Gender Roles In The Bible

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There are many examples of how gender roles are viewed in the bible; however, in the book of Genesis these roles are prominent. According to the Bible, “God said, ‘Let us make humankind[Heb: adam] in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” (Genesis 1:26 NRSV). Men are described as the laborers and leaders of the earth, while women are defined as man’s helper. In the passage God created Adam first then moved on to creating the world and every creature that inhabits it, finally after everything else is made, God created Eve. While this is only the beginning of this passage, it portrays the general idea of this passage very clearly. Overall, amongst these chosen verses, women are supposedly commanded to be subordinate to men and are told to respect them. …show more content…
While the Bible does not provide clear guidelines on gender identity, it does provide some insight on gender roles in society. The most common examples are Adam and Eve. Created first, Adam was viewed as the leader who guided the world, while Eve was only considered as his helper (Genesis 2:7 & 18 NRSV). The Bible also specifies the authority men have over their wife. For example, when Eve eats the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, her sin was described as not eating the fruit, but as leaving the area of Adam’s authority. Men who follow this religion became motivated to believe they had a dominant role over women, while women were meant to be subordinate to their husbands. However, just as high heels were once exclusively worn by men in the Middle Ages, and pink was a masculine color, these views are outdated, being largely rooted in the eras from which they are

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