Merari: The Woman Who Challenged Queen Jezebel and the Pagan Gods

In her second biblical novel, subtitled The Woman Who Challenged Queen Jezebel and the Pagan Gods, the author of Rahab dramatizes the story of the valiant Shunamite woman as found in II Kings. In the person of Merari, a woman of undaunted faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel, there is also the symbol of the emerging Hebrew people. With the help of Merari's friend, the prophet Elisha (successor to Elijah as God's intermediary), the intruding cult of the idol Baal, whose ritual killing of children is encouraged by the nefarious Queen Jezebel, is destroyed. Despite unconvincing dialogue and anachronistic language, this rendering of an Old Testament heroine and her domestic environment gives color to a distant time. (March 19)