Women Prophets (Prophetess) in the Bible

The Prophetess Anna Blessing Jesus in the Temple - Courtesy of http://gospelimages.com

Prophetess (Heb= Nebiah and Greek = prophēteuō) is the feminine form of Nabi or a spokesman, speaker, prophet. Some of the general duties of prophets throughout scripture included, but were not limited to intercessory prayer (Jer 42:4); dancing, drumming, singing (1 Chr 25:1–3); interpreting laws (2 Kgs 22:15–17); inquiring of God (Jer 37:7); delivering God’s oracles (Isa 10:24); anointing kings (1 Kgs 1:34); resolving disputes (2 Chr 28:9–15); working wonders (1 Kgs 17); mustering troops (Judg 4); leading battles (Judg 5); archiving oracles in writing (2 Chr 13:22); and experiencing visions (Isa 1).

Most prophets in the Bible are men, but in a few instances we find women prophets or prophetesses. In the Old Testament we find four women referred to as true prophetesses and five in the New Testament. There is also a mention of two false female prophets - one in the Old Testament and one in the Book of Revelation. A prophet is known to have a specific message sent by God to the people to be delivered by that prophet. They are often controversial and can be confrontational in their approach to bringing that message. The message can be a direct statement or a song or poem.

The first mentioned prophetess in the Bible is Miriam, Aaron and Moses' Sister. She sang a prophetic song upon the escape from the Egyptians at the Red Sea. One of the primary indicators of a prophet was a phrase that they often began an instruction with that sounded something like, "Thus says God."

Women Prophets of the Old Testament

Miriam the Sister of Aaron

Unknown Source

Miriam is mentioned as a prophetess in Exodus 15:20 as she celebrated the escape from the Egyptians through the Red Sea. She led a procession of women dancing and shaking tambourines and singing a prophetic song.

“Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”

Most likely Miriam is the unnamed sister of Moses who observed Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses in the reed basket in the Nile river (Exodus 2:4.) Miriam is also noted in scripture for criticizing the fact that Moses married a Cushite woman in Numbers 12. She was punished for that criticism by becoming leprous for seven days. After her criticism God Himself appeared to Moses, Aaron and Miriam at the tent and reprimanded Aaron and Miriam for criticizing Moses and then she was struck with leprosy. Aaron begged for healing and the Lord instructed Moses to separate her from the camp for the seven days before she returned. In Micah 6:4, God refers to Miriam as one of the three leaders sent by Him to lead Israel out of the land of slavery.

Deborah the Only Female Judge

Deborah is noted in the Bible as being the only female judge (military leader) in the times of judges and the taking for Canaan (Judges 4:4.) She was not only the singular female judge, but also the only judge referred to as a prophet and the only one with judicial duties. She summoned Barak to lead the battle against the Canaanites. The narrative of this story is found in Judges 4 and the "Song of Deborah" recounts the story in poetic form in Judges 5. When she was instructing Barak to lead the forces, she began her instruction with "The Lord, the God of Israel, has indeed commanded" which was the language of a prophet.

Noadiah the False Prophetess

Although Noadiah was referred to as a Nebiah, her words were rebuked by Nehemiah and her prophecies didn't come to pass that predicted Nehemiah would not be able to finish rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. There is only one mention of her in Nehemiah 6:14 and it is Nehemiah's prayer against her efforts to terrorize him to stop his work on the walls.

The Unnamed Prophetess of Isaiah

In the book of Isaiah, the writer refers to an unnamed prophetess in Isaiah 8:3. This is a very strange mention of a prophetess and no contribution or acts are named. It simply states that Isaiah slept with her and she conceived a son that the Lord instructed Isaiah to name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. The name consists of two phrases - Maher-Shalel and Hash-Baz, both with the meaning "quick to plunder." The unnamed prophetess has no significance to this story other than the fact that she mothered this child.

Women Prophets of the New Testament

Anna the Temple Prophetess

Anna is only one person in the New Testament with any significant contribution who is actually called a Propheteuo (see Luke 2:36-38.) She served in the temple a a widow who was married for seven years and spent the rest of her life in service to God. She was patiently waiting the coming of the Messiah and declared Jesus as the Messiah when he was brought to the temple on the eight day. When she received Jesus she was 84 years old.

The Four Daughters of Philip

Philip was referred to by Luke as an Evangelist who also served as a "deacon" of the church. His wife was never mentioned, so it's possible that he was a widower, but we can't know that for sure. What we do know was that he had four unmarried virgin daughters at the time of Luke's writing of the Book of Acts who were referred to as prophetesses in Acts 21:8-9. Although that's all the details Luke gives us about these young girls, he did refer to them as Propheteuo.

Two Women False Prophets in Scripture

Huldah the Prophetess to Josiah

Huldah is mentioned as a prophetess in 2 Kings 22:14 and 2 Chron. 34:22. The scriptures specifically mention her by the role of "Nebiah." She resided in Jerusalem during the time when Hilkiah the priest discovered the Book of the Law written by Moses during the reign of Josiah. Josiah, the King, commanded the priest and scribe who discovered the lost book of the law to go and consult Huldah as to what to do with the book. When asked about the book her response began with "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says." The instructions of Huldah led to Israel being restored back to following the laws given to Moses and brought blessings back to Israel through Josiah's humility and repentence.

Jezebel of Thyatira

In the book of Revelation written by John, we read of a female false prophetess who served as a leader in the church at Thyatira (Acts 2:18-29.) Whether her name was literally Jezebel or it was a figurative reference to the Old Testament Jezebel, we can't be sure. However, her actions are clear. She claimed the title of prophetess and enticed the church to sexual immorality and eating meat sacrificed to idols. The Lord states in these passages that he had given Jezebel ample time to repent of her wrong-doing and that the punishment for her false work would be very harsh.

Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of [f]her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with [g]plague, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the [h]minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Conclusion

Although there are not many mentions of women prophets in the Bible, there are a couple of promises that women will be given gifts to include prophetic giftings.

For example, Acts 2:17 says, "n the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." This is most likely an affirmation to the Prophet Joel's proclamation in Joel 2:28 that states, "a“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."