Women of the Hebrew Bible

This new book from Kregel Academic distills Mariottini’s class on Old Testament Women taught at Northern Seminary. He challenges a common view that the Old Testament is misogynistic by collecting the stories of women and demonstrating that Ancient Israel valued women in the Law. That the book has forty chapters makes me wonder if this was originally designed for Kregel’s 40 Questions series. Although the chapter titles are not framed as questions, the book has a similar vibe to a 40 Question book.

Jehoshaphat’s response to Jehoram in 2 Kings 3 exposes a serious failure.  Having previously suffered for his alliance with Ahab and received prophetic rebuke, he nevertheless repeats the same pattern with Ahab’s son.  His eager declaration of unity—intensified by the added אֶעֱלֶה, reveals unguarded commitment. Crucially, the pause that follows is used not to enquire of Jehovah, but to consider strategy: “By which way shall we go up?”  The question is not whether to act, but how.  Only when the campaign falters does he then seek divine counsel.  The pause, then, exposes not prudence, but a heart already decided.

This essay examines Jesus’s pause in John 6:65 as a deliberate moment of spiritual sifting.  Following hard sayings that unsettled many disciples, the silence exposed motives and prompted self-examination.  Some withdrew, unable to move beyond a literal or material outlook, while others remained, held by a deeper loyalty despite incomplete understanding.  The pause was perhaps an emotional moment for Jesus.  It was not coercive but allowed space for a response.  In this tense silence, allegiance was revealed and motives were tested.

This essay argues that the narrative of Jonah 1:7-11 deliberately mirrors the chaos of the storm through both its structure and Jonah's speech. The rapid succession of overlapping interrogatives conveys urgency, fear and disorientation, while the narrator's non-linear disclosure of information further reflects the tumultuous setting. Against this backdrop, Jonah's response appears fragmented and psychologically strained, revealing an inner conflict between his fear of Jehovah and his resistance to the divine commission. His moment of silence exposes Jonah's moral hesitation, as he withholds fuller disclosure and wrestles inwardly with competing impulses: self-preservation, responsibility and withdrawal. Ultimately, the essay contends that Jonah is portrayed not as a figure of satire but as a psychologically realistic character.

The Joseph Smith Translation is available for free with color-coded differences and side-by-side KJV/JST comparison at https://searchdiligently.net/joseph-smith-translation

Exodus 4:24-26 is widely recognized as one of the most obscure and contested passages in the Hebrew Bible. The King James Version preserves the ambiguity of the Masoretic Text, leaving unresolved the identity of the one God seeks to kill, the object Zipporah casts, the meaning of her declaration, and the theological logic of the entire episode. The Joseph Smith Translation provides a series of clarifications that resolve nearly every major ambiguity: it identifies the cause of divine wrath (Moses's failure to circumcise his son), changes the object Zipporah casts (the stone, not the foreskin), adds Moses's confession and repentance, and explicitly names Zipporah's act as the cause of Moses's deliverance. This paper examines each JST emendation, situates them within the broader Hebrew wordplay of the passage (particularly the karat root and the dual meaning of milah as both "cutting" and "word"), and argues that the JST elevates Zipporah from a mysterious figure performing an ambiguous act to an intercessory agent functioning simultaneously as priest, prophet, and covenant mediator. The paper further traces the typological connections between Zipporah's act and the Passover narrative, the covenant blood formula of Exodus 24:8, and the pattern of female agency in Exodus 1-4.

Motherhood is one of the most important and oldest female representations and social roles. However, it has not received sufficient attention in gender studies on ancient texts. In this study, the role of women as mothers in ancient Mesopotamia is discussed based on two different texts. The aim of the study is to reveal ancient perceptions around the representation of motherhood. In this context, two texts from the Old Babylonian and then Neo-Assyrian periods, approximately 1000 years apart, “Lu-di¹ira’s message to his mother Sat-Ishtar” and “Assyrian elegy for a woman”, were analyzed using document analysis, a qualitative data collection and analysis method. According to the textual findings, it can be said that two different mother roles came to the fore in different ages of Mesopotamian civilizations. While the mother was glorified as an independent identity in Old Babylonia, she was a more submissive, fertile caregiver in Neo-Assyria.

David’s rise is often seen as YHWH’s endorsement of kingship, culminating in the Ark’s return to Jerusalem and the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 6-7). However, this paper argues that the return of the Ark and David’s engagement with Michal ironically fulfill 1 Sam 8 and the people’s wish for a king like the other nations. During the Ark’s return, David's conduct mirrors foreign monarchs rather than Torah prescriptions. Michal’s critique of David's behavior and his subsequent response, while serving as a rejection of Saul’s house, also exposes David’s unethical treatment of women and his
self-importance. This reading challenges the traditional admiration of David, highlighting how his legacy is often used to justify misconduct among contemporary religious leaders. Reassessing David’s actions provides a critical lens on leadership, morality, and power, encouraging a more nuanced interpretation of biblical kingship and its implications for modern religious authority.

A diferencia de otros personajes femeninos de la Biblia como las matriarcas, Ester o Judit, Débora y Rut han pasado mucho más desapercibidas y han recibido escasa atención por parte de comentaristas y artistas. Sin embargo, también ellas son protagonistas de la historia de Israel pues sus comportamientos e intervenciones han formado parte de la actuación salvífica de Dios a favor de su pueblo. Débora, profetisa y juez, instrumento del que se vale Dios para vencer a los cananeos y Rut, origen de la dinastía davídica. Por otra parte, sus historias se entretejen con las de otras mujeres, Débora con Yael y Rut con Orfá y, sobre todo, con Noemí. Rescatarlas del olvido se vuelve, por tanto, una tarea imprescindible.

From Kin to Class is on the one hand, Dobbins' effort to interest those with whom she had founded the 1966 Sociology for Women course at the New Orleans Free University,  NYRW (New York Radical Women) in 1967, and W.I.T.C.H. (Women In Time Change History) IN 1968 in grounding the WLM (Women's Liberation Movement) in unraveling the origin of patriarchy, relying on Engels, but triggered by identifying the contradiction of his  "patriarchal gens".  It was on the other hand an effort to interest organizers coming from the Black Liberation and Anti-Vietnam War movement into the Labor Movement to organize around women's issues. She introduces validation of mythology and folk tales as data fit for social scientific hypotheses

This paper identifies six instances of intentional linguistic ambiguity in the book of Ruth. All the instances have a primary and secondary meaning rather than two commensurate meanings. They can therefore be termed “double entendres”. All the instances occur in the speech of characters: the primary meaning is the character’s intended meaning, and the secondary meaning is conveyed by the author through the character’s unconscious or subconscious.

Resumen: La Historia Deuteronomista, el conjunto de los libros Josué, Jueces, Samuel y Reyes según la hipótesis de M. Noth, sorprende por la cantidad de personajes femeninos que protagonizan sus relatos. Con nombre propio, anónimas, madres, esposas, concubinas, reinas, prostitutas… todas desfilan por esta relectura del tiempo que media entre el asentamiento y la deportación a Babilonia. El artículo pretende agrupar todos estos personajes en unos modelos que las expliquen y que sirvan para estudiar el protagonismo de todas ellas en el plano literario-teológico del conjunto.

Resumen: La Historia Deuteronomista, el conjunto de los libros Josué, Jueces, Samuel y Reyes según la hipótesis de M. Noth, sorprende por la cantidad de personajes femeninos que protagonizan sus relatos. Con nombre propio, anónimas, madres, esposas, concubinas, reinas, prostitutas… todas desfilan por esta relectura del tiempo que media entre el asentamiento y la deportación a Babilonia. El artículo pretende agrupar todos estos personajes en unos modelos que las expliquen y que sirvan para estudiar el protagonismo de todas ellas en el plano literario-teológico del conjunto.

The article examines the role of the 13 dreams in the book of Genesis. The dreams are first shortly described (following Gnuse, 1984, and Oppenheim, 1956) in their historical context: the Near-East of over 3000 years ago. The structure of some of the dreams is then discussed and compared to dreams from another historical period, that of modern Jewish Moroccan pilgrims (Bilu & Abramovitch, 1985), whose faith is based largely on the Bible. Following this discussion of the structure, the message of the dreams, regarding both the near future, and the remote, national future, is described. The article discusses the argument that all these dreams serve the purpose of establishing a common national identity, which has been historically the basis of Jewish faith. Possible reasons for using dreams in conveying the message are then discussed. The article ends with a discussion on the declining importance of the dream in the post-Genesis Bible.

Resumen La vida cotidiana nos ofrece diversas situaciones de conflicto que exigen prácticas de resolución en clave de no violencia y solidaridad. La negociación establece la posibilidad de una práctica de resolución de conflictos en clave solidaria y no violenta den

This article examines the earliest historical evidence for kissing in societies of the ancient Middle East and surrounding regions, from the mid-3rd to the early 1st millennium BCE. Drawing on linguistic, textual, visual, and archaeological sources, the study explores the cultural roles of romantic-sexual and familial-friendly kissing in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq and Syria). The paper demonstrates that early written references to kissing range from mythological narratives of divine intimacy to legal texts regulating social behavior. The work employs translations of cuneiform sources, and all materials are available in previously published works referenced throughout the article. By situating these practices within broader debates on the origins and cultural contexts of especially romantic-sexual kissing, the article considers whether the earliest evidence reflects not only acts of intimacy, but also social practices that, in the 3rd millennium BCE, could have been associated with elite behavior. The analysis contributes to ongoing discussions in anthropology, by reconsidering whether romantic-sexual kissing originated as an elite practice or was more widely embedded in everyday life, while highlighting the methodological challenges of interpreting ancient sources.

Este artículo pretende rescatar el nombre y acción de las profetisas bíblicas tanto del Antiguo como del Nuevo Testamento para visibilizar su acción y su significado para el tiempo de Israel y para el presente. Históricamente el nombre de las mujeres no fue visibilizado, borrándolas así del protagonismo que tuvieron en la historia de Israel. Actualmente también se invisibilizan muchas de las acciones de las mujeres porque existe todavía el imaginario patriarcal que impide valorar e impulsar el actuar femenino. Recuperar las profetisas bíblicas, sus acciones y sus aportes en la historia de salvación, contribuye decisivamente a la dignidad de las mujeres y su mayor protagonismo en la sociedad y en la Iglesia.

Studies of the Rahab story in Joshua illustrate how, as interpreters, we can read our interests and convictions into a text, allow it no room to protest that it did not have these interests or convictions, and give it no opportunity conversely to question the interests and convictions that we bring to it as interpreters. This raises the question whether we actually want to discover things from texts or whether we simply want to provide illustrations of and support for what we think already.

We read the altercations between the patriarch Abraham and Abimelech, king of Gerar (Gen. 20.1-18 and 21.22-34), as paradigmatic for conflict resolution between ethnoi, one representing the resident alien, 'stranger in a strange land', and the other, the indigenous ruler/host in the land. The conflict centers on the misappropriation of 'property', a wife (Sarah) and a well respectively. Both stories entail verbal rebuke and self-defense, gift exchange and promises of protection, as well as divine fiat. In the first story (Gen. 20), God intervenes overtly in a dream and with an impending death threat; in the second (Gen. 21), divine intervention is implied by the covenant sworn on oath between the two parties at Beer-sheba. These narratives show the effectiveness of open rebuke-from God, from the Philistine king in protest against Abraham's deception, and from the patriarch in self-defense. The stories ultimately affirm the promise that the patriarch and his descendants would be a blessing to all the families of the earth (Gen. 12:2-3) and result in protected status for the patriarch and his people in the land.

Ce livre explore les représentations de trois femmes étrangères, plus particulièrement leur relation au mourir et au nourrir, dans la Bible hébraïque à partir de méthodes avant tout littéraires et d’approches féministes, postcoloniales et queer. Les personnages à l’étude sont les suivants: Yaël (Jg 4,17-22; 5,24-27), Jézabel (2 R 9,22.30-37) et la femme folle (Pr 9,13-18). La mise à mort et le repas font partie de la mise en scène de chacune d’entre elles dans le livre des Juges, le Deuxième livre des Rois et le livre des Proverbes. Une interrogation guide l’ensemble de l’enquête exégétique présentée: de quelles manières les dimensions mortifère et nourricière de la caractérisation de chaque femme participent-elles à la construction de leur féminité et de leur statut d’étrangère?

La historia de la profetisa Hulda es relatada tanto en 2 Reyes 22 como en 2 Crónicas 34. En ambos casos su descripción es muy similar y se a!rma que vivía, literalmente, “en Jerusalén, en el segundo” בַּּירוּשְׁׁלִַּּם בַּּמִּּשְׁׁנֶֶה) . La interpretación del término מִּּשְׁׁנֶֶה ha sido objeto de debate, pues puede entenderse como la designación de un barrio de Jerusalén o de un centro de instrucción religiosa. En este último caso, Hulda no solo sería una profetisa, sino también una maestra de religión. En este artículo se realizará un estudio !lológico y narrativo del vocablo en cuestión para indagar acerca del lugar de residencia de Hulda y su implicancia para su función religiosa.

Many women in the Bible are marvelous heroes who not only evoke God’s image in their day but also receive the highest privilege of imaging the Messiah himself. Esther is one of them. God includes Esther and her story in the line of great biblical heroes who serve as a foreshadowing fragrance of the Messiah and his story. Although centuries apart, Esther and Jesus share much in common! It’s almost as if they have a similar heart, a similar spirit, and even similar words.

The parallels between Esther and Jesus include: 1) Divine Favor 2) Seeking Support 3) Willingness to Die and 3) Intercession between Life and Death.

*Please note, this paper appears as one chapter in Karp’s book, “The Story Ripples of the Bible: How Stories in Scripture Move Toward Messiah."

This paper advances a fresh attempt to unravel the enigma shrouding 1 Kings 13 by unveiling a trickster tale embedded within the present text. Recognizing the hidden narrative that celebrates the old prophet of Bethel as a trickster hero-standing against an imposing intruder who desecrated the local shrine-provides a fresh interpretive lens through which we can understand the perplexing facets of this account, not as obstructions, but as crucial elements integral to its comprehension. The local prophet's cunning maneuvers allowed him not only to deflect the curse back onto its initiator, but also to safeguard the local community. Recognizing this hidden narrative also enables us to underscore the significance of an editorial inversion that turned the trickster tale upside down. The Dtr framework suffocates the trickster's heroic face and turns him into the ultimate villain (like Jeroboam) and promotes the man of God as the protagonist (like Josiah) whose tragic death adds yet another reason to vilify Jeroboam. Curiously though, the vestiges of the underlying narrative are not entirely obliterated, and the continued struggle between the two narratives bestows upon the present text an elusive nature that defies any attempts at a definitive interpretation.

Jephthah's daughter, whose story is told far too briefly in Judges 11, is more a narrative construct than a real person.  Pseudo-Philo, a first-century alternate version of the Biblical story from Genesis to the death of King Saul, tells her story in far greater detail, even giving her the name that she is denied in Judges.  This paper proposes that the story of Jephthah's daughter actually predates the story of the Binding of Isaac and, indeed, that it is the course for Isaac's story.

Nada más abrir la Biblia constatamos que Dios es un «charlatán». Pero no de los que dicen tonterías: a Dios le gusta hablarnos con Palabras que calientan el corazón y tocan lo más íntimo de nosotros mismos. Gracias a Dios, nunca mejor dicho, sus Palabras se han hecho libro y han llegado a nosotros de la mano de una nube de testigos que las han transmitido, explicándonos su sentido. También nosotros, al calor de su Palabra, podemos entregársela a otros. De esto –Revelación, Inspiración, Tradición...– hablan estas páginas, que nos invitan a ser transmisores de la buena verdad de esa palabra de Dios.