Arens 1 Alyssa Arens Dr. Kendra Parker ENGL-113-03: The Wonderful World of Disney? 3 February 2015 Sakenfield Critical Summary In the article “Deborah, Kael, and Sisera’s Mother: Reading the Scriptures in Cross- Cultural Contexf author Katharine Dob Sakenfield analyzes the biblical rotes of from both American and ASian viewpoints. Although various parts of scripture are touched on throughout the article, Sakenfield focuses on Judges 4-5. These chapters tell the story of Deborah, a prophet who is called upon by God to take military action to gain victory over General Sisera, a leader of the 20-year Canaanite oppression over Israel. Sakenfield provides her own opinions, as well as the interpretations of women whom she met in the Phillippines and in Korea. Within the article, the roles of three biblical women are analyzed: Deborah, Kael, and Sisera’s mother. First, Sakenfield looks at Deborah's role as a “woman of authority” (18) for being a prophet called to military action, as well as for being the “honorary male” (18) as she accompanies Barak to battle Sisera. Though many Christians see it to be empowering that God would call a woman to be a prophet to judge those of Israel and exercise military power, Deborah was not the only designated woman to be prophet who adhered to God's calling; therefore, it “need not be & regarded as unique” (17). Second, Jael is the celebrated courageous woman due to her act of , illing General Sisera, in which “she has humiliated the enemy Sisera and his people” (19), g Sakenfield, reading deeper into the meaning of the text of this scene, suggests that “Jael’s killing of Sisera can be read as a rejection of rape; or a protest against rape” (19). Lastly, Sisera’s or” mother is the pitied “mother in Israel” (21) for the loss of her son, and rightfully so-- “no mother should have to lose a child” (22). However, readers unconnected from the history of that time period do not realize that “rape is a part of the traditional aftermath of victory” (21) and plundering robbed the defeated area of their resources; all of which Sisera’s mother would have been well aware of, leading Sakenfield to lose her sympathy towards the mother. ‘Although | had heard of Deborah and the roles she played throughout biblical times, I was not very familiar with the story. Furthermore, I lacked knowledge in the details surrounding the story, such as the level of tension within Israel during the time of battle, as well as other key aspects Sakenfield provides details on. That being said, | was grateful that Sakenfield was willing to explore the true depth of the story. It is easy to see what parts would be overlooked by the average American reader. | also appreciated the fact that Sakenfield admitted herself as being ‘an educated middle/upper class white female who was particularly unknowledgeable about the underlying content of the passage. The way she was willing to inform herself and her readers of the historical aspects added much rationale behind her arguments. Also, the provision of the points of view of the Asian women convinced readers of the existent cross-cultural differing opinions on the roles of the women, which Sakenfield needed to show her expertise on the subject. ‘Although Sakenfield strengthened her argument with the use of cross-cultural views. 1 Aeithe ‘opinions of the Asian women were simply thrown in at various parts of the analysis. This put me under the impression that Sakenfield wrote selfishly and was concerned that the addition Ww of opposing opinions would lose the support of her readers. To strengthen her argument and persuasion to the readers, Sakenfield should have expanded more upon the opinions of the Asiansy Fen Arens 2 ere thet Why those potentially differ from the average American woman's viewpoint, Why Preena tions ofthe Asian women vital to your argument? How do the Asian women represent the cross-cultural aspect of ‘your analysis? However, being an American woman myself, L agree with many of the alternate arguments presented by Sakenfield and the overall belief that many readers are too uninformed on the biblical history of this battle to knowingly analyze the roles of these women. - Lo w Work Cited Sakenfield, Katharine Doob. “Deborah, Kael, and Sisera's Mother: Reading the Scriptures in Cross-Cultural Comtext.” Women, Gender, and Christian Community, ed. J.D. Douglass and J.P. Kay, Westminster/John Knox, 1997 4f. 13-22.