship reflected in this volume and continue to remindus that we are “just a sister away.” We are also grateful for the early support of Cheryl Kirk-Duggan and Bridgett Green, who embraced the ideaof a womanist volume when we first conceived of it. Cheryl suggested anoutline and Bridgett offered to contact potential editors, including GayByron who was serving on the Semeia Studies editorial board. Althoughthe initial outline did not come to fruition, we are appreciative of Cheryl’ssupport and encouragement in pursuing this project.We thank the Semeia Studies Editorial Board for their acceptance ofthese essays for publication and the very constructive feedback offeredduring the early phase of conceptualizing the volume. In particular, general editor Gerald West, offered great encouragement and sound advice.Steed Davidson, who succeeded Gerald as general editor, offered timelyand keen editorial support as the volume progressed toward publication.We also express our gratitude to the entire staff of SBL Press, especiallyBob Buller and Nicole Tilford, for their expert assistance throughoutthe publication process. In addition, we acknowledge Barbara Fears,-ix-
xacknowledgmentsSBLPressJonathan McPhee, and Rickdrieka Sanders for their assistance with thisvolume.We are grateful for our families and other networks of support—especially Wilfred Bentley, patient spouse to Vanessa, who endured our manyconference calls. Finally, we dedicate this volume to our children: Christopher, Shauna, Khalil, Lloyd, and PJ—who constantly remind us why sucha volume on expanding the discourse about womanist biblical interpretation is not an optional academic exercise but a necessary life-affirmingreflection of our commitment to wholeness of our entire community andpeace throughout the world.Gay L. Byron, Washington, DCVanessa Lovelace, Atlanta, GA
AbbreviationsPrimary SourcesSBLPressAg. Ap.Josephus, Against ApionAnt.Josephus, Jewish Antiquitiesb.Bablyonian TalmudB. Bat.Baba BatraBer.BerakhotB.J.Josephus, Bellum judaicumCels. Origen, Contra CelsumEmbassy Philo, On the Embassy to GaiusEp. Tra. Pliny the Younger, Epistulae ad Trajanum‘Erub. EruvinFlaccusPhilo, Against FlaccusGen. Rab.Genesis RabbahGeogr. Strabo, GeographyGos. MaryGospel of MaryGub. DeiSalvian, The Governance of GodHist. Rufinus, Eusebii Historia ecclesiastica a Rufino translata etcontinuataHist. Rufinus, Eusebii Historia ecclesiastica a Rufino translata etcontinuata; Tacitus, HistoriaeHist. rom. Dio Cassius, Historiae romanaeLet. Aris. Letter of AristeasLeuc. Clit.Achilles Tatius, Leucippe et ClitophonLing.Varro, De lingua latinaNaz. NazirNum. Rab. Numbers RabbahPhysiogn.Pseudo-Aristotle, PhysiognomonicaPoet. Aristotle, PoeticsPol. Aristotle, Politics-xi-
xiiabbreviationsŠabb. ShabbatSanh. SanhedrinSat.Juvenal, SatiresSecondary ResourcesSBLPressAARCCS American Academy of Religion Cultural Criticism SeriesAB Anchor BibleAIL Ancient Israel and Its LiteratureAJSRAssociation for Jewish Studies ReviewASOR American Schools of Oriental ResearchASV American Standard VersionATLA American Theological Library AssociationBAGDBauer, Walter, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich, andFrederick W. Danker. Greek-English Lexicon of the NewTestament and Other Early Christian Literature. 2nd ed.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.BASORBulletin of the American Schools of Oriental ResearchBDAG Danker, Frederick W., Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt,and F. Wilbur Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the NewTestament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.BDBBrown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. AHebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996.BECNTBaker Exegetical Commentary on the New TestamentBibIntBiblical InterpretationBJSBrown Judaic StudiesBibliotheca SacraBSacCBQCatholic Biblical QuarterlyCDCCenters for Disease ControlCommon English TranslationCETThe Classical JournalCJCurTMCurrents in Theology and MissionDBIDictionary of Biblical Interpretation. Edited by John Hays.2 vols. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999.EDBEerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David NoelFreedman. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.Expository TimesExpTim
xiiiabbreviationsSBLPressFCB Feminist Companion to the BibleFCNTECW Feminist Companion to the New Testament and EarlyChristian WritingsGRGreece and RomeGSSGeneral Social SurveyHALOTKoehler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner. The Hebrewand Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Translatedand edited by Mervyn E. J. Richardson. Study ed. 2 vols.Leiden: Brill, 2001.HARHebrew Annual ReviewHBM Hebrew Bible MonographsHistoriaHistoria: Zeitschrift für alte GeschichteHMML Hill Museum and Manuscript LibraryHTRHarvard Theological ReviewHUSD Howard University School of DivinityIBC Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching andPreachingIEJIsrael Exploration JournalJAHJournal of American HistoryJAOSJournal of the American Oriental SocietyJBLJournal of Biblical LiteratureJBQJewish Bible QuarterlyJFAJournal of Field ArchaeologyJFSRJournal of Feminist Studies in ReligionJournal of the Interdenominational Theological CenterJITCJNEThe Journal of Negro EducationJNHJournal of Negro HistoryJPSTanakh: A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures according to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Philadelphia: JewishPublication Society, 1985.JRAJournal of Religion in AfricaJournal of Roman StudiesJRSJournal of Religious ThoughtJRTJSBJewish Study Bible. Edited by Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, and Michael Fishbane. Oxford: Oxford UniversityPress, 2004.JSOTJournal for the Study of the Old TestamentJSOTSupJournal for the Study of the Old Testament SupplementSeries
xivabbreviationsSBLPressJSNTJournal for the Study of the New TestamentJWJ MSSJames Weldon Johnson ManuscriptsKJVKing James VersionLCL Loeb Classical LibraryLXX SeptuagintMT Masoretic TextNA28Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland, 28th ed.NeotNeotestamenticaNET New English TranslationNIBThe New Interpreter’s Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck. 12vols. Nashville: Abingdon, 1994–2004.NICNT New International Commentary on the New TestamentNIGTC New International Greek Testament CommentaryNIV New International VersionNRSV New Revised Standard VersionNTL New Testament LibraryNTSNew Testament StudiesNWPC National Women’s Political CaucusOTL Old Testament LibraryPACS Philo of Alexandria Commentary SeriesPEPFAR President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS ReliefPL Patrologia LatinaPTMS Princeton Theological Monograph SeriesPneumaPneuma: Journal for the Society of Pentecostal StudiesSemeiaSt Semeia StudiesSHBC Smyth & Helwys Bible CommentarySNCC Student Nonviolent Coordinating CommitteeSNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph SeriesSP Sacra PaginaSpectrum: A Journal on Black MenSpectrumSymS Symposium SeriesTeaching Theology & ReligionTTRUNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and CulturalOrganizationVetus TestamentumVTWord Biblical CommentaryWBC
Introduction:Methods and the Making ofWomanist Biblical HermeneuticsGay L. Byron and Vanessa LovelaceSBLPressWomanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse is a longawaited collection of original essays that features bold new womanistapproaches to biblical hermeneutics. We first conceived of this volumethrough a series of conversations, which first began at the 2011 AnnualMeeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco. At that time,Vanessa Lovelace shared with a group of colleagues her desire to publisha volume of womanist interpretations of the Bible to honor the trailblazing scholarship of Renita J. Weems and Clarice Martin. Around the sametime, Gay L. Byron was serving on the Semeia Studies editorial board andhaving conversations with board members and other colleagues aboutediting a volume showcasing womanist readings of the Bible. Our mutualfriend and editor, Bridgett Green, was privy to both of these conversationsand connected us together. Once we realized that we shared the same ideaand a commitment to womanist biblical scholarship, it seemed natural forthe two of us to collaborate and serve as coeditors of this volume.We both have generated various essays and articles using gender criticism, critical race theory, and other theories and methods dealing withthe interlocking oppressions of black women. Though in some cases notexplicitly identifying a womanist hermeneutic, we have been greatly influenced by the writings of author, poet, and activist Alice Walker. She isoften credited with coining the term womanist, which she first used inher essay “Coming Apart” published in the 1979 anthology Take Back theNight. In this essay, Walker wrote that a “ ‘womanist’ is a feminist, onlymore common.” She elaborated in a footnote:-1-
2byron and lovelace“Womanist” encompasses “feminist” as it is defined in Webster’s, but alsomeans instinctively pro-woman. It is not in the dictionary at all. Nonetheless, it has a strong root in black women’s culture. It comes (to me)from the word “womanish,” a word our mothers used to describe, andattempt to inhibit, strong, outrageous or outspoken behavior when wewere children: “You’re acting womanish!” A labeling that failed, for themost part to keep us from acting “womanish” whenever we could, that isto say, like our mothers themselves, and like other women we admired.(Walker 1979, 100)1Walker refined her description of womanist in her classic four-part poeticdefinition of the term in the preface to her 1983 book In Search of OurMothers’ Gardens:SBLPress1. From womanish. (Opp. of “girlish,” i.e., frivolous, irresponsible, notserious.) A black feminist of color. From the black folk expression ofmothers to female children, “You acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman.Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered“good” for one. Interested in grown-up doings. Acting grown up. Beinggrown up. Interchangeable with another black folk expression: ‘Youtrying to be grown.’ Responsible. In charge. Serious. 2. Also: A womanwho loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates andprefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears asnatural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimesloves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist,except periodically, for health. Traditionally a universalist, as in: “Mama,why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige,and black?” Ans. “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flowergarden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in:“Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of otherslaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.” 3. Loves music.Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food androundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 4.Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender. (Walker 1983, xi)1. Two lesser-known progenitors of the notion and terminology of womanism,independent of Walker, are Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi (1985) and Clenora Hudson-Weems (1998). See Layli Phillips 2006.
3IntroductionPressShortly after the publication of In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, theterm womanist began to appear in the discipline of religious studies. Agroup of black female theological students at Union Theological Seminaryin the City of New York studying with Dr. James Cone were the first tobegin to express new black liberationist theology that was also inclusive oftheir particular experiences of sexism and racism in the academy and thechurch, perpetuated even by their own black male colleagues. The groupconsisted of doctoral students Jacquelyn Grant and Katie Geneva Cannonand Master of Divinity students Delores Williams and Kelly Brown Douglas. They began to raise critical questions regarding the absence of blackwomen’s voices in black and feminist theological discourses. It was theirexploration of black women’s tridimensional oppression of gender, race,and class that led them to embrace the term womanist to identify theirreligious thought.Womanist theological discourse expanded in 1985 when a numberof black women members of the American Academy of Religion and theSociety of Biblical Literature gathered at the first session of WomanistApproaches to Religion and Society, convened by Cheryl Townsend Gilkes.This was the beginning of womanist theological, ethical, and biblical interpretation in the academy. That same year Cannon (1985) published theformative essay “Black Feminist Consciousness,” in which she used theterms black womanist and womanist to speak of black women’s biblicalinterpretive tradition to confront racism and other forms of oppression.This was followed by Williams’s (1987) seminal essay on “Womanist Theology,” which identified the sources and methods for this new area of theological inquiry.2Also among this budding group of womanist religious scholars wasMartin, who earned her doctorate in New Testament (Christian Scriptures)in 1985 and Weems, who earned her doctorate in Old Testament (HebrewBible) in 1989.3 Weems published the monograph Just a Sister Aw
Christian Writings GR Greece and Rome Gss General social survey HALOT Koehler, ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. translated and edited by mervyn e. J. richardson. study ed. 2 vols. leiden: Brill, 2001. HAR Hebrew Annual Review hBm hebrew Bible monographs
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