Genesis Gender Roles

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our like-ness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”(Gen . 1.26)

What would you feel like as a women if your husband was seen as more powerful than you? Or if it was considered okay for your husband to beat you and and sap you when ever you did something he didn’t approve of? In Zora Neale Hurston’s, Their Eyes Were Watching God, gender roles plays a huge responsibility in the lives of the citizens in Eatonville, as well as the muck. The concept of gender roles has a huge impact on Janie, and the mayor, Jody’s lives and marriage. Although Janie and Jody are married, because Jody is the man in the relationship, he feels that he is more powerful and stronger than Janie.

“In the day when God created man, he made them in the image of God.” -Genesis 5:2 (OI).

The important role of female even in today’s society is to be a mother and child bearer. This role can be observed in the Book of Genesis. Eve gives birth to three sons and the role continues throughout the text (Gen. 3: 1). And the females who could not conceive would pray to God to give them the ability to conceive (Gen. 30:23)

The Hebrew bible is a book written by men for the empowerment of men. The sources are clear in their tone in designing a female character. Women such as Miriam, Deborah, and Rahab show the strength in resisting a patriarchal culture to continue a meaningful life. One of the most significant women the audience sees is Ruth, a savior to the lineage of David (The Book of Ruth, Coogan and Brettler). Ruth elected to follow another woman, Naomi, embracing independence as a female character. Even though she is seen as a hero, her most powerful attribute in her story is her ability to please a man with her body. True heroes of the bible are consistently men, complex characters are men, and the main characters are men. In Genesis the audience reads

our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea , and over the birds of

Among the many bible themes there is one that is found in many narratives, parables, psalms, and other various sections of the bible; patriarchy. Currently, men and woman are almost seen as completely equal; there are some inequalities, but none such as the ones displayed in the bible thousands of years ago. As understood in the various text of the bible, men were seen as the leaders of the family, men were strong, smart, capable, and deserved honor. On the other side of the spectrum were women; women were seen as dainty, fragile, not capable, and unintelligent. Patriarchy consisted of many rules, was recognized in many bible text, such as the story of Judith and 1 Kings, and was even seen in the genesis narratives; modern day women reject patriarchy, looking for equality among men

“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he

The main roles that Hebrew women were known for were their roles as a wife and a mother. This is because the concept of marriage and motherhood described the relationship between God and Israel metaphorically (King, Stager). Their roles were created to show the love that God had for his chosen people. Their responsibilities and focus within each title were different, yet they had many similarities as women in

Throughout the Pentateuch and the former Prophets, women play a minor role, as the mother, wife, sister, or daughter of a man in ancient history. Essentially the only woman of significance in the Pentateuch is Eve, as she is a fundamental figure in the story of creation. Subsequent to Genesis 4, in which Eve gave birth to Cain and Abel, men are the only prominent characters until the book of Judges. In this respect, Judges is unique form any book of the Hebrew Bible precedes it because a majority of the stories circulate around the words and actions of women. Although women in the other books are mentioned, they are on the margins of the narratives in which they appear; this is in accordance with the marginalization of women in Pre-modern

Gen 1:26-27, “26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Since the beginning of civilization, society has been treating women unfairly. During the Neolithic Era, men created the idea of patriarchy because they valued their offspring more than their partner and the new concept of private ownership. In The Old Testament, Eve represents the lack of self-control in women; therefore, this stereotype still remains till today. As time passes, gender inequality steadily subsides because women began to challenge humanity.

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance

To the Dad, at your age, no it wouldn't be a good idea to have a 27 year old drug addict grandson stay with you. This is one of those things that has to fix itself. For one, your daughter has to evict her son and stop enabling him, if he won't get help for his drug addiction. My In-laws kicked out a drug addict daughter with kids, because a social worker said it would be the only way for her to get clean, was to stop the support. She got arrested a couple of months later, her kids went in Foster Care. She was given a year sentence, she got off drugs and finished her GED in jail. When she got out she did AA meetings and got a job and eventually got her kids back. My In-Laws kept her at arms length for the rest of their lives due to her behavior

The stories told about women in the bible illustrate the importance of their role and contribution to society. Although the Bible does not explain God’s relationship with women as with Moses and other prophets, it illustrates love and devotion women had for Him. The stories of the bible describe brave, nurturing, and God fearing women whose decisions impacted the existence of the Israelites.