Taking the thesis of the previous book from the general to the particular, Maggy Whitehouse explores the roles of female figures in the Bible as aspects of the Divine Feminine, reading the texts as a Kabbalist and relating their stories to the Tree of Life. Of particular interests to students of Qabalah, perhaps, and rooted firmly in Biblical history, she makes an interesting point: "The feminine, being hidden, secret and powerful...was sacred and therefore quite possibly intimidating or frightening to the everyday mind. This may be a primal truth of why the feminine within any religious tradition may be feared; it is the inner, sacred teaching, not the outer form. It has to be sought after...It was never meant to be handed to you on a plate; it is far too valuable for that." And so it seems that even in the most patriarchal of religions, the central, innermost secrets are exemplified by the use of sacred symbols of the Goddess." ~ The Inner Light, Volume 34. No 3.

In the last thirty years or so there have been many books about the women who appear in the Bible, but never one like this. Maggy Whitehouse reads the texts as a Kabbalist, which must have been nearer to the way biblical texts were read in the time of Jesus than many recent approaches. Modern fashions in scholarship have brought us literary criticism, rhetorical criticism, and above all the scepticism that is born of an over-literal reading of ancient texts. Philo, however, a highly educated Jew in Egypt in the mid-first century CE, would have recognised Maggy Whitehouse’s approach to the Hebrew Bible. She enables her readers to look at the women of ancient Israel in the way the first Christians would have known them. This is a fascinating book. ~ Dr Margaret Barker, author of the Hidden Tradition of the Kingdom of God & The Mother of the Lord.

This important 21st century reexamination of that most perennial of wisdom texts the Bible does something you thought couldn’t be done – it unearths fresh insights and offers them up with humor, grace and urgency. Many have written about the harm done by the Bible and by those who would speak for it, but few have written so clearly and accessibly about the liberating humanism and therapeutic power conveyed by the ancient stories of the women of the Bible. A spiritual teacher, astrologer, comic, novelist, and above all conjurer, Maggy Whitehouse brings clear eyes, deep thought and a loving heart to the mysterious process of unlocking wisdom from its ancient vaults. Let this book entertain you, embolden you and awaken you to the power of your own essential nature. Thank you Maggy Whitehouse for a good read, a slap in the face and a warm cup of tea by the fire. Good Lord woman you know how to call up Truth and Beauty with the stroke of a keyboard. ~ Peter Bolland, Professor of Humanities and Philosophy, Southwestern University, San Diego.

This is a most scholarly and insightful exercise. It brings the attention to review the usually unconsidered side of the feminine as regards the different levels of the Bible and its folklore. Much food for thought. ~ Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi