189: Busting Myths About Women in the Bible with Rebekah Hargraves (Solo Episode #39)

On today’s solo show, we tackling some common myths surrounding women in the Bible. My prayer is that you would come away from this episode feeling encouraged and better equipped in your ability to study, understand, and interpret the Bible for yourself, to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture, and to delight in God’s design for and view of women.

What I Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~5 common myths surrounding women in the Bible (and what the Bible actually says!):

*Bathsheba seduced David and was guilty of adultery

*The woman at the well was a serial divorcee and likely guilty of adultery

*Deborah’s leadership of Israel was a blight on their nation’s history and a curse on Israel

*Women are more likely to be deceived than men

*Women do not teach men in Scripture (and are not supposed to)

~The impossibility of Bathsheba seducing David (Hint: It has to do with the Levitical practice of bathing in a mikveh)

~The forceful language in Scripture (and blame placed solely at the feet of David!) that points to Bathsheba being the victim of rape

~Why it is impossible that the woman at the well had been an intentional serial divorcee

~The crucial importance of growing in your understanding of the historical and cultural context of the Bible if you’re going to interpret Scripture accurately

~The common misinterpretation of Isaiah 3:12, and how we know Deborah was not a curse on Israel

~Understanding, from Scriptural evidence, that Deborah was not God’s “plan B”

~The words of Paul and James and how they both refute the idea that women are more easily deceived than men; other problematic issues with this myth

~What the entire book of Proverbs has to teach us about the folly of believing women are more easily deceived than men

~The prophetess Huldah and why God’s treatment of her is so eye-opening and helpful for our understanding of how God views women teaching men Scriptural truth

~Why the story of Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos is such an interesting one

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth

Resources for Further Study:

Vindicating the Vixens: Revisiting Sexualized, Vilified, and Marginalized Women of the Bible

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible

Articles by Rebekah:

Was Deborah’s Leadership a Blight on Israel’s History?

What 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is Actually Teaching

Women Teaching Men: What Does the Bible Actually Say?

Yes, Women Can be Leaders, Too!

QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

“It is important to understand the historical and cultural context of Scripture. Because when we do, we come to understand that there is no way Bathsheba was guilty of seducing King David. Rather, she was faithfully obeying Levitical law by bathing in a mikveh when David lusted after her.”

“The Bible only ever places the blame on David’s shoulders, even going so far as to use language that suggests that David actually raped Bathsheba.”

“Historical and cultural context again comes in when we want to accurately interpret the life story of the woman at the well. Given the patriarchal culture at the time, it is impossible that she could have been an intentional serial divorcee.”

“Deborah and Barak’s song of praise in Judges 5, the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, and the 40-year history of Israel immediately following Deborah’s leadership all point to the fact that Deborah’s judgeship and prophesying were a gift to Israel.”

“God intentionally told King Josiah, his High Priest, and the rest of the men in his court to travel to the prophetess Huldah and have her explain to them the meaning of the book of the law. He could have sent them to Jeremiah, who was also a prophet at this time, but He didn’t. He had Huldah teach them instead.”

“Interestingly, Luke points out in Acts that it was not just Aquila who taught Apolos theologically, but his wife, Priscilla did, as well.”

“Paul and James both admonish both men and women alike to guard against deception. Neither one believed that women were more easily deceived than men were.”

WHERE YOU CAN FIND REBEKAH ONLINE:

Websites – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Instagram –@rebekahhargraves

Facebook – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Twitter – @hhomeandhearth

Podcast – Home and Hearth Podcast

To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes

Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how:

If you’re on your computer:

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