What were the roles of women in the Bible? What were the occupations of women in the Bible? What are the remarkable women in the Bible? The Bible is full of stories. And among these stories are female characters. Women also played roles and also had occupations in the Bible. Among the remarkable characters in the Bible, we also find women.
To answer these questions, author Thomson Dablemond invites you to read the following lines of this article.
I – Occupations and Roles of Women in the Bible
Women in the Bible have not been content with just being mothers or wives. As you walk through the Bible, you can see women shepherds (read Genesis 29: 6, Exodus 2: 16). The Bible also mentions women businessmen in Lydia (see Acts 16:14). The book of Proverbs 31: 13-19 mentions the case of the businesswoman as well.
In the Bible, we naturally meet prophetesses (women prophets) of whom we can name Mary, the sister of Moses (Exodus 15: 20) – Anne (Luke 2: 36). Also, read the passages from 2 Kings 22: 14-20 (prophetess Hulda), Acts 21: 8-9 concerning women prophets.
Speaking of the occupations and roles of women in the Bible, we think of Deborah, who was a judge in Israel (Judge 4: 4-5). Let’s not also forget that there is a woman who was queen in a foreign country: Esther.
Also, the Bible mentioned women teachers (Acts 18:26). It should also be noted that, in the context of the occupations and roles of women in the Bible, there were those who worked in the Church (Romans 16: 1-2, Philippians 4: 2-3).
So far, we are able to observe that in the Bible in general, women’s roles and occupations extended into the family, religious, administrative, civil and social circles. One note, however, is that at the religious level, women have been prophetesses, teachers, servants of God. But was a woman among the priests or among the priests? No! In Old Testament times, women enjoyed the same privileges as men in worship. Many of them sang in the temple (1 Chronicles 25: 5, Nehemiah 7: 67). Moreover, the term used to describe the task of the Levites is the same used to explain their service in the tabernacle (Exodus 38: 8). And the priests were all “men.” And yet today it is the “priests” whom we regard as “pastors” speaking of functions in the church.
The theme of women in the Bible leads us to turn into remarkable women in the Bible. Otherwise, what are the famous women in the Bible?
II – Famous and Remarkable Women in the Bible
This list is not necessarily exhaustive, but we will try to list the most relevant ones.
Let’s open this angle with the remarkable women in the Bible: as Abigail, whose Bible testifies of her as a “common sense woman” (1 Samuel 25: 3). As for her, she begged David not to shed blood (see 1 Samuel 25: 23-33).
And, what about the woman who was both judge and prophetess? Her name is Deborah (see Judges 4: 4). Deborah, the only woman leader of the Book of Judges, had attracted the respect of all. She had sent Barak to lead the army at war, but he did not want to go without her. She predicts then that the real hero of the battle would be a woman (see Judges 4: 9).
We think of Dorcas, a faithful servant, and believer of Christ whose his entourage gave an incredible testimony. Because she did enough good works. When she died, through the Apostle Paul, God raised him up. (Read Acts 9: 36-39).
At the time of Jesus, let us remember the prophetess Anne, who, despite her very advanced age, remained attached to the service of God and devoted herself to an intimate relationship with God (see Luke 2: 36-38).
Among the famous women in the Bible, we have Eve, the mother of all living beings, the first woman God created.
Besides, are we going to forget Queen Esther? The main character of the book that bears his name. She was chosen as queen by Xerxes (Esther 2: 8-9). She put in place a plan that preserved the Jews (see Esther 8: 1 to 9:17). She decreed the celebration of Purim (Esther 9: 18-32).
Also, we have the famous Anne, the mother of the prophet Samuel. Being sterile, she prayed for a child, and God heard her, then she consecrated this child to God’s service (see 1 Samuel 1: 1-28). She also prayed at the consecration of Samuel (1 Samuel 2: 1-10).
Also, there is Mary, the wife of Joseph, the virgin from whom Jesus was born (Luke 1: 26-35). She had other children, namely sons and daughters still after Jesus, as Mark 6: 3 says. We do not lose sight of the women who followed Jesus in his ministry namely Mary, Martha, Mary of Magdala, Salome and even who were the first to be informed of his resurrection (Mark 15: 40-41, Mark 16: 1-9).
We end this list of famous women of the Bible, with those who have served the Lord with the apostles, contributed to the expansion of the gospel: Phoebe (Romans 16: 1), Priscilla (Acts 18: 2) to mention those ones.
As we have pointed out this list of famous and remarkable women of the Bible is not exhaustive. We just mentioned a few especially the ones that scored in the right way. […]
The more we study the theme of women in the Bible, the more we will discover so many exemplary women, in this case the one who gave his offering which Jesus had to appreciate (Mark 12: 41-44) – women of faith for example that who suffered of a disease since 12 years (Mark 5: 24-34). On the other hand, there have been women who are not exemplary to know – Saphira (Acts 5: 1-11) – Jezebel who favored the worship of Baal (1 Kings 16: 32-33), killed the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18: 4, 13) and became the symbol of wickedness (Revelation 2:20) – and the wife of Job (Job 2: 9).
Finally, it should be noted that women in the Bible have also played both good and evil roles. They had right as well as wrong occupations. Women in the Bible: some were exemplary, and some were not. Women in the Bible have shown so many qualities and flaws. While some made themselves useful by glorifying the name of God, others, on the other hand, dishonored God and led unhealthy lives.
It is obvious this feminine set in the Bible that has also enriched this true story. And the occupations and roles of women in the Bible show that God does not accept people. He had the same relationship, the same feeling and judgment towards the woman as towards the man. Yes, God is just and fair!