BIBLE STUDIES

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FEATURED STUDY:

MOTHER, MAY I?: learning from biblical mothers

By: Anna Grace Glaize

Mosaic at Dominus Flavit

In one of the most quoted passages in Christianity, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray (Matt 6:1-21). The opening lines of the prayer are surprising; he instructs his disciples to speak to God, the creator of the universe, as a child speaks to their parent! In Jesus’ prayer, he calls God “Father.” But, as Julian of Norwich would later write, “as truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother.” (1) While the metaphors we use to describe God can’t capture that which is greater than human understanding, it is notable that over and over again in Scripture, familial language is used to describe the relationship between God and humanity. 

Maternal relationships are important. Jesus had Mary—meaning God had a mother! God is described as a mother in labor in Isaiah 42:14 and as a nursing mother in Hosea 11:3. One of the names for God, El Shaddai, means “The Many-Breasted One,” referring to God’s ability to nourish and sustain like a mother nourishes her child (2). Jesus himself uses the imagery of a mother hen to explain his care and concern for the people of Jerusalem (Luke 13:34). 

Metaphors for God as a mother portray an ideal mother-child relationship. God nourishes, sustains, and worries after her children. But not all the mothers in the Bible are as wonderful as the metaphors make motherhood out to be. There are good and bad mothers in the Bible, just as there are good and bad mothers in our world today. Some scriptural mothers are literally iconic (Mary), and some are murderous tyrants (Athaliah). And of course, many mothers fall somewhere in between. 

The mothers in this study—Rebekah, Deborah, the Canaanite woman, and Lois and Eunice—are all unconventional in one way or another. Rebekah orchestrates the plot that cheats Esau out of his blessing. Deborah is called the mother of a community, not of a biological child. The Canaanite woman has to convince Jesus to help her daughter. And Lois and Eunice defy cultural norms by raising Timothy in the Christian faith. 

This study can be used in a group setting or as an individual devotional resource. Whether or not your relationship with your own mother is or was positive, we hope this Bible study brings you closer to God. May God (who is Father, Mother, and so much more) bless you in your encounter with these sacred stories. 

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast,

 and have no compassion on the child she has borne?

As a mother comforts her child, 

so will God comfort you. 

— Adapted from Isaiah 49:15 and 66:13 —

Rebekah

“Rejecting Esau” by Giotto. From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of Vanderbilt Divinity Library. 

When we first meet Rebekah, she lives in her mother’s house. Notably, the phrase “mother’s household” is used only three other times in the Old Testament—to refer to the homes of Ruth, Orpah, and the bride in Song of Solomon. It’s easy to imagine that mothers run the show in Rebekah’s family. Rebekah plays a particularly active role in the ancestral stories of the Israelites; perhaps it’s how she was raised. 

Genesis 24, the story of Rebekah’s wooing, is the longest chapter in all of Genesis. She’s the picture of hospitality, rushing to get water for Abraham’s servant, offering shelter, and running to tell her mother’s household of his arrival. Genesis 24 is ostensibly the story of how Abraham’s son Isaac marries Rebekah, but Isaac doesn’t show up until the end. When he does, we’re told he “loved” Rebekah (this is the first time in the Bible a woman is called “loved”) (3). Rebekah, the woman who leaves her mother’s house to marry, becomes a comfort to her new husband after the death of his own mother, Sarah (Gen 24:67). 

Read Genesis 25:19-34. 

Like many biblical women, Rebekah struggles with infertility. Remarkably, unlike the other patriarchs, Isaac doesn’t father children with anyone else, even though he’s married to Rebekah for twenty years before she bears children. Isaac prays to God on her behalf, and she conceives. But when she feels the children in her womb struggling together, she goes to God herself. God answers her, saying, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other; the elder shall serve the younger” (Gen 25:23). 

Rebekah is the only Israelite matriarch to receive a direct message from God, and perhaps this message explains Rebekah’s actions when her two boys, Jacob and Esau, grow up. But already, there’s favoritism in the family; “Isaac loved Esau because he was fond of game, but Rebekah loved Jacob” (Gen 25:28). 

Read Genesis 27. 

In the story of Jacob stealing his brother’s blessing, Rebekah plays the role of puppet master, orchestrating events behind the scenes. Her actions manipulate both her aging husband and her eldest son. Scholars have raised possible reasons for her actions, including her dislike of Esau’s Hittite wives (Gen 26:34-35) and her knowledge of God’s plans. It’s true that trickster characters are often lauded in the Bible. Rebekah’s favored son, Jacob, is one such character, and he becomes the namesake for the Israelite people. “The narrator does not criticize Jacob for his deception…but instead upholds him as an example of cleverness.” (4) But many readers still find Rebekah’s willingness to deceive her husband and son troubling.

Jacob flees his home to escape his brother’s anger, and Rebekah never sees her beloved son again. Though separated physically, Rebekah’s presence looms large in Jacob’s life. He introduces himself as “Rebekah’s son” in Genesis 29:12. “Because of the centrality of Rebekah, in contrast to Isaac, the ancestral sequence might more accurately be called Abraham, Rebekah, and Jacob.” (5)

  • Rebekah is a clever mother who raises a clever son. What traits have you gotten from your parents? Are some good? Some bad? If you have or want kids, what traits do you hope to pass on? 

  • How do you feel about Rebekah in Genesis 27? Does Rebekah carry out God’s will, or is Gen 27 an example of God working through a bad situation? How do you discern when the ends justify the means? 

  • Rebekah, for better or worse, makes things happen. Is there someone in your life who’s a Rebekah–someone who will always find a way to get things done? Are you a Rebekah?

God who works in us and through us 

and even despite us,

make our will like your own. 

May we, like Rebekah, 

be crafty and clever 

in doing the work of the kin-dom.

Deborah

“In Tune (Deborah)” by Lauren Wright Pittman. From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of Vanderbilt Divinity Library. 

Read Judges 4:1-9

Deborah appears in the Book of Judges. The book tells the story of Israel’s time in the promised land before the establishment of the monarchy. During this time, the tribes of Israel were led by judges, charismatic military figures. Deborah is notable among the judges because she is the only woman judge, the only judge to be called a prophet, and the only judge shown to actually adjudicate disputes (6). So, in addition to being a military leader, Deborah makes decisions for the people and acts as a spokesperson for God. 

In Judges 4, we’re told that Deborah is consulted by the Israelite commander Barak. She correctly predicts that the Canaanite commander Sisera will be delivered into the hands of a woman. Ironically, that woman is not Deborah (as one might expect) but Jael. Sisera flees the battlefield and hides in Jael’s tent, where she kills him with a tent peg. 

Read Judges 5. 

The poetic telling of the story in Judges 5, known as the Song of Deborah, contains some of the oldest passages in the entire Bible (7). In the poem, Deborah is referred to as a “mother in Israel.” Interestingly, there is no mention of Deborah having biological children. She is called eshet lappidoth in Judges 4:4, which is often translated as “wife of Lappidoth.” However, scholar Julie Faith Parker—among others—notes, “No person named ‘Lappidoth’ appears anywhere else in the Bible, and this name is strange for a man since it has a feminine plural ending (-oth). The Hebrew word lappid means “torch” and eshet can be translated as ‘woman’ or ‘wife.’” (8) Deborah, then, is likely not the wife of Lappidoth, but a “woman of torches” or “fiery woman.” 

Given this evidence, the phrase “mother in Israel” is a striking title. Scholar Stephanie B. Crowder, in her book When Momma Speaks, points out that many who take on a mothering role are not biological mothers themselves. “Mother” can be both a noun and a verb. Crowder identifies such leaders as Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker as community mothers—those women who are “mothers of the movement” and lead through their ability to guide, nurture, and protect. 

Deborah’s depiction as a military leader might seem at odds with her portrayal as a mother. But “these are not oppositional characterizations…As a mother, Deborah provided military and political security for all of her children. It also appears she addressed economic injustice, since 5:7 states that the mighty ‘grew fat’ in Israel until Deborah arose, suggesting that under her rule, there was a more equitable distribution of resources.” (9) In Judges 5, especially, Deborah appears as a community mother under whose guidance Israel thrives. Deborah isn’t the only fierce, protective depiction of motherhood we get in Scripture. Her brand of mothering is similar to the depiction of God as a mother bear (Hosea 13:8). Judges 5’s closing lines sum up the peace and prosperity of the Israelites under Deborah’s guidance: “The land had rest for forty years.”

  • Besides your parents, who helped raise you? 

  • Are there ways you “mother” your community? 

  • Where do you find rest?

 God who loves us as fiercely as a mother bear,

who worries after us like a mother hen,

make us like Deborah;

She who cared for her community,

listened for your voice,

and who, when the good work was done,

found rest.

The Canaanite Woman

“Christ and Canaanite Woman” by Annibale Carracci, 1590s. 

Read Matthew 15:21-28

In the Old Testament, the Canaanites are the enemy. They are the inhabitants of the promised land that the Israelites go to war with. The Canaanites do not worship Israel’s God, and their religious beliefs and practices are particularly abhorrent to the Israelites (probably because idolatry is a recurrent temptation for the Israelites). 

Jesus, as a Jew, is a descendant of the Israelites. Yet Matthew’s opening genealogy reveals something remarkable. Two of Jesus’ foremothers—Tamar and Rahab—are Canaanite (Matt 1:1-17). Both are important reminders that stereotypes do not hold; Tamar is called more righteous than Judah (Gen 38), and Rahab shelters Israelite spies before the battle of Jericho because of her belief in Israel’s God (Josh 2). Given the reputation of the Canaanites, the disciples' reaction to the woman comes as no surprise. But Matthew’s genealogy provides important foreshadowing—God’s work through Christ will not stop with the House of Israel. 

  • Tamar and Rahab are surprising characters to find on Jesus’ family tree. Do you have any larger-than-life characters in your family’s past or present? Are there family legends you’ve inherited? 

  • The Canaanite woman bothers the disciples with her shouting. They tell Jesus to send her away. Are there people you avoid? Who are the Canaanites in your social or religious circles? How do you decide who to be in community with? What does an inclusive community look like in practice?

Jesus first ignores the woman. Then Jesus does something shocking; he calls this woman a dog! There may be wordplay here. The Greek word for dog (kynaria) is similar to the word for Canaanite (Chananaia) (10). But this relentless mother does not give up, even when her Lord compares her to an animal. She calls herself a dog right back and turns the tables: “Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table” (Matt 15:27).

It’s not difficult to imagine Jesus being surprised (and maybe even entertained) by his newfound verbal sparring partner. He is certainly impressed by the Canaanite woman’s persistent belief that he can save her child. He tells her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish” (Matt 15:28). Scholar Wilda Gafney argues Jesus’ encounter with this woman fundamentally shapes his understanding of his ministry going forward. He learns from this woman. “In becoming her student, Jesus becomes our teacher.” Jesus’ expansive ministry is evident in the final lines of the Gospel of Matthew: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

  • What do you think Jesus learned from the Canaanite woman? What surprising teachers have you had? 

  • Who has expanded your understanding of God’s love? 

  • The Canaanite woman is relentless on her daughter’s behalf. She quite literally begs for help, despite a less-than-welcoming environment. Who has gone above and beyond for you?

God who is persistent

in your love for us,

 and for the world,

help us see Christ in our enemies.

May we find healing in encountering

those who are different from us.

Lois and Eunice

“Timothy and His Grandmother” by Rembrandt, 1648.

Read 2 Timothy 1

Lois and Eunice were the grandmother and mother of the evangelist Timothy. Paul credits the two women with instilling Timothy with a “sincere faith” (2 Timothy 1:5). The Bible tells us that “many” women were active patrons and participants in the Jesus movement (Luke 8:1-3). Scripture doesn’t say how many of these women were mothers, but Lois and Eunice demonstrate one of the benefits of women’s participation in the early church. A mother’s faith often becomes her child’s.

Read Acts 16:1-5

We are told in Acts that Timothy's mother was a Jewish woman who believed Jesus was the Messiah. Her husband was Gentile. In the early days of the Christian movement, the gospel message was spread first to the Jews, then eventually expanded to include the Gentiles. Timothy, as the child of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father, becomes a bridge between two communities with deep cultural divides. Growing up, Timothy seemed to be a  Gentile. He didn’t bear the mark of Judaism (circumcision), and it’s well-known that “his father was Greek” (Acts 16:3). What isn’t obvious on the outside, though, is that Timothy has known “from childhood” the “sacred writings” of his mother’s faith (2 Timothy 3:15). Timothy may appear to be a Gentile, but thanks to the sacred stories passed down by his grandmother and mother, he has been raised with the gift of faith.

  • What stories (religious or otherwise) are precious to your family? 

  • What was the first story you heard from the Bible? Who told it to you?

Given the family structure of the Roman Empire, Eunice’s participation in the Christian community without her husband is hugely significant. Her religious commitments were not without risk; the ancient philosopher Plutarch famously advised that fidelity to one’s husband meant fidelity to his gods. Moreover, scholar Margaret Y. MacDonald notes Eunice’s allegiance to the Christian faith had political implications: 

Ancient people did not distinguish between religious activities and other aspects of their existence in the same way that modern people in a secular society do. In particular, there was significant overlap between what we view as religion, politics, economics, and family life…Loyalty to the gods, the state, and the heads of households was firmly connected (11).

It likely didn’t help Eunice that Christianity in particular was met with suspicion in the Roman world. The philosopher Celsus famously said, derisively, that Christianity attracted “women and children.” (12) As is clear from Celsus, part of why the Christian movement was seen as threatening was because of its appeal to the marginalized. There is a “persistent thread of evidence suggesting that wives (and slaves) joined the community without (and presumably often without the permission of) the male head of household.” (13) This reality is evidenced in 1 Peter, where wives are instructed to conduct themselves in such a way that their husbands “may be won over without a word” (1 Peter 3:5).

 The words of Paul himself, Timothy’s coworker, make it clear why Eunice and other women might be drawn to Christian movement: “There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). 

  • Lois helped raise Timothy. What are the benefits of intergenerational relationships? 

  • How does Christianity appeal to the marginalized today? 

  • For Lois and Eunice, Christianity was countercultural. Is Christianity still countercultural today? 

  • What mother do you most identify with? What mother did you learn the most from? 


God whose stories have sustained

wives and widows, 

children and slaves,

may we leave a legacy like Lois,

live as bold as Eunice,

and may we know that every person in this world

is a beloved child of God.

REFERENCES:

  • (1)  The Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich

  • (2)  “Why We Need Mama God” by Daneen Akers 

  • (3)  Womanist Midrash by Wilda C. Gafney, pg. 80

  • (4)  “Jacob” by Sarah Cook

  • (5)  “Rebekah: Bible” by Carol Meyers

  • (6)  “Deborah” by Jennifer L. Koosed

  • (7)  Daughters of Miriam by Wilda C. Gafney, pg.90

  • (8)  Eve Isn’t Evil by Julie Faith Parker, pg.57

  • (9)  Daughters of Miriam by Wilda C. Gafney, pg. 92

  • (10)  When Momma Speaks by Stephanie B. Crowder, pg. 87 

  • (11) “The Religious Lives of Women in Early Christianity” by Margaret Y. MacDonald in Women's Bible Commentary, Third Edition (2012).

  • (12)  Contra Cestum by Origen

  • (13)   “The Religious Lives of Women in Early Christianity” by Margaret Y. MacDonald in Women's Bible Commentary, Third Edition (2012).