In this article, I look at every verse where Jesus directly addresses a woman as “woman.” These verses can sound cold and even rude in English. This article was first published in Mutuality magazine.
Each of the four Gospels contains an account where a woman anoints Jesus with perfume. In this article, I compare these stories. How many times was Jesus anointed?
In Luke 13:10–17, Jesus sets free a woman who had been disabled for 18 years. Click to see Barbara Schwarz’s painting and to read the story that inspired her artwork.
Who was Damaris? What was her social status? What does her name mean? What was her role in the church? Evidence from ancient inscriptions help to answer some of these questions.
Salome was a follower of Jesus, a witness of his crucifixion and empty tomb. She is mentioned twice in the Bible but many more times in other early church documents.
Mary Magdalene was the herald of Jesus’s resurrection and of his impending ascension. After his resurrection, why did Jesus tell her, “Do not cling to me”?
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah’s wife are the only women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. Why only these four women?
Paul honours Lois and Eunice and acknowledges they had been Timothy’s teachers. These women enabled Timothy to face challenges in Ephesus.
In this article, I explain why “the co-elect” woman in 1 Peter 5:13 (AKA “she who is in Babylon”) may be a woman and not a church.
When we understand “preaching” words in the way New Testament authors used these words, we see that some New Testament women preached.
Tabitha (AKA Dorcas) is identified as a disciple and described as a generous supporter of the poor. What was her association with the widows of Joppa?
At a time when women were often regarded as odd and inferior by men and were excluded from many aspects of society, Jesus included women, taught them, and accepted their ministry.
In this post, I look at Nympha, a Christian mentioned in Colossians 4:15. What was her association with Paul? What was her ministry? Where was her house church? Was she really a woman?
Here’s a look at a common Greek phrase used in Phil. 4:2 concerning Euodia and Syntyche. What did Paul want them to think? Were the women quarrelling?
This article looks at Junia, a Christian missionary mentioned in Romans 16:7 who was persecuted for her faith and may have known Jesus personally. Was she also known as Joanna?
Elizabeth was a faithful woman of God who was given a remarkable son, John the Baptist. She was also given a prophetic voice.
Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16:14ff), and women like her, were vital and strategic players at the forefront of the expanding Christian mission.
Matthew 27:19 mentions Pontius Pilate’s wife and her dream about Jesus. What do we know of this woman? Was she a Jewish convert? A Christ-follower?
In this article I look at the text of 2 John, especially at the words the letter writer uses to identify the people he is writing to, including the “chosen lady.”
Priscilla, Phoebe, and Junia were Christian ministers who sometimes travelled. The NT shows that, at the very least, their paths crossed one or twice. Were they friends?
Apphia, a woman, is greeted by Paul in his letter to Philemon. What was her role or position at Colossae? Was she Philemon’s wife or another Phoebe?
Eve, Delilah, Bathsheba, Mary Magdalene, and the Samaritan woman have often been thought of as immoral. What’s with that? This article looks at the Samaritan woman without negative prejudices.
What does the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila to Apollos reveal? (Acts 18:18-28). How did others feel about the couple and their ministry? (Romans 16:3-5)
More than a century ago, church historian Adolf Harnack was honest and approving in his appraisal of women ministers who are mentioned in the New Testament.
Chloe is a woman mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:11? Was she a pagan or a Christian? A concerned house church leader or the quarrelsome leader of a faction?
In his Church History, Eusebius wrote, “Ethiopia even to the present day is ruled, according to ancestral custom, by a woman” (cf. Acts 8:27). Is there any truth in his statement? As it turns out, there is.
I love this powerful image of Mary consoling Eve. Just look at their feet!
In part 4 I look at the deacons in the Philippian church and at the development of church offices in the apostolic and post-apostolic churches.
We have only two lines about Phoebe in the Bible, but Theodoret of Cyrrhus has more information about her. Did Phoebe travel to Spain with Paul? Did she deliver his letter to the Romans?
In Part 2, I look at what Romans 16:1–2 in the ancient Latin texts say about Phoebe. These indicate she was recognised as an official deacon (or deaconess).
Here I look at Paul’s introduction of Phoebe to the church at Rome. I also look at the ministry of certain women in the Gospels, and Tabitha’s ministry in Acts, and compare them with Phoebe’s ministry.
This article looks at Mary Magdalene, and especially at what “Magdalene” might mean. Does it refer to Mary’s home town? Was it her nickname? Does it imply she was a prostitute?
I had imagined that only a few women accompanied Jesus during his ministry and only a few witnessed his crucifixion and resurrection, but the Gospels state many women were with Jesus.
Does Paul refer to wives of apostles or female coworkers of apostles in 1 Cor. 9:5? Was their role companionship or teaching Christian doctrine?
John the Evangelist chose his words carefully when describing the ministry of certain apostolic women in his Gospel, women such as Mary Magdalene. [500 words]
Early church writers, such as Eusebius, acknowledged that Philip’s four daughters were well-respected famous prophets and they associated the women with apostles and bishops.
Here is a list of 25+ biblical roles of Bible women. These roles and activities were approved by God and helped God’s people in some way.
This short article looks at how the Greek word kyria (“lady”) is used in a few ancient letters and texts, and how this usage helps us to understand who the “chosen lady” is in John’s second letter.
Mary and Martha of Bethany are well-known Bible figures whose characters are often polarized in the retelling of their story. What is the background of these women, their age, marital status, level of wealth?
Mary Magdalene and some other women knew a large stone had been rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid. They went to the tomb anyway. [300 words]
Salome was the daughter of Herodias who “danced” for Herod Antipas. How old was she? Did she actually dance? Did she deliberately seduce her step-father? What became of her?
Jezebel of Thyatira is a teacher mentioned in Revelation 2:20ff. What does her example brings to discussions about women in ministry?
This article looks at the women Paul greeted in his letters, including 10 women mentioned in Romans 16. His greetings show that Paul did not have a problem with women ministers.
Here are links to over a dozen articles on women church leaders mentioned in the New Testament, women such as Prisca, Phoebe, Junia, Nympha, and more.
What does the Bible say about working women? Does God want women to stay out of the workforce and stay at home?
Who were Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3)? Were they leaders of the Philippian church? Early Church Father John Chrysostom seemed to think so.
John addressed his second letter “to the chosen lady and to her children.” Who was this lady? Was she a mother, a church, or a house church leader?
This article looks at Priscilla and Aquila and explores Luke’s use of the Greek verb ektithēmi (“explain”) in Acts. Did Priscilla teach a man?
In this article, I show that some women in the New Testament functioned in Ephesians 4:11 ministries: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor-teacher.
This article is about Junia—a minister mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:7—using and critiquing the ESV as a reference. Was Junia really a female apostle?
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© 2022 Marg Mowczko