Write a 4 page essay on Look at various biblical stories that depict barren mothers: (i.e. Sarah, Hannah, Samson's mother). Analyze the motif of the.Download file to see previous pages... Rightly or w

Write a 4 page essay on Look at various biblical stories that depict barren mothers: (i.e. Sarah, Hannah, Samson's mother). Analyze the motif of the.

Rightly or wrongly, this apocrypha (the word means “hidden things”) is a puzzle to most of us but it serves a very useful purpose when inculcating biblical lessons and truths. The answer to this conundrum is that ultimately, nothing is impossible with the power of God. The Bible can be alternatively considered as a collection of stories, metaphors, other literary allusions, fables, simile and figures of speech but all of them have a singular purpose: to teach a biblical lesson to readers and emphasize the power of God to amend things thought as impossible by mere mortals. This biblical literary version of a leitmotif points to a higher Being whose power is sometimes beyond our very limited understanding. The holy book is full of these stories, usually in the form of parables and allegories. The idea is to comprehend the moral lessons contained in these stories and see all the deeper meanings implied when supposedly barren women suddenly and sometimes inexplicably gave birth to much sought-after offspring as answer to their prayers and heart-felt importuning. The reader is pointed towards the direction of the power of God to make the impossible possible. ...

The lack of modern medical technology and scientific knowledge precluded people during the biblical times to ascertain with a high probability their chances of conception. Pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood all symbolize the gift of life from God. This is why barren women in the bible were suddenly favored with this precious gift even later in life which would have precluded most women of today from having childbirth absent any of those artificial means of fertilization (IVF or in-vitro fertilization and perhaps also, future cloning). A good number of notable or prominent women mentioned in the bible were childless at one time or another. these women included Sarah, Rachel, Hannah and the mother of Samson. The women all struggled with infertility and this issue is closely linked to God's power. Besides the four mentioned above, three other women of note in the Bible were also barren, namely: Elizabeth (wife of Zacharia) who in old age bore a son who became a cousin to Jesus. Michal who was the first wife of David (she was the daughter of Saul) and lastly, the woman named Rebekah who was the wife of Saul (and the mother of Jacob and Esau). All the seven women were initially barren but six of them eventually bore children. In biblical times, the concept of infertility was thought to be confined to women only (men were thought fertile always and so the burden to produce an heir falls on the woman or wife). There is also another significance to barrenness and that as form of punishment, a nation without next generations. Significance – the seven barren women represent some completed meaning, because seven signifies a completed number.