A Biblical Theology of Motherhood -- By: James M. Hamilton, Jr.

Journal: Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry
Volume: JDFM 02:2 (Spring 2012)
Article: A Biblical Theology of Motherhood
Author: James M. Hamilton, Jr.


A Biblical Theology of Motherhood

James M. Hamilton, Jr.

James M. Hamilton, Jr. (Ph. D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at Southern Seminary and as Preaching Pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church. He is the author of God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgement (Crossway), God’s Indwelling Presence (B&H), Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (Crossway), and can be found blogging at jimhamilton.wordpress.com. Dr. Hamilton is blessed to be married to the woman of his dreams, and their four children are like olive shoots around his table.

A Biblical Theology Of Motherhood

Gazing out the window, Bellatrix despised what she saw—those smiling saps with all the children. And at the center of the melee was Prudentia. Dopey grin, doting husband on her arm, and the swarm of children crowding her home with children of their own. Bellatrix looked smugly from the window to the mirror. She had been the most sought after single in the village. Now approaching 70, she considered herself well preserved. Dodged the pain of childbirth and still thought highly of her figure. Having avoided the clutter of kids, her domicile was kempt and calm. Now a widow, the feast day found her untroubled, unharried by duties and noise. No one for whom she must play the slave, no one to clean up after, no one to trouble her calm: she was alone.

Not Good For Man To Be Alone

What is a biblical theology of mother-hood? A biblical theology of anything seeks to describe both the storyline and the network of assumptions and presuppositions and beliefs assumed by the biblical authors as they wrote. The only access we have to what the biblical authors thought or assumed is what they wrote. When we pursue biblical theology, what we are trying to get at is the worldview reflected in the assumptions of the biblical authors, the worldview from which their statements spring, the worldview in which their statements make sense.1 If we are trying to establish a biblical theology of motherhood, we want to see how motherhood fits in the plot of the Bible’s big story, how it interacts with other aspects of the story, and how these things shed light on the direct statements about motherhood in the songs of the Psalmists, the Proverbs of the sages, and the instructions of the apostles. Story and statements inform one another, each expos-iting, affirming, and explaining the other. This study will begin with motherhood in the Bible’s story before considering the Bible’s statements about motherhood.

Motherhood In The Bible’s Story

The Bible’s story begins with a statement that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head (...

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