On The Eagle's Wings

Excellent article by Joe Trull:

In order to interpret Paul's domestic teachings correctly, an understanding of family roles and relationships in the first-century world is absolutely essential.  Although Jewish women occupied a position of dignity and responsibility in the home, in social and religious life they were little more than an appendage of their husbands.  A Jewish woman was entirely at the disposal of her father or her spouse.  Forbidden to learn the law, she had no part in the synagogue service, she could not tech in school, and she could not testify in the courts.  Talking to women in public was forbidden, even between a man and his wife or daughter.

    The respectable Greek woman lived a secluded life; confined to her quarters, she did not emerge even for meals.  Normally she appeared in public only once or twice a year:  during religious festivals or at a relative's funeral.  The reason for her seclusion is related to the role of the Greek wife.  Demosthenes explained the accepted rule:  "We have courtesans (hetairai) for our pleasure, prostitutes (that is, young female slaves) for daily physical use, wives to bring up legitimate children and to be faithful stewards in household matters."[vii]  The wife's primary function was to bear a male heir for her husband; love and companionship were to be found elsewhere.

    In Roman society, a woman had greater practical freedom.  A Roman wife could appear in public with her husband and was allowed by law to initiate divorce, but beyond that her rights were limited.  In the Roman pantheon and the Roman theater, women were thoroughly degraded.[viii]

    In stark contrast to the universal denigration of females and the deterioration of marriage in the first century, Jesus' attitude was totally countercultural.  Sweeping aside centuries of tradition and prejudice, Jesus' treatment of women was revolutionary.  What did he do?  Christ simply related to women as he did to men, never regarding them as inferior in any way.  Christ also reaffirmed God's original intent for marriage, which Paul quotes in this passage:  "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Eph. 5:31; see Mt. 19:5).

    The Christian faith did much for women and even more for children.  In the Roman world, life was perilous for the child.  Under the Roman patria potestas, a Roman father had absolute power over his family.  Any member could be sold as a slave, required to work in chains, or even given the death penalty.  The power of the Roman father extended over the whole life of the child, as long as the father lived.  Though public opinion seldom allowed it, history records some instances of a Roman father condemning his son and executing him.[ix]

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