 | Abuse, Power and Fearful Obedience: Reconsidering 1 Peter’s Commands to Wives
Bird, Jennifer G.
New York: T&T Clark, 2011 pp. xi + 166. $130.00
Series Information
Library of New Testament Studies, 442
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Description: Bird analyzes the contstruction of wives' subjectivity in 1 Peter, working primarily with that is referrre to as the Haustafel (household code) section and engaging feminist critical questions, postcolonial theory, and materialist theory in her anaylsis. Bird examines the two crucial labels for understanding Petrine Christian identity - 'aliens and refugees' and 'royal priesthood and holy nation' - and finds them to stand in stark contract with the commands and identity given to the wives in the Haustafel section. Similarly, the command to 'honour the Emperor', which immediately precedes the Haustafel, engenders a rich discussion of the text's socio-political implications. The critical engagement of several 'symptomatic irruptions' within the comands to the wives unvcovers the abusive dynamic underlying this section of the letter. Finally, Bird considers the present day implications of her study. Subjects: Bible, New Testament, Hebrews and Catholic Epistles, 1 Peter, Literature
Review by Torrey Seland
Read the Review
Published 3/3/2012
Citation: Torrey Seland, review of Jennifer G. Bird, Abuse, Power and Fearful Obedience: Reconsidering 1 Peter’s Commands to Wives, Review of Biblical Literature [http://www.bookreviews.org] (2012).
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