God's View of Women/ God's View of Women Misrepresented

Under the Mosaic Law, women enjoyed an honorable status, and their rights were respected. However, from the fourth century B.C.E. on, Judaism started to be influenced by Greek culture, which regarded women as inferior. -See the  box below.

For  example, Greek poet Hesiod (eighty century B.C.E.) imputed all mankind's ills to women.  In his Theogony, he spoke of  "the  deadly race and tribe of women who live amongst mortal men to be their great trouble."  This idea gained ground in Judaism early in the second century B.C.E.  The Talmud, compiled from the second century C.E. on, gave this warning to me:  "Do not converse much with women, as this will ultimately lead you to unchastity."

Throughout the centuries, this distrust has had a profound effect on women's role in Jewish society. In Jesus' day, their access to the temple precincts had already been limited to the Court of Women.  Religious education was solely for men, and women were likely separated from men in the synagogues. The Talmud quotes one Rabbi as saying:  " Whoever teaches his daughter Torah [the law] teaches her obscenity." By misrepresenting God's viewpoint. Jewish religious leaders instilled a contempt for women in many men. 

When on earth, Jesus  noted such prejudices, which were deeply rooted in traditions.  ( Matthew 15:6, 9; 26:7-11)  Did such teachings influence the way he dealt with women? What can we learn from his behavior and attitude?  Has true Christianity brought relief to women? The next article will answer these questions. 

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Discrimination Against Women in Ancient Writings

From the first century C.E. onward, writings such as Philo of Alexandria began to use Greek philosophy to reinterpret the Genesis account. For Philo, Eve was guilty of sexual sin and was therefore condemned to a life that "utterly deprives her of her freedom and subject her to the dominion of men who is her companion." Such  contempt for women infiltrated Judaism, as well as the writings of the Church Fathers. 

In the Midrash Rabba, a second-century Jewish text, a rabbi explained why he felt women should wear a veil, saying:  "She is like one who has done wrong and is ashamed of the people." Theologian Tertullian, whose writings were influential as early as the second century C.E., taught that women should walk about "as Eve mourning and repentant."  Such teachings, often wrongly regarded as coming from the Bible, have contributed to much discrimination against women. 
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Next time: Imitate Jehovah's Compassion

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