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and praised in the new testament in an apparent allusion to Hebrews
11:31 (5/17–18). next are ruth and naomi from the Book of ruth; ruth
is praised for her steadfast love and kindness to her grieving mother-
in-law, naomi (6/1–4), and both women are described as having been
rewarded for their virtue and piety (6/11).6 Then comes Mary Magdalen,
the faithful follower of Jesus who appears in all four canonical gospels of
the new testament, and whose report, according to the poet, proved the
prophecy of the Lord – a reference to her witnessing and announcing the
resurrection, which Jesus had prophesied (6/17–18).7 The section on bibli-
cal women concludes with a verse about abigail, the peacemaker described
in 1 Samuel 25:1–44 who negotiated peace between her first husband,
nabal, and King David, whom nabal had insulted; after this, Yahweh
struck down nabal, allowing David to marry the newly widowed abigail
(7/17–18). the poet describes her as praiseworthy (7/1), and her virtue as
shining brightly (7/6).
The next category is that of the female ruler. The first described is
Salome alexandra, who ruled over Judea in the first century BCE (8/1–
2).8 the poet describes her reign as a peaceful one (8/3), and lauds how
she established peace through good counsel after the death of her husband
(8/8–12). after her death, the poet notes, prosperity collapsed and the
kingdom fell (8/14–17). the beginning of the following stanza is dedicated
to the third-century warrior queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria,
Zenobia, who expanded her empire and conquered Egypt and parts of asia
Minor in memory of her husband, who had been assassinated (9/1–4).
the remaining lines of the stanza are dedicated to the wife of Pilate, who,
according to Matthew 27:19, sent a message to her husband, telling him of
a dream she had and warning him not to execute Jesus (9/5–9); however,
her warning was not heeded (9/10–19). Zenobia, Pilate’s wife, and abigail
are also grouped together in Bishop Jón Vídalín (1666–1720) of Skálholt’s
6 Ruth is also the subject of a rímnaflokkur in 3 fitts, Rímur af bókinni Rut by Ein ar Sigurðs-
son í Eydölum, see Jón Torfason and Kristján Eiríksson, eds., Vísnabók Guðbrands, 140–47,
169–83, 462–63. ruth and naomi are also mentioned in Jón Vídalín’s Hússpostilla, see
Gunnar Kristjánsson and Mörður Árnason, eds., Vídalíns postilla, 718.
7 Mary Magdalen’s announcement of the resurrection is mentioned in Jón Vídalín’s Húss-
postilla, see Gunnar Kristjánsson and Mörður Árnason, eds., Vídalínspostilla, 366.
8 For more on Queen Salome, see Kenneth Atkinson, Queen Salome: Jerusalem’s Warrior
Monarch of the First Century B.C.E. (Jefferson, nC: Mcfarland, 2012).
IN PRAISE OF WOMEN