If you haven’t read part 1 yet on our identity as women – “ezer warriors” – in the church, please do so! It will help as the series carries on.

In the last post, we established that women are half the church, image bearers alongside the men in the church, both called to be fruitful, multiply, subdue, and rule. We are equal in our identities, even if our roles are different. We are “ezer warriors” (strong helpmeets) for our husbands, and our brothers in the church.

In this post I’d like to do an overview of women in both Old and New Testaments. It’s wise to look back and learn from what God has told us in his word.

God uses women all throughout the Bible to support and help others in his plan for the church.

While we can’t do a deep dive into all the women, we can take a look at the names of the women highlighted and look deeper into a few of them. Let’s start with the Old Testament. And of course, this is not an exhaustive list!

Miriam, Rahab, Hannah, Deborah, Jael, Abigail, Naomi, Ruth, Esther.

Miriam is the very first female worship leader. Right after Moses and the Israelites sing a victory song, Exodus 15:20 tells us specifically about Miriam’s, “Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.” Her song extolling God’s victory is recorded in Exodus 15:21. Here is an image bearer on par with Moses, leading the women specifically, in singing and praising God. A note on the Hebrew word for prophetess. Strong’s definition is a prophetess or (generally) inspired woman; by implication, a poetess; by association a prophet’s wife. Miriam is described as one endowed with gift of song.

God uses Rahab to protect spies. Those 2 Israelite leaders looked to a woman for assistance, and she gladly helped them knowing what risks she was taking.  Hannah’s bold vow (apart from her husband) encourages us to confidently know that God hears and answers us. It would have taken great resolve in her heart to bring her longed-for little boy Samuel to the temple, to an old priest named Eli. She trusted her God.

Deborah. Well, she rocked her role as a ‘judge’ of Israel. I put judge in quotes because technically she wasn’t. She was a prophetess…who “was leading Israel at that time.”

The Biblical Theological Study Bible says, “Deborah is a prophetess who commissions Barak as judge (deliverer). Verse 4 seems to imply that Deborah was functioning as a judge; however, this is unlikely, since it is Barak, not Deborah, who is the designated deliverer and who ought to have served as the main character of the account. Thus, while she is serving in rendering judgments, she is a prophetess who called Barak to be the deliverer (i.e., judge).” (p.398).   Judges 4:5 says, “She held court under the Palm of Deborah (interesting!) between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.”  She commanded a man – Barak – to go attack the Caananite army under control of Sisera. Sisera had brutally oppressed Israel for 20 years! Perhaps God tested Barak to see if he would be a willing and capable leader. But at Deborah’s command, he balks – and will only go if she comes along!  He doesn’t ‘man up’ and won’t be the hero Israel needs.  And so, Deborah told him that Sisera will be delivered into the hands of a woman. And in the ensuing battle, Sisera flees, ends up at the tent of a woman named Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, who invites him inside under pretense of hospitality and protection, and when Sisera fell asleep….this “ezer warrior” took a tent peg and a hammer and with all her strength drove the peg through his head (temple) into the ground, killing him. Brutal. Deborah and Jael saved Israel, not Barak. Two women.  That’s leadership.

Abigail sees her inept husband bringing the wrath of King David on their house, so she takes the initiative and brings a peace offering to David who relented. Abigail later becomes his wife. Naomi and Ruth went about seeking to preserve Naomi’s dead husband’s family name alive by arranging for Ruth to marry Boaz, a kinsman redeemer. She snuck into where Boaz was sleeping at the threshing floor, uncovered his feet and laid there. He woke up, and startled, asked who she was! It was dark. 😊 Ruth says, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”, signaling a desire for him to marry her. What courage and boldness amid a patriarchal culture. She was putting her reputation at risk. And thus, Ruth becomes an ancestor of Jesus.  And Esther – a Jewish girl made a Persian Queen, who boldly does what could have led to her death to save her nation from annihilation.  These women were all “ezer warriors”, doing God’s work to advance his Kingdom!

Now what about the New Testament? Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list:

Mary, mother of Jesus, Anna, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha of Bethany, the Samaritan woman at the well, Lydia, Chloe, Phoebe, Priscilla, Euodia and Syntyche, Lois and Eunice, Philip’s 4 prophetess daughters, Junia, Tryphena and Tryphosa, Persis, Julia.

Oh, the stories here! The first 6 women were all part of the life of Jesus and his ministry in one way or another. Mary, his mother deserves mention, not necessarily because she had a great role in leading, but because she submitted to God’s will in the face of what could have been great loss for her personally. Anna was an elderly prophetess in the temple who was allowed to see her Savior as a baby and went about telling everyone who would listen. Mary Magdalene is widely considered to be the first woman who was healed by Jesus and who was a faithful disciple for his three years of ministry. She was also among the blessed women who saw the resurrected Jesus for the first time and given the privilege to bring the good news to the 12 disciples. Mary and Martha of Bethany, sisters of Lazarus, were close friends of Jesus. Mary was held in high regard by Jesus because she sat at his feet learning from him. Something women did not normally do!  Jesus commended her for choosing the better thing. The Samaritan woman at the well’s claim to fame is that her conversation with Jesus is the longest recorded conversation in all the gospels! Jesus took the time to teach her the good news of salvation directly. He engaged her in a theological discussion. A woman. A Samaritan woman at that. Jesus elevated her status just in his interactions with her. And then she went into her village to proclaim the good news of Jesus.  In his gospel, Luke takes the time to record the names of two other women who followed Jesus – Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, “and many others, who provided for them [the disciples and Jesus] out of their means.” Luke 8:1-3. I think it’s important to recognize that there were women disciples, learning and also telling others – being part of God’s kingdom alongside their brothers.

And some astonishing stories come along in Acts, and in various letters from Paul to the churches. In the list above, the women from Lydia onwards were Christians who were esteemed by Paul for their work in the church. Some women, like Lydia, hosted churches in their homes. She was a businesswoman from Thyatira who had been converted to Christianity and been baptized along with her household. She would have also been a patron or benefactor of Paul and his fellow missionaries. These women did not preach in an authoritative way, but they certainly worked as “ezer warriors” alongside the brothers. Priscilla, along with her husband Aquila, worked with Paul in sharing the Gospel. We even know from Acts 18 that Priscilla and Aquila heard a Jewish Christian named Apollos preaching in Ephesus. He only knew the baptism of John, so “they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”  They took him aside and explained…. not just Aquila. But both together, as equals in God’s Kingdom work! Of note is that of the 5x Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned in the NT, three times she is listed before her husband. This is unusual because almost always, men are listed first.

Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s believing grandmother and mother, are mentioned specifically for they taught Timothy all he knew! We are told about the four prophetess daughters of Philip in Acts 21:9. That’s all we are told about them – they were prophetesses. Meaning that in some measure, they taught others about Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:11 tells us about Paul’s letter to the Corinthians about division in the church there. He specifically mentions ‘Chloe’s people’.  The way Paul speaks of her indicates that she was likely well known. Chloe’s ‘people’ in her household were instrumental in informing Paul about divisions in the church. She obviously exerted some authority in her household. Some scholars surmise that she may have hosted a house church as well. In Philippians 4:2,3, Paul singles out two women, Euodia and Syntyche who disagreed about something that was causing unrest in the church. A church that scholars have suggested they had been founding members of. But what Paul says about them is the interesting thing. “, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers…” Labored as fellow workers. They were influential women in the early Christian church, leaders at some level, and respected by Paul as co-laborers in the gospel. That’s no small matter! In Acts 17, twice Luke records the efforts of ‘leading women, high standing’ women. These women believed in Jesus after hearing Paul preach. Specifically in verse 12, Luke points out the response of these women of high standing even before the men are even mentioned. Some people today accuse Paul of being a misogynist and one who saw women as inferior. I think not!

I saved the best for last. In Romans 16, Paul greets 28 people – either individually or as members of households. And 10 of them are women. TEN. That’s not a small thing in a patriarchal society. Who are these women? Phoebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, Rufus’s mother, Julia, and Nereus’s sister.

A couple things are worth noting, not just about the women, but what Paul associates them with. I’ll leave Phoebe for last. Priscilla was a fellow worker. Junia was married to Andronicus, and they likely were itinerant missionaries.  Mary and Persis worked hard in the Lord. Tryphena and Tryphosa – likely sisters – were workers in the Lord.  A peek at the Greek is helpful.  To be called a “fellow worker” – ‘synergos’ means to be a co-laborer, companion in labor; work together side by side. Do you see the “ezer warrior” in here? These women were equal to the men in their kingdom work. Not inferior!  Women that worked hard – ‘kopiao’, which means to labor with wearisome effort, be fatigued, to grow weary, exhausted from hard toil or burdens. These women didn’t work mildly, pouring coffee for the men, they worked hard alongside the men in the Kingdom of God! (although they may have provided meals and the like, as well). Paul also mentions women who hosted churches in their homes three times specifically, in Romans 16: 3-5, 1 Cor 16:19 (Priscilla and Aquila!), and Col 4:15 “Nympha and the church in her house.”

Finally, let’s look at Phoebe. Oh, Phoebe. She who is the center of much debate! Was she a deaconess or was she just a servant of the church? Some translations, such as the NIV, use the word deacon or deaconess. Others, like the ESV, choose servant. First, I think it’s important to recognize that like many other wealthy women, she was a benefactor or patron. ‘Prostatis’ – which is the feminine of ‘proistemi’ (to set over/preside) -means that Phoebe was a woman set over others, a female guardian, protector, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with her resources. There sure seemed to be a lot of wealthy Greek and Jewish women who financially provided for Paul and others to keep on preaching and teaching.  She also had the privilege and responsibility of taking Paul’s letter from Corinth to Rome – some 1200 km!  James Montgomery Boice points out that “most likely Phoebe had others traveling with her, given the unsafe conditions for women to travel alone in the ancient world, which makes it all the more significant that she is the prominent one delivering the epistle.” (Byrd, No Little Women,109)

But the bigger question is always about deacon or servant. The word Paul uses here is ‘diakonos’. As the verse says, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a diakonos of the church at Cenchrae.” (16:1) Diakonos is translated to deacon – and is the same word Paul uses in Philippians 1:1, “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and ‘diakonos’…”, the same word in 1 Timothy 3:8, “Diakonos (deacons) likewise must be dignified…” (qualifications for deacons). In both Philippians and Timothy, it’s clear that Paul is referring to the office of deacon in the church.  So, let’s go back to Phoebe. Some of the study Bibles I looked at made the case that diakonos here describes Phoebe as a general servant of the church. But another one – the Biblical Theological Study Bible, points out that Paul writes, “Phoebe, a diakonos of the church at Cenchrae”. Very specific! Of the church. Not church in general, but a very specific church. Finally, there is another Greek word for servant – and that is ‘doulos’. Every time this word is used, it’s in reference to a servant/slave/bondsman. Not only that, but when Paul refers to himself as a servant, it’s the word doulos. When Paul chooses a word, he does so carefully. And he did not refer to Phoebe as a doulos.

So, does this mean that Phoebe was an officially installed deacon in the church? Perhaps. Perhaps not. What it does show is that she had a role that deserved mentioning. That her role was important enough to Paul that she is listed first in his greetings and gets two whole verses to herself. She obviously had something to do with financially supporting others – as a deacon would do.

To wrap things up, I think it’s important to acknowledge that women throughout the Bible have played very specific and important roles in the church for God’s kingdom. They worked alongside their brothers. They were embraced by Jesus. Paul held them in high regard. Although the book of Acts focuses on the apostle’s ministry, there is plenty of evidence of women participating in the church’s mission as co-laborers. In Acts 1:14, they pray with the apostles, receive the Holy Spirit and likely were part of those who testified at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. Women are taught the gospel, are persecuted for the gospel, and scattered throughout the region along with the men. Acts 8:1-4 – they carried the gospel wherever they went. We saw that women had the ability to prophesy. (which is a fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29). None of them were ministers, or elders, but they actively served the Lord! They helped establish churches and were delegated by Paul in kingdom work.  In recent history many women have been used by God to share the good news of the gospel, to labor alongside men in the mission fields, to do big and bold things to advance God’s kingdom. (Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, Amy Carmichael, Mother Theresa, Evangeline Booth, Corrie ten Boom to name a few).

And God will continue to use women to lead, teach, and advance the gospel in various ways until Jesus returns.

Next blog post, we’ll take this information and look at women’s ministry – what it could look like, what theology for women should be seen as, and how women should be used in the church.

Grace and Peace