Actually, the Bible is unapologetically a male centered work. In other words, it was written down by men. It was consecrated and canonized by males, and it, therefore, characterizes their understanding of the issues and events that took place in antiquity, and even those very stories were chosen from what they considered important. Thus, patriarchy, didn’t originate with the Bible. How could it have, since patriarchy predates the Bible, as written by Moses (first) and by prophets and wise men after him? In fact, patriarchy existed in places that never heard of what Moses and other men wrote down in the Bible. Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that the Bible reacts or responds to patriarchy, instead of originating it. So, if God didn’t invent patriarchy, does he at least approve it? Actually, no! he does not, and I believe we are able to clearly see this by reading the text as an unbiased student.
Genesis has been described as the book of the patriarchs. So, certainly, it should tell us whether or not the Lord approves of patriarchy, as we’ve come to understand it. A cursory read would inform us that nearly always, it is the men who speak with God, and, clearly, they get to say what happens, where the family lives and what the family does. Nevertheless, we also find that whenever something really important occurs, it is the woman who holds sway over the event! How so?
Take, for example, the fact that Abraham loves Ishmael (Genesis 17:18), but it is Sarah who gets to decide who inherits, according to the covenant God made with Abraham (Genesis 21:10, 12). Later we understand that Isaac loves Esau (Genesis 25:28), but it is Rebecca who gets to decide who inherits, according to the covenant God made with Abraham! In fact, it seems very clear from the text that Isaac didn’t believe Rebecca, when the Lord spoke with her, saying the elder would serve the younger (Genesis 25:23). When it became clear to him that the Lord actually did tell her the elder would serve the younger, Isaac was astonished over how that came to be, even against his own will (Genesis 27:33).
Moreover, when Jacob grew up and was married to Leah and Rachal, they actually arranged his sex life among themselves, even to the point of giving him their maidservants to take for his wives, but under their authority! In a very real sense, they got to decide when Jacob’s children were born and by whom. So, does God endorse patriarchy and men’s authority over women or is he laughing at it? In any case, although men, indeed, recorded scripture, they were faithful in doing so, even when the joke was on them.
Nevertheless, perhaps the most damning event that occurred in Genesis, as far as patriarchy is concerned, is what developed in the Garden of Eden. Men seem content to blame the woman for the Fall and man’s expulsion from the garden (paradise, the presence of God). Why is that? Perhaps, it’s because Adam blamed the woman for his own sin (Genesis 3:12). In fact, he blames everyone, including the Lord (same verse), and excuses his own behavior. The devil made me do it! She gave it to me, and men have been demonizing women ever since. Praising them, yes! placing them on pedestals, certainly! but, all the while demonizing them and expelling them from their proper place in society—alongside men, men’s equals.
What actually occurred in the garden, and what didn’t occur, and can we know? First, one could read the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation and never find that the Lord blamed the woman for the rebellion, not a single verse, but especially not in Genesis 3:13, 16. So, whom does the Lord blame? Well, the man, he blames Adam. How do we know? The answer is found in the Hebrew. Notice what the Lord says to Adam. “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). All the pronouns (you) are masculine singular.[1] The Lord didn’t use the plural form to also accuse Eve. Instead, the Lord accused Adam of the rebellion, and Adam alone! Why has death entered the human race? Because Adam, the man, disobeyed God (Romans 5:12-14). So, where is there reason for the doctrine of patriarchy? Upon what is it based in the Bible? Where does the Lord approve of it? The book of the patriarchs is silent, as that pertains to the reason for women needing to submit to the male in the family, religion and society at large. God places her alongside of the male, having equal power to shape events in this world.
_________________________________________________________________
[1] I’m not an expert in the Hebrew language, but Rabbi Professor Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is an expert. I learned of this perspective on the Lord’s judgment against Adam by listening to one of her lectures, “Ancient and Contemporary Perspectives on Women in the Bible,” (begin at 49 min. and listen for at least 2 min.) and this study is based upon what she said at the University of California.
Smoodock's Blog 