Ephesians is a “mystery” text that seeks to make known the multifarious Wisdom of G*d. At its heart is the question of power. In this commentary, Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza examines the political understandings of ekklesia and household in Ephesians as well as the roles that such understandings have played in the formation of early Christian communities and that still shape such communities today. By paying close attention to the function of androcentric biblical language within Ephesians, Schüssler Fiorenza engages in a critical feminist emancipatory approach to biblical interpretation that calls for conscientization and change, that is, for the sake of wo/men’s salvation or wellbeing.
Reviews
"Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza provides a profound understanding of Ephesians centered on an analysis of power. Readers of this commentary will preach new messages when Ephesians appears in the lectionary!"WATER "This book presents an excellent study of Ephesians with a strong feminist perspective. It is part of the Wisdom Commentary series which should be included in every theology school and parish libraries."Catholic Press Association award, first place "Well written and accessible. I highly recommend it for seminary and divinity school students and scholars of religion."Interpretation "This yields a fascinating reading of the letter, one quite different from what one finds in the standard handbooks and introductions."Journal for the Study of the New Testament
Contents
List of Abbreviations
Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
Foreword: Come Eat of My Bread . . . and Walk in the Ways of Wisdom
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza
Editors Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: She Is a Breath of the Power of
God (Wis 7:25)
Barbara E. Reid, OP
Map of Asia Minor
Authors Introduction
Ephesians 1:12:22 G*ds Great Love: Cosmos and Ekklsia
Ephesians 3:1-21 The Mystery Made Known to Paul
Ephesians 4:15:14 The Way to Walk
Ephesians 5:156:24 The Ekklsia of the Wise
Works Cited
Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings
Index of Subjects
Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Krister Stendahl Professor at Harvard University Divinity School, is an internationally known biblical scholar and path-breaking feminist intellectual. She has done pioneering work in biblical interpretation and feminist theology. Dr. Schüssler Fiorenzas teaching and research focus on questions of biblical and theological hermeneutics, ethics, rhetoric, and the politics of interpretation, and on issues of theological education, diversity, and democracy. She is the co-founding senior editor of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, was the first woman president of the Society of Biblical Literature, and was elected a member to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001. Her landmark work, In Memory of Her, has become a classic in biblical studies. Her latest books are Transforming Vision: Explorations in Feminist The*logy (2011); Changing Horizons: Explorations in Feminist Interpretation (2013); Empowering Memory and Movement: Thinking and Working across Borders (2014); Feminist Biblical Studies in the Twentieth Century (ed.; 2014); 1 Peter: Reading Against the Grain (2015); and Congress of Wo/men: Religion, Culture and Kyriarchal Power (2016). Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, and president emerita of Catholic Theological Union (the first woman who held the position). She has been a member of the CTU faculty since 1988 and also served as vice president and academic dean from 2009 to 2018. She holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 20142015. Her most recent publications are Luke 19 and Luke 1024, co-authored with Shelly Matthews (WCS 43A, 43B; Liturgical Press, 2021); and At the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Paulist, 2023).
More information about ebooks