Tamar’s a victim who takes extreme action to vindicate herself. She’s the daughter-in-law of Judah, suffers at his hand, responds with guile, and has twins with him. Talk about a messed-up situation. But she’s also one of four women, besides Mary, mentioned in Jesus’s family tree. Here’s her story: Tamar marries Judah’s oldest son. He’s […]
Learn More about Moses’s Sister Miriam is the older sister of Moses; she’s also the sister of Aaron, but we don’t know which one is older. At the time Moses is born, there’s a decree to kill all baby boys. Moses’s mom hides him as long as she can, then she puts him in a […]
Instant Judgment The nation of Israel has a problem with sexual immorality. Some of their men are involved with Moabite women, indulging themselves sexually with these foreigners, something the law of Moses prohibits. Then these women entice the men to worship with them and offer sacrifices to Baal instead of God. God is not pleased. […]
Zelophehad has five daughters but no sons. His girls are Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah (2), and Tirzah. Zelophehad dies in the desert before he can receive his allotment of property in the Promised Land. Since he has no sons to receive his inheritance in his stead, the girls will get nothing. They boldly go before […]
Learn about Rahab Rahab is a prostitute who two spies stay with when they scope out Jericho. We don’t know if they seek her for her services, or if they merely want to get out of public view. When the king of Jericho commands Rahab to turn the men over to him, she commits treason. […]
Like Noah’s wife, we know little of the three daughters-in-law of Noah and can only speculate from their story in the Bible. Like their mother-in-law, Noah’s wife, we can reasonably assume they each stand by their men, supporting them in their questionable ark-constructing business and helping them to build the gigantic boat. They, too, endure […]
Gabe Hartfield Interviews Author Peter DeHaan My friend Gabe Hartfield recently interviewed me on Facebook Live about my book Women of the Bible. Gabe works with Intervarsity at Davenport University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Check out this Women of the Bible interview. I’m a writer for a reason, preferring to avoid cameras and microphones, but […]
Author Peter DeHaan Talks about His Most Popular Book Peter DeHaan answers questions about his book, Women of the Bible. Question 1: Why did you write this book? Answer: Throughout my life I’ve sat through thousands of sermons and most all of them talked about the men in the Bible. They ignored women or gave […]
The Four Gospels Each Have a Story of a Woman Who Worships Jesus Each of the four accounts of Jesus’s life—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—give a story about a woman who anoints Jesus with expensive perfume, but the details in each report vary. It may be that this happens on four separate occasions. Or it […]
I blogged about Tamar and her lustful half-brother who raped her. I spent three weeks reading and re-reading this story, meditating on it and trying to make sense of it. Despite that, five perplexing verses still mystify me. Surely there’s some historical context I don’t comprehend, still I’m left with the feeling there’s more to […]