Roles Of Women In The Bible

A focus on women and the feminine language in the Old Testament reveals God's possession of feminine traits and exhibits that many Biblical female figures acted against ancient, weak, female stereotypes which ultimately challenges the dominating androcentric nature of the Bible. Written in a patriarchal context and by males, the bible is undeniably laced with a patriarchal bias. It commonly places males at the top and always in a position of ruler-ship whilst women are considered inferior, unintelligent and are given roles of subservience. Feminist interpretations of the Old Testament are consequently vital for defying these standards and stereotypes in Christianity and society. According to feminist scholar Esther Fuchs, "for too long, the

Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of God are both biblical women who were faced with similar societal standards even thought these time periods are hundreds of years apart. Mary Magdalene was always seen as the “rebellious” women in the bible when it turns out she really wasn 't doing anything wrong. Similarly David Van Biema wrote about this topic in Time Magazine saying that Mary was first seen in the Gospel of Luke as

Esther was an orphan who was raised by her cousin Mordecai (Leath, 2010). There came a time that she would go from orphan to queen. Esther lived in Persia, where King Ahasuerus ruled. A day arrived that Queen Vashti refused to obey King Ahasuerus and was soon replaced by Esther (Leath, 2010). During this time, the King held ultimate power and everyone was subject to the king’s authority. Consequently, Queen Vashti displayed disobedience by not obeying the King and was punished by being removed as queen (Leath, 2010). However, the removal of Queen Vashti paved the way for Esther and she was purposefully placed in position as queen. This seized

• In chapter 1-2, Esther becomes the queen of Ahasuerus of Persia. She was personally chosen by the King. “The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him” (2:17), probably because of her beauty and intelligence.

The Old Testament shows many examples of the roles of women throughout the course of time. Throughout the Old Testament women rights and roles have changed dramatically from the time of Eve when she appeared to of had her rights stolen, to the time Ruth used her rights to marry a kin after being a widow, and the time of Bathsheba when she was instructed to do so instead of being asked. Their rights throughout the Old Testament have not been set at a constant in fact their rights through the Old Testament vary depending on what your status was. Comparing the roles of Eve, Ruth, and Bathsheba is considerably difficult because they are extremely different

Esther is the seventeenth book of the Old Testament that is ascribed to Mordechai and is wrote in Hebrew. The name Esther means star. She becomes king Ahasuerus’ queen for thirteen years. She becomes Ahasuerus’ queen by sacrificing herself for her people the Jews. She says, “If I perish, I perish.” The Jews are persecuted because a man named Haman dislikes all Jews and tries to prove to the king of Persia that all Jews are disloyal. He tries to have Mordecai sent to his death, but after Esther sacrifices herself, Haman becomes trapped and is hung on the very scaffold that he plans to have Mordecai sent to death on. Mordecai saves the kings life and he becomes a servant for the king. A very important feast that takes place in this book that

The characteristics of a person who is a hero are brave, an ideal and strong, but for me a hero is someone who saves other people, and Esther is an example of that heroine. The Jewish festival of Purim can be compared to Halloween; this holiday was an inspiration of Esther; making her the only woman who approved the Jewish religious tradition. The book of Esther is a unique book because there is no direct mention of God, but it does not mean that God has no sovereignty in Esther’s life, this is what intrigues many readers including me to understand the logic of excluding God especially since this story is in the Bible. In addition to God not mentioned, I also find Esther’s story to be intriguing because she is smart, obedient and courage. In my paper, I will be focusing on how Esther is a positive role model and a heroine for the Jews. To support my claims, I will include the Bible, two scholarly articles “Keeping God out of the Book of Esther” by Gregory R. Goswell, and “Heartless Bimbo or Subversive Role Model?: A Narrative (Self) Critical Reading of the Character of Esther” by Angeline Song and last a website article “Esther: Hidden Beauty” by Sara Esther Crispe.

Miriam the daughter of Aaron was a prophet and one of the triad of leaders of Israel during the Exodus from Egypt. In judges 4 & 5 Deborah, was a prophet judge, who headed the army of ancient Israel. (New king James, 1945) The gospel of Philip portrayed Mary Magdalene as the companion of Jesus, in a position of very high authority within early Christian movement.

In Paul Hége’s book, Women in the Bible, Qumran, and Early Rabbinic Literature: Their Status and Roles Scholarship writes about, “The status of women in Scripture and in Qumranic and rabbinic literatures has often been guided by biased preconceptions in both directions” (Héger page 5) meaning by male citizens and another scholars alike. One of the biggest argument from the Bible, was the creation woman. As stated by Heger, “The traditional commentators connect these midrashim to the preceding as other solutions to the apparent contradiction between humankind’s creation as androgynous, subsequently separated, and the biblical assertion that woman was created from man’s rib.” Referring that, women are leftover fragments from man. Heger stated this as wrong, and God had more meaning for women, such as being Adam’s helper, not slave. But others interpretations of the passages such as, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve” give women a lower ranking among her peers.

The people today view Mary as the most privileged woman who has ever lived, which can easily be the case, but not many people think about the price she had to pay for that title. Mary is one of the most important, and interesting people in the Bible. Mary is a central figure in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Mary is also honored in the book of the Qur’an, she is the only woman mentioned by name in the book. In Matthew, Mary played a very submissive role, she was never mentioned by her name,

Once, she demonstrated her faith, her daughter was made whole. Through this experience, Christ taught his disciples both compassion and the Abrahamic

Is it possible for one woman to change a life or even history? After completing this twelve chapter study of twenty-four biblical women, you will answer with a resounding YES!

The Book of Esther is the story of a young Jewish woman, who by the will of God is placed in the position to speak out against the genocide of her people. Esther is chosen by King Ahasuerus to be his new queen after the previous queen, Vashti defies him and is subsequently dethroned. Raised by her elder cousin Mordecai, Esther is advised to keep her Jewish ethnicity a secret. Haman the King’s high official is offended by Mordechai’s refusal to pay respect and bow down to him. Word of Mordecai being a Jew reaches Haman. Seeking revenge, Haman manipulates King Ahasuerus into issuing an edict for the extermination of all Jews. Mordecai calls upon Esther to convince the King to spare the Jewish people. Strategically, Esther arranges a banquet where

In Matthew 15:22, when Jesus and his disciples first encounter the woman, the woman screams, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David”. This is significant

Her role has also been to connect with women and become their role model. What the Virgin Mary did for women was allow them to devote their lives to Christianity in a world in which they are deemed less powerful and when there is a social aspect of inequality present. The Virgin Mary was an example of a strong, determined women who has the power to take action in a time period full of injustice. Women during this time were attracted to the idea of a release from a patriarchal cultural. Women lacked financial and economic autonomy and dependence on their husbands made it difficult break out of their societal expectations. The Virgin Mary was able to empower women everywhere, and because she is seen as a mobile figure, she can be called to help essentially anyone who believes in her. Heroines were created from her influence causing even more of Christianity’s social ideals to spread as well as the importance of self-discipline and avoidance of indulgence. Women’s bright new image of themselves derailed the dominance of men and gave them courage to live radical lives in order to spread their faith. Women like Marcella, Melania, and Egeria chose to be transformed as they lived life on the edge of society. Women created their own social movement which influenced other women to branch out from their household roles into preachers, prophets, and patrons. Overall, the Virgin Mary had a huge impact which had a domino effect of the enormous spread of Christianity.