Women of the Bible
Notable women of the Bible include Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Rahab, Deborah, Ruth, Naomi, Hannah, Abigail, Bathsheba and Esther in the Old Testament, and Mary the mother of Jesus, Elisabeth, Mary Magdalene, Martha, Mary of Bethany, Lydia, Priscilla, Phebe and Dorcas in the New. Two books, Ruth and Esther, are named after women.
Women appear on almost every page of the Bible story: as mothers of nations, prophets, judges, queens, disciples, and the first witnesses of the empty tomb.
Below are 33 women in 32 entries (Lois and Eunice share one), in roughly the order they appear, each with who she was and a verse to read. The list keeps to what the text says about each one.
Notable women of the Bible, in Bible order
Eve
The first woman, made from Adam's rib. Adam named her Eve because she was the mother of all living.
And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Genesis 3:20Sarah
Abraham's wife, renamed from Sarai. She laughed at God's promise, then bore Isaac in her old age.
Genesis 21:2
Hagar
Sarah's Egyptian maid and mother of Ishmael. Alone in the wilderness, she named the LORD, Thou God seest me.
And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?
Genesis 16:13Rebekah
Isaac's wife, found at the well with her pitcher. Mother of the twins Esau and Jacob.
Genesis 24:15
Rachel
Jacob's beloved wife, for whom he served seven years. Mother of Joseph and Benjamin; she died giving birth to Benjamin.
Genesis 29:18
Leah
Rachel's older sister and Jacob's first wife. Mother of six sons, including Levi and Judah.
Genesis 29:31
Tamar
Judah's daughter-in-law, named in the line of David and in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus.
Genesis 38:6
Jochebed
Mother of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. She hid baby Moses in an ark of bulrushes.
Numbers 26:59
Miriam
Sister of Moses and Aaron, called a prophetess. She led the women in song after the Red Sea.
Exodus 15:20
Rahab
A woman of Jericho who hid Joshua's spies. She was spared with her family and is named in the line of Jesus.
Joshua 6:25
Deborah
A prophetess who judged Israel and called Barak to battle against Sisera.
Judges 4:4
Jael
The wife of Heber who killed the enemy captain Sisera with a tent nail.
Judges 4:21
Naomi
Ruth's mother-in-law, who lost her husband and sons in Moab and asked to be called Mara, meaning bitter.
Ruth 1:20
Ruth
A Moabitess who would not leave Naomi. She married Boaz and became the great-grandmother of David.
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for 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 1:16Hannah
Prayed for a son at Shiloh and named him Samuel, because she had asked him of the LORD.
Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.
1 Samuel 1:20Abigail
The wise wife of Nabal, a woman of good understanding, who stopped David from bloodshed. She later married David.
1 Samuel 25:3
Bathsheba
The wife of Uriah whom David took. She became the mother of Solomon.
2 Samuel 11:3
The queen of Sheba
Came to test Solomon with hard questions after hearing of his fame.
1 Kings 10:1
Esther
A Jewish orphan made queen of Persia. She risked her life to save her people, saying, if I perish, I perish.
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Esther 4:16Elisabeth
Wife of the priest Zacharias and mother of John the Baptist. Filled with the Holy Ghost, she blessed Mary.
Luke 1:41
Mary, the mother of Jesus
A virgin of Nazareth told by Gabriel she would bear a son named JESUS. Her song begins, My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Luke 1:31Anna
An aged widow and prophetess who served God in the temple night and day and saw the baby Jesus.
Luke 2:37
Mary Magdalene
Jesus cast seven devils out of her. She was the first to see the risen Lord and told the disciples. The text never calls her a harlot.
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
John 20:18Martha
Sister of Mary and Lazarus, busy with serving. At Lazarus's tomb she said, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Luke 10:40
Mary of Bethany
Sat at Jesus' feet to hear His word, and later anointed His feet with costly spikenard.
John 12:3
The woman at the well
A Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob's well and told her town, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did.
John 4:29
The poor widow
Gave two mites into the temple treasury. Jesus said she gave more than all the rich.
Mark 12:42
Dorcas (Tabitha)
A disciple at Joppa full of good works. Peter raised her from the dead.
Acts 9:36
Lydia
A seller of purple from Thyatira, whose heart the Lord opened. She was baptized with her household at Philippi and opened her home to Paul.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Acts 16:14Priscilla
With her husband Aquila, a tentmaker and teacher who explained the way of God more perfectly to Apollos.
Acts 18:26
Phebe
A servant of the church at Cenchrea whom Paul commended to Rome.
Romans 16:1
Lois and Eunice
Timothy's grandmother and mother, whose unfeigned faith Paul remembered.
2 Timothy 1:5
Women in the genealogy of Jesus
Matthew's genealogy names four women before Mary: Tamar (Thamar), Rahab (Rachab), Ruth, and Bathsheba, called the wife of Urias (Matthew 1:3-6). Two of them, Rahab and Ruth, were not born Israelites.
Women at the cross and the tomb
The Gospels name women who stayed at the cross when most disciples had fled, among them Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (Mark 15:40). Women came first to the tomb, and Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Jesus (Mark 16:9).
Women the text does not name
Many women in the Bible are known only by a description: Lot's wife, the widow of Zarephath, the Shunammite woman, the woman at the well, and the poor widow with two mites. Their stories are told as carefully as those of named women.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30 · KJV
How well do you know Women of the Bible?
10 questions, every answer checked against the King James text. Play it here, then try a full book quiz.
Common questions
Who is the most important woman in the Bible?
Mary the mother of Jesus is the most prominent. Elisabeth greeted her, "Blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:42).
Which books of the Bible are named after women?
Two: Ruth and Esther.
Who was the first woman in the Bible?
Eve, the wife of Adam. Genesis 3:20 says she was the mother of all living.
How many women are named in the Bible?
Counts vary by method, but well over a hundred women are named, and many more appear without names.
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute?
The Bible never says so. The text says seven devils went out of her (Luke 8:2), that she followed Jesus, and that she was the first to see Him risen. The prostitute idea came from later tradition.
The 52-Week Family Bible Trivia & Study Book
A Year of KJV Scripture Questions, Devotions & Answer Keys
If your family enjoys Bible trivia, the 52-Week Family Bible Trivia book has a year of weekly KJV questions with answer keys for game night and Sunday school.
See the book →