Cadbury Lectures 2024

The Edward Cadbury Lectures are supported by an endowment from the Cadbury Family to the University of Birmingham for an annual series of lectures open to the public on the history, theology and culture of Christianity.

The 2024 lecture series presents the translation-based womanist biblical scholarship of the Rev. Wil Gafney, Womanist biblical scholar and Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas.

Each lecture will run 7.30-8.30pm, followed by a tea & coffee drinks reception. Please note this is a later start time than previously advertised.

21 May 'Translation Matters: A Model of Womanist Biblical Interpretation'

In her 2017 standout volume, Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and of the Throne (Westminster/John Knox), Professor Gafney asked the question, "Who translates God's words and how?"; in her first lecture in this series, "Translation as an Exegetical Veil: InVisible Biblical Translation," she will introduce biblical translation as a primary layer of biblical interpretation, comparing prominent translations of the Scriptures across the centuries with her own and, articulate her own principles of the art and science of translation.  

22 May 'Womanist Midrash the Sequel: Translation-Based Exegesis'

In her second lecture Professor Gafney will share excerpts from her much anticipated next volume of the Womanist Midrash project: Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings (Westminster/John Knox), anticipated later this summer. The Womanist Midrash series features original translation of the biblical text followed by a deep reading of the passage including linguistic, literary and contextual issues along with a womanist midrash in conversation with the classical and contemporary genres of rabbinic midrash. 

23 May 'A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church: Translating for Thirsty Ears and Hungry Eyes'

Dr. Gafney's most recent project brings her scholarship more fully into the world of the Church by offering an entirely new lectionary built around passages that center, feature and include women and girls – including by their notable absence. Entirely new readings of scripture are freshly translated by Dr. Gafney and paired in completely new groupings. She provides readings for every Sunday of the year, each Principal Feast, every day of Holy Week and Easter week and, selected feast days with technical and preaching commentaries. The Reverend Dr. Gafney will offer readings from the lectionary in addition to addressing its formation, text selections and translation choices. 

Biography

The Rev Dr Wil Gafney is a scholar, pastor, preacher and activist. She is the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Ft. Worth, TX, where she teaches masters and doctoral students in initial and advanced degree programs including MDiv, ThM and PhD.

Dr. Gafney is the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Years A and B and,Year W, a stand alone volume (Church House Publishing), Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne (Westminster/John Knox), a commentary on Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah for the Liturgical Press Wisdom series, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel and co-editor of (Prophets and the Deuterocanonical Writings/Apocrypha) The Peoples’ Bible and The Peoples’ Companion to the Bible (Fortress), and commentary on Judges in the CEB Women’s Bible. Volume C of the Lectionary is due in 2024. She has finished a second volume of Womanist Midrash focusing on women in the Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. Her essays include: “A Womanist Midrash of Delilah: Don’t Hate the Playa Hate the Game” (Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse, Society of Biblical Literature), “A Womanist Midrash on Zipporah” (I Found God in Me: A Womanist Biblical Hermeneutics Reader, Cascade Press), “It Does Matter If You’re Black or White, Too Black or Too White, but Mestizo is Just Right” (Re-Presenting Texts: Jewish and Black Biblical Interpretation, Society of Biblical Literature) and “A Queer Womanist Midrashic Reading of Numbers 25:1-18” (Leviticus and Numbers: Texts @ Contexts). Find the full biography for Dr. Gafney’s here.