Review: "Vindicating Vixens"

Vindicating the Vixens:  Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible edited by Sandra Glahn is a collection of essays that makes a good general point, but ends up being very frustrating.

The book looks at fourteen “vixens’ and shows that they have not been correctly or fully understood by other expositors.  Both male and female essays argue this about Tamar, the Virgin Mary, Hagar, Vashti, and ten others.  Each chapter ends with questions to think about for personal or group study, and there is a lengthy bibliography at the end of the book.

An extremely important point in made in this book:  we must read what the text actually says in its context – nothing more, nothing less.  I would also add that it is important to understand the redemptive-historical place or role of each other these women.  There are still those who brush off women as lesser beings or as not as important as men.  Still, we must agree there could be no virgin birth without a woman who was a virgin.

In the introduction to this book, we read that all the authors of the essays herein believe the Bible to be “divine literature” (22).  And, yet, we read that the authors of these essays differ with each other on whether God allows women to be ordained ministers of word and sacrament – what God meant when Paul wrote, I do not allow a woman to teach (16).  That made me wiggly in my seat.

We remember the history of David and Bathsheba (81-ff).

“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful” (2 Samuel 11:2, ESV).

The author of the chapter argues and then summarizes her salient points to get us to rethink Bathsheba (82):

1. Bathsheba was probably bathing in an enclosed space.

2. “Bathed” does not mean she was naked – she may have been fully dressed and only washing her hands or feet.

3. David did not innocently see her; David was a “peeping Tom.”

4. David sent more than one messenger to insist she come back to the palace.

5. David repeatedly raped her.

Now, I am not suggesting that this book is all eisegesis, but good grief!  Surely, the authors have gone too far in the opposite direction in “vixenizing” the men in the history.

The point is well taken:  interpret the text contextually.

That being said, skip this book.

[This review appears on my blog and on Amazon.com.  I received this book free in exchange for an honest review.]