Disruptive Readings: The Work and Wisdom of Amy-Jill Levine

Amy-Jill Levine is one of the world’s most popular Bible teachers. A Jewish scholar of the New Testament, she has traversed the world to lecture, published innumerable articles and books, taught in varied venues, led professional societies, and received prestigious awards. Her erudition is matched only by her wit. Moreover, Levine is beloved. This Festschrift is a prooftext of the impact of her scholarship and the affection of her colleagues. The volume’s 24 contributors showcase a broad range of topics. They innovatively reread texts through varying lenses: the mother of Zarephath, Judith, Jesus’ women friends, and the hemorrhaging woman in Mark. They proffer new possibilities, such as postulating a new identity of the Beloved Disciple. A scientist discusses supersessionism in biblical study and biology; a philosopher explores the work of a German Jewish poet murdered in Auschwitz whose laments gave voice to women, animals and Jews. Levine is most disruptive in challenging anti-Jewish interpretations of New Testament texts. The essayists analyze troubling readings such as the interpretations of the circumcision of Jesus, the rhetoric of fearmongering in John’s Gospel, and perennial issues in Christian preaching. Several explore problematic claims in the passion narratives. Others assess methodological issues: situating the New Testament in its Jewish context, correcting the longstanding assumption of an opposition between Jesus and Judaism, and recognizing the significance of a continuous conversation between contemporary methods of scholarship in relation to Jewish and Christian communities. The articles in Disruptive Readings advance the power of scholarship to invite bold understandings and so to interrupt conventional conclusions.