“Marriage was not fundamentally emotional or romantic. Marital respect and love were the consequence of a shared life rather than the reason for sharing life....To be married was to participate in and contribute to communal life.”

In “The Samaritan Woman's Story: Reconsidering John 4 After #ChurchToo,” Caryn A. Reeder re-examines the overfamiliar story of the Samaritan woman which has long been read as the redemption narrative of a woman caught in adultery or other sexual sin.

Reeder suggests that it might be necessary and helpful to unwind this story and see it for what it is, within its historical context and without the centuries of interpretations that, while adding necessary angles, often dance around the same topic; not the woman’s intelligent and the insightful dialogue or her eagerness to share the gospel, but her sexual sin and social status. Ryder suggests that perhaps, there is another way to interpret this text and perhaps, in light of the church’s often harmful view of women’s sexuality, we need to reexamine this story through a new-to-us lens.

Caryn A. Ryder did an incredible job of presenting first the traditional interpretations, showing the different and fascinating ways the text has been dealt with and then the cultural context; what marriage looked like in that place and time. Lastly she illustrated a new way for us to read this story. These last few chapters unveiled the complexity and beauty of this text, as well as how entwined this narrative is, with previous and subsequent biblical passages.

Although I think there is much more that could be said about this story, this is a book the church needs. It is time to reexamine not only this woman’s story, but the story we have written for all women in the church.

One of the many critiques of the Bible is about the patriarchal nature of the ancient culture. Pointing to the unequal status of gender, women throughout biblical history have been painted (or interpreted) in a rather negative light. Many are victims of some male schemes, such as the maidservants of Abraham and Sarah, made to bear children for them. Others include the stories of Dinah, Tamar, Hagar, etc whose lives were either sad or tragic. With the highly male-centric cultural norms at that time, modern readers find it hard to reconcile the stories of women with the biblical truths of grace, fairness, justice, mercy, tolerance, love, etc. The famous story of the adulterous woman exposes a woman to public disgrace while the man (or men!) were nowhere to be found. Wasn't adultery a two-person affair? Why only accuse the woman? Moreover, the Old Testament laws also placed an unfair burden on women as if there was no such thing as sexual equality. Rather than simply accepting the popular cultural narrative of the Bible being sexist against females, biblical scholar Caryn Reeder offers us a new interpretation of the "intersection of women, sex, and sin" as well as an alternative interpretation of the story of the Samaritan woman.

Traditionally, many have interpreted John 4:16-18 and painted the samaritan woman with disdainful strokes. Tertullian called her a prostitute. John Chrysostom describes her as one with a "wicked, shameful sin." Even the reformed preacher Charles Spurgeon calls her a "shocking character." Modern preachers like Mark Driscoll accuse her of sexual sin. The conservative preacher John Piper labels her a "whore." The author lumps all of these opinions under the category of "majority interpretation," with a particular critique on Piper's skewed interpretations that lean toward gender hierarchy, misogyny, and sexism. She calls Piper's interpretations forms of "minimization, subordination, and sexual objectification of women." She calls for a re-examination of the majority view to reconsider the samaritan woman as:
- The victim instead of the victimizer
- Survivor instead of the perpetrator
- Women who can receive and reach divine truth
- Having alternative reasons that might be culturally acceptable for her six marriages
- Having lesser rights than men in a culture that marginalizes women
- Being one on the receiving end of any divorce/separation
- .. and how she was treated by Jesus.

My Thoughts
==============
Author Caryn Reeder makes a compelling case to reconsider the Majority-View interpretation of the status of the samaritan woman at the well. By showing us the historical, cultural, and social background of women then, she urges readers to take a more sympathetic (and fairer) view of the Samaritan woman. Chapter Five should be an important read because it gives us contextual information to help us frame any interpretations beyond the majority view. It reminds us not to impose our modern cultural mindsets on ancient times. Many of the common experiences experienced by women at that time did not receive the same kind of female initiatives as the #MeToo movement currently dominating the headlines in many parts of mainstream Western society. For example, education for women was limited to those in elite families. Thus, a large segment of women in ancient times was not as educated like the women of today. Marginalization was not only widespread but largely accepted as a way of life. Unlike today's environment where duties and jobs could be done by all genders, roles at that time were also quite clear-cut according to gender. Understanding this environment helps the modern reader recognize the differences in upbringing and cultural conditioning. In fact, it could be argued that the Majority View of the Samaritan woman is also an unfortunate lack of appreciation of this ancient culture.

Reeder constantly argues that the samaritan woman is more "unlucky" rather than sinful. She supports this by re-examining the meaning of marriages, divorces, widowhood, remarriage, and cohabitation in the first-century world. This is crucial in supporting her thesis of an alternative interpretation of the Samaritan woman. Significant too is the use of sources from both male and female writers in the writing of this book. Here I sense a problem. What is curious is the tendency to use multiple female voices to support this alternative interpretation versus some of the male voices depicted in the Majority View. This unfortunately projects a skewed perspective on an otherwise commendable effort. Maybe the significant figures in the Majority View would catch more attention. Unfortunately, the author might have unwittingly pitted male interpreters against female interpreters as if the interpretation is biased according to our genders. I know of several egalitarian writers who are male whose views could have been added to support a non-gender-biased position. Having said that, being open would be a good position to hold when we re-examine certain presumptions.

All in all, Reeder has provided us a good alternative to help us correct (or augment) some of the views of the Majority interpretation. It is important to recognize that this book is spurred in part by the #MeToo movement, an awakening of the female voice against all forms of discrimination both present and past. My caution will be this. Like many movements of the past, there is a tendency for people to react by jumping to the other extreme. Do not let any reaction becomes an over-reaction. Do not let this alternative interpretation jettison everything that the Tertullians; the Dwight Moodys; the Charles Spurgeons; the John Pipers, etc. have diligently and honestly wrestled with.

Caryn A. Reeder (PhD, University of Cambridge) is professor of New Testament and co-coordinator of the Gender Studies program at Westmont College. Her books include The Enemy in the Household: Family Violence in Deuteronomy and Beyond and Gendering War and Peace in the Gospel of Luke.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

Caryn Makes a case for the Samaritan Woman as well as other women who have been violated and abused but still the blame lays to them. She gives the violators and abused a voice just as she gives the Samaritan Woman an identity other than being wayward.
I loved this book so much and would recommend this to everyone who wants a fresh perspective to the women in the bible other than their sexuality

This book will make you reconsider how the Samaritan Woman's story in John 4 should be interpreted. The majority, and traditional, interpretation is that this sexually promiscuous woman is met and challenged by Jesus. I expected the book to flip the narrative by explaining that the woman is not a sexual sinner, but an abuse victim who is seen by Jesus. The book actually does not even consider that interpretation. Instead, the book argues that the woman is never presented as a sinner and is instead a righteous example to emulate.

The book is heavy on the historical and traditional background. The first several chapters walk through how this story has been interpreted throughout Church history. It deals with early church fathers, reformers, medieval thinkers, and more modern readings as well. I was impressed at the thoroughness of engaging with these sources. The book does not just give a few quotes for Irenaus or Origin. Instead, it traces their other writings on women and sexuality in order to paint a complete picture. This is by far the strongest section of the book.

The second half of the book spends more time on the historical background of the time period. What was it actually like to be a woman at this time? A lot of time is spent again in the historical record with actual descriptions of Roman marriage in Jesus' day. I enjoyed the second half less, but it was helpful information for background and context.

The discussion of how to actually interpret this passage does not come until the second to last chapter. Most of the book is an argument against the majority interpretation. I think the book spends too much time disagreeing with the majority. I spent most of the book just asking myself "well okay, how should I read this then?"

I think the book was weak in its engagement with the actual text of the Bible. There was almost no engagement with the Greek text. There was little exegetical work done at all. This was primarily an argument based on a better historical understanding. I think the argument is persuasive, but could have been much stronger in this area. The interpretation argued has plenty of merits, but it needs to be found on a better reading of the text. I found myself persuaded that the church has historically misinterpreted it, but we can't base any interpretation on history alone. I wanted to be argued from the text as well that this is what it teaches.

I also spotted several potshots at John Calvin and his understanding of total depravity and sin. At best they revealed a misunderstanding of Calvin's own argument, or at worst the author was deliberating misrepresenting his ideas. This was strange to me because the book was fair to other thinkers and ideas even while finding them objectionable. This might be nitpicky, but it distracted me and made me less trusting of the arguments being made.

I also think that the book barely interacts with the #metoo/churchtoo movement. It briefly addresses it, but I was left unsure what it had to do with our woman. The reinterpretation presents her as a hero, not a sinner, or even a victim. I am not sure that part of the title is accurate, though it is provocative and got me to pick the book up.

Overall the book is compelling and worth reading. I am not sure that I completely buy the interpretation offered here. But I am persuaded that the majority interpretation is incomplete and needs to be revisted. Definitely pick this book up if you want to think deeply about the Samaritan Woman's story. You will probably want to skip it if you do not want to spend time digging through church history and historical background information because that is 80% of the book.

I absolutely loved the second part of this book - Reeder's examination of the actual words of John 4:4-42 and their cultural and historical context is fantastic. That said, the first part of the book - her examination of the traditional way this passage has been (mis)interpreted since the Church Fathers - was so long and so infuriating that it somewhat detracted from my enjoyment of the second part. Having heard the eisegetical, dismissive, misogynistic traditional interpretation for most of my life, having the history of that interpretation laid out was less helpful and more depressing than anything. Still, I very much appreciate Reeder's emphasis on how the way the Church interprets the stories of the women of scripture has a direct and frequently harmful impact on the way women are treated in the Church today. We need more of this kind of examination of traditional interpretations.