http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4866842.ece

Delilah is dangerous, Jezebel, wicked, and as for Eve… Whether they are temptresses, harlots or simply Old Testament chattels, women (it is often argued) get a raw deal in Scripture, with the odd saintly exception (the virgin Mary).

But new research into Biblical women shows that the majority receive positive or matter-of-fact write-ups. Words such as “blessed”, “righteous” “outstanding” and – of course – “beautiful” crop up in descriptions of 60 of the Bible’s 175 female characters, according to research from The Bible Society.

“Some people have the impression that the Bible is very negative about women,” says David Ashford, the Society’s Media and Development Officer.

Ashford’s research, based on analysing the words used to describe Biblical females, found that “there are four times as many saints as there are sinners,” and that “individual women are often described in the Bible in glowing terms.”

“Wisdom is described as a female attribute in many texts. And some scholars believe that the Song of Deborah, which was probably composed by a woman, is one of the oldest pieces of literature within the Bible (Judges 5).” Jesus, he adds, had a liberated attitude to women, unusual for his era: “John 4.27, for example, shows that Jesus broke social conventions that discouraged conversations with women. Similarly, the gospel of Luke has long been referred to as the ‘gospel of women’ for its strong positive portrayal of women in the life of Jesus.”

Hang on, what about the Jezebels, and Biblical harlots? Where do they fit the narrative? “Only 13 women are described negatively with terms such as ‘nagging, intimidating lustful or provocative'” asserts Ashford, whose list of Bible heroines includes Sarah, Ruth and Mary, while Jezebel, Delilah fall into the villain camp.

As for the rest, those women who fall somewhere in between “the sinner” and “the saint” are described in “neutral” matter-of-fact terms – mother of, sister of, neighbour of etc. Those who do not receive both positive and negative descriptions, for example Miriam in the Old Testament who in Exodus is described as “Prophetess” but by the book of Numbers is marked down as a sinner for questioning, along with Aaron, the authority of Moses.

Not everyone will agree with him, Ashford concedes. “The portrayal of women in the Bible is an emotive subject,” he writes in the Bible StyIe Guide, a reference book to the Bible Ashford has produced on behalf of the Bible Society for broadcasters and journalists. “Some feminist scholars take for granted the view that the Bible is essentially a sexist book.

“It was, they point out, written almost entirely by men, for men, using masculine language. These scholars view it as a ‘power tool’ that has been used down the centuries by mostly male leaders to keep women ‘in their place’. For most of Christian history, Biblical interpretation has often been associated with men rather than with women…However, other feminist scholars look at the Bible with different eyes. They maintain that the Bible is made up of many texts and therefore to dismiss it all as sexist is simplistic. As far as they are concerned, when properly considered, the Bible outlines a positive view of women and their relationships with men.”

“Of course, there are texts about women in the Bible that can present a problem, but Christians have different views about how to understand them” he concludes.

So is the problem that the portrayal of Biblical females has been misinterpreted? The renowned feminist Bible scholar Dr Phyllis Tribble says that Eve is the cIassic example of a misunderstood female in Scripture.

“Contrary to tradition, she is not created as the assistant or subordinate of the man. In fact, most often the Hebrew word ‘ezer’ (which means ‘helper’) connotes superiority (Ps. 121:2; 124:8; 146:5; Exod. 18:4; Deut. 33:7, 26, 29), thereby posing a rather different problem about this woman,” Tribble argues in her essay Feminist Hermeneutics and Biblical Studies.

She continues: “…The accompanying phrase ‘fit for’ or ‘corresponding to’ (‘a helper corresponding to’) tempers the connotation of superiority to specify the mutuality of woman and man. Further, when the serpent talks with the woman (Gen. 3:1-5), he uses plural verb forms, making her the spokesperson for the human couple – hardly the pattern of a patriarchal culture. She discusses theology intelligently…”

“Speaking with clarity and authority” Eve is in fact both “theologian, ethicist, hermeneut and rabbi” and thus defies patriarchal stereotypes and “reverses what Church, synagogue and academy have preached about women.”