Old Testament women were often as tough-minded and strong-willed as their male counterparts, and many were able to work the religious and secular law to their advantage. Baker unravels the labyrinth of Aramean, Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite, Egyptian, Hittite, Sumerian, and Hebrew culture and interprets arcane biblical narratives in light of legal custom.
He considers women in business; surrogate sexual partners and slave-husband counterparts to men's slaves and concubines; inheritance rights of daughters; and metronomic marriage in which the wife provided land, occupation, and family for a less well situated husband. In doing so he makes many of the Old Testament stories understandable for the first time.
Along the way Baker also renders obsolete many simplistic, however well meaning object lessons that one can hear at times in Sunday school, while nevertheless bolstering other common-sense, plain readings of scripture. His research provides readers with grist for discussion on a variety of timely themes and points the way for future investigation into what has proven to be a fruitful field.
Despite Baker's engaging, straightforward style and obvious grasp of the legalisms, one might wish for greater depth of analysis in this study of biblical marriage, concubinage, and inheritance. What universal ideology regarding women undergirds these incidents? What rights did David's concubines have after Absalom's treachery? Did Zipporah have special rights as Jethro's daughter and Moses' wife? Also, the focus occasionally shifts to the men and their travails rather than what this actually meant for the women: for instance, did the woman of Tekoah risk anything by appearing before David? For comparison, one might consult P. Trible's Texts of Terror (Fortress Press, 1984), which takes a feminist sociological approach to violence involving Old Testament women. Still, Baker, a lawyer and freelance writer, contributes a valuable resource for women and the law. Highly recommended.-- Sandra Collins, SLIS, Univ. of Pittsburgh
