by Neil Elliot
Had enough of all that Christmas bonhommie? "Goodwill to all mankind" really starting to grate? Need a dose of gritty realism to get the brain going after weeks of "family fun?" I have the perfect book for you. It's as seminal as "Alien" or "Dirty Harry." Except this one is a fully loaded feminist approach to some often overlooked, and very nasty stories in the Bible.
Four stories are examined here — those of Hagar, Tamar, a nameless woman from Judges 19, and the equally nameless daughter of Jephthan. If you had to remind yourself who these women were it would not be surprising. That is part of the point of Trible’s work — the marginalizing of women in these texts. Each woman has a chapter devoted to her story. The story is evoked and expounded in depth. These chapters were originally given as lectures about preaching — and they would make powerful, if not disturbing sermons. Each chapter is totally compelling as it unveils the horror of the situation and makes us look at our own disregard for the "insignificant people." This is not the stuff for Sunday morning consolation.
But it is not some polemic work that overlooks the text of the scripture in order to make it's political or theological point. This is exactly the opposite. It is a painstakingly detailed examination of the text. This is my model for reading the Bible. Trible pays attention to the story, weighs every word and identifies its contribution to the story. She looks for minority readings of the text, which might run counter to, even deconstruct, the superficial majority reading. This is a book to challenge your humanity and your preconceptions.
I will leave you with Tribles summary of the state of the woman in Judges 19.
"Of all the characters in scripture, she is the least. Appearing at the beginning and close of a story that rapes her, she is alone in a world of men. She is property, object, tool, and literary device. Without name, speech, or power, she has no friends to aid her in life or mourn her in death. Captured, betrayed, raped, tortured, murdered, dismembered, and scattered — this woman is the most sinned against." (p80)
