Role of women in Hebrew scriptures Research Paper

Role of women in Hebrew scriptures - Research Paper Example The scriptures record that Eve the first woman, was created as a companion of Adam (Kassian, 1992, p28). In this regard, God set forth a patriarchal society, since he created woman from man, but not the other way. From the onset, God granted man the authority to rule all creations. The appearance of Abraham, whom the Jews refer as ‘the father of nations’ affirmed the authority of men over women, and Kassian (1992, p31) notes that even today, a Jew male is referred as Abraham’s son. In the Old Testament God, commanded man to procreate and fill the earth and this placed a lot of pressure on women from the onset (Clarence, 1968, p61). In this respect, the most important role of women in Ancient Israel was getting married and bearing children to ensure posterity of Jewish race. The Old Testament prohibited relationships such as incest and adultery, which ensured that a woman could not be related to a man in more than one way. However, a man was allowed to marry a sist er to his wife even in cases where the wife was alive. Before any marriage ceremony, the groom’s family was required to pay a specified amount of dowry to the bride’s family. ... These punishments are well elaborated in the Halakhah, a collection of rules and regulations that governed the conduct of the Jewish community (Richard, 1988, p 43). Clarence (1968, p37) notes that due to the great importance attached to marriage, there were three main requirements that were necessary to validate a marriage between man and woman in ancient Israel . They included payment of bride price, acceptance by the bride to get married and the union had to be consummated through sexual intercourse. From these rituals, it is apparent that the primary role of a woman in the society was getting married and to satisfy sexual needs of their men. Girls got married at very young ages that put their ability to make sound judgment about marriage in question. Social and religious critics have questioned the symbolic significance of paying bride price for a woman before marriage in the ancient Israel society. Kassian (1992, pp45-49) argues that the dowry payment portrayed women as a proper ty, with a price tag that was owned by man. However, Clarence (1968, p43) notes that payment of the bride price was important because it indicated the groom had good intentions of marrying and that he was capable of taking care of his wife. These findings comply with polygyny practice in Israel that allowed men with adequate resources to marry more than one wife in the ancient society (Richard, 1988, p49). Bearing children was another important role of women in the ancient Jewish society. According to Richard (1988, p53), women were only supposed to have sex for procreation and to validate their marriages. According to Clarence (1968, p73) barrenness