By: Gen. Jim – 11/11/24
Tikva Frymer-Kensky wrote:
“The transformation in thought brought by Biblical monotheism did not address sexuality. The Bible focuses on sexual behavior as a form of social behavior, but never really incorporates sexuality into its vision of humanity or its relationship with the Divine.” (In the Wake of the Goddesses,” p.187).
I once read where the author of an anti-Bible article called the Bible a PORN Book! Well, true, the Bible does not sugar coat the truth concerning sex/sexuality, be they homo or hetero or otherwise.
In this current sick & sleazy generation we are seeing the sex/gender issue disgraced! The current return to “spiritual” values has spawned a surge of interest in the ancient “goddess-based religions as a remedy to a long tradition of misogyny,” as one historian/author wrote.
The question asked is, “did Judeo-Christian religion turn its back on women?” Many in the Christian Church believe that women have NO say so in the Church (e.g. preaching or teaching) because of 1 Cor. 14:34 & 1 Tim. 2:12. They also throw Rev. 2:18-22 into the anti-women pot.
I’ve done a lot of research on this issue, in the Christian/Jewish culture & also the pagan culture. But back to the goddess issue where myths & truth are often praised & dishonored. Both pagan & Jew/Christian culture had their restrictions on women – not all though. Although polytheism (as opposed to monotheism = One God, not many) did accord females an important role, the strict division between male/female actually served to keep women in a subordinate position. It is well known that the goddesses were progressively GHETTOIZED!! It is said that their sphere was eventually regulated to home & hearth, while male gods took over as patrons of wisdom & learning. This dualism was displaced by God’s Word, the Bible, which embraced a surprisingly egalitarian view of human nature in which women were not considered to be inherently inferior.
Look at 1 Cor. 7:1-5 where Paul starts out with, “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me.”
Paul follows up with what somebody or some members of the Church had written to him:
“It is good for a man not to touch a woman.”
Paul was reading what was written to him. Verse one (b.) Paul did not write; he wrote vs.2, “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, & let each woman have her own husband.” Paul continues with principles of sex/marriage. Please note that Paul was not a misogynist, for he puts man/husband – woman/wife on the same level of authority (vss.4-5).
Paganism & Christianity were/are worlds apart on sex/sexuality. Cultic acts & liturgy may propitiate the various divine powers & facilitate their joining together. In the Sumerian cult, it is said, this conjoining was achieved sexually in the ritual of the sacred marriage. In later periods, even when “sacred marriage” (according to which god/goddess one worshipped or believed in) was no longer part of the official state cult.
The worship of the female/male sex part was very common in paganism, but never in O.T. Jewish/Hebrew or N.T. Christianity. There is plenty historical evidence to this fact. Even today, in this generation, ancient paganism is on the rise, where sex is front-and-center, especially in the West. The LGBTQ+ abominations has literally contaminated all areas of our (USA) society.
Sex is from God. By this I mean He created male/female & told them, blessed them, “Be fruitful & multiply; fill the earth…”, Gen. 1:27,28. After the Great Flood, “God blessed Noah & his sons, & said to them: ‘Be fruitful & multiply, & fill the earth,” Gen. 9:1. “Be fruitful” in Bible language means have sex. So, in the beginning God established “sacred sex” between ONE MAN & ONE WOMAN.
It has been said that sexual behavior did not make people LESS like the gods; on the contrary, it reinforced their resemblance to the upper orders of BEING. (This does not mean that ordinary sexuality was approached with a sacral attitude. Prostitutes – male/female – were very much part of Pagan culture. But “sacred marriage” ritual does give indication of intellectual climate in which the sex drive had an integral place in the workings of the cosmos).
The male gods became models of male virility & sexual potency. It is stated in Islamic writings that Mohammed was such a “sexual” male. Well, it should be noted, he also was a sex pervert, having sex with a pre-teen female.
Inanna Ishtar (the Akkadian goddess of love, fertility, & war) conceptualizes the EROTIC IMPULSE… to celebrate/worship its presence (idol), & in image with which to comprehend the human experience of sexual desire (LUST!).
All this PAGAN Idolatry/Sexuality was challenged when Biblical monotheism came into being. Instead of gods/goddesses, there is only ONE TRUE HOLY GOD – YHWH. But this predominantly male God, referred to by the masculine pronoun (never by the feminine!) has caused the feminists – both “Christian” & pagan – to go crazy! oh, yes! They hate the “male God.” In fact, they take issue (the “Christians”) with the whole Bible because of the masculine connotations. One writer has rightly stated that these “masculine” qualities of God are social male-gender characteristics. The monotheist God/LORD is not sexually a male. He is not a phallic God, nor does he represent male virility.
We know that Biblical anthropomorphic language use corporeal images of the “arm of God,” the “right hand of God,” “God’s back,” & “God’s tears” etc. He is NOT “imaged” below the waist. (see Ex. 33:23; Isa. 6:1,2 where 2 seraphim covered the Lord’s feet & face. (taken as a euphemism); Ezek. 1-3 tells us that there is fire below the loins. Our “Christian” LGBTQ+ folks push that God is either metasexual, transexual, or asexual. The truth is, He is never “sexed.” However, when He created man/woman, He created them male & female.
The Bible does portray God as “husband” & Israel & “bride.” But never do we find God having sex. One Bible scholar has written that within the poetic license of the metaphor, God is not found doing such. There is the debate with the possible exception in the Deutero – Isaiah’s vision of the restoration in Isa. 63:4,5 where the verb bā’al might indicate sexual union. However, as the debate goes, the verb only refers to the marital relationship.
As I have written in my article, “wisdom crieth without” (11/7/24), another erotic metaphor, that describing the attachment of men to “Lady Wisdom,” there is, as one Bible scholar has written, there is no hesitation to use the physical image, “hug her to you & she will exult you, she will bring you honor if you embrace her.” (Prov. 4:8).
Wisdom is clearly a woman/female figure, and can be metaphorically embraced as a woman. But the LORD GOD is not a sexual male, therefore, even the erotic metaphor of passion reveals a lack of physicality. Divine sexuality was not simply part of the Divine order – only for human order.
AD
I saw an ad (Hawaii) which reads: “God is not a ‘HE,’ is not HUMAN, A Statue nor any religion. God is the electromagnetic pulse of ENERGY that gives LIFE and Lives within all living things.”
When we did mission work in Africa, it was not uncommon to hear that such-&-such went to a witch to buy potions for sexual desire or to be prayed for for the same reason. Who is the author of such lustful sex drive – God or Satan? While He made humans as sexual humans, He did not intend it to be perverted but for procreation. He gives fertility but does not explicitly give sexual potency.
To my point above, in Exodus 19:15, God instructs His people Israel: “… Be ready for the third day; do not come near your wives.” Paul, centuries later, wrote: “Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting & prayer; & come together (sexually) again that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”– 1 Cor. 7:5. The issue here is abstain from sexual intercourse for a while. Notice that Satan, the father of sexual lust/perversions, comes into the picture.
Back to Exodus 19, read vss.10,11. Moses, the man/prophet of God wanted to prepare the people, sanctify themselves by washing their clothes & abstaining from sexual union with their wives. This was in preparation for the LORD’s appearance upon Mt. Sinai.
How many in this generation have sexual self-control? “It is well known that the over-all purpose of Israel’s impurity rules was to keep in place the essential divisions of human existence,” says one Christian feminist.
The Bible makes it clear that the “perfect” is sex within marriage, for this forms part of the idea human social pattern: one wife/one husband. (one should read Celibacy in the World’s Oldest Proverbs by W.G. Lambert). The monogamous nuclear family was created by God Himself (see Gen. 2:14).
Some have a hard time with the issue of incest; God allowed it at times but there are STRONG PROHIBITIONS within the family detailed in Lev. 18,20/Deut. 27. Gen. 20:16 speaks of Sarah & Abraham (having the same father but different mothers). Abimelech (pagan king) wanted Sarah but Abraham pretended that she was his sister, not his wife, but the truth was she was his half-sister. Much could be written about this issue.
“Nakedness” (the conventional translation for Heb. ‘erwâ) was forbidden in ancient Israel, i.e. seeing a woman naked that was not your wife. Also, since one’s wife is bonded to the husband, her bloodline (Heb. se’ēr) is parallel to his own & thereby prohibited. It is known that incest within the family would blur family lines & relations & cause a collapse: sex with daughter-in-law is explicitly called tebel (mixing) in Lev. 20:12. It is also called zimmâ in Ex. 22:11, a term reserved in these laws for incest outside blood kin, applied to an granddaughter, wife’s daughter, wife’s sister, and mother-in-law.
Underage sex was/is a crime. This crime is worldwide. America has its share of sex-offenders/pedos/traffickers. Both Islam & Israel practice this sin. (see my articles on this). Back in the day, unmarried girls were expected to be chaste. HA! This is not the case today. No sir! It would be hard to find a male/female virgin in the west. Having worked in India/Nepal, little boys & girls are abused, raped, married very young (girls). Virgin brides are nearly a thing of the past. (for full virgin’s bride-price see Ex. 22:15,16; see rule of the non-virgin bride in Deut. 22:20.)
The Bible speaks of severe punishments for sex offences: Stoning: Deut. 13:7-11; The disobedient son, Deut. 21:18-21 should be stoned; child sacrifice, Lev. 20:1-3, the offenders to be stoned to death; Sorcery & necromancy, offenders to be stoned to death, Lev. 20:27; those who blasphemy Lev. 20:10-16; violation of the sabbath, Num. 15:32-35, offenders to be stoned to death; for sedition (by inference, the stoning of a righteous man at the command of wicked Jezebel, (the Naboth genre, 1 Kgs. 21).
Entire communities played the part of executioner!
“Godly Sex” has basically disappeared from the West. Adultery, fornication, incest, homosexuality, lesbianism, et al. sex perversions are so common – even in some churches – that to mention them as sin is useless. Lev. 18:22 mentions the “abomination” of male/male sex; Lev. 20:13 mentions the DEATH penalty for both males. Read all of Lev. 18 & 20 for your info on what displeases God.
There are those who refuse to accept the Bible as a Book that guides & corrects. Concerning “sex,” there is the Divine way & the erotic way – restraint & uncontrolled behavior. The latter has & will destroy civilizations. The Song of Songs 8:6,7 is a good example:
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; For love is as strong as death, jealousy as cruel (severe) as the grave (Heb., Sheol). Many waters cannot quench love, nor the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.” (NKJV). Another version reads “… the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.” The word for “death” is “Sheol,” the under-world in the Ras Shamra texts etc. The word “jealousy” is better rendered “zealous love” or “passion” (Amer. Trans.). The American Translation has “furious flames,” lit., “flame of yah,” which is emphatic in accordance with the Hebrew idiom of using the Divine name with superlative force. God’s TRUE LOVE is a “Divine Force;” Satan’s love (Lust!) is a “Demonic Force.”
God’s love is a most “vehement flame” Heb., “the flame of God,” “Shelhebeth yah,” “the flame of Jehovah.” YHWH cannot model sex it has been said. He is not the patron of sexual attraction or behavior. But He has put within humans the ability to be attracted to the opposite sex: Satan has done the opposite; man-with-man, woman-with-woman which is OUT or ORDER. Nowhere do we find the Bible honoring, praising, worshipping, celebrating same-sex. This is not God’s will for sex.
I have written dozens of articles on the SIN/ABOMINATION of same-sex sex. For the sake of this article, I will state more on male & female homosexuality. We’re all familiar with Sodom’s story, the men of Sodom wanting to have sexual intercourse with the 2 men (angels) that visited Lot (Gen. 18-19). Gen. 18:20 plainly states that Sodom & Gomorrah had a “very grievous” SEX problem, not an inhospitable problem as the LGBTQ+ camp tell us. The key words for understanding this hostile/erotic situation is found in Gen. 19:5, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may KNOW them carnally.” (NKJV). Other translations leave out “carnally,” but we can’t miss the meaning here: “to have SEX WITH!” vss.2-5. The men’s initial refusal to accept the proffered hospitality may be intended merely as a piece of oriental politeness, or it may be that the author had in mind the fact that they had come to investigate conditions in the city.
There is NO DOUBT that the SIN of Sodom /Gomorrah was unnatural vice/sex. The Heb. word for “know” (19:5) is yâda’, used in a great variety of senses, figuratively or literally, euphemism & inferred. The context & content must be considered here. The NIV reads: “where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can HAVE SEX with them.” –see Gen. 13:13 where it tells us that: “the men of Sodom were wicked & were sinning against the LORD;” see Lev. 18:22 where it says, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable” – NIV; see also Lev. 20:13 where the death penalty is placed upon homosexuals; see Deut. 23:18, “you must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or a male prostitute into the house of the LORD… you God detests them both;” Judges 19 tells a horrid story of a Levite & his concubine. Like the men of Sodom (homosexuals), the men of Gibeah were likewise. The NIV uses the phrase, “have sex with” (19:22) in ref. to the Levite; read Rom. 1:24-27, 1 Cor. 6:9-20. The NIV et al. have homosexuals or homosexual offenders in vs.9.
The whole LGBTQ+ goes beyond private affairs, it is pushed off onto the society, want it or not. Here in America, it has become a “Rainbow Idol” to be celebrated – and if one refuses, they are labeled homophobic & worse. Such sexual behaviors are a threat to any social order. And I will certainly add, heterosexual sexual behaviors are condemned by God also; adultery, incest, bestiality et al. God’s laws for sexuality channel behavior into its proper family structure, providing proper & honorable outlet for the force of sexual attraction. The whole PC/Woke/Communist sexual order is totally OUT of ORDER! It rips the family structure/unit apart. Their sexing contaminates, pollutes, … in time brings complete societal breakdown. Good & healthy sexual maintenance builds strong nations; impure/unholy/profane/impermissible sex destroys! All this trans B.S. blurs the distinction between male & female. It should be prohibited!
Lesbianism
The Bible speaks little of this abomination, (I cover this in other articles). One Christian author has said, “This is not because these Levitical laws concern only male behavior: bestiality is explicitly specified to include both male & female (see Lev. 18). But lesbianism was probably considered a trivial matter: it involved only women, with no risk or pregnancy; & most important, did not result in true physical “union” (by the male entering the female). Rom. 1:26 mentions women exchanging their natural relations (sexually) for unnatural ones. Pro. Robert Gognon has deep insight in the lesbian issue.
Part Two
“Can a woman forget her baby, or disown the child of her womb? Though she might forget I never could forget you” – Isa. 49:15
Here God’s love for His people comes to superb expression. The supreme source of Israel’s life was the love of God, (see Jer. 32:20 also). God loved His people so much that He gave them laws to live by – some seemingly HARSH & UNLOVING! His moral/ethical laws for sex have never been erased from history; they are obligatory, i.e. legally, morally binding forever. Time & time again Israel broke them. The N.T. Ekklesia did the same. In this present generation liberal/progressive/woke “Christians” fight like HELL to overthrow the laws that oversee good clean conduct in the sexual realm. Whole denominations have & are going QUEER! But God’s love still cries out against their protests. It is a shame, a SIN to trash His laws governing sexual behavior. What we have is a “sex cult” (as described by Hans Wolff in his “Hosea” book (1974, p.14).
In the days of Hosea, Israel had gone into great whoredom, departing from her husband, the LORD. Gomer, a woman of harlotries was front-and-center. (cpt.1). Cpt.3:1-5 is about the redemption of the adulterous wife (another whorish woman). This woman was “beloved of a paramour.” This term had specific CULTIC references. Could the prophet Hosea really love (humanly) a whore? All this painted a word picture for the reader on God’s love – He loved us when we were but sinners (Rom. 5:8), Christ died for us. (see also Isa. 53:5; Jn. 3:16; 15:13).
Author Max Weber’s book, Ancient Judaism (1952) uses the words “sexual orgiasticism,” a term that included sacred prostitutes, festive orgies, and initiation rites in which every young girl offered herself to the divinity by having sex with a stranger inside the “holy” area, in return for which she expected fertility. This, it was claimed, was a Canaanite rite. Obviously, Israel was seduced by this pagan “sexual worship” into a syncretistic religion, which God’s prophets denounced. Yet, if one dares to denounce these LGBTQ+ churches today, all HELL will break out!
If one is not active in such forbidden sexual practices, fantasies are active. Romans one points out the SIN of male-male/female-female sex. But there is more, Paul also includes those who “approve of those who practice them,” vs.32. Paul speaks of the “doers” & the “approvers” – both will receive God’s judgment.
Is there any difference between Ancient Israel’s sex temples, thronged with “sacred prostitutes,” & today’s LGBTQ+ Churches?
Some Bible scholars/historians do not believe such cult activity existed in Canaan. If not, just where did Israel learn this? Have we not read: “According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; & according to the doings of the land of Cannan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances (i.e. statutes)…”– Lev. 18:3. After this instruction, Moses starts to lay out the sexual (et al.) sins that are found in the land of Canaan. Not only this, but Deut. 18 says, “when you come into the land (Canaan) … you shall not learn to follow the abominations (i.e. detestable acts) of those nations,” vs.9. Then Moses starts to lay out the forbidden abominations, occult in nature, vss.10,11.
What is the take away from Lev. 18 & Deut. 18? Sexual sins & occult practices were (are!) abominations! I don’t see how scholars/historians/archaeologists can deny such findings/writings that prove such evil things existed. Archaeology is always uncovering hidden history. Digs & discoveries do not lie. Sexual/occult relics are being discovered yearly – all over the world. Excavations reveal both the sacred & the satanic, gods & goddesses (figurines) are plenty. Writings are debated about meaning but pictures of the erotic are clear. One author wrote: “There is no native evidence for sexual religious cult activity. The charge that the women of Canaan & Israel had a sexual initiation with a stranger derives ultimately from classical allegations.”
The question of translation comes into play. The existence of cultic prostitutes in Israel rests on the translation: “qedeshah (qĕdēšâ). (the book by Phyllis Bird, The Qedeshah in Ancient Israel, addresses this.) Qĕdēša, lit. “holy woman” or “tabooed woman,” is debated. This word has long been used to describe “sacred prostitute.” The qedeshot, fem. pl., have been explained as female prostitutes, and the qedeshim, mas. pl., as male prostitutes, aka catamites. Both were condemned in Israel.
Deut. 23:17 says, “There shall be no ritual harlot (Heb., qodeshah, fem. of qadesh: Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy & prostitution in religious rituals) of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel (qadosh).” (see also 1 Kgs. 14:24, “And there were also perverted (Heb. qadesh) persons in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations (Canaan) which the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.” Are we to call the Bible a book of lies? Let it be said, even if such “evidence” of cultic religious worship has not been discovered, i.e. uncovered, time will come when such will be found. But much has already been discovered. Archaeology is always uncovering ancient history. (note: I’ve been quoting from the NKJV: but here is what the NIV says: “No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute,” Deut. 23:17: “you must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute as of a male prostituted into the house of the LORD your God… the LORD your God detests them both,” vs.18. (see 1 Kgs. 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kgs. 23:7; Job 36:14; Gen. 19:5; 38:21; Lev. 20:13; Rev. 22:15 et al.)
In the days of King Rehoboam (1 Kgs. 14:24) such prostitutes were in the land, but removed by King Asa (1 Kgs. 15:11), with those still remaining disposed of by his son, Jehoshafat (1 Kgs. 22:47). Sadly, several centuries later they were back!, and Josiah had to rid Israel of them (2 Kgs. 23:7).
The Clash!
Israelite worship clashed with Canaanite worship. Israelite Worship was originally pure. On the contrary, Canaanite Worship was perverted, although it may have used the words “sacred” & “divine.” – their gods/goddesses were from below; Israel’s, from above. Israelite religion grew up in the Canaanite miliea; Polytheism was opposite montheism.
It is known that the term “qadesh” comes from the Ugaritic text. (an extinct Northern Semitic language closely related to Hebrew: it is known from cuneiform inscriptions of c.1500 B.C. found in the ruins of the ancient city of Ugarit in N. Syria). The qadesh on the other hand, as reported, could be married and become a nobleman. T.F.-Kensky points out in the lists of cultic functionaries from Ugarit, the qedeshim are ranked right behind the Kohanim (major priest). She says they are not connected with sex.
So, the debate is, if the qadesh was not a male prostitute, why should we assume that the qedeshah was a female prostitute? (mayer Gruber, who wrote The Qades in the Book of Kings & in Other Sources (1983). The interpretation of male prostitute first appears, some Bible scholars/historians point out, in the Vulgate (translating Deut. 23:8) and in the Babylonian Talmud (BT Sanhedrin 55b).
There is one case where the same woman is called a zônâ (harlot) & a qedeshah: in the Tamar story. The qedeshah was vulnerable to sexual approach.
What we have is “experts” fighting over what role did the qedeshah, the qedeshot, qedeshim, qadesh played. Some believe no sexual part was played; others believed it was. One can get lost in the labyrinth of interpretations/definitions/complications. The LGBTQ+ scholars have twisted/skewed interpretations of the Biblical condemnations of homosexual (sodomy) sins. According to them God made them “that way,” therefore, He would never condemn their sexual sins!
I have, over the years, refuted all their false arguments in support of what the Bible clearly condemns. Even the issue of women in the ministry is an ongoing heated debate. So in some Church denominations & organizations, women are forbidden to preach or teach. To their mind women are to regulated to “keep silent.” But does the Bible actually teach this? (see all my articles on this issue). Women are to be dominated & controlled by the male. On the other hand, some women raise HELL over this male oppression, becoming very unchristian in word & deed. To top it all off, we have liberal/far left/progressive/woke “Christians” – male & female – ignoring “thou shalt not murder,” hence, they condone abortion.
Misogyny has played a part in many cultures. But God is no misogynist. Women have their part in life as do the men. The inferiority of girls/women is old, very old. Plato codifies, this clear hierarchical ranking (Platos Timaeus 42 supports this.) D.M. Halperin’s, “Why Is Diotima a Woman?“should be read. Platonic Eros & the figuration of gender is discussed. Halperin also wrote, “Before Sexuality.”
Aristotle goes about proving women to be defective & inferior. I did a long article on what the Early Church Fathers said about women. I quoted Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Commondianus, Dionysius of Alexandria, Clement of Rome, Polycrates, Origen, Cyprian, Tatian, Mark M. Felix, Irenaeus, Lactantius, Firmilian, and quotes from Apostolic Constitutions.
Plato (429-347 B.C.) was the most famous of Socrate’s pupils, & he has had a major influence on western thought. He established a school of philosophical teaching in Athens called the Academy.
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was Plato’s brightest pupil, who went on to develop his own system of philosophy & science.
Even Greek tragedy, which is not entirely misogynist, is balanced with the two sexes (see S. Pomeroy’s, “Goddesses, Whores, Wives, & Slaves,” (pp.93-119). Traditional misogyny is reexamined in these tragedies. Opposite this is E. Keul’s, “The Reign of the Phallus” which presents the traditional misogynist view. And there is D. Wender’s, Plato: Mosogynist, Pedophile, & Feminist.”
Lesley Northup’s book, Ritualizing Women (1977) she says that even among the religious *Sered investigates, there is clear evidence of a fuller embracing of women’s bodies than is found in patriarchal religions; for one thing, she says, none of them incorporate the outright condemnation of women’s sexuality that characterizes developed Christianity.
[note: *Susan Starr Sered wrote Priestess, Mother, Sacred Sister, in which she offers compelling evidence that women’s worship is distinctive & that many of its elements cross geographic/cultural boundaries].
It has not always been a “man’s world.” Rituals by & for women’s bodies have ancient roots. Many Native American tribes here in the U.S. love women equal or above the male.
Henry Pernet, who wrote Ritual Masks, refutes the idea held by many scholars that mask making were done by men only (for rituals etc.). His 1992 book highlights the androcentrism that has dominated anthropological research. He writes: “The male complicity that is apparent in a number of old text in which the anthropologist (male) does not doubt for a second the info. which his informants (also male) supplied him… obviously proud to be let in on the secrets of his informants, the anthropologist completely loses his critical faculties,” p.155.
Later scholars, Pernet writes dryly, easily exposed the exaggeration of MALE superiority that resulted from the BIAS.
One person had said that women’s bodies are not understood to be ritually, naturally, or Biblically impure or dangerous. Consequently, women’s purificatory rituals, infrequent as they are, tend to focus not on the body but on the pollutants accrued from the compromises & depredations attendant upon living in society. We sure live in a society where the air, earth, water, food, is terribly polluted. Along with this we have gross entertainments – music/screen/internet etc. that pollute our minds & hearts. Even many Churches have become “whorehouses,” full of spiritual (and natural) prostitutes, pimps, homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, trans etc. etc. Women in both Church & society need healing from miscarriages, abortions, incest, rape, battering, cheating and so on. We’ve prayed for women over the years that were affected by such things. We prayed for a young woman who literally had deep & ugly knife wounds up & down both arms (under demonic depression). She came to us in Miami, Florida, in the early 1980s. We would pray the depression off, but this woman had a deep suicide wish. Well, she did die, bled to death before medical help arrived. And, we’ve also seen young men die as well.
In the Bible we find both misogynistic & non-misogynistic statements. (see Judaism & Hellenism by Martin Hengel (1981). Ecclesiastes is a good book to start. Also the Wisdom of Ben Sira, written in reaction to Hellenistic ideas, is decidedly misogynistic. (see Warren Trenchard’s, Ben Sira’s view of women, 1982). Many authors (male) believe that Eve was the Great Sinner, not Adam. (see my refutation of this lie!).
Ben Sira, 42:14 (aka Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach) reads thus:
“Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; it is woman who brings shame & disgrace.” vss.12 & 13 read:
“Do not let her parade her beauty before any man, or spend her time among married women; for from garments comes the moth, & from a woman comes women’s wickedness.” (this comes from the Aprocrypha).
Ben Sira 25:24 relates the condemnation of Eve. Again, read the original condemnation from Genesis 3:11 where God told Adam not to partake of the Tree of Life. It is obvious that Adam/man/male first heard the command but blamed his wife. So, who was the greater sinner? Adam or Eve?
In Talmudic times we find the same condemnation of Eve & all women. Both Adam & Eve were guilty, hence, original sin came into existence. SIN originated in Paradise, at least “human sin.” [note: In this period (1st cent. B.C.E.), the emphasis is on the transgression of Adam: 2 Bar 54:15-19, 56:6, 17:3; Esdras (Ezra) 4:30, 17:116-21, Midrash Bimidbar Rabbah 13:2; Baruch 17:2,3]. By the first cent. C.E. on, Eve is blamed for this FALL in Paradise (see Books of Adam & Eve, 3:1-3, 5:3; 1 Tim. 2:11-15; Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Gen 3:19 etc.). Eve eventually became the “female demon” who brought sin/evil into the world – even many Churches believe/teach this – which effects the whole world.
The wisdom of Ben Sira 25:24 tells us, “From a woman sin had its beginning, & because of her we all die.” Vs.25 continues with, “Allow no outlet to water, & no boldness of speech to an evil wife.” Vs.26 continues with, “If she does not go as you direct, separate her from yourself.” In short, the man is the ultimate BOSS. Chapter 26 starts off with “Happy is the husband of a good wife…” obviously, a wife UNDER his CONTROL!
25:26 is explicit: the meaning behind “separate” literally means, “cut her off from your flesh,” that is, divorce her (see Deut. 24:1); hitherto they had been “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
There are dozens of books written in ref. to Ben Sira’s condemnation of Eve/women: some positive & some negative. Mary Daley’s “The Primordial Li,” shows that woman have been the scapegoats. (see her book, Exorcising Evil from Eve,” a catchy title indeed (1973).
The Sin?
As the traditional story goes, the implications of Sister Eve’s disobedience are enormous! She, in one bite! stole cultural knowledge by going against what the LORD had personally, face-to-face, told Adam: “And the LORD commanded the man, saying; of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you (ADAM) shall surely die.” – Gen. 2:16,17. One bite brought on death, not immediate physical death, but spiritual death… to all earthly generations! Did the LORD tell this to Eve or Adam? One bite caused the saved realm they were living in to become a realm of death – they had to leave their infancy realm of eternal life & enter into the realm of eternal death. Jesus came to restore this. By being “born again,” as He taught (Jn. 3:3,5), the human race could enter back into the realm of Eternal Life (by repentance & living a godly life in Christ Jesus). Before Jesus came/died/arose, man (i.e., humankind) had to live by faith, by conscience.
Sexy Women
Frymer-Kensky has written that both Ben Sira (9:2-9, 23:22-26, 25:23-26, 42:9-14) & the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs call for segregation from women (Test. of Reuben = 6:3; Test. of Judah = 14:3, 16:1-5). The Mishnah mentions the “law of yihûd (“umion”), a provision that forbids a man/woman to be alone together. Also it forbids 2 men to be alone with a woman (because, the later commentary, the Gemara, women are “light-headed,” meaning immoral behavior could & would take place! WOW! The Gemara urges that no less than 3 men be alone with a woman. But if fails to mention that 3 men could rape a woman. (see David Weiss-Halivni’s, Midrash, Mishnah & Gemara (1986). I have no problem believing that women are immoral (as are men) in this present generation – here in the good ol U.S.A., United States of Abomination!
Talmudic stories tell of such women whose very sight is enough to beguile, tempt, seduce the greatest of men. This is similar to the adulterous lady/wife in Prov. 7:10, “… there a woman met him (young man, vs.7), with the attire of a harlot, & a crafty heart.” Vs.13 says, “she caught him & kissed him…” The story unfolds “… come, let us take our fill of love (sex) until morning…,” vs.18. Vs.21 says, “with her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced (compelled) him.” The author of Proverbs, Solomon, finished chapter 7 with, “Her house is the way to HELL (lit., “Sheol,” the underworld of the dead.).
Compare that with Prov. 31:10-29. vs.30, Solomon wrote, “charm (like in occult “charming”) is deceitful & beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Sadly, Solomon failed to do what he preached. Nehemiah 13:26 says, “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? (see vs.25) what did this great & wise king do? He married pagan women (vs.27), which God forbade in the beginning; “… pagan women caused even him (the king) to sin.” (vs.26). 1 Kgs. 11:4 tells us “… when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God…” Vs.6 states that “Solomon did EVIL in the sight of the LORD…” Vs.5 mentions Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians. It also mentions Milcom, the abomination of the Amorites.
Part 3
Who was the goddess Ashtoreth?
First Kings 11:5,33; Two Kings 23:13 mention her by name. According to Strong’s concordance (Heb., #6252) we find the name in Hebrew spelled, ‘Ashtârôwth or ‘Ashtârôth (Plur.) of ‘ashterâh, (meaning “increase”).
1 Kgs. 11:1 says that “Solomon… loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter – Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians & Hittites.” Vs.2 says that “… you must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods. Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.” Did this king have a sexual LUST problem? Well, vs.3 states that he had 700 wives of royal birth & 300 concubines! Really? The LXX (Gk. O.T.) reads, “a lover of women…” The Deuteronomic law forbade such marriages (see Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3,4).
Ashtoreth
The correct spelling, according to some Hebrew scholars, is Astarte. She was known as Ishtar in Mesopotamia. In “In The Wake of The Goddesses,” the author uses the name Astarte for the Canaanite goddess, and Asherah: “The asherah was a cultic installation that appeared at Israel’s shrines (bāmôt) together with a cultic stele (massēbâ) & an altar.” (see also W.L. Reed’s, The Asherah in the Old Testament (1949). These are several other good informative books, see Saul Olyan’s, Asherah & the Cult of Yahweh in Israel (1988), & Mark Smith’s, The Early History of God).
Ashtoreth/Astarte was one of 3 prominent goddesses of Ugarit, the other 2 were ‘Anat & ‘Athirat. (too much to discuss here).
In Syria, she was the female consort of Baal. In short, Ashtoreth was the goddess of “increase,” i.e. “fertility” & consequently of “sexual love, the parallel to, & also one of the models for, the Greek Aphrodite, (see A.D. Gk. writer Lucian’s, The Syrian Goddess). The goddess of the Sidonians is most used.
[note: The spelling of the M.T. (Masoretic Test) is due to the Masoretes, who substituted the vowels of the word bōsheth (“shame”) regularly in idolatrous names. In the present verse (5), at the end, the word shiqqûc (abomination) has actually been substituted for the word “god” (in the LXX).}
Milcom (vs.5)
“Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.” Milcom means “king,” though the vowels have been altered (according to some Heb. scholars) in vs.7, where the word mélekh, “king,” actually is found, through with the vowels of bōsheth.
2 Kgs. 23:13 mentions, “… Solomon King of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, & the people of Ammon.”
It has been noted (by some) that there is no mention of a goddess Asherah in Tyrian docs, or in any texts anywhere in coastal Phoenicia during the 1st millennium (as reported in Mark Smith’s The Early History of God (p.89).
Baal was the worst of the pagan idols. The association of Asherah with Baal, as one scholar wrote, may be intended to discredit the cult tree asherah, once the Deuteronomistic authors found this symbol abjectionable, (see Saul M. Olyan’s, Asherah & the cult of Yahweh).
Figurines of idol gods/goddesses have been discovered /uncovered, showing the world that ritualistic cults (including sex cults) were in the land. Some found in domestic settlings as well in shrines & temples. Some scholars/archaeologists debate among themselves over this issue. Since I’m no scholar or archaeologist I have no say so in the matter. However, the Bible makes mention of idols/shrines/pillars, figurines etc. Idol worship was/is strictly condemned by God. Baal is mentioned numerous times. (many name are associated with Baal: Baal-Berith, Baale, Baal-God, Baal-Hamon, Baal-Hanon, Baal-Shalisha, Baal-Tamar, Baal-Zebub, Baal-Zephon, Baal-Baal, etc..
Gender Systems
After the Judaean state collapse, & during the Babylonian captivity, the old Zion theology had been destroyed (at least partly). Upon the release of the Jews 70 years later, the family (it is said) became the center of the Jews’ life. But in Babylon (and in Assyria) the Jews had been exposed to new gender systems and idolatry. The man/male was supreme. A ground-swell of CHANGE was beginning, which, as one female author had written, reflected itself in this new type of symbolism in which the woman, even though desirable & beloved, is clearly OUTSIDE the community of concern: she is the “OTHER,” either good (zion/wisdom) or BAD (folly/adulteress), who tempts & seduces! (see Carol A. Newson’s, “Wisdom: A Study in Proverbs 1-9,” in Gender & Difference, 1989, pp.142-160).
Today “Mother” Mary is probably the most reverenced, venerated female: she, according to Roman Catholcism, is a goddess, the “Mother of God!” (see my articles on the Roman Catholic Church, esp. “Worship of the Virgin” & “Mother of God?”).
Later Jewish images of the sabbath “Queen Bride” & the Torah are positive female images that can raise women’s prestige & reinforce women’s self-esteem writes Frymer-Kensky.
The “Bride” of God is Biblical: the faithful & honorable Christians make up this Bride (see Rev. 18:23, 21:2,9, 22:17). Let me finish this article with “God’s Bride.” (Greek, “numphē (νύμφη)). John speaks of the One “who has the bride is the bridegroom (Jesus, i.e. God in flesh)…” Jn. 3:29, same Gk. word as the above Scriptures. This Gk. word is probably connected with the Latin “nubō,” = to veil; The adornment with embroidery & jewels (Rev. 21:2) is symbolic of her worth & beauty, as brides in ancient days were decked out in such things. Her (the Bride, aka New Jerusalem) fine linen represent the righteous acts of the saints of God (Rev. 19:8). Vs.9 speaks of the CALL to the marriage supper of the Lamb (husband, bridegroom, Christ).
The New non-racial Israel (made up of born-again, true covenant-keepers, Gentiles & Jews) is the “Bride” of Christ, of God. The heavenly city was personified by Paul as the mother of the true Israel (Gal. 4:26: “the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Christians). In the allergory of 2 Esdras 9:38-10:59 it was the prototype of the earthly Jerusalem as well as the mother of the slain/captured Jews. Now, today, as the new & eternal dwelling of the redeemed Christians (in deed, not just word), it is personified as the “Bride of Christ Jesus.”
Rev. 12:6 speaks of the “Woman” who fled into the wilderness. It should be noted, by one of those quick shifts in symbolism which has been observed in other connections, the woman becomes the “heavenly” personification of the N.T. Church or Ekklesia (Gk.). This kind of personification is not without paralles, as mentioned in 2 Esdras 9:38-10:59: Vs.38 (chap.8) starts out with, “when I said these things in my heart, I looked around, & on my right I saw a woman; she was mourning & weeping… deeply grieved at heart…” Chapter 10 ends with, “and the Most High will show you in those dreams visions of what the Most High will do to those who inhabit the earth in the last days.”
The Bible makes a CLEAR distinction between racial Israel & heavenly Israel, between the harlot Church (see chap.17) & the Bride of Christ.
We have a HARLOT church today calling itself “Christian,” but God will reject the Harlot Church in the END. The LGBTQ+ Church is as whorish as one can be. God judges individuals by what they do & do not do.
John “saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” Rev. 21:2. To “adorn” (Gk. kosmeö/κοσμώ) = “to arrange, put in order (see GK. taxis (N.), anatassomai (V.), Kathexës (adverb), furnish, to adorn in ornaments, metaphorically of adorning lifestyle.” That is the verb. The noun is kosmos = a harmonious arrangement or order, Divinely arranged.”
Paul wrote, “But each one in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming,” 1 Cor. 15:23. The context is the resurrection of the dead. Each person, Christian or non-Christian will be raised in order.
The NIV/Heb. – Gk. Bible uses “turn” (1 Cor. 15:23) instead of “order.” [Gk. tagma/τάγμα] which is traced back to “order.” This Gk. word is traced back to tassō, meaning determine, arrange, devote, to be established, & assigned.
The Bride is special in Scripture. God only knows who will be in the Bride of Christ. We do know that she is arrayed in fine linen, which is the righteousness of the saint.
John writes that he saw that holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God (Rev. 21:2) The NEW JERUSALEM, aka, “Bride.” Isaiah writes: “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe or righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, & as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” (Isa. 61:10) (see also Ps. 132:9,16; Isa. 49:18).
This New Jerusalem has “a pure river of water of life, the throne of God & of the Lamb, the tree of Life,” -Rev. 22:1,2. What it does not have is the CURSE (vs.3)! It does not have night for the Lord God gives the Bride et al. LIGHT (vs.5). Outside this city are dogs, sorcerers, the sexually immoral (this includes LGBTQ+/herterosexual sexual offenders), murderess (those who murder/kill their unborn will be missing from the City), those who are idolaters & liars (vs.15).
Opposite this “Bride” is the “harlot” (Rev. 17:4). She is “arrayed in purple & scarlet color, & decked with gold (fool’s gold!) & precious stones & pearls.” She trys to impersonate the Bride BUT she has in her hand a golden cup FULL of ABOMINATIONS & FILTHINESS of her fornication, vs.4. In short, this HARLOT/FRAUD appeared to be in imperial status, indicative of the spiritual wealth of the New Jerusalem. She is a WHORE to the CORE! The abominations denote moral & ceremonial impurity (in connection with goddesses idolatrous rites. John uses “fornication” to signify idolatry/sexual vice (see 1 Cor. 6:9,10 where the unrighteous will NOT inherit the Kingdom of God!!!). Some believe Rev. 17 speaks of the Roman Catholic Church, which certainly describes that (false) Church, but the “harlot” is to be understood allegorically, not literally.