Roles Of Women In The Book Of Exodus

It is widely regarded that society can be judged by the way it treats its women, and the Ancient Israelites are no exception. The book of Exodus reveals to historians and scholars the economic and social roles of women in Hebrew society. Exodus is split into two sections: narrative of the Israelites escape from Egypt and the covenant traditions. Though Exodus is primarily focused on the narrative side, the societal and cultural restrictions placed upon women are revealed all throughout. Exodus firmly establishes women’s role in society and three central themes emerge throughout the book: the inferiority of women, women as property and women as commodities. In the first 18 chapters of Exodus, the role of women in Hebrew society is implied throughout Moses’ narrative. However, in the Ten Commandments and the Book of the Covenant, Israelite women’s role is formally established. The narrative portion of Exodus, though it focuses almost exclusively on the Israelites escape from Egypt, establishes Hebrew women’s social and economic …show more content…
In verse 16, the Bible states that if a man sleeps with an unmarried virgin he must pay her “bride-price” and marry her if her father agrees to the marriage. “If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.” These verses touch on the importance of virginity to a woman’s value and the ownership a father claims over his daughter. The man who has slept with an unmarried woman is made to pay a price to the father because he has damaged the fathers’ property. The loss of a woman’s virginity signaling that she has lost value demonstrates the esteem in which women were held in society. If losing one’s virginity while unmarried would be marring to a woman, it shows how little men valued women’s abilities and contributions to society at the the