Name Tag: A Family Game

Judith is one of many other biblical heroines. Familiarize yourself with these women, and then, based on their stories, play the following game:

Name Tag: A Family Game

Object: To discover the biblical heroine identity of each player. 

Number of Participants: Two or more, depending on the number of heroines you use.

You will need:

  1. “Study Guide” to learn about each woman (see below)
  2. A bible to look up the references and stories (optional)
  3. Small cards with the names of the following heroines, one name on each card:

Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Deborah, Hulda, Hannah, Abigail, the wise woman of Tekoa, Judith and Esther.

4. Tape to tape the cards to the foreheads of the players.

How to Play:

  1. Choose the characters you want to play with.
  2. Each player learns the story of all of the characters using the “Study Guide”.
  3. Once the players have familiarized themselves with the characters, each player takes one of the cards from the pile, face down, without looking at it.
  4. The players have other players tape their cards to their foreheads, without seeing who they are.
  5. The game now begins, with the players trying to identify who they are (discover the identity of the character on their back). They do this by going up to other players and asking “yes or no” questions about themselves. By process of elimination, they discover who they are.
  6. The first player to discover who s/he is, is the winner. The other players continue to play until they’ve each discovered their identity.

Study Guide:

For Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah go to “Women of Destiny”: http://www.visionsvoices.org/wap/wod/vv23.html

For Miriam go to “Miriam’s Rhythms”:

http://www.visionsvoices.org/wap/mr/vv23.html

For Deborah and Hulda go to “Women of Vision”:

http://www.visionsvoices.org/wap/wov/vv23.html

The Book of Samuel contains a sizeable number of heroic women. The book opens with the story of Hannah who brought about a paradigm shift in the religious leadership of the nation. She dedicated her first son, Samuel, to the service of the tabernacle, which brought about the revitalization of the nation’s spiritual life. Hannah was an innovator in the world of prayer. She is numbered among the seven Israelite prophetesses. For more information on Hannah, go to “Hannah’s Prayer”: http://www.visionsvoices.org/wap/hp/vv23.html

Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite (ISam, Chapter 25), was also cast in a lead role in the Book of Samuel. Her courage saved her family from death at the hands of David and his angry men. Abigail is the only biblical woman described as being both beautiful and brilliant. She used her beauty and her brilliance to save the day the way that Judith did in a later stage in Jewish history. The Rabbis also afforded Abigail a position of leadership. She too is one of the seven prophetesses in Israel. Her vision allowed her to transcend her immediate situation and raise others, notably David, along with her.

Another important woman in the book of Samuel is the wise woman of Tekoa described in II Samuel, chapter 14. It is she who helped Joab inspire David to bring home his wayward son Absalom. Absalom had killed his half brother Amnon and fled to Geshur, east of the Jordan. After three long years, his father David yearned for his return but was torn because of his crime. Joab, determined to bring about a rapprochement, enlists the help of the wise woman of Tekoah. In her poignant appeal she uses the following metaphor as a testimony to our powerlessness:

We must all die; we are like water that is poured out on the ground and cannot be gathered up. (II Sam. 14:14)

It is through this description that she empowers David to rise above his personal grief and reunite with his beloved son.

The Rabbis ask why Joab employed a woman from the city of Tekoah? Their answer is that Tekoah was a city noted for its oil, and the abundance of oil yields an abundance of wisdom (B. Menachot 85b).

For Judith, go to the sections in this website titled: “Judith’s Prayer”, “Bested by a Woman” and “Olive Garlands”.

For Esther, go to the section in this website titled: “Judith’s Prayer”.