Inside the Red Tent (Popular Insights)

By Sandra Hack Polaski

Book Overview

The story of Dinah receives little more than a mention in the Bible, as it gives rise to a bloody massacre. Not so with Anita Diamant's The Red Tent (Picador 1998). Diamant weaves ancient history and culture with narrative fiction to draw a picture of what life might have been like for the women in Jacob's life. With skill and passion, Sandra Hack Polaski unravels the complexities of the biblical stories of Leah, Rachel, Zil?pah, Bil?hah, and Leah's daughter Dinah, probing aspects of The Red Tent that give us insight into the text and into the lives of women in the ancient Near East. Inside the Red Tent brings readers into the biblical and historical contexts of the world of Dinah and her four mothers, exploring their stories through the tradition of midrash, sound biblical scholarship, and archeological findings. She gives us a glimpse "inside the red tent" at the families, relationships, encounters, goddesses, and God that defined their lives and that define ours.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0827230281
• ISBN13: 9780827230286
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Chalice Press
• Length: 114 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Thrilling Biblical Fiction

If you are secure enough in the biblical truths to realize what is real and what is fiction, then this is a really good book to read. It is loaded with the culture of the times as well as good old Drama! I thought it fun to give 'Dinah' a personality and a story (even though fictional) because her story is not told in the bible. Remember it's fiction and enjoy! For fun, search the bible to see the true lineage and the truth between this tale and the true account of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Inside the Red Tent (Popular Insights)

After reading the novel, The Red Tent, I found this a good follow-up to see further into the times of this setting. As we are studying Genesis for our Bible Study this year, I am encouraging my ladies to read both the novel and this interesting look into the women of Abraham's family.