An erroneous notion has long prevailed regarding the place assigned to the
Hebrew woman at home and in society by the Mosaic law. Even now the idea
obtains that the law placed the Hebrew woman almost on the same footing as
the low-born slave, and denied her all mental and spiritual enjoyments;
that, because polygamy was silently tolerated by the law, and because it
gave fathers and husbands a certain amount of authority over their wives
and daughters, the position of the Hebrew woman must therefore have been
exceedingly low. But the student who closely examines the Old Testament
passages relating to her domestic and social life, will soon see that this
assumption is without foundation. A consideration of her life during
Biblical times will, in fact, show that she enjoyed more freedom than
other Oriental women of that or even of the present time, and that in some
respects her position was not much inferior to that of her modern
descendants.
The Old Testament gives two distinct periods in the history of the Hebrew
woman. The first extends from the times when the Israelites became
established in Palestine, and the second from that date to the building of
the second Temple. The most prominent feature of the first period is an
extreme simplicity of manners in both sexes, occasioned by their living in
the open air or in tents. It resembles in many respects the heroic age of
the ancient Greeks, and especially with regard to the social position of
the female sex. But while in the Hebrew world the woman is known as
“Ish-shah” (אשה), “wife,” being equal in moral as well as in literal
etymology to “Ish” (איש), “man,” the Greeks had separate words for _man_
and _wife_, namely, ἀνήρ, γυνή, suggesting, perhaps, the inferior rank of
the weaker sex among them. Again, while the Greeks called their _first_
woman _Pandora_ as the bringer of all evil to man, the first woman of the
Bible, _Eve_, is introduced to us as a part of her husband's being, and as
having been created to be “a helpmeet for him” (עזר כנגדו) (Gen. ii.
18). Except Eve, who seems to have lived with her family in the open air,
the women belonging to that period dwelt in tents. Such a tent was called
in Hebrew _ohel_ (אהל), and sometimes _baït_ (בית)^[37-1], and
consisted of a walled-in enclosure covered with curtains of a dark colour
(Cant. i. 5). It was divided into two or more apartments, one being always
reserved for the females of the family; but sometimes each female had a
separate tent (Gen. xxxi. 33; cp. also Homer, _Iliad_, vi. 247–9). When
travelling the women's tents were fastened on a broad cushion (כר), and
placed on the backs of the riding camels (Gen. xxxi. 34). The occupations
of the married woman were multifarious. She rose early in the morning, and
spent the day in attending to her children, distributing food at meal
times, and weaving various textures for the use of her family (Prov. xxxi.
15). Cp. Homer, _Odyss._ x. 221; and Virgil, _Georg._ i. 293–5:—
Interea longum cantu solata laborem
Arguto conjux percurrit pectine telas.
The cooking was also done by the mistress of the house, and even women of
rank did not consider it beneath their dignity to help in culinary work
(Gen. xviii. 5). Sometimes a nurse was kept for the younger children of
the family, and was held in great estimation by her employers (ibid. xxxv.
8). The surplus of their manufactures was usually sold to merchants (Prov.
xxxi. 24), but was sometimes given away for religious purposes (Exod.
xxxv. 22).
The unmarried women had, besides their share of the domestic duties, the
daily task of tending the flocks and of taking them to the well, where the
neighbouring shepherds met them and indulged in gossip and hilarity (Gen.
xxix). On these occasions they moved about freely, and could even dispense
with the veil usually worn out of doors by Oriental women (ibid. xii. 14).
These diversions ended when they entered upon the matrimonial state, which
they did between the ages of twelve and eighteen years (Buxtorf, _Synag._
VII, 143). Sometimes courtship preceded marriage, as in the cases of Jacob
and Samson; but the mediation of a third party was usual in marriage
negotiations (Gen. xxiv. 4). When the parents approved of the bridegroom's
proposals, the bride was sometimes asked for her consent; but when she was
of a higher rank than the bridegroom, the father offered her hand to him
as a mark of special favour. Thus Jethro did to Moses, Caleb to Othniel,
and Saul to David. The wedding itself had no definite ceremonies connected
with it. At the wedding of Rebekah and of Ruth only a blessing was
pronounced by those present. At a much later period an oath was added in
ratification of the union (Ezek. xvi. 8). Indeed, marriage was always
considered among the Hebrews as an institution proceeding from God (Gen.
xxiv. 50; Judges xiv. 4); and the name given to it in post-Biblical times
and retained to the present day is _Kiddushin_ (קדושין), i.e.
“sanctification.” The Greeks and Romans, on the other hand, called it
συζυγία and _coniugium_ respectively, meaning “yoking together of two
persons,” and emphasizing essentially the civil nature of the union.
Though polygamy was not actually forbidden by the Mosaic law, yet it
appears from the phraseology employed at its first institution that
monogamy was the only legitimate practice. In Gen. ii. 24 it is said,
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his
wife,” and not his “wives.” Elkanah's _second_ wife is, quaintly enough,
called in 1 Sam. i _Tsara_, which term in Hebrew also means “misery.”
The simplicity manifested in the manners of the Hebrew women found its
counterpart in their attire. This was generally of a primitive order. On
festive occasions, however, apparel of a more elaborate character was used
(Gen. xxiv. 53). Personal ornaments were also sometimes worn; these were
mostly articles of gold, and, perhaps, even jewels, since precious stones
are mentioned in the Pentateuch. While in Egypt, the Hebrew women learnt
the use of mirrors, which were then made of a mixture of copper and tin.
These mirrors they gave freely for the fabrication of the laver of the
Tabernacle (Exod. xxxviii. 8). At that time they appear also to have
acquired some proficiency in singing, dancing, and playing on musical
instruments; for on the shore of the Red Sea we find them singing an ode
together with Miriam. Later on, they shared with the men the privilege of
being summoned to hear the reading of the law (Deut. xxxi. 12). An old
Sanscrit proverb says: “Women are instructed by nature, but men obtain
learning by books”; nor are illustrations wanting in the Bible to prove
the truth of this saying. The Hebrew women had already cultivated a taste
for flowers (Gen. xxx. 14), song, and music; they were active in their
households, charitable to the poor and needy (Prov. xxxi. 20); and, above
all, they were sensible of the blessing of freedom and independence.
During the second period of Biblical history, from the settlement of the
Israelites in Palestine to the rebuilding of the second Temple, a
remarkable change occurred in the life, habits, and social standing of the
Hebrew woman. The simplicity of manners which had characterized the first
period gave place in course of time to luxurious living—the result of
residing in large towns and in permanent dwelling-houses, and of closer
social intercourse with men of their own and foreign nations. The females
of the poorer and middle classes occupied the same room or rooms with
their husbands; but the wives of the rich and nobles had a separate set of
apartments for themselves, called _harmon_ (הרמון) (Amos iv. 3), most
probably derived from _harem_ (חרם) (forbidden), and akin to the modern
_Harem_.
Yet the seclusion of women among the wealthy Hebrews was at that period
much less strict than with the modern Mohammedans, or the ancient Persians
and Greeks. As among the Greeks (Homer, _Odyss._ i. 329–331), the Jewish
females occupied the upper part of the house, as instanced in 2 Sam. vi.
16, and 2 Kings ix. 31–33, in connexion with Michal and Jezebel. But,
while the former were not allowed to see any one but their nearest
relations (cp. Wieland, _Attisches Museum_, II, 131), the latter moved
about freely, and sometimes took an active part in public life. As
instances of this may be mentioned Jephthah's daughter, Deborah, Jezebel,
Athalia, Huldah, Esther, and Noadiah. Deborah and Hannah, as composers of
excellent odes, have the honour of being the first poetesses in history.
Women were also hired to chant doleful songs at the funerals of persons of
high rank (Jer. ix. 16). Sometimes they were even employed to plead causes
at the royal courts (2 Sam. xiv. 2; 1 Kings i. 11). Then, again, there are
instances of women who, by their bravery and oratorical powers, saved a
whole town from destruction (Judges ix. 53; 2 Sam. xx. 18–23).
Their recreation consisted chiefly in paying visits to their relations and
friends, on which occasions refreshments were served (Cant. viii. 2), and
in attending at public festivals. These were of frequent occurrence:
religious celebrations, or weddings, when the women assembled in the
streets to watch the gay procession of the guests (Jer. xxv. 10); vintage
festivals and harvest festivals where, amidst merriment and laughter, men
and women danced to the strains of sweet music (Judges xxi. 21; Isa. xvi.
10; Jer. xxxi. 3,4). Recreation-houses^[40-1] also existed, and were
frequented by women of rank (Micah ii. 9), but their exact nature is not
clearly defined. The prophet Isaiah devotes a whole chapter to the
description of the dresses and trinkets worn by the Hebrew women of his
time; and even as far back as the days of King Saul, women wore rich
dresses of scarlet and gold. David, when bewailing Saul's death, says: “Ye
daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with other
delights, who put ornaments of gold upon your dresses” (2 Sam. i. 24).
This extravagance in women's attire continued to the time of Christ; and
according to Edersheim (_Life and Times of Jesus_), a lady could then get
in Jerusalem “from a false tooth to an Arabian veil, a Persian shawl, or
an Indian dress.” The Jewish women, like the Egyptian, the Greek, and the
Roman, used precious ointments and perfumes for their heads and dresses
(Cant. i. 3). The cost of a moderately-sized bottle of those perfumes is
stated to have been equal to £6 of our money. Women of rank also used
cosmetics for the eyelashes (2 Kings ix. 30; Jer. iv. 30). Isaiah,
deriding this practice, says that the women of his time were “lying with
their eyes” (משקרות, from שקר, Isa. iii. 16). The Hebrew term for this
paint is _puck_ (פוך), being equivalent in etymology to φῦκος and
_fucus_ of the classics. The Hebrew women must generally have been of
great natural beauty, for many such are found in the Old Testament.
According to Canticles (ch. ii), pet-names were often given to women, such
as _rose of the valley_, _dove_, _Aurora_, _sister_, _sun_, and _star_.
If the character of a nation is reflected in its proverbs, the passages in
the Bible relating to the worth of women prove the high estimation in
which the Hebrew women were held by their husbands. They joined the latter
at meals (Job i. 4), and took part in their social life—a privilege
withheld from other Oriental women even at the present day.
It is, therefore, evident that the common idea as to the low position of
the ancient Hebrew woman is incorrect. She enjoyed, at all events, much
greater freedom than was permitted to the wives of the highly-cultured
ancient Greeks. She was held in higher regard than the women that lived in
the time of Luther, who in his _Table Talk_ quotes, and as it seems
approvingly, the old Latin proverb: _Tria mala pessima: ignis, aqua,
femina_. And finally, the liberty granted by the Mosaic law to the Hebrew
women was never condemned by contemporary poets or prophets, while modern
writers and philosophers, such as Hartmann, Schopenhauer, and others, do
not hesitate to inveigh against the privileges granted to them in modern
life. In the book _Über die Weiber_ (_On Women_, vol. VI, P. 549),
Schopenhauer says that the low position of the Oriental women suits them
better than their freedom in the West.
It is true that the Old Testament has its share of gossiping,
over-curious, quarrelsome, and superstitious women, but they only form a
small proportion to the large number of model women that appear in its
pages. The esteem in which the Hebrew woman was held is shown throughout
the Bible, as the following few quotations from it will prove:—“Whoso
findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord”
(Prov. xviii. 22). “A gracious woman retaineth honour, as the hand of the
industrious increaseth wealth” (ibid. xi. 16). “A virtuous woman is a
crown to her husband” (ibid. xii. 4). “House and riches are the
inheritance of fathers: but a prudent wife is from God” (ibid. xix. 14).
Footnotes:
[37-1] In Arabic the term _baït_ has the same signification as in Hebrew.
[40-1] The original Hebrew term means “houses of pleasure.”
V