Rewriting the Bible--the world of strong women, trans and intersex people in biblical times--#amreading #faithfullyLGBTQ #HappyPride2025
- Janet Mason
- Jun 20
- 3 min read
In honor of Pride month, I decided to repost this section of THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books--New York and Lisbon). Now and then, I get harassed online and off for having written it. Usually, I'm told that I am going to hell. Sometimes, the harassment has been worse. I'm not easily intimidated, and what the harassment means to me is that THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders, is needed now more than ever.
As one person put it (unfortunately, he was a librarian) "So you rewrote the Bible!?"
I guess I did--in fictional form, after I saw a need for rewriting it. In particular, I wrote it after reading The Hebrew Bible and The New Testament and wondering how strong women, trans people, and intersex people survived in the harsh desert culture of biblical times. I first posted this excerpt last year.
...
When I heard that the I Heart Sapph Fiction website was featuring books that spoke to the topic of time travel and that my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (Adelaide Books – New York and Lisbon; 2018) was being featured, I decided to do this excerpt from Book Two where the main character Tamar is reincarnated and reborn along with her twin Yeshua.
The excerpt is featured on YouTube and printed in text on the blog under the video. Enjoy!
Book Two (the opening)
In the beginning was the Mother. In the womb, Tamar took mental notes. The heavens trembled — at least it felt like the heavens. Maybe it was just gas. The Mother shifted. At first, it was too dark to see. It felt like chaos. Everything seemed unconnected. But then she sensed something holding her: a curved wall. It was soft and warm. Tamar’s backbone leaned into it. She was half of a circle. Was she floating? There was a chord attached to her belly. She relaxed. She wouldn’t drift away. It dawned on her that the parts of her body that felt unconnected were attached. There were appendages coming out from her shoulders. She looked down, below the chord. On the lower part of her body there was a small bump. On either side of that were two more appendages. There was liquid all around her. She felt warm and safe. WHOOSH. She flinched. She heard a slosh. Gurgles whizzed by. There was an abbreviated bubbling. It repeated three times. She had heard the sound before. She identified the sound as a hiccup. After a few moments, there was silence. Then there was a contented hum. Sound tickled her backbone. Tamar knew the sound came from the Mother, and it calmed her. Then there was a distant clang. That evening, Tamar heard the repetition of words in a pattern that she knew was a prayer. It soothed her. The Mother worked her jaw and swallowed. Something plopped down the long tube above Tamar. When it passed behind Tamar, it pushed against her spine. It was that bulky. It was spongy too. She knew that the Mother’s body would transform it into food to sustain her. A little while later, Tamar flinched when she heard a huge bubble of air pass by her. It ended far above her in a loud belch. Then she heard speech being formed: “oops.” A sound reverberated throughout the Mother’s body. It bubbled up in ripples that were deep and full. It brought a smile to Tamar’s face. Something told her that this was called laughter. Through this all she heard a steady and loud thumping: ba bump ba bump ba bump. Every now and then it went ba bump ba bump bumbedy bump. Then it went back to normal. At first the sound came from above. It was separate from her but connected too. Then she noticed the tiny pulse that was coming from the center of her: Bump ba bump ba bump. She had something in common with the Mother. Darkness lifted. Light glowed through the pink barrier. She looked down and noticed tiny extremities with red lines moving through them. They were attached to the ends of two appendages, on each side of her. She found that she could move them, as if she were waving or trying to grasp something. She sensed that these movements would come in handy later. The light went out. Darkness. Tamar felt herself in her body. She felt perfect.
This is Janet Mason reading from my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders (published by Adelaide Books in New York and Lisbon).
This reading is for YouTube and Spotify.
THEY is available where books are sold online, from your local bookstores and library.
For more information on THEY, click here:
Comments