This is an exceptional course. Mark Chavalas does a wonderful job of providing lots of context for the understanding of women in the ancient world, which also requires him to provide context for that context. It provides a lot of information about the ancient world and thought which goes well beyond just talking about women's roles. For example, in order to talk about women in the ancient world, it's important to talk about legal codes, which generally lends itself to dry discussions, but NOT SO with Dr. Chavalas. He makes it interesting and engaging enough so that I constantly want to know more. I will spend more time on the readings in this course than I have in any other.

This book changed the way I read the Bible. As modern thinkers, we often try to impose our modern understanding of science and technology on the Bible and its people. Walton uses the Bible and other Ancient Near Eastern texts to help the reader understand how the ancients thought, which by extension helps us to understand why God chose to reveal truths the way He did.