The Process Of Motherhood
"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived." (Genesis 4:1 RSV)"For Thou didst form my inward parts, Thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13 RSV)
"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb." (Luke 1:41 RSV)
"And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." (Luke 2:6-7 RSV)
"When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world." (John 16:21 RSV)
"But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul." (Psalm 131:2 RSV)
"So the woman remained and nursed her son, until she weaned him." (1 Samuel 1:23 RSV)
Some Mothers Of The Bible
Elizabeth, the mother of John The Baptist.
Eve, the mother of Cain and Abel.
Hannah, the mother of Samuel.
Leah, the mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah.
Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ.
Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
Rebekah, the mother of Jacob/Israel and Esau.
Sarah, the mother of Isaac.
Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon.
Hagar, the mother of Ishmael.
The Fifth Commandment
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which The Lord your God gives you." (Exodus 20:12 RSV)"My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching." (Proverbs 6:20 RSV)
Metaphorical Mothers
Jesus Christ, The Messiah:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the Prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. For I tell you, you will not see Me again, until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in The Name of the Lord.'" (Matthew 23:37-39 RSV)
The two covenants:
"For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, the son of the free woman through promise."
"Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and shout, you who are not in travail; for the children of the desolate one are many more than the children of her that is married.""Now we, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise." (Galatians 4:22-28 RSV)
A great apostate church, the "mother" of more apostate churches:
"And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; and on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations.""And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus." (Revelation 17:3-6 RSV)
Fact Finder: Did Adam and Eve have other children besides the three (Cain, Abel and Seth) who are named?
Genesis 5:4
