‘Critically evaluate the accounts of the gender relationships in the stories of Genesis, with particular
reference to Genesis 12-25.’
Genesis presents interpreters with a variety of gender relationships, from the atypical marriage of Sarah
and Abraham, to the power shown by Rebekah in her autonomous choice to become a married woman.
Furthermore, Genesis also portrays more complicated gender relationships, such as the imbalance of
power between Hagar and Sarah, which provides an opportunity to explore the treatment of women (and
expectations of men) at the time of the setting of the Genesis scripture. However, interpretation of these
narratives has, until rather recently, been male-dominated, lacking alternative, female-focused views to the
suppressive, often surface level commentaries provided by traditional biblical interpreters. In exploring the
different types of gender relationships presented in Genesis, as well as the history of feminist biblical
interpretation, and the context of the societies present in the Hebrew Bible, it will become clear that
Genesis does not just present the suppression of women by men, but also power imbalances between
women, strong female characters, and techniques used by narrators to present female characters as
lacking.
Until fairly recently, biblical scholarship has been dominated by a traditional narrative, passed down
through generations of Christians, which argued that women benefitted from an ancient alliance with the
devil, based on the downfall of men.1 Indeed, narratives such as the Fall in Genesis 2-3, often presented the
serpent/devil as having a female face, with long masses of hair: a clone of Eve. 2 This intentional link by
narrators between the devil and women, reflected the negative views on female power at the time,
creating a suppressive narrative which pervaded into all aspects of society, and can arguably still be seen
today. Furthermore, whilst women have been interpreters of scripture for as long as men, their writings
and arguments have been consistently overlooked, allowing this repressive narrative to maintain authority
in biblical scholarship. For example, in the 12th century, Hildegard of Bingen presented a literal reading of
Genesis 3:15,3 challenging the patriarchal traditional narrative of the Fall and Eve as discussed. This position
was later taken up by Margaret Askew Fell Fox in the 17th century, who built on Bingen’s foundation, to
argue that the serpent is the ultimate misogynist, in its attempt to silence the female voice. 4 It was not until
the second wave of feminism in the 1970s, in which women started to take a deeper look into the scripture
that had justified their subjugation for so long, that the ideas of these two female interpreters were
incorporated into ‘mainstream’ biblical scholarship. In particular, Mary Daly took up the work of these
women, arguing that Genesis 2-3 must be rejected due to its role in maintaining women’s suppression. 5 The
history of women in biblical scholarship brings to light both the importance of female voices in scriptural
interpretation, as well as the impact texts such as Genesis, and their portrayal of gender relationships, have
had on the treatment of women.
As has been made clear, Genesis has historically been a key text in relation to the experience of women, as
a result of its presentation of gender. What must be remembered when exploring this is that, whilst it is
scripture, texts like Genesis are pieces of literature, and thus examining the language and structural choices
1
Schroeder, Joy A. ‘Retrieving the Voices of Women.’ The Bible and Interpretation. 2014. Accessed at
https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2014/07/sch388029
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Shectman, S. ‘Feminist Biblical Interpretation: History and Goals’, TheTorah.com. 2019. Accessed at
https://www.thetorah.com/article/feminist-biblical-interpretation-history-and-goals
reference to Genesis 12-25.’
Genesis presents interpreters with a variety of gender relationships, from the atypical marriage of Sarah
and Abraham, to the power shown by Rebekah in her autonomous choice to become a married woman.
Furthermore, Genesis also portrays more complicated gender relationships, such as the imbalance of
power between Hagar and Sarah, which provides an opportunity to explore the treatment of women (and
expectations of men) at the time of the setting of the Genesis scripture. However, interpretation of these
narratives has, until rather recently, been male-dominated, lacking alternative, female-focused views to the
suppressive, often surface level commentaries provided by traditional biblical interpreters. In exploring the
different types of gender relationships presented in Genesis, as well as the history of feminist biblical
interpretation, and the context of the societies present in the Hebrew Bible, it will become clear that
Genesis does not just present the suppression of women by men, but also power imbalances between
women, strong female characters, and techniques used by narrators to present female characters as
lacking.
Until fairly recently, biblical scholarship has been dominated by a traditional narrative, passed down
through generations of Christians, which argued that women benefitted from an ancient alliance with the
devil, based on the downfall of men.1 Indeed, narratives such as the Fall in Genesis 2-3, often presented the
serpent/devil as having a female face, with long masses of hair: a clone of Eve. 2 This intentional link by
narrators between the devil and women, reflected the negative views on female power at the time,
creating a suppressive narrative which pervaded into all aspects of society, and can arguably still be seen
today. Furthermore, whilst women have been interpreters of scripture for as long as men, their writings
and arguments have been consistently overlooked, allowing this repressive narrative to maintain authority
in biblical scholarship. For example, in the 12th century, Hildegard of Bingen presented a literal reading of
Genesis 3:15,3 challenging the patriarchal traditional narrative of the Fall and Eve as discussed. This position
was later taken up by Margaret Askew Fell Fox in the 17th century, who built on Bingen’s foundation, to
argue that the serpent is the ultimate misogynist, in its attempt to silence the female voice. 4 It was not until
the second wave of feminism in the 1970s, in which women started to take a deeper look into the scripture
that had justified their subjugation for so long, that the ideas of these two female interpreters were
incorporated into ‘mainstream’ biblical scholarship. In particular, Mary Daly took up the work of these
women, arguing that Genesis 2-3 must be rejected due to its role in maintaining women’s suppression. 5 The
history of women in biblical scholarship brings to light both the importance of female voices in scriptural
interpretation, as well as the impact texts such as Genesis, and their portrayal of gender relationships, have
had on the treatment of women.
As has been made clear, Genesis has historically been a key text in relation to the experience of women, as
a result of its presentation of gender. What must be remembered when exploring this is that, whilst it is
scripture, texts like Genesis are pieces of literature, and thus examining the language and structural choices
1
Schroeder, Joy A. ‘Retrieving the Voices of Women.’ The Bible and Interpretation. 2014. Accessed at
https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2014/07/sch388029
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
4
Ibid.
5
Shectman, S. ‘Feminist Biblical Interpretation: History and Goals’, TheTorah.com. 2019. Accessed at
https://www.thetorah.com/article/feminist-biblical-interpretation-history-and-goals
