This is a new, more egalitarian study Bible with global women scholars contributing. It is full color and includes many graphics, maps, and charts that readers may appreciate, though it lacks cross references and single-column text. Based on my review of most general audience evangelical study Bibles, Tyndale seems to have the most pro-woman notes. Sadly, this is only available in the current New Living Translation (a revision of the NLT is underway); nevertheless, it has the best notes in any women’s Bible I have reviewed. Each one-page article names the contributor and cites her credentials. It also has quotes from famous people, usually women, and they are very good. There are many quotes and articles by non-Western believers and scholars, as well as application content from the contributors. Many of the usual passages have much better commentary than other Bibles, and diverse women scholars and leaders are centered. Overall, I believe the positives outweigh the negatives for someone interested in this type of Bible.
What follows is a review of how the notes handle some of the most debated passages concerning women.
Gen 3:16. Not only does the NLT translate this verse badly, but unfortunately, the Every Woman’s Bible includes a full-page article discussing pain in childbirth and women desiring to control their husbands. Multiple scholars, such as Joy and Bruce Fleming of the Tru316 Project, have challenged this erroneous interpretation, . Another note claims that women and men seek to dominate each other, but anthropologists such as Heide Goettner-Abernoth have demonstrated that women do not equally try to dominate men in more matriarchal societies—they are egalitarian societiesthat are not power-oriented.1 Lastly, Eve is accused of “blaming” the serpent (8), when she was simply stating facts. However, the negatives are somewhat offset by a good explanation of ezer/helper, and by pointing out that Adam was with Eve when the serpent was talking.
Dinah, Gen 34. No blame is laid on Dinah, and a callout box on page 54 briefly addresses the experience of a rape survivor finding peace.
Tamar, Gen 38. The notes are somewhat ambivalent about praising Tamar, but at least they don’t blame her. They suggest that the story probably is included to show Judah’s character growth, which is an excellent point.
Miriam, Ex 15, Num 12, Micah 6:4. There is a full-page article about all the women who helped save Moses (and the Israelites). On page 93, space is given to a graphic of the Jewish calendar, which is important for understanding the annual cycle of worship. There is an excellent quote on page 94 from Sojourner Truth about deliverance from bondage and her chosen name. The notes at Ex 15 discuss Miriam being a prophet, in addition to other female prophets, with a mention of Paul’s support of women prophesying. However, there are also two full pages of articles about Miriam’s sin in Num. 12. There is no commentary at Micah 6:4, and the NLT doesn’t use the word “leader” in reference to Miriam as some translations do, such as the NET2, CJB, and CEV.
Deborah: Judges 4-5. It includes two full-page devotional articles about her leadership as prophet, judge, and inspired songwriter. There is also a sidebar article about Jael. The annotations for 4: 4 mention that “woman of Lappidoth” in Hebrew might not be the name of a husband but could be describing Deborah as a “fiery woman.” (It could also be the name of her hometown.) The rest of the notes center the women of the story much more than in other study Bibles, and point out other interesting usages of language, such as the meaning of “bee” for Deborah, and “lightning” for Barak.
Ruth. A full-page article focuses on Naomi and Ruth’s love and care for each other, and a side bar on page 327 discusses God showing care for immigrants.
Bathsheba, 2 Sam 11. This section has excellent notes on page 386 about Bathsheba that emphasize her innocence—“this passage should be read as sexual abuse of power or rape, rather than seduction or mutual consent.” The notes also say that Bathsheba was probably purifying herself through the miqvah,or ritual bath, as required, not trying to entice David. It would have been useful for the author to back up the good discussion by referring to Nathan’s parable, which compares Bathsheba to an innocent lamb and lays all blame on David. Less helpful was a large chart on page 387 of various women’s lives as Plan A, and Plan B with the header “God has a Better Plan.” It is too deterministic, suggesting that living a normal righteous life is just “your plan,” but that God’s plan is for terrible crimes and tragedy to happen to you. It does not suggest that He brings redemption out of tragedy, and beauty from ashes in spite of crimes against us; it suggests that the crimes against us were the plan all along.
In 2 Samuel 3 (page 375) is a good article about Michal, David’s first wife, being a pawn in royal power plays, and it is very refreshing to look at her life through female eyes.
Huldah, 2 Kings 22, 2 Chron 34. On page 469, “Huldah is one of the four named women prophets in the Old Testament. She was a trusted prophet from a priestly family and was part of King Josiah’s reform. She spoke with authority, using the prophetic saying, “This is what the LORD says.” This note is repeated in the 2 Chronicles reference on page 551, where it goes on to say, “A prophet’s role was to remind people about their promise to be faithful to God and to each other . . .The Bible clearly shows that God uses women be a voice for Him.” There is a full-page article on Huldah on page 553 as well.
Esther.Most of the notes are very good. There is a full-page article that pays attention to both the way Esther was victimized and the way she rose above that and was used by God to rescue her people.
Mat 20:25. “The desire for power is characteristic of leaders in this world, it ought not be a trait of those who follow Jesus. Instead, Jesus calls his followers to a radical lifestyle of serving others.” These commands of Jesus are important to note in the drive to emphasize mutuality between men and women in the home, in ministry, and in society, which requires sharing power.
Mark 10:42. Interesting note on page 1257 that says that while men in a male-dominated society have a category to understand servant leadership, women may need to be empowered. Elders and leaders need to be constantly mentoring, empowering and releasing others into ministry instead of consolidating power and control for themselves, and this often requires intentionally encouraging women to participate in ways that were formerly blocked.
Acts 18:26. There are several good notes on Priscilla–“Priscilla’s ministry included teaching men and women the entire gospel message . . . just like Priscilla, women throughout Christian history have preached and taught the gospel faithfully, equipping the church for further evangelism.” There is also a full-page article which points out that Aquila was named first when tent-making is mentioned, but Priscilla is named first when ministry is in view.
Act 21:9. “Prophecy primarily refers to explaining the will of God, not only telling the future. Philip’s daughters would have taught as the Holy Spirit directed them, much as Agabus did.” The notes list other women prophets, then says, “Paul spoke of women praying and prophesying in the church.”
Rom 16. There is a full-page article on Phoebe, calling out how some have tried to downplay her ministry. There is also a full-page chart of all the other women co-workers of Paul who were named and commended in this passage. These notes also talk about Phoebe being the one to read and interpret Paul’s letter, and about Junia being an apostle—a traveling missionary and leader.
1 Cor 7. The notes here say that although women are free to either be single or get married, their greatest responsibility is to follow the Lord. A full-page article on page 1450 also talks about how singleness can be a gift or calling, and even an advantage. How different this is from other study Bibles which say that a woman’s highest calling is motherhood, not devotion to God!
1 Cor 11. These notes emphasize that “head” means source and point out that Paul uses no words for authority here, although he does in chapter 7, where he talks about mutual authority in marriage. There is an excellent note on page 1451 defining prophecy as, “theologically astute encouragement, preaching, and teaching. The remarks might be prepared or spontaneous.” It offers several possible explanations about the reference to head coverings, emphasizing that we don’t know exactly what the cultural norms really were, and including the possibility that Paul is quoting the Corinthians and then correcting them. There is also a helpful chart of spiritual gifts on page 1452 with the comment that these various lists are not exhaustive.
1 Cor. 14:34. This verse has a thoughtful note on page 1456 offering three possibilities: It is either a scribal addition; Paul is quoting the Corinthians and then refuting them; or it speaks to wives talking to their husbands during the meeting. It also states the main point of the chapter, “Paul made clear that the entire community needs to allow each person to speak in turn.”
Eph. 5. The notes are truly excellent here, emphasizing how Paul’s thought begins in vs 18, that mutual submission is commanded, and that Paul uses the language of command three times in telling men to love. They also explore honor/shame societies and how submission was expected to be given to those of higher status than you, which was not always based on gender. Men were submissive to women of higher status, like patrons, owners, and aristocrats. But Paul is always telling those of higher status to treat everyone equally. A good full-page article also covers some of the same points, and stresses again that “head” probably does not mean “authority” in this passage.
Col 3:18, 4:15. There is a short note on 3:18 that emphasizes mutual love and respect, and an excellent sidebar on page 1515 by Lynn H. Cohick, PhD concerning equal worth and how the gospel upends social conventions. Also, page 1517 has an insightful note about Nympha, “In the ancient world when a church met in someone’s home, they played an authoritative role in the group. That is unlike today’s home groups where the person may only be a social host.”2
1 Tim 2:11-15. This note emphasizes the temporary nature of Paul’s prohibition (until the women are better educated). Although it does not emphasize the meaning of authentein as “domination”—it does mention it as a possibility. That said, there are several notes and articles providing cultural background and the importance of living above reproach. There is no note about the “childbearing” verse.
1 Tim 3:11. The note mentions Phoebe as a deacon, but it doesn’t suggest that the translation is wrong to say “wives” instead of “women,” or clarify that this likely refers to women deacons in their own right, even though the NLT footnotes mentions that as a possibility. We know that the mainstream church had female deacons for hundreds of years. However, on page 1538, the notes do thoroughly discuss hospitality, caring for widows, and what the instructions to slaves mean. There is an excellent article on page 1535 about women teaching and holding authority.
Titus 2:5. Gratefully, the Every Woman’s Bible addresses how this passage refers to both male and female elders, and the importance of them discipling the young. Unfortunately, the NLT doesn’t say “elders” when speaking of women, but the notes make clear that this is the same word used of both women and men in the Greek, and they say on page 1550, “Older people who honor God can be wise guides for life.” Contrast this with the different approach for 1 Tim 3:11 and note that, typically, the notes for each book of the Bible are done by a different contributor and so can end up being very uneven in how a particular topic or interpretation is handled.
1 Pet 3: 1-7. Unfortunately, the note here is based on the NLT’s rendering “accept the authority of your husband,” when the Greek does not have a command, or the word for authority, or the word “obey,” but speaks of wives yielding themselves in a Christ-like way and returning good for evil. While the note on page 1591 discusses mutual respect, it also mentions wives “being obedient,” although the Greek word for “obedient” is never used of wives in scripture. There also should be a discussion of how a wife in that kind of culture married to an unbeliever is not in the same situation as a Christian married couple or a modern Western couple, but the advice is very relevant for women in places with less legal equality and protection. There is an excellent sidebar on page 1591 about the importance of economic modesty and not flaunting your wealth and status, which is the kind of “modesty” that the epistles are speaking about.
Finally, there is something to be said for a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing Bible instead of a plain utilitarian one. There has been a nice swing back to valuing art and beauty in many recent Bibles. And because this is a Filament Bible, you can connect it with Tyndale’s Filament app to access more study notes and graphics, more devotional notes, and audio Bibles (NLT) – including one with women’s voices reading. This combination makes this the highest value women’s study Bible on the market.
Goettner-Abendroth, Heide, “Matriarchal Politics: The Vision of an Egalitarian Society,” https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f0869a15c33825a87fd8c48/t/642acc5013af4f7b2cb69b56/1680526417750/HGA_Matriarchal_Politics.pdf.
- See “A Religion of “Women and Children”? A Christian Woman’s Place in the Greco-Roman World Before AD 300” for a discussion of female church hosts.