Black Women in Scripture

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• Rahab the Canaanite of Jericho

• Hagar Mother of Ishmael and the Arab nations

• Makeda King Solomon's Queen of Sheba

• Zipporah Wife of Moses and daughter of Jethro

 

Rahab the Canaanite of Jericho

Read about her in your Bible: Joshua 2 and 6:22, 23

She is also mentioned in Matthew 1:5, Hebrews 11:31,

and James 2:25

 

Strength and Accomplishments

• Mother of Boaz and ancestor of King David and Jesus

• One of only two women listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11

• Resourceful, willing to help others at great cost to herself.

Weakness

• She was a prostitute.

Important Lesson from Her Life

John 1:12,13 (NIV) "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

Learn More 

• Free: Rahab Young Adult Sunday School lesson Outline

• Use the Jesus' Black Heritage link on the intro page for more information.

More about Jericho

• Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho? A New Look at the Archaeological Evidence

  A report from the Biblical Archeology Society Online.

Despite the fact that the area where the upper wall once stood is gone, there is evidence, incredible as it may seem, that this wall came tumbling down and, in the words of the Biblical account in Joshua, “fell down flat” (Joshua 6:20).

The correlation between the archaeological evidence and the Biblical narrative is substantial:

• The city was strongly fortified (Joshua 2:5, 7, 15, 6:5, 20).
• The attack occurred just after harvest time in the spring (Joshua 2:6, 3:15, 5:10).
• The inhabitants had no opportunity to flee with their foodstuffs (Joshua 6:1).
• The siege was short (Joshua 6:15).
• The walls were leveled, possibly by an earthquake (Joshua 6:20).
• The city was not plundered (Joshua 6:17–18).
• The city was burned (Joshua 6:24).
 

One major problem remains: the date, 1400 B.C.E. Most scholars will reject the possibility that the Israelites destroyed Jericho in about 1400 B.C.E. because of their belief that Israel did not emerge in Canaan until about 150 to 200 years later, at the end of the Late Bronze II period.
 

As new data emerge and as old data are reevaluated, it will undoubtedly require a reappraisal of current theories regarding the date and the nature of the emergence of Israel in Canaan. More