Founding Mothers

When Sarai, the wife of Abram, discovers she is barren, she gives him her slave Hagar as a concubine. It was appropriate behavior for a wife in those days to do this, but that doesn’t mean Sarai has to like it. After Hagar conceives and gives birth to Ishmael, Sarai exercises her right as wife to have Hagar driven from the camp. It seems that Hagar has become proud that she has borne Abram a child and now disdains her mistress. This was something Sarai cannot tolerate. While at first glance it may seem Sarai is being petty, and has acted harshly, Yahweh seems to have the matter in hand, as He rescues Hagar and her son in the desert. God, taking pity on the boy, shows his mercy by promising He will make a nation of him. The Bedouins that survive in the deserts are believed to be Ishmael’s descendants. Yahweh’s plan for building the Hebrew nation did not include Ishmael. Instead, it is petty, harsh Sarah who will give birth to a miracle child in her old age. This son, Isaac, is to be the rootstock on which Israel is founded. Yahweh’s favor rested briefly on Hagar, as he pitied her in the desert, but His blessing seemed to be on Sarah, in spite of her personality flaws.

Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, doesn’t seem to have much better luck with wedded bliss than his grandsire. Jacob loves Rachel, and serves her father seven years to purchase the right to marry her. In a manipulative plot, her father sends her older sister, Leah, to Jacob’s wedding bed. Of course, when the truth is discovered, the father agrees to let Jacob have Rachel, too. As if that is not enough, each girl brings a slave along, and the battle begins. The issue is propagation, and as with Abram and Sarai, it is cause for domestic upset. Finding herself barren and her sister Leah with child, Rachel sends her slave to Jacob. Not to be outdone, when Leah stops bearing children, she sends her slave to lie with Jacob and they conceive. Finally, Rachel herself gives birth to Joseph and later Benjamin. Of course, Jacob favors Rachel’s children, and this leads to sibling rivalry, but that’s another story. All this jockeying for position among wives does produce a lot of strapping sons, twelve to be exact. These twelve become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. So, while it appears that the women are wrecking havoc in the household, causing strife and bitterness, in the end God gets just what He desires, a strong foundation from which to start a nation.

An independent woman today may find fault with these Biblical wives. They may appear to be second class citizens, without opportunity for much self-actualization, useful for breeding children, and little else. They seem powerless, manipulated by their husbands and by Yahweh. However, before judging these Biblical women too harshly, it is helpful to remember they use the tools they have at hand to affect change in their lives. Whatever the means, they have a profound impact on the history of Israel, and surely on the men they raised to be the leaders of this tribal nation.

Laurie Kuiper