Jennifer Koosed, professor of religious studies at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania, is sharing the 2023 first place award from the Catholic Media Association in the category of Scripture – Academic Studies. She is sharing the award with co-author of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, for their book Judith (Liturgical Press, 2022). The biblical book of Judith relates the story of her cutting off the head of Assyrian general Holofernes with his own sword in his own bed. The book of Judith is not included in the Protestant Bible but is accepted in the Roman Catholic canon.
The Koosed and Seesengood book is part of a 60-volume “Wisdom Commentary” series, that offers a detailed feminist interpretation of every book of the Bible. The volume offers a comprehensive examination of gender ideologies in the book of Judith, from the hyper-masculine machinations of war and empire to the dynamics of class in Judith’s relationship with her enslaved handmaid. Overall, this commentary investigates the book of Judith through a feminist lens.
Dr. Koosed is the author of several books including Gleaning Ruth: A Biblical Heroine and Her Afterlives (University of South Carolina, 2011) and Reading the Bible as a Feminist (Brill, 2017).
Professor Koosed holds a diploma in Jewish studies from the University of Oxford in England. She holds a master of theological studies degree and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.