Role of Women in Hebrew Scriptures - Research Paper Example

? Topic: Role of women in Hebrew Scriptures Lecturer presentation The roles of Israeli women have changed greatly in the recent decades compared with the ancient past. They are increasingly engaged in running the public affairs of the country, greater number of women is accessing higher education more than before and their roles are no longer restricted to homemaking. Though the transition of women’s role from those defined in the Hebrew Scriptures has been slow, they currently enjoy better life compared with the ancient past. This paper discusses the role of women in ancient Israel. The roles of women in ancient Israel are documented in the Old Testament, beginning from the time when God created man in the Garden of Eden. The scriptures record that Eve the first woman, was created as a companion of Adam (Kassian, 1992, p28). In this regard, God set forth a patriarchal society, since he created woman from man, but not the other way. From the onset, God granted man the authority to rule all creations. The appearance of Abraham, whom the Jews refer as ‘the father of nations’ affirmed the authority of men over women, and Kassian (1992, p31) notes that even today, a Jew male is referred as Abraham’s son. In the Old Testament God, commanded man to procreate and fill the earth and this placed a lot of pressure on women from the onset (Clarence, 1968, p61). In this respect, the most important role of women in Ancient Israel was getting married and bearing children to ensure posterity of Jewish race. The Old Testament prohibited relationships such as incest and adultery, which ensured that a woman could not be related to a man in more than one way. However, a man was allowed to marry a sister to his wife even in cases where the wife was alive. Before any marriage ceremony, the groom’s family was required to pay a specified amount of dowry to the bride’s family. In the Old Testament, the practice is elaborated in Genesis 29 whereby Jacob toils for fourteen years in Laban’s household in order to marry his two daughters, Rachael and Leah. In order to prepare for marriage, women were supposed to maintain virginity. During marriage ceremony, the groom’s family needed proof of virginity from the bride. Women who had sexual affairs before marriage were regarded unmarriageable and the responsible men were fined heavily and forced to marry the women. These punishments are well elaborated in the Halakhah, a collection of rules and regulations that governed the conduct of the Jewish community (Richard, 1988, p 43). Clarence (1968, p37) notes that due to the great importance attached to marriage, there were three main requirements that were necessary to validate a marriage between man and woman in ancient Israel . They included payment of bride price, acceptance by the bride to get married and the union had to be consummated through sexual intercourse. From these rituals, it is apparent that the primary role of a woman in the society was getting married and to satisfy sexual needs of their men. Girls got married at very young ages that put their ability to make sound judgment about marriage in question. Social and religious critics have questioned the symbolic significance of paying bride price for a woman before marriage in the ancient Israel society. Kassian (1992, pp45-49) argues that the dowry payment portrayed women as a property, with a price tag that was owned by man. However, Clarence (1968, p43) notes that payment of the bride price was important because it indicated the groom had good intentions of marrying and that he was capable of taking care of his wife. These findings comply with polygyny practice in Israel that allowed men with adequate resources to marry more than one wife in the ancient society (Richard, 1988, p49). Bearing children was another important role of women in the ancient Jewish society. According to Richard (1988, p53), women were only supposed to have sex for procreation and to validate their marriages. According to Clarence (1968, p73) barrenness was a great source of anguish and pain to the affected families and the failure to bear children was considered the fault of the woman. Married women who failed to deliver babies in their marriages were looked down upon and stigmatized in the society. Women were supposed to bear many children because the family represented the basic unit of society and they provided security for the parents and society in future. Moreover, many children provided economic benefits because they helped in performing domestic chores besides ensuring the continuation of the parent’s heritage. Lack of children in a family was the most common reason for divorce and separation in ancient Israel (Clarence, 1968, p32). The importance of childbearing is highlighted in several incidents in the Old Testament. In Genesis 6:2, Sarah who was married to Abraham was so distressed by her failure to get a child that she commanded her maidservant to have sex with Abraham so that she could get a child. The incident is an indicator of the low status that women occupied in the ancient Israel society that they could be forced to have sex with any man without their consent. Though women were only supposed to engage in sexual intercourse for procreation, men were permitted to have many sexual partners for pleasure. In this respect, women were used as sexual instruments to satisfy the needs of men. Genesis 19: 8 documents an incident where invaders from Sodom gathered in Lot’s house in readiness to destroy the city of Gomorrah. During the incident, Lot offered her two virgin daughters to be raped by the invaders in order to save the city from being destroyed. The city dwellers commended and treated Lot as a man of honor for saving them from imminent destruction. This incident demonstrates that ancient Israel treated sexual offenses against women as minor crimes. Adultery was a severe crime in ancient Israel era that was punishable by death. According to Kassian (1992, p108), a married woman caught having a sexual affair with another lover besides her husband resulted to immediate death to both offending parties through stoning. However, the law changed in the later periods in Assyria and Babylon giving the husband of the offending wife an option of saving her life from imminent death. In the Jewish community, capital punishment for adultery changed later and automatic divorce resulted when a married woman was caught committing adultery. From the patriarchal society, roles of women in the ancient Israel were relegated to the domestic work and bringing up the family. The chores included cooking, cleaning, decorating their homes in addition caring for the young children. Kassian (1992, 114) notes that the responsibilities of women were restricted to the precincts of their homes, where they could not get opportunities of interacting with outsiders. In this respect, very few women engaged in running the public affairs of the ancient Israel society. Consequently, women were not regarded as potential political threat to the established rulers. During the birth of Jesus Christ for instance, Pharaoh ordered the killing of all male Jewish children in Egypt to eliminate potential political rivals in future while the lives of girls spared. It is worth noting that male children in ancient Israel were more appreciated because they were regarded as an important asset in propagating their family tree. In this case, a man who failed to sire a son had a reason to worry and some resorted to marrying many wives in order to get heirs. The twelve sons of Jacob from whom the tribes of Israel are named after illustrate the importance of sons in the ancient Israel community. Moreover, sons were entitled to inherit all the family property and girls were only allowed in families with no boys. Though women’s role were limited to domestic work and taking care of their families, Richard(1988, p 60) notes that ancient Israel society allowed women to own and inherit properties in circumstances where the nuclear did not have sons to inherit the property. This contrasts with other western societies that denied women basic rights including voting, owning properties and personal businesses for long periods. However, Clarence(1968, p26) notes that on spiritual matters, women in ancient Israel society were highly regarded in order to guide their children and husbands to lead virtuous lives that were pleasant to the society and God. An ancient Hebrew teaching holds that when a righteous man marries a wicked woman, the man became equally evil but if a wicked man married a holy woman, the man became transformed to righteousness (Clarence, 1968). The importance of women’s spirituality is still regarded highly in Jewish rituals involving household responsibilities, the primary roles of women. According to Kassian( 1992, p59), rituals including the three Jewish commandments such as lighting candles, preparation of dough for baking and purification after menstruation are women’s domain. In Jewish traditions, lighting candles symbolizes commencement of a sacred time for worshipping and in this respect, reserving the role for a woman is a clear indication of how the Jewish community respects women in spiritual activities. In conclusion, the roles of women in ancient Israel were limited to domestic responsibilities including raising children and taking care of their husbands. Though women were allowed to own properties in exceptional circumstances, they were not involved in making major decisions in the family and society. In addition, men exercised double standards on issues related to women sexuality in the ancient Israel. Men were allowed to have multiple sexual partners while women were required to remain loyal and supportive of their husbands. References Clarence, J. The Woman in Old Testament Worship. Delft: Judels & Brinkman, 1968. Genesis, 29. Genesis, 6:2. Kassian, M. The Feminist Gospel: The Movement to Unite Feminism with the Church. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1992. Richard, N. “True Christian Feminism”. National Review. 2.8 (1988): pp35-98. Read More