Bible -- Commentaries; Bible -- Feminist criticism; Women in the Bible
43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of
the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast
circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of
the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone
thereof.
47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the
passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let
him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the
land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
In commemoration of this promise of the Lord's to pass over their
homes in executing vengeance on the Egyptians, and of the prolonged
battles between Jehovah and Moses on the one side, and Pharaoh and his
Cabinet on the other, the Jews held an annual feast to which all
circumcised males were summoned. The point of interest to us is whether
women were disqualified, not being circumcised, or whether as members
of the congregation they could slip in under the provision in the 47th
verse, and enjoy the unleavened bread and nice roast lamb with the men
of their household. It seems from the above texts that this blessed
feast of deliverance from bondage must have been confined to males,
that they only, could express, their joy and gratitude. But women were
permitted to perform a subordinate part in the grand hegira, beside
carrying their respective infants they manifested their patriotism by
stealing all the jewels of gold and silver, all the rich silks and
velvets from their Egyptian neighbors, all they could carry, according
to the commands of Moses. And why should these women take any part in
the passover; their condition remained about the same under all
dynasties in all lands. They were regarded merely as necessary factors
in race building. As Jewish wives or Egyptian concubines, there was no
essential difference in their social status.
As Satan, represented by a male snake, seemed to be women's counsellor
from the beginning, making her skillful in cunning and tergiversation,
it is fair to suppose that they were destined to commune with the
spirit of evil for ever and ever, that is if women have souls and are
immortal, which is thought to be doubtful by many nations. There is no
trace thus far that the Jews believed in a future state, good or bad.
No promise of immortality is held out to men even. So far the promise
to them is a purely material triumph, "their seed shall not fill the
earth."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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