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POSITION: Professor Emerita/Seminary
DEPARTMENT: Seminary
EMAIL: weaverdj@emu.edu
To live life at the call of God is to encounter ongoing surprises, unexpected delights, and God’s robust sense of humor. Dorothy Jean Weaver always knew that she would grow up to be a teacher. But she could never have imagined the life she now lives.
Years ago Dorothy Jean discovered, unexpectedly, a deep passion for studying the New Testament and a life vocation of opening the Scriptures for and with others in the seminary classroom and beyond. This calling eventually drew Dorothy Jean into New Testament Studies at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, where she earned a PhD in 1987.
Since 1984 Dorothy Jean has been teaching New Testament at EMS. Her courses include Elementary Greek, Greek Readings, New Testament: Text in Context, and book studies across the New Testament canon. She anchors inter-disciplinary courses, “Women and Men in Scripture and Church” and “Creation Care in Scripture and Church.” In the academic world she has served as Co-Chair of the Society of Biblical Literature Matthew Section. And she has published The Irony of Power: The Politics of God within Matthew’s Narrative (Pickwick, 2017), Matthew’s Missionary Discourse: A Literary Critical Analysis (Sheffield, 1990; Bloomsbury, 2015), and numerous academic essays.
But there were still more surprises. Following a sabbatical at Tantur Ecumenical Institute, across the valley from Bethlehem, Dorothy Jean discovered a sturdy new sense of vocation, namely to introduce North American Christians to Israel/Palestine through study tours and work groups. Since 1998 Dorothy Jean has led or co-led 18 tours and counting through EMS (“Places, People, & Prayers” and “Jerusalem Seminar”) and Virginia Mennonite Missions (“Nazareth/Bethlehem Work Group”). And Dorothy Jean has taught and/or lectured in Beirut, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Cairo, and Debre Zeit, Ethiopia.
“It’s been the ride of a lifetime,” Dorothy Jean notes. “I could never have planned such a life on my own. The call of God is simply astonishing. And God’s sense of humor never ceases to amaze.”
BA, Eastern Mennonite University (Modern Languages: German/French)
MDIV, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Divinity)
PHD, Union Presbyterian Seminary (New Testament Studies)
"'Competent in the Basic Skills of Inductive Bible Study': A Case Study on the Use of Inductive Biblical Studies at Eastern Mennonite Seminary," in Method in Teaching Inductive Bible Study--A Practitioner's Handbook: Essays in Honor of Robert A. Traina, pp. 159-170, 399-410. GlossaHouse Festschrift Series, Vol. 2/The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies Monograph Series, Vol. 1. Frederick J. Long and David R. Bauer, eds. Wilmore, KY: GlossaHouse, 2019.
“Do You Hear What These Are Saying?” (Mt 21:16): Children and Their Role within Matthew’s Narrative,” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 75 (4, 2019) a5513. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v75i4.5513
The Irony of Power: The Politics of God within Matthew’s Narrative. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2017.
“My Journey to JIBS: An Autobiographical Reflection,” The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 3/1:78-89. http://place.asburyseminary.edu/jibs/vol3/iss1/7.
Matthew’s Missionary Discourse: A Literary-Critical Analysis. Reprint of Sheffield Academic Press, 1990. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015.
“Inheriting the Earth: Towards a Geotheology of Matthew’s Narrative,” The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 2/1:6-29. DOI: 10.7252/JOURNAL.01.2015S.02.
“‘What Is that to Us? See to It Yourself.’ (Mt 27:4): Making Atonement and the Matthean Portrait of the Jewish Chief Priests,” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 70 (1), 2014, Art. #2703, 8 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/hts. v. 70il.2703.
“The Hard Sayings of Jesus in Real World Context: Reading Matthew 5:38-48 within the Occupied Palestinian Territories” in Matthew: Texts @ Contexts, pp. 231-253. Nicole Wilkinson Duran and James P. Grimshaw, eds. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013.
“Breasts and Womb, New Testament” in Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 4, col. 456-458. Hans-Josef Klauck, Volker Leppin, Bernard McGinn, Choon-Leong Seow, Hermann Spieckermann, Barry Dov Walfish, and Erick Ziolkowski, eds. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2012.
“‘Suffering Violence’ and the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 11:12): A Matthean Manual for Life in a Time of War,” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 67 (1), 2011, Art. #1011, 12 pages. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v67i1.1011.
“‘Wherever This Good News Is Proclaimed’: Women and God in the Gospel of Matthew,” Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 64:4 (October 2010):390-401.
“‘That They May All Be One’: Diversity and Unity within the Ministry of Jesus,” Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology 11:1 (Spring 2010):13-21.
“‘They Did to Him Whatever They Pleased’: The Exercise of Political Power within Matthew’s Narrative,” HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 65(1), Art. #319, 13 pp. DOI: 10.4102/hts.v65i1.319.
“Living Faithfully in the Cosmos: Environmental Reflections for Disciples of Christ” (October 20, 2006) at www.webofcreation.org under “Worship”/“Resources”/“Sample Sermons.”
“Hazmats or Good Gifts,” Christian Reflection: A Series in Faith and Ethics 21 (2006):37-43.
“Reading the Bible Again for the First Time,” in Telling Our Stories: Personal Accounts of Engagement with Scripture, pp. 198-206. Ray Gingerich and Earl Zimmerman, eds. Telford, PA: Cascadia Publishing House, 2006.
“‘Thus You Will Know Them by Their Fruits’: The Roman Characters of the Gospel of Matthew,” in The Gospel of Matthew in its Roman Imperial Context, pp. 107-127. John Riches and David C. Sim, eds. London: T & T Clark International, 2005.
“Justice and Reconciliation in Muslim-Christian Encounter: Perspectives from Israel/Palestine,” in Anabaptists Meeting Muslims: A Calling for Presence in the Way of Christ, pp. 246-255. James R. Krabill, David W. Shenk, and Linford Stutzman, eds. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2005.
“Resistance and nonresistance: New Testament perspectives on confronting the powers,” HTS (Hervormde Teologiese Studies 61:1 & 2 (March & June, 2005): 619-638.
“As Sheep in the Midst of Wolves: Mission and Peace in the Gospel of Matthew,” in Beautiful upon the Mountains: Biblical Essays on Mission, Peace, and the Reign of God, pp. 123-143. Mary H. Schertz and Ivan Friesen, eds. Elkhart, IN: Institute of Mennonite Studies / Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2003.
“Beware of Burning Bushes: A Biblical-Theological Foundation for the Ministry of Political Advocacy,” in Reclaiming the Old Testament: Essays in Honour of Waldemar Janzen, pp. 186-197. Gordon Zerbe, ed. Winnipeg, MB: CMBC Publications, 2001.
Bread for the Enemy: A Peace & Justice Lectionary.Orville, OH: Mennonite Church Peace & Justice Committee, 2001.
“The New Testament and the Environment: Toward a Christology for the Cosmos,” in Creation and the Environment: An Anabaptist Perspective on a Sustainable World, pp. 122-138. Calvin Redekop, ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000.
“Power and Powerlessness: Matthew’s Use of Irony in the Portrayal of Political Leaders,” in Treasures New and Old: Recent Contributions to Matthean Studies, pp. 179-196. David R. Bauer and Mark Allan Powell, eds. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1996.
“Hands On: A Faith to Handle, Taste, and Touch” (June 24, 1995) at www.webofcreation.org under “Worship”/“Resources”/“Sample Sermons.”
“Transforming Nonresistance: From Lex Talionis to ‘Do Not Resist the Evil One,’” in The Love of Enemy and Nonretaliation in the New Testament, pp. 32-71. Willard M. Swartley, ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992.
“Biblical Perspectives,” in Bioethics and the Beginning of Life: An Anabaptist Perspective, pp. 15-30. Roman J. Miller and Beryl H. Brubaker, eds. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1990.
Matthew’s Missionary Discourse: A Literary Critical Analysis. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1990.