Reading Notes: Biblical Women Part A

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I decided to read Biblical stories for this week's reading assignment. I am very interested in the Bible because I have grown up attending private, Catholic schools and I consider myself a religious person. The University of Oklahoma is the first public school that I have attended for my education so it was a big change from my normal routine. Theology was a required class for me until I came to OU, and I have not taken a theology/religious course here. I chose Biblical Women as my reading unit because I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to refresh my memory about women in the Bible, even if they are mythological stories.
Notes on some Biblical women mentioned:
1. Eve
  •  Made by God from the rib/flesh of Adam because he needed help after all other creation. 
  • The first woman
  • was convinced by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. She convinced Adam to eat the fruit as well; this was the first sin
  • felt naked and afraid, ashamed; cast sin upon the world. Humans now know good and evil
2. Sarah
  •  Wife to Abraham, Mother to Isaac
  • Abraham greeted the Lord and supplied Him with nourishment and hospitality. The Lord then gave the gift of a son to Abraham and Sarah, who were very old.
3. Hagar
  •  Egyptian handmaid to Abraham and Sarah. Sarah urged Abraham to conceive a child with Hagar before Sarah had Isaac.
  • Abraham and Hagar conceived a son, Ishmael, named by the Lord after Hagar fled and despised Abram.
  • Abraham gave food to Hagar and sent her away to find a wife for Ishmael; God heard her weeping and gave them nourishment and promised that He would make Ishmael a great nation.

4. Rebekah
  •  Her brother: Laban; Her twin sons: Jacob and Esau; Husband: Nahor (Abraham's brother)
  • Gave a man a drink of water while supplying water to the camels. The man blessed Rebekah and then became betrothed to Isaac, son of Abraham, after the death of Sarah. 
  • A virgin until conceiving a child with Isaac; the Lord told her that she would have twins
  • Esau, the older twin, became a cunning hunter and a man of the field, and was loved by Isaac because he ate of his venison.
  • Jacob, the younger twin, was a plain man, dwelling in tents, and was loved by Rebekah
5. Rachel
  •  Jacob's quest to find a wife.
  • Rachel is Jacob's second wife, after Leah. 
  • daughter of Laban, she kept her father's sheep. Laban had two daughters: Leah, the eldest and then Rachel
  • Rachel was beautiful and well favored
  • Jacob loved Rachel but Laban gave Leah to Jacob first because she was older
  • barren, envied her sister. Gave Bilhah, her handsmaid, to Jacob to conceive a son, Dan, and another son, Naphtali
  • finally able to bear a child, Joseph
6. Leah
  • Eldest daughter of Laban, sister to Rachel, Jacob's first wife
  • Leah was tender-eyed, but not as beautiful as Rachel 
  • was hated by Jacob, so the Lord opened her womb to conceive. She had a son, Reuben, and she hoped that her husband would love her
  • She conceived a second son, Simeon
  • She hoped that her husband would love her after giving birth to their third son, Levi.
  • Fourth son: Levi, fifth son: Judah, After becoming bare: two sons: Issachar, Zebulun, daughter: Dinah
  • Gave Zilpah, her maid to Jacob to conceive, named the son Gad, and another son, Asher
These are a few of the women mentioned in Reading A.
These stories come from the King Hames Version of the Bible, Author: Laura Gibbs*

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