The Lives and Times of New Testament Women

Part 1 – Women’s lives in a patriarchal society

“So many women with a love for Jesus. You have brought their stories to life! Wonderful.”

One of the most frequent comments about my writing and blogs has been that they bring the Bible to life. Showing how the women and men lived within their communities and the world around them. Things as simple as what they ate and what they wore, puts flesh onto the bare bones of scripture.

From a distance of 2,000 years, their lives seem so different to ours. No internet, no cars, no washing machines and no electricity. But human nature does not change. We may like to think that we are more sophisticated and cultured, but that is a lie we like to tell ourselves.

This series of three blogs will put the flesh on these bare bones. In this first blog, I will look at the wider world in which the women of the New Testament lived, both in Judea and the wider Roman and Greek world. The second will examine marriage, sexuality and children and the third their spiritual and everyday lives.

The gospel and New Testament writers were not interested in telling us about the lives of the people, only the life of Jesus. Everyone knew the world in which they lived, and what they needed to know was Jesus, and what he said and did.

People’s lives were tough, and the lives of women were more so, both inside and outside of the home. They were subject to the conventions of the time and in a highly patriarchal society, to their fathers, husbands, or sons. This varied considerably, depending upon where in the Roman world they lived and their social status or wealth. It is fair to say that it was a man’s world, and men were dominant at all levels of society and everyday life. This was as true in the home as in the world outside.

Let’s first consider the world of Jesus and the women he encountered.

Patriarchy in Judaism

Women were usually named in relation to their male family members and lived under their authority. I would be Susan, daughter of Ernest or wife of David. I remember shortly after I was married, I received a birthday card from my grandmother addressed to Mrs. David Sutherland, and I thought that I’d already given up my surname, did I have to leave my first name as well? We find notable exceptions, such as Mary Magdalene, and Martha and Mary are not named except in relation to their brother Lazarus and the town where they lived.

The Jewish people were distinct from the world around them in their belief in one God rather than the many gods and goddesses of the Mediterranean and Roman world. But one thing they had in common with their neighbours was their highly patriarchal and hierarchical society. Men made decisions in the cities and villages and in spiritual life. This was replicated within the home where the husband and father had complete control over the household.

Women were generally expected to stay within the confines of their homes and the limitations placed upon them. However, we know that this was not always the case. Luke tells us that Martha invited Jesus into her home, rather than her husband’s or father’s home, or indeed, her brother Lazarus’s home. Likewise, Jesus was supported financially by several women out of their own funds.

Under the law and the covenant, women were as accountable as men, and the majority of the laws were directed inclusively at men, women, and children. Sadly, by the time of Jesus, many had digressed from the biblical ideal, and women were relegated to second place. Women were excluded from many of the religious observances and requirements of the Jewish men. Many rabbis interpreted the law of the male-only circumcision as a sign of the exclusion of women.

Patriarchy in Greek and Roman world

We cannot make generalised assumptions about the lives of women in the first century. This was dependent upon the area and the wealth and social standing of the woman and her family. A wealthy, free woman would have more opportunities than a poor woman or a slave.

Women had limited choices because of the patriarchal structure of the home, which revolved around the husband and father as the paterfamilias, the male head of the family. He could legally exercise autocratic authority over his extended family. His wife, children, even adult sons, and the household. However, we know women were not always limited to living their lives within the confines of their home. Many women owned property and ran businesses, such as Lydia in Acts.

The inclusive teaching of Jesus was attractive to women who found freedom in the church. Today, we celebrate the part they played in the church’s expansion and its vision and mission. However, this was problematic for the elite men of Greek and Roman society. The second-century philosopher Celsus said that Christianity was attractive to “the silly, and the mean, and the stupid, with women and children.”

It went against all laws of nature, which said that men, and only men, were fit to lead. The idea from Aristotle was that men represented the norm and women were defective. The presence of so many women was scandalous, disreputable, dangerous and very subversive.

Conclusion

Jesus was different, and women, slaves and the outcasts understood this more than the privileged few ever could. His interactions and conversations with the wrong sort of people made him dangerous. So much so that the establishment took it upon themselves to get rid of him. Click on my previous posts to read how Jesus spoke to and interacted with women.

Jesus’ Engagement with Women

Jesus’ Female Disciples

Celsus was right. Christianity attracted the marginalised women, children, and slaves. And it was this that was so counter-cultural. Women, whether Jewish or pagan, found in Jesus someone who called them valuable and worthy. They joined a community where they could belong on the same footing as men, at a time when there was nothing like it. A community whose God was their father, their paterfamilias, and they were one family, calling each other brothers and sisters.

In the deeply unequal world of the first century, Christianity shone as a beacon of equality between the sexes, races and those of different social standing. May we, the church, continue to be counter-cultural and offer a place where the marginalised and the rejected can find a home and a place to belong.

Next month I will examine women, sexuality, marriage and children.