Who's ? Right: Top 25 Women of the Tanakh (Old Testament)

The majority of women in the Hebrew/Christian Bible were briefly mentioned, as are the stories that are attached to them. While there are many different ancient scioness' that appear throughout the holy book, the following 25 women were chosen by the Who's ? Right Blog to represent the top 25 biblical women of the Torah and Tanakh (also known as the Old Testament).

#25 - Keturah ... was the second wife of the patriarch, Abraham (after the death of Sarah). Her story is very vague and she is only mentioned a couple of times in the Bible. But, it does list the children she bore to Abraham and this will explain the honorable mention she receives in the holy book. Her brief story can be found in Bereishit (Genesis) 25:1-2 and Divrei HaYamim I (I Chronicles) 1:32

#24 - Jochebed... was the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. She is noted for selflessly saving Moses' life [as a newborn] by sending him down the River Nile in a basket to escape the death Pharaoh was inflicting upon the male children of that time. Her story is found in Shemot (Exodus) 6:20 and Bamidbar (Numbers) 26:59.

#23 - Hannah ... was the mother of the prophet Samuel and the favorite wife of Elkanah. In her own right, she was a prophetess herself who lived in Jerusalem and spoke to God silently in her head, allowing no words to be heard by mankind. Many thought she was insane, but she devoutly prayed in such a way so that the Most High God would bless her barren womb with children. The story of Hannah is part of the readings for Rosh Hashanah. Her story is found in Shmuel I (I Samuel) 1-22; 2-1; 2-21.

#22 - Zipporah ... was the wife of Moses and one of the seven daughters of Jethro (a Kenite shepherd who was a priest of Midian). She is acknowledged for pleading with God not to kill Moses for not circumcising his children. Zipporah kept God's covenant with Jacob and circumcised Moses' children herself. This story can be found in Shemot (Exodus) 4:24-25.

#21 - Zilpah (Jacob's concubine) ... was a servant of Leah (Jacob's first wife) and a concubine of Jacob, who bore him two sons [Gad and Asher] when Leah thought she had stopped producing sons for her husband. Zilpah's sons were a part of the 12 Tribes of Israel. Her story is found in Bereishit (Genesis) 29-35.

#20 - Bilhah (Jacob's concubine)... was a servant of Rachel (Jacob's second wife) and another concubine of Jacob, who bore him two sons [Dan and Naphtali] when Rachel remained barren and unable to produce children. Like Zilpah, Bilhah's sons were a part of the 12 Tribes of Israel. Her story is found in Bereishit (Genesis) 29-35.

#19 - Sheerah ... was a descendant of Ephraim and great-great granddaughter of Jacob. Her brief mention in the Bible has not gone unnoticed by this blog. She was a woman of great clout, having established and built the ancient cities of Upper Beth-Horon, Lower Beth-Horon and Uzzen-Sheerah. She is even included in the genealogies, which is a rare occurrence for a woman [in the holy Bible]. Her story can be found in Divrei HaYamim I (I Chronicles) 7:22-24.

#18 - Jael ... was the wife of Heber the Kenite and the biblical heroine who killed Sisera to deliver Israel from the troops of King Jabin. She was noted for running a spike through Sisera's temple while he lay sleeping in her home. In biblical terms, she was considered the most blessed of the tent-dwelling women. Her story is mentioned in Shoftim (Judges) 4:17-22; Shoftim (Judges) 5:6; 24.

#17 - Athaliah ... was the Queen of Judah during the reign of King Jehoram, and later became sole ruler of Judah for five years. She was considered a wicked ruler of the land, even using the Temple's sacred objects for the worship of the Baals. Her son was killed during her rein and she became obsessed with killing the royal household. Her story is located in Malachim II (II Kings) 8:26; 11:1-20 and Divrei HaYamim II (II Chronicles) 22-23.

#16 - Naomi ... was the wife of Elimelek and mother of Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. Naomi's is a sad story with a happy ending. Having lost both her husband and sons in death, she felt useless and alone until her daughter-in-law, Ruth, refused to leave her. She was accepted into the home of Ruth's second husband, Boaz. This beautiful story of love can be found in Book of Ruth (Ruth). 

#15 - Dinah ... was the only daughter of Jacob; her mother was Leah. This story entails the rape of the young woman, the deal her father made with her offender (Shechem), who proclaimed his love for Dinah, the enraging of her 12 brothers (aka 12 Tribes of Israel) and the eventual murder of the man and all his male brethren in the nearby city. This tale of love and deceit can be found in Bereishit (Genesis) 34.

#14 - Leah ... was the first wife of Jacob and the eldest daughter of Laban. She was given to Jacob as a wife by the results of trickery on Laban's part to ensure his eldest daughter wed first. Even though Jacob and Laban had agreed that he could marry Rachel (Laban's youngest daughter), Laban made sure both daughters married the scion of Abraham and Isaac.... hence the trickery. Her story can be found in Bereishit (Genesis) 29:14-35; 30:9-21.

#13 - Jezebel ... was the wife of King Ahab and the Queen of ancient Israel. She and her husband were wicked monarchs that enraged the displeasure of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by serving the evil entities, the Baals. Jezebel was also known for persecuting and killing the prophets of the land during her rampaging reign. Her story is found in Malachim I (I Kings) 16-21; Malachim II (II Kings) 9.

#12 - Rahab ... was known only as the prostitute that helped hide the spies of Joshua prior to destruction of Jericho. God found favor with her and spared the lives of her and her entire family. While her assistance to the Israelites is only briefly mentioned in the Tanakh, she did get an honorable mention by Job and Isaiah, as well as being referred to in the Psalms. Her story is located in Yehoshua (Joshua) 2.

#11 - Delilah ... was a Philistine known only as the "woman in the valley of Sorek" In many narratives she is cast as the villain who brought about the downfall and death of Samson, who was a renowned warrior for God. Her story is featured in Shoftim (Judges) 16. 

#10 - Miriam ... was the daughter of Amram and Jochebed and sister to Moses and Aaron. Miriam, at the request of her mother, put Moses in a papyrus basket to escape the massacre Pharaoh was inflicting upon male children under two years old. She convinced the daughter of Pharaoh to allow Jocobed (Moses' real mother) to nurse the baby when she was unable to. Much later, she is reunited with her brother, Moses, and becomes a part of the mass exodus that left Eygpt. At one point she becomes irritated that God bestowed his blessing upon Moses and, as a result, was called out by the great Creator himself . Her punishment was to endure leprosy for seven days. Like Moses, she did not get to enter the promise land. Her story is located in Shemot (Exodus) 15 and referred to in Bamidbar (Numbers) 12; 20; 26,  D'varim (Deuteronomy) 24:9 and Divrei HaYamim I (I Chronicles) 4:17; 6:3. Miriam is also directly mentioned by the prophet Micah in 6:4.

#9 - Esther (also known as Hadassah) ... was known as the Queen of the Persian Empire; she was the orphaned daughter of a Benjaminite named Abihail and spent a big portion of her time in Persian exile. King Ahasuerus took her as his concubine, set her up in a harem, and in return Esther revealed the plot of Haman, the grand vizier, in his plan to exterminate the Jews through the information supplied to her by her guardian and cousin, Mordecai. Her story is canonized in the Ketuvim of the Tanakh, known as the Book of Esther in the Old Testament. 

#8 - Rebekah ... was the wife of Isaac and the mother of Esau and Jacob. She dutifully left her homeland and family to become the bride Abraham had requested for his son, Isaac. It took many years and endless prayers before Rebekah conceived twin sons. She is best known for tricking Isaac into giving the birthright blessing to Jacob, the younger son, instead of rightfully bestowing the blessing upon the older son, Esau. This caused quite a rift between the brothers. Her story is found throughout Bereishit (Genesis) 24-35. 

#7 - Rachel ... was the second wife of Jacob, sister to Leah, daughter of Laban and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Even though Rachel was the first to meet Jacob and fall in love with him, her sister (Leah) was given to be his wife instead. A week later, Rachel also became a wife of Jacob. Jealously sprang up between the sisters as a result. While Leah was bearing children to Jacob, Rachel was not. Rachel sent her handmaid (Bilhah) to be a surrogate and she bore more children to Jacob. Not to be outdone, Leah sent her servant (Zilpah), and she, too, conceived from her mistress' husband. But, Rachel would remain Jacob's favorite wife during the course of her lifetime. Sadly enough, she died not long after giving birth to her youngest son, Benjamin. She is mentioned by the prophets Samuel and Jeremiah. Her story can be read in Bereishit (Genesis) 29-35.

#6 - Ruth ... was a Moabitess who married into the Hebrew family of Elimelech and Naomi shortly after leaving their home in Bethlehem and relocating in Moab during a harsh famine. Ruth was married either to Mahlon or Kilion; it does not specify in the holy book which brother she married. After the deaths of Naomi's husband and sons [one of which Ruth was married to], Ruth accompanied Naomi back to Bethlehem and there married Boaz (an ancestral grandfather of King David). The story of this Moabitess is dedicated in the entire Book of Ruth in the Tanakh (Old Testament).

#5 - Bathsheba ... was the wife of Urriah, then after becoming his widow, married King David of the United Kingdom of Israel. She is most noteworthy for her role as an adulterous woman who turned the king's head with her beauty, which led to an extramarital affair. Solomon would later become a product of their union. She is briefly mentioned in the Psalms (51:1). Her tale of love and woe can be found in Shmuel II (II Samuel) 11-12 and Malachim I (I Kings) 1-2.

#4 - Hagar ... was an Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah, a surrogate wife for Abraham and the mother of Ishmael. When Sarah was unable to conceive children with Abraham, she enlisted her handmaid to fulfill her duty to her husband. Once Hagar became pregnant she began to despise her mistress and friction grew between them. Many years later, Sarah conceived Isaac, which made Hagar realise that her son would surely be left out. The friction intensified and eventually led to Hagar and Ishmael's eviction from Abraham's household. However, God did bless her son, Ishmael, and made a mighty nation from him. Hagar's story can be found in Bereishit (Genesis) 16; 21:8-21.

#3 - Deborah ... was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, counselor, warrior, and the wife of Lapidoth. She was the only female judge mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Deborah led a successful counterattack against the forces of Jabin, king of Canaan, and his military commander Sisera. After being oppressed by Jabin in Hazor, for twenty years, Deborah prevailed upon Barak who was the head captain of the army at that time, to face the Assyrian General Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, in battle. The victory to which the Bible refers is the victory of an Israelite force of ten thousand over Sisera's force of nine hundred iron chariots. Her fantastic story is related in Shoftim (Judges) 4-5.

#2 - Sarah ... was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Isaac. She is best described as the mother of many nations. Her story is familiar to many. Sarah played an unusual role in claiming to be Abraham's sister [considering in reality she actually was] so the king's men did not kill her husband. She fretted over her barrenness, which resulted in an an intense and bitter relationship with her handmaiden, Hagar. The Egyptian servant had produced a child for Abraham when Sarah could not. Her name was originally Sarai, which God later changed to Sarah as part of a covenant with the Hebrew God after Hagar bore Abraham a son. She later evicted Hagar and her son, Ishmael, from the household after she was finally blessed in old age with a son, Isaac. Sarah lived to be 127 years old and was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah. Her story can be read in Bereishit (Genesis) 11-23.

#1 - Eve ... was the wife of Adam and the mother of Cain, Abel and Seth. According to the "creation theory", she was the first woman to be formed from the dust of the earth by the great Creator. Considered the 'mother of mankind', her name is one of the most recognised around the world. She is most noted for being deceived by the serpent in the Garden of Eden, in which Adam and Eve were both evicted from God's paradise. She bore Adam many sons and daughters, but only the three [sons] above are named in the holy book. Eve spent her life toiling the land, enduring the pain of childbirth and most likely became extremely subservient to her husband as a result of being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Her story is brief, but powerful and can be found in Bereishit (Genesis) 1-4.