Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Glossary
- Abbreviations
- PART I MONOGAMY
- 1 The Sources
- 2 Pro-CD Arguments
- 3 Anti-CD Arguments
- 4 Indeterminate Arguments
- 5 Make-or-Break Argument
- 6 Which Way Does the Evidence Point?
- 7 Gen 1:27–29 Revisited
- PART II COMMANDMENTS (MIṢVOT)
- PART III INTRINSIC EQUALITY
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Authors (Medieval & Pre-modern)
- Index of Citations from Rabbinic Literature
- Index of Names (Hebrew Bible)
- Index of Names (Talmudic)
- General Index
7 - Gen 1:27–29 Revisited
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 June 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Glossary
- Abbreviations
- PART I MONOGAMY
- 1 The Sources
- 2 Pro-CD Arguments
- 3 Anti-CD Arguments
- 4 Indeterminate Arguments
- 5 Make-or-Break Argument
- 6 Which Way Does the Evidence Point?
- 7 Gen 1:27–29 Revisited
- PART II COMMANDMENTS (MIṢVOT)
- PART III INTRINSIC EQUALITY
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index of Authors (Medieval & Pre-modern)
- Index of Citations from Rabbinic Literature
- Index of Names (Hebrew Bible)
- Index of Names (Talmudic)
- General Index
Summary
We have seen how the rabbis understood the phrase ishah el aḥotah at Lev 18:18 and the prohibition intended by that verse. But how did they cope with the other monogamy-friendly scriptures, and above all with Gen 1:27–29 – verses that affirm not merely monogamy but also the prophetic and ṣelem equality of the first couple?
It is easier to answer this question in the negative by saying that the rabbis do not cite these verses in support of monogyny. Nor do they appear to take notice of these verses' message of a broader gender equality – with the possible exception of R. Johanan ben Beroqa who, going out on a limb, rules (at M. Yev. 6:6) that the duty to marry devolves upon men and women “because to both [man and woman] were spoken the words [Gen 1:28] … be fruitful and multiply”. Thus for R. Johanan ben Beroqa (and his acolytes; see Chapter 9, note 1) two individuals, a man and a woman, were spoken to by God. But his formulation “because to both [man and woman] were spoken the words” implies that R. Johanan ben Beroqa's opponents, who exempted the woman from the duty to marry, did not acknowledge the woman's presence. Perhaps they shared the mishnaic view (San. 4:5) of the human species created as a single individual or the comparable views of the following two sources.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Status of Women in Jewish Tradition , pp. 35 - 38Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011