Women of the Hebrew Scriptures

Eve
(Genesis 1-3; 4:1-2,8,16,25; 5:1-2)
In the recorded history of Jews and Christians, she is the first woman with a name and an identity. She is wife of Adam and mother to many sons and daughters, including Cain, Abel and Seth. As the "original woman" Eve continues to be the symbol of both domination and liberation of women.

Sarah
(Genesis 11:27-32; 12; 13; 16; 17:1-8, 15-21; 18:1-15; 20; 21:1-14; 22:1-14; 23; 24: 36, 67; 25:10; 49:31. Isaiah 51:2 )
Born in Ur of the Chaldeans, Sarah married her half-brother Abraham. She left Ur to settle in the land of Canaan. Sarah was childless until the age of 90, when she bore a son, Isaac.

Hagar
(Genesis 16; 17:1, 18-21; 21:1-4,8-21; 25:5-6, 12-17)
The Egyptian slave of Sarah, Hagar became Abraham's concubine when Sarah did not bear children. Hagar twice fled to the wilderness with her son, Ishmael, because of the hostilities she suffered in Abraham's household. Each time, God's messenger comforted her and intervened to save her life.

Milcah
(Genesis 11:26-29; 22:20-24;24:15,24,47)
Milcah was Sarah and Abraham's niece, the daughter of their brother Haram. Her granddaughter, Rebekah, married Sarah and Abraham's grandson, Jacob.

Rebekah
(Genesis 22:20-23; 24; 25:19-34; 26:1-11, 17, 23, 34-35; 27; 28:1-5; 49:29,31)
Rebekah was the wife of Isaac and mother of twin sons, Jacob and Esau. She helped her second-born and favored son, Jacob, conspire against his father to win Esau's birthright and blessing. She also secured Jacob's safety in the face of Esau's wrath.

Leah
(Genesis 29:15-36; 30:1-21; 31:4-55; 32:22-24; 33:1-7, 12-14; 34:1; 35:23, 26; 46:8-18; 49:31)
Leah was the elder sister of Rachel, whom Jacob had worked seven years to marry. Leah tricked Jacob into marrying her by taking Rachel's place on their wedding night. Jacob ultimately married both sisters.

Rachel
(Genesis 28:1-5; 29:1-31;30:1-26:31:4-55; 32:22-24; 33:1-7, 12-14; 35:16-21,24-25;46:19-22;48:7. Jeremiah 31:15))
She was Leah's sister, the younger daughter of Rebekah's brother Laban. Jacob worked seven years to win the right to marry her. She is the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.

Shiprah and Puah
(Exodus 1:15-22)
Shiprah and Puah were Hebrew midwives in Egypt. They defied the orders of Pharaoh to kill all male Hebrew children. They may have delivered Moses. The Hebrew midwives resisted oppression so their people would live.

Miriam
(Ex 2:1-10; 15:19-21; Num 12; 20:1-2 Deut 24:8-9; 1 Chr 6:1-3; Mic 6:3-4)
Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron, and shared leadership with them during the exodus from Egypt. She led the women in song and dance after the parting of the Sea of Reeds. She saved Mosesž life by convincing Pharoahžs daughter to take him into her household after he was weaned.

Pharoahžs Daughter
(Exodus 2:1-10)
Pharoahžs daughter took pity on the three month old male Hebrew child, Moses, and gave him to his own mother to nurse. She acted contrary to her fatheržs law which said male Hebrew children must die. In solidarity with the midwives and Miriam, she chose life over death. This led to the liberation of the Hebrew people.

Hanna
(1 Sam 1; 2:1-11, 18-21)
The wife of Elkanah, Hanna was childless until God heard her intense prayer to become a mother. She gave birth to Samuel, whom she consecrated to God, and who became a great a prophet.

Gomer
(Hos 1:2-9; 3; 4:1,5-6,10)
Gomer, a prostitute, was the wife of the prophet Hosea. Hosea's marriage, divorce and remarriage to Gomer, the naming of their children and his indictments against his wife's promiscuous behavior are all a metaphor for Israel's relationship with God. This makes it difficult to determine how much of what is said about Gomer serves a prophetic function or is actually fact.

Huldah
(2 Kings 22:11-20; 2 Chr 34:22-28)
Huldah was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem during the time of the prophet Jeremiah. She foretold God's wrath upon the nation as well as God's mercy toward its king, Josiah.

Micahžs Mother
(Judge 17:1-6)
Michahžs Mother is an example of a syncretic time for the Hebrew people, when there was no king in Israel. Many religious practices were incorporated with the Hebrew faith. Micahžs mother built a molten, silver memento (idol) to show her gratefulness to God when her son returned eleven hundred pieces of silver which he had stolen from her.

Tamar
(Genesis 38:6-30; Ruth 4:12; 1 Chronicles 2:3-6)
Tamar was betrayed several times over by Judah and his family. However, by patience and cleverness she secured her rights. She had twin sons, Perez and Zerah, by way of Judah, whom she seduced after disguising herself as a prostitute. Perez was the ancestor of David.

Rahab
(Joshua 2:1-24;6:1-2, 15-25)
Rahab, a prostitute in the city of Jericho, was cunning. She harbored and bargained with Joshua's spies and took charge of her own life. As a result she and her family was spared when Joshua's army destroyed her city.

Deborah
(Judges 4:1-22; 5:1-31)
"Deborah was a judge, a warrior and a prophet in Israel during the time of the judges. She brought victory to the Israel people during a national effort against the Canaanites during the time of the Judges. She wrote a Hebrew heroic poem similar to Psalm 68, which was filled with many female images.

Jael
(Judges 4:1-3, 14-22; 5:1,6,24-27)
Jael enticed Sisera the general of the Canaanite army to seek refuge in her tent, and then killed him. She was the wife of Heber, the Kenite, a descendent from Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Deborah celebrated this event with a song.

Samsonžs Mother
(Judges 13:2-25;14:1-9: 16:30-31)
Samsonžs Mother waited a long time for a baby after many years of infertility. She was the wife of Manoah of Zorah. After a heavenly visitor announced she was to give birth, she was instructed to dedicate the child to God, to be raised as a nazirite. Samson grew up to be a violent and headstrong man in many ways. He was a judge for twenty years in Israel. People believe he fulfilled Godžs plan, but he must have been a worry to his mother.

Delilah
(Judges 16:4-31)
Delilah was probably a Philistine, a lover to Samson. She eventually found out the source of his amazing, destructive strength and informed upon him.

Ruth and Naomi
(Book of Ruth)
Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, who migrated with her family to Moab when famine struck Bethlehem. When Ruth and Naomi both became widowed, Ruth insisted on returning to Bethlehem with Naomi rather than return to her Moabite people. Ruth married Boaz and was great-grandmother to David.

Davidžs Mother
(1 Sam 22:3-4)
Davidžs Mother is not mentioned by name. She was the wife of Jesse. The lineage of David is traced through his father Jesse, his grandfather Obed, His great-grandparents, Ruth and Boaz, and on through his patriarchal ancestry instead of through his motheržs Jewish heritage.

Bathsheba
(2 Sam 11:1-18, 25-27; 12:1-25; 1 Kings 1:1, 11-40; 2: 13-25; 1 Chr 3:5)
Bathsheba epitomizes the dependence upon men and also the strength to assert her wishes. She fell under David's control but in turn secured power for her son, Solomon. David and Solomon respected her and granted her favors.

Queen of Sheba
(1 Kings 10:1-13; 2 Chr 9:1-12)
The Queen of Sheba is claimed by Arabs and Ethiopians and much mythology surrounds her. The scripture describes her as a contemporary of Solomon in the tenth century B.C.E. who visited him for a length of time. They are believed to have had an equal intellectual rapport and are reported to have had a fruitful sexual relationship before she returned to her country.

Jezebel
(1 Kings 16:29-34; 18: 1-20,38-40; 19:1-3; 21:1-25; 22:51-53; 2 Kings 9:1-13, 21-37)
Jezebel was a princess, queen, queen mother and interim ruler of Israel around 850 B.C.E. She was a worshiper of Baal and Asherah and threatened the prophets of Israel.

Athaliah
(2 Kings 8:16-18, 25-26; 10:13; 11:1-21; 2 Chr 21:4-6; 22:1-3, 9-12; 23:12-15, 20-21; 24:1-2, 7)
Athaliah continued the cruelty of her mother, Jezebel. She secured the throne after the death of her son, Ahaziah, by slaughtering all male heirs. One grandson, Joash, was spared by hiding in the temple. During her reign, she restored the worship of Baal.

Esther
(Book of Esther)
Esther was a Jew in the kingdom of Media and Persia. She was raised by her relative, Mordecai, after her parents died. Because of her beauty, she was conscripted into the harem of King Ahasuerus and eventually became queen. She used her position to help her people. Their victory against slaughter gave rise to the feast of Purim. Her Jewish name is known as Hadassah.

Judith
(Book of Judith)
"Judith, daughter of Merari, wife of Manasseh, was a beautiful, wealthy courageous woman who lived in the town of Bethulia." She liberated her people from an Assyrian siege by seducing the Assyrian general, Holofernes, and chopping off his head.

Jochebad
(Ex 2:1-10; 6:20; Num 26:59)
Jochebad, a daughter of Levi, was the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. She and her husband, Amram, were both of the priestly tradition by birth. Jochebad saved the life of Moses with the help of Miriam and the Pharaoh's daughter.

Shelomith
(Lev 24:10-23)
Shelomith could be considered an invisible woman in scripture. She is named as a mother of a son who blasphemed against God. She was a member of the tribe of Dan, married to an Egyptian. Moses used this occasion to show that justice is meted out to Hebrew and alien alike.

Jewish Mother
(2 Maccabees 7:1-42/4 Maccabees: 8-18)
Jewish Mother is a narrative about a mother and her seven sons during the time of the Maccabees. The mother exhorted her children to stand firm in the practice of Judaism. They endured extreme horrors of the Seleucid persecution. All seven sons were tortured and slaughtered before she herself was killed. She is admired as a martyr along with her sons by the Catholic Church. In Syriac Christian accounts she is called Shamone/Maryam.



The sources for this material are the books WomanWisdom, and WomanWitness written by Miriam Therese Winter, Medical Mission Sister. All quotation marks are the words of the author. Other text was compiled by Barbara Ballenger and Mary Straka Felker. WomanWisdom and WomanWitness are published by Crossroad Publishing Company. They contain a complete listing of all the women in the Hebrew Scriptures along with original related psalm and prayer resources for reflection and worship.