Women as Agents of Peace and Deliverance: A Biblical and Theological Reflection

Women in Scripture consistently emerge as central figures in God’s redemptive purposes, particularly as custodians of wisdom, courage, and strategies that lead to victory in both physical and spiritual battles. While biblical interpretation has often minimized their contributions, closer examination reveals that women such as Deborah, who provided prophetic leadership and military strategy for Israel (Judg. 4–5), Abigail, whose diplomacy averted bloodshed (1 Sam. 25), and Esther, who risked her life to deliver her people (Esth. 4–7), were indispensable agents of peace and deliverance. Similarly, in the New Testament, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Priscilla, and the Syrophoenician woman embody agency in ways that advance God’s purposes of salvation, healing, and reconciliation.

This study employs feminist hermeneutics, liberation theology, and narrative analysis as its methodological approaches. These tools help uncover women’s overlooked contributions in Scripture and interpret them within African contexts where women have historically been excluded from leadership, yet have been powerful mediators of peace and deliverance in families, churches, and societies. The paper argues that women’s biblical roles in promoting peace and deliverance provide theological grounding for contemporary inclusion of women in leadership, peacemaking, and nation-building. It concludes that the biblical witness, when read through liberative and feminist lenses, compels the church and society to recognize women not as marginal figures but as indispensable agents of God’s deliverance and peace.