Who Is an Influential Woman in the Bible?

This blog is part of a larger exploration of Christian Innovation and Design. It fits within the section concerning creative woman in the Bible, and answers the question “Who is an influential woman in the Bible?”

You can find the answer to “Who is the wisest woman in the Bible?”, as well as a refresher concerning the purpose of a woman in the Bible here.

Truthfully, any woman mentioned by name in the Bible is rightly considered influential—especially given how long the Bible has been in circulation and in how many languages, cultures, and traditions it remains in regular use. But I don’t want to beg the question too much. Real questions demand real answers, and it is a joy and a privilege to mine the depths of the scriptures in search of fresh perspective on influence, leadership, and power.

So, again, who is an influential woman in the Bible? Or, put another way, who was a powerful woman in the Bible? Again, there are so many good answers to this question, but here I’d like to explore an unexpected track: Bathsheba.

You might balk, initially concluding I intend to speak about her early history and the influence of her beauty, but that’s not where this is going. I intend to speak about her influence and the leadership of her people and her family. And though Deborah stands out as the chief figure of female leadership in the Hebrew Bible, when we wonder are there any female leaders in the Bible, we must acknowledge Bathsheba as one of the great female Bible heroes. She was a woman who led her husband, her son, and ultimately her country according to the promises of God.

I wish we had more like her today.

Certainly, Bathsheba is among those female Bible characters who overcame obstacles. She was torn from her family, abused by her King, lost her husband to a murderous plot, lost her first child with David, and lived in fear of losing her position to David’s other sons and their jealous, often conniving, plots to rule instead of Solomon.

Typically, discussions about Bathsheba center on either David’s seizure of her body, the murder of her husband, or her remarkable beauty. But all those stories take place early in her life. She lived much afterward, and would have had to become a wily and intelligent woman in order to survive court intrigue (especially during Absolom’s coup and David’s abandonment of the throne). Bathsheba’s power and influence is shown when Nathan the prophet—who first confronted her husband about his sexual misconduct—appears at her side, warning her of danger. Together, the two hatch a plot to remind the elderly David of his obligations to Bathsheba and their son Solomon; thus, the entire course of the Israeli dynasty is redirected back toward the promises of God and the Messianic destiny ultimately leading to Christ.

You will not likely find Bathsheba among all the names of virtuous woman in the Bible, nor have I ever heard anyone supply her name in response to the question, “Who is a great woman of God?” yet no one can deny that Bathsheba was instrumental in cooperating with God and the prophet Nathan to get Israel right with God (however temporarily).