Divided into two sections: a biographical dictionary, listing over 400 women--named, unnamed, or allegorical--along with a short description of her life, alternate spellings, biblical citations where her story can be found, and cross references to other dictionary entries; and "the book of stories," which retells in detail the stories of fifty-six important women. Many of these stories, when read in the Bible, provide only a bare-bones structure that leaves the reader wondering about the woman's character and choices. Here they are fleshed out and given words and thoughts and ideas to share with the reader. Their stories are true to the original texts, but are infused with life and emotion--written in such a way to not only retell the story, but to humanize their characters and provide a basis for moral instruction as well as entertainment.--From publisher description.