Women's Rights in Old Testament Times

Book excerpt: Old Testament women were often as tough-minded and strong-willed as their male counterparts, and many were able to work the religious and secular law to their advantage. Baker unravels the labyrinth of Aramean, Assyrian, Babylonian, Canaanite, Egyptian, Hittite, Sumerian, and Hebrew culture and interprets arcane biblical narratives in light of legal custom. He considers women in business; surrogate sexual partners and slave-husband counterparts to men's slaves and concubines; inheritance rights of daughters; and metronomic marriage in which the wife provided land, occupation, and family for a less well situated husband. In doing so he makes many of the Old Testament stories understandable for the first time. Along the way Baker also renders obsolete many simplistic, however well meaning object lessons that one can hear at times in Sunday school, while nevertheless bolstering other common-sense, plain readings of scripture. His research provides readers with grist for discussion on a variety of timely themes and points the way for future investigation into what has proven to be a fruitful field.