Reading Biblical Texts seMadzimai: An African Womanist Exploration of Esther 2:1–18

Abstract

Recent studies from African Bible scholars and theologians suggest that biblical interpretations that take seriously the lived experiences of African women can be transformational. This doctoral research emerges out of a quest to discover how to responsibly read biblical texts in ways that prioritize Shona Zimbabwean women’s contexts—our experiences, challenges, dreams, knowledges, perspectives, and aspirations. In this study, I formulate seMadzimai, a womanist Bible-reading approach that foregrounds Shona women. Undergirded by womanist perspectives, the seMadzimai approach provides guidelines for reading biblical texts with and as Shona women, considering our particular concerns regarding oppressive power dynamics in biblical texts and modern contexts. In addition, the kupepeta (winnowing) metaphor is proposed as an interpretive practice for examining the power of translations and interpretations to affirm or diminish women. Within the field of Contextual Biblical Hermeneutics, seMadzimai, strengthened by kupepeta practice, is applied specifically to Esth 2:1–18, a narrative that describes the experiences of Esther and the other girls who were forcibly conscripted to King Ahasuerus’s palace. A seMadzimai reading problematizes this portion of the Esther text in conversation with the experiences of Shona women and child brides. This kind of reading illuminates Shona women’s experiences including their marginalization as well as their resilience, courage, strength, and active resistance to oppression. This research suggests that the seMadzimai approach to the Bible can offer Shona women a liberating, empowering, and transformational reading experience.