The question of what women are "allowed" to do in religion can be a sticky one. The "rules" can have interesting ripple effects that spread and evolve into something completely different from how they started. Sometime in the spring, one of my more forward-thinking and liberal students asked me where the idea that women couldn't be preachers came from. I explained to her it came from the rules for Levites because though "Levite" was a whole tribe of people, only the men carried out the priestly duties. She seemed a little put out and asked if it was because the Israelite people considered women to be "less than". I wanted to answer well and thoroughly; in addition to being a person I care about, the student is one of the young people who are fed up with organized religion because of its hypocritical and limiting nature.The answer I gave contained the story of Deborah and Jael, which I would now like to share with you.
For background, the position she was asking about exists because of the strictures of the Levites and Paul's writing in Corinthians, specifically 1 Corinthians 14:34, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law." From looking at these sources, some Christian/Jewish/Israelite/nonreligious people think women have no part in places of worship or roles of authority no matter the circumstance. Though I do not know the full breadth of "ought" and "ought not", I know enough to say women do and can have a place in what many consider to be the sole realms of men. Let's get into it, shall we?
Deborah
Deborah is what we would call today "a trailblazer". Not only is she the only female judge Israel ever had (as far as we know), she, along with Jael, is also one of the only women in the old testament who is important for her own actions and abilities rather than what men she was related to (either by marriage, motherhood, or siblingship). Her story is told in Judges 4 and retold in song-form in Judges 5.
However, despite the exhortation of the prophetess/judge and the command of God, Barak was fearful (4:8). He told Deborah he would not be willing to go out to fight Sisera unless she came with him. Deborah replied she would travel with him, but he would gain no honor from the fight because Sisera would be sold into the hands of a woman (4:8-9). On the field of battle, Deborah encouraged Barak, and thanks to God, the forces of Sisera were completely destroyed (4:14-16). This is the end of Deborah's part in the tale.
Deborah Conclusion
Many people point out a few aspects of Deborah's story to minimize the part she played. The most common point, in my experience, is that Deborah was only called upon/allowed to play the part she did because no suitable men were available. Others say that though she "judged Israel" (4:4), she was not actually a "judge", and therefore, she is not important. Though, indeed, it seems no suitable men were stepping up to the plate, it is interesting Deborah was chosen for the part she played over some man, as occurs in the others books of the Bible. There was obviously something special or correct about Deborah herself that allowed her to take control the way she did. Also, though Deborah is not called "a judge" but rather was said "to judge", her inclusion in the book of Judges shows the esteem in which she should be held. Her role of prophetess is also telling: She was a holy woman, chosen by God to relay his will and to act as his mouthpiece.
Deborah's actions and importance, regardless of the pre-existing conditions that may have allowed for them (because we simply don't know why she was chosen, and saying "it was only because the men weren't available" or "it's just because!" is an assumption we can't make), shows that women can have a role as leaders, moral authorities, military symbols. (More on the military aspect in the next section.)
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| So, more like this |
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| Less like this |
I don't even know how to start this part about Jael. I love her story so much. She's just too cool. In my opinion, she's the coolest woman of the Bible. If I was into Biblical naming, I would name a future daughter after her. Her story has the flair, sass, and importance of that of Phinehas (Numbers 25), and Ehud, lefty and kingslayer (Judges 3).
[I highly recommend you read the stories of Phinehas and Ehud if you haven't. They're great]
After Sisera fled the battle, he ran to the tent of an ally, Heber the Kenite (Judges 4:17). Heber was not at home, but Heber's wife, Jael, was. She came out to greet Sisera with the hospitality typical of the region, offering him milk, a blanket for napping, and the promise she would cover for him if any Israelites came by searching him out (4:17-20). Once she saw Sisera was asleep, Jael, "took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand...and smote the nail into his temples and fastened it into the ground for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died."
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| Just let that image sink in. Pun intended. |
How cool! What guts! What chutzpah! After Jael took care of the problem, Barak showed up looking for Sisera. Jael--again, so cool!--said, "I will show you to the man you're looking for" and led Barak to her tent to reveal Sisera, dead, with the nail still in his head (4:22).
Jael Conclusion
Though, like Deborah, Jael's part is short, it is very revealing about the "place" of women. For one, Jael's husband was allied with King Jabin, Sisera's boss. If proper women only followed the orders of their husbands, Jael would have given Sisera the milk and blankie and left out the tent stake. But, she didn't. She independently decided she didn't like Sisera and that the world would be better without him in it, fitting in with what Deborah promised Barak--that Sisera would be sold into the hands of a woman. Right action is not sex dependent; Jael's sex and role of wife did not stop her from doing the right thing, which was to stake Sisera's head to the ground. The method Jael uses also flies in the face of stereotypical desired female attributes. I don't know if you've ever attempted to nail a man's head to the ground, but I'm assuming it takes at least a little arm strength to do it in one blow.
And though naysayers might use the same logic to minimize Jael's wonderfulness--"She wasn't a judge" "It's only because no men were around" "well, she was useful, but not very feminine, so that's bad"-- the people of Israel did not feel the same. In Judges 5, Deborah and Barak sing a song celebrating the recent events. In verse 24, they sing, "Blessed above all women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, Blessed shall she be above women in the tent," and in case one is tempted to say, "well, it's for her womanly devotion", they go on in verses 25-27, "He asked water, and she gave him milk...She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead." What is being praised is Jael's cleverness, her physicality, and her brutality. And, for these traits, she is "blessed above all women".
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| Her part of the song could be sung like this; that's what I'm saying. (Source) |
Conclusion
Unconventional action, as long as it is right, is better than living life according to the "rules" that society, but not God, puts in place. Like the story of Zipporah, the stories of Deborah and Jael emphasize the importance of doing the right thing, regardless of supposed insufficiency. And though I don't know if women should be preachers, I know that they can be prophetesses, military leaders, and, if called upon, put a stake through an evil-doer's head.
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