Abstract
To reflect on the role of empire within Matthew’s narrative is to ask a question which spans the Gospel from beginning to end. And the language of imperial power within Matthew’s narrative functions above all to depict a male-oriented world and the actions of men vis-à-vis men. Accordingly, the interface between empire and women has been a question largely overlooked within Matthean scholarship. This article will highlight and assess the rhetorical interface between the powers of empire depicted by Matthew and numerous women within Matthew’s narrative, both women of empire and women identifiably subject to empire. And I will demonstrate not only the extraordinary presence of women vis-à-vis the powers of empire within Matthew’s narrative but also the heavily ironic character of most of these encounters between empire and women.
Recommended Citation
Weaver, Dorothy Jean
(2024)
"The Last and the First (Matt 21:16; 19:30): Women and Empire in Mathew’s Narrative,"
The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies:
Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, p. 84–145.
Available at:
https://place.asburyseminary.edu/jibs/vol9/iss1/5
