Mothers in the Old Testament

In the male dominated Old Testament period, it is not surprising that there are a few passages that focus on women as mothers. However, through Kings to Chronicles, especially the long genealogies in the beginning of the 1 Chronicles, it is amazing to find there are almost 30 times of the repeated phrase of “mother” or “the mother of”. It is also striking to learn how much negative impact, as well as positive influence, a mother can have on her children after learning the story of Jezebel and Athaliah. Thus, it can be helpful to study some of the significant mothers in the Old Testament.

The first mother of all people, Eve, not only failed as a wife, but also failed as a mother. She was assigned by God to Adam as his helper. Though she was made in God’s image and was good in God’s eyes, she was not able to overcome Satan’s temptation. Furthermore, she dragged Adam into sin and she also failed to pass down the great lesson she learned, that is when one sins against God, He knows, to her next generation before her son, Cain, killed his brother Abel. The tragedy of Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob and Esau might not have happened without Sarah’s despise of Hagar and Rebekah’s favoritism toward Jacob. Solomon's sin of indulgence may not only come from his father David, but also from his mother Bathsheba; though she managed to build up him to be the successor of the kingdom.

Jochebed, the mother of Moses, set up a significant model of a serving mother. Perhaps she is the mother under most pressure. In such a dangerous age she kept her little baby for three months with anxiety while secretly weaving the basket that would hold him. In Pharaoh's house she must have undergone great stress and a lot of self control not showing too much intimacy towards her little boy. It is beyond one’s imagine how much she influenced Moses' character to be a leader and to have a deep love towards his people. Another positive mother figure is Hannah. Instead of writing a 50 page instructions on how to pray and keep the vow, she modeled it. She set up a good example of prayer, which means talking to God heart to heart. Young Samuel might have learned the importance to keep one’s vow to God by experiencing his mother obedience by bringing him to Shiloh. He might have heard the story of his mother praying for him from Eli. It is impossible for Samuel not to recognize his mother’s deep love for him after receiving the little robes weaved by her hands year after year. And Hannah’s appreciation to God was obvious by the way she named her precious son—Samuel, “asked of the Lord” (I Samuel 1:28). All these experiences could be some of the explanation of how the little Samuel became a prayer warrior in the temple, while Eli’s sons became wicked men.

Indeed, mothers have a lot of influence on their children. However, it is not to say they are accountable no matter what their children turn out to be. Each of pair, Cain and Abel, Moses, Aaron and Miriam, and Esau and Jacob, had the same mother, but each child turned out totally different. It is a mothers’ responsibility to nurture, to train, and to model for her children, but God also gives the children free will to choose. Each choice leads to a consequence and the person has to receive that consequence. God has His purpose and His path for each child, and every mother is not alone in bringing up her child, for God is always there supporting her and teaching her if she is willing to learn. God shows His guidance to the earthly mothers and He uses these stories to remind them what a biblical mother should do.