• King Lemuel’s Mother

    King Lemuel’s Mother

    We tend to look at Proverbs 31 written by King Lemuel’s mother as this impossible to achieve perfection that we must all strive for. It is, in fact, a description of a virtuous woman provided by a mother to her son. But this was not one woman that we’re all trying to imitate. This was… Read more

  • Wives From Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab

    Wives From Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab

    After the completion of the wall, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to evaluate the situation. Unfortunately, he found much that disturbed him including Jewish men who had married wives from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Nehemiah lamented because the children of these mixed marriages could only speak the language of their mothers. They didn’t speak the language… Read more

  • Mother of Jabez

    Mother of Jabez

    The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles are packed with genealogical lists. It’s easy to skim over them, assuming there’s nothing of interest. But if we take the time to go through them, we can often find interesting tidbits sandwiched between the names. Thus is the case of the Mother of Jabez in 1 Chronicles… Read more

  • Nehushta in the Bible

    Nehushta in the Bible

    Nehushta was the daughter of Elnathan from Jerusalem. She became the wife of Jehoiakim, a wicked king of Judah, and they had a son named Jehoiachin, also known as Coniah, who reigned as king after the death of his father.  Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king. He only reigned for three months,… Read more

  • Abi in the Bible

    Abi in the Bible

    We’ve looked at many wicked women who influenced their husbands away from God. Today we look at Abi, a godly woman married to a wicked man.  The name Abi or Abijah means “My Father is Jehovah” or “The Will of God”. She was the daughter of Zechariah, the wife of King Ahaz, and the mother… Read more

  • The Woman Who Ate Her Son

    The Woman Who Ate Her Son

    During a time of famine in Samaria, the Syrians besieged Samaria, causing acute inflation and desperation within the city walls. With the Syrian army surrounding the capitol city, they were unable to get provisions to the people inside. It got to the point that a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and… Read more

  • Maacah Wife of King Rehoboam

    Maacah Wife of King Rehoboam

    King Rehoboam married eighteen wives and sixty concubines, but of all King Rehoboam’s wives and concubines, he loved Maacah the most. Though she was not his first, she was his favorite. Rehoboam fathered twenty eight sons and sixty daughters. He decided that Maachah’s son Abijam should be his successor, even though Abijam was not the… Read more

  • Naamah in the Bible

    Naamah in the Bible

    King Rehoboam was the son of Solomon and Naamah. Naamah was one of Solomon’s many wives who drew him away from the true God and led him to evil idol worship.  1 Kings 14:21-22 let’s us know that not only did Naamah influence Solomon, but their son Rehoboam as well.  2 Chronicles 12:13-14 reiterates that… Read more

  • Jeroboam’s Wife

    Jeroboam’s Wife

    King Jeroboam was an evil man. He brought idol worship to a new level. He made priests out of every class of people. Whoever wanted to be a priest, he consecrated, and he became one of the priests of the high places where they worshipped their idols. Then his son Abijah got sick. Since Jeroboam… Read more

  • King David’s Wives

    King David’s Wives

    Once David was anointed king, it didn’t take long to acquire more wives. In addition to Ahiroam, Abigail, and Michal, he married Maacah, Haggith, Abital, and Elgah while living in Hebron. Then came Bathsheba. Ahinoam bore him Amnon. Abigail bore Chileab. Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, bore Absalom. Haggith bore Adonijah. Abital bore… Read more

  • Ahinoam Wife of King Saul

    Ahinoam Wife of King Saul

    In 1 Samuel 10 the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of the Israelites. The chapters that follow cover Saul’s political and spiritual battles.  Chapter 14 tells us that Saul established his sovereignty over Israel and fought against his enemies on every side. He fought Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, kings of Jobah, and the… Read more

  • Micah’s Mother

    Micah’s Mother

    The later part of the book of Judges includes a series of stories that illustrate the pagan influences on the people of Israel. Chapter 17 tells the story of Micah and his mother. They lived in the mountains of Ephraim.  Micah’s mother had a large stash of money that was stolen, so she put a… Read more

  • Jephthah’s Mother

    Jephthah’s Mother

    The time of the judges was a challenging time for the Israelites. As long as they had a strong judge, the people tended to listen and obey God. But as soon as the judge died, they went back to their old ways of following other gods.  God responded to their unfaithfulness by allowing them to… Read more

  • Gideon’s Concubine

    Gideon’s Concubine

    In addition to Gideon’s many wives, he had a concubine who lived in Shechem. She bore Gideon a son who he called Abimelech, which means “my father is king”. Gideon died in peace at a good old age, but as soon as he died, the people of Israel went back to the worship of Baal.… Read more

  • Shelomith and Her Blasphemous Son

    Shelomith and Her Blasphemous Son

    Tucked away among the Leviticus laws is a story that illustrates the penalty for blasphemy. In Leviticus 24:10 we’re introduced to an Israelite woman who we later learn is named Shelomith. She married an Egyptian, and they had a son. This son got into a fight with an Israelite man and he blasphemed God and… Read more

  • Women and Childbirth in Leviticus

    Women and Childbirth in Leviticus

    The book of Leviticus is a rulebook to guide the people of God in their daily lives. God spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, and Moses presented the laws to the people. Many of these laws were more geared for the men, but some were for the women. Leviticus 12 is dedicated to women following… Read more

  • Zipporah, the Midianite Wife of Moses

    Zipporah, the Midianite Wife of Moses

    Moses settled in the land of Midian and married Zipporah, daughter of the Midianite priest. No mention is made of love on the part of either husband or wife. Moses Meets Daughters of Reul Though Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince, he never forgot his Hebrew heritage. As an adult, Moses saw an Egyptian… Read more

  • Pharaoh’s Daughter, Stepmother of Moses

    Pharaoh’s Daughter, Stepmother of Moses

    The Bible gives us little information about Pharaoh’s daughter, but it does give us insight into the life she lived. We know that as the daughter of the reigning Pharaoh, she was an Egyptian princess. We also know the kind of man her father was. The Pharaoh was an insecure ruler who feared the Hebrew… Read more

  • Hebrew Women in Egypt

    Hebrew Women in Egypt

    Yesterday we concluded our time in Genesis, and today we move into Exodus. The book opens with a review of how the Hebrews came to Eygpt because of Joseph. It started with Joseph’s brothers and their families, but after their deaths, their descendants multiplied. Exodus 1:7 tells us, “But the people of Israel were fruitful… Read more

  • Tamar and Judah

    Tamar and Judah

    Judah found a wife for his son Er. Her name was Tamar. But soon after their marriage, God killed Er due to his wickedness. So as was the custom, Tamar was given to Judah’s second son, Onan, so that he might pass along Er’s line. But Onan had a problem with that. If he had… Read more

  • Bilhah, Rachel’s Handmaiden

    Bilhah, Rachel’s Handmaiden

    Bilhah, remember her? We first met Bilhah in Genesis 29:29 when Rachel married Jacob, and Laban gave her Bilhah as her handmaiden. When Leah had son after son, and Rachel remained barren, Rachel first blamed Jacob for her lack of children. Then she offered him Bilhah as a surrogate wife so that she could bear… Read more