Slavery, Gender, Truth, and Power in Luke-Acts and Other Ancient Narratives

"This book examines slavery and gender through a feminist reading of narratives including female slaves in the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and early Christian texts. Through the literary theory of Mikhail Bakhtin, the voices of three enslaved female characters--the female slave who questions Peter in Luke 22, Rhoda in Acts 12, and the prophesying slave of Acts 16--are placed into dialogue with female slaves found in the Apocryphal Acts, ancient novels, classical texts, and images of enslaved women on funerary monuments. Although ancients typically distrusted the words of slaves, Christy Cobb argues that female slaves in Luke-Acts speak truth to power, even though their gender and status suggest that they cannot. In this Bakhtinian reading, female slaves become truth-tellers and their words confirm aspects of Lukan theology. This exegetical, theoretical, and interdisciplinary book is a substantial contribution to conversations about women and slaves in Luke-Acts and early Christian literature" Dedication 6 Preface 7 Acknowledgments 10 Contents 13 About the Author 16 Abbreviations 17 List of Figures 18 Chapter 1: Introduction: (Re)Turning to Truth 20 Dialogic Partners: Bakhtin and Narratology; Slavery and Truth; Feminist Hermeneutics 22 Bakhtin and Narratology 22 Slavery and Truth 25 Feminist Hermeneutics 29 Returning to Luke-Acts 33 Other Narratives: Ancient Novels and the Apocryphal Acts of Apostles 36 Archaeological Narratives: Slaves on Ancient Funerary Monuments 38 Dialogic Voices in Luke-Acts: Women and Slaves 43 Slaves/Slavery in Luke and Acts 46 Luke’s Three Slave-Girls 52 Outline 54 Chapter 2: Theoretical Foundations: Bakhtin and Feminism 57 Chapter 3: The One Who Sees: Luke 22:47–62 99 Discipleship in Luke 101 Setting the Scene: Luke 22:47–62 103 “Now I am what I have come to be”: Callirhoe-as-Slave in Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoe 109 Examining the Scene: The Role of the Slave-Girl in Luke 22:47–62 121 The Gaze of the Slave-Girl 122 The Light of the Slave-Girl 129 The Statement of the Slave-Girl 130 Statements in Support of the Slave’s Truth 133 Conclusion: Truth Is in the Eye of the Female Slave 139 Chapter 4: The One Who Answers: Acts 12:12–19 142 Acts 12: A Humorous Novella with a Purpose 146 A Rose by Any Other Name: Rhoda’s Role in Acts 12:12–19 158 Euclia, the Tortured Truth-Teller 166 Conclusion: Rhoda’s Dialogic Purpose in Acts 12 178 Chapter 5: The One Who Prophesies: Acts 16:16–18 180 Lydia and the Slave-Girl: Perspectives of an “Insider” and an “Outsider” 183 Lydia: “Inside” the Pauline Circle 184 The Outsider: A Prophesying, Truth-Telling Slave-Girl 191 Pythia in Delphi 195 Luke’s Enslaved Female Prophet 198 The Slave-Girl’s Prophecy: The Truth About Paul and Silas 204 Leucippe: A Free Elite Woman Treated as a Slave 213 Conclusion: The Prophesying Python 218 Chapter 6: Conclusion: Does Truth Equal Freedom? 221 Bibliography 226 Scripture Index 245 Ancient Texts 250 General Index 252 Modern Writers 257 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiv Introduction: (Re)Turning to Truth (Christy Cobb)....Pages 1-37 Theoretical Foundations: Bakhtin and Feminism (Christy Cobb)....Pages 39-80 The One Who Sees: Luke 22:47–62 (Christy Cobb)....Pages 81-123 The One Who Answers: Acts 12:12–19 (Christy Cobb)....Pages 125-162 The One Who Prophesies: Acts 16:16–18 (Christy Cobb)....Pages 163-203 Conclusion: Does Truth Equal Freedom? (Christy Cobb)....Pages 205-209 Back Matter ....Pages 211-247