Women in a Patriarchal World

Twenty-five Empowering Stories from the Bible

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Pub Date 16 Jun 2020 | Archive Date 15 Apr 2020

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Description

The Bible includes many stories about women: some well-known, others lesser known; some named, others whose names are not given. In some of these stories, men are depicted negatively by the storyteller; in other men barely feature at all, except in the background or as powerful outsiders. All the compilers of these narratives were probably men, and all of them are set within an ancient world of patriarchal norms and conditions. And yet many of these narratives express the authentic voices of women, and in some cases the original sources will have been the women themselves. In Women in a Patriarchal World Elaine Storkey focuses on the stories of women who faced a range of challenges and life-changing decisions. Her investigations will lead you to fully appreciate the authenticity of these accounts. They will prompt you to see the connections with our own lives and times. And above all they will empower you to respond more faithfully and intelligently to the many challenges that women are still confronted with today.

The Bible includes many stories about women: some well-known, others lesser known; some named, others whose names are not given. In some of these stories, men are depicted negatively by the...


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EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780281084074
PRICE $15.00 (USD)
PAGES 144

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Featured Reviews

A very interesting read! I knew about a few of these women, but I enjoyed seeing them from another angle and I very much enjoyed reading about the women who were new to me. The writing style was clear and conversational, easy to follow and understand. I enjoyed the historical information as well.

A very interesting read.

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“The stories of people in Scripture are case histories of God’s relationship with human-kind”

Throughout this book, we are introduced to 25 case histories of women in the Bible. Some well known like Mary Magdalene, others lesser known like the five daughters of Zelophehad, but all notable for being included in the history of what is undoubtedly a patriarchal society – and clearly showing what value God places on women in his world.

Some of the women are not even named, but Storkey brings them to life and puts their story into context of the times they lived in. I found it so enlightening to read these stories and pay more attention to women who I may otherwise have skipped over.

What I also loved was that after the first half of each chapter where we learned more about these women, the second half of each chapter was about how we can apply their lessons into our lives today. It’s very easy to read the Bible without stopping to think about what it’s teaching us now, and this really unpacked it.

In fact, when I think about negatives for this book, my only criticism was that the passages from the Bible that were being discussed were not included in the actual book, which meant I kept having to switch out of the book and look up the passages, which was just a little annoying.

But apart from that, I read through this book in two sittings, highlighting passage after passage that I wanted to remember and come back to – at one point I started to think that the highlights were becoming ineffective as there were so many – I definitely want to just read this again.

The author had a very easy writing style, which made the book feel almost conversational rather than text-book-like, but that’s not to diminish the content, which was clearly well researched and insightful.

One example is the chapter about Moses – we’ve all read this story many many times, it’s one we were taught in sunday school. Yet I’ve never thought past the basket in the reeds to the women involved in the story – the mother who calmly hid her son in the river at a time when it was probably filled with other dead babies. The sister who watched the baby from the banks, and the princess who found him. They all play such a big part in the history, as Storkey writes:

"None of them had the power to change a barbaric, unjust law. Yet the joint weight of the power they did have meant that one baby escaped the consequences of that injustice to become a future leader anointed by God."

Through this story, we learn that:

"When we are led by love rather than fear, we gain more courage, and God often empowers us to be stronger and to see things more clearly."

I’ll finish with one more quote from the book, about the 23rd woman, Lydia.

"Finally, Lydia challenges us to face our own significance in the spread of the gospel. Women were not at the margins in the early Christian Church; neither silent in churches nor absent in evangelism. They were effective communicators and vital in the expansion of mission."

I’d recommend this book to anyone with an interesting in uncovering a new layer to the stories we’ve all read many times before, but specifically to women who may be experiencing challenges in their own faith journeys – this book was such an encouragement.

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An empowering read, and a different way of looking at tales often told. In these dark days, this is a beacon

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A fascinating look at some of the female characters in the Bible, some which are often overlooked. It was refreshing to re-read the accounts and encouraged by the author's reflections and challenges.

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What a fantastic book! I think you’ll love Women in a Patriarchal World, which grew out of Elaine Storkey’s articles here in Woman Alive. She highlights twenty-five accounts of women in the Bible who use their courage, strength and faith to serve God in the male-dominated cultures where they lived. Elaine doesn’t have an agenda to topple the men in the stories, but rather to uncover, gently, the voices and character of women that we’ve missed or misunderstood. Her knowledge of the Bible is vast, but she writes as a friend and the book is clear and easy to read (but of course her fine scholarship underpins her insights). It’s such a joy to recommend a book so wholeheartedly.
Take the familiar story of the Samaritan woman at the well, whom Jesus asks for a drink. Elaine gives much interesting background to the woman and helps us reframe how we see her. In sermons this woman is often cast as someone who is promiscuous, jumping from husband to husband. But Elaine points out that men had the power to divorce their wives, and not the other way round. This woman likely has been widowed and abandoned over the years. And Jesus sees the real person: “To him, she was not immoral, an outsider or of no consequence. She was intelligent, trusting and a faithful seeker after God’s truth.” Jesus reveals himself to her as the Messiah; she was one of the first to receive the gift of this revelation.
I hope you’ll be inspired to pick up this book. I’ve heavily underlined my electronic copy and I would like a printed version too. It’d be a great resource for small groups; you could read one Old Testament and one New Testament character together each week. Buy this book!

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This book is a series of devotional readings. Focusing on women in the Bible, It is centred on a bible reading and includes; an inspirational summary and questions. It would be a great devotional aid, either for; personal daily worship or for group study.

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