Pregnancy, the condition of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body, is a significant theme in the Bible, symbolizing both physical and spiritual fruitfulness. It is often associated with divine blessing, fulfillment of God's promises, and the continuation of His covenant with humanity.

Biblical Instances of Pregnancy

1. Eve: As the first woman, Eve's pregnancies are foundational to the human race. Genesis 3:16 highlights the pain associated with childbirth as a consequence of the Fall: "To the woman He said: 'I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'"

2. Sarah: The pregnancy of Sarah, Abraham's wife, is a pivotal moment in the Bible. Despite her old age and initial barrenness, God promises Abraham that Sarah will bear a son, Isaac, through whom God's covenant will be established (Genesis 17:19). Genesis 21:1-2 records the fulfillment: "Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him."

3. Rebekah: Rebekah, Isaac's wife, also experienced a significant pregnancy. Her twins, Esau and Jacob, struggled within her womb, symbolizing the future conflict between their descendants (Genesis 25:22-23). This pregnancy underscores God's sovereignty in choosing Jacob, the younger, to carry forward His promise.

4. Hannah: The account of Hannah, who was initially barren, highlights the power of prayer and God's intervention. After fervently praying for a child, God grants her request, and she gives birth to Samuel, who becomes a significant prophet (1 Samuel 1:19-20).

5. Elizabeth: In the New Testament, Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, experiences a miraculous pregnancy in her old age. Her son, John the Baptist, is the forerunner of Christ, preparing the way for the Lord (Luke 1:13-17).

6. Mary: The most significant pregnancy in the Bible is that of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her conception by the Holy Spirit is a cornerstone of Christian belief, fulfilling the prophecy of a virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14). Luke 1:31-35 records the angel Gabriel's announcement: "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High."

Theological Significance

Pregnancy in the Bible often signifies God's direct involvement in human history. It is a means through which He fulfills His promises and demonstrates His power over life and creation. The miraculous pregnancies of Sarah, Rebekah, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Mary highlight God's ability to bring life from barrenness and to accomplish His divine purposes.

Moral and Ethical Considerations

The Bible consistently presents pregnancy and childbirth as blessings from God. Psalm 127:3 states, "Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward." This view underscores the sanctity of life and the importance of family within the biblical framework.

Symbolism and Metaphor

Pregnancy is also used metaphorically in Scripture to describe spiritual truths. For instance, the Apostle Paul uses the imagery of childbirth to express the pains and struggles of spiritual formation and growth (Galatians 4:19). This metaphor highlights the transformative process of becoming more like Christ.

In summary, pregnancy in the Bible is a profound theme that encompasses God's promises, the sanctity of life, and the unfolding of His redemptive plan for humanity.1. (n.) The condition of being pregnant; the state of being with young.

2. (n.) Figuratively: The quality of being heavy with important contents, issue, significance, etc.; unusual consequence or capacity; fertility.

616. apokueo -- to give birth to
... o) Short Definition: I bring forth, give birth to Definition: I bring forth, give
birth to (a child), a medical or physical word, marking the close of pregnancy ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/616.htm - 6k2032. heron -- conception, pregnancy
... 2031, 2032. heron or herayon. 2033 . conception, pregnancy. Transliteration:
heron or herayon Phonetic Spelling: (hay-rone') Short Definition: childbirth. ...
/hebrew/2032.htm - 6k

990. beten -- belly, body, womb
... being (1), belly (8), birth (4), body (11), brothers* (1), depth (1), himself (1),
infancy* (1), inward parts (1), mind (1), parts (1), pregnancy (1), rounded ...
/hebrew/990.htm - 6k

The Name Children Does not Imply Instruction in Elementary ...
... And this blood, transmuted by a natural process of assimilation in the pregnancy
of the mother, through the sympathy of parental affection, effloresces and ...
/.../clement/the instructor paedagogus/chapter vi the name children does.htm

If the Members Rise, must they Discharge the Same Functions as Now ...
... the beginning discharge them (since we see many women who do not become pregnant,
as those that are barren, even though they have wombs), so pregnancy is not ...
/.../chapter iii if the members rise.htm

Argument. Secundulus Dies in the Prison Felicitas is Pregnant, but ...
... had been pregnant when she was apprehended), as the day of the exhibition was drawing
near, she was in great grief lest on account of her pregnancy she should ...
/.../chapter v argument secundulus dies in.htm

Excuses Commonly Urged in Defence of Second Marriage their ...
... But perhaps at that time of your wife's pregnancy you will have the hardihood to
beg from God a remedy for so grave a solicitude, which, when it lay in your ...
/.../tertullian/on exhortation to chastity/chapter xii excuses commonly urged in.htm

The General Purport of this Work the Heretics, Marcion, Apelles ...
... the flesh of Christ to be imaginary was equally able to pass off His nativity as
a phantom; so that the virgin's conception, and pregnancy, and child-bearing ...
/.../tertullian/ on the flesh of christ/chapter i the general purport of.htm

The visitation
... drawing near when Joseph wished to go up to Jerusalem for the Passover, the Blessed
Virgin decided to accompany him in order to help Elizabeth in her pregnancy ...
/.../emmerich/the life of the blessed virgin mary/ix the visitation.htm

Christ Born of a virgin, of Her Substance the Physiological Facts ...
... can tell us, from the nature of women's breasts, whether they usually flow at any
other time than when the womb is affected with pregnancy, when the veins ...
/.../tertullian/ on the flesh of christ/chapter xx christ born of a.htm

The Second Homily. On the Annunciation to the Holy virgin Mary.
... "Hail, thou that art highly favoured" [510] in the holy conception and in the glorious
pregnancy, "I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all ...
/.../the second homily on the.htm

All the Characteristics of Our Bodies --Sex, Various Limbs, Etc. ...
... the other organs of generation, in the two sexes, and the laboratories of embryos,
and the fountains of the breast, when concubinage, and pregnancy, and infant ...
/.../on the resurrection of the flesh/chapter lx all the characteristics of.htm

The Meaning
... under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." A sign, and a very beautiful
image of the primitive Church in a state of pregnancy, resplendent on ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mede/a key to the apocalypse/the meaning 3.htm

Pregnancy (3 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Pregnancy (3 Occurrences). ... Hosea 9:11 As for Ephraim, their
glory shall fly away as a bird, no birth, no pregnancy, no conception! ...
/p/pregnancy.htm - 7k

Pregnant (33 Occurrences)
... (See NAS). Jeremiah 20:17 Because he hath not put me to death from the womb, And
my mother is to me -- my grave, And her womb a pregnancy age-during. (See NAS). ...
/p/pregnant.htm - 16k

Quickening (7 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) The first motion of the fetus in the womb felt by the mother, occurring
usually about the middle of the term of pregnancy. ...
/q/quickening.htm - 9k

Going (2561 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) Departure. 4. (n.) Pregnancy; gestation; childbearing. 5. (n.) Course of
life; behavior; doings; ways. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. GOING; GOINGS. ...
/g/going.htm - 10k

Tubal (9 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary. (a.) Of or pertaining to a tube; specifically, of or
pertaining to one of the Fallopian tubes; as, tubal pregnancy. Int. ...
/t/tubal.htm - 12k

Preferring (2 Occurrences)

/p/preferring.htm - 7k

Increase (184 Occurrences)
... Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, I will greatly increase thy travail and thy
pregnancy; with pain thou shalt bear children; and to thy husband shall be thy ...
/i/increase.htm - 40k

Psychology
... the very day on which the soul is created or infused into the body, as it is being
formed in the mother's womb-in boys on the 40th day after pregnancy and in ...
/p/psychology.htm - 38k

Nero
... months old. Two years later Poppea herself died during pregnancy, of a
cruel kick inflicted by Nero in a fit of rage (65 AD). He ...
/n/nero.htm - 41k

Eschatology
... There is a pregnancy not to be overlooked in such expressions as, "The wicked shall
be turned back unto Sheol" (Psalm 9:17), a "lowest Sheol" unto which God's ...
/e/eschatology.htm - 70k

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