Helen Paynter is a Baptist minister, Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, and tutor at Bristol Baptist College, UK.

• Acknowledgements and dedication Introduction Chapter 1: Beli-Fachad in the hands of men Chapter 2: Beli-Fachad in the hands of commentators Chapter 3: Opening up redemptive possibilities Chapter 4: Beli-Fachad as subject and object Chapter 5: Beli-Fachad in her own voice Conclusion Works Consulted Index

"A great deal has been written now on the rape narratives of the Hebrew Bible, subjecting the assumptions of the biblical texts and their commentators to profound critical scrutiny. Helen Paynter’s remarkable book moves the debate forward by offering a reparative reading of the story of the Levite’s pilegesh in Judges 19, in which this ancient victim of rape becomes a prophetic voice addressing the suffering of victims of gender-based violence today. Everyone who seeks to read the Hebrew Bible with moral seriousness must engage with this book." — James Harding, University of Otago, New Zealand"Paynter's modeling of a 'thick reading' of the Judges 19 text and the experience of the woman - sensitively given the name Beli-Fachad or 'Fearless One' by Paynter - is deftly argued and constructed, and serves as a valuable contribution to the scholarship that takes seriously the trauma and violence of both the narrative and of contemporary experiences of women."— Jayme Reaves, Sarum College, UK

Helen Paynter is a Baptist minister, Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, and tutor at Bristol Baptist College, UK.

• Acknowledgements and dedication Introduction Chapter 1: Beli-Fachad in the hands of men Chapter 2: Beli-Fachad in the hands of commentators Chapter 3: Opening up redemptive possibilities Chapter 4: Beli-Fachad as subject and object Chapter 5: Beli-Fachad in her own voice Conclusion Works Consulted Index

"A great deal has been written now on the rape narratives of the Hebrew Bible, subjecting the assumptions of the biblical texts and their commentators to profound critical scrutiny. Helen Paynter’s remarkable book moves the debate forward by offering a reparative reading of the story of the Levite’s pilegesh in Judges 19, in which this ancient victim of rape becomes a prophetic voice addressing the suffering of victims of gender-based violence today. Everyone who seeks to read the Hebrew Bible with moral seriousness must engage with this book." — James Harding, University of Otago, New Zealand"Paynter's modeling of a 'thick reading' of the Judges 19 text and the experience of the woman - sensitively given the name Beli-Fachad or 'Fearless One' by Paynter - is deftly argued and constructed, and serves as a valuable contribution to the scholarship that takes seriously the trauma and violence of both the narrative and of contemporary experiences of women."— Jayme Reaves, Sarum College, UK

Helen Paynter is a Baptist minister, Director of the Centre for the Study of Bible and Violence, and tutor at Bristol Baptist College, UK.

• Acknowledgements and dedication Introduction Chapter 1: Beli-Fachad in the hands of men Chapter 2: Beli-Fachad in the hands of commentators Chapter 3: Opening up redemptive possibilities Chapter 4: Beli-Fachad as subject and object Chapter 5: Beli-Fachad in her own voice Conclusion Works Consulted Index

"A great deal has been written now on the rape narratives of the Hebrew Bible, subjecting the assumptions of the biblical texts and their commentators to profound critical scrutiny. Helen Paynter’s remarkable book moves the debate forward by offering a reparative reading of the story of the Levite’s pilegesh in Judges 19, in which this ancient victim of rape becomes a prophetic voice addressing the suffering of victims of gender-based violence today. Everyone who seeks to read the Hebrew Bible with moral seriousness must engage with this book." — James Harding, University of Otago, New Zealand"Paynter's modeling of a 'thick reading' of the Judges 19 text and the experience of the woman - sensitively given the name Beli-Fachad or 'Fearless One' by Paynter - is deftly argued and constructed, and serves as a valuable contribution to the scholarship that takes seriously the trauma and violence of both the narrative and of contemporary experiences of women."— Jayme Reaves, Sarum College, UK