In this volume, Deborah Appler and Terry Ann Smith offer a sustained investigation and feminist critique of Ezra-Nehemiah that moves beyond traditional historical and theological interpretations of Ezra-Nehemiah. Their intersectional analysis engages themes of gender, power, economics, and social justice. Tensions between group inclusion and exclusion are evident in Ezra-Nehemiah, and the authors bring attention to the complexities associated with identity formation and boundary-making for a repatriated community. Their analysis amplifies often overlooked voices in the text and offers insight into how issues of faith, marginalization, and communal solidarity complicate what it means to "come home." Their collaborative analysis of Ezra-Nehemiah demonstrates how ancient and modern communities grapple with community formation and identity amidst ever-evolving social and cultural challenges.
Arvustused
"Deborah Ann Appler and Terry Ann Smith have taken the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, notorious for their historical, literary, and interpretive challenges and given us a reliable and insightful guide for readers of these books. Along with a cadre of supplementary commenters and their helpful insets they have provided both scholars and church readers alike with deeper understandings of the challenges faced by the returned community of Judean exiles and new appreciation for the courage and resourcefulness of leaders in this difficult period. But they have done so while also helping us understand difficult decisions made by these leaders that led to unfortunate consequences, and they help us to understand these choices but enable us to better avoid making similar mistaken judgments of our own." Bruce C. Birch, dean and professor emeritus of biblical theology, Wesley Theological Seminary "It is not a simple task to write a biblical commentary that includes the nuances of the biblical texts ancient setting as well as the various insights from current feminist/womanist approaches and interpretations. Deborah Appler and Terry Smith manage that task well, with a volume that is both clear and accessible. This is an important addition to the Wisdom Commentary series." Cheryl B. Anderson, professor of Old Testament, emerita, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary "Ezra-Nehemiah isa welcome edition to the Wisdom Commentary series. Deborah Ann Appler and Terry Ann Smith offer readers an interpretation of the text that has varying levels of technical depth that will appeal to academics while also engaging ordinary readers in search of new insights. The authors provide enough background information for understanding the text in its ancient context while also including supplemental material that helps the reader make connections to their contemporary settings. The authors are deliberate in their efforts to strike a balance between being faithful to the Christian traditions that inform their readings of these Hebrew (and Aramaic) scriptures of ancient Israel while also honoring the Jewish and Muslim readers for whom these scriptures are sacred. Appler and Smith also keep true to the spirit of the series by bringing feminist and womanist perspectives to their analyses informed by dynamics of hegemonic masculinity that are present in the text. They succeed in lifting out gender matters for consideration that will be sure to expand the readers knowledge of Ezra-Nehemiah." Vanessa Lovelace, executive director of the Louisville Institute in Louisville, Kentucky
Contents
List of Abbreviations vii
List of Contributors xi
Foreword: Tell It on the Mountainor, And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [ as
Well] xv
Athalya Brenner-Idan
Editors Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: She Is a Breath of the Power of
God (Wis 7:25) xix
Barbara E. Reid, OP
Authors Introduction xxxix
Ezra 1 Theres No Place Like Home 1
Ezra 2 Lists, Lists, and More Lists 13
Ezra 3 Feasts and Festivals 25
Ezra 46 Power, Politics, and Policies 39
Ezra 710 Introducing Ezra: Priest and Scribe 75
Nehemiah Building Walls of Identity and Gates of Possibility 115
Nehemiah 13 Nehemiah: The Man and His Mission 117
Nehemiah 4:17:73a Triumph Amidst Challenge s 147
Nehemiah 7:73b10:39 Building a Community Ethic 191
Nehemiah 11:113:31 Making, Unmaking, and Remaking 227
Works Cited 269
Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings 302
Index of Subjects 309
Deborah Ann Appler is professor emerita of Hebrew Bible at Moravian University School of Theology in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, an ordained elder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, and an Earth Keeper for the UMC Board of Global Ministries. Her research, publications, and teaching seek to encourage conversations around community justice, especially as these issues appear in biblical texts and intersect with gender, sexuality, elder issues, and food justice. She participated in several archaeological excavations, including Jezreel, Megiddo, and Ramat Rachel to better understand the history and culture behind biblical texts.
Terry Ann Smith is the associate dean of institutional assessment and associate professor of biblical studies at New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Her research interests and publications focus on inspections of the Hebrew Bible that expose normalized inequitable distributions of power and privilege as these intersect categories of ethnicity, class, and gender. As an ordained Baptist minister, she is particularly interested in contextualized socio-political readings of biblical texts that foster conversations which address the theological, practical, and ethical applications of the Bible by the church.
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