by Rick Bavera

Created on: January 18, 2011   Last Updated: January 19, 2011

There are a host of notable women in the Bible. All can be seen to be important in some sense. We will look at a few who can be considered the most important, in no particular order of importance, but in chronological order.

Among those in the Old Testament, we find:

Eve. Eve can be considered the mother of mankind. Her story, along with Adam's, is told in the early chapters of Genesis. The name Eve means "life" or "to live" or "life-bearer". She was the second person mentioned in the Bible, after Adam, and was a helper and companion of Adam. Eve was tempted by the serpent to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and she encouraged Adam to join her in that activity. They were banished from Eden after that. Her named children were Cain, Abel and Seth. The descendants of Adam and Eve are traced through Seth.

The next two important women are closely tied to the story of Abraham. Sarah was Abraham's wife. Her name means "princess" or "queen". She and Abraham were promised to be the ancestors to many, but grew into old age without having any children. Not waiting patiently for God to complete his promise to them by giving them a child of their own, Sarah and Abraham took matters into their own hands, and decided that Abraham would have a child with a servant of the family, Hagar. Hagar, whose name meant "stranger", was Egyptian. After Abraham and Hagar had a child (Ishmael), God then graced Abraham and Sarah with a child, Isaac.

Rebecca (whose name means "to bind") became the wife of Isaac after Abraham looked in his old homeland for a wife for Isaac. She became the mother of Jacob ("Israel") and Esau, twins. Jacob went on to be the father of the people of Israel.

Rachel was the great love of Jacob's life, but her father would not let them marry until Jacob first married her sister, Leah. Rachel, Leah and two of the servants of the family, Bilhah and Zilpah, became the mothers of the sons whose descendants became the tribes of the nation of Israel. 

Miriam, whose name's meaning is unclear, was the sister of Moses and Aaron. Miriam saved Moses's life when the Pharaoh ordered the deaths of Hebrew male babies. She put him in a reed cradle, in a place to be discovered by the daughter of the Pharaoh. That daughter finds him and raises him. Miriam went on to become a leader of the Hebrews, along with her brothers Moses and Aaron.

Deborah was a leader of the nation of Israel, a judge. She and Jael inspired and led Israel in the fight against their enemies

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