Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah’s voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood-the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers-Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah-the … Bilhah-the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that are to sustain her through a damaged youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah’s story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate, immediate connection.
Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of Biblical women’s society.
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An interesting perspective on a Bible story. I am usually not interested in this subject matter, but stuck with it and ended up thoroughly enjoying the book. Well done.
Compelling
Wonderful story
Loved it.
Couldn’t finish it
haven’t yet finished it. It’s good but a slow read for me.
A biblical story spannng years!
I red this years ago and loved it. Will probably go back and read again
I loved this book! It’s historical fiction at it’s best!! Not only did I enjoy the story, I also learned a lot about women and life at that time.
Favorite book for all time
It was a feminist perspective on life among the ancient Israelites. Menstruating women went to the Red Tent for the duration of their menses. It showed the power of women within the tribe.
This book was definitely not my normal reading material. It was recommended to me by a co-worker a few tears ago. When it came up as a decent price, I decided to go for it. I was not disappointed. To follow the life and times of Dinah, a minor character in the bible was truly fascinating. I knew little of her, and to discover she was one of the daughters of Jacob, and then the tragedy that befell her at the hands of her brothers, kept me wanting and reading more.
I loved the interactions of the women in this book and I love that women are still supporting and listening to each other even though the red tent is no longer in use.
Interesting representation of a familiar Biblical event as seen from the women
This is one of my favorite, just recently reread it again and am confident I will do that again and again.
One of my favorite all time books!
Better than Sunday School for learning about the Old Testament characters!
It gave me a glimpse in life at that time
Read this years ago and still remember that I thought it was a great book.
I am a great fan of historical/Biblical/mythological fiction. The Red Tent is the best on of this ilk I have ever come across. Beside being a page turner, it made Biblical characters we know seem that they were neighbors at one time or another. The research must have been tremendous, as details of their lives were both authentic to biblical times and somehow familiar to ours. Can’t say enough about how thoroughly enjoyable this adventure was.