Book Review: Woman by Divine Design by Dr. Jeffrey L. Seif

Woman by Divine Design by Dr. Jeffrey L. Seif and Sandra Levitt

My Personal Review ~ 3.5 stars ~

Woman by Divine Design was an interesting read, but not overwhelmingly insightful. Basically the authors went over portions of Scripture and gave their thoughts and insights, most of which were things I’d already interpreted these certain Bible passages to mean. They  didn’t go really in-depth or present much new information, for me personally.

This book does come in an attempt to defend Scripture’s stance on women to a group who believes Jesus, and especially Paul, are out to demean and restrict women. I have no such view of my Lord, His Word, or His apostles, so I suppose that’s why it felt like Woman by Divine Design was just brushing on things that I already know or have thought of/pondered before. It didn’t go much in God’s design for women as just talk about (mainly) Paul’s encounters with women and what some of his teachings mean.

Paul used the word kephale. This word means head … . Kephale is also a military term, meaning one who ‘leads’, but not in the sense of a [military] director … a ‘general’, or a ‘captain’ who orders troops from a distance; quite the opposite, kephale was the one who went before the troops, the leader in the sense of being in the lead, [and thus] the first into battle.” (Woman by Divine Design – pg. 79)

However, it was still a good read for the most part, and there were a few thoughtful angles presented and enlightening aspects explained that I hadn’t heard much about before (particularly pgs. 83-90).

I’m sure this book could be helpful for people who are new to reading the Bible and are wondering about how Jesus Christ and Apostle Paul related to women. Or for people who have a harsh view of Biblical womanhood, and have never attempted to dig below the surface of what they were taught certain Bible verses or words meant. I feel that, at least for the most part, it is Biblically-sound.

… the design is found in connection and not in distinction. (Woman by Divine Design – pg. 98)

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