Ezra-Nehemiah

by Deborah A. Appler, Terry Ann Smith, Amy-Jill Levine (Editor), Barbara E. Reid OP (Editor)

Overview

In this volume, Deborah Appler and Terry Ann Smith offer a sustained investigation and feminist critique of Ezra-Nehemiah that moves beyond traditional historical and theological interpretations of Ezra-Nehemiah. Their intersectional analysis engages themes of gender, power, economics, and social justice. Tensions between group inclusion and exclusion are evident in Ezra-Nehemiah, and the authors bring attention to the complexities associated with identity formation and boundary-making for a repatriated community. Their analysis amplifies often overlooked voices in the text and offers insight into how issues of faith, marginalization, and communal solidarity complicate what it means to "come home." Their collaborative analysis of Ezra-Nehemiah demonstrates how ancient and modern communities grapple with community formation and identity amidst ever-evolving social and cultural challenges.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814681138
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	09/15/2025
Series:	Wisdom Commentary Series , #14
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)

About the Author

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).

Editorial Reviews

"Deborah Ann Appler and Terry Ann Smith have taken the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, notorious for their historical, literary, and interpretive challenges and given us a reliable and insightful guide for readers of these books. Along with a cadre of supplementary commenters and their helpful insets they have provided both scholars and church readers alike with deeper understandings of the challenges faced by the returned community of Judean exiles and new appreciation for the courage and resourcefulness of leaders in this difficult period. But they have done so while also helping us understand difficult decisions made by these leaders that led to unfortunate consequences, and they help us to understand these choices but enable us to better avoid making similar mistaken judgments of our own."
Bruce C. Birch, dean and professor emeritus of biblical theology, Wesley Theological Seminary
 

From the Publisher