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Women's Lives in Biblical Times
This volume describes the lifecycle events and daily life activities experienced by girls and women in ancient Israel examining recent biblical scholarship and other textual evidence from the ancient Near East and Egypt, including archaeological, iconographic and ethnographic data. From this Ebeling creates a detailed, accessible description of the lives of women living in the central highland villages of Iron Age I (ca. 1200-1000 BCE) Israel
The book opens with an introduction that provides a brief historical survey of Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) Israel, a discussion of the problems involved in using the Hebrew Bible as a source, a rationale for the project and a brief narrative of one woman's life in ancient Israel to put the events described in the book into context. It continues with seven thematic chapters that chronicle her life, focusing on the specific events, customs, crafts, technologies and other activities in which an Israelite female would have participated on a daily basis.
The book opens with an introduction that provides a brief historical survey of Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) Israel, a discussion of the problems involved in using the Hebrew Bible as a source, a rationale for the project and a brief narrative of one woman's life in ancient Israel to put the events described in the book into context. It continues with seven thematic chapters that chronicle her life, focusing on the specific events, customs, crafts, technologies and other activities in which an Israelite female would have participated on a daily basis.
186 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 2010
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About the author
Jennie R. Ebeling
8 booksAn associate professor of archaeology at the University of Evansville in Indiana, I have been working on archaeological projects in Israel and Jordan for more than 25 years. I served as co-director of the Jezreel Expedition in Israel (2012-18) with Norma Franklin of the University of Haifa. My research interests include ancient food and drink technology, women in antiquity, and religion in Canaan and ancient Israel. I have also conducted ethnographic research on traditional bread making in Jordan and produced several videos on this subject. I particularly enjoy interpreting the past for the public and making archaeology in ancient Israel accessible to diverse audiences.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 21, 2010
A good informative read with some "day in the life" glimpses of a fictional character named, Orah. The book is academic with great references to the Bible as well as archaeological evidence. I enjoyed it very much.
January 18, 2022
I recommend this book to those who want to study more about everyday life in biblical times, BUT I must also warn readers that they will have to be comfortable reading the work of somebody who does not take scripture as the word of God. I was able to get lots of useful information from the book, but I also strongly disagreed with her view of scripture.
That said, there is lots of fascinating, everyday details about things like housing, clothing, cooking, pottery making, etc, which could all be really helpful if you are considering writing a book set in the period (like I am) or if you're just fascinating by the historical details. I didn't even mind that she chose to make her 'main character' a polytheist. We know ancient Israelites were often disloyal to Yahweh. I did find it slightly annoying though, and entirely unnecessary, the way she talked about scripture as if it were somehow edited by later authors to hide the fact that ancient Israelite people often worshiped more than one god. She seem to take the fact that archeology shows this pattern of polytheism to somehow indicate scripture is inaccurate. Which is NOT the case, if you're actually familiar with the old testament!
Scripture is very clear that Israel fell into worship of other gods nearly constantly, right from the start (golden calf, hello). And even during the later monarchy years, Yahweh-worshiping kings often left the "high places" standing. The point is, nothing in the archeology she is referencing in any way contradicts what is revealed already in scripture, so there's no need to assume (as she seems to) that the biblical authors were attempting to "hide" this, or to start theorizing that certain biblical stories are edited to disguise these ancient practices (like suggesting Hannah might have actually been traveling to Shiloh to participate in ancestor worship). This kind of speculation simply isn't required by the evidence, as far as I can tell. Scripture says Israel was unfaithful to Yahweh. Archeology also shows Israel was unfaithful to Yahweh. Shocker.
That said, there is lots of fascinating, everyday details about things like housing, clothing, cooking, pottery making, etc, which could all be really helpful if you are considering writing a book set in the period (like I am) or if you're just fascinating by the historical details. I didn't even mind that she chose to make her 'main character' a polytheist. We know ancient Israelites were often disloyal to Yahweh. I did find it slightly annoying though, and entirely unnecessary, the way she talked about scripture as if it were somehow edited by later authors to hide the fact that ancient Israelite people often worshiped more than one god. She seem to take the fact that archeology shows this pattern of polytheism to somehow indicate scripture is inaccurate. Which is NOT the case, if you're actually familiar with the old testament!
Scripture is very clear that Israel fell into worship of other gods nearly constantly, right from the start (golden calf, hello). And even during the later monarchy years, Yahweh-worshiping kings often left the "high places" standing. The point is, nothing in the archeology she is referencing in any way contradicts what is revealed already in scripture, so there's no need to assume (as she seems to) that the biblical authors were attempting to "hide" this, or to start theorizing that certain biblical stories are edited to disguise these ancient practices (like suggesting Hannah might have actually been traveling to Shiloh to participate in ancestor worship). This kind of speculation simply isn't required by the evidence, as far as I can tell. Scripture says Israel was unfaithful to Yahweh. Archeology also shows Israel was unfaithful to Yahweh. Shocker.
January 4, 2022
Trading on her expertise as an archaeologist with a specialization in stone tools, Ebeling presents snapshots of significant moments in a fictional woman's life in Iron Age I or Joshua/Judges era Israel. The daily activities of women are largely overlooked in recorded history and have only recently caught the attention of historians, so Ebeling relies on archaeological finds, iconography or visual sources, Biblical and other textual sources, as well as ethnography---observations of and interviews with---the tribal descendants of those women in Palestine in the late 1800s and 1900s. Accompanying each snippet of the fictional woman's life is examination of academic evidence supporting what Ebeling presents her as doing in her village, with all the details we can glean about diverse topics from how to grind wheat and barley, how women gave birth, and the physical marks and effects of hard labor on women's bodies and skeletons. At the end of each chapter, Ebeling lists and describes sources for further reading on these topics.
Ebeling writes for a non-academic audience, with accessible prose and defined terms when they are necessary. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for more information about the forgotten daily lives of Biblical women, and especially as background or assigned reading for Bible history or Biblical literature courses.
Ebeling writes for a non-academic audience, with accessible prose and defined terms when they are necessary. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for more information about the forgotten daily lives of Biblical women, and especially as background or assigned reading for Bible history or Biblical literature courses.
September 29, 2024
4.5 stars
First finished textbook of the new school year! This was a fascinating look at women’s lives and activities in the period of the Judges and monarchy in ancient Israel. I appreciated the quality and quantity of research as well as the author’s clear delineation between what can be known for sure and what is conjecture based on neighboring countries and other ethnographic studies.
First finished textbook of the new school year! This was a fascinating look at women’s lives and activities in the period of the Judges and monarchy in ancient Israel. I appreciated the quality and quantity of research as well as the author’s clear delineation between what can be known for sure and what is conjecture based on neighboring countries and other ethnographic studies.
April 1, 2018
Good bibliography, readable, and accessible. Excellent for students.
March 29, 2019
Well written and detailed. Well organized and accessible. Orah's death was surprisingly moving.
May 30, 2011
The life story and analysis of one woman, Orah, provides an interesting scholarly/literary combination to portray the role of women in early Israel. As a lay reader with little personal knowledge of 'traditional" societies or real history of ancient Israel beyond stories in the Hebrew bible, the ideas and information presented in this book made me want to learn more.
August 25, 2013
A very useful text in the library of those teaching Biblical studies in congregations, recommended, too, to accompany adult and youth Bible studies where the stories of Biblical women predominate.
December 27, 2014
Wonderful and engaging read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews