Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like - Softcover

Hylen, Susan E

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802882064 ISBN 13: 9780802882066

Publisher: William B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2023

Synopsis

Forget what you think you know about women in the early church.

In this learned yet accessible book, Susan E. Hylen introduces first-century primary sources to illuminate readers' understanding of New Testament women. Perfect for clergy, spiritual reading groups, and all curious minds, Finding Phoebe combines incisive scholarship and instructional sensibility to encourage readers to develop their own informed interpretations of Scripture.

Contrary to popular conceptions of "biblical womanhood" as passive and silent, women often served as leaders and prophets in their communities. Women owned one-third of all property during the period, granting them access to civic power through patronage. Many women worked outside the home and were educated according to the needs of their professions. Through careful examination of "modesty" and "silence" in the Greco-Roman world, Hylen reveals the centrality of these virtues to both men and women practicing self-control in service of communal good.

Hylen's work will challenge readers to free their minds of modern preconceptions and consider New Testament women on their own terms. This practical book includes historical context, scriptural evidence, and questions for discussion.

Foreword Reviews INDIES Book of the Year Award in Women's Studies Finalist (2023)

About this title

About the Author

Susan E. Hylen is professor of New Testament at Emory University and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Her previous books include Women in the New Testament World and A Modest Apostle: Thecla and the History of Women in the Early Church.

Edition details

• Publisher: William B Eerdmans Publishing Co
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802882064
• ISBN 13: 9780802882066
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 200