BARRENNESS

A pastor’s study of the unexpected dimensions of barrenness in Christian Scripture.

In her nonfiction debut, Hudson explores how Christian Scripture and its later exegesis view barrenness. She looks at five barren Hebrew “matriarchs” of the Old Testament: Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel; Rachel, Jacob’s wife; Sarah, Abraham’s wife; Rebekah, Isaac’s wife; and the unnamed wife of Manoah, who was also the mother of Samson. More specifically, Hudson considers “each of the five matriarchs’ miraculous conception and birth of a son” or her “journey from barrenness to fruitfulness through God’s divine intervention.” By examining the women’s lives and including fictionalized segments in which they tell their own stories, Hudson seeks to underscore the layers of interpretation possible in understanding barrenness in the biblical world. “God is ever-new in His ways of answering our prayers,” she writes, noting what modern-day Christians can learn from these stories, including lessons about patience and humility. “Just like a farmer who plants a seed, there is a time of waiting,” she writes. “There is seed time and harvest and each season is different.” Dealing with her subjects both as individuals and as emblematic of larger themes, Hudson ends each chapter with discussion questions and space for taking notes, and she includes devotional guides for contemporary Christians dealing with infertility or another aspect of barrenness. Her interpretative tone throughout is optimistic and faith-oriented, linking her biblical stories to living parallels: “When you look on Jesus, you too will know unspeakable joy and laugh with Sarah who was barren....” Some of her readings are oddly specific; she describes Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, for instance, with the anachronistic term “post-menopausal.” But the book’s joyful tone overrides such concerns, reminding her readers that “when God is about to birth something new in you,” it will be a cause for joy.

An uplifting and scripturally literate reading of the subject of barrenness in Christianity.