As many Christian and Jewish women confront the modernization of gender roles, the notion of biblical womanhood—the role of a woman as presented in the Bible—has become very prominent in recent times. The rise in social conservatism has led to a renewed focus on the roles of women and some traditionalists feel that the Bible should be the guide for gender roles. As we look at what the Bible says about women, we need to take into account the context of that time and see whether these attitudes could be applicable in contemporary times.
If we look to the Hebrew in which the Bible was written, there is no single word for either husband or wife in Hebrew. The most common Hebrew word for “man” in Torah is אישׁ (ish) and also translates to husband based on context. אשׁה (ish-shah) is “woman” or “wife.” Based on the words used, a wife is the one who belongs to a certain man and the husband is one who possesses her. A word closely linked to husband is בעל (ba’al), which as a noun means “master” or “lord” and as a verb means “masters.”
Deuteronomy 24:1 (Revised Standard Version)
“When a man takes a woman and marries her…”
Ba’al is the word translated to marries, although it literally means “masters,” as in he becomes her master. From a 21st century perspective, it appears that women are seen as property, almost like farm animals, since their identity is linked to belonging to their husbands. Is this verse indicative of the relationship between man and wife in that era, one not too dissimilar from that of servant and master? It is important to consider, however, that we don’t know whether people of that time were aware of the connotation. Similar to how esposas in Spanish means “handcuffs” and “wives” (stemming from the Latin spondere “to bind”), it could just be that they associate the word “masters” with “marries” as a result of some linguistic correlation, not because of a specific attitude towards women.
Deuteronomy 22:28-29
In order to gather what the attitude was towards women in this time, we can look to Deuteronomy 22, a chapter in the Old Testament that contains various laws of morality. Deuteronomy 22:13-30 specifically talk about laws of sexual morality and most directly concern women.
One of the most controversial aspects of this passage is Deuteronomy 22:28-29.
New International Version:
“If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.”
Some criticize Christianity’s portrayal of gender roles by stating that these verses allow a man who rapes a woman have her as his wife. Some also believe that these verses objectify women and portray them as property, since the “rapist” only has to pay fifty shekels for his crime. It’s not clear, however, whether or not this is referring to rape.
The Hebrew word taphas is translated to “rapes” in the New International Version above, yet it can mean many things across different English translations:
By looking at other passages that use the word, we can see that taphas doesn’t necessarily mean “rape.”
Taphas literally means to take, to grasp, or to hold. It is the verb used for “handling” the bow in Amos 2:15 as well as used for “taking” God’s name in Proverbs 30:9. Taphas was even used when Moses “took” the two tablets of the law in Deuteronomy 9:17, so the word itself does not in itself indicate anything about the use of force. It’s similar to the English word “take,” as you can take a young woman to be your wife. Similarly, we often say that a bridegroom takes a bride to “have and to hold.” Taphas, therefore, doesn’t convey rape as some believe it to.
Furthermore, earlier in the passage, verses Deuteronomy 22:25-27 give a clear instance in which rape is discussed.
“But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.”
In this case, a man rapes a woman and the text says that the man who committed the crime shall die. For the young woman, however, the Israelites are supposed to “do nothing” to her since “there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death” The word translated to “forces her” in is the Hebrew word chazaq, which conveys rape much more clearly than taphas.
Furthermore, at the end of verse 28, the text states, “they are discovered,” which implies culpability for both parties. When the passage discusses the obvious case of rape, in Deuteronomy 22:25, the text focuses on “only the man who lay with her.”
If we are to look again at Deuteronomy 22:28-29 with all of this in mind, we see a different picture. A man has sexual intercourse with an unengaged young woman, and it’s not rape, but their action has been discovered. The man cannot walk away from his sin, since there would be few men who would want an “unpure” bride. In order to protect the woman, he must marry her.
Though this interpretation still raises concerns about the commodification of women’s virginity and the idea of women as property, it paints a much different picture than the one originally.
