WOMEN IN THE BIBLE: Holy Week Wonderings

By Anna Grace Glaize

“Among the many things that religious tradition holds in store for us is a legacy of wonder.” (1) —Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing Godly Play curriculum in action, you’ll know that after a story is told, there is a time of “wondering.” Children are encouraged to ask questions about the sacred story they’ve just heard. Each question begins with the phrase, “I wonder.” Wonder can mean a feeling of awe or a desire for knowledge. It can mean a marvel or a doubt. In this devotional, all forms of wonder are welcome.

Holy Week is the time in the liturgical season when Christians all over the world accompany Jesus in spirit through the last days of his life. One week before Easter, we commemorate his entry into Jerusalem with Palm Sunday. The Last Supper is remembered on Maundy Thursday, the crucifixion on Friday, Christ’s time in the tomb on Saturday, and we celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Taken as a whole, this week invites us to reorient our lives to the sacred. We hope this devotional helps you do just that.

(1): Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism, from the Writings of Abraham J. Heschel by Abraham Joshua Heschel (1959)

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PALM SUNDAY

“After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this, “The Lord needs it.”’ So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’” (Luke 19:28-40)

During the time of Passover, Jews from all over the diaspora would travel to Jerusalem. The Jewish historian Josephus claimed around 3 million people took part in the Passover celebration in 66 C.E. (2) Jesus, a Jew himself, is on his way to Jerusalem throughout much of his ministry in the Gospel of Luke. In the above passage, his journey begins to near its end.

Luke 8:1-3 attests to the fact that Jesus had many women followers. Later in the week, we’ll see that some of Jesus’ women followers accompany him all the way to the cross. Imagine Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and the many other unnamed women as part of the “whole multitude of the disciples” crying out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”

• I wonder what it felt like to be in the crowd. I wonder if any of the disciples noticed the Pharisees asking Jesus to make his disciples stop. (3) What do you wonder?

• Jesus was one of many Jews who went to Jerusalem for Passover. Are there places you return to, year after year, to celebrate or commemorate? Are those places always physical locations?

Immediately after Jesus' entry, he weeps over Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44, saying “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”

• I wonder if this surprised Jesus’ disciples. I wonder if it scared them. What do you wonder?

• What are the things that make for peace in your life? In your community? In our world?

(2): “The Second Temple” by Lawrence H. Schiffman

(3): “Pharisees” by Joshua Garroway

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HOLY MONDAY

“He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’” (Mark 12:41-44)

The day after Jesus enters Jerusalem, he goes to the temple. There he criticizes the temple officials as being “a den of robbers,” quoting from the prophet Jeremiah. (4) In the Gospel of Mark, this action is what leads to the Romans taking an interest in Jesus. (5) Jesus’ interactions with the temple in the final week of his life are arguably what led to his death.

It is of significance, then, that what Jesus says about the poor widow takes place as he leaves the temple for the last time in the Gospel of Mark. Having neither fathers nor husbands to protect them, widows occupied an incredibly precarious position in society, which is why the Bible advocates so often for their care. (6) Just before he observes the widow, Jesus once again calls out Israel’s religious leaders, saying the scribes, “devour widows’ houses.” (7) Read together, Mark 12:38-44 presents a striking contrast between the respected scribes and the poor widow.

• I wonder how long the woman had been a widow. I wonder how often she went to the temple. What do you wonder?

• The poor widow gave all she had, though what she had was little. Have you ever been given a gift that was worth little but meant a lot?

In Mark’s telling, just after Jesus leaves the temple for the last time he predicts its destruction in Mark 13.

• I wonder how Jesus felt about the prediction. I wonder what the temple’s destruction meant for the widow. What do you wonder?

• In context, it seems Jesus’ message is as much about what Israel’s authorities have not done as it is about the widow’s own actions. Who are the widows of today? Are there actions we’re called to take in light of the widow’s story?

(4): Mark 11:15-19; Jer 7:11

(5): “Jesus and the Money Changers” by James F. McGrath

(6): Deut 10:14-19; Deut 14:29; Deut 24:17-22; Deut 27:19; Jer 49:11; Ps 68:5; Ps 146:9; Acts 6:1-6; 1Tim 5:3-16

(7): Mark 12:40

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HOLY TUESDAY

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten young women took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those young women got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was shut. Later the other young women came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:1-13)

This parable unique to Matthew is placed after Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple and before the plot to kill Jesus begins. In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), parables make up roughly one-third of Jesus’ teachings. (8) While Jesus may be the most famous teller of parables, they’re found in the Hebrew Bible, too. (9)

In her book Short Stories by Jesus, scholar Amy-Jill Levine informs us Jesus’ followers, “...knew that parables were more than children’s stories or restatements of common knowledge. They knew that parables and the tellers of parables were there to prompt them to see the world in a different way, to challenge, and at times to indict.” (10) With this in mind when it comes to parables, “we might be better off thinking less about what they ‘mean’ and more about what they can ‘do’: remind, provoke, refine, confront, disturb. . . .” (11)

• I wonder why the bridegroom is late. I wonder if the five young women should’ve asked the bridegroom to wait for the others. What do you wonder?

• When have you felt foolish? When have you felt wise?

(8):“Parables of Jesus” by Klyne Snodgrass

(9): 2 Samuel 12:1-4; Isa 5:1-2

(10): Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine, 2015, pg. 4.

(11): Short Stories by Jesus, pg. 4.

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HOLY WEDNESDAY

“While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, ‘Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.’ And they scolded her. But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her.’” (Mark 14:3-9)

The anointing of Jesus takes place in all four gospels. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the woman is unnamed. (12) John identifies the woman as Mary of Bethany. (13) Luke calls her “a woman in the city who was a sinner.” (14) Matthew, Mark, and John all have the event taking place during the last week of Jesus’ life, while in Luke, the event comes earlier.

Despite the differences, in every version of the story Jesus is anointed by a woman. Her actions cause objections. And Jesus takes her side.

• I wonder how the woman got the ointment. I wonder if she knew what she’d done would cause anger. What do you wonder?

Author Rachel Held Evans points out that, “In Jesus’ culture, the act of anointing signified selection for some special role or task. Kings were often anointed with oil as part of their coronation ceremony, usually by a prophet or priest. The Greek word christos, ‘Christ,’ is a translation of the Hebrew word for Messiah, which means ‘the anointed one.’ And so this anonymous woman finds herself in the untraditional position of priest and prophet.” (15)

• I wonder if the woman was surprised to hear Jesus talk of his burial. I wonder what Jesus means by connecting her remembrance with the good news. What do you wonder?

• Jesus says the woman’s act should be remembered. What can we do to remember her today?

(12): Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9;Luke 7:36-50

(13): John 12:1-8

(14): Luke 7:36-50

(15): “The Women of Holy Week, Part 2: The Woman at Bethany Anoints Jesus” by Rachel Held Evans

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MAUNDY THURSDAY

“Then seizing him [Jesus], they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, ‘This man was with him.’ But he denied it. ‘Woman, I don’t know him,’ he said. A little later someone else saw him and said, ‘You also are one of them.’ ‘Man, I am not!’ Peter replied. About an hour later another asserted, ‘Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.’ Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:54-62)

Shortly after the Last Supper, Jesus is arrested. His arrest will bring him before Pilate, which leads to the crucifixion. (16) Earlier that very night, Jesus predicted Peter’s betrayal. (17) It seems like Peter may overcome the prediction. After all, Peter follows Jesus after his arrest. But then a servant girl looks at Peter closely and speaks the truth. And Peter denies the truth of who he is. The Galilean who promised to follow his Lord to prison and to death falls short at the words of a servant girl. (18)

• I wonder what made the servant girl look closely. I wonder how she recognized one of Jesus’ followers. I wonder if she was ever a follower of Jesus herself. What do you wonder?

• Who in your life sees the truth of who you are? In what situations do you act differently from who you’d like to be?

(16): Luke 23:1-25

(17): Luke 22:34

(18): Luke 22:31-34

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GOOD FRIDAY

“Many women were also there, looking on from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Matthew 27:55-56)

In all four Gospels, women are present at the crucifixion of Jesus. (19) Luke just says the women who followed him from Galilee, while Matthew, Mark, and John choose to specify notable women, all three of whom name Mary Magdalene. The many women at the cross “confirm the contrast with the fallible male apostles.” (20)

• I wonder if the woman who anointed Jesus was there. I wonder if they thought Jesus would come down from his cross. (21) What do you wonder?

• Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus, an event that took place in the first century, a time and place very different from our own. In the 21st century, who are the crucified? The Salvadoran Jesuit priest and theologian Ignacio Ellacuría, assassinated in 1989, once offered this challenge: “Ask yourselves: What have I done to crucify them? What do I do to uncrucify them? What must I do for this people to rise again?”

(19): Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40; Luke 23:49; John 19:25

(20): “Gospel of Matthew” by Amy-Jill Levine in Women’s Bible Commentary, 3rd edition, 2012, pg.477.

(21): Matthew 27:38-44

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HOLY SATURDAY

“Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” (Luke 23:50-56)

According to Jewish law, the body of an executed criminal was not allowed to remain exposed beyond sundown. (22) The good and righteous Joseph of Arimathea and the women from Galilee try to do what they can to ensure Jesus has a proper burial. Joseph ensures Jesus’ body is placed in a tomb, and the women confirm Jesus is in the tomb before going to prepare spices and ointments. (23) They plan to complete the burial once the Sabbath is over; they do not know what’s to come.

• I wonder if Joseph had met Pilate before. I wonder why the women go to see Jesus’ body in the tomb. What do you wonder?

• Holy Saturday is a day of liminality. Good Friday is behind us, and Easter is ahead. Grief and hope stand side by side. What do you need to see in yourself before transformation can occur?

(22): Deuteronomy 21:22-23

(23): “Burial Practices in First Century Palestine” by Byron R. McCane

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EASTER SUNDAY

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’s head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew. ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord,’ and she told them that he had said these things to her.” (John 20:1-18)

Women are the first to learn of the resurrection. All four Gospels attest to this. (24) The number and identities of the women differ in each telling, but Mary Magdalene is there in each version of the story. Mary Magdalene’s role in the resurrection story led Thomas Aquinas to call her, “an apostle to the apostles.” (25)

On encountering the empty tomb, Mary thinks Jesus’ body has been taken. “Mary’s confusion reflects the world-shattering dimension of the empty tomb...The world cannot make sense of an empty tomb with any theory except grave robbing.” (26) It’s only when Jesus calls her name, as he called the name of Lazarus, that Mary recognizes her teacher. (27)

• I wonder why Mary Magdalene stayed when the other disciples left. I wonder what the disciples said when she told them she’d confused the risen Jesus with a gardener. I wonder why there’s so much running in the story. What do you wonder?

• Why do you think Mary only recognizes Jesus when he says her name?

• Where do you see signs of resurrection in your own life? How can we reflect the hope of Easter in our world?

This Easter season, may you be welcomed into wonder.

(24): Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18

(25): “Commentary on the Gospel of St. John” by Thomas Aquinas

(26): “Gospel of John” by Gail R. O’Day in Women’s Bible Commentary, 3rd edition, 2012, pg.527.

(27): John 11:43

 THE WOMEN WHO MADE JESUS: A Four Part Study

By Anna Grace Glaize

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TAMAR BEGAT PEREZ AND ZERAH OF JUDAH

RAHAB BEGAT BOAZ OF SALMON

RUTH BEGAT OBED OF BOAZ

OBED BEGAT JESSE

JESSE BEGAT DAVID

BATHSHEBA BEGAT SOLOMON OF DAVID

This four-part Advent study explores the stories of the foremothers of Jesus. While it’s intended to be used during the liturgical season of Advent, there’s no reason it can’t be used at any other time of the year if you’re interested in learning about the women in Jesus’ genealogy. You’re welcome to use it as an individual resource or in a group setting. Background information and resources for further reading are provided, discussion questions are embedded throughout, and each section ends with a short prayer. 

We hope you find this study useful, and we pray you’ll be blessed by your journey with Jesus’ female ancestors. May you find strength in these women, and may you have a joyful Advent.

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INTRODUCTION

Read Matthew 1:1-17

The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, linking Jesus to the patriarch Abraham and King David. In Matthew’s genealogy, five women are included–Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba), and Mary. That any women are present is surprising given that women weren’t usually included in genealogical lists. These genealogies were quite literally patriarchal. Even more surprising is which women the author of Matthew chose to include. The four women listed from the Hebrew Scriptures/Christian Old Testament bring to mind “aspects of Israel’s past that some might think should best be forgotten.” (1)

So why does Matthew choose to include these women? And what does the inclusion of these women say about Jesus? Biblical scholars agree that these women have at least two things in common which might direct us toward the answers.

 Firstly, all of these women illustrate the Jewish Jesus’ Gentile ancestry. Tamar lived in Abdullam and was probably a Canaanite. Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute living in Jericho. Ruth was a Moabite. Bathsheba was married to Uriah the Hittite and is identified as “the Wife of Uriah” in Matthew’s genealogy (Matt.1:6). Matthew includes these women to remind his audience that non-Israelites played a role in the ancestry of King David, King Solomon, and now Jesus. Their inclusion in the genealogy foreshadows Jesus’ ministry to Gentiles. 

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, each woman’s story includes some degree of scandalous sexual activity. These women are not condemned for their actions within the biblical text. Instead, each woman’s story includes the conception of some of Israel’s greatest leaders. By invoking these women, Matthew prepares his audience for a truly shocking conception story–the conception of Jesus by Mary through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

As we begin our journey with the foremothers of Jesus, we’ll embark with this important reminder: we are called “to look for God at work in unanticipated and scandalous ways.” (2)

(1):  Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology, by Joel B. Green, Marianne Thompson, and Paul J. Achtemeier, pgs.75-76. 

(2):  Mother Roots: The Female Ancestors of Jesus by Helen Bruch Pearson, pg. 33.

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PART 1—TAMAR

Read Genesis 38

Tamar’s story appears in Genesis. It comes immediately after the patriarch Jacob’s son Joseph is sold into slavery. You might have heard about the remarkable robe Jacob had made for Joseph, and how his other sons were very jealous of their little brother Joseph. They threw Joseph into a pit where he was found by slave traders, sold into slavery, and eventually became an advisor to the Pharaoh. Tamar’s story interrupts the story of Joseph. When her story takes place, neither Joseph’s father nor his brothers know what’s happened to Joseph. 

Judah was one of Joseph’s brothers and Tamar’s father-in-law. After Tamar’s husband Er dies, she’s given in levirate marriage to Judah’s other son Onan. Levirate marriage was used to solve the problem of a man who died childless and what to do with the wife he left behind. A widow would marry the brother of her deceased husband, and any child produced by the union would be seen as the child of the dead man. (3)

Onan knows that any child he has with Tamar will be considered Er’s, and that child would inherit property that could otherwise go to Onan. So Onan purposefully does not impregnate Tamar. This angers the LORD, and Onan dies. At this point, Judah thinks something must be wrong with Tamar. He sends her away to her father’s house and does not marry her to his youngest son, but he also doesn’t release her to marry someone else. She’s trapped in perpetual widowhood, childless, which was a very precarious position. 

When her father-in-law goes to a sheep-shearing festival, Tamar takes off the clothes that mark her as a widow and dons a veil. She goes to a crossroads between Enaim and Timnah. On his way back from the festival, Judah sees Tamar, assumes she’s a prostitute, has sex with her, and, unbeknownst to him, performs the levirate by impregnating Tamar. Before Judah leaves, still unaware of Tamar’s identity, he gives Tamar his signet and cord. 

After Judah finds out Tamar is pregnant, he orders she be burned, even though stoning was the traditional punishment for adultery. But Tamar produces the signet and cord, and Judah is forced to admit his own wrongdoing, saying, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” Tamar gives birth to twins, an auspicious sign in the ancient world, and she names them Perez and Zerah. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Clothing and personal items play an important role in Tamar’s life. Once she changes her clothes, her life starts to change. By taking Judah’s signet and cord, Tamar has the tools to save her own life. Do women today still use clothes to negotiate their way in the world? How so?

• Interestingly, the text never says whether Tamar intended to be perceived as a prostitute. It only says Judah assumed she was one. What assumptions do we make about people based on how they’re dressed?

• In Genesis 38:11, Tamar’s life comes to a standstill by being ordered to go back to her father’s house, childless and unable to remarry. She then goes to a literal crossroads in Genesis 38:14. When have you felt stuck? What got you unstuck? What have been the major crossroads in your life?

• Scholar Tikva Frymer-Kensky says Judah’s role in Tamar’s story shows that “a man with both power and lack of understanding becomes an oppressor.” (4) Has there ever been a time in your life when harm was done to you because of a lack of understanding? Or when you caused harm? When have you witnessed a lack of understanding cause harm in the world?  

• What do you think Jesus may have learned from his ancestor Tamar? What have you learned?

CLOSING PRAYER:

God of the Crossroads, help us learn from Tamar. Help us discern when we are stuck, and give us strength to choose change. May the changes we make in our lives lead to more compassion and greater understanding. Amen. 

(3):  “Levirate Marriage” by Dvora E. Weisberg

(4): Reading the Women of the Bible by Tikva Frymer-Kensky, pg. 267. 

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PART 2—RAHAB

Rahab appears in the Book of Joshua. Joseph, after being sold into slavery in Egypt, became a great leader to the Egyptians. His family came to Egypt during a famine and received grain. The Israelites thrived there, until a king who did not know Joseph ruled over Egypt. He enslaved the Israelites and treated them harshly until God freed them. After the Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. When their leader Moses died, Joshua led the Israelites. Joshua brought the Israelites into the promised land, the land given to their ancestor Abraham, only to find the land already occupied by the Canaanites. The Book of Joshua tells the story of how the Israelites conquered Canaan. 

Read Joshua 2

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What does the Bible say about Rahab’s occupation? Does it say anything negative about her work as a prostitute? 

• Besides her occupation, what do we learn about Rahab from Joshua 2?

Read Joshua 6

Many readers throughout history have been troubled by the destruction of the Canaanites. It’s important to know the concept of “herem” (often translated as “devoted to destruction” or “utterly destroy”) is at work in the Book of Joshua. “Herem” is most often used in the context of war, with the deity as a divine warrior. The word “herem” appears in other Semitic languages, and the concept of holy warfare was likely widespread in the Ancient Near East. (5)

Moreover, the Book of Joshua is not a history book, or at least not a history book in the modern-day sense of the word. The authors of Joshua wrote a story centered “around a theological perspective rather than a chronological account.” (6) While there are indeed giant crumbled brick ruins in Jericho, archaeologists have dated them to before the time of the conquest of Canaan. (7) It’s likely the authors of Joshua saw or heard about these ruins and wove them into the legends and stories of their people. They’d heard Joshua helped conquer Canaan, knew the ancient city of Jericho was in Canaan, and knew Jericho was home to some impressive ruins, and thus the legend of the walls crumbling down was born. The best legends are often stories that have been embellished. 

Even as we read Joshua from a theological perspective rather than a historical one, “... as modern readers and interpreters, we cannot use the book of Joshua as a justification for war and genocide. Even if we appreciate the theological nuances of this biblical text, we should continue to be troubled by its grimly violent understanding of God’s work in history.” (8)

It’s also worth noting that the destruction of Jericho seems to run counter to God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants (the Israelites) will be a blessing to “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:1-3). Rahab’s presence provides a sense of irony to the story, as well. “Rahab, who begins as triply marginalized  - Canaanite, woman, prostitute – moves to the center as bearer of a divine message and herald of Israel in its new land.” (9)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What does it say about God that God chose a Canaanite prostitute to be a hero in Israel? 

• Rahab is a surprising hero in the Book of Joshua. Who are the surprising heroes in your life? 

• What do you think Jesus learned from Rahab’s story? What have you learned?

CLOSING PRAYER:

God of Surprises, may we listen to the voices from the margins. Help us remember that amongst our enemies may be a Rahab, waiting to tell us your truth, reminding us we’re called to be blessings. Amen.

(5): “Destruction of the Canaanites” by Charlie Trimm

(6): Mother Roots, pg. 80.

(7): “Jericho” by Lorenzo Nigro

(8): “Excursus: Holy War” from The New Interpreter’s Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version With the Apocrypha by Abingdon Press, p.314

(9): “Rahab: Bible” by Tikva Frymer-Kensky, updated by Carol Meyers

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PART 3—RUTH

Read The Book of Ruth. (If you’re short on time and in a group setting, you can break up into four groups, with each group reading one chapter. Then, have each group summarize what they’ve read so everyone gets the full story.)

The Book of Ruth is one of two books in the Protestant Bible named after a woman. Though named after Ruth, it’s as much Naomi’s story as Ruth’s. After all, it’s Naomi who’s caught in a near-impossible situation, and it’s Naomi who undergoes the most drastic character change. While Boaz ends up as Ruth’s husband, the Book of Ruth isn’t really about their love story. The love story at the heart of the book is between Ruth and Naomi. It includes some of the most beautiful lines in the Bible: “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” (Ruth 1:16-17). 

Ruth the Moabite displays incredible loyalty to Naomi, and this loyalty is what saves both women as they navigate their way through a precarious situation. Recall Tamar and the practice of levirate marriage, which was a solution for widows with no sons to take care of them. Naomi tells Orpah and Ruth she has no sons for them to marry. There is no solution to their predicament other than return to their Moabite families. Israelite society operated within patriarchal family structures, and childless widows had to depend on the kindness of their communities. That’s why there are so many instructions to care for widows throughout the Bible—widows were incredibly vulnerable. Ruth’s devotion to Naomi is not just touching, it’s radical; Ruth“commits herself to an old woman in a world where life depends upon men.” (10)

Ruth meets Boaz through gleaning, the practice of gathering what’s leftover from a harvest (Deuteronomy 24:19). When she tells Naomi, Naomi recognizes Boaz as a relative. Naomi concocts a daring plan that involves Ruth putting herself in a somewhat dangerous situation. Naomi tells Ruth to go to Boaz at night when he’s in the threshing room. The threshing room would not have been very private. Ruth risked, at the very least, damage to her reputation. But Ruth goes anyway and follows Naomi’s instructions up to a point. Rather than following Naomi’s advice to let Boaz tell her what to do, Ruth tells him what to do: “Spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin” (Ruth 3:9). This Moabite widow instructs an Israelite man to take up the responsibility of a kinsman-redeemer. (11)

Though another man technically has more right to the role, Boaz gets approval to act as Naomi’s next-of-kin. He marries Ruth, and they have a son. The women of the town name the child Obed, and they tell Naomi, “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him” (Ruth 4:15). 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Ruth and Naomi are not related by blood but are bound together by love and shared experience. Are there people in your life who you’re not related to but consider family? 

• Ruth is incredibly loyal to Naomi, but she’s not always obedient. She stays with Naomi even after she’s told to go back to her family, and Ruth doesn’t do exactly as Naomi instructs when she approaches Boaz on the threshing room floor. Have there been times in your life when you’ve gone against the advice of someone you loved? How do you discern when to listen to loved ones and when to do what you think is best? 

• At the beginning of the story, Naomi is so overcome with despair that she seems to overlook Ruth’s loving presence. Have you ever been in such a situation? How does Ruth care for Naomi in her despair? When you’re physically, mentally, or spiritually unwell, how would you like to be cared for? 

• Naomi goes to Moab because of famine. Ruth leaves Moab with Naomi because of devastating personal loss. At different points in the story, both women leave what is familiar to them. Have you ever left what’s familiar to you? What prompted that decision? What new opportunities did leaving provide? 

• What do you think Jesus learned from Ruth’s story? What have you learned? 

CLOSING PRAYER:

God of the Widow and the Foreigner, thank you for the families we’re given and the families we make. May we learn from Naomi, who lived through despair, and may we learn from Ruth, who would not leave her side. Amen. 

(10): “Ruth: Bible” by Phyllis Trible

(11):  “Seduction on the Threshing Floor” by Charles Halton

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PART 4—BATHSHEBA

Read 2 Samuel 11

In both sermons and popular culture, Bathsheba is often portrayed as a seductress. Recently, many women readers have noted the cruelty of this portrayal (12). King David first sees Bathsheba when she’s bathing. That she’s on a roof is not proof of exhibitionism. Her bath was likely either a ritual bath after her menstrual period or a hygienic bath. That King David sees her “is attributed to the size and position of the royal residence and not to any temptation or solicitation on her part.” (13) There’s also the damning detail that David is in the city at all. It’s springtime, “the time when kings go out to battle,” and all of Israel is at war (2 Samuel 11:1). Yet David is in Jerusalem. 

King David summons Bathsheba and has sex with her. This encounter can hardly be considered consensual as he’s the king, her husband is away, and messengers are sent to her house to retrieve her. Bathsheba is impregnated by David and suddenly David is forced to face the consequences of his actions. The text goes out of its way to demonstrate that Uriah the Hittite is a more righteous man than the great Israelite king. Bathsheba is married to a brave and righteous man, and David, out of fear of discovery not love for Bathsheba, ensures Uriah is killed in battle. Bathsheba mourns her husband and then marries the man who had her husband killed. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah” references the David and Bathsheba story, using lines like “You saw her bathing on the roof/Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.” What are the consequences of blaming a woman’s desirability rather than a man’s choices?

Read 2 Samuel 12: 1-25

Many readers have noted the imbalance of power between David and Bathsheba. Because of this power imbalance, by modern standards their sexual encounter is not consensual. It seems the prophet Nathan doesn’t hold Bathsheba responsible, either. In his parable, Bathsheba is portrayed as an innocent lamb. The only person responsible for the situation is the rich man, i.e. King David. 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• The David and Bathsheba story “interprets sin as having cause and effect.” (14) While Bathsheba isn’t condemned for David’s actions, she does suffer the consequences of David’s sins. Can you think of a time when your actions had negative consequences for others? How have you noticed the effects of larger societal sins?

Read 1 Kings 11-31

When King David grew old, there was uncertainty over which of his sons would succeed him as king. Bathsheba’s son Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was not David’s firstborn, but because of his mother’s actions, became king of Israel. Solomon was known for his great wisdom. 

In this passage, we see Bathsheba is brave and cunning. There is no other record of David’s oath to Bathsheba in verse 17. Perhaps she’s taking advantage of David’s old age, or perhaps David made a promise that was not chronicled. Either way, we see Nathan go to Bathsheba to make a plan. Bathsheba goes before the king unsummoned, a choice not without risk. She is deferential but astute. “Bathsheba shows she can hold her own–even with the king. She has found her voice and uses it to secure not only her future but the future of Solomon and thus the future of Israel.” (15)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• The prophet Nathan approaches David with a parable in 2 Samuel. In 1 Kings, he seeks out Bathsheba during a turbulent political period. Years have passed, and the text doesn’t say how the alliance between Nathan and Bathsheba developed. Using your sacred imagination, what do you think the relationship between Nathan and Bathsheba was like? 

• Bathsheba goes from being acted upon to taking action. What in your life has compelled you to take action? 

• What do you think Jesus learned from Bathsheba’s story? What have you learned?

CLOSING PRAYER

God of Survivors, may the world know your justice. Like Bathsheba, give us strength to survive wrongdoing. Like Nathan, give us courage to speak the truth. And if we, like David, have power, give us wisdom so we may use our power for good.

(12):“Bathsheba and Preaching in the #MeToo Era” by Sara M. Koenig

(13): Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda C. Gafney, pg. 212

(14): Mother Roots, pg. 177.

(15):  Mother Roots, pg. 172.

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CONCLUSION

Advent is a time of expectant waiting. In this study, we’ve used the women of the past to look forward to the coming of Christ. We hope you've found these women’s stories helpful, whether in your understanding of Jesus or your own self-understanding. Now that you’re well-acquainted with Jesus’ foremothers, we’ll close with the words of his mother, Mary. 

THE WORDS OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.

    Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,

 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

    and holy is his name;

indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him

    from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

    he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones

    and lifted up the lowly;

he has filled the hungry with good things

    and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the aid of his child Israel,

    in remembrance of his mercy,

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,

    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

LUKE 1:44-46

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RESOURCES

• Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology, by Joel B. Green, Marianne Thompson, and Paul J. Achtemeier (2001)

• Mother Roots: The Female Ancestors of Jesus by Helen Bruch Pearson (2002)

• “Levirate Marriage” by Dvora E. Weisberg

• Reading the Women of the Bible by Tikva Frymer-Kensky (2002)

• “Destruction of the Canaanites” by Charlie Trimm

• “Jericho” by Lorenzo Nigro

• The New Interpreter’s Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version With the Apocrypha by Abingdon Press (2003)

• “Rahab: Bible” by Tikva Frymer-Kensky, updated by Carol Meyers

• “Ruth: Bible” by Phyllis Trible

• “Seduction on the Threshing Floor” by Charles Halton

• “Bathsheba and Preaching in the #MeToo Era” by Sara M. Koenig

• Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda C. Gafney (2017)