OTHER UNNAMED WOMEN

The unity and fellowship of woman with man is stressed early in the Creation, and we become more and more certain of how man and woman were made for each other as the stories of women unfold.

Among some of the most interesting women in the Bible are these nameless ones. Though some of their stories are short, we soon discover that their roles were not as unimportant as they might at first seem. Every woman who appears in the Bible holds a significant place in the history of mankind.

In the section that follows are many of the unnamed women in the background whose lives had meaning and purpose in the Bible record.

The words “woman” and “women” appear in the Bible more than 400 times, and we find women in every role from poets to prophets.

WISE-HEARTED WOMEN

Wise-hearted women (Exod. 35:25) refers to the devout women who spun, “both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen” for the tabernacle. In the next verse we learn that all women “whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.” We get a picture of how, in this time of Moses, about fifteen centuries before Christ, women worked just as they do now to beautify their places of worship. These gifts that they made came from the heart and into them they put their best talents. This is the earliest record we have of the handwork of the women of Israel.

WOMEN ASSEMBLING AT TABERNACLE

Women assembling at the tabernacle (Exod. 38:8) are those who ministered at the door of the tent meeting place. In a description of the building of the tabernacle after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, we are told that near the altar there was a laver or vessel of metal made from the polished copper or bronze “looking glasses of the women assembling.” These women who ministered at the door probably assisted the Levites in the preparations for the service. This is one of the earliest examples of women’s ministry in the house of God.

WOMAN PATRIOT OF THEBEZ

The woman patriot of Thebez (Judg. 9:53) dropped a millstone from the city wall on the head of Abimelech and broke his skull. He was a king of many bloody deeds who had murdered his seventy half-brothers, sons of his father Gideon, in order to become king of Shechem.

After he had ruled for three years, an insurrection arose because Abimelech’s throne had been founded in blood. He had a thousand men and women who had taken refuge in a tower at Shechem burned to death. Then he marched on the fortress at Thebez.

“A certain woman” there, knowing of Abimelech’s terrible cruelty, became the heroine in battle. She mortally wounded him as he marched on the fortress at Thebez, but in order to avoid the shame of death at a woman’s hand, Abimelech ordered his armor-bearer to take his sword and slay him. The armor-bearer did, and Abimelech, Gideon’s evil son, died. Because of the woman’s act her people were delivered arid it appears that the land had peace for many years.

HARLOT OF GAZA

The harlot of Gaza (Judg. 16:1) is mentioned in the story of Samson. He went in unto her, and because he did, the Gazites knew where he was and lay waiting for him all night in front of the woman’s house. When it was morning, they expected to kill him, but Samson arose at midnight, taking with him, in revenge, the doors of the gates of the city, together with the posts.

YOUNG MAIDENS GOING OUT TO DRAW WATER

Young maidens going out to draw water (I Sam. 9:11) were met by Saul as he, accompanied by one of his father’s servants, went out to look for his father’s asses that had been lost. He came upon these maidens, of whom he asked the way. They directed him to Samuel, the man of God, and they told him to make haste.

Insignificant though these maidens appear, they made it possible for Saul to find Samuel and through Samuel to find the way of God (I Sam. 9:27).

WOMEN WITH TABRETS

Women with tabrets (I Sam. 18:6) came out of all the cities of Israel singing and dancing. They came to meet King Saul and David after the latter had slain Goliath. Though they moved forward with joy, playing instruments of music, they angered Saul because they sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (I Sam. 18:7). We see here how one untactful remark by a group of women can change the course of history. Though these women sang songs of victory, they aroused the envy of the victorious King Saul, and from this moment forward he hated David and began to plot against him.

WOMAN OF ENDOR

Woman of Endor (I Sam. 28:7-25). (See Section I, “Searching Studies.”)

NURSE WHO LET CHILD FALL

The nurse who let the child fall (II Sam. 4:4) cared for Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson and Jonathan’s son. Possibly Mephibosheth’s mother was dead, for the nurse apparently had full charge of him when word came of the disaster at Jezreel and the approach of the Philistine army. She picked up the little prince, then about five years old, and in her haste to carry him to safety dropped him and lamed him. The text is a little obscure. He is mentioned as being lame before his fall and he was probably made lame again after his fall. The nurse took the lame prince to Lo-debar in the mountains of Gilead, where he was reared in the house of Machir, son of Ammiel (II Sam. 9:4).

THE WENCH

The wench of En-rogel (II Sam. 17:17) was a maidservant who formed a communication link between King David, who had fled from Jerusalem, and Jonathan, son of Abiathar, and Ahimaaz, the high priest, both of whom remained in Jerusalem. Absalom was then in rebellion against his father David, and this wench gave information to David’s two men of Absalom’s designs to seize the throne. Because of her information Absalom soon met his death at the hands of Joab, David’s commander-in-chief. The word “wench” appears in the Bible only once.

THE BAHURIM WOMAN

The Bahurim woman (II Sam. 17:19) helped to save David’s small forces in a battle with the larger forces of his son Absalom, who was plotting to seize the throne. In her yard was an empty cistern, where she hid two of David’s messengers, Jonathan and Ahimaaz, on their way from Jerusalem to carry vital information to David and the party loyal to him during Absalom’s rebellion.

The woman, living in the town of Bahurim, a village near the Mount of Olives on the road from Jerusalem to the Jordan, realized that David’s men were being pursued by partisans of Absalom. So she seized a cloth from her house and covered the mouth of the well with it. Then she snatched a basket of corn from her doorway and spread it over the cloth. David’s men remained safely hidden there.

All their pursuers saw was a heap of corn drying in the sun. When they asked the woman, nonchalantly standing in her yard, if she had seen two men running past that way, she replied that she had but they had long since gone on their way over the brook. Thus she sent the pursuers in the wrong direction, while David’s messengers went on to where the king was and told him he must press on and cross the Jordan River.

An inconspicuous, faithful woman, through the simple act of covering a well with a cloth and a basket of corn, helped to save David and his army and the kingdom of Israel.

THE WISE WOMAN OF ABEL

The wise woman of Abel (II Sam. 20:16-22) was able to stop an assault on her city. Joab, David’s commander-in-chief, had already battered her city wall and was ready to throw it down and massacre the people. This woman, who probably was a prophetess or one who held a position of high influence in her community, opened communication with Joab’s officers and asked to see their commander. He was called, and she conferred with him.

Skillfully she began her plea for her city by citing its peculiar renown as a law-abiding servant of the kingdom. She reminded Joab that the ancient rule “to ask counsel at Abel” had settled quarrels for generations. A town that had been a peacemaker of a province for so long, she told Joab, was too valuable to be wiped out of existence.

Was it not better that he ask counsel at Abel first and batter i down afterward, if he must? She grew eloquent and cried, “I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?” What courage, what faith it took on this woman’s part to make such a plea before a powerful commander-in-chief.

She was successful. The fierce soldier accepted her judgment as more just than his. He told her it was not his wish to slaughter and lay waste indiscriminately but explained to her that he was assaulting her city because of one man, Sheba, the Benjamite, who had organized a revolt and had retreated northward and entrenched himself in the walled city of Abel.

Joab had traced him from place to place and had finally located him in Abel, above the sources of the Jordan, under the very shadow of the Lebanon mountains. The people of Abel were in a sad plight, the innocent victims of one man, who had sought refuge inside their walls and had brought an avenging army knocking at their gates; and this wise woman had arisen as the defender of her people.

Who was this rebellious Benjamite that would hide behind their walls? Her answer was stern and swift. “Behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall,” she said to Joab. And she was in a position to make good her words.

She went before her people and told them the truth about the dangerous visitor. Sheba had no supporters among the people of Abel, and they were willing to wield the sword swiftly. The traitor’s head was delivered to Joab’s officer. The city of Abel was saved.

This woman proved how devout she was when she had the courage to cry to an enemy, “Why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?” (II Sam. 20:19). Wise, significant words in time of war!

PAGAN GODDESSES

Pagan goddesses appear in the Bible under a number of names. In only one instance does the word “goddess” occur in the Old Testament. That is in I Kings 11:5, 33, and determines the gender of Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians. This female deity was often represented as a virgin yet pregnant goddess. The pagan goddess’ name is found in various forms some forty times in the Old Testament, especially in Kings and Chronicles.

In the New Testament the term “goddess” is applied to Diana, worshiped in the great temple at Ephesus (Acts 19:27, 35, 37).

THE LITTLE MAID

The little maid (II Kings 5:2, 4), though a minor character, was the channel for one of the great miracles of the Old Testament, the healing of Naaman by the great prophet Elisha. She was a young Hebrew girl in the retinue of Naaman’s servants in the royal city of Damascus, having been taken by Naaman, commander of the army of Ben-hadad, king of Damascus, as one of the spoils of war in his raid into Israelite territory.

When the little maid saw that her master was suffering from leprosy, she expressed the wish to his wife that he could visit Elisha, the prophet-healer of the Israelites. The king of Syria, learning that there was a possibility that his army commander Naaman could be cured, sent a letter to the king of Israel, who in turn sent word to Elisha of Naaman’s approaching visit to him.

Naaman departed in his chariot for Elisha’s home in Israel, taking with him “ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold” (II Kings 5:5), or the equivalent of about $80,000 for the great prophet, if he should be healed. In order to humble Naaman’s pride and teach him that his healing could come only through God, Elisha refused to see Naaman personally but directed him to give himself seven baths in the river Jordan.

Naaman rode away enraged and humiliated, but after his temper cooled he tried Elisha’s prescription, and when he came out of the water his flesh was like that of a little child. Turning back homeward with his gifts, which Elisha had refused to accept, Naaman took with him two mules’ burden of earth, in order that he might build an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Syria.

All of these wonders came about through the lowly little maid, who exercised her simple faith and did not hesitate to help her master in his affliction.

THE WOMEN OF PROVERBS
(BOOK OF PROVERBS)

The strange woman (Prov. 2:16; 5:3, 20; 7:5; 20:16; 23:27, 33), who was a loose woman or a harlot, appears more often than any other. These passages are filled with grim warnings against her, for the strange woman’s feet go down to death, her steps take hold on hell (5:5). Men are admonished not to come near the door of her house, but to rejoice with the wife of their youth. In the greatness of his folly, it says, a man can easily go astray, for “the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil” (5:3). She is unstable, sure to disappoint, and those who go before her will be filled with remorse. A man who goes to her is spiritually dead and will be held in spiritual bondage. “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well” (5:15), he is told, for such a woman is impure, and her sin is destructive. Even though a man go unto her quietly, God himself “pondereth all his goings” (5:21).

The wife of thy youth — rejoice with her (5:18).

The evil woman — lust not after her beauty or be taken by her eyelids (6:25).

The neighbor’s wife — who touches her shall not be innocent (6:29).

The harlot — is subtle of heart, loud and stubborn; she lieth in wait at every corner (7:10, 11, 12); who keepeth company with her spendeth his substance (29:3).

The foolish woman — is clamorous, simple, and knoweth nothing (9:3).

The gracious woman — retaineth honor (11:16).

The fair woman without discretion — is as a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout (11:22).

The wise woman — buildeth her house well (14:1).

The foolish woman — plucketh her house down. (14:1).

The wife — who findeth her findeth a good thing and obtaineth favor of God (18:22). The contentious wife is a continual dropping on a rainy day (19:13; 27:15). The prudent wife is from the Lord (19:14).

The brawling woman — better to dwell in the corner of the housetop than with her in a wide house (21:9; 25:24).

The angry woman — better to dwell in a wilderness than with her (21:19).

The contentious woman — and a continual dropping in a very rainy day are alike (27:15).

The adulterous woman — eateth and wipeth her mouth and says, “I have done no wickedness” (30:20).

The odious woman — when she is married is disquieting to the earth (30:21, 23).

The virtuous woman or the good wife — see Section I, “Searching Studies.”

WOMAN WHOSE HEART IS SNARES AND NETS

The woman whose heart is snares and nets (Eccles. 7:26) is said to be more bitter than death. In other words, she is the evil woman, such as the harlot, whose hands are as bands that enclose a man. He who would please God should escape from such a woman, says the writer, “but the sinner shall be taken by her.”

THE SHULAMITE SWEETHEART

The Shulamite sweetheart in the Song of Solomon has had many allegorical and mystical interpretations by scholars. She seems to represent a woman faithful to her pledged love amid the seductive temptations of an oriental court.

There are thought to be three chief speakers in the Song of Solomon: the country maid, her lover, and Solomon. The daughters of Jerusalem join in like a chorus in a Greek play.

In the period in which this poem was written, it was considered proper for a king to have a harem with many wives. Solomon’s wives numbered 700. Emissaries of the king sought everywhere for beautiful women who were deemed worthy to be brought to the king. If one pleased the king, she was made a permanent member of his household.

This song depicts a country maiden in the north who attracted the king’s emissaries. She came to Jerusalem under protest, and the king was pleased with her, but he did not wish to force her into his harem. On the other hand, he sought to woo her by offering her every possible inducement.

It is this wooing, and the Shulamite’s refusal, because she is pledged to another, that constitutes the action for the Song. Even with all inducements, the country maid does not wish to become one of the king’s many wives. She wishes to remain faithful to her own lover. Even though there are three attempts of the king to win the Shulamite, there is the final strong tribute to a faithful love.

The Song of Solomon is a beautiful composition. Pastoral scenes bound. Doves hide in the cleft of the rocks. Gazelles leap on the mountains. There are trees with fine foliage, flowers with bright hues and rich perfume. One seems to sense the balmy air of spring and walk amid terraced vineyards and tropical trees.

But the Song of Solomon is more than a beautiful poem. Written at a time when polygamy was a universal practice, some scholars regard it as a protest against polygamy. Here shines the purity and constancy of a woman’s love, the kind of love that is not tempted by a king or his palace but endures amid the simpler things of life. Here speaks a voice in the midst of a corrupt age. It is lifted for the purity of life and right relationships, ordained by God, between one man and one woman.

Some scholars interpret the account of the Shulamite sweetheart as an allegory representing the mutual love of Jehovah and Israel under the symbolism of marriage. Christian scholars find it easy to follow this Jewish allegorical interpretation. The figure of wedlock is employed in the New Testament by both Paul and John to represent the intimate and vital union of Christ and His Church.

Other scholars consider the Song of Solomon as an anthology of love lyrics, still others as a drama of the period of Solomon. Many scholars interpret it in a mystical and allegorical sense.

VIRGIN PROPHESIED

Virgin prophesied (Isa. 7:14). Isaiah made this prophecy at least seven centuries before Christ, that a virgin would conceive and bear a son, and his name would be called Immanuel.

CARELESS WOMEN AT EASE

Careless women at ease (Isa. 32:19-12) are admonished to rise up and hear God’s voice and give ear unto His speech. And there is the warning that “the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come,” for those who are careless and indolent.

QUEEN OF HEAVEN

The queen of heaven (Jer. 7:18; 44:17, 18, 19) was an ancient Semitic goddess in whose honor the Hebrews of Jeremiah’s period made cakes, burned incense, and poured out drink offerings. Probably she was the Phoenician or Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth or the Babylonian Ishtar. Many figurines of these and other goddesses have been dug up in archaeological explorations.

WOMEN WEEPING FOR TAMMUZ

The women weeping for Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14) sat at the north gate of the Jerusalem Temple. Instead of weeping for the national sins, these women wept for the dead god Tammuz, ancient god of pasture and flocks, of the subterranean ocean, and of vegetation.

This incident is listed in Ezekiel’s vision of “abominations” of the people. God had declared that He would not pardon this and other idolatrous worship.

WOMEN WHO SEW PILLOWS TO ARMHOLES

The women who sew pillows to armholes (Ezek. 13:18) were the false prophetesses who made cushions to lean on, typifying the perfect tranquillity which they foretold to those consulting them. Their pretended inspiration enhanced their guilt as prophetesses.

The translation of this phrase in the Revised Standard Version paints a slightly different picture, but the basic idea is the same. Instead of “women that sew pillows to all armholes” they are described as “women who sew magic bands upon all wrists.” This refers to the amulets people bought from false prophetesses or sorceresses and wore to give them a sense of security. But the security was false.

The men who are said to have built a wall (Ezek. 13:10), and the women who sewed pillows or made magic arm bands — both alike promised a false peace and security.

WOMAN WITH LEAVEN

The woman with leaven (Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:21) appears in one of Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God. He likens the kingdom of God to leaven, “which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” Three measures were probably more than a bushel, an enormous amount for bread, but the quantity probably was large in order to emphasize the mighty extent of God’s rule. In this parable Jesus teaches that His gospel, though apparently small and weak, nevertheless possesses the power quietly to transform all of life.

Woman the loaf-giver as well as man the seed-sower are both needed to feed the hungry.

WOMAN WITH SEVEN HUSBANDS

The woman with seven husbands (Matt. 22:25-32; Mark 12:20-25) was married first to one, then another of seven brothers. As each one died, without leaving a child, she became the wife of another of the brothers. Her marriage was in keeping with the early levirate law, making it obligatory for a man to marry his brother’s widow.

The Pharisees and Sadducees, desiring to place Jesus at a dis-advantage, brought to Him this unusual but hypothetical case of the woman with seven husbands, asking him whose wife she would be if the husbands arose in the resurrection. And he told them that they knew not the Scriptures nor the power of God, for in heaven they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in heaven.

TWO WOMEN AT THE MILL

Two women at the mill (Matt. 24:41; Luke 17:35) is a picture used by Jesus to make clear to His disciples how necessary it was to be ready for the day when the Son of man should be revealed. He said, “Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”

Jesus used this story immediately after that of the two men in bed, one of whom shall be taken and the other left, and just before the story of the two men in the field, one of whom should be taken and the other left. The fate of everyone was dependent upon whether he or she was ready for the sudden and unexpected coming of the kingdom of God.

He wanted women to know, just as he wanted men to know, that none was exempt, not even women busy at their household tasks.

TEN WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS

Ten wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-3) are the subject of one of Jesus’ parables illustrating the need for a vigilant and expectant attitude of faith. The virgins, in these times, were to light the way for the bridegroom when he appeared.

Jesus told of the five virgins who were wise and took along extra oil for their lamps, and of five who were foolish and took none. When the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered, and at midnight, when it was announced that he was coming, the wise virgins arose and trimmed their lamps, but the foolish virgins said, “Our lamps are gone out.” While the foolish ones went to buy more oil, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in and the door was shut, but the foolish virgins were too late.

In this parable Jesus points to the contrast between the preparedness of the spiritually faithful and the unreadiness of the faithless, and exhorts all to be ready. In this case the bridegroom is Christ Himself and this refers to His second coming.

The parable is set between two other parables concerning men and may contain a warning that women are expected to bear their full share of responsibility for the coming of the kingdom.

MAIDS AT THE HIGH PRIEST’s HOUSE

The maids at the high priest’s house (Matt. 26:69-71; Mark 14:6669; Luke 22:56-59; John 18:16, 17) are witnesses to Peter’s denial of Jesus after Judas had betrayed Him and He had been led to the house of the high priest, Caiaphas, for trial.

Peter had boasted that he would never forsake Jesus, but when first one maid and then another recognized him in the courtyard and asked him if he were one of Jesus’ disciples, he vehemently declared he was not.

In Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts two maids are mentioned, while in Luke’s and John’s there is only one maid. John adds the information that the maid was “the damsel that kept the door.”

“MANY WOMEN WERE THERE”

“Many women were there [Matt. 27:55] beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him.” Though in the next paragraph Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children are named among the women there, we can be sure there were many nameless women with them.

They had followed Jesus to the cross because He had blessed them and healed them, and their gratitude was great. They did little but watch, but their watching had meaning and purpose. They showed unflinching courage and extreme faithfulness in remaining close to Jesus throughout the long hours of His suffering upon the cross.

Evidently Matthew believes that women are guarantors of the tradition. They were with Jesus at the tomb and they would be with Him at the Resurrection. They were among His most faithful followers, and because they were present at the Crucifixion and saw the empty tomb they became transmitters of what happened to Jesus both at the cross and on the morning of the Resurrection.

THREE SICK WOMEN

Three sick women (Matthew, Mark, Luke). (See Section I, “Searching Studies.”)

SINFUL WOMAN

The sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50) washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and anointed His feet with ointment. He had come to be entertained at the house of Simon, the Pharisee, when this unnamed woman entered with an alabaster box of ointment and stood at Jesus’ feet weeping. She washed His feet with her tears, wiped them with the hair of her head, kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Simon, the Pharisee, shocked that a woman who was a sinner should come to Jesus, said to himself: “This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”

Jesus then told Simon the parable of the creditor and his two debtors, one of whom owed five hundred pence and the other fifty. Because neither of them could pay their debts, the creditor forgave them both. Jesus asked Simon, “Which of them will love him most?” And Simon answered, “I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most.”

Jesus then reminded Simon that he had not even offered Him the usual courtesy of water in which to wash His feet when He entered his house, but the woman had humbly served Him. He then made the point to Simon that “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth tittle.” And then Jesus turned to the woman and said, “Thy sins are forgiven…. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”

WOMAN WHO LIFTED HER VOICE

The woman who lifted her voice (Luke 11:27, 28) was one of those emotional women who stood on the side listening to Jesus and who said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.” But Jesus, practical in His religion, answered, “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

WOMAN WITH LOST PIECE OF SILVER

The woman with the lost piece of silver (Luke 15:8-10) appears in another of Jesus’ parables in which women figure. It emphasizes diligence and repentance, fellowship and joy. The lost piece of silver probably refers to one of the coins worn on a woman’s headdress. A woman could expect trouble with her husband if she lost them. Probably that is why this woman was sweeping so diligently, using her broom and a candle in all the dark corners of her house. The coin represented part of the wealth of her family. So do God’s angels sweep this world for souls that have slipped away and fallen into the dirt, Jesus bids us go and seek them too. Just as the woman rejoiced with her neighbors when she had found her lost piece of silver, so do the angels of God rejoice over one sinner that repents.

WOMAN OF SAMARIA

Woman of Samaria (John 4:7-42). (See Section I, “Searching Studies.”)

ADULTEROUS WOMAN

The woman taken in adultery (John 8:3-11) could have been stoned to death, according to the old Mosaic Law (Deut. 17:5, 6), but because Jesus forbade judgment against her, she was saved. The Pharisees were attempting to trap Jesus when they brought before Him the woman, whom they had found, they said, in the very act of adultery.

When she was brought before Jesus, He reached down and wrote on the ground, as if He did not hear them. He wished the Pharisees to know that He did not want to interfere in the local administration of the law, though He certainly did not regard adultery as a trivial matter. He only wished to give the woman’s accusers time to realize that they only pretended zeal for the law.

After Jesus had shamed her accusers and they had gone, leaving Him alone with her, Jesus asked the most pertinent question of all, “Hath no man condemned thee?” In other words, where was the man, probably the one to whom she had been engaged, who had condemned her. When the woman replied, “No man, Lord,” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” In this incident He raised new standards for marriage, that men as well as women are expected to keep their vows of marriage loyalty.

This woman who had been brought before Jesus was probably not a continual sinner but a young woman, and this, no doubt, was her first offense. Jesus did not condone her wrongdoing, but gave her another chance, if she would sin no more.

HONORABLE AND DEVOUT WOMEN

Honorable and devout women (Acts 13:50) of Pisidian Antioch, incited by the Jews against Paul and Barnabas, joined with the magistrates to expel these successful missionaries from their city. This event shows the influential position of women in Asia Minor.

A CERTAIN DAMSEL

A “certain damsel” (Acts 16:16) was a slave girl who encountered Paul while he was in Philippi. In all probability she was a clairvoyant who was “possessed of a spirit of divination,” and “brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.” But Christianity opposed this form of spiritualism. The girl, we learn, followed Paul and his friends and gave loud testimony to their divine mission.

Probably she heard Paul’s preaching and received an impression that resulted, owing to the peculiar condition of her mind, in an acute perception of the true character of the missionaries. Paul, however, had no desire to be introduced by any such medium as this. He cast out the evil spirit which possessed the damsel; that is, he freed the girl from the abnormal condition of mind which made her a soothsayer. (See Section I, “Searching Studies,” “Lydia.”)

NEREUS’ SISTER

Nereus’ sister (Rom. 16:15) was included in Paul’s salutations to many in the Church at Rome. Addition of the phrase “and all the saints which are with them” indicated that she was a saintly woman.

THE UNMARRIED WOMAN

“The unmarried woman [I Cor. 7:34] careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit.” The married woman (I Cor. 7:34) “careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.” Paul was here saying that a woman undergoes a great change when she marries, and often strives harder to please her husband than she does to please God.

WOMEN IN THE CHURCHES

Women in the churches (I Cor. 14:34, 35) are admonished by Paul to keep silent. Because this is apparently a contradiction of what Christ had taught, that men and women are equal before God, there have been many interpretations of this phrase.

In this particular admonition, Paul was speaking to the church at Corinth, a Greek city where, for many generations, high-born women had lived in seclusion. Chloe was such a woman and may very well have been shocked by the loud-voiced railings of women of a lower station in life. Since all women were welcome in the new church, among these may have been many who had worshiped in pagan temples and had not yet had sufficient experience to assume leadership in the church. Rejoicing in their new-found faith, but undisciplined in it, these women probably required some silencing in Paul’s time.

There had been dissensions in the church at Philippi, and it is easy to assume that one dissension might have centered around women’s participation in public gatherings. We have an indication of this in the passage on Euodias and Syntyche in Philippians 4:2, in which Paul entreats these two women to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Paul, let us not forget, had grown up under the Law, which stated, “thy husband,…he shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16). He may have accepted the inequality without thought of injustice. But how could Paul deny women an active part in the church?

He showed no evidence that he did. Lydia was his first convert in Europe, and his first sermon in Europe had been addressed to women on the banks of the river at Philippi. If these women had kept silent, the Christian gospel would not have spread as fast as it did over Europe.

Paul found in Priscilla, too, a woman of great ability and intellect who became a leader in the church at Corinth and later at Ephesus. He did not silence her. Nor did he silence Phebe, who was a deaconess at Cenchrea.

Dr. Lee Anna Starr in her book The Bible Status of Woman has devoted sixty-two pages to the Pauline mandate. She quotes other scholars, who state that they regard these two verses as interpolations by a later hand. Dr. Starr also brings up the point that “great disorder prevailed in the religious services of this church at Corinth. Each one had a Psalm, a teaching, a tongue, an interpretation, and all endeavoring to participate in the service. The Apostle seeks to quell this disturbance; he commands silence….

“The custom of interrupting the speaker prevailed throughout the Orient, but the practice was confined to men…. To have allowed a wife to instruct her husband in the public assembly in the capacity of a teacher would have outraged every prejudice of the age.”

WOMEN PROFESSING GODLINESS

Women professing godliness (I Tim. 2:9, 10), says Paul to Timothy, should be judged by their good works, not by what they wear. Their adorning should come from the inside out. Their adorning was to be effected not by how they were clothed but by how they served. Works, not words, were what counted with such women.

SILLY WOMEN

Silly women (II Tim. 3:6, 7) are those “laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Here Paul, writing to Timothy, foretells of perilous times in the last days. These passages refer to women whose consciences are burdened with sins; thus they are ready prey to the false teachers who promise ease of conscience if they will follow them.

AGED WOMEN

Aged women (Titus 2:3, 4-5) are told that they should be holy in their behavior “that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

HOLY WOMEN

Holy women (I Pet. 3:5) says this Scripture, are those who trust in God and whose adornment is a meek and quiet spirit.

THE LETTER TO THE ELECT LADY

The letter to the elect lady (Second Epistle of John) has been debated since ancient times and the identity of the “lady” is still unsolved. Whether the letter is to a real woman and her children or to a particular church and its members or spiritual children is still a question. Whether the John here is the same as the one who wrote the Fourth Gospel or John the elder of Ephesus is also a question.

The Order of the Eastern Star uses the name Electa in its ritual, along with those of other Bible women, Ruth, Esther, Martha and Jephthah’s daughter. The latter is called Adah by this Order, though in the Bible she appears as one of the nameless women. These five women form this Order’s five points in the star. To this Order Electa represents those women who have been pre-eminent in charity and heroic in the endurance of persecution.

The word “lady” occurs in the Bible only six times, and twice in this letter. It usually signifies a woman of the nobility; however, here it could mean a lady who in her very spirit is to the manner born. There is every evidence that the elect lady was one of the elect of God.

Though this epistle addressed to the elect lady is very brief, containing only thirteen verses, it says a great deal in these few words.

Key words we find here are “love” and “truth.” The word “truth” occurs five times in the first four verses: “I love in the truth…have known the truth…for the truth’s sake…the Son of the Father, in truth…walking in truth.” The theme of the letter centers around this word, which here means Christ, His gospel, His commandments, His teaching.

In the fifth verse John continues, “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.” In the next verse he goes on to say, “This is love, that we walk after his commandments.”

The elect lady seems to be responsible for seeing that her children also walk in love arid truth. We can imagine that she had made a Christian home for them and had thus taught each one.

If the woman of today wants to take the letter literally, there is a real challenge there for her individually. She sees what it means to walk in truth and to bring up her children in truth and love. In this epistle she is also enjoined to be ever watchful to obey the true Christ, who has a oneness with the Father. Strong warning appears against false teachers and evil associations. And we are assured that the elect lady has the spiritual perception to know the difference between what is false and evil.

WOMEN IN REVELATION

Women in Revelation represent apocalyptic symbolism, to which the key has been lost. In Revelation 12:1, we have “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” The text continues, “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered” (Rev. 12:2). In this same chapter, verses 13-17, there is more about how satan persecutes the woman.

In Revelation 17, reference is made to “the great whore that sitteth upon many waters…a woman upon a scarlet coloured beast… THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS…the woman drunken with the blood of saints…the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her.” All again represent apocalyptic symbolism and must be interpreted spiritually.

In Revelation 18:7-10, a queen is mentioned. This refers to the wicked city of Babylon and her destruction.

In Revelation 19:7-8, emphasis centers on “the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” Mention is made again in Revelation 21:9 of “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” All of this imagery of the Lamb’s bride, most scholars concede, centers around the ideal Church and its final glory. Other interpretations have been innumerable.