Jump to content

Old Testament views on women

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dwmyers (talk | contribs) at 03:55, 18 October 2003 (added a reference). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The factual accuracy, the neutrality and, particularly, the methodology of this article is disputed. Please see the article's talk page for more information.

Preface

The basis of this article is the examination of Old Testament (i.e. the Hebrew Bible ) attitudes towards women. In doing so, a number of questions have to be asked. Any analysis of the Old Testament text depends on the answers to the questions of who wrote the text, when the text was written, and how accurate were the writings in the first place.

In the view of the Biblical minimalists, the Hebrew Bible is not a historical document at all. It is a post-exilic construction. In the view of the Biblical maximalists, portions of the Hebrew Bible could have been written as early as the tenth century BCE, and there are positions taken by respectable scholars in a spectrum between these extremes.

Further, it has to be noted that the monotheistic culture of Yahwism was being superimposed on top of the Canaanite religion of the time, which involved a central diety named El and his consort Asherah (Cross, pages 1-76; Dever, pages 175-180, 183-188 among others). The Bible itself details the creation of temples to gods other than Yahweh from the time of Solomon forward, and these temples were not entirely expunged until the religious purge of King Josiah of Judah (2 Kings 23:4-23:27. See also Campbell, chapter 3). Therefore, it must be understood that the norms spoken of in the Hebrew Bible may not have accurately reflected the behavior, treatment and beliefs of all people in the region at that time. People worshiped in a variety of ways, of which the monotheism of Yahweh was a component (Finkelstein and Silberman, pages 240-242; Patai, chapters 1-3).

Introduction

This article concerns the laws, customs, practices, and stories described in the Old Testament regarding women. These helped to form the norm of Jewish society from the time of the United Monarchy, ca. the 10th century BCE, to the destruction of the second temple in 70CE.

Adam and Eve

It is widely thought that the the creation account from the book of Genesis is composed from two different accounts. In the second, supposedly older account, God creates Adam first, and then Eve.

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." (Genesis 2:18)
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs [9] and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib [10] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." (Genesis 2:21-23)

In the first account, there is no difference noted between the creation of man and woman. Both are created in the image of God; the two together are given commands to "be fruitful and multiply" and to "have dominion over the earth".

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)

Some commentators have chosen to use the subsequent creation of Eve and her purpose of creation as a 'helpmeet' of Adam to indicate that women's proper role in life is the support of men; others have argued that in Biblical Hebrew, the word for "helpmeet" is better translated as "equal" (need reference(s) here).

In Genesis 3:1-7 the serpent tempts Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, and she then tempts Adam to eat it also. God pronounces a special punishment for Eve in addition to the general punishment of exile for them both.

To the woman [God] said "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Genesis 3:16)

This verse has been frequently used to justify the keeping of women in a subservient position to men, though other interpreters use this verse to assume merely that men and women have different roles in the religious sense (Robinson; Let Us Reason Ministries). Many commentators have taken this to indicate that a subservient role for women is a divinely ordained punishment, although not a part of his original intention for women (need reference here).

See Adam and Eve

The Covenant Law

The portion of the Old Testament beginning with the Decalogue in Exodus 20 and ending in Exodus 23:19 is considered to be the oldest body of law in the Hebrew Bible (Blenkinsopp, chapter 6). Portions of the Covenant Law that deal with women include:

Covenant Law: Female Slavery

While slavery of a Hebrew male was of limited duration, the period of slavery of a woman was not.

1 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he is to serve you for six years. But in the seventh year, he shall go free, without paying anything. (Exodus 21:1)
7 If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do. (Exodus 21:7)

Covenant Law: The rights of the first wife upon marriage of another

Polygamy is not an excuse for marital abandonment.

If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing, and marital rights. If he does not provide her with these things,she is to go free, without any payment of money. (Exodus 21:10-11)

Covenant Law: Injury to a pregnant woman

If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, (Exodus 21:22-23)

Covenant Law: Seduction of a virgin

If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride price and she shall be his bride. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he shall still pay the bride price for virgins. (Exodus 22:16-17)

Covenant Law: Treatment of widows and orphans

Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless. (Exodus 22:22-24)

Deuteronomic Law

The book of Deuteronomy claims to have been written by Moses in the fortieth year and eleventh month of Exodus (Deuteronomy 1:3). There is also a three hundred year tradition among scholars of higher criticism to identify the book of Deuteronomy with the book of Torah found by Hilkiah in 621 BCE, during the reign of King Josiah (Friedman, chapter 5; Campbell, chapter 3. See also the documentary hypothesis). In either case, this law postdates the covenant law and is the second law book within the Pentateuch.

Rape and fornication

In patriarchal societies a girl's virginity is often considered as a valued posession of either the father or the husband. A woman who lost her virginity, regardless of cause, before marriage was a disgrace to her family and to the community as a whole.

25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor (Deuteronomy 22:25-26)

The punishment is especially severe because not only has the man violated the woman but he has also violated the man who the woman belongs to. But if a man rapes a virgin the law metes out a different punishment:

28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. (Deuternomy 22:28-29)
16 "If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins. (Exodus 22:16-17)

Social position of women

The problem with the two paragraphs below is that they are an essay. needs NPOVing. People hold the view that starts paragraph 1 and others the view that begins paragraph 2. Why?

It is sometimes written that women in the Old Testament were 'no more than the property of men'. It is of course true that women were very much the inferiors of men in terms of social position, economic power, educational opportunity and many other ways. A married woman would be largely subject to the wishes of her husband, and an unmarried one to the wishes of her father. For example a husband or father had to consent before a woman could take religious vows (Numbers 30:3-5). This situation was similar to the position of women in the surrounding societies of the time; Israeli women were better placed in some ways, worse in others.

Women were certainly more than 'mere property' in many ways. For example the killing of a woman was considered murder, and not theft, subject to the same penalty as the killing of a man. Wives could not be disposed of at their husbands' whim, or divorced for no reason. Women could own property themselves, and a daughter could inherit her father's property (although only if there were no sons). There are frequent references in the Old Testament to giving or acquiring a wife in exchange for money or goods, though this was not simply a commercial transaction, but a gift compensating the bride's family. Such gifts are common in the Near East today. Arranged marriage was the norm for both sons and daughters (Genesis 21:21;Genesis 38:6;Judges 1:12,13) although the bride was sometimes asked for her consent (Genesis 24:58) and sometimes the son chose a wife for himself (Genesis 34:4).

Women were not exected to be purely homemakers or childbearers. They could engage in business and trade (Proverbs chapter 31).


Morality Plays: Women as Victims

In 2 Samuel 11-16 and 1 Kings 1-2 are a series of stories that begin with David and his adultery with Bathsheba, continue through the story of the rape of Tamar by David's son Amnon, continue still with David's son Absalom taking David's harem, and ends with Adonijah's attempt to have Abishag (Blenkinsopp, pages 66-67). The stories share in common the abuse of sexuality by the offending party, and the actions of a supposedly wise man (in one case, a woman) in the aid of each of the offending parties, and whose aid eventually results in disaster. As Blenkinsopp says:

Both the Eden story and the Succession Narrative, therefore, exhibit the same deterrent attitude to a kind of wisdom which not only promises more than it can deliver but also leads away from the traditional religious resources, resulting in disaster and death.

In the case of the rape of Tamar, other critics have noted that Amnon appears to have confused love with lust, as otherwise, there would be no reason for his initial suggestions of love for his sister, and his eventual rejection of her (Guzik). The "solution" to Amnon's desires, as suggested by Jonadab, was as follows:

5 "Go to bed and pretend to be ill," Jonadab said. "When your father comes to see you, say to him, 'I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand. '" (2 Samuel 13:5)

After the tragedy, and ignoring divine law, David allows his son's crime to go unpunished, which then leads to Absalom taking the law into his own hands.

Morality Plays: Women as the cause of Sin

To be filled out

  • Solomon and his wives - note Solomon's wisdom
  • Jezebel and her worship of Ba'al.
  • Delilah and her seduction of Samson.
  • Lot's daughters, or how to *really* insult the neighboring country...

Women as Leaders

Leadership in Old Testament times was predominantly male, like all of the societies around it. However this was not exclusively the case. Women were recognised as 'prophetesses', and many are named, including Miriam (Exodus 15;20) Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) and Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14) (Campbell, chapter 3; Daniels; Plampin; Let Us Reason Ministries). In the book of Judges chapter 4, the story of told of 'Deborah the prophetess and wife of Lappidoth' who was judging (i.e. leading) Israel, and who had authority to summon war leaders to her and issue commands ( Daniels; Plampin; Let Us Reason Ministries).

Note about the quotes: All Bible quotes are taken from the New International Version Bible translation.

See also: Jews in the Old Testament, Role of women in Judaism, religious aspects of marriage, Christian views of women

Books

  • Blenkinsopp, Joseph The Pentateuch, The Anchor Bible Reference Library, Doubleday, New York, New York, 1992 ISBN 0-385-41207-X
  • Campbell, Joseph, Occidental Mythology: the Masks of God, Penguin Books USA, 1964, ISBN 0-14-019441-X
  • Carmichael, G. Women, Law, and the Genesis Tradition, Columbia University Press, 1979, ISBN 0-85-224364-2
  • Carmody, Denise Lardner Biblical Woman: Contemporary Reflections on Scriptural Texts, Crossroad/Herder & Herder, 1988, ISBN 0-82-450892-0
  • Cross, Frank Moore, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel, Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1973, ISBN 0-674-09176-0
  • Dever, William G. What Did the Biblical Writers Know & When Did They Know It? William B. Erdmann Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2001, ISBN 0-8028-4794-3
  • Finkelstein, Israel and Silberman, Neil Asher The Bible Unearthed: Archeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts, The Free Press, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, New York, 2001, ISBN 0-684-86912-8
  • Fraine, Jean de Women of the Old Testament,St. Norbert Abbey Press, ISBN 0-83-161029-8
  • Friedman, Richard E. Who Wrote The Bible?, Harper and Row, NY, USA, 1987 ISBN 0-06-097214-9
  • Horton, Robert F. Women of the Old Testament: Studies in Womanhood, Press unknown, date unknown.
  • Otwell, John H. And Sarah Laughed: The Status of Woman in the Old Testament, Westminster John Knox Press, 1977, ISBN 0-66-424126-3
  • Patai, Raphael The Hebrew Goddess, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan, 1990, ISBN 0-8143-2271-9
  • Wood, D. R. W., Millard, A. R., Packer, J. I., Wiseman, D. J., and Marshall, I. H. New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, Intervarsity Press, 1996, ISBN 0-8308-1439-6
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Old_Testament_views_on_women&oldid=1586168"