Unhiding Women in the Parables: A Study Guide for Groups and Individuals

What if the parables are full of women we’ve never seen? For centuries, traditional readings have focused on men, rendering the mothers, female bakers, travelers, and healers invisible. This practical study guide introduces an Unhiding Reading, a powerful lens to rediscover the essential female characters hidden within Jesus’s most beloved stories.

Learn to use historical insight and faithful imagination to see the parables as their first audience did. Through five detailed case studies, discussion questions, and transformative alternative readings, readers will practice a ＂double imagination＂--uncovering the uncredited women whose presence changes everything.

Unhiding Women in the Parables is more than a new way to read; it’s an invitation to reclaim a fuller, more accurate, and more just gospel. Discover the women who were always there and transform the understanding of Scripture, community, and faith. Ideal for group discussions or personal reflection.

Charel D. du Toit holds a cotutelle/dual PhD in New Testament and related literature from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Pretoria (2025). He is currently a research fellow at the University of Pretoria, where he heads a research lab on the parables of Jesus. He frequently publishes internationally in academic journals, books, newspapers, blogs, and periodicals, focusing on developing hermeneutical lenses to help unhide vulnerable voices in biblical texts and society.