{"id":91408,"date":"2021-09-06T05:03:07","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T09:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=91408"},"modified":"2021-09-02T12:17:21","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T16:17:21","slug":"jesus-snorted-like-a-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2021\/09\/jesus-snorted-like-a-horse.html","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Snorted Like a Horse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>\"\"In a book discussion about my book\u00a0What Jesus Learned from Women<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>Elizabeth Raine pointed out that, in a story about Jesus performing a miracle, it says that Jesus made a sound, and the Greek word literally means \u201csnorted like a horse.\u201d She also pointed out that the making of groaning or other theatrical noises of this sort is characteristic of the magical papyri and thus of ancient healers and exorcists more generally. This was perhaps the least expected topic to come up in the whole discussion, but I love it because it presents Jesus doing something that most<\/a> modern readers might not expect but which ancient readers might in fact have expected.<\/p>\n

(In most translations of the New Testament<\/a> the word is rendered as an expression of Jesus\u2019 emotion<\/a>. That is a possible interpretation, but alternatives at the very least deserve consideration. On this see also Susanna Asikainen\u2019s chapter on \u201cJesus and Emotions\u201d<\/a> in the open access book Jesus and Other Men: Ideal Masculinities in the Synoptic Gospels<\/em>. There is also an entire chapter on \u201cJesus and Women.\u201d<\/a>)<\/p>\n

There is a new review of my book on Amazon posted by Ted Warner: McGrath reimagines Jesus\u2019 ministry through the role of women in his life.<\/a><\/p>\n

James F. McGrath boldly considers the influence of great women on the life and ministry of Jesus. What Jesus Learned from Women compels the Bible reader to imagine the beatitudes as an echo of Mary\u2019s Magnificat and much more. McGrath offers plenty of engaging material for the serious Bible scholar while also offering an accessible read for the casual reader. McGrath adds to the conversation about the gifts women have to offer the church and all of society. If one dares to reimagine the life and ministry of Jesus through the lenses of the women he knew, this book is for you. It is a must read for the contemporary church.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you missed it, here\u2019s my appearance on the Apocalypse Here podcast<\/a> talking about the book.<\/p>\n

Of related interest, there is a new open access article in In die Skriflig\u00a0<\/i>55\/1 (2021):\u00a0Christin E. B\u00f8sterud, \u201cWomen in the Bible: What can they teach us about gender equality?<\/a>\u201d\u00a0Mike Bird continues a series<\/a> on \u201cwomen as icons of Christ\u201d from which I\u2019ve shared some of the previous posts, and shared some recommendations for things to read about women as church leaders in Romans 16<\/a>. And there are a couple of older pieces by Judy Redman<\/a> and Joe Marchal<\/a> on the Bible and the Bechdel Test that are worth mentioning again in case anyone has missed them.<\/p>\n

An ancient papyrus illustrates the role women women played in business:<\/p>\n

A Woman Doing\u00a0Business<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n