Lisa M. Wolfe is Professor in the Endowed Chair of Hebrew Bible at Oklahoma City University, where she started teaching in fall 2007. Lisa grew up in northeastern Ohio, in the city of Stow. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado in Boulder in 1990, where she was active in the Wesley Foundation. She received her MDiv from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH in 1996, and was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 2000. Over the years she has served more than six different churches and numerous church camps, specializing in Youth Ministry, Christian Education, and Interim Ministry. Lisa received her PhD in Hebrew Bible from Northwestern University's joint program with Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Religious and Theological Studies in July of 2003. She became Assistant Professor of Old Testament at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH, where she later served as Director of the Harriet L. Miller Women's Center, Academic Program Coordinator, and Lecturer in Old Testament and Women's Studies. In 2010, Lisa's DVD Bible Study series, "Uppity Women of the Bible," was released. Cascade Press published the companion book to that series, Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs and Judithin 2011. In addition, Lisa has authored over thirty entries for The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. Currently Lisa is working on a book project on Ecclesiastes. Above all, Lisa enjoys teaching on these topics and others not only at OCU, but also in local churches of various denominations. Lisa is a member of Church of the Open Arms United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, OK. Lisa and her husband have two children.
"In her study of Ruth, the Moabite daughter-in-law, Esther, the Jewish queen, Ra'ayti, the young lover, and Judith, the warrior, Lisa Wolfe takes us on a journey through tales about rags-to-riches, the triumph of the underdog, romance, and a widow warrior that challenge traditional gender roles and will keep us reading for more."
-Thomas B. Dozeman
United Theological Seminary
"This remarkably engaging commentary translates solid critical biblical scholarship into forthright, accessible, everyday language that persuasively 'undermines the oft-repeated falsehood that women in the Hebrew Bible had no voice, no power, and no place in society.'"
-Kathleen A. Robertson Farmer
United Theological Seminary
"Well researched, accessibly written, with a deft touch of humor, this book will serve as a fine text for college students, study groups in the church, and as a stimulating guide for pastors preaching on these uppity women."
-Tex Sample
Saint Paul School of Theology
"Lisa Wolfe's readings of Ruth, Esther, Song, and Judith are lively and judicious, a rare combination in the commentary literature. The work reflects extensive experience teaching the books and an impressive command of the scholarly literature. With an engaging feminist critical approach, Wolfe skillfully exploits ambiguities and ironies in the texts, and at just the right moments, introduces a refreshing sense of humor. Accessible and critically astute, this will be an excellent textbook for undergraduate and seminary courses, as well as a fine resource for laypersons."
-Harold Washington
Saint Paul School of Theology