Israelite Women in Old Testament

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Table of Contents

Miriam
Devorah
Jael
Judith
Huldah
Hadassah
Replacement Theology
On Rabbi Zimmerman’s Video
References

For such specialists in the humanities as historians, theologians, and experts in social and gender disciplines, the topic of social relations between men and women in pre-Christian times has always been intriguing and relevant. Unfortunately, the only reliable sources of such qualitative gender data are the surviving recorded ancient myths and socio-religious documents. For Jewish society, such a source containing gender information about their centuries-old civilization is the Old Testament.

Miriam

One of the many good things about the Old Testament is that it contains many female figures whose role is active and meaningful, and Miriam is one of them. She plays a leading and critical role in early Jewish rituals; “then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing” (The NIV Bible, 1973, Exodus 15:19). After that, Miriam begins to sing to the other Israelite women about the greatness and power of God (The NIV Bible, 1973). Before all these celebrations, all Jews sang together, and such particular female representation in this passage is evidence of the simultaneous existence of social status close to gender equality and separated gender-based roles in ancient Judaism.

Devorah

Another fascinating female figure in the history and mythology of Judaism is Devorah. The religious document presents her as a prophet, a judge, a ruler, and a warlord (The NIV Bible, 1973). As the text says, “now Devorah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time” (The NIV Bible, 1973, Judges 4:4). In Judges 4 and 5, she is the leader and chief strategist in the Israelite people’s war of liberation against the Canaanite king (The NIV Bible, 1973). Both then and now, these chapters describing the military conflict of Devorah and Barak versus Sisera are very inspiring.

Jael

Jael is another notable woman in the story about Deborah quickly described above. As predicted by the ruling figure of the Israelite nation, Jael became the one who got the part to finish off Sisera (The NIV Bible, 1973). One can say that the murder of Sisera was carried out in a very feminine manner as it was done very calmly, quietly, and quickly for him. Deborah and Jael symbolize the two ways in which the Jewish people resist, the first one is war, and the second is assassination.

Judith

Judith is similar to Jael in terms of actions, behavior, and related plot. They both successfully kill the ruling men through feigned service, deceit, and surprise to free their people (New American Bible, 2011). Their difference lies in the fact that while Jael represents resistance, Judith symbolizes courage. Holofernes, her victim, addressing her with “take courage, woman!” sounds too ironic (New American Bible, 2011, Judith 11:1). With her courage and femininity, she was able to pass through both the troops and the vigilance of the Holofernes without sacrificing anything.

Huldah

Huldah is another female Jewish prophet in the Old Testament. However, unlike the four historical and mythological figures described above, her role is not directly related to ancient Jewish society’s military and religious aspects. Huldah is the mouthpiece of God’s wrath, but her primary role in this story is to be a critic and arbitrator (The NIV Bible, 1973). Her words that the Jerusalemites became heretics, with the king Josiah being the only virtuous person, is social criticism of those times’ prevailing ethics and morals.

Hadassah

Hadassah, just like Deborah and Judith, is the central character of her book in the Old Testament. The stakes in this story are similar to those in the previous two stories, which is the existence of the very Jewish people in the Persian Empire (The NIV Bible, 1973). As two Jewish siblings defeat Haman, who wanted to annihilate her people, Hadassah, or Esther, becomes a symbol of revenge against maliciousness and unfair treatment (The NIV Bible, 1973). Moreover, Hadassah not only succeeds in saving the Hebrews, but she also commemorates her nation’s victory by making their revenge an official holiday.

Replacement Theology

Such philosophically and theologically complex religions as Judaism and Christianity give rise to many inconsistencies and, as a result, disputes, one of which is replacement theology. From my perspective, this is justification for the desire of one group of religious interpreters to be true chosen followers. Simply put, they want to be “a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin” (The NIV Bible, 1973, Romans 11:1). Supersessionism is a combination of resentment of religious successors to predecessors, misunderstandings or misinterpretation of archaic terminology in sacred texts, and conflicting characters of God in the Old and New Testaments. From a philosophical perspective, this rejection of orthodoxy in favor of reformation is what makes a paradoxical mechanism for the relative evolution of the Abrahamic religions through which new religious movements emerge. The thing that gives rise to this false theological viewpoint is the critical, ontological, and eschatological meaning of God’s chosen status in Judaism and Christianity.

On Rabbi Zimmerman’s Video

Zimmerman succinctly explains why Supersessionism is a false religious perspective by design. According to him, replacement theologians miss the everlasting aspect of the Covenant and the sinfulness of all humankind (Jewish Voice, 2019). I think that the resentment that reinforces Supersessionism in adherents comes from the false logical equality that unchosen means inferior. They learn about the civilizational successes and failures of the Jewish nation and God’s contribution to these via Bible and subconsciously begin to consider themselves less worthy and successful.

References

Jewish Voice. (2019). Replacement theology explained in 6 minutes [Video]. YouTube. Web.

New American Bible. (2011). BibleGateway. Web.

The NIV Bible. (1973). BibleGateway. Web.

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