How many books of the Christian bible were named after women?

Ruth is one of two books in the Bible named after a woman. Ruth, a Moabitess, had married a Jewish man who had moved to Moab with his parents and brother when a famine came to Israel. When Ruth’s husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law all died, Ruth stayed close to her mother-in-law, Naomi, followed her back to Israel, and promised “wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God…” (Ruth 1:16) Back in Israel, Ruth went to work in the fields of Boaz, who took notice of her and married her. Besides being a beautiful love story and picture of personal redemption, the story of Ruth fits into the grand story of our redemption through Jesus. Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus.

The second book of the Bible named after a woman is Esther. Esther was among the Jewish exiles in Babylon, and under the care of her uncle Mordecai. When the King of Persia was looking for a new wife, Mordecai encouraged Esther to be considered, and Esther soon became Queen Esther. When a plot at court threatened to destroy the Jewish people, Esther, with Mordecai’s encouragement, courageously approached the King and was able to find reprieve for the Jewish people. The book of Esther beautifully shows the working of God’s Providence in history and through a woman whom God had placed as queen “for such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)