Rizpah

Saul was dead, and David was now Israel's king. Rizpah, Saul's concubine, was the mother of Saul's two youngest sons. Rizpah barely had time to grieve before being hit with the most inconceivable news any mother can imagine. David had sent out an evil decree. If anyone knew the whereabouts of Saul's sons, they must tell David at once.When King Saul's son, Ish-bosheth, was viciously slain in his own bed as he slept, Rizpah immediately went into hiding. Jona

Trauma recovery and healing get a lot of attention these days, but in situations of war and violence trauma is also a social experience set within the larger conflict context. The authors examine an ancient biblical story full of violence and trauma that makes most readers turn the page quickly. The reader is invited instead to sit with the story, listen to the voices of the characters, and feel the full range of their emotions. There is much to be learned through the story that offers insight for trauma healing and reconciliation, and motivation for deep and abiding social change. The biblical story becomes a doorway into a journey of discovery about traumatized people, specifically women, who choose not to remain as victims. Instead, they rise up in transformative nonviolent action. The authors lift up the Rizpah story and contemporary stories of "Daughters of Rizpah" from around the world to inspire hope amid the traumatizing turmoil of the twenty-first century.

"And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night." II Samuel, 21:10