THE CHRISTIAN
W OMAN
Women in the
Old Testament
The Scriptures define and illustrate the
woman’s role in God’s plan, from the time of
creation until the days of the early church. The
examples provided for us in God’s Word show
the tremendous influence women exert in their
households, their communities, and their na-
tions, either for good or for evil.
WOMAN IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
The sequence of events surrounding the fall
of Adam and Eve when they sinned in the gar-
den intimates the leadership roles God intended
for His creation.
The Temptation by Satan
God spoke directly to the man, saying, “. . .
‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
but from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat
from it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16, 17).
Either God spoke directly to Eve concerning this
prohibition at a later time, or—more likely—
the message was relayed to Eve by Adam when
God brought her to him. Eve knew the fruit of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was
forbidden, for she stated to the serpent, “. . .
‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we
may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is
in the middle of the garden, God has said, “You
shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die”’”
(Genesis 3:2, 3).
From the information God has provided in
Genesis, we can learn what Eve saw concerning
the fruit that tempted her to sin. (1) It was“ good
for food,” (2) it was “a delight to the eyes,” and
(3) it was “desirable to make one wise” (Genesis
3:6). The serpent had stated that she would “be
like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5b).
After they had eaten, God said, ‘Behold, the man
has become like one of Us, knowing good and
evil’” (Genesis 3:22a). So far as the text is con-
cerned, only one conclusion can be reached: Be-
fore they ate the fruit, they were without the
knowledge of good and evil. This must mean
that they were innocent concerning morality
and could not be tempted in such matters. After
they had eaten, they were no longer ignorant of
good and evil, but had left their innocent state
of mind. Formerly without moral conscious-
ness, they had entered into God’s realm of moral
knowledge.
The conclusion that Adam and Eve corrupted
their nature by eating of the fruit of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil is invalid. They
did not gain just the knowledge of evil, but also
the knowledge of good. If a knowledge of evil
could make them evil, then why didn’t the
knowledge of good make them good? Eating
of the forbidden fruit did not corrupt their na-
ture; rather, that act of disobedience opened to
them the moral perceptibility that God pos-
sesses. Before they ate, they were without the
knowledge of good and evil, as are young chil-
dren, and thus had the innocence of children
(Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 7:16). God handles
well His knowledge of good and evil; mankind
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cannot handle knowledge in the same way God
handles it. Evidently, this is why God desired
that Adam and Eve not eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil: He knew they would
have difficulty choosing to do good and refus-
ing to do evil. God imposed a severe penalty
because He wanted to discourage them from
eating of the fruit which would make them sus-
ceptible to rebellion against His moral and spiri-
tual code.
The Punishment by God
According to Genesis 3:9, 11, God spoke first
to Adam and questioned him concerning the
violation of His will. This may be an indication
that Adam already had a leadership role as Eve’s
husband. As such, he had a greater responsibil-
ity and was more accountable than Eve. We read,
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered
into the world, and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men, because all sinned”
(Romans 5:12); “For as in Adam all die, so also in
Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians
15:22). However, Adam’s relationship to the
transgression was not the same as Eve’s, for
1 Timothy 2:14 says, “And it was not Adam who
was deceived, but the woman being quite de-
ceived, fell into transgression.”
The punishments that were given involved
the creating of conditions that did not exist be-
fore the transgression. (1) Before the transgres-
sion the serpent did not go on his belly; after-
ward, he was cursed more than all the other
animals and would crawl on his belly and eat
dust all the days of its life. (2) Woman would
begin to have intense pain in childbirth, and
man would rule over her. Before this, childbirth
must have been relatively painless. If man was
ruling over her already, then this was not a God-
given penalty placed on women because of the
transgression. (3) The earth was cursed as a
punishment to man (Genesis 3:17–19). Further,
he would return to the ground from which he
had been taken. These must be penalties given
by God which did not exist before the trans-
gression.
God may have intended for man to have the
leadership role from the beginning, but a pro-
nounced leadership role was not given him until
after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:16).
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“Rule” is the Hebrew mashal, which can be trans-
lated “rule” (Genesis 37:8; Deuteronomy 15:6) or
“authority” (Exodus 21:8). Throughout the his-
tory of the world, men have had the leadership
role. They have been more dominant than
women in the concerns of mankind in most cul-
tures.
The fact that the other punishments God
placed on Adam and Eve still stand may indicate
that man is still to rule over her as an abiding
penalty. If this penalty is not an abiding one,
then it is the exception. If God has not removed
it, then it remains. Does He still will that man
take the dominant role in husband/wife rela-
tionships and in other relationships as well?
Understanding God’s intention in this case is
important, because the New Testament alludes
to and teaches truths concerning woman’s role
based on this event in the Garden of Eden. A
misunderstanding of the penalty for the sin of
Adam and Eve may lead to a misunderstanding
of other passages from the Bible. Our goal should
not be to look for teaching that will uphold our
prejudices; we should seek an understanding of
God’s will in all areas.
In order to understand a teaching, it is some-
times necessary to see how it is applied in prac-
tice. Who began taking the leading role after
Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden?
Whom did God recognize as leaders in the com-
munity, in the home, and in religious matters?
What was the role of women before the Law
was given to Moses, as presented in the Law, and
until Israel entered the Promised Land?
WOMEN BEFORE
THE LAW WAS GIVEN
The Bible does not belittle women who lived
before the Law, although some may think that
listing genealogies based on men is an affront
to women. Sons are mentioned; but wives and
daughters, if alluded to, are not mentioned by
name in the genealogies (Genesis 5:1–32; 10:1–
32; 11:10–28) until we come to the wives of Abram
and Nahor (Genesis 11:29).
Because of Abraham’s obedience, God made
a covenant with him (Genesis 22:16–18). This
covenant was extended to Abraham’s descen-
dants because of his, not Sarah’s, leadership in
the home (Genesis 18:19). Eli, not his wife, was
held responsible for the evil lives of his sons
(1 Samuel 2:27–36; 3:13). The men of this period
were given greater responsibilities, but they
were also judged with greater strictness and
were punished more severely.
Abraham must have been the leader in his
relationship with Sarah. God appeared to him
and gave him instructions to leave his country
(Genesis 12:1–3). The covenant He made with
Abraham was to be sealed with circumcision, a
sign that only applied to men (Genesis 17). God
made another covenant with Abraham and re-
peated it to his male descendants Isaac and
Jacob: He promised to bless them and make
them great, to make of them a great nation, to
bless all the families of the earth through them,
and to give them the land of Canaan (Genesis
12:1–3; 17:8; 22:18; 26:3–5; 28:13, 14).
God used Joseph to preserve the people of
Israel during the famine (Genesis 50:20). Women
like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah were im-
portant during the period of the patriarchs; but
God dealt with men as the representatives of the
families, not with women. The twelve tribes
were based on the sons of Jacob, not on his
daughter, Dinah, or her descendants. A promise
was made to Judah, a man, that the ruler’s staff
would remain in his tribe (Genesis 49:10).
God chose Moses and Aaron to lead the
people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus
7:1, 2) and to lead the people of Israel through
the wilderness. He gave the Law through Moses
(John 1:17). God gave women like Miriam,
Pharaoh’s daughter, and Moses’ wife, Zipporah,
prominent roles; however, He did not assign
them leadership positions as He did Moses,
Aaron, Joshua (Exodus 17:9), Caleb (Numbers
14:24), the seventy elders (Exodus 24:1; Num-
bers 11:16, 25), and other men. Men like Eldad
and Medad prophesied (Numbers 11:26). The
writings of the Bible are made up of revelations
given to men. Only two prophecies made by
women are recorded, those of Miriam and
Huldah, and these prophecies are insignificant.
Even though Miriam is called a prophetess
(Exodus 15:20a), her recorded statement was
made to women as she led them in rejoicing after
the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20b, 21).
We have no record that she led men. Huldah
prophesied to men who came to her in private
(2 Kings 22:14–20). Throughout this period, God
assigned the leadership roles to Israelite men.
WOMEN UNDER THE LAW
We continue to see the administrative role
required of men under the law of Moses.
In the Days of the Judges
During the days of the judges, the national
leaders were all men, except for Deborah. She
was a prophetess and is important as an ex-
ample of female leadership. The Bible leaves no
doubt that she judged Israel and was a prophet-
ess (Judges 4:4, 5). We can conclude, however,
that she did not lead in the religious affairs of the
congregation of the Lord. The Law had given
this responsibility only to men of the tribe of Levi
(Numbers 1:50; 3:9, 10).
The questions that arise because of Deborah
are not answered in the Bible. Did the people
appoint her to this office? Were the judges ap-
pointed with God’s full blessing, or did God
allow judges as He did the kings of Israel (Hosea
13:11)? Did Deborah assume this role because
men were not carrying out their responsibility?
Did God appoint Deborah as a judge because of
a degenerate condition of Israel similar to that
which arose later in the nation’s history? God
said of Israel, “O My people! Their oppressors
are children, and women rule over them” (Isaiah
3:12).
Nothing is revealed concerning the setting
in which Deborah made her prophecies. Did
she address the congregation of God’s people,
or did she speak only to small, private groups?
Did she prophesy to men, or only to women?
Did she write her prophecies to be read by
others, or did she speak her prophecies to
groups or individuals? Did she prophesy con-
cerning religious or civil matters? We do not
know. For this reason, we should exercise cau-
tion in trying to build a view of woman’s role
on Deborah’s being a judge and a prophetess.
God may have permitted her to be a judge
under duress, as He allowed Israel to have kings.
As a prophetess, she may never have addressed
a public gathering or a religious assembly of
God’s people.
Other great women lived during this period:
Rahab, Samson’s mother, Naomi, Ruth, and
Hannah. None of these women, with the excep-
tion of Deborah, had leadership roles, nor do the
Scriptures record that they spoke for their fami-
lies as did Joshua (Joshua 24:15). Even in Israel’s
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most degenerate period, when men who were
not qualified to be priests took religious leader-
ship roles, women are not recorded as having
assumed such roles.
In the Days of the Kings
We may not understand the full significance
of the fact that God appointed only men as kings
Provisions Concerning Women in the Law of Moses
God had Moses number the men in two
groups: those who were to serve in the army
(Numbers 1:1–3) and those who were to serve
in religious matters (Numbers 1:20–50; 3:5–10,
14, 15). Women were not appointed to mili-
tary service or to the priesthood. God had
Moses number the first-born males, but not
the female citizens in Israel, as belonging to
Him (Numbers 3:40, 45; Exodus 13:12; 22:29).
Every male in Israel was to appear before
the Lord three times a year (Exodus 23:17).
The males among the priestly tribe were per-
mitted to eat of the offerings (Leviticus 6:18,
29; 7:6).
A longer period of time was required for
the purification of a woman when she gave
birth to a female child than when she deliv-
ered a male child (Leviticus 12:1–8). When
captives were taken in a war, every male and
female was to be killed, except for females
who were virgins (Numbers 31:17, 18).
The sons were to receive the family inher-
itance, and a first-born son was to receive a
double portion (Deuteronomy 21:16, 17). The
family name and inheritance were to be kept
alive through the male. If a husband died, his
wife was to have children by his brother in
order to build a household and preserve the
name of the deceased (Deuteronomy 25:5–10).
The husband was not required to build up a
house for a wife who died childless. Men had
many wives, but women are not reported to
have had more than one husband.
We may not know for sure why a woman
wearing men’s clothing or a man wearing
women’s clothing was an “abomination” to
God (Deuteronomy 22:5). Perhaps this was
true because God created them different and
wanted them to accept their distinct roles, to
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in Israel. All of the military, religious, and civil
leaders who are listed as serving in Israel under
David were men (1 Chronicles 23—27). We could
attribute this totally to the culture, except that in
some cases God made the selections. If it had
been according to His purposes, God could have
appointed women to leadership roles, or He
could have instructed David, who was also a
avoid appearing like the opposite sex, and to
refrain from taking on the roles of the opposite
sex. The condemnation in the New Testament
of men who are effeminate (1 Corinthians 6:9)
suggests that the practice of men appearing as
women and women appearing as men is still
detestable to God. A distinction is to be made
between the length of the woman’s and the
man’s hair. God created woman so that she is
glorified with long hair, but a man is shamed
if he has long hair (1 Corinthians 11:14, 15).
God’s intention for different roles for men
and women can been seen in the way they are
to present themselves.
According to the Law, the valuation of the
male making a vow was to be fifty shekels of
silver, while the valuation of a female between
twenty and sixty years of age was to be thirty
shekels (Leviticus 27:1–7). 1 Those who were
poorer were to be valued according to the
judgment of the priest (Leviticus 27:8). This
may mean that the evaluation was based
more on the ability to pay than on the worth of
the individual. As wage earners, men would
have been financially able to pay more than
the women.
Men were always bound by their vows. If
a father or a husband forbade his daughter or
his wife to make a vow, then her vow was not
binding. Men had the right to confirm or an-
nul the vows of the women in the family
(Numbers 30:1–15). No such provision was
made for women to affect the vows men made.
Again, this points to male leadership in the
home. ◆
1
The valuation was twenty shekels for a male and
ten for a female from ages five to twenty; five for a male
and three for a female one month to five years of age;
fifteen for a male and ten for a female over sixty.
prophet, to do so. Even Solomon, whom God
made wiser than all other rulers, used only men
as leaders in his government (1 Kings 4:1–19).
We do read of evil women who took au-
thority in government. Jezebel used King Ahab’s
seal to arrange for the death of Naboth so that
the king could obtain his vineyard (1 Kings 21:7–
10). Athaliah took over the government after
killing all potential heirs to the throne following
the death of her son, Ahaziah (2 Kings 11:1–3).
CONCLUSION
Many women in the Old Testament showed
great intellect , wisdom, virtue, and courage—
in some cases, above that of the men. In no way
were they inferior to men in ability. While the
Prophetesses in the Bible
The Bible names five women as prophet-
esses: two true prophetesses, Huldah (2 Kings
22:14; 2 Chronicles 34:22), and Anna (Luke
2:36), and two false prophetesses Noadiah
(Nehemiah 6:14) and the apocalyptic Jezebel
(Revelation 2:20). No names are given for
Isaiah’s wife, who is called a prophetess (Isaiah
8:3), or for the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9),
who prophesied during the early days of the
church.
Huldah had a private consultation with
representatives of the king (2 Kings 22:14–20;
2 Chronicles 34:22–28). Nothing indicates that
she took the lead in spiritual matters or ad-
dressed a congregation of God’s people.
Anna continually stayed in the temple.
After seeing the baby Jesus, she “continued to
speak of Him to all those who were looking for
the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38b).
We are not told the length of her prophecies,
where she was in the temple, or whether she
prophesied to individuals or to a large gather-
ing of people. Women could go into the Court
of Women, but they could not enter farther
into the temple, where only ceremonially clean
Israelite men could go. We may assume that
Anna prophesied on a regular basis, but we
©Copyright, 1997-1998 by Truth For Today
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
leadership of the religious community and the
civil government was not given to them, they
rose to greatness through their wise actions and
humble service. ◆
ENCOURAGEMENT
FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN
The Christian woman is gracious in the
home and dignified in business as she exhibits
the propriety of her culture. She can be the salt
of her society by following, first, God’s will
and, second, the practices that are in good taste
in her community. As long as the customs of her
society do not violate God’s commands, the
Christian woman should observe them.
cannot prove that her prophecies were more
than statements concerning the birth of the
Messiah to those who passed by. The Bible
contains no conclusive evidence that she
prophesied to formal assemblies or as a part of
the temple services.
Not enough information is given concern-
ing the wife of Isaiah to help us understand
what she did. She could have been called a
prophetess simply because she was the wife
of a prophet, or she could have prophesied. If
she did prophesy, we do not know what,
where, when, or to whom. The same is true
concerning the virgin daughters of Philip.
The only words of prophecy uttered by
prophetesses that are recorded in the Bible are
those of Huldah (2 Kings 22:14–22) and Miriam
(Exodus 15:20, 21). These prophecies were not
directed to a public assembly of men and
women. We have no record of a prophetess
writing a word of prophecy. No statement in
the Bible indisputably states that a woman of
the Old Testament or New Testament ad-
dressed a formal, public religious gathering of
God’s people. God used men to address con-
gregations of God’s people and to write the
holy Scriptures. ◆