TLDR: Women of the Hebrew scriptures have such depth. Their lives were complicated, as are church ministries, yet every one of their roles were crucial to God's plan.

Introduction

A few weeks ago, I taught a course on women in the Bible. I began by telling everyone that I have a biased interest in this topic: I am a woman, and my perspective comes from my experience of women in ministry. Additionally, my stepmom is a retired Congregational Minister and I always had women at churches where I worshiped growing up. That being said, I recognize this is not everyone’s opinion or encounter with ministry. Additionally, I recognize that the scriptures can be read to not include women in ministry. Over the next three blogs I will give you my opinion on Scriptural views of women in ministry. I invite conversation with you on this matter. 

There is an array of roles of women in the Bible. Over the next three blogs I will outline women from all three portions of scripture. While most people refer to the first part of the Bible as the Old Testament, professors in seminary called these the Hebrew Scriptures out of a respect for the Jewish culture. The way the Old Testament made it sound as though there was a better promise from God.

Some Examples of Women in Hebrew Scripture

Back to the point at hand. The first woman in Scripture is Eve, who is seen as the source of original sin. This began in Genesis, the first book of the Bible when Eve presents Adam with a piece of fruit. Many, many years later St. Augustine interpreted this act as beginning humanity’s downfall. Sin can be passed down from generation to generation with beliefs such as racism, there is immediate need for saving. Since Fr. Roldan has already spoken about original sin and where it came from (again, not really Genesis), There will be other examples of how women were perceived in the Hebrew Scriptures, New Testament, and the Apocrypha.

In the same way that Eve’s actions have been reinterpreted through the lens of time so have all the words of Scripture. That is part of human nature. Instead of using every single woman in the Bible, with around 185 women named in the Hebrew Scriptures alone; there are few women to demonstrate important biblical themes. Each example includes: a woman’s character, ministry, and impact.

After Eve, one of the best-known matriarchs was Sarah. Now, just as with several of the male characters Sarah is no saint. She was originally named Sarai, then after her covenant with God, she was renamed. Between the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, her name appears almost 60 times!^[1] With only about 15% of women in the scriptures given names, Sarah’s name is particularly important. With her new name, she became the mother of God’s nation. This was not without issue. By the time she conceived Isaac she was 90 years old!^[2] Unsurprisingly, she did not think that her conception of Isaac was very likely. As such, she and Abram, who became Abraham, had plans of their own.

There was a very long gap between the promise and when Sarah conceived. Such a long period in fact, that Sarai and Abram passed through a foreign land where she was beautiful beyond measure. This relates to one of the themes regarding women throughout Scripture: Women who are truly beautiful, particularly in the Hebrew scriptures, are challenged to guard their virtue.

Sarai was 60 years old when she passed through this land, and she was one of the only women in the Bible to be described as beautiful at this age. Sarai, much like Eve before her and other women in the Hebrew scriptures, received value from being a helpmeet and a mother.^[3] Since she was barren, Sarai wanted to help Abram, so she posed as his sister. The problem with this was that it brought shame both on her and her husband. As a result of her conniving, she became less helpful and less virtuous. The first time this happens, Sarai does gain wealth for them because of how guilty the foreigner felt. Sarai’s ministry at this point consists of enriching and lifting up her husband’s life.

Next, she found a woman named Haagar to serve as a forced surrogate for Abram. Polygamy was not uncommon in the Hebrew Scriptures. The culture valued male heirs and clearly not everyone could provide this honor to their husbands. With the entrance of Hagar, there is another dynamic in the role of women: to encourage relationships with others. However, Sarah does not think about who or how this will impact her relationship with Abram. When Hagar becomes pregnant, Sarai does not feel grateful, she feels jealous. When she sees Abram and Hagar together, Sarai is mean to her.^[4] Hagar must return to Sarai for protection. Sarai’s actions are a warning to women to be careful how they give away their power. When God’s covenant between Sarah and Abraham is finally fulfilled, Hagar truly goes away. A nation is built upon both women. Clearly, women can have their own place as matriarchs. As Christians, the story continues through Sarah.

Sarah’s ministry is one that continues through her role as a mother and wife. She must be protective of her ministry as matriarchy to the point of being perceived as harsh toward a rival. Similar themes are certainly seen in the relationship between men. Note how then men are perceived as brave and strategic (think of David and later in this story of Solomon).

Next, let us consider the relationship between Jochebed, Miriam, and Moses. Israel has experienced cruelty of the Pharaoh, the one who forgot the Israelites before, who had not heard of Joseph. All the male children were being killed. However, the midwives, who knew this plan could only lead to heartache told Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” As such, God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.”^[5]

Next, Miriam and Jochebed (who are named later in the story), working together to save Moses. Both women follow the instruction of the enslavers by throwing the child into the river, however, like the midwives, they use strategy to be rebellious as well. The ministry of these women is clear: they are preservers and givers of life. Their role is to lead through wit. This is further evidenced as the Israelites begin their Exodus and travel through the waters. A quick note about names here, Miriam means “bitter-water-woman” in Hebrew and “Beloved” in Egyptian.^[6] As a woman born into enslavement, she is some of both. She is a woman who will see and experience God’s people through a transition. Miriam and Jochebed’s ministry are in Miriam’s name: it is to follow God’s path and lead God’s people through difficult waters.

The last Hebrew Scripture woman to consider is Bathsheba. She is the first female in this blog not in a direct relationship with another woman. Her entrance into the Hebrew scriptures is particularly problematic as her beauty, not unlike Sarah’s, causes inappropriate attention. There is significant debate among scholars as to the relationship between Bathsheba and David. Whatever the problematic beginnings, they do end up with a living son together, Solomon, who becomes David’s heir after many battles.

Bathsheba joins forces with the prophet who originally pointed out David’s mistake in “taking” Bathsheba as his wife before sending Uriah’s (her first husband) to death by placing him on the front lines in battle. This unlikely pair work together to ensure that David remembers an oath (not mentioned before this point) to put Bathsheba’s son on the throne over his other sons. This was done in a clever turn of phrase: Bathsheba’s name means “daughter of an oath.”^[7] Bathsheba’s role is as a matriarch: she is in the lineage of Jesus, the queen mother. In order to continue and have a stable ministry she must be strategic in her planning and her execution (pun intended).

Conclusion

The women of the Hebrew scriptures are my favorite to talk about because they have so much depth to them: they are both virtuous and honest in their failings. This begins with Eve and continues with Sarai (later Sarah) who would use her own plans in shaping God’s future families. Bathsheba is seen as a flat character, yet she later pairs with the prophet Nathan to put her son Solomon on the throne. Lives are complicated, as are church ministries. I think the women of the Hebrew Scriptures display this sentiment.

Sources

• Barr, B.A. (2021). The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth. Ada: Brazos Press.
• Bellis, A.O. (2007). Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes, Second Edition: Women's Stories in the Hebrew Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
• Burge, G.M.; Green, G.L. (2020). The New Testament in Antiquity, 2nd Edition: A Survey of the New Testament within Its Cultural Contexts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
• Carol, N.A. and Sharon Ringe, S., ed. (1992). Women’s Bible Commentary with Apocrypha, Expanded Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
• Coogan, M.D., ed. (2018)The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Dzubinski, L.M. Stasson, H. (2021). Women in the Mission of the Church: Their Opportunities and Obstacles throughout Christian History. Ada: Baker Academic.
• Gafney, W. (2017) Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne. Louisville: John Knox Press.
• Matis, H. (2022). A History of Women in Christianity to 1600. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Swan, L. (2007). Forgotten Desert Mothers, The: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women. Mahwah: Paulist Press.
• Zartmann, B. (2019-2022). Christian Formation at Christ Church Cathedral.

^[1] Gafney, W. (2017) Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne. Louisville: John Knox Press.

^[2] Genesis 21

^[3] Genesis 12, Genesis 20

^[4] Bellis, A.O. (2007). Helpmates, Harlots, and Heroes, Second Edition: Women's Stories in the Hebrew Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. “This feminine pronoun, along with the use of the Hebrew word h>amas, makes it likely that Sarah caught the couple in bed together and was therefore justified in her anger at both of them. (Reis, Haggard) This reading changes Sarah from an irrationally angry woman who is quick to blame others into one whose anger and reproach are quite understandable and reasonable. Reis, nevertheless, does not believe that Sarah’s response of treating Hagar harshly, or afflicting or oppressing her—however the Hebrew verb should be translated—is justified.”

^[5] Exodus 1:19

^[6] Gafney, W. (2017) Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne. Louisville: John Knox Press. Miriam’s name has two meanings. In Hebrew it means “bitter-water-woman”; in Egyptian it means “beloved”

^[7] Provan, I.W. (2012). Understanding the Bible Commentary Series: 1 & 2 Kings. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. The name Bathsheba, on the other hand, probably means “daughter of the oath.” Its second part (šeḇa) is connected with the verbal root šḇʿ, which in the Niphʿal means “to swear an oath”—the very verb that is found throughout 1:13–30 and that reappears in 1:51. While the son of the feast-lady eats, the daughter-of-the-oath reminds the king of what he has sworn and so ensures that Adonijah is dependent for his life upon Solomon’s own oath. The story is constructed quite deliberately so as to make these connections between the mothers and their sons clear and to invest the characters with a sense of predestination. See further M. Garsiel, “Puns upon Names as a Literary Device in 1 Kings 1–2,” Bib 72 (1991), pp. 379–86.