Priscilla Papers | Academic Journal | Autumn 2009
An interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed academic journal exploring Bible interpretation, theology, church history, and other disciplines as they address a biblical view of women’s equality and justice in the home, church, and world.
"Priscilla and Aquila instructed Apollos more perfectly in the way of the Lord." (Acts 18:26)
Academic JournalsThe opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members.
Autumn 2009
Volume: 23 | Number: 4
Women Who Met Jesus
This issue of Priscilla Papers discusses New Testament women and the impact meeting Jesus had on them.
Contents
One of the earliest hymns we have in our treasury of praise, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten,” celebrates the moment when “the Babe, the world’s Redeemer, / First revealed His sacred face.”1
I love teaching undergraduates. In spite of days when glazed eyes dampen my enthusiasm, there are those special moments, epiphany-like occasions, when out of the mouths of college students come questions and observations that make me pause and silently exclaim, “And I get paid for this!”
Jesus’ encounter with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21–28 can be perplexing to contemporary Christians. This article will look at the interaction between the Canaanite woman and Jesus, examining the social and scriptural underpinnings of their encounter.
Amid many texts in the gospels that provide more lengthy interactions of women with Jesus, there are four brief stories, often overlooked, that express Jesus’ concern for women. Jesus provides healing or life, particularly for those in an unclean status, expressed through the language of the taboo. In the first three contexts, the person is [...]
In all four stories, Jesus affirms the woman’s act in the face of her male opponents. Jesus’ response to the anointing woman speaks volumes about his liberating love. The four authors send the clear message to their readers that the anointing woman has “a special mission, which is to reintroduce love.”
As illustrated by Lydia and the other women at Philippi, many ancient women became devout believers in the new Way (Acts 16:13–15, 17:12; Luke 23:27). God gave these women different spiritual gifts in order to equip them for leadership in the church as ministers of the word and ministers of service.
Fair lady with the alabaster flask,
How I wish I were there
To smell that fragrance in the air
All through the house.
And what a cost! A year’s wages!
I would not forget that wonderful smell.
And who could forget what you did?
Many saw you.
Many knew you.
Many smelled your precious [...]
In Gender, Power, and Persuasion, Mignon Jacobs examines the ancient Genesis narratives with fresh insight and clarity. She weaves together both a faithful identification of key texts and a modern "multicritical" analysis of those texts. Indeed, this book is particularly relevant for egalitarians looking for different methodologies to address the gender issues of the [...]
Even though Köstenberger claims to supply the reader with the "facts" (16), and to employ a "listening hermeneutic" (119, 220, 229), and not elevate ideology over Scripture (119), claiming to have no "presupposed notions" (183), in reality what she does herself is analyze feminists' writings about Jesus through the theological framework of gender defined by the Council of Biblical Manhood [...]
