Historical Atlas to the Bible includes MeroÎ.⁸⁹ In all other cases, a person can find this area only in some maps for the Hebrew Bible. This "politics of omission" is not only present in investigations of the New Testament, however. Quoting Snowden, Martin emphasizes that a similar omission has existed in classical scholarship, despite rich data of various kinds. But then, she observes, post-enlightenment culture itself has marginalized and omitted not only blacks but also women and other groups. It is necessary to activate a hermeneutics of suspicion, she therefore suggests, that can intercept ideologies that thrive on a "politics of omission."⁹⁰

At the end of Martin's article, she addresses the issue of interpretation itself. Her words are as follows:

If the ongoing process of interpreting biblical traditions is to be in any sense "interpretation for liberation"--that is, interpretation which effects full humanity, empowerment, and justice in the church and society under God--interpreters must continue to critically discern ways in which a "politics of omission" may be operative in perpetuating the marginalization and "invisibility" of traditionally marginalized persons, groups, and ideologies in biblical narratives. It is only as we undertake such critical analyses that a potentially liberatory vision of biblical traditions can emerge and function as an empowering force in all contemporary communities of faith.91

In Martin's interpretation, then, there is concern about boundaries that nurture a "politics of omission" and a plea for interpreters to bring to light the ways in which both the texts we interpret and the methods we use to interpret them marginalize, exclude, and hide persons, groups, and ideologies. Her article is an excellent example of the manner in which the new paradigm of investigation and interpretation may proceed. From my perspective, her study has used socio-rhetorical strategies of interpretation. She has worked carefully in the inner texture both of Luke-Acts and the Hebrew Bible, identifying ideological moments that expand intertextual exploration beyond a genetic mode to a broader literary mode that leads to social and cultural exploration of the meaning of her text. Instead of functioning within tightly sealed boundaries, Martin finds passageways through boundaries into arenas of exploration that shed additional light on the story in Acts. As she moves through passageways to other arenas of exploration, Martin does not forget the text she is interpreting. She continually comes back to it to find the interwoven webs of signification within its contexts of utterance, culture, and reference.⁹² Moreover, she does not flee from environments of closure. She continually returns to them to look for passageways to other arenas of disciplinary investigation that have produced data that will help her explore additional webs of signification in her text.