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Women in the Bible

Eve

  • The first woman according to the biblical creation story in Genesis 2–3

  • best-known female figure in the Hebrew Bible

  • the first matriarch of the whole human race

  • created from her husband Adam's rib to be his helper

  • was put in the presence of God and lived in the garden of Eden with her husband Adam, who was deceived by Satan in serpent form

  • had two sons Cain and Abel

Sarah

  • had a name changed

  • was 89 years old and barren (childless), and her husband Abraham was 99

  • laughed when Abraham told her she would have a child

  • had a son named Isaac, meaning laughter

Rebekah

  • one of the matriarchs

  • married Isaac

  • had twins: Esau and Jacob, her favorite being Jacob

  • helped Jacob deceive her Isaac into blessing Jacob instead of Esau

Leah

  • her father Laban deceived Jacob into marrying her after working for seven years to marry her sister

  • gave Jacob many sons but still was not loved as much as her sister

Rachel

  • married Jacob seven years after he married her sister

  • known as the “beautiful sister”

  • was in great grief and despair because she could not give her husband Jacob children for a long time

  • mother of Joseph and Benjamin

Rahab

  • the mother of Boaz, and a part of Jesus’s bloodline

  • being a Canaanite made her a hated enemy of Israel

  • helped Joshua’s spies from Israel to destroy Jericho by not telling the king she was hiding the spies in her home

  • her family and life were spared the life

  • God saw past her rough history and used her to pass on a legacy

Deborah

  • was said to hear God's voice as a prophet and share God’s Word with others (was only one of five women described as a prophet in the Old Testament)

  • as a priestess, she did not offer sacrifices as the men did, but she did lead worship services and preach

  • the only female judge mentioned in the book of Judges

  • wrote a song describing the battle she and Barak fought against Sisera and his army

Delilah

  • was the central figure of Samson's last love story (Judges 16)

  • was a Philistine who was bribed to convince Sampson to reveal that the secret of his strength was his long hair

  • took advantage of his trust and betrayed him to his enemies

Ruth

  • has her own book in the Bible

  • a woman whose husband has died but she chose to stay with her husband’s mother Naomi

  • was a Moabite woman and leaving her homeland to be with Naomi was not ideal for her

  • married a man named Boaz

Bathsheba

  • as she bathed on her roof, she caught the attention of King David

  • becomes pregnant with King David’s child

  • her husband is killed so that he won’t ever know what King David did

Miriam

  • best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea.

  • one of the 7 prophetesses of the Bible

  • was struck with leprosy

Jezebel

  • a prostitute, a deceiver, a killer

  • the wife of Ahab, king of Israel: a good, God worshiping man

  • turned her husband towards worshipping Baal: the so-called god of nature

  • wanted to kill God’s prophet, Elijah

  • died by falling out her window and was eaten by dogs

Esther

  • born with the name Hadassah

  • at an early age, her cousin Mordecai (a God-fearing man) adopted her

  • chosen by King Xerxes to replace his former wife

  • prevented the first Holocaust of her people, the Hebrews

Mary of Bethany

  • opened her home to Jesus

  • sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said

Martha

  • opened her home to Jesus

  • was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made

Mary, mother of Jesus

  • a virgin who became the wife of Joseph

  • supported and displayed her faith in her son throughout His ministry

Mary Magdalene

  • Jesus cleansed her of seven demons

  • financially aided Jesus in Galilee

  • one of the witnesses of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus and

  • was the first person to see Jesus after the resurrection

Woman at the well

  • Jesus went out of His way to talk to her, even though she was a Samaritan woman (typically despised by the Jewish people)

  • Jesus asked her to get Him a drink of water

  • was shocked by Jesus’s behavior with her

  • Jesus told her He could give her "living water" as a gift from God so that she would never thirst again (spiritually)

Woman with the issue of blood

  • dealt with a medical problem for 12 years

  • her presence made people nervous

  • touched the hem of Jesus’s garment and was healed

Namaan’s servant

  • was taken captive by a king to be a servant for his wife

  • was far away from her family and her true home, yet she kept her faith

  • when the king became sick with leprosy, she saved his life by suggesting he talk to a prophet of God to be healed

Lot’s wife

  • turned to salt was the punishment for disobeying the angel’s warning

  • by looking back at the “evil cities,” she betrayed her secret longing for that way of life

Eve

  • The first woman according to the biblical creation story in Genesis 2–3

  • best-known female figure in the Hebrew Bible

  • the first matriarch of the whole human race

  • created from her husband Adam's rib to be his helper

  • was put in the presence of God and lived in the garden of Eden with her husband Adam, who was deceived by Satan in serpent form

  • had two sons Cain and Abel

Sarah

  • had a name changed

  • was 89 years old and barren (childless), and her husband Abraham was 99

  • laughed when Abraham told her she would have a child

  • had a son named Isaac, meaning laughter

Rebekah

  • one of the matriarchs

  • married Isaac

  • had twins: Esau and Jacob, her favorite being Jacob

  • helped Jacob deceive her Isaac into blessing Jacob instead of Esau

Leah

  • her father Laban deceived Jacob into marrying her after working for seven years to marry her sister

  • gave Jacob many sons but still was not loved as much as her sister

Rachel

  • married Jacob seven years after he married her sister

  • known as the “beautiful sister”

  • was in great grief and despair because she could not give her husband Jacob children for a long time

  • mother of Joseph and Benjamin

Rahab

  • the mother of Boaz, and a part of Jesus’s bloodline

  • being a Canaanite made her a hated enemy of Israel

  • helped Joshua’s spies from Israel to destroy Jericho by not telling the king she was hiding the spies in her home

  • her family and life were spared the life

  • God saw past her rough history and used her to pass on a legacy

Deborah

  • was said to hear God's voice as a prophet and share God’s Word with others (was only one of five women described as a prophet in the Old Testament)

  • as a priestess, she did not offer sacrifices as the men did, but she did lead worship services and preach

  • the only female judge mentioned in the book of Judges

  • wrote a song describing the battle she and Barak fought against Sisera and his army

Delilah

  • was the central figure of Samson's last love story (Judges 16)

  • was a Philistine who was bribed to convince Sampson to reveal that the secret of his strength was his long hair

  • took advantage of his trust and betrayed him to his enemies

Ruth

  • has her own book in the Bible

  • a woman whose husband has died but she chose to stay with her husband’s mother Naomi

  • was a Moabite woman and leaving her homeland to be with Naomi was not ideal for her

  • married a man named Boaz

Bathsheba

  • as she bathed on her roof, she caught the attention of King David

  • becomes pregnant with King David’s child

  • her husband is killed so that he won’t ever know what King David did

Miriam

  • best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea.

  • one of the 7 prophetesses of the Bible

  • was struck with leprosy

Jezebel

  • a prostitute, a deceiver, a killer

  • the wife of Ahab, king of Israel: a good, God worshiping man

  • turned her husband towards worshipping Baal: the so-called god of nature

  • wanted to kill God’s prophet, Elijah

  • died by falling out her window and was eaten by dogs

Esther

  • born with the name Hadassah

  • at an early age, her cousin Mordecai (a God-fearing man) adopted her

  • chosen by King Xerxes to replace his former wife

  • prevented the first Holocaust of her people, the Hebrews

Mary of Bethany

  • opened her home to Jesus

  • sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said

Martha

  • opened her home to Jesus

  • was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made

Mary, mother of Jesus

  • a virgin who became the wife of Joseph

  • supported and displayed her faith in her son throughout His ministry

Mary Magdalene

  • Jesus cleansed her of seven demons

  • financially aided Jesus in Galilee

  • one of the witnesses of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus and

  • was the first person to see Jesus after the resurrection

Woman at the well

  • Jesus went out of His way to talk to her, even though she was a Samaritan woman (typically despised by the Jewish people)

  • Jesus asked her to get Him a drink of water

  • was shocked by Jesus’s behavior with her

  • Jesus told her He could give her "living water" as a gift from God so that she would never thirst again (spiritually)

Woman with the issue of blood

  • dealt with a medical problem for 12 years

  • her presence made people nervous

  • touched the hem of Jesus’s garment and was healed

Namaan’s servant

  • was taken captive by a king to be a servant for his wife

  • was far away from her family and her true home, yet she kept her faith

  • when the king became sick with leprosy, she saved his life by suggesting he talk to a prophet of God to be healed

Lot’s wife

  • turned to salt was the punishment for disobeying the angel’s warning

  • by looking back at the “evil cities,” she betrayed her secret longing for that way of life