The House of Sarah

October 20, 2010Women of the Bibleadultery, barren, circumcision, deceit, endangered ancestress, incest, Mamre, Matrilineal, priestess, princess, prophetess, Queen of Heaven, slavery, traffic in women, trickster, woman's sexual desirerobin

The Bible both prizes Sarah and disparages her. Her high valuation is reflected by the following events:

In Egypt, Abraham does not order Sarah but pleads for her to pretend she is his sister;
Sarah demands that Abraham impregnate Hagar for the benefit of building up Sarah;
Abraham complies with Sarah’s demand for the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael;
God tells Abraham to listen to Sarah;
Sarah’s name was changed from Sarai, just as Abraham’s was from Abram, with the accompanying promise that “she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her” (17:16) – in other words the covenant blessings and promises apply to her (Evans);
a whole chapter is devoted to Sarah’s burial.

In addition, the rabbinical tradition was eager to see Sarah as a prophetess whose spirit of prophecy was even greater than Abraham’s!

Continue reading The House of Sarah →

Noah’s Wife: A Second Eve

October 4, 2010Women of the BibleGenesis 9, incest, nakedness of the fathers, namless women, rape, The Floodrobin

It has long been understood that God intended to begin creation again by wiping the earth clean with a flood while preserving Noah, his family and the animals to repopulate the world. Noah then become the new Adam, and his wife, the new mother of all humans. After the Flood, Noah’s wife carried on Eve’s role since it was from her that all post-Flood generations are descended. Surely, we, her descendants should learn who she was. First off, we can assume that Mrs. Noah was moral and just, otherwise she would not have been saved from the Flood. Although it is said of Noah alone: “For I have seen you before me as a righteous man in this generation” (Gen. 7:1) this in no way negates the possible righteousness of his wife. Continue reading Noah’s Wife: A Second Eve →

Eve Speaks for Herself

September 30, 2010Women of the Bibledesire, Garden of Eden, naming children, original sin, snake, The Fall, Tree of Knowledge, tree of liferobin

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Where Christianity and rabbinic Judaism have condemned Eve as lustful and evil, many modern feminists have discarded Eve. Compared to Lilith, “Adam’s First Wife” who is not mentioned in Genesis, Eve has been labeled docile and obedient to patriarchy. Continue reading Eve Speaks for Herself →

Noadiah: The Lost Prophetess

September 20, 2010Women of the Bibleexogamy, mixed marriages, prophetessrobin

“Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid” (Neh. 6:14).

Our only source of information about the prophetess Noadiah is the book of Nehemiah. The book is the memoir of a governor appointed by the Persian king after the exile of the Israelite people in the 5th century B.C.E. He was not a prophet, priest or king and therefore had no mandate from the Jewish people or God. Artaxerxes I awarded him the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and continuing the restoration of the Temple. Continue reading Noadiah: The Lost Prophetess →

Lilith: Revered and Feared

September 14, 2010Women of the Biblefeminist, Garden of Eden, mythical creaturesrobin

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“And desert creatures meet with hyenas, and the wild goat cries to its companion; yes, there the night bird [לילית] rests, and finds herself a resting place” Isaiah 34:14 (Blair’s translation, p.63).

Traditionally this verse has been cited as the only biblical reference to Lilith. Many interpreters, ancient and modern, have understood the Hebrew word לילית as a reference to the demon Lilith and others have translated this as “screech owl” or “night bird” (for example in Blair’s translation above). Which is the more accurate translation? And regardless of which is correct, who was Lilith? Continue reading Lilith: Revered and Feared →

Abigail the Prophetess

September 6, 2010Women of the BibleAbigail, female prophet, King David's wives, prophetess, wealthy biblical women, widowrobin

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Nabal’s Insult

In the middle of an ongoing narrative about David’s rise to power, we find a chapter which focuses on Abigail. “No other character in the episode interacts with all the other characters. Thus, even though the story appears to be about male authority, female presence shines through” (Bach, p.26). Rather than David being glorified in this account, we find Abigail celebrated for her intelligence while being caught between two boorish men. “Nabal, of course, is a fool, but David is heavy-handed and loutish as well. Nabal is too shortsighted to realize the risk inherent in insulting David, but David is too shortsighted to recognize the risk to his future posed by rash vengeance” (Hobbs, p.634-5). It is a rare woman who has not had the experienced of making peace between two difficult people. Abigail has much to teach us on the subject. Continue reading Abigail the Prophetess →

Rabbi Huldah

August 31, 2010Women of the BiblePassover, prophetess, women scribesrobin

I have climbed the steps that lead to the Gates of Huldah on the Temple mount and I have asked permission to visit the traditional place of her burial, a holy shrine maintained by Muslims, revered by Christians and a place of pilgrimage for Jews in the know. Perhaps her grave is the most peaceful place in Jerusalem, if not the Middle East. At least I can say that her grave is a model of interfaith cooperation, a worthy symbol for a great woman. Continue reading Rabbi Huldah →

Robin Cohn

Women of the Bible for Thinkers