Fascinating book and highly researched. It is readable but takes a lot of time to think through as you are reading. I recommend for anyone who is truly interested in what the Bible says about women as you really have to understand the context of the Bible before 'interpreting" what is being written. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. #sponsored

"Nobody's Mother" by Sandra Glahn is a groundbreaking and provocative exploration into the interpretation of a contentious biblical passage, 1 Timothy 2:15, which has been traditionally understood as suggesting that women's salvation is tied to childbearing. Glahn, through meticulous research and innovative perspectives, challenges this interpretation by delving deep into the historical and cultural context of the time, particularly focusing on the worship of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus.

Glahn's book is not just an academic exercise; it is a journey into the heart of early Christian history, unraveling the complexities of ancient texts and societies. Her exploration of the cult of Artemis, a central figure in Ephesian society, provides a fresh lens through which to view the apostle Paul's writings. This approach allows readers to see Paul's words not as a blanket statement about women's roles, but as a specific response to the cultural and religious practices of the Ephesians.

One of the most impressive aspects of "Nobody's Mother" is Glahn's ability to make complex theological and historical discussions accessible to a wide audience. Her writing is clear and engaging, inviting readers of all backgrounds to consider the implications of her findings. This accessibility is particularly important given the subject matter's potential impact on contemporary discussions about women's roles in the church and society.

Glahn also intertwines her personal story with her scholarly work, adding a layer of authenticity and relatability. Her journey through infertility provides a poignant backdrop to her exploration of a passage often used to define women's worth by their ability to bear children. This personal connection deepens the book's impact, making it not just a scholarly work but a story of personal faith and struggle.

Critically, "Nobody's Mother" does not shy away from challenging long-held interpretations and assumptions. Glahn's arguments are well-supported by her research, yet she presents them in a way that invites discussion and further exploration rather than closing the conversation. This approach is invaluable in a field where interpretations can often become rigid and divisive.

In conclusion, "Nobody's Mother" is a significant contribution to biblical scholarship, offering a fresh and compelling perspective on a complex and often misunderstood passage. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersections of history, theology, and the ongoing conversation about women's roles in the church and society. Sandra Glahn has provided a thoughtful, well-researched, and engagingly written work that challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions and deepen their understanding of early Christian history and its implications for today.

Mothering IS a wonderful blessing, a privilege I'm undeserving of and a role in which I often fall short. However, as Christians, our greatest calling is to be a disciple of Christ. Full stop. How we live as wives and mothers is part of our discipleship, but it's not the ultimate goal.

Some of our misconceptions about womanhood are passed on to us from teachings we've heard on 1 Timothy, about women learning in quietness (2:11) and being saved through childbirth (2:15). Here's where the research in this book sheds light on the cultural context of ancient Ephesus, particularly of the cult of Artemis. (Remember, Acts 19?)

I'm not someone who can analyze the validity of her research, but what I can tell you is there is a robust amount of information about who the goddess Artemis was and was not. We learn that Artemis was not a goddess of fertility, but of virginity and celibacy, and she acted as a midwife to deliver women through their labor and delivery, either in a painless death or to preserving life.

The author's purpose in her research was to understand if Paul was addressing a local situation in 1 Timothy—as he's done in some of his other letters—when he talks about childbearing, and second, if he intended for women who have a teaching gift are limited to using it as mothers.

The last chapter of her book breaks down 1 Timothy 2, but it's all the richer for having understood the historical pieces in the previous chapters, even though it reads a bit scholarly. Honestly, what brought tears to my eyes was the beauty with which Paul writes to Timothy to show that Christ Jesus is the truest Saviour and a better deliverer; that when Artemis is esteemed as a light bearer, God lives in unapproachable light (6:16), though the cult prevails upon their mystery, the mystery of godliness is greater (3:16). The Gentile believers were coming out of this cult and needed to be reminded of the supremacy of Christ.

If you are interested in the cultural context of the New Testament church or if you're wrestling with 1 Tim 2, I think this would be very worth your time and effort! It was for me.

Quick Stats
# of pages: 200
Level of Difficulty: - Moderate-Academic

A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament by Sandra L. Glahn is a delight in concept, but at times frustrating to read. Sandra L. Glahn is professor of media arts and worship at Dallas Theological Seminary. Glahn begins her book with a justification for the following argument which is a reexamination of 1 Timothy 2 within the social and historical context of who Artemis of the Ephesians really was. This first chapter is excellent. Glahn briefly traces the historical development of female clergy members and participation as well as the continuing development of social cultural methodologies that have provided greater light into biblical research. In her second chapter, Glahn then provides a brief historical look at Ephesus and the context in which Paul would have written not only his epistle to the Ephesians, but also his letters to Timothy. Chapters 3-5, which make up the body of the book, are deep dives into how Artemis is depicted and discussed in Greek literary sources, epigraphic writings, and artistic and architectural depictions. These chapters are quite thorough and dense as Glahn seems to leave no stone unturned in her investigation that results in the conclusion that despite popular misconception Artemis is not a mother, promiscuous, nor holds an anti-male bias. Glahn then concludes her book with a deep exegetical dive into the world of Ephesus and 1 Timothy 2:15. In this closing chapter Glahn takes an egalitarian approach in which she determines that Paul’s command for women to be silent and that they will be saved by child bearing are concepts that have been misinterpreted due to a lack of attention to the surrounding Ephesian culture that was dominated by the worship of Artemis.
In general Nobody’s Mother is excellent. Glahn’s opening chapters as well as her conclusion are sound exegetical inquiries and explanations that are exciting and informative. However, the bulk of the book is dense and also difficult to follow. Glahn in these chapters surveys a plethora of literary, epigraphic, and artistic depictions of Atremis as a means of providing a fair and even picture of Artemis that is no longer solely informed by the biblical text. However, due to Glahn’s overwhelming amount of information in these chapters the end product is overwhelming and often unclear. Unless one were doing specific research on Artemis in Antiquity there is little reason to read these chapters closely and skimming them would suffice. However, despite these somewhat frustrating chapters the opening and closing chapters are a delight to read and a wealth of information that make Nobody’s Mother an excellent choice for those interested in Egalitarianism, Pauline Literature, New Testament Context, and even Antiquity Studies.

(5/5 stars) This book came around at just the right time! I was doing a study on 1 Timothy with a small group and found myself getting frustrated that the historical context of Paul writing to Timothy in Ephesus was being ignored. Why would Paul in 1 Timothy tell Timothy that young widows should remarry when in his letter to the Corinthian church he says it is good for them to stay single? What does Paul mean when he says that "women shall be saved through childbearing," and what implications does it have for women who choose to remain single or who can't bear children? Why does Paul call back to the Genesis story?

Glahn's work helps the reader understand the Ephesus to which Paul was writing - one enthralled by magic (Acts 19) and the cult of Artemis. It is through this historical lens that Glahn encourages us to read 1 Timothy 2 (especially verses 13-15, which are often contentious and misunderstood). Glahn shows that though Paul never directly names other gods, his language directly calls out the cult of Artemis of the time, showing that Jesus is better than Artemis. Glahn states,

"In the same way that kryptonite evokes thoughts of Superman without uttering his name, Paul could refer to Jesus as the/our Savior in Ephesus and listeners would know he was exalting Christ over the local deity...[Paul] adopts local Artemis terminology and redefines it in relation to Christ so that the cultic terms are used to criticize the cult."

Glahn's work is clearly academic and very well researched, drawing on all available historical sources (epigraphs, architecture, sculptures, literature, etc.) to shine light on and provide context to a passage which has always seemed out of sync with Paul's teachings elsewhere in Scripture. I would certainly recommend the read!

Nobody's Mother by Sandra L Glahn

5🌟/5🌟

This is a deep dive into the ancient religious cult of Artemis, the goddess of midwifery and virginity whose temple was in ancient Ephesus. Understanding this ancient goddess and how devotees of Artemis practiced their religion can help modern day readers better understand the historical context of Paul and the specific controversies Paul was addressing when writing to Timothy.

Recall that 1st Timothy is generally accepted by Christians to have been written by Paul to Timothy, when Timothy was serving as a pastor in Ephesus. Therefore, when reading the letter, having a comprehensive understanding of the culture of Ephesus at the time this letter was written is of utmost importance when interpreting the text.

Many scholars have tried to provide faithful interpretations and translations of 1st Timothy. Where Sandra's perspective shines is bringing cultural and religious context into view. 1st Timothy is full of instructions for both men, women, and the church. Having a fuller understanding of Artemis and her religious titles enables readers to see Paul's thinly veiled challenges to Artemis in 1st Timothy, while proclaiming Jesus as Saviour and the one true God. No doubt the Ephesian readers of 1st Timothy would have recognized these thinly veiled references in direct opposition to the primary religious system of the city.

This book was a quick read for me, as I found the topic very interesting. The reading material was challenging. In particular, the first half of the book was a very in-depth summary of the ancient story of Artemis. As I have had little exposure to the myths of Roman and Greek gods and goddesses, I found this the most challenging section. However, this portion of the book is incredibly important, and it's the foundation of Sandra's arguments when calling for a more historical and informed reading of Paul's letters to Timothy.

I highly suggest this book to anyone who wants exposure to an academic and comprehensive appoach to texts which have been used to subjugate women in the church. The more I read about the historical contexts in the first century, the more I see how Paul's letters have been misused to silence women.

Quotes I liked:

"A virgin goddess whose cult emphasized celibacy can easily account for many of the unique instructions in Paul's letter to Timothy."

"Nobody's Mother is the book I wish I had had to help me address key questions about motherhood and teaching based on what it means to be saved through childbearing in 1 Timothy 2."

"This book is for the reader who wants to avoid sacrificing a high view of Scripture while working to reconcile conflicting narratives about God's view of women."

Thanks you @Ivpress for the early copy to read and review. This book comes out TOMORROW October 10th.

#evangelical #christiannonfiction #christianbookreview #christianbookstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #nonfiction #readersofinstagram #theologymatters

In Nobody's Mother, Glahn analyzes a variety of sources to consider the impact of Artemis on Paul's first-century Ephesian ministry, offering a reconsideration of what 1 Timothy 2:11-15 means for women in the Christian church today, Essentially, she argues that, in his letter, Paul was speaking into a specific time, culture, and community, and his admonition that women neither speak nor teach is not a for-all-and-for-always prohibition.

Overall, I found the book interesting and accessible, but I was most impressed by the careful balance the author struck between an academic and a popular tone as well as between a cultural and a scriptural interpretation. Well-researched and thought-provoking, Nobody's Mother is definitely worth reading and discussing.

Just as Vindicating the Vixens should be required reading for anyone in the pulpit, Nobody's Mother should be required reading for anyone teaching on Acts & the letters to Timothy. Glahn clearly refutes the characterizations of Artemis and her worship that are most commonly heard in churches as having zero historical foundation. Rather, drawing on a range of contemporary primary sources, as well as the best modern scholarship, she constructs a picture of Artemis and her cult as Paul, Timothy, and the citizens of Ephesus would have understood them. And against this backdrop, she reexamines one of the most troubling verses in scripture for the millions of Christian women who aren't mothers. This book is a gift as it seeks to put that verse in its actual context, not one that ontological misogyny has built on top of it. I'll be recommending this book widely and loudly.

A really impressive work of scholarship. It was much more detailed and comprehensive than I expected -- Glahn takes a DEEP dive into all the descriptions and attributes of Artemis -- but from those details we learn so much, especially when she applies that picture of Artemis to Paul's letter to the Ephesians. It was a truly helpful and enlightening book for any Christian who's ever puzzled over those strange passages in the letter, and -- despite feeling a little bogged down now and then in Artemis lore -- I enjoyed reading it. I'd love to read more books that take this kind of approach; I hope Glahn plans to do more! Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I was very interested in this book when I read the description but I'm often disappointed by works claiming to delve into biblical issues because they often have no scholarship to speak of. I am so happy to say that this book was not a disappointment AT ALL.
Sandra L. Glahn starts her work by explaining the personal and emotional stake she has in this issue and as a fellow woman, I resonated with her desire to understand a passage of the Bible that had made (and continues to make) such an impact on the lives of today's women. She delves into the history of Ephesus and into the understanding of the goddess Artemis to understand the society that Paul would have found himself in in 1 Timothy. Much of the book is laying the framework for the assertions made toward the end, and there were many times I felt as though I was overflowing with knowledge about Artemis, the Ephesians, and Greek society at that time. But all the scholarship Glahn included made her later assertions easy to grasp and, by the conclusion, I had no trouble understanding her interpretation of the text.
I fully intend to not only buy this title for my library, but also purchase for my personal collection as well.

I was disappointed in this book. It felt like Glahn spent most of the book verifying to the reader that she understood how scholarship is done (shouldn't we assume she does, as she's a scholar?) and most of the book reads like a list of documents. She doesn't finally settle in to her argument until the last chapter and doesn't spend much time filling it out. Okay, the Artemis of Ephesus isn't a fertility goddess. Great, but tell me what that means other than "you can't read these particular lines in the way this person said." This crusade felt personal for here, for good reason, but the thrust of the argument is left for the reader to struggle with if she hasn't faced the same issue herself.

When you hear "1 Timothy 2," that either evokes nothing in you, or it raises strong feelings about how to interpret an incredibly confusing passage with regard to women and their role in the Church. If you're in the first category, don't buy this book. Even if you're in the latter category... honestly I have a hard time knowing exactly who this book is aimed towards. On the one hand, the subtitle is actually pretty accurate to what the book is: "Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament." This is a book mostly concerned with Artemis, not any intramural theological debates that come to mind when you think of 1 Timothy 2.

On the other hand, I took the marketing material (the graphic design and the description) to be aimed at a lay Christian audience. Consider the lede of its description: "Some Christians think Paul's reference to 'saved through childbearing' in 1 Timothy 2:15 means that women are slated primarily for delivering and raising children. Alternate readings, however, sometimes fail to build on the best historical and textual evidence." I understood that to mean that the book was going to take the gleanings of current scholarship about the ancient city of Ephesus and its cult of Artemis and then mostly read 1 Timothy 2:15 through that lens. That's kind of true, I guess, but fully two-thirds of the book is a focused survey of current Artemis scholarship and what can be known about her from various sources and artifacts. There is a somewhat cursory final chapter that applies all this scholarship to how 1 Timothy 2, and particularly 2:15, is read, but it is more an afterthought than what the book's description might lead you to believe.

The giveaway that this is aimed at a more technical audience is that basically every blurb for it is written by an academic or at least individuals who tend toward the academic. And once you have that in mind, the reality is that it's really not a bad book! It's short, concise, and to the point, namely that Artemis was very likely not a fertility goddess as many have imagined. Indeed, the best scholarship suggests that she's a virgin, and that her temple was most likely not filled with salacious indecency as some have supposed. The takeaway, then, is that rather than being some kind of mother goddess, she's instead the opposite: nobody's mother. Think of her as a kind of divine midwife to whom women would be inclined to pray for deliverance from their potential deaths in childbirth.

The contention in the book is that when Paul says women will be "saved through childbearing," he's not capital-S Salvation to eternal life, but rather that praying to Artemis is not what will save her from death in the delivery room. Any woman facing her own (possibly imminent) death might be strongly tempted to go back to praying to Artemis "just in case," but Paul is instead urging them to stay the course and "continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control" (2:15b, ESV).

Though I'm not in a position to evaluate the veracity of her research and scholarship, I can say that I think the book is interesting and worth reading for pastors who believe either that 2:15 teaches women must get married and bear children in order to be saved, or that it means something more theologically abstract like that Eve would eventually receive her salvation through her distant offspring, Jesus. You can evaluate the merits of Glahn's argument for yourself, but I at least find it to be thought-provoking, plausible, and straightforward.

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of a fair, unbiased review.

This was a unique concept in a nonfiction book, I enjoyed the idea of Greek Gods and Christianity. Sandra L. Glahn writes a great book and I could tell this was researched well. It does everything that I was hoping for and I learned a lot in this book.

Glahn lays out a picture of who Artemis of Ephesus was and the impact she would have had on the culture where Timothy was leading the church. She shows how Paul was refuting the false beliefs in Ephesus and why we need to apply the cultural context to what Paul was addressing in that specific church regarding women. She uses historical evidence to make her case while having a high regard for the Scriptures.