The Most Underrated Mother in the Bible

Last updated on: May 6, 2016 at 3:00 pm by Adam Ericksen

The Most Underrated Mother in the Bible 2016-05-06T15:00:23-05:00 Adam Ericksen

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Mother’s Day is this Sunday, so I’d like to introduce you to the most underrated mother in the Bible. You may not have heard about her. And, unfortunately, her name isn’t recorded. But this mother is a model for all parents. She is also a key figure in illuminating our understanding of human nature and the transformation of religious sacrifice.

In fact, in the new book edited by Michael Hardin called Reading the Bible with René Girard, Girard claims that the actions of this mother are “at the center”[1] of his main book that explores mimetic theory.

And, to make the story even more interesting, this mother is a prostitute.

She lived during the reign of King Solomon. She and another prostitute resided in the same house. They gave birth three days apart to baby boys.

Tragically, while sleeping, one of the mothers rolled onto her baby, accidentally killing her son in the middle of the night. She snuck to the other mother’s bed and switched their sons. When that mother woke up, she saw that the baby lying next to her was dead, but she also recognized that this child wasn’t her son.

The two mothers went before King Solomon for a judgement. Their conflict grew from their shared desire for the baby boy. But their conflict wasn’t just about the boy. In the ancient world, a woman’s status was largely based on whether she could have a son. And as the mother aged, a loyal son was often a mother’s only protection in a patriarchal world.

The mothers argued before the king, mirroring the same words as they made their case before the Solomon. “The living son is mine, and the dead son is yours,” one mother says. “No,” the other responds, “the dead son is yours and the living son is mine.”

Girard explains that, “They both wanted the same thing, and Solomon finds a way to see which mother is interested in the child itself rather than in her own possessiveness.”[2] Solomon tests the women by using an ancient sacrificial formula. “Bring me a sword,” Solomon requested. “Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other.”

The story claims that the true mother wanted to stop the sacrifice. She pleaded for her child, “because compassion for her son burned within her.” She said, “Please, my lord, give her the living boy, certainly do not kill him!”

But the false mother retorted, “It shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide it!”

In his wisdom, Solomon knew that the true mother would not want the baby to be sacrificed, so he ordered that the boy be returned to his rightful mother.

It may seem strange that the false mother wanted the baby divided, but here’s the thing: the women were in a mimetic rivalry. At this stage, the conflict isn’t really about the object. You know how when you get into a conflict with someone and the next day you forget what you were fighting about? That’s because it’s not about the object. The object quickly fades from view as our goal becomes defeating our rival.

That’s why the false mother was so quick to sacrifice the child. As the conflict with the other mother grew, she became less interested in the baby and more interested in the prestige that came with defeating her rival. And if that meant sacrificing the baby, so be it.

But the true mother kept her baby as her focus. As Girard beautifully claims, she shows that “a mother’s love is the opposite of mimetic rivalry. It is total dedication to the child rather than the possessiveness of romantic love.”[3]

By “romantic love” Girard means a love that isn’t based on compassion for another, but is based on pride and prestige. True motherly love is the love of God. In other words, God’s love is like the love of this prostitute that renounced her pride, and even her future, for the sake of her son. As the prophet Hosea said, it’s a love that inverts the ancient sacrificial formula that sacrifices another in favor of the Jewish principle of mercy, not sacrifice. If we want to use the term sacrifice, it’s the willingness to be like this mother – to sacrifice our own pride, prestige, and desires for the sake of another.

And so, this mother, this prostitute, is one of the most important people in the Bible. Not every mother is perfect, of course. And motherhood goes well beyond the bounds of biology. After all, Solomon didn’t test this mother’s DNA; he tested her heart. And that’s how she revealed her identity as a mother.

I’m fortunate to have been mothered in this way by many women, and even some men.

I wish them all a very happy Mother’s Day.

[1] Michael Hardin, ed, Reading the Bible with Rene Girard: Conversations with Stephen E. Berry (Lancaster, PA: JDL Press, 2015), page 98*.* That book is Things Hidden Sine the Foundation of the World.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

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