Plotted, Shot, and Painted: Cultural Representations of Biblical Women

Plotted, Shot, and Painted stakes out new territory for feminist biblical criticism. It considers what happens to biblical women in popular culture, in art and in film, and it foregrounds questions about how gender interests affect interpretation and about the roles and responsibilities of commentators and readers. This second revised edition contains an additional chapter, 'Lot and his Daughters', and an expanded chapter on Delilah. Exum's mastery of biblical scholarship, film criticism, feminist theory, and a vast literary and artistic repertoire is overwhelming ... a splendid work of analysis and critical thinking ... The book introduces the reader to an extraordinarily rich variety of critical experiences, which far transcends the limitations of conventional biblical scholarship. Francis Landy, Prooftexts ... a joy to read-still learned, but also witty and passionate. Here is a new kind of biblical criticism. We are talking here of things that really matter, things that have caused hurt to women and also to men, and things that could be made better ... It is about cinema, art, literature, popular song, and pornography. In other words, it places the Bible exactly where it should be, at the heart of our cultural experience from 'high' art to 'low' art ... David Jasper, Biblical Interpretation ... essential for all concerned with literary, feminist, and cultural readings and representation of biblical texts. W. Lee Humpheys, Religious Studies Review