The Oppression Of Women In The Book Of Exodus

A woman becoming Pharaoh had been almost unheard of in ancient Egypt until Hatshepsut was born. Hatshepsut was the second daughter of the pharaoh, Thothmes I. After her sister, Neferu-khebit, died, Hatshepsut was the next heir to the throne unless a male married her and became Pharaoh. After Thothmes passed away, Hatshepsut fearfully, yet confidently, claimed the throne and commenced one of the most successful She-Pharaoh reigns ever recorded. Pauline Gedge’s Child of the Morning explained the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of ancient Egypt’s society during Hatshepsut’s reign as Queen and Pharaoh.

The understanding of gender roles in society has been very fluid in the evolution of mankind. In ancient civilizations, the roles that you were given within a society were centered primarily around gender. These gender roles did vary from civilization to civilization, but were generally comparable. In most ancient civilizations, the roles of women were confined to the household. This was evident in most societies, but a stand out among these was Ancient Egypt. In which, Egypt was one of the only civilizations where women were even remotely equal to men. When comparing to other societies during the ancient time period, women were most respected in Egypt.

The story of the Concubine of a Levite in Judges 19-20 may be one of the harshest examples of female objectification throughout the Bible. The story takes place during a period without a monarch. It begins with the Levite Husband leaving his home to fetch his concubine who fled to her father 's home in Gibeah. This story showcases the brutal rape of a nameless woman.

Throughout history, there is absolutely no doubt that women, (whether they be royalty, revolutionaries, or regular citizens,) tend to be erased by the men that were recording at that time. The gender was, and still continues to be, suppressed and discriminated against. Therefore, when a powerful woman happened to be in the position where she could make a difference, she might adapt masculine tendencies and presentation. This is the case of the ancient Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, who was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh of Egypt, and the first to rule with full authority, according to The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson. In this paper I will explain how Hatshepsut presented herself as a pharaoh by blending

In the Hebrew Bible, a significant section where this idea can be seen is in the beginning with the story of Adam and Eve, specifically in Genesis 4. When Eve is manipulated to eat the forbidden fruit, it poses the idea that the suffering of humankind was caused by a woman, showing the idea that woman react without consideration or senselessly, when really Eve was only acting on a very human trait, curiosity. When Eve convinces Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, one of gods punishment to Eve is “Your man shall be your longing, and rule over you” (p.97). Or when God describes Eve as “his woman”, God is essentially saying she is not her own independent person and is meant to be owned by men. This passage alone shows that women are viewed as people that were meant to be controlled; that men were always meant to be above them.

Egyptians paid great respect to women at least in the upper classes, in part because marriage alliances were vital to the preservation and stability of the monarchy. The Egyptians believe that the royal family was immortal. The word family brings every member of the family to the same circle of respect and power. The man like in the Mesopotamian civilization was the head of the family. That is also seemed in today’s daily life in most cases. A statue of Pharaoh Mycerinus and his queen represents the wife presenting her husband and not the husband presenting his wife as the powerful one.

For the past two-thousand years, the Book of Genesis has served as work of literature to the western civilization. Whether people believed in the Bible or not, the Book of Genesis tell stories they talk about having good morals, teaching live-learned lessons and overall it gives a glimpse of how the first human being acted when the world was developing and how they handle problems and situations. However, even though the book of Genesis shows a tone of life long morals, Genesis also shows the different sides of humans. Genesis shows how human can be deceitful, evil, and disobedient to authority figures. But these traits with humans were rarely displayed by man, but mostly by woman. In

“The world is still sexist.” — Barbara Broccoli. From the creation story to modern day, women and men still struggle with a power dynamic of inferiority and superiority. The problem of sexism has been ever-present throughout history, and although it has been acknowledged by many, it has not been eradicated or resolved. Although the acknowledgment of sexism has grown over the course of the modern era, it is heavily rooted in society’s developmental process, which makes it continuously difficult to annihilate. Furthermore, throughout many historical texts, women are often represented as objects instead of real people. Within texts, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, the Quran, and the Torah, women are constantly regarded as inferiors instead of equals with men. Throughout these texts, there is a clear separation between the treatment of men and women, with women always being referred to as property.

The insignificance and expectations of women in society are further presented in the Exodus. In the Exodus, Oedipus says, "As for my sons, you need not care for them. They are men, they will find some way to live. But my poor daughters, who have shared my table, who never before have been parted from their father take care of them, Kreon; do this for me." (760) Oedipus also says,? Then, whom can you ever marry? There are no bridegrooms for you, and your lives must wither

The status of women in Palestine during the time of Jesus was very decidedly that of inferiors. The women is, ‘in all things inferior to the man,’ as stated by first century

as seeing with the eyes of society which is falsely assumed to be in a

Egyptian women were fortunate in that they were equal to men as far as the law was concerned. They could own property, borrow money, initiate divorce, and many other things unheard of in the Greek civilization. The Egyptian royal line was matriarchal, meaning that royalty was passed down from mother to son. The Greeks, in comparison, were patriarchal, meaning control was passed from father to son. It was also necessary for a man to marry a woman of royalty in order to become a Pharaoh. Because of this, it was common for brothers to marry sisters. Sometimes, women were even known to become a Pharaoh. There are at least four documented female Pharaohs with the most notable being Hatshepsut (1479-1458 B.C.) (McKay 2009). Hatshepsut, though a very powerful ruler, was often times depicted in men’s clothing and with a false beard (McKay 2009). This shows that even though women were much more important in Egyptian society, there was still a stigma around women leaders.

The Holy Bible is full of advice on every issue known to humanity. This advice varies in topics from society's functions to foreign policy and even gender roles. Today's western culture is very confused when it comes to gender roles, swinging over the last over 50 years from a male-dominated society to a large portion of the feminist society fighting for female dominance and the disappearance of chivalry. Society is always searching for answers from science and philosophy but constantly fails to look in the right places. The Bible is the foundation of truth and it requires the ultimate amount of attention if any community plans to be successful for any length of time. The education of modern society on what the Bible says about gender roles is necessary to achieve mutual understanding of beliefs.

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)

In Exodus 1:15, the Pharaoh orders the midwives to kill the baby boys born to Hebrew women. The midwives defy the Pharaoh by sparing the baby’s lives. When the Pharaoh questioned their disobedience, they tell him: “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth” (Ex. 1:19). According to Raveh (2013), the Pharaoh failed to recognize that women, not men, or baby boys, were the threat to his kingdom. The midwives demonstrate their fear in God by disobeying the Pharaoh, recognizing he was not their leader. Additionally, Moses would cease to exist if the women obeyed the Pharaoh.