Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-289) and index.

"In these pages we are reintroduced to some of the most complex and intriguing people in the Bible. Drawing from the ancient tradition of midrash - creative interpretation that elaborates upon the sparse details of the biblical text Hammer brings to life the inner world and experiences of these women and men, weaving in both rabbinic legends and her own vivid imagination." "The stories are set in a world of myth and mystery in which the spiritual powers of the characters come alive. There is Lilith, who is not the night demon alluded to in Isaiah, but another aspect of Eve herself. There is Sarah, a moon priestess and as great a prophet as Abraham. The Leah here does not marry Jacob through her father's tricks; rather it is Jacob himself who arranges the union because he knows he will need her wisdom and compassion to become a great patriarch. And Miriam is not merely a figure of song and dance, but also one of revelation, a source of Torah." "We learn what happens when Lot's wife, Idit, who had been turned into a pillar of salt, dissolves in water and is freed to find her husband and daughters. We read about the fairy-tale story of Miriam's daughter Achsah and her future husband, Otniel, as well as Queen Vashti's rebellion against her husband, Ahasuerus." "And there are more tales...of Reishit, companion to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam at the Sea of Reeds; Rachav and her husband, Joshua, in Jericho; Yael and the great prophet and judge Deborah; Dinah, daughter of Leah and sister of Joseph and his brothers; the great musician Serach, who inherits David's famous harp; of Avishag, who warmed King David as he lay dying, and of Tamar and Judah."

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2009. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.