Learn more than fascinating information about the women of the Bible-- you'll discover the unmistakable chronology of God's redemptive work in history through their lives.

Eight of the Bible's most notorious females strut across these pages with troubles that still hit home in the twenty-first century.

"The beloved daughter of Jewish captives in Babylon, Keren is sold into Daniel's household to help her family survive. She becomes Daniel's most trusted scribe, while taking lessons and swordsmanship training alongside Daniel's sons and their best friend, Jared. But after a tragic accident changes the course of her life, Keren finds herself in a foreign country, charged with a mysterious task: teaching a shepherd boy how to become a lord. When she...

"The inimitable Jane Yolen has teamed up with Barbara Diamond Goldin (a prolific author in her own right) to retell Bible stories from the point of view of twelve women (in nine chapters, as some come in pairs). After each story, there is a reflection "imagine" piece written from the voice of each woman (written by Barbara) and a poem about her (written by Jane). Intermixed with the main text are sidebars called "midrash" in the singular or "midrashim"...

"A radical reassessment of the role of Mary the mother of Jesus and other women in the early Church. Despite the commonly held assumption that the Bible says little about the mother of Jesus, there are many indications that Mary preceded and inspired her son in fostering the emergence of a new faith community. In the Gospel of John, Mary instigates Jesus' first miracle, and in all four gospels she is present at the crucifixion, suggesting hers was...

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. Sandra Glahn thinks that we have misunderstood Paul by misunderstanding the context to which he wrote. A key to reading and applying 1 Timothy, Glahn argues, lies in getting to know a mysterious...

There's no need to throw the Bible out with the bathwater. "The Bible strongly affirms our significance as wives and mothers, but I was stunned to learn God values us just as much when our lives follow other paths. The stories of the women of the Bible gave me the freedom to embrace the life God was opening up for me."