Stefana Dan Laing, associate professor of divinity at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, recently completed a sabbatical, where she was able to finish a manuscript and oversee the publishing of a new study Bible for women.
While away from the classroom, Laing said a majority of her energy was spent working on the second edition of the Women’s Study Bible, forthcoming from B&H Bibles and Reference, for which she is the general editor.
“We want to put out a study Bible that will answer the questions of this generation,” Laing said. “We are crafting a Bible by women but for everyone.”
Rather than repackaging the first edition’s notes, the project started from scratch, Laing said, pulling together from across denominational lines academic evangelical women with a high view of Scripture.
Working directly with God’s Word has been “enriching,” Laing said, with “mountain peak experiences” coming during moments spent note-writing and developmental editing in her dining room.
The study Bible addresses themes and figures that are important to women, bringing in female academic perspectives while also opening up passages that might be obscure.
Laing said she’s been surprised in her own study to see how frequently the themes and import of the book of Ruth appear throughout Scripture, and how the often-underappreciated book of Chronicles connects people throughout Israel’s history and explains so many of the stories we know from historical books like 1-2 Samuel and 1-2 Kings. Chronicles consistently details relationships within the royal families by naming queen mothers and royal wives in Judah, Laing said.
There are also articles, call-out boxes for further study, word studies, doctrine studies, color illustrations and more, Laing said.
The study Bible is due to come out in August 2025, Laing said.
Other Projects
Laing also finished the manuscript for Confessing Christ: An Invitation to Baptist Dogmatics, which is being released November 1 by B&H Academic. Together with her husband, John, Laing wrote a chapter on soteriology for the volume.
She also recorded video curriculum on spiritual formation for LifeWay’s Women’s Academy and led a handful of presentations, including two plenary talks for the statewide chaplains’ annual meeting of the Texas Army National Guard. Laing presented her research on the spiritual writings of Evagrius of Pontus on the vice of anger and its effects on the Christian’s prayer life.
Laing is an active member of the Evangelical Theological Society, and annually chairs the group’s steering committee for Patristic and Medieval History, planning speakers for the annual meeting in November. This year in San Diego, the committee will host a special session on Nicaea – its archaeology, history and the events of the council of AD 325.
Next year, Laing will teach as part of a group celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea on a tour of ancient Christian sites, including the site of the council itself in modern-day Iznik, Turkey. Except for Ephesus, the tour will visit the first sites of the first seven ecumenical councils, concluding with a visit to Cappadocia in central Turkey.
Laing will lecture on women associated with these sites, especially in Constantinople (Istanbul) and Cappadocia.
During her sabbatical, Laing also spent time at home with her three teenaged children and husband, who recently retired from active military service after 37 years serving the National Guard.