Abstract
The Torah tells two different stories of the creation of the human race. The first (Genesis 1:1–2:3) emphasizes the parity of men and women and their equal share in the image of God, which is their essential attribute (1:27; 5:1b–2). The conventional view is that the second creation story (Genesis 2:4–3:24), the “Eden Narrative,” presents the sexes as unequal. In the standard reading, here the man is the important figure, while the woman is only his subordinate “helper” (2:18–20). She is fashioned from his rib (2:21–23), meaning that he is the whole and she only a part. And, at the end of the story, God himself stipulates that the woman's destiny to be controlled by the man (3:16). The present article shows that this perception of the story is mistaken and that a careful and closer reading uncovers a view of the sexes that—in the account's own nuanced and psychologically sensitive way—is fundamentally egalitarian.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 17-32 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Judaism, Sovereignty and Human Rights |
Volume | 2 |
State | Published - 2016 |
IHP Publications
- ihp
- Adam -- (Biblical figure)
- Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Bible -- Genesis
- Creation
- Eden
- Gender identity in literature
- Women in the Bible
- אדם הראשון
- בריאת האדם
- גן עדן
- חוה, אשת אדם הראשון
- נשים במקרא
- ספרות ומגדר
- פרשנות המקרא
- תנ"ך. בראשית