Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 33:3 (Summer 2019)
Article: Book Review "Phoebe: A Story" By Paula Gooder (InterVarsity, 2018)
Author: Michaela Miller

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Book Review
Phoebe: A Story By Paula Gooder (InterVarsity, 2018)

Michaela Miller

Michaela Miller holds a BA from Milligan College and an MAR from Emmanuel Christian Seminary, both in eastern Tennessee. She is pursuing an MA in intercultural studies from Johnson University, near Knoxville, Tennessee, in preparation for joining the ministry of Pioneer Bible Translators.

In this work of historical fiction, Paula Gooder presents an imaginative telling of the life and ministry of Phoebe. While Gooder does not offer an introduction to the book, she does provide helpful comments in the endnotes. She states that her purpose in writing this story is not simply to provide an entertaining novel, but also to inform readers of the reality behind the NT text (225). Gooder sparks the imagination of her audience by disclosing scholarly information concerning the Greco-Roman world through the medium of narrative. Stating that she does not necessarily expect her audience to agree with her depiction, Gooder hopes this work will nevertheless encourage readers to think carefully and critically about the world behind the NT (226).

Drawing on Rom 16:1–2, Gooder depicts Phoebe as both deacon and patron, acknowledging the controversy surrounding each of these terms in the endnotes. While the word typically translated “deacon” can also be understood as “servant,” Gooder maintains that Phoebe was indeed a leader in the church at Cenchreae: in the narrative, Phoebe compares herself to the deacons Stephen and Philip (209, 231). Gooder envisions Phoebe as serving the church both by ministering to widows and by proclaiming the gospel. Gooder also provides a discussion of Phoebe as a benefactor or patron, noting that scholars have often assumed that women could not be patrons in the way that men could, though recent evidence suggests otherwise (232). In keeping with this evidence, Gooder characterizes Phoebe as a freed slave who became a patron after relocating to Cenchreae (250).

Reflecting scholarly consensus, the author also presents Phoebe as Paul’s deliverer of his letter to the Roman Christians. She notes that this duty did not only consist of physically carrying the letter to Rome, but it certainly also meant representing the author and providing answers and explanations regarding the letter’s contents personally (19–21, 234). Interestingly, however, rather than having Phoebe present the letter herself, Phoebe hands it off to a scribe in the Roman church who reads the letter for the congregation (247). Though it is known that letter carriers often prepared and provided an oral performance themselves, Gooder does not give Phoebe the privilege of personally presenting this letter to the churches in Rome, which may surprise and even disappoint readers of P...

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