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.