The Virtues of Miriam, Deborah, and Others: Analyzing the Prophetesses of the Old Testament Abigail Joy Sommer College

One of the defining characteristics of the God of the Bible is that he is often surprising in that he continues to seek out his sinful people despite their many flaws, and can use any situation or person to demonstrate his glory. One would think that the Bible would be full of stories of perfectly righteous people, and yet the Old Testament focuses on deeply flawed and broken people who God continues to love and forgive by his grace. In fact, King David, who slept with Bathsheba and had her husband murdered, is God’s anointed one and an ancestor of Jesus the Messiah. In the same way when Moses tells God that he is not a good speaker and is therefore unqualified, God sends Aaron to help and uses Moses and Aaron to further his purpose. Additionally, God uses several women throughout the Old Testament to prophecy, which is completely unexpected in a patriarchal society in which women were typically not valued and trusted as much as men. In choosing women to prophecy as well as men, God demonstrates that what he finds significant is often different than the things valued by people. This paper will seek to examine the role and significance of prophetesses in the Old Testament through analysis of the lives and ministries of several...