Violence against women in the light of the laws of the Torah?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2015.007Keywords
Pentateuch (the Torah), violence, women, violence in the Pentateuch, legislation concerning women in ancient IsraelAbstract
Violence (also against women) – though not dominant in the Bible – it is nevertheless present in it. In the Pentateuch, on which this article focuses, violence occurs in the history of the origins, with the first fratricide (history of Cain and Abel; Genesis 4) and then takes many forms: there are descriptions of men’s violence against men; there are also descriptions of men’s violence against women (rape of Dinah; Genesis 34); there is also women’s violence against women (Sarah and Hagar); but also – surprisingly – there is women’s violence against men (the story of Lot’s daughters; Genesis 19).
A particular issue related to violence in the Pentateuch are legal aspects. The Bible itself does not give its own definition of violence, although all acts of violence (in some cases discussed in detail; also regarding women) are condemned in the Bible and even levied on specific sanctions. The biblical legislation does not encourage to violence (including this against women), it does not propagate violence, nor does allow it. Pentateuch contains various laws concerning women: beginning with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5), and then also the penal laws from the Book of Exodus along with the laws of purity and holiness from the Book of Leviticus; and also various detailed laws from the Book of Deuteronomy. They regulate some aspects of women’s lives (mainly related to sexual activity and family, but not limited to it), also concerning laws against some acts of violence.
Several conclusions can be drawn from the legislation texts analysis: 1. All the laws in the Torah are written by and for men (men were responsible for observing the law). 2. All of these regulations of the Torah should be understood in the context of the ancient patriarchal society and in the culture of the entire Middle East in antiquity. 3. There are no specific rules for women committing acts of violence in the Torah, thus it seems there were no consequences for women for any act of violence (which indicates that these laws do not regulate all aspects of human life). 4. In the Bible itself there is no evidence that the regulations of the Torah (also concerning women) were ever strictly observed.
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