Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testam

The women of scripture are remarkably varied from prophets to prostitutes, military heroines to musicians, deacons to dancers, widows to wet nurses, rulers to slaves. Here are familiar faces, such as Eve, Judith, and Mary, seen anew with the full benefit of the most up-to-date biblical scholarship. But the most innovative aspect of the book is the section devoted to the many women who in the scriptures do not even have names.

In both scope and accessibility, Women in Scripture is an exceptional work. Combining rigorous scholarship with engaging prose, these articles on women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books, and the New Testament will inform, delight, and challenge all readers interested in the Bible.

Also worth praising is the organization of the book. Part I consists of all the women named in the Bible (including the Deuterocanonical/Apocryphal books) in alphabetical order; Part II lists all the unnamed women (or groups of women, such as, "Daughters of Lot" and "Women at Vashti's Banquet") in Bible book order (following the NRSV sequencing) by their earliest significant Scripture reference; Part III, perhaps the most fascinating section, is a compilation of female deities and personifications (such as, "Asherah/Asherim," "Female Images of God in the Hebrew Bible," "Woman Wisdom," and "No 'Male and Female' in Christ Jesus"). While great care has been made in providing cross-referencing, there is no general index to the volume. Readers will need to be very intuitive (and perhaps keep a concordance handy) if they want to find entries in Part II (the largest section of the book) by any method other than Bible book order. The volume is completed by an annotated listing of "Additional Ancient Sources," which directs the reader to some important texts that never made it successfully through the maze known as canonization, but which are sure to provide some interesting information on the status and role of women at different points in the ancient world.


a much needed resource   December 18, 2000
Mike Jones (jacksonville, illinois)
Women in Scripture is just the resource I have been waiting for; in one volume I can find brief, but thorough, well written articles on all the women of the Bible, which incorporate the insights of the best of contemporary critical biblical scholarship. And don't miss the introductory articles. They are worth the price of this book by themselves. This book is a must for all pastors, serious Bible students, and all laypersons interested in learning about the women of the Bible as they are presented in the Bible, not as they have been culturally presented. I highly recommend it!


An outstanding contribution to Biblical & Women's Studies.   June 4, 2000
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

Leading Biblical scholars provide the best, latest scholarship on biblical women and provides an important volume bringing together the works of over seventy scholars who provide entries on over two hundred named and six hundred unnamed women. All the women of the Bible, from deities to personifications of symbols, are represented in a fine dictionary reference.