The Woman's Bible — A Closer Reading

A Collaborative, Multi-Voiced Structure

The preface details a threefold commentary: translation of original languages, historical and textual analysis, and commentary on the English version by a committee of liberal-minded women. This structure is not merely organizational; it embodies the work's argument that biblical interpretation has been a male monopoly. By distributing the books of the Old and New Testament among different women, Stanton ensures multiple voices and perspectives. The list of committee members—including Lillie Devereux Blake, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Olympia Brown—reads as a roll call of 19th-century American feminist activists. The inclusion of foreign members from Finland, England, Austria, Scotland, and France further underscores the international scope of the project.

Shifts in Register: From Scholarly to Sardonic

Stanton's own commentary on the story of Hannah and Samuel exemplifies the work's tonal range. She begins with a straightforward retelling: Hannah's prayer, Eli's suspicion, the birth of Samuel. But the register shifts abruptly when she comments on Hannah making her son "a little coat." Stanton dryly notes it is "more probable that she brought to him a complete suit of clothes once in three months, especially trousers." This deflation of pious detail into practical, even humorous, observation is characteristic. She then pivots to a broader critique: "The one sorrow which overtopped all others with these Bible women was in regard to children. If they had none, they made everybody miserable." The voice moves from scholarly to sardonic, using the biblical narrative as a springboard for feminist commentary.

Recurring Patterns in the Commentary

Several patterns recur across the excerpts. Stanton frequently contrasts the behavior of biblical women with the men around them: Hannah is modest in her petition, while Rachel demanded children; Hannah's virtue is rewarded with five children, while Eli's sons are debauched. She also highlights moments of female agency—Hannah keeping her vow, Rebekah deceiving Isaac—but frames them as responses to patriarchal constraints. The commentary often ends with a moralizing summary, as in the closing of the Hannah passage: "Her dying words, 'the glory has departed from Israel,' show that her last thought was of the Lord." This blend of critique and conventional piety creates a complex, sometimes contradictory, voice that is both reverent and subversive.

Evidence of Editorial Process

The excerpts reveal the work's unfinished, collaborative nature. Footnotes indicate a deceased committee member. The preface states that "every detail is not as yet matured." The commentary on Hannah includes a parenthetical remark about trousers that feels like an aside, possibly from a different contributor. These textual traces remind the reader that The Woman's Bible is not a polished monologue but a work in progress, shaped by multiple hands and ongoing debate. The Project Gutenberg text itself, produced by Carrie Lorenz and John B. Hare, adds another layer of mediation.

Readers approaching The Woman's Bible should attend to its collaborative structure and shifting registers. The work is best read not as a unified argument but as a series of interventions, each commentary reflecting its author's perspective. The preface's careful planning contrasts with the sometimes playful, sometimes sharp tone of the commentaries themselves. This tension between system and spontaneity is central to the work's effect.

I’ve often shelved them near one another, these two old quarrellers. Stanton’s sharp, patient unstitching of Scripture and the Bishop’s courteous sparring with Bradlaugh share a certain quiet courage—the nerve to question, in good faith, the very words we’re handed. Both breathe that same rare air, where doubt is not an enemy but an honest companion. Christianity in relation to Freethought, Scepticism, and Faith Three discourses by the Bishop of Peterborough with special replies by Mr. C. Bradlaugh — Context and Discussion never shouts; it simply opens a door, much as hers did.