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Sarah

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Collage of woman with dark hair holding dog in lap, and book cover reading "Daughters of Eve"

In the Shoes of Biblical Women

Zia Saylor

The book allows us to see biblical women—and ourselves—as rich, complex human beings. 

Violence Against Women in the Hebrew Bible

The Bible contains many instances of physical, sexual, and religious violence against women in biblical narratives, legal materials and prophetic rhetoric. These texts both reflect ideologies of the biblical period and are used to excuse violence against women in the present.

Barren Women in the Bible

The Hebrew Bible tells six stories of barren women: three of the four matriarchs (Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel); the unnamed wife of Manoah/mother of Samson; Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel; and the Shunnamite woman, an acolyte of the prophet Elisha.  Each woman suffers a period of infertility, in some cases exacerbated by the presence of a fertile, though less beloved, rival wife. Eventually, God intervenes and the woman conceives, but the beloved son is then dedicated back to God, either in service or in sacrifice.

Biblical Family Tree

Claiming Bilhah and Zilpah

Josephine Rosman

One afternoon when I was in the 7th grade, my Hebrew tutor, Sarah, was wearing a shirt that read: “Sarah & Rebecca & Rachel & Leah & Bilhah & Zilpah.” The first four names, the names of the matriarchs, were familiar to me. I had heard these names for as long as I could remember at temple, but I had never heard the last two names before. 

Sarah's Sacrifice

One of the most famous stories in Genesis is the Binding of Isaac by his father Abraham (the Akeidah, in Hebrew). Sarah, Isaac’s mother, is noticeably absent from the text. Here we consider Sarah’s perspective, and how this foundational event in the Jewish origin story might have affected her.

Salomé by Gustave Moreau, 1874-1876

Sarah's Choice

Susan Reimer-Torn

One recent summer weekend, my life—or my awareness of its imperatives—underwent a radical shift. My 28-year-old son was away at the beach with friends.

Sarah/Sarai: Bible

Originally named Sarai, Sarah is the ancestress of all Israel and the wife of Abraham. Barren for most of her life, she gives birth to Isaac at 90 years old, and after securing his position as Abraham’s heir, she largely disappears from the story of Genesis.

Sarah: Midrash and Aggadah

The midrash present Sarah as a righteous woman whose actions are worthy of emulation; she converted Gentiles and drew them into the bosom of Judaism. Sarah is described as preeminent in the household. Abraham was ennobled through her and subordinated himself to her; God commanded him to heed his wife, because of her prophetic power.

Rebekah: Bible

Rebekah is the second matriarch in Genesis and shares two problems with Sarah, the first matriarch: barrenness, and being passed off as her husband’s sister. But her story is more extensive; she is a dynamic character in a long narrative describing how she becomes Isaac’s wife. Her agency continues when she bears twins and secures the birthright for her favored son.

Hannah: Midrash and Aggadah

Hannah is depicted by the Rabbis as a righteous woman who was devout in her observance of the commandments and tested by God through her infertility. Her story is the basis for much of the rabbinic conception and rules of prayer.

Hagar: Midrash and Aggadah

Hagar is the subject of much interpretation by the rabbis, who portray her as a spiritual and even righteous woman. The rabbis often depict her relationship with Sarah as harmful and fractious, though some traditions identify her with Keturah, taken as a wife by Abraham in Gen. 25:1; in this interpretation, after their divorce she remarried Abraham after Sarah’s death.

Hagar: Bible

Hagar is Sarah’s Egyptian slave woman, whom Sarah gives to Abraham as secondary wife and who would bear a child for him. After Hagar becomes pregnant, Sarah treats her harshly. Eventually Hagar flees from her mistress into the wilderness, where God’s messenger speaks to her. Hagar has long represented the plight of the foreigner, the slave, and the sexually abused woman.

Deborah 2: Midrash and Aggadah

Deborah, one of the most extraordinary women in the Bible, is presented as an extremely righteous and praiseworthy woman in rabbinic literature. Though some traditions criticize her pride, perhaps wary of how she transgressed gender norms, most of the rabbinic texts about Deborah are filled with praise.

Art: Representation of Biblical Women

For centuries, art has portrayed biblical women in ways that reflect society’s attitudes towards women and their role. Depictions of female biblical figures fluctuate according to historical and social perceptions. Jewish art often features heroic and worthy women who, through their courageous deeds, helped to triumph over Israel’s enemies.

Wife of Manoach; Samson's Mother: Midrash and Aggadah

Manoah’s wife, the mother of Samson, is identified by the Babylonian Rabbis as “Zlelponi” or “Zlelponith.” She was a barren woman until an angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her she would conceive a child. She is included among the twenty-three truly upright and righteous women who came forth from Israel.

Soloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph Dov

Joseph Dov Soloveitchik shaped Jewish practice and public opinion through the era of second-wave feminism. Despite his sometimes progressive actions, Soloveitchik maintained that women and men had separate religious and familial roles. These positions from the leader of the Modern Orthodox community cemented resistance to Orthodox feminists’ demands to increase their participation in Jewish rituals.

Mother of Samson: Bible

Though her name is never mentioned, Samson’s mother plays a vital role in shaping her son, one of the greatest among the Judges. When notified by a divine messenger that her son must be a Nazirite, she herself keeps the Nazirite vows, ensuring that he could grow up to become a hero to Israel.

Modesty and Sexuality in Halakhic Literature

Though it is not mentioned in the Bible, modesty (zeni'ut) has become a significant part of modern halakhah, especially in the realm of sexuality. For women, sexual modesty means covering up their bodies. For both men and women, modesty also entails certain behavioral rules. These modesty rules ensure that sex happens in a way that is deemed proper, in the right time and place.

Matriarchs: A Liturgical and Theological Category

Among egalitarian religious congregations throughout the world, the most popular addition to the traditional liturgy is the mention of the Matriarchs in birkat avot (the blessing of the ancestors), the opening blessing of the Amidah.

Leadership and Authority

The concepts of leadership and authority have evolved over time. From biblical leaders elected by God to contemporary makers of social change, women have been leading the Jewish people for centuries.

Infertile Wife in Rabbinic Judaism

Only men are legally obligated to procreate, but there is disagreement over whether that obligation compels a man to divorce his wife after ten childless years. The initial infertility of the matriarchs reinforces the efficacy of prayer by demonstrating that the individual matriarchs’ suffering and supplications are what provoked a divine response.

Huldah, the Prophet: Midrash and Aggadah

Huldah is one of the seven women prophets. The rabbis explain that she was a descendant of Rahab and Joshua, and that she prophesied along with Jeremiah in the time of King Josiah.

Hebrew Drama: Representation of Women

Prior to the 1980s, there was an almost total absence of women-related topics and women’s voices in Hebrew theater, but many talented women have fought for their voices to be heard on the Hebrew stage. Today, active women playwrights whose plays are presented in mainstage and fringe theaters have a significant impact on Hebrew theater.

Bilhah: Bible

Bilhah is given to Rachel as a maid and would later serve as a surrogate mother for Rachel when she could not conceive. Though the story records none of Bilhah’s thoughts or words, she gives birth to two of Jacob’s sons for Rachel, Dan and Naphtali, and is remembered as one of the ancestresses of the Israelites.

Biblical Women in World and Hebrew Literature

The fate of biblical women in post-biblical times has been a reoccurring source of inspiration in world and Hebrew literature. With the rise of feminist criticism, there has been renewed vigor and excitement surrounding interpretation and retelling of biblical women’s stories.

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