The Bible's Lost Stories

Tamar has to deceive the most powerful man in her life in order to get what she deserves. Her Biblical sisters have had to wait thousands of years for their day in the sun, but their voices, too, are finally being heard. No one is trying to claim that the women of the Bible were anywhere near as powerful as the men in their world. But neither were they weak and passive. Perhaps they were just misunderstood. And ignored. Take the story every Sunday-school kid has heard about how Jesus fed a multitude of 5,000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish. What the Bible really says is that there were "five thousand, not counting women and children." In other words, assuming there was a wife and at least two children for every man, Jesus actually fed 20,000 people. Why didn't the man who recorded this tale capitalize on the opportunity to make Jesus' miracle seem even more impressive? It seems that women and children were simply too unimportant. "The amazing thing is that there are any women at all in the ancient texts," says Deirdre Good, professor of New Testament studies at General Theological Seminary. As the scholarly debate continues, one thing worshipers might keep in mind is how often these marginalized characters prevail and are entrusted to deliver the Word of God. From Eve to Miriam to Mary, they were all players--and are, in our unfolding spiritual drama.

WITH PAT WINGERT AND KAREN SPRINGEN

© 2003