Feminist Hermeneutical Portrayal Of Eve In The New Testament

"Feminism is a social vision, rooted in women's experience of sexually based discrimination and oppression, a movement seeking the liberation of women from all forms of sexism, and an academic method of analysis being used in virtually every discipline." (Anne M. Clifford) From the beginning, women have often been excluded, marginalised or silenced in the Christian tradition. This is due to the fact that the bible was written during a patriarchal time where feminism did not exist. Unfortunately those beliefs have been passed down many generations later. However, Feminist hermeneutics challenges these patriarchal views of women through an analysis of the world behind, of and in front of the text. For instance, the portrayal of Eve in the New Testament can be challenged by applying a feminist hermeneutical approach.
Due to the fact that the world behind the text was very much a man’s world, the place of women was marginalised. People often believe that these patriarchal views of women originated from Eve’s actions in the story of creation. However, her character and identity in Genesis is not a divinely ordained fact, but the misogynistic construction of Hebrew writers. These views are evident in some biblical text. For example, in the passage Timothy 2:11-15, God says, “Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. This quote from scripture highlights the view that men were granted authority over women for Eve’s