I just finished reading Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Rev. Dr. Wilda C. Gafney, and wow, it’s a must for Old Testament libraries. Her scholarship is really strong, the insights are invaluable, and I found myself provoked over and over to rethink passages I’ve glossed over in the past.

Womanist Midrash is essentially a commentary, but it reads much smoother than most commentaries. The purpose of this commentary is to approach passages in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and passages in the Old Testament that deal with women connected to the throne with a womanist perspective and intent. Gafney explains womanism in this way: “Womanism emerged as black women’s intellectual and interpretive response to racism and classism in feminism and its articulation and in response to sexism in black liberationist thought.”

What makes this approach so invaluable is that Gafney notices and expands on nuances in the text often missed by male commentators. It is too easy to fall into just reading white male theologians; yes, they have their place and value, but a more diverse set of voices brings a much fuller picture of what God communicates in His scriptures.

I love this commentary; going forward it will be one of my sources I always consult with in addition to my other commentaries before teaching or preaching on anything from the Old Testament. Normally I don’t read commentaries cover to cover but this one was worth it. Definitely a must for students of the scriptures.