Customer Reviews

Chosen Women Of The Bible

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Yep, I'll have to agree with the former reviewer. While some of the chapter introductions were interesting, they were obviously conjecture, written in the style of fiction. I'm confused. What place does that have in a Bible study book?

Ethel Herr's "Chosen Women of the Bible" is an excellent, concise study of 13 women of the Old and New Testaments.The book is well-written and is truly a BIBLE STUDY, with thought-provoking questions concerning the Scriptures and application to the lives of present-day women. I recommend this book for individual or group study.

As a member of my church congregation I am occasionally asked to read and give an opinion on various books that may be used for study groups. Such was my position re CHOSEN WOMEN OF THE BIBLE, a ninety-six page text designed for use by Christian women's study groups.

CHOSEN WOMEN is extremely well organized. The book is broken into thirteen lessons, each lesson focusing on one or more famous women of the Bible: Eve; Mary; Jezebel; Rahab; Ruth; Mary Magdalene; The Daughters of Zion; Hannah; Jochebed; Deborah; The Samaritan Woman; Dorcas, Lydia, and Priscilla; and Mary of Bethany. Each lesson opens with an introduction to the character that is followed by recommendations for scriptural readings, various observations, and points to ponder. Each lesson closes with a final point, a story or poem that illustrates the author's point of view, and suggestions for further reading.

As an author, however, Herr leaves something to be desired. Her "introductions" are essentially fictionalized portraits of the various women that read rather like popular romance novels; her closing points, stories, and poems range from the obvious to the saccharine. Most particularly, however, Herr takes the point of view that a woman's place should be in subservence to a man.

At times this attitude is highly obvious, as in the lessons on Eve and Jezebel, the latter of which is offered as an example of a woman whose domination of her husband leads to some very unsavory results. More often, however, it is implicit in the way that Herr presents the lessons in a general sense, with lessons concerning Ruth and Mary Magdalene cases in point. I took issue this overall tone, as well as with several other ideas Herr broaches, with the status of Rahab a good example; although Herr notes that some scholars do not believe that Rahab was a "harlot" in the present sense of the word, she offers nothing in the way of in-text documentation on the issue.

CHOSEN WOMEN does not specifically align itself with any one Christian denomination, but in the final analysis it reads very much like an extended Southern Baptist tract softened via the language of a purple-prose bestseller. As such, I find it hard to believe that it will appeal greatly to either fundamentalists, who will object to the author's habit of fictionalization, or liberal demonimations, who will disagree with the author's stance on gender roles. I cannot imagine to whom it is supposed to appeal.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer