I find it intriguing that the voice within the slave girl had something wonderful and profound to say: “These men are the slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” And yet Paul was irritated and commanded the spirit to come out of the girl. My initial thought is to see her as quite the opposite of an irritant and more as a prophet, like John the Baptist, who came before another and declared the truth. Jesus never got irritated with John’s rantings, but then no one ever expects Paul to behave like Jesus.
William Barkley writes in his commentary on The Acts of the Apostles that the slave girl was called a Pytho, a person who could give oracles to guide others about the future. A Pytho was considered mad and was respected by the people who believed that the gods had taken away the mad one’s wits and replaced them with the minds of the gods.
Of course, I write from what I read, and on the surface I see a girl who is saying good things about Paul and the others, and so must be a prophetess to be heeded. But delving deeper and learning about the original Greek, I discover that the word used to describe the girl’s voice is “false prophet”. No matter what good may be said, if it comes from Satan it may be real but it is not good. And Paul’s irritation is not just with an annoying voice that follows him around, again understanding the original Greek, but irritation of anger and sadness, anger at the slave owners and sadness of the girl’s plight.
The beauty of Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter is the depth of learning that the Rev. Lindsay Hardin Freeman has provided for us. We begin with Scripture and a few words spoken by a woman or a girl. We look at the verses surrounding those words and see why the woman is important to the story. We dig deeper, into others’ commentaries to learn more from the original text and centuries of study, and we dig deeper, into our hearts and our personal experiences. We bring each of the women into the 21st Century to understand why they are all still relevant today.
I give thanks to Lindsay+ for taking me on a journey to meet new friends, 93 extraordinary women who said enough to be included in the Holy Bible. I thank her for giving my imagination the freedom to end the stories as I want to see them ended. The fortune telling slave girl? Why, she came back to hear Paul and Silas speak again and there met Lydia, the seller of purple. The girl was adopted into Lydia’s household and adopted into the Household of Christ.
I give thanks to the Episcopal Church Women for coming along on the journey and for sharing their insights with me and with others, either through this blog or in book study groups. I know the studies will continue, long into the future.
++++ Coming June 26th, 2015 ++++
Breakfast with Lindsay Hardin Freeman
48th Triennial Meeting – Salt Lake City
Content provided by Author Lindsay Hardin Freeman
Illustration: Claire Elam