“And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.”

Philippians 4:3

WOMEN OF THE BIBLE

By Glen D. Owens

From the Chapel Glen Church of Christ Bulletin

Many studies of the bible are about men because they are the most prominently mentioned and they were the writers of the bible. However, there are many women mentioned in the bible that are worthy to be studied.

Some of the names that most bible scholars know are: Eve, Sarah and Hagar, Lot’s wife, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah, Miriam, Ruth, Deborah, Delilah, Bathsheba, Jezebel, Esther, Mary the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha, Sapphira, Dorcas, Lydia, Priscilla, Chloe, Lois and Eunice.

These women are named because of the important roles they played in the lessons taught in the bible. As you look through this short list, can you identify how they fit into the plan of God? Many of these names are given to girls today in honor of these biblical women. The one exception is probably Jezebel and another maybe Delilah.

Women’s rights have come to the forefront in our society. For so long, women were just members of society without any public roles to play. When women were given the right to vote may have been the beginning of the recognition of women’s role in society. The United States seemingly has become more active than many other countries in accepting women into various areas of the workforce and an attempt to secure equal pay for them.

Names of women in the Old Testament that many of us may have read but did not consider their importance are: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. These are daughters of Zelophehad who is a descendant of Korah. The name of Korah will be familiar to many because of his rebellion against Moses, along with Dathan and Abiram.

Because of the actions of these women the law of proper-ty inheritance in Israel was changed. When Moses made the assignment of property rights for the Canaan Land, he omitted the property of Zelophehad because he had no sons. His daughters approached Moses and said that this was not fair that they should be deprived of this inheritance because they were daughters.

Moses had not been faced with this problem before so he enquired of God as to how he should handle this situation. God sided with the daughters and said that they should receive the inheritance. As a result of these actions, God set out the way in which property should be handed down if there are no sons or daughters to receive it. (Numbers 27:1-11)

As stated above, there are many movements by women to gain more important roles in society. The church has not been exempt from these actions by women. The role of women in the church is not necessarily one of subservience as many will claim, but there are rules set forth in scripture what determine what roles are to be open to women.

Because of an apparent need for some women to assume roles of leadership in the church, some scriptures have been ignored. Just as Moses asked God how to handle the situation regarding the request by these daughters, we should consult Him about the role of women in the church and rely upon what He says. There is no desire to stifle or discourage women from doing work in the church, but the bible should be the authority rather than a com-mittee or synod that disregards what the bible says. Women were very active in the early church as shown in Acts and the epistles of the apostles. These are examples that we should follow.