Women at the Time of the Bible

by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh

Welcome to the world of Biblical women, uniquely revealed in this book, a cornucopia of ancient sources, first among them the Holy Scripture, along with photographs and drawings of rare and beautiful finds unearthed in the Holy Land and other Bible lands. All are woven together with engaging and in-depth commentary. Each chapter reveals a different fascinating aspect of a woman's life in Bible times, from her fundamental contribution to family and community, her spiritual walk, the work of her hands, her dress and adornments, and more. As the stories of these long-ago women unfold, you will find yourself riveted by everything from the minutest details to the dramatic milestones of women's lives. You will discover bonds unbroken by the millennia, and a singularly enriching and inspiring path to a more thorough understanding of the sacred message of the Scriptures. The author is Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, author of Daily Life at the Time of Jesus and Food at the Time of the Bible. This is a co-pub with Palphot Ltd. as are the other titles by this author.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Christian

103 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, an author based in Israel since 1970, is renowned for her works that delve into ancient times in the Holy Land. Her latest book, "Ahōti – A Story of Tamar," co-authored with Eva Marie Everson (Paraclete Press, release date May 2024), takes the tragic story of David’s daughter Tamar to a new place of redemption and healing. Her bibliography includes "Daily Life at the Time of Jesus," which has been translated into over 30 languages, "Food at the Time of the Bible," "Women at the Time of the Bible" (Palphot) and "Teach it to Your Children, How Kids Lived in Bible Days," (AviMedia), the award-winning "Reflections of God's Holy Land: a Personal Journey Through Israel" (with Eva Marie Everson, Thomas Nelson ) and and a historical novel, "The Scroll" (Toby Press). A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Miriam’s passion for the Bible and ancient sources evolved over many years as a tour educator, and her interest in Christianity began thanks to the respect she learned at home for people of diverse faiths and cultures. A member of the translation team on the news desk of the Israeli daily Haaretz for two decades, she has juxtaposed the complexities of writing, translating, and editing about millennia-old events, with her work for a cutting-edge Israeli newspaper. This is the complexity that for Miriam makes life in Israel an unending search for meaning, healing and justice. With the passing of her husband Arik (Aharon), Miriam continues to cherish their two wonderful daughters and sons-in-law and five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of interesting information

[Susan Barnes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Women at the time of the Bible seeks to cover every aspect of a woman's life in Bible times which is a difficult undertaking as this covers a long period of time. The Bible itself only gives us glimpses of women's roles since the Bible's purpose is not to give us a social history.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh gives us insights into what life might have been like for women. She begins with home life and the work women did around the home, not just to provide food and raise children, but also to make clothing. Marriage and childbirth customs, women's roles in worship and music, their access (or lack of it) to education and leadership roles are all discussed. There seems to be such a wide variation due to the expanse of time that is covered in the book, plus the variation depending on the geographical location makes it hard to form any solid conclusions. Some women seemed to have a lot of freedom to pursue their own interests while others had very little.

The book is interspersed with character summaries of particular Biblical women with more information about their life and times. Towards the end of the book there is a circular list of all the women mentioned in the Bible and it's a surprise to see how long this list is.

An interesting read with some helpful photos.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up on impulse when visiting the Holy Land, and it's a great introduction to our feminine history. Women are often viewed as secondary citizens in the Bible, but this brings them to life: from the household to leadership positions, to their attire and makeup.

When it all comes down to it, women haven't changed much since then. We still fight to prove our strength, and prove it we do. All while being educated (I never considered women scribes, for some reason!), and caring for families, and looking good while we do it. We have more in common with our Biblical sisters than I thought.

[Lynda Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing unique glimpse of the life of women in living in Bible times. The author introduced the reader to women little know Biblical women such as Huldah and fresh aspects of well known women, for example Mary Magdalene as a mourner. Fortunately her mourning was soon turned into joy so the fact she had a time of lamenting can be overlooked. The lay out, the pictures the diagrams in the book are outstanding. The work also a excellent bibliography and index. It is valuable reference book is one which reader turns to over and over again.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and interesting

[Holy Spirit]

220.8 VAM

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Women at the Time of the Bible" provides information about what life was like for women during Bible Times. The information tended to be general since it covered such a large time period, but it did give some period-specific or culture-specific details (usually Hebrew, sometimes Roman, occasionally another culture).

The author used clues gleaned from the Bible but also other ancient sources like the Mishnah, early Jewish commentaries on the Bible, early Christian commentaries, clues gleaned from the Apocrypha, traditional cultures in our own time, and archaeology. The author did a wonderful job of combining this information in an interesting and easy to read way.

There were 14 profiles of important Biblical women. The author summarized what the Bible says about their life, but she also gave cultural insights into their lives. There were also many enlightening full-color photographs and illustrations of the information in the text, including pictures of ruins, ancient artifacts, people today performing ancient skills, models, reproductions of items, and more.

However, if you're looking for "how-to" details, like the exact details about the process of cooking bread or grinding grain or even getting betrothed, this book didn't give them. It was more a surface survey about women's lives with a few specific details scattered throughout. Overall, I'd recommend this book to those wanting to know what women's lives were like based primarily on ancient writings (including the Bible).


The topics covered were: who made up a household, women's "home-making" jobs, what houses looked like, family relationships, life expectancies; women's jobs (both city and country, poor to wealthy); romance & romantic love; betrothals & weddings; marriage; divorce & widowhood; motherhood (pregnancy, birth, & raising children); women at worship; music & dance; women in mourning & professional mourners; women's clothing (parts of, how frequently got new clothing, etc.); jewelry, makeup, perfume, & hairstyles; women's education; in leadership roles; prostitutes, mediums, seductresses, & loners.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read this account. However, I felt a number of areas needed more detail.