There are various types of women mentioned in the Bible – wives, daughters, mothers, victors and victims, women powerless to change their destinies, and women who created some historical remarks. The ancient societies mentioned in the Bible were deemed patriarchal, mainly because they highlighted the dominance of men in society. For example, the marital and inheritance laws favored men and women, restricted sexual power, and adultery was a crime for women subjected to stoning.
Aside from the patriarchal law followed in the Bible, it also talks about heterarchy. Heterarchy acknowledges the different power sectors of people in the society, which again had their hierarchical arrangements. According to the verses mentioned in the Bible, women also had powers in the system, but they were separate and very different from men.
The Bible also portrays the different types of women who carried various roles, especially in the forefront of the public sector. They are mentioned because they perform tasks out of the ordinary.
Women, sex, and the laws surrounding them
The patriarchal society was first established in 3000 BCE and later followed by many Bronze and Axial Age groups. The Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, and Akkadians of the eastern societies regarded women as the inferior class and gave them a subordinate position. However, this was followed by a few exceptions in the third millennium BC, when women started being considered equal o men.
On the contrary, the position of women in the Western states of Egypt was high, and they were exposed to legal rights with equal powers as men. However, according to history books, even though women could rise to the power of queens in Western society, it seldom empowered female subjects.
In ancient societies, women were typically given the domestic power of maintaining and raising a family, except for Sparta, which treated men and women equally. However, in Greece and other parts, classic authors like Aristophanes, Philo, Socrates, Plato, and many more, popularized women’s empowerment and stated that women are s bad as men.
In Biblical law, the forgiveness of women for adultery and insignificant sexual practices was not an option for mercy and forgiveness. The lovers had to die if caught in the act. However, such punishments were not mentioned for men. Women could apply for divorce after they proved their worthiness, or she was drowned for the asking. Sexual relationships between two unmarried couples result in marriage, and if the husband later accuses his wife of losing her virginity, she is stoned to death.