It’s no secret that the Bible was written in a strongly patriarchal culture. The treatment of women within its pages is cringeworthy and at times, downright nauseating. At least 6 times in the first 3 books, we read of men offering their wives, concubines, or daughters for the sexual pleasure of other men just to save their own skin. One woman was raped through the night until dawn when she died…and then was cut into pieces, and the pieces delivered to each of the 12 tribes of Israel.(Judges 19)
The value attributed to women is that of property, like a farm animal though even less valuable. The 10th commandment was considered proof that women are the property of their husbands because rabbis reasoned that all the other potential objects of coveting are possessions of the person, therefore his wife was also a possession. “One can covet only that which belongs to another. Therefore, they argued, since coveting a man’s wife was mentioned, then a man’s wife must be his possession. The commandment makes no distinction between field, animal, servant, or wife.”(1) Rape of a married woman was considered a violation, not of the woman, but of the husband’s possession. Justice involved raping the perpetrator’s wife.
It didn’t take long before God’s design at creation for complementarity was soon forsaken for competition….a competition women will almost always lose. And the stories are always written by the victors. But, peel back the veil that hides God’s heart and reveal His personal interactions with women, we see God’s value for women. Peel back the veneer of the patriarchal stories written by men, we will see God’s heart for, and efforts toward, gender equality. Sarah is one such example.
We read the story as the narrative of Abraham, the “father of faith,” with Sarah playing a minor supporting role. Her primary legacy has been that she laughed at the outrageous possibility of a miracle. But, there are clues in the story that reveal that God’s concern was not just with Abraham….that His promises were not just for Abraham…in fact, that His covenant was not just with Abraham, but also with Sarah. God considered Sarah an equal covenant partner. God actually made a covenant with a woman as an equal covenant partner. In a culture in which women were not considered viable witnesses of anything…a culture in which women couldn’t enter into business arrangements on their own…a culture in which women were not considered persons, but objects…a culture in which a woman could be accused of adultery for simply talking to a man that was not her husband. The covenant God made with Abraham was not just with him, but with Abraham and Sarah.
We begin to see this when Abram asks God why couldn’t Ishmael find favor with Him. “Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him…I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you this time next year.”(Gen. 17:19, 21) Without Sarah, there would be no promised seed.
“As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”(Gen. 17:15-16)
These verses reveal that God’s covenant was with Sarah as much as it was with Abram. First, He gives both of them new names. This name change has covenantal significance. It is a sign and seal of an established covenant between God and the recipient of the name.(2) Then His promises to her are described in language similar to the covenant promises He made with Abram.(Gen. 12:2, 17:5-6) God sees her as His covenant partner.
Which explains God’s actions when Abram acted in a cowardly manner and now only failed to protect his wife but actually put her in a situation that would likely result in her being violate. Twice!! This is the patriarch Abraham! The “father of faith!” The man God declared to be righteous! Does this mean that God is OK with this?? NO! This happens before the Mosaic Law had been given. Abram wasn’t declared righteous because he obeyed the law, or because he made the right choices, or because he followed God’s heart. He was declared righteous on a single criteria…that he believed God. His belief was “credited to him as righteousness.”(Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:18-22)
God was not condoning Abram’s choices when He declared Him righteous. The request Abram made of Sarah was quite normal in a culture that viewed women as the property of men. But, it did not reflect God’s heart for women. In fact, He intervened. Abram may have been more concerned about his own life than Sarah’s, but God was concerned about protecting Sarah’s. In essence, God was saying, “Sarah, I know Abram’s being a jerk. He should be protecting you rather than his own life. But I’ll take care of you. My covenant is not just with him, but is also with you. I have promised that you would be the mother of nations just as much as I promised that he would be the father of nations. Therefore, I will not allow any man to violate you. I will ensure that you are given back to your husband without anyone laying a hand on you. I am your covenant Partner…and that’s what covenant partners do.” When we understand the significance of Sarah, and that God’s covenant was with her, we can understand why God protected her even when Abram was in the wrong. He needed to protect her so He could fulfill His covenant promise to her, and through her.
There are other clues in the biblical narrative that reveal that Sarah is more than a supporting role for the main character. She is the only woman whose age is recorded in the Bible. Abraham insists on purchasing her burial place, revealing not only his value for her, but also God’s. An entire chapter is devoted to her death and burial.(Gen. 23) Paul uses her as a type of the new covenant.(Gal. 4) In Hebrews 11, she is listed along with the big guns of the patriarchal age. Finally, Peter admonishes Christian women to be daughters of Sarah. No other Old Testament female character was held up with the same level of honor as was Sarah.
The reality is, in a strongly patriarchal culture, God made His covenant with Abraham and Sarah. Abraham, just like Adam, needed an ezer kenegdo to accomplish God’s plan. Abraham and Sarah, just like Adam and Eve, needed to become one for God’s promise to be fulfilled. This is powerful. It shows us again that God’s desire was for equality between men and women. It might be a long time before it would be actualized…a lot more of the biblical story had to be lived and written…and it all happened in a patriarchal culture. But, it didn’t mean that God condoned patriarchy. When Jesus came, God’s desire for equality between men and women could finally be realized. But, in the meantime, the story of Sarah reveals God’s heart was for gender equality from the beginning. He didn’t leave her out or ignore her…she wasn’t just a womb for Abraham’s son. She was His daughter. God honored her alongside Abraham as an equal covenant partner…as the mother of nations.
Biblical Support for Christian Egalitarianism: Ezer Kenegdo
Biblical Support for Christian Eglalitarianism: Equality in Eden
Endnotes:
1. Templeton, John. (1988). What Paul Really Said About Women. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, p. 19.
2. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Sarah-Sarai-Sara