Moses Essay, Research Paper

In Genesis and Exodus society, women could not be in positions of power or be as equals to men. Patriarchy was being recognized as an acceptable idea. Patriarchy, a form of social organization in which the male is recognized as the head of the society or tribe. Genesis and Exodus are biased in favor of men.

When we think of the great characters of the Bible we think of Moses and Abraham yet we don’t have any women of real importance. Although there are a few women that actually do play a part in Genesis and Exodus the number is so few that we can really see women really came second to men. There are women characters like Rachel and Rebecca yet the average person probably thinks of a man when the average person thinks of a leader in Genesis and Exodus because really that’s what the majority of the lead characters were. For the most part, all we see are males as leaders, Bill Clinton, and Boris Yeltson just to name a few. When one thinks of the greatest of the great characters in the Bible one thinks of our Forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet we do not have any Foremothers. Why women were purposely left out we are not sure of because it is not as though they can not do the jobs men can. Take Margaret Thatcher, she is a perfect example of women doing just as good of a job as men. In fact Margaret Thatcher was a better British Prime Minister than any of the Prime Ministers who followed her. It just seems as though every time we turn a page in the Bible there are many names of men who play substantial roles in the Bible yet there are not to many women. Whenever a name is mentioned we say that he is the son of who ever or the father of who ever. For example, Lot’s wife did not even have a name in the Bible. Also in genealogy, when the Bible traces back form Abraham to Noah it shows us that Abraham was a descendent of Noah yet it is passed back only thorough the male genealogy. The only lines we read are the son of whomever and the father of whomever and for several pages the genealogy traces back thorough the males and there are no mentions of mothers or daughters.

Throughout Genesis and Exodus and almost anytime we see, say, or read about G-d, his name is masculine. Very few people say or write G-d as a woman. Nobody ever says she created the world or she is the lord our G-d. Almost every time G-d is mentioned, G-d is referred to as a man. We have no clue whether G-d is a man, woman or any type of being, yet our culture has taught us to refer to G-d as a man. The story of Adam and Eve is another great example of how the Bible is biased in favor of men. Even though Adam was really at fault in the story, Eve gets blamed for Adams mistake by G-d punishes her and we now know her as the culprit in the story. Man and Woman