Abstract
This volume assembles a review of stories about women in the Hebrew Bible, recognising that in past interpretations, many of them have been mistakenly sexualised, vilified, and marginalised as ‘bad girls’. In her preface, the editor Sandra Glahn cites Eve, who is blamed for the guilt of the whole human race, or Sarah, who in some interpretations is blamed for the current situation in the Middle East (p. 13). In overview, it is indeed surprising, how often the depiction of biblical women in preaching or teaching has been distorted or misinterpreted. Taking into account the cultural and social context of the texts as well as recent developments in the field, the contributions aim to correct these portrayals and want to offer a fresh look. While the misinterpretation or marginalisation of some figures is demonstrated more convincing than of others, the volume nevertheless represents an important contribution to the ongoing discourse on women in the Bible. It is one of the few collections that successfully bridge the gap between popular religion and academic scholarship, and it will certainly appeal to many undergraduates, who engage with these difficult texts for the first time.
The contributions divide into three sections with a different thematic focus each: Section I (The Women in Jesus’s Genealogy: More Than Redeemed Sinner) comprises five chapters with contributions by Carolyn Custis James (Tamar: The Righteous Prostitute); Eva Bleeker (Rahab: What We Talk about When We Talk about Rahab); Marnie Legaspi (Ruth: The So-Called Scandal); Sarah Bowler (Bathsheba: Vixen or Victim?); Timothy Ralston (The Virgin Mary: Reclaiming Our Respect). Section II continues with a ‘Survey of Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible’, focusing on the Hebrew Bible with articles by Glenn Kreider (Eve: The Mother of All Seducers?); Eugene Merrill (Sarah: Taking Things into Her Own Hands); Tony Maalouf (Hagar: God Names Adam, Hagar Names God); Ron Pierce (Deborah: Only When a Good Man is Hard to Find?); Christa L. McKirland (Huldah: Malfunction with the Wardrobe-Keeper’s Wife); Sharifa Stevens (Vashti: Dishonored for Having Honor). Finally, the third section revisits some New Testament Women and presents three studies by Lynn Cohick (The ‘Woman at the Well’: Was the Samaritan Woman Really an Adulteress?); Karla Zazueta (Mary Magdalene: Repainting Her Portrait of Misconceptions); Amy Peeler (Junia/Joanna: Herald of the Good News).