Women of War, Women of Woe: Joshua and Judges through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters

by Marion Ann Taylor (Editor), Christiana de Groot (Editor)

Overview

The stories of such women as Rahab, Deborah, Jael, Delilah, Jephthah's daughter, and the Levite's concubine raised thorny questions for nineteenth-century female biblical interpreters. Could a Victorian woman use her intelligence to negotiate like Rahab? Was the seemingly well-educated Deborah an appropriate role model? Or did Jephthah's daughter more correctly model a pious woman's life as she submitted to her father's vow?

This unique volume gathers select writings by thirty-five nineteenth-century women on the stories of several women in Joshua and Judges. Recovering and analyzing neglected works from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others, Women of War, Women of Woe illuminates the biblical text, recovers a neglected chapter of reception history, and helps us understand and apply Scripture in our present context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802873026
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	06/06/2016
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Marion Ann Taylor is Professor of Old Testament at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.
 
Christiana de Groot is Professor of Religion at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Women and War 1

1 Rahab 19

A Sanitized Rahab Sarah Ewing Hall 21

Is Lying Always Wrong? Susanna Haswell Rowson 25

Redeeming Rahab Sarah Hale 30

From Scarlet Thread to Blood Drops Cecil Frances (Fanny) Alexander 33

The Sign of the Cord Charlotte Maria Tucker 36

True Conversion Etty Woosnam 41

Daring to Be Different Leigh Norval 44

The Saving Shelter of the Home Josephine Elizabeth Butler 47

The Question of Motives Elizabeth Cady Stanton 51

2 Achsah, Caleb's Daughter 55

Achsah Spiritually Considered Lydia 57

Achsah and the Age of Chivalry Grace Aguilar 62

The Hebrew Daughters Prayer Charlotte Maria Tucker 67

Assertiveness Training Elizabeth Cady Stanton 68

Giving Good Gifts Marianne Farningham 70

3 Deborah 75

Superwoman Grace Aguilar 77

Redefining Femininity Clara Balfour 85

Helpmeet and Head Barbara Kellison 91

Knowledge Is Power Julia McNair Wright 93

An Inspired Poet Harriet Beecher Stowe 101

An Imperfect, But Useful Woman Elizabeth Baxter 105

Genius Knows No Sex Clara B. Neyman 111

4 Jael 114

Jael's Masculine Resolution and Cruelty Sarah Ewing Hall 116

Using the Only Means in Her Power Mary Cornwallis 119

A Mother's Love Eliza R. Stansbury Steele 121

The Worst Woman Ever Eliza Smith 129

A Heroine? Emily Owen Jael 132

A True Hebrew Woman at Heart Constance de Rothschild Annie de Rothschild 135

The Tiger, Tracked, Snared, and Caught Harriet Beecher Stowe 138

God's Executioner Elizabeth Jane Whately 141

Unsexing Jael and Fighting Demon Drink Etty Woosnam 143

Deborah Was Wrong about Jael Anne Mercier 147

Nailing Sin to the Cross M.G. 149

Cold-Blooded Fiend Elizabeth Cady Stanton 152

5 Jephthah's Daughter 155

Obedient unto Death Caroline Howard Gilman 157

A Child Protests: A Mother Listens Sarah Ewing Hall 162

It's All about Translation Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck 164

The American Dream Sacrificed Susanna Rowson 166

Maid of Gilead, Fare Thee Well Eliza R. Stansbury Steele 168

Her Life Bought Our Freedom Adelia C. Graves 174

Cursed Above All Women Rose Terry Cooke 191

Saintly Sacrifice Cecil Frances Alexander 194

Like Father, Like Daughter Leigh Norval 197

A Woman in the "No-Name Series" Elizabeth Cady Stanton 198

Only a Girl Louisa Southworth 200

6 Manoah's Wife 203

Concealing Your Superiority Grace Aguilar 205

Drink Milk Not Beer Mary Elizabeth Beck 211

Nameless But Known Edith M. Dewhurst 216

Saintly Mothers M.G. 219

Demythologizing the Angel Clara B. Neyman 225

Mrs. Manoah Doe Elizabeth Cady Stanton 228

7 Delilah 231

A Cautionary Tale Mary Cornwallis 232

Samson the Traitor Sarah Hale 234

Delilah the Destroyer Harriet Beecher Stowe 236

The Road to Sweet Hell Ella Wheeler Wilcox 240

The Double Standard Clara B. Neyman 242

8 The Levite's Concubine 244

Abused to Death Mary Cornwallis 246

The Weak and Prostrate Figure Lying at Our Door Josephine Butler 248

Cold Dead Hands upon Our Threshold Josephine Butler 253

Bibliography 259

Index of Names and Subjects 268

Index of Scripture 276

Editorial Reviews

John L. Thompson
— author of Reading the Bible with the Dead: What You Can Learn from the History of Exegesis That You Can't Learn from Exegesis Alone
"A spectacular corrective to stereotypes about 'women's writing' about the Bible. . . . These women's writings are passionate and compassionate, yet they also transcend sentiment to display an advocacy for women, children, and the marginalized of their own day. Clearly, these writers unflinchingly took possession of the Bible — and the women of the Bible — for themselves and for their readers. The results are too impressive to be forgotten or ignored, too perceptive of the Bible's tales of human worth and woe for us not to be moved."

Jacqueline Lapsley
— author of Whispering the Word: Hearing Women's Stories in the Old Testament
"Women interpreters recovered! What a pleasure to sit with a mug of tea and spend an afternoon steeped in a previously unknown world — our foremothers' readings of several legendary women in the Bible. Marion Ann Taylor and Christiana de Groot have brought these women interpreters to light, and in so doing they give new life to the familiar biblical women we thought we knew so well."

Timothy Larsen
— author of A People of One Book: The Bible and the Victorians
"The time has now passed when anyone who claims to be a student of biblical studies or historical theology or women's or religious history can ignore the writings of women on the Bible. We are all indebted to Taylor and de Groot for their pioneering work in creating this much-needed, indeed essential, collection."

Joy A. Schroeder
— author of Deborah's Daughters: Gender Politics and Biblical Interpretation
"This superb anthology is an excellent introduction to nineteenth-century women's astonishingly diverse perspectives on the Bible, gender roles, war and violence, morality, and social issues. Taylor and de Groot have assembled excerpts from a wonderful array of women who commented on Joshua and Judges. . . . Perfect for college and seminary classes."

David M. Gunn
— Texas Christian University
"An outstanding contribution to the history of the Bible's reception. This book is a rich resource of writings from women who were an integral part of the tapestry of nineteenth-century biblical interpretation. Joshua and Judges harbor some of the Bible's more troubling texts, and it makes for fascinating reading to follow the varieties of responses that these interpreters offer to readers of their own times. Skillfully constructed and lucidly presented, Women of War, Women of Woesucceeds in both informing and provoking inquiry regarding the nature and practice of biblical interpretation."

Lissa M. Wray Beal
— Providence University College and Theological Seminary
"No 'archetypal woman interpreter' here — this collection highlights the diversity in nineteenth-century women's biblical interpretation. Edited with respect and love, its recovery work invites readers into conversation with interpretive foremothers and often difficult biblical texts. Insightful editorial commentary and study questions further the discussion, challenging assumed norms and inspiring a new generation to the ongoing interpretive task."

From the Publisher