This is an old book, copyright 1958.  For its era, it was probably a pioneering book.  Look at the table of contents and you will see that Mrs, Culwell does an admirable job of searching out women in the Bible, though she doesn't quite get them all.  I doubt few, if any, knew who Rizpah was back in the 1950s.  Of course I was only a toddler in the 50s, but even so, I first heard of her in the late 70s or early 80s, and no one else I knew then had heard of Rizpah.  However, despite that impressive beginning, I knew before I was halfway through it, that I could not recommend her book to others.  There are simply too many errors.
            Some are the standard errors of those who teach those same old stories over and over without reading it from the Bible as if it were brand new to them.  When I read her say of Rachel, "It was love at first sight for Jacob, and it remained love beautiful unto the end," I thought, here we go again.  Anyone who has studied that story without the blinders of what they have always heard, knows that was not the case.  See Growth of the Seed by Nathan Ward, and my own Born of a Woman study and see what I mean.  The fact that Jacob asked to be buried with Leah in the family burial cave, but left Rachel buried where she fell ought to tell us something.
            The inconsistencies are almost maddening.  The author will discuss the names Leah gave her children and how that shows her character, but totally miss the significance of, "Give me another one," coming out of Rachel's mouth when she names Joseph, and the fact that prayer for a child was her last resort.  The same woman who researches enough to find out the history of Jezebel's father will then say that Naboth would not sell his vineyard to Ahab "because he didn't care to."  What Naboth actually said was, "The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers."  It was a little more than simply, "I don't want to."  In one place she says that Ishmael was 13 when Isaac was born, yet in another she says 14 (which is correct), the same place she talks about weaning Isaac, even though she has previously said that the weaning would have been at least three years after Isaac's birth, if not more, making Ishmael no less than 17 at that point. 
            And while she may have more knowledge about these women than most, her lack of a thorough Biblical knowledge shows itself in the oddest places and in the oddest ways.  She says of Isaac and Rebekah, "Together the assembled believers of God felt the planned providence of the great I AM in arranging this marriage."  Yet in Exodus 6:3, Moses records that the patriarchs only knew God as "God Almighty."  They had not been given that special name that Moses received.   Then this same woman will, with clear and sound logic, get the events of Jephthah's daughter correct when most miss it entirely.  Yet she leaves out Leviticus 27, directions for vowing a person, which would have helped her case immensely.
            While she recognizes some of the cultural elements, she often shows a lack of understanding the details.  "One might ask why a woman as discreet and as intelligent as Abigail married such an ill-tempered miser as Nabal."  I doubt Abigail had a choice in a culture of often arranged marriages, which a historical/biographical author ought to know.
            Mrs. Culwell also engages in a little more supposition and imagination than might be called for, including lavish descriptions of décor and clothing as if she had seen the setting herself.  I have the most trouble with her assigning motives.  While it is always good to imagine how someone might have felt in a given situation, putting ourselves in her place and making the events and its pressures come alive, all such suppositions should be labeled as such clearly.  "This might have been her motivation," or "This might be what she was thinking."  And she really blows it when she says of the search for a new queen in Esther, "There has been much said about [Mordecai] who would plan a marriage of one of Abraham's daughters to a heathen king."  Plan it?  Mordecai had no say in the sweep that carried Esther as an eligible virgin to the king's palace.
            There are still things to be admired in this work, despite all these shortcomings.   The attempt was brave and time consuming.  I just wish a better result had come of it.
            This book is probably out of print, but copies are still available in used bookstores and online sources.  Yet as I said, I really cannot recommend it  It was published by DeHoff.
 
Dene Ward

This will be an incomplete review, but how do you review something that is basically a reference work, not something you, as an ordinary Christian, would sit down and read from cover to cover?  My son Nathan recommended this book and added that it is written by probably the most noted Biblical scholar the church has ever produced, a professor emeritus at Abilene Christian, Everett Ferguson.  Because of that, one does not have to be quite so fearful about false doctrines that might ensnare him.  (Except you should always beware, at least a little, no matter who wrote it.)
            Mr. Ferguson covers the political history, society, and culture of both the Greeks and the Romans from the time of Alexander through the first century and a little beyond.  Then he covers Judaism just as completely from the time of the return from Babylonian captivity.  The table of contents is nearly as detailed as an index, and it is easy to find what you need.
            For example, in a class I was teaching recently, a student asked about the "lost gospels."  This book covers all the apocryphal books in the Judaism section, not just those few included in the New Jerusalem (Catholic) Bible, and gives you a brief synopsis of each book, along with the evidence (or lack of) about its origins and canonicity.  (And by the way, those books are not lost—scholars have known about them for years, in some cases centuries.)  When you finish you have no doubt that these do not belong in anyone's Bible.
            Another week someone asked about Gnosticism.  I found an informative section on that sect.  For one thing I learned that Gnosticism was not simply a Christian heresy.  It was a pagan philosophy with many versions taught by many people for many years, including Plato.  Gradually it made its way into the early church toward the end of the first century.  It is impossible to list unequivocally, as we tend to do in our Bible classes, what "Gnostics" believe because there are so many types.  However, he does manage to give eight "Characteristic Features," and in those you can see the things John, especially, was fighting in his gospel and epistles.
            Of course this book is not necessary to understand how to please God and make your way to Heaven.  Only one book can do that and it needs no help.  However, the discussions here clearly point out the cultural "baggage" that first century Christians had to overcome, and studying it is a good reminder that we must do the same.  When I hear about Christians who believe the USA is "the kingdom of God," or who are so "rights oriented" that they have no idea what yielding to a brother even means, I know we need that reminder.  And learning what those ancient brethren were surrounded with on a daily basis can make us try harder to make a suitable application to ourselves.
            I have no doubt that this book will come in handy for years to come.  My husband will also use it, I am sure.  It might make a good gift for yours. 
          This is the third edition of Backgrounds of Early Christianity, expanded and updated.  It is published by Eerdmans.
 
Dene Ward

I discovered this book several years ago and there is probably not another I pick up so often.  Alfred Edersheim was born in Vienna in 1825 to Jewish parents.  He was well-educated in both secular subjects and the Talmudic traditions of his parents.  As a young man he was converted and became a Presbyterian minister, then a missionary to Romanian Jews, and finally a vicar for the Church of England in Loders, Dorset.   Since he was a scholar in both Jewish and Christian tradition, including all the Biblical languages and life in first century Judea, he was in a unique position to shed light on the scriptures.
 
As usual with a book written by a man, I rely on him mainly for background: history, geography, and social and religious customs.  He does have some peculiar beliefs, such as the absolute conviction that Jesus was born on December 25, but the information he gives on the Jewish lifestyle totally outweighs such problems.  Keep your eyes open and you will be fine using it.  Just being able to put these people in the context of their beliefs and customs has changed completely how I view some of the events of the gospels.  I feel like I really comprehend what was happening—the tension and even danger in the air at times. 
 
One caveat:  this book was written in the 19th century so the language can be daunting.  Sometimes you will read several long, almost tedious, paragraphs to get to a nugget of gold, but it is worth it.  In the back of the book is a scripture index.  Rather than having to wade through interminable text, simply look up the passage you are interested in and you will find the page(s) you need to read. 

This book is considered such a classic that even more than 100 years later, you will find reprints.  (Of course, this also means that some of the material is dated.  You might want to read it alongside a more recent volume, e.g., Tenney’s New Testament Times or even more recent, Ferguson's Backgrounds of Early Christianity, to make sure that later archaeological discoveries have not changed scholars’ understanding of a certain custom.)  The latest reprint, a big blue one-volume affair, unfortunately has several typos in it.  However, I have never had any problem figuring out what it was supposed to say, and occasionally, after a long period of hard study, you will find some comic relief.  Take for example, the mention of Martha in Luke 10, preparing for the visit of the “Great Rabbit.”  Someone relied a little too much on their Spell Check!

I also have three other of Edersheim’s works which I use not as often, but enough to justify their expense:  The Temple: Its Ministry and Service; Sketches of Jewish Social Life; and Old Testament History.  All of these books can be found on Amazon.com for as little as $7 each, depending upon how much you care to spend and the condition of the book.  Christian Book Distributors (if you are a member) has the four-pack for a reduced price.  It is worth the membership dues.  In fact, I pay the membership price and then order for friends, which is perfectly acceptable.

Two other Edersheim books I do not have, but have just recently heard of are Prophecy and History in Relation to the Messiah, and History of the Jewish Nation After the Destruction of the Temple Under Titus.  Since I have never used them I cannot give a recommendation, but based upon my experiences with the others, they might be worth checking out.
 
Dene Ward