Book Review: Dynamic Women of the Bible

Dynamic Women of the Bible
Ruth A Tucker
Baker Book 2014

I signed up to begin reviewing books for publishers.  I received my first group a few weeks ago and have finished up the first batch and will post reviews within the coming days.  

Unfortunately the first book review is not one that I'd recommend.  If you are looking for a good women's book the check here. 

        "Dynamic Women of the Bible" seemed to have potential, I wanted it to be a resource I could pass onto women in my church and maybe use for women’s small group studies and such. However this book is dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, Tucker shows in some sentences she is a scholar but then it goes down hill. Fast. One of the primary things you learn from studying hermeneutics (how to study the Bible) is that context is king. Tucker goes throughout the Bible and takes women out of their intended and beautiful contexts, provides a brief info and then gives her own interpretation. This is where this book becomes dangerous. Tucker adds in the “what if’s” and basically turns each character into who she wants them to be. This is known as eisegesis and is the opposite of exegesis. When you read someones thoughts on someone else's words it is important that the one commentating uses exegesis and not eisegesis so that the point the original author was trying to make is what is conveyed to the reader. Tucker fails at this. Repeatedly.  
Tucker is right that women in the Bible are authentic and approachable (xiii), she briefly mentions that Joseph is a type of Christ (xiv) and that briefly mentions the importance of Genesis 3:15 (the protoevangelium page 5-6) but other than a few glimpses of scholarship, the rest is all down hill. Rapid down hill and it was difficult to read. I am all for asking questions and wondering but when it comes to Scripture there are boundaries one must have when questioning to stay within the context and intention of the authors.  
For instance when talking about Eve, Tucker questions if she even understood Genesis 3:15(5-6). What Tucker fails to do is allow what Moses is trying to say be heard. Instead of asking questions and giving our opinions on things that the Scriptures are silent on, we should be asking and interpreting what is given. The point of Genesis 3 is that Adam failed.  Adam failed to communicate God’s word accurately to Eve. Adam failed to protect Eve and rule over the animals. But after they fall the glorious thing about Genesis 3:15 is that it is the gospel. Adam and Eve were told is you eat of this tree you will die. They eat.  Then they hear you are not dying today. That’s grace, that’s mercy and how do they respond to this news? They both have faith. How do we know? Because the text tells us it is after all of this that Adam then names his wife Eve. What does Eve mean? Mother of the living!  Adam and Eve believe Genesis 3:15 and they are saved by grace through faith like everyone else since. They are then clothed by animals skins by God and in Genesis 4 we do have actual words (though brief I agree) from Eve and what is she doing? Praising God that she has gotten children. Why? Because it will be though women having children that all of mankind will be saved. What an important and glorious role to celebrate and live in.  Tucker fails at giving what is there in the text.  
Tucker forces things into the text of Genesis 1-4 by saying things like “Eve has no way of knowing that she had been formed out of this man-creature’s rib (3).” Again Tucker says of Eve “does she know God personally the as Adam does(4)?” This is clear eisegesis. Tucker is forcing her own understanding of something that happened 6000 (approximately) years ago and in doing so belittle’s Eve and God. Unfortunately is doesn’t get any better through the rest of the book. Whether it’s bashing Sarah (and almost exalting Hagar) and neglecting to mention that she is the only woman in the Bible that other women are called to emulate (a huge miss on Tucker’s part) or saying things about Mary’s appearance and thoughts about Jesus never really having a childhood (240), Tucker misses the golden opportunity that her title speaks of. Instead of looking at the dynamic women of the Bible as the Bible presents them this book is simply Tucker’s misleading thoughts or comments about women in the Bible. I cannot recommend it in anyway. It was painful to see such an opportunity missed completely. 

*I received this book free from the publisher to write this review.