NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
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About this ebook
The Woman’s Study Bible poignantly reveals the Word of God to women, inviting them to receive God’s truth for balance, hope, and transformation. Special features designed to speak to a woman’s heart appear throughout the Bible text, revealing Scripture-based insights about how godly womanhood grows from a woman’s identity as a Christ-follower and a child of the Kingdom. Now with a beautiful full-color redesign, The Woman’s Study Bible reflects the contributions of over 80 women from a wide variety of ethnic, denominational, educational, and occupational backgrounds. Since the publication of the first edition of The Woman’s Study Bible under the editorial guidance of Dorothy Kelley Patterson and Rhonda Harrington Kelley, this landmark study Bible has sold over 1.5 million copies.
Features Include:
- Beautiful full-color design throughout
- Detailed biographical portraits of over 100 biblical women
- Thousands of extensive verse-by-verse study notes
- Over 300 in-text topical articles on relevant issues
- Insightful essays by women who are recognized experts in the fields of theology, biblical studies, archaeology, and philosophy
- Book introductions and outlines
- Hundreds of full-color in-text maps, charts, timelines, and family trees
- Quotes from godly women throughout history
- Set of full-page maps of the biblical world
- Topical index
- Concordance
- 10.5-point print size
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NIV, The Woman's Study Bible, Full-Color - Thomas Nelson
New International Version
The Woman’s Study Bible
Editorial Committee
Dorothy Kelley Patterson
General Editor
Rhonda Harrington Kelley
Managing Editor
Jan Dargatz
Topical Notes
Jeanne Hendricks
Portraits
Janice Meier
General Consultant
Sharon Sterrenburg
Pentateuch
Helen Rhea Stumbo
History
Constance N. Wieler
Poetry
Paula Rinehart
Major Prophets
Karen H. Jobes
Minor Prophets
Ann L. Bowman
Gospels, Acts
Patty Comber
Pauline Epistles
Mary Kassian
General Epistles,
Revelation
Carmen Leigh Howell
Index
www.ThomasNelson.com
NIV Woman’s Study Bible, Full Color Edition
Copyright © 2017 by Thomas Nelson
All rights reserved
The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
New International Version
and NIV
are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission.
The NIV Concordance copyright © 1982, 1984, 2011 by Zondervan; Maps by International Mapping. Copyright © 2009 by Zondervan. All rights reserved.
ePub Edition December 2017: 978-0-785-21516-5
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2017945923
The NIV® text may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio), up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.
Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page as follows:
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The NIV
and New International Version
are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
When quotations from the NIV® text are used by a local church in non-saleable media such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, overhead transparencies, or similar materials, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIV®) must appear at the end of each quotation.
Any commentary or other biblical reference work produced for commercial sale, that uses the NIV® text must obtain written permission for use of the NIV® text.
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Contents
How to Use This eBible
Foreword
Contributors
Introduction
Preface
Special Definitions and Abbreviations
God Cares for Women—Eta Linnemann
The Balanced Life: Reconciling Personal Faith with Practicing Dogma—Hilary McFarlane
What They Left Behind: Women, Archaeology, and the Bible—Marsha A. Ellis Smith
Women and Children in Biblical Narrative—Eleonore Stump
Old Testament Table of Contents
Flowers of the Bible
Vegetables of the Bible
Bitter Herbs of the Bible
Herbs of the Bible
New Testament Table of Contents
Table of Weights and Measures
Acknowledgments
Index
Chart Index
Map Index
Portrait Index
Quote Index
Topical Note Index
Concordance
Maps
OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50
Exodus
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40
Leviticus
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27
Numbers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36
Deuteronomy
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34
Joshua
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
Judges
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21
Ruth
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
1 Samuel
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
2 Samuel
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
1 Kings
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
2 Kings
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25
1 Chronicles
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29
2 Chronicles
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36
Ezra
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Nehemiah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
Esther
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Job
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42
Psalms
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 110 | 111 | 112 | 113 | 114 | 115 | 116 | 117 | 118 | 119 | 120 | 121 | 122 | 123 | 124 | 125 | 126 | 127 | 128 | 129 | 130 | 131 | 132 | 133 | 134 | 135 | 136 | 137 | 138 | 139 | 140 | 141 | 142 | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150
Proverbs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31
Ecclesiastes
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Song of Songs
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8
Isaiah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66
Jeremiah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52
Lamentations
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Ezekiel
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48
Daniel
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Hosea
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Joel
1 | 2 | 3
Amos
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Obadiah
1
Jonah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Micah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Nahum
1 | 2 | 3
Habakkuk
1 | 2 | 3
Zephaniah
1 | 2 | 3
Haggai
1 | 2
Zechariah
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Malachi
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
NEW TESTAMENT
Matthew
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28
Mark
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Luke
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
John
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21
Acts
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28
Romans
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
1 Corinthians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
2 Corinthians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
Galatians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Ephesians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Philippians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Colossians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
1 Thessalonians
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
2 Thessalonians
1 | 2 | 3
1 Timothy
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
2 Timothy
1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Titus
1 | 2 | 3
Philemon
1
Hebrews
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13
James
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
1 Peter
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
2 Peter
1 | 2 | 3
1 John
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
2 John
1
3 John
1
Jude
1
Revelation
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
How to Use This eBible
What is the difference between an eBook and a print book?
eBook versions of Bibles contain all the content and supplementary materials found in the original print versions and are optimized for navigation in the various apps and devices used for display. eReaders recognize text as one fluid string and are formatted in a single column, which differs from the multi-column layout seen in many print version Bibles. Therefore, some content may not match the exact appearance of the original print version, but instead uses hyperlinks to navigate between related content.
How do I use the eBook Table of Contents?
*Important Note: Be sure to consult your device manufacturer’s User’s Guide for device-specific navigation instructions.*
The Table of Contents is generally formatted in the same order as the original print version and hyperlinked as follows:
• Front matter – Introductory articles
• Bible books and chapters
• Back matter – Supplementary materials
To navigate to specific Bible books, chapters, or verses, please note the following:
• Book links (Ex. Genesis
) go directly to the Introduction of each book, or the beginning of that Bible book if there is no introductory text.
• Chapter links go directly to the beginning of the chapter associated with a book.
• Use the device’s Next Page/Previous Page
buttons or functions to scroll through the verses in each chapter.
• Every Bible book and chapter hyperlink in the Bible text returns or goes back to the Table of Contents. Or, use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
How do I navigate supplementary materials?
Articles and Features related to Bible content are accessible through the pointer links that are interspersed throughout the Bible text.
• Select the hyperlinked content title at the end of a paragraph where referenced Bible verse(s) appear to go to its location in the Annotations section at the end of each Bible book.
• Select the hyperlinked title entry to go back to the Bible verse location, or use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
Footnotes (Translators’ Notes) are marked with small, hyperlinked superscript letters a
.
• Select the hyperlinked superscript letter in the main Bible text to go to the corresponding footnote.
• Select the hyperlinked letter to the left of the footnote(s) and you are returned to the main Bible text, or use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
Theological Notes (commentary) are hyperlinked to Bible verse numbers where study notes are available in the main Bible text. Some notes cover a range of verses while others are verse specific. All verses do not have notes associated with them.
• Select a hyperlinked Bible verse number to the corresponding study note (commentary).
• Select a hyperlinked verse number to the left of the study note (commentary) and you are returned to the main Bible text, or use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
Indexes are features that supplement the Bible text and are hyperlinked directly to the content-specific location following the main Bible text.
• Select the hyperlinked entry in the Table of Contents to the specific article, list, or index.
• Select the Bible reference or article hyperlink to the corresponding main Bible text or article.
• Use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
Charts and Maps present information about the Bible in visual form.
• Select the hyperlinked Chart or Map title entry at the end of a verse to go to its location following the last chapter of each Bible book.
• Select the hyperlinked title entry in the article to go back to the Bible verse location, or use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
• Note: Some charts have been converted into text format for clearer display in ebook format.
Color Maps are included as images and optimized for eReader device display.
• Select the hyperlinked entry in the Table of Contents to a specific map.
• Use the device’s back
button or function to go back to the last selection.
Foreword
Praise God for his Story as it is recorded in his Word. My sincere prayer is that this volume will become a tool to guide you in listening to the voice of God as he speaks through his Word.
The thrill of hearing him speak today from this old Book, his Holy Word, has not left me. It has been life-changing. However, for many the Bible may be something of a closed door. Although its stories are all fairly familiar, there seems to be a great void of understanding exactly what these stories can mean for Christians living in the present day. Many people who read God’s Word believe it; they just don’t believe it works for them today. It does! You will find the factual information in introductory materials, annotations, topical notes, portraits, charts, and maps in The Woman’s Study Bible to be helpful in showing you how it works.
Truth does not change (2Ti 3:16). While experts in science, technology, geology, and theology are constantly changing their findings and conclusions, God’s Word has remained unchanged since it was written thousands of years ago. Various challenges may be made to the historical accounts found in the Bible, but you are going to be excited as you begin to read reasonable explanations for many of your questions. There will, of course, be some things, that is, the mysteries of God, for which there are no answers at this time, in this life. The challenge of these mysteries will lead you to worship a God whose ways are past finding out, whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Ro 11:33; Isa 55:9).
Ask God to open your eyes that you might see him in a fresh way and open your ears that you might hear his voice speaking to you as you read his Word, and let The Woman’s Study Bible be your guide.
—Anne Graham Lotz
Foreword to the Full Color Edition
Dear Reader,
The Woman’s Study Bible has blessed and touched countless women since it was first published over twenty years ago. While the timeless study content—contributed by an extraordinary team of women who are top scholars and influential teachers—remains as timelessly applicable as ever, we felt that a redesign could help this valuable resource continue reaching women today. The Woman’s Study Bible has long been the gold standard in women’s study Bibles in terms of content. With the present edition, it is also the most beautiful study Bible for women, re-presenting the rich study material and invaluable mentoring content for women of all ages. It is with great pleasure that we present to you The Woman’s Study Bible, Full Color Edition in the NIV translation. Our prayerful hope is that you will grow in a deeper knowledge and love for the Lord as he reveals himself to you through these pages.
In Christ,
The Publishers
The Woman’s Study Bible
Contributors
Aduke Akinola
Myrna Alexander
Emilie Barnes
Shirley Cothran Barret
Susan Wise Bauer
Judy Blue
Mary Ellen Bork
Ann L. Bowman
Vonette Bright
Jill Briscoe
Linda Buhler
Nancie Carmichael
Annie Chapman
Grace Chavis
Debbie Church
Ann Coker
Patty Comber
Dorian Coover Cox
Jan Dargatz
Melinda Delahoyde
Beverly Demaurex
Joy Griffin Dent
Linda Dillow
Elisabeth Elliot
Denise George
Sharon Gritz
Margaret D. Hawley
Karen J. Hayter
Kristina Hemphill
Jeanne Hendricks
Kay Ho
Shari Lee Witt Hofstetter
Carmen Leigh Howell
June Hunt
Susan Hunt
Katherine Hyde
Kay Coles James
Karen H. Jobes
Mary Kassian
Rhonda Harrington Kelley
Grace Ketterman
Diane Knippers
Beverly LaHaye
Tammi Ledbetter
Marilyn Lewis
Eta Linnemann
Florence Littauer
Karen Mains
Hilary McFarlane
Linda McGinn
Janice Meier
Erika Moore
Miriam Neff
Barbara O’Chester
Anne Ortlund
Dorothy Kelley Patterson
Anabel Cantu Reimann
Paula Rinehart
Alice George Rogers
Dale Evans Rogers
Joyce Rogers
Kristi Sberna
Edith Schaeffer
Faye Short
Marsha A. Ellis Smith
Sharon Sneed
Gayle Somers
Delores Steele
Sharon Sterrenburg
Helen Rhea Stumbo
Eleonore Stump
Joni Eareckson Tada
Amanda Shao Tan
Gigi Tchividjian
Laverne Bell-Tolliver
Noemi Vera
Diana Vermillion
Mary Whelchel
Constance N. Wieler
Georgalyn Wilkinson
Miltinnie Yih
Introduction
The Woman’s Study Bible is a unique tool for opening God’s Word to women through a comprehensive study of Scripture prepared by women for women on subjects important to women. Recent history has awakened a growing awareness of and sensitivity to women and their concerns—their value in being made in the image of God, their innermost personal needs, and their challenging opportunities to serve the Lord. The Bible is one of the most important means by which a woman’s identity and her place in society should be defined. The Creator presented his perfect plan, but Satan used his wiles through a woman to bring sin into the world. God countered this satanic attack by using a woman to give birth to the Savior who would provide redemption. A world distorted by the presence of sin and evil is full of suffering and pain, but God and his Holy Word are not responsible for creating the injustices and tragedies suffered by women or men.
Women in the ancient world did not have an easy or perfect life, but Israelite women were better off than their contemporaries. The law of Israel was designed to protect women, their rights, and their freedom (Dt 21:10–14; 22:13,28). Israelite women did have certain rights as well as greater freedom, more varied pursuits, and better social status than the women from pagan nations. The vast majority of women primarily administered their households and cared for their husbands and children.
Jesus did not hesitate to teach women and to use them in parables and illustrations. Women were present at the crucifixion (Lk 23:49); they prepared the Lord’s body for burial (Lk 23:56); they were first at the tomb on resurrection morning (Lk 24:1); they were the first to bear testimony to the resurrection (Lk 24:9,10); their faith and prayers were vital to the growth of the early church (Ro 16:1). Everywhere Christianity has gone, the status of women has improved.
In 1895, Elizabeth Cady Stanton published The Woman’s Bible with intent to achieve freedom from what she alleged to be the oppression
of Scripture. She commented on passages of particular interest to women and removed verses she considered tainted with a male bias. She was motivated by an agenda based on her own experience and was grasping for a position that would place her over Scripture. This position helped lay the ideological foundation for a feministic theology that makes individual conscience and personal experience the ultimate basis for interpreting Scripture. A century later, the editorial committee of The Woman’s Study Bible has chosen to line up under the authority of Scripture. We have followed an objective approach. We have sought to understand the message of the Bible, while committing ourselves to live out its principles in faith and practice. We are bound to the absolute veracity and uniqueness of God’s Word. We do not need to twist or rewrite Scripture, to redefine its words, or to choose what we will accept as authoritative, which would exalt human reason. Rather we are committed to dig deep into Scripture in order to find a word from God about who we are and how we are to live.
More than eighty women from many different denominations, ethnic backgrounds, and occupations comprised the editorial team. Women have worked through every step of production—design and layout, typesetting, proofreading, marketing, and sales. Singles, wives, mothers, and grandmothers—all have combined their training and giftedness to expend the time, energy and creativity to produce a timeless and Christ-honoring study tool uniquely designed to meet the needs of women whatever their situation in life—whether overwhelmed with family problems, frustrated from career injustices, burdened with the trials of everyday living, challenged with making life-changing decisions, or merely motivated to seek a word from God.
Before any research was begun or manuscript written, these guidelines were prayerfully adopted:
• A distinctive exegesis pulls out the meaning of the text instead of reading into the text personal whims.
• Intuitive scholarship combines the discernment of intuition with the discipline of scholarship, bringing a new dimension to evangelical interpretation.
• Nurturing sensitivity brings new and exciting ways to encourage and inspire.
• Mentoring friendships undergird spiritual bonding, finding more common ground than polarity in a quest to understand and interpret Scripture.
• Creative service links mind and heart to present inspiration and guidance that is fresh and relevant.
The features of The Woman’s Study Bible are skillfully woven together and easily accessed through an extensive referencing system. The articles provide thought provoking scholarship, devotional meditation, and the practical development of faith.
Introductory material accompanies each book of the Bible with information about the author, date, setting, purpose, audience, literary characteristics, and themes. The outline will lead you through a study of the book in a systematic way. The annotations placed in footnotes are helpful in drawing out of the text necessary information to explain difficult passages, idiomatic phrases, or obscure words as well as in identifying places and people.
The topical notes on subjects of interest to women of all ages and in all stages of life have been prepared based upon principles found in Scripture, enabling and motivating you to make personal application of God’s truth to your own problems.
More than one hundred portraits bring to life the women of the Bible, giving a brief glimpse of life in the ancient world, presenting their problems and how they solved them, showing both the good and the bad, sharing the results of doing something God’s way in contrast to going your own way (Isa 53:6). We are awed by the faithfulness of many of these women to doing God’s work, to obeying his Word, and to making significant contributions to the kingdom. Many of these Bible women will become your examples, your inspiration, your mentors, and your friends.
The charts and maps have been prepared for the unique focus of this volume. Charts include the development of family trees and treatment of other subjects with special prominence given to women.
Inspirational quotations from women of many generations are found throughout. The most important part of studying God’s Word is always a personal reading of the text of Scripture and a willingness to let its words speak to you and perhaps change your life.
Binding all these elements together is an index, an alphabetical guide to the special features—all the topical notes, portraits, charts, maps, and many of the subjects covered in annotations. In the extensive cross-referencing system, topical notes and portraits are noted by book and chapter at the point of reference; charts and maps can be easily located through the alphabetical guide. A concordance of important words in the Bible is also included.
This volume will provide rewarding study for the serious Bible student, while also offering a meaningful introduction to the study of God’s Word for any woman who would come reverently to Scripture with an open heart. The inexhaustible Word of God will introduce you to the Father and his love; it will unveil and give understanding of his will; it will reveal his law and principles for living; it will offer intellectual challenges for your mind, moral values for your will, and spiritual refreshment for your heart. For every woman who opens the Holy Word of God, his/story of redemption can become her/story of deliverance. Let The Woman’s Study Bible become a catalyst for changing your life by helping you unlock God’s Word, share his promises, and offer his challenges.
—Dorothy Kelley Patterson
Preface
The goal of the New International Version (NIV) is to enable English-speaking people from around the world to read and hear God’s eternal Word in their own language. Our work as translators is motivated by our conviction that the Bible is God’s Word in written form. We believe that the Bible contains the divine answer to the deepest needs of humanity, sheds unique light on our path in a dark world and sets forth the way to our eternal well-being. Out of these deep convictions, we have sought to recreate as far as possible the experience of the original audience—blending transparency to the original text with accessibility for the millions of English speakers around the world. We have prioritized accuracy, clarity and literary quality with the goal of creating a translation suitable for public and private reading, evangelism, teaching, preaching, memorizing and liturgical use. We have also sought to preserve a measure of continuity with the long tradition of translating the Scriptures into English.
The complete NIV Bible was first published in 1978. It was a completely new translation made by over a hundred scholars working directly from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. The translators came from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, giving the translation an international scope. They were from many denominations and churches—including Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Covenant, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Wesleyan and others. This breadth of denominational and theological perspective helped to safeguard the translation from sectarian bias. For these reasons, and by the grace of God, the NIV has gained a wide readership in all parts of the English-speaking world.
The work of translating the Bible is never finished. As good as they are, English translations must be regularly updated so that they will continue to communicate accurately the meaning of God’s Word. Updates are needed in order to reflect the latest developments in our understanding of the biblical world and its languages and to keep pace with changes in English usage. Recognizing, then, that the NIV would retain its ability to communicate God’s Word accurately only if it were regularly updated, the original translators established the Committee on Bible Translation (CBT). The Committee is a self-perpetuating group of biblical scholars charged with keeping abreast of advances in biblical scholarship and changes in English and issuing periodic updates to the NIV. The CBT is an independent, self-governing body and has sole responsibility for the NIV text. The Committee mirrors the original group of translators in its diverse international and denominational makeup and in its unifying commitment to the Bible as God’s inspired Word.
In obedience to its mandate, the Committee has issued periodic updates to the NIV. An initial revision was released in 1984. A more thorough revision process was completed in 2005, resulting in the separately published TNIV. The updated NIV you now have in your hands builds on both the original NIV and the TNIV and represents the latest effort of the Committee to articulate God’s unchanging Word in the way the original authors might have said it had they been speaking in English to the global English-speaking audience today.
Translation Philosophy
The Committee’s translating work has been governed by three widely accepted principles about the way people use words and about the way we understand them.
First, the meaning of words is determined by the way that users of the language actually use them at any given time. For the biblical languages, therefore, the Committee utilizes the best and most recent scholarship on the way Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words were being used in biblical times. At the same time, the Committee carefully studies the state of modern English. Good translation is like good communication: one must know the target audience so that the appropriate choices can be made about which English words to use to represent the original words of Scripture. From its inception, the NIV has had as its target the general English-speaking population all over the world, the International
in its title reflecting this concern. The aim of the Committee is to put the Scriptures into natural English that will communicate effectively with the broadest possible audience of English speakers.
Modern technology has enhanced the Committee’s ability to choose the right English words to convey the meaning of the original text. The field of computational linguistics harnesses the power of computers to provide broadly applicable and current data about the state of the language. Translators can now access huge databases of modern English to better understand the current meaning and usage of key words. The Committee utilized this resource in preparing the 2011 edition of the NIV. An area of especially rapid and significant change in English is the way certain nouns and pronouns are used to refer to human beings. The Committee therefore requested experts in computational linguistics at Collins Dictionaries to pose some key questions about this usage to its database of English—the largest in the world, with over 4.4 billion words, gathered from several English-speaking countries and including both spoken and written English. (The Collins Study, called The Development and Use of Gender Language in Contemporary English,
can be accessed at http://www.thenivbible.com/about-the-niv/about-the-2011-edition/.) The study revealed that the most popular words to describe the human race in modern U.S. English were humanity,
man
and mankind.
The Committee then used this data in the updated NIV, choosing from among these three words (and occasionally others also) depending on the context.
A related issue creates a larger problem for modern translations: the move away from using the third-person masculine singular pronouns—he/him/his
—to refer to men and women equally. This usage does persist in some forms of English, and this revision therefore occasionally uses these pronouns in a generic sense. But the tendency, recognized in day-to-day usage and confirmed by the Collins study, is away from the generic use of he,
him
and his.
In recognition of this shift in language and in an effort to translate into the natural English that people are actually using, this revision of the NIV generally uses other constructions when the biblical text is plainly addressed to men and women equally. The reader will encounter especially frequently a they,
their
or them
to express a generic singular idea. Thus, for instance, Mark 8:36 reads: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
This generic use of the distributive
or singular
they/them/their
has been used for many centuries by respected writers of English and has now become established as standard English, spoken and written, all over the world.
A second linguistic principle that feeds into the Committee’s translation work is that meaning is found not in individual words, as vital as they are, but in larger clusters: phrases, clauses, sentences, discourses. Translation is not, as many people think, a matter of word substitution: English word x in place of Hebrew word y. Translators must first determine the meaning of the words of the biblical languages in the context of the passage and then select English words that accurately communicate that meaning to modern listeners and readers. This means that accurate translation will not always reflect the exact structure of the original language. To be sure, there is debate over the degree to which translators should try to preserve the form
of the original text in English. From the beginning, the NIV has taken a mediating position on this issue. The manual produced when the translation that became the NIV was first being planned states: If the Greek or Hebrew syntax has a good parallel in modern English, it should be used. But if there is no good parallel, the English syntax appropriate to the meaning of the original is to be chosen.
It is fine, in other words, to carry over the form of the biblical languages into English—but not at the expense of natural expression. The principle that meaning resides in larger clusters of words means that the Committee has not insisted on a word-for-word
approach to translation. We certainly believe that every word of Scripture is inspired by God and therefore to be carefully studied to determine what God is saying to us. It is for this reason that the Committee labors over every single word of the original texts, working hard to determine how each of those words contributes to what the text is saying. Ultimately, however, it is how these individual words function in combination with other words that determines meaning.
A third linguistic principle guiding the Committee in its translation work is the recognition that words have a spectrum of meaning. It is popular to define a word by using another word, or gloss,
to substitute for it. This substitute word is then sometimes called the literal
meaning of a word. In fact, however, words have a range of possible meanings. Those meanings will vary depending on the context, and words in one language will usually not occupy the same semantic range as words in another language. The Committee therefore studies each original word of Scripture in its context to identify its meaning in a particular verse and then chooses an appropriate English word (or phrase) to represent it. It is impossible, then, to translate any given Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek word with the same English word all the time. The Committee does try to translate related occurrences of a word in the original languages with the same English word in order to preserve the connection for the English reader. But the Committee generally privileges clear natural meaning over a concern with consistency in rendering particular words.
Textual Basis
For the Old Testament the standard Hebrew text, the Masoretic Text as published in the latest edition of Biblia Hebraica, has been used throughout. The Masoretic Text tradition contains marginal notations that offer variant readings. These have sometimes been followed instead of the text itself. Because such instances involve variants within the Masoretic tradition, they have not been indicated in the textual notes. In a few cases, words in the basic consonantal text have been divided differently than in the Masoretic Text. Such cases are usually indicated in the textual footnotes. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain biblical texts that represent an earlier stage of the transmission of the Hebrew text. They have been consulted, as have been the Samaritan Pentateuch and the ancient scribal traditions concerning deliberate textual changes. The translators also consulted the more important early versions. Readings from these versions, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the scribal traditions were occasionally followed where the Masoretic Text seemed doubtful and where accepted principles of textual criticism showed that one or more of these textual witnesses appeared to provide the correct reading. In rare cases, the translators have emended the Hebrew text where it appears to have become corrupted at an even earlier stage of its transmission. These departures from the Masoretic Text are also indicated in the textual footnotes. Sometimes the vowel indicators (which are later additions to the basic consonantal text) found in the Masoretic Text did not, in the judgment of the translators, represent the correct vowels for the original text. Accordingly, some words have been read with a different set of vowels. These instances are usually not indicated in the footnotes.
The Greek text used in translating the New Testament has been an eclectic one, based on the latest editions of the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament. The translators have made their choices among the variant readings in accordance with widely accepted principles of New Testament textual criticism. Footnotes call attention to places where uncertainty remains.
The New Testament authors, writing in Greek, often quote the Old Testament from its ancient Greek version, the Septuagint. This is one reason why some of the Old Testament quotations in the NIV New Testament are not identical to the corresponding passages in the NIV Old Testament. Such quotations in the New Testament are indicated with the footnote (see Septuagint).
Footnotes and Formatting
Footnotes in this version are of several kinds, most of which need no explanation. Those giving alternative translations begin with Or
and generally introduce the alternative with the last word preceding it in the text, except when it is a single-word alternative. When poetry is quoted in a footnote a slash mark indicates a line division.
It should be noted that references to diseases, minerals, flora and fauna, architectural details, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments and other articles cannot always be identified with precision. Also, linear measurements and measures of capacity can only be approximated (see the Table of Weights and Measures). Although Selah, used mainly in the Psalms, is probably a musical term, its meaning is uncertain. Since it may interrupt reading and distract the reader, this word has not been kept in the English text, but every occurrence has been signaled by a footnote.
As an aid to the reader, sectional headings have been inserted. They are not to be regarded as part of the biblical text and are not intended for oral reading. It is the Committee’s hope that these headings may prove more helpful to the reader than the traditional chapter divisions, which were introduced long after the Bible was written.
Sometimes the chapter and/or verse numbering in English translations of the Old Testament differs from that found in published Hebrew texts. This is particularly the case in the Psalms, where the traditional titles are included in the Hebrew verse numbering. Such differences are indicated in the footnotes at the bottom of the page. In the New Testament, verse numbers that marked off portions of the traditional English text not supported by the best Greek manuscripts now appear in brackets, with a footnote indicating the text that has been omitted (see, for example, Matthew 17:[21]).
Mark 16:9–20 and John 7:53–8:11, although long accorded virtually equal status with the rest of the Gospels in which they stand, have a questionable standing in the textual history of the New Testament, as noted in the bracketed annotations with which they are set off. A different typeface has been chosen for these passages to indicate their uncertain status.
Basic formatting of the text, such as lining the poetry, paragraphing (both prose and poetry), setting up of (administrative-like) lists, indenting letters and lengthy prayers within narratives and the insertion of sectional headings, has been the work of the Committee. However, the choice between single-column and double-column formats has been left to the publishers. Also the issuing of red-letter
editions is a publisher’s choice—one that the Committee does not endorse.
The Committee has again been reminded that every human effort is flawed—including this revision of the NIV. We trust, however, that many will find in it an improved representation of the Word of God, through which they hear his call to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and to service in his kingdom. We offer this version of the Bible to him in whose name and for whose glory it has been made.
The Committee on Bible Translation
Special Definitions and Abbreviations
Special Definitions
Aram. Aramaic
Bomberg The 1524–35 edition of the Hebrew Old Testament, published by Daniel Bomberg (see article, The New King James Version)
DSS Dead Sea Scrolls
Kethib (Aram., lit. written
). The written words of the Hebrew Old Testament preserved by the Masoretes.
LXX Septuagint—an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek
M-Text Majority Text (see article, The New King James Version)
MT-Text Masoretic Text—the traditional Hebrew Old Testament (see article, The New King James Version)
NU-Text The most prominent text of the Greek New Testament (see article, The New King James Version)
Qere (Aram., lit. read
). Words read aloud that differ from the written words, in the Masoretic tradition of the Hebrew Old Testament (see Kethib)
Samaritan A variant Hebrew edition of the Pentateuch books of Moses used by the Samaritan community
Targum An Aramaic paraphrase of the Old Testament
Textus Receptus Received Text
(see article, The New King James Version)
Vulgate An ancient text of the Bible in Latin, translated and edited by Jerome
Abbreviations
General
The Old Testament
The New Testament
God Cares for Women
Eta Linnemann
In my pre-conversion life, I bitterly fought for women’s equality in spiritual office.
The thorn of embitterment was ever driven into me anew by my so-called brothers in ministry,
especially by those who were my mental inferiors and possessed no other merit than the privilege of wearing trousers on the basis of their physical constitution. If my achievements had not been any better than theirs, I would not have made it even into the position in which I had to bear, of all things, the lifelong title of lady curate
(assistant), while my male colleagues after one to two years exchanged the title of curate
for that of pastor.
At the general conventions, I was wounded with unkind regularity by such brothers
in ministry in that at least one of them, or more likely an entire group, apprised me of the fact that the problem of women in ministry would indeed be solved if each of the women would marry a minister. That was the twofold wounding. Had I completed an entire course of theological study, including the two theological barrier examinations and even taken a doctor’s degree, only to engage myself with children and kitchen as the wife of a minister? Even if I had wanted that—wouldn’t I have only had the remotest possibility for it, now that a considerable portion of the men in my own age group had been killed during the Second World War on the battlefields of Europe?
My dear sisters, I felt that the fight for equal rights for women had been entrusted to me, along with the pain that these inequities caused. This fight was terminated with my preconversion life because now I am prepared to submit myself to God’s Word—even to that which stands written therein concerning the woman. The suffering, however, was not yet ended thereby. It hurt just as badly when a ministering brother
made it clear to the sisters, with arrogance and a pasha’s behavior, that the assignment of all women was to work with their hands and to serve the brothers with their time and resources. Perhaps later the Lord would give women a prophetic office. That the ministering brother
had made it up to cook in his former life, whereas the sister had made it to a double doctorate in theology and a professorship was only marginally noted.
The reaction I faced was a rebellion, albeit resisted, against this God and a deep depression over my misfortune to have been created a woman. So it would have remained, had not God himself taken up my case. I had begged him to allow me to be done with this situation, which I could not resolve because I could find no acquiescence within myself to the role that he as Creator had assigned to me. Years later I grasped that this role was not simply identical with that which this ministering brother
had ascribed to me. That God in the meantime had drastically interfered in the life of this brother should only be noted in passing, since it is not the most important thing.
God intervened. He healed me of my bitterness and the rebellion against being a woman. Renewed by his grace, I became a fulfilled woman—happy, contented, and full of thanksgiving. Perhaps this path is not reproducible for everyone. I am not at all saying that God has the same path in mind for others, but I do desire to share my testimony as a witness to his grace in my own life.
In my quiet time, I read Deuteronomy 21:10–14; through this often overlooked regulation concerning the treatment of women who had become spoils of war, God healed my heart. By means of these unlikely verses, his concern and love toward women became overpoweringly known to me.
Clearly, in my own heart, this regulation had been given in the midst of the raw reality of a fallen creation. The women of the vanquished became spoils to the victors. After a centuries-long Christian experience, indeed now this tragedy is no longer the usual thing, although even in this century, it became the gruesome experience of countless German women, who were delivered up defenseless to an incited, inflamed red beast called an army.
Among all peoples it was self-evident that a woman who had become the spoils of war could come to be used at will as a slave of lust or labor. But God gave to his people totally different regulations, which served to protect the human worth of such captive women.
When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives, if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
(Dt 21:10–14)
What tenderness and sympathetic understanding call out from this admonition! The victor was not allowed to rush upon booty; he had to approach the prisoner of war with respect. He had to decide whether to retain her as worker or to take her as wife. Everything else was excluded. If he should take her as wife, he was henceforth not allowed to treat her as a prisoner. He must provide her with clothing because she was supposed to lay aside the clothing of her captivity. He was to allow her a full month of mourning, during which she was to be permitted to mourn and weep, according to proper decorum, for all of the relatives she lost in the war.
How God knows our feelings; how he respects them! With what love has he arranged the individual details that led to the restoration of the woman! She should be permitted to become whole again. She should have the opportunity to earn a positive attitude from her proprietor, who would perhaps then want to become her husband. The respect with which he had to treat this woman made marriage possible and even constituted the prerequisite for her success.
With what love and care had God personally taken precaution in the case of the failure of this marriage, which indeed stood beneath particular burdens because it took place across national and cultural lines! How he lovingly took up the woman himself, guarded against her being reduced from the position of wife to that of a slave, and also did not permit her to be treated as an object from which money could be earned at will. Her husband was allowed to put her away only by respecting her as a free person having full disposition over herself. Just as he himself was only allowed to approach her as a husband, with full respect for her personhood, so he was only allowed to dismiss her with full respect for her personhood.
How very much does God love women! How he respects us as persons of equal value to the man in that he has expended such care to decree these regulations concerning our protection! I can believe his disposition concerning me is that I should be a woman—together with what all that means according to God’s Word—for my ultimate good. Once I began to accept his decree concerning me—to be a woman, then, little by little, I also have been made conscious of the good that he has thereby intended for me.
The Balanced Life: Reconciling Personal Faith with Practicing Dogma
Hilary McFarlane
Dame Julian of Norwich said, Prayer unites the soul to God.
To know God is possible, and such knowledge is found through personal devotional life and spiritual practice. The private and personal dimension