Influential Women of the Old Testament
Influential Women of the Old Testament
Patrick Nusdeo
UNCW
The Old Testament contains hundreds of stories that are. In order for those stories to be used they had to have a great impact. Not too many stories on women were written in the Old Testament, but the ones that did were monumental. A lot of the times women are mentioned in the bible, it is in a negative way, as in Lot's daughters, who essentially raped their father after getting him drunk. Women also got punished for the bad deeds of their husbands. An example of that is when David had Uriah killed, and God made David's neighbor rape his wife while everyone watched. Despite all the negative ways women were portrayed they definitely had positive impacts too. Women in the bible can be overlooked quite easily. Women have been important throughout history and it is important that they are not overlooked when looking at the Old Testament. The books in the Old Testament of Esther, Judith, Ruth, Deborah, Rebekah, and Rahab are examples of women who were very strong in the bible. Esther is rarely self-assured for a woman during her time. In a time where it would have been much easier to back down and be passive she was the opposite. She wanted the best for everyone and was strong enough to do so. She was a strong and assertive woman put her own life on the line. Esther proved that a women can have a backbone and put up a fight for a group of people just the same as a man would. According to Heil (2013) "Some, like Queen Esther, were entrusted with political power that led to life-and-death consequences". She was put into one of those situations when she stood up for the Jewish people when she could have easily let them all die. Even though she wasn't the most powerful person in society she showed that each person's voice counts and people should do what is right, rather than what society wants. Being the attractive woman that she was, Esther probably used her looks to be chosen by the king in the beginning,
Patrick Nusdeo
UNCW
The Old Testament contains hundreds of stories that are. In order for those stories to be used they had to have a great impact. Not too many stories on women were written in the Old Testament, but the ones that did were monumental. A lot of the times women are mentioned in the bible, it is in a negative way, as in Lot's daughters, who essentially raped their father after getting him drunk. Women also got punished for the bad deeds of their husbands. An example of that is when David had Uriah killed, and God made David's neighbor rape his wife while everyone watched. Despite all the negative ways women were portrayed they definitely had positive impacts too. Women in the bible can be overlooked quite easily. Women have been important throughout history and it is important that they are not overlooked when looking at the Old Testament. The books in the Old Testament of Esther, Judith, Ruth, Deborah, Rebekah, and Rahab are examples of women who were very strong in the bible. Esther is rarely self-assured for a woman during her time. In a time where it would have been much easier to back down and be passive she was the opposite. She wanted the best for everyone and was strong enough to do so. She was a strong and assertive woman put her own life on the line. Esther proved that a women can have a backbone and put up a fight for a group of people just the same as a man would. According to Heil (2013) "Some, like Queen Esther, were entrusted with political power that led to life-and-death consequences". She was put into one of those situations when she stood up for the Jewish people when she could have easily let them all die. Even though she wasn't the most powerful person in society she showed that each person's voice counts and people should do what is right, rather than what society wants. Being the attractive woman that she was, Esther probably used her looks to be chosen by the king in the beginning,