Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible

by Sandra L. Glahn (Editor)

Gain a greater understanding of gender in the Bible through the eyes of a diverse group of evangelical scholars who assert that Christians have missed the point of some scriptural stories by assuming the women in them were "bad girls."

Did the Samaritan woman really divorce five husbands in a world where women rarely divorced even one? Did Bathsheba seduce King David by bathing in the nude? Was Mary Magdalene really a reformed prostitute?

While many have written studies of the women in the Bible, this is a new kind of book--one in which an international team of male and female scholars look afresh at vilified and neglected women in the Bible. The result is a new glimpse into God's heart for anyone, male or female, who has limited social power.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Theology, Faith, Christianity, Religion, Feminism

304 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2017

About the author

Dr. Sandra Glahn is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the author or co-author of more than twenty books, including the Coffee Cup Bible Study series. Her forthcoming work, Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament, is slated for an October 2023 release.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a delight to read. It was scholarly, yes, but not anything like the stuffy-and-snooty scholarship in the literary criticism of my graduate school days.

First of all, let me say that this is not a book aimed only at women. Men, particularly men in church leadership, should read this book. You don’t have to agree with everything; the authors themselves don’t agree all the time. (More on that later.) But the ideas and information are worth considering.

The premise is simple: many of the women in the Bible have a bad girl reputation (“vixens”) and in many cases, those reputations are undeserved. We all read the Bible through a particular lens, one that combines traditional, often skewed, interpretations and our own contemporary sensibilities regarding these ancient events. But reading the text and considering it within the context of its times, both of the events and of the actual writing, shows that our views are often far from Biblical.

For example, there’s no textual evidence that Mary Magdalene was a former prostitute and Jesus’ lover (or wife), but many people believe this. Even many churchgoers and devout, Bible-loving Christians believe certain incorrect ideas because they’ve failed to consider the context and text. (For example, the belief that Deborah was a judge only because “a good man was hard to find.”) Some Biblical women are vilified because of their sexual activities. Others are ignored.

This anthology serves as a correction to this. But it also serves as a catalyst for personal change and re-examination of our theological assumptions about gender, the gospel, and the nature of God.

The authors are diverse: female and male, white and minority, various denominational backgrounds, all well-educated. (All the authors have a MA, PhD, or ThM degrees from respected seminaries.) They are united by a common desire to take the text seriously, a desire to portray the cultural context as accurately as possible, and a passion for God and his word, which they strive to interpret the way he intends us to interpret it, as a revelation of his character. They differ on the issue of women preaching yet always show respect for those who disagree with their conclusions.

They are also united in this conclusion: God is concerned for the outsider. The powerless. The marginalized, feared, stereotyped. These women’s stories vividly show how deeply God cares for those whom the world has deemed unimportant. To miss this aspect of the stories is to misunderstand God’s nature.

In the excellent introduction, Henry Rouse discusses hermeneutics and how to responsibly interpret Scripture.

Each subsequent chapter discusses a particular woman.
Section 1: the women in Christ’s genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.
Section 2: women from Israel’s history: Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Deborah, Huldah, and Vashti.
Section 3: New Testament women: the woman at the well (the one with five husbands), Mary Magdalene, and a woman named Junia/Joanna, who may have been an apostle.

Some of the subject matter overlaps. (For example, the Sarah and Hagar chapters.) Because of the authors’ differing emphases, the assertions contrast and sometimes contradict. This might be disconcerting to some readers. One of the benefits, though, is that the different interpretations drive the reader back to the Bible. Rather than reading the book and passively accepting the conclusions without considering the logic and implications, I had to think harder. This is a book that demands interaction with the contents. (Much like the Bible does.) Time and again, I found myself discussing the ideas and interpretations with my husband and then in my own mind (when my husband wasn’t around).

All the authors stress the importance of the context. I was particularly touched and impressed by Carolyn Custis James’ handling of the patriarchal context in her chapter on Tamar. And Sarah Bowler’s discussion of Bathsheba was timely, considering how many women have become vocal about being sexually victimized. But it was also helpful in two ways.

One, she points out that ancient understanding of rape emphasized physical force and violence, while moderns understand rape as also involving coercion and non-consent; thus, while the Bible does not explicitly call David’s sexual encounter with Bathsheba “rape” (given the writer’s cultural understanding of it), there’s textual evidence that his treatment of her would fit our modern ideas about rape. (See that chapter for details.)

Two, she helps us to consider how we, as Christians–individually and corporately–treat the powerless and victimized, and how we can and must do better.

I’ve highlighted two chapters as helpful, but all of the chapters could be described this way.

The only times I felt confused were when the authors were discussing traditional views I was unfamiliar with. For example, I felt a little confused in the chapter about Mary as Timothy Ralston wrote about certain traditional ideas, such as her perpetual virginity or her bodily assumption. But I grew up in Reformed/Calvinistic circles and though I’d heard some references to these theological ideas, it was always given a disdainful treatment, almost a “can you believe these people are so stupid?!” attitude, and never treated with respect or with a desire to truly understand the origins of these concepts or the people who believe them. Hence my confusion. I slowed down and re-read those sections multiple times. (Is that a bad thing?) But my ignorance isn’t the author’s fault, nor is it a fault of the book.

This brings up something, though. I don’t think those who are Biblically illiterate would find the book helpful. The text assumes a baseline knowledge of Scripture, that the reader will know the gist of Israel’s history and Jesus’ ministry, and can find her/his way around the Bible. That’s the target demographic.

Note: The Christian reader who doesn’t know anything about the Bible (a new convert from an unchurched background, for example) could benefit from the book, though, if given guidance from mature Christian(s) and the tools to study the Bible, coupled with a fervent desire to spend time learning and praying.

There’s plenty of material for discussion in this book. Each chapter has a few questions at the end to serve as a springboard, but there’s much, much more that could be discussed in a group. It would be best if the group included women and men, as gender dynamics is discussed so much, and the group would benefit from having both male and female listening to God and each other.
Highly recommended.

I received a review copy from Kregel (through the editor, Sandra Glahn, whom I follow on Twitter) in exchange for an honest review.

[Whitney Dziurawiec · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a weird book. On paper, it would seem like something I would devour. And yet it was SO hard for me to finish it. I just wasn't as interested as I thought I'd be. The whole point of the book is to revisit various female "vixens" of the bible and show that they weren't as bad as modern interpretation makes them out to be. I feel like the only chapters that really accomplished this were the ones on Bathsheba, Tamar, and the woman at the well. I wouldn't call Mary, Ruth, or Sarah "vixens" in the sense that they are taught on with disdain. Others were bizarre - sure, many people don't know who Huldah the prophet is, but does that make her a vixen? Vashti? Really?

Something that really bothered me was when one of the scholars referenced a book as a Pullitzer prize winner. The book seemed interesting to me, so when I searched for it I was surprised to find it *wasn't* a Pullitzer winner. Rather, the authors had won a Pullitzer for their journalism in a completely different article. And yet it says the book won a Pullitzer. Their editors should have caught this.

Ok one more thing, in the chapter on Mary it says Jesus was born in a stable when VIRTUALLY EVERY SCHOLAR - liberal and conservative alike - agrees that Jesus was born in a home. Like even Ken Ham believes this guys. Seriously just Google "was Jesus born in a stable?"

How can I trust these "scholars" writing this book with these glaring errors?? Smh. This could have been done way better.

[Darren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays in the book were excellent - Tamar, Rahab, Deborah, and Bathsheba. A couple I thought were either a stretch (Eve, and how is Mary "sexualized, vilified, or marginalized"??) or tried to make too much of very little (Huldah). Two simply didn't apply to my thinking: I never grew up hearing Vashti criticized (even my quite patriarchal church thought she did absolutely the right thing by refusing Xerxes' drunken command, so I'm not sure how she fits in this book), and I don't remember hearing the claim about Mary Magdalene being a reformed prostitute until the Da Vinci Code came out. And I disagree with the essay on Ruth, which I thought tried too desperately to tone down the implicit sexuality in the book.

All in all, if a friend wanted to read this book, I'd recommend the 4 excellent essays, and maybe the ending chapter on Junia, but probably not the rest.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of essays on women in the Bible whom have been sexualized, vilified, or marginalized. Some essays were better than others. I learned a lot and many of the essays excited me so much I couldn't help but talk about what I had read with others -- always a sign of a good book. This is probably meant for a classroom setting more than light reading. I was grateful for my Latin education for all of the paragraphs on linguistic nuances like a noun being in the dative or accusative case.

Overall, I am a huge fan and I would love to read this book with a group in the future. It was freeing to understand many of these women contextually and truthfully for the first time.

[James Hogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been enjoying reading through this book for the past few weeks and I feel there are so many words I could write on it, but I shall attempt brevity! This book prompted many interesting reactions from me as I was reading. I need to confess that up front that perhaps my view is a bit biased. The stylistic tones and stated approach of this book annoyed me a bit, which tended to color my reading of this book. But I've been trying to understand my own reactions and why I felt the way I did. Firstly, this book is about "Vindicating the Vixens" or as the sub-title has it, "Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible." This book (and its many qualified authors) is attempting to look at women in the Bible who have perhaps been treated unfairly over the years and correct the misunderstandings of these women that have piled up over the years. Each chapter is about a different woman, written by a different author. Many of the chapters are outstanding, some are a bit less so. All in all, though, this book is worthwhile. I honestly really think one of the main things that bothered me (and probably me alone!) was both the implied premise that most readers would have negative views of the majority of these women and also the overuse of the word vixen. Ok, is that not small-minded of me? But in trying to understand what bothered me, I realized that I had never used this word or even seen this word used outside of perhaps a dated novel. Anyway, I had certainly never thought of the majority of these women as "vixens", so to see this word used over and over again...was annoying? That is certainly a stylistic tic on my part, so I will shove my annoyance down. Seriously though, is this word really used this much? (I am certain that the editor told the authors the title of the book and so they all felt responsible to use it at some point in their chapters...but it jumped out like a sore thumb each time!) Anyways, my literary pretentiousness aside, the other thing that I found fascinating - and this is where I really found myself educated - was the presumed opinions on these women. It is perhaps fortunate that I have been blessed in growing up in both a Christian home and church in which women were not denigrated, said to be less-than or talked about as only temptresses and founts of evil. But there were multiple times in which the author would tell stories about how they heard these women (Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, Vashti...) were talked about in a negative manner either in a private conversation or from the pulpit! That surprised me because I have not heard such negative appellations applied to these women but then I realized several things. Firstly, the culture (both in the West and in the Western Church) has changed in such a fashion that the way women are talked about has changed (and is still in the process of changing). Secondly, I am not a woman. And so of course, it is less likely I would hear these women talked about as shameful specimens of human and even less likely I would remember and hold onto that memory if I did. It would pass me over and I would ignore it because it doesn't pertain to me, anyway. With those two thoughts in my mind, this book makes much more sense. I would guess that if you are a women reading this book, it would ring much more true to you and you would appreciate it far more than I (to my shame). So with my pride and false assumptions out of the way (hm, this is already not at all brief), how does this book hold up? As I stated earlier, there are some very strong chapters and some that are slightly less so. The chapters on Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary Magdalene (especially this one!!) and Vashti were all magnificent, bringing to light new details I did not know from both historical and linguistic contexts. I was also very much educated by the authors elucidating the scholarly and religious attitudes towards these women throughout the years. The chapter on Bathsheba was especially challenging because I do think oftentimes we can assign just as much guilt to Bathsheba as to David, and this is clearly not warranted. This chapter was a good corrective. Some of the other chapters seemed a bit more pointed, perhaps speaking more to the context of modern evangelical concerns about women in church leadership. Especially the chapters on Huldah, Junia and Deborah seemed a bit oriented in this direction. It almost made me laugh, actually, because the authors were clearly attempting to avoid directly speaking into this topic, while also highlighting the leadership/authority roles that these women held in their times to make (what seemed to me but perhaps I am oversensitive) an indirect case for women leadership roles in the modern evangelical church. I am most certainly reading a bit much into the authors' motives, but I think it speaks to our current place in church history and this is a very hot topic in this moment in which I write. I would almost have appreciated a couple additional chapters in an appendix giving a few different viewpoints on women's roles in the modern church, as this is something alluded to oftentimes throughout the book.

Anyway! I have written too long. This is a personal review of this book and I am quite certain my dislikes of certain aspects to this book are reactions to superficial tones and approaches taken by the authors, not to the actual content. And because of that, I attempt to shunt my own biases aside and state that I think this is a worthwhile book talking about many different women in the Bible that are perhaps not talked about as much as they should be. I found myself encouraged and edified while reading, and would hope that anyone reading about these women and their relationship to God would find their own hearts enlivened and eager to follow God more each and every day. May we think less about our own status and pride and more about how we may honor and obey our Father God.

[D.L. Mayfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous collection, especially for anyone coming from a more conservative Christian background. Sandra Glahn is a theologian and professor out of Dallas Seminary, and how I wish this collection had been around when I was attending Bible college! It is both depressing and strangely invigorating--I feel the faith in the goodness of God in the people reclaiming these women in Scripture through the lens of Christ. Highly recommend!

[Danielle Routh · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wonderful husband bought this book for me without even knowing it was on my to-read list, and I'm so glad he did! I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this book, and everyone who has even passing familiarity with the women discussed should read it, especially the ones like Rahab, Bathsheba, and Mary Magdalene who receive little to no positive recognition. Indeed, the essays on Tamar, Raha, Bathsheba, and Mary Magdalene were especially compelling--if I had to recommend just two essays from this collection for everyone in the church to read, it would definitely be those concerning Bathsheba and Mary Magdalene, perhaps the most famous vixens of all from the Bible who, the reader will find, were anything but. I found the essays on Sarah and Hagar to be rather weak, but overall, I would highly recommend this book.

[Loraena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this so much. It’s a collection of exegetical essays each written by a different scholar or theologian. I really enjoy this kind of reading, though I know some will think it too “academic”. I particularly loved the essays on Rahab, Deborah, Hagar, & Bathsheba. Some were less convincing. I appreciated that the back-to-back treatments of Sarah & Hagar contradicted each other a bit. Love that the compiler kept it real and is comfortable letting us us live in the tension. It has so much background & history, a lot of which I felt like I should have known, but didn’t. Definitely recommend.

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful. Thoughtful. Compelling.

This collection of essays dives into various women in Scripture who have been either maligned and/or misunderstood and reexamines the text and our own cultural biases. Some essays I enjoyed more than others, but I learned from and was challenged by each of them. Vixens is not light reading and the essays vary in tone, but most are not so academic as to be laborious.

I had the pleasure of taking a class from Dr. Glahn and really appreciate the thought she has put into editing and compiling these selections.

Highly recommend.

[Emily Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty good ! Super thought-provoking. Interesting format, I don't usually prefer reading multiple different essays but the themes from each blended together very well. Pushed me to pay more attention to Scripture and to meditate more on how the way God values women. Recommend to read multiple times to study the cited sources too.

[Mallory Lozoya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biblical literacy is something I’ve decided to focus on this year as one of my yearly goals, and this book was so so helpful for learning more about the Bible! There were several times I had to share what I had learned with others because I was so excited. Well-written, presents several different views, and made me look at stories I’ve read and heard many times in a different light.

[Ian Greenhalgh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one worth rereading - especially in this season

[Andrew Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so impactful. I wanted to take to digest and then review it. To begin with, I have always been drawn to the women in the Bible. I always found it fascinating that such and old book had women through out. However, there were some characters and stories that I always struggled with. At the top of that list was the story of Tamar. It always seemed to me to be out of placed and I never quite understood it. Well this book drastically change what I thought about Tamar and left me in tears. I was thankful to see how God used Tamar and why she was one of the few woman mentioned in Jesus's genealogy. This was not only story that was expanded. There were other like Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, Deborah etc. I learned something from just about every chapter. In the end, I gained a more appreciation for woman and how God uses them.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real mixed bag. Some essays were quite good. Some were quite terrible. Overall, though, I wasn't persuaded by the book's thesis: that women in the Bible are often unfairly sexualized, vilified, and marginalized. Many of the articles were about women that no one really views in a negative light: women like Ruth and Rahab. The book's argument that many people see them as "vixens" really seemed to be cherrypicking the few people who criticize these women. On the other hand, with the women who are often critiqued more (such as Tamar & the Samaritan woman at the well pre-encounter with Christ), I wasn't really persuaded that such critique was unjustified. Especially when the essayist makes the ridiculous argument that it was righteous for Tamar to commit incest(!).

There were some essays that were particularly well done and some that did shift my opinion. The essays on Hagar & Bathsheba were both written really well and brought up a number of good points to consider, and the book persuaded me that Mary Magdelene wasn't a prostitute pre-encounter with Christ. I tend to enjoy narrative biblical analysis, so I appreciated reading through this book. All that being said, the book's title is rather misleading (very few of these women are really considered vixens), and it would be much better if it stopped trying to prove that all of these women were marginalized in some way, and simply focused on exploring what Scriptures say about the lives of these women.

Rating: 2.5-3 Stars (Okay).

[Breanna Randall]

Vindicating the Vixens

This book frustrated me. Because it is a collection of essays from a variety of authors, I don't want to broadbrush it as all bad; some of the essays were good (essays on Deborah and Huldah, for example). But some of them were not okay, and to me, this undermines the whole work.

I found some of the word choice and interpretation (and contextual assumptions by some of the authors) utterly apalling.

One example: an essayist describes Hagar as Abrahams "lover." (p. 194) (NO. She was an enslaved person, and her body was used for Abraham's reproductive interests.) It also went out of its way to praise Sarah for being a gracious mistress, which smacks loudly of slaveholder religion. This sort of thinking is the reason books addressing patriarchy are neccessary, but this essay in particular only perpetuated many of the same problems the book as a whole set out to address.

I feel that this book, despite the few good essays it contains, offers more insight into conservative/heteronormative habits of interpreting the Bible than it does to the actual texts/contexts of scriptural narratives. By the demographics of the authors, it subtly reinforces the idea that male theologians are needed to offer vindication of women in the Bible. (To this I say, "rubbish".)

If you want a book that effectively digs into this subject and *actually* rejects theological misogyny, I recommend Womanist Midrash by Wilda Gafney.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about rethinking the way the church has looked at some of the women in the Bible. This book is a group of essays written by scholars from different theological positions, and it suffers the same problems as any book like this - some of the essays are better than others, some of the essays seem to argue with each other in small points, etc. The chapters on Eve, Deborah, and the woman at the well are particularly good.

[Hope Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I had never noticed Huldah or the significance of her story until I read this. It was empowering and a wonderful redemption of these stories. Thankful for the authors who told them.

Read the rest of my review here http://www.hopengriffin.com/vindicati...

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether or not you agree with all of the statements made in this book, it is a great resource for challenging your preconceptions and learning about often forgotten women in the Bible. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in Christian literature.

[Kristin Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading with husband. Wow! Loved this! Insightful.

[Sally J · Rating 1 out of 5]

First chapter was lovely, after that stop reading. Several chapters appear to not been edited. There are male authors and none of their misogyny is checked.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the challenges for many readers of the Bible is that it was produced with an Ancient patriarchal culture, so therefore it tends to tell most of it’s stories of men or from men’s perspectives. And even when the stories of women are told, their stories have often been obscured, and skewed from centuries of androcentric readings. So, we are told: Eve caused the fall, Sarah’s use and rejection of Hagar is blamed for the tension in the Middle East, and we wonder just what did Ruth uncover on the threshing room floor?

In Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified and Marginalized Women of the Bible, Sandra Glahn has compiled essays from seventeen evangelicals from varying church traditions reexamining notable women of the Bible who have oft been maligned by biblical interpretation. Kregel Academic, the publisher tends to be on the conservative end of biblical scholarship. While these essays don’t speak in one voice (Glahn notes in her preface that contributors disagree on various issues including women’s preaching), they are each committed to hearing the voice of God in the marginalized, and the dialogue is respectful (while there are complementarian’s in the mix, these are soft complementarians that accept and value women’s scholarship and theological contributions). Proceeds from this book were donated to International Justice Mission.

The book is divided into three sections with an introductory essay on the “Hermeneutics of Her” by Henry Rouse. Rouse sets the table with six interpretative questions which give us a framework for wrestling through difficult biblical texts: (1) what does the text actually say? (2) What do I observe in and about the text? (3) What did the text mean to the original audience? ( 4) What was the point? (5) What truths in the text are timelessly relevant? (6) How does the parts fit the whole? (23-26). Rouse also notes the value of reexamining our interpretation of women in the text, because though we have a Great Tradition of two thousand years of biblical interpretation, that tradition is fallible. Reexamining passages with new eyes will either confirm of convictions or allow us to see with new eyes. This is a good framing essay, and obviously with far reaching implications beyond the ‘women in the Bible.’

Section 1 examines the women in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. Carolyn Custis James writes an essay on Tamar, Eva Bleeker explores the Rahab story, Marnie Legaspi describes the ‘so-called’ scandal of Ruth, and Sarah Bowler describes the victimhood of Bathsheba by David (and makes some pretty incisive observations about their significance for the way power dynamics often play out in our own age (see #metoo if you don’t know what I’m talking about). Timothy Ralston closes out this section with an impassioned essay for protestant evangelicals to recover the prominence of the Virgin Mary which the Scripture tells us about (the 4th most described figure in the New Testament).

Section II gives a survey of the sexualized and vilified and marginalized women of the Bible. Glenn Krieder defends Eve from the charge of being the ‘Mother of all seducers” (rather, both men and women share in culpability for human sinfulness). Eugene Merrill and Tony Maalouf explore the characters of Sarah and Hagar, respectfully. Ron Pierce dismantles the charge that Deborah was only called by God because ‘the men wouldn’t stand up (the narrative praises and affirms Deborah, Barak, and Jael). Christa McKirkland holds up the example of the prophet Hulda, and Sharifa Stevens describes how the virtue of courage is manifest in Queen Vashti’s refusal to the King Ahasuerus.

Finally Section III explores some new Testament images of women: The Samaritan Woman at the Well (Lynn Cohick), Mary Magdalene (Karla Zazueta) and Junia (Amy Peeler). Each of the essays in this section explore how the interpretive tradition maligned and distorted the biblical image of these women.

This is a really solid collection of essays, and not overly technical. It engages the Bible, the theological tradition and current scholarship. I appreciated the honest, yet reverent wrestling with difficult passages and the ways each author labored to recover a portrait of women in the Bible and restore it. This is really solid. I give this five stars. ★★★★★

Notice of material connection: I received a copy of this book from Kregel Academic in exchange for my honest review.

[Doug Hibbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, if Vindicating the Vixens doesn’t catch your attention as a book title, I’m not sure what would. This volume, edited by Sandra L. Glahn (PhD), provides a look at some of the women of the Bible who are “Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized.” As is frequently the case, I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Let’s take this a stage at a time. First stage: book setup. This is primarily an academic Biblical Studies book. Be prepared to see discussions of Greek and Hebrew words, as appropriate. You’ll also need a handle on the general flow of Biblical narrative, a willingness to look around at history, and the other tools of someone who is truly studying the text. This is no one-day read. It’s a serious study of women in the Bible, specifically those who either faced sexual violence or who have been considered sexually ‘wrong’ across years of study.

A quick note: this book is timely, not opportunistic. The length of time to plan, assign, develop, and publish a multi-author academic book means Kregel Academic had this in the works before the current emphasis on sexual assaults. It’s a good book to speak on the issue, so it’s quite timely.

Second stage of book examination: authors. The contributors are graduate scholars in Biblical Studies with about half having completed doctoral studies and several others in process. All have worked in ministry and Biblical academics, and appear to reflect choices that will take the Biblical text seriously. That is, rather than coming to this subject in the interest of undermining the Bible to prove a point, instead these contributors are seeking to set right the understanding of the Bible.

Third, content. There’s nothing actually earth-shattering here, once you read it a second time. The first time, it’s all “Wait, that’s not what my preacher said…” (or worse, “That’s not what I said in a sermon!”) so the book must be wrong. But then, as you read through it again, there’s the realization that much of our understanding is traditionally informed. That is, we tend to hear from source A, who learned from Source B, and back it goes. And if somewhere up that line, an assumption was made and left unquestioned, it was then passed forward until the sermon you heard last week never questioned the idea.

Vindicating the Vixens questions some of those ideas. Glahn’s contributors take a look at women from Eve to Junia, and raise some very good points. Certainly some of the conclusions could be challenged, and it would be an interesting read to see the interplay. But I like the fresh look.

A good example is the examination of Rahab. I have seen previous attempts to make Rahab more righteous by going toward “innkeeper” for her profession. However, here we see her portrayed as the text gives it: she’s an outsider, a Canaanite, and likely a woman who rents not only rooms. Yet the redemption that God brings is amazing…and the Israelite spies aren’t exactly paragons of virtue. Throughout, Eva Bleeker keeps the reader going back to the text and dealing with the woman, Rahab, and what she means in the story, how she is valuable.

In all, I like this book. It’s timely, it stirs up questions that need to be answered, and it challenges some of the assumptions that we’ve brought through previous eras into our understanding of Scripture.

[A M · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If our views are based on faulty interpretations of Scripture, we will embrace a faulty view of God.”

“Sometimes our prejudices cause us to miss the power of God’s Word and avoid narratives that we desperately need in our lives.”

I was so excited to read this and was honestly a bit disappointed. Each article has a different author so there are varying levels of intrigue and insight, but I did appreciate the discussion questions at the end of each chapter. Some articles fall flat and feel clinically dry to read without offering much new. The articles that succeed expand on the classic interpretations of these women, how those interpretations came to be, and most importantly, how this is relevant to us, while the author’s voice was also distinctive and engaging. I am in no way incredibly well-versed in the bible or the history of the time so I can’t say much when it comes to the accuracy of certain interpretations, but I thought all articles were well argued and supported. However, even with the little biblical knowledge I do have, I felt there were missed opportunities portraying the stories and vindications of some women and found the angles some authors chose to take to be underwhelming. I also thought it would have been compelling if, for at least some of these women, the facts of the classic interpretations of them were validated however we were shown why they still have so much to teach us in their “badness.” Why must they be righteous to be significant?

My favorites were the introduction and the chapters on Tamar, Eve, Hagar, Vashti, and Mary Magdalene.

“Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle and last at the Cross. They had never known a man like this Man-there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronised; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The ladies, God bless them!'; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unself-conscious. There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words and deeds of Jesus that there was anything ‘funny’ about woman's nature.”

[Judith Kimsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Instead of fearing a reexamination [of Scripture], we should pursue a constant reexamination in order to challenge ourselves toward growth" (28).

The purpose of this book is to strip away all we've been taught about women in the Bible and consider simply what the text says, especially in light of current historical and sociological research. I was a little stunned by how much my pastors over the years had imagined and presented as factual that is not actually in the text! Regardless of where one falls on the complementarian-egalitarian spectrum, all of us who take the Bible seriously would agree that we should know what it actually says.

Glahn recruited contributors from across the theological spectrum--both men and women--lending the book a generous eccumenicalism and preventing the suggestion that this work is biased. On the negative side, the chapters are uneven in scholarship and presentation. Both the number of footnotes and the types of works referenced vary among the authors. Some chapters would be appropriate for a scholarly conference and some read more like a good Wednesday-night Bible study lesson. There's nothing wrong with either of these, but it's a bit disconcerting to bounce between the two. The best chapter (and I'm a New Testament person!) is Glenn Kreider's treatment of Eve. Also, only four out of the fourteen chapters address women in the New Testament.

Discussion questions at the end of each chapter indicate that Glahn perhaps expected this book to be read by a group, but that isn't necessary. It's also not necessary to read it all at once or in order. In fact, it might work better as a reference book, with chapters to be studied as needed.

After some thought, I gave this book four stars because its contents are so important. It should be read and internalized, especially by those who teach others.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a most unusual book. It is compiled by 15 very thorough learned scholars of Biblical women and their particular views of the stories behind each one of them. 16 pages of Bibliography show the absolute depth of their research and why this is an important contribution to Biblical women’s study.
It may be too specialized for the casual Bible study, it is an Academic treatise but as interesting as any I have seen. The first section is on the Women in Jesus’s Genealogy; more than the redeemed sinners, as Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and the Virgin Mary. If that section doesn’t open your eyes, then we study Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Deborah, Huldah and Vashti. The final chapter studies the Woman at the Well, Mary Magdalene, and Joanna. The motivation of the editor is to handle faithfully the biblical text and give us a fresh look at women labeled as “bad girls” for whatever reasons. The tendency to blame women for sexual offenses has affected how we read about them. Dorothy Sayers, made an address in 1940 and said she never wanted to make “women’s issues” her topic of focus. This book vindicates our women in the Bible through the eyes of the team of 15 male and female contributors. This is not an angry book but a very thoughtful reexamination, they don’t all agree on each point, but it will challenge your thinking. Sandra hopes to have the readers see more clearly, love more dearly and follow more nearly until his kingdom comes and his will is done on earth as it is in heaven, these are the ending words of Sandra Glahn, the editor in her introduction.
Borrow interlibrary loan if you are interested, it is unlikely local church will own this important book.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read in a while ~~ and that my husband had to listen to second hand!

The biggest thing is that, viscerally, I've always felt that the way these women's stories have been told and referenced wasn't right, or complete, or were being told at a "slant" that ~ underneath the actual story ~ accuses and casts suspicion on all women just for being women. (Bathsheba seducing David - she didn't; Eve deceiving Adam - she didn't).

I think my favorites were Tamar, Bathsheba, Deborah, Eve, Rahab ....

Some was "new" to me, since I've read these stories in context before, but this pulled threads together I hadn't noticed (like how Tamar's interactions with Judah ~~ and his (and God's) recognition of HER righteousness ~~ seemed to play a transforming role in his changed character by the end of Joseph's story. Also, understanding that culture, and setting modern assumptions aside, makes a huge difference -- in the story of the woman at the well, for instance.

Some of the most disturbing parts were the quotes from (male) pastors and theologians {some contemporary and very popular 😞}, clearly showing how they've added to the biblical stories, or made inaccurate translation choices, to reinforce their own prejudice.

BUT ... that's not how God views his daughters or how he treats us, and revisiting these women's stories was so encouraging that way.

[Betsy Cornwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bible tells of times in human history when the culture was steeped in patriarchy. This book's writers point out how often God has intervened to disrupt and sidestep patriarchy in favor of justice and fairness for women. From earliest history, God has treated women as equal to men. God has chosen women to carry out divine ends even when qualified men were available.

As I read the essays here, I was struck by how difficult it has been for male theologians throughout history to see women as anything but sex objects. With the tiniest scraps of evidence, they characterize the heroic women of the Bible as prostitutes and seductresses. The preachers of my church days have similarly dismissed, ignored, and denigrated the role of women in the church and society at large.

Christians have so much to atone for. They have played such an important part in oppressing women and denying their God-given rights. The work of these brave, honest theologians is a baby step on the long road to proper amends. It's too late to mend my relationship with Christianity but it's nice to know that at least some people can see the difference between the way male chauvinist theologians' view of women and what's actually portrayed in the Bible.

[Lindsay John Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s sadly all too common to see the women of the Bible given a bad rap in sermons and popular Christian books. Often, the women of Jesus’ genealogy are portrayed as “bad girls” who are included as examples of God’s scandalous grace towards sinners. But are these assumptions correct? Do our modern Western assumptions lead us to misunderstand the Biblical texts? Do we owe these women an apology? VVindicating the Vixens attempts to reexamine the often misunderstood women of the Bible. To achieve this end, Sandra Glahn has gathered a diverse range of female and male scholars from different nationalities, ethnicities, traditions, and even perspectives on women in ministry, who all nonetheless agree we must “revisit what the Scriptures say about some Bible women we have sexualized, vilified, and/or marginalized” (p16).

Read full review here:
http://mydigitalseminary.com/vindicat...

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that has definitely affected the way I view many women in the Bible. For example, Vashti. Growing up I always thought of her as someone who didn't properly submit to her husband. But, let's take a minute to look at the text and see what Xerxes was asking her to do. Also, Mordecai also refused an order from the same king, but no one questions him.

A chapter that really affected me was the one on Sarah. We know what she did wrong, but can we as readily list the things she did right? For starters, she left the fairly cosmopolitan town of Ur to live in the dessert in a tent. So many of these chapters left me with that same feeling, "Why have I never thought of this passage in this way?"

The book is fairly academic, which could be a turn off for folks used to pretty light reading about Bible characters. But, since the authors are correcting a lot of misconceptions, it's actually a good thing that they're points are so heavily researched and supported.

[TAS · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw that this book had 37 reviews on Good reads and 76 on Amazon and felt that the reviews were accurate and said what needed to be said, so I almost did not write this review. However, I wanted to write a review from the view point of an older conservative women who generally is a bit skeptical of anything that is not written by conservative writers.- but who has also always been frustrated with the conservative church and its lack of acknowledging the worth of women. If you fall into this category I suggest you read the book. You will find that Henry Rouse was speaking truth when he wrote on page 22, "But before we go any further this is not a book written by theologically liberal, wanna be scholars attempting to be politically correct or manipulating the text to be culturally relevant, the contributors of this book love God's Word. We not questioning the inspiration, inerrancy or infallibility of the scriptures."