Asherah in The Hebrew Bible

The Canaanite Pagan goddess known by that name really isn't directly mentioned in Scripture, Asherim is a term for a type of Pagan Cultic Object translated "grove" in the KJV that is probably tied to her worship, but as far as being specific about Canaanite Goddess worship the Scriptures are far mor interested in singling out Astarte, The Queen of Heaven.

But there is a lot of talk online about a few archeological inscriptions taken as implying the Israelites worshiped Asherah as the Wife of YHWH.  There is of course plenty of dispute about that reading of these inscription, but I have an interesting theory to add.

Etymologically speaking Asherah is a feminine from of a Semitic word that means Happy or Blessed, the same root the name of Asher comes from.  In fact that first time this word appears in Scripture at all is when explaining Asher's name in Genesis 30:13.

"And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher."

I looked at every other account of a son of Jacob being named in Genesis 29-30, and only in this one does the mother naming him say something to imply the Feminine from of his name could be an additional name or title for herself.

Another use of this word, when the context implies it's being used in it's feminine form, is Malachi 3:12.

"And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."

The word for Delightsome here is the core root that Hephzibah comes from, a poetic name for the Land of Israel in Isaiah 60.

This ties into the theme of Israel being in a sense collectively the Wife of YHWH, Asharah is among her poetic alternate names in that context. 

But there is also some New Testament significance I could add, from Luke 2.

Verse 28 the Angel first appears to Mary and says;

"Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

Then there's the Visitation, 41-48.

"And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed."

If they were originally speaking Hebrew, it's plausible Asharah is the word for Blessed they were using.

This does NOT vindicate Catholic Marian Veneration. It only further shows that Mary being an important woman from the Bible doesn't change that Veneration of Images of her are Idolatry.

Chie Oneesama, Personified Wisdom

The Book of Proverbs particularly Chapter 8, Matthew 11:19 and Luke 7:35 are the primary Biblical Basis for the concept of a Divine Personified Wisdom.  Both the Hebrew Chokmah and the Greek Sophia are grammatically Feminine hence personified Wisdom being often depicted as a Woman.

Proverbs 7:4 tells us to call Wisdom our Sister.  The two Jesus quotes refer to Believers as children of Wisdom which some use to instead make Sophia a Mother figure.  But the word for Children used there is not the standard Greek word for Son or Daughter or the word for Offspring used in Acts 17, it’s much more vague about the actual familial relationship being implied and often doesn’t inherently imply one at all being just the basic Greek word for child, but it does here due to the possessive pronouns.  It would not be inappropriate in my view for referring to the younger siblings of an older sister.

Chie is a grammatically Feminine Japanese word for Wisdom and Oneesama is the most prestigious of words one would use to address an older sister.  In Anime it’s most often used in a Class S context for not a biological relative but as a term of endearment for a Senpai you particularly admire.  Hence my Weebified title for this post.

The main internal debate within Christianity about Wisdom is if this title refers to The Holy Spirit or Jesus, Jesus eventually became the mainstream assumption hence bad Septuagint translations of certain Proverbs 8 verses being used to justify a Pre-Incarnate begetting of The Logos before the Creation of the Cosmos.  But one of the first Extra-Biblical expressions of The Trinity was Theophilus of Antioch defining it as The Father, The Logos and Sophia.  Also both Theophilus and Irenaeus seem to identify the Holy Spirit with Sophia in how they interpret Psalm 33:6.

Previously on this Blog I strongly favored The Holy Spirit view, but I don’t think it actually matters that much and Theophilus of Antioch is someone I have mixed opinions on.  So I want to look into it deeper.

First I want to make clear that The Holy Spirit has a Feminine aspect whether they’re Wisdom or not The Hebrew word for Spirit is also Grammatically Feminine, the Greek word is technically Gender Neutral but by ending with an "A" sound it leans towards sounding Feminine especially to Semitic Language trained ears.  Luke 15:8-10 I think also uses a Woman as a type of The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's Feminine references are so well known that some some think She's only ever Feminine but the title of Parakletos is Masculine as is it's Hebrew original Menahem.

Jesus also has a Feminine side whether He is Wisdom or not.  Jesus is the Desire of Nations of Haggai 2:7 which is Feminine in the Hebrew.  Isaiah 53:7 confirmed to be about Jesus in Acts 8:32 also uses Grammatically Feminine language (in fact one of the words for Lamb/Sheep is identical to the name of Rachel).  The Sun of Righteousness of Malachi 4:2 is also a grammatically feminine title in the Hebrew.   Also Jesus is called The Image of God which Genesis 1:27 and 5:1-2 define as both Male and Female.  Also a prominent Biblical Hebrew word for Salvation is the Feminine form of the name Yeshua.  Luke 2:21 does clearly tell us Jesus’s Incarnate Body (Which He still has) was Assigned Male at Birth, but His Identity is both Male and Female.   And I have argued Shulamith is a type of Jesus not The Church in the Song of Songs.

The main argument against Jesus being Wisdom would be those quotes I mentioned at the start where He refers to Wisdom in the third person.  But there are other times where He refers to a Title or Aspect of Himself in the Third Person, like all the Son of Man verses.

The verses cited to prove Jesus is Wisdom are 1 Corinthians 1:24 and 30 and 1 Corinthians 2:7 (or the entirety of 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:13) and Colossians 2:3, from what I've found so far at least.  However I don’t get the sense that the Proverbs 8 Personified Wisdom is the point of any of those, in context Paul is using the word Wisdom explicitly in relation to Greek Philosophy, which it may surprise you to learn didn’t really have a Divine Personified Wisdom concept yet, not in Platonism or Stoicism and certainly not Epicureanism, the Gnostics got that from their Judeo-Christian sources.

It’s also important to remember that the Incarnate Jesus was the Vessel of The Holy Spirit while he walked the Earth and is who sent the Comforter which Proceeds from The Father to us at Pentecost.  So aspects of The Holy Spirit can be said to come from Jesus or be manifested in Jesus.

A lot of my past argument for supporting the Holy Spirit view was verses from The Pentateuch and Isaiah 11:2 that speaks of there being a Spirit of Wisdom and making the Spirit of YHWH the source of Wisdom.  The Pentateuch verses are Exodus 28:3, 31:3, 35:31 and Deuteronomy 34:9. 

However it’s important to remember that God as a whole is Spirit (Spirit in 1st Century Greek and Biblical Hebrew did not mean Immaterial) as shown by John 4:24.  In fact Isaiah 11:2 can be interpreted as a Trinitarian Formula calling each person of The Trinity a Spirit of YHWH.  

But I do think The Spirit of YHWH with a Definite Article typically refers to the Third Person of the Trinity and Revelation 1:4 and 4:5 seem to imply The Holy Spirit has a further Sevenfold division which perhaps only three of which were singled out in Isaiah, and Isaiah 11:2 listed the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding first rather than second or third.

So that leads me to still favoring the Holy Spirit view, but it is ultimately unclear. 

Hebrew Theology and The Divine Feminine

The desire some scholars have to imagine that the Ancient Israelite Religion originally had a separate Female Deity alongside YHWH does not actually create a Theology more genuinely Feminist then traditional Abrahamic Theology.  In my view needing separate Gods for Men and Women only reinforces the Gender Binary of Cisheteronomativity.

I much prefer the idea of a Creator who is All Genders.  And that is implied right in Genesis where it explains that Adam was made Male and Female because Adam was made in the Image and Likeness of God.  And having the rest of Scripture further emphasize this does not require imagining that the original Hebrew Text was changed or edited at all, the problems arise from how it's been interpreted and translated, and to some extent how the Hebrew Language itself has been reinterpreted.

To this day Hebrew Mysticism associates the letter Heh with the Feminine, generally adding a Heh onto the end of a word makes it Grammatically Feminine.  But there are exceptions, there are some key Biblical words that are not considered inherently Feminine even though they end with a Heh, and a lot of these I feel have had their Femineity denied by theologians because of how often they are used to describe YHWH.  YHWH itself ends with a Heh as does it's shortened form Yah.  Elah and Eloah are forms  of El that end with a Heh yet don't get translated Goddess, Elohim is Eloah with a -im plural suffix added at the end. 

There are some schools of Trinitarian thought that seek to associate the Feminine aspects of The Godhead specifically with The Holy Spirit.  And one can see why with the Hebrew word for Spirit being usually used in it's Feminine form and the association of personified Wisdom with the Holy Spirit.  But I view this both Male and Female quality as ultimately applying to each Person of The Trinity.  Jesus is the Desire of Nations in Hosea where Desire is a grammatically Feminine word, and the Sun of Righteous which title Malachi writes in a Grammatically Feminine form.

The desire for an exclusively Female Goddess, either alongside or in-place of YHWH, sounds to me like it suites one particular kind of Feminism, a word that begins with a T and rhymes with Serf.

As someone who's view of their own Gender has become increasingly Fluid, a God who like me can be both is much more appealing.

Goddess Worship is not automatically Feminist

First off as a Monotheist Christian I believe God is All Genders and I have argued that Biblically.  In the context of Mainstream Christianity traditionally defaulting to viewing God as Male, it is the Biblical Evidence for the Feminine side of God that is in need of being emphasized.  But still God is both Male and Female and any other Gender that exists.

It is also a part of Patriarchal society to put Women on a Pedastool, the "good women" anyway.  Now this typically goes hand in hand with despising women who fail to live up to the Pedastool, but the fact remains saying nice things about women in theory does not a Feminist make.  This is something VraiKaiser talked about in their analysis of both Revolutionary Girl Utena and The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.  There was a particular author they liked to cite on that subject I wish I could remember the name of.  [Update: Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s novel Herland is what I was thinking of.]

The traditional Madonna/Whore Complex is a common way this manifests.  But it's still possible to have more nontraditional or outright diverse ideas about what makes a "good woman", allowing them to be sexually active or masculine or queer and still be part of the problem.  Hence the titular Fujiko Mine was a Whore to some men but a Madona to others, while Lupin is the one man who simply saw her as a fellow human being.

Another related issue is how some Lesbian porn made by straight men for straight men is not raunchy at all but about the idea of Lesbian sex being more "pure" then any sex involving what's traditionally viewed as male genitalia.

The Goddesses of Polytheistic Pagan Pantheons were basically their Pedastools, their various concepts of an ideal woman.  Under Christianized Greco-Roman society this role was taken over by reverence for The Virgin Mary (who the word Madona originally refereed to) or other Women in The Bible, and later Saints like Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc).  Or in the Muslim world how they looked at Aisha and Fatimah (Aisha is a Madona to the Sunni but a Whore to the Shia, and to many enemies of Islam she's just a victim).

But going back to the Polytheists it was not uncommon for some patriarchal groups to favor the goddesses over the male gods.  Athens was one of the most strictly Patriarchal societies of antiquity yet their chief deity was Athena after whom they were named.

After all it was Isis of all Egyptian deities who had a temple built to her in Rome.  Rome was probably the most strictly Patriarchal society in the Ancient World but there were times when at face value their religion might have you think otherwise.

But what's most interesting is Japan.  Japan has spent all of it's recorded history with a Solar Goddess named Amaterasu as the main central deity of their pantheon, she bested the typical Zeus figure for control of Heaven and is the official ancestor of the Emperor.  But none of that has prevented Japan from being a highly patriarchal society right down to the present day with them being the only "developed" nation where arranged marriages are still culturally acceptable.

If Anime and it's related media has given you a different impression of Japan.  That's partly because Anime is mostly outside of the mainstream of Japanese culture and so it is a medium subversives and outcasts including Feminists and LGBTQ individuals turn to hence the two Feminist Anime refereed to above.

But it's also true that for Male Otaku their Anime Waifus are their modern Goddesses, some quite literally, the various deres are their concepts of an ideal woman.  And because of how gender issues are different in Japan then in America some of the shows American Feminists like are ones Japanese Feminists don't and visa versa.

Now I try to be self aware of how this problem can also apply to myself.  My list of favorite Anime Characters looks at first glance like a bunch of Moe Blobs and the western characters who interest me are similar.  And I enjoy plenty of shows that AnimeFeminist and the Trans Lesbian Leftist AniTubers I follow don't approve of.  But my "Waifus" tend to be characters I relate to rather then look up to, Mikoto Misaka may have the power of Thor but she's still a flawed character who has to learn from her mistakes.

Now it's easy to tell when a Goddess worshiper is being blatantly Misogynist in-spite of their goddess worship.  What I'm more concerned with is how people who's heart is in the right place, who are trying to be Feminist, can screw up by grasping too hard on the Divine Feminine obsession. Wicca for example looks at first glance like a very Feminist religion but they have their own gender issues.  Also the idea that there is something inherently sacred about female biology often seeps into TERF rhetoric.

Now again within Judeo-Christianity I think we need to point out the Biblical Feminine side of YHWH and Jesus to correct mainstream assumptions.  And in the Secular sphere I see nothing wrong with Feminists reclaiming the various Feminine Idols of Patriarchal tradition, both the Madonnas and the Whores.  A Pop Starlet singing a song called "God is a Girl" or "God is a Woman" can be an important empowering anthem that I fully support.

But Feminism is ultimately about treating women as fellow equal human beings and realizing that gender is a social construct.

I'm also not gonna deny that some of the ancient pagans had in some ways a slightly healthier more diverse attitude towards Gender then what mainstream Christianity has become since there were female War deities like Anath, Enyo and Nieth alongside the male ones.  And male Love gods like Eros and Pan and even a male form of Astarte attested in some Ugarit texts.

It's important never to forget that you're actually agreeing with the logic of Patriarchy when you start teaching that men are naturally biologically inclined towards being violent and aggressive and women are inherently more empathetic and sensitive.  True Feminism is seeing that it is the way society operates that conditions us towards being that way.

The God of The Bible is both Masculine and Feminine.

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

In The Hebrew these two statements about the Creation of Mankind are not listed together for no reason, they explain each other.  Man was created Male and Female because they were created in the Image of God.  And the first two verses of Genesis 5 reaffirm these facts about Adam's creation.

In Hebrew one common way to make a word or name grammatically feminine is to have them end with a Heh or a Teth.  Some names however end with a Heh but aren't considered Feminine for various reasons.  Among these are two forms of the word El (god) Elah and Eloah, both are used of YHWH.  Elohim being plural is frequently pointed out, but it's technically the plural of Eloah not merely of El.  Though -im is technically considered a Masculine plural while ending with a -th would be the Feminine plural, -im is used however when the plural includes both male and female.

The name YHWH (I pronounce it Yahuah) itself ends with a Heh, as does the shortened form Yah, as does Ehyeh (I Am).  Yeshuah is a Hebrew word commonly translated Salvation that is acknowledged by scholars and the Strongs Concordance as being grammatically Feminine, it's the spelling of Yeshua (Jesus) with a Heh added at the end, it ends the same way as Yahuah.

Some want to primarily make The Holy Spirit the feminine aspect of The Trinity, because the Hebrew word for Spirit is itself Grammatically Feminine, and also because of the Sophia connection I talked about in Greek Words viewed as being Gnostic.  But in my view that does not make the Masculine and Feminine equation of the Trinity even enough.

Hebrew Strongs Number 801 is a feminine form of the word for Fire that is actually spelled the same as the Hebrew word for Woman/Wife, it is used exclusively of the Fire on the Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle.

Here is an Article about El Shaddai possibly referring to a Feminine Attribute of God.
 https://scribalishess.wordpress.com/2014/05/23/el-shaddai-and-the-gender-of-god/

The "Desire of Nations" in Haggai 2:7 is generally agreed by Christians to be Jesus, the word translated "Desire" there is Grammatically Feminine.  And it's the same with "Desire of Women" in Daniel 11:37 if like Chris White an Chuck Missler you view that as a Messianic Title.

If like me you've come to support a Mount of Olives Crucifixion Model.  That involves seeing The Red Heifer as a type of Jesus, and the Red Heifer was required to be Female (as were all Trespass offerings and certain Sin offerings).  That is apparent even in the KJV English, "Heifer" tends to be used of female Cows not Bulls.

Typologically I've argued that the Bride not the Groom represents Jesus in the Song of Solomon, and that the type of Jesus in Psalm 45 was a Woman as well.  And I've also talked about Venus being a Star of Bethlehem candidate.

It's also interesting how the Hebrew word translated "Mercy Seat" is really the Feminine form of the Hebrew word for Atonement, Kapporeth.

Jesus's body was definitely assigned Male at Birth according to Luke's account of His Circumcision and Mary's time of purification being 40 days (it would have been 80 for a female).  And Jesus seems to have presented as Male, or was assumed to be doing so, during His ministry.  But the modern conceptions of a Bi-Gender, Non-Binary or Gender Fluid identity hadn't become fully understood yet.

What I'm saying is on a Spiritual Level Jesus was both Genders, Jesus too is called The Image of God by Paul.  He took the Sins of all Mankind upon himself on the Cross including Sins committed by and against Women, Transgender, Intersex and Non-Binary human beings.  The Church is The Body of Christ, and it contains both Masculine and Feminine, because within it there is neither Male or Female.

If you support Aramaic Primacy for the new Testament, the key Logos verses in John's Gospel say Miltha for Logos in the Peshita.  Miltha is a grammatically feminine noun but is refereed to in these verses with masculine pronouns creating a contradiction of normal Aramaic Grammar.
http://www.peshitta.org/bethgazza/Mystery%20of%20Miltha.htm

I'm not sure if the Memra equated with the Dabar of YHWH in some Aramaic Targums is Grammatically Feminine, but it looks like it could be.  Logos and Dabar are both grammatically masculine, but the feminine form of Dabar does appear in the Hebrew Scriptures as a personal name, Deborah.  And a Feminine form of Logos, Logia, is used a few times in The New Testament, translated "oracles" (even though it doesn't appear to be plural in the Greek) in the KJV of Acts 7:38, Romans 3:2 and 1 Peter 4:11.

Every time you see "Oracle" in the KJV of the Old Testament it is a form of Dabar, mostly the Dbiyr, a term associated with the Holy of Holies of Solomon's Temple, but in II Samuel 16:23 it's Dabar in a weird form I don't get.

I should note that the English word "Oracle" is kind of thought of as inherently feminine due to it's association with the classical Oracle at Delphi and the Sybils. For example when talking about Japanese/Anime culture we might use it of how Mikos used to be Prophetesses but not of any males who foretold the future or spoke for a Kami.  So maybe the KJV translators, or translators of earlier English Bibles the KJV followed the lead of, felt there was something Feminine about how Dabar was used in these verses.  After all three out of four uses of some form of "oracle" in the New Testament were for Logia, (the exception Hebrew 5:12 was Logion).

Update September 23rd 2019:  I can't believe I forgot about the parable of the Lost Coin from Luke 15:8-10.  This parable is a companion to the Lost Sheep and Prodigal Son parables, where it is a Woman in the role of the Good Shepherded and The Father.

Update March 2020: I disagree with much of what InspiringPhilosophy says about God and Gender in "Israel's Revolutionary Monotheism".  But this ScreenCap is helpful.

Hosea 14:8 is about wordplay in the Hebrew "aniti wa'ashurennus".  Anat is also a from of the word for answer which the KJV sometimes translated "heard".

"Neither Male or Female in The Church" Follow Up

This is a follow up to my earlier Paul Said there is Neither Male or Female in The Church.  Which was based on Galatians 3:28.

I want to address some of the other passages in the New Testament, mainly other teachings of Paul, people might insist contradict my absolutist understanding of that verse.  Some of course I already anticipated in advance there, or dealt with when defending Female Pastors, [that post is a big out of date only in that I no longer support the traditional office of "pastor" at all, but I definitely support female Presbyters].

In Romans 7 the point of the Torah Passage being cited there is to demonstrate that we are no longer under the Law once we are made Dead to the Law in Christ at Baptism.  I don't think it's meant to be relevant to how Christians should understand Marriage, Gender Roles or the Bride of Christ Doctrine.

The end of 1 Timothy 2 I think is about the Seed of the Woman prophecy, it's not saying any individual woman's salvation is dependent on bearing children.  As for everything alleged to be Sexist about this passage, quite a bit has been written about it already.

1 Corinthians 11:5 is clear that Women were speaking in Church.  1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is what's often cited to say that women are forbidden to speak in Church and thus be pastors.   First of all 1 Corinthians 14 was largely about the misuse of Tongues and other Charismatic practices.  Second that statement can be viewed as Paul quoting a Rhetorical slogan that he then refutes in verse 36 "What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?".

Ephesians 5 is the key passage used to insist the New Testament reinforces patriarchal Gender Roles in Marriage.  But here is what I want to point out, the words for Male and Female used in Galatians 3:28 are not used at all in the entire book of Ephesians.

There are likely a variety of ways Ephesians 5 has been translated, and maybe not even always internally consistent.  What you need to know is Aner/Andros gets translated both Man and Husband while Gune/Gyno gets translated Woman, Wife and maybe sometimes Bride.

In ancient Greek, the words in Galatians are much closer to being clinical terms, with the word for Female there also being the root for the Greek word for breastfeeding.  Aristotle explained their meaning in his Generation of Animals where he says the Arren are those who generate in another and the Thelu are those who generate in themselves, Aristotle on issues was Conservative but not Reactionary, so whatever ones opinion on his philosophy we can trust he got the meanings of words right.  Gyno only seems clinical to us now because of the modern medical profession's selective use of Greek and Latin words.  

Basically, I think Ephesians 5 is about Marriage rather then Gender.  And that in the context of this author also writing Galatians, it can be considered possible that a Female could be a Husband and a Male could be a Wife and a Non-Binary individual could be either or both.

Seneca the Elder’s Controversiae is a teaching manual in legal rhetoric featuring unusual law cases and strategies to be used for or against the defendants involved.  One example he uses comes from Sacaurus consul suffect in 21 CE in his criticism of the tactics used by Hybreas in defending a man who murdered two women he caught having sex with each other.  Sacaurus referred to both women as Tribades (an often debated term associated with Lesbianism during the Greco-Roman era), Hybreas however used Andra of the active partner.  The scene may be interpreted as being comedic, but the use of Andra is not the punchline, it's the set up, the punch line is using "stitched on" to describe the Dildo he looked for didn't find.  This is a first century AD legal precedent for describing a Butch Lesbian as a Husband.  Later in Lucian's Dialogue of the Courtesans Megilla/Megillus and Demonassa call themselves Husband and Wife.

The French Revolutionary roots of modern Feminism

It's Women's History month.  And as someone interested in the French Revolution, I figure I should mention some of the Feminists who were involved.

My last French Revolution relevant post on this blog talked about The Society of the Friends of Truth, and how to some degree it's philosophy is generally similar to mine.  Not everyone in it was a Feminist, some were pretty Sexist in-spite of their Progressive views.  But those notable women and feminists of the Revolution I'm aware of, mainly seem to be from that camp.

Known Society of the Friends of Truth Members

Olympe de Gouges who wrote Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female_Citizen
Sophie de Condorcet who's salon quests included Mary Wollstonecraft when she visited France

Others affiliated with the Girdonions

Madame Roland
Charlotte Corday

 More Foreign Feminists who joined them.

Etta Palm d'Aelders

Theroigne de Mericourt

 Some groups that were specifically for Women.

Fraternal Society of Patriots of Both Sexes
Society of Revolutionary Republican Women

The Feminism of Ancient Arabia

I reject the typical Islamaphobia of the modern Western Church.  I would never convert to Islam because of it's Theology, Soterology and Christology.  But I believe the violence of the modern Arab world is mainly the result of being politically occupied for centuries by first Ottomans and then European colonialism.  They didn't have this problem under the Caliphs of their Golden Age.  

However one major area where the claims of Islamic Apologists seem awfully hard for me to buy is when they want to make Muhammad seem like an ancient proto-Feminist.  Because Sura 4 is pretty irredeemably Misogynist, and Sura 33 is problematic too.  The Huffington Post article claiming Muhammad was a Feminist provides not one single quote from The Koran.

Muslims can be Feminists in-spite of what The Koran says.  But that doesn't change what the Koran says.

Now if someone wants to go "The Bible is sexist too" that's a fair direction to take the conversation.  But the thing is I have actually cited Scripture in my arguments that The Bible is more Feminist then most people realize. And I will never deny that parts of it certainly reflect being the product of a Patriarchal Culture.  But The Bible never says that how the world is is how it should be, it says the opposite.  Nor will I deny mainstream Greco-Roman Christianity has been guilty of a lot of the world's misogyny for the last 1700 years.

But the thing I have observed that others talking about the Sexism of Muhammad have not.  Is how I don't feel it can even entirely be blamed on being a product of his time and culture.  I've seen a lot of evidence that leads me to conclude Pre-Islamic Arabia was quite shockingly Feminist, maybe even Matriarchal, compared to the then contemporary Greco-Roman world at least, including sadly most Christians and Jews living within it.

The evidence of this starts contemporary with Muhammad, before he had his first "vision" at age 40 in 610 AD.  He was married to an older woman, who was a very wealthy and successful business woman, Khadija bint Khuwaylid.  Muhammad's early success in spreading his religion was dependent on her support, and other key relatives of her's.  But she died in 620 AD, and a few of those key relatives of her's died around the same time.  It wasn't until after she died that Muhammad started practicing Polygyny.  And it wasn't till after those deaths he finally conquered Medina and then started giving the Median Suras, the latest Suras to be given.  Suras 2, 4 and 33 and 65 were all Median Suras.  From those came all of the most undeniably Sexist of the Koran's verses.

I can't help but wonder if Muhammad was insecure about being supported by a wealthier woman for so long.  But regardless, the fact remains that perhaps if he had died before Khadija Islam's record on Women's rights would be much different.  Of course gender isn't the only thing Muhammad started changing his tune on around this time, from 610-624 Jerusalem not Mecca was the location Muhammad taught to pray towards.  It was also a Median Sura (Sura 2, the first Median Sura) that introduced the doctrine of Abrogation.  Sura 9 was the second to last Sura given.

I could talk about the Queen of Sheba and some Extra-Biblical Arabic traditions related to her implying that the Kingdom of Sheba was ruled by women for 60 straight Queens.  But for here I want to stick to recorded history.

From 750-675 BC the Qedarites, the same tribe that Muhammad's family would eventually come from, were ruled by five successive ruling Queens.

• Zabibe (ruled c. 750–735 BC)
• Samsi (ruled c. 735–710 BC)
• Yatie (ruled c. 710–695 BC)
• Te'elkhunu (ruled c. 695–690 BC)
• Tabua (ruled c. 678–675 BC)

And that is pretty much the beginning of Arabs entering recorded History.  Besides an Arab leader being present as the Battle of Qarqar, who's gender we can't be certain of since the Assyrians who wrote the record probably never met them.

Contemporary with the last of those were Baslu, the queen of Ikhilu, and Iapa1, the queen of Dikhrani, a Nabataean clan (Musil, pp. 483 f.; Luckenbill, II, 209). And a little later Adia during the reign of Asurbanipal (Musil, p. 485 f.; Luckenbill, II, 400).

Later the Nabatean Kingdom based in Petra often seemed to have the Queens literally Co-Ruling with the Kings.

• Chuldu (ruled 9 BC–40 AD), she ruled jointly with her husband Aretas IV Philopatris
• Shaqilath (ruled 40–70/71), she ruled jointly with her husband-brother Malichus II; after his death she was regent for her son Rabbel II Soter
• Gamilath (ruled 70/71–106), she ruled jointly with her brother Rabbel II Soter

Queen Zenoobia is sometimes classified as an Arab.  But her ancestry is a bit controversial as she claimed descent from Hannibal and Anthony & Cleopatra through the marriage of their daughter Cleopatra Selene to Juba of Mauritania.

And one of my personal favorite overlooked figures of History was Queen Mavia(Māwiyya), an Arabic Christian Queen who reigned about 375-425 AD.  I'll be talking about her more in the future.

It seems Muhammad's influence didn't change Arabia over night, given the power and influence Aisha and maybe Fatima were able to wield in the years following his death.  But it still seems clear looking at History that Arabia has been a lot worse for Women since Muhammad then it was before.

It shouldn't surprise us that follows of Muhammad aren't keen on Female Rulers.  As the Hadiths relate.

"Narrated Abu Bakra: ... When the Prophet heard the news that the people of the Persia had made the daughter of Khosrau their Queen (ruler), he said, "Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler."" - Sahih Bukhari 9:88:219

So thus we haven't often seen female rulers in Islamic Arabia.

Also Sahih Bukkari records.

`Aisha said, "I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women.".

Paul said there is neither Male nor Female in The Church

Galatians 3:28.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

I've mentioned this verse before discussing The Bible on Traditional Gender Roles.  And maybe this post risks retreading that same ground.

But I want to rant on how I'm tired of "Traditionalists" saying this is only about how anyone can get Saved.  No, it's not, the context of verses 25-27 are clear, this is about after we're Saved.  He's saying these distinctions don't exist within in the Church, not that they're irrelevant to getting in.

But the hypocrisy is that this isn't how anyone applies the references in the same verse to "Jew nor Greek(Gentile)" or "Bond nor Free".

Dispensationists like Chuck Missler are all about how The Church is a new entity and when you're in it you're neither Jew or Gentile, and so no one regardless of ancestry has to follow The Law.  While Hebrew Roots style Christians like Rob Skiba are all about how Gentiles are grafted into Israel and so everyone regardless of ancestry has to follow The Torah.

Neither supports saying believers can be distinguished between Jew and Gentile.  I don't fully fit into either of those camps but sympathize with aspects of both.  But plenty in both of those camps want to cling to separate laws for men and women regarding how to dress and so on.

Likewise with "Bond nor Free", when Christians are pointing out how many of the Abolitionists were driven by their Faith, this is among the Bible Verses they cited to support abolishing Slavery.  And yet the same modern Christians who think those Abolitionists were so right about Slavery will go 'how dare you think we should abolish gender'.

It is interesting that Chapter 4 keeps using the word "Son" and male pronouns, in-spite of just making clear females are included.  But remember the last verse of chapter 3 is about how we are all made spiritually Abraham's Seed, like what Roman 9-11 is about.

Yes the world into which they (and us still) were born was a patriarchal one.  And those norms influenced the Hebrew Bible, but in Hebrews Paul calls The Law of Moses imperfect and says The Law is now written on our Hearts.  And I've talked before about how gender issues show those imperfections.

So just as Gentiles can now have the Blessings promised to Abraham (which was always the plan in Genesis 12), so now has Christ allowed Women the Freedoms that only Men could have before.  Now also for both of those one could argue that comes with increased responsibilities, but that's for a separate debate about The Law under The New Covenant.

 I've also talked about how the marriage of Genesis 2 was equal unlike Genesis 3.

There are New Testament verses that get used to support patriarchal norms also, how do I address those?

A lot of what's said about Marriage is in the context of discussing The Bride of Christ doctrine, using an Old Testament custom as an illustration of a New Testament doctrine.  Others may be there just because they were living in a world that is still patriarchal.  And we also need to remember that there are words translated "Man" that are meant to be gender neutral.

I believe The Bible is consistent with itself, and Galatians 3:28 is the most unambiguous statement on this issue.  And I think it ties in with how there were no separate courts for Women or Gentiles in Ezekiel's Temple.  The context of the verses around it, 26-29, are basically saying we've not any of these other classes because we are now all in Christ and thus all Sons of God like Christ.

Others have also blogged on this subject, the details often differing from my views but the gist being the same.  Here is one example, and another from the same blog.  And I read this interesting post on naming conventions.

Update October 2018: I have written this follow up post going more into passages not addressed here.
https://solascripturachristianliberty.blogspot.com/2018/07/neither-male-or-female-in-churhc-follow.html

Women can be Pastors/Preachers.

Those who insist that women should not be allowed to be Pastors really have only one Bible passage they base that view on - 1 Timothy 2:11-14. Most articles on the subject never cite any other verses.

It is inadvisable to build a doctrine on something mentioned only once; the Bible is a massive book the repeats itself frequently for a reason. Every detail of it is important and inspired, but not everything in it is doctrine.

The passage in 1 Timothy only says a woman shouldn't teach or hold authority over a man. Speaking for myself, I look upon the roles of Pastor/Preacher as neither a position of authority (the only Authority in the Church is the Holy Spirit), nor strictly speaking a teacher. The Pastor is simply someone who declares the Word of God.

1 Timothy 2:12 ought not be regarded as a blanket rule for all women in all churches. If it were, then women could not speak at all, for the same verse that tells them not to teach also tells them to be silent.

This is the chief passage that is used to oppose women preaching and yet strictly speaking it says nothing about preaching, nor does it say anything about a public worship or church service. On the contrary, this passage is giving instructions to wives as to how they were to conduct themselves in regard to their husband. Paul says in 1 Cor. 14:35, "And if they will LEARN anything, let them ask their husbands at home." Now he states in 1 Tim. 2:12 that women should learn in silence, and should not usurp authority over the man. Paul is dealing with more of a home problem than a church problem.  This is purely about the relationship between husband and wife.

Acts 18:25-26 and II Chronicles 34:22-24 clearly refute any notion that women can't teach men as an absolute rule.

To cite 1 Corinthians 14:34-5 as saying women shouldn't speak in church is to take the passage out of context. To do so ignores the point of Paul's entire message to the Corinthians. It's dealing with the problem of people blurting things out exuberantly disrupting the sermon. Elsewhere Paul speaks of women prophesying in church in 1 Corinthians 11:5 and onward deals with things going on in church.

The point of Titus 1:6-7 is a warning against Polygamy (the exact meaning in the Greek is that there be only one wife, not 'at least one', as some make it sound). Paul himself was single and clearly served as a preacher.  Some say Paul wasn't a pastor because neither the word Elder, or Bishop was ever used of him.  Lots of time a word doesn't get used of someone it qualified for.

Something else I would like to point out is that whenever one sees the term 'man' or 'men' in the New Testament, if the word in Greek is 'anthropos', then it actually means 'man' as in 'mankind', i.e. the Human race. 'Arseno' is the term for the male gender. I've discussed that elsewhere. By the same token, in the Old Testament, if the Hebrew is 'adam' or 'enosh', that denotes 'mankind' also; 'ish' and 'zakar' are gender-specific.

The Great Commission, Mark 16:15, "Preach the Gospel," is intended for ALL believers, and to all the Church. The command to "preach the Gospel" makes no distinction between male and female.

Women preachers are a fulfillment of prophecy (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17-18). "and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy".

Both the Hebrew (N@biy'ah (neb-ee-yaw'); Noun Feminine, Strong #: 5031), and Greek (Prophetis (prof-ay'-tis); Word Origin: Greek, Noun Feminine, Strong #: 4398) are used for 'prophetess', meaning "female prophet".

The role of 'prophet' means "public expounder," and is not limited to just supernatural predictions of the future. The Pastor/Preacher is the post-Pentecost equivalent of the office of 'prophet' in ancient Israel.

As a verb, "prophesy" means "to speak forth, or flow forth." 1 Cor. 14:3 says, "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men ('anthopos', meaning 'mankind') to edification, and exhortation and comfort."

The dictionary says that to prophesy is "to speak under divine inspiration...to preach."

Therefore we learn from the original translation, from the Bible interpretation, and from the dictionary, that to prophesy means more than to tell the future, but to speak publicly about the past, present, or future. It is to preach under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

A number of prophetesses are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

Miriam the sister of Moses was a prophetess, while Aaron held the office of priest, and Moses was the civil head of State during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (Exodus 15:20; Numbers 12:1; Micah 6:4).

Deborah was a prophetess as well as a judge (judges were the civil heads of state for Israel during the period between Joshua and Saul; Judges 4:4-5). The Bible mentions no fewer than four female heads of state - Deborah; the Queen of Sheba; Athaliah, and Kandake queen of Ethiopia from Acts 8. Only Athaliah is portrayed negatively (Jezebel was not a Queen-Regent, she was influential but did not officially rule). The other three are all positive figures in the Biblical narrative, so female leaders may well have a better over all track record then males.

Isaiah 8:3 mentions a prophetess.

And then there is Huldah from 2 Kings 22:14 and 2 Chronicles 34:22, to whom King Josiah and the Priests had to go to for Divine counsel since the Ark was already gone.

There's also Noadiah from Nehemiah 6:14

I should note also that the Talmud counts the mother of Samuel as well as David's wife Abigail both as prophetesses, although they are not so named in scripture. They did not serve that office but they did prophesy.

In the New Testament yet another prophetess is mentioned in connection with the Nativity - Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the Tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36).

Entering the Dispensation of Grace, it's important to remember that the first news of the Resurrection of Christ was relayed by women to a group of men.

Phillip had four daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9).

Priscilla is almost always listed before her husband Aquila whenever they are mentioned. Perhaps both were preaching, but she certainly was.  Paul lists her first in Romans 16 and refers to the church that is in their home, it makes nos sense for her to be listed first if she's not the leader.

In Romans 16:1-2, Phebe is called a "succourer" in the KJV translation; the Greek word is 'prostatis' (pros-tat'-is); Word Origin: Greek, Noun Feminine, Strong #: 4368 - meaning a woman set over others, a female guardian, protectress, patroness, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with her resources.  The feminine for of the same word the KJV translated "rule" in I Timothy 5:17, it's used through out the pastoral epistles to refer to the Overseer's authority.

She is also called a deacone.

1 Timothy 5:2 refers to women Elders, Elder is a synonym for Bishop.  Titus 2:3 also in the Greek.

I could also appeal to Junia or numerous other women mentioned in Romans 16.  Or Nympha from Colossians, which the KJV erroneously changes into a male name and adds a male pronoun.  The church met in her house.

But I shall finish with Euodia and Syntyche form Philippians 4.

When he describes the ministry of Euodia and Syntyche, Paul uses a couple of the same terms he had previously applied to Timothy and Epaphroditus.  Paul writes that Euodia and Syntyche had contended together with him “in the Gospel”.  Earlier in the same letter, Paul had also described Timothy as someone who had served with him “in the Gospel” (Phil. 2:22).  Paul goes on to refer to Euodia and Syntyche as his “fellow-workers“.  Earlier, Paul had also referred to Epaphroditus as his “fellow-worker” (Phil. 2:25).  So, according to Paul, the ministries of the women Euodia and Syntyche were comparable to the ministries of the men Timothy and Epaphroditus.

 Early church bishop and theologian, John Chrysostom (c349-407), believed that Euodia and Syntyche were leaders in the Philippian church.  Moreover, he compared them to Phoebe, a woman minister (diakonos) in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1-2).  In his 13th Homily on Philippians he wrote:

 These women [Euodia and Syntyche] seem to me to be the chief of the Church which was there, and [Paul] commends them to some notable man whom he calls his yokefellow; [Paul] commends them to him, as to a fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, and brother, and companion, as he does in the Epistle to the Romans, when he says, I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a minister of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1). (Homilies on Philippians, 13)

 It was not unusual for women to have, leadership roles in Philippi.  Philippi was the chief city of Macedonia (Acts 16:12) and it has been well documented that Macedonian women enjoyed greater freedoms, rights and powers than many other women of that time.

“If Macedonia produced perhaps the most competent group of men the world had yet seen, the women were in all respects the men’s counterparts; they played a large part in affairs, received envoys and obtained concessions for them from their husbands, built temples, founded cities, engaged mercenaries, commanded armies, held fortresses, and acted on occasion as regents or even co rulers.”  W. Tarn and G.T. Griffith in Hellenistic Civilisation, 3rd Edition, 1952, pp89,99; quoted by Ralph Martin (1983:16)

“We can see this [freedom of women] even in the narrative in Acts of Paul’s work in Macedonia.  In Philippi, Paul’s first contact was with the meeting for prayer by a riverside, and he spoke to the women gathered there (Acts 16:13).  Lydia was obviously a leading figure in Philippi (Acts 16:14).[6]  In Thessalonica, many of the chief women were won for Christianity, and the same thing happened at Berea (Acts 17:4 & 12). …it is well worth remembering, when we are thinking of the place of women in the early church and of Paul’s attitude to them, that in the Macedonian churches they clearly had a leading place.” (William Barclay 2003:86)

 Were Euodia and Syntyche church leaders?  Paul’s letter to the Philippians differs to his other letters because Paul specifically includes the overseers (episkopoi) and ministers (diakonoi) in his opening greeting.  Instead of the traditional English translation of “overseers and deacons”,  FF Bruce (1981) translates this phrase in Philippians 1:1 as “chief pastors and other ministers” which may more faithfully convey the meaning of these roles in New Testament times.  It does seem possible that Euodia, Syntyche, and possibly Clement who is mentioned with them, were the overseers or chief pastors of house churches at Philippi.  In the 1st century, independently wealthy women, as well as men, who hosted a church in their own homes may have functioned as overseers (episkopoi).  At the very least, Euodia and Syntyche, like many other 1st century Christian women, were ministers (diakonoi).

So there is certainly no Biblical reason women can't preach.

New insight, what we call the Pasotrial Epistles, should be called the Paulian Pastoral Epistles.  There are two other Pastoral Epistles in The Bible, 2 John and 3rd John.

For some additional context, here  is my post on traditional traditional gender roles in The Bible in general.