The Red Tent is narrated by Dinah, the daughter of Jacob — the patriarch of the Israelites in the Old Testament. While not prominently featured in the Bible, Dinah is given the spotlight in this novel: she gets to speak about her experience as a woman in the early days of humanity.

When they menstruate, the women in Dinah's family stay in a red tent together, where they discuss all sorts of local events. Diamant admits that there is no concrete evidence for this practice in ancient Israel, but it was common across many early civilizations. Her novel brings biblical history to life, and more importantly, gives voice to a crucial half of the human population, a group too often disregarded.