
Ruth
Volume 8
Liturgical Press
Published on 25. July 2017
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-8146-8107-7 (ISBN)
Description
This volume, using multiple methods, seeks to bring together the best scholarship and insight-Jewish and Christian, past and present-that has contributed to our understanding and appreciation of the biblical book of Ruth. As a feminist commentary, it is particularly sensitive to issues of relationship and inclusion, power and agency. In addition to the voices of the primary co-authors, Alice Laffey and Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, the volume incorporates and integrates important contributing voices from diverse contemporary social contexts and geographical locations. In sum, the commentary seeks to allow Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz to speak again for the first time.
Reviews / Votes
"Laffey and Leonard-Fleckman have produced a thoroughly researched, readable, and engaging commentary on the book of Ruth. The authors guide the reader through a variety of opinions, whether from the enlightening `contributing voices' included throughout or from the occasional disagreements of the lead authors themselves. It is refreshing to see diverse views presented without competition, revealing, without the usual one-upmanship of academic discourse, a rich layering of interpretive possibilities."Caroline Johnson Hodge, College of the Holy Cross "Two scholars-one at the dawn of a fine career, the other at the top of her craft-take up the challenge of decoding the biblical book of Ruth, an ancient text that has yet to divulge all of its secrets despite the many centuries of focused interest. Feminists both but with differing sensibilities and training, they have pooled resources and imagination to successfully produce a commentary in the classic mode, yet one in which all issues are scrutinized through boldly tinted lenses. The result is an engaging, elegant, and insightful contribution that should reward all readers, in and beyond the profession."Jack M. Sasson, Professor Emeritus, Vanderbilt University "These two authors bring a model of intergenerational feminist scholarship to an intergenerational biblical pair, Ruth and Naomi. Postcolonial analysis and global feminist theological insights provide rich food for thought."WATER "Laffey (an experienced scholar) and Leonard-Fleckman (a new scholar) bring a rich combination of wisdom, insight, and sound biblical scholarship to this commentary."The Bible Today "This commentary is truly a dialogical work and incorporates complementary and opposing perspectives in a cohesive narrative meant for biblical scholars, pastors, and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Scripture. Laffey and Leonard-Fleckman beautifully unite many voices and unique perspectives in their commentary on Ruth and animate this text with a new vitality."Catholic Library World "Both of the authors are attentive to feminist issues such as female agency, power, authority, and ethnicity, but their interpretations do not necessarily coalesce. As a case in point, the authors present opposing arguments with regard to the book's date of composition, leaving readers to make their own determinations. While the commentary resists consensus and maintains interpretive tensions, it is nevertheless rife with provocative insights into the book of Ruth."Megan Fullerton Strollo, Union Presbyterian Seminary
More details
Series
Edition
Unabridged edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Collegeville, MN
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Adult education
Edition type
Unabridged edition
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 158 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
599 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8146-8107-7 (9780814681077)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Alice L. Laffey (1944-2023) taught the Old Testament for thirty-five years at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, before retiring in May 2016. She was the author of many articles as well as Introduction to the Old Testament: A Feminist Perspective (Fortress, 1988), Appreciating God's Creation through Scripture (Paulist, 1997), The Pentateuch: A Liberation-Critical Reading (Fortress, 1998), and 1-2 Kings in the New Collegeville Bible Commentary series (Liturgical Press, 2012).
Mahri Leonard-Fleckman is an assistant professor of Hebrew Bible in the Religious Studies Department at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is a contributor to Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press), the co-author of The Book of Ruth in the Wisdom Commentary Series (Liturgical Press), and the author of The House of David: Between Political Formation and Literary Revision (Fortress Press). Mahri facilitates a lectionary-based Bible study at her home parish of St. John's in Worcester.
Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, and president emerita of Catholic Theological Union (the first woman who held the position). She has been a member of the CTU faculty since 1988 and also served as vice president and academic dean from 2009 to 2018. She holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 2014-2015. Her most recent publications are Luke 1-9 and Luke 10-24, co-authored with Shelly Matthews (WCS 43A, 43B; Liturgical Press, 2021); and At the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Paulist, 2023).
Mahri Leonard-Fleckman is an assistant professor of Hebrew Bible in the Religious Studies Department at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is a contributor to Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press), the co-author of The Book of Ruth in the Wisdom Commentary Series (Liturgical Press), and the author of The House of David: Between Political Formation and Literary Revision (Fortress Press). Mahri facilitates a lectionary-based Bible study at her home parish of St. John's in Worcester.
Barbara E. Reid, general editor of the Wisdom Commentary series, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is the Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, and president emerita of Catholic Theological Union (the first woman who held the position). She has been a member of the CTU faculty since 1988 and also served as vice president and academic dean from 2009 to 2018. She holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America and was president of the Catholic Biblical Association in 2014-2015. Her most recent publications are Luke 1-9 and Luke 10-24, co-authored with Shelly Matthews (WCS 43A, 43B; Liturgical Press, 2021); and At the Table of Holy Wisdom: Global Hungers and Feminist Biblical Interpretation (Paulist, 2023).
Author
Editor
Volume editor
Contributions
Content
Contents
List of Abbreviations vii
List of Contributors xi
Foreword "Tell It on the Mountain"-or, "And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [as Well]" xiii
Athalya Brenner-Idan
Editor's Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: "She Is a Breath of the Power of God" (Wis 7:25) xvii
Barbara E. Reid, OP
Authors' Introduction xxxvii
Acknowledgments xci
Ruth 1 Finding Alternatives 1
Ruth 2 Gleaning 55
Ruth 3 Searching for Rest 97
Ruth 4 Persevering in Loyalty 129
Afterword 163
Bibliography 165
Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings 177
Index of Subjects 185
List of Abbreviations vii
List of Contributors xi
Foreword "Tell It on the Mountain"-or, "And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [as Well]" xiii
Athalya Brenner-Idan
Editor's Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: "She Is a Breath of the Power of God" (Wis 7:25) xvii
Barbara E. Reid, OP
Authors' Introduction xxxvii
Acknowledgments xci
Ruth 1 Finding Alternatives 1
Ruth 2 Gleaning 55
Ruth 3 Searching for Rest 97
Ruth 4 Persevering in Loyalty 129
Afterword 163
Bibliography 165
Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings 177
Index of Subjects 185