Essay On Gender Roles In The Old Testament

Kylie Puttkamer

English 252

April 7, 2017 Women, Gender Roles, and Sexuality as Revealed in the Old Testament

The topic of sex, sexuality, and gender in the Old Testament is a topic that is getting more traction in recent days due to the rise in feminism. The social changes that came with the women’s liberation movement over the last few decades have led to much confusion when it comes to understanding a woman’s place in the Old Testament. The Hebrew Bible serves as a guide that provides basic definitions for gender and the roles of men and women in society. In the Old Testament women were viewed as lesser than her male counterpart. The body or virginity of a woman was viewed as property of her father, her slave owner, or her husband; the

This was a story I never learned about in church on Sunday. The Levite’s concubine tells another story about a woman who is viewed as property. Both virgin daughters and concubines are property to be used at will by her father or master to “entertain” male guests. This story is a good example of how the marriage system worked in this time. After further research I discovered that a concubine is more of a secondary or side wife. The purpose of having a concubine was to produce more children or just to give her husband/master sexual pleasure. A question I thought about many times when analyzing the story is why the man of the house decided to offer the women instead of his male guest. The master was more than willing to give the women and their dignity as a sacrifice for the protection of a male guest. The sexual exploitation and violation of a woman seemed to be significantly less shameful than if it were a man being sexually exploited or abused. This is yet another example of the misogynistic culture that was a sad and terrible reality for these

Ruth goes against gender norms at the time in order to provide for herself and her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth listens to instruction from Naomi to sleep with a well-off man named Boaz. Boaz and Ruth soon after get married and have children and it seems like a happily-ever-after kind of moment. The two women in the story take initiative and by doing that, they are taking on more of a male role. Once Ruth and Naomi are successful in reaching their goal, the narrator swiftly moves to foreclose on any stresses regarding the mixing of gender roles by returning the women to a clear-cut patriarchal society. Here on out, both Ruth and Naomi don’t speak and the story continues after returning to the public world of men, negotiating both land and