Societies in the ancient Near East were of the patriarchal type. Israel no less than other nations was a patriarchal society. Characteristic in those societies was the lower status of women. The basic social and economic unit for Hebrew society was the family, headed by the father it was called beith-ab, literally, the fathers home . The federation, as a whole was organised around male heads of families. In turn, the religious community consisted of circumcised …showed first 75 words of 1792 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1792 total…New International Version, International Bible Society Zondervan Publishers, USA. Freedman D.N. Editor. The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Volume 6 Doubleday, New York. Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Forgotten Heroines: The Exclusion of Women from Moses’ Vision. Bible Review, December 1997:41 LaCocque, Andre.(1990) The Feminine Unconventional Fortress Press, Minneapolis. Ogden Bellis, Alice.(1994) Helpmates Harlots Heros: Women’s Stories in the Hebrew Bible. Westminister/John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky. Trible, Phyllis. (1984) Texts of Terror :Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives Fortress Press, Philadelphia.