Back to the Well: Women's Encounters with Jesus in the Gospels Book

Exploring six Gospel texts in which women encounter Jesus, Frances Taylor Gench encourages us to view these stories anew through the eyes of contemporary biblical scholarship. Summarizing and making accessible the work of a diversity of feminist scholars while also engaging many of the more traditional voices of the past, she examines each story's language, structure, and literary and socio-cultural context, and recounts many traditional and contemporary interpretations. In the process, she opens up new possibilities for reading these texts. Includes helpful questions for discussion. Stories discussed: the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15:21-29; a hemorrhaging woman and Jairus's daughter of Mark 5:21-43; Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42; a woman bent over and a daughter of Abraham in Luke 13:10-17; the Samaritan woman of John 4; and a woman accused of adultery in John 7:53ff.Read More