The Old Testament is remarkable among other works in ancient Near Eastern literature for its prominent inclusion of women in the narrative. This is especially noteworthy, considering that ancient Israelite society was a patriarchal society. This course explores the lives of individual women in the narrative and focuses on their collective contribution to the entire body of OT literature. Most notably, the Old Testament contains two books named specifically for women ("Ruth" and "Esther"), and three prominent hymns are explicitly attributed to female authors (Exodus 15, Judges 5, and 1 Samuel 2). Undoubtedly, the heroines of the Old Testament continue to inspire women (and men!) to this day.