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Wise Woman of Tekoa: Bible

The midrash includes the wise woman from Tekoa among the twenty-three truly upright and righteous women who came out of Israel. The Rabbi’ note that because the residents of Tekoa frequently used olive oil, they were wise. The woman’s wisdom was therefore linked to the blessing of olive oil and, in the opinion of the Rabbis, reflected the wisdom of all the area’s inhabitants.

Woman Wisdom: Bible

In some of the books of the Hebrew Bible, “wisdom” is personified as a female character. Her portrayal often draws comparisons to goddesses outside of the Hebrew Bible, although there is debate over whether Wisdom was worshipped as a goddess. Nevertheless, the stories of Woman Wisdom are significant for their use of a woman’s voice in male books.

A painted illustration of King Solomon surrounded by three of his wives.

Women of Solomon: Bible

Solomon, third king of Israel, is said to have had a harem that included 700 wives and 300 concubines. Many of those women were not Israelites and refused to adopt Israelite traditions and religion, reinforcing a common Biblical motif about foreign women.

Oil painting by Gustav Klimt depicting a semi-nude Judith prominently, holding the head of Holofernes in the bottom right

Women Warriors

In the Hebrew Bible and ancient Jewish literature, most warriors are men. However, a few women go to war or kill: Deborah, Jael, the unnamed woman of Thebez, and Judith.

Four 6-8 inch tall terracotta figurines of women holding hand drums

Women with Hand-Drums, Dancing: Bible

Several biblical passages mention women (e.g., Miriam) celebrating victory with drums, dances, and song. Examining those passages in light of archaeological materials and comparative Near Eastern texts indicates that women, rather than men, were percussionists in ancient Israel and likely participated in religious and secular musical activities.

Jael leads Barak to the corpse of Sisera in her tent.

Yael Wife of Heber The Kenite: Midrash and Aggadah

The midrash praises Yael and includes her among the devout women converts. According to the rabbis, Yael’s actions helped God to realize God’s plan by punishing Sisera measure for measure for his wicked deeds, and by affording Israel a military victory over its enemies.

Yael: Bible

Yael plays an important role in the story of Israel’s wars with the Canaanites, described in the Book of Judges. In the narrative about the military heroine Deborah, Yael kills Sisera, the Canaanite general of King Jabin, after he escapes from the battle with Deborah’s general, Barak.

An engraving print of the Biblical ancestor Lamech and his two wives, Zillah and Adah.

Zillah: Bible

Zillah is one of the first women mentioned in the Bible. The unusual appearance of Zillah and two associated females in the male genealogies of Genesis 1–10 may be linked to the special role of her children.

Zilpah: Bible

Zilpah was given as a wedding gift to Leah by her father Laban on the occasion of Leah’s marriage to Jacob. Through the initiative of Leah, Zilpah became a secondary wife to Jacob and bore him two sons, Gad and Asher.

Zipporah: Bible

Zipporah is the wife of Moses, given to him in marriage by her Midianite priest father. She heroically saves Moses and her sons from a random attack from an angel by cutting off her son’s foreskin; the explanation for this act is unclear. However, Zipporah is shown as fiercely devoted to her husband, even though he neglects her.

Portrait of Avivah Zornberg looking into camera in front of a blue background photographed by Joan Roth

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg is a highly regarded Torah scholar and author. Her complex interpretive lens is both contemporary, in drawing from literary sources, philosophy, and psychoanalytic theory, and very traditional, in reading the Bible through the lens of classic commentaries and rabbinic midrash.

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The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women

Religion: Bible