1?2 Timothy, Titus: Volume 53 (Wisdom Commentary Series, 53)

The author of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus argues in favor of a “traditional” Greco-Roman gender ideology: that because men and women are biologically different, they ought to behave differently in the family and society. His gender-specific beliefs carry over into his teachings for the house churches, where only free married men are eligible to serve as leaders, teachers, and preachers, while women are expected to take up the subordinate female domestic roles of wife, mother, and household manager. This volume encourages a deeper engagement with the difficult issues—gender, race, and power—raised by these letters. By studying the Pastoral Letters with our minds sharpened and our hearts turned toward a generous freedom, we can struggle most productively with the influences of their teachings, past and present, and we can create a future church and a future world that are more just, truly inclusive, and indelibly marked by God’s grace.

From the Wisdom Commentary series

Feminist biblical interpretation has reached a level of maturity that now makes possible a commentary series on every book of the Bible. It is our hope that Wisdom Commentary, by making the best of current feminist biblical scholarship available in an accessible format to ministers, preachers, teachers, scholars, and students, will aid all readers in their advancement toward God’s vision of dignity, equality, and justice for all.

The aim of this commentary is to provide feminist interpretation of Scripture in serious, scholarly engagement with the whole text, not only those texts that explicitly mention women. A central concern is the world in front of the text, that is, how the text is heard and appropriated by women. At the same time, this commentary aims to be faithful to the ancient text, to explicate the world behind the text, where appropriate, and not impose contemporary questions onto the ancient texts. The commentary addresses not only issues of gender (which are primary in this project) but also those of power, authority, ethnicity, racism, and classism, which all intersect.

Each volume incorporates diverse voices and differing interpretations from different parts of the world, showing the importance of social location in the process of interpretation and that there is no single definitive feminist interpretation of a text.

Annette Bourland Huizenga serves as assistant dean and associate professor of New Testament at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary (Dubuque, Iowa). Her research interests include the Pauline letters and communities, women in the early church, households in the Roman Empire, and ancient moral-philosophical education. These subjects all come into play in her first book Moral Education for Women in the Pastoral and Pythagorean Letters. She has written several articles about the expectations for women's behavior, clothing, and virtues in the ancient world. In 2015, the University of Dubuque awarded Dr. Huizenga with the William L. Lomax Award for excellence in Teaching and Advising.

Barbara E. Reid, OP, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan and holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is president emerita and Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union. She is author of more than a dozen books including the two-volume commentary on the Gospel of Luke, co-authored with Shelly Matthews, in the Wisdom Commentary series (Liturgical Press, 2021), for which she is also general editor.