Dear Readers,

I really did not mean to be absent the whole month of April, but here it is May 8 already!

I have recently read a fascinating book that has caused me to want to do some more digging in scripture. The title of the book is Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel and the author is Rev. Dr. Wilda (Wil) Gafney, a seminary professor at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas. Her research into the geographical regions and cultures throughout the Ancient Near East–and outside of Israel–brings great understanding to the work of prophets (both women and men) that worked within Israel. These women and men prophets were from many different cultures and many different religions. Some were prophets for other gods. (Remember the story of Elijah against the prophets of Baal?) I am grateful to have found this book and to have learned such helpful insights from it.

I have to admit, that as a child and teenager in a denomination where the Bible was taught effectively, there was not much teaching time given to the history of other people groups outside of the Jews or outside of the Bible’s words. Looking back, I realize that my learning was very narrowly focused. The benefit of that approach is it gave me a deep understanding of Christianity and its Jewish roots from a young age. The down side of such an approach is that I tended to view the Bible as a history of the whole world, instead of what it really is: a story–some factually historical and some literary and some wisdom and some poetry–of one people group and how others interacted with that people group we know as the Jews, God’s chosen people. It is still the greatest story ever told and is our best resource for learning about how through the Jews, God gave us our Savior, Jesus Christ.

While the “Old Testament” or First Testament or Hebrew Scriptures are sometimes difficult to understand, they are the background for the New Testament. And while some Christians tend to avoid the Hebrew Scriptures, we have to remember that when Paul reminded Timothy in his second letter to him that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NRSV), Paul was talking about the Old Testament–the New Testament did not exist yet! The Old Testament was the only Bible Jesus knew. Therefore, if we want to be more like Jesus, we need to study what he studied, including the Old Testament.

So, after reading Daughters of Miriam, I have some new studying to do. Let me show you where I am starting . . . Dr. Gafney acquainted me with Noadiah, a woman prophet mentioned in only one verse in Nehemiah 6:14, which is part of a prayer being prayed by Nehemiah, where he says, “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me” (TNIV). Hmm . . . we don’t get any more information than that in the scriptures. Yet, Dr. Gafney helps her reader see that “Nehemiah experienced her as a worthy adversary because of his plea for divine intervention. We can also reasonably conclude that her opposition was to his program, in part or in whole, and that she was not alone in her opposition to Nehemiah. Last we can conclude that Noadiah enjoyed some status in the Jerusalem prophetic community since they are mentioned as a collective and she alone, of all the prophets in Jerusalem, is named in Nehemiah’s plea” (p. 114). So, while she is only mentioned once, the fact that she is mentioned at all is cause for more questions.

So, will you excuse me while I go dig a little deeper . . . and wider?

Would love to hear from you!