Week 4: Women of the Bible, Part A

 

(Found on Google Images, illustration of Potiphar's Wife and Joseph)

All of these stories are found in the Bible, which is a collection of stories from the BC-AC timeline.

Eve: Introduced in the Bible with male counterpart, Adam. They lived in the Garden of Eden in perfect harmony until the serpent came to tempt them. Only rule given to them by God was to not eat from the tree of Good and Evil, yet the serpent tricked Eve into taking a bite. As a result of this, God bestowed sorrow and sin among her and Adam and all their descendants to come, introducing sin into the world. (Genesis)

Sarah: Sarah was married to Abraham, who is deemed the father of many nations by God. Old in age, Sarah had yet to conceive a child with Abraham. However, God had intentions of fulfilling this desire they had, giving her a child when Abraham was 100 years old. She gave birth to Isaac, who would become a strong figure in the Bible. (Genesis)

Hagar: Serving as the handmaid of Sarai and Abram (aka Sarah and Abraham), Sarai decided that Hagar would bare Abram's son, seeing that she herself couldn't bare a child. Hagar agreed, but once it happened, Sarai had immediate regret, and insisted Hagar and the child leave once she gave birth to Abram's son. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, and once he was born, Abram sent them on their way. While traveling, Hagar lost hope, but God came in an encouraged He was with her always. She picked herself and Ishmael back up, and God helped them prosper throughout the rest of their lives. (Genesis)

Rebekah: Rebekah was introduced in the Bible as a helper, and as she provided care to travelers, she met Isaac (the son of Sarah and Abraham). Rebekah and Isaac married, and soon after Sarah passed away. Rebekah and Isaac lived a long life together, barring two sons: Jacob and Esau. These sons would become strong biblical figures as a result of the family dynamic between the four of them. (Genesis)

Rachel: Jacob (the son of Rebekah) went into the town Rachel and her family lived and worked in, and immediately fell in love with Rachel once he laid eyes on her. He approached her father in an effort to earn the hand of Rachel in marriage; and Rachel's father, Laban, told Jacob he must serve him for seven years if he wished to wed Rachel. Jacob abided, and at the end of seven years, Laban tricked Jacob and gave him his oldest daughter, Leah, for Jacob to love. Jacob realized he had been tricked, and approached Laban about it, in which Laban informed Jacob that it is disrespectful to slight the oldest daughter so the youngest may go on before her. Because of this, Laban gave both Leah and Rachel to Jacob, but Jacob still loved Rachel more than Leah. (Genesis)

Leah: Leah bore Jacob six sons and a daughter, while Rachel was barren for a long time. This caused jealousy between the two sisters, and started even more conception because both Leah and Rachel offered up their handmaids to Jacob to bare children. As a result, Jacob had many sons, and was able to take his family out of Laban's land. (Genesis)

Potiphar's Wife: As the wife of the Pharaoh, Potiphar's wife held a lot of influence amongst the Egyptians. Her eye caught hold of Joseph, one of the strongest Biblical figures. She tried to seduce him into sleeping with her, but he wouldn't succumb to the temptation. One night when they were alone together, Potiphar's wife tried her hardest to convince Joseph, pulling his clothing garment off his body. Joseph fled, leaving Potiphar's wife with possession of this. She used the garment as a trap to convince her husband that it was indeed Joseph's attempt to sleep together, which ultimately punished and altered the entire course of Joseph's life. (Genesis)

Jephthah's Daughter: Jephthah was a judge in Israel, and as he got too comfortable with God, unknowingly offered his daughter up as a sacrifice for his wrongdoings. She went up to the mountains for two months, with the goal of bewailing her virginity. Her and her fellows did just that, and she returned after two months. (Judges)

Delilah: Delilah was in works with the Philistines to take down Samson through the action of taking away his source of strength: his hair. She brought him in through seduction, enticing him and his spirit. As their relationship grew, he opened up completely to her, and this is when she knew she could cut off all his hair. That night, when he went to sleep, Delilah brought in the Philistines and they took his hair, making him weak and they threw him into prison. (Judges)

Hannah: Hannah was barren and could not provide her husband with a child, causing her an immense amount of pain and suffering. She went to the temple to pray to the Lord for a child, and a pastor saw her and assumed she was drunk. Hannah was not, and the priest prayed that God would grant Hannah's desires. Later, she conceived a son, and she went back to the temple to show the priest, causing a great amount of praise throughout the temple. (Samuel)