Supporting Cast of the Bible

This book spotlights the Old Testament’s “supporting cast,” the vast array of nameless characters wedged in the margins of biblical stories. Often categorized as literary props or aspects of scenery, these anonymous figures (“laborers,” “a creditor,” “the crowd,” “servants,” “elders,” “a midwife,” etc.) frequently shoulder the burden of a story that is never theirs. Grounded in literary theory, Gina Hens-Piazza sets forth a new taxonomy for these often anonymous characters.

In this crisp and focused study, Hens-Piazza (Santa Clara Univ. and Graduate Theological Union) urges readers of the Bible to go beyond its cast of major characters, and the often-facile interpretations they seemingly support, and pay more attention to the characters who make up the supporting cast. Never fully developed and often unnamed, these individuals--whose appearance can range from rudimentary to implied--offer insights that are as overlooked as the characters themselves. For the most part, the insights have to do with injustice and inequality, issues of which the major characters seem largely unaware. Hens-Piazza convincingly makes her case through the examination of four well-chosen passages from the books of Kings. For example, she calls attention to the feelings of the inhabitants of cities Solomon cavalierly offers to his fellow monarch, Hiram, and she offers a deepened portrait of a woman who admits to eating her own child. Such analysis also opens opportunities for applying these enriched narratives to one's own circumstances. Hens-Piazza presents all this in a jargon-free, engaging style that is singularly welcoming to everyone from beginner to veteran researcher. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.-- "Choice Reviews", This book is valuable for its high discussion of bible characters and characterization, punctuated by its sophisticated exegesis of select passages from Kings.-- "Reading Religion", Hens-Piazza over the years has distinguished herself as a champion for the so-called "minor" characters whose role in the biblical narratives is not so minor. In her new book, Supporting Cast of the Bible: Reading on Behalf of the Multitude, Hens-Piazza continues this labor of love and offers a fascinating account of the supporting cast in the Hebrew Bible as illustrated by her careful and creative literary readings of selected narratives from 2 Kings. Drawing our attention to the characters who play complementary roles, bit parts, make cameo appearances, or are merely implied in the text, Hens-Piazza insists that every character deserves a hearing. And it is not just in the biblical text that this is true. By being mindful of the role that gender and class play in determining who counts and who does not, Hens-Piazza reverts our gaze to our own world, away from who and what society deems to be most powerful and most worthy of attention, to those individuals whose contributions to society are seldom recognized but are equally, and in some cases, perhaps even more important.--L. Juliana Claassens, Stellenbosch University, Typically unnamed and often intrepid, so-called minor characters play major roles in the biblical story. Their import and impact come to light in this study by Gina Hens-Piazza, whose eye for reading the contours of the biblical text is unmatched. With the premise that focusing on the "supporting cast" creates interpretive openings, Hens-Piazza foregrounds characters such as the woman of Tekoa or the weavers who were economically displaced when King Josiah centralized the cult in Jerusalem. The result is a wholly fresh understanding of the Old Testament in its historical, political and moral dimensions. Questions of gender are treated with sensitivity and insight, as in the case of Bathsheba and other characters caught in the clutches of power. A special benefit to readers is the symbiosis that Hens-Piazza uncovers between how one views the Bible's "supporting cast" and how one perceives relationships in one's own life. This book will change the way you read Scripture.--Richard J. Bautch, St. Edward's University, Hens-Piazza's book shines light on the essential role that so-called "minor" characters play in biblical texts. Her book provides theoretical underpinning to the exercise of reading a text through the eyes of different characters. Her own writing on the topic is clear, engaging and intriguing. I look forward to using the book in my classes because of how Hens-Piazza is able to present complex theory without the jargon.--Corrine Carvalho, University of St. Thomas

Gina Hens-Piazza is professor of Old Testament studies and Joseph S. Alemany Endowed Chair at Santa Clara University’s Jesuit School of Theology, and professor of biblical studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.