The Female Ancestors of Christ

by Ann Belford Ulanov

The spiritual power of the Feminine shines forth in this psychological study of four Old Testament heroines from Jesus' family tree. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba are the only women mentioned by name in the Gospels' genealogies and, for Ann Belford Ulanov, this indicates that they impart something essential to the lineage of Christ. By exploring their brave and unconventional lives, she demonstrates how salvation enters the world in the feminine mode of being human, through these women's embodiment of such powerful and deeply feminine qualities as ingenuity, audacity, determination, compassion, seduction, and devotion.

Genres: Nonfiction

133 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 1993

Reviews

[Richard Fitzgerald · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a well-meaning mess. Ulanov describes the four ancesstresses of Jesus, acknowledging that Mary really makes it five women. However, she doesn't spend much time with Mary. The descriptive portions of the chapters are well written. But then Ulanov wanders off into attempts to perform psychological analyses of these women. There is not enough data to do what she attempts, and it becomes fantastical writing. There is no reason to read this book unless you want to read fantasy that masquerades as biblical studies.

[Laura Starr-Houghton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit dense and psychological for me. I expected more stories but got more analysis. On the other hand, the discussion of how these women fit into the ancestry of Jesus, and what their contribution might be to the Christian message was interesting. They were all rebels!