If we were going to read a collection of books that were written thousands of years ago, how would we expect it to treat women? What would be some of the characteristics that we would expect? We would not expect women to be given very much freedom—after all, women couldn’t even vote in America until the early 1900s. We would expect women to be viewed more as property than people. We would expect women to be taking on stereotypical feminine gender roles—cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, etc. We would expect to see men given a higher status than women on a very regular basis.
In light of these expectations it is no less than shocking to read how the Bible treats women. We will look at examples in the Old Testament in this post, and in a 2nd post we will look at the New Testament.
Eve—Genesis 1-3
One of the first things we learn about Eve is that she, along with Adam, is created in the Image of God. Adam and Eve together are created in the Image of God and each individual reflects God’s Image. It is not enough for Adam to be created in the Image of God—it is not good for Adam to be alone.[1] The only thing in the first two chapters of Genesis that is described as “not good” is Adam’s existence without Eve. So God creates Eve for Adam, so that they may together reflect the Image of God.
Something else we learn early on about Eve is that she is created to be Adam’s helper.[2] But what does this word “helper” really denote? Some have argued that the role of “helper” makes Eve somehow subordinate to Adam. This interpretation, though, does not coincide with the rest of Scripture, for at least three reasons. First, as we just discussed, both Adam and Eve are created equally in the Image of God. It seems unlikely that Eve’s role would be a subordinate one to Adam’s if they are both equally created in the Image of God. Second, both Adam and Eve are given the commands to multiply and subdue the earth. Both Adam and Eve are given the rule over the fish and the birds and the creatures on the ground—in other words, both are given rule over all the animals and over the garden.[3] Joint dominion between Eve and Adam over everything else that was created does not sound like a subordinate role at all. In fact, it sounds like everything else is subordinate to both Adam and Eve equally. Third, and most importantly, Eve’s role of “helper” cannot mean she is subordinate to Adam because God Himself is said to be the “helper” of humankind in Psalms 70:5, as well as other places. If the role of “helper” was a subordinate role, it would be implied that God was subordinate to humankind because He is said to be the “helper” of humankind. If this were the case, Eve would be subordinate to Adam. But even though God is humankind’s “helper”, God is not subordinate to humankind, and neither is Eve subordinate to Adam. Indeed, the opposite is true, that Eve is equal with Adam, created in the Image of God, given the same commands as Adam and created as a suitable helper for him, that she might fill in where he is weak (and presumably that he might do the same for her).
Deborah and Jael—Judges 4&5
Deborah is both a judge and a prophet.[4] This fact alone is somewhat unique. That God would choose a female to be both a prophet and judge is a surprising twist when the context and culture of the Old Testament are considered.
Deborah has a vision from God and in response to that vision commands Barak, the leader of the army, and by extension commands the army itself as to where to go and what to do. This too would be enough to raise a few eyebrows. What is the response we would expect from Barak, the male leader of the army? Maybe a laughing scoff and a reprimand? Maybe we would expect Barak to simply ignore her instructions and do as he sees fit. But what is Barak’s actual response? Barak says to Deborah, “ ‘If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.’ ”. What? Not only is Barak taking Deborah’s advice, but he only has enough confidence to go if she will go with him? This really is an unexpected twist in the story!
Deborah agrees to go with him.[5] Through the rest of the story, Deborah gives Barak commands and he obeys her.[6] What confidence he must have in her if he is willing to follow her commands! Barak is probably very aware that Deborah derives the commands she gives him from what God would have her do. Deborah is a judge and prophet, and Barak has enough confidence in Deborah’s ability to faithfully live out these roles that he listens to what she has to say—and he obeys her.
It turns out that Barak’s confidence in Deborah is well placed. Their enemy, Sisera’s army, is defeated and Sisera is so afraid for his life that he gets down from his chariot and runs away.[7] Sisera flees to the tent of another woman named Jael. While he is sleeping Jael drives a tent peg through his temple and kills him. This puts the last nail in the coffin of Israel’s enemy.
Huldah—2nd Kings 22, 2nd Chronicles 34
Huldah is a prophetess. King Josiah discovers a book and having strayed so far from God’s commands, nobody can recognize the book. The book is brought to Huldah, and she authenticates it as the Book of Law (probably Deuteronomy) and prophesies doom if the laws contained within the book are not followed. This leads to Josiah’s great reform.
Here again we are met with a twist in the story. Numerous men had failed to recognize the book. It is also interesting that the book is not taken to Jeremiah, but to Huldah. Where men failed, Huldah, a woman, succeeded. She recognizes the book for what it is and because of her recognition, the people are turned again to the Lord God of Israel.
The list from the Old Testament just continues and continues. Isaiah’s wife was a prophet. They were in a sense the first clergy couple! In Proverbs, the Divine Attribute of Wisdom is feminine. There is Rahab, who hid the Jewish spies. There is Hannah, Samuel’s mother, who dedicates Samuel to God from the very beginning.
Stay tuned for a follow-up post about Women in the New Testament, and how our findings affect our understanding of whether the Bible is to be trusted or not.
[1] Genesis 2:18
[2] Genesis 2:19
[3] Genesis 1:28
[4] Judges 4:4
[5] Judges 4:9
[6] Judges 4:14
[7] Judges 4:15
