Woman

VIEW:18 DATA:01-04-2020

WOMAN
1. In OT (’ishshâh, ‘woman,’ ‘wife’; nĕqçbâh [Lev_15:33, Num_31:15, Jer_31:22], ‘female’) woman’s position is one of inferiority and subjection to man (Gen_3:13); and yet, in keeping with the view that ideally she is his companion and ‘help meet’ (Gen_2:18-24), she never sinks into a mere drudge or plaything. In patriarchal times, Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel stand side by side with their husbands. In the era of the deliverance from Egypt, Miriam is ranked with Moses and Aaron (cf. Mic_6:4). In the days of the judges, Deborah is not only a prophetess (wh. see), as other women in Israel were, but is herself a judge (Jdg_4:4). Under the monarchy, Jezebel in the Northern Kingdom and Athaliah in the Southern, afford illustrations of the political power and influence that a woman might wield. In religious matters, we find women attending the Feasts along with men (1Sa_1:1 ff. etc.), taking part with them in acts of sacrifice (Jdg_13:20; Jdg_13:23 etc.), combined with them in the choral service of the Temple (Ezr_2:65 etc.). And though in the Deut. code woman’s position is one of complete subordination, her rights are recognized and safeguarded in a way that prepares the soil for the growth of those higher conceptions which find utterance in Malachi’s declaration that divorce is hateful to Jehovah (Ezr_2:16), and in the picture of the virtuous wife with which the Book of Proverbs concludes (ch. 31). See, further, Family, Marriage.
2. In NT (gynç, ‘woman,’ ‘wife’; thçleia [Rom_1:26-27], ‘female’; gynaikarion [dimin. fr. gynç, 2Ti_3:6], EV [Note: English Version.] ‘silly women’).—Owing to the influence of Rabbinism, Jewish women had lost some of their earlier freedom (ct. [Note: t. contrast.] with the scene at the well of Haran [Gen_24:10 ff.] the surprise of the disciples by the well of Sychar when they found Jesus ‘speaking with a woman’ [Joh_4:27]). But Jesus wrought a wonderful change. He did this not only by His teaching about adultery (Mat_5:27 f.) and marriage and divorce (Mat_5:31 f., Mat_19:3 ff.), but still more by His personal attitude to women, whether good and pure like His own mother (there is nothing harsh or discourteous in the ‘Woman’ of Joh_2:4; cf. Joh_19:26) and the sisters of Bethany, or sinful and outcast as some women of the Gospels were (Luk_7:37 ff; Luk_8:2, Joh_4:1-54). The work of emancipation was continued in the Apostolic Church. Women formed an integral part of the earliest Christian community (Act_1:14), shared in the gifts of Pentecost (Act_2:1 ff., cf. Act_2:17), engaged in tasks of unofficial ministry (Rom_16:1 f., Php_4:2 f.), and by and by appear (1Ti_3:11) as holding the office of the deaconess (wh. see), and possibly (1Ti_5:3) that of the ‘widow’ (wh. see, and cf. Timothy [Epp. to], § 5). St. Paul’s conception of woman and of man’s relation to her is difficult (1Co_7:1-40), but may be explained partly by his expectation of the Parousia (1Co_7:29-31), and partly by the exigencies of an era of persecution (1Co_7:26). In a later Pauline Epistle marriage becomes a type of the union between Christ and the Church (Eph_5:22-33). And if by his injunction as to the silence of women in the Church (1Co_14:34 ff.) the Apostle appears to limit the prophetic freedom of the first Christian days (Act_2:4; Act_2:17), we must remember that he is writing to a Church set in the midst of a dissolute Greek city, where Christian women had special reasons for caution in the exercise of their new privileges. Elsewhere he announces the far-reaching principle that in Christ Jesus ‘there can be no male and female’ (Gal_3:28).
J. C. Lambert.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909

woom?an (אשּׁה, 'ishshāh, ?a woman? (feminine of אישׁ, 'ı̄sh, ?a man?; γυνή, gunḗ, ?a woman? ?wife?):
I. IN THE CREATIVE PLAN
II. IN OLD TESTAMENT TIMES
1. Prominence of Women
2. Social Equality
3. Marriage Laws
4. Inheritance
5. Domestic Duties
6. Dress and Ornaments
7. Religious Devotion and Service
(1) in Idolatry and False Religion
(2) in Spiritual Religion
III. INTER-TESTAMENTAL ERA
IV. IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
1. Mary and Elisabeth
2. Jesus and Women
3. In the Early Church
4. Official Service
5. Widows
6. Deaconesses
V. LATER TIMES
1. Changes in Character and Condition
2. Notable Examples of Christian Womanhood
3. Woman in the 20th Century
The generic term ?man? includes woman. In the narrative of the creation (Gen_1:26, Gen_1:27) Adam is a collective term for mankind. It may signify human being, male or female, or humanity entire. ?God said, Let us make man ... and let them? (Gen_1:26), the latter word ?them? defining ?man? in the former clause. So in Gen_1:27, ?in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them,? ?them? being synonymous with ?him.? See also ADAM; ANTHROPOLOGY.

I. In the Creative Plan.
Whatever interpretation the latest scholarship may give to the story of woman's formation from the rib of man (Gen_2:21-24), the passage indicates, most profoundly, the inseparable unity and fellowship of her life with his. Far more than being a mere assistant, ?helper? (עזר, ‛ēzer ?help? ?helper? Gen_2:18), she is man's complement, essential to the perfection of his being. Without her he is not man in the generic fullness of that term. Priority of creation may indicate headship, but not, as theologians have so uniformly affirmed, superiority. Dependence indicates difference of function, not inferiority. Human values are estimated in terms of the mental and spiritual. Man and woman are endowed for equality, and are mutually interdependent. Physical strength and prowess cannot be rated in the same category with moral courage and the capacity to endure ill-treatment, sorrow and pain; and in these latter qualities woman has always proved herself the superior. Man's historic treatment of woman, due to his conceit, ignorance or moral perversion, has taken her inferiority for granted, and has thus necessitated it by her enslavement and degradation. The narrative of the Fall (Gen 3) ascribes to woman supremacy of influence, for through her stronger personality man was led to disobedience of God's command. Her penalty for such ill-fated leadership was that her husband should ?rule over? her (Gen_3:16), not because of any inherent superiority on his part, but because of her loss of prestige and power through sin. In that act she forfeited the respect and confidence which entitled her to equality of influence in family affairs. Her recovery from the curse of subjection was to come through the afflictive suffering of maternity, for, as Paul puts it, ?she shall be saved (from the penalty of her transgression) through her child-bearing? (1Ti_2:15).
Sin, both in man and woman, has been universally the cause of woman's degradation. All history must be interpreted in the light of man's consequent mistaken estimate of her endowments, worth and rightful place. The ancient Hebrews never entirely lost the light of their original revelation, and, more than any other oriental race, held woman in high esteem, honor and affection. Christianity completed the work of her restoration to equality of opportunity and place. Wherever its teachings and spirit prevail, she is made the loved companion, confidante and adviser of her husband.

II. In Old Testament Times.
1. Prominence of Women:
Under the Hebrew system the position of woman was in marked contrast with her status in surrounding heathen nations. Her liberties were greater, her employments more varied and important, her social standing more respectful and commanding. The divine law given on Sinai (Exo_20:12) required children to honor the mother equally with the father. A similar esteem was accorded her in patriarchal times. Sarah held a position of favor and authority in Abraham's household. Rebekah was not less influential than Isaac, and was evidently the stronger personality. The ?beautiful? Rachel (Gen_29:17) won from Jacob a love that accepted her as an equal in the companionship and counsels of family life. Many Hebrew women rose to eminence and national leadership. Miriam and Deborah were each a prophetess and a poetess. The former led bands of women in triumphant song and procession, celebrating the overthrow of enemies (Exo_15:20); the latter, through her dominating personality and prophetic power, became the virtual judge of the nation and led armies to victory. Her military general, Barak, refused to advance against Sisera without her presence and commanding influence (Jdg_4:8). Her ode of victory indicates the intellectual endowment and culture of her sex in that unsettled and formative era (Jdg 5). No person in Israel surpassed Hannah, the mother of Samuel, in intelligence, beauty and fervor of religious devotion. Her spiritual exaltation and poetic gift found expression in one of the choicest specimens of early Hebrew lyric poetry (1Sa_2:1-10). Other women eminent as prophetesses were: Huldah, whose counsel was sought by high priest and king (2Ch_34:22; compare 2Ki_22:14); Noadiah (Neh_6:14); Anna (Luk_2:36). The power to which woman could attain in Israel is illustrated in the career of the wicked, merciless, murderous, idolatrous Jezebel, self-styled prophetess (Rev_2:20). Evidence of woman's eminence in the kingdoms of Judah and Israel is seen in the influence she exercised as queen mother (1Ki_15:13) and queen (2Ki_8:18); in the beautiful honor shown by King Solomon to his mother, Bath-sheba (1Ki_2:19); in the filial devotion of the prophet Elisha (1Ki_19:20); in the constant mention of the mother's name in the biographies of successive kings, making it evident that she was considered the important and determining factor in the life of her royal sons. Her teaching and authority were sufficiently eminent to find recognition in the proverbs of the nation: ?the law of thy mother? (Pro_1:8; Pro_6:20) was not to be forsaken, while contempt for the same merited the curse of God (Pro_19:26; Pro_20:20; Pro_30:11, Pro_30:17).

2. Social Equality:
Additional evidence of woman's social equality comes from the fact that men and women feasted together without restriction. Women shared in the sacred meals and great annual feasts (Deu_16:11, Deu_16:14); in wedding festivities (Joh_2:1-3); in the fellowship of the family meal (Joh_12:3). They could appear, as Sarah did in the court of Egypt, unveiled (Gen_12:11, Gen_12:14). Rebekah (Gen_24:16; compare Gen_24:65), Rachel (Gen_29:11), Hannah (1Sa_1:13) appeared in public and before suitors with uncovered faces. The secluding veil was introduced into Mohammedan and other oriental lands through the influence of the Koran. The custom was non-Jewish in origin, and the monuments make. It evident that it did not prevail, in early times, in Assyria and Egypt. Even Greece and Rome, at the time of their supreme culture, fell-far below the Hebrew conception of woman's preeminent worth. The greatest hellenic philosophers declared that it would radically disorganize the state for wives to claim equality with their husbands. Aristotle considered women inferior beings, intermediate between freemen and slaves. Socrates and Demosthenes held them in like depreciation. Plato advocated community of wives. Substantially the same views prevailed in Rome. Distinguished men, like Metullus and Care, advocated marriage only as a public duty. More honor was shown the courtesan than the wife. Chastity and modesty, the choice inheritance of Hebrew womanhood, were foreign to the Greek conception of morality, and disappeared from Rome when Greek culture and frivolity entered. The Greeks made the shameless Phryne the model of the goddess Aphrodite, and lifted their hands to public prostitutes when they prayed in their temples. Under pagan culture and heathen darkness woman was universally subject to inferior and degrading conditions. Every decline in her status in the Hebrew commonwealth was due to the incursion of foreign influence. The lapses of Hebrew morality, especially in the court of Solomon and of subsequent kings, occurred through the borrowing of idolatrous and heathen customs from surrounding nations (1Ki_11:1-8).

3. Marriage Laws:
The Bible gives no sanction to dual or plural marriages. The narrative in Gen_2:18-24 indicates that monogamy was the divine ideal for man. The moral decline of the generations antedating the Flood seems to have been due, chiefly; to the growing disregard of the sanctity of marriage. Lamech's taking of two wives (Gen_4:19) is the first recorded infraction of the divine ideal. By Noah's time polygamy had degenerated into promiscuous inter-racial marriages of the most incestuous and illicit kind (Gen_6:1-4; see SONS OF GOD). The subsequent record ascribes marital infidelity and corruption to sin, and affirms that the destruction of the race by the Flood and the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah were God's specific judgment on man's immorality. The dual marriages of the Patriarchs were due, chiefly, to the desire for children, and are not to be traced to divine consent or approval. The laws of Moses regarding chastity protected the sanctity of marriage (see MARRIAGE), and indicated a higher regard for woman than prevailed in Gentile or other Semitic races (Lev_18:6-20). They sought to safeguard her from the sensual abominations prevalent among the Egyptians and Canaanites (Lev 18). Kings were forbidden to ?multiply wives? (Deu_17:17). Concubinage in Israel was an importation from heathenism.
Divorce was originally intended to protect the sanctity of wedlock by outlawing the offender and his moral offense. Its free extension to include any marital infelicity met the stern rebuke of Jesus, who declared that at the best it was a concession to human infirmity and hardness of heart, and should be granted only in case of adultery (Mat_5:32). See DIVORCE.
Hebrew women were granted a freedom in choosing a husband not known elsewhere in the East (Gen_24:58). Jewish tradition declares that a girl over 12 1/2 years of age had the right to give herself in marriage. Vows made by a daughter, while under age, could be annulled by the father (Num_30:3-5) or by the husband (Num_30:6-16). Whenever civil law made a concession to the customs of surrounding nations, as in granting the father power to sell a daughter into bondage, it sought to surround her with all possible protection (Deu_22:16 ff).

4. Inheritance:
The Mosaic Law prescribed that the father's estate, in case there were no sons, should pass to the daughters (Num_27:1-8). They were not permitted, however, to alienate the family inheritance by marrying outside their own tribe (Num_36:6-9). Such alien marriages were permissible only when the husband took the wife's family name (Neh_7:63). Unmarried daughters, not provided for in the father's will, were to be cared for by the eldest son (Gen_31:14, Gen_31:15). The bride's dowry, at marriage, was intended as a substitute for her share in the family estate. In rabbinical law, a century or more before Christ, it took the form of a settlement upon the wife and was considered obligatory. Provision for woman under the ancient Mosaic Law was not inferior to her status under English law regarding landed estates.

5. Domestic Duties:
Among the Hebrews, woman administered the affairs of the home with a liberty and leadership unknown to other oriental peoples. Her domestic duties were more independent, varied and honorable. She was not the slave or menial of her husband. Her outdoor occupations were congenial, healthful, extensive. She often tended the flocks (Gen_29:6; Exo_2:16); spun the wool, and made the clothing of the family (Exo_35:26; Pro_31:19; 1Sa_2:19); contributed by her weaving and needlework to its income and support (Pro_31:14, Pro_31:24), and to charity (Act_9:39). Women ground the grain (Mat_24:41); prepared the meals (Gen_18:6; 2Sa_13:8; Joh_12:2); invited and received guests (Jdg_4:18; 1Sa_25:18 ff; 2Ki_4:8-10); drew water for household use (1Sa_9:11; Joh_4:7), for guests and even for their camels (Gen_24:15-20). Hebrew women enjoyed a freedom that corresponds favorably with the larger liberties granted them in the Christian era.

6. Dress and Ornaments:
That women were fond of decorations and display in ancient as in modern times is clear from the reproof administered by the prophet for their haughtiness and excessive ornamentation (Isa_3:16). He bids them ?remove (the) veil, strip off the train,? that they may be better able to ?grind meal? and attend to the other womanly duties of the home (Isa_47:2). These prophetic reproofs do not necessarily indicate general conditions, but exceptional tendencies to extravagance and excess. The ordinary dress of women was modest and simple, consisting of loose flowing robes, similar to those worn by men, and still in vogue among Orientals, chiefly the mantle, shawl and veil (Rth_3:15; Isa_3:22, Isa_3:23). The veil, however, was not worn for seclusion, as among the Moslems. The extensive wardrobe and jewelry of Hebrew women is suggested by the catalogue given in Isa_3:18-24 : anklets, cauls, crescents, pendants, bracelets, mufflers, headtires, ankle chains, sashes, perfume-boxes, amulets, rings, nose-jewels, festival robes, mantles, shawls, satchels, hand-mirrors, fine linen, turbans, veils. The elaborateness of this ornamentation throws light on the apostle Peter's counsel to Christian women not to make their adornment external, e.g. the braiding of the hair, the wearing of jewels of gold, the putting on of showy apparel, but rather the apparel of a meek and quiet spirit (1Pe_3:3, 1Pe_3:4).

7. Religious Devotion and Service:
The reflections cast upon woman for her leadership in the first transgression (Gen_3:6, Gen_3:13, Gen_3:16; 2Co_11:3; 1Ti_2:14) do not indicate her rightful and subsequent place in the religious life of mankind. As wife, mother, sister, she has been preeminently devout and spiritual. history records, however, sad and striking exceptions to this rule.

(1) In Idolatry and False Religion
Often woman's religious intensity found expression in idolatry and the gross cults of heathenism. That she everywhere participated freely in the religious rites and customs of her people is evident from the fact that women were often priestesses, and were often deified. The other Semitic religions had female deities corresponding to the goddesses of Greece and Rome. In the cult of Ishtar of Babylon, women were connected with the immoral rites of temple-worship. The women of heathen nations in the harem of Solomon (1Ki_11:1) turned the heart of the wise king to unaccountable folly in the worship of the Sidonian goddess Ashtoreth, and of Chemosh and Molech, in turn the ?abomination? of Moab and Ammon (1Ki_11:5-8). The fatal speller Maacah morally blighted the reigns of her husband, son and grandson, until Asa the latter deposed her as queen and destroyed the obscene image of Asherah which she had set up (1Ki_15:13). As ?queen mother? (gebhı̄rāh, ?leader?) she was equivalent to the Turkish Sultana Valide.
Baal-worship was introduced into Israel by Jezebel (1Ki_16:31, 1Ki_16:32; 1Ki_18:19; 2Ki_9:22), and into Judah by her daughter Athaliah (2Ch_22:3; 2Ch_24:7). The prominence of women in idolatry and in the abominations of foreign religions is indicated in the writings of the prophets (Jer_7:18; Eze_8:14). Their malign influence appeared in the sorceress and witch, condemned to death by the Mosaic Law (Exo_22:18); yet continuing through the nation's entire history. Even kings consulted them (1Sa_28:7-14). The decline and overthrow of Judah and Israel must be attributed, in large measure, to the deleterious effect of wicked, worldly, idolatrous women upon their religious life.

(2) In Spiritual Religion
The bright side of Hebrew history is an inspiring contrast to this dark picture. Prior to the Christian era no more luminous names adorn the pages of history than those of the devout and eminent Hebrew women. Jochebed, the mother of Moses, left upon him a religious impress so vital and enduring as to safeguard him through youth and early manhood from the fascinating corruptions of Pharaoh's Egyptian court (Exo_2:1-10; Heb_11:23-26). In Ruth, the converted Moabitess, the royal ancestress of David and of Jesus, we have an unrivaled example of filial piety, moral beauty and self-sacrificing religious devotion (Rth_1:15-18). The prayers and piety of Hannah, taking effect in the spiritual power of her son Samuel, penetrated, purified and vitalized the religious life of the entire nation. Literature contains no finer tribute to the domestic virtues and spiritual qualities of woman than in the beautiful poem dedicated to his gifted mother by King Lemuel (Prov 31).
Women, as well as men, took upon themselves the self-renouncing vow of the Nazirite (Num_6:2), and shared in offering sacrifices, as in the vow and sacrifice of Manoah's wife (Jdg_13:13, Jdg_13:14); were granted theophanies, e.g. Hagar (Gen_16:7; Gen_21:17), Sarah (Gen_18:9, Gen_18:10), Manoah's wife (Jdg_13:3-5, Jdg_13:9); were even permitted to ?minister? at the door of the sanctuary (Exo_38:8; 1Sa_2:22); rendered conspicuous service in national religious songs and dances (Exo_15:20; Jdg_11:34; 1Sa_18:6, 1Sa_18:7); in the great choirs and choruses and processionals of the Temple (Psa_68:25; Ezr_2:65; Neh_7:67); in religious mourning (Jer_9:17-20; Mar_5:38). They shared equally with men in the great religious feasts, as is indicated by the law requiring their attendance (Deu_12:18).

III. Inter-Testamental Era.
The women portrayed in the apocryphal literature of the Jews reveal all the varied characteristics of their sex so conspicuous in Old Testament history: devout piety, ardent patriotism, poetic fervor, political intrigue, worldly ambition, and sometimes a strange combination of these contradictory moral qualities. Whether fictitious, or rounded on fact, or historical, these portrayals are true to the feminine life of that era.
Anna is a beautiful example of wifely devotion. By her faith and hard toil she supported her husband, Tobit, after the loss of his property and in his blindness, until sight and prosperity were both restored (Tobit 1:9; 2:1-14).
Edna, wife of Raguel of Ecbatana and mother of Sarah, made her maternal love and piety conspicuous in the blessing bestowed on Tobias on the occasion of his marriage to her daughter, who had hitherto been cursed on the night of wedlock by the death of seven successive husbands (Tobit 7; 10:12).
Sarah, innocent of their death, which had been compassed by the evil spirit Asmodeus, at last had the reward of her faith in the joys of a happy marriage (Tobit 10:10; 14:13).
Judith, a rich young widow, celebrated in Hebrew lore as the savior of her nation, was devoutly and ardently patriotic. When Nebuchadnezzar sent his general Holofernes with an army of 132,000 men to subjugate the Jews, she felt called of God to be their deliverer. Visiting holofernes, she so captivated him with her beauty and gifts that he made a banquet in her honor. While he was excessively drunk with the wine of his own bounty, she beheaded him in his tent. The Assyrians, paralyzed by the loss of their leader, easily fell a prey to the armies of Israel. Judith celebrates her triumph in a song, akin in its triumphant joy, patriotic fervor and religious zeal, to the ancient songs of Miriam and Deborah (Judith 16:1-17).
Susanna typifies the ideal of womanly virtue. The daughter of righteous parents, well instructed in the sacred Law, the wife of a rich and honorable man, Joachim by name, she was richly blessed in position and person. Exceptionally modest, devout and withal very beautiful, she attracted the notice of two elders, who were also judges, and who took occasion frequently to visit Joachim's house. She spurned their advances and when falsely charged by them with the sin which she so successfully resisted, she escapes the judgment brought against her, by the subtle skill of Daniel. As a result, his fame and her innocence became widely known. See SUSANNA, HISTORY OF.
Cleopatra, full of inherited intrigue, is influential in the counsels of kings. She married successively for political power; murdered her eldest son Seleucus, by Demetrius, and at last dies by the poison which she intended for her younger son, Antiochus VIII. Her fatal influence is a striking example of the perverted use of woman's power (1 Macc 10:58; Josephus, Ant., XIII, iv, 1; ix, 3).

IV. In New Testament Times.
1. Mary and Elisabeth:
A new era dawned for woman with the advent of Christianity. The honor conferred upon Mary, as mother of Jesus, lifted her from her ?low estate,? made after generations call her blessed (Luk_1:48), and carried its benediction to the women of all subsequent times. Luke's narrative of the tivity (Lk 1; 2) has thrown about motherhood the halo of a new sanctity, given mankind a more exalted conception of woman's character and mission, and made the world's literature the vehicle of the same lofty reverence and regard. The two dispensations were brought together in the persons of Elisabeth and Mary: the former the mother of John the Baptist, the last of the old order of prophets; the latter the mother of the long-expected Messiah. Both are illustrious examples of Spirit-guided and Spirit-filled womanhood. The story of Mary's intellectual gifts, spiritual exaltation, purity and beauty of character, and her training of her divine child, has been an inestimable contribution to woman's world-wide emancipation, and to the uplift and ennoblement of family life. To her poetic inspiration, spiritual fervor and exalted thankfulness as expectant mother of the Messiah, the church universal is indebted for its earliest and most majestic hymn, the Magnificat. In her the religious teachings, prophetic hopes, and noblest ideals of her race were epitomized. Jesus' reverence for woman and the new respect for her begotten by his teaching were well grounded, on their human side, in the qualities of his own mother. The fact that he himself was born of woman has been cited to her praise in the ecumenical creeds of Christendom.

2. Jesus and Women:
From the first, women were responsive to his teachings and devoted to his person. The sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, made their home at Bethany, his dearest earthly refuge and resting-place. Women of all ranks in society found in him a benefactor and friend, before unknown in all the history of their sex. They accompanied him, with the Twelve, in his preaching tours from city to city, some, like Mary Magdalene, grateful because healed of their moral infirmities (Luk_8:2); others, like Joanna the wife of Chuzas, and Susanna, to minister to his needs (Luk_8:3). Even those who were ostracized by society were recognized by him, on the basis of immortal values, and restored to a womanhood of virtue and Christian devotion (Luk_7:37-50). Mothers had occasion to rejoice in his blessing their children (Mar_10:13-16); and in his raising their dead (Luk_7:12-15). Women followed him on his last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem; ministered to Him on the way to Calvary (Mat_27:55, Mat_27:56); witnessed his crucifixion (Luk_23:49); accompanied his body to the sepulcher (Mat_27:61; Luk_23:55); prepared spices and ointments for his burial (Luk_23:56); were first at the tomb on the morning of his resurrection (Mat_28:1; Mar_16:1; Luk_24:1; Joh_20:1); and were the first to whom the risen Lord appeared (Mat_28:9; Mar_16:9; Joh_20:14). Among those thus faithful and favored were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, Salome (Mat_27:56), Joanna and other unnamed women (Luk_24:10). Women had the honor of being the first to announce the fact of the resurrection to the chosen disciples (Luk_24:9, Luk_24:10, Luk_24:22). They, including the mother of Jesus, were among the 120 who continued in prayer in the upper room and received the Pentecostal enduement (Act_1:14); they were among the first Christian converts (Act_8:12); suffered equally with men in the early persecutions of the church (Act_9:2). The Jewish enemies of the new faith sought their aid and influence in the persecutions raised against Paul and Barnabas (Act_13:50); while women of equal rank among the Greeks became ardent and intelligent believers (Act_17:12). The fidelity of women to Jesus during his three years' ministry, and at the cross and sepulcher, typifies their spiritual devotion in the activities and enterprises of the church of the 20th century.

3. In the Early Church:
Women were prominent, from the first, in the activities of the early church. Their faith and prayers helped to make Pentecost possible (Act_1:14). They were eminent, as in the case of Dorcas, in charity and good deeds (Act_9:36); foremost in prayer, like Mary the mother of John, who assembled the disciples at her home to pray for Peter's deliverance (Act_12:12). Priscilla is equally gifted with her husband as an expounder of ?the way of God,? and instructor of Apollos (Act_18:26), and as Paul's ?fellow-worker in Christ? (Rom_16:3). The daughters of Philip were prophetesses (Act_21:8, Act_21:9). The first convert in Europe was a woman, Lydia of Thyatira, whose hospitality made a home for Paul and a meeting-place for the infant church (Act_16:14). Women, as truly as men, were recipients of the charismatic gifts of Christianity. The apostolic greetings in the Epistles give them a place of honor. The church at Rome seems to have been blessed with a goodly number of gifted and consecrated women, inasmuch as Paul in the closing salutations of his Epistles sends greetings to at least eight prominent in Christian activity: Phoebe, Prisca, Mary ?who bestowed much labor on you,? Tryphena and Tryphosa, Persis, Julia, and the sister of Nereus (Rom_16:1, Rom_16:3, Rom_16:6, Rom_16:12, Rom_16:15). To no women did the great apostle feel himself more deeply indebted than to Lois and Eunice, grandmother and mother of Timothy, whose ?faith unfeigned? and ceaseless instructions from the holy Scriptures (2Ti_1:5; 2Ti_3:14, 2Ti_3:15) gave him the most ?beloved child? and assistant in his ministry. Their names have been conspicuous in Christian history for maternal love, spiritual devotion and fidelity in teaching the Word of God. See also CLAUDIA.

4. Official Service:
From the first, women held official positions of influence in the church. Phoebe (Rom_16:1) was evidently a deaconess, whom Paul terms ?a servant of the church,? ?a helper of many? and of himself also. Those women who ?labored with me in the gospel? (Phi_4:3) undoubtedly participated with him in preaching. Later on, the apostle used his authority to revoke this privilege, possibly because some women had been offensively forward in ?usurping authority over the man? (1Ti_2:12 the King James Version). Even though he bases his argument for woman's keeping silence in public worship on Adam's priority of creation and her priority in transgression (1Ti_2:13, 1Ti_2:14), modern scholarship unhesitatingly affirms that his prohibition was applicable only to the peculiar conditions of his own time. Her culture, grace, scholarship, ability, religious devotion and spiritual enduement make it evident that she is often as truly called of God to public address and instruction as man. It is evident in the New Testament and in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers that women, through the agency of two ecclesiastical orders, were assigned official duties in the conduct and ministrations of the early church.

5. Widows:
Their existence as a distinct order is indicated in 1Ti_5:9, 1Ti_5:10, where Paul directs Timothy as to the conditions of their enrollment. No widow should be ?enrolled? (καταλέγω, katalégō, ?catalogued,? ?registered?) under 60 years of age, or if more than once married. She must be ?well reported of for good works?; a mother, having ?brought up children?; hospitable, having ?used hospitality to strangers?; Christlike in loving service, having ?washed the saints' feet.? Chrysostom and Tertullian make mention of this order. It bound its members to the service of God for life, and assigned them ecclesiastical duties, e.g. the superintendence of the rest of the women, and the charge of the widows and orphans supported at public expense. Dean Alford (see the Commentary in the place cited) says they ?were vowed to perpetual widowhood, clad in a vestis vidualis (?widow's garments?), and ordained by the laying on of hands. This institution was abolished by the eleventh Canon of the council of Laodicea.?
Other special duties, mentioned by the Church Fathers, included prayer and fasting, visiting the sick, instruction of women, preparing them for baptism, assisting in the administration of this sacrament, and taking them the communion. The spiritual nature of the office is indicated by its occupant being variously termed ?the intercessor of the church?; ?the keeper of the door,? at public service; ?the altar of God.? See WIDOWS.

6. Deaconesses:
Many of these duties were transferred, by the 3rd century, to the deaconesses, an order which in recent history has been restored to its original importance and effectiveness. The women already referred to in Rom_16:1, Rom_16:6, Rom_16:12 were evidently of this order, the term διάκονος, diákonos, being specifically applied to Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea. The women of 1Ti_3:11, who were to serve ?in like manner? as the ?deacons? of 1Ti_3:10, presumably held this office, as also the ?aged women? of Tit_2:3 (= ?presbyters? (feminine), πρεσβύτεραι, presbúterai, 1Ti_5:2). Virgins as well as widows were elected to this office, and the age of eligibility was changed from 60 to 40 by the Council of Chalcedon. The order was suppressed in the Latin church in the 6th century, and in the Greek church in the 12th. because of certain abuses that gradually became prevalent. Owing, however, to its exceptional importance and value it has been reinstated by nearly all branches of the modern church, the Methodists especially emphasizing its spiritual efficiency. Special training schools and courses in education now prepare candidates for this office. Even as early as the Puritan Reformation in England the Congregationalists recognized this order of female workers in their discipline. The spiritual value of woman's ministry in the lay and official work of the church is evidenced by her leadership in all branches of ecclesiastical and missionary enterprise. This modern estimate of her capability and place revises the entire historic conception and attitude of mankind. See DEACONESS.

V. Later Times.
1. Changes in Character and Condition:
Tertullian mentions the modest garb worn by Christian women (De Cult. Fem. ii. 11) as indicating their consciousness of their new spiritual wealth and worthiness. They no longer needed the former splendor of outward adornment, because clothed with the beauty and simplicity of Christlike character. They exchanged the temples, theaters, and festivals of paganism for the home, labored with their hands, cared for their husbands and children, graciously dispensed Christian hospitality, nourished their spiritual life in the worship, service and sacraments of the church, and in loving ministries to the sick. Their modesty and simplicity were a rebuke to and reaction from the shameless extravagances and immoralities of heathenism. That they were among the most conspicuous examples of the transforming power of Christianity is manifest from the admiration and astonishment of the pagan Libanius who exclaimed, ?What women these Christians have!?
The social and legal status of woman instantly improved when Christianity gained recognition in the Empire. Her property rights as wife were established by law, and her husband made subject to accusation for marital infidelity. Her inferiority, subjection and servitude among all non-Jewish and non-Christian races, ancient and modern, are the severest possible arraignment of man's intelligence and virtue. Natural prudence should have discovered the necessity of a cultured and noble motherhood in order to a fine grade of manhood. Races that put blighting restrictions upon woman consign themselves to perpetual inferiority, impotence and final overthrow. The decline of Islam and the collapse of Turkey as a world-power are late striking illustrations of this fundamental truth.

2. Notable Examples of Christian Womanhood:
Woman's activity in the early church came to its zenith in the 4th century. The type of feminine character produced by Christianity in that era is indicated by such notable examples as Eramelia and Macrina, the mother and sister of Basil; Anthusa, Nonna, Monica, respectively the mothers of Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen and Augustine. Like the mothers of Jerome and Ambrose they gave luster to the womanhood of the early Christian centuries by their accomplishments and eminent piety. As defenders of the faith women stand side by side with Ignatius and Polycarp in their capacity to face death and endure the agonies of persecution. The roll of martyrs is made luminous by the unrivaled purity, undaunted heroism, unconquerable faith of such Christian maidens as Blandina, Potamiaena, Perpetua and Felicitas, who, in their loyalty to Christ, shrank not from the most fiendish tortures invented by the diabolical cruelties and hatred of pagan Rome.
In the growing darkness of subsequent centuries women, as mothers, teachers, abbesses, kept the light of Christian faith and intelligence burning in medieval Europe. The mothers of Bernard and Peter the Venerable witness to the conserving and creative power of their devotion and faith. The apotheosis of the Virgin Mother, though a grave mistake and a perversion of Christianity by substituting her for the true object of worship, nevertheless served, in opposition to pagan culture, to make the highest type of womanhood the ideal of medieval greatness. The full glory of humanity was represented in her. She became universally dominant in religion. The best royalty of Europe was converted through her influence. Poland and Russia were added to European Christendom when their rulers accepted the faith of their Christian wives. Clotilda's conversion of Clovis made France Christian. The marriage of Bertha, another Christian princess of France, to Ethelbert introduced Roman Christianity into England, which became the established religion when Edwin, in turn, was converted through the influence of his Christian wife. The process culminated, in the 19th century, in the long, prosperous, peaceful, Christian reign of Victoria, England's noblest sovereign.

3. Woman in the 20th Century:
The opening decades of the 20th century are witnessing a movement among women that is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of mankind. It is world-wide and spontaneous, and aims at nothing less than woman's universal education and enfranchisement. This new ideal, taking its rise in the teaching of Jesus regarding the value of the human soul, is permeating every layer of society and all races and religions. Woman's desire for development and serf-expression, and better still for service, has given birth to educational, social, eleemosynary, missionary organizations and institutions, international in scope and influence. In 75 years after Mary Lyon inaugurated the higher education of woman at Mt. Holyoke College, in 1837, 60,000 women were students in the universities and colleges of the United States; nearly 40,000 in the universities of Russia; and increasingly proportionate numbers in every higher institution of learning for women in the world; 30,000 were giving instruction in the primary and secondary schools of Japan. Even Moslem leaders confessed that the historic subjection of woman to ignorance, inferiority, and servitude was the fatal mistake of their religion and social system. The striking miracle occurred when Turkey and China opened to her the heretofore permanently closed doors of education and social opportunity.
This universal movement for woman's enlightenment and emancipation is significantly synchronous with the world-wide extension and success of Christian missions. The freedom wherewith Christ did set us free includes her complete liberation to equality of opportunity with man. In mental endowment, in practical ability, in all the higher ministries of life and even in statecraft, she has proved herself the equal of man. Christianity always tends to place woman side by side with man in all the great achievements of education, art, literature, the humanities, social service and missions. The entire movement of modern society toward her perfect enfranchisement is the distinct and inevitable product of the teaching of Jesus. The growing desire of woman for the right of suffrage, whether mistaken or not, is the incidental outcome of this new emancipation. The initial stages of this evolutionary. process are attended by many abnormal desires, crudities of experiment and conduct, but ultimately, under the guidance of the Spirit of God and the Christian ideal, woman will intelligently adjust herself to her new opportunity and environment, recognizing every God-ordained difference of function, and every complementary and cooperative relation between the sexes. The result of this latest evolution of Christianity will not only be a new womanhood for the race but, through her enlightenment, culture and spiritual leadership, a new humanity.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.


Fig. 345?Syro-Arabian costume, indoor dress
Like our own term Woman, the Hebrew word now so translated is used of married and unmarried females. The derivation of the word shows that according to the conception of the ancient Israelites woman was man in a modified form?one of the same race, the same genus, as man; a kind of female man. How slightly modified that form is, how little in original structure woman differs from man, physiology has made abundantly clear. Different in make as man and woman are, they differ still more in character; and yet the great features of their hearts and minds so closely resemble each other, that it requires no depth of vision to see that these twain are one. This most important fact is characteristically set forth in the Bible in the account given of the formation of woman out of one of Adam's ribs (Gen_2:21-24). Those who have been pleased to make free with this simple narrative may well be required to show how a rude age could more effectually have been taught the essential unity of man and woman?a unity of nature which demands, and is perfected only in, a unity of soul. The conception of the Biblical writer goes beyond even this, but does not extend farther than science and experience unite to justify. There was solid reason why it was not good for Adam 'to be alone.' Without an help meet he would have been an imperfect being. The genus homo consists of man and woman. Both are necessary to the idea of man. The one supplements the qualities of the other. They are not two, but one flesh, and as one body so one, soul.
It will at once be seen that under the influence of a religion, at the bottom of which lay those ideas concerning the relations of the sexes one to another, slavery on the part of the woman was impossible. This fact is the more noticeable, and it speaks the more loudly in favor of the divine origin of the religion of the Bible, because the East has in all times, down to the present-day, kept woman everywhere, save in those places in which Judaism and Christianity have prevailed, in a state of low, even if in some cases gilded, bondage, making her the mere toy, plaything, and instrument of man.

Fig. 346?Young lady in full dress
The singular beauty of the Hebrew women, and the natural warmth of their affections, have conspired to throw gems of domestic loveliness over the pages of the Bible. In no history can there be found an equal number of charming female portraits. From Hagar down to Mary and Martha, the Bible presents pictures of womanly beauty that are unsurpassed and rarely paralleled. But we should very imperfectly represent in these general remarks the formative influence of the female character as seen in the Bible, did not we refer these amiable traits of character to the pure and lofty religious ideas which the Biblical books present. If woman there appears as the companion and friend of man, she owes her elevation in the main to the religion of Moses and to that of Jesus. The first system?as a preparatory one?did not and could not complete the emancipation of woman. There was needed the finishing touch which the Great Teacher put to the Mosaic view of the relations between the sexes. Recognizing the fundamental truths which were as old as the creation of man, Jesus proceeded to restrain the much-abused facility of divorce, leaving only one cause why the marriage-bond should be broken, and at the same time teaching that as the origin of wedlock was divine, so its severance ought not to be the work of man. Still further?bringing to bear on the domestic ties his own doctrine of immortality, he made the bond co-existent with the undying soul, only teaching that the connection would be refined with the refinement of our affections and our liberation from these tenements of clay in which we now dwell (Mat_5:32; Mat_19:3, sq.; 22:23, sq.). With views so elevated as these, and with affections of the tenderest benignity, the Savior may well have won the warm and gentle hearts of Jewish women. Accordingly, the purest and richest human light that lies on the pages of the New Testament, comes from the band of high-minded, faithful, and affectionate women, who are found in connection with Christ from His cradle to His cross, His tomb and His resurrection. These ennobling influences have operated on society with equal benefit and power. Woman, in the better portions of society, is now a new being. And yet her angelic career is only just begun. She sees what she may, and what under the Gospel she ought to be; and before very long, we trust, a way will be found to employ in purposes of good, energies of the finest nature which now waste away, from want of scope, in the ease and refinements of affluence, if not in the degradations of luxury?a most precious offering made to the Moloch of fashion, but which ought to be consecrated to the service of that God who gave these endowments, and of that Savior who has brought to light the rich capabilities, and exhibited the high and holy vocation of the female sex.

Women appear to have enjoyed considerably more freedom among the Jews than is now allowed them in western Asia, although in other respects their condition and employments seem to have been not dissimilar.
The employments of the women were very various, and sufficiently engrossing. In the earlier or patriarchal state of society, the daughters of men of substance tended their fathers' flocks (Gen_29:9; Exo_2:16). In ordinary circumstances the first labor of the day was to grind corn and bake bread, as already noticed. The other cares of the family occupied the rest of the day. The women of the peasantry and of the poor consumed much time in collecting fuel, and in going to the wells for water. The wells were usually outside the towns, and the labor of drawing water from them was by no means confined to poor women. This was usually, but not always, the labor of the evening; and the water was carried in earthen vessels borne upon the shoulder (Gen_24:15-20; Joh_4:7; Joh_4:28). Working with the needle also occupied much of their time, as it would seem that not only their own clothes but those of the men were made by the women. Some of the needlework was very fine, and much valued (Exo_26:36; Exo_28:39; Jdg_5:30; Psa_45:14). The women appear to have spun the yarn for all the cloth that was in use (Exo_35:25; Pro_31:19); and much of the weaving seems also to have been executed by them (Jdg_16:13-14; Pro_31:22). The tapestries for bed-coverings, mentioned in the last-cited text, were probably produced in the loom, and appear to have been much valued (Pro_7:16).

Fig. 347?Matron in full dress
We have no certain information regarding the dress of the women among the poorer classes; but it was probably coarse and simple, and not materially different from that which we now see among the Bedouin women, and the female peasantry of Syria. This consists of drawers, and a long and loose gown of coarse blue linen, with some ornamental bordering wrought with the needle, in another color, about the neck and bosom. The head is covered with a kind of turban, connected with which, behind, is a veil, which covers the neck, back, and bosom [VEIL]. We may presume, with still greater certainty, that women of superior condition wore over their inner dress a frock or tunic like that of the men, but more closely fitting the person, with a girdle formed by an unfolded kerchief. Their headdress was a kind of turban, with different sorts of veils and wrappers used under various circumstances. The hair was worn long, and, as now, was braided into numerous tresses, with trinkets and ribbands (1Co_11:15; 1Ti_2:9; 1Pe_3:3). With the head-dress the principal ornaments appear to have been connected, such as a jewel for the forehead, and rows of pearls (Son_1:10; Eze_16:12). Earrings were also worn (Isa_3:20; Eze_16:12), as well as a nose-jewel, consisting, no doubt, as now, either of a ring inserted in the cartilage of the nose, or an ornament like a button attached to it. The nose-jewel was of gold or silver, and sometimes set with jewels (Gen_24:47; Isa_3:21). Bracelets were also generally worn (Isa_3:19 : Eze_16:11), and anklets, which, as now, were probably more like fetters than ornaments (Isa_3:16; Isa_3:20). The Jewish women possessed the art of staining their eye-lids black, for effect and expression (2Ki_9:30; Jer_4:30; Eze_23:40); and it is more than probable that they had the present practice of staining the nails, and the palms of their hands and soles of their feet, of an iron-rust color, by means of a paste made from the plant called henna. This plant appears to be mentioned in Son_1:14, and its present use is probably referred to in Deu_21:12; 2Sa_19:24.

Fig. 348?Nose-jewel
The customs concerning marriage, and the circumstances which the relation of wife and mother involved, have been described in the article Marriage.
The Israelites eagerly desired children, and especially sons. Hence the messenger who first brought to the father the news that a son was born, was well rewarded (Job_3:3; Jer_20:15). The event was celebrated with music; and the father, when the child was presented to him, pressed it to his bosom, by which act he was understood to acknowledge it as his own (Gen_1:23; Job_3:12; Psa_22:10). On the eighth day from the birth the child was circumcised (Gen_17:10); at which time also a name was given to it (Luk_1:59). The first-born son was highly esteemed, and had many distinguishing privileges. He had a double portion of the estate (Deu_21:17); he exercised a sort of parental authority over his younger brothers (Gen_25:23, etc.; 27:29; Exo_12:29; 2Ch_21:3); and before the institution of the Levitical priesthood he acted as the priest of the family (Num_3:12-13; Num_8:18). The patriarchs exercised the power of taking these privileges from the firstborn, and giving them to any other son, or of distributing them among different sons; but this practice was overruled by the Mosaical law (Deu_21:15-17).
The child continued about three years at the breast of the mother, and a great festival was given at the weaning (Gen_21:8; 1Sa_1:22-24; 2Ch_31:6; Mat_21:16). He remained two years longer in charge of the women; after which he was taken under the especial care of the father, with a view to his proper training (Deu_6:20-25; Deu_11:19). It appears that those who wished for their sons better instruction than they were themselves able or willing to give, employed a private teacher, or else sent them to a priest or Levite, who had perhaps several others under his care. The principal object was, that they should be well acquainted with the law of Moses; and reading and writing were taught in subservience to this leading object.
The authority of a father was very great among the Israelites, and extended not only to his sons, but to his grandsons?indeed to all who were descended from him. His power had no recognized limit, and even if he put his son or grandson to death, there was, at first, no law by which he could be brought to account (Gen_21:14; Gen_38:24). But Moses circumscribed this power, by ordering that when a father judged his son worthy of death, he should bring him before the public tribunals. If, however, he had struck or cursed his father or mother, or was refractory or disobedient, he was still liable to capital punishment (Exo_21:15; Exo_21:17; Lev_20:9; Deu_21:18-21)?Ed.




The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Lam_1:17 (a) The city where GOD had placed His name had become a vile, filthy community. That which emanated from this city was offensive to GOD, and shameful in every aspect. Her manners and her ways were repulsive to the holy GOD who had chosen her. (See also Eze_16:30; Eze_23:44; Eze_36:17).

Zec_5:7 (b) This woman represents Israel from the commercial standpoint. The ephah, which was a measure, represents her business enterprises. It was the burden of the nation, as it still is. Their object in life was to make money, gain power, and rise to places of distinction.

Mat_13:33 (b) Here is a type of apostate Christendom, and false religions. They use much of the Word of GOD (the meal), but they mingle with it their false and evil explanations which poison the souls of those who partake of it. Every false religion, in so-called Christendom, uses much of the Bible in their writings and utterances. They poison these messages by interjecting their own explanation and false deductions which produce wrong conclusions. The result is that CHRIST JESUS is not honored and the Word of GOD is dishonored.

Rev_12:1 (b) This woman represents the nation of Israel with her twelve patriarchs (or tribes), and JESUS was the child born from Israel.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.


(Heb. אשׁהְֶ, ishshih [plur. נָשׁים, a masc. form contracted for אְַנָשַׁים, men], fem. of אישׁ, ish, as vira [in virago] from vir, and ἀνδρίς from ἀνήρ), like our own term woman, is in the Hebrew (and so the Greek, γυνή') used of married and unmarried females. SEE MAN.
I. Original Position of the Sex. — The derivation of the word shows that, according to the conception of the ancient Israelites, woman was man in a modified form one of the same race, the same genus, as man, a kind of female man. How slightly modified that form is, how little in essential structure woman differs from man. physiology has made abundantly clear. Variant, however, in make as man and woman are, they differ still more in character; and yet the great features of their hearts and minds so closely resemble each other, that it requires no depth of vision to see that these twain are one! This most important fact is characteristically set forth in the Bible in the account given of the formation of woman out of one of Adam's ribs: a representation to which currency may have the more easily been given, from the apparent space there is between the lowest rib and the bones on which the trunk is supported. "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man." An immediate and natural inference is forthwith made touching the intimacy of the marriage-bond: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh" (Gen_2:21-24). This narrative is hence effectively appealed to as supplying an argument for enforcing the duties of the husband towards the wife (Eph_5:28-31). Those who have been pleased to make free with this simple narrative may well be required to show how a rude age could more effectually have been taught the essential unity of man and woman — a unity of nature which demands, and is perfected only in, a unity of soul. The conception of the Biblical writer goes beyond even this, but does not extend further than science and experience unite to justify. There was solid reason why it was not good for Adam "to be alone." Without a helpmeet he would have been an imperfect being. The genus homo consists of man and woman. Both are necessary to the idea of man. The one supplements the qualities of the other. They are not two, but one flesh, and as one body so one soul.
The entire aim, then, of the narrative in Genesis was, by setting forth certain great physical facts, to show the essential unity of man and woman, yet the dependence of the latter on the former; and so to encourage and foster the tenderest and most considerate love between the two, founded on the peculiar qualities of each pre-eminence, strength, intellectual power, and wisdom on the one side; reliance, softness, grace, and beauty on the other — at the same time that the one set of excellences lose all their worth unless as existing in the possession of the other. Many usages of early times interfered with the preservation of this theoretical equality: we may instance the existence of polygamy, the autocratic powers vested in the head of the family under the patriarchal system, and the treatment of captives. Nevertheless a high tone was maintained generally on this subject by the Mosaic law, and, as far as we have the means of judging, by the force of public opinion.
II. Condition of Ancient Hebrew Females. —
1. Liberty. — Women appear to have enjoyed considerably more freedom among the Jews than is now allowed them in western Asia, although in other respects their condition and employments seem to have been not dissimilar. At present, women of all ranks are much confined to their own houses, and never see the men who visit their husbands or fathers, and in towns they never go abroad without their persons and facesbeing completely shrouded they also take their meals apart from the males, even of their own family. But in the rural districts they enjoy more freedom, and often go about unveiled Among the Jews, women were somewhat less restrained in their intercourse with men, and did not generally conceal their faces when they went abroad. Only one instance occurs in Scripture of women eating with men (Rth_2:14), but that was at a simple refection, and only illustrates the greater freedom of rural manners. Instead of being immured in a harem, or appearing in public with the face covered, the wives and maidens of ancient times mingled freely and openly with the other sex in the duties and amenities of ordinary life. Rebelah travelled on a camel with her face unveiled, until she came into the presence of her affianced (Gen_24:64-65). Jacob saluted Rachel with a kiss in the presence of the shepherds (Gen_29:11).
Each of these maidens was engaged in active employment, the former in fetching water from the well, the latter in tending her flock. Sarah wore no veil in Egypt, and yet this formed no ground for supposing her to be married (Gen_12:14-19). An outrage on a maiden in the open field was visited with the severest punishment (Deu_22:25-27), proving that it was not deemed improper for her to go about unprotected. Further than this, women played no inconsiderable part in public celebrations: Miriam headed a band of women who commemorated with song and dance the overthrow of the Egyptians (Exo_15:20-21); Jephthah's daughter gave her father a triumphal reception (Jdg_11:34); the maidens of Shiloh danced publicly in the vineyards at the yearly feast (Jdg_21:21); and the women feted Saul and David, on their return from the defeat of the Philistines, with singing and dancing (1Sa_18:6-7). The odes of Deborah (Judges 5) and of Hannah (1Sa_2:1, etc.) exhibit a degree of intellectual cultivation which is in itself a proof of the, position of the sex in that period. Women also occasionally held public offices, particularly that of prophetess or inspired teacher, as instanced in Miriam (Exo_15:20), Huldah (2Ki_22:14), Noadiah (Neh_6:14), Anna (Luk_2:36), and above all Deborah, who applied her prophetical gift to the administration of public affairs, and so was entitled to be styled a "judge" (Jdg_4:4). The active part taken by Jezebel in the government of Israel (1Ki_18:13; 1Ki_21:25), and the usurpation of the throne of Judah by Athaliah (2Ki_11:3), further attest the latitude allowed to women in public life.
2. The employments of the women were very various, and sufficiently engrossing. In the earlier or patriarchal state of society, the daughters of, men of substance tended their fathers' flocks (Gen_29:9; Exo_2:16). In ordinary circumstances, the first labor of the day was to grind corn and bake bread. The other cares of the family occupied the rest of the day. The women of the peasantry and of the poor consumed much time in collecting fuel, and in going to the wells for water. The wells were usually outside the towns, and the labor of drawing water from them was by no means confined to poor women. This was usually, but not always, the labor of:the evening; and the water was carried in earthen vessels borne upon the shoulder (Gen_24:15-20; Joh_4:7; Joh_4:28). Working with the needle also occupied much of their time, as it would seem that not only their own clothes but those of the men were made by the women. Such garments, at all events, were either for the use of the family (1Sa_2:19; Pro_31:21), for sale (Pro_31:14; Pro_31:24), or for charity (Act_9:39). Some of the needlework was very fine, and much valued (Exo_26:36; Exo_28:39; Jdg_5:30; Psa_45:14). The women appear to have spun the yarn for all the cloth that was in use (Exo_35:25; Pro_31:19); and much of the weaving seems also to have been executed by them (Jdg_16:13-14; Pro_31:22). The tapestries for bed-coverings, mentioned in the last-cited text, were probably produced in the loom, and appear to have been much valued (Pro_7:16). SEE HANDICRAFT.
The value of a virtuous and active housewife forms a frequent topic in the book of Proverbs (Pro_11:16; Pro_12:4; Pro_14:1; Pro_31:10, etc.). Her influence was, of course, proportionably great; and, where there was no second wife, she controlled the arrangements of the house, to the extent of inviting or receiving guests on her own motion (Jdg_4:18; 1Sa_25:18, etc.; 2Ki_4:8, etc.). The effect of polygamy was to transfer female influence from the wives to the mother, as is incidentally shown in the application of the term gebirah (literally meaning powerful) to the queen mother (1Ki_2:19; 1Ki_15:13; 2Ki_10:13; 2Ki_24:12; Jer_13:18; Jer_29:2). Polygamy also necessitated a separate establishment for the wives collectively, or for each individually. Thus, in the palace of the Persian monarch there was a "house of the women" (Est_2:9), which was guarded by eunuchs (2:3); in Solomon's palace the harem was connected with, but separate from, the rest of the building (1Ki_7:8); and on journeys each wife had her separate tent (Gen_31:33). In such cases it is probable that the females took their meals apart from the males (Est_1:9); but we have no reason to conclude that the separate system prevailed generally among the Jews. The women were present at festivals, either as attendants on the guests (Joh_12:2), or as themselves guests (Job_1:4; Joh_2:3); and hence there is good ground for concluding that on ordinary occasions also they joined the males at meals, though there is no positive testimony to that effect. SEE EATING.
3. We have no certain information regarding the dress of the women among the poorer classes; but it was probably coarse and simple, and not materially different from that which we now see among the Bedawin women, and the female peasantry of Syria. This consists of drawers, and a long and loose gown of coarse blue linen, with some ornamental bordering wrought with the needle, in another color, about the neck and bosom. The head is covered with a kind of turban, connected with which, behind, is a veil, which covers the neck, back, and bosom. SEE VEIL. We may presume, with still greater certainty, that women of superior condition wore, over their inner dress, a frock or tunic like that of the men, but more closely fitting the person, with a girdle formed by an unfolded kerchief. Their headdress was a kind of turban, with different sorts of veils and wrappers used under various circumstances. The hair was worn long, and, as now, was braided into numerous tresses, with trinkets and ribbons (1Co_11:15; 1Ti_2:9; 1Pe_3:3). With the head-dress the principal ornaments appear to have been connected, such as a jewel for the forehead, and rows of pearls (Son_1:10; Eze_16:12).
Ear-rings were also worn (Isa_3:20; Eze_16:12), as well as a nose-jewel, consisting, no doubt, as now, either of a ring inserted in the cartilage of the nose, or an ornament like a button attached to it. The nose-jewel was of gold or silver, and sometimes set with gems (Gen_24:47; Isa_3:21). Bracelets were also generally worn (Isa_3:19; Eze_16:11), and anklets, which, as now, were probably more like fetters than ornaments (Isa_3:16; Isa_3:20). The Jewish women possessed the art of staining their eyelids black, for effect and expression (2Ki_9:30; Jer_4:30; Eze_23:40); and it is more than probable that they had the present practice of staining the nails, and the palms of their hands and soles of their feet, of an iron-rust color, by means of a paste made from the plant called henna (Lawsonia inermis). This plant appears to be mentioned in Son_1:14, and its present use is probably referred to in Deu_21:12; 2Sa_19:24. SEE DRESS.
4. Family Relations. — The customs concerning marriage, and the circumstances which the relation of wife and mother involved, have been described in the article SEE MARRIAGE.
The Israelites eagerly desired children, and especially sons. Hence the messenger who first brought to the father the news that a son was born, was well rewarded (Job_3:3; Jer_20:15). The event was celebrated with music; and the father, when the child was presented to him, pressed it to his bosom, by which act he was understood to acknowledge it as his own (Gen_1:23; Job_3:12; Psa_22:10). On the eighth day from the birth the child was circumcised (Gen_17:10); at which time also a name was given to it (Luk_1:59). The first-born son was highly esteemed, and had many distinguishing privileges. He had a double portion of the estate (Deu_21:17); he exercised a sort of parental authority over his younger brothers (Gen_25:23, etc. 27:29; Exo_12:29; 2Ch_21:3); and before the institution of the Levitical priesthood he acted as the priest of the family (Num_3:12-13; Num_8:18). The patriarchs exercised the power of taking these privileges from the first-born, and giving them to any other son, or of distributing them among different sons; but this practice was overruled by the Mosaic law (Deu_21:15-17).
The child continued about three years at the breast of the mother, and a great festival was given at the weaning (Gen_21:8; 1Sa_1:22-24; 2Ch_31:6; Mat_21:16). He remained two years longer in charge of the women, after which he was taken under the especial care of the father, with a view to his proper training (Deu_6:20-25; Deu_11:19). It appears that those who wished for their sons better instruction than they were themselves able or willing to give, employed a private teacher, or else sent them to a priest or Levite, who had perhaps several others under his care. The principal object was that they should be well acquainted with the law of Moses; and reading and writing were taught in subservience to this leading object.
The authority of a father was very great among the Israelites, and extended not only to his sons, but to his grandsons — indeed, to all who were descended from him. His power had no recognized limit, and even if he put his son or grandson to death, there was, at first, no law by which he could be brought to account (Gen_21:14; Gen_38:24). But Moses circumscribed this power, by ordering that when a father judged his son worthy of death, he should bring him before the public tribunals. If, however, he had struck or cursed his father or mother, or was refractory or disobedient, he was still liable to capital punishment (Exo_21:15; Exo_21:17; Lev_20:9; Deu_21:18-21). SEE CHILD.
III. Description of Modern Oriental Females. — It will at once be seen that under the influence of a religion, at the bottom of which lay those ideas concerning the relations of the sexes one to another, slavery, on the part of the woman was impossible. This fact is the more noticeable, and it speaks the more loudly in favor of the divine origin of the religion of the Bible, because the East has in all times, down to the present day, kept women everywhere, save in those places in which Judaism and Christianity have prevailed, in a state of low, even if in some cases gilded, bondage, making her the mere toy, plaything, and instrument of man. Nothing can be more painful to contemplate than the humiliating condition in which Islamism still holds its so-called free women — a condition of perpetual childhood — child-hood of mind, while the passions receive constant incense; leaving the fine endowments of woman's soul undeveloped and inert, or crushing them when in any case they may happen to germinate; and converting man into a capricious, haughty idol, for whose will and pleasure the other sex lives and suffers. In those parts of the East where the influence of the Bible has not prevailed, woman has been subjected to degradation, and viewed as little better than the slave of an imperious master. Being mainly immured within the harem, and prohibited from mingling in general society, their minds are left wholly uncultivated; and what time they can spare from their household duties is principally devoted to embroidery, dress, and smoking. This universal want of education, with the influence of polygamy, naturally disqualifies them from being the proper companions of their husbands. The state of morality in the higher circles, in some of the principal Eastern cities, consequent on this condition of society, is just what might be expected. Wherever the influence of Christianity prevails, woman is invariably elevated to her natural position in society — the equal and companion of man.
It will assist the reader in forming a just conception of Hebrew women in the Biblical periods, if we add a few details respecting the actual condition of women in Syria. Mr. Bartlett (Walks about Jerusalem, page 291 sq.) visited the house of a rich. Jew in the metropolis of the Holy Land. We give the substance of his observations:
"On entering his dwelling we found him seated on the low divan, fondling his youngest child; and on our expressing a wish to draw the costume of the female members of his family, he commanded their attendance, but it was some time before they would come forward; when, however, they did present themselves, it was with no sort of reserve whatever. Their costume is chastely elegant. The prominent figure in the room was the married daughter, whose husband, a boy of fourteen or fifteen, as he seemed, wanted nearly a head of the stature of his wife, but was already chargeable with the onerous duties of a father. An oval head-dress of peculiar shape, from which was slung a long veil of embroidered muslin, admirably set off her brow and eyes: the neck was ornamented with jewels, and the bosom with a profusion of gold coins, partly concealed by folds of muslin; a graceful robe of striped silk, with long open sleeves, half-laced under the bosom, invested then whole person, over which was worn a jacket of green silk with short sleeves, leaving the white arm and braceleted hand at liberty.
An elderly person sat on the sofa, the mother, whose dress was more grave, her turban less oval, and of blue shawl, and the breast covered entirely to the neck with a kind of ornamented gold tissue, and over all was seen a jacket of fur; she was engaged in knitting, while her younger daughter bent over her in conversation; her dress was similar to that of her sister, but with no gold coins or light muslin folds, and, instead of large ear-rings, the vermilion blossom of the pomegranate formed an exquisite pendant, reflecting its glow upon the dazzling whiteness of her skin. We were surprised at the fairness and delicacy of their complexion, and the vivacity of their manner. Unlike the wives of Oriental Christians, who respectfully attend at a distance till invited to approach, these pretty Jewesses seemed on a perfect footing of equality, and chatted and laughed away without intermission." Many of the daughters of Judah, here and at Hebron, are remarkable for their attractions. Mr. Wolff describes one of them with enthusiasm, and no small unconscious poetry — "the beautiful Sarah," whom his lady met at a "wedding-feast."
"She was scarcely seated when she felt a hand upon hers, and heard a kind greeting. She turned to the voice and saw a most beautiful Jewess, whom I also afterwards saw, and I never beheld a more beautiful and well-behaved lady in my life, except the beautiful girl in the valley of Cashmere; she looked like a queen in Israel. A lovely lady she was; tall, of a fair complexion and blue eyes, and around her forehead and cheeks she wore several roses. No queen had a finer deportment than that Jewess had."
Mr. Bartlett was also admitted into the abode of a Christian family in Jerusalem, of whom he thus speaks (pages 205, 206):
"The interior of their houses is similar to those of the Jews. In our intercourse with them we were received with more ceremony than among the former. The mistress of the family is in attendance with her children and servants, and besides pipes and coffee, the guest is presented with saucers of sweetmeats and small glasses of aniseed; which, when done with are taken from him by his fair hostess or her servant, who kiss his hand as they receive them. They are more reserved, often standing during the visit. Their dress is more gorgeous than that of the Jewish women, but not so chastely elegant; it suits well with the languor of their air, their dusky complexion, and large black eyes. The head-dress has a fantastic air, like that of a May- day queen in England, and the bust is a little in the style of
Beauties by sir Peter Lely,
Whose drapery hints we may admire freely.'
A heavy shawl is gracefully wreathed round the figure, and the dress, when open, displays long, loose trousers of muslin and small slippers. The ensemble, it must be admitted, is very fascinating, when its wearer is young and lovely."
We now pass to the peasantry, and take from Lamartine a sketch of the Syrian women, as seen by him at the foot of Lebanon, on a Sunday. "After having with their families attended divine service, the latter return to their houses to enjoy a repast somewhat more sumptuous than on ordinary days; the women and girls, adorned in their richest clothes, their hair plaited, and all strewn with orange-flowers, scarlet wall-flowers, and carnations, seat themselves on mats before the doors of their dwellings, with their friends and neighbors. It is impossible to describe with the pen the groups so redolent of the picturesque, from the richness of their costume and their beauty, which these females then compose in the landscape. I see among them daily such countenances as Raphael had not beheld even in his dreams as an artist.
It is more than the Italian or Greek beauty; there is the nicety of shape, the delicacy of outline, in a word, all that Greek and Roman airt has left us as the most finished model; but it is rendered more bewitching still by a primitive artlessness of expression, by a serene and voluptuous languor, by a heavenly clearness, which the glances from the blue eyes, fringed with black eyelids, cast over the features, and by a smiling archness, a harmony of proportions, a rich whiteness of skin, an indescribable transparency of tint, a metallic gloss upon the hair, a gracefulness of movement, a novelty in the attitudes, and a vibrating silvery tone of voice, which render the young Syrian girl the very hour of the visual paradise. Such admirable and varied beauty is also very common; I never go into the country for an hour without meeting several such females going to the fountains or returning, with their Etruscan urns upon their shoulders, and their naked legs clasped with rings of silver."
The ordinary dress of the women of Palestine is not, perhaps much fitted to enhance their natural charms, and yet it admits of ease and dignity in the carriage. Dr. Olin thus describes the customary appearance of both male and female:
"The people wear neither hats, bonnets, nor stockings; both sexes appear in loose, flowing dresses, and red or yellow slippers; the men wear red caps with or without turbans, the women are concealed by white veils, with the exception of the eyes " (2:437).
The singular beauty of the Hebrew women, and the natural warmth of their affections, have conspired to throw gems of domestic loveliness over the pages of the Bible. In no history call there be found an equal number of charming female portraits. From Hagar down to Mary and Martha, the Bible presents pictures of womanly beauty that are unsurpassed and rarely paralleled. But we should very imperfectly represent in these general remarks the formative influence of the female character as seen in the Bible, did, not we refer these amiable traits of character to the original conceptions of which we have spoken, and to the pure and lofty religious ideas which the Biblical books in general present. If woman there appears as the companion and friend of man, if she rises above the condition of being a bearer of children to that noble position which is held by the mother of a family, she owes her elevation in the main to the religion of Moses and to that of Jesus.
The first system — as a preparatory one — did not and could not complete the emancipation of woman. The Oriental influence modified the religious so materially as to keep women generally in some considerable subjection. Yet the placing of the fondest desires and the glowing hopes of the nation on some child that was to be born, some son that was to be given, as it made every matron's heart beat high with expectation, raised the tone of self-respect among the women of Israel, and caused them to be regarded by the other sex with lively interest, deep regard, and a sentiment which was akin to reverence.
There was, however, needed the finishing touch which the Great Teacher put to the Mosaic view of the relations between the sexes. Recognizing the fundamental truths which were as old as the creation of man, Jesus proceeded to restrain the much-abused facility of divorce, leaving only one cause why the marriage- bond should be broken, and at the same time teaching that as the origin of wedlock was divine, so its severance ought not to be the work of man. Still further — bringing to bear on the domestic ties his own doctrine of immortality, he made the bond coexistent with the undying soul, only teaching that the connection would be refined with the refinement of our affections and our liberation from these tenements of clay in which we now dwell (Mat_5:32; Mat_19:3 sq.; Mat_22:23 sq.).
With views so elevated as these, and with affections of the tenderest benignity, the Savior may well have won the warm and gentle hearts of Jewish women. Accordingly, the purest and richest human light that lies on the pages of the New Test. comes from the band of high-minded, faithful, and affectionate women, who are found in connection with Christ from his cradle to his cross, his tomb, and his resurrection. These ennobling influences have operated on society with equal benefit and power. Woman, in the better portions of society, is now a new being. Yet her angelic career is only just begun. She sees what she may, and what under the gospel she ought to be; and ere very long, we trust, a way will be found to employ, in purposes of good, energies of the finest nature, which now waste away from want of scope, in the case and refinements of affluence, if not in the degradations of luxury a most precious offering made to the Moloch of fashion, but which ought to he consecrated to the service of that God who gave these endowments, and of that Saviour who has brought to light the rich capabilities, and exhibited the high and holy vocation, of the female sex. SEE WIFE.
IV. Literature. — Atkinson, Women of Persia (Lond. n.d. 8vo); Jessup, Women of the Arabs (ibid. 1874); Lane, Modern Egyptians, part 1, chapter 6:Thomson, Land and Book, 1:174 sq. On special points, see Selden, Uxor Ebraica (ibid. 1646, and later); Schroder, De Vestitu Mulierum Hebr. (Leyden, 1745, 1776); Sporl, De Ornamentis Hebr. (1758); Srach, De Mulierum Morbis (Strasburg, 1597); Zipser, Ueb. d. Wirter נָשַׁים Und אֲנָשַׁים (in the Jewish Chronicle, 7:16), and the monographs cited by Volbeding, Index Programmatum, page 105. SEE WIFE; SEE WOMEN.



CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

FACEBOOK

Participe de nossa rede facebook.com/osreformadoresdasaude

Novidades, e respostas das perguntas de nossos colaboradores