Recently, the remains of an elite Viking Warrior were discovered in Southeastern Sweden after being buried for 1000 years. It was assumed that the warrior was a man, considering the lore of Viking Warriors. But the DNA of the warrior’s bones confirmed a shocking truth. This elite Viking Warrior, buried in an elaborate grave with two sacrificed horses, swords, arrows and other weaponry, was a woman.
A similar process of uncovering buried secrets about women’s roles in ancient history is occurring in the landscape of biblical studies. In her book, Daughters of Miriam: Women Prophets in Ancient Israel, Hebrew Scholar Wil Gafney writes about several female warriors who have been hidden in plain sight in the Bible.
Beginning in Exodus 38:8, and appearing again throughout the Bible, Gafney interprets the Hebrew language and context to define these women as warrior guardians stationed at the entrances to the sanctuary.1 Gafney is convinced that these women served in a military capacity.
In their appearance in Exodus 38:8, their mirrors, a part of their armor, were used in some way to form the bronze basin for the traveling sanctuary. Gafney explores the concept that perhaps the women were equipped with mirrors as military signaling devices while some scholars suggest that their mirrors were used as devices for prophetic oracles.2
Whatever the case may be, these warrior women appear several times throughout the Bible, including the woman who guards the entrance to the temple in John 18:16. In this case, one of the disciples with temple clout must gain permission from her in order for Peter to enter into Jesus’ trial.
Gafney’s interpretations, among the work of other female biblical scholars, reveal for us what has been hidden in plain sight. Just like Viking lore, biblical lore has led us to believe that only males could fulfill the roles of warrior and prophet. Even though there are Bible stories that clearly speak a different reality.
Some better known female warriors in the Bible include Deborah (Judges 4 and 5), the great judge, prophet and military leader who led the Israelites out of oppression through a victorious battle. Jael (Judges 4 and 5), Deborah’s accomplice, who slayed Sisera, the general of the opposing army and received the glory for the battle. There are the women mentioned above who guarded the gates of the sanctuary and also those mentioned in 1 Samuel 2:22.
There are likely countless unnamed women, Gafney believes, who served YHWH Tzva’ot, God of Hosts or God of Armies (one of the many names attributed to the God of the Israelites) as Divine warriors, whose names we will never know. Their presence haunts the biblical landscape.
As their stories appear, we may feel that new ground is being broken within the pages of the Bible itself. We may feel our own hearts awaken a little bit to new possibilities. If this is true, then what else have we been settling for in our lives that are only half truths? Whenever we tell the lost stories of women, something wonderful happens in our lives, too. Our story becomes a little stronger, a little clearer. The haze is lifted from the pathways we’ve been struggling to see.
As we discover these warrior women of the Bible, we can embrace their courageous spirit, the women of God who let nothing come between them and their Divine path. Not even being buried alive.
Would you like to explore more things you never knew about women of the Bible? Check out my free resource below. You’ll discover women who were prophets, military leaders, women who ran businesses and even a woman who became a king! I’ve also included resources about the women who are discovering these things, female bible scholars and authors. Download it for free!
