OCT 4 | Why God "Forgot" to Name These Women (And What It Reveals About Your Identity)
The Women History Forgot—But God Remembered
Have you ever felt invisible? Like you're just "so-and-so's spouse" or "the person who went through that thing"? Maybe you've spent years building a personal brand, chasing followers, trying to make a name for yourself—only to wonder if any of it actually matters.
Here's something that stopped me in my tracks: Some of the most transformative moments in Scripture—encounters that literally changed the trajectory of human history—center on women whose names we'll never know. Not because they weren't important, but because God was teaching us something profound about where real identity comes from.
In our Instagram-obsessed, personal-branding culture, these nameless women have an urgent message for us. And I promise you, by the time you finish reading this, you'll never think about identity, worth, or significance the same way again.
Let's dive into three biblical women whose names are absent from Scripture, but whose stories are impossible to forget.
Understanding Biblical Names: Why This Matters
Before we meet these women, we need to understand something about the ancient world. Names weren't just labels—they were identity itself.
In Hebrew culture, your name carried your family lineage, your reputation, your very essence. To be remembered by name meant you mattered. To be forgotten? That was the ultimate erasure, the worst kind of death.
So when the biblical writers—inspired by the Holy Spirit—chose NOT to name someone, that wasn't an oversight. It wasn't a clerical error or lost information. It was intentional. Strategic. Meaningful.
These "nameless" women teach us that true identity isn't found in recognition, fame, or even being remembered by others. It's found in something else entirely.
Woman #1: Lot's Wife - The Danger of Backward-Looking Identity
Her Story
"Remember Lot's wife." Just four words from Jesus in Luke 17:32. Not "Remember Rachel" or "Remember Sarah" or whatever her actual name was. Just... Lot's wife.
Her story is brief but devastating. Fire and brimstone are raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Angels—literal angels—are physically pulling her family to safety. There's one rule, one simple instruction: Don't look back.
She looks back. And becomes a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:15-26).
The Lesson We Usually Miss
For years, I read this as a simple obedience story. Follow the rules. Don't question God. End of lesson.
But here's what I've come to realize after wrestling with this passage: She looked back because her identity was still there. Her home. Her friends. Her social standing. Her stuff. Everything that told her who she was remained in the city about to be destroyed.
When God said "that's not you anymore," she couldn't let go. Her grip on her old identity was literally stronger than her will to live.
The Modern Parallel
How many of us are living this exact story? We're clinging to past successes, former relationships, old versions of ourselves that God is asking us to release. We're looking back at what was instead of stepping forward into what could be.
Jesus doesn't say "Remember her name." He says "Remember her choice."
The lesson: Your identity isn't in what you're leaving behind. It's in who you're becoming. Sometimes God's greatest mercy is removing what we're desperately clutching—because what's ahead is so much better than what we're clinging to.
Woman #2: The Samaritan Woman at the Well - Finding Identity Beyond Relationships
Her Story
She comes to Jacob's well at noon—the hottest, most inconvenient part of the day (John 4:7-30). Why? Because the other women came in the morning when it was cool, social, comfortable. She was avoiding them.
Five marriages. Currently living with a man she wasn't married to. In first-century Samaria, she was the town scandal, the subject of whispered gossip, the woman other women wouldn't associate with.
Then Jesus asks her for water.
She's shocked. Jewish men didn't speak to Samaritan women. Ever. It violated every social and religious boundary. But Jesus doesn't just speak to her—He has one of the longest recorded conversations He has with anyone in the Gospels.
The Identity Shift
Here's what strikes me: The Greek word used for "woman" (gunē) throughout this passage isn't demeaning, but it's not personal either. It's generic. Functional. Like calling someone "hey you."
She's been defined by her relationships her entire life. Wife of this person. Divorced from that person. Living with the other person. Never just... her.
Jesus doesn't ask her name. Instead, He does something more powerful: He asks her to face her story honestly.
"Go call your husband."
"I don't have a husband."
"You're right—you've had five, and the one you're with now isn't your husband."
But watch what happens next. Jesus doesn't shame her. He doesn't lecture. Instead, He offers her living water—a new identity not based on her relationships, but on her relationship with Him.
The Transformation
By the end of the chapter, John tells us: "Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony" (John 4:39).
She's still "the woman" in the text. Her name never appears. But now she's the woman who brought her entire town to Jesus. That's identity transformation.
The lesson: You are not defined by your relationship status, your past mistakes, or what people say about you. When you encounter Jesus, He gives you a mission that transcends your history.
Woman #3: The Woman with the Issue of Blood - Worth Beyond Your Condition
Her Story
Twelve years of bleeding. In Jewish culture, this made her ritually unclean—untouchable. She couldn't attend synagogue, couldn't touch her family, couldn't work normally. For twelve years, her entire identity was "the unclean woman" (Mark 5:25-34).
She'd spent all her money on doctors. Got worse instead of better. Then she heard about Jesus.
The Desperate Reach
Mark 5:28 contains a detail that wrecks me every time: "She said to herself, 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.'"
The Greek word for "touch" (haptomai) doesn't mean a casual brush. It means to fasten yourself to something, to grasp desperately. This isn't a light tap—it's the grab of someone drowning.
She's not just reaching for physical healing. She's reaching for someone who might finally see her as more than her condition.
She touches His cloak. Power flows. She's healed instantly.
And Jesus stops. In the middle of a pressing crowd, with a dying girl waiting, Jesus stops and asks: "Who touched me?"
The New Name
The disciples think He's lost it—there's a crowd pressing in from all sides. But Jesus knows the difference between being bumped and being desperately grabbed by someone who needs Him.
She comes forward, trembling, and tells Him "the whole truth." And Jesus says something that changes everything:
"Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering" (Mark 5:34).
"Daughter."
She's been "the unclean woman" for twelve years. And in one sentence, Jesus gives her a new identity. Not a name for the history books. Something better: a relationship. You're mine. You belong.
We still don't know her name. But we know whose she is.
The lesson: Your condition, your struggle, your diagnosis, your issue—it's not your identity. When Jesus calls you His own, that's the identity that matters.
The Pattern: What These Three Women Teach Us
Let's zoom out and see the bigger picture.
All three of these women had the same fundamental problem we face today: They were looking for identity in the wrong place.
Lot's wife: In her past, her possessions, her comfort zone
The Samaritan woman: In her relationships and reputation
The bleeding woman: In her condition and social status
And what does God do? He doesn't give them better names. He doesn't make them famous. He gives them better stories. He gives them encounters with the divine that transform them from the inside out.
This is the biblical pattern of identity formation: God doesn't validate our old identity—He offers us a completely new one based on relationship with Him.
Modern Application: Where Are You Looking for Identity?
Let me get personal for a moment. Where are you looking for your identity right now?
Is it in your:
Social media following?
Job title or career success?
Relationship status (married, single, divorced)?
Bank account or financial status?
Children's achievements?
Past successes or failures?
Physical appearance or health condition?
What people say about you?
Here's what these nameless women teach us with stunning clarity:
God's not interested in making you famous. He's interested in making you His.
The Samaritan woman didn't need her name in lights—she needed Living Water.
Lot's wife didn't need her house back—she needed to trust that God was leading her somewhere better.
The bleeding woman didn't need public recognition—she needed to hear Jesus call her "daughter."
The Identity That Lasts
Here's the wild, beautiful irony: We remember these women. Not because of their names, but because of their encounters with Jesus.
Two thousand years later, we're still talking about them. Still learning from them. Still being transformed by their stories.
That's the identity that lasts. Not fame. Not recognition. Not being mentioned by name. But being transformed by Jesus and allowing that transformation to impact others.
Theological Depth: The Kingdom of God and Identity
There's a deeper theological truth here about the Kingdom of God. In God's kingdom, the last are first, the humble are exalted, and the forgotten are remembered.
These nameless women embody what Jesus taught throughout His ministry: The world's system of recognition, status, and identity is completely upside down in God's kingdom.
Paul would later write in Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Our earthly identifiers—name, race, gender, status—fade in significance when we find our primary identity in Christ. We become part of something infinitely larger than our individual recognition.
Your Nameless Moments
Maybe you're reading this feeling invisible. Forgotten. Overlooked. Like you're just:
"So-and-so's spouse"
"The person who went through that"
"The one struggling with that issue"
"The failure everyone remembers"
These women would tell you: That's not the end of your story.
When you encounter Jesus—really encounter Him—He doesn't give you a better reputation. He gives you a new identity. Not based on what you do, what people call you, or what you've been through. Based solely on whose you are.
Practical Steps: Living Into Your True Identity
So how do we actually live this out? How do we stop chasing recognition and rest in being known by God?
1. Let Go of What You're Clutching Like Lot's wife, identify what past identity you're holding onto that God is asking you to release.
2. Face Your Story Honestly Like the Samaritan woman, stop hiding from your truth. Jesus already knows it—and He's not scared off by it.
3. Reach Out in Desperate Faith Like the bleeding woman, stop pretending you have it all together. Desperate faith gets Jesus's attention every time.
4. Listen for Your New Name What is Jesus calling you? Daughter? Son? Beloved? Chosen? Forgiven? That's your identity now.
Known by the One Who Matters
Your name might never trend on Twitter. Your face might never appear on a magazine cover. Your accomplishments might go unnoticed by the world.
But if you're His? You're known. And that's everything.
Remember Lot's wife: Let go of what you're clinging to.
Remember the woman at the well: Your past doesn't define your purpose.
Remember the woman who touched His cloak: Desperate faith changes everything.
These nameless women teach us the most important lesson about identity: It's not about being known by everyone. It's about being known by the One who knows you completely and loves you anyway.
That's the identity that transforms. That's the identity that lasts. That's the identity that sets you free.
What's your story? Which of these women resonates with where you are right now? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
An Invitation to go Deeper….
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