Ever since learning of the documentary hypothesis in BI100, I have been curious as to where sources fall with modern ethical issues, like the role of gender and how relationships between men and women have shaped the stories of Genesis. In detailing this issue within a clearly patriarchal society, Theodore Hiebert offers a J counternarrative that promotes subordinate individuals, such as women.
Since the garden narrative in Genesis is believed to “support the subordination of women to men by interpreting the women as weak and blameworthy,” (Hiebert 11), I was encouraged by Hiebert’s finding that the Eden narrative demonstrates more equality than traditionally thought. However, I was surprised that J’s Eden seemed to legitimize the position and privilege of males while the creation of man and woman in the P source seems to “reflect more equality” as the “sexes are created together” (11). As a result, I questioned Hiebert’s contention that J then champions “strong women characters” who challenge patriarchal systems, finding the argument that the first woman actively theologizes with the serpent to be unconvincing (11).
It was not until Hiebert’s analysis of ancestral behavior that his argument gained strength, as he finds that “matriarchs…play a larger role in determining the transfer of power…than do patriarchs” (19). These narratives derive from J stories in the Ancestral Age of Genesis. Specifically, Hiebert’s examines the deceit of J’s Rebekah and Jacob, wrestling power and privilege from Isaac and Esau. Later, the strength found in Tamar works to further J’s erosion of patriarchal systems. Here, Tamar masterfully outwits Judah, “rectify(ing) her undeserved predicament” (24)