Think all the heroes of the Bible were born on a bed of roses? Think again! Many of the Bible’s most famous personalities had difficult childhoods, marked by sibling rivalry, abuse, loss of loved ones, or worse. Yet they overcame their challenges and went on to change the course of history. Read on for 10 Biblical heroes who teach us how to turn trauma into triumph.
1. Abraham: Grew Up in a Cave
Abraham’s childhood was far from easy. According to a Midrashic tradition, when Abraham was born, King Nimrod’s astrologers warned him that a boy had been born who would threaten his kingdom and profoundly influence the entire world. Nimrod ordered Terach, the infant’s father, to hand over the child to be put to death. Thinking quickly, Terach switched Abraham with the newborn son of a maidservant, saving Abraham’s life. To escape the king’s wrath, Abraham spent the first ten years of his life hiding in a cave with his mother and nurse.1
2. Isaac: Mean Older Brother
Abraham’s son Isaac was born fourteen years after his brother Ishmael, Abraham’s son through the maidservant Hagar. Jealous of his younger brother, Ishmael would shoot arrows at Isaac when the two were in the field, claiming he was just having fun.2 Ishmael’s cruel behavior ended only when he and his mother were sent away from his father’s home.
3. Joseph: Sold by His Brothers
Like Isaac, Joseph suffered at the hands of jealous siblings, but with a far more drastic outcome. His father Jacob sent him to check on his brothers, who were tending sheep in Shechem. As Joseph approached, the brothers plotted to kill him, until the oldest, Reuben, stepped in and convinced them to throw Joseph into a pit instead. (For the record, it was no ordinary pit, but one filled with snakes and scorpions!3)
Soon after, a caravan passed on its way to Egypt, and the brothers decided to sell Joseph as a slave.4 The story ends with Joseph becoming viceroy of Egypt and rescuing the country (and his brothers!) from famine. How’s that for a youth of trauma and drama?
4. Dinah: Kidnapped and Abused
While Jacob’s family lived in Shechem, his daughter Dinah caught the eye of the local ruler, also named Shechem, who abducted and assaulted her. She was freed by her brothers Simeon and Levi, who avenged her by wiping out the city.5
5. Benjamin: Orphaned at Birth
Jacob’s youngest son Benjamin was the second child born to his wife Rachel (Joseph was the first). But he never knew his mother. Tragically, she died in childbirth and was buried in Bethlehem.6 (Her resting place is still a pilgrimage site today.) Benjamin was raised by Bilhah, his mother’s former maidservant and one of Jacob’s wives.7
Read: 10 Facts About Benjamin
6. Esther: Double Orphan
Benjamin wasn’t the only Biblical figure to lose a parent at birth. Queen Esther’s father passed away before she was born, and her mother died in childbirth. She was raised by her cousin Mordechai.8 Other great personalities who were born double orphans include the Talmudic-era scholars Rabbi Yochanan and Abaye.9
Read: 10 Inspiring Orphans Who Significantly Impacted Judaism
7. Moses: Hunted at Birth
Moses was born at a precarious time in Jewish history, when the wicked Pharaoh decreed that every newborn Jewish boy must be thrown into the Nile. For three months, his mother Jochebed managed to keep him hidden. When that was no longer possible, she tucked him into a basket and placed it in the Nile, instructing his sister Miriam to stand guard. There he was discovered and rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter Batya, who adopted him as her own.10
8. Jephthah: Outcast Turned Leader
Jephthah (Yiftach) of Gilead was a social outcast, born to “another woman”—understood either as a prostitute, a concubine, or a woman from another tribe.11 His half-brothers rejected him because of his lowly birth, and he left home to become the head of a band of ruffians.
When the Ammonites terrorized the people of Israel, the elders came to Jephthah and begged him to lead them. Scarred by years of mistreatment, he was hesitant at first, but he eventually agreed to lead the Jews in battle. He defeated the Ammonites and went on to lead Israel for six years.12
Read: The Story of Jephthah
9. Joash: Hid from a Murderous Grandmother
Joash, king of Judah, was born into a tangle of tragic royal intrigue. His grandmother Athaliah, daughter of the wicked, idolatrous King Ahab of Israel, married Jehoram, king of Judah, linking the two kingdoms. When her son Ahaziah, Jehoram’s successor and Joash’s father, was killed in a coup, she set out to eliminate every remaining heir of the House of David. She then declared herself queen, ruling Judah with a ruthless hand.
Fortunately, Joash’s aunt spirited the infant child away and hid him and his nurse in the upper story of the Holy of Holies. He remained there for six years, until he was brought out and restored to the throne.13
Read: The Story of Joash
10. Hezekiah: Thrown into a Fire
Hezekiah is described in Scripture as more righteous than all the kings of Judah before and after him.14 Yet he almost didn’t make it past childhood. His father, the idolatrous King Ahaz, wanted to burn his son alive, a common pagan practice at the time. Hezekiah was spared thanks to his mother, who coated him with a fire-resistant liquid and saved his life.15
Read: 16 Jewish Heroes Who Beat the Odds to Preserve Judaism
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