Blessed Among Women? Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament

Alicia D. Myers is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek at Campbell University Divinity School. Her previous publications include Characterizing Jesus: A Rhetorical Analysis on the Fourth Gospel's Use of Scripture in Its Presentation of Jesus (2012) and Abiding Words: The Use of Scripture in the Gospel of John (co-editor, 2015).

Chapter 1: Introduction: Motherhood and Womanhood in New Testament Contexts
Mothers, Anthropology, and Theology in the New Testament
Cults of Motherhood: Matrons Ancient and Contemporary
Maternal Theologies, Maternal Bodies: Method, Argument, and Overview

Chapter 2: Maternal Bodies: Constructing Women in Mediterranean Antiquity
Sexes amongst the Sects: Debates on the Female in Greco-Roman Medicine
[Hu]man or Un[hu]man: Masculinity in the Greco-Roman World
What Makes a Woman? Femininity, the Female Body, and Motherhood
Wo/man Made: Summary

Chapter 3: Conceiving Christ and Community: Mary, Mothers, and God's Household in the Gospels and Acts
Is the Mother a Parent? Ancient Theories of Conception, Generation, and Childbirth
Conceiving Christ and Community: Mary and Other Mothers in God's Household
Conclusions

Chapter 4: Taste that the Lord is Good! Breastmilk and Character Formation in the New Testament
The Sacred Fount: Breastmilk, Paideia, and Character Formation in Mediterranean Antiquity
Learning to Drink: Breastmilk and New Testament Paideia
Conclusions

Chapter 5: Salvation and Childbearing: Does Motherhood Matter?
Molding Princes for Rome: Maternal Power in the Augustan Age
Getting Saved: Multiple Traditions of the Maternal Telos in Early Christian Literature
Conclusions

Chapter 6: Conclusions: The Blessedness of Women
How to Become a Woman: A Core Assumption
Becoming a Woman after Christ: Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament
The Blessedness of Women: Some Lingering Effects of the Maternal Telos

Bibliography
Index