Summary
We have seen quoted in a Jewish periodical, that “it was for the sake of the righteous women the Lord delivered our ancestors from Egypt.” Scriptural authority for this assertion we certainly cannot find, as it is expressly said, “the Lord remembered the promises which He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” We only quote it as a proof that the ancient fathers, from whom we believe it taken, could not have had the low idea of women with which they are charged, to have put such an opinion forth, even in suggestion; but must have imagined the righteousness of women of no little importance towards the well-doing of the state. That so, in fact, it is, we have direct scriptural authority to believe; as not only a review of the law will make manifest, but the consequences of the sins of the women in a more distant period. Were not woman an equally responsible agent in the sight of God—were He not in His infinite mercy tenderly careful of her innocence, her honor, her well-doing, her protection by man—no laws for her in particular need have been issued, nor such especial care taken to cleanse her from impurity and guilt, to free her from false charges and an unjust husband, to permit and sanctify her singular vow, and give her every incentive for a chaste, virtuous, and modest life.
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- The Women of IsraelOr, Characters and Sketches from the Holy Scriptures, and Jewish History, pp. 206 - 217Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1845