Trauma and Survival in the Hebrew Bible

Kamilah Hall Sharp is Director of the Doctor of Ministry in Public Ministry Program and Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible and Public Ministry at Chicago Theological Seminary.

Kamilah Hall Sharp’s treatment of the book of Esther exemplifies next-generation womanist biblical interpretation at its best. Building on the foundational work of Renita Weems and Delores Williams, Sharp employs a trauma-informed womanist hermeneutic of survival to explore the interpersonal trauma experienced by Esther and other women and girls in the text. In true womanist hermeneutical practice, Sharp draws from Black women’s autobiographies—particularly those of Maya Angelou and Lezley McSpadden—to powerfully connect biblical narratives of sexual exploitation and violence with contemporary Black women’s stories of survival, offering readers both critical insight and strategies for healing.

• PrefaceIntroductionChapter 1 What Is Survival?Chapter 2 Lexicon of SurvivalChapter 3 Our Girls Are Not SafeChapter 4 Angelou and Esther 2Chapter 5 The Struggle of an Implied SurvivorChapter 6 Implied Survival: McSpadden and Esther 9ConclusionAppendix