My goal to spend one year to learn more about the women mentioned in the Bible seemed reasonable when I started this project. However, the more I learn about the women of the Bible, I’m almost certain it will be a never-ending project.
I found out that there are between 188 and 205 specifically named women in the Bible, depending upon which version of the Bible you’re reading. There are several women with the same names but because of the time period which they are mentioned, cannot be just one woman. So, maybe even the number the scholars place upon who many specifically named women are in the Bible is unreliable.
Another interesting “fact” that I learned was that in comparison to the number of women mentioned in the Bible, there are approximately 1,181 named men in the Bible. Of course, the men also have several with the same names but because of the time period their stories take place, have to be multiple men. I definitely don’t believe in time travel so that one person was in the story of the tower of Babel and the same person was later in one of the stories of the children of Israel after they left Canaan. (totally hypothetical example!)
Another interesting “fact” I learned is that in the King James Version there are 93 women with spoken words recorded, yet only 49 of those have their names recorded. What was more interesting to me was that in a culture which did not place high value upon women, that these words were even recorded!
So, a revision of my original plan – scaled down to a more manageable size. I’m choosing to skip over the “groups” of unnamed women. I’ve printed off a chronological list of the women of the Bible (which does include entries for groups of unnamed women) and I will be looking to find out what the stories are of those left on the list.
God has impressed upon my mind that there are lessons for me to learn this year through the study of the women of the Bible. I’m grateful that you have decided to come along with me on this journey led by the Holy Spirit.
As I contemplate who the next woman to study will be, God’s led me to just listen to instrumental music with nature. Tim Janis has created many beautiful videos on his YouTube channel. This one is “Songbird Morning Sunrise” By Tim Janis
Published on MyBibleRoom.com 1/4/24, 5:00 pm