MOTHERS, WIVES, AND SISTERS: NAMED WOMEN OF THE BIBLE

BY ALEXA KANAROWSKI

Compared to about 1,770 named men, the Bible mentions around 155 named women. Of all women in the Bible, only 93 have dialogue, and 49 of those women have names. The woman who speaks the most words, the Samaritan woman in John 4, is also unnamed. Collectively, all the women in the Bible speak about 14,000 words, or approximately 1% of the Bible’s text.

This project was conducted to illustrate these statistics. For each of the 155 named women, I photographed a contemporary subject to act as a placeholder for the Biblical woman she represents.

Undertaking this project was, and is, complicated; while I wanted to be critical of how few women play an important and active role in the Bible, it was impossible to fully do so while creating these portraits. With a few notable exceptions, such as Eve, Mary, and Rachel, most of the roles these women play are small and can be reduced to the mother, wife, or sister of an important male character.

However, by attaching a face to a name, I was able to feel deeper kinship to the women of the Bible. I believe this resulted from the power of names, which is why I included a name with each portrait. Seeing a name and a face together is so persuasive, and help us feel connected to each Biblical woman’s difficulties, spirituality, and what they endured.

Many of these women are relevant because of their involvement in a male family member’s life, that fact still resonates today. We, as contemporary women, are still so often understood as and expected to exist for what we can do for men. This project is both a celebration of the Biblical women and a critique of their limited portrayal. From obscure people only mentioned once to villainous characters, they are all Biblical women. They are our spiritual heritage, and we should know their names.

Thank you to everyone who sat for a portrait and agreed to be in this project. The 10 women included here are just a small selection of all 155 portraits. The full series of portraits will be available in the spring as a photo book.