Dorothy Lee AM

Dorothy Lee AM is a New Testament scholar with a particular interest in the Gospels. She reads them from a literary and theological perspective, with attention to their context in the ancient world. Dorothy has many years experience of lecturing in this area, with a special focus on the Gospel of John as narrative and theology. She has also written and taught in the area of feminist theology and women's ministry in the New Testament. Dorothy is an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Melbourne associated with St Mary’s North Melbourne, a Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Current Research Areas

• the narrative structure and symbolic theology of the Gospels, especially the Gospel of John
• the social and religious contexts and values of the New Testament world
• the theologies of the New Testament
• the spirituality of the New Testament writings
• the place of women’s leadership in the church

Areas for Supervision

• the background, literary structures and theology of the Gospels
• the role of women in the New Testament
• the Greco-Roman world
• spirituality and the Bible 

Publications

• “The Significance of the Wounds of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel” Review & Expositor 1–13 (2023), forthcoming.
• John, New Word Biblical Themes. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, forthcoming.
• With Robert J. Derrenbacker & Muriel Porter (eds.), The Enduring Impact of the Gospel of John: Interdiscliplinary Studies. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2022.
• “The Fourth Gospel as Ancient Literary Artefact” in Enduring Impact of the Gospel of John, 43–61.
• “A Spirituality of [Af]filiation: The Spirituality of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel”, in P.N. Anderson (ed.), Religions 13, no. 7: 647.
• The Ministry of Women in the New Testament: Reclaiming the Biblical Vision for Church Leadership. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021.
• with Fergus J. King, “Lost in Translation: Rethinking Words about Women in 1-2 Timothy”, Scottish Journal of Theology 74 (2021): 52-66.
• “Clean and Unclean: Multiple Readings of Mark 7:24-30/31” in M. Melanchthon & R. Whitaker (eds), Terror in the Bible: Rhetoric, Gender, and Violence. Atlanta: SBL, 2021, forthcoming.
• Creation, Matter and the Image of God: Essays on John. Adelaide, ATF Press, 2020.
• “The Parable of the Sheepfold: A Narrative Reading of John 10” in A.D. Myers & L.S. Jodrey (eds), Come and Read: Interpretive Approaches to the Gospel of John. IJL. Lanham: Fortress Academic, 2020, 81-96.
• “Fictive Kinship and its Symbolism in the Literary Structures of 1 John” in M.C. Parsons, E. S. Malbon & P.N. Anderson (eds), Anatomies of the Gospels and Beyond. Essays in Honor of R. Alan Culpepper. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2018, 386-404.
• “Symbolism and ‘Signs’ in the Fourth Gospel” in M. de Boer & J. Lieu (eds), Handbook of Johannine Studies. Oxford; Oxford University Press, 2018, 259–273.
• “Natural World Imagery and the Sublime in the Gospel of Matthew”, Australian Biblical Review 67 (2019): 16–31.
• “Christological Identity and Authority in the Gospel of Mark”, Phronema 33 (2018): 1-20.
• The Gospels Speak: Addressing Life's Questions. Mahwah: Paulist, 2017.
• “Imagery” in D. Estes & R. Sheridan (eds.), How John Works: Storytelling in the Fourth Gospel. Atlanta: SBL Press, 2016, 151–70.
• “The Faith of the Canaanite Woman (Mt. 15.21-28): Narrative, Theology, Ministry" Journal of Anglican Studies 13 (2015), 12–29.
• “‘Signs and Works’: The Miracles in Mark and John”, Colloquium 47 (2015), 89–101.
• A Friendly Guide to the Gospel of Matthew. Melbourne: John Garratt Publishing, 2013.
• Hallowed in Truth and Love: Spirituality in the Johannine Literature. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2012.
• “The Gospel of John” in B.R. Gaventa & D Petersen (eds.), The New Interpreter's One–Volume Bible Commentary. Nashville: Abingdon, 2010, 709–34.
• Transfiguration (London & New York: Continuum, 2004).
• “Feminist Theology” in L. Holden (ed.), Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture. An Encyclopedia. 2 vols; Santa Barbara: ABC Clio, 2003, 1.281–88.
• Flesh and Glory. Symbol, Gender and Theology in the Gospel of John. New York: Crossroad, 2002.
• The Symbolic Narratives of the Fourth Gospel. The Interplay of Form and Meaning (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994).

Community Engagement

• Member of Doctrine Commission of the Anglican Church in Australia
• Member of Fellowship for Biblical Studies
• Member of Society of Biblical Literature
• Member of Society of New Testament Studies