Synopses & Reviews
"Offers a multifaceted discussion of the Magdalene traditions--traditions that echo well-known themes in the Hebrew Bible that go back to the story of Moses and of his sister, Miriam.... [Good] enriches our understanding of the resonances and complexity of the traditions surrounding this figure." --Elaine Pagels, author of Beyond Belief and The Gnostic Gospels
This volume presents a comprehensive portrait of Mary Magdalen. It offers original work by well-established Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars on the religious and prophetic experience of Mary Magdalen and her depiction in Christian art, and on aspects of Mary Magdalen's composite identity, which overlaps Miriamic, Gnostic, early Christian, and Manichaean traditions, together with Islamic and patristic traditions of Jesus' Mother. Rather than revisiting her singularity, this volume argues that the Miriamic roots of Mary Magdalen's composite identity and prophetic vision are prominent in all religious traditions of the first five centuries of the Common Era.
The contributors are Hosn Abboud, Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, J. Kevin Coyle, Mary Rose D'Angelo, Mary F. Foskett, Deirdre Good, Antti Marjanen, Carol Meyers, Claudia Setzer, and Stephen J. Shoemaker.
Review
"Good's edited book is both a challenge and a delight. The challenge is watching ten competent scholars working carefully with a multitude of languages and religious traditions to bring a fresh assessment of the woman named Mary Magdalen. The complexity of the endeavor is captured in the book's stated intention, Rather than revisiting her singularity, Mariam, the Magdalen and the Mother argues that the Miriamic roots of her composite identity and prophetic vision are prominent in all religious traditions of the first five centuries of the common era. The delight of the book is discovering the relationship of the names Miriam, Mary, and Maria, and the relationship of the women bearing these names. The scope of the book widens with essays dealing with Mary in Gnostic gospels, Islam, and Manichaeism. This work has copious footnotes, an impressive array of works cited, and a useful index. It would be a difficult task for the general reader, but advancing students, scholars, and professionals will find it revealing and rewarding. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper--level undergraduates and above. --A. L. Kolp," --Baldwin-Wallace College, 2005nov CHOICE Indiana University Press Indiana University Press
About the Author
Deirdre Good, Professor of New Testament at General Theological Seminary in New York, is author of Reconstructing the Tradition of Sophia in Gnostic Literature and Jesus the Meek King.
Table of Contents
Contents<\>Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
1. The Miriamic Secret Deirdre Good
The Miriamic Procession
2. Miriam, Music, and Miracles Carol Meyers
3. Mary Magdalene, a Beloved Disciple Antti Marjanen
4. Miriam/Mariam/Maria: Literary Genealogy and the Genesis of Mary in the Protevangelium of James Mary F. Foskett
5. Three Odd Couples: Women and Men in Mark and John Claudia Setzer
The Miriamic Vision
6. "I have seen the Lord": Mary Magdalen as Visionary, Early Christian Prophecy, and the Context of John 20:1418 Mary Rose D'Angelo7. On the Visual and the Vision: The Magdalene in Early Christian and Byzantine Art and Culture Diane Apostolos-Cappadona
The Miriamic Tradition
8. Jesus' Gnostic Mom: Mary of Nazareth and the "Gnostic Mary" Traditions Stephen J. Shoemaker
9. "Idhan Maryam Nabiyya" ("Hence Maryam is a Prophetess"): Muslim Classical Exegetes and Women's Receptiveness to God's Verbal Inspiration Hosn Abboud
10. Twelve Years Later: Revisiting the "Marys" of Manichaeism J. Kevin Coyle
Works Cited
Contributors
Index
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