WISDOM IS A WOMAN

The relationship between women and wisdom is explored with precision and insight in this well-reasoned inspirational book.

Lee’s debut notes that while patriarchs are often mentioned by name in the Bible, many females remain nameless. Historically, men have held power and leadership roles in the world, she says, but in the past 100 years, those limitations have in some cases disappeared as women have proven they’re as smart, driven and successful as men. Yet while a woman’s role in society has changed, a woman’s role in the church has often remained a lesser one, Lee argues. After studying and praying about how often wisdom is personified as female in Proverbs 3 and 8 of the Bible, Lee now believes this personification is much more than just a literary device. She traces women’s wisdom—and sometimes the lack thereof—beginning with “The Fall” in the Garden of Eden, offering thoughts about exactly where and when Adam and Eve were when they ate the forbidden fruit as well as the culpability of each. Lee uses women from the Bible to show that not every woman is a woman of wisdom. She compares Deborah, the wise woman and fourth judge in Israel, with Delilah, the Philistine courtesan who betrayed Samson for 1,100 pieces of silver. Like many inspirational writers, Lee analyzes the Bible’s famous “Proverbs 31 Woman,” but she delivers few new insights here. The most practical part of the book examines wisdom and foolishness in women today. Lee finds wisdom, for instance, in women who refrain from sexual sin and choose not to dress provocatively. She finds foolishness in women who obsess over money and focus on material things. “It is frightening to recall that the only apostle who obtained riches while following Jesus was Judas Iscariot,” she writes. Though Lee focuses on wisdom as a woman, she’s inclusive, making it clear that—as with her examples of Solomon and Moses—wisdom is for men, too.

A thorough, thoughtful look at wisdom suitable for both men and women.