Author Guest Post - Eva Etzioni-Halevy (& a Giveaway - closed)

CONGRATS TO LUCKY WINNER – CYNTHIA

Readers, please join me welcoming Eva Etzioni-Halevy, author of The Triumph of Deborah who will be guest blogging here today! Eva is a professor emeritus of political sociology at Bar- Ilan University in Israel.
The search of her roots led her to the discovery of the rich world of the Bible, and to the intention of bringing it to life for contemporary readers through the writing of Biblical novels.

How the Fascinating Women of the Bible Can Empower us Today

A while ago, I participated in a symposium on women of the Bible at which a lady in the audience asked: Why should we be interested in biblical women? They were concerned mainly with marriage and bearing sons, while we, today, have so many more ambitions for our lives. But this is very challenging question, is based on a misconception. While the women of the Bible lived thousands of years ago, in essence we are still similar to them in our hopes and anxieties. Hence listening to their voices may have an empowering effect on us.

For one thing, although they lived in a male dominated society, in which they were downtrodden, most of them were strong women. They did not merely sit around, meekly accepting fate. Instead, they took destiny into their own hands and shaped it to do their bidding. What we can learn from biblical women is that women are strong and capable. That, no matter what the obstacles, we can draw on our feminine strength to achieve what we aspire to.

Also, contrary to their image, biblical women were NOT concerned solely with marriage and bearing sons, but also with a whole variety of other issues. In this sense they are particularly close to us today, an era in which we celebrate diversity, and each woman realizing herself in her own way. For instance, Tamar in the book of GENESIS struggled successfully to become a single mother. Deborah in the book of JUDGES “broke the glass ceiling” and became a religious and national leader. And there are many more examples. So what today’s women can also learn from women in the Bible is: “I don’t have to fit into a stance. Whatever is right for me, I can achieve it.”

I decided to turn the spotlight on these amazing women, and amplify their voices, so that they could be heard loud and clear across the generations. I wrote some of their stories in a manner that is faithful to the Scripture, but makes for light, entertaining reading and can be enjoyed no less by people who have never held a Bible in their hands.

Wow, those women sound a lot like women these days, don’t they? Thanks for that enlightening post, Eva. If you’ve read her books and/or would like to ask the author a question, use the comment form!

GIVEAWAY

The Prize

A copy of Triumph of Deborah will go to one lucky reader.

To Enter
Just leave a comment with your email address in the body of the comment itself telling me : which real life historical female (Biblical or otherwise) would make a fascinating topic for a book today?

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Deadline   Midnight CST of January 10, 2010.

Eligibility  US only.

Please read the Disclaimer. Good luck!
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