Women in the Bible, by Elizabeth Fletcher

Link to Women in the Bible

Women in the Bible

When I was young, Bible stories always seemed to be about men - what they did, what they said, what they felt. Women were left out or presented as stereotypes: good women, bad women, or invisible.

I sensed something wrong. Why was the biblical world composed mainly of men? The answer is, it wasn't. The focus on men was given by people, not God. Here's an example. Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath, but hardly anyone has heard of Jael and Sisera. The two stories are remarkably similar, but the first is about a man who kills an enemy, the second is about a woman who does the same. The first story is world famous; the second is virtually forgotten.

As I read the Bible more carefully, I found stories about women I had never heard of. They are rarely discussed, even though the women characters are fascinating, feisty, beautiful, courageous – at least as interesting as the men!

In a way this made sense, because men were the target audience at the time the Bible stories were put down on paper, so the stories dealt with matters important to men.

Women's stories, on the other hand, were part of the oral tradition, stories passed down from one generation to the next - from grandmother to mother to daughter - much like family stories are now. Since they were not written down, many were lost.

This website tries to shift the focus back onto the women's stories, by looking at biblical women and asking Who were they? What were their stories? What did they think, do, and feel?  

It does not ignore the male characters. They were part of God’s story, as the women were. But it brings the women characters, especially the lesser known ones, into the spotlight, so that there is better coverage of the whole human experience of God.