Paper Example on Women's Role in the Bible

The bible was founded in the early times of Christian history and has continued to give meaningful and relevant information to the previous and coming generations. The Bible stories in the form of poetry and proverbs have continued to enlighten people regardless of the culture. Just like any other written book, the bible also has given a role to play in the bible.

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In the Hebrew scripture, the women took part in all community aspects apart from a priest's role in the temple during worship. They engaged in real estate and commerce as well (Proverbs chapter 31). They also participated in the fields' cultivation during harvest time and other labor, carried out manually. They participated in worshipping in the temple and playing music in the holy sanctuary as well as praying. (Psalms, chapter 68). Women also can be seen as dancers as just like in modern society, they danced with men during religious celebrations and congregations (song of Solomon)

The role of the woman in the bible is also companionship and a helper. After God created the first man Adam, he observed that he was lonely and decided to create a woman. He said that he took one of the man's rib and used it to create the woman. When Adam woke up, he was satisfied with what God had created. They stayed in the garden and related well. The woman was accompanying the man throughout their stay in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 1)

Women were required by the culture to take part in public gatherings and rulings. When Moses presented the Mosaic law, they were not treated as an option and had to be present. They were also present when Joshua was reading the Torah to the Israelites people. Women were also a priest during the feast of tabernacles (Deuteronomy chapter 31). This shows that they were not limited to private roles but had a responsibility to play in public gatherings.

Women also exercised leadership roles in the bible. Miriam, who was the sister of Moses, was leading the women during worship. (Exodus, chapter 15:20). Deborah, a woman, was a ruling judge and led prosecution cases of those who broke the law. Apart from being a judge, the bible also states that she was married and had children (judges4). Another woman with leadership roles in the bible was Huldah, and she was a prophetess who was regarded highly. King Josiah made consultations from her instead of consulting Jeremiah (2nd Kings 22), a prophet. Prophets in the bible context were highly respected and regarded with much honor.

Women are displayed as advisers and counselors in the old testament. In the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham to take his wife Sarah's advice. When Sarah realized that she could not bear children, she tells his husband to take one of his servants and bear a child with her to continue his generation. Women are capable of giving clear advice, as they are shown as being intelligent. Abigail, Nabal's wife, is an intelligent woman as he was able to navigate the conflict between David and her husband. It is her intelligence that attracted King David, and he married her after his husband died. (1st Samuel 25). A wise woman was sent from Tekoa to help and persuade David to lift the ban on Absalom. The Hebrew scripture also displays a lot of wise women.

The bible portrays women as the agent of sin in the world. In the story of genesis, the serpent Eve was deceived into taking the fruit that she knew was forbidden by God. The serpent deceived Eve, and this way, sin was born into the world. The woman's punishment was a lot of pain during childbearing, and the man was to take dominion over the woman. This was the woman placed under the rule of the man. Her independence was taken from her from the moment Eve took the forbidden fruit.

Women are also given the role of parenting in the bible, just as men. After God created Eve, he commanded the man and the woman to go and fill the earth. In children are also commanded to honor both their parents, which shows that women also have the parenting responsibility. (Exodus, 20). The children are also ordered to listen to their father's instructions and not reject the teaching from their mothers. (proverb;1). Women can also curse those children who do not listen to instructions from their parents. Both parents were to be accorded the same respect even when their old (proverb 23). From this context, it can be seen that the role of a woman as a mother is regarded highly. They were to be respected as they perform their duties.

The women in the bible were social. They were mingling freely with men during social gatherings. When they attended the feasts of the year, they could socialize with the women and other women as it was a requirement for them to attend the feast every year. However, although women played many roles from the old testament, they were not regarded as equal to the man. Most of the engaging and leading positions were taken by men. This was because of the culture and the law teachers who believed that God had a low regard for the woman.

The new testament of the bible displays women's role but quite different from what is found in the old testament. Stories of Jesus having an interaction with women is well displayed in the new testament. Throughput the teachings of Jesus, he interacted with women in action and through the word. He viewed them as worthy of his healing and concerns. He had his regard for those women who were despised by other people. For instance, when the disciples did not regard the woman who poured her perfume on Jesus's legs, Jesus recognized her and did not subject her to any form of punishment (Mathew 9;20).

Woman in the new testament is heavenly, and she was the one to bear the son of God Jesus Christ, who is perceived as asking. This shows that woman was closer to God as she was to give birth to the son of God. The women in the stories of Jesus are seen as slaves, procreators, concubines, prophets' wives, and women's subjects. Their relationship with God is not explained directly, but only when a man is involved.

Women are seen as disobedient. When Moses was born, the king ordered the death of all male children born during his reign as he saw them as a threat to his kingdom. After Moses was born, he was hidden in the bushes, and the daughter's king rescued her. she raised her in the palace against his father's will. Moses later becomes the king and rescues the people of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. This points out that she must be brave to perform such an action.

Women did not have an obligation to testify in courts. They were categorized the same way as the gentiles who were the uncircumcised society, the undesirable, and the minor in the society. They were highly stigmatized. According to the new testament customs before Jesus, the omen could not participate freely in commerce. They were expected to stay in their homes, and only those whose economic status was deficient could participate in small trades. They were bound by the laws of Moses and were not literate.

In the new testament, Jesus restores the women from the culture which was not in their favor. Jesus regarded everybody equally, regardless of whether they were men or women. Jesus was seen talking directly to women on many occasions. The disciples even reacted differently when they learned of how openly Jesus related with the women. When they saw Jesus conversing with a woman in the well, they did not understand the reason for his behavior (John 4;27).

When Jesus went to visit Martha and Mary (Luke 10;38), Mary took an interest in the teachings of Jesus while Martha was busy in the kitchen. Mary was mesmerized by Jesus' teachings and sat together with the disciples to listen, according to their culture women were not supposed to sit together with women but rather to support the men education and serve them. Martha was even agitated by Jesus for not instructing Mary to go help her in the kitchen. Jesus defended the choice Mary had to listen to the word and not take part in the kitchen activities. With coming of Jesus', the woman's role changed, and both of them were to be regarded equally.

Jesus spoke to a woman in Canaan, and the disciples were urging him to send the woman, for it was not proper for a king to converse with a woman. (Mathew 15;22). Jesus showed mercy to the woman and fulfilled her wish. A woman was the first person to recognized Jesus as the messiah, and during his execution, only women were left by his side and pleaded for his release. After his death, a woman witnessed his resurrection and ran back to tell the rest of the people. In the temple, a woman named Anna washed Jesus's feet (Luke 7:37-38) and made ointment for the burial ceremony.

The followers of Jesus started to follow the example of Jesus and allowed women to participate in their social gatherings. (ACT 1,14). They even shared responsibilities with the men as their coworkers. Through the teaching of Jesus, the status of the woman in the new testament was restored. They were not seen as unfit anymore and could even participate in social activities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the role of women in the bible is a primary concern both in the old and the new testament. The bible has displayed its role in social, economic, political, and religious broadly. Unlike in modern society, the woman in the bible was not much recognized and given priorities like in the present world.

References

Abraham and Judah (Gen 24; 38:6)

Deborah (Judge 4:4). Barak refused to fight without her presence. 45 "I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam" (Mic 6:4). 46Ruth (Ruth 2:2, 7, 21-23). 47

Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Boston, 1907); Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, Lexicon In Veteris Henry

Jesus' care of Mary at the cross (John 19:26-27)

Paul's counsel for the husband and wife (Eph 5:21-33).

Keil and F. Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, comment on Genesis 3:16 (Grand Rapids, MI, 1949), vol. 1; Leupold, p. 172.