T. J. Wray is the author of several books, including Surviving the Death of a Sibling, What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy, and Good Girls, Bad Girls: The Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women of the Old Testament. She is associate professor of religious studies at Salve Regina University. She has appeared on the History Channel and NPR.

In 12 chapters, Wray introduces well-known women (Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary and Martha; the Samaritan woman at the well) and those less familiar (Tabitha, Bernice and Drusilla, Prisca), situating them in their historical and literary contexts and drawing from them lessons for the contemporary world. In general introductions to biblical materials, the author gently introduces source-critical questions and the difficulties of distinguishing fact from authorial invention. . . .Wray's contemporary applications are eloquent, which commends the volume for church-based adult education courses: she comments on the nature of grief, the need to balance service with self-care, and the toxic effect of rumor. . . .Summing Up:Recommended. General readers.

• IntroductionLife for Women during New Testament TimesPart I. Sisters, Sinners and SupportersSister Friends: Martha and Mary of Bethany: SistersSuspicious Sisters: Bernice and Drusilla, the Great-Granddaughters of Herod the Great: Sisters Caught in the Act: The Adulterous Woman in John’s Gospel: SinnerBlood Guilt: The Woman with a Twelve-Year Hemorrhage: SinnerA Woman of Substance: Mary Magdalene: SupporterWidow’s Rising: Tabitha, A Loving Benefactor: SupporterPart II. Mothers, Murderers, and MissionariesAngelic Gift: Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist: MotherJesus’ Mom: Mary of Nazareth: Mother Off With His Head! Herodias and the Beheading of John the Baptist: Mother and Murderer I Had a Dream: The Wife of Pontius Pilate: MurdererSpreading the Good News: Prisca, a Missionary of Paul: MissionaryA Conversation with Jesus: The Woman at the Well: MissionaryConcluding Thoughts ResourcesIndex

T. J. Wray is the author of several books, including Surviving the Death of a Sibling, What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy, and Good Girls, Bad Girls: The Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women of the Old Testament. She is associate professor of religious studies at Salve Regina University. She has appeared on the History Channel and NPR.

In 12 chapters, Wray introduces well-known women (Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary and Martha; the Samaritan woman at the well) and those less familiar (Tabitha, Bernice and Drusilla, Prisca), situating them in their historical and literary contexts and drawing from them lessons for the contemporary world. In general introductions to biblical materials, the author gently introduces source-critical questions and the difficulties of distinguishing fact from authorial invention. . . .Wray's contemporary applications are eloquent, which commends the volume for church-based adult education courses: she comments on the nature of grief, the need to balance service with self-care, and the toxic effect of rumor. . . .Summing Up:Recommended. General readers.

• IntroductionLife for Women during New Testament TimesPart I. Sisters, Sinners and SupportersSister Friends: Martha and Mary of Bethany: SistersSuspicious Sisters: Bernice and Drusilla, the Great-Granddaughters of Herod the Great: Sisters Caught in the Act: The Adulterous Woman in John’s Gospel: SinnerBlood Guilt: The Woman with a Twelve-Year Hemorrhage: SinnerA Woman of Substance: Mary Magdalene: SupporterWidow’s Rising: Tabitha, A Loving Benefactor: SupporterPart II. Mothers, Murderers, and MissionariesAngelic Gift: Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist: MotherJesus’ Mom: Mary of Nazareth: Mother Off With His Head! Herodias and the Beheading of John the Baptist: Mother and Murderer I Had a Dream: The Wife of Pontius Pilate: MurdererSpreading the Good News: Prisca, a Missionary of Paul: MissionaryA Conversation with Jesus: The Woman at the Well: MissionaryConcluding Thoughts ResourcesIndex

T. J. Wray is the author of several books, including Surviving the Death of a Sibling, What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy, and Good Girls, Bad Girls: The Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women of the Old Testament. She is associate professor of religious studies at Salve Regina University. She has appeared on the History Channel and NPR.

In 12 chapters, Wray introduces well-known women (Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary and Martha; the Samaritan woman at the well) and those less familiar (Tabitha, Bernice and Drusilla, Prisca), situating them in their historical and literary contexts and drawing from them lessons for the contemporary world. In general introductions to biblical materials, the author gently introduces source-critical questions and the difficulties of distinguishing fact from authorial invention. . . .Wray's contemporary applications are eloquent, which commends the volume for church-based adult education courses: she comments on the nature of grief, the need to balance service with self-care, and the toxic effect of rumor. . . .Summing Up:Recommended. General readers.

• IntroductionLife for Women during New Testament TimesPart I. Sisters, Sinners and SupportersSister Friends: Martha and Mary of Bethany: SistersSuspicious Sisters: Bernice and Drusilla, the Great-Granddaughters of Herod the Great: Sisters Caught in the Act: The Adulterous Woman in John’s Gospel: SinnerBlood Guilt: The Woman with a Twelve-Year Hemorrhage: SinnerA Woman of Substance: Mary Magdalene: SupporterWidow’s Rising: Tabitha, A Loving Benefactor: SupporterPart II. Mothers, Murderers, and MissionariesAngelic Gift: Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist: MotherJesus’ Mom: Mary of Nazareth: Mother Off With His Head! Herodias and the Beheading of John the Baptist: Mother and Murderer I Had a Dream: The Wife of Pontius Pilate: MurdererSpreading the Good News: Prisca, a Missionary of Paul: MissionaryA Conversation with Jesus: The Woman at the Well: MissionaryConcluding Thoughts ResourcesIndex