WOmen in the Bible

...Or do they? Sure, they may be hidden under the blustering tales of the men. But they're present among the minds who look closely.
It's a little, but grand word called manipulation. And us women know how to work it. :)


Ok, let's be honest. Women in the Bible are material objects. They're made into prostitutes by their fathers, sold off basically for marriages and don't even get to choose their own spouses, they're seen as repulsive for having a menstrual cycle, and above it all they are not recognized for how big of a part they play in recreation. Ok, Adam we know you gave life from your rib. Thanks be to God.


But now let me dig into my reminiscent mind, and fish out the times that women have made fools of men, and risen above their dominating ways, by the power of manipulation. And maybe just being smarter all together.

Examples:


-When women can trick their own father into having sex with them, that is manipulation. (Lot's daughters in Genesis)


- Rebekah (or the original Lady Macbeth as David Plotz calls her, hehe) manipulates her son Jacob to trick Isaac into blessing the wrong son. And if you remember, Jacob is hesitant at first because he is afraid of getting cursed. But all Rebekah has to say is "Just do as I say", and the scam unfolds.

- Sarah, Abraham's wife, fools Pharaoh into thinking that she is Abraham's sister. Abraham couldn't have done that good of acting.

-Who sends Joseph to jail because he won't "lie" with her? A woman. Ok, so Potiphar's wife being a sex crazed maniac may not be the best example, but it still shows women in power due to manipulation.


A person who is fond of detracting would say I am dead wrong. But we must not forget terms such as Couvade, when men envy childbirth in the Bible shown when Adam gives "birth" to Eve via his rib, and as we discussed in class, in a patriarchy, even men are women. Women are visibly seen as less important in the Bible, but still hold much significance.

As discussed in Linda Sexson's visit to our classroom, women in the Bible are present in 3 categories. And these categories are: feminine: symbolic and metaphorical , women: social persons who are designated by culture, and female: biological

I think I will find it helpful while continuing to read the Bible, and as I reach and interpret the stories of women, to keep in mind these 3 categories. These help determine the role they play.