The role of women in the bible is ambiguous. Women have a secondary position from the beginning. The creation stories in Genesis indicate that the human being was created by God and provides a specific description of this process. According to the biblical text, there are three elements involved in being in the image and likeness of God: 1) dominion over the rest of creation; 2) creation male and female; and 3) the command to be fruitful and multiply. One consequence of this is that our humanity is always something profoundly greater than we are as individuals, and this is highlighted by sexual differentiation. Yet man was created first and woman second, and this is the way the two are viewed generally in the bible. However, as Susan Niditch notes, some biblical women "are present as the heroines of their stories; the men around them are bumbling, cruel, foolish or all three." She notes as well that these women "are legally governed by their fathers before marriage and by their husbands after marriage" (Niditch 29). Niditch also notes that the stories in the bible do not necessarily reflect social reality (Niditch 25-26), but the stories are suggestive of attitudes toward men and women.
Strong women do challenge the established order. At the same time, strong women are everywhere in the bible, from the matriarchs to the independent women of the exodus. Mothers protect their children, women seduce the enemy to protect their kingdom, matriarchs rule over nations and are considered the mothers of nations. Male superiority is simply assumed and is so ingrained it is not challenged by portrayals in which the men are seen as bumbling or foolish and certainly not when men are shown as cruel.
In some cases, the foolishness of men in these stories leads to success for the Israelites, as in the story of Jael and Sisera in Judges 4. Deborah first proves her value when she tells Barak that he will defeat Sisera on this day bec...