Chapter 22
Ten Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible
In This Chapter
Looking at some less-than-holy behaviors
Understanding the motives behind trickery and deceit
Examining the actions of some brave women
M any women of the Bible remain — to this day — misunderstood, mysterious, and enigmatic. Though readers may try to understand them and scholars may continue to debate them, these women are not easily pigeonholed, nor are they easily stereotyped.
In this chapter, we discuss Mary Magdalene, probably the most misunderstood of the ladies in the Bible, along with Salome, Rebekah, Tamar, and more. The ten women here represent the most misinterpreted and misrepresented of the bunch. Most have an unknown or hidden past, and what isn’t said about them in scripture is sometimes said elsewhere, such as in apocryphal (nonbiblical books of questionable authenticity) or fictional writings; such sources only contribute to the mystery.
Mary Magdalene — Married?
Mary Magdalene (the focus of Chapter 7) is the subject of much conjecture, speculation, innuendo, and countless rumors. Yet sacred scripture doesn’t actually say that much about her; she is mentioned only 12 times in the New Testament, and more attention historically has been given to what is not said about this woman. Many of these issues have captured the active imaginations of controversial authors, scholars, and historians.
Debating her profession
Mary Magdalene’s role during the time of Jesus is often discussed and debated. Although she has been referred to as a prostitute throughout the ages, the Bible never explicitly mentions her name in relation to this profession. Some people speculate that she is the unnamed woman caught in adultery in the story in John 8:1–11 or that she is the repentant prostitute in Luke 7:36–50. However, in neither instance is Mary Magdalene mentioned by name.
Nevertheless, two very different scholarly opinions exist about Mary Magdalene’s role in Jesus’ time. The first school of thought insists that Mary Magdalene has been viciously maligned since medieval times by being wrongly identified as a harlot. These scholars believe that an ulterior motive existed to label Magdalene a former prostitute, namely, to discredit any possible status or influence she or other women may have had in the ancient Church.
The other position maintains that she was indeed a prostitute and that she is important because she abandoned this life to become a disciple of Jesus, making a dramatic conversion. After all, if she had been forgiven for a horrible sin like adultery and/or a life of prostitution and if she had been close to being stoned to death for her sins — and then was saved spiritually and physically by Jesus — would she not be the most grateful person on earth? If Mary had such a notorious past and lurid skeletons in her closet, perhaps her being forgiven would show that no sin and no sinner are beyond the mercy and forgiveness of God. A repentant sinner can be as good as, if not better than, a disciple who never fell so hard or so deep.
The debate continues, and yet the Bible neither affirms nor denies that Mary Magdalene was a recovered call girl.
Looking at her relationship with Jesus
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Sultry Salome?
Who is Salome? Her name never actually appears in the Bible, but that fact doesn’t stop people from guessing about her and her actions. Many Christians say that she is the woman who helped plot the beheading of John the Baptist. Some people also speculate as to whether Salome’s dancing in front of her stepfather was sexually provocative or innocently sweet. (See Chapter 17 for her complete story.)
Matthew 14:6 and Mark 6:22 identify the woman who plotted John’s death only as the daughter of Herodias, the illicit wife of Herod Antipas — and never by the name Salome. The name Salome is first mentioned by renowned Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the first century AD to identify this woman, even though scripture never calls her that. Flavius Josephus is the most-quoted non-Christian historian of the early Christian era (AD 37–100).
The Bible does make it clear that after the dance, Salome was promised anything by Herod, even half his kingdom. She in turn asks her mother, Herodias, what she should request. At this point, modern entertainers take license with the story. The 1953 movie Salome, starring Rita Hayworth and Stewart Granger, portrays Salome’s intent as an effort to win the release of John the Baptist, not demand his head on a platter, as some say the Bible suggests.
No one knows whether Salome was merely being fiercely loyal to her mother, Herodias, who hated and detested John the Baptist because he publicly criticized her adulterous and illicit marriage to Herod. (She was previously married to Herod’s brother Philip, who was still very much alive.) Or perhaps Salome made this gruesome request to show her contempt for her stepfather, Herod, who had shown lustful eyes for her and who she knew would be reluctant to kill John the Baptist, because scripture says he had previously shown interest in John’s teachings. Although we don’t know Salome’s motivation, we do know that she danced — and that she shares at least some of the responsibility for John the Baptist’s death, because she requested his head on a platter.
Ruthless Rebekah?
Rebekah, who was the wife of Isaac (the son of Abraham and Sarah), is often misunderstood and maligned for her scheme to help her younger son, Jacob, steal the birthright from his older brother, Esau. (See more on this story in Chapter 9.) Were Rebekah’s actions simply a case of playing unfair favorites? Or did she believe that Jacob simply would make a better candidate to carry out God’s covenant with the Hebrews? Her motives are still cause for speculation today.
After 20 years of being barren, twin sons Esau and Jacob were born to Rebekah. Esau, born first, was to inherit the lion’s share when daddy Isaac passed away. But Jacob was the apple of Rebekah’s eye. She conspired with Jacob, encouraging him to impersonate his elder brother just before the blind Isaac is about to cash in his chips, in order to get Isaac’s blessing for the birthright. The scheme works.
Some interpret Rebekah’s motives as merely playing favorites. You know how everyone teases mothers about showing favoritism to a child. Perhaps, Rebekah was just favoring the younger son over the elder one, just as their father Isaac seemed to favor Esau over Jacob.
Other scholars think Rebekah may have had good reason to skip over Esau’s birthright. Esau had disappointed both Isaac and Rebekah when he married two foreign wives, who made life bitter for his parents (Genesis 26:34–35). In addition, Esau willingly gave up his birthright when Jacob asked for it from him in return for a bowl of porridge (Genesis 25:29–34). So some people insist that Rebekah simply felt that Jacob was the twin more qualified to carry out God’s covenant because Esau treated the inheritance so cavalierly.
Despite the reasons for Rebekah’s decisions, others believe good came of her actions. They say her actions contributed to saving the Hebrew people, because Jacob was the son who later was named Israel by the Lord, and whose 12 sons became the origins of the 12 tribes of Israel. The lineage of Abraham would therefore continue though Isaac and then Jacob and eventually to King David and his descendants. Jacob is considered a patriarch along with Abraham, his grandfather, and his dad, Isaac.
Tricky Tamar
Tamar has a run of bad luck when it comes to husbands and children. Her first husband, Er, dies before she can have a child. According to custom, she is allowed to marry her husband’s brother, Onan, to fulfill the family birthright and continue the lineage. However, he, too, meets an unexpected death before she can conceive. Only one brother-in-law, Shelah, is left as a potential third husband. But Shelah isn’t old enough, and after he is of age, his dad, Judah, refuses to let him marry Tamar (whom you can read more about in Chapter 9).
Her next course of action shocks some people. Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and entices Judah, her father-in-law, to sleep with her. Three months later, she is with child, and people tell Judah that she is pregnant as a result of prostitution. Not knowing that she was the woman he had “visited” three months before, Judah orders her brought before him so he can turn her over to be burned at the stake. When she arrives, she shows him his personal artifacts that he left her after spending the night with her earlier. He quickly realizes that the woman he spent the night with was in fact his own daughter-in-law — and the unborn child is his own son.
Incest and deceit are charges that could be leveled against Tamar, but the Bible never accuses her of these things. She is mistreated by Judah when he goes back on his word to give her the third son, Shelah, as a husband. Judah knows that Tamar, a childless widow, is totally vulnerable economically, socially, and even physically. She has no means to support herself, let alone protect herself. (See Chapter 21 for more info on biblical widows.) Judah knowingly seals her fate when he refuses to keep his promise to allow Shelah to marry her.
Was Tamar’s behavior entrapment or desperation? The Bible merely tells us what Tamar did and what Judah did — not what they intended or thought. These unknown factors are what lead to the controversy about whether Tamar was ingenious or unscrupulous. However, her union with Judah did produce twin sons — Perez and Zerah — and from Perez the lineage of King David and the Messiah come forth.
The debate goes back and forth between moral theologians and ethicists on one hand and biblical scholars on the other. Just because the Bible reports what a person did doesn’t mean that their actions are condoned or approved. At the same time, while the objective morality of actions can be evaluated by using criteria like the natural law or Ten Commandments, the subjective guilt or culpability of a person requires knowing not only what they did but also what did they know and what did they intend .
Bathing Bathsheba
The Bible describes Bathsheba (whom we discuss in Chapter 16) as a gorgeous woman who takes an afternoon bath on the roof of her penthouse apartment, just within the vision of King David from his royal palace. When he sees her, he invites her to the palace, and she becomes his adulterous lover (her husband, Uriah, is away fighting the enemy). When she becomes pregnant with their child, David arranges for the “accidental death” of Uriah.
More speculation insists that she must have known that King David could see her bathing on her roof — after all, he lived in the highest building in town, and she may have been able to see him, too. Could she have been naïve enough to think no one would see her? Or did she knowingly put herself into a compromising situation?
Regardless, she does consent to the affair, although some people claim that no one in her right mind would refuse a royal request (if she wants to save her own life, that is). On the other hand, another woman in the Bible, Susanna, was propositioned by two respected religious leaders but resisted and refused their advances (see Chapter 11).
The debate continues today. The Bible doesn’t indicate why Bathsheba was unfaithful to her husband, Uriah. We don’t know if she was naïve, promiscuous, afraid for her life, or just taken advantage of at a vulnerable moment.
Misunderstood Miriam
The actions of Miriam, Moses’ sister, in the later years of her life are the subject of controversy and misunderstanding, when she and her brother Aaron nearly mutiny against Moses’ authority while in the desert.
On the one hand, Miriam supports her brother Moses, who is busy on Mount Sinai getting the Ten Commandments from God, by refusing to help create — let alone worship — a pagan idol. Her elder brother, Aaron, however, succumbs to some of the men who pressure him into making a golden calf from the gold they took as booty when they left their former masters in Egypt. Miriam and the other women allegedly do not contribute their gold to be melted down, nor do they worship the pagan idol (the golden calf), unlike many of the men who did. Miriam remains faithful to God by not participating in idolatry.
But on the other hand, Miriam opposes her brother Moses after he comes down from Mount Sinai. She and Aaron then become envious of Moses’ position and authority, and she shows a darker side to her personality. Miriam and Aaron complain, “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (Numbers 12:2).
Did she think Moses was too big for his britches, or did she resent his popularity and leadership? The controversy has never been settled, and to this day, scholars debate her motives and rationale, charging that she held too much selfish pride (because she wasn’t boss) or needlessly feared public scandal (because Moses’ wife was a foreigner).
Zealous Zipporah
At one point in the Bible, Moses’ siblings, Miriam and Aaron, show resentment for Moses’ wife, whom they describe as a Cushite (see Numbers 12:1). Because the Bible never explicitly says Zipporah is a Cushite, some people speculate that Moses may have had one or two additional wives. Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, believed that Moses first married an Ethiopian (sometimes also known as Cushite) princess, Tharbis, and later on married Zipporah, the Midianite.
Because the Bible isn’t precisely clear, Zipporah’s origins and her treatment by her in-laws are the subject of much speculation and misunderstanding. Some scholars believe that Miriam and Aaron could have used the term Cushite in a pejorative sense. Zipporah — who was from Midian — could have had darker skin, unlike her Hebrew contemporaries, thus resembling a Cushite. So it’s unclear whether Aaron and Miriam disliked Zipporah or another wife. And if Zipporah was Moses’ only wife, then what was the source of the angst between her and her in-laws? Again, the answer isn’t clear.
The second source of controversy surrounds the details of the circumcision of Zipporah and Moses’ son, Gershom. As described in Exodus 4:24–26, to prevent the Lord from striking Moses dead, Zipporah performs the circumcision herself, a practice never performed by a woman. She flings the foreskin at the feet of her husband. Does this action reveal that she did what had to be done because Moses didn’t do it himself, or was she inferring that, because this Hebrew custom wasn’t part of her culture, she resented doing it? Scholars continue to debate her reaction.
Finally, the last area of misunderstanding concerns why, at one point, Zipporah separates from Moses. When her husband goes to Egypt to argue with Pharaoh for the release of the Hebrews, Zipporah takes her sons to stay with grandpa Jethro. They’re later reunited in the wilderness, after the Exodus, but the Bible doesn’t specify whether Zipporah stays away as a safety measure or whether this separation was a marital timeout after a quarrel — perhaps a quarrel about the circumcision.
Risqué Rahab
Rabbinic tradition (teachings of the rabbis over the ages, given respect and consideration by many Jews) says that Rahab was one of the four most beautiful women of the Hebrew Bible (what Christians designate as the Old Testament). In Joshua 2:1, Rahab is described as the town prostitute in Jericho during the time when Moses was leading his people to the Promised Land. Jericho was the last city standing in the way of the Hebrew people, now led by Joshua. Rahab ends up helping Joshua’s Hebrew spies by hiding them while they stake out Jericho. In return, these same men spare Rahab and her family, who become the sole survivors of the Battle of Jericho. (For more info on Rahab, see Chapter 10.)
Rahab’s motives are often misunderstood. She wasn’t actually unpatriotic and a traitor to her own people. Instead, the Bible says she believed that the God of the Hebrews is “the” God. Despite her colorful and risqué lifestyle, she is described as risking her life for this God and hiding the spies to help cover for them.
But some people speculate that she allegedly acted courageously for reasons other than her belief in the Hebrew God. These commentators consider Rahab an opportunist, hiding the spies merely to spare her life (which was a nice by-product of housing the Hebrew spies).
An interesting aside: The Bible points out that the story doesn’t end when she saves herself and her family. She later becomes the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz, who eventually marries Ruth. They in turn had a son, Obed, who was the father of Jesse, the father of King David, and ancestor of Jesus. So Rahab helps create the Messianic lineage — an important role in the history of salvation.
Hagar — An Innocent Victim?
Whether she is an Egyptian princess offered to Abraham by Pharaoh
Why Hagar becomes hostile toward Sarah after giving birth to Ishmael
The Bible merely says that Hagar is an Egyptian servant, but she becomes a key player when Sarah suggests that Hagar become Abraham’s concubine, because Sarah had been unable to bear children after many years. (See Chapter 9 for more on Sarah.)
Some nonbiblical sources claim that Hagar was an Egyptian princess offered by Pharaoh to Abraham as atonement. Pharaoh had earlier taken Sarah, Abraham’s wife, under the false pretense that she was Abraham’s sister, not his wife. Possibly Hagar was given to Abraham by Pharaoh as a peace offering.
Hagar soon becomes pregnant and grows contemptuous of her mistress, Sarah. The Bible doesn’t explain why Hagar scorns Sarah at this point. Some people theorize that after she produced an heir for Abraham in Ishmael, Hagar rose too high and may have forgotten her place as a maidservant.
But the story changes again when Sarah herself finally becomes pregnant and gives birth to Isaac. The conflict continues between the women, and the last straw occurs when Isaac is an infant and Ishmael a teenager. Something happens between the half-brothers that sets off Sarah’s fuse. Sarah requests that Abraham exile Hagar and Ishmael into the desert, and he complies.
Whatever Hagar’s minor flaws or weaknesses, Sarah and Abraham treat her badly. The Lord rescues her and her son, however, and he becomes the ancestor of a great nation (Ishmaelites). She is a pawn and a victim, and yet for a brief moment, she is at the top of the heap. If she hadn’t become conceited when she was pregnant with Ishmael, perhaps Sarah wouldn’t have abused her. By complying with the initial request to become a concubine, Hagar simply does what she is told, but maybe Sarah detects that Hagar likes her job a little too much.
Hagar is remembered and known for being the mother of Ishmael, the first son of Abraham but not the one to continue the lineage — that happens through Sarah and her son Isaac. Ishmael is the ancestor of the Ishmaelites. Paul later uses Hagar as an analogy of the Hebrew religion in contrast to Sarah, whom he sees as a symbol of the Christian faith (see Galatians 4:24–26).
What Hagar’s background and motives, thoughts, and feelings were, we don’t know. She remains a debatable mystery today.
Judith: Battling the Stereotype
Judith has a deuterocanonical/apocryphal book named after her (see Chapter 2 for more on the deuterocanonical books, or Apocrypha), but her heroic actions are sometimes misunderstood. Although no man was able to achieve what she did at the time, her character and actions sometimes are still questioned.
A wealthy and beautiful woman, Judith lived at the time when King Nebuchadnezzar sent General Holofernes to chastise the nations who refused to join the Assyrians in their war with the Medes. The Israelites were on his hit list. When Holofernes cuts off their water supply to coerce them to surrender, spirits decline and morale weakens.
Judith, an Israelite, reprimands her downcast Israelite leaders, reminding them that God’s people cannot be conquered unless they sin. The Israelites are about to surrender, so Judith takes matters into her own hands. She infiltrates the enemy camp, pretending to be a defector to the Assyrians, and gets into Holofernes’ tent. Gorgeous and brilliant, Judith impresses the general with her wisdom and beauty. She fools him into thinking she really wants to defect and help Nebuchadnezzar conquer her own people.
She notices that Holofernes has his eye on her, so she lets him think he can seduce her. All the time she is plying him with strong wine. When he is drunk, she takes his own sword and cuts off his head. She hides the head in her luggage, walks out of the camp, and returns to Jerusalem to show the elders what she has done. (See Chapter 8 for more on the story of Judith.)
People have different viewpoints of Judith’s actions. Justifiable homicide, national defense, tyranicide, or murder? The Bible never evaluates or judges the morality or ethics of her deed. She kills the enemy, that’s for sure, and she saves her people in the process. The absence of any punishment or moral outrage, however, indicates that Judith wasn’t guilty of grave evil.