I’m pretty excited that my book Women of the Bible (Hebrew Scriptures) for Progressive Christians is about to become available from Wood Lake Publishing. Target date is June 9. The book focuses on the stories of a wide variety of women from the Hebrew scriptures, and invites us to wonder about why their stories were told in the first place, why they may have been altered or had bits omitted by biblical editors over the centuries, and in turn why tradition has sought to portray them in specific ways, usually despite the actual biblical story.

My friend and colleague Maren Tirabassi wrote this about the manuscript: From Eve to Esther, as expected, Tamar to Vashti, as perhaps not expected, these stories resonate in contemporary life. Donald Schmidt strikes a perfect balance between clarity for the newer biblical student and fresh and challenging insights for those who have already travelled these stories. His straightforward format makes it a perfect resource for pastor or lay volunteer leader and his questions for discussion lift the characters off the page and into our daily
lives. – Maren Tirabassi, author, poet, and pastor

It won’t be out until June, but you can pre-order it from this website at $5 off the list price until July 31. Go to “books” and follow the links.