“Women in the New Testament: A Middle Eastern Cultural View” Kenneth E. Bailey

Women in the New Testament: A Middle Eastern Cultural View is a six-part DVD series taught by Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey. Here is the product description:

A part of the modern Church has opened its doors to women to participate in all levels of the leadership of the Church. Another part has declined to do so, or does so with deep uneasiness. Each quotes the New Testament.

In this set of studies, Dr. Bailey deals with all of the important texts and does not opt for one set while neglecting the other. He finds a deep unity in the New Testament view of this subject that is often overlooked. How does the New Testament deal with Mary the mother of Jesus? What tradition has done is well-known. But what of the New Testament? If its witness is taken seriously, what is the result? This series of lectures deals with this and many other aspects of this important topic.

You can read a short biography by clicking here, if you don’t know much about Kenneth Bailey. Here is the short version from the back of the DVD.

Kenneth E. Bailey, Th.D, spent 40 years teaching New Testament in Seminaries and Research Institutes in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus. An ordained Presbyterian academic, he also serves as Canon Theologian of the Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church. He is the author of six books, more than 150 articles, the scriptes for two feature length films, and two published Biblical plays. His video recordings include 102 thirty-minute lectures on the New Testament.

This DVD is divided into six, thirty-minute sessions:

1. Contrasting Views and Female Theological Themes in the Old Testament
2. Women Leaders
3. The Virgin Mary: A Biblical View
4. Men and Women Prophets: How Should the Dress 1 Corinthians 11
5. Women Silent in the Church: 1 Cor 14:26-36 and 1 Tim 2:11-15
6. Who Teaches Whom? Titus 2:1-6; Human Sexuality. 1Cor. 6:12-20; Mutual Submission. Eph. 5

Dr. Bailey begins this series by noting that two camps have formed their views on these issues by collecting one set of scriptures and ignoring another set. Bailey aims to find unity for all these passages in Scripture. He sees three major aspects to understanding women in light of the Bible.

• The women themselves and who they are.
• The place women occupy in the Bible.
• The feminine metaphors for theological reasons.

The first session is an introduction followed by a discussion of the feminine images of God. Bailey touches on some key women leaders in the Old Testament and examines the Proverbs 31 passage about the ideal wife. Bailey notes the decline of the status of women during the intertestamental period as the culture became more influenced by Greek thinking. He shows how Jesus and the writers of the New Testament elevated the status of women once again, only for there to be another slide away from the high-status women in the early centuries after the New Testament. The focal point of Bailey’s analysis is Mary, a minister and servant of God. Her status was not derived from being Jesus’ mother. Rather she became Jesus’ mother, chosen by God, because of her exceptional character. The final three sessions focus on the controversial passages in the New Testament relating to women.

Two key ingredients that Bailey brings to the examination of the topic are his familiarity with ancient and present-day Middle Eastern culture, and his mastery of several Middle Eastern languages and literary styles. Bailey uses cultural examples to open up the context of several passages. He also diagrams the literary structure of some controversial passages showing how they are laid out in parallel stanzas. This approach adds a richness that I have seen few others able to approximate.

There is nothing high-end at all about the production quality of these lectures. They were made in 1982. They feature Bailey sitting behind a desk with his Bible, notes, and a small easel for displaying his Scripture diagrams sitting in front of him. Nevertheless, Bailey is engaging, and each session is packed with powerful insights.

Almost seven years ago, a publication called Theology Matters published two articles by Bailey called “Women in the New Testament: A Middle Eastern Cultural View” and “The Prophets of Corinth: A Study of Aspects of 1 Cor. 11:2-16.” These two articles give you a sampling of some of the content in the series. You can read the pdf of that issue of Theology Matters by clicking here.

If you wish to buy the series, you can purchase it at CD-Baby for $45. If this topic interests you, it is well worth the price. I have listened to some of these sessions more than once since buying the series last month, and I still take notes with each viewing. This is a must-have for those really interested in understanding what the Bible says about women!

(You can also learn more about Dr. Bailey and his other work at his website by clicking here.)