Delilah and the timnite woman

Previously, I have written on the problematic character of Samson. Yes, he’s a bombastic, excessively violent, and bratty character who I love to hate. But let’s not forget the women in his story. His wife, a nameless woman from the Philistine city Timnah, and his girlfriend Delilah are widely considered despicable villains, but in reality, […]

Ahlai

“Sheshan was the father of Ahlai….Sheshan had no sons – only daughters. He had an Egyptian servant named Jarha. Sheshan gave his daughter in marriage to his servant Jarha, and she bore him Attai.” – 1 Chronicles 2:31, 34-35 My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother Tamar made a name for herself. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Judah had tried to […]

The Greatest Offense: Judges 19

The text doesn’t record my reason for leaving, but trust me, it was bad. It had to be bad to commit the greatest possible offense: to bring dishonor on an important man. A Levite, no less. A member of the priestly lineage. A representative of God, a mediator between humanity and divinity. But being his […]

A Tormented Woman: Blood and Translation

“Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.” – Mark 5:29, NIV “Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.” – Mark 5:29, NRSV The way my story is told these days does a disservice to my […]

A Frightened Mama Bear

I put my paw out to stop my cub from walking any further. “Sh…” I warned him, “I hear humans.” I crouched in the trees near the Jordan, being as still and quiet as possible, and I couldn’t help but overhear. “Do you know that today the LORD will take your master away from you?” […]

Jephthah’s Daughter, 2nd Edition

You know that moment when you realize you’re totally screwed? When you realize that, no matter what you do, it’s not going to go well for you? When my father left to lead the Israelites in battle against the Ammonites, I thought that he might die, but not the women he’d left at home. But […]

Jephthah’s Daughter

I was an only child. No brothers or sisters. All of my friends had lots of brothers and sisters. They would ask me, “Aren’t you lonely?” I would say, “No.” My best friend was my dad, Jephthah. He was my hero. When he was younger, he had been driven out of his family because he […]

Proverbs of a Strange Woman

The proverbs of a strange woman, loved and condemned by Solomon, king of Israel, and the wisdom tradition credited to him: Prologue For learning about wisdom and instruction, for understanding words of insight, for gaining instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; to teach the poor, ignored, and shamed; to acknowledge those hurt by […]

The Cyclical Nature of Violence

I was a concubine. A Levite man kept me for his sexual pleasure without giving me the rights that a wife would have. I was treated as nothing more than a body. So, I ran away. I went back to my father’s house to escape sexual abuse. But the Levite stalked me. He came to my […]

One Soul, Part 4: Michal

I couldn’t believe that my older sister Merab didn’t want to marry David. He was amazing! So strong and talented – even more so than my father! When my father said he was going to offer me to David in marriage, I was amazed at my fortune. Instead of being pawned off in some politically […]