There are many names of female warriors in the bible. When men were failing to defeat their enemies, it was the female warriors who stood in the gap and brought victory.
Female warriors mentioned in the Bible were able to fight strategically to destroy their opponents. These women were creative and resourceful; they did not use normal warfare weapons, but they still achieved the intended results.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a warrior is a person who is engaged in warfare or experienced in warfare. Another definition of a warrior is a person engaged in some struggle or conflict.
God can use anyone as a warrior; a warrior does not give in without a fight. Warriors fight for a good cause or what they believe in.
You also want to check out these 8 women of power in the bible.
Names Of Female Warriors In The Bible
1. Deborah in Judges 4:4
Deborah is one of the names of the female warriors in the bible. The Bible says that Deborah was a prophet, a wife, a leader of Israel and a judge (Judges 4:4)
God commanded Deborah to tell Barak to go into battle and pursue Sisera. Barak insisted that Deborah should go into battle with them.
Judges 4:8-9 says, “Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah
In Judges 5:7 she even sang a song that says, “Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel.”
These scriptures show that Deborah was a warrior indeed. She won battles spiritually before winning them physically. And she was not scared to participate in the battles.
2. Jael in Judges 4:18-22
Jael is also one of the names of female warriors in the Bible. She was responsible for bringing down or destroying the life of the man who was sought after; the troublemaker Sisera.
Although she didn’t go to the battlefield, she brought the battle to her tent. The Bible in Judges 4:18-22 says that after Sisera had fled on foot, he went to the house of Jael. She showed him kindness by covering him up with a blanket and giving him milk. But when he had fallen asleep she used a tent peg and a hammer to destroy him.
Judges 5:24-27 says; “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, most blessed of tent-dwelling women. He asked for water, and she gave him milk; in a bowl fit for nobles she brought him curdled milk. Her hand reached for the tent peg, her right hand for the workman’s hammer. She struck Sisera, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.”
3. The Unnamed Woman of Thebez Judges 9:50-54
The Woman of Thebez was another female warrior. The Bible says that Abimelek had destroyed the lives of many people but this woman was the source of victory for her people.
It also says that all the people including all the men had locked themselves in the tower and climbed onto the roof. When Abimelek approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull (Judges 9:50-54).
She was a true warrior because she knew that if she destroyed the leader (Abimelek) the rest of the people would turn back.
Everyone was scared but this woman was brave. She took what was available and made it into a weapon. And it means that she was also good at aiming because she only had one shot.
When the rest of the people were thinking that it is over with them, she was thinking of ways to conquer Abimelek.
4. A certain wise woman in 2 Samuel 20
Another female warrior in the bible was an unnamed woman whom the bible refers to as a wise woman.
In 2 Samuel 20:15, Joab’s troops were trying to break down the wall so that they could get to Sheba, the man they were pursuing. So the woman told him that instead of destroying the city, she can arrange Sheba’s head to be thrown at him.
2 Samuel 20:21 says, “That is not the case. A man named Sheba son of Bikri, from the hill country of Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.” The woman said to Joab, “His head will be thrown to you from the wall.”
This wise woman was a warrior because she was able to mobilize her people to capture Sheba and hand over his body to Joab.
5. Queen Esther in Esther chapter 4 and 5
Queen Esther played a great role in rescuing the lives of the Jews against Haman and the king’s interdict.
When Mordecai learned that Haman had passed an edict to have all the Jews destroyed, Mordecai looked to Esther for help.
The Bible in Esther 4:8 says, “He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.”
Esther decided to fast and also sent a word that all the other Jews should fast for her for three days as she prepares to go to the king and plead for mercy.
Read more: 8 Women of power in the bible
6. Abigail in 1 Samuel 25
Abigail is another female warrior in the bible who saved her household from an imminent attack.
Abigail’s husband had made David angry by insulting David’s men and refusing to give them supplies.
The Bible says in 1 Samuel 25:12-13 “David’s men turned around and went back. When they arrived, they reported every word. David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.”
The good thing was that someone warned Abigail and she was able to act fast and managed to calm David down. Her words and gesture made David to abort the mission.
Read more: 6 Examples of the power of a woman in the bible
Being a warrior doesn’t always mean fighting physically, it means having emotional intelligence in order to resolve problems.
1 Samuel 25:23-26 says, “When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal.”
7. Rahab in Joshua 2:1-18
Rahab is also a name of a female warrior in the Bible. She was able to know that the two men who had come into her house were spies.
Their fate and chance of survival were in her hands because the king was looking for them.
She was able to hide the spies and even let them down by the rope and tell them which way to take to ensure that they do not get caught.
Joshua 2:15-16 says, “So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
Rahab also wanted a guarantee from them that when they come back to destroy the land they would spare her life and the life of all her family members. (Joshua 2:12-13)
8. Delilah in Judges 16
Delilah was also a warrior, although she was a villain. Her persuasive skills brought down the life of a sought-after man named Samson.
The Bible says that Samson was very strong and the Philistines could not defeat him. So when he dated Delilah they tasked her to find out the secret behind his strength so that they could subdue him.
She risked her life to save her own people, the Philistines.
Judges 16:15-19 says, “Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
9. Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1:15-20
Shiphrah and Puah were true warriors as they fought for what they believed in and carried out their duties diligently.
The two women were midwives and the King of Egypt had told them to destroy every Hebrew baby boy. But their conscious could not allow them. This means they risked their lives to ensure the continuity of the Hebrews.
The king was more scared of the number of Hebrew men increasing, yet he didn’t know that he should be fearful of the women because they are also warriors.
The birth of Moses came as a result of these two brave women who defied the orders of the king.
Exodus 1:15-18 says, “The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
10. Michal in 1 Samuel 19:11-14
Michal the daughter of Saul and David’s wife played a role of a warrior in David’s life. She warned David that his life was in danger and let him down through the window.
The Bible says in 1 Samuel 19:11-14 “Saul sent men to David’s house to watch it and to kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, warned him, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed.” So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped. Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.”
