WOMEN IN ANCIENT BIBLICAL TIMES
Jewish religious and cultural history and biblical authority have made the Bible one of the
most important means by which woman’s place in society has been defined down through the
centuries. Not only is the Bible itself a partial historical document of the Jews, the way it has
been received and analyzed has its own intriguing historical chronology. It is nearly impossible to
accurately posit a specific date to any books or verses in the Hebrew Bible.1 The Dead Sea
Scrolls, most probably written by a minor sect, the Essenes, are the oldest extant pieces of
scripture. Prior to their discovery at Qumran near the Dead Sea in the 1940’s, our oldest Hebrew
scriptures are only one thousand years old. Yet invoking the Biblical text has been done to justify
women’s subordination and devaluation to men. As the deity for the Hebrews came to be a “He”,
this led to the exclusion of women from power in the family, the state, and public worship.
Women scholars of the Hebrew scriptures did not materialize until the late twentieth
century. The famous women’s suffrage leader, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others attempted in
the nineteenth century to get women commentators to explore and explain a woman’s perspective
on the Bible. However, it was not until 1964 that Margaret Brackenbury Crook, a professor of
Biblical Literature, published a study on the status of women in Judaism and Christianity entitled
Women and Religion. When the women’s movement followed the civil rights movement in the
1960’s, an increasing number of women were able to attend seminaries. Now feminists’ study of
the Bible is one of the most important areas in contemporary biblical research. There is not a
single woman’s perspective on the Bible, but a rich variety of insights shaped by women’s
culture, class, ethnicity, and religious community. The New Revised Standard Version of the
Bible is the latest attempt to make the Bible gender neutral, but gender relating to God was not
addressed. Ancient Hebrew and Greek pronouns do not allow for definitive determination of
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here would be a good place to include the latest scholarly debate on biblical dating and
excavations than that the Hebrew Bible was by a priest during the Babylonian Captivity period, and
thus projects a most minority opinion
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gender based on grammatical grounds. Therefore, God’s gender is a theological decision. The
Bible remains androcentric in its subject matter, authorship and perspective. One way to measure
this androcentricity is through names. In the Hebrew Bible 1426 names are mentioned and 1315
of them are men’s. Only 111 or 9% are women’s names. All authors identified by name are male.
Biblical perspective is predominantly male. Issues pertaining to women’s lives are scarce.
Ancient Hebrew or Jewish culture grew out of the societies of the ancient Near East. The
language and style of the Hebrew Bible or Christian Old Testament continued the traditions of
ancient Canaan. Biblical laws are part of the indigenous legal traditions of the ancient Near East.
Stories of the creation of the earth, mankind, animals, and plants along with the flood recountings
are similar to other non-Jewish stories. Wisdom literature in the form of prose and poetry of the
Bible also shares many characteristics with other cultures similar genres. Ultimately the Jews
developed their unique religious system and the concept of one God, but it was a gradual process.
Current archaeological work is uncovering much of this transformation from polytheistic to
monotheistic belief structure.
Scholarly and personal disagreements cloud much of the interpretation of ancient Hebrew
life and Biblical narrative. For some it appears that the Jewish god Yahweh absorbed all the
characteristics and functions of female goddesses. Some scholars refer to this as the hidden
goddess in the Hebrew Bible. The name Asherah is mentioned forty times in the Hebrew Bible.
The word Asherah in the Bible can refer both to the goddess herself or a carved wooden image,
which was one of Asherah’s icons. Asherah was a mother goddess identifiable with other ancient
cultures’ goddesses of similar names like Astarte, Ishtar and Inanna. Many scholars think that
Asherah may have become the wife of Yahweh in the eyes of the Hebrew people. Two altars, one
smaller than the other, have been found at archaeological sites in the Near East, and some
scholars believe these represent Yahweh and his consort, Asherah. All Near Eastern goddesses,
including Asherah, were given titles such as queen of heaven, and goddess of the sea and moon.
In every major archaeological excavation in Palestine small naked clay female figurines have
been found.
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The goddess of wisdom or Sophia (the Greek word for wisdom) is mentioned in the Book
of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars state that the great goddess of Egypt, Isis, and
Inanna of Sumeria were the foundation of the wisdom literature of the Bible.
Scholarly studies of the Bible illuminate the role of women in ancient Hebrew times. In
the Old Testament there are stories regarding female heroic figures and women that have taken
independent action, like Deborah or Jezebel. Generally though, the Old Testament delineates the
gradual restriction of women’s public, religious, personal, and economic roles.
Some of the most powerful metaphors of gender in the Bible have been those of Eve, the
first woman created from Adam’s rib, and Eve the temptress who caused humankind’s fall from
grace. These metaphors have been cited as proof of divine sanction for the subordination of
women. However, there are really two versions of creation in the Bible; in Genesis 1:27-29
“male and female created he them,” and in Genesis 2:18-25 “woman made from Adam’s rib.”
Through linguistic analysis scholars maintain that the “rib creation” is about 450 years older than
the creation in Genesis 1. Dates have been debated, but 850 b.c.e. and 400 b.c.e. are postulated
for the two creation stories.i However, some of the fundamental churches in America have now
concluded that the rib creation story is just a more detailed version of the other one. This belief is
not justifiable based on scholarly research.
The creation of man and woman simultaneously parallels the Mesopotamian creation
story, Enuma Elish. The Bible’s garden of Eden is similar to the Sumerian garden of creation.
Blaming Eve for causing sin in the world through the wiliness of the serpent has been a long-held
belief, but scholars are now assessing this differently. As the serpent was an ancient icon for
goddesses, it appears that the biblical authors found it necessary to severe Eve from the snake.ii
This step was also necessary to have only one god. Another interpretation that was used against
women down through the centuries was that Eve was not created in the divine image but only in
man’s. Since Eve was further removed from God than Adam, she was more prone to folly and
vice. For many centuries women’s appeals for equal rights were denied on grounds women were
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created only as help mates to males. As one scholar noted, “Eve did not fall, she was pushed.”2
In Judges 4-5 in the Hebrew Bible, it relates that Deborah had a strong leadership position
and heroic role; i.e. one of the Jewish judges. This “Song of Deborah” describes one of the oldest
segments of the Bible, circa 12th century b.c.e. It was during a time of warfare between the
Israelite tribes and the Canaanites, and Deborah provided political and military leadership.
Deborah and her husband lived on a well-traveled road between the towns of Ramah and Bethel.
Local people sought her advice as a prophetess and seer. Securing 10,000 men from various
tribes, Deborah arranged for Barak, a seasoned fighter, and herself to head the army. Apparently
Deborah was instrumental also in the planning of the location and the successful battle plans.
Then Deborah and Barak composed a song about the battle that was sung around Jewish circles
for a millennia.
Jezebel, one of the evil women of the Bible, and today her name is synonymous with evil,
was actually a Phoenician princess from Sidon. She married Ahab, King of Israel, the northern
Jewish kingdom. During this time the worship of Baal and Asherah was spreading, and Jezebel
would have participated in the religious practices relating to this polytheistic world. It is not
likely that she plotted to eliminate the prophets of Yahweh, but the followers of Yahweh would
have adopted the crusader mentality against worshipers of other deities. The prophet of Yahweh,
Elijah, was determined to denounce non-Jewish religious practices. Jezebel represented a woman
with political and religious power not a seductress.
It has been pointed out that in the time of the patriarchs, men and women tended flocks
together, met at watering wells, worshipped together in the temple, shared public celebrations,
and ate together. Segregation in the temple began only with the second temple (built 587/86
b.c.e.), where the woman’s court was located outside the temple. Jewish women could pray or
study the Torah, but they could not take part in the administration.
It has been postulated that stories of the patriarchs in Genesis offer some indications of
2
W.W. Albright
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transition from matrilocal and matrilineal to patrilocal and patrilineal family organization in
some of the tribes. The reference to man leaving his father and mother and cleaving to his wife in
Genesis 2:24 could be so interpreted. Jacob’s seven years of service to Laban for each of his
daughters (Leah and Rebecca) would conform to the practice of matrilocal marriage or beena
marriage as it is called in the Bible. Patrilocal marriage was known as baal marriage. The Story
of Jacob’s courtship and his flight from Laban’s house could show this transition from
matrilocality to patrilocality. Rachel’s theft of the Teraphim could also be viewed in this light.
This passage has long puzzled biblical scholars. Some interpret Teraphim as house gods and
possession of house gods signified legal title to the property. Thus Rachel, believing her father
would deny her husband legal share in his estate, took the Teraphim. Rachel’s action again
symbolizes the change from matrilocality to patrilocality.
The predominant family structure in the Bible was patriarchal. A wife would call her
husband baal or master. A wife was listed among a man’s possessions along with his servants,
ox, etc. In this patriarchal period, the father could sell his daughter into slavery or prostitution,
just like in ancient Mesopotamia. Later, selling of one’s daughters was prohibited. While the
Hebrews were still nomads and under the patriarchs, one wife was the law, but with as many
concubines as he could afford. Once the Jews settled into Canaan and the monarchical period
began circa 1000 b.c.e., then polygamy marriages were legalized. In this period, property now
belonged to the clan and was considered inalienable. Women were never able to own property.
Transference was done solely by inheritance. Since this inheritance usually fell to the eldest son,
the foundations for the law of levirate in marriage was adopted by the Jews. If a father had no
sons, then his daughters could inherit, but they then had to marry within their tribe, so land would
not leave the clan. Thus, when the eldest son died without a son, the next son took as his wife his
sister-in-law to keep the property intact and raise up his children as if they were descendants of
his deceased brother. This was called a levirate marriage, a custom that the ancient Hittites
practiced long before the Hebrews. The biblical story of Ruth, the daughter-in-law of Naomi,
illustrates this levirate custom. Naomi’s husband and two sons had died so she went back to
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Bethlehem to find a relative to wed. Ruth accompanies her mother-in-law after refusing to return
to her natal home. In Bethlehem Boaz marries Ruth and she begets a son.
As marriages were arranged, the wishes of a daughter were not considered. There is even
the incident in the Bible, where after Dinah is raped, she is forced to marry her rapist, after he
and his tribe become Jews. Later on though, Dinah’s brothers kill her new husband Schechem,
accusing him of treating their sister as a harlot, but in essence it was her brothers who used their
sister as a harlot to acquire great wealth. 3
A dowry was standard procedure for the Hebrews. While the Bible relates a perspective
husband could work for his future father-in-law for seven years, it is thought that the usual term
of servitude was one year. Jacob, who fell in love with Rachel, worked for seven years, only to be
tricked by his father-in-law into marrying Rachel’s older sister, Leah. This indicates that the
bride came to the marriage bed a virgin and covered with a veil. Another seven years of work
was necessary before Jacob was able to marry Rachel. By the end of Jacob’s days he had sired
children from four women.
As men did in ancient Mesopotamian societies, Hebrew men enjoyed complete sexual
freedom within and outside of marriage. Concubines were acceptable, and especially if the wife
was barren. Even the female slaves were sexually used by the husbands (Jacob), and if the
husband personally owned her, then he was even able to give her away sexually to other male
members of the family. While both husband and wife could be killed for adultery, the Jewish
wife had less protection against false accusations of adultery than did her Mesopotamian
counterpart. In Numbers 5:11-31, there is the description of a ritual ordeal that a wife must
undergo if her husband suspects her of adultery. It was a bitter drink.
In the Hebrew Bible there are clear statements describing the ideal wife. She is to be
industrious, a good manager, a wise counselor, but yet their was always fear of a strong woman
or wife. In Proverbs 31:12 “She does him good and not harm all the days of his life”, suggests
3
Dinah is the heroine of a new best seller The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.
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that women were capable of injuring their husbands. There is also the often-quoted passage in
Proverbs that relates how valuable a good wife is: “Who can find a virtuous woman for her price
is far above rubies...”
Divorce was obtainable by the husband, but never by the wife. In this respect Jewish law
was more detrimental to the wife than Hammurabi’s law. This was true for rape too. Jewish law
forced the rapist to marry the woman he raped, and he could not divorce her.
Biblical injunctions to be fruitful and multiply came at a certain time in Jewish history. It
is thought that when the Jewish tribes were conquering Canaan, they experienced a real
population problem. Fighting was endured by the Jews for a long time, and the consequence of
war is death. Thus, it was important for women to be fertile. We now know that infant mortality
in ancient cultures was probably 50%. The Jewish women would have needed to be pregnant
many times to ensure adequate population growth. In addition, there was a 20% mortality rate
for new mothers, and since the average life span for women was thirty, pregnancies had to be
close. When the Bible says women were barren, it meant they had no sons. They could have had
daughters. In Genesis, the language that is used when Yahweh brings a son to long-barren
women like Rebecca, Rachel, and Sarah, is almost identical to the prayers that were said to Ishtar
and other ancient Mesopotamian goddesses; “And the Lord saw that Rebecca was hated and he
opened her womb.” Genesis 29:31, “and God remembered Rachel...and opened her womb.”
Genesis 30:22-23. In the creation myth, The Enuma Elish, the goddess Ninhursag, “...opening the
womb...she brought forth her issue...”
A recurrent leitmotif in ancient cultures and even in some today, is that a daughter was
not as welcome as a son. For the ancient Jews this was true as well. The near-sacrifice of
Abraham’s son Isaac when the Lord intervened in time, can be compared with Jeptha’s daughter
in the Book of Judges 11:29-38, when his daughter was sacrificed. God did not choose to save
the daughter of Jeptha, only the son of Abraham. Continuing this negative idea of a girl was the
common Hebrew tradition that a woman was ritually unclean longer after the birth of a girl than a
boy, Leviticus 12:6, 40, 80.
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It was the uneducated mothers that taught their daughters. We do know that some females
did learn to read and write.
Besides the rearing of children, women in the early centuries of the Hebrews contributed
to the economic structure of society. When the Hebrews were herders of goats and sheep, women
would have milked the animals, made yogurt and cheese, and processed items from the animals’
wool. As the Jews became settled farmers, then women would have continued their same roles
with the addition of agricultural work, including planting, weeding, and harvesting, plus
cultivating the local gardens and fruit trees. During these settled farming years, large families
made farming more lucrative. Moving from small villages into large cities altered the economic
role of women. In the cities most households were not self-sufficient, and this decreased the work
women were expected to do. Smaller families now were possible, and this is when the Bible
gives forth its negative statements about idle and gossiping women. Women now served as
midwives, professional mourners, and musicians at the temples.
While the Bible focuses on public and communal practices of religion, it is evident that
individual family celebrations took place. In the public performances, women were reciters and
composers of traditional laments for the dead. Additionally, women performed as dancers,
singers and musicians at major public events. Women sung great hymns in celebration of Israel’s
various victories.
i Serinity Young’s book An Anthology of Sacred Texts by & About Women. Professor Amy-Jill
Levine of Vanderbilt University Divinity School separates the two versions by only one hundred
and fifty years.
ii in Minoan society, Goddess has snakes in her hands.