Afropean Biblical Studies

Constructing a Nigerian/British Women's Hermeneutic

Series: 

Step into the pioneering field of Afropean Biblical Studies. This book constructs a Nigerian/British women’s hermeneutic that reshapes how we read the New Testament, blending feminist, postcolonial, and decolonial approaches. In this book, readers will meet the author through her autobiographical reflections, which, alongside rich literary and cultural insights, illuminate fresh readings of biblical characters—like Herodias’s daughter (Mark 6:17-28; Matthew 14:3-12) and the woman who washed Jesus’ feet (Luke 7:36-50)—and engage popular contemporary novels, including Bernardine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other. Original, innovative, and methodologically bold, it challenges Western-dominated scholarship and opens new horizons in biblical interpretation.
Copyright Year:
2026
E-Book (PDF)
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-76449-1
Publication:
29 Apr 2026
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-75452-2
Publication:
28 May 2026
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Olabisi Obamakin is a Nigerian/British New Testament scholar and Postdoctoral Research Associate at Durham University. Her research focuses on Afropean women’s hermeneutics and decolonial biblical interpretation, with publications in Horizons in Biblical Theology, Practical Theology, and Evangelical Quarterly.
Acknowledgements

1 Introduction
 1 Research Context: Nigerian/British (Afropean) Woman
 2 Research Aims and Questions
 3 Research Rationale: the Problem of Muted Black/British Female Scholars
 4 Research Objectives
 5 Book Outline

2 Locating the ‘Field’ Between Africa and Europe
 1 Introduction
 2 Between Africa and Europe: the Emerging Field of Afropeanism
 3 The Current Field of Feminist Biblical Hermeneutics
 4 The Distinctiveness of My Research
 5 Conclusion

3 Constructing an Afropean Women’s Hermeneutic
 1 Introduction
 2 Afropean Epistemology
 3 Afropean Cultural Mediums
 4 Afropean Themes
 5 Rationale for Selecting New Testament Biblical Texts and Characters as Case Studies
 6 The 6 Steps to Construct a Nigerian/British Women’s Hermeneutical Framework
 7 Conclusion

4 Don’t Touch My Hair: a Nigerian/British Women’s Reading of the Woman Who Washed Jesus’ Feet with Her Hair in Luke 7:36–50
 1 Introduction: African Hair within a European Context
 2 Rationale for Choosing This Pericope: The Lukan Version of the Story
 3 Autobiographical Reflection: Afro Hair in a Siloed Context
 4 History of Interpretation: Hair and Hypersexuality
 5 Nigerian/British Cultural Reference: Emma Dabiri’s, Don’t Touch My Hair
 6 Dominant Motifs within Don’t Touch My Hair: the Power of Hair
 7 New Lenses into Luke 7:35–50 from Don’t Touch My Hair Motifs
 8 Using Creative Actualisation to Construct a Nigerian/British Women’s Interpretation of Luke 7:35–50
 9 Conclusion
 Acknowledgements

5 Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? a Nigerian/British Women’s Reading of the Samaritan Woman in John 4:1–42
 1 Introduction: Familial Expectation and Pressure in Marriage
 2 Rationale for Choosing This Pericope: Exploring the Hidden Depths of John 4
 3 Autobiographical Reflection: “Oya, Bring Me a Drink Opener”
 4 History of Interpretation: Hyperanalysis of Sexual History
 5 Nigerian/British Cultural Reference: Lizzie Damilola Blackburn’s Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
 6 Dominant Motifs within Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?: External Familial Pressure, Internal Insecurities and Self-Hatred
 7 Lenses into John 4 From Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? Motifs
 8 Using Creative Actualisation to Construct a Nigerian/British Women’s Interpretation of the Samaritan Woman in John 4
 9 Conclusion

6 Girl, Woman, Other: a Nigerian/British Women’s Reading of the Daughter and Her Canaanite Mother in Matthew 15:21–28
 1 Introduction: Mother/Daughter Intergenerational Relationships
 2 Rationale for Choosing This Pericope: a Specific Focus on Ethnicity
 3 Autobiographical Reflection
 4 History of Interpretation: Binary Ethnic Identities
 5 Nigerian British Cultural Reference: Bernadine Evaristo’s Girl, Woman, Other
 6 Dominant Motifs within Girl, Woman, Other: Generational Differences between Mother and Daughter
 7 New Lenses into Matthew 15:21–28 from Girl, Woman, Other Motifs
 8 Using Creative Actualisation to Construct a Nigerian/British Women’s Interpretation of Matthew 15:21–28
 9 Conclusion

7 Butterfly Fish: a Nigerian/British Women’s Reading of the Pythian Slave-Woman in Acts 16:16–21
 1 Retrieving a Forgotten Yoruba Epistemology
 2 Rationale for Choosing This Pericope: a Forgotten Woman
 3 Autobiographical Reflection: Forgotten Cultural History
 4 History of Interpretation: Dominated by Western Epistemology
 5 Nigerian/British Cultural Reference: Irenosen Okojie’s Butterfly Fish
 6 Dominant Motifs within Butterfly Fish: Giving a Voice to Global South Epistemology
 7 New Lenses into Acts 16:16–34 from Butterfly Fish Motifs
 8 Using Creative Actualisation to Construct a Nigerian/British Women’s Interpretation of Acts 16:16–34
 9 Conclusion

8 Yoruba Girl Dancing: a Nigerian/British Women’s Reading of Herodias’s Daughter in Mark 6:17–28 and Matthew 14: 3–12
 1 Hypervisibility and Embodied Knowledge
 2 Rationale for Choosing Mark 6:17–28 and Matthew 14:3–12: Enhancing the Nigerian/British Women’s Reading
 3 Autobiographical Reflection: to Be Nigerian/British Is to Dance
 4 History of Interpretation: Western Hypersexualised View of ‘Othered’ Dance
 5 Nigerian/British Cultural Reference: Simi Bedford’s Yoruba Girl Dancing
 6 Dominant Motifs within Yoruba Girl Dancing: Dance as Ritual in Yoruba Epistemology
 7 Lenses into Mark 6 From Yoruba Girl Dancing Motifs
 8 Using Creative Actualisation to Construct a Nigerian/British Women’s Interpretation of Herodias’ Daughter in Mark 6:17–28 and Matthew 14:3–12
 9 Conclusion
 Acknowledgements

9 Conclusion: The Emergence of Afropean Biblical Studies
 1 Practical Implications
Bibliography
Index of Ancient Sources
Index of Modern Authors
This book will interest scholars, undergraduate and postgraduate students, ministers, and libraries in biblical studies, theology, feminist, and postcolonial studies—particularly those exploring decolonial Afro-diasporic approaches to the New Testament.
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