On 8 March we mark International Women’s Day. It shouldn’t be well-known that there are parts of the Bible from a female perspective, and that some parts were composed by women. This is the story …
Books of the Bible
The inspired Scriptures were mainly written about men, and by men. However, there are two books of the Bible named after women, being Ruth and Esther. If you include the Apocrypha, then Judith and Susanna are two more.
Ruth
The book of Ruth is called after the Moabite woman Ruth who was the widowed daughter-in-law of Noami, who originated from Bethlehem. It is a biblical story told from a girl’s perspective. Some of Ruth’s words are preserved, most famously the phrase when she spoke to Naomi: “whither thou goest, I’ll go; and where thou lodgest, I’ll lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16). The book of Ruth is written within the third person. According to the Jewish tradition Samuel wrote it, but it surely preserves female memories. It can have been an oral story told by women before it was written down.
Esther
The book of Esther is called after Queen Esther, who’s the hero of the story. Details reminiscent of the king assigning to Esther seven female attendants (Esther 1:9), and details of the wonder treatment and the operation within the harem (Esther 1:12-14), suggest that Esther will need to have been the source. Traditionally the book is ascribed to Mordecai based on Esther 9:20 where it says: “And Mordecai wrote these items…”, but over the centuries Jewish scribes have suggested that Esther and Mordecai wrote it together.
The suggestion comes from Esther 9:29 where it says: “Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority…” We have no idea of course, and it was clearly edited because there are two types of the book of Esther, being the shorter Hebrew Masoretic version, and an extended Greek version from the Septuagint. Assuming the story is true, either Esther co-wrote it or provided the small print to the creator. Sections composed by women
Within the Bible there are parts inside other books which display a female perspective where they were either written by women themselves, or they were the source which was later written down by men.
Song of Miriam
Miriam was the sister of Aaron and Moses. The three of them led the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. It was what today we would call a leadership team. In Micah it reads: “I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to steer you” (Micah 6:4 GNB). Miriam was the leader of the music and of the ladies, and he or she is the primary woman within the Bible to be called a prophet (Exodus 15:20). After they crossed the Red Sea, Miriam sang: “Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the ocean” (Exodus 15:21). This is referred to as the Song of Miriam. It is reported as if composed by Miriam herself.
Song of Deborah
The book of Judges appears after Joshua and documents a time within the history of Israel in the times when “there was no king in Israel” (Judges 21:25). The word judge is gender neutral and a judge may very well be male or female. One of essentially the most outstanding judges was Deborah, who was a respected leader and teacher. Deborah agreed to go along with Barak, who was captain of the Israelites, to the battlefield to the west of Mount Tabor, against Sisera. She said: “I’ll go along with you then, but the best way you might be going about it, the glory won’t be yours; for God will deliver Sisera into the hands of a girl” (Judges 4:9).
Judges chapter five is a song which was sung by “Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam” (Judges 5:1 RSV), which may need been written by them each. Female authorship is strongly suggested by two sections about women, that are written from a female perspective. There is a piece about one other female leader called Jael in Judges 5:24-27 which starts: “Most blessed of ladies be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.” Then there’s a piece in regards to the mother of their enemy Sisera in Judges 5:28-30 which starts: “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera gazed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’” This chapter is referred to as the Song of Deborah and typically credited as composed totally or mainly by Deborah herself.Hannah’s Prayer
Hannah was a wife of Elkanah. In the Jewish Talmud she is considered a prophet. She was childless and longed for and prayed for a son. She promised to dedicate her child to God’s service if her prayers were answered. When her son was born, she called him Samuel (1 Samuel 1:20). Her response is a poem present in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, which is her song of joy, which she sang within the Temple courtyard in Shiloh. It starts: “My heart rejoices within the Lord; my strength is exalted within the Lord. I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation.” The song is referred to as Hannah’s Prayer, or the Canticle of Anna within the Catholic Breviary. It has been put to music quite a few times.King Lemuel’s mother
Most of the proverbs within the Book of Proverbs are attributed to Solomon. However, the last chapter of Proverbs is attributed to King Lemuel’s mother (Proverbs 31:1-9). The description is: “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him” (Proverb 31:1). It then starts with a girl’s words: “What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?” (Proverbs 31:2). Then from verse ten it lists the attributes of an excellent wife, probably from King Lemuel’s mother’s perspective.Song of Solomon
The Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs, is a song of affection, which alternates between a person’s voice and a girl’s voice. Just over half of it’s a girl’s perspective expressing romantic desires. It opens with a female voice “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is healthier than wine.” The second chapter starts “I’m the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily amongst thorns, so is my love among the many daughters.” The poem is traditionally attributed to Solomon. He can have collected it or commissioned it, but it surely seems to have been composed or partly composed by a number of women, or on the very least a girl played a task in shaping it.
Mary as a source
In his Gospel account Luke twice says that Mary had remembered the events of her life and “treasured them in her heart” (Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51), which looks like Luke’s way of acknowledging Mary as an eyewitness source (Luke 1:2). There are many details which suggest the first source of some stories was Mary herself, reminiscent of the actual words of Elizabeth and Mary once they met, details about wrapping the child in cloth and placing him in a manger (Luke 2:7), details of the purification rites after childbirth (Luke 2:22-24), and the conversation between Anna and Mary which could only have happened within the Court of the Women on the Temple (Luke 2:36-38). There are details in Matthew’s account which also appear to be they got here from Mary, reminiscent of the small print of her betrothal (Matthew 1:18-24), of the clever men coming (Matthew 2:1-12) and leaving to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23).
Elizabeth’s song
Luke tells us that after the angel Gabriel had been to see Mary, she went to see her relative Elizabeth who lived within the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39). It starts when Elizabeth said to Mary: “Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” This song is attributed to Elizabeth and is present in Luke 1:42-45. It is referred to as Elizabeth’s Song or the Beatitude of Elizabeth.Mary’s Song
After Elizabeth’s Song comes one from Mary. It starts: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47 KJV). The female authorship is strongly suggested by the road “For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his handmaiden”. It is present in Luke 1:46-55 and is referred to as Mary’s Song, or the Canticle of Mary, or by its Latin name of the Magnificat. It is present in the Book of Common Prayer and has been set to music again and again including by Bach and Mozart. Two modern songs which put these words of Mary’s to music are “Tell out my Soul” by Timothy Dudley-Smith, and “My soul will magnify the Lord” by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend.
Hebrews
Some people speculate who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. Many people have noted that it follows a quite distinctly different style to other epistles that are attributed to St Paul. Ever for the reason that Early Church, people have suggested different authors for Hebrews. The principal candidates are Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, or Priscilla. Priscilla was outstanding within the Early Church and is understood to have taught Apollos (Acts 18:26). Hebrews includes some maternal imagery, which can hint at a female authorship, for instance Hebrews likens developing teaching to going from milk to solid food (Hebrews 5:12-14). The reality is that we have no idea who wrote Hebrews, but there’s the intriguing possibility that it may need been written by Priscilla. The concept that Priscilla, wife of Aquila, wrote it has some supporters from amongst outstanding theologians, but other candidates are also available.Conclusion
In the Old Testament the books of Ruth and Esther have a female perspective; there are songs composed by Miriam, Deborah and Hannah; now we have a female perspective within the Song of Songs; and the proverbs from King Lemuel’s mother. In the New Testament now we have the songs composed by Elizabeth and Mary; and Luke attributes Mary as certainly one of his eyewitness sources. While the Bible was written down by male scribes and reflects a patriarchal society, we should always not forget that it does include some female voices and perspectives, and it includes some sections composed by women.
