Women In Exodus

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The women of biblical times and the women of now are vastly different. Those women were entrapped in a patriarchal society where their lives were extremely limited. Not all hope is lost, for there were strong women who defied the odds of the constricting Hebrew and Persian societies depicted in the books of Exodus and Esther. Women were able to participate in rituals but they were still viewed as inferior and property of a man, whether it be their husband or their father. The portrayal of women in Hebrew and Persian society in the Bible is similar but certain aspects of female life were better in one society. Both books feature powerful women who break out of the typical gender roles of that time period. In Exodus the Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives kill every boy born by a Hebrew woman but they refused to do so. Refusing an order from a man, let alone the almighty pharoah was a bold move to say the least. When he…show more content…
They are typically seen as inferior and obsequious but Esther and Exodus provide different insights on the roles and views concerning women. Pharaoh demands that all Hebrew newborn boys be killed but he let the girls live. This indicates that he views Hebrew women as far less of a threat than the men, he really could have every child slaughtered if he wanted. But he didn’t even care enough about the girls to kill them too. When it describes Jethro's daughters going to give water to their flock it says, “but some shepherds came and drove them away.” (Exodus:2:17) The women were innocently minding their own business but the male shepherds saw it fit to drive the women away. The shepherds had the power over the women to force them to leave, the girls mention this was even a usual occurrence. This type of belief of women is to be expected and seems easier to endure than Persian society. Here a woman would just be seen as more secondary instead of a threat or burden like in
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