This issue celebrates believing Old Covenant females. Timothy Erdel of Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana, opens with his appreciation of the Book of Ruth. L. Daniel Hawk of Ashland Seminary then gives us a reassessment of Hagar and Leah as women trying to work out their own faith and human relationships in contexts of duress. Bible teacher Christine Cos gives us an in-depth, insightful analysis of Sarah’s place in the Hebrews 11 Faith Hall of Fame. Megan DeFranza of Marquette University examines the paradigm of the Proverbs 31 woman and reveals to us why this archetype should be regarded as a woman of strength. Our poet, Lucy Lincoln, responding to a Simchat Torah celebration she attended, meditates on the legacy of Old Covenant women. And our issue ends with Bridget Jack Jeffries’s assessment of the NIV Bible’s new revision and Mae Elise Cannon’s review of Curtiss DeYoung’s Coming Together in the Twenty-First Century.

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Editor's Reflections by WILLIAM DAVID SPENCER 

• The Book of Ruth and Hope in Hard Times by TIMOTHY PAUL ERDEL

• Cast Out and Cast Off: Hagar, Leah, and the God Who Sees by L. DANIEL HAWK 

• An Example of the Power of Faith: Sarah, the Subject of Hebrews 11:11 by CHRISTINE MARY COS

• The Proverbs 31 "Woman of Strength": An Argument for a Primary-Sense Translation by MEGAN K. DEFRANZA     

• BOOK REVIEW: The 2011 NIV Bible by   BRIDGET JACK JEFFRIES

• BOOK REVIEW: Curtiss Paul DeYoung's Coming Together in the Twenty-First Century by MAE ELISE CANNON

• POEM: "Half-Light" by LUCY LINCOLN