Womanist Midrash, Volume 2

Wil Gafney is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. A Womanist biblical scholar, she is the author of the four-volume series A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church and translator of its biblical selections. She is also the author of Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to Women of the Torah and the Throne; Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah in the Wisdom Commentary series; Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel; and coeditor of The Peoples' Bible and The Peoples' Companion to the Bible. She is an Episcopal priest canonically resident in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and licensed in the Diocese of Texas and a former Army chaplain and congregational pastor in the AME Zion Church. A former member of the Dorshei Derekh Reconstructionist Minyan of the Germantown Jewish Center in Philadelphia and affiliate member of Makom Shelanu Congregation in Fort Worth, she has co-taught courses with and for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. She is a preacher, teacher, activist, and an amateur watercolorist.

"In this second volume in her Womanist Midrash series, Wil Gafney masterfully weaves together biblical exegesis, womanist scholarship, and the art of midrash to create a tapestry of voices long silenced in traditional interpretations of that section of the Hebrew canon referred to as the Former Prophets. With poetic grace and scholarly rigor, Gafney invites readers to a feast of new perspectives, where the stories of marginalized characters in Scripture, especially women and girls, come alive with startling relevance for today. What sets this volume apart is the author’s fastidious attention to translation. Viewing it as both an art and a science, she skillfully communicates not just words but content and concepts from the original texts into contemporary language. This meticulous approach to translation forms the bedrock of Gafney’s womanist midrashic interpretation, ensuring that every nuance and subtlety of the original text is considered. Drawing on her expertise as both translator and interpreter, Gafney offers fresh renderings of the books of the Former Prophets that help readers come face-to-face with questions about the ethics of translating and reading the Bible. Her wrestling with translation forces us also to see how powerful dominant forces in the culture have shaped and often distorted our understanding of God’s word. Gafney’s womanist midrashic approach fills in the gaps and hollows of ancient words, revealing new worlds of meaning and liberation."—Dr. Renita J. Weems, author of Just a Sister Away: A Womanist Vision of Women’s Relationships in the Bible "Wil Gafney’s stature as one of our nation’s foremost experts in both Hebrew Bible and womanist theology are on full display in Womanist Midrash, Volume 2. This expansive set of new, field-shifting, and provocatively rigorous interpretations of texts that many of us think we know should be an essential volume for any serious theologian, preacher, teacher, or student of these texts. Gafney uses her formidable set of skills as both a translator and an interpreter of these texts to invite us to her communal supper table, wherein she serves a veritable intellectual and soul-filling feast."—Dr. Brittney Cooper, Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Africana Studies, Rutgers University "It is a thrilling experience to read Wil Gafney’s book Womanist Midrash and experience the dramatically new readings of the Bible that she presents. With insight and originality, she inspires readers to understand even the most difficult biblical passages with insight and compassion."—Dr. Susannah Heschel, Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, Dartmouth College "Few scholars carry the multiplicity of tools gifted to and forged by Wil Gafney: an extraordinary scholar, gifted preacher, and cultural critic with a nuanced undercurrent of satire to demonstrate the absurdities of systems of oppression. Womanist Midrash, Volume 2 places all her skills on display, and not unlike an academic version of Coach Dawn Staley, Gafney demands all who dare engage Scripture to move beyond simple rudimentary hermeneutical ‘layups’ to complex theological ‘crossovers’ that unlock new meaning to an ancient Word. I encourage you to read this work and receive an unforgettable elite theological workout from one of the nation’s best ‘coaches’ and scholars."—Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, and Professor of Homiletics, McAFee School of Theology, Mercer University "Dazzling scholarship and keen insight, holy imagination, and precise, often moving, even witty prose—Gafney offers us all these gifts in this marvelous book. But there’s more: As she lifts up the stories of biblical women, examining them with empathy, curiosity, and care, she nudges the reader to come alongside, bringing their own questions and wonderings. She is the best kind of professor. When she writes, “All are welcome,” I felt her warm invitation to grow in my understanding not just of these sacred stories, not just of these often-overlooked women, but also of God herself."—Rev. Jeff Chu, author of Does Jesus Really Love Me? and coauthor of Wholehearted Faith