Blessed Among Women? Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament

by Myers, Alicia D.

• ISBN13: 9780190677084
• ISBN10: 0190677082
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2017-11-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Author Biography

Alicia D. Myers is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek at Campbell University Divinity School. Her previous publications include Characterizing Jesus: A Rhetorical Analysis on the Fourth Gospel's Use of Scripture in Its Presentation of Jesus (2012) and Abiding Words: The Use of Scripture in the Gospel of John (co-editor, 2015).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction: Motherhood and Womanhood in New Testament Contexts
Mothers, Anthropology, and Theology in the New Testament
Cults of Motherhood: Matrons Ancient and Contemporary
Maternal Theologies, Maternal Bodies: Method, Argument, and Overview

Chapter 2: Maternal Bodies: Constructing Women in Mediterranean Antiquity
Sexes amongst the Sects: Debates on the Female in Greco-Roman Medicine
[Hu]man or Un[hu]man: Masculinity in the Greco-Roman World
What Makes a Woman? Femininity, the Female Body, and Motherhood
Wo/man Made: Summary

Chapter 3: Conceiving Christ and Community: Mary, Mothers, and God's Household in the Gospels and Acts
Is the Mother a Parent? Ancient Theories of Conception, Generation, and Childbirth
Conceiving Christ and Community: Mary and Other Mothers in God's Household
Conclusions

Chapter 4: Taste that the Lord is Good! Breastmilk and Character Formation in the New Testament
The Sacred Fount: Breastmilk, Paideia, and Character Formation in Mediterranean Antiquity
Learning to Drink: Breastmilk and New Testament Paideia
Conclusions

Chapter 5: Salvation and Childbearing: Does Motherhood Matter?
Molding Princes for Rome: Maternal Power in the Augustan Age
Getting Saved: Multiple Traditions of the Maternal Telos in Early Christian Literature
Conclusions

Chapter 6: Conclusions: The Blessedness of Women
How to Become a Woman: A Core Assumption
Becoming a Woman after Christ: Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament
The Blessedness of Women: Some Lingering Effects of the Maternal Telos

Bibliography
Index