.png)
To understand how we got where we are now, it's important to take a look at our history. How were women treated under the Mosaic Law? How does it impact our interpretation of the Bible?
A complementarian reading of the Old Testament may include how women were under the authority of their fathers and then their husbands or brothers, depending on their situation. While women may be depicted in leadership roles, such as Deborah, they are paired with men or women were in leadership roles when Israel lacked acceptable male leadership.
An egalitarian reading differs in that it focuses, not on women in leadership, but on men and women working together in prominent leadership positions as a partnership with equal authority.
First things first - let's discuss the word "law." What comes to mind when you read the word law? Through our cultural lens today, law may equal the justice system or rules we must live by. However, in ancient times it was a little different. The word translated "law" is Torah which is better translated as instruction, decisions or teaching, which, I hope, carries a slightly different meaning for you. There were 613 instructions given to the Israelite's and 10 commandments.
Ancient cultures used a patriarchal system, and Israel was no different. Carolyn Custis James defines patriarchy like this - men are "impregnator, protector, provider and polar opposite of women." Merriam-Webster has a few more words, but the same basic principle - a "social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line."
We have to remember that the Old Testament law was never intended to be perfect when God provided it. Instead it was guidelines for how an imperfect nation could live within an imperfect world. If you consider the Bible as a whole, the coming of Jesus signifies this, as does the "new heavens and new earth" that are promised in Revelation 22. However, it had an impact and this was greatly felt by women in the Israelite society.
Adultery in ancient society was a big deal. It not only meant an offence against the spouse, but also against the community and was considered a capital crime - punishable by death (Lev. 18:20, 28-29; Num. 5:13). This is carried over in Deuteronomy 22:13-29 where the different types of adultery and punishments are listed. However, what's different in Israel is that men can be held accountable and executed. Women are considered, something that didn't happen in other societies.
Widows were also cared for, which did not happen in other ancient societies. Laws were put in place to protect them. In fact, if we jump ahead a few hundred years, one of the complaints made against the Pharisees was that widows and orphans were not being cared for. Pierce and Conway reflect that "for women living at that time, [the law] was at the least beneficial. It meant the difference between an ordered society and a chaotic anarchy with unrestrained male dominance."
Did anything surprise you about this post?
Further Reading:
1. Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World by Carolyn Custis James
2. The Treatment of Women Under the Mosaic Law found in Discovering Biblical Equality edited by Ronald W. Pierce and Cynthia Long Westfall
Comments