Women in scripture played crucial roles but are often overlooked. This course looks at the women who have been hiding in plain sight in biblical texts. What were their influences beyond the recorded narratives? What influence and impact did they have on their communities? What can art and archaeology reveal about their daily lives?
Each week, the class will combine lecture and seminar styles of learning. About half the time will be used to provide important historical and cultural background for understanding the assigned texts and an overview of significant women representative of that topic. The other half will be a seminar discussion of primary sources about one or more of these women, such as Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Rahab, Mary Magdalene, the Samaritan Woman, Phoebe and Priscilla. We will also look at how women's roles and behaviour are discussed in Scripture and the scholarly literature about those texts.