Stu's Blog

I wrote previously posing the question as to why women so often get a bad rap in the bible.

Phyllis Bird has written an article for the Anchor Bible Dictionary ¹ that explores how women are portrayed in the Old Testament. She reminds the reader of the distinctively male perspective that is so characteristic of the bible in general and particularly of the Old Testament. The view of women presented in the Old Testament is shaped by the male authors and conforms to the male dominated values of patriarchal society. Nonetheless, women played important roles in society and had areas of great influence. Sometimes their influence and power were not presented directly and must be inferred by how they were portrayed. Bird’s article helps the reader to be aware of these issues and to look for clues that are hinted at, particularly in the more negative types of characterizations. It is precisely at these points that the potential for female power is likely to be suppressed. This short review highlights some of the key issues that stood out to me as I read Bird’s article.

Women in the Old Testament are generally portrayed as nameless second-class people without a voice in a world ruled by men. Since Scripture comes to us from the hands of men, women never have the opportunity to tell their side of the story. Their words, even considering how seldom direct female dialog appears, is never directly from their lips or writings. This is not surprising since the authors of Scripture are males formed out of a male dominated society guided by male values. Women and their stories become the objects that accomplish the purposes of the male authors. This hardly portrays women fairly or fully. The authors were selective in their purposes and the portrayal of women suffered doubly in that not only do we have a uniquely male perspective, but also what is provided is done in such a way as to further the agendas of the authors.

Modern methods of anthropological study, literary, rhetorical, and structural criticisms all help to read between the lines of Scripture, and reveal the multifaceted and important roles women played in the history of Israel. Women were restricted and dominated in many arenas, as they have been throughout all known history and cultures, yet they had significant roles, exercised authority in their given areas of responsibility, and had a hand in shaping society and ultimately the history of Israel.

Women, with few exceptions, were denied the opportunity to lead men.² This precluded positions of institutional responsibility and leadership. On the contrary, men were expected to exercise authority over women. Legal rights of women were generally secondary and inferior to those of men. Married women were considered to be the property of their husbands.³

Women were given unique roles and responsibilities that only women could fulfill. They found both fulfillment and restriction in these roles.⁴ Such roles were most often played out in the realm of the family unit. A woman was uniquely suited to be a wife and mother, and the fundamental evidence of successful motherhood, having many children, was a means to personal fulfillment. It was also an opportunity to shape a new generation as the role of the mother included the teaching of the children. Failure at this primary role put a woman at great risk. Without children to provide care in later life, the loss of a husband due to death or divorce left a woman without property or means of support. She would be in a very desperate state indeed!

Failure in the role of mother or wife also was treated as a disgrace and viewed as divine punishment.⁵ A woman having lost her family was an outcast of society. She could very easily be viewed as a threat to normal society values and might even be forced to resort to prostitution to survive.⁶ Therefore, women were under great pressure to produce for the good of the family, in providing care, nourishment, material needs such as clothing, and especially children.

Purity was a fundamental religious and social concept in ancient Israel. Foreign women threatened the religious and social fabric and were generally portrayed as dangerous, symbolically representing immorality and embodied evil.⁷ Bird notes that the degree of fear expressed towards foreign women reveal the latent power to influence society they actually possessed.⁸ With few exceptions, foreign women were therefore generally marginalized in Scripture to protect the dominant male values.⁹

There is much more to be learned from Bird’s article. She presents a well-balanced view that brings out more positive characterizations than this review might suggest. This review has highlighted Bird’s observations of the negative portrayal of women in the Old Testament, as it is clear that women do not speak with their own voice and are generally demeaned as a result. Those in power retain the privilege of writing history and this is true of Scripture as well. I am reminded of Leviticus chapter twenty-seven where the monetary value of men and women is spelled out. If a male of age between twenty and sixty years was worth fifty shekels, a woman was worth thirty (Lev 27:3-4). We see here the evidence of sinful human nature at work that claims higher valuation for the self than for the other. We must remember this tendency to present women as lesser second-class citizens lest we succumb to a devalued view of women that would shape our expectations and beliefs in a dishonoring way. We do well to bear in mind that “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27).

A ten-piece outfit from Long Beach and San Diego, the Rabbinical School Dropouts play Jewish soul music (klezmer) combined with an avant-garde jazz twist. Music critics have described them as: an “esoteric space klezmer ensemble,” “psycho klez,” “Frank Zappa and Dr. Seuss intersect[ing] … [with] Woody Allen and Howard Stern”, and “[avant-garde pioneer] Sun Ra and Frank Zappa at Woody Harrelson’s backyard BBQ.”^{young Perlman perfomance. I attended a few Bar Mitzvahs in my youth. I also attended a couple of Zappa concerts long ago. I’ve always been a fan of Dr. Seuss and even kind of enjoy Sun Ra a little bit. So I was ready for the Rabbinical School Dropouts.here and here.}

Why do women get such a bad rap in the bible? Num 5:11-31 prescribes a bizarre test for suspected wifely unfaithfulness. If a man is overcome with jealousy, though he has no evidence whatsoever, he can appeal to the priest to perform a ritual to determine whether his wife has broken faith. The priest is to concoct a bitter potion and force the women to drink it. “And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water” (Num 5:17 ESV). The potion will trigger a curse if there is guilt. “May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen’” (Num 5:22 ESV). Some translations say that her belly will swell and her thigh will rot.¹ Now mind you, the jealous husband has no proof whatsoever, yet the poor wife is subjected to a humiliating procedure that borders on magic. And what of the jealous wife? What concoction can she expect her potentially wayward husband to be forced to drink to demonstrate his faithfulness? There is no such provision to prove manly faith. This embarrassing passage is trying to help us see the great value in faithfulness, but the lesson comes from a context that has thankfully become very foreign to us. Then again, we might not be that terribly different after all. In any event, why are women picked on like this? Stay tuned for an answer.

I wrote about walls recently and mentioned the Secure Fence Act. This legislation was introduced in 2006 to protect us from Mexican and Canadian terrorists. Now I have been informed that we can join the effort to keep the U.S. secure. This website provides visual monitoring that you can observe and report infractions from the convenience of the living room, beach, library, Star Bucks, or pretty much anywhere that internet access is available. Now you can see how easy it is to watch others. How does this shape our culture? Some would suggest that encouraging and facilitating voluntary fence patrol participation will increase our safety. I think we are sacrificing a culture that values trust for one that values suspicion. The further we move down this path, the more likely we’ll all start to become preoccupied with this question: Who’s watching you?

“Military intervention to maintain the global status quo will become a constant feature of international relations, whether this is justified in terms of fighting drugs, fighting terrorism, containing “rogue states,” opposing “Islamic fundamentalism,” or containing China”– . Walden Bello. I recently watched “Encounter Point,” a movie about a novel solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and seeing the Wall brought back memories. I was in Berlin in 1990 as that Wall was being dismantled. The human scars of the previous 30 years ran deep. I wan in South Africa several years later just after Apartheid finally ran out of steam. An enduring memory is the little Walls that suburbanites constructed around their houses for protection. Here in the U.S. some people, typically from the wealthier stratum, erect beautiful stone Walls around their mansions to keep prying eyes away. What stands out in my memory is that the ones in South Africa all were decorated with broken glass embedded in the mortar along the Wall tops. A quote from Encounter Point: “We are a military with a state, not a state with a military.” Indeed, the military knows how to build really good Walls. When people are unable to talk and resort to violence, it seems reasonable to put up a Wall for protection. Unfortunately, what really gets protected is the opportunity and breeding grounds for further violence. Germany came to its senses and tore their monster down. The U.S. seems to have missed the lesson. House Resolution 6061 (H.R. 6061), “Secure Fence Act of 2006“, was introduced on Sep 13, 2006, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on September 14, 2006, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29, 2006. Partial funding for a 700 mile Wall separating the U.S. and Mexico became available at that time. Some would like to extend the Wall the full 2000 miles and then do another 4000 miler to keep the Canadians out too. Just Vision, the organization responsible for Encounter Point, is of the mind that Walls are not the answer. I wholeheartedly agree. See the movie. You might find it in your local library. Or buy the dvd. Invite some Muslim, Jewish, and Christian friends over to watch it together.