Women of the Old Testament

rahab

she helps Joshua's men capture Jericho (see notes for details). She hangs a red cord out of her window as the sign to leave her house alone when the Israelites take Jericho

hagar

she is Sarah's servant and Abraham's concubine. Sarah makes her sleep with Abraham in an attempt to fulfill God's promise that Abraham will have a son. When she conceives, jealous Sarah banishes her into the desert. Despite her misfortune, God provides for Hagar and her son Ishmael in the desert.

Delilah

she is hired by the Philistines to find the secret to Samson's great strength. She becomes his lover and betrays his trust. Samson tells her that his secret is in his long hair, and she cuts it off in his sleep so that the Philistines can capture him.

deborah

she is the only female judge of Israel, and she is elected by the people. God tells her to tell Barak, an Israelite military leader to go into battle against Sisera, but he says he will only go if she goes with him She agrees but says that the victory will belong to a woman

michal

Daughter of Saul and wife of David. She helps David escape from Saul when Saul tries to kill him.

bathsheba

David commits adultery with her after seeing her bathing, but he later repents at the prompting of the prophet Nathan's sheep story (see notes for details). Mother of Solomon

esther

A Jewish orphan, she is raised by her cousin Mordecai. She is made queen when she wins a contest to marry the king because of her beauty. When the King tries to kill Mordecai and all the Jews in the land, she gets in good graces with the king before bravely revealing herself to be a Jew and stands up to save her people

hannah

After being barren for years, she finally conceives Samuel and, to fulfill her promise to God, has him consecrated as a Nazirite

Dinah

After being raped by Shechem, her brothers take revenge by killing the men who abused her.

miriam

Moses' sister Pharaoh decrees that all male Hebrew babies must be killed. Moses' mother floats him down the river in a basket hoping that he will escape from harm. She follows him down the river to make sure he is safe. When Pharaoh's daughter finds him, she makes sure that she takes care of him and even arranges for Moses' own mother to be his caretaker.

Tamar

She marries Er Er dies She marries Er's brother, Onan Onan refused to give her children Onan dies She disguises herself as a prostitute to sleep with Judah (father of Er and Onan)

queen of sheba

She seeks wisdom from Solomon and is so impressed that she converts to the religion of the Israelites. Her story is the last written about location of the ark of the covenant (in Ethiopia)

judith

The Babylonian general Holofernes is attempting to conquer the Jewish people. To save them, she goes into his tent and when he is drunk, she cuts off his head. This gives the Israelites the hope and courage to win the war and save themselves from the Babylonian attack.

Jael

________, an Israelite woman, kills Sisera with a tent peg

widow of zarephath

Very poor, the widow obeys the prophet Elijah when he asks her for some food. She gives him all the oil and flour that she has left. Because of her trust and generosity, God provides for her by making her flour and oil miraculously last for an entire year so that she and her so do not go hungry.

Rebekah

Wife of Isaac Mother of Jacob and Esau She favored Jacob and helped him trick Isaac into giving Jacob his blessing (see notes for details).

zipporah

Wife of Moses She saves Moses' life by circumcising their son Gershom.

abigail

Wife of Nabal (but later marries David) Nabal drunkenly refuses to show hospitality to David Abigail went behind her husband's back to give food and drink to David and his men so that David would not kill Nabal

leah and rachel

Wives of Jacob Laban tricked Jacob into marrying one instead of the other (see notes for details). one is Jacob's favorite wife, and her sons (Joseph and Benjamin) are Jacob's favorite sons.

jezebel

Worshipper of Baal As leader of the Israelites, she is cruel and oppressive. She is eventually killed by being thrown off of a balcony and eaten by dogs. Challenges Elijah to see whether the God of Israel of Baal is more powerful. God wins

ruth

she cares for the widow Naomi and travels with her to Naomi's homeland in Bethlehem, leaving behind her home. We see here her loyalty and friendship. Then, while picking grain (gleaning) in his field, she meets Boaz, who helps them to survive. she eventually marries Boaz.