The story of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:1-22 depicts a family enmeshed in an incestuous royal rape. In this scriptural text, Israelite woman, Tamar is the object of lustful desire by her brother Amnon who, violently rapes and ostracises Tamar. She was raised and taught in a land of patriarchy and thus, the Bible abounds in male imagery and language; restricting women on account of gender, through status and religion. While the author articulates the contextual meaning of the biblical text as central to maintaining societal norms and honour, the revisionist approach expounded by Phyllis Trible juxtaposes a feminist interpretation by challenging the societal customs and norms. Therefore, allowing the reader to reimagine and recreate the true meaning …show more content…
This scripture passage emphasises its teachings on the condemnation of rape and labels it as ‘a gross violation of God’s design for the treatment of the human body’ (Genesis 34). The truth reflected in the biblical text depicts Tamar to be innocent and naïve; therefore clearly contrasting with Amnon who is spoilt and demanding. He devises a sordid plan to satisfy his sexual desires but ultimately ruins, shames and ostracises Tamar, where “Her half brother saw her only as an object for his lust, destroying her future as a result”, (Spangler & Syswerda, 1999, pg.184). The overall contextual meaning, in regards to the theme, truth and teaching reveals not only the degradation of women in Hebrew society but of the “unfolding chronicle of the violence of David has unleased in his own family”, (Birch, 1998, pg. 1303) It is assumed that the event of Tamar’s rape occurred around 1050 B.C.E but was only documented until the exile of Babylon in 600 B.C.E. It is proposed that the rape of Tamar had set “in motion a course of events that eventually eliminates the two leading contenders for the Davidic Throne. Tamar is seen rather as an event than as a person in this story” (Birch, 2013, pg. 1302). Therefore, it is assumed that the rape of Tamar, had been God’s way of punishing Amnon and King David with the overthrow and exile of …show more content…
Feminist proponent, Phyllis Trible, seeks to “rediscover all the information about women that still can be found in biblical writings … seeking to address layers of androcentric [interpretation]...”(West, 2013, pg. 1). She asserts that, “biblical texts themselves are not misogynist but have been patriarchalised by interpreters who have projected their androcentric cultural bias onto biblical texts” (West, 2013, pg. 1). From a Feminist perspective, the story of Tamar is not descriptive of an actual situation; it is a reflection on the type of treatment endured by Palestine women. The revisionist feminist approach states that, Tamar is given a voice of wisdom and rebels against this act of violation with courage. Nevertheless, “this remains a story of men set in the man’s world of power and politics” (Birch, 2013, pg. 1302). Accordingly, Tamar is not introduced in this story as an individual but as Absalom’s sister and Amnon’s object of desire. This emphasis in the Bible of man overriding woman supports the truth that women were ostracised and degraded because men deemed women inferior. According to The New Interpreter’s Bible commentary, the rape of Tamar is said to be “of interest as a personal tragedy for Tamar but as an offense to the family of Absalom…” (Birch, 2013, pg. 1303). In the words of Phyllis Trible,
“Compassion for Tamar requires a new vision … Symbolised
This description of Gender roles amongst Arcadian Natives was not necessarily intended to be publicly published, but was not for private use either. When “Biard”, wrote this entry he more than likely intended it to be read by other missionaries, religious leaders and disposed of as others if his faith saw fit. Like most priests, Biard had to be able to read and write in order to communicate and translate the word of god. Specifically in Biard’s case he was educated enough to be a college professor, both before and a...
The reading, The Burden of Eve, sheds light upon the mistreatment and inequality women especially in Israel are faced with, brought upon by religious standards and the influence of Judaism and the cultural following of Orthodox fundamentalism. Alice Shalvi notes that religious based cultural beliefs drive inequality onto the lives of women, creating standards of modesty and gender roles that must be explicitly followed, enforced by the common threat of violence by men. The religious driven inequality of women as noted by Shalvi, translates into women remaining in roles as homemakers, and therefore separated from opportunities that male counterparts may be granted. Shalvi also reports however, that modernization has created a push against common ultra-Orthodox viewpoints that reside in the currently extremely conservative state of
Women and men shared similar roles; however, men had more rights while women had limitations. For instance, male slaves were freed after six years of service while female slaves (Ex. 21:7) were freed only if their master failed to provide clothes, food, and marital rights. Furthermore, the book of Judges (19:24) portrays how a concubine and virgin daughter were offered to satisfy a group of men who wanted to sexually assault another man. As a result, the group of men rape and abuse the concubine leading to her subsequent death. This story illustrates how women’s lives were regarded less valuable than men’s.
Although the purpose of the Bible is to teach us the right way to live with its numerous rules, the book “The Year of Living Biblically” by A.J. Jacobs, exposes the less publicized rules and how contradictory some of them can be. The main propose of the author of this book is not to criticize or make fun of religion in his quest to “follow the Bible as literally as possible”, but to demonstrate that he enjoys the learning experience. A.J. Jacobs suggests that people claim to be religious when in fact, they only take the rules and ideas they want, this is the reason why I think gender inequality continues to penetrate society today.
In Women, Church, God: A Socio-Biblical Study, Caleb Rosado uses a socio-biblical approach to discuss the role of women in the church today and how they were treated in the Bible, during the patriarchal times. Rosado looks at the connection between what people believe now, their culture, and how they treat women in regards to how one perceives God. This book contains ten chapters in which several topics are discussed, including the nature of God, the treatment of women in the Bible, patrimonialism, servitude, and servanthood.
One would suspect that Trible disagrees with Millet's viewpoint, since she forges ahead regardless in her effort to evoke a dialogue between these two towers of thought. By no means, of course, does she pretend that there is a certain enmity between the Bible and women. Quite to the contrary, she treats it as a given. "It is superfluous to document patriarchy in Scripture," she writes (Ibid.), proceeding to list in a footnote a number of other sources that have done so before her. A few sentences later, she states, "Considerable evidence indicts the Bible as a document of male supremacy." (Ibid.) But despite this damning testimony, Trible maintains a faith in the usefulness of the Bible--and specifically, chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis, on which she focuses--to females and supporters of the Women's Liberation Movement. "The more I participate in the Movement," she says, "the more I discover my freedom through the appropriation of Biblical symbols. Old and new interact." (Ibid., 31) She concludes her introduction...
(Smith 338). Hortense expresses a legacy of strong willed Bowden women to Irie--a legacy of women who were subjugated by the men in their worlds--whether that be because of colonialism or religion--but who ultimately rejected that role. Hortense and the matriarchal structure and legacy of her family undermine the patriarchal expectations set forth by her fundamentalist Jehovah’s Witness faith. Alsana faces the expectation of fulfilling her proper role as the subservient, good Muslim wife; however, she subverts this tradition by actively fighting against her husband Samad and, therefore, maintaining her sovereignty.
Throughout most of documented history women of all cultures and civilizations have lived under patriarchal circumstances. In almost every religion and civilization women's status was not equal to that of a man's. Women in most cultures are looked at as subservient, obedient creatures that were put on this world for very few reasons, mainly to bear children and do what their husbands require of them. In fact, religions are a big part of the reason of this oppression due to the religion's reinforcement and justification of patriarchal conditions. In this week's selected readings from different aspects of Islamic, Byzantine Christian, and Western Christian cultures, it is very apparent as to how these three religions did reinforce and justify the patriarchal conditions in which women were struggling to live in. Also, by reading the selections one can see how different religions could make a difference for women and how they lived their lives.
Women were treated as second class citizens. They were willfully ignored by members of the Christianity and 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.
In our present era, there is no doubt that the evolution of women's rights has come a long way. It is in the Western Culture that these values for which women have fought for generations, are in conflict with Genesis 1-3. The events that occur in this "creation story" are crucial in that it begins when God creates man in his own likeness and man is given domination over all living things. The significance is the prominence given to men; God is male and his most important creation is male. The biblical account underlines the supremacy of man while making it clear that women play an inferior role. Furthermore, the biblical account also describes how woman are disobedient and yield to temptation, the result of which is the expulsion of both Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. In the poem "How Cruel is the Story of Eve", Stevie Smith's castigation towards the biblical story of Eve demonstrates how women have been victims of despair and suffering since the beginning of time. She holds it responsible for cruelty towards women in history, she implies that the values derived from the story of Eve were forced upon women without choice, and finally, she challenges the authenticity of the religious tale on a whole. Without a doubt, women have fallen victim to an untrue, religious tale from the beginning of time, and the poem is an outcry representing the suffering of women throughout history.
In “The Trial of Girlhood” and “A Perilous Passage In the Slave Girl’s Life” Jacobs’s narrative emphasizes the problems that are faced by female slaves. She shares the sexual abuses that are commonly practiced by slave master against young female slaves. She does this through revealing the unique humiliation and the brutalities that were inflicted upon young slave girls. In this narrative we come to understand the psychological damage caused by sexual harassment. We also realize how this sexual harassment done by the slaveholders went against morality and “violated the most sacred commandment of nature,”(Harriet 289)as well as fundamental religious beliefs.
The number of feminist scholars critically assessing Biblical narrative has risen since the second feminist movement of the 1970s (Scholz 2014). A common theme of their scholarship has been to what extent the Bible may be seen to favour men. Some feminist scholars may not be able to legitimately assess the Bible and remain faithful to it because of such outdated views on women in a time when women’s equality is encouraged. I will firstly discuss the difficulties of being a feminist scholar and a Christian or Jew with particular reference to belonging to men, being of less value in society, and finally with a focus on key issues arising from Genesis 2 and 3 whereby gender roles and woman’s blame for the Fall of Man have been central to feminist interpretations. I will then assess ways in which such difficulties may be overcome with a different interpretation, beginning with refuting claims concerning the Creation story. This will be followed by analysing how the Bible is read and the value of historical context when doing so. By discussing these aspects, I will reach a conclusion as to how far you can be both a feminist scholar and a faithful Christian or Jew.
Corinthians 14:34 states, “Let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law” (Holy Bible, King James Edition). Edith Hamilton, "recognized as the greatest woman Classicist", says that the Bible is the only book before our century that looked to women as human beings, no better nor worse than men (Tanner). However, it cannot be said that this book was consistently favorable to women. Maybe not absolutely, but conditionally in personal opinion, the Bible shows numerous examples of a woman’s inferiority to men, an assessment that has been translated into the cultures of generations. In this essay I will address briefly instances in the bible pertaining to women, and continue on with thoughts on how I believe these notions have been interpreted into society.
Women were often subjects of intense focus in ancient literary works. In Sarah Pomeroy’s introduction of her text Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, she writes, “Women pervade nearly every genre of classical literature, yet often the bias of the author distorts the information” (x). It is evident in literature that the social roles of women were more restricted than the roles of men. And since the majority of early literature was written by men, misogyny tends to taint much of it. The female characters are usually given negative traits of deception, temptation, selfishness, and seduction. Women were controlled, contained, and exploited. In early literature, women are seen as objects of possession, forces deadly to men, cunning, passive, shameful, and often less honorable than men. Literature reflects the societal beliefs and attitudes of an era and the consistency of these beliefs and attitudes toward women and the roles women play has endured through the centuries in literature. Women begin at a disadvantage according to these societal definitions. In a world run by competing men, women were viewed as property—prizes of contests, booty of battle and the more power men had over these possessions the more prestigious the man. When reading ancient literature one finds that women are often not only prizes, but they were responsible for luring or seducing men into damnation by using their feminine traits.
She defends the position that one immoral women does not make all women the same. Not only does this argument lack logical value, it also confines women to a biased stereotype. On the other hand, Judith Plaskow incorporates elements of women’s inequality through discussion of the Torah. She identifies areas for improvement that cultivate gender equality to be in creating equal distance to God, being able to tell their own stories and ultimately allowing women to claim the Torah as their own. Further, the aspects of Lilith involving her rebellion of divine intervention are understood as the society being unable to understand or interpret the actions of a strong woman. Therefore, her actions are innately attuned with demonic aspects of existence in order to provide efficient explanation. Overall these two examples show how immoral implications of one woman influence the ultimate discernment of all women in an unfair way. They represent two aspects of creation story that cast a stigma without clear enumeration or valid examples beyond single