Any discussion of relationships between men and women in the Bible must start with Genesis. Many people know this book only through its shortened title, but its full title is "Genesis, the First Book of Moses." Moses was the lawgiver in the Old Testament. In contrast, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Law in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, Eve (representative of woman) was relegated to a secondary role, that of help meet for Adam. The New Testament, however, significantly expands the role of women.
Many people believe that the first discussion of relationships between men and women in the Bible starts with the second chapter of Genesis, when God creates Adam and then Eve. Adam was created first, which implies superiority. This superiority is further substantiated when God creates Eve specifically for the purpose of helping Adam: "but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him." Theologians have interpreted this hierarchy to mean that the woman should be submissive to man, who was ordained by God to have dominion over all things on earth. As E. Brunner put it, "The man is the one who produces, he is the leader; the woman is receptive, and she preserves life; it is the man's duty to shape the new; it is the woman's duty to write it and adapt it to be that which already exists." Under this interpretation creativity is the sole privilege of men; women must be content with purely secondary activities.
The narrow interpretation of man as creator and woman as receptor ignores the facts stated in the very first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1. God created both man and woman in His own image: "in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." In the very next verse of Genesis, God blesses both male and female and gives them authority to replenish the earth, subdue it, and have dominion over every living substance. Thus the authority to be a co-creator with God was never give...