Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context

Traditionally, many feminist scholars have looked to the Bible for clues to the sources of contemporary sexist attitudes; yet, the "biblical position" of women has been discussed only in light of the scriptural texts themselves. In an illuminating and critical analysis, Meyers argues that it is impossible to reconstruct a picture of the typical everyday life of women in ancient Israel using biblical sources alone. Scriptural texts, she contends, were written by a mostly male, urban elite, while women of the period were mostly rural villagers. In addition, the stories of women in the Bible generally concern exceptional, not ordinary, women. For these reasons, Meyers approaches the problem in a new way, complementing biblical source material with the results of recent archaeological investigations of village life and the insights of anthropology. This interdisciplinary approach enables her to present, for the first time, a picture of the way of life and status of women in biblical times based on hard data.