Book Conversation: Introduction

For the 2024 Society of Biblical Literature annual meeting, Feminist Studies in Religion cosponsored a book conversation panel for Marriage in the Bible: What Do the Texts Say? Jennifer Bird's recent publication argues that the Bible does not take a specific stance on marriage, which counters the US sociopolitical context in which claims are often made about biblical marriage in support of conservative legal and social policies. Instead, the respondents in this book conversation confirm that Bird invites readers to an honest and exegetically rich review of biblical stories, laws, commands, and sayings based on their meaning in their original contexts. The authors shared their original comments in a panel format and have edited them for publication in JFSR. Jennifer Bird chose not to contribute a written response. In expressing her gratitude for the panel and subsequent publication, she notes to the authors that she is "quite touched by your comments about the work, how seriously each of you have taken this invitation to review and respond to my work. . . . It means a great deal to me to have the five of you taking my work seriously, in this space." We hope you will find a conversational spirit and varied disciplinary engagement with the text in this book conversation.

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