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9781666971453

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Kamilah Hall Sharp’s treatment of the book of Esther exemplifies next-generation womanist biblical interpretation at its best. Building on the foundational work of Renita Weems and Delores Williams, Sharp employs a trauma-informed womanist hermeneutic of survival to explore the interpersonal trauma experienced by Esther and other women and girls in the text. In true womanist hermeneutical practice, Sharp draws from Black women’s autobiographies—particularly those of Maya Angelou and Lezley McSpadden—to powerfully connect biblical narratives of sexual exploitation and violence with contemporary Black women’s stories of survival, offering readers both critical insight and strategies for healing. * Vanessa Lovelace, Executive Director Louisville Institute, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary * I am excited about the work Kamilah Hall Sharp has done in Trauma and Survival in the Hebrew Bible: A Womanist Reading of Esther. Hall Sharp’s unique approach to a popular biblical text draws attention to the women and girls who many readers have overlooked. The volume shifts and focuses the larger Esther discourse by taking seriously the women and girls who, alongside Esther, experience drama and trauma in the story. Hall Sharp’s language work, creation of a survival lexicon, and treatment of modern-day conversation partners such as the mother of Michael Brown, Lezley McSpadden, and the poet, Maya Angelou make this book a ‘must have’ for anyone interested in aspects of Esther’s story that intersect with modern culture. Trauma and Survival is an essential contribution to seminary courses that introduce the biblical canon, focus on the book of Ruth, or take up concerns of trauma and/or/beyond the Bible. * Kimberly D. Russaw, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary *

Kamilah Hall Sharp’s treatment of the book of Esther exemplifies next-generation womanist biblical interpretation at its best. Building on the foundational work of Renita Weems and Delores Williams, Sharp employs a trauma-informed womanist hermeneutic of survival to explore the interpersonal trauma experienced by Esther and other women and girls in the text. In true womanist hermeneutical practice, Sharp draws from Black women’s autobiographies—particularly those of Maya Angelou and Lezley McSpadden—to powerfully connect biblical narratives of sexual exploitation and violence with contemporary Black women’s stories of survival, offering readers both critical insight and strategies for healing. * Vanessa Lovelace, Executive Director Louisville Institute, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary *

Author Information

Kamilah Hall Sharp is Director of the Doctor of Ministry in Public Ministry Program and Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible and Public Ministry at Chicago Theological Seminary.

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