Had Eve Come First and Jonah Been a Woman

In Hebrew scripture men always get the exiting roles: leader, prophet, war hero. Convinced that women, too, need powerful stories that can inform them about who they are in relation to God, Nancy Werking Poling has imagined biblical men as women. A female Samson tells of the elders trying to take away her power; Nochat (Noah), who is trying to raise God-honoring children in violent times, rebukes God for destroying creation; Mosiah leads abused sisters to freedom; a female Jacob struggles with her capacity for deceit and destruction. Readers are sure to find inspiration in a creative approach to scripture that incorporates women's wisdom, suffering, and courage.

Nancy Werking Poling has recently retired with her husband, Jim, to North Carolina. She is the author of Most Ministers Wear Sneakers (1990), Out of the Pumpkin Shell (2009), Victim to Survivor: Women Recovering from Clergy Sexual Abuse (1999, reprinted 2009), and Had Even Come First and Jonah Been a Woman(2010).