Jeroboam's Wife

Gallaher Branch Robin

Description

Much has been written about prominent women of biblical history like Sarah, Ruth, and Esther. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the obscure women of the Old Testament whose words are not recorded in the Bible and some of whom aren't even named. Yet often these less prominent women played important roles in shaping the unfolding of God's plan. Indeed, the appearance of such obscure women sometimes signals the emergence of some great event. More than that, these lesser-known women, frequently faced with seemingly impossible circumstances, modeled unflinching integrity and moral courage.In Jeroboam's Wife, Robin Gallaher Branch introduces us to seven of these obscure yet notable biblical women. By examining their historical and cultural settings with scholarly care and penetrating insight, she brings these women out of their obscurity and highlights both their unique challenges and their indelible contributions. By interacting with contemporary biblical, social, and psychological scholarship, she presents ancient biblical history in fresh and relevant ways.Thoughtful questions for personal reflection or group discussion guide contemporary readers to ponder the deeper significance of these women's contributions and to reflect on points of personal application.

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 juillet 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441232762
• Langue: English

Extrait

© 2009 by Robin Gallaher Branch
Published by Baker Academic a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakeracademic.com
Previously published in 2009 by Hendrickson Publishers. Baker Academic edition published in 2012.
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3276-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Biblical quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover Art: “Study for Rizpah,” © 1893. Leighton, Frederic (1830–1896). British Museum, London, Great Britain.
Photo Credit: HIP / Art Resource, N.Y.
P RAISE FOR J EROBOAM’S W IFE
Robin Gallaher Branch has taken a series of humble Scripture passages, generally overlooked and passed by, and revealed the wisdom and insight waiting for one who will simply give herself to them. Her careful scholarship, combined with a child-like joy in discovery, makes these women, many of whom Jesus would consider among “the least of these,” come alive.
Rev. Mike Gatliff, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
Dr. Robin Gallaher Branch joyfully draws forth portraits of women and girls who find the middle road between being timidly inarticulate and stridently verbose. In separate chapters, Dr. Branch reveals the paths the seven least-known women and girls in the Hebrew Bible took to meet different life-challenges. She shows how each grew emotionally and spiritually to reach hope and finally to achieve surprising courage.
Dr. Mary V. Battle, Associate Professor of English, University of Memphis
Robin Gallaher Branch’s penetrating probe into the stories of some of the forgotten and even silent women of the Old Testament is a tour de force, combining feminist hermeneutic with careful narrative and character analysis. There is a lot more here than most readers will expect. Branch’s careful and illuminating interpretation of these texts is a necessary resource for all future attempts to understand them.
Patrick D. Miller, Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary
Robin Gallaher Branch has been writing extensively on the women of the Bible, especially those mentioned in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. This book is the fruit of many endeavors in this regard. It is well-written and brings some of the most obscure women of the Hebrew Bible to light. This major contribution should be read by everybody interested in the role of women in the Bible and in society.
Herrie van Rooy, Professor of Old Testament, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Robin Gallaher Branch deftly walks the reader through a historically-informed, imaginative characterization of these relatively unknown women, thus introducing us to them. The cadre of women are silent no more! Their places within the story of God are overlooked no longer! Branch’s love of stories is readily observable in her sensitivity to detail in the biblical accounts, as well as in her care and creativity as a (re-) teller of these stories.
Troy A. Miller, Associate Professor of Bible and Theology, Crichton College
This book is dedicated to my parents Bob and Gwen Gallaher and to my brothers Harry and John Gallaher with love and thanksgiving
T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
Permissions
Abbreviations
General
Biblical and Pseudepigraphal Books
Rabbinic Literature
Secondary Sources
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Emerging from Obscurity The Path Set
1. Hearing the Story: Appreciating Biblical Narratives
Narrative as History and Storytelling
The Narrator and Narrative Tools

2. Miriam, the Sister of Moses: Obscure yet Audacious
A Desperate Act of Faith
A Strategic Conversation
A Hidden yet Active God
Conclusion
Questions for Further Reflection

3. Rizpah: Quiet Catalyst in King Making
Being a Concubine
Power Struggles Between Powerful Men
The Question of Gender
The Cowardly Ish-Bosheth
Rizpah and Other Biblical Concubines
Potential Complexities in David’s Marital Situation
Rizpah and the Purposes of God
Questions for Further Reflection

4. Rizpah: Silent Activist in Nation Building
A Narrative in Tension
A Demand for Revenge
Rizpah Enters the Scene
Rizpah and Others
Summary and Conclusion
Questions for Further Reflection

5. The Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah: Wisdom in a Time of Crisis
The Historical Setting
The Wise Woman Emerges
Effective Communication
The Handmaid Takes Charge
Protecting a Mother in Israel
Guarding the Lord’s Inheritance
A Skillful Prosecutor
A Decisive Woman of Action
Joab, A Study in Contrasts
The Wise Woman in Biblical History
Becoming a Woman of Wisdom
Questions for Further Reflection

6. The Wife of Jeroboam: Abuse and Obedience
The Historical Context
Jeroboam’s Command
Ahijah’s Prophecy
The Prophetic Word to Israel
Anonymous Women
Passive, yet Significant
Evidence of Abuse
Summary and Conclusion
Questions for Further Reflection

7. The Widow of Zarephath: Validating God’s Prophet
A Structured Narrative
Colorful Characters
Essential Themes
Summary and Conclusion
Questions for Further Reflection

8. The Israelite Slave Girl: Overcoming Obscurity through Faith
The Great and the Small
Great Faith from a Small Source
A Warrior’s Conversion
Important Textual Twists
The Bigger Picture
Questions for Further Reflection

9. Athaliah: From Obscurity to Treachery
The Flow of History
The Use of Language
The Elements of Narrative
The Development of Characters
An Ominous Comparison
Summary and Conclusion
Questions for Further Reflection

Conclusion: From Obscurity to Significance: A Concluding Textual Affirmation
The Older Sister of Moses (Exodus 2)
Rizpah (2 Samuel 3)
Rizpah (2 Samuel 21)
The Wise Woman of Abel Beth Maacah (2 Samuel 20)
The Wife of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14)
The Widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17)
The Israelite Slave Girl (2 Kings 5)
Athaliah (2 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 23)
The Significance of the Character of God in the Stories Studied

Endnotes
Bibliography
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Names and Subjects
Index of Ancient Sources
P ERMISSIONS
P ORTIONS OF SOME OF the chapters in this book have been drawn from the author’s previously published journal articles. We thank the following journals for their permission to reprint portions of the listed articles:
“Athaliah, a Treacherous Queen: A Careful Analysis of Her Story in 2 Kings 11 and 2 Chronicles 22:10–23:21,” In die Skriflig 38 no 4 (2004): 537–59. [chapter 9]
“David and Joab: United by Ambition” BR (Washington, D.C.) 19 no 4 (Aug., 2003): 14–23, 62–63. [chapter 5]
“Evangelism via Power and Lifestyle: Elijah’s Method in 1 Ki 17,” Missionalia 31 no 2 (Aug 2003): 293–304. [chapter 7]
“Rizpah: Activist in Nation-Building. An Analysis of 2 Samuel 21:1–14,” Journal for Semitics 14/1, 74–94. [chapter 4]
“Rizpah: Catalyst in Kingmaking. An Analysis of 2 Samuel 3:6–11,” Journal for Semitics 14/1:1–16. [chapter 3]
“The Wife of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 14:1–18: The Incredible, Riveting, History-Changing Significance of an Unnamed, Overlooked, Ignored, Obedient, Obscure Woman,” Old Testament Essays 17:2 (2004): 157–67. [chapter 6]
“Women Who Win with Words,” In die Skriflig , 37 no 2 (June 2003): 289–318. [chapter 4]
“‘Your humble servant.’ Well, Maybe. Overlooked Onlookers in Deuteronomistic History,” Old Testament Essays 17:2 (2004), 168–89. [chapter 8]
A BBREVIATIONS
G ENERAL B.C.E. before the Common Era c. century C.E. Common Era cf. confer , compare ch. chapter cm centimeter(s) ed(s). editor(s), edition(s) Eng. English Heb. Hebrew ibid. ibidem , in the same place i.e. id est , that is lit. literally NIV New International Version NRSV New Revised Standard Version p(p). page(s) repr. reprinted v(v). verse(s) vol(s). volume(s)
B IBLICAL AND P SEUDEPIGRAPHAL B OOKS Gen Genesis Exod Exodus Lev Leviticus Num Numbers Deut Deuteronomy Josh Joshua Judg Judges 1–2 Sam 1–2 Samuel 1–2 Kgs 1–2 Kings 1–2 Chr 1–2 Chronicles Esth Esther Ps(s) Psalm(s) Prov Proverbs Isa Isaiah Jer Jeremiah Ezek Ezekiel Hos Hosea Jon Jonah Mic Micah Zech Zechariah Matt Matthew Rom Romans Jas James 1–2 Pet 1–2 Peter Rev Revelation Jub. Jubilees
R ABBINIC L ITERATURE b. Ber . Babylonian Talmud Berakhot b. Meg . Babylonian Talmud Megillah b. Sotah Babylonian Talmud Sotah Exod. Rab . Exodus Rabbah m. Ketub . Mishnah Ketubboth m. Pesah . Mishnah Pesahim Midr. Prov . Midrash on Proverbs
S ECONDARY S OURCES ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary . Edited by David Noel Freedman. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992 AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies BAR Biblical Archaeology Review BDB A Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament Edited by F. Brown, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. Oxford: Clarendon, 1951. Repr. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1996 Bib Biblica BibInt Biblical Interpretation BRev Bible Review BS Biblische Zeitschri BT The Bible Translator BZ Biblische Zeitschri CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly EDB Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible . Edited by David Noel Freedman. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000 EncBib Encyclopaedia Biblica EncJud Encyclopedia Judaica . Edited by Ceci