Reading the Megillot: A Literary and Theological Commentary

The Jewish festival scrolls known as the Megillot is a collection of Old Testament books that recognize that life itself-with all its joys and griefs, successes and failures, achievements and yearnings-can be a key to interpreting Scripture.



In Reading the Megillot, Jeanette Mathews uses her own translations to reimagine each book as a different type of performance: Song of Songs as a Greek play, Ruth as a miniseries, Lamentations as performance poetry, Ecclesiastes as a television talk show, and Esther as a pantomime. Each script is introduced with historical and literary context and followed by commentary highlighting performative features that shed new light on the biblical traditions. These close readings reveal important connections between the books and contemporary issues. Through these scrolls, the drama of human experience becomes a touchpoint for faithful reenactment by new audiences.



I have great appreciation for [Mathews's] focus on the five books' liturgical importance in the Jewish festive calendar, the commentary on each book from the perspective of performance criticism, and the author's grappling with the implications of these books . . . for postmodern societal issues like gender based violence, xenophobia, inequality, and poverty. The book illustrates that ancient biblical texts speak to us today!



-Prof. Gert T.M. Prinsloo

Department of Ancient and Modern Languages and Cultures

University of Pretoria



Edited by Mark E. Biddle, Dean of the Faculty at Sophia Theological Seminary in Richmond, the Reading the Old Testament commentary series presents cutting-edge biblical research in accessible language.



Jeanette Mathews is Head of School and Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies in the School of Theology at Charles Sturt University, based at St. Mark's National Theological Centre in Canberra, Australia. Prior to joining St. Mark's she was ordained as a Baptist minister and worked in Baptist churches in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Her theological education took place at Baptist Theological Seminary (Rüschlikon), the University of Cape Town, and Charles Sturt University. Her research focus is Biblical Performance Criticism of the Hebrew Bible.