A Note on Language and Sources
This book engages multiple religious traditions, linguistic systems, and textual lineages spanning Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and additional traditions including Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, and Indigenous oral cultures. Every effort has been made to treat each with accuracy, care, and respect.
Names and Transliterations
Where possible, names are rendered in a form recognizable to general English-speaking readers. Diacritical marks are omitted in most cases for accessibility. For example, you will see "Aisha" rather than "ʿĀʾishah," "Sita" rather than "Sītā," and "Qur'an" rather than "al-Qurʾān." In cases where alternate spellings exist (e.g., "Therīgāthā" vs. "Therigatha"), a consistent but accessible form is used throughout. When sacred texts exist in multiple versions (e.g., Hebrew, Greek, Sanskrit, Pāli, Arabic, or Chinese), the English-language title or most widely accepted rendering is used unless otherwise noted.
Scripture and Canon
The word scripture is used broadly in this book to refer to texts considered sacred, formative, or authoritative within a religious tradition—whether or not they are part of a fixed canon. This includes formally canonized texts (such as the Bible, Qur'an, Vedas, or Tripitaka) as well as texts revered within devotional movements, mystical lineages, or oral transmission networks. Similarly, the term canon is used descriptively rather than prescriptively, acknowledging that canon formation was itself a historical process influenced by theological, political, and editorial decisions. It's worth noting that what constitutes "scripture" can reflect ongoing intra-community dynamics—for instance, the Book of Enoch remains canonical in Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity while being excluded from most other Christian traditions.
Translation and Interpretation
Key religious terms such as dharma, torah, shari'a, and logos carry rich meanings that resist simple English equivalents. Where such terms appear, their contextual significance is explained. Readers should be aware that translating sacred concepts across languages inevitably shapes interpretation—a challenge that the women in this book often navigated as they transmitted wisdom across cultural boundaries.
Gender and Titles
In describing women across traditions, this book uses the terms that are most historically accurate and respectful to the context. Titles such as prophetess, bhikkhuni, soferet, hafiza, or nun are used where appropriate. In cases where women operated in roles for which there was no formal title—such as patrons, oral transmitters, or anonymous scribes—descriptive language is used instead. The phrase "women who were erased" refers to both those who were actively excluded and those whose names or works were lost due to structural neglect, anonymity, or attribution to men.
Sources and Attribution
Each chapter draws on the work of respected scholars in religious studies, textual criticism, history, and gender studies, with particular attention to including voices from women scholars, practitioners within each tradition, and non-Western perspectives. All claims are documented using Chicago Manual of Style footnotes, and each chapter concludes with a curated list of further reading for those wishing to explore the topic more deeply. The book makes no attempt to present original scholarship but rather synthesizes the insights of leading experts, always with attribution and transparency.
Methodological Considerations
Recovering women's voices from ancient and medieval sources often requires working with fragmentary, circumstantial, or indirect evidence. Where records are sparse, this book employs careful historical inference, always distinguishing between documented facts and informed scholarly speculation. Marginalia, linguistic patterns, patronage records, and oral traditions all serve as windows into women's contributions, even when their names have been lost.
Tone and Terminology
This book avoids polemic and honors the sacred nature of the traditions it discusses. It does not attempt to reinterpret doctrine or argue for theological positions. Its goal is historical and textual: to explore how women contributed to the formation and transmission of sacred texts—and how their voices were shaped, sidelined, or silenced by editorial processes, canon debates, and institutional dynamics.
The voices you will encounter in these pages come from different centuries, cultures, and spiritual perspectives. They do not always agree. But each of them mattered—and this book seeks to remember them with the dignity and attention they deserve.