Great Women of the Bible: In Art and Literature

Historical fascination with women of the Bible has contributed a great wealth of artistic images, literature, legends, fables, and religious poetry to Western traditions. From heroic figures such as Judith and Esther to deep friends like Ruth and Naomi, the Bible presents a plenitude of women whose deeds and desires have inspired Western art and culture for more than two thousand years. Culled from a larger, more expensive volume by the same authors first published by Eerdmans in 1994, this beautiful volume focuses on 15 biblical characters and gloriously presents not only their stories but also more than 200 art-historical images of them, along with searching commentary by the late theologian Dorothee Soelle and discussion of their post-biblical legacies in art and literature by historian Joe Kirchberger. The figures discussed include Eve and Lilith, Sarah and Hagar, Tamar, Ruth and Naomi, Abigail, Judith, Esther, the woman who annointed Jesus, Mary of Magdala, Mary and Martha, and many more.