Introduction

Have you ever paged through a magazine and wished that you could be like one of the interesting, beautiful, and talented women described in the articles? You read about their thoughts and opinions, their taste in music, their favourite food, the books they love to read, their achievements, and how they manage to rise above difficult circumstances. You see the clothes they wear, the way they decorate their homes, and you delight in their lifestyle. And involuntarily you think: This is the picture of perfection—I want to be like her.

In this booklet, you are invited to page through the Bible and discover the stories it tells about special women. Women play an important role throughout the Bible. Some lived in close relationship with God, while others turned their backs on Him. Sometimes they wrestled with God. They were women of different dimensions, multi-faceted and unique, women in varying circumstances of life. And God was at work in their lives. Between the pages of God’s wonderful Word, you will discover: That is me! I am she! And God is at work in my life, too!

Come along and meet the women in the Bible.

She lives in relationship with God

This is the most important dimension of womanhood. She lives in a unique faith relationship with God. She really loves the Lord and seeks his will for her life. However, she sometimes strays.

And you discover: I am she!

She loves the Lord very deeply;  He is at the centre of her life

As Jesus sat near the temple treasury, he watched the people as they dropped in their money. Many rich men dropped in a lot of money; then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins, worth about a penny. He called his disciples together and said to them, “I tell you that this poor widow put more in the offering box than all the others. For the others put in what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, put in all she had—she gave all she had to live on.”

(Mark 12:41-44)

She studies the Word

Happy are those

who reject the advice of evil people,

who do not follow the example of  sinners

or join those who have no use for God.

Instead, they find joy in obeying the

Law of the LORD,

and they study it day and night.

They are like trees that grow beside

a stream,

that bear fruit at the right time,

and whose leaves do not dry up.

They succeed in everything they do.

(Psalm 1:1-3)

She is serious about prayer

Hannah prayed earnestly to the LORD about her childlessness:

One day, after they had finished their meal in the house of the LORD at Shiloh, Hannah got up. She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the LORD. Meanwhile, Eli the priest was sitting in his place by the door. Hannah made a solemn promise: “Almighty LORD, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don’t forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut.”

Hannah continued to pray to the LORD for a long time, and Eli watched her lips. She was praying silently; her lips were moving, but she made no sound. So Eli thought that she was drunk, and said to her, “Stop making a drunken show of yourself! Stop your drinking and sober up!”

“No, I’m not drunk, sir,” she answered. “I haven’t been drinking! I am desperate, and I have been praying, pouring out my troubles to the LORD. Don’t think I am a worthless woman. I have been praying like this because I’m so miserable.”

(1 Samuel 1:9-16)

She sits at the feet of the Lord to listen

As Jesus and his disciples went on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him in her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the feet of the Lord and listened to his teaching. Martha was upset over all the work she had to do, so she came and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!”

The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and troubled over so many things, but just one is needed. Mary has chosen the right thing, and it will not be taken away from her.”

(Luke 10:38-42)

She submits to God’s will for her life

Sometimes she wrestles with God’s will for her life, but she also submits herself to it, realising that He knows best.

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee named Nazareth. He had a message for a young woman promised in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was a descendant of King David. Her name was Mary. The angel came to her and said, “Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!”

Mary was deeply troubled by the angel’s message, and she wondered what his words meant. The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end!”

Mary said to the angel, “I am a virgin. How, then, can this be?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God. Remember your relative Elizabeth. It is said that she cannot have children, but she herself is now six months pregnant, even though she is very old. For there is nothing that God cannot do.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary; “may it happen to me as you have said.” And the angel left her.

(Luke 1:26-38)

She dedicates her life to the Lord

There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only seven years and was now eighty-four years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshipped God, fasting and praying.

(Luke 2:36-37)

She serves the Lord with gladness

The prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took her tambourine, and all the women followed her, playing tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang for them:

“Sing to the LORD,

because he has won a glorious victory.”

(Exodus 15:20-21a)

She looks to Jesus for strength

There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years, even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time. She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him, saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.”

She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble. At once Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, so he turned round in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding you; why do you ask who touched you?”

But Jesus kept looking round to see who had done it. The woman realised what had happened to her, so she came, trembling with fear, knelt at his feet, and told him the whole truth. Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.”

(Mark 5:25-34)

She leaves her worries with the Lord

“This is why I tell you not to be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn’t life worth more than food? And isn’t the body worth more than clothes? Look at the birds: they do not sow seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren’t you worth much more than birds? Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?

“And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burnt up in the oven. Won’t he be all the more sure to clothe you? How little faith you have!

“So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.”

(Matthew 6:25-34)

Sometimes she stumbles ...

Sometimes she makes a mistake, which causes her to want to hide from God. Then, when her mistake comes to light, she tries to shift the blame onto someone else. That was the case with Eve:

Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the LORD God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

“We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,” the woman answered, “except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”

The snake replied, “That’s not true; you will not die. God said that, because he knows that when you eat it you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”

The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realised that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.

That evening they heard the LORD God walking in the garden, and they hid from him among the trees. But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked.”

“Who told you that you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?”

The man answered, “The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

The LORD God asked the woman, “Why did you do this?”

She replied, “The snake tricked me into eating it.”

(Genesis 3:1-13)

Sometimes she does not trust the Lord but rather does as she thinks right ... and regrets it in the end. Like Sarai, who said to Abram:

“The LORD has kept me from having children. Why don’t you sleep with my slave? Perhaps she can have a child for me.” Abram agreed with what Sarai said. So she gave Hagar to him to be his concubine. (This happened after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years.) Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she found out that she was pregnant, she became proud and despised Sarai.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “It’s your fault that Hagar despises me. I myself gave her to you, and ever since she found out that she was pregnant, she has despised me. May the LORD judge which of us is right, you or me!”

(Genesis 16:2-5)

She comes to the Lord and experiences his forgiveness

In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them. When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

“There were two men who owed money to a money-lender,” Jesus began. “One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. You provided no olive-oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

(Luke 7:37-48)

She lives in hope for the future

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.”

“Your brother will rise to life,” Jesus told her.

“I know,” she replied, “that he will rise to life on the last day.”

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; and all those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

“Yes, Lord!” she answered. “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

(John 11:20-27)

She lives in relationship with others

She does not live in isolation. She lives in community with others. Each of the relationships which she has is unique and makes specific demands on her.

And you discover: I am she!

She is good to others

In Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha, who was a believer. (Her name in Greek is Dorcas, meaning “a deer”.) She spent all her time doing good and helping the poor.

(Acts 9:36)

She is a wife

She is one with her husband

Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read the Scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.”

(Matthew 19:4-6)

She is beautiful to him

How beautiful you are, my love;

how your eyes shine with love!

(Song of songs 1:15)

She loves him very much

My lover is mine, and I am his.

He feeds his flock among the lilies

until the morning breezes blow

and the darkness disappears.

Return, my darling, like a gazelle,

like a stag on the mountains of Bether.

Asleep on my bed, night after night

I dreamt of the one I love;

I was looking for him, but couldn’t find him.

I went wandering through the city,

through its streets and alleys.

I looked for the one I love.

I looked, but couldn’t find him.

The watchmen patrolling the city saw me.

I asked them, “Have you found my lover?”

As soon as I left them, I found him.

I held him and wouldn’t let him go

until I took him to my mother’s house,

to the room where I was born.

(Song of songs 2:16-3:4)

She compliments him

His thighs are columns of alabaster

set in sockets of gold.

He is majestic, like the Lebanon Mountains

with their towering cedars.

His mouth is sweet to kiss;

everything about him enchants me.

This is what my lover is like,

women of Jerusalem.

(Song of songs 5:15-16)

She is faithful to him

Marriage is to be honoured by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

(Hebrews 13:4)

She needs his love

Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She said, “The LORD has seen my trouble, and now my husband will love me”; so she named him Reuben.

(Genesis 29:32)

She fulfils her duty as a wife

A man should fulfil his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfil her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other’s needs. A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is. Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan’s temptation because of your lack of self-control.

(1 Corinthians 7:3-5)

She is a mother

She recognises her children as gifts

Children are a gift from the LORD;

they are a real blessing.

(Psalm 127:3)

She loves her children unconditionally

One day two prostitutes came and presented themselves before King Solomon. One of them said, “Your Majesty, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a baby boy at home while she was there. Two days after my child was born she also gave birth to a baby boy. Only the two of us were there in the house—no one else was present. Then one night she accidentally rolled over on her baby and smothered it. She got up during the night, took my son from my side while I was asleep, and carried him to her bed; then she put the dead child in my bed. The next morning, when I woke up and was going to feed my baby, I saw that it was dead. I looked at it more closely and saw that it was not my child.”

But the other woman said, “No! The living child is mine, and the dead one is yours!”

The first woman answered, “No! The dead child is yours, and the living one is mine!”

And so they argued before the king.

Then King Solomon said, “Each of you claims that the living child is hers and that the dead child belongs to the other one.” He sent for a sword, and when it was brought, he said, “Cut the living child in two and give each woman half of it.”

The real mother, her heart full of love for her son, said to the king, “Please, Your Majesty, don’t kill the child! Give it to her!”

But the other woman said, “Don’t give it to either of us; go ahead and cut it in two.”

Then Solomon said, “Don’t kill the child! Give it to the first woman—she is its real mother.”

(1 Kings 3:16-27)

She asks God to teach her how to raise her children

Then the woman went and said to her husband, “A man of God has come to me, and he looked as frightening as the angel of God. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he did tell me that I would become pregnant and have a son. He told me not to drink any wine or beer, or eat any forbidden food, because the boy is to be dedicated to God as a nazirite as long as he lives.”

Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, “Please, LORD, let the man of God that you sent come back to us and tell us what we must do with the boy when he is born.”

(Judges 13:6-8)

She teaches her children to live right

Pay attention to what your father and mother tell you, my son. Their teaching will improve your character as a handsome turban or a necklace improves your appearance.

(Proverbs 1:8-9)

She is a single parent

Sometimes she battles financially and asks for help. However, in the midst of these difficult circumstances, she experiences God’s loving care for her.

The widow of a member of a group of prophets went to Elisha and said, “Sir, my husband has died! As you know, he was a God-fearing man, but now a man he owed money to has come to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband’s debt.”

“What shall I do for you?” he asked. “Tell me, what have you got at home?”

“Nothing at all, except a small jar of olive-oil,” she answered.

“Go to your neighbours and borrow as many empty jars as you can,” Elisha told her. “Then you and your sons go into the house, close the door, and start pouring oil into the jars. Set each one aside as soon as it is full.”

So the woman went into her house with her sons, closed the door, took the small jar of olive-oil, and poured oil into the jars as her sons brought them to her. When they had filled all the jars, she asked if there were any more. “That was the last one,” one of her sons answered. And the olive-oil stopped flowing. She went back to Elisha, the prophet, who said to her, “Sell the olive-oil and pay all your debts, and there will be enough money left over for you and your sons to live on.”

(2 Kings 4:1-7)

She is a daughter-in-law

The Bible tells of Ruth who lived in the land of Moab. When her mother-in-law Naomi, after losing her husband and sons, decided to return to Bethlehem in Judah, Ruth refused to allow her to go back home alone. She said:

“Don’t ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried. May the LORD’s worst punishment come upon me if I let anything but death separate me from you!”

(Ruth 1:16-17)

Ruth treated her mother-in-law as she would her own family, and others noticed what a loyal daughter-in-law she was:

Ruth bowed down with her face touching the ground, and said to Boaz, “Why should you be so concerned about me? Why should you be so kind to a foreigner?”

Boaz answered, “I have heard about everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know how you left your father and mother and your own country and how you came to live among a people you had never known before. May the LORD reward you for what you have done. May you have a full reward from the LORD God of Israel, to whom you have come for protection!”

(Ruth 2:10-12)

She is a mother-in-law

She is unselfish

After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi told her daughters-in-law that she wanted to leave Moab and return to her home town of Bethlehem. She said to them:

“Go back home and stay with your mothers. May the LORD be as good to you as you have been to me and to those who have died. And may the LORD make it possible for each of you to marry again and have a home.”

(Ruth 1:8-9a)

She is a friend

She prays for her friends

Just as Jesus prayed for his friends, the believing woman also prays for her friends:

“Simon, Simon! Listen! Satan has received permission to test all of you, to separate the good from the bad, as a farmer separates the wheat from the chaff. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail.”

(Luke 22:31-32a)

She shares the bitter and the sweet of life with her friends

“Or suppose a woman who has ten silver coins loses one of them—what does she do? She lights a lamp, sweeps her house, and looks carefully everywhere until she finds it. When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together, and says to them, ‘I am so happy I found the coin I lost. Let us celebrate!’ ”

(Luke 15:8-9)

She gives good advice

Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was highly respected and esteemed by the king of Syria, because through Naaman the LORD had given victory to the Syrian forces. He was a great soldier, but he suffered from a dreaded skin-disease. In one of their raids against Israel, the Syrians had carried off a little Israelite girl, who became a servant of Naaman’s wife.

One day she said to her mistress, “I wish that my master could go to the prophet who lives in Samaria! He would cure him of his disease.” When Naaman heard of this, he went to the king and told him what the girl had said. The king said, “Go to the king of Israel and take this letter to him.”

So Naaman went down to the Jordan, dipped himself in it seven times, as Elisha had instructed, and he was completely cured. His flesh became firm and healthy, like that of a child. He returned to Elisha with all his men and said, “Now I know that there is no god but the God of Israel; so please, sir, accept a gift from me.”

(2 Kings 5:1-5a,14-15)

She is a widow

She finds it hard to be alone

Naomi’s life seemed empty after the death of her husband and sons:

“Don’t call me Naomi,” she answered; “call me Marah, because Almighty God has made my life bitter. When I left here, I had plenty, but the LORD has brought me back without a thing. Why call me Naomi when the LORD Almighty has condemned me and sent me trouble?”

(Ruth 1:20-21)

She matters to God

It is important to God that believers should take care of widows:

What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

(James 1:27)

She is divorced

Although different things separate people from one another, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s love:

Who will accuse God’s chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty! Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right-hand side of God, pleading with him for us! Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ?

For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:33-35a,38-39)

She is the other woman

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?” They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger.

As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened himself up and said to them, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.” Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. He straightened himself up and said to her, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?”

“No one, sir,” she answered.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again.”

(John 8:3-11)

She lives in relationship with herself

Every day she lives with herself on both the spiritual and the physical levels. She realises that God is concerned about her total personhood.

And you discover: I am she!

She realises that she has been made to be like God

So God created human beings, making them to be like himself. He created them male and female.

(Genesis 1:27)

She looks after her body

Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God’s glory.

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

She respects herself, she is not a showpiece

On the seventh day of his banquet the king was drinking and feeling merry, so he called in the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants, Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas. He ordered them to bring in Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown. The queen was a beautiful woman, and the king wanted to show off her beauty to the officials and all his guests. But when the servants told Queen Vashti of the king’s command, she refused to come.

(Esther 1:10-12a)

She knows that her true inner self is more important than her appearance

You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you do your hair, or the jewellery you put on, or the dresses you wear. Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest value in God’s sight. For the devout women of the past who placed their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful by submitting to their husbands.

(1 Peter 3:3-5)

She knows God has a special purpose for her as a single person

An unmarried woman or a virgin concerns herself with the Lord’s work, because she wants to be dedicated both in body and spirit; but a married woman concerns herself with worldly matters, because she wants to please her husband.

(1 Corinthians 7:34b)

She knows God has a special purpose for her as an older woman

In the same way instruct the older women to behave as women should who live a holy life. They must not be slanderers or slaves to wine. They must teach what is good, in order to train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, and to be good housewives who submit to their husbands, so that no one will speak evil of the message that comes from God.

(Titus 2:3-5)

She Has Feelings

Her emotions are an integral part of her womanhood. She experiences intensely the joys of life. But at times she also experiences negative emotions such as sadness, despondency, or inferiority.

And you discover: I am she!

She experiences emotions intensely

Hannah prayed:

“The LORD has filled my heart with joy;

how happy I am because of what he has done!

I laugh at my enemies;

how joyful I am because God has helped me!”

(1 Samuel 2:1)

She feels heartsore and despondent

In the Bible, Hannah is such a woman:

Peninnah, her rival, would torment and humiliate her, because the LORD had kept her childless. This went on year after year; whenever they went to the house of the LORD, Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would cry and refuse to eat anything.

She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the LORD.

(1 Samuel 1:6-7,10)

She feels bitter because of what happens to her

“Don’t call me Naomi,” she answered; “call me Marah, because Almighty God has made my life bitter. When I left here, I had plenty, but the LORD has brought me back without a thing. Why call me Naomi when the LORD Almighty has condemned me and sent me trouble?”

(Ruth 1:20-21)

She realises that she need not feel inferior

You created every part of me;

you put me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because you are to be feared;

all you do is strange and wonderful.

I know it with all my heart.

When my bones were being formed,

carefully put together in my mother’s womb,

when I was growing there in secret,

you knew that I was there—

you saw me before I was born.

The days allotted to me

had all been recorded in your book,

before any of them ever began.

O God, how difficult I find your thoughts;

how many of them there are!

(Psalm 139:13-17)

She is a working woman

She is a woman who bears many responsibilities. She has to see to it that the household runs smoothly, that her husband and children are happy and have been well attended to, and then she also wants to build her career.

And you discover: I am she!

She recognises that work is a privilege

The best thing anyone can do is to eat and drink and enjoy what he has earned. And yet, I realised that even this comes from God. How else could you have anything to eat or enjoy yourself at all?

(Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)

She serves the Lord in spite of pressure at work

Then the king of Egypt spoke to Shiphrah and Puah, the two midwives who helped the Hebrew women. “When you help the Hebrew women give birth,” he said to them, “kill the baby if it is a boy; but if it is a girl, let it live.” But the midwives feared God and so did not obey the king; instead, they let the boys live.

(Exodus 1:15-17)

She tries to use her time appropriately

Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.

(Ecclesiastes 3:1)

She is a believing businesswoman

On the Sabbath we went out of the city to the river-side, where we thought there would be a place where Jews gathered for prayer. We sat down and talked to the women who gathered there. One of those who heard us was Lydia from Thyatira, who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshipped God, and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and the people of her house had been baptised, she invited us, “Come and stay in my house if you have decided that I am a true believer in the Lord.” And she persuaded us to go.

(Acts 16:13-15)

She is highly capable

How hard it is to find a capable wife! She is worth far more than jewels!

Her husband puts his confidence in her, and he will never be poor.

As long as she lives, she does him good and never harm.

She keeps herself busy making wool and linen cloth.

She brings home food from out-of-the-way places, as merchant ships do.

She gets up before daylight to prepare food for her family and to tell her servant-women what to do.

She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard.

She is a hard worker, strong and industrious.

She knows the value of everything she makes, and works late into the night.

She spins her own thread and weaves her own cloth.

She is generous to the poor and needy.

She doesn’t worry when it snows, because her family has warm clothing.

She makes bedspreads and wears clothes of fine purple linen.

Her husband is well known, one of the leading citizens.

She makes clothes and belts, and sells them to merchants.

She is strong and respected and not afraid of the future.

She speaks with a gentle wisdom.

She is always busy and looks after her family’s needs.

Her children show their appreciation, and her husband praises her.

He says, “Many women are good wives, but you are the best of them all.”

Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honours the LORD should be praised.

Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone.

(Proverbs 31:10-31)

She makes a difference

She is a woman who wants to make a contribution at home and in society. She is not afraid to take risks—she gives a voice to women in society, in order to make the world a better place. She has discovered God’s calling for her and lives her life to the full.

And you discover: I am she!

She works for peace

Happy are those who work for peace;

God will call them his children!

(Matthew 5:9)

She stands up for what is right

Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah were the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. They went and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and the whole community at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD’s presence and said, “Our father died in the wilderness without leaving any sons. He was not among the followers of Korah, who rebelled against the LORD; he died because of his own sin. Just because he had no sons, why should our father’s name disappear from Israel? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”

Moses presented their case to the LORD, and the LORD said to him, “What the daughters of Zelophehad request is right; give them property among their father’s relatives. Let his inheritance pass on to them.”

(Numbers 27:1-7)

She does the right thing at the right time

Queen Esther was requested by Mordecai—her guardian—to beg the king for mercy on behalf of her people. Mordecai had got wind of a conspiracy to wipe out the Jews living in the Persian Empire. Although, initially, Esther wavered, she finally agreed to do the right thing. She sent word to Mordecai:

“If anyone, man or woman, goes to the inner courtyard and sees the king without being summoned, that person must die. That is the law; everyone, from the king’s advisers to the people in the provinces, knows that. There is only one way to get round this law: if the king holds out his gold sceptre to someone, then that person’s life is spared. But it has been a month since the king sent for me.”

When Mordecai received Esther’s message, he sent her this warning: “Don’t imagine that you are safer than any other Jew just because you are in the royal palace. If you keep quiet at a time like this, help will come from heaven to the Jews, and they will be saved, but you will die and your father’s family will come to an end. Yet who knows—maybe it was for a time like this that you were made queen!”

Esther sent Mordecai this reply: “Go and gather all the Jews in Susa together; hold a fast and pray for me. Don’t eat or drink anything for three days and nights. My young women and I will be doing the same. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. If I must die for doing it, I will die.”

(Esther 4:11-16)

She strives for harmony

Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow-workers, whose names are in God’s book of the living.

(Philippians 4:2-3)

She is a spiritual leader

She is willing, if it is required of her, to take the spiritual lead. She is not necessarily a minister, but she listens when God calls her to testify, to help those in spiritual need, and to lead people back to Him. She listens to God and she does her part for the church.

And you discover: I am she!

She is willing to step forward when the Lord calls her

Because of their disobedience, the Lord had let the Israelites be conquered by Jabin king of Canaan:

Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help.

Now Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was serving as a judge for the Israelites at that time. She used to sit under a certain palm-tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill-country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel would go there for her decisions. One day she sent for Barak son of Abinoam from the city of Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given you this command: ‘Take ten thousand men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them to Mount Tabor. I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, to fight against you at the River Kishon. He will have his chariots and soldiers, but I will give you victory over him.’ ”

Then Barak replied, “I will go if you go with me, but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go either.”

She answered, “All right, I will go with you, but you won’t get any credit for the victory, because the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman.”

(Judges 4:3b-9a)

She is a woman of character

Their wives also must be of good character and must not gossip; they must be sober and honest in everything.

(1 Timothy 3:11)

She uses her gifts

We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions. In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body. So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.

(Romans 12:4-8)

She is a servant-leader

So Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, he must be your slave—like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

(Matthew 20:25-28)

She is a gentle leader

She speaks with a gentle wisdom.

(Proverbs 31:26)

She corrects those who have lost the way

My brothers and sisters, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings them back again, remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from his or her wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

(James 5:19-20)

She tells everyone that Jesus is the risen Lord

Suddenly Jesus met [the women] and said, “Peace be with you.” They came up to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to them. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

(Matthew 28:9-10)

She follows the Lord to the end

The army officer who was standing there in front of the cross saw how Jesus had died. “This man was really the Son of God!” he said.

Some women were there, looking on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joseph, and Salome. They had followed Jesus while he was in Galilee and had helped him. Many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him were there also.

(Mark 15:39-41)

She leaves behind a spiritual heritage

I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did. I thank him as I remember you always in my prayers night and day. I remember your tears, and I want to see you very much, so that I may be filled with joy. I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also.

(2 Timothy 1:3-5)

Sometimes she suffers

She notices that things do not always go quite the way that she would like. Sometimes she gets terribly hurt when others step on her, abuse her, or when things simply do not work out as she had hoped. Sometimes she battles to let go of things in her past, but at other times, she manages to talk to God about her suffering and to confront her pain. Then she discovers that she can start anew, in spite of all that happened in her past.

And you discover: I am she!

She suffers from an incurable disease

So many women today are battling with diseases such as HIV/AIDS and cancer.

She takes her pain to the Lord

One day a great crowd was gathered round Jesus.

There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years, even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time. She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him, saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.”

She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble. At once Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, so he turned round in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding you; why do you ask who touched you?”

But Jesus kept looking round to see who had done it. The woman realised what had happened to her, so she came, trembling with fear, knelt at his feet, and told him the whole truth. Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.”

(Mark 5:25-34)

She needs to be looked after

As He taught about the final judgment, Jesus said to his disciples:

“Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’

“The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these members of my family, you did it for me!’ ”

(Matthew 25:34-40)

She feels desperate about her childlessness

But Rachel had not borne Jacob any children, and so she became jealous of her sister and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I will die.”

(Genesis 30:1)

She suffers because of her child’s bad choices

When Esau was forty years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith the daughter of Beeri, and Basemath the daughter of Elon. They made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca.

Rebecca said to Isaac, “I am sick and tired of Esau’s foreign wives. If Jacob also marries one of these Hittite women, I might as well die.”

(Genesis 26:34-35; 27:46)

She grapples with her unhappy past

There is a great deal of personal pain in her past, whether as a result of her own choices or through the doings of others. She realises that freedom from her grappling can be found only with the Lord, but she feels too guilty to talk to Him about it. But then she discovers that, in his love, there is unconditional forgiveness and bright hope for a new future.

In that town was a woman who lived a sinful life. She heard that Jesus was eating in the Pharisee’s house, so she brought an alabaster jar full of perfume and stood behind Jesus, by his feet, crying and wetting his feet with her tears. Then she dried his feet with her hair, kissed them, and poured the perfume on them.

When the Pharisee saw this, he said to himself, “If this man really were a prophet, he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives!”

Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes, Teacher,” he said, “tell me.”

“There were two men who owed money to a money-lender,” Jesus began. “One owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other owed him fifty. Neither of them could pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Which one, then, will love him more?”

“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that it would be the one who was forgiven more.”

“You are right,” said Jesus. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your home, and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You did not welcome me with a kiss, but she has not stopped kissing my feet since I came. You provided no olive-oil for my head, but she has covered my feet with perfume. I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love.”

Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

(Luke 7:37-50)

She has been raped

She need not feel guilty about it.

It is he who did wrong.

“Suppose a man out in the countryside rapes a woman who is engaged to someone else. Then only the man is to be put to death; nothing is to be done to the woman, because she has not committed a sin worthy of death. This case is the same as when one man attacks another man and murders him. The man raped the engaged woman in the countryside, and although she cried for help, there was no one to help her.”

(Deuteronomy 22:25-27)

She mourns because her “no” was not taken seriously

Then Amnon said to Tamar,

“Bring the cakes here to my bed and serve them to me yourself.” She took the cakes and went over to him. As she offered them to him, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me!”

“No,” she said. “Don’t force me to do such a degrading thing! That’s awful! How could I ever hold up my head in public again? And you—you would be completely disgraced in Israel. Please, speak to the king, and I’m sure that he will give me to you.” But he would not listen to her; and since he was stronger than she was, he overpowered her and raped her.

Then Amnon was filled with a deep hatred for her; he hated her now even more than he had loved her before. He said to her, “Get out!”

“No,” she answered. “To send me away like this is a greater crime than what you just did!”

But Amnon would not listen to her; he called in his personal servant and said, “Get this woman out of my sight! Throw her out and lock the door!” The servant put her out and locked the door.

Tamar was wearing a long robe with full sleeves, the usual clothing for an unmarried princess in those days. She sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying. When her brother Absalom saw her, he asked, “Has Amnon molested you? Please, sister, don’t let it upset you so much. He is your half-brother, so don’t tell anyone about it.” So Tamar lived in Absalom’s house, sad and lonely.

(2 Samuel 13:10-20)

She is the victim of violence

Once there was a Levite who was on a journey with his concubine, and they had to spend the night in a strange town. A local resident offered to put them up for the night. That evening, while they were eating and drinking, a terrible thing happened:

They were enjoying themselves when all of a sudden some sexual perverts from the town surrounded the house and started beating on the door. They said to the old man, “Bring out that man that came home with you! We want to have sex with him!”

But the old man went outside and said to them, “No, my friends! Please! Don’t do such an evil, immoral thing! This man is my guest. Look! Here is his concubine and my own daughter, who is a virgin. I’ll bring them out now, and you can have them. Do with them whatever you want. But don’t do such an awful thing to this man!” But the men would not listen to him. So the Levite took his concubine and put her outside with them. They raped her and abused her all night long and didn’t stop until morning.

At dawn the woman came and fell down at the door of the old man’s house, where her husband was. She was still there when daylight came. Her husband got up that morning, and when he opened the door to go on his way, he found his concubine lying in front of the house with her hands reaching for the door. He said, “Get up. Let’s go.” But there was no answer. So he put her body across the donkey and started on his way home.

(Judges 19:22-28)

She talks to God about her suffering

Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the LORD for her. The LORD answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant. She was going to have twins, and before they were born, they struggled against each other in her womb. She said, “Why should something like this happen to me?” So she went to ask the LORD for an answer.

The LORD said to her,

“Two nations are within you;

You will give birth to two rival peoples.

One will be stronger than the other;

The older will serve the younger.”

(Genesis 25:21-23)

She knows she can start anew, in spite of her past

It was faith that kept the prostitute Rahab from being killed with those who disobeyed God, for she gave the Israelite spies a friendly welcome.

(Hebrews 11:31)

She knows that things will go well again

LORD, make us prosperous again,

just as the rain brings water back to dry river-beds.

Let those who wept as they sowed their seed,

gather the harvest with joy!

Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed

will come back singing for joy,

as they bring in the harvest.

(Psalm 126:4-6)

Conclusion

The Scriptures in this booklet highlight different dimensions of womanhood. We hope that these passages have helped you to better understand the reality of women’s lives today. Sometimes that reality is negative, and the Bible does not attempt to cover this up, but in Scripture you can find hope for the particular situation in which you find yourself. You can find direction if you have lost the way, and you can be uplifted and comforted. In this process, you may even find the Bible challenging you. We hope that the Scriptures in this booklet addressed you in your specific situation.

Prominent women in the Bible

In this booklet, you met the following prominent women in the Bible.

Read more about their lives in the Scripture passages indicated.

Women in the Old Testament

Eve  (Genesis 2:21-3:24)

Sarai  (Genesis 16:1-9)

Rebecca  (Genesis 24:1-67; 27:1-45)

Rachel and Leah  (Genesis 29:1-30)

The midwives Shiphrah and Puah  (Exodus 1:15-21)

Miriam  (Exodus 15:20-21)

The daughters of Zelophehad  (Numbers 27:1-7)

Rahab  (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:15-25)

Deborah  (Judges 4:1-5:31)

Manoah’s wife  (Judges 13:2-25)

The Levite’s concubine  (Judges 19:1-30)

Naomi and Ruth  (Ruth 1-4)

Hannah  (1 Samuel 1:1-2:10)

Tamar  (2 Samuel 13:1-22)

Naaman’s wife’s servant girl  (2 Kings 5:1-18)

Queen Vashti  (Esther 1:1-22)

Queen Esther  (Esther 2:1-9:32)

The capable wife in Proverbs  (Proverbs 31:10-31)

Women in the New Testament

The woman suffering from severe bleeding  (Mark 5:25-34)

The poor widow  (Mark 12:41-44)

The women who followed Jesus  (Mark 15:39-41)

Mary, the mother of Jesus  (Luke 1:26-56)

Anna, the prophet  (Luke 2:36-38)

The woman with the alabaster jar  (Luke 7:36-50)

Martha and Mary  (Luke 10:38-42; John 11:20-27)

The woman caught in adultery  (John 8:1-11)

Tabitha  (Acts 9:36-42)

Lydia  (Acts 16:13-15)

Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice  (2 Timothy 1:3-5)

I AM SHE

First digital edition 2011

Copyright of this publication held by © Bible Society of South Africa 2011

The Bible text is quoted from Good News Bible (Today’s English Version)

© American Bible Society 1976, 1992

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by the Bible Society of South Africa, P O Box 5500, Tyger Valley 7536, Bellville

www.biblesociety.co.za

ISBN 978-0-7982-1669-2

Contents

Introduction

She lives in relationship with God

She lives in relationship with others

She lives in relationship with herself

She has feelings

She is a working woman

She makes a difference

She is a spiritual leader

Sometimes she suffers

Conclusion

Prominent women in the Bible