   TOP TEN - BAD WOMEN
JEZEBEL    SALOME     EVE     DELILAH      MAACAH    POTIPHAR'S WIFE

LOT'S WIFE   LOT'S DAUGHTERS     HERODIAS    ATHALIAH

JEZEBEL

QUEEN'S BODY EATEN BY DOGS

Jezebel was a princess from the rich coastal city of Sidon, where her father was king. She married Ahab, son of a famous warrior king of Israel called Omri. Jezebel kept on worshipping her own gods, the gods of agriculture and weather, after she moved to Israel. Her most loved god was Baal, god of storms, rivers and water, but she probably also worshipped his divine wife Asherah, who personified the fertility of all females and was a fierce champion of the family. The people of Israel wavered between Jahweh and Baal, and there was mutual hatred between the priests of Jahweh and Baal. Each side was more than happy to murder opponents. Jezebel championed the priests of Baal, and in a showdown with the Jahwist prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel, hundreds of her priests were slaughtered by the Jahwists. Jezebel swore revenge, and Elijah went into hiding. Jezebel's father in Sidon was an absolute monarch, and she believed that a king's word was law. But this was not the Israelite view. In one incident, her husband Ahab needed a plot of land to serve the palace at Jezreel. The owner of the land, Naboth, would not sell, and Ahab fell into some sort of black depression - he was a great warrior himself but always lived under the shadow of his famous father. Jezebel decided to act.		'.....the palace dogs had got to it first, and all that remained of this royal woman was her head and her hands.'
		She arranged the judicial murder of Naboth, and so got the land for her husband. She thought she was within her rights; many people disagreed. When her husband Ahab died, her son Ahaziah succeeded to the throne. Two years later he died in an 'accident', falling from a high balcony in the palace. Her second son Joram became king, but after some years he was murdered in a palace coup led by a sinister man called Jehu. In the ensuing violence Jezebel was killed as well, flung by her own eunuchs from a high balcony. She died as a queen should die, magnificent and defiant, hurling insults at her murderers to her last breath. The usurper, Jehu, ran his iron-wheeled chariot back and forth over her dying body, then went into the palace for a celebratory dinner. Afterwards, he remembered that her body was still lying in the courtyard of the palace, and ordered that it be buried. But the palace dogs had got to it first, and all that remained of this royal woman was her head and her hands. After this, Jehu ordered the murder all of the young men and boys of the royal family, about seventy in all. Their heads were sent to him in baskets. For more information, see http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.12.Jezebel.htm

Bible reference
Conflict between worshippers of Jahweh and Baal (1 Kings 16:29-34, 18:17-40, 19:1-3)
The episode of Naboth’s vineyard (1 Kings 21:1-16)
The death of Jezebel and her family (1 Kings 22:29-40, 2 Kings 9:21-28, 9:30-37)

SALOME

KING'S INCEST WITH DAUGHTER?

Salome is remembered for two things: the Dance of the Seven Veils (which did not happen) and the execution of John the Baptist (which did). Salome started off with natural advantages: she was the daughter of Herodias, and step-daughter of Herod Antipas, who ruled a large part of ancient Palestine - under the direction of the Romans, of course. Her step-father Antipas had clapped John into prison because he was far too outspoken in his criticism of the marriage between Antipas and Herodias - the marriage violated Mosaic law because Herodias was the divorced wife of Antipas' half brother Philip. The political situation was very delicate, and Antipas and Herodias simply could not afford to have a trouble-maker roaming around the country criticizing the royal family. They knew they had to act to rid themselves of this political pest. But they could not do so openly. The most they could do was to clap John into prison and leave him there, which they did. This however did not seem to solve the problem and the royal family, particularly Herodias who faced being divorced if John kept on ranting about her, looked for another solution. It is impossible to know how much of what then happened was pre-arranged, but at Antipas' birthday dinner the young Salome danced, and pleased him mightily. In his cups, or seeming to be, Antipas promised her anything at all that she asked for.		'Her mother Herodias seized the opportunity and told her to ask for John's head. She went back to the banquet hall and made her request. Antipas immediately granted it.'
		She went to her mother for advice: what should she demand? Herodias seized the opportunity and told her to ask for John's head. She went back to the banquet hall and made her request. Antipas immediately granted it. John was beheaded (and therefore silenced permanently), and the young princess calmly went on with her life - she married well, twice, and lived a long life. Her story proved popular, and Herod is often portrayed as lusting after the pre-pubescent Salome, and she in turn desires John the Baptist. This may or may not be so. What is known is that the family was politically astute - Jesus called Antipas 'the fox'. It is more likely that the girl simply acted to protect her mother against the criticism of a man who was, to Salome, a crazed fanatic - much like Chelsea Clinton rallying to a call from Hillary.

Bible reference: Mark 6:14-29, Matthew 14:1-12

EVE

THE ORIGINAL TROUBLE-MAKER?

At the supreme moment in the story of creation, God made a creature ‘in his own image’. This creature had a nature that was essentially creative. It could imagine, invent, and change the world, as God did in the Genesis story. The creature was itself an expression of the creative energy of God. But the creature was alone, so God created a mate for it. He took a bone from the creature's rib cage and fashioned Woman - Eve. Man would never be really complete again unless there was a woman beside him. She, it seems, was even more creative (and therefore God-like?) than her mate Adam. When one of the reptiles in the Garden of Eden spoke to her, suggesting she try something new, she was intrigued. She had been given the power of choosing and of making decisions. If she did as the reptile suggested and ate the Apple, she might gain new understanding and wisdom. Unfortunately, Eve was an innocent. She had no previous experience of deceit, so she believed what she was told. She made her choice, deciding to seek knowledge of good and evil rather than be obedient to God's command.		'...like Helen of Troy and Guinevere, she is still seen as the central cause of unwanted change.'
		As humans, we continually test boundaries and try new ideas, and in the Genesis story woman as ‘life-giver’ is the one who initiates this process. It is a dangerous activity - the quest for knowledge should always be balanced by wisdom. Eve would learn this lesson the hard way. She took the apple to Adam, so that he might taste it too. He ate it without thinking or arguing. Like Eve, he misused his ability to make decisions and did not consider the consequences. Instantly, the original harmony between humanity and nature was disrupted. The Garden of Eden was lost - as it continues to be lost, every day, in our world. Of the two, Eve was the mover and shaker in the story, the active person. In short, it was she who initiated change in an otherwise stable world. For more information, see http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.1.Eve.htm

Bible reference: Genesis 2:18-4:2; 4:25

DELILAH

MAN UNABLE TO KEEP SECRET!!!

Delilah was a beautiful Philistine woman who lived in the valley of Sorek. She was probably a successful courtesan. She was certainly loved by Samson, a brutal warrior who described making love with his wife as 'plowing with my heifer...'. Despite his appalling record of violence, or perhaps because of it, he was a hero to the beleaguered Hebrew settlers who were trying to find a place for themselves in land already occupied by the Canaanites and Philistines. Samson was enormously strong, and people at that time believed this must be because of some magic trick that gave him extraordinary power. Some of the Philistine leaders approached Delilah and offered her an immense sum of money if she would find out the secret of Samson's strength. Three times she asked him, and three times he gave her a false answer. Eventually he told her what he believed: that his strength resided in his hair which, since it had never been cut, was far more plentiful that any other man's. Since he was probably only a customer to Delilah, and since the money she would get for the secret would be enough to release her from her life of prostitution, she gave his secret away.		'His eyes were gouged from their sockets and he was thrown into prison. After that, Delilah disappears from the story...'
		She called the Philistines, told them the secret, and while Samson slept she allowed them to cut off his luxuriant hair. There is something moving in the picture of Samson sleeping with his head in Delilah's lap, unaware of the forces assembling against him. Unless she had reason to hate all Israelites, Delilah must have felt some pity for him. Without his hair - and therefore his strength - Samson was easily overpowered. In the words of the story, 'the Lord had left him'. Delilah probably expected a quick death for him, rather than the protracted torture which followed his capture. His eyes were gouged from their sockets and he was thrown into prison. After that, Delilah disappears from the story, but it is probably that the Philistines honored their promise of payment and Delilah enjoyed a comfortable retirement. For more of this story, see http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.10.Delilah.htm

Bible reference: Judges 16:4-21

MAACAH

THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION

Maacah was a royal princess, but one born under a cloud. Her father was said to be Absalom, who rebelled against his father King David and was murdered. But she may have been the illegitimate daughter of Absalom's sister Tamar, who was raped by her half-brother Adonijah and hidden away in the royal harem for the rest of her life. Either way, not a good start. Despite this, Maacah must have been a charmer, because she overcame the conditions of her birth and was married to Solomon's eldest son Rehoboam. The Bible says bluntly that he loved her more than any of his other wives and concubines. When Solomon died Rehoboam succeeded to the throne. There was trouble brewing. The ten northern tribes were discontented with the way that power was centralized in Jerusalem. They wanted the old autonomous tribal system, where they had more control over decisions that shaped their lives. Things came to a head at Rehoboam's coronation, and the ten tribes broke away, leaving Rehoboam with only two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) and his capital, Jerusalem. There was trouble from outside as well. Egypt invaded five years later, under the Pharaoh Sheshonq I, founder of the 22nd dynasty. Rehoboam's army was unable to repel the Egyptians, and the entire territory of Judah was left open to rape and pillage. Worse still (I joke) was that the royal women were forced to surrender all the jewelry as booty to the invaders. Maacah lost all her personal treasures.		'Worse still (I joke) was that the royal women were forced to surrender all the jewelry as booty to the invaders.'
		Twelve years later her husband died, and Maacah's son Abijah succeeded him. Now Maacah came into full power as Queen Mother - the most powerful woman in the kingdom. She immediately began to restore the old religion - worship of the fertility gods - and it is for this reason that the Bible regards her as beyond the pale. Her role as Queen Mother probably included cultic ceremonies for the fertility goddess Asherah. The fertility religions in the ancient world attempted to predict and control the weather. Since the people of the ancient world depended utterly on agriculture, the state of their crops was of paramount importance. If crops were abundant, all was well. If there was a drought, the people simply starved to death. But Maacah's reign as Queen Mother lasted for only two years, while her son Abijah reigned. When he suddenly died he was succeeded by his son Asa, who may or may not have owed his throne to the Jahwist priesthood. In any case, Asa was removed her from her position of power and forced to live out her days in the claustrophobic rooms of the royal harem.

Bible reference: 1 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 11:20-23; 15:16

POTIPHAR'S WIFE

NAKED MAN DENIES LOVE TRIANGLE

Joseph, the son of Rachel and Jacob, was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt. Once there, he became an outstanding success - Chief Steward for a rich Egyptian, Potiphar. Potiphar had a beautiful wife, a woman used to getting her own way. She was lonely, bored and now constantly in the company of an unusually handsome man, the Brad Pitt of the ancient world. Neglected by her husband who may have been a eunuch, she fell in love with Joseph - to the point of obsession. Temptation became too much for her. She made some kind of sexual approach to Joseph - 'Lie with me', she said. Joseph had to either offend the wife or betray her husband. He decided to reject the woman. But one day when they were alone in the house she insisted, grabbing hold of him. In the physical tussle that followed, she pulled off his linen loin-cloth. He was naked, and ran out of the room and then out of the house altogether, leaving his clothing behind.		'Potiphar had a beautiful wife, a woman used to getting her own way. She was lonely, bored and now thrown into the company of an unusually handsome man, the Brad Pitt of the ancient world.'
		She was enraged. She called to the members of the household, telling them Joseph had tried to rape her. She held up Joseph's clothing to prove her point. Only her screams had prevented him abusing her, she said. She waited until her husband came home and told him the same story. He was enraged - at Joseph? at her? The incident was now common knowledge. As a cuckold he would become an object of ridicule. He charged Joseph with the attempted rape of his wife, and put him in prison. Of the wife, we hear no more. For more information on this woman, see http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.6.Potiphars_Wife.htm

Bible reference: Genesis 39:1-20

LOT'S WIFE

DON'T LOOK BACK

Lot's wife is unnamed, but her story is significant. Her husband was the nephew of Abraham, and her whole family traveled with Abraham in the long wandering that his family/tribe endured as they looked for pasture for their flocks. Eventually they came to Canaan, and Lot's family and Abraham's parted company - their flocks had grown so large it was no longer practical to travel together. Lot moved into the Jordan valley, as far as the city of Sodom. It was not a particularly good place to be at that time, because there was constant warfare between the petty kings of the region. Lot's family and servants were captured by one of these kings, and only saved because Abraham heard about their plight and came to rescue them. Some time after this, Lot settled with his family in the notorious city of Sodom, already well known as a center of homosexual practices. God now sent two men/angels to destroy Sodom, but on Abraham's insistence these beings first warned Lot of what they were to do. He in turn warned his family - his wife, two daughters and the two young men who were to marry his daughters. The young men seem to have ignored his warning, but on the following morning Lot's wife and daughters, no doubt feeling somewhat dubious about the whole thing, agreed to leave the city. They packed whatever they could carry and headed for the hills.		'It became too much for Lot's wife. She turned her body and looked back - and died instantly, as her body turned from warm living flesh into dry, lifeless salt.'
		The angels/men warned them not to look back: 'Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed.' The little group fled, and as they hurried away sulfur and fire began to rain from the sky. The cities behind them were consumed in some sort of terrible cataclysm. The noise, smoke and tumult must have been terrifying - and all the time, they could not look back to where they had come from, to the home they had left. It became too much for Lot's wife. She turned her body and looked back - and died instantly, as her body turned from warm living flesh into dry, lifeless salt. The point of the story? Don't look back. Life means looking forward, moving onwards, not focusing on the past to the extent that we become mired in the dark memories we all have. Looking back will leach the life out of you, and you will in effect become as arid as a pillar of salt. Jesus gave Mary Magdalene much the same message when, in the garden on the morning of the Resurrection, he told her not to cling to him, but to go and tell the disciples about him instead.

Bible reference: Genesis 11:31-14:16; 19

LOT'S DAUGHTERS

DOES THE END JUSTIFY THE MEANS?

After the cataclysm described above in the section on Lot's wife, Lot and his two daughters fled from the plain up into the hills, where they could be more safe. There were no settlements there, and Lot and the two girls huddled for shelter in a cave. They believed they were the only surviving members of the human race, and that all other people in the world had been destroyed. This was bad enough, but the two young men who had been promised husbands were now dead, and the young women saw no hope of ever having children of their own. They decided on a ruse to get themselves pregnant. It was the idea of the older sister: they would get their father drunk in the evening, and have sex with him as he lay in a stupor. This they did, both of them, on separate nights.		'they would get their father drunk in the evening, and have sex with him as he lay in a stupor'
		Sure enough, both girls became pregnant and eventually bore a son each. The older girl called her son Moab, and he was named as the ancestor of the Moabites, a tribe with whom the Israelites were often at war. The younger girl called her son Ben-ammi and he, the Bible says, was the ancestor of the Ammonites - another tribe with whom the Israelites fought. Thus both of the enemy tribes, the Bible proposed, were the result of acts of incest between Lot and his daughters.

Bible reference: Genesis 19:30-38

HERODIAS

SHE STOOD BY HER MAN

This little girl's life began in darkness, in a welter of blood. Before she was born, her grandfather Herod the Great killed her grandmother, the lovely, tragic Mariamne, in a fit of jealous rage. Then he killed her father, his own son. Her mother fled to Rome with Herodias and her younger brother Agrippa, and stayed there until it was safe to return. Little Herodias grew up as a royal aristocrat in Rome, pampered, spoiled and aware of her status. Her first husband, and the father of her daughter Salome, was her uncle Philip, also a son of Herod the Great. She divorced him and then married Philip's half brother Herod Antipas (who was also her uncle). Marriage to an uncle was normal practice among royal families in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Soon after she and Antipas were married, John the Baptist began to criticize her for marrying her former husband's brother. In response, Antipas put him in prison. Whose idea was this? Hard to say. Mark in his gospel says it was Herodias who wanted to see John killed. Matthew blamed Herod and said that from the start he plotted to be rid of John. In all probability, it was a bit of both. Royal status or not, nobody in Herodias' family was short of rat cunning, and the truth was that John's harangues were de-stabilizing a politically sensitive country. If a revolt broke out, Antipas and Herodias would be the ultimate losers, and they were well aware of the fact. So arrangements were made: Salome danced, Antipas promised, Herodias advised, and John was beheaded. His execution was probably arranged beforehand. Antipas had to make it appear as if he had no alternative to killing John, and a public promise given at his birthday banquet gave him a way out. After all, he had given his word to the girl; what could he do? He had to honor it. This would have been his defense.		'when they met Caligula face-to-face he casually stripped them of all their possessions, everything they owned, and gave it instead to Herodias' vicious young ne'er-do-well brother Agrippa'
		It worked. John was executed and thus silenced, and his death acted as a warning to other would-be agitators. As far as the gospels are concerned, that was the end of Herodias' story. But in fact there was quite a bit more. Some years later her younger brother Agrippa was made a king by the Roman Emperor Caligula - Agrippa was a vicious young ne'er-do-well, but a close friend of Caligula's. Herodias was incensed at the injustice of it all. Why should her own husband Antipas, who had served Rome loyally for many years, not receive the same honor? She talked Antipas into going to Rome to ask for this favor, but when they met Caligula face-to-face he casually stripped them of all their possessions, everything they owned, and gave it instead to Agrippa. He also sentenced them to life-long exile. On being reminded that Herodias was Agrippa's sister, he made her an offer: disown her husband, and she would be allowed to retain her own wealth and return home. It was here that Herodias showed her true mettle. She proudly rejected Caligula's offer and went instead into exile with her husband. It must be said, however, that exile in this case meant living in a Roman city in the south of France, perhaps not such a terrible sacrifice after all.

Bible reference: Mark 6:17-28, Matthew 14:1-11; Luke 3:19-20

ATHALIAH
A WOMAN SEIZES POWER

Athaliah had an impeccable lineage, being either daughter of the greatest king of Israel, Omri, and sister-in-law of Jezebel, or daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. Athaliah was born in the northern kingdom of Israel but married the crown prince of Judah in the south. His name was Jehoram, and he ruled as king of Judah for eight years before he died at the age of forty - comparatively young, even for those times. He had had a turbulent reign, largely spent on the battlefield. He was succeeded by Athaliah's twenty-two year old son Ahaziah, and her position automatically became much more powerful. The top woman in a kingdom at this time was not the king's wife - wives went in and out of favor - but the Queen Mother, who acted as counselor to her son and was often the only person he could trust. Unfortunately for Athaliah, her son reigned for only one year before he was murdered by Jehu, who had already killed all of the royal family of Israel, including Jezebel. Ahaziah had travelled north to visit his cousin Joram, Jezebel's son, and been caught up in the events of the coup that destroyed all Jezebel's family. Athaliah was at the palace in Jerusalem when she heard what had happened. Now the story gets a bit muddy. According to the Bible, Athaliah set out to destroy all of her own family, seizing power for herself. Why she would do this is not clear, unless every single one of her male children and grandchildren were already dead - or unless she thought she would make the most capable leader, and ruler, of the kingdom. If this was the case, she was well advised to make a grab for power; the only alternative was to hope for a quick death by sword thrust.		'Athaliah ran to the Temple, but did not have time to summon her own guard. She found herself alone in a hostile crowd. They pursued her out through the Horse Gate of the Temple, hunted her down and killed her.'
		An alternative explanation is that the boys were killed by someone else, Jehu's followers, and that Athaliah managed to save herself but was later blamed for the carnage. According to the Bible narrative, a baby boy was saved by the quick action of Jehosheba, Athaliah's sister. His name was Jehoash, and he was said to be the son of Ahaziah. She hid the baby and his nurse in a remote bedroom of the palace and kept him hidden for the next six years. For the next six years Athaliah was the ruler of Judah - the only female monarch Judah or Israel ever had. But at the end of that six years there was another palace coup, led by a member of the Jahwist priesthood, Jehoiada - who was also, as it happened, the husband of Jehosheba. He produced the by-now six year old boy, told members of the military that the boy was the miraculously saved son of the murdered king Ahaziah and that they should place the boy on the throne - with Jehoiada as regent, of course. The breakaway group crowned the boy and anointed him, saluting him with cries of 'Long Live the King!' When she heard the uproar Athaliah ran to the Temple, but did not have time to summon her own guard. She found herself alone in a hostile crowd. They pursued her out through the Horse Gate of the Temple, hunted her down and killed her. The seven-year old Jehoash became king.

Bible reference: 2 Kings 8:26-29, 9:27-29, 10:12-14, 11:1-16, 2 Chronicles 22:10-23:15