Biblical Women with a Story to Tell--1

 Perhaps the OS, ‘the Original Sin’, includes the propensity of men to blame the woman. That happened to the first woman, Eve. 

 The majority of the writers of the Biblical books, and the majority of the interpreters, bishops, and pastors have been men. Men do have something to say, so it is all right to have male authors. The writers recount the story of good men, like Joseph and Moses, and bad men, like King Ahab of Israel and King Manasseh of Judah, and men who started out well, but then fell. Some recovered and some did not. Think of kings Saul, David, and Solomon.  

 However, the biblical writers did not recount the deeds of many women, good, bad, or otherwise. There are some stories, even two books named after women: Ruth and Esther. Yet, it is more difficult to tease out some of the stories of lesser-known women.

 As with all stories, some are pure hagiography (from Greek hagios ‘holy’ graphos ‘writing’). This is not a good way to write history because these stories make heroines out of women by ignoring their faults, and so they become an impossible example for other women to follow. On the other hand, the interpretation of some stories tends to demonize women.

 The name ‘Eve’ does not appear in Genesis until after the Fall; the woman is there but she is not named until Genesis 3: 20. In many ways, the story is more complex than the one told in Sunday School.

 In the first creation story, after the plants and animals, God creates a being more like himself (Genesis 1: 26). The Hebrew word for this being is ‘aḏām. At first this just means ‘a man’ and does not become a name until Chapter 4: 25. The word in various forms appears 552 times in the Old Testament and often refers to man in general or mankind. 

 The person that God created included both man and woman, so it is proper to translate it as ‘mankind’ or ‘human being’. The form of the word used throughout Chapter 2 (the second creation story) when God is speaking to his creation is hā’āḏām. This word is related to the word used in the same chapter for the phrase ‘out of the ground’. The text says that “Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food…” (Genesis 2: 9). This being God that created in his image was molded ‘out of the ground’. 

 The being was also made in the image of God: Our Triune God who is plural but one. The nature of this created being is complex, perhaps ambiguous, as can be seen in the Hebrew text. 

 “Let us make humankind (‘aḏām ) in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion…. So God created humankind (hā’āḏām) in his image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply…” (Genesis 1: 26-27).

 After this, God separates the male and the female and makes two people who are alike, “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” 

 Then comes the incident in the garden. We often imagine that Eve was there alone, but the text says that “she also gave some to the man (hā’āḏām), who was with her, and he ate” (3:6). Why didn’t the man speak up if something was amiss? Was he the strong silent type?

 The story goes on. After the deed is done, God shows up with questions. Now, ‘the man’, man that he is, passes the buck: “The woman, whom you gave me to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3: 12). Notice that two other persons get the blame. First, God gets the blame for giving ‘the man’ this woman as a partner, and second, the woman gets the blame for making a bad decision. But wait! We just read that ‘the man’ was there with her. What is happening here? 

 God sees through it all. He curses the serpent (3: 14-15); he curses the woman (3: 16); and he curses the man (3:17-19). All are culpable.   

 The Good News is that ‘the curse’ is lifted by the death of Christ on the cross, including the curse on ‘the woman’ and the curse on ‘the man’.  

 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'—  in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3: 13-14). 

 And, the good news is that Christian theology, at least as Paul wrote it, corrected the overemphasis on Eve as the cause of trouble and recognized Adam’s role in the Original Sin. 

  “For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5: 15-19).