The Role Of Women Within Bereishit (Genesis: Summary

The Role of Women within Bereishit (Genesis)
From Adam to Abraham to Isaac and Jacob, the Tanakh is full of men who have played key roles within not only the primary formation of Judaism but within the very history of the Jewish people. However, where does that leave the woman within the Holy Scriptures? How are they portrayed and characterized within these stories? I focus on three women (Eve, Sarah and Rachel) and their stories from the Bereishit to examine and better understand the female portrayal within the Hebrew Scriptures.
God saw that Adam lacked a suitable companion and so by removing a piece of Adam’s rib, God created Eve the first woman. In chapter three of Genesis, a key aspect of Eve’s narrative, begins with the interaction between
Isaac was known to favor Esau, who was a skilled hunter, while Rebekah favors Jacob. Isaac when he was old and about to die and decided to give his blessings to Esau. Isaac told Esau to go hunt and make him a dish, so that he could give Esau the blessing. Rebekah, who heard this, wanted Jacob to receive Isaac’s dying blessing. Rebekah told Jacob to go and get two goats so that Rebekah could prepare a dish that Jacob could present this to his father and impersonate Esau to get the blessing. Rebekah also helped Jacob disguise himself as his brother. Jacob ultimately succeeds in his deception and receives Isaacs’s blessing. Rebekah’s story is one that shares similarities with both Eve and Sarah’s stories. The similarities lie in the negative characterization of Rebekah within the text. For example, when reading through story Rebekah is seen favoring one son over the other (something that is often attributed to bad mothering). Rebekah is also seen as being cunning as she is seen making sure that Jacob receives Isaacs blessing through the use of deception and disguise. However, at the same time her male counterpart Jacob is portrayed in a more innocent, naïve about wrong doing and positive. Jacob, who is the one actually doing the deceiving, is portrayed as innocent and simply acting on the orders of his mother. Once again we see that not only is the female character is not only given more negative roles within the story but when given the choice is more likely to choose the “evil”