Women's Bible Commentary, Third Edition: Revised and Updated

What an awesome purchase this was. There is a lot of well written information packed into this single, albeit thick, volume. The material is a breath of fresh air in the field of theology which is one that's pretty much dominated by male writers. Understanding that, the authors of this commentary seek to guide the reader through every book in the Bible while offering compassionate and thoughtful commentary on issues that may be of interest to people who wish to deepen their understanding of women in Scripture. It is important to note that the material of this commentary (from the perspective of someone born and raised in the USA) is quite liberal. To the more conservative minded people reading on, please don't let that scare you off. The book can still be quite insightful with respect to broadening your hermeneutics. Surely a lot of liberal stuff within the field of theology may be unpalatable to many conservative readers, but I firmly believe this is a book you may wish to consider giving a chance. My only issue with this book is the binding leaves a bit to be desired. It is a glued binding as opposed to sewn and it's not so easy to get the book to stay open on its own, especially when exploring the pages of the beginning and end of the book. If you are taking this book with you to classes, bible study, vacations, and reading from it regularly, it may not stand up to such strenuous use. However, the pages are think, so feel free to mark them up and highlight without much worry of bleed through. This is such a great commentary, I would love to see the publisher market a more premium binding. All that said, I recommend this as a valuable addition to your bookshelf.

The Women's Bible Commentary has been on recommended and required reading lists for all the bible work I've done in seminary so far. I have read only a few entries so far but I think this is one of the best bible commentaries I've come across and would highly recommend it to all theological students as well as anyone who takes modern interpretation seriously. If you are a literalist who thinks the King James Version is without error, this is probably not the one for you. But if you (whether woman or man) believe that the Bible is the living word that speaks to all of us, and that scholarship by womanist and feminist scholars deserves to be heard loud and clear, you'd be doing yourself a favor to by this one. These are simply some of the best scholars working today. They are not only historically and theologically sound, but their responses to these texts capture the richness of these texts in both creative and practical ways. There is nothing intentionally dark about this commentary. The Bible is meant to be challenging, and not merely a book to make us feel good about ourselves. If we are to take it seriously, and with respect to the rich contexts in it, we can't whitewash it. So far I am very impressed with the Kindle version, and would highly recommend it to those that prefer e-books.

An excellent, well written work that allows is to see the Bible from a female and feminist perspective, filling in (at least partially) a gap that has existed in commentary since the time of the Patriotic Era. While it is not a verse by verse erudition, it offers detailed observations on several key passages by several different authors. Highly recommended!

I am very excited to read the content of this book, which I have not yet done. I'm posting a review instead because of an issue with the construction: I was disappointed to find that the binding broke (cover split from book spine) pretty much the first time I tried to open it. Purchased new, and it didn't seem to have been excessively roughed up in shipping, so I don't know why it broke away from the book so easily. See pictures. (The reason I only took off one star is that I think the book content will be great, once I get into it!)

I bought this as a gift for my wife who just started seminary in pursuit of her Masters degree. We both came from backgrounds where women's voices were suppressed. I even studied religion in my undergrad, and all my textbooks or commentaries required were from white males. After becoming frustrated with that, both my wife and I have made conscious efforts to read theology from different genders, cultures, and times in history to get the most well-rounded view we can get. This commentary has fantastic insights, much needed today, whether you're clergy or just looking for a deeper understanding of the Bible and Theology. I would highly recommend this to anyone!

I borrowed it numerous times from the library while doing my theology degree in Boston College -- after leaving I wanted it on my own shelf for preach-prepping.

The "Women's Bible Commentary, Third Edition" is scholarly, knowledgeable, feisty and informative. The commentaries of the authors help me out with many of my questions in regard to understanding the Old and New Testament. The writing is quite lucid. It's an excellent resource when I read the daily Epistles and Gospels.

I ready love this book.