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Women of the Bible
Women in the bible are rarely mentioned by their names. Those women who have identified by their name have strong reason and background along with the message for the followers. These women did something extraordinary in their life that God presented them as an example. Stories of these women are mentioned in the bible which indicates how these women contributed to world history and development of faith. The main purpose of the essay is to identify some of the women who are mentioned in the bible. It is important to study for increasing the knowledge of the bible and the role of women from a religious perspective.
In the bible, there are names of forty-nine women. However, ninety-three women speak in the holy book that is a total of 14,056 words were spoken by them collectively. The total words spoken by the women are hardly 1.1% of the holy book. Among 49 bible women who were named only a few of them are well known among the Christian people like Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Sarah. Sarah utters 141 words, Mary Magdalene says sixty-one words, while marry who was the mother of Jesus the most prominent women of the religion utters only 191 words. Few people claim that the bible is written by men so he focused more on the stuff that was related to the men's power, therefore women contribution is not shared as much as it should be ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"kegKjnTz","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Savran)","plainCitation":"(Savran)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1734,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/R37TTZHS"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/R37TTZHS"],"itemData":{"id":1734,"type":"article-journal","title":"Review of Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Bible as a Woman","container-title":"Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women's Studies & Gender Issues","page":"209-215","issue":"6","source":"JSTOR","archive":"JSTOR","ISSN":"0793-8934","title-short":"Review of Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative","author":[{"family":"Savran","given":"George"}],"reviewed-author":[{"family":"Fuchs","given":"Esther"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2003"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Savran). Among all the women who are named in the Bible, few are discussed below to understand their role and contribution in the way of faith and world history.
Eve
The first woman that was mentioned in the Bible is Eve. She was the first woman and wife of Adam who lived in heaven. She disobeyed the God command and deceived into believing about death. She thought that if she disobeys the command of God she will live forever and ate fruit with her husband Adam. Due to the disobeying of God, Eve ad Adam sent to the Earth as a punishment. Eve became the example of warning. It indicates that excessive desire and curiosity is dangerous for human. In addition, it is important to have faith in God and in the case of disobeying God's will, human has to face harsh punishment as a reward of the wrong act.
Abigail
Abigail was a beautiful woman who was the wife of a harsh but wealthy man Nabal. The contribution of Abigail was to act with discernment and wisdom to avoid calamity. They lived in the locale where the future ruler of Israel “David” was trying to hide like a criminal. Whereas David and his companions were hiding, they shielded Nabal's herds of sheep from thieves.However, David rejected to provide them food even after they requested. David got angry and his companions tried to execute Nabal and his family. Abigail got impressed when she heard what David did for her and family. She gave food to David and his fellows and pursued to ask David for any other need. When David saw her blessing, calmness, and heard her understanding, he observed that God had sent her on earth to preventmisfortunes. After the death of Nabal Abigail got married to David. Through her story, people can learn how to treat others with respect and calmness. In addition, the lesson of giving rewards and appreciation to those who help others.She dealt with the situation effortlessly and did as such with decision, courage, and virtuosity.
Hannah
Hannah was the mother of Samuel and the spouse of Elkanah.They became the prophet in late Israel. When Hannah had no child but instead of feeling hopeless and worried she went towards God for comfort. Elkanah had another with Peninnah who had children and reason for Elkanah's second marriage was the childlessness of Hannah after so many years of marriage. Peninnah was harsh towards Hannah and pointed her for not having children when decided to share all her sorrow with God for relief. She then prayed for a child from God with that she would give the kid in the way of God by orchestrating the child to serve at the sanctuary. God blessed her with Samuel but to remain faithful to her obligation, she sent Samuel to serve at the sanctuary. Afterward, God gave a reward to Hannah in the form of two little girls. Through Hannah's story, people get the lesson that faith and belief in God can eliminate all worries and sorrows from life ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"toLA5FkX","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Ackerman)","plainCitation":"(Ackerman)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1733,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/5J2WIHDR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/5J2WIHDR"],"itemData":{"id":1733,"type":"article-journal","title":"Women in Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible","container-title":"Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion","source":"oxfordre.com","abstract":"The Hebrew Bible is a book that was primarily written by men, for men, and about men, and thus the biblical text is not particularly forthcoming when it comes to the lives and experiences of women. Other evidence from ancient Israel—the society in which the Hebrew Bible was generated—is also often of little use. Nevertheless, scholars have been able to combine a careful reading of the biblical text with anthropological and archaeological data, and with comparative evidence from the larger biblical world, to reconstruct certain features of ancient Israelite women’s culture. These features include fairly comprehensive pictures of women’s lives as wives and childbearers within Israel’s patrilineal and patrilocal kinship system and of women’s work within the economy of a typical Israelite household. Because the Bible is deeply concerned with religious matters, many aspects of women’s religious culture can also be delineated, even though the Bible’s overwhelmingly male focus means that specific details concerning women’s religious practice must be painstakingly teased out of the biblical text. The Bible’s tendency to focus on the elite classes of ancient Israelite society likewise means that it is possible to sketch a reasonable portrait of the experiences of elite women, especially the women of the royal court, although, again, this information must often be teased out of accounts whose primary interest is elite men.","URL":"https://oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.001.0001/acrefore-9780199340378-e-45","DOI":"10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.45","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Ackerman","given":"Susan"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016",4,5]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",11,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Ackerman).
Mary
Mary was a young Jewish lady.She had a fantastic knowledge of Scriptures. She was a trustworthy lady who was considered for genuine duty by God. She was a virgin at the time when she gave birth to Jesus, having imagined a child of Godas a miracle. Mary was spending her life in praying. She was locked into Joseph when a holy messenger appeared to her and declared that she would get pregnant and would give birth to Messiah. She accepted the will of God. After the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph had four children, 2 boys and 2 girls that are mean Mary did not remain a virgin. However, she was pleased with the blessing of God and thankful for him for selecting her as a mother of Jesus. It indicates that Mary developed intenseconfidence. She received the message of God and then remained faithful to him in the worse situation. She took care of Jesus even when her financial condition was not well.
Miriam
Miriam is the primary lady in the Bible known as a prophetess. Miriam was the sister of Aaron and Moses. Being the first lady,her job was to relate messages of God. In Israel, she had a prominent position. After the Egyptian army was destroyed by God in the red sea, Miriam shared with the men in the victory song. Later on, Miriam and Aaron talked against Moses. They both were under the feeling of jealousy and pride. God heard the words shared by Mariam and Aaron and therefore strongly counseled them.Miriam had to face the issue of leprosy as a punishment while Moses begged God for hiskindness, God forgave her. The Bible tells that Miriam acknowledged the amendment. Later on, God referred to Miriam for an exclusive privilege when he reminded the Israelites. Therefore, through the example of Miriam given in the bible, it can be understood that God knows everything and He gives reward for what we do and what we say when no one is around. In addition, behavior like jealousy and pride can lead to unseen and negative consequences ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"22wBbSeF","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bach)","plainCitation":"(Bach)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1735,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/W9U7SQNH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/W9U7SQNH"],"itemData":{"id":1735,"type":"book","title":"Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader","publisher":"Routledge","number-of-pages":"566","source":"Google Books","abstract":"Women in the Hebrew Bible presents the first one-volume overview covering the interpretation of women's place in man's world within the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Written by the major scholars in the field of biblical studies and literary theory, these essays examine attitudes toward women and their status in ancient Near Eastern societies, focusing on the Israelite society portrayed by the Hebrew Bible.","ISBN":"978-1-135-23868-1","note":"Google-Books-ID: YQrfAQAAQBAJ","title-short":"Women in the Hebrew Bible","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Bach","given":"Alice"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013",10,31]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Bach).
Rebekah
Rebekah was the spouse of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau, twin children. Rebekah followed the path of God's will even where when things were so rough and difficult. One day, she was coming back from the well with water, a man approached her and asked for some water. Rebekah immediately gave him water and allowed her to take water for his camel.The thirsty person was the servant of Abraham, and he had from a long distance to know about a spouse for Isaac as Isaac was the son of Abraham. The servant prayed for the blessing of Rebekah from God. When the servant of Abraham noticed the generosity of Rebekah he explained about his reason to arrive. He asked Rebekah to come with him and accept the proposal of Isaac. Later, Rebekah went with the servant and got married to Isaac. God gave the reward of her kindness in the form of a husband like Isaac and two beautiful sons. Therefore, Rebekah became an example of hospitality and modesty. Her nature and traits prompted her prosperity as a spouse, mother, and genuine God worshipper.
Deborah
Deborah was a prophetess whom Israel's God, Jehovah, used to uncover his will on issues influencing his individuals. God likewise usedDeborah to support settle issues among the Israelites. The prophetess Deborah is one of God's prominent worshippers. She gathered Barak to lead an Israelite armed force against their Canaanite tyrants. When Barak asked Deborah to go with him, she did not surrender and rejected his demand without any fear. After God gave the Israelites victory, Deborah became the part of the victory songwhere Barak sang that song. In that melody, hard work and fearlessness of Deborah were sung.Therefore, Deborah was considered as compassionate and daring. She urged others to make the best decision in God's view. In addition, whenever she saw people fulfilling God's will she gave them credit and reward.
Jael
She was the spouse of Heber who fought for the people of God, Jael was non-Israelite. When Sisera, the head of the Canaanite armed force appeared in Jael camp, sheresponded decisively. At that time, Sisera lost his fight against Israel and was currently searching for asylum and shelter. Jael welcomed him into her tent to stay. She executed Sisera when he was sleeping. The action of Jael satisfied a prophecy expressed by Deborah and therefore, Jael was considered as the most blessed woman in the Bible. Jael acted with ingenuity and bravery. Her story indicates how God can change the situation to satisfy prophecy.
Delilah
Delilah was a lady with whom the Israelite judge Samson experienced feelings of love. She accepted cash from Philistine authorities to sell out Samson, whom God had been utilizing to convey the Israelites from the Philistines. The Philistines were not able to defeat him as he has wonderful physical strength. Therefore, their authorities had to take help from Delilah. The Philistines considered Delilah to find out the secret of Samson’s physical strength by giving her cash for the task. Finally, she accepted the offer and found Samson's secret of strength. She at that point disclosed Samson'ssecret to the Philistines, who then caught and detained him. Once again, another woman became the example of a warning just like Eve. Through her story, God tells his creature that not everyone that shows love and affection cares for them. Delilah is the warning that became the reason for defeating the most powerful person of his time. She is also an example of a selfish, disloyal, and deceitful person.
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was a loyal follower of Jesus. She was one of a few women who went with Jesus and his followers. She generously utilized her own assets to help and giving care for the needs of Jesus and followers. She remained with Jesus till the last moment of his ministry, and she stayed near to when he was executed. She had the benefit of being among the first to see Jesus after he came back to life. Therefore, she becomes the symbol of the true believer and faithful person of Jesus.
Rahab
She was the Jehovah God’s worshipper who was once a prostitute. She covered two Israelites who were spying out the land. She did this since she had heard reports of how Israel's God, Jehovah, sent his men from Egypt and later from an assault by the Amorites, a famous tribe. She helped spies and begged them to save her and family when the Israelites came to crush Jericho. They got ready to help Rahab on the conditions thatshe would keep their secret, she would stay inside her home with the family when the Israelites assaulted, and she would make her home identified by hanging a scarlet cord. Rahab got agreed to each demand and luckily got the opportunity to survive along with her family when the Israelites got control over Jericho. Rahab became the spouse of an Israelite and turned into an ancestress of both Jesus Christ and King David.Therefore, the Bible refers to Rahab as an example of confidence. Her story explains that God is both excusing and unprejudiced, favoring the individuals who trust in him, irrespective of their condition and background.
Sarah
Sarah was the mother of Isaac and the spouse of Abraham. Sarah left apleasant lifestyle in the prosperous city of Ur since she had faith in vows of God to her significant other, Abraham. God advised Abraham to leave Ur and go to the place named Canaan. God promised Abraham for his blessings and changed Canaan into an incredible land. Sarah was above sixty in age at that time.Thereafter, Sarah and Abraham started living in tents, a nomadic life. After experiences so many troubles and tough time Sarah remained calm and stayed with her husband to follow God’s directions. For some years, Sarah was childless, which became the reason for her sorrow. However, God had promised to favor Abraham for the blessing of the child. She gave birth to Isaac when she reached the age that all hope of the child has vanished. She was 90 years of age, and her better half was 100 years of age but God blessed him with Isaac. Sarah's example indicates that God can bless you with anything at any time. The individual should spend his life for the blessing of God and by following his direction. In return, God bless his creature by fulfilling their wishes ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2EwsImG9","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Hayford)","plainCitation":"(Hayford)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1731,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/BVRFN4X4"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/mlRB1JqV/items/BVRFN4X4"],"itemData":{"id":1731,"type":"book","title":"Biblical Ministries Through Women: God's Daughters and God's Work","publisher":"Thomas Nelson Inc","number-of-pages":"159","source":"Google Books","abstract":"God has a mission and ministry for every believer, and women have always been called to make a significant contribution to the ministry of the church. This study guide explores the role of women's ministry in the Bible and the church today. Readers will learn about the unique and dynamic contributions of many key women in the Bible, and find guidance for discovering their own role and ministry in the body of Christ. The Spirit-Filled Life® study guides are perfect companions to the New Spirit-Filled Life Study Bible or for use on their own. Their interactive approach offers an in-depth look at practical living in God's kingdom and challenges users to examine and live their daily lives in the light of God's Word. Features include: 12 lessons, plus an introduction to experiencing the hope and purpose that come with living with God's covenants in view Foundational, practical helps like Kingdom Extras, Probing the Depths, and Word Wealth in each lesson Spirit-Filled Life® Study Guides sold to date: More than 1.5 million","ISBN":"978-1-4185-4925-1","note":"Google-Books-ID: WCOo32rlKz8C","title-short":"Biblical Ministries Through Women","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Hayford","given":"Jack W."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Hayford).
Rachael
Rachel was a little girl of Laban and the favored spouse of the patriarch Jacob. Rachel got married to Jacob and blessed two children, who came to be among the establishing leaders of the twelve tribes of old Israel. Rachel met her future spouse while she was tending sheep that were the property of her father. She was "alluring" more than her elder sister named Leah. Jacob fell in love with Rachel, and he got ready to serve as labor for 7 years if she says yes for his proposal. However, Laban fooled Jacob into the wedding Leah first, after which Laban allowed Jacob to wed Rachel.Jacob adored Rachel and her two children more than Leah and her children. Therefore, there was a conflict between the two Rachael and Leah. Rachel experienced hardship within family circumstances but without losing trust that God she handled everything. Her story explains that polygamy puts on families. Rachel's experience shows the wisdom of God's unique standard for marriage that a man has just a single spouse.
Ruth
Ruth was a Moabitess who left her nation and religion to become a follower of Jehovah in Israel. Ruth demonstrated exceptional love to her husband, his mother, Naomi. Naomi, and their two children. They had gone to Moab to get away from starvation in Israel. The sons got marries with Moabite women named Ruth and Orpah. However, Husband and two sons of Naomi died and left three widows behind. Naomi chose to come back to Israel, where starvation was now finished. Ruth and Orpah decided to go with her. Though, Naomi requested to go back to their relatives where Orpah got agree with the decision. Ruth, however, decided to stay with her mother-in-law as she loved her in-law and also wanted to worship her God Jehovah. Her sacrifice for not going to her relative for the sake of her mother-in-law made her famous in Naomi’s hometown, Bethlehem. A well off landowner named Boaz was impressed by Ruth and decided to provide food to her and Naomi. Ruth later wedded Boaz and turned into an ancestress of both King David and Jesus Christ.Therefore, the story indicates that due to the love for Naomi and Jehovah, Ruth uprooted her life. She became the symbol of loyalty, devotion, and hardworking women in the Bible.
Jezebel
Jezebel was the spouse of Israelite King Ahab. She was a non-Israelite and followed the Canaanite god Baal instead of Jehovah. Sovereign Jezebel was tyrannical, savage, and violent. She encouraged sexual immorality and worship of Baal. She was against true religion and God, Jehovah. She tried a different strategy to eliminate the worship of Jehovah. Jezebel turned to lies and murder to fulfill her egotistical whims. As God see and hear everything, He gave him the death of pain and she did not receive a burial. Jezebel is a warning example. She was so unscrupulous and morally corrupt that her name has become an image for an unethical, shameless and unrestrained woman.
Esther
Esther was a Jewess, Persian King Ahasuerusselected her as his queen. Sovereign Esther utilized her position to avoid the destruction of her own individuals. She found that an official announcement had been given that assigned a particular day on which all Jews living in the Persian Empire were to be killed. This plan was developed by a man named Haman, who was the PM. With the assistance of her cousin, Mordecai, and at a miraculous danger, Esther uncovered the plan to her husband, King Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus then permitted Esther and Mordecai to give another declaration, approving the Jews to shield themselves. The Jews altogether vanquished their adversaries. Sovereign Esther set an example of courage, humility, and modesty. Despite her excellence and position, she looked for direction and help. When talking with her significant other, she was prudent and deferential, yet intense. Also, during a period of extraordinary risk for the Jews, she gallantly recognized herself as one of them
All the names of the women that are mentioned in the bible did something extraordinary due to which God presented them as an example for all human beings. All the women mentioned in the Bible have contributed to world history and the development of faith. Although, it is a general perception that Bible is written is by men so the focus was more on men rather than females yet still the names of forty-nine women are mentioned in the Holy Book along with the hardships they faced in their lives. The essay presented detailed information regarding women and their role in transforming society. Few women in the Bible set the example of love, care, loyalty, bravery, and faithfulness while some women are mentioned in the holy book as a warning. These women became the symbol of fakeness, unjust, harsh, and evil. However, all women of the Bible are highlighted for some specific reason to learn for making life better and according to the will of God.
Work Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Ackerman, Susan. “Women in Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, Apr. 2016. oxfordre.com, doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.45.
Bach, Alice. Women in the Hebrew Bible: A Reader. Routledge, 2013.
Hayford, Jack W. Biblical Ministries Through Women: God’s Daughters and God’s Work. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2012.
Savran, George. “Review of Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Bible as a Woman.” Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, no. 6, 2003, pp. 209–15. JSTOR.
