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SHIPRAH AND PUAH
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'So she went down to the
threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. When
Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie
down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and
uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight the man was startled, and
turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! He said "Who
are you?" And she answered "I am Ruth, your servant; spread your
cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin".' (Ruth 3:6-9) 
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We could all learn a lot from Ruth. She has the good sense to listen to someone older and wiser than herself, and this leads to great good fortune. But her common sense is not the only reason the story is popular. Ruth is loyal to someone who needs her and has been good to her in the past, even when the sensible thing would be to cut and run. Heaven knows, Naomi has nothing to offer the young widow, but Ruth stays with her mother-in-law when there is no gain in it for herself. It turns out to be the right decision. Naomi is financially destitute but she is savvy, with a remarkable knowledge of the world and of men in particular, and this proves more valuable than money. She tells Ruth what to do to prod Boaz, an eligible bachelor, into proposing - a skill that many young women today would like to learn. Ruth recognizes good advice when she hears it, and acts accordingly. And she and Boaz lived happily ever after. For the story of Ruth,
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'On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him "They have no wine." And Jesus said to her "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants "Do whatever he tells you." Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them "Now draw some out and take it to the chief stewards." So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from, the steward called the bridegroom and said to him "Everyone servers the good wine first and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now." After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.' (John 2:1-12)
For the story of Mary of
Nazareth, see
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Judith's
story is certainly a bloodthirsty one - she hacks off the head of the
drunken Holofernes with his own sword, after having made a most unusual
prayer to God, to make her a good liar. The story does not seem to have
a moral theme at all. For the story of Judith,
see |
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'Then the King's servants said "Let beautiful and virtuous girls be sought out for the king. The king shall appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and they shall select beautiful young virgins to be brought to the harem in Susa, the capital. Let them be entrusted to the king's eunuch who is in charge of the women, and let ointments and whatever else they need be given them. And the woman who pleases the king shall be queen.' 'On the third day, when she ended her prayer, she took off the garments in which she had worshiped and arrayed herself in splendid attire. Then, majestically adorned, she took two maids with her; on one she leaned gently for support, while the other followed, carrying her train. She was radiant with perfect beauty and she looked happy, as if beloved, but her heart was frozen with fear.' (Esther with Additions) For the story of Esther,
see |
 The
first passage (at left) shows that Esther has married a fool. He has
divorced his first wife over a petty matter, because his advisers told
him to do so. Now he will chose a second wife for her beauty and virtue
- all very fine, but not when the woman in question is to be queen of a
vast empire. She, a second Anne Boleyn, will need more than beauty and
virtue to navigate the shoals of a corrupt and dangerous court.
As it happens, Esther is up to the task, as the second passage shows. When she learns about a plot to eradicate all the Jews in the kingdom, she goes unbidden to the king - a capital offense, which is why her heart is 'frozen with fear'. As well as good looks and virtue, she has intelligence and courage, both of which she must use to save her people from the pogrom that faces them. Of course she succeeds (or we would not be reading the story). The Jewish people are saved, their enemies annihilated, and the event is celebrated to this day in the festival of Purim. |
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'At that time Deborah, a
prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under
the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of
Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. She sent and
summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him
"The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you 'God, take position at
Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the
tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to
meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will
give him into your hand.' Barak said to her "If you will go with me,
I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." And she
said "I will surely go with you." (Judges 4:4-9) For the story of Deborah, see www.bible-people.info/Deborah.htm |
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'Still not satisfied, the
king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiprah
and the second of whom was named Puah, "In your midwifery to the
Hebrew women, take care to determine the sex of the infant: if it is a
son, kill him instantly; if however it is a daughter, she may live." For a short version of the life of Moses, see www.bible-people.info/Moses.htm |
There is much debate over
whether Shiprah and Puah were Hebrews or Egyptians. You would think they
must be Hebrew, that
the Hebrews would have their own midwives - but then why would Pharaoh trust
them to carry out what was in effect the annihilation of their own race?
- ethnicity at that time was patrilineal, so killing the boys meant
killing the tribe. Surely Pharaoh would have employed Egyptian women to
carry out this order of his? They would be more likely to obey. Or were
Shiprah and Puah expected to be collaborators against their own people
in this first recorded pogrom? Contrary to statements made in the
popular media, pogroms against the Jewish people were occurring long
before Christ's birth. |
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'Most blessed of women be
Jael, |
The Song of Deborah voices
a certain macabre glee at the murder of a fearsome enemy
general by a small, unarmed woman. The general, Sisera, has been
defeated by the Israelites and fled from the battlefield, presumably
deserting his army. Exhausted, he has taken shelter in the tent of Jael.
He should have known better. Jael lulls him into a false sense of
security, lets him fall asleep, then takes a tent peg and drives it
through the side of his skull. For the story of Jael,
see |
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'Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the outer side of the city wall and she resided within the wall itself. She said to them "Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers may not come upon you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then afterward you may go your way." ..... She sent them away and they departed. Then she tied the crimson cord in the window.' (Joshua 2:15-21) For information on Jericho, see www.bible-architecture.info/Jericho.htm 
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At the time that Joshua
attacked the city of Jericho, its glory days were over. It had fallen on
hard times, and the walls were no longer patrolled by soldiers - in
fact, they had become the seedy part of town. Rahab, a Jericho
prostitute, practised her trade from her house on the walls. When
Joshua's scouts came to the city, her house was the perfect place to
spend the night. She took pity on them, hid them, then when they were
hunted by the city authorities she let them down on a rope from the
window of her house, so that they escaped. In return, they promised to
protect her and her family if the city was taken. For information on Jericho,
see |
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Joanna was born into one of the prominent and wealthy Jewish families of Galilee. Her husband was the Nabatean nobleman Chuza, who had recently come to Herod's court in the entourage of the young Nabatean princess who became Herod's wife. Herod soon promoted him to finance minister of his realm. To marry Joanna he had
adopted the Jewish religion, though this was to his advantage in his
career. She became interested in his
religious ideas: that repentance was necessary to enter the coming kingdom
of God, and that the way to God demanded renunciation of wealth and power.
As a devout Jewish woman, Joanna had always given generously to the poor,
but Jesus required a more radical step. She sold some of her property and
gave it to the needy. Then she channeled her income into the common fund
which Jesus and his disciples used to live on. |
When Jesus arrived in
Jerusalem for what was to be his last visit, Joanna could feel the
danger. Joanna knew the Jewish and Roman political world well, and she
was terrified. A few days later she heard the news that Jesus had been
arrested, then sentenced to death by crucifixion - she still had
contacts in high places and so was able to find out what was happening.
Her husband was horrified by what was happening, but there was nothing
he could do. When the time came, she and some of the other women made their way to the place of crucifixion and watched Jesus die in indescribable pain. There was nothing she could do except try to live through the nightmare. After waiting for the Sabbath to pass, she and some other women went with spices and ointments to the tomb, to follow the proper burial rituals. What she saw and heard there, on Easter morning, stayed with her as long as she lived. She told everyone she knew about that morning - first the disciples, then anyone she met. She was one of the first apostles, spreading the Good News.
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SOME INTERESTING SITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions
RUTH MARY OF
NAZARETH JUDITH ESTHER DEBORAH RAHAB
THE PROSTITUTE SHIPRAH
AND PUAH JAEL JOANNA
THE APOSTLE
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'Listen to me, rulers of the
people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right.
Who are you to put God to the test, to set yourselves up in the place of
God in human affairs. You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test, but
you will never learn anything! You cannot plumb the depths of the human
heart or understand the working of the human mind; how do you expect to
search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or
comprehend his through?.....God is not like a human being, to be
threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleasing. Therefore
while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he
will hear our voice, if it pleases him.' 
For
two years or so Joanna was in the constant company of Jesus and his
disciples - though she always travelled in the group of women who
supported Jesus. For the first time she saw how ordinary people lived,
and she deliberately tried to remember everything that happened or was
said.