#Me Too in the Bible:
Session Two – Nameless Women
·
Cain’s Wife·
Seth’s
Daughters·
Enosh’s
Daughters·
Cainan’s
Daughters·
Mahaleel’s
Daughters·
Jared’s
Daughters·
Enoch’s
Daughters·
Methuselah’s
Daughters·
Lamech’s
Daughters·
Daughters of
Men·
Noah’s Wife, Sons' Wives·
Shem’s
Daughters·
Lot’s Wife·
Lot’s
Daughters·
Potiphar’s
Wife·
Shaul’s
Mother·
Pharaoh’s
Daughter·
Daughters of
Reuel·
Daughters of
Putiel·
Wisehearted
Women·
Tabernacle
Women·
Priestly
Daughters·
Ethiopian
Wife of Moses·
Midian Women·
Sisera’s
Mother·
Gideon’s
Wives·
Woman of
Thebez·
Gilead’s Wife·
Jephthah’s
Daughter·
Ibzan’s
Daughters·
Manoah’s Wife·
Micah’s
Mother·
Levite’s
Concubine·
Four Hundred
Virgins of Jabesh-Gilead·
Daughters of
Elkanah·
Tabernacle
Women·
Ichabod’s
Mother·
Female
Water-Drawers·
Musical Women·
Abigail’s
Five Damsels·
Witch of
Endor·
Daughters of
the Philistines·
Mephibosheth’s
Nurse·
Woman of
Tekoah·
Ten
Concubines of David·
Wench of
En-Rogel·
Wise Woman of
Abel·
Solomon’s
Wives and Concubines·
Two Harlot
Mothers·
Mother of
Hiram·
Queen of
Sheba·
Wife of Hadad·
Wife of
Jeroboam·
Widow of
Zarephath·
Mother of
Elisha·
Widow and Her
Pot of Oil·
Great Woman
of Shunem·
Wife of
Naaman·
Maid of
Naaman’s Wife·
Mothers Who
Ate Their Sons·
Sheshan’s
Daughter·
Jabez’s
Mother·
Shimei’s
Daughters·
Machir’s Wife·
Heman’s
Daughters·
Artaxerxes'
Queen·
Shallum’s
Daughters·
Barzillai’s
Daughters·
Women of
Mixed Marriages·
Job’s Wife·
Lemuel’s
Mother·
Zion’s Daughters·
Virgins of
Honor·
Isaiah’s Wife·
Jeremiah’s
Mother·
Zedekiah’s
Daughters·
Wicked Hebrew
Wives·
Women Who
Wept for Tammuz·
Ezekiel’s
Wife·
Belshazzar’s
Mother
The Wife of Noah:
Genesis:
7:7 “And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons'
wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.”
4:19 “Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the
other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the
father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the
father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who
forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister
was Naamah.”
Midrash Genesis Rabbah 23:4: And the sister of Tubal-Cain was
Na’amah. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said:
Na’amah was Noah’s wife. Why was she called Na’amah? Because all her deeds were
pleasant (ne’imim). The Rabbis said
this is a different Na’amah. Why was she called Na’amah? Because she beat on a
drum to draw people to idol worship.
Rashi
(on Gen. 4:22) comments, “she was Noah’s wife”
Zohar I:55: Moreover, when Cain
had killed Abel, Adam separated from his wife and cohabitated with two female
elementals, and from his intercourse with them was begotten a great and
numerous progeny of demons and elementaries who at night time appear in
attractive forms and thus give rise to offspring like unto themselves…
Said Rabbi Hiya: "What signify the words 'And the sister of
Tubal Cain was Naamah' (gentleness), and wherefore was this name given her? Was
it to indicate that she possessed the power of seducing both human and angelic
beings?"
Said Rabbi Simeon: "She was the procreatrix of all the demons
of Cainite origin, and she it is that along with Lilith afflicts infant
children with epileptic diseases."
Said Rabbi Abba: "Seeing that demons and elementals are subject
to death, wherefore do Naamah and Lilith continue to exist through the
ages?"
Rabbi Simeon replied: "All demons and elementaries do indeed
die, but Naamah and Lilith together with Agereth, daughter of Mahlath their
offspring, abide in the world until the day that the Holy One will banish them
from the world.
The Wife of Manoah
(Sampson’s Mother):
Judges 13:2 A
certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the
Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. 3 The
angel of the Lord appeared
to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become
pregnant and give birth to a son. 4 Now see to it
that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat
anything unclean. 5 You will become pregnant and
have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the
boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the
lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
6 Then the woman went to her husband
and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of
God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he came from, and he didn’t
tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will
become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine or other fermented
drink and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite
of God from the womb until the day of his death.’”
8 Then Manoah prayed to
the Lord: “Pardon your
servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God you sent to us come again
to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of
God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband
Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to
tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
11 Manoah got up and followed his
wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the man who talked to my
wife?”
“I am,” he said. 12 So Manoah asked
him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy’s
life and work?”
13 The angel of the Lord answered, “Your wife must do
all that I have told her.14 She must not eat anything
that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented
drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have
commanded her.”
I Chronicles 4:3
- These were the sons of Etam: Jezreel, Ishma and Idbash.
Their sister was named Hazzelelponi.
Bava Batra 91a: Judge
Ibzan had sixty children and held one hundred and twenty feasts when they
married, but he did not invite Manoah and his wife to a single one of these
celebrations. He reasoned: How will this barren mule repay me? This couple has
no children, and they will never be able to invite me to their banquet. In the
end, Manoah and his wife were blessed with a son, while all of Ibzan’s offspring
died in his lifetime. This gave birth to the popular saying: “You begat sixty,
of what benefit to you are the sixty. Try and beget one, who will be brighter
than sixty.” That is, the only child of Manoah and his wife brought greater
benefit than the sixty sons and daughters of Ibzan…
And Rav Ḥanan bar Rava says that Rav says: The mother of
Abraham was called Amatlai bat Karnevo. The mother of Haman was
called Amatlai bat Orevati. And your mnemonic, to ensure that the two
are not confused for one another, is that a raven [orev] is impure, and
in this manner, one remembers that Orevati is the grandmother of
the impure Haman, while a sheep [kar] is pure, which
indicates that Karnevo is the grandmother of the pure Abraham.
Rav Ḥanan bar Rava continues: The mother of David was named
Natzvat bat Ada’el. The mother of Samson was named Tzelelponit, and
his sister was called Nashyan. The Gemara asks: What is
the practical difference as to what their names were? The Gemara
answers: It is important with regard to an answer for heretics who
inquire into the names of these women, which are not stated in the Bible. One
can reply that there is a tradition handed down concerning their names.
The Widow of Zarepath:
1
Kings 17:17-24 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house became
ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him 18 And
she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come
to be to bring my sin and remembrance and to cause the death of my son!... And
he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and
said, "O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him
again". 22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the
child came into him again, and he revived… Now by this I know that you are a man of God."
Pirke
d’Rebbi Eliezer 33: Rabbi Simeon said: Owing to the power of charity the dead
will be quickened in the future. Whence do we learn this? From Elijah the
Tishbite. For he betook himself to Zarephath, and a woman (who was) a widow
received him with great honor. She was the mother of Jonah, and they were
eating and drinking his bread and oil; he, she, and her son, as it is said,
"And she did eat, and he also" (1 Kings xvii. 15).
Batya Daughter of
Pharaoh:
Exodus
2 Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite
woman, 2 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a
son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. 3 But when
she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated
it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among
the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4 His sister stood at a distance to see what
would happen to him.
5 Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her
attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the
reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6 She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying,
and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
7 Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one
of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8 “Yes, go,” she answered. So, the girl went and got the baby’s
mother. 9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby
and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So, the woman took the baby and
nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she took him to
Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I
drew him out of the water.”
I Chronicles 4:17-18 One of Mered’s
wives gave birth to Miriam,Shammai and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa. 18 His wife from the tribe of Judah gave
birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soko, and Jekuthiel the
father of Zanoah. These were the children of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered had married.
Megillah 13a Why is she, who
we are told at the end of the verse was Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, referred
to as Yehudiyya? Because she repudiated idol worship, as it is written:
“And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself in the river” (Exodus 2:5), and
Rabbi Yoḥanan said: She went down to wash and purify herself from the
idols of her father’s house.
The Gemara understands that all the names referred to in the verse as
children of Pharaoh’s daughter refer to Moses, as it will soon explain. The
Gemara asks: Pharaoh’s daughter bore Moses? But didn’t she merely raise
him? Rather, it is telling you that with regard to anyone
who raises an orphan boy or girl in his house, the verse ascribes him credit as
if he gave birth to him.
The Gemara explains how all the names in fact are referring to
Moses: “Jered”; this is Moses, and why was he called Jered? Because manna
came down [yarad] for the Jewish
people in his days. He was also called “Gedor” because he fenced in [gadar] the breaches of the Jewish
people. He was called “Heber” because he connected [ḥibber] the Jewish people to their
Father in Heaven. He was called “Soco” because he was for the Jewish
people like a shelter [sukka] and
shield. He was called “Jekuthiel” because the Jewish people trusted in God
[kivu laEl] in his days. Lastly,
he was called “Zanoah” because he caused the iniquities of the Jewish
people to be disregarded [hizniaḥ].
Midrash Exodus Rabbah 1:26: "And
the child (Moses) grew" The daughter of Pharaoh would kiss and hug and
adore him (Moses) as if he were her own son, and she would not take him out of
the king’s palace. And because [Moses] was so beautiful, everyone yearned to
see him… “And she called his name ‘Moshe’” – From here you can learn about the
merit of those that perform acts of kindness. Even though Moses had many names,
the only name that was set throughout the Torah, was the name that Bathyah
daughter of Pharaoh called him. Even the Holy One Blessed is He did not call
him by another name.
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