Dippel 1

Sydney Dippel
Professor Kendra Parker
English 113-03 The Wonderful World of Disney?
3 February 2015
Sakenfield Critical Summary
In Deborah, Jael, and Siseras Mother: Reading the Scriptures in Cross Cultural
Context, Katharine Sakenfield seeks to examine the difference between how women were
referred to in biblical times and how they are referred to now across many differing cultures. The
author starts the piece of writing by pointing out the gender bias in the Bible and how stories
about heroic female people from the biblical era are not often taught in Sunday school. The piece
outlines the story of Judges 4 and 5, in which women play a crucial role in fulfilling a prophecy
told by a woman herself. In the story, a woman named Deborah, who served as both a prophet
and a judge, summoned an Israelite named Barak and said that God instructs him to take the
troops where Deborah says so that he may gain victory over Sisera and his chariot army. Barak
does so, only with Deborah coming along so the two set off for a far land. Once there, the
Israelite troops begin to overtake Siseras army but Sisera flees. This is when Jael, the wife of
Heber the Kenite, comes into the story. She gives him refuge in her tent and gives him milk as
well. Once asleep, Jael drives a tent post into Siseras skull, killing him and fulfilling Deborahs
proohecy that Sisera will be overcome by a woman. The basis for argument for Sakenfield lies in
how these women are depicted in the story in contrast to how women in biblical times are
usually referred to. In some translations, Jael is said to have taken down Sisera with her womanly
power, using her sexuality to coerce him. Because women were kept at a lower position in
society than men were in biblical times, any scholars think that the only way that Jael would
have been able to defeat Sisera is by using her sensuality. There are arguments that Sisera may
have made unwanted advances toward Jael, so killing him was her violent way of rejecting rape
in that situation. As for Deborah, she is depicted in this piece as having military power when
Barak requests that she come along with the troops and him. People see Deborah as an honorary
male in the situation because they are not comfortable now with viewing women as having any
military authority at all. Throughout the piece, Sakenfield brings up various cultures, ranging
from Korean to Filipino, and compares how women in those cultures are treated to how women
are depicted in the Bible. She draws a parallel between how women are sometimes treated, to
their place in society and what this conveys about women.
When reading this chapter, I had some trouble keeping up with the transitions between
analyzing the story of Judges 4 and 5, and focusing on the comparison to various modern
cultures treatment of women. I think that Sakenfield brings up an interesting topic by bringing
this comparison to light but I am not sure how much evidence it stands on. Obviously the Bible
is more male-oriented as far as the main characters, but I dont think this is necessarily an issue
to take up arms against. I think because of the structure of society in biblical times and what the
norms of life were, the lack of female influence in the Bible and how women are depicted is not
catastrophic.
Work Cited
Sakenfield, Katharine. Deborah, Jael, and Siseras Mother: Reading the Scriptures in CrossCultural Context. Women, Gender, and Community. Westminster/John Knox Press:
Louisville, 1997. 13-22. Print.