Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 28:1 (Winter 2014)
Article: Book Review: "The Message Of Women: Creation, Grace, And Gender", By Derek And Dianne Tidball (Intervarsity, 2012)
Author: Woodrow E. Walton

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Book Review: The Message Of Women: Creation, Grace, And Gender, By Derek And Dianne Tidball (Intervarsity, 2012)

Woodrow E. Walton

Woodrow E. Walton is an ordained Assemblies of God Minister. Over a ministry of more than 53 years, he has served as pastor and educator (professor and dean), evangelist, prison and healthcare minister, and has served in mission programs in Africa. He is a writer and conference speaker and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. He lives with his wife, Joy, in Shattuck, Oklahoma.

As part of the “Bible Themes” series within the larger The Bible Speaks Today collection of Bible commentaries and themes, The Message of Women is an exposition rather than a detailed commentary. It explores the life of women in Old Testament times and in the life of Jesus and the subsequent life of the early church. Without actually saying what is suggested by the title of their work, Derek and Dianne Tidball find a message for the twenty-first century church. At the close of chapter 12, the theme of which is “women in the encounters of Jesus,” the writers make the observation that “contrary to the culture in which [Jesus] lived, his actions demonstrate that women are in no way inferior to men” (171).

Early on in the book, either Derek or Dianne writes that their findings led them to “adopt an egalitarian perspective but not, we hope, in any naïve way” (26). It is evident from the manuscript itself that careful exegesis of important biblical citations lay behind their exposition and the position at which they arrived. The book betrays intimate knowledge of the biblical languages and the semantic range of each. Their footnotes cite the work of J. H. Ortwell, Philip Payne, Gordon Fee, Kenneth E. Bailey, and Ben Witherington, each of whom came to egalitarian conclusions based upon their own research. Bailey, especially, spent forty-some years in the Near East and has firsthand acquaintance with Near Eastern customs.

The Tidballs did acknowledge differing conclusions, citing as well individuals who did not see women in the Bible as equal to men in leadership. Rather than taking a defensive stance, the Tidballs relied upon textual analysis of cited Scriptures (e.g., on pp. 96 and 97 respecting the role of Deborah). Textual analysis requires firsthand acquaintance with biblical linguistic structures, in which they exhibited mastery.

This reviewer is impressed by the thoroughness of the Tidballs’ study of women in both the Old Testament and the New. Their thoroughness is especially evident not only in their analysis of the teachings of Jesus, as explored in chapter 13, but also focusing on women who were disciples of him, as developed in chapter 14. This same thoroughness is evident in the treatment of the participation of women in the ongoing li...

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