First Glance

The prophet Elisha’s encounter with the Shunammite Woman takes up less than a chapter in 2 Kings, yet the story is filled with poignancy, action and miracles. If you are like many Bible readers, you may have passed over this brief episode impressed by Elisha’s powers but with little sense of the other protagonist, the woman. Burke O. Long addresses that imbalance in “The Shunammite Woman: In the Shadow of the Prophet?” Long’s sensitive reading gives us a new biblical heroine: A woman who, when visited by calamity, embarks on a strenuous journey and personally challenges the prophet to come to her aid. Long also illustrates how we can read biblical stories from a variety of perspectives.

Long is professor of religion at Bowdoin College, in Maine, with a particular interest in the beginnings of Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman world. He is general editor of Writings From the Ancient World, published by the Society of Biblical Literature. Long’s most recent book is the commentary 1 Kings With An Introduction to Historical Literature (Forms of Old Testament Literature IX: Eerdmans, 1984). His volume on 2 Kings will appear this year. He is currently working on a book on the ideological, political and social realities of biblical criticism in America. Outside his academic responsibilities, Long is president of the Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine. He is also an antiques dealer, specializing in American advertising.