{"id":48,"date":"2014-01-24T20:21:37","date_gmt":"2014-01-25T02:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidbokovoy\/?p=48"},"modified":"2014-05-27T08:16:11","modified_gmt":"2014-05-27T14:16:11","slug":"the-creation-of-the-helper-the-importance-of-historical-criticism-for-religious-readers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidbokovoy\/2014\/01\/the-creation-of-the-helper-the-importance-of-historical-criticism-for-religious-readers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Creation of the “Helper”: The Importance of Historical Criticism for Religious Readers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

I need to begin this post with a frank confession.\u00a0 I self-identify as a male-feminist.\u00a0 I love theological readings of scripture that elevate women to a high religious status.\u00a0 However, I am also a student of the Hebrew Bible drawn to historical criticism.\u00a0\u00a0 Historical criticism refers to an interpretive approach that seeks to read the text \u201chistorically,\u201d meaning in accordance with its original historic setting and \u201ccritically,\u201d meaning independent from any contemporary theological perspective or agenda. As an expression, \u201cHistorical Criticism\u201d is the label that we often use today for mainline biblical scholarship.<\/span>[1]<\/a>\u00a0 So even though as a religious-male-feminist, I appreciate readings of sacred texts that advocate for women occupying a role equal to men, I find it essential to acknowledge that biblical authors did not typically share this sentiment.<\/p>\n

Take for instance the story of Eden, which presents the creation of the first woman from the man\u2019s rib.\u00a0 In addition to the fact that the account presents the primordial man usurping a woman\u2019s ability to use her own body to give birth to other humans, the story clearly depicts woman occupying a socially inferior status to man\u2014a position which we should expect given the account\u2019s historical context. \u00a0The story presents woman\u2019s initial role as an \u2018ezer<\/em> or \u201chelper.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to this documentary source, God is a gardener, who like a man, literally \u201cplants a garden eastward in Eden, \u201c and who \u201ccauses to grow various trees that were a delight to the eye and good for eating\u201d (Gen. 2:8-9).[2]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Hence, in a type of imitatio dei<\/em>, man was created to fulfill a similar, albeit lesser role as Yahweh by \u201cworking\u201d and \u201cpreserving\u201d the garden paradise (Gen. 2:15).[3]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 The terms \u201cwork\u201d and \u201cguard\/preserve\u201d are defined by later usage in the story of the man\u2019s \u201cworking\u201d the cursed ground and the lesser divinities (cherubim) \u201cguarding\u201d the tree of life (Gen. 3:23-24). \u00a0Eventually, God recognizes that his new creature requires companionship, but the man also needs a helper to assist in his agricultural assignment.\u00a0\u201cIt is not good that man should be alone,\u201d and so the animals are created to fulfill the need (Gen. 2:18).[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

However, God learns that despite their common basic material source, \u201cthe ground,\u201d \u00a0fundamental distinctions exist between human beings and the rest of the animal species. This disparity renders the animals unsuitable to assume the role of \u201chelper\u201d in Eden.\u00a0 Instead, the man requires a \u201chelper matching him\u201d (2:20).\u00a0 Scholars have devoted considerable attention towards interpreting this phrase. \u00a0The idea that \u201cmatching him\u201d might convey an equal status is clearly problematic even though studies have shown that the role of an \u2018ezer<\/em> need not denote a position of social inferiority to the person receiving the assistance.[5]<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0The fact that the animals present themselves to the man in order to receive their names shows that the text perceives the man holding a position of authority over the \u2018ezer<\/em>.\u00a0 More likely, the term \u201cmatching him\u201d denotes the concept of \u201ccounterpart\u201d or even \u201copposite.\u201d \u00a0The woman is created only as an afterthought when the animals prove unable to fulfill the role of an \u2018ezer<\/em>. \u00a0And, like the animals over whom the man has dominion, the woman is named by the man: \u00a0\u201cThis one at last is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman\u201d (Gen 2:22).<\/p>\n

I bring this story up to illustrate why I believe it is essential for religious readers to approach biblical texts critically. \u00a0The author views women\u2019s role as that of helper, but this perception reflects an attempt to explain women as they functioned in Israelite society. \u00a0It need not be interpreted, even by a religious reader, as a literal divine mandate. \u00a0The Bible is a sourcebook, containing a variety of contradictory views on nearly every topic. \u00a0 I believe that scripture is a tool, a resource that should be used carefully and critically by those who look towards such writings as a source of inspiration. \u00a0The Bible comes to us from a world far different from our own. \u00a0Historical criticism allows a reader to identify the various perspectives in the Bible and to be critically minded in making informed judgments about its current meaning in our life.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> See John J. Collins, Bible After Babel: Historical Criticism in a Postmodern Age<\/em> (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 4.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[2]<\/a> For additional examples of Yahweh portrayed in the role of gardener, see Num. 24:6; Ps 104:16; Is 44:14.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[3]<\/a> Recent scholarly considerations of the concept imitatio dei<\/em> or humans \u201cimitating God\u201d in the Hebrew Bible include John Barton, \u201cImitation of God in the Old Testament,\u201d in The God of Israel<\/em> (Robert Gordon; University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 64; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 35-46; R. W. L. Moberly, \u201cWhy did Noah Send out a Raven?,\u201d VT<\/em> 50 (2000): 345-356; Eryl W. Davies, \u201cWalking in God\u2019s Ways: The Concept of Imitatio Dei in the Old Testament,\u201d in In Search of True Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Ronald E. Clements<\/em> (ed. Edward Ball; JSTOPSup 300; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), 99-114.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[4]<\/a>For considerations of the term in its historical and etymological context, see E. Noort, \u201cThe Creation of Man and Woman in Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Traditions,\u201d in The Creation of Man and Woman: Interpretations of Biblical Narratives in Jewish and Christian Traditions<\/em> (eds. Gerard P. Luttikhuizen; TBN 3; Leiden: Brill, 2000), 1-18; R. David Freedman, \u201cWoman, A Power Equal to Man,\u201d BAR<\/em> 9 (1983): 56-58; Azila Talit Reisenberger, \u201cThe Creation of Adam as Hermaphrodite\u2013and Its Implications for Feminist Theology,\u201d Judaism<\/em> 42 (1993): 447-452.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0Freedman, \u201cWoman, A Power Equal to Man,\u201d 56-58; Phyllis Trible, \u201cEve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread,\u201d in Womanspirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion<\/em> (ed. Carol Christ; New York: Harper & Row, 1992), 75; Meyers, Discovering Eve<\/em>, 85.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I need to begin this post with a frank confession.\u00a0 I self-identify as a male-feminist.\u00a0 I love theological readings of scripture that elevate women to a high religious status.\u00a0 However, I am also a student of the Hebrew Bible drawn to historical criticism.\u00a0\u00a0 Historical criticism refers to an interpretive approach that seeks to read the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195,16,17,18,19,4,1],"tags":[7,196,198,197,199],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-eden","category-eve","category-feminism","category-historical-criticism","category-religion","category-uncategorized","tag-bible","tag-eden","tag-eve","tag-feminism","tag-historical-criticism"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Creation of the "Helper": The Importance of Historical 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