On 8 March we mark International Women’s Day. It is not well known that there are parts of the Bible from a female perspective, and that some parts were composed by women. This is the story …

Books of the Bible

The inspired Scriptures were mainly written about men, and by men. However, there are two books of the Bible named after women, being Ruth and Esther. If you include the Apocrypha, then Judith and Susanna are two more.

Ruth

The book of Ruth is named after the Moabite woman Ruth who was the widowed daughter-in-law of Noami, who originated from Bethlehem. It is a biblical story told from a woman's perspective. Some of Ruth’s words are preserved, most famously the phrase when she spoke to Naomi: “whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16). The book of Ruth is written in the third person. According to the Jewish tradition Samuel wrote it, but it preserves female memories. It may have been an oral story told by women before it was written down.

Esther

The book of Esther is named after Queen Esther, who is the hero of the story. Details such as the king assigning to Esther seven female attendants (Esther 1:9), and details of the beauty treatment and the operation in the harem (Esther 1:12-14), suggest that Esther must have been the source. Traditionally the book is ascribed to Mordecai based on Esther 9:20 where it says: “And Mordecai wrote these things…”, but over the centuries Jewish scribes have suggested that Esther and Mordecai wrote it together. 

The suggestion comes from Esther 9:29 where it says: “Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority...” We do not know for sure, and it was clearly edited because there are two forms of the book of Esther, being the shorter Hebrew Masoretic version, and a longer Greek version from the Septuagint. Assuming the story is true, either Esther co-wrote it or provided the details to the author. Sections composed by women

Within the Bible there are parts within other books which display a female perspective where they were either written by women themselves, or they were the source which was later written down by men.

Song of Miriam

Miriam was the sister of Aaron and Moses. The three of them led the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt. It was what today we might call a leadership team. In Micah it reads: “I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you” (Micah 6:4 GNB). Miriam was the leader of the music and of the women, and she is the first woman in the Bible to be called a prophet (Exodus 15:20). After they crossed the Red Sea, Miriam sang: “Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:21). This is known as the Song of Miriam. It is reported as if composed by Miriam herself.

Song of Deborah

The book of Judges appears after Joshua and documents a time in the history of Israel in the days when “there was no king in Israel” (Judges 21:25). The word judge is gender neutral and a judge could be male or female. One of the most prominent judges was Deborah, who was a respected leader and teacher. Deborah agreed to go with Barak, who was captain of the Israelites, to the battlefield to the west of Mount Tabor, against Sisera. She said: “I will go with you then, but the way you are going about it, the glory will not be yours; for God will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman” (Judges 4:9). 

Judges chapter five is a song which was sung by “Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam” (Judges 5:1 RSV), which might have been written by them both. Female authorship is strongly suggested by two sections about women, which are written from a female perspective. There is a section about another female leader called Jael in Judges 5:24-27 which starts: “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed.” Then there is a section about the mother of their enemy Sisera in Judges 5:28-30 which starts: “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera gazed through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’” This chapter is known as the Song of Deborah and usually credited as composed totally or mainly by Deborah herself.Hannah’s Prayer

Hannah was a wife of Elkanah. In the Jewish Talmud she is regarded as a prophet. She was childless and longed for and prayed for a son. She promised to dedicate her child to God's service if her prayers were answered. When her son was born, she called him Samuel (1 Samuel 1:20). Her response is a poem found in 1 Samuel 2:1-10, which is her song of joy, which she sang in the Temple courtyard in Shiloh. It starts: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; my strength is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies because I rejoice in Your salvation.” The song is known as Hannah’s Prayer, or the Canticle of Anna in the Catholic Breviary. It has been put to music a number of times.King Lemuel’s mother

Most of the proverbs in the Book of Proverbs are attributed to Solomon. However, the last chapter of Proverbs is attributed to King Lemuel’s mother (Proverbs 31:1-9). The description is: “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him” (Proverb 31:1). It then starts with a woman’s words: “What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?” (Proverbs 31:2). Then from verse ten it lists the attributes of an ideal wife, probably from King Lemuel’s mother’s perspective.Song of Solomon

The Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs, is a song of love, which alternates between a man’s voice and a woman’s voice. Just over half of it is a woman’s perspective expressing romantic desires. It opens with a female voice “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.” The second chapter starts “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” The poem is traditionally attributed to Solomon. He may have collected it or commissioned it, but it seems to have been composed or partly composed by one or more women, or at the very least a woman played a role in shaping it. 

Mary as a source

In his Gospel account Luke twice says that Mary had remembered the events of her life and “treasured them in her heart” (Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51), which seems like Luke’s way of acknowledging Mary as an eyewitness source (Luke 1:2). There are many details which suggest the primary source of some stories was Mary herself, such as the actual words of Elizabeth and Mary when they met, details about wrapping the baby in cloth and placing him in a manger (Luke 2:7), details of the purification rites after childbirth (Luke 2:22-24), and the conversation between Anna and Mary which could only have happened in the Court of the Women at the Temple (Luke 2:36-38). There are details in Matthew’s account which also look like they came from Mary, such as the details of her betrothal (Matthew 1:18-24), of the wise men coming (Matthew 2:1-12) and leaving to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23).

Elizabeth’s song

Luke tells us that after the angel Gabriel had been to see Mary, she went to see her relative Elizabeth who lived in the hill country of Judea (Luke 1:39). It starts when Elizabeth said to Mary: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.” This song is attributed to Elizabeth and is found in Luke 1:42-45.  It is known as Elizabeth’s Song or the Beatitude of Elizabeth.

Mary’s Song

After Elizabeth’s Song comes one from Mary. It starts: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour” (Luke 1:47 KJV). The female authorship is strongly suggested by the line “For he hath regarded: the lowliness of his handmaiden”. It is found in Luke 1:46-55 and is known as Mary’s Song, or the Canticle of Mary, or by its Latin name of the Magnificat. It is found in the Book of Common Prayer and has been set to music many times including by Bach and Mozart. Two modern songs which put these words of Mary’s to music are “Tell out my Soul” by Timothy Dudley-Smith, and “My soul will magnify the Lord” by Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, and Stuart Townend.

Hebrews

Some people speculate who wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews. Many people have noted that it follows a quite distinctly different style to other epistles which are attributed to St Paul. Ever since the Early Church, people have suggested different authors for Hebrews. The main candidates are Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, or Priscilla. Priscilla was prominent in the Early Church and is known to have taught Apollos (Acts 18:26). Hebrews includes some maternal imagery, which may hint at a female authorship, for example Hebrews likens developing teaching to going from milk to solid food (Hebrews 5:12-14). The reality is that we do not know who wrote Hebrews, but there is the intriguing possibility that it might have been written by Priscilla. The idea that Priscilla, wife of Aquila, wrote it has some supporters from among prominent theologians, but other candidates are also available.

Conclusion

In the Old Testament the books of Ruth and Esther have a female perspective; there are songs composed by Miriam, Deborah and Hannah; we have a female perspective in the Song of Songs; and the proverbs from King Lemuel’s mother. In the New Testament we have the songs composed by Elizabeth and Mary; and Luke attributes Mary as one of his eyewitness sources. While the Bible was written down by male scribes and reflects a patriarchal society, we should not forget that it does include some female voices and perspectives, and it includes some sections composed by women.