Because there are more women in the Gospel of Luke than in any other gospel, feminists have given it much attention. In this commentary, Shelly Matthews and Barbara Reid show that feminist analysis demands much more than counting the number of female characters. Feminist biblical interpretation examines how the female characters function in the narrative and also scrutinizes the workings of power with respect to empire, to anti-Judaism, and to other forms of othering. Matthews and Reid draw attention to the ambiguities of the text-both the liberative possibilities and the ways that Luke upholds the patriarchal status quo-and guide readers to empowering reading strategies.

List of Abbreviations vii List of Contributors xi Foreword: "Come Eat of My Bread . . . and Walk in the Ways of Wisdom" xvii Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza Editor's Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: "She Is a Breath of the Power of God" (Wis 7:25) xxi Barbara E. Reid, OP Authors' Introduction: A Feminist Commentary on an Ambiguous Gospel xli Luke 1:1-80 An Orderly Account for Lovers of God 1 Luke 2:1-52 Divine Love Becomes Incarnate 63 Luke 3:1-38 Beloved Son of God and All God's Children 97 Luke 4:1-44 Prophetic Mission Declared; Divided Responses 117 Luke 5:1-39 Male Disciples Called; Female Disciples in the Shadows 165 Luke 6:1-49 Multitudes of Women and Men Are Healed and Hear 195 Luke 7:1-50 Wisdom's Children Justified 221 Luke 8:1-56 Galilean Women Followers and Financiers 247 Luke 9:1-62 The Cross That Should Not Be Taken Up 277 Works Cited 297