Part 3 of Women in the Bible included stories about women from the New Testament. During Jesus’ time, society was patriarchal; men were seen as superior to women. However, Jesus valued women and men equally.
Dawn gave us two questions to keep in mind during her presentation: How did these women help move the story of Jesus forward? and How did these women help move the story of the Church forward?
Some of the women who helped move the story of Jesus forward were Jesus’ mother Mary, Elizabeth, Anna, the Samaritan woman, the widow of Nain, the woman with the hemorrhage, the Syrophoenician woman, Pilate’s wife and Mary Magdalene.
Women in the Bible – Part 3 - Presenter: Dawn Mayer - Saturday March 15, 2025
By Mary Mosser, FSC Associate
The first woman who moved the story of Jesus forward was His mother. Mary’s “yes” to becoming the mother of God began Jesus’ story. When He was an adult, Jesus, Mary and Jesus’ disciples attended a wedding in Cana where the wine ran short. Because of Mary’s intercession, Jesus performed His first miracle, turning water into wine and began His ministry.
Two women moved the story of Jesus forward when they recognized Him as the Lord. When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, leapt for joy recognizing Jesus in Mary’s womb. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to present Him to the Lord, the prophetess Anna recognized Jesus as the long-awaited Savior.
The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese (1563)
Christ and the Samaritan Woman
by Vincenzo Catena (1530)
The first women evangelist of the New Testament is found in the familiar story of the Samaritan woman. Jesus arrived at the well in Samaria in the heat of the day where the Samaritan woman was drawing water from the well. Jesus asked her for water, and they had a conversation. Jesus knew about the woman’s past and present sins. During their conversation, Jesus revealed to her that He was the Messiah. The Samaritan woman ran to town and told others about Jesus. People came to believe in Jesus because of the Samaritan woman.
Jesus risked an action that made Him unclean to help a widow. Jesus encountered the Widow of Nain as her deceased son was being carried away for burial. As a widow, losing her son was devastating because she would be destitute. The widow of Nain did not approach Jesus or do anything to warrant her son being raised. Jesus was moved by compassion for her. He touched the coffin, which made Him unclean by Jewish law, and told the widow’s son to rise.
We heard the story of a woman who was healed because of her faith. The woman had a hemorrhage for 12 years. Jewish law deemed that the woman was considered to be unclean, which meant she should not have been in the crowd near Jesus. However, the woman was desperate and believed that she would be healed by touching Jesus’ garment. When she touched His garment, she felt the flow of blood dry up. Jesus felt the healing go out of Him and looked around to see who had touched Him. The woman realized what happened, approached Jesus and told Him what she had done. From Mark 5:34, Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
Jesus realized that His role was beyond Israel with His encounter of the Syrophoenician woman. The woman asked Him for a cure for her daughter who was possessed by a demon. Jesus explained that He was only sent to help the lost sheep of Israel. In Mathew 15:26, Jesus said; “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” The woman was persistent and said that she needed whatever help Jesus could give her. In Matthew 15:27, the women said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Jesus commended her faith and healed the woman’s daughter.
Jesus exorcising the Canaanite
Woman's daughter
From Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (15th century)
After Jesus had been handed over to Pilate, Pilate’s wife had a dream where she suffered because of Jesus. She sent a message to Pilate and tried to convince him not to convict Jesus. She was the only person who saw Jesus’ innocence and tried to intervene. Pilate listened to her message but still condemned Jesus to death.
Mary Magdalene was a devoted follower of Jesus. She was present at His crucifixion, and she was the first witness to Jesus’ resurrection. After His resurrection, Jesus sent her to tell His disciples that He had risen.
Christ's Appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection by Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (1835)
Two examples of women who helped move the story of the Church forward were the Hellenist widows and Tabitha (Dorcas). From the Acts of the Apostles 6:1, we learn that the Hellenist widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food, so deacons were commissioned to take on this task. Because of these widows, the church changed how they cared for the vulnerable members of their community.
The story of Tabitha (Dorcas) was the first time that anyone other than Jesus raised someone from the dead. This story is found in the Acts of the Apostles 9: 36-43. Tabitha was a widow who was engaged in good deeds and almsgiving. Tabitha fell sick and died. Peter was nearby so two men were sent to bring him to Joppa where Tabitha lived. Peter was taken to where Tabitha’s body was and told her to “rise up”.
After reflecting on the women’s stories, I realized how helpful the two questions were that Dawn posed at the beginning of her presentation. The women’s stories are all different and they each played a different role in Jesus’ life or in the life of the early church. However, each woman contributed in her own way in moving the story of Jesus forward or in moving the story of the early church forward. Listening to these women’s stories prompted me to contemplate my story as well and consider the influence and impact I have on the people around me.
The Raising of Tabitha (1460) by Artist unknown
Women in the Bible – Part 2 - Presenter: Dawn Mayer - Saturday February 15, 2025
By Mary Mosser, FSC Associate
Dawn started our day with a prayer, then we played a game of bingo. The bingo cards had names of women from Scripture. After one of the Sisters won the bingo game, Dawn gave a quick recap of her previous presentation. She explained that our current presentation would focus on warriors, widows and wicked women from Scripture.
Women warriors played a significant part in protecting and defending their people. Three of the warriors we learned about were Deborah, Jael and Judith.
For many years, Israel didn’t have a King. During this time, they had judges who were military commanders, spiritual leaders and guides in turbulent times. Deborah was a prophetess, and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible.
Deborah by Johanna Unger
19th Cenntury
Yael Killing Sisera by Lambert Lombard, (1535).
Deborah shared a message from God with one of Israel’s military leaders. The Israelites were living in oppression under the control of Canaanite King Jabin and the commander of his army, Sisera. God commanded Deborah to instruct Barak, a ruler and military commander of Israel, to attack Jabin’s army. Barak was fearful to comply and would only go if Deborah went with him. Deborah agreed to go but stated that God would have the honor when they defeated the enemy. Deborah played a crucial role in aiding the Israelites in their victory over the Canaanites.
As the Israelites were winning, Sisera fled the battlefield and sought refuge in Jael's tent. Jael was the wife of Heber the Kenite. There was peace between Jabin and the family of Heber the Kenite. Jael offered Sisera hospitality, and when he fell asleep, she took a tent peg and drove it through his temple. When Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him. She took him into her tent and showed him Sisera’s body with the tent peg through his temple.
Judith was a beautiful woman who saved her city, Bethulia and nearby Jerusalem from destruction. Asyrian General Holofernes and his army were getting ready to destroy Bethulia. Judith went to the tent of General Holofernes. Holofernes was charmed by Judith and drank a great quantity of wine. When he was in a drunken stupor, Judith decapitated him and took his head back to her countrymen.
Next, we heard stories about two widows: the Widow of Zarephath and Rizpah. Widows in Scripture were a vulnerable group. Without a husband, they needed help to survive.
The widow of Zarephath and her son were visited by Elijah who asked the widow for some bread. The widow only had enough for one final meal for herself and her son. Elijah promised in the name of the Lord that the widow’s jar of flour would not go empty, and her jug of oil would not run dry until it rained. The widow had great faith and made the bread for Elijah as he requested. As the Lord promised through Elijah, the jar of flour did not go empty, and the oil did not run out until the drought ended. Sometime later, the widow’s son died. The widow experienced a second miracle when God heard Elijah’s prayers and revived the widow’s son.
Judith with the Head of Holophernes
by Cristofano Allori, 1613
Rizpah was a widow and Saul’s concubine. When Saul was King, he broke a promise by ordering the Israelites to annihilate the Gibeonites. During David’s reign as King, there was a 3-year famine. The Lord told David that the famine was brought about because Saul had caused the death of the Gibeonites. David asked the Gibeonites what he could do to make atonement for Saul’s transgression. Their answer was for David to hand over seven of Saul’s descendants to be executed. David did as the Gibeonites requested. Two of those descendants were Rizpah’s sons. After they had been killed, Rizpah guarded her sons’ bodies. When David heard about Rizpah’s vigil over her sons’ bodies, he retrieved the bones of the dead and buried them. After David buried the bones, it rained.
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Dawn also talked about some of the wicked women in the Bible including Lot’s wife and Delilah. Some of these women were truly wicked, and some did wicked things to stay alive.
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First, we heard the familiar story of Lot’s wife. Lot and his family lived in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two men came to stay at Lot’s house. They were angels who were there to investigate the wickedness in the city. The angels told Lot to leave Sodom and Gomorrah with his wife and daughters before the city was destroyed. Lot hesitated so the angels led them out of the city telling them not to turn around. As they were leaving, Lot’s wife turned back to see what was happening and turned into a pilar of salt.
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Another story of a wicked woman was the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson loved Delilah, but Delilah’s love for Samson was questionable. Samon’s strength was his hair and his weakness was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistines paid Delilah to betray Samson and find out the source of his strength. While he was sleeping, Delilah cut off Samson’s hair which caused him to lose his strength. The Philistines imprisoned Samson and blinded him. Samson’s hair grew back while he was in prison. The Philistine rulers held a great festival, and Samson was brought into the Temple to amuse the people. Samson called out to God for help and God gave Samson back his strength. Samson brought down the Philistine’s Temple, killing himself and all the Philistines who were there.
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Sodom and Gomorrha
by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1920)
Many of the stories we heard in Dawn’s presentation were not familiar to me. I enjoyed all the stories, but the stories of the women warriors Deborah, Jael and Judith were my favorites. They took advantage of the opportunities they were given to quash evil and save their people from destruction. The women acted on an opportunity that they had been given and made use of the tools at their disposal. Their stories served as a powerful reminder to be vigilant for opportunities to help the people I encounter in my life.
Women in the Bible – Part 1 - Presenter: Dawn Mayer - Saturday January 11, 2025
By Mary Mosser, FSC Associate
Dawn started our day with the St. Francis of Assisi Peace Prayer. Next, we played a Women of the Hebrew Scriptures matching game. Dawn warned us that this was probably the most difficult matching game she had created for us. As I was only able to match two women with their stories, I anticipated that this would be a beneficial presentation for me.
Dawn shared some interesting facts with us. There are 956 – 1181 men and 166 – 205 women named in Scripture. Of the named women, 93 speak. Women in Scripture have many different roles – wife, mother, widow, slave, prostitute, leader, judge concubine. In the Old Testament, women only had one husband, but men could have many wives. When a woman married, she joined her husband’s household.
The two groups of women that we learned about in this presentation were the matriarchs and the women in Jesus’ lineage. First, we looked at the stories of the four matriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel. We heard the story of Sarah who was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. Sarah was barren, but God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son. Sarah encouraged Abraham to have a baby with her slave Hagar. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, Abraham’s first born and therefore the son to inherit. Years later, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. After Isaac was born, Sarah wanted to ensure that Isaac would get Abraham’s inheritance, so she told Abraham to get rid of Hagar and Ishmael.
After Sarah died, Abraham sent a servant to find a wife for Isaac. The servant prayed for success in his quest. Rebekah appeared and offered water to the servant’s camels. She consented to travel back to Canaan with the servant to be Isaac’s wife. Isaac took Rebekah into his home and loved her. Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys, Esau who was the firstborn, and Jacob. When Isaac was old and blind, Rebekah tricked Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob. Esau was angry and planned to kill Jacob after Isaac died so Rebekah sent Jacob away to live with her brother Laban.
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Sarah Leading Hagar to Abraham
by Caspar Netscher (1673)
The Meeting of Jacob and Rachel by Claes Moeyaert (1638)
Jacob worked for Laban for seven years. Jacob wanted to marry Laban’s younger daughter Rachel, but Laban tricked Jacob into marrying his elder daughter Leah. Eventually Jacob married Rachel too. Rachel was childless for many years then gave birth to Joseph, who was Jacob’s favorite son. Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, who was the youngest of Jacob’s sons. Jacob had 12 sons with Leah, Rachel and their two maids. Those sons became the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel.
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Next, Dawn talked about the women in Jesus’ Lineage. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke contain the genealogy of Jesus. The genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel includes five women, which is significant because in that time, women were not considered important. The five women are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary the mother of Jesus.
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Tamar married two sons of Judah and both sons died. Because of this, Judah does not want to allow Tamar to marry his 3rd son. So, Tamar dressed as a prostitute and seduced Judah. Tamar claimed Judah’s staff, cord and signet ring for payment. When it came to light that Tamar was pregnant, Judah accused her of fornication, so she produced his possessions. Tamar give birth to twin sons, Zerah and Perez and secured Judah’s lineage.
Rehab was a Canaanite prostitute who lived on the edge of society. Before the army of Israel conquered the city of Jericho, two spies were sent to look over the land. Rahab hid the spies then helped them escape, saving their lives. In return, she and her family were spared from the destruction of Jericho. Rahab put her trust in the God of Israel and was rewarded.
Judah and Tamar
by Arent de Gelder (1685)
Ruth and Naomi
by Jean Baptiste Auguste Leloir
David saw Bathsheba, desired her and slept with her even though he knew she was married to Uriah. Bathsheba discovered she was pregnant, so David summoned Uriah home from battle. However, Uriah didn’t visit Bathsheba because he was a disciplined soldier. David sent Uriah back to the front line where Uriah was killed. Bathsheba’s baby died a few days after birth. Bathsheba married David and gave birth to Solomon who became the successor to David’s throne.
Naomi was a widow whose two sons had died. She was bitter towards God for how her life turned out. Naomi tried to send her daughters-in-law back to their people. One went, but her daughter-in-law Ruth said she would stay with Naomi. Ruth was a member of the Moabite people who were the enemies of Israel. Ruth embraced the religion of Naomi and converted to Judaism. Naomi encouraged Ruth to move on from her husband’s death and to pursue Boaz. Ruth married Boaz and they had a baby. Naomi’s life turned around and she left the bitterness behind.
There are lessons one can learn from these women, including be true to your purpose, be faithful for the long haul, and nothing is impossible with God. Also, sometimes, the end does justify the means. These women were far from perfect, but they were also strong, courageous and faithful. God used these ordinary, imperfect women to continue the lineage to the birth of Jesus.