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

by Sandra Glahn

Publisher:

Kregel

, 2017

Overview

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.

Key Features

• Provides a fresh look into the lives and characters of biblical women commonly known as the “bad girls” of the Bible
• Explores the stories of biblical women by digging deeper into their meaning and contexts
• Deals with the issue of faithful interpretation of the Bible as it seeks to shed new light upon the lives of some of its female characters

Contents

Section I: The Women in Jesus’s Genealogy: More Than Redeemed Sinners

• Tamar: The Righteous Prostitute - Carolyn Custis James, MA
• Rahab: What We Talk about When We Talk about Rahab - Eva Bleeker, MA
• Ruth: The So-Called Scandal - Marnie Legaspi, ThM
• Bathsheba: Vixen or Victim? - Sarah Bowler, ThM
• The Virgin Mary: Reclaiming Our Respect - Timothy Ralston, PhD

Section II: A Survey of Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible

• Beginnings / Eve: The Mother of All Seducers? - Glenn Kreider, PhD
• Era of Patriarchs / Sarah: Taking Things into Her Own Hands or Seeking to Love? - Eugene Merrill, PhD
• Era of Patriarchs / Hagar: God Names Adam, Hagar Names God - Tony Maalouf, PhD
• Era of Judges / Deborah: Only When a Good Man Is Hard to Find? - Ron Pierce, PhD
• Era of Kings / Huldah: Malfunction with the Wardrobe-Keeper’s Wife - Christa L. McKirland, ThM
• Era of Exiles / Vashti: Dishonored for Having Honor - Sharifa Stevens, ThM

Section III: Some New Testament Women Revisited

• The “Woman at the Well”: Was the Samaritan Woman Really an Adulteress? - Lynn Cohick, PhD
• Mary Magdalene: Repainting Her Portrait of Misconceptions - Karla Zazueta, MA
• Junia/Joanna: Herald of the Good News - Amy Peeler, PhD

Praise for Vindicating the Vixens

Finally a book that recognizes misunderstood biblical women as Kingdom builders rather than home-wreckers. What a joy to know teachers have a resource for exhorting their congregations to be like Peter and Paul, and also like Tamar and Rahab. As each chapter vindicates another woman, God’s love for the marginalized and oppressed jumps off the pages reminding us that he welcomes men and women to pick up the hammer and get to work in the Missio Dei.

—Nika Spaulding, Resident Theologian, St Jude Oak Clif

Vindicating the Vixens is a monumentally important work in that it confronts the prevalent misinterpretations of some of the most critical women in Scripture. The faithful and meticulous research of Dr. Glahn and the contributing authors advances the powerful message of the book—God’s passion for the marginalized, the misunderstood, and the outsider. This book will challenge the way you look at women, both those in the Bible and those you meet every day.

—Paul Lanum, Vice President of Publishing, RightNow Media

One of the most important tasks of the believer is to practice faithful exegesis of Scripture—to allow the text to speak for itself without inserting personal or cultural bias. Through the centuries, many women of the Bible have been unfairly labeled, and thus, inaccurately taught. Drawing from faithful study, insight, and experience, the authors expose the errors passed down through the generations and bring to light this beautiful truth: The God of the Bible highly esteems and works through women. Let the vixens be vindicated and the word of God celebrated! I am so grateful for this book.

—Rebecca Carrell, Conference Speaker, Bible Teacher, KCBI Morning Show Co-Host

Product Details

• Title: Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible
• Author: Sandra Glahn
• Publisher: Kregel
• Print Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:VNDCTNGVXNS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2021-03-30T18:47:28Z

About Sandra Glahn

Sandra Glahn (PhD, UTD) is Professor of Media Arts and Worship at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), where she has taught for 24 years. She holds a Master of Theology (ThM) degree from DTS and a PhD in The Humanities–Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. Glahn is a journalist and the author or coauthor of more than twenty books, including the Coffee Cup Bible Study series (AMG). Her most recent work is Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament (IVP Academic). A frequent podcast guest and retreat speaker, Glahn’s areas of expertise include Artemis at the time of the earliest Christians, Ephesus, select Bible books and backgrounds, women’s history and issues, the history of ideas about gender, and writing for publication. You can find her website and blog at sandraglahn.com and follow her on X/Twittter @Sandraglahn.