I am using this book in my women's Bible study group. Everyone loves it and we have learned so much!
Wonderful, but General
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
This book has wonderful photographs of, and information on, an ordinary woman's life in biblical times: betrothal, marriage, mothering, divorce, etc. It also includes sections on the clothing and jewelry women wore, occupations such as professional mourning, prostitution and sorcery, and women's more public roles in society: worship, leadership, dance, etc. It covers the entire Bible, not just Jesus' time. The information is not as thorough as her splendid book on food in biblical times, mainly because it is not much bigger (100 pages), and the subject is far more vast. For example, there are twenty pages on the various stages of marriage - which is great, but when you factor in romance, betrothal, the wedding, married life, divorce and widowhood, over a span of thousands of years, the information is just detailed enough to satisfy a somewhat curious layperson - which is probably its goal. If so, it does a fantastic job. Curious about betrothal and marriage, generally speaking? This book has it, complete with outstanding pictures. Want to know the exact difference? Buy something else, because while this book covers weddings in Jesus' time, it doesn't tell you that when Mary was betrothed to Joseph, they were technically married, and by Jewish law - not by custom - they could have sex. If he died, she was widowed and treated that way financially. If she had sex with another man, it was adultery. Curious about what women spent their time doing? This may be the perfect book for you - there are seven pages on `Women's Work.' Want to know how they cleaned wool? Buy a book on ancient technologies - you probably won't even find it specific to Palestine, actually. If you want information on any particular woman in the Bible, search for something else. The pictures are outstanding, and very useful. If you don't mind giving a paperback, it would make a nice gift for someone interested in women at the time of the Bible. For alternatives, see my Listmania! list of `Women in Jesus' Time,' which you can find by clicking `Emily Jamison' above and scrolling down to my ListMania section.
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