Description
Book SynopsisBiblical narratives are not simply sacred stories for religious communities: They are stories that provide transformative insight into cultural biases. By putting historical criticism and reception history into dialogue with womanist biblical hermeneutics, this book offers a provocative reading of Jesus’ parable about a widow who confronts a judge and obtains what she seeks by means of physical threat. Rather than simply reading the widow as the model for “one who prays always and does not lose heart” (Luke 18:1), Dickerson shows that, read in the context of Luke’s wider narrative, the widow is more likely demanding “vengeance” instead of justice. Dickerson argues that the Evangelist has domesticated this character and robbed her of both her agency and her moral ambiguity. Then, taking up African American stereotypes initially used to degrade, debase, and control, and reading them into and in light of the parable, Dickerson argues that African American women can both reclaim and find strength in the parabolic and stereotypical figures alike.
Trade ReviewLuke, Widows, Judges, and Stereotypes turns traditional interpretations of the parable of the widow and judge in Luke 18 on their heads by offering a unique twist on the story that will be sure to elicit lively conversation among readers––including Wednesday Bible study group participants and academic readers alike. Dickerson engages womanist concerns for dispelling controlling images of African American women by tackling head on stereotypes of the widow and judge using creativity and wit. -- Vanessa Lovelace, Lancaster Seminary; co-author of Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse
Table of ContentsChapter 1: The Price of Stereotypes Chapter 2: Parable of the Widow and Judge (Luke 18:2–5): Textual Problems and Stereotypes Chapter 3: A History of Allegory, Stereotypes, and Challenge Chapter 4: Luke, Widows, Judge, and Gender Chapter 5: Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire in Conversation with Luke Chapter 6: Luke, the Judge, and African American Male Stereotypes: Cool, Cruel, Foolish Chapter 7: Conclusion
