Much of the history of women, in religion as in other fields, is lost because it was overlooked or considered unimportant. It is therefore surprising that so many fragments of women's stories survive in the New Testament texts composed by men. Why did they include so many references to women and why are women, as a group, treated so positively by the male New Testament writers? Women in the New Testament shows how the stories of women are an integral part of the Gospel and its meaning for us. It also relays how we can respond to the challenge these women represent, whether we are men trying to understand or women trying to find our voices within the tradition of faith found in the New Testament. Chapter one discusses three women of expectant faith. Chapters two and three deal with women who are changed by Jesus. Chapter four focuses on New Testament women of influence. Chapters five and six show how women disciples spread and gave shape to the gospel message. Chapters are "Women of Expectant Faith," “Women Changed by Jesus,” “More Women Changed by Jesus,” “Women of Prominence,” “Women and Discipleship,” and “More Women and Discipleship.” Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan, PhD, teaches at St. Vincent College and St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pennsylvania. She is the author of First and Second Corinthians from the Collegeville Bible Commentary series, author of the God Speaks to Us series of children's books, and editor of the Zacchaeus Studies: New Testament series published by The Liturgical Press. "

The name "Junia" appears in Romans 16:7, and Paul identifies her (along with Andronicus) as "prominent among the apostles." In this important work, Epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of Junia from the traditions of the church. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe (or wanted to suppress) that Paul had numbered a woman among the earliest churches' apostles, Junia's name was changed in Romans to a masculine form. Despite the fact that the earliest churches met in homes and that other women were clearly leaders in the churches (e.g., Prisca and Lydia), calling Junia an apostle seemed too much for the tradition. Epp tracks how this happened in New Testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the Bible. In this thoroughgoing study, Epp restores Junia to her rightful place.

“This splendid reference describes every woman in Jewish and Christian scripture . . . monumental” (Library Journal). In recent decades, many biblical scholars have studied the holy text with a new focus on gender. Women in Scripture is a groundbreaking work that provides Jews, Christians, or anyone fascinated by a body of literature that has exerted a singular influence on Western civilization a thorough look at every woman and group of women mentioned in the Bible, whether named or unnamed, well known or heretofore not known at all. They are remarkably varied—from prophets to prostitutes, military heroines to musicians, deacons to dancers, widows to wet nurses, rulers to slaves. There are familiar faces, such as Eve, Judith, and Mary, seen anew with the full benefit of the most up-to-date results of biblical scholarship. But the most innovative aspect of this book is the section devoted to the many females who in the scriptures do not even have names. Combining rigorous research with engaging prose, these articles on women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament will inform, delight, and challenge readers interested in the Bible, scholars and laypeople alike. Together, these collected histories create a volume that takes the study of women in the Bible to a new level.

Jesus reached across cultural norms by befriending and discipling women throughout his life. The bestselling Women of the Bible: New Testament pamphlet presents portraits of 15 women, some who encountered Jesus personally, and some who served in the early Church. Some women are known by name, like Mary and Martha, while others are known by their situation, such as the "Woman at the Well." This beautiful, 14-panel pamphlet presents key events and stories for the women, plus Scripture references, locations and insights from their stories. Women of the Bible: New Testament is a concise chart that profiles women whose lives were touched by Jesus, or who served the early Church. Teachers and students alike will enjoy discovering more about the women whose lives were forever changed by Jesus. These women showed great faith and human faults; they were forgiven women, friends, disciples, and leaders in the Church. Women of the Bible: New Testament features the following women: • Mary, Mother of Jesus • Elizabeth • Mary Magdalene • Mary and Martha • Five anonymous women that Jesus encountered - • The woman with a flow of blood• The bent-over woman • The forgiven woman • The Canaanite woman • The Samaritan woman • Four women of the Apostolic Church— • Lydia • Priscilla • Phoebe • Dorcas Women of the Bible: New Testament uses a chart format to review — • Bible references for each woman's story • Date and location of the story • Key events in each woman's life • An overview of each woman's story • Insights from the story Women of the Bible: New Testament also provides— • Cultural insights about the Samaritans and the Canaanites that made Jesus'encounters with the women from these places all the more powerful. • A brief summary on the Gnostic Gospels, including the Gospel of Mary • A definition of Gnosticism • Information to correct the popular idea that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married Here is an example from the Women of the Bible New Testament pamphlet: MARY MAGDALENE • Bible references— Luke 8:1-3; Mark 15:40-47; John 19:25; 20:1-18 • Date and location of the story—Galilee, AD 26-30 • Key events: • Belonged to the larger group of Jesus' disciples • Healed of possession by seven demons • Present at the time of Jesus' death • First to talk to the Lord after the resurrection • First disciple commissioned to tell about Jesus' resurrection Women of the Bible: New Testament makes a great women's Bible study or reference. Author: Benjamin Galan, MTS, ThM, PhD Candidate, Adjunct Professor of Old Testament Hebrew and Literature at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA

Respected scholar Dorothy Lee considers evidence from the New Testament and early church to show that women's ministry is confirmed by the biblical witness. Her comprehensive examination explores the roles women played in the Gospels and the Pauline corpus, with a particular focus on passages that have been used in the past to limit women's ministry. She argues that women in the New Testament were not only valued as disciples but also given leadership roles, which has implications for the contemporary church.

Modern readers of the New Testament often notice its varying ideas about women. Some passages encouraged women to be submissive and remain silent. Yet in others, women characters owned property, headed households, or spoke with approval. Women in the New Testament World helps readers understand this conflicting evidence. It argues that social norms of the time encouraged traditional feminine virtues. However, as Susan Hylen argues, women in the culture enacted these virtues in a variety of ways, including active leadership in households, associations, and cities. In contrast to earlier approaches that divided the evidence into groups that either allowed or forbade women's leadership, this book points to a tension that was pervasive across different groups and regions of the Roman world. Society widely viewed women as inferior to men yet applauded their active pursuit of familial and civic interests. Thus, it was not the case that some women led while others were silent; instead, women were praised for modesty at the same time as they exerted influence in their communities. Elaborating on this rich historical background, Hylen illuminates new possibilities in New Testament texts.

Volume 2 of Women in the Biblical World: A Survey of Old and New Testament Perspectives encompasses the latest research in feminist biblical scholarship. New angles of interpretation and fresh perspectives regarding often overlooked biblical women will be gained from the pages of this volume. This volume focuses on such women as Tamar, Deborah, Manoah's wife, Queen Vashti, and Job's wife. Attention is also given to socio-historical backgrounds lurking behind the biblical text (such as women in Greco-Roman education and syncretism in Ephesus), demonstrating how these backgrounds directly influenced the writings about women. Some emphasis on contemporary application is also stressed regarding problematic passages, such as 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. This multi-faceted approach to women in the Bible will prove to be invigorating, refreshing, and enlightening for all to read.

Suggestions for resolving the problem of an exclusively male God-image that are both faithful to the tradition and liberating for women. +

Bonnie Thurston examines the personalities, place, and power of women in the New Testament. She provides a cultural and religious context for them by briefly outlining the position of women in the Greco-Roman world. The aim is to reveal the ways in which early Christianity attempted to liberate people from oppression (particularly patriarchy), as well as to point out the places and ways in which the early Christian community compromised with the dominant society.