Apostle Susannah: Mother and Prophet
- Elaine R Kelly
- May 21
- 17 min read
Updated: Jun 11
Susannah is named just once in the Bible (Luke 8:1-3). After she was healed by Christ, she became a patron and disciple who followed Jesus from Galilee, looking after his needs. She was likely one of the "many women" disciples and patrons who followed Jesus from Galilee (Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:49, John 19:25). Some of these women would surely have been at the Last Supper when Jesus told them that they would do the works Jesus did and even greater works (John 14:12).
Yes, she was likely one of the many women at the cross.
Yes, she was likely one of the women going to anoint his body at the tomb.
Yes, she may have been one of the women whom the risen Jesus commissioned (Matthew 28:10).
That makes her an apostle.
In my novel Finding Her Voice, from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles, I portray Susannah juggling motherhood, her seamstress career, and her call to preach. Like many women of today, she wonders if motherhood is an obstacle to her life or the object of it. Does she have to choose?
I shine the light on several female apostles: Junia, Susannah, Mary Magdalene, and Mariamne, the sister of Apostle Philip. This is article 5 of 5 articles on female apostles in the Bible and the early church.
Who is an Apostle: Are there Female Apostles?
Apostle Junia's Missionary Journeys
What Did Jesus Commission Susannah To Do?
Since there is little known about Susannah from the Bible or church tradition, I have developed a fictional backstory for her. In my fiction, Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, the risen Jesus tells Susannah that many will understand God's word through her.
In Because She Was Called, from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Early Church, Susannah serves the Greek widows with Philip, Stephen, and the other deacons, then Paul imprisons her for speaking out against Stephen's persecution. She flees to Caesarea and begins to teach, preach, and baptize. She falls in love with Philip, and must decide whether romance will pull her away from fulfilling God's call on her life, and Philip must decide whether he will insist on dominance or respect Susannah's calling as an apostle and a clothing maker.
What Challenges Does Susannah Face?
Unlike the challenges faced by apostles on mission journeys, Susannah faces challenges from unwritten cultural expectations.
For those familiar with Philip the Evangelist in the book of Acts, it will not be a spoiler to learn that Philip has four daughters. The Bible tells us nothing of the mother of these women. I portray Philip's wife as Susannah, a red-haired Jewish woman.
In developing Susannah's character, I aim to encourage women of today to know they are valuable and their work is valuable, whether or not they bear children, and whether or not they have sons.
Will he Choose Life?
Susannah's first challenge is being vulnerable, knowing Philip has the right to choose whether to abandon the baby she carries. In ancient Rome, a newborn was presented to the man of the house, and he had the full right to either accept or abandon the baby (1). He might choose to abandon the baby because it was a girl. He might abandon it because he did not have adequate resources to care for a baby, or because it had a birth defect or abnormality. These reasons are similar to today's reasons for abortions, except that in Roman times, men had the full power to choose. Perhaps men today would like to have the same powers as men in the patriarchal pagan Roman society.
Babies were abandoned before they were named and left in certain places where the gods might provide an adoptive family. Ancient Jews did not practice abandonment, however, they preferred to have boys to carry on their lineage. Many ancient societies preferred boys, and a wife could be abandoned or divorced if she did not provide a male heir.
Throughout the Old Testament, we see infertility portrayed as a punishment for a woman's sin. There's no mention of a physical cause or a man's part in a couple's infertility. Women such as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah were called barren and blamed for their infertility until God intervened. However, we know that God rarely intervenes to cure infertile couples today.
Infertility Challenges Faith:
When I was struggling with infertility, I felt harmed by being raised with the expectation that I would easily have children and that my career accomplishments would never be comparable to motherhood. As a mother of three daughters, I have seen the harm of placing a higher value on boys than girls. As a businesswoman, I have experienced the pressures of being a full-time professional and at the same time being a full-time mom. I also experienced the positive feelings of accomplishment in my career and in my family, the healthy pride in being a good example for my daughters.
Christian circles seem to honour women with children more than women without children, and historically, Christians seemed to honour sons more than daughters. In my younger years, I understood David's wife, Michale, was cursed with infertility after she rebuked him for improper behaviour. Now I see that God did not curse Michale, but in fact, David refused to sleep with her again. Deidre Haverelock suggests that David could not legally sleep with Michal after David took Ahinoam as his wife (2), because Ahinoam was Michal's mother, and it was forbidden to uncover the nakedness of both a woman and her daughter.
Jewish Rabbis understand (3) that when it says "Michal the daughter of Saul had no child until the day of her death" (2 Samuel 6:23), it means that Michal had a child on her dying day, that is, in childbirth. The Jewish Midrash praises Michale for being loyal to her husband and helping David escape from her father, King Saul. Michal remained faithful to David even after her father gave her to marry another man, Palti. The Midrash also suggests that Michal had five sons (a higher honour than having daughters), after she adopted her sister Merab's sons on Merab's death.
Fertility Challenges Personhood
After fertility treatment, I had three children in under three years (including twins), and I discovered the challenges of losing oneself in the demands of motherhood. I wanted to continue my professional career, to enjoy adult conversation, to feel like more than a mother. Many mothers need to be reminded that they have intrinsic value as humans, not mere incubators. While society honoured a woman for her breast and womb, Jesus corrected the objectification:
While he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” Luke 11:27-28 NRSVUE
Susannah does not focus on her womb and breasts, but on hearing and following God's calling for her to make God's word known to many. Like many women today, she struggles with knowing her value as a person. She wonders if being a mother will prevent her from being a spokesperson for Jesus. She is living in a culture that values men over women and sons over daughters. It is a culture that does not notice the loss when a mother is confined at home or silenced.
Does Culture Today Devalue Women and Daughters?
Apparently so. Just like in ancient Roman times.
Growing up in a rural community, I know that many farmers wanted a boy to help with the farm work, while mothers wanted a girl to help with the house and garden. While you may feel ashamed about being sad after discovering your baby's gender, it is common enough that there is help for those who experience "gender disappointment" (4). American research shows that for at least half a century, likely longer, American parents favour having boys over girls. Other studies show that a parent hopes to have a child of the same sex as them, with fathers wanting a boy and mothers wanting a girl. Or maybe the mother wants to please her husband and knows that he wants a boy. In The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, I read about a doctor who heard many women apologize to their husbands after delivering a girl. And this was in the 1990s, when we knew that the baby's sex is determined by the father, who can contribute either an X or Y chromosome, while the mother always contributes an X chromosome.
A 2018 survey showed that the preference for having a boy baby persists in the US (5), with a gap of 8 points: 28% of parents prefer a girl, and 36% of parents prefer to have a boy. This is little changed from the 1947 survey, which had a gap of 15 points. The preference appears to be primarily driven by men. Over the years, the Gallup survey has shown that there is typically a 25-point preference among men preferring a baby boy. Additionally, the latest survey shows that men under age 29 have the strongest preference: almost half prefer a boy baby over a girl baby. Men and women who are over age 50 (the age of grandparenting) show no preference for a given gender. Among women, the current survey shows 31% prefer a girl and 30% a boy, which tells me that the main driver for a preference for boy babies is men. I am also suspicious that the male hierarchical evangelical church influences individuals to prefer to have boy babies, which would allow their sons to grow to have positions of authority that are closed to their daughters. The attitudes of preferring boys over girls have remained unchanged for several decades of surveys, and likely for many years before.
In Canada, we see similar preferences, though Canada is less influenced by evangelicalism and perhaps more influenced by our cultural mosaic. Instead of asking preferences, as Gallup did in the US, the study in Canada examined the birth records of babies born of mothers born in India (6) and mothers born in Canada. These studies observed families that already had two girl babies and found prenatal sex selection is likely present (7) for subsequent children. In particular, there was evidence that first-generation immigrants to Canada from India induced abortions to select for infant sex in Canada. For parents having their third child, the male: female infant ratio was 1.38 and for a subsequent child, the male: female infant ratio rose to 1.66. Mothers born in Canada had a male: female infant ratio of 1.05. The researchers estimate that about 4500 female fetuses were not born because of observed male-biased infant sex ratios in Canada over the 22 years leading up to their 2016 study.
In China, while parents were restricted under the one-child policy from 1979 - 2016, many parents preferred a boy baby. Between 2002 and 2008, the sex ratio of male to female births was 118 male for each 100 female births (8). A 2016 study showed that these "missing women" might be a combination of sex-selective abortions and administrative under-reporting. Since giving birth to a second child was illegal, parents of girls would simply not register the birth, accounting for possibly 10 million of the missing women since 1982.
In my study of ancient Rome, I found that infant sex selection was also practiced. In the Roman Empire, a father had the full right to either accept a baby or abandon it (9), exposing it to the elements. They let the gods decide if it would survive, become a slave, or be adopted. Reasons for abandoning a baby included financial constraints, uncertain paternity, child deformities, of the fact that the baby was a girl.
Do Christians Today Devalue Women and Daughters?
Yes. And keeping women as secondary, less-than, and subordinate is contributing to domestic violence, abuse, unwanted pregnancies, and physical and financial hardships for women. The Christian church has contributed to enforcing more power for men than women, to showing a preference for boy babies, and to keeping women dependent and powerless. The Christian devaluation of women has boosted the demand for abortions.
Infant sex selection is an old practice, made easier by today's ultrasounds. But abortions are not the problem. Legal abortions actually decrease both infant mortality and maternal mortality. The need for abortions stems from the underlying devaluation of women. If we build a society that values girls and women, it could lead to less violence against women, fewer unwanted pregnancies, and a higher desire and capacity to undergo pregnancy and childbirth--even if it is a girl. Legal abortion is not the problem. Societal devaluing of women is the problem.
The issue is not whether or not to permit abortion, but who has the power to make that choice. In Rome, the men had that choice. In America, the government is making that choice. In both cases, the goal is to take the power away from women.
The Christian church has condemned and blamed women who are pregnant. I believe the church and society could do so much more to address the reasons for ending a pregnancy: financial hardship, a child with a disability, or preference for a boy baby. Next time you express a preference for a boy baby, consider whether or not you are contributing to a higher incidence of mortality for girl babies as well as maternal mortality. Christians could encourage mothers to choose life more often by providing financial and social support to women and by giving equal opportunities to women and men. We should trust pregnant women to make the difficult choice.
Ancient Jews celebrated all children and often adopted the babies abandoned by non-Jews, saving their lives. However, there was still some Jewish preference for boy babies (10), since boys were given preference in inheritance laws, and male circumcision brought women into the Covenant with Abraham. Jewish writer Shira Engel states that for centuries, Jewish girls had no marker, no covenant, no ritual comparable to a boy's circumcision. She says that today it is different. "Boys have a bris and girls have a baby naming.... Jewish girls have now been given their own rituals. The next step is to have them be recognized as equally valid."
Overturning Preference for Boys
As long as society prefers boys, patriarchy will prevail. Why do parents prefer boys? Because church and society tell them a girl is less valuable than a boy. Historical traditions have favoured sons with inheriting both greater wealth and being named successors. My father refused to sell our multi-generational farm to my sister because he wanted it kept in the name of his father and grandfather. In addition, family trees are often traced through the father's line. When people in my small town wanted to know who I was, I introduced myself as "Max's daughter". Changing our name at marriage brings wives into their husbands' lineage, and sons are needed to pass down the family name. My husband and his brother have only daughters, so they will not be passing down the "Kelly" name.
Most British Colonies followed the system of "primogeniture," where the eldest son inherits all or most of the estate. Primogeniture governed the succession to the British throne until 2013, when Queen Elizabeth II changed the law so that the eldest child would be the successor, regardless of gender.
The Law of Moses instructed that the first born son be given a double portion of the inheritance, twice as much as the other sons, and the eldest son would also be the successor of the father's control over the estate (Deuteronomy 21:17). Daughters would inherit if there were no sons (Numbers 27:7).
Ancient Judaism seems to be patrilineal, since there are many Old Testament references to inheriting from your father. First-century texts seem to be unaware of the matrilineal principle in Judaism. King Herod the Great claimed to be Jewish, but early writers doubted Herod's Jewishness (11), since his mother was a Nabatean princess.
Today's Orthodox and Conservative Judaism observe matrilineal descent, meaning that when one's mother is Jewish, one is born Jewish. Your family or tribe depends on your mother's line. While the timing of the change is disputed, Shaye Cohen indicates that the change from Patrilineal to matrilineal took place in the first century (12), likely after the birth of Jesus and before the Temple's destruction in AD 70.
God uplifted women by having a woman give birth to the Messiah. Jesus uplifted women by choosing them as students, patrons, and apostles, overturning the ancient Jewish custom of educating only boys. The fact that Judaism likely changed from patrilineal to matrilineal lineage in the century after Jesus seems like a perfect way for God to uplift women as equal to men.
Female Prophets in the Bible and Early Church
The Bible clearly says that women prophesied. Female prophets in the Old Testament(13) included: Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chron. 34:22), Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), and “the prophetess” (Isaiah 8:3).
In the New Testament female prophets include Anna (Luke 2:36), Philip's four daughters (Acts 21:9). Paul discusses how women are to behave when they prophesy (1 Corinthians 11:5). Agabus came to Antioch with several other prophets, quite possibly a mix of male and female (Acts 11:27).
Eusebius, the fourth-century Christian historian, lists several female prophets among or equal in authority to the male prophets Agabus, Judas Barsabbas, and Silas. Eusebius called Philip's four prophesying daughters "great lights" or "mighty luminaries."
Silencing Prophets; Silencing Women
Eusebius also names Ammia of Philadelphia (14) as a prophet. She was recognized as a second-century prophetess who helped found the early church in what is today Turkey. Philadelphia is one of the places Junia visits in my fiction, Finding Her Voice. Ammia of Philadelphia was a woman who prophesied and taught orthodox traditions.
The Bible shows women in the Bible prophesying: Mary, mother of Jesus, Luke 1:26-28, Anna, Luke 2:36, Philip's four daughters, Acts 21:9, and other women (1 Corinthians 11:5, 2 Kings 22:14, Isaiah 8:3). Men who are called prophets include John the Baptist, Luke 7:28, Philip the Evangelist, Acts 8:26, Agabus, Acts 11:28 and 21:10-112, and in Antioch: Manaen, Lucius of Cyrene, Simon the Niger, and Barnabas, Acts 13:1, as well as Silas and Jude Barsabas, Acts 15:32, Peter (2 Peter 3) and Paul (Acts 9:20).
The early church respected male prophets, including their stories in the canon of the Bible. We see Peter sharing his vision about what's clean and unclean in Acts 10, Paul changing his direction based on a vision in Acts 16, and John writing his vision in the book of Revelation.
The early apostles passed down church traditions through appointed leaders (2 Timothy 2:2, 1 Corinthians 11:23). This became known as "apostolic succession", which honoured only the male apostles. However, Paul honoured both passing down traditions and hearing directly from male and female prophets (1 Corinthians 11:4-5, 1 Corinthians 14:29-32). Eusebius, a fourth-century Christian, expected a continuous succession of both prophets and bishops.
However, in the late first century, a tension rose between whether the prophet or the bishop had greater authority. As the church developed, people resisted the growing emphasis on hierarchy, which concentrated authority in the hands of a few. Only men with a specific background and education could be a bishop or overseer, while women could hold the office of widow, which was on the same level as the office of elder. In contrast, ordinary men or women could aspire to be a deacon or a prophet.
A movement called the New Revelation, New Prophecy, or Montanism strengthened, holding the basics of Christianity, but focused on prophets (15). It called for reliance on the Holy Spirit and believed in new prophetic figures. Montanism originated in Phrygia. Ancient Philadelphia was on the border of Lydia and Phrygia and served as a doorway to Phrygia, and would have been a place where Montanism first took root. Its leaders encouraged people to fast and pray to receive visions and revelations. Scholar Lyn M. Kidson (16) points out that the real issue was the deportment of these prophets. In Philadelphia, the New Prophecy seemed to break away from tradition.
Ignatius, the first-century bishop of Antioch, wrote to the church in Philadelphia to remind them of his prophecy, warning them to pay attention to the bishop and deacons. He seemed to insist that bishops had preeminent authority in everything. Eusebius counted Ammia of Philadelphia as an honourable prophet, similar to Philip's daughters and to Silas and Barnabas. Her ministry in Philadelphia seemed to involve speaking in a becoming, respectable way and teaching in keeping with traditional practices. Eventually, the church decided prophets had less authority than traditions passed down from the apostles. The role of the prophet disappeared in the church structure organized after Emperor Constantine.
Dr Lyn Kidson states that "the office of the prophet (16) eventually disappeared and with it the voice of women.... it is clear that churches had women in them who were exercising this vital ministry. It is time now for churches to be actively seeking the successors for Ammia and hearing their voices."
I believe that when the Bible shows women in the Bible prophesying, it authorizes women today to preach, speak and teach publicly before men and women.
As I wrote about how the Bible endorsed equality, regardless of gender, I came across more arguments for and against equal freedoms, opportunities, rights, and responsibilities for women. I put opposing views side by side in my non-fiction, The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible says About a Woman's Role.
Female Prophets Discounted Today
Those who want to prohibit women from teaching or speaking publicly have several options countering women prophesying and teaching today:
Minimize prophesying by saying these women prophets are passive, unthinking channels of God's messages, like megaphones who speak without understanding. However, male prophets like Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Daniel are not considered passive. Male prophets are shown as actively interpreting and delivering God's word. Prophets like Deborah (also a judge and military commander), Huldah (a female prophet consulted by King Josiah), and other women in the Bible are shown as actively presenting God's messages.
Permit women to prophesy as long as they have submitted to God's word and the male hierarchical structures of the church, and remain under male authority.
Women can prophesy, but what they say is not authoritative, and church authorities can disregard it (just as Paul went to Jerusalem despite the prophecy that he would be captured).
Prophecy is a gift that is below teaching or preaching; a prophet does not pastor or lead a congregation
Prophecy existed in the past, not present; a belief called "Cessationism" states that gifts like prophecy and speaking in tongues ceased after the time of the twelve male apostles.
How Can Susannah be a Prophet, Apostle, and Mother?
In Finding Her Voice, from Broken to Bold: A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles, Susannah faces dilemmas as bearing children seems to overtake her time and energy. She struggles to maintain her business clients and to find ways to help many people understand God's word. She struggles to nurture her children without losing her personhood in the service of others. Her choices highlight the choices women face today as they balance career and children, personal life goals and the demands of raising a family. Where men are equal partners in parenting, these choices are made easier.
When Susannah is confined at home, she cannot travel to the same extent as the apostles Junia, Mary Magdalene, and Mariamne. But she can still spread God's word to her clients, suppliers, and neighbours, and write letters to encourage other female apostles. She can also interpret her daughters' prophecies to make God's word understood by many. I wanted to show how women can serve God differently as their children are small and as they grow more independent. Being an apostle can look different at various life stages, and it can look different for women and men. That does not make a female apostle less valuable or less of an apostle. It does not restrict women to teaching women and children. Jesus commissioned Susannah, and while her actual history may not be recorded, I hope my fictional history of Susannah shows she is an apostle who is not "less than" other apostles.
Conclusion
I hope my writing shows how women in the early church were prophets, teachers, preachers, leaders, and church planters. They understood and interpreted God's word and delivered it publicly. Perhaps seeing female apostles in historical fiction can help today's Christians see how God calls women and uses them to fulfil God's purposes.
It is important for the church not to inhibit women's callings, but to facilitate them, giving women the tools they need to do the job they're called and gifted to do. If she is called to preach, teach, baptize, and offer Holy Communion, she may need church ordination.
Once women and men are equally valued, women do not have to become men to participate in God's call to be disciples and apostles.
Once women and men are equally valued, women will have the ability to choose when to have an abortion, with less male pressure to abort girl babies.
Once women and men are equally valued, both will be involved in juggling parenting and career commitments; both will support a baby with their time and money.
Woman, you are not less than a man.
God will seek you out like a lost coin. Not just for salvation, but to give you an abundant life.
You have value because you breathe. Your unborn child is not worth more than you.
You are created in the full image of God,
Whether or not you are married.
Whether or not you have children.
Whether or not you have sons.
Whether or not you have a profession outside the home.
Whether or not your pastor, father, or husband values you.
You have intrinsic worth.
You are worthy of respect.
You are valued.
God loves you.
You are not less than a man.
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, A Novel of the Earliest Female Apostles (coming October 2025)
Sources
https://www.vindolanda.com/blog/roman-women-and-children-part-3
https://www.deidrehavrelock.com/did-god-curse-michal-with-barrenness-or-did-king-david/
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/michal-daughter-of-saul-midrash-and-aggadah
https://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy/your-life/gender-disappointment_40009118
https://news.gallup.com/poll/236513/slight-preference-having-boy-children-persists.aspx
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/abortions-indian-boy-girl-birth-ratio-1.3530278
https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/romans-decided-whether-to-accept-infants/#google_vignette
https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/q-who-are-women-prophets-bible/
Dr Lyn Kidson https://engenderedideas.wordpress.com/2018/06/06/ammia-in-philadelphia-part-2/
Comentários