Perhaps some of you have already understood this - - I didn't. Isn't it amazing how the Bible can continue to speak new life and grant epiphanies, even after years of reading it?
Jeremiah 31:21-31
These verses caught my eye because of the strange gender-bending boundaries in verse 22:
"How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The Lord will create a new thing on earth - a woman will surround a man."
What does that even mean? 'A woman will surround a man'?! This immediately brings to mind the idea that 'behind every great man, there is a great woman,' and 'the man is the head, and the woman is the neck,' (to quote a cheesy movie.)
I did a little more studying and found that the Hebrew word for woman/female here is nekevah. This word has a homophone that means, 'boundary.' Basically, the woman will be a 'boundary setter,' surrounding or enclosing the man. So strange. Recently, I've had a lot of conversations concerning how women were viewed in the Bible, and should we hold on to that today. You know the verses: 1 Timothy 2:11-12 about women being quiet and submissive and "I do not permit women to teach or have authority over a man; she must be silent." Yeah, I have no clue why this is in the Bible, but I'll be honest: it makes me super angry. Hence the conversations with people, debating on whether this was just Paul speaking, if this is completely from the Lord, or maybe it's a cultural thing for that time. I've still not figured it out.
The reason I'm so huffy about it, is because I feel God has called me to instruct in some way; to lead people. How am I supposed to have that calling on my life, but then be contradicted by it in 1 Timothy?! Geez, Paul.
I should add that the word 'man' that is used in these verses to contrast 'woman,' is not the exact opposite in Hebrew. The word geber is used, referring to the nature of a man, his strength and masculinity. It is based on the word gabar, meaning 'to be mighty.'
I'm in a period of singleness. I'm not sure how long this will last, and I'm coming to terms with the idea of it being forever. That's ok with me. My question is this - can a woman lead, on her own (with God of course, but) without a man? These verses in Jeremiah suggest that a woman is only these things in correlation with a dude.
By the way, a new verb - to renew, to rebuild, the replace - hadash is used often in these passages. Remember Esther's original Hebrew name? Hadassah. Similar, yes? She replaced the old queen Vashti, and was the bridge to rebuild Israel.
I realize this post is all over the place. Forgive me. Sometimes I have so much that my mind wants to process, but it feels overloaded. The best way for me to digest it is to talk about it. Or, in this case, write long rambling paragraphs that have no structure. Oh, happy day.
This is a cool post, and very reflective of many conversations that I have had with people. Basically, I would say that if a woman is called by God to teach or preach then thats okay. I think God's calling trumps all cards, and there is Biblical precedent for this. The debate about what Paul is saying in those passages that you mention, have been debated for many years.
ReplyDeleteYou may want to do some research or look into Phoebe, Lydia of Thyatira, Dorcus and Junia.