SPCK
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Story of Vashti
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Story of Vashti
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Story of Vashti The first female character the book of Esther introduces is Vashti the queen, the wife of Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus summons her to appear before his court in the midst of a wild drinking party, in order that he may show off her beauty…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Third Movement: Nehemiah and the Judahites Build Jerusalem’s Wall
The Women's Bible Commentary - Third Movement: Nehemiah and the Judahites Build Jerusalem’s Wall
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Third Movement: Nehemiah and the Judahites Build Jerusalem’s Wall The third stage is presented through the eyes and words of Nehemiah in a first- person recollection often labelled “memoirs” (which many scholars attribute to Nehemiah himself)…
The Women's Bible Commentary - First Movement: Returnees Build the Altar
The Women's Bible Commentary - First Movement: Returnees Build the Altar
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
First Movement: Returnees Build the Altar The first section describes the return from Babylon of a large contingent of exiled Judahites (or Jews). Upon their arrival, the Judahites build an altar and resume proper worship…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Solomon: The Temple-Birther
The Women's Bible Commentary - Solomon: The Temple-Birther
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Solomon: The Temple-Birther The man of peace (1 Chr. 22:9), Solomon, is a peculiar character in Chronicles. Stripped of his role as temple builder, and relegated to being a mere general contractor and decorator, he is also stripped of his women: no catalogue of wives and secondar…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Genealogies: The Birthing Father
The Women's Bible Commentary - Genealogies: The Birthing Father
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Genealogies: The Birthing Father Surely 1 Chronicles 1 is the most masculine chapter in the entire Hebrew Bible. Beginning with Adam, a genealogy of sons traces the male line to Esau and Jacob, concluding with a genealogy of the kings of Edom…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem
The Women's Bible Commentary - Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem This final section of the book of Kings begins with praises for Hezekiah, king of Judah, who has instituted religious reforms crucial in the Deuteronomists’ eyes, including finally removing the “high places” from the land…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Dividing the Kingdom
The Women's Bible Commentary - Dividing the Kingdom
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Dividing the Kingdom THE WOMEN’S BIBLE COMMENTARY (1 Kings 12-15) From the death of Solomon at the end of 1 Kings 11 until the fall of the northern kingdom in 2 Kings 17, the narrative generally alternates between accounts of the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel. The co…
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Wise Woman of Abel-Maacah
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Wise Woman of Abel-Maacah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Wise Woman of Abel-Maacah The second story about a wise woman (2 Sam. 20) is more instructive. When Joab is besieging the town of Abel of Beth-maacah and attacking it in order to drive out a rebel who had taken refuge there, a wise woman from within the city calls out to him …
The Women's Bible Commentary - Rape, Revenge, and Revolt: The Story of Tamar
The Women's Bible Commentary - Rape, Revenge, and Revolt: The Story of Tamar
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Rape, Revenge, and Revolt: The Story of Tamar The story of the rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon and the revenge taken against Amnon by Tamar’s full brother Absalom cannot be read apart from some of the details of the palace and family politics that the narrative takes for …
The Women's Bible Commentary - Redemption and Resolution
The Women's Bible Commentary - Redemption and Resolution
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Redemption and Resolution Just as Naomi predicted (3:18), Boaz moves quickly to settle the matter. The gate represents the legal assembly of the town, where its male citizens determine judicial and economic cases…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Genocide and More Rape in Times of War
The Women's Bible Commentary - Genocide and More Rape in Times of War
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Genocide and More Rape in Times of War When the other tribes realize what happened in Gibeah, they gather in Mizpah and ask the Levite: “Tell us, how did this criminal act come about?” (20:3). Identified as “the husband of the woman,” the Levite gives an answer that crucially mod…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Gang-Rape, Murder, and Dismemberment in Times of Peace
The Women's Bible Commentary - Gang-Rape, Murder, and Dismemberment in Times of Peace
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Gang-Rape, Murder, and Dismemberment in Times of Peace In Judges 19, an unnamed woman, identified as pilegesh, a Hebrew term of unclear social status and often translated as “concubine” but sometimes also as “secondary wife,” runs away from her husband, a Levite…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Places of Worship, Gang Rape, Genocide, and Wife-Stealing: Two Conclusions