Born out of two years of presentations in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at SBL, this volume discusses 'voice'. This volume is born out of two years of academic presentations on laments in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at the Society of Biblical Literature (2006-2007). The topics of these papers are gathered around the theme of 'voice'. The two parts to this volume: provide fresh readings of familiar texts as they are read through the lens of lamentation, and deepen our understanding of Israel and God as lamenter and lamentee. In the second section the focus on topics such as Israel's 'unbelieving faith' (i.e., strong accusations against the God on whom they have complete reliance and trust), the unrighteous lamenter, and God's acceptance and rejection of the people's lament(s), deepens our understanding of Israel's culture and practice of lamentation. The final essay notes how the expression of despair is in tension with the poetic devices that contain it. Over the last 30 years, this pioneering series has established an unrivaled reputation for cutting-edge international scholarship in Biblical Studies and has attracted leading authors and editors in the field. The series takes many original and creative approaches to its subjects, including innovative work from historical and theological perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and more recent developments in cultural studies and reception history.

From the Wisdom Commentary series . This volume offers a womanist and feminist analysis of the books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, attending to translation and textual issues, use of power and agency, and constructions of gender and its significance for the real and metaphorical women in the texts. The unit on Nahum takes an unflinching look at God's role and rhetoric in the rape of Nineveh and considers implications for the women of Nineveh and Israel and for contemporary readers. Habakkuk is read employing a womanist stratagem, talking back to God. The section on Zephaniah explores the racialized history of interpreting "Cushi" in Zephaniah's genealogy and the figures of Daughter Zion/Jerusalem. The commentary also assesses these texts as scriptures of synagogue and church, their use and utility. A Jewish feminist reading and womanist hermeneutic accompanies each biblical book.?

Reading Haggai and Malachi in conversation with feminist theory, rhetorical criticism, and masculinity studies reveals two communities in different degrees of crisis. The prophet Haggai successfully persuades a financially strapped people to rebuild the temple, but the speaker in Malachi faces sustained resistance to his arguments in favor of maintaining the priestly hierarchy. Both books describe conflicts among men based upon social class, and those who claim to speak for God find their claims and, with them, God's presumably unquestionable authority as the ultimate male contested. From the Wisdom Commentary series Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God's vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all. The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect. Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

Though the five poems of Lamentations undoubtedly refer to the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE, the multiple voices that narrate unspeakable suffering and labor to make sense of the surrounding horror do so at women's expense. In the opening chapters, a prevailing metaphor of Jerusalem as a woman (Woman Zion) portrays a weeping widow, abandoned and alone, who soon becomes the target of blame for the downfall of the city and its inhabitants. Vague sexual improprieties craft the basis of her sinfulness, seemingly to justify her immense suffering as punishment. The damning effect of such a metaphor finds company in subsequent accounts of women, young girls, and mothers-all victims of the destruction recorded therein. But this feminist interpretation of Lamentations does not stop at merely documenting the case against women; it also demonstrates how such texts can serve as sources of strength by lifting up portraits of courageous resistance amid the rubble of misogynist landscapes.

This volume brings gender studies to bear on Micah's powerful rhetoric, interpreting the book within its ancient and modern contexts. Julia M. O'Brien traces resonances of Micah's language within the Persian Period community in which the book was composed, evaluating recent study of the period and the dynamics of power reflected in ancient sources. Also sampling the book's reception by diverse readers in various time periods, she considers the real-life implications of Micah's gender constructs. By bringing the ancient and modern contexts of Micah into view, the volume encourages readers to reflect on the significance of Micah's construction of the world. Micah's perspective on sin, salvation, the human condition, and the nature of YHWH affects the way people live-in part by shaping their own thought and in part by shaping the power structures in which they live. O'Brien's engagement with Micah invites readers to discern in community their own hopes and dreams: What is justice? What should the future look like? What should we hope for? From the Wisdom Commentary series Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God's vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all. The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect. Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah are among the so-called deuterocanonical books of the Bible, part of the larger Catholic biblical canon. Except for a short article in the Women's Bible Commentary, no detailed or comprehensive feminist commentary on these books is available so far. Marie-Theres Wacker reads both books with an approach that is sensitive to gender and identity issues. The book of Baruch-with its reflections on guilt of the fathers, with its transformation of wisdom into the Book of God's commandments, and with its strong symbol of mother and queen Jerusalem-offers a new and creative digest of Torah, writings, and prophets but seems to address primarily learned men. The so-called Letter of Jeremiah is an impressive document that unmasks pseudo-deities but at the same draws sharp lines between the group's identity and the "others," using women of the "others" as boundary markers.

The year 2020 marks the centenary of the passing of the 19th Amendment that allowed for women in the United States to vote. The strategic struggle of women demanding equal dignity and the right to vote in the United States helped to shed light on the systemic evils that have plagued the collective history of the country. Ideologies of racism, genderism, classism, and many more were and continue to be used to deny women their dignities both in the United States and in other parts of the world. This work sheds light on the intersectionality of religion, class, gender, philosophy, theology, and culture as they shape the experiences of women, especially women of color. A fundamental question that this volume aims to address is: What does it mean to be a woman of color in a world where systems of erasure dominate? The title of this volume is meant to showcase a deliberate engagement with the uncelebrated insights and perspectives of women of color in a world where systemic discrimination persists, and to articulate new strategies and paradigms for recognizing their contributions to the broader struggles for freedom and equity of women in our world.

Reading the Prophets from the perspective of Liberation Theology and feminist criticism.

These six prophets proclaim powerful messages about judgment and the sovereignty of God. Amos challenges hypocrisy and injustice. Hosea's marriage symbolizes the covenant between God and Israel, moving from love to separation and then reunion. Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah condemn corrupt leadership, injustice to the poor, and worship of false gods. Habakkuk reminds all to rely on God, who will punish the evil and defeat chaos. Flowing through all these calls to be a better people is the unfailing promise of a faithful and forgiving God.

The Paulist Biblical Commentary (PBC) is a one-volume commentary on the books of the Bible designed for a wide variety of Bible readers, especially those engaged in pastoral ministry. The volume consists of a commentary on each of the seventy-three books of the Catholic canon of the Bible along with twelve general articles. While based on classical approaches to Scripture, the commentaries and articles are not limited to historical-literary issues, but draw upon relevant theological and pastoral ideas found in the text. The Paulist Biblical Commentary presents: * Solid exegesis of the biblical text. * A useful tool for preaching and spiritual nourishment. * An essential aid to deepen the understanding of Scripture. * Current biblical research that is relevant to pastoral or spiritual ministry. The Commentary brings together the collaboration of more than seventy international biblical scholars, each with expertise in their area of study drawn from their experience and interest in pastoral or spiritual ministry.

This volume is born out of two years of academic presentations on laments in the Biblical Hebrew Poetry Section at the Society of Biblical Literature (2006-2007). The topics of these papers are gathered around the theme of "voice." The two parts to this volume: 1) provide fresh readings of familiar texts as they are read through the lens of lamentation, and 2) deepen our understanding of Israel and God as lamenter and lamentee. In the second section the focus on topics such as Israel's "unbelieving faith" (i.e., strong accusations against the God on whom they have complete reliance and trust), the unrighteous lamenter, and God's acceptance and rejection of the people's lament(s), deepens our understanding of Israel's culture and practice of lamentation. The final essay notes how the expression of despair is in tension with the poetic devices that contain it.

This volume showcases recent exploration of the portrait of Daughter Zion as she appears in biblical Hebrew poetry. Using Carleen Mandolfo's Daughter Zion Talks Back to the Prophets (Society of Biblical Literature, 2007) as a point of departure, the contributors to this volume explore the image of Daughter Zion in its many dimensions in various texts in the Hebrew Bible. Approaches used range from poetic, rhetorical, and linguistic to sociological and ideological. To bring the conversation full circle, Carleen Mandolfo engages in a dialogic response with her interlocutors. The contributors are Mark J. Boda, Mary L. Conway, Stephen L. Cook, Carol J. Dempsey, LeAnn Snow Flesher, Michael H. Floyd, Barbara Green, John F. Hobbins, Mignon R. Jacobs, Brittany Kim, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Christl M. Maier, Carleen Mandolfo, Jill Middlemas, Kim Lan Nguyen, and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer.

The psalms offer a harmony to life and a rhythm that keeps us peacefully in tune with the intense fervor of life. In The Spirituality of the Psalms, Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, looks at the structure of the psalms to explain how they can have bearing in our lives today. He describes how we can apply the psalms to our spiritual lives and integrate the psalms in the Church's prayer life and ministry. The Spirituality of the Psalms is the last work of Stuhlmueller which was uncompleted upon his death in 1994. He had completed a first draft of all but two chapters, 12 and 13, which Timothy Lenchak, SVD, added from Stuhlmueller's commentary Psalms 1 and 2. The completed text was then edited, revised, and updated by Carol Dempsey, OP, who did so with care so as not to lose Stuhlmueller's voice" and "hand" in the text. Chapters are "Chapter One: The Psalms within the Bible and Christian Community," "Chapter Two: Methods for Studying and Praying the Psalms," "Chapter Three: Hymns of Praise," "Chapter Four: Hymns of Praise," "Chapter Five: Celebrating the Lord as King and Creator," "Chapter Six: The Royal Dynasty of David," "Chapter Seven: Community Laments," "Chapter Eight: Individual Laments," "Chapter Nine: Psalms for Sickness and Dying," "Chapter Ten: Cursing and Reconciliation," "Chapter Eleven: Psalms for Reconciliation," "Chapter Twelve: Wisdom Psalms," "Chapter Thirteen: Thanksgiving Psalms," and "Questions for Reflection." Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, was professor of Old Testament at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, a widely published author on biblical scholarship, and a mentor to a generation of biblical scholars. His association with The Liturgical Press included being editor of The Bible Today, the author of Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habbakkuk of The Collegeville Bible Commentary, and Psalms 1 and 2, of the Message of Biblical Theology series, and founding editor of The Collegeville Pastoral Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Carol J. Dempsey, OP, PhD, teaches Old Testament at the University of Portland. "

This multi-academic perspective on contemporary environmental issues reminds us of our oneness with the natural world and what that calls us to as moral creatures. Fashioned as a series of stories based on the model of biblical narrative, these seemingly multivalent voices and perspectives are joined together with biblical stories, references, and theological reflection to create in All Creation Is Groaning a seamless story that is both provocative and revelatory. All Creation Is Groaning provides a clear Vision of living life in a sacred universe. This Vision is linked to the biblical Vision of justice and righteousness for all of creation, and humankind's responsibility to hasten the Vision through a call to ethical practice. Critical and hermeneutical, this book reflects an interdisciplinary approach so as to build bridges of understanding between the Bible and contemporary disciplines." Chapters are *Stories from the Heart, - *New Ways of Knowing and Being Known, - *An Islamic Perspective on the Environment, - *Christian Values, Technology, and the Environment Crisis, - *Feeding the Hungry and Protecting the Environment, - *Mental Cartography in a Time of Environmental Crisis, - *Toward an Understanding of International Geopolitics and the Environment, - *Sustainability: An Eco- Theological Analysis, - *The Stewardship of Natural and Human Resources, - *Development of Environmental Responsibility in Children, - *An Ecological View of Elders and Their Families: Needs for the Twenty-First Century, - *Symphonies of Nature: Creation and Re-creation, - *A Sense of Place, - and *Hope Amidst Crisis: A Prophetic Vision of Cosmic Redemption.