The Bible is full of beautiful examples of the type of women men ought to date. There's Esther, who stood up for her people at the risk of her own life. Ruth, who stayed loyal to her mother-in-law once her own husband had passed away. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and friend and mentor to Mary, the mother of Christ. All of these women lived righteous lives and strove to follow the example Jesus set.

However, not all the women were righteous. Men interested in dating a good woman would do well to avoid ladies who resemble the following biblical examples.

Delilah (Judges 16:4-21)

In Biblical times, there were a number of strong men, but Samson might have been the strongest of them all.

But it turned out Samson wasn't completely invulnerable. He fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who had a thing for muscles and money. When some Philistines offered her money to tell her the secret to Samson's strength, she agreed and made it her business to discover the truth. Wearying of her persistence, Samson eventually told her his strength lay in his unshaven head.

Without a stroke to her conscience, Delilah shaved his head in his sleep and his strength left him. Ironically enough, the first thing his captors did was gouge his eyes out. Beauty would never fool Samson again.

Job's wife (Job 2:9-10)

One of the most righteous men in the Bible had a not-so-righteous wife. Though to be honest, Job's wife had to put up with a lot. She went from being the wife of a wealthy man with hundreds of flocks and 10 healthy children, to losing almost everything in one fell swoop. The flocks were stolen and burned and their house collapsed, killing all of her kids in the same day. To add insult to injury, Job's own health was suddenly afflicted when boils sprang up on him "from the sole of his foot unto his crown" (Job 2:7).

And yet, through all this, Job didn't utter a word against the Lord. He continued in faith, trusting all was in the hands of his God. Job's wife, on the other hand, had had enough. Instead of standing by her husband and continuing to support him through these enormous trials, she said, "Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die." Not exactly words you'd like to hear from your wife's mouth at a critical juncture of your life.

Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:1-20)

When Joseph was sold into Egypt, he was purchased by a prosperous Egyptian, named Potiphar. It didn't take long for Joseph to find favor in the eyes of Potiphar, who made him overseer of his entire household. Unfortunately, Joseph's kindness and apparent handsomeness (he was "well-favored" as told in Genesis 39:6) brought him the unwelcome attention of Potiphar's wife.

Not content with her husband's wealth and prosperity, the wife approached Joseph again and again asking him to lie with her. He refused, naturally, being a righteous and honorable man, but one day Potiphar's wife grabbed his clothing, begging him to be with her, and he fled, leaving a piece of raiment in her hands.

This vengeful woman used this garment to accuse Joseph of trying to rape her, which caused Potiphar to throw Joseph into prison, where he remained for an unspecified number of years. All because of the fury of a woman scorned.

Herodias (St. Mark 6:16-28)

This wicked woman brought about the demise of John the Baptist. Not by her own hand, of course, but her sinister machinations are what led to his untimely demise.

People who don't know the story well might blame Salome, the daughter of Herodias, who danced before King Herod, gaining his favor. He offered her anything she wanted, and she requested the death of John the Baptist. But she didn't come up with the idea on her own. In Mark 6:24 we read, "And she (Salome) went forth, and said unto her mother (Herodias), What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist." And so it was done.

Why did she harbor such ill feelings toward a man of God? Herodias had divorced her husband and married his brother, a circumstance which John the Baptist criticized. Herodias likely knew one criticizer could easily multiply and wanted to stop the complaining at the source. Literally.

Lot's wife

(Genesis 19:14-26)

This woman might not seem that wicked. Certainly not compared to Herodias, at least. All she did was look back at the city that she called home.

Her sin was more than this, of course. When the Lord warned Lot that Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed, He added, "Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." When Lot's wife looked back, she was symbolically looking back at sin and disobeying a direct order from the Lord. Her punishment was immediate: she was turned into a pillar of salt.

These examples of wicked women are the exceptions, rather than the rule in the Bible. When it comes to dating, stick with positive role models and look for their attributes in the women you meet. NBC's 12-part series "A.D. The Bible Continues" is a solid place to start looking for good examples. Watch it this spring on NBC.

#ADTheSeries premieres Easter Sunday, April 5 at 9/8c on NBC.