Female Characters In Biblical Stories

When I read biblical texts now I read it with a more feminine lens than I ever have before. I think it is incredibly important for biblical stories to get taught accurately and that definitely includes many stories involving women that often get misinterpreted. There are many different examples of words getting inserted into stories that make the female character portrayed negatively, such as Eve. When Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, many people are taught that Adam was off gallivanting throughout the garden when Eve ate of the apple, but he was right beside her the entire time. Adam is painted in a positive and manly light, but when God confronts them about their misbehavior, Adam throws Eve AND God under the bus! Adam truly shows cowardice and a bit of narcissism for not taking responsibility for his own actions. He had every opportunity to stop Eve or not participate in eating the fruit alongside Eve, but there is no getting around Adam’s disobedience toward God, so he places blame on everyone except himself—this shows his true colors of cowardice. 1d) For my three positive women I choose: Tamar, Huldah, and the Wise Woman of Abel. Tamar’s story in particular is incredibly sad, but I think her cry should be used for the public to be more aware of abuse against women. I think this story could be a great conversation starter within in the church to teach people from a young age that it is unacceptable and completely damaging to a person’s mind, soul, and body. Controversial issues, such as abuse, whether it is physical, sexual, or emotional does not get brought up in the church. For my own belief, church should be a place where your values and morals should be established. We have to get the “boys will be boys” attitude demolished, and show young men and women how people should be treated. There are selfish, evil people who desire hate and control. Tamar’s story is a prime example of this. Using her story and getting it heard for people to learn from, I think would be incredibly empowering. If Tamar knew that people were using her unfortunate and depressing story to help others not become a victim of this hate crime, I believe she would feel some sort of closure. Huldah is another female character that I felt empowered by. She is known as a prophetess who delivers this unfortunate prophecy. Although it is not a prophecy they necessarily want to hear, the fact that she was chosen over Jeremiah says an extraordinary amount in her reliability, dependability, and accuracy. She had a very important role regarding the spiritual …show more content…
When she is unable to have a child, they decide that they will have a surrogate carry their child, Hagar. Although Sarah is considered the first matriarch and she is married to a prominent character, Abraham, and has Isaac later on, her relationship with Hagar is vicious. She basically abuses her physically and emotionally, which in return makes Hagar run away for her life. Obviously Sarah was consumed with jealousy because Hagar was able to give birth to the firstborn son, but the way she handled it was despicable. Later in their story when both children are born, Sarah won’t let Isaac play with Ishmael. Her jealousy still, is consuming and …show more content…
Although her story is incredibly sad, there is this underlying lesson. The cry that she lets out after the abuse takes place is something that everyone should understand. Abuse is not something that should ever be acceptable. Consent is very important. Abuse is an evil act by someone with hate and selfishness in their heart and it is very important to educate young people that it is not okay. Another example that I believe could transform contemporary society is Huldah’s story. Having a woman as prophetess is such a powerful statement. Using Huldah’s story could be incredibly empowering for young girls who want any type of leadership role or someone with authority. She is definitely a role model young women should look at. Although our patriarchal system has calmed down quite a bit there is still a stigma when it comes to female leadership, women in certain fields of study, and pay within