Rightfully Mine

by
Aggie Villanueva

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Rightfully Mine (God's Equal Rights Amendment)

by Aggie Villanueva (Goodreads Author)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 11 ratings · 10 reviews

Kindle multiple category best seller.

"Why should the name of my father be wiped from Israel like footprints in a sandstorm because he bore only daughters? " - The Promised Land - God's precious gift to the Israelites through the conquest of Canaan. But for Rizpah, the promise seemed empty; only a male could inherit land. She only has one option: to petition Moses on behalf...more

Paperback, Second Edition, 175 pages

Published August 26th 2009 by Lulu (first published 1986)

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Jan 18, 2009 Aa added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone

I really enjoyed this small book, it was interesting and made me want to keep reading to the end. The best part is it is from the Bible and the Author did personal research for the book. It is of course fictionalized from the real story but it became real in my eyes and I learned a lot of Biblical history at the same time. I plan to re-read it and this time not hurry so I can absorb more of the more subtle parts and more of the history.

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Jan 06, 2009 Paolaj marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I am looking forward to reading your book Aggie...heading to amazon to pick it up

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Jul 13, 2010 Martha Cheves rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rightfully Mine – Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Zelophehad’s eyes fluttered. “Bring my daughters and my half brothers. I want all my family here – to bless them.” His eyes succeeded in opening and as Rizpah looked into them, she admitted at last he was truly near death. Moses, Joshua and Caleb, Israel’s ennobled leaders, rose tactfully to leave but Zelophehad reached a trembling arm toward them. “Please stay. I said I want all my family present.” Moses’ eyes softened...more Rightfully Mine – Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

Zelophehad’s eyes fluttered. “Bring my daughters and my half brothers. I want all my family here – to bless them.” His eyes succeeded in opening and as Rizpah looked into them, she admitted at last he was truly near death. Moses, Joshua and Caleb, Israel’s ennobled leaders, rose tactfully to leave but Zelophehad reached a trembling arm toward them. “Please stay. I said I want all my family present.” Moses’ eyes softened and the three men turned back to face the old man’s bed.

“Moses – you are like a brother to me,” Zelophehad wheezed. Moses came closer. “We are the last, aren’t we, my friend?” “NO,” Zelophehad inhaled sharply. “Do not pity me. We both know the mercy of Elohim Hayyim, the living God, do we not? So we must accept also His judgments. He is the object of all our human striving and the end of all seeking. I look gladly to the end.” He coughed weakly, but his voice gained volume. “What will you do when this plague is over?”

Noah, who was nicknamed Rizpah by her father, is the second born daughter to Zelophehad. She’s strong willed and minded, and often speaks her mind before thinking. With the death of her father Zelophehad, Rizpah and her sisters are left with no man in their household. As the rulings were, no land would be inherited by a woman, leaving Rizpah and her sisters at a loss when Israel is finally allowed to cross the Jordan. But Rizpah will not let the injustice go without a fight. She will speak her mind to Moses asking that her father’s land be inherited by she and her sisters.

This book came at a good time for me. I had just bought a new Bible and had decided to start reading from page one through. When I picked up this book to start reading I found that I had just finished reading the story of Moses and sure enough, when I went back to check I found Noah as being a real person. The story that Aggie Villanueva has scripted made the story I had just finished in the Bible so real.

Sometimes when reading a Bible story we unconsciously see it as just that… a story. Aggie Villanueva gave the characters of Rightfully Mine passion which made them more human and believable. It also helped pass along the lessons to be learned from their mistakes. I feel that Rightfully Mine would make a great book for Bible study classes and discussions, especially among young adults.

2009
Lulu
174 Pages
ISBN #978-0-557-08654-2(less)

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Apr 28, 2010 Chris Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Rightfully Mine(God’s Equal Rights amendment) by Aggie Villanueva ISBN 978-0-557-08654-2
Review by Chris Phillips
Villaneuva has written some interesting Bible-based historical fiction. At the time of the crossing into the Promised Land, the Jews were dealing with several issues confronting a wandering, nomadic people settling down to become more agrarian. The Bible account deals with the general activities of the people as a whole, while this book deals with some specific people and events not d...more Rightfully Mine(God’s Equal Rights amendment) by Aggie Villanueva ISBN 978-0-557-08654-2
Review by Chris Phillips
Villaneuva has written some interesting Bible-based historical fiction. At the time of the crossing into the Promised Land, the Jews were dealing with several issues confronting a wandering, nomadic people settling down to become more agrarian. The Bible account deals with the general activities of the people as a whole, while this book deals with some specific people and events not detailed in the Old Testament. The main character is Rizpah. The second daughter of a Hebrew leader of the tribe of Manasseh she is the responsible one in her family directly under her father.
Villaneuva fills in the details for daily living of the Israelites before they crossed Jordan. There is romance, love, duty, honor and, yes, justice in light of a patriarchal society. The key issue is what happens when only daughters are left to inherit from a father’s passing. The plot follows consistently and maintains the historical context very well. Only a couple anachronisms sneak in but they are easily forgotten with this tale of a struggle against immense odds for justice and a place to be.
There is a romantic triangle between Rizpah, Caleb (Joshua’s second in command) and Hanniel, a warrior from the tribe of Manasseh. The tensions are fed by the difference in age between Rizpah and Caleb, the infatuation of Hanniel with Rizpah and the struggle in Rizpah’s own heart for love of a man that does not love her.
There is thoughtful integration of Old Testament passages without interfering with the narrative flow and without professing any particular doctrinal interpretations. It is a refreshing account of those events in Bible history. Villaneuva is a good writer. She handles dialog and thought very well and integrates all the elements of good story-telling into her art.
This book is recommended for Bible based historical fiction readers and is an overall a pleasant read.
5 stars
Published by lulu. (www.lulu.com) ($12.97 USD SRP/Amazon $12.97 USD) Reviewer received book from author. For BookPleasures, (www.bookpleasures.com)
This review is on a different edition, see ISBN(less)

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Oct 16, 2011 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, historical-religious, womens-fiction, firstreads

Rightfully Mine is a short book with a lot to it. It drops the reader into Moses' people's camp, at the end of their Exodus journey out of Egypt, just before they crossed the Jordan and fought the Canaanites for what would become Israel. That takes a lot of backstory, which Villanueva manages to quickly pack in.

The Israelites feel awfully similar to today's Bedouins.

Villanueva tells the story of the five daughters of Zelophehad. He had no sons. That was a big deal in this patriarchal society. W...more Rightfully Mine is a short book with a lot to it. It drops the reader into Moses' people's camp, at the end of their Exodus journey out of Egypt, just before they crossed the Jordan and fought the Canaanites for what would become Israel. That takes a lot of backstory, which Villanueva manages to quickly pack in.

The Israelites feel awfully similar to today's Bedouins.

Villanueva tells the story of the five daughters of Zelophehad. He had no sons. That was a big deal in this patriarchal society. What should happen to his property when he dies? Tribal law says that daughters cannot inherit—so they will have no part in the shares of the Promised Land.

Bad guys are bad - even among the Israelites - and good guys are good in Villanueva's story. Here's Zelophehad on his death bed, calling his half brothers to his side.

"Enosh and Salu, sons of my father but not my mother, come forward."
The men shuffled to their half brother's bed.
"Had my mother lived, you and Salu would not have, but because you were born to Father's second wife, after my brothers and I were grown, you are allowed to possess the Promised Land." Zelophehad's eyes wandered. "This is the only reason I ever had to question the wisdom of Elohim."
Rizpah's uncles reddened, their eyes bulging in anger. Zelophehad returned his gaze to them. "Enosh, if the wicked beckon you to ambush the innocent without cause, keep your feet from their path. Do not walk with them, Enosh."
"Salu, my youngest brother, you are as a ravenous wolf, but you will find it useless to spread the net for the righteous. You will become caught in the snare yourself." Salu's face purpled with anger, accentuating the yellowish bags beneath his eyes. He nodded, the jerky movement slinging sweat from his scraggly beard.
Zelophhad closed his eyes as if to blot out all thought of his brothers. "I would bless my daughters." His eyes opened and swept over the five of them. "How you all bear the mark of your mother's beauty, each with a different shad of her hair."

Zelophehad blesses each of his daughters before he dies-leaving them destitute. His strong and headstrong daughter Rizpah, however, takes her and her sisters' case to Moses himself.

The story isn't only about justice (excluding Canaanites, of course); it's even more a love story. Rizpah, 38, loves the elderly Caleb, 79. Her cousin Hanniel, whom she has turned down before, loves her. I have to admit that I found this odd, but reminded myself that age evidently didn't work for those Israelites the way it does for us. Look at Abraham and Sarah.

Despite its subtitle, God's Equal Rights Amendment, this book takes a very traditional view of the Old Testament story—there's nothing that might offend even the most conservative reader. It might be a good choice for reading and conversation within a women's group at a church or synagogue. It does not, however, have a readers' guide.

Thanks to the Firstreads giveaway program.
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Feb 02, 2010 Lillie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, christian-fiction

People sometimes think Judaism and Christianity are anti-women rights. Aggie Villanueva has written a compelling novel that shows this is not the case.

I enjoyed this story based on a few Old Testament verses in which sisters who had no male relatives were allowed to inherit the land due their father. We know that the Israelites had a male-oriented society, but this event shows that God cares about His female children as well as His male children and has from the beginning.

From the short account...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Nanci Arvizu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: page-readers

I loved the way Aggie created the language of her characters which made the story come alive. The fight these women had to endure in order to hold onto what was theirs in a male dominated world reminds us all to cherish what we have and never lose hope of the future.

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Apr 28, 2009 V.K. Sansone rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Finished this book and it is very good! A real must read for anyone who enjoys clean, sweet romance in a Biblical setting! You must buy this one
and enjoy all of the twists and turns in Rizpah's life that lead her to the one true love she desires.

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Feb 01, 2013 Spyder rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rightfully Mine(God's Equal Rights amendment)a historical love story by Aggie Villanueva. I really enjoyed this book about loss, the fight for right's by a fiery woman who would not back down and for the man she loves! The many years of living in the dessert to find a home in the Promised land. For me it was a page turner, an enjoyable story of hope, passion and love. A time when you held to your promises and fought with all you had to keep it.

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Dec 07, 2012 Jo-Ann Murphy rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was a light engaging fictionalized tory from the Bible about the fist woman in he day of Moses given the right to inherit their father's share of property. It has romance and battle and intigue i a small book that is worth a read.

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Shelves: christian-and-or-amish

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About Aggie Villanueva

Join my GoodReads group, Self-Publishing (Not Vanity Publishing) http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/3...

Published at Thomas Nelson before she was 30, Aggie Villanueva published Chase the Wind, and Rightfully Mine, both Thomas Nelson 1980s, and is now an award-winning and multiple category bestseller in fiction & nonfiction at Amazon & Kindle category, also making Top Rated list in three c...more

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