Great Women of the Bible in Art And Literature - Hardcover

Solle, Dorothee; Kirchberger, Joe H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0800635574 ISBN 13: 9780800635572

Publisher: Fortress Press, 2006

Synopsis

Historical fascination with women of the Bible has contributed a great wealth of artistic images, literature, legends, fables, and religious poetry to Western traditions. From heroic figures such as Judith and Esther to deep friends like Ruth and Naomi, the Bible presents a plenitude of women whose deeds and desires have inspired Western art and culture for more than two thousand years.

Culled from a larger, more expensive volume by the same authors first published by Eerdmans in 1994, this beautiful volume focuses on fifteen biblical characters and gloriously presents not only their stories but also more than 200 art-historical images of them, along with searching commentary by the late theologian Dorothee Soelle and discussion of their post-biblical legacies in art and literature by historian Joe Kirchberger.

The figures discussed include Eve and Lilith, Sarah and Hagar, Tamar, Ruth and Naomi, Abigail, Judith, Esther, the woman who anointed Jesus, Mary of Magdala, Mary and Martha, and many more. This is a beautiful gift book with real substance.

About this title

About the Author

Dorothee Soelle was Professor of Thrology at Union Theological Seminary, New York City, for thirteen years. Among her many influential writings are Great Couples of the Bible (2005;0-8006-3831-X), Theology for Skeptics (1994;0-8006-2788-1) and The Silent Cry (2001;0-8006-3266-4). She died in 2003.

Joe H. Kirchberger is an historian and journalist. He is co-author with Soelle of a book on Mary and editor of a 19-volume set of eyewitness reminiscences of World War 1. He lives in New York City.

From Booklist

This splendid art book explores the various meanings artists have found in the Bible's female figures. Each section opens with the relevant citations from the good book itself, which are answered by S{™}olle's profound commentaries. After the story of Sarah, for instance, S{™}olle reflects on the meaning not only of that story but also of the parallel one of the enslaved Hagar, with its import for those who desire social justice. Further on in each section, extrabiblical materials drawn from ancient and medieval literature, Jewish folklore, and other related mythologies appear; in the Sarah section, these include the Islamic legend linking Hagar and her son Ishmael to the founding of Mecca. Finally in each section, a summary of postmedieval literature shows the ways the characters have been employed by European writers; for Sarah, we are reminded of Melville's choice for the name of Moby Dick's narrator: "Call me Ishmael." As for the illustrations--several per page--they range from ancient mosaics to contemporary paintings, with many florid Renaissance artworks in between. Tamar, Potiphar's wife, Deborah, Delilah, the Witch of Endor, Bathsheba, Judith, Mary of Magdala, and more appear in these pages, enlivened and enriched by the artists whom they have inspired. Patricia Monaghan

About this edition

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0800635574
• ISBN 13: 9780800635572
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160