Similarities Between Genesis 19 And Judges 19

1389 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of women in ancient civilizations

In the Hebrew Bible, the conflict between the sinfulness of men and the weakness of women is often mediated by the divine. One such case is Genesis 19 and Judges 19, two similar narratives about rape. From a modern point of view, the writers of Judges 19 deliberately situated the characters in similar positions to those in Genesis 19, but they included their own interpretation of women’s destiny to illustrate the importance of God’s guidance in human lives. The two narratives together suggest that the social attitude toward women at the time allows people to see women as expendable objects, and the divine ought to serve as a protector to keep order in place. In particular, the stories’ contrasting endings show that women are protected in an environment where God watches over humans with his rightful mind of justice, but there are horrible consequences when people are separated from him. The rape narrative of Genesis 19 begins with Lot, a resident of Sodom, inviting two angels, in the form of men, to stay at his house. During the night, the townspeople come to Lot and demand him to bring out the men so that the townspeople can rape them. In response, Lot disturbingly offers up his daughters as a substitute for the …show more content…

In Judges 19, a Levite and his concubine travel through the town of Gibeah. Upon seeking shelter from a local, the townspeople of Gibeah demand to rape the man. The host, similar to Lot in Gensis 19, offers up the concubine as an alternative. Unlike Genesis 19, however, angels, or the messengers of God, are not present in this story, and the concubine has sadly become the victim. The men “…raped her and abused her all night long until morning; and they let her go when dawn broke” (Judges 19:25). Ultimately, the concubine dies and her body parts are sent to all districts of Israel as a reminder of the sin of

Show More
Related

  • The Importance Of Women In The Hebrew Bible

    2675 Words  | 6 Pages

    In the Hebrew Bible, women are viewed as minor and inferior figures. Women are given a secondary place in society, nonetheless they play a crucial role and have a number of vital figures in the Biblical history.

    Read More

  • Comparing the Deceitful Women of Homer's Odyssey and the Bible

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of God Behaving Badly By David Lamb

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the first chapter of God Behaving Badly, David Lamb argues that God is unfairly given a bad reputation. He claims these negative perceptions are fueled by pop culture and lead many to believe the lie that the God of the Old Testament is angry, sexist, racist, violent, legalistic, rigid, and distant. These negative perceptions, in turn, affect our faith. Ultimately, Lamb seeks to demonstrate that historical context disproves the presumptuous aforementioned. In addition, he defends his position by citing patterns of descriptions that characterize God throughout the Old Testament. “Our image of God will directly affect how we either pursue or avoid God. If we believe that the God of the Old Testament is really harsh, unfair and cruel, we won’t want anything to do with him” (Lamb 22). Clearly, they way Christians choose to see God will shape their relationship with Him.

    Read More

  • The Sotah Ritual in Ancient Israel

    4281 Words  | 9 Pages

    The ritual of the sotah from the book of Numbers is a fascinating passage to read in the Hebrew Bible. For one thing, this ritual deals with the idea of a man being able to bring his wife to trial, even if he has no evidence against her. While such an instance might be seen as negative treatment of women, others might explain it as the Israelites’ constant concern over the idea of impurity. Another interesting aspect of the sotah rite is that it is the only example of an ordeal similar to those practiced in other cultures of the Ancient Near East. While other ordeals are told mostly in story form, Num. 5:11-31 is the only instance in which the actual process of an ordeal is laid out point by point. Finally, the ritual merits attention due to its continued practice even after the Temple was destroyed, as is depicted in the Talmud. These reasons and more are evidence as to why this small 20 verse passage has been subject to such scrutiny and study over the course of the years.

    Read More

  • Exploring Women’s Role in the Bible

    2412 Words  | 5 Pages

    The stories about women in the bible illustrate the importance of their role and contribution to society. Women were slaves, concubines, and child bearers; they were also wives, matriarchs, and prophets. Although, some women had less important titles than others each served a purpose. Even if the Bible does not explain God’s relationship with women as with Moses and other prophets, it illustrates the love and dedication women had for Him. The scriptures describe brave, nurturing, and God fearing women whose decisions impacted the existence of the Israelites.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Wife of Bath and The Canterbury Tales

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    Looking back through many historical time periods, people are able to observe the fact that women were generally discriminated against and oppressed in almost any society. However, these periods also came with women that defied the stereotype of their sex. They spoke out against this discrimination with a great amount of intelligence and strength with almost no fear of the harsh consequences that could be laid out by the men of their time. During the Medieval era, religion played a major role in the shaping of this pessimistic viewpoint about women. The common belief of the patriarchal-based society was that women were direct descendants of Eve from The Bible; therefore, they were responsible for the fall of mankind. All of Eve’s characteristics from the biblical story were believed to be the same traits of medieval women. Of course, this did not come without argument. Two medieval women worked to defy the female stereotype, the first being the fictional character called The Wife of Bath from Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The second woman, named Margery Kempe, was a real human being with the first English autobiography written about her called The Book of Margery Kempe. In these two texts, The Wife of Bath and Margery Kempe choose to act uniquely compared to other Christians in the medieval time period because of the way religion is interpreted by them. As a result, the women view themselves as having power and qualities that normal women of their society did not.

    Read More

  • Depatriarchalizing in Biblical Interpretation

    2087 Words  | 5 Pages

    Meyers, Carol. "The Genesis Paradigms for Female Roles, Part I: Genesis 2-3 and Part II: Genesis 3:16" in Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context. Oxford University Press, 1988, pp. 72-121.

    Read More

  • Feminist Hermeneutics And Biblical Studies Summary

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    Trible has three main focuses in her article that include, “the inferiority, subordination and abuse of women in ancient Israel”, “the counter literature that is itself a critique of patriarchy”, and “the stories of terror about woman” (Trible). Each one sums a different oppression that women in the Bible faced. These ideas suggest that the overall purpose of her article is to identify that while women were viewed as a “helper” to men, God viewed them as much more (Trible).

    Read More

  • Betrayal, Punishment and Sexual Promiscuity

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Arabian Nights, translated by Husain Haddawy consist of entertaining tales within a story which acquired centauries to accumulate. Some of the tales regard women as possessions, therefore leaving women to use their sexual femininity to subdue men for means of survival. The story goes on to explain how men and women had forbidden sexual relations with concubines, slaves, and lovers. Some religions and cultures accept infidelity and fornication as part of their normal sexual practices, however, in The Arabian Nights sexual practices come with harsh penalties which generate havoc and disfigurement on humans, impacting their lives and relationships.

    Read More

  • Women In Elizabeth Johnson's Quest For The Living God

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Despite the patriarchal society from the biblical days, God is taught as being just as much a Mother as God is a Father (102). The willful ignorance of religious scholars of the time just show that they were making a conscious effort of trying to keep women from retaining any power that they had. This relegation of religious roles in an effort to keep Men in power is a poor example of how Christianity is a religion which promotes for the love and care of all people, no matter their status. The interpretation of God from these times clash severely with my notions of what is now considered to be an all-loving entity. Women of these times were obviously not equal to their male counterparts. In modern days however, women are thought of as equals in society. The problem is that they are still not being treated as equals in a religious aspect as well as many other aspects.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Women In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaids Tale

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    The opening epigraph, Genesis 30:1-3 denotes how women within the biblical era were used as surrogates as Bilhah, a handmaid, was used to birth children for Rachel. She infers greatly how demeaning and objectifying the treatment of women was not only then, but also as it is now in today’s society and further could be in the future. Within the story there are numerous biblical influences understood. Names and titles for instance, men are known as “Commanders of the Faithful, “Guardians of the Faith”, “Angels” or “Angels of the Apocalypse,” these men are soldiers and fight in the name of God. The women are referred to by their grade of service as well; “Marthas” work in the kitchen as did the actual Martha in the Bible (New International Version, Luke 10:38-42) “Handmaid” was used to distinguish women who were used for their fertility skills as was Bilhah in the Bible. Additional biblical references were noted in objects and institutions, the area in which the Handmaids were trained, was known as the “Rachel and Leah Center,” cars were referred to as “chariots”. All of these changes be it ever so small, are ways in which the Republic of Gilead could control and submerge and condition its people into their doctrine of

    Read More

  • Exodus And Genesis Analysis

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    Around 1400 B.C. Exodus was written in Hebrew. The Exodus, which is one of the books in the Old Testament, are rules, similar to Hammurabi Code placed by God for the descendants of Abram. This literature gives insight into the structure of the Jewish community, which includes the hierarchy of their community as well as the roles important in this community. Scholars can further understand the Hebrew community by reading Genesis. Genesis consists of religious stories that talks about how farming, slavery, and the world came into being. But overall, scholars can see a society very much center on religion.

    Read More

  • How far can you be a Feminist Biblical Scholar and Remain a Faithful Christian?

    2039 Words  | 5 Pages

    Schungel-Straumann, H. (1993) ‘On the Creation of Man and Woman in Genesis 1-3: The History and Reception of the Texts Reconsidered’. In: Brenner, A. (ed.). A Feminist Companion to Genesis. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. pp.53-76.

    Read More

  • Treatment of Women in Ancient Literature

    2408 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ancient literature often is used as a lesson for future behaviors as it is filled with moral lessons. The Bible has been a source for definitions of gender and morality for centuries. In the Holy Bible: New International Version, the book of Genesis does a good job of showing how history told by men writing history ca...

    Read More

  • The Role of Women in Religion

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    The books of the Old Testament, and variations, are recognized by the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. Each paint women as the temptress responsible for the mistakes of men. Women were the cause of the first punishment given to mankind. Eve persuaded Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, from the tree of knowledge. For this act, inspired by woman, mankind was forever punished and expelled from paradise.

    Read More

More about Similarities Between Genesis 19 And Judges 19

Open Document