The Reign of God is Such As These: A Socio-Literary Analysis of Daughters in the Gospel of Mark

Most studies of women in Mark either attribute a single quality to all of them, or follow the narrative of a single character in isolation, says Betsworth (New Testament, Oklahoma City U.), but she does neither. Instead she focuses on a subset of women figures, the ones identified as daughters: the woman from the crowd whom Jesus calls daughter and Jairus' daughter, Herodias' daughter, and the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman. She investigates their role in the Gospel, and what they have to say about Jesus as the Son of God and Mark's vision of the Reign of God. First she provides background on previous scholarship, the social-historical status of and attitudes about daughters in the Greco-Roman world, and literary representations of daughters in Greek and Jewish literature. When she turns to Mark, besides considering each daughter in turn, she discusses the placement of the daughter cycle in the narrative context of the Gospel, daughters and the Reign of God, and Jesus as the Son of God. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)