Women of the Bible in Jewish Mythology

126 myths · Page 1 of 5

Women in Jewish history and legend: Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Tamar, Hagar, Zipporah, and others named in Torah and Midrash.
Parshat Metzora 6 min

Miriam Was Struck With Tzaraat, but Aaron Said the Same Thing

They kept their voices low outside the tents. Nothing happened while the cloud stood there. Then it lifted, and Aaron saw white spreading on his sister's skin.

MosesWomenMiriamMetzoraTzaraatSpeechLashon Hara
Parshat Shoftim 6 min

Ruth Clung to Naomi and Would Not Go Home

Orpah kissed her and took the road back to Moab. Ruth's hands stayed on the older woman's sleeve. Neither of them was carrying bread.

MatriarchsCovenantTorahWisdomWomenConversionDavidRuthNaomiChesedBethlehemMoabShavuotYalkut Shimoni
Myth 5 min

The Shunamite Woman Rode to Elisha and Said Only Shalom

A woman who built a room for a prophet so he could rest, who had asked for nothing, now rode hard toward him with her dead son lying upstairs.

ElishaResurrectionProphecyWomenMidrashShunamite
Parshat Shemot 6 min

Miriam Tells Amram His Decree Is Worse Than Pharaoh's

A six-year-old girl told her father his decree was worse than Pharaoh's. Then Miriam prophesied the child who would save Israel.

MiriamMosesProphecyExodusGinzbergShemot RabbahWomenEgyptPharaohJasherYalkut ShimoniRedemptionAmramMiracles
Parshat Chayei Sarah 6 min

What the Accuser Showed Sarah About the Knife on Moriah

Abraham took Isaac up the mountain, and a stranger came to Sarah's tent with a vision of the raised knife. She screamed once, and her soul left.

MatriarchsSacrificeWomenAbrahamDeathMidrash AggadahGenesisIsaacHa SatanAkedahBinding Of IsaacSarahFaithMerit
Myth 6 min

Leah Names Reuben and Aims His Name at Esau

Leah lays her firstborn son against her chest and names him Reuben, behold a son, with a quiet shot fired straight at Esau.

LeahMatriarchsJacobWomenProphecyRedemptionCovenant
Myth 5 min

Rachel Named Joseph and Split the Tribes Forever

Joseph was still wet from birth when Rachel named him. She asked God for one more son. The name already looked past her death.

RachelJosephMatriarchsProphecyTribesExileWomen
Parshat Bereshit 4 min

Lilith Fled When She Saw What Eve Actually Was

Lilith circles the newly made Adam and claims him, then sees what is attached to his back. She flees to the coasts of the sea and does not return.

LilithEveAdamZoharKabbalahCreationSitra AhraDivine PresenceWomen
Parshat Chayei Sarah 7 min

The Cloud, the Candle, and Rebekah at Sarah's Tent

Sarah's tent had gone dark and empty. Then Isaac led Rebekah inside, and the cloud returned, the candle relit, the bread rose.

MatriarchsWomenMiraclesShabbatHospitalityFaithPatriarchsDivine PresenceIsaacCovenantPrayerTargum Pseudo JonathanGenesisSarahRebekahRachelLabanTents
Myth 6 min

Esau Brings Judith Home to Hebron While Jacob Studies

Esau hauls Judith back from the mountains of Seir to Hebron the same day, while Jacob waits unmarried at the house of study.

JacobPatriarchsWomenIdentityCovenantFaithNations
Parshat Vayetzei 6 min

Leah Names Asher and the Praise She Says Is Owed

Leah holds Zilpah's newborn son, names him Asher, praise, and says aloud that every mouth will praise her. Why does she dare?

MatriarchsWomenJacobIdentityCovenant
Myth 6 min

Rachel's Silence, Saul's Silence, and the Courage of Esther

Rachel said nothing on her wedding night, Saul said nothing to his uncle, and a thousand years later Esther found the silence she needed.

EstherMatriarchsWomenHumilityMercyIdentity
Parshat Vayeshev 7 min

Judah Killed a Lion and Gave His Staff and Seal to Tamar

He had killed a lion bare-handed and dragged a king off his horse. At a town gate, drunk, he handed a veiled stranger the three signs of his rank.

PatriarchsWomenRepentanceMessiahRoyaltySinTruth
Parshat Shemot 6 min

Miriam Stood From Afar to Watch the Basket on the Nile

A girl plants her feet on the riverbank and watches her brother's basket drift, while her father's question still rings: where is your prophecy now?

MiriamProphecyMosesExodusWomenTorahDivine PresenceFaith
Myth 6 min

Elijah Stopped Lilith on the Night Road with an Oath by the Name

Lilith crossed a night road hunting a birthing mother, but Elijah stood in her path and bound her hunger with an oath by the Name.

ElijahLilithDemonsWomenProtectionMagicChildbirth
Myth 5 min

Deborah's Song and the Tavern Where Teeth Were Broken

After the Kishon swallowed Sisera's iron, two travelers sat down at the same inn. One ordered the whole table. His teeth did not survive the bill.

DeborahMosesMusicPrayerJudgmentFaithWomen
Myth 4 min

David Called Himself a Servant Bought at the Market

King David had every reason to claim noble blood. Instead he traced his lineage to Ruth the convert and called himself a slave purchased from outside the house.

DavidHumilityWomenConversionPsalms
Myth 6 min

Hannah's Tears Were Bread at the Altar of Shiloh

At Shiloh, Hannah pushed her portion away and wept before the altar. Her tears were her bread, and her grief became the meal that fed her.

MosesWomenPrayerSoulEgypt
Parshat Shemot 5 min

The Women Who Kept Israel Alive in Pharaoh's Fields

The men came home from the mud too tired to hope. Their wives carried two pots into Pharaoh's fields and put husbands back into Israel.

ExodusEgyptWomenMiraclesMoses
Parshat Shemot 5 min

Pharaoh's Daughter Converted the Day She Saved Moses

Pharaoh's daughter came to the Nile that morning to wash away her father's idolatry. She walked away with a Hebrew infant and a new name from God.

MosesExodusWomenMiraclesEgypt
Myth 5 min

Hannah and Miriam Watched Seven Sons Refuse the Idol

A tyrant killed seven sons one by one for refusing an idol. Their mother answered Abraham with seven altars before heaven replied.

MartyrdomWomenChanukahPersecutionFaithTorahExile
Parshat Vayigash 5 min

Serah Bat Asher, the Woman Who Outlived the Exodus

She appears in Genesis, then again in Numbers a generation later. The rabbis asked the obvious question and found an answer hidden inside a harp song.

PatriarchsEgyptExodusWomenLongevity
Parshat Noach 5 min

Rebecca Heard the Oracle Through Shem the Prophet

Rebecca sought God while the twins struggled inside her. The midrash says the answer came through Shem, not straight from heaven.

MatriarchsWomenProphecyPatriarchsNoah
Myth 5 min

Laban Ran to the Well Because He Saw Gold

Laban looked like a gracious host when he ran to greet Abraham's servant. Bereshit Rabbah says he was chasing the jewelry.

PatriarchsMatriarchsWomenHospitalityRepentanceRivkahEliezerLabanJacobCovenant
Myth 5 min

God Remembered Three Women When the Year Turned

The ram's horn sounded on the Day of Remembrance. Three closed wombs were on the books. Sarah was already old enough to laugh at the promise.

MatriarchsHolidaysPrayerWomenMercy
Parshat Vayishlach 4 min

Simeon Carried Dinah's Shame Out of Shechem

Her brothers killed every man in the city and pulled her out of the house. Then Dinah asked the question none of them had thought about.

DinahSimeonLeviShechemWomen
Myth 5 min

Miriam Bat Baitus Walked on Carpets to the Temple Mount

The richest woman in Jerusalem lays carpets from her door to the Temple so her feet never touch the ground, until one day they must.

TragedyWealthTemple DestructionWomenExile
Myth 6 min

David, Goliath, and the Debt Ruth Left Unpaid

Naomi told both women to go home. Orpah kissed her and walked forty steps. Ruth held on. Their lines met in a valley with a sling.

DavidWomenGoliathRuthOrpahSaulDynasty
Myth 7 min

Elisha Carried Fire No Woman Could Survive Seeing

Elisha carried divine fire so concentrated his face burned lethal to look at. He traveled mountain to mountain, and one woman saw him coming.

ElishaElijahProphecyMiraclesWomen
Parshat Beshalach 6 min

Miriam Watched the Basket an Hour and Israel Waited a Week

She sang the women through the morning on the shore. Later she opened her mouth about the Cushite, and her skin went white to the wrist.

MiriamMosesProphecyWomenLeprosyExodus