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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/9880.txt b/9880.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bdba4d2 --- /dev/null +++ b/9880.txt @@ -0,0 +1,18055 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Woman's Bible, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Woman's Bible + Part I. Comments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. + Part II. Comments on the Old and New Testaments from Joshua to Revelation. + +Author: Elizabeth Cady Stanton + +Posting Date: November 3, 2011 [EBook #9880] +Release Date: February, 2006 +First Posted: October 27, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN'S BIBLE *** + + + + +Produced by Carrie Lorenz and John B. Hare + + + + + + + + + +THE WOMAN'S BIBLE. + + +PART I. + + + +Comments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. + + +"In every soul there is bound up some truth and some error, and each +gives to the world of thought what no other one possesses."--Cousin. + + + + +1898. + + + + +By + + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton + + + + + +REVISING COMMITTEE. + + +"We took sweet counsel together."--Ps. Iv., 14. + + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, + +Lillie Devereux Blake, + +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, + +Matilda Joslyn Gage, + +Clara Bewick Colby, + +Rev. Olympia Brown, + +Rev. Augusta Chapin, + +Frances Ellen Burr, + +Ursula N. Gestefeld, + +Clara B. Neyman, + +Mary Seymour Howell, + +Helen H. Gardener, + +Josephine K. Henry, + +Charlotte Beebe: Wilbour, + +Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll, + +Lucinda B. Chandler, + +Sarah A. Underwood, + +Catharine F. Stebbins, + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick,[FN#1] + +Louisa Southworth. + + + +[FN#1] Deceased. + + + + +FOREIGN MEMBERS. + + +Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, Finland, + +Ursula M. Bright, England, + +Irma Von Troll-Borostyant, Austria, + +Priscilla Bright Mclaren, Scotland, + +Isabelle Bogelot, France + + + + + +COMMENTS + +ON + +GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS AND DEUTERONOMY, + + + +By + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, +Lillie Devereux Blake, +Rev. Phebe Hanaford, +Clara Bewick Colby, + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick, +Ursula N. Gestefeld, +Mrs. Louisa Southworth, +Frances Ellen Burr. + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +So many letters are daily received asking questions about the Woman's +Bible,--as to the extent of the revision, and the standpoint from which +it will be conducted--that it seems best, though every detail is not as +yet matured, to state the plan, as concisely as possible, upon which +those who have been in consultation during the summer, propose to do +the work. + + +I. The object is to revise only those texts and chapters directly +referring to women, and those also in which women are made prominent by +exclusion. As all such passages combined form but one-tenth of the +Scriptures, the undertaking will not be so laborious as, at the first +thought, one would imagine. These texts, with the commentaries, can +easily be compressed into a duodecimo volume of about four hundred +pages. + + +II. The commentaries will be of a threefold character, the writers in +the different branches being selected according to their special +aptitude for the work: + +1. Two or three Greek and Hebrew scholars will devote themselves to +the translation and the meaning of particular words and texts in the +original. + +2. Others will devote themselves to Biblical history, old manuscripts, +to the new version, and to the latest theories as to the occult meaning +of certain texts and parables. + +3. For the commentaries on the plain English version a committee of +some thirty members has been formed. These are women of earnestness and +liberal ideas, quick to see the real purport of the Bible as regards +their sex. Among them the various books of the Old and New Testament +will be distributed for comment. + + +III. There will be two or more editors to bring the work of the +various committees into one consistent whole. + + +IV. The completed work will be submitted to an advisory committee +assembled at some central point, as London, New York, or Chicago, to +sit in final judgment on "The Woman's Bible." + + +As to the manner of doing the practical work: + +Those who have been engaged this summer have adopted the following +plan, which may be suggestive to new members of the committee. Each +person purchased two Bibles, ran through them from Genesis to +Revelations, marking all the texts that concerned women. The passages +were cut out, and pasted in a blank book, and the commentaries then +written underneath. + +Those not having time to read all the books can confine their labors +to the particular ones they propose to review. + +It is thought best to publish the different parts as soon as prepared +so that the Committee may have all in print in a compact form before +the final revision. + + + +E. C. S. + +August 1st, 1895. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +From the inauguration of the movement for woman's emancipation the +Bible has been used to hold her in the "divinely ordained sphere," +prescribed in the Old and New Testaments. + +The canon and civil law; church and state; priests and legislators; +all political parties and religious denominations have alike taught +that woman was made after man, of man, and for man, an inferior being, +subject to man. Creeds, codes, Scriptures and statutes, are all based +on this idea. The fashions, forms, ceremonies and customs of society, +church ordinances and discipline all grow out of this idea. + +Of the old English common law, responsible for woman's civil and +political status, Lord Brougham said, "it is a disgrace to the +civilization and Christianity of the Nineteenth Century." Of the canon +law, which is responsible for woman's status in the church, Charles +Kingsley said, "this will never be a good world for women until the +last remnant of the canon law is swept from the face of the earth." + +The Bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world, +that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned +before the judgment seat of Heaven, tried, condemned and sentenced. +Marriage for her was to be a condition of bondage, maternity a period +of suffering and anguish, and in silence and subjection, she was to +play the role of a dependent on man's bounty for all her material +wants, and for all the information she might desire on the vital +questions of the hour, she was commanded to ask her husband at home. +Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up. + +Those who have the divine insight to translate, transpose and +transfigure this mournful object of pity into an exalted, dignified +personage, worthy our worship as the mother of the race, are to be +congratulated as having a share of the occult mystic power of the +eastern Mahatmas. + +The plain English to the ordinary mind admits of no such liberal +interpretation. The unvarnished texts speak for themselves. The canon +law, church ordinances and Scriptures, are homogeneous, and all +reflect the same spirit and sentiments. + +These familiar texts are quoted by clergymen in their pulpits, by +statesmen in the halls of legislation, by lawyers in the courts, and +are echoed by the press of all civilized nations, and accepted by woman +herself as "The Word of God." So perverted is the religious element in +her nature, that with faith and works she is the chief support of the +church and clergy; the very powers that make her emancipation +impossible. When, in the early part of the Nineteenth Century, women +began to protest against their civil and political degradation, they +were referred to the Bible for an answer. When they protested against +their unequal position in the church, they were referred to the Bible +for an answer. + +This led to a general and critical study of the Scriptures. Some, +having made a fetish of these books and believing them to be the +veritable "Word of God," with liberal translations, interpretations, +allegories and symbols, glossed over the most objectionable features of +the various books and clung to them as divinely inspired. Others, +seeing the family resemblance between the Mosaic code, the canon law, +and the old English common law, came to the conclusion that all alike +emanated from the same source; wholly human in their origin and +inspired by the natural love of domination in the historians. Others, +bewildered with their doubts and fears, came to no conclusion. While +their clergymen told them on the one hand, that they owed all the +blessings and freedom they enjoyed to the Bible, on the other, they +said it clearly marked out their circumscribed sphere of action: that +the demands for political and civil rights were irreligious, dangerous +to the stability of the home, the state and the church. Clerical +appeals were circulated from time to time, conjuring members of their +churches to take no part in the anti-slavery or woman suffrage +movements, as they were infidel in their tendencies, undermining the +very foundations of society. No wonder the majority of women stood +still, and with bowed heads, accepted the situation. + +Listening to the varied opinions of women, I have long thought it +would be interesting and profitable to get them clearly stated in book +form. To this end six years ago I proposed to a committee of women to +issue a Woman's Bible, that we might have women's commentaries on +women's position in the Old and New Testaments. It was agreed on by +several leading women in England and America and the work was begun, +but from various causes it has been delayed, until now the idea is +received with renewed enthusiasm, and a large committee has been +formed, and we hope to complete the work within a year. + +Those who have undertaken the labor are desirous to have some Hebrew +and Greek scholars, versed in Biblical criticism, to gild our pages +with their learning. Several distinguished women have been urged to do +so, but they are afraid that their high reputation and scholarly +attainments might be compromised by taking part in an enterprise that +for a time may prove very unpopular. Hence we may not be able to get +help from that class. + +Others fear that they might compromise their evangelical faith by +affiliating with those of more liberal views, who do not regard the +Bible as the "Word of God," but like any other book, to be judged by +its merits. If the Bible teaches the equality of Woman, why does the +church refuse to ordain women to preach the gospel, to fill the offices +of deacons and elders, and to administer the Sacraments, or to admit +them as delegates to the Synods, General Assemblies and Conferences of +the different denominations? They have never yet invited a woman to +join one of their Revising Committees, nor tried to mitigate the +sentence pronounced on her by changing one count in the indictment +served on her in Paradise. + +The large number of letters received, highly appreciative of the +undertaking, is very encouraging to those who have inaugurated the +movement, and indicate a growing self-respect and self-assertion in the +women of this generation. But we have the usual array of objectors to +meet and answer. One correspondent conjures us to suspend the work, as +it is "ridiculous" for "women to attempt the revision of the +Scriptures." I wonder if any man wrote to the late revising committee +of Divines to stop their work on the ground that it was ridiculous for +men to revise the Bible. Why is it more ridiculous for women to protest +against her present status in the Old and New Testament, in the +ordinances and discipline of the church, than in the statutes and +constitution of the state? Why is it more ridiculous to arraign +ecclesiastics for their false teaching and acts of injustice to women, +than members of Congress and the House of Commons? Why is it more +audacious to review Moses than Blackstone, the Jewish code of laws, +than the English system of jurisprudence? Women have compelled their +legislators in every state in this Union to so modify their statutes +for women that the old common law is now almost a dead letter. Why not +compel Bishops and Revising Committees to modify their creeds and +dogmas? Forty years ago it seemed as ridiculous to timid, time-serving +and retrograde folk for women to demand an expurgated edition of the +laws, as it now does to demand an expurgated edition of the Liturgies +and the Scriptures. Come, come, my conservative friend, wipe the dew +off your spectacles, and see that the world is moving. Whatever your +views may be as to the importance of the proposed work, your political +and social degradation are but an outgrowth of your status in the +Bible. When you express your aversion, based on a blind feeling of +reverence in which reason has no control, to the revision of the +Scriptures, you do but echo Cowper, who, when asked to read Paine's +"Rights of Man," exclaimed "No man shall convince me that I am +improperly governed while I feel the contrary." + +Others say it is not politic to rouse religious opposition. + +This much-lauded policy is but another word for cowardice. How can +woman's position be changed from that of a subordinate to an equal, +without opposition, without the broadest discussion of all the +questions involved in her present degradation? For so far-reaching and +momentous a reform as her complete independence, an entire revolution +in all existing institutions is inevitable. + +Let us remember that all reforms are interdependent, and that whatever +is done to establish one principle on a solid basis, strengthens all. +Reformers who are always compromising, have not yet grasped the idea +that truth is the only safe ground to stand upon. The object of an +individual life is not to carry one fragmentary measure in human +progress, but to utter the highest truth clearly seen in all +directions, and thus to round out and perfect a well balanced +character. Was not the sum of influence exerted by John Stuart Mill on +political, religious and social questions far greater than that of any +statesman or reformer who has sedulously limited his sympathies and +activities to carrying one specific measure? We have many women +abundantly endowed with capabilities to understand and revise what men +have thus far written. But they are all suffering from inherited ideas +of their inferiority; they do not perceive it, yet such is the true +explanation of their solicitude, lest they should seem to be too self- +asserting. + +Again there are some who write us that our work is a useless +expenditure of force over a book that has lost its hold on the human +mind. Most intelligent women, they say, regard it simply as the history +of a rude people in a barbarous age, and have no more reverence for the +Scriptures than any other work. So long as tens of thousands of Bibles +are printed every year, and circulated over the whole habitable globe, +and the masses in all English-speaking nations revere it as the word of +God, it is vain to belittle its influence. The sentimental feelings we +all have for those things we were educated to believe sacred, do not +readily yield to pure reason. I distinctly remember the shudder that +passed over me on seeing a mother take our family Bible to make a high +seat for her child at table. It seemed such a desecration. I was +tempted to protest against its use for such a purpose, and this, +too, long after my reason had repudiated its divine authority. + +To women still believing in the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, +we say give us by all means your exegesis in the light of the higher +criticism learned men are now making, and illumine the Woman's Bible, +with your inspiration. + +Bible historians claim special inspiration for the Old and New +Testaments containing most contradictory records of the same events, of +miracles opposed to all known laws, of customs that degrade the female +sex of all human and animal life, stated in most questionable language +that could not be read in a promiscuous assembly, and call all this +"The Word of God." + +The only points in which I differ from all ecclesiastical teaching is +that I do not believe that any man ever saw or talked with God, I do +not believe that God inspired the Mosaic code, or told the historians +what they say he did about woman, for all the religions on the face of +the earth degrade her, and so long as woman accepts the position that +they assign her, her emancipation is impossible. Whatever the Bible may +be made to do in Hebrew or Greek, in plain English it does not exalt +and dignify woman. My standpoint for criticism is the revised edition +of 1888. 1 will so far honor the revising committee of wise men who +have given us the best exegesis they can according to their ability, +although Disraeli said the last one before he died, contained 150,000 +blunders in the Hebrew, and 7,000 in the Greek. + +But the verbal criticism in regard to woman's position amounts to +little. The spirit is the same in all periods and languages, hostile to +her as an equal. + +There are some general principles in the holy books of all religions +that teach love, charity, liberty, justice and equality for all the +human family, there are many grand and beautiful passages, the golden +rule has been echoed and re-echoed around the world. There are lofty +examples of good and true men and women, all worthy our acceptance and +imitation whose lustre cannot be dimmed by the false sentiments and +vicious characters bound up in the same volume. The Bible cannot be +accepted or rejected as a whole, its teachings are varied and its +lessons differ widely from each other. In criticising the peccadilloes +of Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel, we would not shadow the virtues of +Deborah, Huldah and Vashti. In criticising the Mosaic code, we would +not question the wisdom of the golden rule and the fifth Commandment. +Again the church claims special consecration for its cathedrals and +priesthood, parts of these aristocratic churches are too holy for +women to enter, boys were early introduced into the choirs for this +reason, woman singing in an obscure corner closely veiled. A few of +the more democratic denominations accord women some privileges, but +invidious discriminations of sex are found in all religious +organizations, and the most bitter outspoken enemies of woman +are found among clergymen and bishops of the Protestant religion.[FN#2] + + + +[FN#2] See the address of Bishop Doane, June 7th, 1895, in the closing +exercises of St. Agnes School, Albany. + + + +The canon law, the Scriptures, the creeds and codes and church +discipline of the leading religions bear the impress of fallible man, +and not of our ideal great first cause, "the Spirit of all Good," that +set the universe of matter and mind in motion, and by immutable law +holds the land, the sea, the planets, revolving round the great centre +of light and heat, each in its own elliptic, with millions of stars in +harmony all singing together, the glory of creation forever and ever. + + + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF GENESIS. + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Genesis i: 26, 27, 28. + + + +26 And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: +and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl +of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every +creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth 27 So God created man in +his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female +image, created he them. + +28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and +multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion +over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every +living thing that moveth upon the earth. + + +Here is the sacred historian's first account of the advent of woman; a +simultaneous creation of both sexes, in the image of God. It is evident +from the language that there was consultation in the Godhead, and that +the masculine and feminine elements were equally represented. Scott in +his commentaries says, "this consultation of the Gods is the origin of +the doctrine of the trinity." But instead of three male personages, as +generally represented, a Heavenly Father, Mother, and Son would seem +more rational. + +The first step in the elevation of woman to her true position, as an +equal factor in human progress, is the cultivation of the religious +sentiment in regard to her dignity and equality, the recognition by the +rising generation of an ideal Heavenly Mother, to whom their prayers +should be addressed, as well as to a Father. + +If language has any meaning, we have in these texts a plain +declaration of the existence of the feminine element in the Godhead, +equal in power and glory with the masculine. The Heavenly Mother and +Father! "God created man in his own image, male and female." Thus +Scripture, as well as science and philosophy, declares the eternity +and equality of sex--the philosophical fact, without which there could +have been no perpetuation of creation, no growth or development in the +animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms, no awakening nor progressing in +the world of thought. The masculine and feminine elements, exactly +equal and balancing each other, are as essential to the maintenance of +the equilibrium of the universe as positive and negative electricity, +the centripetal and centrifugal forces, the laws of attraction which +bind together all we know of this planet whereon we dwell and of the +system in which we revolve. + +In the great work of creation the crowning glory was realized, when +man and woman were evolved on the sixth day, the masculine and feminine +forces in the image of God, that must have existed eternally, in all +forms of matter and mind. All the persons in the Godhead are +represented in the Elohim the divine plurality taking counsel in regard +to this last and highest form of life. Who were the members of this +high council, and were they a duality or a trinity? Verse 27 declares +the image of God male and female. How then is it possible to make woman +an afterthought? We find in verses 5-16 the pronoun "he" used. Should +it not in harmony with verse 26 be "they," a dual pronoun? We may +attribute this to the same cause as the use of "his" in verse 11 +instead of "it." The fruit tree yielding fruit after "his" kind instead +of after "its" kind. The paucity of a language may give rise to many +misunderstandings. + +The above texts plainly show the simultaneous creation of man and +woman, and their equal importance in the development of the race. All +those theories based on the assumption that man was prior in the +creation, have no foundation in Scripture. + +As to woman's subjection, on which both the canon and the civil law +delight to dwell, it is important to note that equal dominion is given +to woman over every living thing, but not one word is said giving man +dominion over woman. + +Here is the first title deed to this green earth giving alike to the +sons and daughters of God. No lesson of woman's subjection can be +fairly drawn from the first chapter of the Old Testament. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The most important thing for a woman to note, in reading Genesis, is +that that portion which is now divided into "the first three chapters" +(there was no such division until about five centuries ago), contains +two entirely separate, and very contradictory, stories of creation, +written by two different, but equally anonymous, authors. No Christian +theologian of to-day, with any pretensions to scholarship, claims that +Genesis was written by Moses. As was long ago pointed out, the Bible +itself declares that all the books the Jews originally possessed were +burned in the destruction of Jerusalem, about 588 B. C., at the time +the people were taken to Babylonia as slaves too the Assyrians, (see II +Esdras, ch. xiv, V. 21, Apocrypha). Not until about 247 B. C. (some +theologians say 226 and others; 169 B. C.) is there any record of a +collection of literature in the re-built Jerusalem, and, then, the +anonymous writer of II Maccabees briefly mentions that some Nehemiah +"gathered together the acts of the kings and the prophets and those of +David" when "founding a library" for use in Jerusalem. But the earliest +mention anywhere in the Bible of a book that might have corresponded to +Genesis is made by an apocryphal writer, who says that Ezra wrote "all +that hath been done in the world since the beginning," after the Jews +returned from Babylon, under his leadership, about 450 B. C. (see II +Esdras, ch. xiv, v. 22, of the Apocrypha). + +When it is remembered that the Jewish books were written on rolls of +leather, without much attention to vowel points and with no division +into verses or chapters, by uncritical copyists, who altered passages +greatly, and did not always even pretend to understand what they were +copying, then the reader of Genesis begins to put herself in position +to understand how it can be contradictory. Great as were the liberties +which the Jews took with Genesis, those of the English translators, +however, greatly surpassed them. + +The first chapter of Genesis, for instance, in Hebrew, tells us, in +verses one and two, "As to origin, created the gods (Elohim) these +skies (or air or clouds) and this earth. . . And a wind moved upon the +face of the waters." Here we have the opening of a polytheistic fable +of creation, but, so strongly convinced were the English translators +that the ancient Hebrews must have been originally monotheistic that +they rendered the above, as follows: "In the beginning God created the +heaven and the earth. . . . And the spirit of God (!) moved upon the +face of the waters." + +It is now generally conceded that some one (nobody pretends to know +who) at some time (nobody pretends to know exactly when), copied two +creation myths on the same leather roll, one immediately following the +other. About one hundred years ago, it was discovered by Dr. Astruc, of +France, that from Genesis ch. i, v. 1 to Genesis ch. ii, v. 4, is given +one complete account of creation, by an author who always used the term +"the gods" (Elohim), in speaking of the fashioning of the universe, +mentioning it altogether thirty-four times, while, in Genesis ch. ii, +v. 4, to the end of chapter iii, we have a totally different narrative, +by an author of unmistakably different style, who uses the term "Iahveh +of the gods" twenty times, but "Elohim" only three times. The first +author, evidently, attributes creation to a council of gods, acting in +concert, and seems never to have heard of Iahveh. The second attributes +creation to Iahveh, a tribal god of ancient Israel, but represents +Iahveh as one of two or more gods, conferring with them (in Genesis ch. +xiii, V. 22) as to the danger of man's acquiring immortality. + +Modern theologians have, for convenience sake, entitled these two +fables, respectively, the Elohistic and the Iahoistic stories. They +differ, not only in the point I have mentioned above, but in the order +of the "creative acts;" in regard to the mutual attitude of man and +woman, and in regard to human freedom from prohibitions imposed by +deity. In order to exhibit their striking contradictions, I will place +them in parallel columns: + + +ELOHISTIC. --- IAHOISTIC. + +Order of Creation: --- Order of Creation: +First--Water. --- First--Land. +Second--Land. --- Second--Water. +Third--Vegetation. --- Third--Male Man, only. +Fourth--Animals. --- Fourth--Vegetation. +Fifth--Mankind; male and female. --- Fifth--Animals. + --- Sixth--Woman. + +In this story male and female man are created simultaneously, both +alike, in the image of the gods, after animals have been called into +existence. --- In this story male man is sculptured out of clay, +before any animals are created, and before female man has been +constructed. + +Here, joint dominion over the earth is given to woman and man, without +limit or prohibition. --- Here, woman is punished with subjection to +man for breaking a prohibitory law. + +Everything, without exception, is pronounced "very good." --- There is +a tree of evil, whose fruit, is said by Iahveh to cause sudden death, +but which does not do so, as Adam lived 930 years after eating it. + +Man and woman are told that "every plant bearing seed upon the face of +the earth and every tree. . . To you it shall be for meat." They are +thus given perfect freedom. --- Man is told there is one tree of which +he must not eat, "for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely +die." + +Man and woman are given special dominion over all the animals-"every +creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." --- An animal, a +"creeping thing," is given dominion over man and woman, and proves +himself more truthful than Iahveh Elohim. (Compare Genesis chapter ii, +verse 17, with chapter iii, verses 4 and 22.) + + + +Now as it is manifest that both of these stories cannot be true; +intelligent women, who feel bound to give the preference to either, may +decide according to their own judgment of which is more worthy of an +intelligent woman's acceptance. Paul's rule is a good one in this +dilemma, "Prove all things: hold fast to that which is good." My own +opinion is that the second story was manipulated by some Jew, in an +endeavor to give "heavenly authority" for requiring a woman to obey the +man she married. In a work which I am now completing, I give some facts +concerning ancient Israelitish history, which will be of peculiar +interest to those who wish to understand the origin of woman's +subjection. + + +E. B. D. + + + +Many orientalists and students of theology have maintained that the +consultation of the Gods here described is proof that the Hebrews were +in early days polytheists--Scott's supposition that this is the origin +of the Trinity has no foundation in fact, as the beginning of that +conception is to be found in the earliest of all known religious nature +worship. The acknowledgment of the dual principal, masculine and +feminine, is much more probably the explanation of the expressions here +used. + +In the detailed description of creation we find a gradually ascending +series. Creeping things, "great sea monsters," (chap. I, V. 21, literal +translation). "Every bird of wing," cattle and living things of the +earth, the fish of the sea and the "birds of the heavens," then man, +and last and crowning glory of the whole, woman. + +It cannot be maintained that woman was inferior to man even if, as +asserted in chapter ii, she was created after him without at once +admitting that man is inferior to the creeping things, because created +after them. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Genesis ii, 21-25. + + + +21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he +slept; and be took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh thereof. + +22 And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, +and brought her unto the man. + +23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: +she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. + +24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall +cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. + +25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not +ashamed. + + +As the account of the creation in the first chapter is in harmony with +science, common sense, and the experience of mankind in natural laws, +the inquiry naturally arises, why should there be two contradictory +accounts in the same book, of the same event? It is fair to infer that +the second version, which is found in some form in the different +religions of all nations, is a mere allegory, symbolizing some +mysterious conception of a highly imaginative editor. + +The first account dignifies woman as an important factor in the +creation, equal in power and glory with man. The second makes her a +mere afterthought. The world in good running order without her. The +only reason for her advent being the solitude of man. + +There is something sublime in bringing order out of chaos; light out +of darkness; giving each planet its place in the solar system; oceans +and lands their limits; wholly inconsistent with a petty surgical +operation, to find material for the mother of the race. It is on this +allegory that all the enemies of women rest their battering rams, to +prove her inferiority. Accepting the view that man was prior in the +creation, some Scriptural writers say that as the woman was of the man, +therefore, her position should be one of subjection. Grant it, then as +the historical fact is reversed in our day, and the man is now of the +woman, shall his place be one of subjection? + +The equal position declared in the first account must prove more +satisfactory to both sexes; created alike in the image of God--The +Heavenly Mother and Father. + +Thus, the Old Testament, "in the beginning," proclaims the +simultaneous creation of man and woman, the eternity and equality of +sex; and the New Testament echoes back through the centuries the +individual sovereignty of woman growing out of this natural fact. Paul, +in speaking of equality as the very soul and essence of Christianity, +said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, +there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." +With this recognition of the feminine element in the Godhead in the Old +Testament, and this declaration of the equality of the sexes in the +New, we may well wonder at the contemptible status woman occupies in +the Christian Church of to-day. + +All the commentators and publicists writing on woman's position, go +through an immense amount of fine-spun metaphysical speculations, to +prove her subordination in harmony with the Creator's original design. + +It is evident that some wily writer, seeing the perfect equality of +man and woman in the first chapter, felt it important for the dignity +and dominion of man to effect woman's subordination in some way. To do +this a spirit of evil must be introduced, which at once proved itself +stronger than the spirit of good, and man's supremacy was based on the +downfall of all that had just been pronounced very good. This spirit of +evil evidently existed before the supposed fall of man, hence woman was +not the origin of sin as so often asserted. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In v. 23 Adam proclaims the eternal oneness of the happy pair, "This +is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh;" no hint of her +subordination. How could men, admitting these words to be divine +revelation, ever have preached the subjection of woman! + +Next comes the naming of the mother of the race. "She shall be called +Woman," in the ancient form of the word Womb-man. She was man and more +than man because of her maternity. + +The assertion of the supremacy of the woman in the marriage relation +is contained in v. 24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his +mother and cleave unto his wife." Nothing is said of the headship of +man, but he is commanded to make her the head of the household, the +home, a rule followed for centuries under the Matriarchate. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Genesis iii: 1-24. + + + +1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which +the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, +Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? + +2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the +trees of the garden: + +3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, +God hath said Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest +ye die. + +4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: + +5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes +shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. + +6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it +was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, +she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat and gave also unto her +husband with her; and he did eat. + +7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were +naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. + +8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in +the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the +presence of the Lord God amongst the trees in the garden. + +9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? + +10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, +because I was naked; and I hid myself. + +11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of +the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? + +12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she +gave me of the tree, and I did eat. + +13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast +done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. + +14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done +this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the +field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the +days of thy life: + +15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy +seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his +heel. + +16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy +conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: and thy desire +shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. + +17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice +of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, +saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in +sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; + +18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou +shalt eat the herb of the field; + +19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return +unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and +unto dust shalt thou return. + +20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve: because she was the mother of +all living. + +21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins +and clothed them. + +22 And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us, to +know good and evil; and now, let he put forth his hand, and take also +of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever; + +23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to +till the ground from whence he was taken. + +24 So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of +Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the +way of the tree of life. + + +Adam Clarke, in his commentaries, asks the question, "is this an +allegory?" He finds it beset with so many difficulties as an historical +fact, that he inclines at first to regard it as a fable, a mere symbol, +of some hidden truth. His mind seems more troubled about the serpent +than any other personage in the drama. As snakes cannot walk upright, +and have never been known to speak, he thinks this beguiling creature +must have been an ourang-outang, or some species of ape. However, after +expressing all his doubts, he rests in the assumption that it must be +taken literally, and that with higher knowledge of the possibilities of +all living things, many seeming improbabilities will be fully realized. + +A learned professor in Yale College,[FN#3] before a large class of +students, expressed serious doubts as to the forbidden fruit being an +apple, as none grew in that latitude. He said it must have been a +quince. If the serpent and the apple are to be withdrawn thus +recklessly from the tableaux, it is feared that with advancing +civilization the whole drama may fall into discredit. Scientists tells +us that "the missing link" between the ape and man, has recently been +discovered., so that we can now trace back an unbroken line of +ancestors to the dawn of creation. + + + +[FN#3] Daniel Cady Eaton, Professor of Botany. + + + +As out of this allegory grows the doctrines of original sin, the fall +of man, and woman the author of all our woes, and the curses on the +serpent, the woman, and the man; the Darwinian theory of the gradual +growth of the race from a lower to a higher type of animal life, is +more hopeful and encouraging. However, as our chief interest is in +woman's part in the drama, we are equally pleased with her attitude, +whether as a myth in an allegory, or as the heroine of an historical +occurrence. + +In this prolonged interview, the unprejudiced reader must be impressed +with the courage, the dignity, and the lofty ambition of the woman. The +tempter evidently had a profound knowledge of human nature, and saw at +a glance the high character of the person he met by chance in his walks +in the garden. He did not try to tempt her from the path of duty by +brilliant jewels, rich dresses, worldly luxuries or pleasures, but with +the promise of knowledge, with the wisdom of the Gods. + +Like Socrates or Plato, his powers of conversation and asking +puzzling questions, were no doubt marvellous, and he roused in the +woman that intense thirst for knowledge, that the simple pleasures of +picking flowers and talking with Adam did not satisfy. Compared with +Adam she appears to great advantage through the entire drama. + +The curse pronounced on woman is inserted in an unfriendly spirit to +justify her degradation and subjection to man. With obedience to the +laws of health, diet, dress, and exercise, the period of maternity +should be one of added vigor in both body and mind, a perfectly natural +operation should not be attended with suffering. By the observance of +physical and psychical laws the supposed curse can be easily +transformed into a blessing. Some churchmen speak of maternity as a +disability, and then chant the Magnificat in all their cathedrals round +the globe. Through all life's shifting scenes, the mother of the race +has been the greatest factor in civilization. + +We hear the opinion often expressed, that woman always has, and always +will be in subjection. Neither assertion is true. She enjoyed unlimited +individual freedom for many centuries, and the events of the present +day all point to her speedy emancipation. Scientists now give 85,000 +years for the growth of the race. They assign 60,000 to savagism, +20,000 to barbarism, and 5,000 to civilization. Recent historians tell +us that for centuries woman reigned supreme. That period was called the +Matriarchate. Then man seized the reins of government, and we are now +under the Patriarchate. But we see on all sides new forces gathering, +and woman is already abreast with man in art, science, literature, and +government. The next dynasty, in which both will reign as equals, will +be the Amphiarchate, which is close at hand. + +Psychologists tell us of a sixth sense now in process of development, +by which we can read each other's mind and communicate without speech. +The Tempter might have had that sense, as he evidently read the minds +of both the creature and the Creator, if we are to take this account +as literally true, as Adam Clarke advises. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Note the significant fact that we always hear of the "fall of man," +not the fall of woman, showing that the consensus of human thought has +been more unerring than masculine interpretation. Reading this +narrative carefully, it is amazing that any set of men ever claimed +that the dogma of the inferiority of woman is here set forth. The +conduct of Eve from the beginning to the end is so superior to that of +Adam. The command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge was +given to the man alone before woman was formed. Genesis ii, 17. +Therefore the injunction was not brought to Eve with the impressive +solemnity of a Divine Voice, but whispered to her by her husband and +equal. It was a serpent supernaturally endowed, a seraphim as Scott and +other commentators have claimed, who talked with Eve, and whose words +might reasonably seem superior to the second-hand story of her +companion nor does the woman yield at once. She quotes the command not +to eat of the fruit to which the serpent replies "Dying ye shall not +die," v. 4, literal translation. In other words telling her that if the +mortal body does perish, the immortal part shall live forever, and +offering as the reward of her act the attainment of Knowledge. + +Then the woman fearless of death if she can gain wisdom takes of the +fruit; and all this time Adam standing beside her interposes no word of +objection. "Her husband with her" are the words of v. 6. Had he been +the representative of the divinely appointed head in married life, he +assuredly would have taken upon himself the burden of the discussion +with the serpent, but no, he is silent in this crisis of their fate. +Having had the command from God himself he interposes no word of +warning or remonstrance, but takes the fruit from the hand of his wife +without a protest. It takes six verses to describe the "fall" of +woman, the fall of man is contemptuously dismissed in a line and a half. + +The subsequent conduct of Adam was to the last degree dastardly. When +the awful time of reckoning comes, and the Jehovah God appears to +demand why his command has been disobeyed, Adam endeavors to shield +himself behind the gentle being he has declared to be so dear. "The +woman thou gavest to be with me, she gave me and I did eat," he whines-- +trying to shield himself at his wife's expense! Again we are amazed +that upon such a story men have built up a theory of their superiority! + +Then follows what has been called the curse. Is it not rather a +prediction? First is the future fate of the serpent described, the +enmity of the whole human race--"it shall lie in wait for thee as to +the head" (v. 15, literal translation). Next the subjection of the +woman is foretold, thy husband "shall rule over thee," v. 16. Lastly +the long struggle of man with the forces of nature is portrayed. "In +the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat food until thy turning back to the +earth" (v. 19, literal translation). With the evolution of humanity an +ever increasing number of men have ceased to toil for their bread with +their hands, and with the introduction of improved machinery, and the +uplifting of the race there will come a time when there shall be no +severities of labor, and when women shall be freed from all oppressions. + +"And Adam called his wife's name Life for she was the mother of all +living" (V. 20, literal translation). + +It is a pity that all versions of the Bible do not give this word +instead of the Hebrew Eve. She was Life, the eternal mother, the first +representative of the more valuable and important half of the human +race. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Genesis iv: 1-12, 19, 21. + + + +1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and +said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. + +2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, +but Cain was a tiller of the ground. + +3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the +fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. + +4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the +fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. + +5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was +very wroth, and his countenance fell. + +6 And the lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy +countenance fallen? + +7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted: and if thou doest +not well, sin lieth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and +thou shalt rule over him. + +8 And Cain talked with Abet his brother: and it came to pass, when +they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and +slew him. + +9. And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said +"Am I my brother's keeper?" + +10. And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brothers blood +crieth unto me from the ground. + +11. And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth +to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. + +12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto +thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. + +19. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was +Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. + +23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, ye +wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech. + + +One would naturally suppose that Cain's offering of fruit indicated a +more refined and spiritual idea of the fitness of things than Abel's of +animal food. Why Cain's offering was rejected as unworthy does not +appear. + +There is something pathetic in Eve's joy and faith at the advent of +her first-born: "Lo I have a man child from the Lord." She evidently +thought that Cain was to be to her a great blessing. Some expositors +say that Eve thought that Cain was the promised seed that was to bruise +the serpent's head; but Adam Clarke, in estimating woman's reasoning +powers, says, "it was too metaphysical an idea for that period." But as +that is just what the Lord said to Eve, she must have had the capacity +to understand it. But all speculations as to what Eve thought in that +eventful hour are vain. Clarke asserts that Cain and Abel were twins. +Eve must have been too much occupied with her vacillating joys and +sorrows to have indulged in any connected train of thought. Her grief +in the fratricidal tragedy that followed can be more easily +understood. The dreary environments of the mother, and the hopeless +prophesies of her future struggling life, banished to a dreary, +desolate region, beyond the love and care of her Creator, is revenged +on her children. If Adam and Eve merited the severe punishment +inflicted on them, they should have had some advice from the Heavenly +Mother and Father as to the sin of propagating such an unworthy stock. +No good avails in increasing and multiplying evil propensities and +deformities that produce only crime and misery from generation to +generation. During the ante-natal period the mother should be held +sacred, and surrounded with all the sweetest influences that Heaven and +earth can give, loving companionship, beautiful scenery, music and +flowers, and all the pleasures that art in its highest form can produce. + +As the women at this period seem to be myths, no one takes the trouble +to tell from whence they came. It is sufficient that their husbands +know, and it is not necessary that the casual reader should. The +question is often asked, whom did Cain marry? Some expositors say that +Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters living in different parts of +the planet, and that they married each other. + +There seems to have been no scarcity of women, for Lamech, Cain's +great grandson, took unto himself two wives. Thus early in the history +of the race polygamic relations were recognized. The phraseology +announcing the marriage of Lamech is very significant. + +In the case of Adam and Eve the ceremony was more imposing and +dignified. It was declared an equal relation. But with the announcement +of Lamech's, he simply took two wives, Adah and Zillah. Whether the +women were willingly captured will ever remain an open question. The +manner in which he is accustomed to issue his orders does not indicate +a tender relation between the parties. + +"Hear my voice: ye wives of Lamech, and hearken unto my speech!" + +As the wives made no reply, it shows that they had already learned +that discreet silence is the only security for domestic happiness. + +Naamah the sister of Tubal Cain was supposed to be the wife of Noah. +Her name in Hebrew signifies the beautiful or the gracious. Jewish +doctors say her name is recorded here because she was an upright, +chaste woman, but others affirm the contrary because "the whole world +wandered after her." But the fact that Naamah's beauty attracted the +multitude, does not prove that she either courted or accepted their +attentions. + +The manner in which the writer of these chapters presents the women so +in conflict with Chapters i and v, which immediately precede and +follow, inclines the unprejudiced mind to relegate the ii, iii and iv +chapters to the realm of fancy as no part of the real history of +creation's dawn. + +The curse pronounced on Cain is similar to that inflicted on Adam, +both were to till the ground, which was to bring forth weeds +abundantly. Hale's statistics of weeds show their rapid and widespread +power of propagation. "A progeny," he says, "more than sufficient in a +few years to stock every planet of the solar system." In the face of +such discouraging facts, Hale coolly remarks. "Such provisions has the +just God made to fulfil the curse which he promised on man." + +It seems far more rational to believe that the curses on both woman +and man were but figments of the human brain, and that by the +observance of natural laws, both labor and maternity may prove great +blessings. + +With all the modern appliances of steam and electricity, and the new +inventions in machinery, the cultivation of the soil is fast coming to +be a recreation and amusement. The farmer now sits at ease on his +plough, while his steed turns up the furrows at his will. With +machinery the sons of Adam now sow and reap their harvests, keep the +wheels of their great manufactories in motion, and with daily +increasing speed carry on the commerce of the world. The time is at +hand when the heavy burdens of the laborer will all be shifted on the +shoulders of these +tireless machines. And when the woman, too, learns and obeys the laws +of life, these supposed curses will be but idle dreams of the past. The +curse falls lightly even now on women who live in natural conditions, +and with anaesthetics is essentially mitigated in all cases. + +When these remedial agents were first discovered, some women refused +to avail themselves of their blessings, and some orthodox physicians +refused to administer them, lest they should interfere with the wise +provisions of Providence in making maternity a curse. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +MYTHS OF CREATION. + + +Nothing would be more interesting in connection with the "Woman's +Bible" than a comparative study of the accounts of the creation held by +people of different races and faiths. Our Norse ancestors, whose myths +were of a very exalted nature, recorded in their Bible, the Edda, that +one day the sons of Bor (a frost giant), Odin, Hoener, and Loder, found +two trees on the sea beach, and from them created the first human pair, +man and woman. Odin gave them life and spirit, Hoener endowed them with +reason and motion, and Loder gave them the senses and physical +characteristics. The man they called Ask, and the woman Embla. Prof. +Anderson finds in the brothers the threefold Trinity of the Bible. It +is easy to fancy that there is some philological connection between the +names of the first pair in the Bible and in the Edda. Perhaps the +formation of the first pair out of trees had a deep connection with the +tree of life, Ygdrasil, which extended, according to Norse mythology +throughout the universe, furnishing bodies for mankind from its +branches. It had three great roots, one extending to the nebulous +world, and this was constantly gnawed by the serpent Nidhug. There was +nothing in the Norse mythology that taught the degradation of woman, +and the lay of Sigdrifa, in the Edda, is one of the noblest conceptions +of the character of woman in all literature. + +North American Indian mythology has the human race born of the earth, +but the writer cannot learn that women held an inferior place. Among +the Quiches the mothers and fathers of old slept in the waters, covered +with green, under a limpid twilight, from which the earth and they were +called out by a mighty wind. The Algonkins believed the human family +were the children of Michabo, the spirit of the dawn, and their supreme +deity. In their language the words earth, mother and father were from +the same root. Many tribes claim descent from a raven, symbolizing the +clouds; others from a dog, which is the symbol of the water goddess. + +Dr. and Madame Le Plongeon relate that in their discoveries among the +buried remains of the Mayas in Yucatan, everything marks a very high +state of civilization. In one of the exhumed temples they found +pictures on the walls, which seem to be a combination of the stories of +the Garden of Eden and Cain and Abel. The Serpent was always the royal +emblem, because the shape of Yucatan is that of a serpent ready to +spring. It was the custom among the Mayas for the oldest son of the +king to be a priest, and the second son to marry the oldest daughter. +The pictures represent that the oldest son in this particular case was +dissatisfied with this arrangement, and wanted to marry the sister +himself. To tempt her he sends a basket of apples by a messenger. He +stands watching the way in which the present is received, and the +serpent in the picture (indicating the royal family), makes it +curiously suggestive of the temptation of Eve. The sister, however, +rejects the present, and this so enrages the elder brother that he +kills the younger, who accordingly is deified by the Mayas. The image +of Chacmohl was discovered by the Le Plongeons, and is now in the +possession of the Mexican Government. Perhaps these brothers were +twins, as the commentator says Cain and Abel were, and that gave rise +to the jealousy. + +Nothing can surpass in grandeur the account in the first chapter of +Genesis of the creation of the race, and it satisfies the highest +aspirations and the deepest longings of the human soul. No matter of +what material formed, or through how many ages the +formative period ran, or is to run, the image of God is the birthright +of man, male and female. Whatever the second chapter may mean, it +cannot set aside the first. It probably has a deep spiritual +significance which mankind will appreciate when cavilling about the +letter ceases. To the writer's mind its meaning is best expressed in +the words of Goethe:--- "The eternal womanly leads us on." + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Genesis v: 1, 2. + + + +1. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God +created man, in the likeness of God made he him. + +2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their +name Adam, in the day when they were created. + + +Here we have the first account of the dual creation verified. Man and +woman a simultaneous creation, alike in the image of God. + +The dual relation, both in the Godhead and humanity, is here again +declared, though contradicted in the intervening chapters. In this and +the following chapters we have a prolix statement of the births, +deaths, and ages in the male line. They all take wives, beget sons, but +nothing is said of the origin or destiny of the wives and daughters; +they are incidentally mentioned merely as necessary factors in the +propagation of the male line. + +The men of this period seem to have lived to a ripe old age, but +nothing is said of the age of the women; it is probable as child- +bearing was their chief ambition, that men had a succession of wives, +all gathered to their fathers in the prime of life. Although Eve and +her daughters devoted their energies to this occupation, yet the entire +credit for the growth of the race is given to Adam and his male +descendants. In all this chapter the begetting of the oldest son is +made prominent, his name only is given, and the begetting of more "sons +and daughters" is cursorily mentioned. Here is the first suggestion of +the law of primogeniture responsible for so many of the evils that +perplexed our Saxon fathers. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Genesis vi: 1-8, 14-22. + + + +1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the +earth, and daughters were born unto them, + +2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, +and they took them wives of all which they chose. + +3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for +that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. + +4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, +when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare +children to them, the same became mighty men which were as of old, men +of renown. + +5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and +that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil +continually. + +6 And it repented the Lord that he had made them man on the earth, and +it grieved him at his heart. + +7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the +face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the +fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. + +8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. + +13 And God said unto Noah, + +14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the +ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. + +15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of; The length of +the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits +and the height of it thirty cubits. + +16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou +finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side +thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. + +17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, +to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven, +and everything that is in the earth shall die. + +18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come +into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives +with thee. + +19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt +thou bring in to the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be +male and female. + +20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every +creeping thing of the earth, after his kind; two of every sort shall +come unto thee, to keep them alive. + +21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt +gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. + +22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. + + +The Jews evidently believed the males the superior sex. Men are called +"the sons of God," women "the daughters of men." From the text it would +seem that the influence of the wives was not elevating and inspiring, +and that the sin and misery resulting from their marriages, all +attributed to the women. 'This condition of things so discouraged the +Creator that he determined to blot out both man and beast, the fowls of +the air and the creeping things on the earth. How very human this +sounds. It shows what a low ideal the Jews had of the great first +cause, from which the moral and material world of thought and action +were evolved. + +It was in mature life, when chastened by the experiences and trials of +her early day, that Seth was born to Eve. It was among the descendants +of Seth that purer morals and religion were cultivated. Intermarriage +with the descendants of Cain had corrupted the progeny, perplexed the +Creator, and precipitated the flood. + +The female of each species of animal was preserved; males and females +all walked into the ark two by two, and out again in equal and loving +companionship. It has been a question with critics whether the ark was +large enough for all it was supposed to contain. Commentators seem to +agree as to its capacity to accommodate men, women, children, animals, +and the food necessary for their preservation. Adam Clarke tells us +that Noah and his family and the birds occupied the third, story, so +they had the benefit of the one window it contained. + +The paucity of light and air in this ancient vessel shows that woman +had no part in its architecture, or a series of port holes would have +been deemed indispensable. Commentators relegate all difficulties to +the direct intervention of Providence. The ark, made by unseen hands, +like a palace of india rubber, was capable of expanding indefinitely; +the spirit of all good, caused the lion and lamb to lie down peaceably +together. To attribute all the myths, allegories, and parables to the +interposition of Providence, ever working outside of his own inexorable +laws, is to confuse and set at defiance human reason, and prevent all +stimulus to investigation. + +In several following chapters we have the history of Abram and Sarah, +their wanderings from the land of their nativity to Canaan, their +blunders on the journey, their grief at having no children, except one +son by Hagar, his concubine, who was afterwards driven from their door, +into the wilderness. However, Sarah in her old age was blessed with a +son of her own, which event gave them great joy and satisfaction. As +Sarah did not possess any of the heroic virtues, worthy our imitation, +we need not linger either to praise or blame her characteristics. +Neither she nor Abraham deemed it important to speak the truth when any +form of tergiversation might serve them. In fact the wives of the +patriarchs, all untruthful, and one a kleptomaniac, but illustrate the +law, that the cardinal virtues are seldom found in oppressed classes. + + +E. C. S. + + + +A careful study of the Bible would alter the views of many as to what +it teaches about the position of women. The trouble is too often +instead of searching the Bible to see what is right, we form our +belief, and then search for Bible texts to sustain us, and are +satisfied with isolated texts without regard to context, and ask no +questions as to the circumstances that may have existed then but do not +now. We forget that portions of the Bible are only histories of events +given as a chain of evidence to sustain the fact that the real +revelations of the Godhead, be it in any form, are true. Second, that +our translators were not inspired, and that we have strong presumptive +proof that prejudice of education was in some instances stronger than +the grammatical context, in translating these contested points. For +instance, the word translated obey between husband and wife, is in but +one instance in the New Testament the word used between master and +servant, parent and child, but is the word that in other places is +translated defer. The one instance states Sarah obeyed Abram. Read that +history and you will find that in both instances in which she obeyed, +God had to interfere with a miracle to save them from the result of +that obedience, and both Abram and Sarah were reproved. While twice, +once by direct command of God, Abram obeyed Sarah. You cannot find a +direct command of God or Christ for the wife to obey the husband. + +It was Eve's curse that her desire should be to her husband, and he +should rule over her. Have you not seen her clinging to a drunken or +brutal husband, and read in letters of fire upon her forehead her +curse? But God did not say the curse was good, nor bid Adam enforce it. +Nor did he say, all men shall rule over thee. For Adam, not Eve, the +earth was to bring forth the thorn and the thistle, and he was to eat +his bread by the sweat of his brow. Yet I never heard a sermon on the +sin of uprooting weeds, or letting Eve, as she does, help him to bear +his burden. It is when she tries to lighten her load that the world is +afraid of sacrilege and the overthrow of nature. + + +C. B. C. + + + +In the story "of the sons of God, and the daughters of men"--we find a +myth like those of Greek, Roman and Scandinavian fable, demi-gods love +mortal maidens and their offspring are giants. Then follows the +traditional account of some great cataclysm of the last glacial epoch. +According to the latest geological students, Wright, McGee and others; +the records of Niagara, the falls of St. Anthony and other glacial +chasms, indicate that the great ice caps receded for the last time +about seven thousand years ago; the latest archeological discoveries +carry our historical knowledge of mankind back nearly four thousand +years B. C., so that some record of the mighty floods which must have +followed the breaking of great glacial dams might well survive in the +stories of the nations. + +Abram who came from Ur of the Chaldees brought with him the Chaldean +story of the flood. At that time Ur, now a town fifty miles inland, was +a great seaport of the Persian gulf. Their story of the flood is that +of a maritime people; in it the ark is a well built ship, Hasisadra, +the Chaldean Noah takes on board not only his own family, but his +neighbors and friends; a pilot is employed to guide the course, and +proper provision is made for the voyage. A raven and a dove are sent +out as in the biblical account, and a fortunate landing effected. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +Genesis xxi. + + + +1 And the lord visited Sarah as he had said. + +2. For Sarah bare Abraham a son in his old age. + +3 And Abraham called the name of his son whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. + +5 And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born +unto him. + +6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear +will laugh with me. + +9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had home +unto Abraham, mocking. + +10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her +son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even +with Isaac. + +11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight. + +12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight; +in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in +Isaac shall thy seed be called. + +13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because +he is thy seed. + +14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a +bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, +and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the +wilderness of Beer-sheba. + +15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under +one of the shrubs. + +17 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off: for +she said, let me not see the death of the child. And she lifted up her +voice, and wept. + +17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to +Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear +not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. + +18 Arise, lift up the lad, and bold him in thine hand: for I will make +him a great nation. + +19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water: and she went, +and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. + +20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, +and became an archer. + +21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a +wife out of the land of Egypt. + + +The great event of Isaac's birth having taken place, Sarah is +represented through several chapters as laughing, even in the presence +of angels, not only in the anticipation of motherhood, but in its +realization. She evidently forgot that maternity was intended as a +curse on all Eve's daughters, for the sin of the first woman, and all +merry-making on such occasions was unpardonable. Some philosophers +consider the most exalted of all forms of love to be that of a mother +for her children. But this divine awakening of a new affection does not +seem to have softened Sarah's heart towards her unfortunate slave +Hagar. And so far from Sarah's desire being to her husband, and Abraham +dominating her, he seemed to be under her control, as the Lord told him +"to hearken to her voice, and to obey her command." In so doing he +drives Hagar out of his house. + +In this scene Abraham does not appear in a very attractive light, +rising early in the morning, and sending his child and its mother forth +into the wilderness, with a breakfast of bread and water, to care for +themselves. Why did he not provide them with a servant, an ass laden +with provisions, and a tent to shelter them from the elements, or +better still, some abiding, resting place. Common humanity demanded +this much attention to his own son and the woman who bore him. But the +worst feature in this drama is that it seems to have been done with +Jehovah's approval. + +Does any one seriously believe that the great spirit of all good +talked with these Jews, and really said the extraordinary things they +report? It was, however, a very cunning way for the Patriarchs to +enforce their own authority, to do whatever they desired, and say the +Lord commanded them to do and say thus and so. Many pulpits even in our +day enforce their lessons of subjection for woman with the same +authority, "Thus saith the Lord," "Thou shalt," and "Thou shall not." + + +E. C. S. + + + +Genesis xxiii. + + + +1 And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old. + +2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of +Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. + +3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons +of Heth, saying, + +4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a +burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. + +5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him. + +6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice +of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee +his sepulchre. + +7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land. + +8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should +bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat Ephron the son of +Zohar. + +9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is +in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth. + +14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him. + +15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of +silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. + +16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron +the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, +four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. + +19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the +field of Machpelah before Mamre. + +20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto +Abraham for a burying place by the sons of Heth. + + +It is seldom that the age and death of any woman, are recorded by the +sacred historian, but Sarah seems to have been specially honored, not +only in the mention of her demise and ripe years, but in the tender +manifestations of grief by Abraham, and +his painstaking selection of her burial place. That Abraham paid for +all this in silver, "current money with the merchant," might suggest to +the financiers of our day that our commercial relations might be +adjusted with the same coin, especially as we have plenty of it. + +If our bimetallists in the halls of legislation were conversant with +sacred history, they might get fresh inspiration from the views of the +Patriarchs on good money. + +Some critics tell us that there was no coined money at that time; the +Israelites had no written language, no commerce with neighboring +tribes, and that they could neither read nor write. + +Whilst we drop a tear at the tomb of Sarah, we cannot recommend her as +an example to the young women of our day, as she lacked several of the +cardinal virtues. She was undignified, untruthful, and unkind to Hagar. +But our moral standard differs from that of the period in which she +lived, as our ideas of right and wrong are not innate, but depend on +education. Sarah probably lived up to the light that was in her. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The cruelty and injustice of Abraham and Sarah, as commented on by +Mrs. Stanton, doubtless stand out much more prominently in this +condensed account than their proper proportions to the motives which +actuated the figures in the drama. If we take any part of the story we +must take it all, and remember that it had been promised to Abraham +that of Ishmael a great nation should be born. Whether this was an +actual revelation from God, or a prophetic vision that Abraham had, or +is interpolated by the historian to correspond with the actual facts +that transpired, in either case the firm belief that no harm could come +to Ishmael, must be taken into account when estimating the motives +which led Abraham and Sarah, for doubtless Abraham told Sarah of his +vision, to send Hagar and her son off into the wilderness; just as much +as the firm belief that the promise of God with regard to his seed +would be fulfilled made Abraham, a little afterward, prepare to offer +up his son Isaac. + +Abraham loved and honored his wife very greatly, probably admiring +equally her beauty and strength of character. Abraham was ten years +older than Sarah and we read that he was seventy-five years old when he +started from Haran for the land of Canaan. Some time after this driven, +by famine, he went down into Egypt, and here when she must have been at +least seventy years of age the Egyptians saw that she was very fair, +and the princes of Pharaoh so praised her beauty to their royal master +that he sent and took her for his wife. The same thing happened when +she was ninety years old, when she was seized by Abimelech, king of +Gerar. In both cases they told, not a lie, but a half truth, for Sarah +was Abraham's half sister, it being then the custom for children of the +same father by different mothers to marry. Abraham's deceit was brought +about by cowardice, while Sarah connived at the fraud for love of her +husband, being besought to do so to save his life. Perhaps, too, she +might have been amenable to the gracious tribute to her beauty that +Abraham gave in making the request. + +Sarah's strength of character is shown all through her history. +Wherever she is mentioned the reader is made to feet that she is an +important part of the narrative, and not merely a connecting link +between two generations. In this story she carries her point, and +Abraham follows her instructions implicitly, nay, is even commanded by +God to do so. + +Notwithstanding that Abraham mourned Sarah so sincerely, within three +years after she died, and when at the ripe age of a hundred and forty +years, he married again and the six children he begat by Keturah he +took quite as a matter of course, although half a century before, when +told that a son should be born to him, he laughed incredulously. +Abraham had his failings, some of which are shared by the moderns, yet +doubtless he was a moral giant compared with other men of the land from +which he came and of the nations around him. As such he was chosen as +the founder of a race whose history should promulgate the idea of the +one true God. Certainly the descendants from this remarkable trio have +retained their own peculiar characteristics and have ever been +worshippers at the shrine +of Jehovah. + +A singular fact may be mentioned here that Mrs. Souvielle in her book +"The Sequel to the Parliament of Religions," has shown that from +Midian, one of the sons of Keturah, came Jethro or Zoroaster. + +Western thinkers are so matter-of-fact in their speech and thought +that it might not have occurred to them that the true value of this +story of Sarah and Hagar, like that of all else, not only in our own +Bible but in the scriptures of other faiths, lies in the esoteric +meaning, had it not been for Paul, that prince of occult philosophers, +who distinctly says, according to the old version, that it is an +allegory; according to the revised, that it contains an allegory: "for +these women are two covenants," one bearing, children unto bondage, the +other unto freedom. It is our privilege, Paul goes on to teach, to be +children of the free woman, but although we are this by birthright, yet +there has to be a personal appreciation of that fact, and an effort to +maintain our liberty. The mystical significance of this allegory has +never been elucidated in reference to the position of woman, but it may +well be considered as establishing her claim, not only for personal +freedom, but for the integrity of the home. Acting according to the +customs of the day, Sarah connived at her own degradation. Later, when +her womanly dignity was developed by reason of her motherhood, she saw +what should be her true position in her home, and she made her rightful +demand for unrivalled supremacy in that home and in her husband's +affections. She was blessed of God in taking that attitude, and was +held up to the elect descendants of Abraham nearly 1660 years later by +the Apostle Peter as an example to be imitated. And these later women +are to be Sarah's daughters, we are told, if like her, they "are not +afraid with any amazement," or as the new version hath it, if they "are +not put in fear by any terror." + +Even as mere history the life and character of Sarah certainly do not +intimate that it was the Divine plan that woman was to be a +subordinate, either in person or in her home. Taken esoterically, as +all ancient Oriental writings must be to get their full significance, +it is an inspiration to woman to-day to stand for her liberty. The +bondwoman must be cast out. All that makes for industrial bondage, for +sex slavery and humiliation, for the dwarfing of individuality, and for +the thralldom of the soul, must be cast out from our home, from +society, and from our lives. The woman who does not claim her +birthright of freedom will remain in the wilderness with the children +that she has borne in degradation, heart starvation, and anguish of +spirit, only to find that they are Ishmaels, with their hand against +every man. They will be the subjects of Divine care and protection +until their destiny is worked out. But she who is to be the mother of +kings must herself be free, and have surroundings conducive to +maintaining her own purity and dignity. After long ages of freedom +shall have eradicated from woman's mind and heart the thought habits of +the slave, then will she be a true daughter of Sarah, the Princess. + + +C. B. C. + + + +Abraham has been held up as one of the model men of sacred history. +One credit he doubtless deserves, he was a monotheist, in the midst of +the degraded and cruel forms of religion then prevalent in all the +oriental world; this man and his wife saw enough of the light to +worship a God of Spirit. Yet we find his conduct to the last degree +reprehensible. While in Egypt in order to gain wealth he voluntarily +surrenders his wife to Pharaoh. Sarah having been trained in subjection +to her husband had no choice but to obey his will. When she left the +king, Abraham complacently took her back without objection, which was +no more than he should do seeing that her sacrifice had brought him +wealth and honor. Like many a modern millionaire he was not a self-made +but a wife-made man. When Pharaoh sent him away with his dangerously +beautiful wife he is described as, "being rich in cattle, in silver and +in gold," but it is a little curious that the man who thus gained +wealth as the price of his wife's dishonor should have been held up as +a model of all the patriarchal virtues. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + +Genesis xxiv. + + + +37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shall not take a wife to +my son of the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell. + +38 But thou shalt go unto my fathers house, and to my kindred, and +take a wife unto my son. + +39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. + +40 And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his +angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my +son of my kindred, and of my father's house: + +42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my +master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: + +43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, +that when the virgin cometh to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I +pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink: + +44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for the +camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for +my master's son. + +45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart behold Rebekah came +forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the +well, and drew water: and I said unto her; Let me drink, I pray thee. + +46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and +said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she +made the camels drink also. + +47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, +The daughter of Bethuel Nabor's son, whom Malcah bare unto him: and I +put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. + +49 And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: +and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. + +50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said. The thing proceedeth from +the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. + +51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her, and go, and let her be +thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. + +53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, +and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah; he gave also to her brother and +to her mother precious things. + +56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath +prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. + +57 And they said, we will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth. + +58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this +man? And she said, I will go. + +59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse and +Abraham's servant, and his men. + +61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the +camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah and went his +way. + +63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he +lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming. + +64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she lighted +off the camel. + +65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is that walketh in the +field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore +she took a vail, and covered herself. + +66 And the servant told Isaac all things that be had done. + +67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took +Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was +comforted after his mother's death. + + +Here is the first account we have of a Jewish courtship. The Women +seem quite as resigned to the custom of "being taken" as the men "to +take." Outside parties could no doubt in most cases make more judicious +selections of partners, than young folks themselves under the glamour +of their ideals. Altogether the marriage of Isaac, though rather +prosaic, has a touch of the romantic. + +It has furnished the subject for some charming pictures, that decorate +the galleries in the old world and the new. "Rebekah at the well," has +been immortalized both on canvas and in marble. Women as milk-maids and +drawers of water, with pails and pitchers on their heads, are always +artistic, and far more attractive to men than those with votes in their +hands at the polling booths, or as queens, ruling over the destinies of +nations. + +In fact, as soon as man left Paradise, he began by degrees to roll off +of his own shoulders all he could of his curse, and place it on woman. +Why did not Laban and Bethuel draw the water for the household and the +cattle. Scott says that Eliezer had attendants with him who might have +saved Rebekah the labor of drawing water for ten camels, but he would +not interfere, as he wished to see whether she possessed the virtues of +industry, affability and cheerfulness in being serviceable and +hospitable. + +It was certainly a good test of her patience and humility to draw +water for an hour, with a dozen men looking on at their case, and none +offering help. The Rebekahs of 1895 would have promptly summoned the +spectators to share their labors, even at the risk of sacrificing a +desirable matrimonial alliance. The virtue of self-sacrifice has its +wise limitations. Though it is most commendable to serve our fellow- +beings, yet woman's first duty is to herself, to develop all her own +powers and possibilities, that she may better guide and serve the next +generation. + +It is refreshing to find in the fifty-eighth verse that Rebekah was +really supposed to have some personal interest and rights in the +betrothal. + +The meeting of Isaac and Rebekah in the field at eventide is charming. +That sweet restful hour after the sun had gone down, at the end of a +long journey from a far-off country. Rebekah must have been in just the +mood to appreciate a strong right arm on which to rest, a loving heart +to trust, on the threshold of her conjugal life. To see her future +lord for the first time, must have been very embarrassing to Rebekah. +She no doubt concealed her blushes behind her veil, which Isaac +probably raised at the first opportunity, to behold the charms of the +bride whom the Lord had chosen for him. As Isaac was forty years old at +this time, he probably made a most judicious and affectionate husband. + +The 67th verse would be more appropriate to the occasion if the words +"took Rebekah" had been omitted, leaving the text to read thus: "And +Isaac brought her into his mother's tent, and she became his wife, and +he loved her." This verse is remarkable as the first announcement of +love on the part of a husband at first sight. We may indulge the hope +that he confessed his love to Rebekah, and thus placed their conjugal +relations on a more spiritual plane than was usual in those days. The +Revising Committees by the infusion of a little sentiment into these +ancient manuscripts, might have improved the moral tone of our +ancestors' domestic relations, without falsifying the important facts +of history. Many ancient writings in both sacred and profane history +might be translated into more choice language, to the advantage of the +rising generation. What we glean in regard to Rebekah's character in +the following chapter shows, she, too, is lacking in a nice sense of +honor. + +With our ideal of the great first cause, a God of justice, wisdom and +truth, the Jewish Lord, guiding and directing that people in all their +devious ways, and sanctioning their petty immoralities seems strangely +out of place; a very contradictory character, unworthy our love and +admiration. The ancient Jewish ideal of Jehovah was not an exalted one. + + +E. C. S. + + + +This romantic pastoral is most instructive as to the high position which +women really held among the people whose religious history is the +foundation of our own, and still further substantiates our claim that +the Bible does not teach woman's subordination. The fact that Rebekah +was drawing water for family use does not indicate lack of dignity in +her position, any more than the household tasks performed by Sarah. The +wives and daughters of patriarchal families had their maid-servants just +as the men of the family had their man-servants, and their position +indicates only a division of responsibility. At this period, although +queens and princesses were cooks and waiters, kings and princes did not +hesitate to reap their own fields and slay their own cattle. We are told +that Abraham rushed out to his herd and caught a calf to make a meal for +the strangers, and that while he asked Sarah to make the cakes, he +turned over the calf to a man servant to prepare for the table. Thus the +labor of securing the food fell upon the male sex, while the labor of +preparing it was divided between both. + +The one supreme virtue among the patriarchs was hospitality, and no +matter how many servants a person had it must be the royal service of +his own hands that he performed for a guest. In harmony with this +spirit Rebekah volunteered to water the thirsty camels of the tired and +way-worn travellers. It is not at all likely that, as Mr. Scott +suggests, Eliezer waited simply to test Rebekah's amiability. The test +which he had asked for was sufficiently answered by her offering the +service in the first place, and doubtless it would have been a churlish +and ungracious; breach of courtesy to have refused the proffered +kindness. + +That the Jewish women were treated with greater politeness than the +daughters of neighboring peoples we may learn from the incident +narrated of the daughters of Jethro who, even though their father was +high priest of the country were driven away by the shepherds from the +wells where they came to water their flocks. Of all outdoor occupations +that of watering thirsty animals is, perhaps, the most fascinating, and +if the work was harder for Rebekah than for our country maidens who +water their animals from the trough well filled by the windmill she had +the strength and the will for it, else she would have entrusted the +task to some of the damsels of whom we read as her especial +servants and who, as such, accompanied her to the land of Canaan. + +The whole narrative shows Rebekah's personal freedom and dignity. She +was alone at some distance from her family. She was not afraid of the +strangers, but greeted them with the self-possession of a queen. The +decision whether she should go or stay, was left wholly with herself, +and her nurse and servants accompanied her. With grace and modesty she +relieved the embarrassment of the situation by getting down from the +altitude of the camel when Isaac came to meet her, and by enshrouding +herself in a veil she very tactfully gave him an opportunity to do his +courting in his own proper person, if he should be pleased to do so +after hearing the servant's report. + +It has been the judgment of masculine commentators that the veil was a +sign of woman's subject condition, but even this may be disputed now +that women are looking into history for themselves. The fashion of +veiling a prospective bride was common to many nations, but to none +where there were brutal ceremonies. The custom was sometimes carried to +the extent, as in some parts of Turkey, of keeping the woman wholly +covered for eight days previous to marriage, sometimes, as among the +Russians, by not only veiling the bride, but putting a curtain between +her and the groom at the bridal feast. In all cases the veil seems to +have been worn to protect a woman from premature or unwelcome +intrusion, and not to indicate her humiliated position. The veil is +rather a reflection upon the habits and thoughts of men than a badge of +inferiority for women. + +How serenely beautiful and chaste appear the marriage customs of the +Bible as compared with some that are wholly of man's invention. The +Kamchatkan had to find his future wife alone and then fight with her +and her female friends until every particle of clothing had been +stripped from her and then the ceremony was complete. This may be +called the other extreme from the veil. Something akin to this appears +among our own kith and kin, so to speak, in modern times. Many +instances of marriage en chemise are on record in England of quite +recent dates, the notion being that if a man married a woman in this +garment only he was not liable for any debts which she might previously +have contracted. At Whitehaven, England, 1766, a woman stripped herself +to her chemise in the church and in that condition stood at the altar +and was married. + +There is nothing so degrading to the wife in all Oriental customs as +our modern common law ruling that the husband owns the wife's clothing. +This has been so held times innumerable, and in Connecticut quite +recently a husband did not like the gowns his wife bought so he burned +them. He was arrested for destruction of property, but his claim was +sustained that they were his own so he could not be punished. + +As long as woman's condition, outside of the Bible, has been as +described by Macaulay when he said: "If there be a word of truth in +history, women have been always, and still are over the greater part of +the globe, humble companions, play things, captives, menials, and +beasts of burden," it is a comfort to reflect that among the Hebrews, +whose records are relied on by the enemies of woman's freedom to teach +her subjection, we find women holding the dignified position in the +family that was held by Sarah and Rebekah. + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + +Genesis xxv. + + + +1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. + +2 And she bare him Zimran and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and +Ishbak, and Shuah. + +5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. + +6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave +gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, unto +the east country. + +7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which be +lived, a hundred and three score and fifteen years. + +8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost. + +9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the grave of Machpelah. + +10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth; there was +Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. + +21 And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, and Rebekah his wife +conceived. + +24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled she bore twins. I + +27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the +field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. + +28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; but +Rebekah loved Jacob. + +29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was +faint. + +30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red +pottage, for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom. + +31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. + +32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit +shall this birthright do to me? + +33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him; and he +sold his birthright unto Jacob. + +34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat +and drink, and rose up, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his +birthright. + + +In these verses we have the account of Abraham's second marriage, and +the birth of several sons. It does not seem clear from the text whether +Keturah was a legal wife, or one of the Patriarch's numerous +concubines. Clarke inclines to the latter idea, on account of Abraham's +age, and then he gave all that be had to Isaac, and left Keturah's sons +to share with those of other concubines, to whom he gave gifts and sent +them away from his son Isaac to an eastern country. Abraham evidently +thought that the descendants of Isaac might be superior in moral +probity to those of his other sons, hence he desired to keep Isaac as +exclusive as possible. But Jacob and Esau did not fulfill the +Patriarch's expectations. Esau in selling his birthright for a mess of +pottage, and Jacob taking advantage of his brother in a weak moment, +and overreaching him in a bargain, alike illustrate the hereditary +qualities of their ancestors. + + + +Genesis xxvi. + + + +6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. + +7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is +my sister; for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men +of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look +upon. + +9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said Behold, or a surety she is thy +wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, +Because I said, Lest I die for her. + +11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this +man or his wife shall surely be put to death. + +34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the +daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the +Hittite; + +35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. + + +The account of the private family affairs of Isaac and Rebekah; their +partiality to different sons; Jacob, aided and abetted by his mother, +robbing his elder brother of both his birthright and his father's +blessing; the parents on one of their eventful journeys representing +themselves as brother and sister, instead of husband and wife, for fear +that some potentate might kill Isaac, in order to possess his beautiful +wife; all these petty deceptions handed down from generation to +generation, show that the law of heredity asserted itself even at that +early day. + +Abraham through fear denied that Sarah was his wife, and Isaac does +the same thing. The grief of Isaac and Rebekah over Esau, was not that +he took two wives, but that they were Hittites. Chapter xxvii gives the +details of the manner that Jacob and his mother betrayed Isaac into +giving the blessing to Jacob intended for Esau. One must read the whole +story in order to appreciate the blind confidence Isaac placed in +Rebekah's integrity; the pathos of his situation; the bitter +disappointment of Esau; Jacob's temptation, and the supreme wickedness +of Rebekah in deceiving Isaac, defrauding Esau, and undermining the +moral sense of the son she loved. + +Having entirely undermined his moral sense, Rebekah fears the +influence of Jacob's marriage with a daughter of the Hittites, and she +sends him to her own people, to find a wife in the household of her +uncle Laban. This is indeed a sad record of the cruel deception that +Jacob and his mother palmed off on Isaac and Esau. Both verbal and +practical lying were necessary to defraud the elder son, and Rebekah +was equal to the occasion. Neither she nor Jacob faltered in the hour +of peril. Altogether it is a pitiful tale of greed and deception. +Alas! where can a child look for lessons in truth, honor, and +generosity, when the mother they naturally trust, sets at defiance +every principle of justice and mercy to secure some worldly advantage. +Rebekah in her beautiful girlhood at the well drawing water for man and +beast, so full of compassion, does not exemplify the virtues we looked +for, in her mature womanhood. The conjugal and maternal relations so +far from expanding her most tender sentiments, making the heart from +love to, one grow bountiful to all, seem rather to have narrowed hers +into the extreme of individual selfishness. In obedience to his +mother's commands, Jacob starts on his journey to find a fitting wife. +If Sarah and Rebekah are the types of womanhood the Patriarchs admired, +Jacob need not have gone far to find their equal. + +In woman's struggle for freedom during the last half century, men have +been continually pointing her to the women of the Bible for examples +worthy imitation, but we fail to see the merits of their character, +their position, the laws and sentiments concerning them. The only +significance of dwelling on these women and this period of woman's +history, is to show the absurd ity of pointing the women of the +nineteenth century to these as examples of virtue. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Keturah is spoken of as a concubine in I Chronicles i, 32. As such she +held a recognized legal position which implied no disgrace in those +days of polygamy, only the children of these secondary wives were not +equal in inheritance. For this reason the sons of Keturah had to be +satisfied with gifts while Isaac received the patrimony. Notice the +charge of Abimelech to his people showing the high sense of honor in +this Philistine. He seems also in the 10th verse to have realized the +terrible guilt that it would have been if one of them had taken +Rebekah, not knowing she was Isaac's wife. With all Rebekah's faults +she seems to have had things her own way and therefore she did not set +any marked example of wifely submission for women of to-day to +follow. Her great error was deceiving her husband to carry her point +and this is always the result where woman is deprived in any degree of +personal freedom unless she has attained high moral development. + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + +Genesis xxix. + + + +1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people +of the east. + +3 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and lo, there were +three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered +the flocks; and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. + +3 And thither were all the flocks gathered, and they rolled the stone +from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again +upon the well's mouth in his place. + +4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, +Of Haran are we. + +5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they +said, we know him. + +6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and +behold Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. + +9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's +sheep: for she kept them. + +10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban +his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, and +Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and +watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. + +11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. + +12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he +was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father: + +13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his +sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed +him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. + +14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he +abode with him the space of a month. + +15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldst +thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? + +18 And Jacob loved Rachel: and said, I will serve thee seven years for +Rachel thy younger daughter. + +19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I +should give her to another man, abide with me. + +20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed unto him +but a few days, for the love he had to her. + +21 If And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are +fulfilled. + + +Jacob's journey to the land of Canaan in search of a wife, and the +details of his courtship, have a passing interest with the ordinary +reader, interested in his happiness and success. The classic ground for +the cultivation of the tender emotions in these early days, seems to +have been near a well, where the daughters of those who were rich in +flocks and herds found opportunities to exhibit their fine points in +drawing water for men and cattle. From the records of these interesting +events, the girls seemed ready to accept the slightest advances from +passing strangers, and to give their hands and hearts as readily as +they gave a drink of water to the thirsty. Marriage was as simple a +contract as the purchase of a lamb, the lamb and the woman having about +an equal voice in the purchase, though the lamb was not quite as ready +to leave his accustomed grazing ground. Jacob loved Rachel at first +sight, and agreed to serve Laban seven years, but when the time expired +Laban did not keep his agreement, but insisted on Jacob taking the +other sister, and serving seven years more for Rachel. Jacob submitted, +but by the knowledge of a physiological law of which Laban was +ignorant, he revenged himself, and obtained all the strongest and best +of the flocks and herds. Thus in their business relations as well as in +family matters, the Patriarchs seem to have played as sharp games in +overreaching each other as the sons of our Pilgrim Fathers do to-day. +In getting all they could out of Laban, Jacob and Rachel seem to have +been of one mind. + +A critical study of the Pentateuch is just now agitating the learned +classes in Germany. Bonn is an ancient stronghold of theological +learning, and two of the professors of its famous university have +recently exhibited a courage in Biblical criticism and interpretation +which has further extended the celebrity of the school, if it has not +added to its repute for orthodoxy. In a course of lectures held during +the university holidays, addressed to and largely attended by pastors, +they declared the Old Testament history to "be a series of legends, and +Abraham, Isaac and Jacob mythical persons." Israel, they declared, was +an idolatrous people, Jehovah being nothing more than a "God of the +Jewish Nation." This radical outbreak of criticism and interpretation +has aroused considerable attention throughout Germany, and a +declaration against it and other teachings of the kind has been signed +by some hundreds of pastors and some thousands of laymen, but so far it +has produced no effect whatever on the professors of Bonn, and there is +no prospect of its doing so. It is fortunate for the faith thus +assailed that the critical and rhetorical style of the ordinary German +professor is too heavy for export or general circulation. So that the +theories of Messrs. Graef and Meinhold are not likely to do the faith +of the Fatherland any particular harm. That country has always been +divided into two classes, one of which believes nothing and the +other everything, the latter numerically preponderant, but the former +exceeding in erudition and dialectic--a condition of things quite +certain to continue and on which a few essays more or less in +destructive criticism can produce little effect. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Mrs. Stanton's statements concerning the undeveloped religious +sentiment of the early Hebrews cannot be criticized from the orthodox +standpoint as in this account, where the God of Abraham is represented +as taking an active personal interest in the affairs of the chosen +people, they did not trust wholly to Him, but kept images of the gods +of the neighboring tribes in their houses, Laban feeling sorry enough +over their loss to go seven days' journey to recover them while his +daughter felt she could not leave her father's house without taking the +images with her as a protection. + +The faults of Laban, of Jacob and of most of his sons are brought out +without any reserve by the historian who follows the custom of early +writers in stating things exactly as they were. There was no secrecy +and little delicacy in connection with sexual matters. It may, however, +be noticed that while this people had the same crude notions about +these things that were common to other nations, yet every infraction of +the Divine law of monogamy, symbolized in the account of the creation +of woman in the second chapter of Genesis, brings its own punishment +whether in or out of the marriage relation. When one or another people +sinned against a Jewish woman the men of the family were the avengers, +as when the sons of Jacob slew a whole city to avenge an outrage +committed against their sister. Polygamy and concubinage wove a thread +of disaster and complications throughout the whole lives of families +and its dire effects are directly traceable in the feuds and +degeneration of their descendants. The chief lesson taught by history +is danger of violating, physically, mentally, or spiritually the +personal integrity of woman. Customs of the country and the cupidity +of Laban, forced polygamy on Jacob, and all the shadows in his life, +and he had no end of trouble in after years, are due to this. Perhaps +nothing but telling their stories in this brutally frank way would make +the lesson so plain. + +If we search this narrative ever so closely it gives us no hint of +Divinely intended subordination of woman. Jacob had to buy his wives +with service which indicates that a high value was placed upon them. +Now-a-days in high life men demand instead of give. The degradation of +woman involved in being sold to a husband, to put it in the most +humiliating way, is not comparable to the degradation of having to buy +a husband. Euripides made Medea say: "We women are the most unfortunate +of all creatures since we have to buy our masters at so dear a price," +and the degradation of Grecian women is repeated--all flower-garlanded +and disguised by show--in the marriage sentiments of our own +civilization. Jacob was dominated by his wives as Abraham and Isaac had +been and there is no hint of their subjection. Rachel's refusal to move +when the gods were being searched for, showed that her will was +supreme, nobody tried to force her to rise against her own desire. + +The love which Jacob bore for Rachel has been through all time the +symbol of constancy. Seven years he served for her, and so great was +his love, so pure his delight in her presence that the time seemed but +as a day. Had this simple, absorbing affection not been interfered with +by Laban, how different would have been the tranquil life of Jacob and +Rachel, developing undisturbed by the inevitable jealousies and +vexations connected with the double marriage. Still this love was the +solace of Jacob's troubled life and remained unabated until Rachel died +and then found expression in tenderness for Benjamin. "the son of my +right hand." It was no accident, but has a great significance, that +this most ardent and faithful of Jewish lovers should have deeper +spiritual experiences than any of his predecessors. + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + +Genesis xxix, xxxi. + + + +18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said I will serve thee seven years for +Rachel thy younger daughter. + +19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I +should give her to another man; abide with me. + +20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him +but a few days, for the love he had to her. + +21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are +fulfilled. + +22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a +feast. + +23 And it came to pass in the evening that be took Leah his daughter, +and brought her to him. + +26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the +younger before the firstborn. + +27 We will give thee Rachel also thou shalt serve with me yet seven +other years. + +28 And Jacob did so, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. + +29 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob +said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto my mine own place, +and to my country. + +26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and +let me go; for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. + +17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; + +18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had +gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, +for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. + +19 And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel had stolen the images +that were her father's + +20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told +him not that he fled; + +22 And it was told Laban on the third day, that Jacob was fled. + +23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven +days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. + + +While Laban played his petty deceptions on Jacob, the latter proved +himself in fraud and overreaching fully his match. In being compelled +to labor fourteen years for Rachel instead of seven, as agreed upon, he +amply revenged himself in getting possession of all Laban's best +cattle, availing himself of a physiological law in breeding of which +Laban was profoundly ignorant. + +The parting of Jacob and Laban was not amicable, although they did not +come to an open rupture. Rachel's character for theft and deception is +still further illustrated. Having stolen her father's images and hidden +them under the camel's saddles and furniture, and sat thereon, when her +father came to search for the images, which he valued highly, she said +she was too ill to rise, so she calmly kept her seat, while the tent +was searched and nothing found, thus by act as well as word, deceiving +her father. + +Jacob and his wives alike seemed to think Laban fair game for fraud +and deception. As Laban knew his images were gone, he was left to +suspect that Jacob knew where they were, so little regard had Rachel +for the reputation of her husband. In making a God after their own +image, who approved of whatever they did, the Jews did not differ much +from ourselves; the men of our day talk too as if they reflected the +opinions of Jehovah on the vital questions of the hour. In our late +civil war both armies carried the Bible in their knapsacks, and both +alike prayed to the same God for victory, as if he could be in favor of +slavery and against it at the same time. + +Like the women, too, who are working and praying for woman suffrage, +both in the state legislature and in their closets, and others against +it, to the same God and legislative assembly. One must accept the +conclusion that their acquaintance with the Lord was quite as limited +as our own in this century, and that they were governed by their own +desires and judgment, whether for good or evil, just as we are; their +plans by day and their dreams by night having no deeper significance +than our own. Some writers say that the constant interposition of God +in their behalf was because they needed his special care and attention. +But the irregularity and ignorance of their lives show clearly that +their guiding hand was of human origin. If the Jewish account is true, +then the God of the Hebrews falls far short of the Christian ideal of a +good, true manhood, and the Christian ideal as set forth in the New +Testament falls short of our ideal of the Heavenly Father to-day. We +have no fault to find with the Bible as a mere history of an ignorant, +undeveloped people, but when special inspiration is claimed for the +historian, we must judge of its merits by the moral standard of to-day, +and the refinement of the writer by the questionable language in which +he clothes his descriptions. + +We have often wondered that the revising committees that have gone +over these documents so often, should have adhered so closely to such +gross translations. Surely a fact related to us in coarse language, is +not less a fact when repeated in choice, words. We need an expurgated +edition of most of the books called holy before they are fit to place +in the hands of the rising generation. + +Some members of the Revising Committee write me that the tone of some +of my comments should be more reverent in criticising the "Word of +God." Does any one at this stage of civilization think the Bible was +written by the finger of God, that the Old and New Testaments emanated +from the highest divine thought in the universe? Do they think that all +the men who wrote the different books were specially inspired, and that +all the various revising committees that have translated, interpolated, +rejected some books and accepted others, who have dug round the roots +of the Greek and Hebrew to find out the true meaning, have one and all +been watched and guided in their literary labors by the great spirit of +the universe, who by immutable law holds the solar system in place, +every planet steadily moving in its own elliptic, worlds upon worlds +revolving in order and harmony? + +These great object-lessons in nature and the efforts of the soul to +fathom the incomprehensible, are more inspiring than any written page. +To this "Word of God" I bow with reverence, and I can find no language +too exalted to express my love, my faith, my admiration. + +To criticise the peccadilloes of Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel does not +shadow the virtues of Deborah, Huldah and Vashti; to condemn the laws +and customs of the Jews as recorded in the book of Genesis, does not +destroy the force of the golden rule and the ten commandments. Parts of +the Bible are so true, so grand, so beautiful, that it is a pity it +should have been bound in the same volume with sentiments and +descriptions so gross and immoral. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + + +Genesis xxxv. + + + +8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el +under an oak; and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. + +9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, +and blessed him. + +10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: Thy name shall not be +called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his +name Israel. + +16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way +to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. + +17 The midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou, shalt have this son also. + +18 And it came to pass as her soul was in departing (for she died), +that she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. + +19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is +Beth-lehem. + +20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of +Rachel's grave unto this day. + + +Why Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, should be interjected here does not +appear. However, if all Isaac's and Jacob's children had been intrusted +to her care through the perils of infancy, it was fitting that the +younger generation with their father should pause in their journey and +drop a tear to her memory, and cultivate a tender sentiment for the old +oak tree at Bethel. + +There is no manifestation of gratitude more beautiful in family life +than kindness and respect to servants for long years of faithful +service, especially for those who have watched the children night and +day, tender in sickness, and patient with all their mischief in health. +In dealing with children one needs to exercise all the cardinal +virtues, more tact, diplomacy, more honor and honesty than even an +ambassador to the Court of St. James. Children readily see whom they +can trust, on whose word they can rely. + +In Rachel's hour of peril the midwife whispers sweet words of +consolation. She tells her to fear not, that she will have a son, and +he will be born alive. Whether she died herself is of small importance +so that the boy lived. Scott points a moral on the death of Rachel. He +thinks she was unduly anxious to have sons, and so the Lord granted her +prayers to her own destruction. If she had accepted with pious +resignation whatever weal or woe naturally fell to her lot, she might +have lived to a good old age, and been buried by Jacob's side at last, +and not left alone in Bethlehem. People who obstinately seek what they +deem their highest good, ofttimes perish in the attainment of their +ambition. (Thus Scott philosophizes.) + +Jacob was evidently a man of but little sentiment. The dying wife +gasps a name for her son, but the father pays no heed to her request, +and chooses one to suit himself. Though we must admit that Benjamin is +more dignified than Ben-oni; the former more suited to a public +officer, the latter to a household pet. And now Rachel is gone, and her +race with Leah for children is ended. The latter with her maids is the +victor, for she can reckon eight sons, while Rachel with her; can +muster only four. One may smile at this ambition of the women for +children, but a man's wealth was estimated at that time by the number +of his children and cattle; women who had no children were objects of +pity and dislike among the Jewish tribes. The Jews of to-day have much +of the same feeling. They believe in the home sphere for all women, +that wifehood and motherhood are the most exalted offices. If they are +really so considered, why does every Jew on each returning Holy Day say +in reading the service, "I thank thee, oh Lord! that I was not born a +woman!"? And if Gentiles are of the same opinion, why do they consider +the education of boys more important than that of girls? Surely those +who are to fill the most responsible offices should have the most +thorough and liberal education. + +The home sphere has so many attractions that most women prefer it to +all others. A strong right arm on which to lean, a safe harbor where +adverse winds never blow, nor rough seas roll, makes a most inviting +picture. But alas! even good husbands sometime die, and the family +drifts out on the great ocean of life, without chart or compass, or the +least knowledge of the science of navigation. In such emergencies the +woman trained to self-protection, self-independence, and self-support +holds the vantage ground against all theories on the home sphere. + +The first mention we have of an aristocratic class of Kings and Dukes, +is in the line of Cain's descendants. + + + +Genesis xxxvi. + + + +18 And these are the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife: duke Jeush, duke +Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the +daughter of Anah Esau's wife. + + +The name Aholibamah has a suggestion of high descent, but the +historian tells us nothing of the virtues or idiosyncrasies of +character, such a high-sounding name suggests, but simply that she was +the daughter of Anah, and the wife of Esau, and that she was blessed +with children, all interesting facts, which might have been intensified +with a knowledge of some of her characteristics, what she thought, said +and did, her theories of life in general. One longs all through Genesis +to know what the women thought of a strictly masculine dynasty. + +Some writers claim that these gross records of primitive races, have a +deep spiritual meaning, that they are symbolical of the struggles of an +individual soul from animalism to the highest, purest development of +all the Godlike in man. + +Some on the Revising Committee take this view, and will give us from +time to time more exalted interpretations than the account in plain +English conveys to the ordinary mind. + +In my exegesis thus far, not being versed in scriptural metaphors and +symbols, I have attempted no scientific interpretation of the simple +narration, merely commenting on the supposed facts as stated. As the +Bible is placed in the hands of children and uneducated men and women +to point them the way of salvation, the letter should have no doubtful +meaning. What should we think of guide posts on our highways, if we +needed a symbolical interpreter at every point to tell us which way to +go? the significance of the letters? and the point of compass indicated +by the digital finger? Learned men have revised the Scriptures times +without number, and I do not propose to go back of the latest Revision. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + + +Genesis xxxix. + + + +1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar an officer of +Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the +Ishmaelites, which bad brought him down thither. + +2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he +was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. + +4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made +him overseer over his house and all that he had he put into his hand. + +7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife +cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she solicited him. + +8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master +wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all +that he hath to my hand. + +9 How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? + +10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he +hearkened not unto her, and she caught him by his garment, and he left +his garment in her hand and fled. + +13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in +her hand and was fled forth, + +14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, +saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in +unto me, and I cried with a loud voice: + +15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and +cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled. + +16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. + +17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew +servant which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: + +18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he +left his garment with me, and fled out. + +19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, +that his wrath was kindled. + +20 And Joseph's master took him; and put him into the prison, a place +where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. + +211 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him +favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. + +22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the +prisoners that were in the prison; and whatever they did there, he was +the doer of it. + + +Potiphar's wife surpasses all the women yet mentioned in perfidy and +dishonor. + +Joseph's virtues, his dignity, his honor, go far to redeem the +reputation of his ancestors, and the customs of his times. It would +have been generous, at least, if the editor of these pages could have +given us one woman the counterpart of Joseph, a noble, high-minded, +virtuous type. Thus far those of all the different nationalities have +been of an ordinary low type. Historians usually dwell on the virtues +of the people, the heroism of their deeds, the wisdom of their words, +but the sacred fabulist dwells on the most questionable behavior of the +Jewish race, and much in character and language that we can neither +print nor answer. + +Indeed the Pentateuch is a long painful record of war, corruption, +rapine, and lust. Why Christians who wished to convert the heathen to +our religion should send them these books, passes all understanding. It +is most demoralizing reading for children and the unthinking masses, +giving all alike the lowest possible idea of womanhood, having no hope +nor ambition beyond conjugal unions with men they scarcely knew, for +whom they could not have had the slighest {sic} sentiment of +friendship, to say nothing of affection. There is no mention of women +except when the advent of sons is announced. When the Children of +Israel go down into Egypt we are told that the wives of Jacob's sons +were taken too, but we hear nothing of Jacob's wives or concubines, +until the death and burial of Leah is incidentally mentioned. +Throughout the book of Genesis the leading men declare from time to +that the Lord comes to them and promises great fruitfulness. A strange +promise in that it could only be fulfilled in questionable relations. +To begin with Abraham, and go through to Joseph, leaving out all +conjugal irregularities, we find Abraham and Sarah had Isaac, Isaac and +Rebekah had Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Rachel (for she alone was his +true wife), had Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph and Asenath had Manassah +and Ephraim. Thus giving the Patriarchs just seven legitimate +descendants in the first generation. If it had not been for polygamy +and concubinage, the great harvest so recklessly promised would have +been meagre indeed. + + + +Genesis xli. + + + +45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him +to wife Asenath the daughter of Potar-pherah priest of On. And Joseph +went out over all the land of Egypt. + +46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king +of Egypt. + +50 And unto Joseph were born two sons, before the years of the famine +came: which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto +him. + +51 And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manassah: For God, +said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. + +52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused +me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. + + +This is all we ever hear of Asenath, that she was a good woman, +probably worthy of Joseph, it is fair to infer, for had she been +otherwise her evil deeds would have been recorded. A few passing +remarks where ever we find the mention of woman is about all we can +vouchsafe. The writer probably took the same view of the virtuous woman +as the great Roman General who said "the highest praise for Caesar's +wife is that she should never be mentioned at all." + +The texts on Lot's daughters and Tamar we omit altogether, as unworthy +a place in the "Woman's Bible." In the remaining chapters of Genesis, +the brethren of Joseph take leave of each other; the fathers bless +their sons and grandsons, and also take leave of each other, some to go +to remote parts of the country, some to die at a ripe old age. As +nothing is said of their wives and daughters, the historian probably +knew nothing of their occupations nor environments. Joseph was a +hundred and ten years old when he died. They embalmed him according to +the custom in Egypt, and put him in a coffin, and buried him in the +land of his fathers, where his brethren had promised to take his bones +after death to rest with his kindred at last. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The literal translation of the first verse of chapter xxxix of Genesis +is as follows: + +"And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, Pharaoh's eunuch, +chief of the cooks, an Egyptian bought him of the Ishmaelites who +brought him down." + +These facts which are given in Julia Smith's translation of the Bible +throw a new light on the story of Joseph and the woman who was +Potiphar's wife only in name. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + + +THE BOOK OF EXODUS. + + +CHAPTER 1. + + + +Exodus i. + + + +1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into +Egypt: every man and his household came with Jacob. + +2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, + +3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, + +4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. + +5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy +souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. + +15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the +name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah. + +16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew +women, and they bare a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a +daughter, then she shall live. + +17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt +commanded them, but saved the men children alive. + +18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, +Why have ye done this thing and have saved the men children alive? + +19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are +delivered ere the midwives come in unto them: + +20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people +multiplied, and waxed very mighty. + +21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made +them houses. + +22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born +ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. + + +The Book of Exodus or the Departure, so called because of the escape +of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, and their wanderings +in the wilderness for forty years, are herein recalled. + +The unparalleled multiplication of the children of Israel renewed +Pharaoh's anxiety especially as the Israelites were very large and +strong as compared with the Egyptians, and their numbers were computed +to double every fourteen years. Hence their multitude and power grew +more formidable day by day in the eyes of the Egyptians, though they +feared their presence, yet as their labors added greatly to the wealth +of the nation, they were unwilling to let them go. Pharaoh hoped by +making their daily tasks much harder and killing all the male children +at birth, they, would be so crippled and dispirited that there would be +no danger of rebellion against his government. + +For a list of the seventy souls, turn to Genesis, chapter xlvi, where +Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and Sarah, Asher's daughter, are mentioned +among the seventy souls. It is certainly curious that there should have +been only two daughters to sixty-eight sons. But perhaps the seventy +souls refer only to sons, and the daughters are merely persons, not +souls. It is not an uncommon idea with many nations that women have no +souls. A missionary to China tells of a native who asked him why he +preached the Gospel to women. "To save their souls, to be sure." "Why," +said he, "women have no souls." "Yes they have," said the missionary. +When the thought dawned on the Chinaman that it might be true, he was +greatly amused, and said, "Well, I'll run home and tell my wife she has +a soul, and we will sit down and laugh together." We find at many +points that the Bible does not reckon women as souls. It may be that +because there is no future for them is the reason why they punish them +here more severely than they do men for the same crimes. Here it is +plainly asserted that all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob +were seventy in number. The meaning conveyed may be that the man +supplies the spirit and intellect of the race, and woman the body only. +Some late writers take this ground. If so, the phraseology would have +been more in harmony with the idea, if the seventy souls had emanated, +Minerva-like, from the brain of father Jacob, rather than from his +loins. + +The children of Israel multiplied so rapidly that Pharaoh became +alarmed, lest the nation should become mightier than the Egyptians, so +he ordered all the males at birth to be slain. To this end he had a +private interview with the midwives, two women, Shiphrah and Puah, and +laid his commands upon them. But they did not obey his orders, and +excused themselves on the ground that the Jewish women seldom needed +their services. Here we have another example of women who "feared God," +and yet used deception to accomplish what they deemed right. + +The Hebrew God seemed to be well pleased with the deception, and gave +them each a house for their fidelity in saving the lives of +his chosen children. Such is the plain English of the story. Origen +ascribes a deep spiritual meaning to these passages, as more recent +writers and speakers do, making the whole Bible a collection of symbols +and allegories, but none of them are complimentary to our unfortunate +sex. Adam Clarke says if we begin by taking some parts of the +Scriptures figuratively we shall soon figure it all away. Though the +midwives in their comfortable homes enjoyed the approbation of God, +Pharaoh was not to be thwarted by their petty excuses, so he ordered +his own people to cast into the river every Jewish boy that was born. +We are so accustomed to the assumption that men alone form a nation, +that we forget to resent such texts as these. Surely daughters in +freedom could perpetuate family and national pride and honor, and if +allowed to wed the men of their choice, their children would vindicate +their ancestral dignity. The greatest block to advancing civilization +all along the line has been the degradation of woman. Having no +independent existence, no name, holding no place of honor or trust, +being mere subjects in the family, the birth of a son is naturally +considered more important than a daughter, as the one inherits because +of sex all the rights and privileges denied the other. + +Shiphrah and Puah, Aben Ezra tells us, were probably at the head of +their profession, and instructed others in the science of obstetrics. +At this time there were five hundred midwives among the Hebrews. This +branch of the profession was, among the Egyptians, also in the hands of +the women. Statistics show that the ratio of deaths among mothers and +children at birth was far less than when under male supervision +exclusively. + +Moses spent the first forty years of his life in Egypt, the next forty +with Jethro his father in law, and the next forty wandering in the +wilderness. One writer said the Lord must have buried Moses, and no one +ever knew where. There is no record of the burial place of Moses. As +his life had been surrounded with mysteries, perhaps to verify his +providential guidance in that long journey in the wilderness, he chose +to surround his death also with mystery, and arranged with members of +the priesthood to keep his last resting place a profound secret. He was +well versed in all the law and mythology of the Egyptians, and intended +the people should no doubt think that Jehovah had taken the great +leader to himself. For the purpose of controlling his followers in that +long journey through the wilderness, he referred all his commands and +actions to Jehovah. Moses declared that he met him face to face on +Mount Sinai, veiled in a cloud of fire, received minute instructions +how to feed and conduct the people, as well as to minister to their +moral and spiritual necessities. In order to enforce his teachings, he +said the ten commandments were written on tablets of stone by Jehovah +himself, and given into his hands to convey to the people, with many +ordinances and religious observances, to be sacredly kept. In this way +the Jewish religion and the Mosaic code were established. + +As these people had no written language at that time, and could +neither read nor write, they were fitting subjects for all manner of +delusions and superstitions. The question naturally suggests itself to +any rational mind, why should the customs and opinions of this ignorant +people, who lived centuries ago, have any influence in the religious +thought of this generation? + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Exodus ii. + + + +1 And there went a man of the house of Levi and took to wife a +daughter of Levi. + +2 And the woman bare a son: and when she saw that he was a goodly +child, she hid him three months. + +3 And when she could not longer hide him she took for him an ark of +bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child +therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. + +4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. + +5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the +river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side: and when she +saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. + +6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe +wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the +Hebrews' children. + +7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to +thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? + +8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called +the child's mother. + +9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and +nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the +child, and nursed it. + +10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, +and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, +Because I drew him out of the water. + +15 But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of +Midian: and he sat down by a well. + +16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and +drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. + +17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and +helped them, and watered their flock. + +18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that +ye are come so soon to day? + +19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the +shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. + +20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye +have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. + +21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses +Zipporah his daughter. + +22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershon: for he +said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. + + +The account of the birth of Moses, his mother's anxiety in protecting +him from the wrath of Pharaoh, and the goodness of the king's daughter, +make altogether an interesting story, and is almost the first touch of +sentiment with which the historian has refreshed us; a pleasant change +from the continued accounts of corruption, violence, lust, war and +petty falsehood, that have thus far marked the history of this people. +The only value of these records to us is to show the character of the +Jewish nation, and make it easy for us to reject their ideas as to the +true status of woman, and their pretension of being guided by the hand +of God, in all their devious wanderings. Surely such teachings as +these, should have no influence in regulating the lives of women in the +nineteenth century. Moses' conduct towards the seven daughters of the +priest at the well, shows that there were some sparks of chivalry here +and there in a few representative souls, notwithstanding the contempt +for the sex in general. These Hebrew wooings and weddings were +curiously similar, alike marked for the beauty and simplicity of the +daughters of the land, the wells, the flocks, the handsome strangers, +the strong, active young men who will prove so helpful in cultivating +the lands. The father-in-law usually gets the young husband completely +under his thumb, and we hear nothing of the dreaded mother-in-law of +the nineteenth century. If we go through this chapter carefully we will +find mention of about a dozen women, but with the exception of one +given to Moses, all are nameless. Then as now names for women and +slaves are of no importance; they have no individual life, and why +should their personality require a life-long name? To-day the woman is +Mrs. Richard Roe, to-morrow Mrs. John Doe, and again Mrs. James Smith +according as she changes masters, and she has so little self-respect +that she does not see the insult of the custom. We have had in this +generation one married woman in England, and one in America, who had +one name from birth to death, and though married they kept it. Think of +the inconvenience of vanishing as it were from your friends and, +correspondents three times in one's natural life. + +In helping the children of Israel to escape from the land of Egypt the +Lord said to Moses: + + + +Exodus iii. + + + +19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not +by a mighty hand. + +20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders +which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. + +21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: +and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: + +22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighhour, and of her that +sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and +raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; +and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. + + +The role assigned the women, in helping the children of Israel to +escape in safety from bondage, is by no means complimentary +to their heroism or honesty. To help bear the expenses of the journey, +they were instructed to steal all the jewels of silver and gold, and +all the rich raiment of the Egyptian ladies. The Lord and Moses no +doubt went on the principle that the Israelites had richly earned all +in the years of their bondage. This is the position that some of our +good abolitionists took, when Africans were escaping from American +bondage, that the slaves had the right to seize horses, boats, anything +to help them to Canada, to find safety in the shadow of the British +lion. Some of our pro-slavery clergymen, who no doubt often read the +third chapter of Exodus to their congregations, forgot the advice of +Moses, in condemning the abolitionists; as the Americans had stolen the +African's body and soul, and kept them in hopeless bondage for +generations--they had richly earned whatever they needed to help them +to the land of freedom. Stretch the principle of natural rights a +little further, and ask the question, why should women, denied all +their political rights, obey laws to which they have never given their +consent, either by proxy or in person? Our fathers in an inspired +moment said, "No just government can be formed without the consent of +the governed." + +Women have had no voice in the canon law, the catechisms, the church +creeds and discipline, and why should they obey the behests of a +strictly masculine religion, that places the sex at a disadvantage in +all life's emergencies? + +Our civil and criminal codes reflect at many points the spirit of the +Mosaic. In the criminal code we find no feminine pronouns, as "He," +"His," "Him," we are arrested, tried and hung, but singularly enough, +we are denied the highest privileges of citizens, because the pronouns +"She," "Hers" and "Her," are not found in the constitutions. It is a +pertinent question, if women can pay the penalties of their crimes as +"He," why may they not enjoy the privileges of citizens as "He"? + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Exodus iv. + + + +18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said +unto him, let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are +in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, +Go in peace. + +19 And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for +all the men are dead which sought thy life. + +20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and +he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his +hand. + +21 And the Lord said unto Moses, when thou goest to return into Egypt, +see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in +thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the +people go. + +22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my +son, even my firstborn: + +23 And I say unto thee, let my son go, that he may serve me: and if +thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy +firstborn: + +24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, +and sought to kill him. + +25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and circumcised her son. + +26 So he let him go. + + +When Moses married Zipporah he represented himself as a stranger who +desired nothing better than to adopt Jethro's mode of life, But now +that he desired to see his own people, his wife has no choice but to +accompany him. So Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on an +ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. + +The reason the Lord met them and sought to kill the son, was readily +devined by Zipporah; her son had not been circumcised; so with woman's +quick intuition and natural courage to save the life of her husband, +she skillfully performed the necessary operation, and the travellers +went on their way rejoicing. The word circumcision seems to have a very +elastic meaning "uncircumcised lips" is used to describe that want of +power to speak fluently, from which Moses suffered and which he so +often deplored. + +As in every chapter of Jewish history this rite is dwelt upon it is +worthy of remark that its prominence as a religious observance means a +disparagement of all female life, unfit for offerings, and unfit to, +take part in religious services, incapable of consecration. The +circumcision of the heart even, which women might achieve, does not +render them fit to take an active part in any of the holy services of +the Lord. They were permitted to violate the moral code of laws to +secure liberty for their people, but they could not officiate in any +of the sacraments, nor eat of the consecrated bread at meals. Although +the Mosaic code and customs so plainly degrade the female sex, and +their position in the church to-day grows out of these ancient customs, +yet many people insist that our religion dignifies women. But so long +as the Pentateuch is read and accepted as the Word of God, an undefined +influence is felt by each generation that, destroys a proper respect +for all womankind. + +It is the contempt that the canon and civil law alike express for +women that has multiplied their hardships and intensified man's, desire +to hold them in subjection. The sentiment that statesmen and bishops +proclaim in their high places are responsible for the actions of the +lower classes on the highways. We scarce take up a paper that does not +herald some outrage committed on a matron on her way to church, or the +little girl gathering wild flowers on her way to school; yet you cannot +go so low down in the scale of being as to find men who will enter our +churches to desecrate the altars or toss about the emblems of the +sacrament; because they have been educated with some respect for +churches, altars and sacraments. But where are any lessons of respect +taught for the mothers of the human family? And yet as the great factor +in the building of the race are they not more sacred than churches, +altars, sacraments or the priesthood? + +Do our sons in their law schools, who read the old common law of +England and its commentators, rise from their studies with higher +respect for women? Do our sons in their theological seminaries rise +from their studies of the Mosaic laws and Paul's epistles with higher +respect for their mothers? Alas! in both cases they may have learned +their first lessons of disrespect and contempt. They who would protect +their innocent daughters from the outrages so common to-day, must lay +anew the foundation stones of law and gospel in justice and equality, +in a profound respect of the sexes for each other. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Exodus xii. + + + +12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will +smite all the firstborn in tile land of Egypt, both man and beast: and +against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. + +18 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye +are: and when I see that blood, I will pass over you, and the plague +not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. + +43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of +the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: + +44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast +circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. + +45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. + +46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of +the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone +thereof. + +47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. + +48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the +passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let +him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the +land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. + + +In commemoration of this promise of the Lord's to pass over their +homes in executing vengeance on the Egyptians, and of the prolonged +battles between Jehovah and Moses on the one side, and Pharaoh and his +Cabinet on the other, the Jews held an annual feast to which all +circumcised males were summoned. The point of interest to us is whether +women were disqualified, not being circumcised, or whether as members +of the congregation they could slip in under the provision in the 47th +verse, and enjoy the unleavened bread and nice roast lamb with the men +of their household. It seems from the above texts that this blessed +feast of deliverance from bondage must have been confined to males, +that they only, could express, their joy and gratitude. But women were +permitted to perform a subordinate part in the grand hegira, beside +carrying their respective infants they manifested their patriotism by +stealing all the jewels of gold and silver, all the rich silks and +velvets from their Egyptian neighbors, all they could carry, according +to the commands of Moses. And why should these women take any part in +the passover; their condition remained about the same under all +dynasties in all lands. They were regarded merely as necessary factors +in race building. As Jewish wives or Egyptian concubines, there was no +essential difference in their social status. + +As Satan, represented by a male snake, seemed to be women's counsellor +from the beginning, making her skillful in cunning and tergiversation, +it is fair to suppose that they were destined to commune with the +spirit of evil for ever and ever, that is if women have souls and are +immortal, which is thought to be doubtful by many nations. There is no +trace thus far that the Jews believed in a future state, good or bad. +No promise of immortality is held out to men even. So far the promise +to them is a purely material triumph, "their seed shall not fill the +earth." + +The firstborn of males both man and beast are claimed by the Lord as +his own. From the general sentiment expressed in the various texts, it +is evident that Satan claims the women as his own. The Hebrew God had +very little to say in regard to them. If the passover, the lamb and the +unleavened bread, were necessary to make the males acceptable in +religious services, the females could find no favor in the eyes of +either God or man. + +In most of the sacrifices female animals are not accepted, nor a male, +born after a female by the same parent. Males are the race, females +only the creatures that carry it on. This arrangement must be +providential, as it saves men from many disabilities. Men never fail to +dwell on maternity as a disqualification for the possession of many +civil and political rights. Suggest the idea of women having a voice in +making laws and administering the Government in the halls of +legislation, in Congress, or the British Parliament, and men will +declaim at once on the disabilities of maternity in a sneering +contemptuous way, as if the office of motherhood was undignified and +did not comport with the highest public offices in church and state. It +is vain that we point them to Queen Victoria, who has carefully reared +a large family, while considering and signing all state papers. She has +been a pattern wife and mother, kept a clean court, and used her +influence as far as her position would admit, to keep peace with all +nations. Why should representative American women be incapable of +discharging similar public and private duties at the same time in an +equally commendable manner? + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Exodus xviii. + + + +1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of +all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that +the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt; + +2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after +he had sent her back. + +3 And her two sons; of which the name of one was Gershom; for he said, +I have been an alien in a strange land: + +4 And the name of the other was Eliezer: for the God of my father, +said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh; + +5 And Jethro, Moses father in law, came with his sons and his wife +unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: + +6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto +thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. + +7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, +and kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare; and they +came into the tent. + +8 And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto the +Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail +that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them. + + +After a long separation the record of the meeting between Moses and +his wife Zipporah I,; very unsatisfactory to the casual reader. There +is some sentiment in the meeting of Jethro and Moses, they embraced and +kissed each other. How tender and beautiful the seeming relation to a +father in law, more fortunate than the mother in law in our time. +Zipporah like all the women of her time was hustled about, sent forward +and back by husbands and fathers, generally transported with their sons +and belongings on some long-suffering jackass. Nothing is said of the +daughters, but the sons, their names and their significance seem of +vital importance. We must smile or heave a sigh at all this injustice, +but different phases of the same guiding principle blocks woman's way +to-day to perfect liberty. See the struggle they have made to gain +admittance to the schools and colleges, the trades and professions, +their civil and political rights. The darkest page in history is the +persecutions of woman. + +We take note of these discriminations of sex, and reiterate them again +and again to call the attention of women to the real source of their +multiplied disabilities. As long as our religion teaches woman's +subjection and man's right of domination, we shall have chaos in the +world of morals. Women are never referred to as persons, merely as +property, and to see why, you must read the Bible until you also see +how many other opportunities for the exercise of sex were given to +men, and why the single one of marriage to one husband was allowed to +women. + +In all the directions given Moses, for the regulation of the social +and civil life of the children of Israel, and in the commandments on +Mount Sinai, it is rarely that females are mentioned. The regulations +are chiefly for males, the offerings are male, the transgressions +referred to are male. + +When the Lord was about to give the ten commandments to the children +of Israel he gave the most minute directions as to the preparatory +duties of the people. It is evident from the text that males only were +to witness Moses' ascent to Mount Sinai and the coming of the Lord in a +cloud of fire. + + + +Exodus xix. + + + +12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take +heed to yourselves, that ye go not up in to the mount, or touch the +border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to +death.. + +13 There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or +shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the +trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. + +14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified +the people; and they washed their clothes. + +16 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come +not at your wives. + +The children of Israel were to sanctify themselves for this great +event. Besides a thorough cleaning of their persons and clothes, they +were to have no affiliations or conversations with women for the space +of three days. The Hebrew laws regulating the relations of men and +women are never complimentary to the latter. + +This feeling was in due time cultivated in the persecutions women +endured under witchcraft and celibacy, when all women were supposed to +be in collusion with the spirit of evil, and every man was warned that +the less he had to do with the "daughters of men" the more perfect +might be his communion with the Creator. Lecky in his History of +Rationalism shows what women endured when these ideas were prevalent, +and their sufferings were not mitigated until rationalism took the +place of religion, and reason trumphed {sic} over superstition. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +Exodus xv. + + + +20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in +her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with +dances. + +21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath +triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the +sea. + + +After many previous disappointments from Pharaoh, the children of +Israel were permitted to start from Egypt and cross the Red Sea, while +Pharaoh and his host in pursuit, were overwhelmed in the waters. + +Then Moses and the children of Israel expressed their gratitude to the +Lord in a song, comprising nineteen verses, while Miriam and the women +expressed theirs in the above two. Has this proportion any significance +as to the comparative happiness of the men and the women, or is it a +poor attempt by the male historian to make out that though the women +took part in the general rejoicing, they were mutinous or sulky. We +know that Miriam was not altogether satisfied with the management of +Moses at many points of the expedition, and later on expressed her +dissatisfaction. If their gratitude is to be measured by the length of +their expression, the women were only one-tenth as grateful as the men. +It must always be a wonder to us, that in view of their degradation, +they ever felt like singing or dancing, for what desirable change was +there in their lives--the same hard work or bondage they suffered in +Egypt. There, they were all slaves together, but now the men, in their +respective families were exalted above their heads. Clarke gives the +song in metre with a chorus, and says the women, led by Miriam, +answered in a chorus by themselves which greatly heightened the effect. + + + +Exodus xvi. + + + +23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To +morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which +ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which +remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. + +29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he +giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man +in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. + +30 So the people rested on the seventh day. + + +In these texts we note that the work of men was done on the sixth day, +but the women must work as usual on the seventh. We see the same thing +to-day, woman's work is never done. What irony to say to them rest on +the seventh day. The Puritan fathers would not let the children romp or +play, nor give their wives a drive on Sunday, but they enjoyed a better +dinner on the Sabbath than any other day; yet the xxxi chapter and 15th +verse contains the following warning: + + +15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of +rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he +shall surely be put to death. + + +As the women continued to work and yet seemed to live in the flesh, it +may refer to the death of their civil rights, their individuality, as +nonentities without souls or personal responsibility. + +A critical reading of the ten commandments will show that they are +chiefly for men. After purifying themselves by put ting aside their +wives and soiled clothes, they assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai. We +have no hint of the presence of a woman. One commandment speaks of +visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children. There is an +element of justice in this, for to talk of children getting iniquities +from their mothers, in a history of males, of fathers and sons, would +be as ridiculous as getting them from the clothes they wore. + +"Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." With the majority of +women this is impossible. Men of all classes can make the Sabbath a day +of rest, at least a change of employment, but for women the same +monotonous duties must be performed. In the homes of the rich and poor +alike, most women cook, clean, and take care of children from morning +till night. Men must have good dinners Sundays above all other days, as +then they have plenty of time in which to eat. If the first born male +child lifts up his voice at the midnight hour, the female attendant +takes heed to his discontent; if in the early morning at the cock +crowing, or the eventide, she is there. They who watch and guard the +infancy of men are like faithful sentinels, always on duty. + +The fifth commandment will take the reader by surprise. It is rather +remarkable that the young Hebrews should have been told to honor their +mothers, when the whole drift of the teaching thus far has been to +throw contempt on the whole sex. In what way could they show their +mothers honor? All the laws and customs forbid it. Why should they make +any such manifestations? Scientists claim that the father gives the +life, the spirit, the soul, all there is of most value in existence. +Why honor the mother, for giving the mere covering of flesh. It was not +her idea, but the father's, to start their existence. He thought of +them, he conceived them. You might as well pay the price of a sack of +wheat to the field, instead of the farmer who sowed it, as to honor the +mother for giving life. According to the Jewish code, the father is the +great factor in family life, the mother of minor consideration. In the +midst of such teachings and examples of the subjection and degradation +of all womankind, a mere command to honor the mother has no +significance. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + +Exodus xxxii. + + + +1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the +mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said +unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this +Moses, the man that brought us up out of land of Egypt, we wot not what +is become of him. + +2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are +in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and +bring them unto me. + +And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their +ears, and brought them unto Aaron. + +And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving +tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy +gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. + +5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made +proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord. + +6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, +and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to +drink, and rose up to play. + +7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, +which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted +themselves. + + +So tired were the children of Israel waiting at the foot of Mount +Sinai for the return of Moses, that Aaron to pacify them made a golden +calf which they worshipped. To procure the gold he took the jewelry of +the women young and old, men never understanding how precious it is to +them, and the great self-sacrifice required to part with it. But as the +men generally give it to them during courtship, and as wedding +presents, they feel that they have a vested right therein for +emergencies. + +It was just so in the American Revolution, in 1776, the first delicacy +the men threw overboard in Boston harbor was the tea, woman's favorite +beverage. The tobacco and whiskey, though heavily taxed, they clung to +with the tenacity of the devil-fish. Rather than throw their luxuries +overboard they would no doubt have succumbed to King George's +pretensions. Men think that self-sacrifice is the most charming of all +the cardinal virtues for women, and in order to keep it in healthy +working order, they make opportunities for its illustration as often as +possible. I would fain teach women that self-development is a higher +duty than self-sacrifice. + +The pillar of cloud for day and light for night, that went before the +children of Israel in the wilderness, was indeed a marvel. It was an +aqueous cloud that kept them well watered by day, and shadowed from the +heat of the sun; by night it showed its light side to the Israelites, +and its dark side to whatever enemy might pursue them. It is supposed +that about 3,200,000 started on this march with 165,000 children. They +carried all their provisions, cooking utensils, flocks, herds and all +the gold, silver, precious stones and rich raiment that they borrowed +(stole) of the Egyptians, besides the bones of the twelve sons of +Jacob. It is said the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the +wilderness, kept there because of their wickedness, though they might +have accomplished the journey in a few weeks. They disobeyed the +commandments given them by Moses, and worshipped a golden calf, so they +journeyed through deep waters, woe and tribulation. Fire was always a +significant emblem of Deity, not only among the Hebrews but many other +ancient nations, hence men have adopted it as a male emblem. They talk +of Moses seeing God; but Moses says: "ye saw no manner of similitude on +the day the Lord spoke unto me on Mount Horeb out of the cloud of fire." + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + +Exodus xxxiv. + + + +12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the +inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in +the midst of thee; + +13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down +their groves: + +14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, who is a jealous +God. + +15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and +they go after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one +call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; + +16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters +go after their gods, and make thy sons go after their gods. + +23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the +Lord God, the God of Israel. + +24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy +borders; neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up +to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year. + +25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither +shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the +morning. + +26 The first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the +house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's +milk. + + +The Jews did not seem to have an abiding faith in the attractions of +their own religion. They evidently lived in constant fear lest their +sons and daughters should worship the strange gods of other nations. +They seem also to have had most exaggerated fears as to the influence +alien women might exert over their sons. Three times in the year all +the men were to appear before the Lord. Why the women were not +commanded to appear has been a point of much questioning. Probably the +women, then as now, were more conscientious in their religious duties, +and not so susceptible to the attractions of alien men and their +strange gods. + +If the Lord had talked more freely with the Jewish women and impressed +some of his wise commands on their hearts, they would have had a more +refined and religious influence on the men of Israel. But all their +knowledge of the divine commands was second hand and through an +acknowledged corrupt medium. + +"Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." After all the +learning critics have bestowed on this passage, the simple meaning, says +Adam Clarke, seems to be this: Thou shalt do nothing that may have a +tendency to blunt thy moral feelings, or teach thee hardness of heart. +Even human nature shudders at the thought of taking the mother's milk to +seethe the flesh of her own dead lamb. With all their cruelty towards +alien tribes and all their sacrifices of lambs and kids, there is an +occasional touch of tenderness for animal life among the Hebrews that is +quite praiseworthy. + + + +Exodus xxxvi. + + + +22 And they came, both men and women, as many, as were willing +hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, +all jewels of gold; and every man offered an offering of gold unto the +Lord. + +23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, +and fine linen, and goats hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' +skins, brought them. + +25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, +and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and +of scarlet, and of fine linen. + +26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' +hair. + + +Women were always considered sufficiently clean to beg, work and give +generously for the building and decoration of churches, and the support +of the priesthood. They might always serve as inferiors, but never +receive as equals. + +Great preparations were made for building the Tabernacle, and all the +willing hearted were invited to bring all their ornaments and all +manner of rich embroideries, and brilliant fancy work of scarlet, blue +and purple. As usual in our own day the Jewish women were allowed to +give generously, work untiringly and beg eloquently to build altars and +Tabernacles to the Lord, to embroider slippers and make flowing robes +for the priesthood, but they could not enter the holy of holies or take +any active part, in the services. + +Some women in our times think these unhappy Jewesses would have been +much "wiser hearted" if they had kept their jewelry and beautiful +embroideries to decorate themselves and their homes, where they were at +least satellites of the dinner pot and the cradle, and Godesses {sic} at +their own altars. Seeing they had no right inside the sacred Temple, but +stood looking-glass in hand at the door, it would have indicated more +self-respect to have washed their hands of all that pertained to male +ceremonies, altars and temples. But the women were wild with enthusiasm, +just as they are to-day with fairs and donation parties, to build +churches, and they brought such loads of bric-a-brac that at last Moses +compelled them to stop, as the supply exceeded all reasonable demand. +But for the building of the Tabernacle the women brought all they deemed +most precious, even the most necessary and convenient articles of their +toilets. + + + +Exodus xxxviii. + + + +8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of +the looking glasses of the women assembling at the door of the +tabernacle of the congregation. + + +The men readily accepted the sacrifice of all their jewelry, rich +laces, velvets and silks, their looking glasses of solid precious +metal. These being made of metal could be used for building purposes. +The women carried these with them wherever they went, and always stood +with them in hand at the door of the Tabernacle, as they were the +doorkeepers standing outside to watch and guard the door from those not +permitted to enter. + +An objective view of the manner these women were imposed upon, +wheedled and deceived with male pretensions and the pat use of the +phrase "thus saith the Lord," must make every one who reads indignant +at the masculine assumption, even at this late day. + + +E. C. S. + + + +At every stage of his existence Moses was indebted to some woman for +safety and success. Miriam, by her sagacity, saved his life. Pharaoh's +daughter reared and educated him and made the way possible for the high +offices he was called to fill; and Zipporah, his wife, a woman of +strong character and decided opinions, often gave him good advice. +Evidently from the text she criticised his conduct and management as a +leader, and doubted his supernatural mission, for she refused to go out +of Egypt with him, preferring to remain with her sons under her +father's roof--Jethro, a priest of Midian. After the destruction of +Pharaoh's host, when the expedition, led by Moses seemed to be an +assured success, she followed with her father to join the leader of the +wandering Israelites. (Chapter xviii, 2.) + +In the ordinances which follow the ten commandments, exact judgment +and cruel punishment are ordained alike for man and +woman; life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand and +foot for foot (Chapter xxi, 23). + +In pronouncing punishments, woman's individuality and responsibility +are always fully recognized, alike in the canon and civil laws, which +reflect the spirit of the Mosaic code. + + + +Exodus xxii. + + + +21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were +strangers in the land of Egypt. + +22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. + +23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I +will surely hear their cry; + +24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and +your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless: + +This special threat against those who oppress the widow and the +fatherless, has a touch of tenderness and mercy, but if the vengeance +is to make more widows and fatherless, the sum of human misery is +increased rather than diminished. As to the stranger, after his country +has been made desolate, his cities burned, his property, cattle, lands +and merchandise all confiscated, kind words and alms would be but a +small measure of justice under any circumstances. + +In closing the book of Exodus, the reader must wonder that the faith +and patience of the people, in that long sorrowful march through the +wilderness, held out as long as it did. Whether fact or fiction, it is +one of the most melancholy records in human history. Whether as a mere +work of the imagination, or the real experience of an afflicted people, +our finer sentiments of pity and sympathy find relief only in doubts of +its truth. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Leviticus iv, vi. + + + +22 When a ruler hath sinned and somewhat through ignorance, against +any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which +should not be done, and is guilty. + +23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he +shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: + +27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while +he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord +concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty: + +28 Then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female +without blemish, for his sin. + +24 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall +offer it before the Lord, before the altar. + +15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat +offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is +upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet +savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord. + +18 All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall +be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of +the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. + + +There seems to have been some distinction of sex even in the offerings +of male and female animals. For rulers, priests and people of +distinction male animals were required, but for the common people a +female lamb or goat would do. There is a difference of opinion among +writers as to the reason of this custom, some say because all female +animals were considered unclean, others that the females were too +valuable for wholesale slaughter. Farmers use the male fowls for the +table because the hens are too valuable producing eggs and chickens. +The fact has some significance, though Adam Clarke throws no light on +it, he says--"the whole sacrificial system in this book refers to the +coming sacrifice of Christ; without this spiritual reference, the +general reader can feel no spiritual interest in this book" For burnt +offerings males were required, but for peace offerings and minor sins +the female would answer. + +As the idea of sacrifice to unknown gods, was the custom with all +nations and religions, why should the Jewish have more significance +than that of any other people. For swearing, an offence to ears polite, +rather than eternal justice, a female creature or turtle dove might be +offered. + +The meat so delicately cooked by the priests, with wood and coals in +the altar, in clean linen, no woman was permitted to taste, only the +males among the children of Aaron. Seeing that the holy men were the +cooks, it seems like a work of supererogation to direct them to clean +themselves and their cooking utensils. Perhaps the daughters of Israel +were utilized for that work. + +It is clearly shown that child-bearing among the Jews was not +considered a sacred office and that offerings to the Lord were +necessary for their purification, and that double the time was +necessary after the birth of a daughter. + +In several of the following chapters the sins of men and women are +treated on equal grounds, hence they need no special comments. In +reading many of these chapters we wonder that an expurgated edition of +these books was not issued long ago. We trust the volume we propose to +issue may suggest to the next Revising Committee of gentlemen the +propriety of omitting many texts that are gross and obscene, especially +if the Bible is to be read in our public schools. + + + +Leviticus x. + + + +12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, +his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the +offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside +the altar: for it is most holy. + +13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and +thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire: for so I am +commanded. + +14 And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean +place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy +due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace +offerings of the children of Israel. + + +Why the daughters cannot eat with the sons in the thirteenth verse and +may in the fourteenth we cannot conjecture. We notice, however, that +where the sons eat alone is called a "holy place," where the daughters +eat with them it is called simply a "clean place." We are thankful, +however, that in the distribution of meats the women come in +occasionally for a substantial meal in a +clean place. + +All the directions given in the eighteenth chapter are for men and +women alike, for all nations and all periods of human development. The +social habits and sanitary conditions prescribed are equally good for +our times as when given by Moses to the children of Israel. The virtue +of cleanliness so sedulously taught cannot be too highly commended. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Leviticus xix. + + + +3 If ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my +sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. + +20 If And whosoever cohabits with a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, +and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged: +they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. + +21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, unto the +door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass +offering. + +22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the +trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he hath done: and +the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. + + +By what possible chance the mother is mentioned first here, it is +difficult to conjecture, but we do see the cruel injustice of the +comparative severity of the punishment for man and woman for the same +offence. The woman is scourged, the man presents the priest with a ram +and is forgiven. + + + +Leviticus xx. + + + +9 If For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be +surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood +shall be upon him. + +21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: +he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless. + +27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a +wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with +stones; their blood shall be upon them. + + +Clarke remarks that all language that tends to lessen respect for +father or mother, is included in this judgment. In this chapter we have +still further directions for race and family purity. I suppose in the +21st verse we have that stumbling-block in the British Parliament +whenever the deceased wife's sister's bill comes up for passage. Here, +too, those who in times past have persecuted witches, will find +justification for their cruelties. The actors in one of the blackest +pages in human history, claim Scripture authority for their infernal +deeds. Far into the eighteenth century in England, the clergy dragged +innocent women into the courts as witches, and learned judges +pronounced on them the sentence of torture and death. The chapter on +witchcraft in Lecky's History of Rationalism, contains the most +heartrending facts in human history. It is unsafe to put unquestioned +confidence in all the vagaries of mortal man. While women were +tortured, drowned and burned by the thousands, scarce one wizard to a +hundred was ever condemned. The marked distinction in the treatment of +the sexes, all through the Jewish dispensation, is curious and +depressing, especially as we see the trail of the serpent all through +history, wherever their form of religion has made its impress. In the +old common law of our Saxon fathers, the Jewish code is essentially +reproduced. This same distinction of sex appears in our own day. One +code of morals for men, another for women. All the opportunities and +advantages of life for education, self-support and self-development +freely accorded boys, have, in a small measure, been reluctantly +conceded to women after long and persevering struggles. + + + +Leviticus xxii. + + + +12 If the priest's daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may +not eat of an offering of the holy things. + +13 But if the priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no +child, and is returned unto her father's house, as in her youth, she +shall eat of her father's meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof. + + +These restrictions on the priests' daughters would never be tolerated +by the priests' sons should they marry strangers. The individuality of +a woman, the little she ever possessed, is obliterated by marriage. + + + +Leviticus xxiv. + + + +10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an +Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the +Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; + +11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, +and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was +Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) + + +The interesting fact here is that a woman is dignified by a name, the +only one so mentioned in the book of Leviticus. This is probably due to +the fact that the son's character was so disreputable that he would +reflect no lustre on his father's family, and so on his maternal +ancestors rested his disgrace. If there had been anything good to tell +of him, reference would no doubt have been made to his male progenitors. + + + +Leviticus xxvi. + + + +26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall +bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread +again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. + +29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your +daughters shall ye eat. + + +There could be no greater punishment in ordinary life than for ten +women to bake in one oven. As every woman would necessarily look at her +pies and cakes two or three times, that would involve a frequent +looking in, which might make the contents heavy as lead. A current of +cold air rushing in too often, would wreck the most perfect compound. +But perhaps heavy bread was intended as part of the punishment of the +people for their sins. Some commentators say that the labors of the ten +women are symbolical of the poverty of the family. When people are in +fortunate circumstances, the women are supposed, like the lilies of the +valley, to neither toil nor spin, but when the adverse winds blow they +suddenly find themselves compelled to use their own brains and hands or +perish. + +The 29th verse at last gives us one touch of absolute equality, the +right to be eaten. This Josephus tells us really did occur in the +sieges of Samaria by Benhadad, of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and also +in the last siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Amid the long list of directions for sacrifices and injunctions +against forbidden actions, chapter xii gives the law of purification, +not only degrading motherhood by the observance of certain ceremonies +and exclusion from the sanctuary, but by discriminating against sex, +honoring the birth of a son above that of a daughter. + +According to the Levitical law, the ewe lambs were not used for +sacrifice as offerings to the Lord, because they were unclean. This was +an idea put forth by the priests and Levites. But there was a better and +more rational reason. To sacrifice the ewes was to speedily deplete the +flocks, but beyond a certain number needed as sires for the coming +generation, the males could be put to no better use than to feed the +priests, the refuse of the animal, the skin, feet, etc., constituted the +sacrifice to the Lord. + +Bishop Colenso, in his remarkable work on the Pentateuch, gives the +enormous number of lambs annually sacrificed by the Hebrews. A certain +portion of the flocks were assigned to the priests, who were +continually provided with the best mutton. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF NUMBERS + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Numbers i. + + + +And the Lord spake unto Moses in tire wilderness of Sinai, saying, + +2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, +after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of +their names, every male by their polls: + +3 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by +the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps +throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and +five hundred and fifty. + + +In this chapter Moses is commanded to number the people and the +princes of the tribe, males only, and by the houses of their fathers. +As the object was to see how many effective men there were able to go +to war, the priests, the women, the feeble old men and children were +not counted. Women have frequently been classified with priests in some +privileges and disabilities. At one time in the United States the +clergy were not allowed to vote nor hold office. Like women, they were +considered too good to mingle in political circles. For them to have +individual opinions on the vital questions of the hour might introduce +dissensions alike into the church and the home. + +This census of able bodied men still runs on through chapter ii, and +all these potential soldiers are called children of their fathers. +Although at this period woman's chief duty and happiness was bearing +children, no mention is made of the mothers of this mighty host, though +some woman had gone to the gates of death to give each soldier life; +provided him with rations long before he could forage for himself, and +first taught his little feet to march to tune and time. But, perhaps, +if we could refer to the old Jewish census tables we might find that +the able bodied males of these tribes, favorites of Heaven, +had all sprung, Minerva-like, from the brains of their fathers, and +that only the priests, the feeble old men and the children had mothers +to care for them, in the absence of the princes and soldiers. + +However, in some valuable calculations of Schencher we learn that +there was some thought of the mothers of the tribes by German +commentators. We find in his census such references as the following: +The children of Jacob by Leah. The children of Jacob by Zilpah. The +children of Jacob by Rachel. The children of Jacob by Bilhah. But even +this generous mention of the mothers of the tribe of Jacob does not +satisfy the exacting members of the Revising Committee. We feel that +the facts should have been stated thus: The children of Leah, Zilpah, +Rachel and Bilhah by Jacob, making Jacob the incident instead of the +four women. Men may consider this a small matter on which to make a +point, but in restoring woman's equality everywhere we must insist on +her recognition in all these minor particulars, and especially in the +Bible, to which people go for their authority on the civil and social +status of all womankind. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Numbers v. + + + +1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, + +2 Command the children of Israel. that they put out of the camp every +leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by +the dead: + +3 Both male and female that they defile not their camps. + +4 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, + +12 If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him. + +14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and she be defiled: or if +she be not defiled: + +15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall +bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; +he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is +an offering of jealousy. + +17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of +the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, +and put it into the water: + +18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and uncover the +woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is +the jealousy offering, and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter +water that causeth the curse: + +19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, +if thou hast not gone aside be thou free from this bitter water that +causeth the curse: + +20 But if thou hast gone aside, and if thou be defiled. + +21 Then, the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, +and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and +an oath among they people. + +24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth +the curse. + +25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's +hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon +the altar: + +26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the +memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause +the woman to drink the water. + +27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to +pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her +husband, that if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her +husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, +and become bitter. + +28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be +free. + + +At the first blush it seems very cruel for the Jewish God to order the +diseased and unfortunate to be thrown out of the camp and left in the +wilderness. But commentators suggest that they must have had a +sanatorium near by where the helpless could be protected. Though +improbable, still the suggestion will be a relief to sensitive souls. +This ordinance of Moses probably suggested the first idea of a +hospital. The above account of the unfortunate wife was called "trial +by ordeal," of which Clarke gives a minute description in his +commentaries. It was common at one time among many nations, the women +in all cases being the chief sufferers as in the modern trials for +witchcraft. If the witch was guilty when thrown into the water she went +to the bottom, if innocent she floated on the surface and was left to +sink, so in either case her fate was the same. As men make and execute +the laws, prescribe and administer the punishment, "trials by a jury or +ordeal" for women though seemingly fair, are never based on principles +of equity. The one remarkable fact in all these social transgressions +in the early periods as well as in our modern civilization is that the +penalties whether moral or material all fall on woman. Verily the +darkest page in human history is the slavery of women! + +The offering by the priest to secure her freedom was of the cheapest +character. Oil and frankincense signifying grace and acceptableness +were not permitted to be used in her case. The woman's head is +uncovered as a token of her shame, the dust from the floor signifies +contempt and condemnation, compelling the woman to drink water mixed +with dirt and gall is in the same malicious spirit. There is no +instance recorded of one of these trials by ordeal ever actually taking +place, as divorce was so easy that a man could put away his wife at +pleasure, so he need not go to the expense of even "a tenth part of an +ephah of barley," on a wife of doubtful faithfulness. Moreover the +woman upon whom it was proposed to try all these pranks might be +innocent, and the jealous husband make himself ridiculous in the eyes +of the people. But the publication of these ordinances no doubt had a +restraining influence on the young and heedless daughters of Israel, +and they serve as landmarks in man's system of jurisprudence, to show +us how far back he has been consistent in his unjust legislation for +woman. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Numbers xii. + + + +And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian +woman whom he had married. + +2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he +not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. + +3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon +the face of the earth.) + +5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the +door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came +forth. + +6 And He Said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I, +the Lord, will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak +unto him in a dream. + +8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in +dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: +wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my Servant Moses? + +9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them: and he departed. + +10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam +became leprous, white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and +behold, she was leprous. + +11 And Aaron said unto Muses. Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not +the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have +sinned. + +13 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saving Heal her now, O God, I +beseech thee. + +15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people +journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. + + +Here we have the first mention of Moses's second marriage, but the +name of the woman is not given, though she is the assigned cause of the +sedition. Both Aaron and Miriam had received a portion of the prophetic +genius that distinguished Moses, and they naturally thought that they +should have some share in the government, at least to make a few +suggestions, when they thought Moses made a blunder. Miriam was older +than Moses, and had at this time the experience of 120 years. When +Moses was an infant on the River Nile, Miriam was intrusted by his +parents to watch the fate of the infant in the bulrushes and the +daughter of Pharaoh in her daily walks by, the river side. It was her +diplomacy that secured the child's own mother for his nurse in the +household of the King of Egypt. + +It is rather remarkable, if Moses was as meek as he is represented in +the third verse, that he should have penned that strong assertion of +his own innate modesty. There are evidences at this and several other +points that Moses was not the sole editor of the Pentateuch, if it can +be shown that he wrote any part of it. Speaking of the punishment of +Miriam, Clarke. in his commentaries says it is probable that Miriam was +chief in this mutiny; hence she was punished while Aaron was spared. A +mere excuse for man's injustice; had he been a woman he would have +shared the same fate. The real reason was that Aaron was a priest. Had +he been smitten with leprosy, his sacred office would have suffered and +the priesthood fallen into disrepute. + +As women are supposed to have no character or sacred office, it is +always safe to punish them to the full extent of the law. So Miriam was +not only afflicted with leprosy, but also shut out of the camp for +seven days. One would think that potential motherhood should make women +as a class as sacred as the priesthood. In common parlance we have much +fine-spun theorizing on the exalted office of the mother, her immense +influence in moulding the character of her sons; "the hand that rocks +the cradle moves the world," etc., but in creeds and codes, in +constitutions and Scriptures, in prose and verse, we do not see these +lofty paeans recorded or verified in living facts. As a class, women +were treated among the Jews as an inferior order of beings, just as +they are to-day in all civilized nations. And now, as then, men claim +to be guided by the will of God. + +In this narrative we see thus early woman's desire to take some part +in government, though denied all share in its honor and dignity. +Miriam, no doubt, saw the humiliating distinctions of sex in the Mosaic +code and customs, and longed for the power to make the needed +amendments. In criticising the discrepancies in Moses's character and +government, Miriam showed a keen insight into the common principles of +equity and individual conduct, and great self-respect and self- +assertion in expressing her opinions--qualities most lacking in ordinary +women. + +Evidently the same blood that made Moses and Aaron what they were, as +leaders of men, flowed also in the veins, of Miriam. As daughters are +said to be more like their fathers and sons like their mothers, Moses +probably inherited his meekness and distrust of himself from his +mother, and Miriam her self-reliance and heroism from her father. +Knowing these laws of heredity, Moses should have averted the +punishment of Miriam instead of allowing the full force of God's wrath +to fall upon her alone. If Miriam had helped to plan the journey to +Canaan, it would no doubt have been accomplished in forty days instead +of forty years. With her counsel in the cabinet, the people might have +enjoyed peace and prosperity, cultivating the arts and sciences, +instead of making war on other tribes, and burning offerings to their +gods. Miriam was called a prophetess, as the Lord had, on some +occasions, it is said, spoken through her, giving messages to the +women. After their triumphal escape from Egypt, Miriam led the women in +their songs of victory. With timbrels and dances, they chanted, that +grand chorus that has been echoed and re-echoed for centuries in all +our cathedrals round the globe. Catholic writers represent Miriam "as a +type of the Virgin Mary, being legislatrix over the Israelitish women, +especially endowed with the spirit of prophecy." + + + +Numbers xx. + + + +Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into +the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode In Kadesh; +and Miriam died there, and was buried there. + +Eusebius says her tomb was to be seen at Kadesh, near the city of +Petra, in his time, and that she and her brothers all died in the same +year, it is hoped to reappear as equals in the resurrection. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Numbers vi. + + + +1 And the Lord said unto Moses, + +2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say, When either man or woman +shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, unto the Lord. + +5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come +upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth +himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the +hair of his head grow. + +The Nazarites, both men and women, allowed their hair to grow long, as +the hair of the Nazarine was a token of subjection, the man to God, the +woman to man. St. Paul no doubt alluded to this custom when he said the +woman ought to have power upon her head, that is, wear her hair and +veil and bonnet in church as a proof of her subjection to man, as he is +to the Lord. The discipline of the church to-day requires a woman to +cover her head before entering a cathedral for worship. + +The fashion for men to sit with their heads bare in our churches, +while women must wear bonnets, is based on this ancient custom of the +Nazarine. But as fashion is gradually reducing the bonnet to an +infinitesimal fraction it will probably in the near future be dispensed +with altogether. A lady in England made the experiment of going to the +established church without her bonnet, but it created such an agitation +in the congregation that the Bishop wrote her a letter on the +impropriety and requested her to come with her head covered. She +refused. He then called and labored with her as to the sinfulness of +the proceedings, and at parting commanded her either to cover her bead +or stay away from church altogether. She choose the latter. I saw and +beard that letter read at a luncheon in London, where several ladies +were present. It was received with peals of laughter. The lady is the +wife of a colonel in the British army. + + + +Numbers xxv. + + + +6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto +his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses and all the +congregation of the children of Israel. + +7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, +saw it, he rose and took a javelin in his hand; + +8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both +of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman. + +14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain +with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a +chief house among the Simeonites. + +15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the +daughter of Zur: he was head over a people, and of a chief house in +Midian. + + +Some commentators say the tie between Zimri and Cozbi was a +matrimonial alliance, understood in good faith by the Midianitish +woman. He was a prince and she was a princess. + +But the Jewish law forbade a man going outside of his tribe for a +wife. It was deemed idolatry. But why kill the woman. She had not +violated the laws of her tribe and was no doubt ignorant of Jewish law. +Other commentators say that Zimri was notorious at the licentious +feasts of Baal-poer and that the Midianitish women tempted the sons of +Israel to idolatry. Hence the justice of killing both Zimri and Cozbi +in one blow. It is remarkable that the influence of woman is so readily +and universally recognized in leading the strongest men into sin, but +so uniformly ignored as a stimulus to purity and perfection. Unless the +good predominates over the evil in the mothers of the race, there is no +hope of our ultimate perfection. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The origin of the command that women should cover their heads is found +in an old Jewish or Hebrew legend which appears in literature for the +first time in Genesis vi. There we are told the Sons of God, that is, +the angels, took to wives the daughters of men, and begat the giants +and heroes, who were instrumental in bringing about the flood. The +Rabbins held that the way in which the angels got possession of women +was by laying hold of their hair; they accordingly warned women to +cover their heads in public, so that the angels might not get +possession of them. It was believed that the strength of people lay in +their hair, as the story of Samson illustrates. Paul merely repeats this +warning which he must often have heard at the feet of Gamaliel, who was +at that time Prince or President of the Sanhedrim, telling women to +have a "power (that is, protection) on their heads because of the +angels:" I Corinthians, chapter xi, verse 10. "For this cause ought the +woman to have power on her head because of the angels." Thus the +command has its origin in an absurd old myth. This legend will be found +fully treated in a German pamphlet--Die paulinische Angelologie und +Daemonologie. Otto Everling, Gottingen, 1888. + +If the command to keep silence in the churches has no higher origin +than that to keep covered in public, should so much weight be given it, +or should it be so often quoted as having Divine sanction? + +The injunctions of St. Paul have had such a decided influence in +fixing the legal status of women that it is worth our while to consider +their source. In dealing with this question we must never forget that +the majority of the writings of the New Testament were not really +written or published by those whose names they bear. Ancient writers +considered it quite permissible for a man to put out letters under the +name of another, and thus to bring his own ideas before the world under +the protection of an honored sponsor. It is not usually claimed that +St. Paul was the originator of the great religious movement called +Christianity, but there is a strong belief that he was divinely +inspired. His inward persuasions, and especially his visions appeared +as a gift or endowment which had the force of inspiration; therefore, +his mandates concerning women have a strong hold upon the popular mind, +and when opponents to the equality of the sexes are put to bay they +glibly quote his injunctions. + +We congratulate ourselves that we may shift some of these biblical +arguments that have such a sinister effect from their firm foundation. +He who claims to give a message must satisfy us that he has himself +received such message. + + +L. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Numbers xxvii. + + + +1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of +Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of +Manasseh, the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters: +Mahiah, Noah, and Hogiah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. + +2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and +before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the +tabernacle of the congregation, saying, + +3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of +them that gathered themselves together again at the Lord in the company +of Korah. + +4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his +family, because he hath no son? Give us therefore a possession among +the brethren of our father. + +5 And Moses brought their cause before the Lord. + +6 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, + +7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right thou shalt surely give them +a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou +shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. + +8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saving, If a man +die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto +his daughter. + +9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto +his brethren. + +10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto +his father's brethren. + +11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his +inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he +shall possess it; and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute +of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses. + + +The respect paid to the daughters of Zelophehad at that early day is +worthy the imitation of the rulers in our own times. These daughters +were no doubt fine-looking, well-developed women, gifted with the power +of eloquence, able to impress their personality and arguments on that +immense assemblage of the people. They were allowed to plead their own +case in person before the lawgivers, the priests, and the princes, the +rulers in State and Church, and all the congregation, at the very door +of the tabernacle. They presented their case with such force and +clearness that all saw the justice of their claims. Moses was so deeply +impressed that he at once retired to his closet to listen to the still +small voice of conscience and commune with his Maker. In response, the +Lord said to him: "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right, if a man +die and leave no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto +his daughters." It would have been commendable if the members of the +late Constitutional Convention in New York had, like Moses, asked the +guidance of the Lord in deciding the rights of the daughters of the Van +Rensselaers, the Stuyvesants, the Livingstons, and the Knickerbockers. +Their final action revealed the painful fact that they never thought to +take the case to the highest court in the moral universe. The daughters +of Zelophehad were fortunate in being all of one mind; none there to +plead the fatigue, the publicity, the responsibility of paying taxes +and investing property, of keeping a bank account, and having some +knowledge of mathematics. The daughters of Zelophehad were happy to +accept all the necessary burdens, imposed by the laws of inheritance, +while the daughters of the Knickerbockers trembled at the thought of +assuming the duties involved in self-government. + +As soon as Moses laid the case before the Lord, He not only allowed +the justice of the claim, but gave "a statute of judgment," by which +the Jewish magistrates should determine all such cases in the division +of property in the land of Canaan in all after ages. + +When the rights of property were secured to married women in the State +of New York in 1848, a certain class were opposed to the measure, and +would cross the street to avoid speaking to the sisters who had prayed +and petitioned for its success. They did not object, however, in due +time to use the property thus secured, and the same type of women will +as readily avail them selves of all the advantages of political +equality when the right of suffrage is secured. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The account given in this chapter of the directions as to the division +or inheritance of property in the case of Zelophehad, and his daughters +shows them to be just, because the daughters are to be treated as well +as the sons would be; but the law thereafter given, apparently suggested +by this querying of Zelophehad's daughters in reference to their +father's possessions is obviously unjust, in that it gives no freedom to +the owner of property as to the disposition of the same after his death, +i. e. leaves him without power to will it to any one, and leaves +unmentioned the female relatives as heirs at law. Only "brethren" and +"kinsman" are the words used, and it is very plain that only males were +heirs, except where a man had no son, but had one or more daughters. +"The exception proves the rule." + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +Numbers xviii. + + + +11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the +wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, +and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: +every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. + +19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of +Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy +daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt +for ever before the LORD unto thee and to I thy seed with thee. + + +The house of Aaron was now thoroughly confirmed in the priesthood, and +the Lord gives minute directions as to the provisions to be made for +the priests. The people then, as now, were made to feel that whatever +was given to them was given to the Lord, and that "the Lord loveth a +cheerful giver." That their minds might be at peace and always in a +devout frame, in communion with God, they must not be perplexed with +worldly cares and anxieties about bread and raiment for themselves and +families. Whatever privations they suffered themselves, they must see +that their priests were kept above all human wants and temptations. The +Mosaic code is responsible for the religious customs of our own day and +generation. Church property all over this broad land is exempt from +taxation, while the smallest house and lot of every poor widow is taxed +at its full value. Our Levites have their homes free, and good salaries +from funds principally contributed by women, for preaching denunciatory +sermons on women and their sphere. They travel for half fare, the +lawyer pleads their cases for nothing, the physician medicates their +families for nothing, and generally in the world of work they are +served at half price. While the common people must be careful not to +traduce their neighbors lest they be sued for libel, the Levite in +surplice and gown from his pulpit (aptly called the coward's castle) +may smirch the fairest characters and defame the noblest lives with +impunity. + +This whole chapter is interesting reading as the source of priestly +power, that has done more to block woman's way to freedom than all +other earthly influences combined. But the chief point in this chapter +centers in the above verses, as the daughters of the Levites are here +to enjoy an equal privilege with the sons. Scott tells us "that +covenants were generally ratified at an amiable feast, in which salt +was always freely used, hence it became an emblem of friendship." +Perhaps it was the purifying, refining influence of this element that +secured these friendly relations between the sons and daughters of the +priesthood on one occasion at least. From the present bitter, turbulent +tone of our Levites, I fear the salt we both manufacture and import +must all have lost its savor. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + +Numbers xxii. + + + +21 And Balsam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went +with the princes of Moab. + +22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the +Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding +upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. + +23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his +sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and +went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. + +24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall +being on this side, and a wall on that side. + +25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto +the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her +again. + +26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow +place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. + +27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under +Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a +staff. + +28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, +What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? + +29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me; I would +there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. + +30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou +hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do +so unto thee? And he said, Nay. + +31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of +the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he +bowed down his bead, and fell flat on his face. + +32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou +smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand +thee, because thy way is perverse before me: + +33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless +she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her +alive. + +34 And Balaam, said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I +knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it +displease thee, I will get me back again. + + +The chief point of interest in this parable of Balaam and his ass, is +that the latter belonged to the female sex. This animal has been one of +the most remarkable characters in literature. Her virtues have been +quoted in the stately cathedral, in the courts of justice, in the +editorial sanctum, in both tragedy and comedy on the stage, to point a +moral and adorn a tale. Some of the fairest of Eve's daughters bear her +baptismal name, and she has been immortalized in poetry and prose. +Wordsworth sends her with his Peter Bell to enjoy the first flowers of +early spring. To express her love of the beautiful "upon the pivot of +her skull she turned round her long left ear" while stolid Peter makes +no sign-- + +"A primrose by a river's brim +A yellow primrose was to him, +And it was nothing more." + +The courage and persistence of the ass has made her as famous in war +as in literature. She is a marked feature everywhere in military +stations, alike in the camp and the field, and her bray always in the +minor key, gives a touch of pathos to the music of the band! The ass +accompanied Deborah and Barak when they went to fight their great +battle, she has gone with pioneers in all their weary wanderings, and +has taken an active part in the commerce of the world, bearing the +heaviest burdens though poorly fed and sheltered. At one time this +animal voted at three successive elections in the state of New York. +The property qualification being $250, just the price of a jackass, Ben +Franklin facetiously asked "if a man must own a jackass in order to +vote, who does the voting, the man or the jackass?" It so happened once +that the same animal passed into the hands of three different owners, +constituting all the earthly possessions of each at that time and thus +by proxy she was represented at the polls. Yet with this world-wide +fame, this is the first time the sacred historian has so richly endowed +and highly complimented any living thing of the supposed inferior sex. +Far wiser than the master who rode her, with a far keener spiritual +insight than he possessed, and so intensely earnest and impressible, +that to meet the necessities of the occasion, she suddenly exercised +the gift of speech. While Balaam was angry, violent, stubborn and +unreasonable, the ass calmly manifested all the cardinal virtues. +Obedient to the light that was in her, she was patient under abuse, and +tried in her mute way to save the life of her tormentor from the sword +of the angel. But when all ordinary warnings of danger proved +unavailable, she burst into speech and opened the eyes of her stolid +master. Scott, who considers this parable a literal fact, says in his +commentaries, "The faculty of speech in man is the gift of God and we +cannot comprehend how we ourselves articulate. We need not therefore be +surprised that the Lord made use of the mouth of the ass to rebuke the +madness of His prophet, and to shame him by the reproof and example of +a brute. Satan spoke to Eve by a subtle male serpent, but the Lord +chose to speak to Balaam by a she ass, for He does not use enticing +words of man's wisdom, but works by instruments and means that men +despise." + +Seeing that the Lord has endowed "the daughters of men" also with the +gift of speech, and they may have messages from Him to deliver to "the +sons of God," it would be wise for the prophets of our day to admit +them into their Conferences, Synods and General Assemblies, and give +them opportunities for speech. + +The appeal of the meek, long suffering ass, to her master, to remember +her faithfulness and companionship from his youth up, is quite pathetic +and reminds one of woman's appeals and petitions to her law-givers for +the last half century. In the same language she might say to her +oppressors, to fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, have we not served +you with faithfulness; companions from your youth up; watched you +through all your infant years; and carried you triumphantly through +every danger? When at the midnight hour or the cock crowing, your first +born lifted up his voice and wept, lo! we were there, with water for +his parched lips; a cool place for his aching head; or patiently for +hours to pace with him the chamber floor. In youth and manhood what +have we not done to add to your comfort and happiness; ever rejoicing +in your triumphs and sympathizing in your defeats? + +This waiting and watching for half a century to recover our civil and +political rights and yet no redress, makes the struggle seem like a +painful dream in which one strives to fly from some impending danger +and yet stands still. Balaam, unlike our masters, confessed that he had +sinned, but it is evident from his conduct that he felt no special +contrition for disobedience to the commands of his Creator, nor for his +cruelty to the creature. So merely to save his life he sulkily retraced +his steps with a determination still to consider Barak's propositions. +Whether he took the same ass on the next journey does not +appear. + +It must have been peculiarly humiliating to that proud man, who +boasted of his eyes being open and seeing the vision of the Almighty, +to be reproved and silenced by the mouth of a brute. As the Lord +appeared first to the ass and spake by her, he had but little reason to +boast that his eyes were opened by the Lord. The keen spiritual insight +and the ready power of speech with which the female sex has been +specially endowed, are often referred to with ridicule and reproach by +stolid, envious observers of the less impressible sex. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + +Numbers xx. + + + +1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children +of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. + +2 If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul +with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all +that proceedeth out of his mouth. + +3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, +being in her father's house in her youth; + +4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound +her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her; then all her vows +shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall +stand. + +5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, not any +of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she had bound her soul, shall +stand; and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed +her. + +6 And if she had at all a husband, when she vowed, or uttered aught +out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; + +7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that +he heard it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she +bound her soul shall stand. + +8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then +he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with +her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect; and the Lord +shall forgive her. + +9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith +they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. + +13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband +may establish it, or her husband may make it void. + +14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to +day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are +upon her he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the +day that he heard them. + +15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard +them; then he shall bear her iniquity. + +16 These are the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between a +man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her +youth in her father's house. + +A vow is a religious promise made to God, and yet in the face of such +a definition is placed the authority of husband and father between the +woman and her God. God seems thus far to have dealt directly with women +when they sinned, but in making a religious vow, or dedication of +themselves to some high purpose, their fathers and husbands must be +consulted. A man's vow stands; a woman's is always conditional. Neither +wisdom nor age can make her secure in any privileges, though always +personally responsible for crime. If she have sufficient intelligence +to decide between good and evil, and pay the penalty for violated law, +why not make her responsible for her words and deeds when obedient to +moral law. To hold woman in such an attitude is to rob her words and +actions of all moral character. We see from this chapter that Jewish +women, as well as those of other nations, were held in a condition of +perpetual tutelage or minority under the authority of the father until +married and then under the husband, hence vows if in their presence if +disallowed were as nothing. That Jewish men appreciate the degradation +of woman's position is seen in a part of their service in which each +man says on every Sabbath day, "I thank Thee, oh Lord, that I was not +born a woman!" and the woman meekly responds, "I thank Thee, oh Lord, +that I am what I am, according to Thy holy, will." + +The injunction in the above texts in regard to the interference of +fathers is given only once, while the husband's authority is mentioned +three times. If the woman was betrothed, even the future husband had +the right to disallow her vows. It is supposed by, some expositors that +by a parity of reason minor sons should have been under the same +restrictions as daughters, but if it were intended, it is extraordinary +that daughters alone should have been mentioned. Scott, in extenuating +the custom, says: "Males were certainly allowed more liberty than +females; the vows of the latter might be adjudged more prejudicial to +families; or the sons being more immediately under the father's tuition +might be thought less liable to be inveigled into rash engagements of +any kind." + + +E. C. S. + + + +Woman is here taught that she is irresponsible. The father or the +husband is all. They are wisdom, power, responsibility. But woman is a +nonentity, if still in her father's house, or if she has a husband. I +object to this teaching. It is unjust to man that he should have the +added responsibility of his daughter's or wife's word, and it is cruel +to woman because the irresponsibility is enslaving in its influence. It +is contrary to true Gospel teaching, for only, in freedom to do right +can a soul dwell in that love which is the fulfilling of the law. + +The whole import of this chapter is that a woman's word is worthless, +unless she is a widow or divorced. While an unmarried daughter, her +father is her surety; when married, the husband allows or disallows +what she promises, and the promise is kept or broken according to his +will. The whole Mosaic law in this respect seems based upon the idea +that a woman is an irresponsible being; and that it is supposed each +daughter will marry at some time, and thus be continually under the +control of some male--the father or the husband. Unjust, arbitrary and +debasing are such ideas, and the laws based upon them. Could the +Infinite Father and Mother have give them to Moses? I think not. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + +Numbers xxxi. + + + +9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, +and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all +their flocks, and all their goods. + +10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their +goodly castles with fire. + +12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto +Moses and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children +of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan +near Jericho. + +14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the +captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from +the battle. + +15 And Moses said unto them, have ye saved all the women alive? + +16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel. through the counsel of +Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. and +there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. + +17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every +woman that hath known man. + +18 But all the women children, that have not known a man keep alive +for yourselves. + +25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. + +26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, +thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: + +32 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. + +32 And the, booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had +caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand +sheep, + +33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves. + +34 And threescore and one thousand asses. + +35 And thirty and two thousand persons in of women that had not known +man. + + +It appears from the enumeration here of the booty, that the Israelites +took in this war against the Midianites seventy-two thousand beeves, +six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, sixty-one thousand asses +and thirty-two thousand women virgins, beside the women and children +killed, (as they said) by God's order. The thirty-two thousand women +and women children were given to the soldiers and the priests. Why +should the social purity societies in England and America who believe +in the divine origin of all Scripture object to the use of women +children by their statesmen and soldiers when the custom was permitted +to the chosen people of Israel? True, the welfare of the priests, +lawgivers and soldiers was carefully guarded in selecting for them the +purest of the daughters of the Midianites. + +Surely such records are enough to make the most obstinate believer +doubt the divine origin of Jewish history and the claim of that people +to have been under the special guidance of Jehovah. Their +claim to have had conversations with God daily and to have acted under +His commands in all their tergiversations of word and action is simply +blasphemous. We must discredit their pretensions, or else the wisdom of +Jehovah himself. "Talking with God," at that period was a mere form of +speech, as "tempted of the devil" was once in the records of our +courts. Criminals said "tempted of the devil, I did commit the crime." +This chapter places Moses and Eleazar the priest, in a most unenviable +light according to the moral standard of any period of human history. +Verily the revelations in the Pall Hall Gazette a few years ago, pale +before this wholesale desecration of women and children. Bishop Colenso +in his exhaustive work on the Pentateuch shows that most of the records +therein claiming to be historical facts are merely parables and +figments of the imagination of different writers, composed at different +periods, full of contradictions, interpolations and discrepancies. + +He shows geologically and geographically that a flood over the whole +face of the earth was a myth. He asks how was it possible to save two +of every animal, bird and creeping thing on both continents and get +them safely into the ark and back again to their respective localities. +How could they make their way from South America up north through the +frigid zone and cross over the polar ices to the eastern continent and +carry with them the necessary food to which they had been accustomed, +they would all have perished with the cold before reaching the Arctic +circle. While the animals from the northern latitudes would all perish +with heat before reaching the equator. What a long weary journey the +animals, birds and fowls would have taken from Japan and China to Mount +Ararat. The parable as an historical fact is hedged with +impossibilities and so is the whole journey of forty years from Egypt +to Canaan; but if we make up our minds to believe in miracles then it +is plain sailing from Genesis to the end of Deuteronomy, Both Ezra and +Jeremiah are said to have written the last book of the Pentateuch, and +some, question whether Moses was the author of either. Bishop Colenso +also questions the arithmetical calculations of the historians in +regard to the conquest of the Midianites, as described in the book of +Numbers. + + +E. C. S. + + + +But how thankful we must be that we are no longer obligated to +believe, as a matter of fact, of vital consequence to our eternal hope, +each separate statement contained in the Pentateuch, such for instance, +as the story related in Numbers xxxi!--where we are told that a force +of twelve thousand Israelites slew all the males of the Midianites, +took captive all the females and children, seized all their cattle and +flocks, (seventy-two thousand oxen, sixty one thousand asses, six +hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,) and all their goods, and +burnt all their cities, and all their goodly castles, without the loss +of a single man,--and then, by command of Moses, butchered in cold +blood all the women, except "the women-children and virgins, to be +given to the priests and soldiers." + +They amounted to thirty-two thousand, mostly, we suppose, under the +age of sixteen. We may fairly reckon that there were as many more under +the age of forty, and half as many more above forty, making altogether +eighty thousand females, of whom, according to the story, Moses ordered +forty-eight thousand to be killed, besides (say) twenty thousand young +boys. The tragedy of Cawnpore, where three hundred were butchered, +would sink into nothing, compared with such a massacre, if, indeed, we +were required to believe it. + +The obvious intention of Moses, as shown in these directions, was to +keep the Jewish race from amalgamation. But the great lawgiver seems to +have ignored the fact, or been ignorant of it, that transmission of +race qualities is even greater through the female line than through the +male, and if they kept the women children for themselves they were +making sure the fact that in days to come there would be Jewish +descendants who might be Jews in name, but, through the law of +heredity, aliens in spirit. The freedom of the natural law will make +itself evident, for so-called natural law is divine. + + +P. A. H. + + + +Zipporah the wife of Moses was a Midianite, Jethro her father was a +priest of some sagacity and consideration. When he met Moses in the +desert he gave him valuable advice about the government of his people, +which the great lawgiver obeyed. + +The sons of Zipporah and Moses, Gershon and Eliezer, were therefore of +Midianite blood, yet Moses sent an army of twelve thousand armed for +war; a thousand of each tribe, with orders to slay every man. If the +venerable Jethro was still alive he must have been murdered by his +grandsons and their comrades. This is a most extraordinary story. If +after the men, women and male children were all killed, thirty thousand +maidens and young girls still remained, the Midianites must have been +too large a tribe to have been wholly destroyed by twelve thousand +Israelites, unless the Jewish God fought the battle. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + +Numbers xxxii. + + + +1 And the chief fathers of the families or the children of Gilead drew +near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers +of the children of Israel: + +2 And they said, The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for an +inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded +by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his +daughters. + +3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the +children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the +inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the +tribe whereunto they are received; so shall it be taken from the lot of +our inheritance. + +4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall +their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto +they are received: + +5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of +the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. + +6 ......the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, +saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of +the tribe of their father shall they marry. + +7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from +tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep +himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. + +8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of +the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the +tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man +the inheritance of his fathers. + +10 Even is the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: + +11 ...... and were turned unto their father's brothers' sons. + + +In a former chapter there was a sense of justice shown towards the +daughters of Zelophehad, but here a new complication arises. The uncles +of these girls had their eyes on the property and perhaps feared that +their sons had not found favor in the eyes of their cousins, as they +might have seen and admired some fine looking young men from other +tribes. So the crafty old uncles moved in time to get a statute passed +that would compel daughters to marry in the tribe of their fathers and +got a direct command from the Lord to that effect, then the young +women, compelled to limit their predilections, married their cousins, +setting the laws of heredity quite aside; property in all ages being +considered of more importance than persons. Thus, after making some +show of justice in giving the daughters of Zelophehad the inheritance +of their fathers, the Israelites began to consider the loss to their +tribe, if peradventure the five sisters should marry into other tribes +and all this property be transferred to their enemies. + +They seemed to consider these noble women destitute of the virtue of +patriotism, of family pride, of all the tender sentiments of +friendship, kindred and home, and so with their usual masculine +arrogance they passed laws to compel the daughters of Zelophehad to do +what they probably would have done had there been no law to that +effect. These daughters were known by the euphonious names of Mahlah, +Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, and they all married their father's +brothers' sons. Cousins on the mother's side would probably have been +forbidden. + +If Moses, as the mouthpiece of God, aimed to do exact justice, why did +he not pass an ordinance giving property in all cases equally to sons +and daughters. + + +E. C. S.. + + + +Moses gave what appears to be, in the light of this Christian era, a +just judgment when he decided that the daughters of Zelophehad should +inherit their father's property, but he gave as the law of inheritance +the direction that "if a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause +his inheritance to pass unto his daughter;" thus, as I think, unjustly +discriminating between women who have brothers and women who have none, +and he goes on further to deal unjustly with women when he directs that +the daughters of Zelophehad marry so that the inheritance justly +awarded them should not go out of the family of the tribe of their +fathers. + +"Let them marry to whom they think best," and those words seemingly +recognize their righteous freedom. But immediately he limits that +phrase and informs the five women they must only marry in their +father's tribe, and were limited also to their father's family. The +result was that each married her own cousin. If this was contrary to +physiological law, as some distinguished physiologists affirm, then +they were compelled by the arbitrary law of Moses to break the law of +God. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Deuteronomy i. + + + +3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on +the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of +Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment +unto them; + +6 The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long +enough in this mount: + +7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the +Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the +hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by sea side, to the land +of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river +Euphrates. + +8 Behold, I have set the before you: go in and possess the land which +the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give +unto them and to their seed after them. + +10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day +as the stars of heaven for multitude. + + +This book contains an account of what passed in the wilderness the +last month of the fortieth year, which is supposed to be written by +Ezra, as the history is continued several days after the death of +Moses. Moses' farewell address to the children of Israel is full of +wisdom, with a touch of pathos. This had been a melancholy year with +the Hebrews in the death of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. The manner in +which this people were kept wandering up and down on the very verge of +the land of Canaan because they were rebellious does seem like child's +play. No wonder they were discouraged and murmured. It is difficult +from the record to see that these people were any better fitted to +enter the promised land at the end of forty years than when they first +left Egypt. But the promise that they should be as numerous as the +stars in the heavens, according to Adam Clarke, had been fulfilled. He +tells us that only three thousand stars can be seen by the naked eye, +which the children of Israel numbered at this time six hundred thousand +fighting men, beside all the women and children. Astronomers, However, +now estimate that there are over seventy-five million stars within the +range of their telescopes. If census takers had prophetic telescopes, +they could no doubt see the promises to the Hebrews fully realized in +that one line of their ambition. + + + +Deuteronomy ii. + + + +34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the +men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to +remain. + + +Though the women were ignored in all the civil affairs and religious +observances of the Jews, yet in making war on other tribes they thought +them too dangerous to be allowed to live, and so they killed all the +women and children. The women might much better have helped to do the +fighting, as it is far easier to die in the excitement of the +battlefield than to be murdered in cold blood. In making war on +neighboring tribes, the Jewish military code permitted them to take all +the pure, virgins and child women for booty to be given to the priests +and soldiers, thus debauching the men of Israel and destroying all +feelings of honor and chivalry for women. This utter contempt for all +the decencies of life, and all the natural personal rights of women as +set forth in these pages, should destroy in the minds of women at +least, all authority to superhuman origin and stamp the Pentateuch at +least as emanating from the most obscene minds of a barbarous age. + + + +Deuteronomy v, vi. + + + +16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath +commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well +with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. + +17 Thou shalt not kill. + +18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. + +19 Neither shalt thou steal. + +20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. + +21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou +covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his +maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. + +2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes +and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy +son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. + + +The best commentary on these texts is that no Revising Committee of +Ecclesiastics has found it necessary to make any suggestions as to whom +the commandments are addressed. Suppose we reverse the language and see +how one-sided it would seem addressed only to women. Suppose this were +the statement. Here is a great lawgiver and he says: "Thou art to keep +all God's commandments, thou and thy daughters and thy daughter's +daughters, and these are the commandments: 'Thou shalt honor thy mother +and thy father.' 'Thou shalt not steal nor lie.' 'Thou shalt not covet +thy neighbor's husband, nor her field, nor her ox, nor anything that is +thy neighbor's.'" + +Would such commandments occasion no remark among Biblical scholars? In +our criminal code to-day the pronouns she, her and hers are not found, +yet we are tried in the courts, imprisoned and hung as "he," "him" or +"his," though denied the privileges of citizenship, because the +masculine pronouns apply only to disabilities. What a hustling there +would be among prisoners and genders if laws and constitutions, +Scriptures and commandments, played this fast and loose game with the +men of any nation. + + + +Deuteronomy iv. + + + +5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord +my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to +possess it. + +6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your +understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these +statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding +people. + +7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, +as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? + +8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments +so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? + + +Adam Clarke in his comments on chapter iv, says, "there was no form of +worship at this time on the face of the earth that was not wicked and +obscene, puerile and foolish and ridiculous, except that established by +God himself among the Israelites, and every part of this taken in its +connection and reference may be truly called a wise and reasonable +service. Almost all the nations of the earth manifested in time their +respect for the Jewish religion by copying different parts of the +Mosaic code as to civil and moral customs." + +As thoughtful, intelligent women, we question all this: First.--We see +no evidence that a just and wise being wrote either the canon or civil +laws that have been gradually compiled by ecclesiastics and lawgivers. +Second.--We cannot accept any code or creed that uniformly defrauds +woman of all her natural rights. For the last half century we have +publicly and persistently appealed from these laws, which Clarke says +all nations have copied, to the common sense of a more humane and +progressive age. To-day women are asking to be delivered from all the +curses and blessings alike of the Jewish God and the ordinances he +established. In this book we have the ten commandments repeated. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Deuteronomy vii. + + + +1 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou +goest to possess it and hath cast out many nations before thee. + +2 Thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no +covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: + +3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt +not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. + +4 For they will turn away thy son from following me. + +5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and +break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their +graven images with fire. + +6 For thou art a holy people. + +7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, not choose you, because ye +were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all +people: + +8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath +which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out +with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from +the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. + + +With the seven nations that God cast out, the children of Israel were +commanded to make no covenants, nor matrimonial alliances lest they +should fall into idolatry. As men are more given to wandering in +strange countries than women these injunctions are intended specially +for them. Adam Clarke says, the heart being naturally inclined to evil, +the idolatrous wife would more readily draw aside the believing +husband, than the believing husband the idolatrous wife. That being the +case, could not the believing wife with her subtle influence have +brought over the idolatrous husband? Why should she not have the power +to convert to one religion as well as another, especially as there was +no choice between them. There could not have been anything worse than +the Jewish religion illustrated in their daily walk and conversation, +as described in their books, and if the human heart naturally inclined +to evil, as many converts might have been made to the faith of Moses as +to any other. + +With this consideration it is plain that if the Jews had offered women +any superior privileges, above any other tribe, they could have readily +converted the women to their way of thinking. The Jewish God +seems as vacillating and tempest-tossed between loving and hating his +subjects as the most undisciplined son of Adam. The supreme ideal of +these people was pitiful to the last degree and the appeals to them +were all on the lowest plane of human ambition. The chief promise to +the well-doer was that his descendants should be as numerous as the +sands of the sea. + +In chapter ix when rebellion at Horeb is described, Aaron only is +refered to, and in chapter x when his death is mentioned, nothing is +said of Miriam. In the whole recapitulation she is forgotten, though +altogether the grandest character of the three, though cast out of the +camp and stricken with leprosy, in vengeance, she harbors no +resentment, but comforts and cheers the women with songs and dances, +all through their dreary march of forty years. + + + +Deuteronomy x. + + + +18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and +loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. + +19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land +of Egypt. + + + +The sacred fabulist has failed to give us any choice examples in which +the Jews executed just judgments for widows or fatherless girls; on the +contrary in all their dealings with women of all ranks, classes and +ages they were merciless and unjust. + +As to the stranger, their chief occupation was war and wholesale +slaughter, not only of the men on the battlefield, but of innocent +women and children, destroying their cities and making their lands +desolate. A humane person reading these books for the first time +without any glamour of divine inspiration, would shudder at their +cruelty and blush at their obscenity. + +Those who can make these foul facts illustrate beautiful symbols must +have genius of a high order. + + + +Deuteronomy xii. + + + +18 But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which +the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and +thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy +gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that them +puttest thine hands unto. + +19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as +thou livest upon the earth. + + +If women have been faithful to any class of the human family it has +been to the Levite. The chief occupation of their lives next to +bearing children has been to sustain the priesthood and the churches. + +With continual begging, fairs and donation parties, they have helped +to plant religious temples on every hill-top and valley, and in the +streets of all our cities, so that the doleful church bell is forever +ringing in our ears. The Levites have not been an unqualified blessing, +ever fanning the flames of religious persecution they have been the +chief actors in subjugating mankind. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Deuteronomy xiii. + + + +6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy +daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine +own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, +which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; + +7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh +unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even +unto the other end of the earth; + +8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall +thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou +conceal him: + +9 But thou shalt surely kill him: thine hand shall be first upon him +to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. + + +Here is the foundation of all the terrible persecutions for a change +of faith so lamentable among the Jews and so intensified among the +Christians. And this idea still holds, that faith in the crude +speculations of unbalanced minds as to the nature of the great first +cause and his commands as to the conduct of life, should be the same in +the beginning, now and forever. All other institutions may change, +opinions on all other subjects may be modified and improved, but the +old theologies are a finality that have reached the ultimatum of +spiritual thought. We imagine our religion with its dogmas and +absurdities must remain like the rock of ages, forever. + + + +Deuteronomy xv. + + + +6 And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, +and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the +Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, +and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God +hath chosen to place his name there. + +14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy +daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the +stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. + +15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in +the place which the Lord shall choose. + +16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord +thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened +bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. + + +In the general festivities women of all ranks were invited to take part, +but three times a year Moses had something special to say to the men; +then women were not allowed to be present. We have no instance thus far +in the Jewish economy of any direct communication from God to woman. The +general opinion seemed to be that man was an all-sufficient object of +worship for them, an idea not confined to that period. Milton makes his +Eve with sweet humility say to Adam, "God thy law, thou mine." + +This is the fundamental principle on which the canon and civil laws +are based, as well as the English classics. It is only in the galleries +of art that we see the foreshadowing of the good time coming. There the +divine artist represents the virtues, the graces, the sciences, the +seasons, day with its glorious dawn, and night with its holy mysteries, +all radiant and beautiful in the form of woman. The poet, the artist, +the novelist of our own day, are more hopeful prophets for the mother +of the race than those who have spoken in the Scriptures. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Deuteronomy xvii. + + + +1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock or sheep, +wherein is blemish, or any evil favouredness: for that is an +abomination unto the Lord thy God. + +2 If there be found among you, man or woman that hath wrought +wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his +covenant: + +3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the +sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not +commanded; + +4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired +diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such +abomination is wrought in Israel: + +5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman unto thy gates +and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. + + +This is certainly a very effective way of strengthening religious +faith. Most people would assent to any religious dogma, however absurd, +rather than be stoned to death. As all their healthy tender lambs and +calves were eaten by the priests and rulers, no wonder they were so +particular to get the best. To delude the people it was necessary to +give a religious complexion to the sacrifices and to make God command +the people to bring their choicest fruits and grains and meats. It was +very easy for these accomplished prestidigitators to substitute the +offal for sacrifices on their altars, and keep the dainty fruits and +meats for themselves, luxuries for their own tables. + +The people have always been deluded with the idea that what they gave +to the church and the priesthood was given unto the Lord, as if the +Maker of the universe needed anything at our hands. How incongruous the +idea of an Infinite being who made all the planets and the inhabitants +thereof commanding his +creatures to kill and burn animals for offerings to him. It is truly +pitiful to see the deceptions that have been played upon the people in +all ages and countries by the priests in the name of religion. They are +omnipresent, ever playing on human credulity, at birth and death, in +affliction and at the marriage feast, in the saddest and happiest +moments of our lives they are near to administer consolation in our +sorrows, and to add blessings to our joys. No other class of teachers +have such prestige and power, especially over woman. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Deuteronomy xviii. + + + +9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth +thee, thou shalt not learn the abominations of those nations. + +10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or +his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an +observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, + +11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or +a necromancer, + +12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. + + +One would think that Moses with his rod taking the children of Israel +through the Red Sea, bringing water out of a rock and manna from +heaven, going up into a mountain and there surrounding himself with a +cloud of smoke, sending out all manner of pyrotechnics, thunder and +lightning, and deluding the people into the idea that there he met and +talked with Jehovah, should have been more merciful in his judgments of +all witches, necromancers and soothsayers. One would think witches, +charmers and necromancers possessing the same power and manifesting +many of the same wonders that he did, should not have been so severely +punished for their delusions. Moses had taught them to believe in +miracles. When the human mind is led to believe things outside the +realm of known law, it is prepared to accept all manner of absurdities. +And yet the same people that ridicule Spiritualism, Theosophy and +Psychology, believe in the ten plagues of Egypt and the passage of the +children of Israel through the Red Sea. If they did go through, it was +when the tide was low at that point, which Moses understood and Pharaoh +did not. Perhaps the difficulty is to be gotten over in much the same +way as that employed by the negro preacher who, when his statement, +that the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on the ice, was +questioned on the ground that geography showed that the climate there +was too warm for the formation of ice, replied: "Why, this happened +before there was any geography!" The Jews, as well as the surrounding +nations, were dominated by all manner of supernatural ideas. All these +uncanny tricks and delusions being forbidden shows that they were +extensively practised by the chosen people, as well as by other nations. + + + +Deuteronomy xx, xxi. + + + +14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is +in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; +and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God +hath given thee. + +15 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord +thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them +captive, + +11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire +unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; + +12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave +her head, and pare her nails; + +13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and +shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a +full month: and after that she shall be thy wife. + +14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt +let her go whither she will: but thou shalt not sell her at all for +money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast +humbled her. + +15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they +have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the +firstborn son be hers that was hated: + +16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his son to inherit that which he +hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the +son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: + +17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by +giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the +beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. + + +All this is done if the woman will renounce her religion and accept +the new faith. The shaving of the head was a rite in accepting the new +faith, the paring of the nails a token of submission. In all these +transactions the woman had no fixed rights whatever. In that word +"humbled" is included the whole of our false morality in regard to the +equal relations of the sexes. Why in this responsible act of creation, +on which depends life and immortality, woman is said to be humbled, +when she is the prime factor in the relation, is a question difficult +to answer, except in her general degradation, carried off without her +consent as spoils of war, subject to the fancy of any man, to be taken +or cast off at his pleasure, no matter what is done with her. Her sons +must be carefully guarded and the rights of the first-born fully +recognized. The man is of more value than the mother in the scale of +being whatever her graces and virtues may be. If these Jewish ideas +were obsolete they might not be worth our attention, but our creeds and +codes are still tinged with the Mosaic laws and customs. The English +law of primogeniture has its foundation in the above text. The position +of the wife under the old common law has the same origin. + +When Bishop Colenso went as a missionary to Zululand, the horror with +which the most devout and intelligent of the natives questioned the +truth of the Pentateuch confirmed his own doubts of the records. +Translating with the help of a Zulu scholar he was deeply impressed +with his revulsion of feeling at the following passage: "If a man smite +his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he +shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, +he shall not be punished: for he is his money." Exodus xxi: 20, 2 1. "I +shall never forget," says the Bishop, "the revulsion of feeling, with +which a very intelligent Christian native, with whose help I was +translating these last words into the Zulu tongue, first heard them as +words said to be uttered by the same great and gracious Being, whom I +was teaching him to trust in and adore. His whole soul revolted against +the notion, that the Great and Blessed God, the Merciful Father of all +mankind, would speak of a servant or maid as mere 'money,' and allow a +horrible crime to go unpunished, because the victim of the brutal usage +had survived a few hours!" + +Though they had no Pentateuch nor knowledge of our religion, their +respect for the mother of the race and their recognition of the +feminine element in the Godhead, as shown in the following beautiful +prayer, might teach our Bishops, Priests and Levites a lesson they have +all yet to learn. + + + +EVENING PRAYER. + + + +"O God, Thou hast let me pass the day in peace: let me pass the night +in peace, O Lord, who hast no Lord! There is no strength but in Thee: +Thou alone hast no obligation. Under Thy hand I pass the day! under Thy +hand I pass the night! Thou art my Mother, Thou my Father!" + +Placing the mother first shows they were taught by Nature that she was +the prime factor in their existence. In the whole Bible and the +Christian religion man is made the alpha and omega everywhere in the +state, the church and the home. And we see the result in the general +contempt for the sex expressed freely in our literature, in the halls +of legislation, in church convocations and by leading Bishops wherever +they have opportunities for speech and whenever they are welcomed in +the popular magazines of the day. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Deuteronomy xxiv. + + + +1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass +that she find no favour in his eyes, then let him write her a bill of +divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. + +2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another +man's wife. + +3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of +divorcement, and giveth it in her hand and sendeth her out of his +house: or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; + +4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to +be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before +the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy +God giveth thee for an inheritance. + +5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, +neither shalt he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at +home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. + + +All the privileges accorded man alone, are based on the principle that +women have no causes for divorce. If they had equal rights in law and +public sentiment, a large number of cruel, whiskey drinking and profane +husbands, would be sued for divorce before wives endured one year of +such gross companionship. + +There is a good suggestion in the text, that when a man takes a new +wife he shall stay at home at least one year to cheer and comfort her. +If they propose to have children, the responsible duties of parents +should be equally shared as far as possible. In a busy commercial life, +fathers have but little time to guard their children against the +temptations of life, or to prepare them for its struggles, and the +mother educated to believe that she has no rights or duties in public +affairs, can give no lessons on political morality from her standpoint. +Hence the home is in a condition of half orphanage for the want of +fathers, and the State suffers for need of wise mothers. + +It was customary among the Jews to dedicate a new house, a vineyard +just planted, or a betrothed wife to the Lord with prayer and +thanksgiving, before going forth to public duties. This idea is +enforced in several different chapters, impressing on men with families +that there are periods in their lives when "their sphere is home" +their primal duty to look after the wife, the +house and the vineyard. + + + +Deuteronomy xxv. + + + +5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no +child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: +her husband's brother shall take her to wire. + +6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed +in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out +of Israel. + +7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his +brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, my husband's +brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will +not perform the duty of my husband's brother. + +8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and +if she stand to it, and say, I like not to take her: + +9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the +elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot. + + +I would recommend these texts to the consideration of the Bishops in +the English House of Lords. If a man may marry a deceased brother's +wife, why not a deceased wife's sister? English statesmanship has +struggled with this problem for generations, and the same old +platitudes against the deceased wife's sister's bill are made to do +duty annually in Parliament. + + + +Deuteronomy xxviii. + + + +56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure +to set the sole of her foot upon ground for delicateness and +tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward her husband of her bosom, and +toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her children which +she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly +in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee +in thy gates. + +64 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy +ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the +flocks of thy sheep. + +68 And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the +way whereof I spake unto thee, thou shalt see it no more again: and +there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and +no man shall buy you. + + +This is addressed to men as most of the injunctions are, as to their +treatment of woman in general. In enumerating the good things that +would come to Israel if the commandments were obeyed, nothing is +promised to women, but when the curses are distributed, woman comes in +for her share. Similar treatment is accorded the daughters of Eve in +modern days. She is given equal privileges with man, in being +imprisoned and hung, but unlike him she has no voice in the laws, the +judge, the jury, nor the manner of exit to the unknown land. She is +denied the right of trial by her own peers; the laws are made by men, +the courts are filled with men; the judge, the advocates, the jurors, +all men! + +Moses follows the usual ancient idea that in the creation of human +life, man is the important factor. The child is his fruit, he is +the soul. The spirit the vital spark. The woman merely the earth that +warms and nourishes the seed, the earthly environment. This +unscientific idea still holds among people ignorant of physiology and +psychology. This notion chimes in with the popular view of woman's +secondary place in the world, and so is accepted as law and gospel. The +word "beget" applied only to men in Scripture is additional enforcement +of the idea that the creative act belongs to him alone. This is +flattering to male egoism and is readily accepted. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In the early chapters of this book Moses' praises of Hebrew valor in +marching into a land already occupied and utterly destroying men, women +and children, seems much like the rejoicing of those who believe in +exterminating the aboriginees in America. Evidently Moses believed in +the survival of the fittest and that his own people were the fittest. +He teaches the necessity of exclusiveness, that the hereditary traits +of the people may not be lost by intermarriage. Though the Israelites, +like the Puritans, had notable foremothers as well as forefathers, yet +it was not the custom to mention them. Perhaps the word fathers meant +both, as the word man in Scripture often includes woman. In the preface +by Lord Bishop Ely, to what is popularly known as the Speaker's Bible, +the remark is made that "whilst the Word of God is one, and does not +change, it must touch at new points the changing phases of physical, +philological and historical knowledge, and so the comments that suit +one generation are felt by another to be obsolete." So, also, it is +that with the higher education of women, their wider opportunities and +the increasing sense of justice, many interpretations of the Bible are +felt to be obsolete, hence the same reason exists for the Woman's +Commentary, which is already popularly known as the Woman's Bible. + +Deuteronomy is a name derived from the Greek and signifies that this +is the second or duplicate law, because this, the last book of the +Pentateuch, consists partly in a restatement of the law, +as already given in other books. Deuteronomy contains also, besides +special commands and advice not previously written, an account of the +death of Moses. Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia states that "the +authority of this book has been traditionally assigned to Moses, but, +of course, the part relating to his death is not supposed to be written +by himself, and indeed the last four chapters may have been added by +another hand." DeWette declares that Moses could not have been the +author. He not only points to the closing chapters as containing proof, +but he refers to the anachronisms in earlier chapters, and insists that +the general manner in which the Mosaic history is treated belongs to a +period after the time of Moses. And Rev. John White Chadwick in his +"Bible of To-day" declares that "Prophetism created Deuteronomy." He +speaks of Malachi, the last of the Prophets, as the first to mention +the Mosaic law, and says that in the eighth century before Christ there +was no Mosaic law in any modern sense. The Pentateuch in anything like +its present form was still far in the future. Deuteronomy more than a +hundred years ahead. Leviticus and Numbers nearly three hundred. * * * +The book of Deuteronomy was much more of a manufacture than any +previous portion of the Pentateuch. * * * Not Sinai and Wilderness, but +Babylon and Jerusalem, witnessed the promulgation of the Levitical law. +Its priest was Ezra and not Aaron; but who was its Moses the most +patient study is not likely ever to reveal. The roar of Babylon does +not give up its dead. It would seem as if the Rev. Dr. George Lansing +Taylor shared some of these ideas when, in his poem at the centennial +of Columbia College, he said: + + +"Great Ezra, Artaxerxes' courtly scholar-- +Doctor, ere old Bologna gave that collar, +A ready scribe in all the laws of heaven, +From Babylon ascends, to Zion given, +Armed with imperial power and proclamation, +To rear God's house and educate a nation. + +As editor for God, the first in story, +He crowns the editorial chair with glory. +Inspired to push Jehovah's mighty plan on +He lays its corner-stone, the Bible canon. +His Bible college, Bible publication, +Convert the city, crown the Restoration, +And fix the beacon date for History's pages +The chronologic milestone of the ages." + + +This chapter of Deuteronomy in the solemnity and explicitness of its +blessing and cursings must produce a deep impression on those who are +desirous of pursuing a course which would promote personal and national +prosperity. Reading chapter xix and remembering the history of the Jews +from Moses to this day I reverently acknowledge the sure word of +prophecy therein recorded. Chapter xxx also has high literary merit. +Its euphony is in accordance with its solemn but encouraging warnings +and promises. It touches the connection divinely ordained and eternally +existing between life and goodness, death and sin, emphasizing the +apostolic injunction, "cease to do evil, learn to do well." This +chapter, giving the last directions of Moses and intimations of his +departure from earth, is one of deep interest. How the Lord +communicated to him that his end approached does not appear, but deeply +impressed with the belief, he naturally called together Joshua and the +Levites and gave his final charge. Whether fact or fiction this +farewell is deeply interesting. The closing chapters, containing the +"song of blessing," comes to all lovers of religious poetry as the swan +song of Moses. Though doubting its authorship, one may enjoy its beauty +and grandeur. Chapter xxxiv narrates the death of Moses: + + +"By Nebo's lonely mountain, +On this side Jordan's wave." + + +It tells briefly the mourning of the children of Israel over their +great leader's departure and affirms the appointment of Joshua, the +son of Nun, as his successor, and fitly closes the +valuable collection of writings called the Pentateuch. + +Since I have proposeed the elimination of some of the coarser portions +of Deuteronomy, I wish to add the testimony of Stevens in his +"Scripture Speculations," as to the general morality of this ancient +code. "Barbarous as they were in many things, childish in more, their +laws are as much in advance of them as of their contemporaries,--were +even singular for humanity in that age, and not always equaled in ours. +We forget that there were contemporary nations which justified +stealing, authorised infanticide, legalized the murder of aged parents, +associated lust with worship. None of these blots can be traced on the +Jewish escutcheon. By preventing imprisonment for debt, Moses +anticipated the latest discovery of modern philanthropy. * * * Even the +mercy of Christianity was foreshadowed in his provision for the poor, +who were never to cease out of the land; the prospered were to lend +without interest, and never to harden their heart against a brother. +The hovel of the poor was a sanctuary, and many a minute safeguard like +the return of the debtor's garment at nightfall, to save him from +suffering during the chilliness of the night, has waited to be brought +to light by our more perfect knowledge of Jewish customs." But that the +Scriptures, rightly interpreted, do not teach the equality of the +sexes, I must be permitted to doubt. We who love the Old and New +Testaments take "Truth for authority, and not authority for truth," as +did our sainted Lucretia Mott, whose earnest appeals for liberty were +often jewelled, as were Daniel Webster's most eloquent speeches, with +some texts from the old Hebrew Bible. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +THE PENTATEUCH. + + + +The primal requisite for the more accurate understanding of the Bible +is its translation from the past to the present tense. It has been +studied as history, as the record of a remote past whose truth it has +been well-nigh impossible to verify. It should be studied as a record +of the present, the present experience of the individual and the race +which is to ultimate in the perfect actualization of generic +possibilities. + +Like the tables of stone the Bible is written on both sides; or it has +a letter which is its exterior and an interior spirit or meaning. The +history which constitutes its letter illustrates those principles which +constitute its meaning. The formless must be put into form to be +apprehended. Mistaking the form for that substance which has been +brought to the level of human apprehension by its means, is the error +which constitutes the basis of dogmatic theology. Error in a premise +compels error in conclusions. It is no wonder that woman's true +relation to man and just position in the social fabric has remained +unknown. A Moses on Pisgah's height is needed to-day to see and declare +this promised land; and he must be revelator, first, to women +themselves, for they especially need enlightenment upon the true nature +of the Bible. + +So long as they mistake superstition for religious revelation, they +will be content with the position and opportunities assigned them by +scholastic theology. They will remember and "keep their place" as thus +defined. Their religious nature is warped and twisted through +generations of denominational conservatism; which fact, by the way, is +the greatest stumbling block in the path of equal suffrage to-day, and +one to which the leaders of that movement have seemed unaccountably +blind. + +Thus woman's strongest foes have been of her own sex; and because her +sense of duty and religious sentiment have been operative +according to a false ideal, unintentionally women have been and will +continue to be bigoted until they allow a higher ideal to penetrate +their minds; until they see with the eye of reason and logic, as well +as with the sentiment which has so long kept them the dependent class. +The Bible from beginning to end teaches the equality of man and woman, +their relation as the two halves of the unit, but also their +distinctiveness in office. One cannot take the place of the other +because of the fundamental nature of each. The work of each half in its +own place is necessary to the perfect whole. + +The man has more prominence than the woman in the Bible because the +masculine characters in their succession represent man as a whole-- +generic man. The exterior or male half is outermost, the interior or +female half is covered by the outer. One is seen, the other has to be +discerned, and can be discerned by following the harmonious relativity +between the two halves of the unit. There is a straight line of ascent +from the Adam to the Christ, within which is the straight line of +ascent from the Eve to the Mary. The book of Genesis is the substance +of the whole Bible, its meaning is the key to the meaning of the whole; +it is the skeleton around which the rest is builded. If the remainder +of the Old Testament were destroyed its substance could be +reconstructed from Genesis. As the bony structure of the physical body +is the framework which is filled in and rounded to symmetrical +proportions by the muscular tissue, so Genesis is the framework which +is symmetrically rounded and filled by the other books, which supply +the necessary detail involved in basic principles. + +The first chapter of Genesis is not the record of the creation of the +world. It is a symbolical description of the composite nature of man, +that being which is male and female in one. The personal pronoun "He" +belongs to his exterior nature; and the characters which illustrate +this nature and the order of its development are men. The pronoun "She" +belongs to the interior nature, and all characters--fewer in number-- +which illustrate it, are women. "Male and female created he them." The +second chapter describes the nature and origin of the visible world, +the nature and origin of the soul, their relation to each other and to +this dual being. With the third chapter begins the symbolical +illustration of the soul's existence--of its continuity of existence +which is unbroken till its highest possibilities are actualized, till +all the inherent capabilities of the dual being are fully manifested. + +The leading characters of Genesis--Adam, Enos, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, +Jacob and Joseph--seven in number, represent the seven chief stages of +the soul's existence which follow each other like the notes in the +musical scale. It is our own experience that is there portrayed, both +present and prospective. What we as individuals, and nations are now +going through in our efforts for betterment, is told in the story of +Genesis. More than this, the clue to assured betterment is found there +also. This experience is on two lines which are always distinct but +never separate--the male and the female. These are indissolubly bound +together "from the beginning," the same principles, necessitating the +same moral standards and spiritual ideals, and governing both. The +largest measure of our individual and national perplexities and +sufferings has come from the ignorant straining apart of that which +"God hath joined together" and which we can not successfully and +permanently "put asunder." + +The remaining four books of the Pentateuch, supply the detail +beginning between the Adam and Noah of Genesis, rounding out that part +of the skeleton. The Exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, +represents the soul's growth out of purely sense-consciousness by the +help of spiritual perception. Moses is the personification of this +faculty inherent in and operative from the eternal ego, the dual being, +which is "the Lord" of the Bible. The Old Testament presents the outer +or masculine nature of this "Lord" as the Jehovah. The New Testament +presents the inner or feminine nature as the Virgin. + +The children of Israel according to their tribes, represent the +ranging characteristics or parts which make up the soul of self- +consciousness. They are the "chosen people" because when the +soul sees with its spiritual insight as well as with its sensuous +outsight, it can, if it will, choose between the two as guides. Their +experiences in the wilderness are what we are passing through to-day; +for there is now a people who have made this choice and are following +the higher leader in their work for the human race, which is the only +satisfactory way of working for themselves. But this leader--spiritual +perception--cannot put the soul in possession of its promised land--a +higher state of existence or quality of self-consciousness. It sees the +higher and leads in its direction; but understanding of fundamental, +therefore unvarying and always applicable, principles is necessary for +that realization which Is the attainment of the higher, or its +possession. + +Moses' death before crossing Jordan illustrates this limitation, which +is also the limitation of earnest reformers to-day. They can see for us +and point out that which awaits them; but they can never take those +others "into the land." They must travel on their own feet. + +Joshua, as the leader after Moses, is the personification of this +understanding. He is Moses' sepulchre, for Moses is buried in him. +Spiritual insight develops understanding which is its continuity. Hence +the continuation of experiences under Joshua the "Saviour" through whom +the soul takes "possession" of its higher state. In the "wilderness" of +transition from the old to the new, mistakes occur which mar their +consequences. In this illustration of the Pentateuch, Miriam "speaks +against" Moses, is stricken with leprosy and "set without the camp," +and the people cannot journey till all is "brought in again." + +Woman's intellectual development after ages of repression, has +resulted with many of the sex, in an agnosticism which, at first +liberal, has grown to be a dogmatic materialism. She "speaks against" +spiritual insight and its revelations. In forsaking her dogmas and +creeds she has forsaken religion. She is to be "brought in again"-- +brought to see that religion is of the soul and is individual; while +dogma and doctrine are from the sensuous out-side alone. The one tends +to true freedom, the other generates bondage. Broadly, women of to-day +are of two classes; those who are still held by the conservatism of +creeds, and those who have gone to the other extreme through the +exhilaration of intellectual activity. Both classes must meet upon a +common ground, recognition of fundamental principles and effort to +apply them--before the New Testament can become the practical ethical +standard. + +An outline of a subject so vast and profound as the nature and meaning +of the Pentateuch, must necessarily be more or less unsatisfactory. It +cannot be detached from the rest of the Bible which is a complete +organic body. Its meaning is consecutive and harmonious with first +premises, from beginning to end. The obvious inconsistencies and +absurdities involve only its letter, which may or may not be true as +history without affecting the truth of the book itself which lies in +its meaning. + +The projectors of "The Woman's Bible" must not avoid the whirlpool of +a masculine Bible only, to split upon the rock of a feminine Bible +alone. This would be an attempt to separate what is intensely joined +together and defeat the end desired. The book is the soul's guide in +the fulfilling of its destiny--that destiny which is involved in its +origin; and the soul, in sleep, is sexless. Its faculties and powers +are differentiated are masculine and feminine. + +If the question is asked--"What is your authority for this view of the +Bible?" the answer is "I have none but the internal evidence of the +book itself. When joined it is self-evident truth, requiring no +external authority to give it support." + + +U. N. G. + + + + + +APPENDIX. + + + +As the Revising Committee refer to a woman's translation of the Bible +as their ultimate authority, for the Greek, Latin and Hebrew text, a +brief notice of this distinguished scholar is important: + +Julia Smith's translation of the Bible stands out unique among all +translations. It is the only one ever made by a woman, and the only +one, it appears, ever made by man or woman without help. Wyclif, "the +morning star of the Reformation," made a translation from the Vulgate, +assisted by Nicholas of Hereford. He was not sufficiently familiar with +Hebrew and Greek to translate from those tongues. Coverdale's +translation was not done alone. In his dedication to the king he says +he has humbly followed his interpreters and that under correction. +Tyndale, in his translation, had the assistance of Frye, of William +Roye, and also of Miles Coverdale. Julia Smith translated the whole +Bible absolutely alone, without consultation with any one. And this not +once, but five times--twice from the Hebrew, twice from the Greek and +once from the Latin. Literalness was one end she kept constantly in +view, though this does not work so well with the Hebrew tenses. But she +did not mind that. Frequently her wording is an improvement, or brings +one closer to the original than the common translation. Thus in I. +Corinthians viii, 1, of the King James translation, we have: "Knowledge +puffeth up, but charity edifieth." Julia Smith version: "Knowledge +puffs up and love builds the house." She uses "love" in place of +"charity" every time. And her translation was made nearly forty years +before the revised version of our day, which also does the same. +Tyndale, in his translation nearly three hundred and seventy-five years +ago, made the same translation of this word; but Julia Smith did not +know that and never saw his translation. This word "charity" was one of +the words that Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, charged +Tyndale with mistranslating. The other two words were "priest" and +"church," Tyndale calling priests "seniors," and church, +"congregation." Both Julia Smith and the revised version call them +priests and church. And he gives the word, "Life" for "Eve" "And Adam +will call his wife's name Life, for she was the mother of all living." + +One more illustration: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea +in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east +to Jerusalem." King James translation. "Now when Jesus was born, etc., +behold there came wise men from the sunrisings to Jerusalem." Julia +Smith version. She claims to have made a perfectly literal +translation, and according to the verdict of competent authorities, +Hebrew scholars who have examined her Bible, she has done so. Her work +has had the endorsement of various learned men. A Hebrew professor of +Harvard College (Prof. Young) called on her soon after her Bible was +issued and examined it. He was much astonished that she had translated +o correctly without consulting some learned man. He expressed surprise +that she should have put the tenses as she did. She said to him: "You +acknowledge that I have translated according to the Hebrew idiom?" He +replied: "O yes, you have translated literally." That was just what she +aimed at, to get an exact literal translation, without regard to +smoothness. She received many letters from scholars, all speaking of +the exact, or literal translation. Some people have criticised this +feature, which is the great merit of the book. + +Julia Smith was led to make the translation at the time of the Miller +excitement in 1843, when the world was to come to a sudden termination; +when the saints were preparing their robes for ascension into the +empyrean, and wicked unbelievers (the vast majority) were to descend as +far the other way. She and her family were much interested in Miller's +predictions, and she was anxious to see for herself if, in the original +Hebrew text of the Bible there was any warrant for Miller's +predictions. So she set to work and studied Hebrew, having previously +translated the New Testament, and also the Septuagint from the Greek. +So absorbed did she become in her work that the dinner bell was +unheeded, and she would undoubtedly have many times gone to bed both +dinnerless and supperless had not the family called her off from her +work. Once a. week she met with the family and a friend and neighbor, +Miss Emily Moseley, to read over and discuss what she had translated +during the week. This practice was kept up for several years. When she +came to publish the work, (the manuscripts of which had lain in the +garret some twenty-five or thirty years) the cashier of the Hartford +bank, where the sisters had kept their money, told her she was very +foolish to throw away her money printing this Bible; that she would +never sell a copy. She told him it didn't matter whether she did or +not; that she was not doing it to make money; that she found more +satisfaction in spending her money in this way than in spending it all +on dress. Thanks to our more enlightened age, this translation did not +meet with the opposition the early translators had to contend with. The +scholars of those days thought learning should be confined to a select +few; it was, in their view, dangerous to put the Bible into a language +the common people could understand, especially women. Here is what one +Henry de Knyghton, a learned monk of that day, said: "This Master John +Wiclif hath translated the gospel out of Latin into English, which +Christ had intrusted with the clergy and doctors of the Church that +they might minister it to the laity and weaker sort, according to the +state of the times and the wants of men. But now the gospel is made +vulgar and more open to the laity, and even to women who can read, than +it used to be to the most learned of the clergy and those of the best +understanding." To say nothing of reading the Bible, what would this +learned man have thought of a woman translating it, and five times at +that! It would seem as if the bare suggestion must have stirred his dry +bones with indignation. + +King James appointed fifty-four men of learning to translate the +Bible. Seven of them died and forty-seven carried the work on. Compare +this corps of workers with one little woman performing the Herculean +task with without one suggestion or word of advice from mortal man! +This Bible is ten by seven inches, and is printed in large, clear +type. There are two styles of binding, cloth and sheepskin. The +cloth binding was $2.50 at the time it was issued and while Julia Smith +lived, and the other was $3.00, but as they are getting scarcer the +price may have gone up. They will be a rarity in the next century and +will be much sought after by bibliomaniacs, to say nothing of scholars +who will want it for its real value. Julia Smith had the plates of her +Bible preserved, but where they are now is more than I know. It was +published by the American Publishing Company, of Hartford, in 1876. + +Julia Evelina Smith, of Glastonbury, Conn., was one of five sisters of +a somewhat notable family, the father and mother both having strong +traits of character and marked individuality. The mother, Hannah +Hickok, was a fine linguist and mathematician. She once made an almanac +for her own convenience, almanacs being rather scarce in those days. +She could tell the time of night whenever she happened to awake by the +position of the stars. She was an omnivorous reader and a great +student, and in those days before the invention of stoves, her father, +in order to allow her the requisite retirement to gratify her studious +tastes, built her a small glass room. In the days of the Abby and Julia +Smith excitement, when they refused to pay their taxes, some writer was +so wicked as to say that Julia Smith's grandfather shut her mother up +in a glass cage. Seated in this glass enclosure, placed in a south +room, with the sun's rays beating down upon her, as upon a plant in a +conservatory, she could pursue her studies to her heart's content. She +was an only child and adored by her father; and so much did she think +of him that in his last illness, when she was away at school, she rode +four hundred miles on horseback in order to see him before he died. + +Julia Smith's father, the Rev. Zephaniah H. Smith, a graduate of Yale, +was settled in Newtown, Conn., near South Britain, where he married +Hannah Hickok. He preached but four years, resigning his position on +the ground that the gospel should be free; that it was wrong to preach +for money--ideas promulgated by the Sandemanians of those days, the +followers of Robert Sandeman, a Scotchman, who organized the sect in +England and in this country, it having originated with his father-in- +law, John Glas, the sect being called either Glassites or Sandemanians, +the former being given the preference in Scotland and England. The +ideas of these people were followed out by the Smith family, and at +Abby and Julia Smith's funeral, as at the funerals of those who had +gone before them, there was no officiating minister and no services. +Simply a chapter of the Bible was read, and one or two who wished, made +remarks. On a fly-leaf of the Bible Julia Smith read every day was +written the request that she should be buried by her sisters in +Glastonbury, and with no name on the tombstone but that of her own +maiden name. This request was followed out. The names of the Smith +sisters are so unique, and inasmuch as they have never been known to be +printed correctly, it may not be out of place to give them here, +preceding them by those of their parents, making a short family record +for future reference: + + +Zephaniah H. Smith, born August 19, 1758. Died February 1, 1836. + +Hannah Hickok, born August 7, 1767. Died December 27, 1850 + +They were married May 31, 1756. + + + +DAUGHTERS OF THE ABOVE + + +Hancy Zephina, born March 16, 1787. Died June 30, 1871. + +Cyrinthia Sacretia, born May 18, 1788. Died August 19, 1864. + +Laurilla Aleroyla, born November 26, 1789. Died March 19, 1857. + +Julia Evelina, born May 27, 1792. Died March 6, 1886. + +Abby Hadassah, born June 1, 1797. Died July 23, 1878. + + +Julia was educated at Mrs. Emma Willard's far-famed seminary at Troy, +New York. Abby, the youngest of the family, was the one who added to +their fame, when, in November, 1873, at a town meeting in Glastonbury, +she delivered a speech against taxation without representation. She had +just attended the first Woman's Congress in New York, and on her way +back said she was going to make a speech on taxation; that she should +apply to the authorites {sic} to speak in town hall on town meeting +day. She and Julia owned considerable property in Glastonbury and their +taxes were being increased while those of their neighbors (men) were +not. She applied to the authorities, but they would not let her speak +in the hall, so she spoke from a wagon outside to a crowd of people. +This speech was printed in a Hartford paper (the Courant) and was +copied all over the country, and the cry: "Abby Smith and her cows" was +caught up everywhere. Abby Smith's quaint, simple speeches attracted +attention, and the sale of the cows at the sign-post aroused sympathy, +and from that time on their fame grew apace. The hitherto light mail- +bags of Glastonbury came loaded with mail matter from all quarters for +the Smith sisters. And this continued for some years, or till the death +of Abby in 1878, which was followed by the marriage of Julia the +following spring, and the discontinuance of the sale of the cows at the +public sign-post. She married Mr. Amos A. Parker, both being eighty- +seven years of age. Julia Smith sold the old family mansion in +Glastonbury and bought a house at Parkville, Hartford. She died there +in 1886 and her husband died in 1893, nearly one hundred and two years +of age. + + +F. E. B. + + + + + +Advertisements from original, Vol. 1 + + + +EIGHTY YEARS AND MORE + +BEING THE REMINISCENCES OF + +ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + +(1815-1897.) + + +This new work by our distinguished countrywoman is a 12mo of 475 pp., +complete in one volume, cloth bound, with eleven portraits. Price $2.00. + + +I Dedicate This Volume To + +Susan B. Anthony, + +My Steadfast Friend For Half A Century. + + + +CONTENTS. + +Chapter. + + +I. + +Childhood. + + +II. + +School Days. + + +III. + +Girlhood. + + +IV. + +Life at Peterboro. + + +V. + +Our Wedding journey. + + +VI. + +Homeward Bound. + + +VII. + +Motherhood. + + +VIII. + +Boston and Chelsea. + + +IX. + +The First Woman's Rights Convention. + + +X. + +Susan B. Anthony. + + +XI. + +Susan B. Anthony (Continued). + +XII. + +My First Speech Before a Legislature. + + +XIII. + +Reforms and Mobs. + + +XIV. + +Views on Marriage and Divorce. + + +XV. + +Women as Patriots. + + +XVI. + +Pioneer Life in Kansas--Our Newspaper, "The Revolution." + + +XVII. + +Lyceums and Lecturers. + + +XVIII. + +Westward Ho! + + +XIX. + +The Spirit Of '76. + + +XX. + +Writing "The History of Woman Suffrage." + + +XXI. + +In the South of France. + + +XXII. + +Reforms and Reformers in Great Britain. + + +XXIII. + +Woman and Theology. + + +XXIV. + +England and France Revisited. + + +XXV. + +The International Council of Women. + + +XXVI. + +My Last Visit to England. + + +XXVII. + +Sixtieth Anniversary of the Class of 1832--The Woman's Bible. + + +XXVIII. + +My Eightieth Birthday. + + + +PREFACE + +The interest my family and friends have always manifested in the +narration of my early and varied experiences, and their earnest desire +to have them in permanent form for the amusement of another generation, +moved me to publish this volume. I am fully aware that its contents have +no especial artistic merit, being composed partly of extracts from my +diary, a few hasty sketches of my travels and people I have met, and of +my opinions on many social questions. + +The story of my private life as the wife of an earnest reformer, as an +enthusiastic housekeeper, proud of my skill in every department of +domestic economy, and as the mother of seven children., may amuse and +benefit the reader. + +The incidents of my public career as a leader in the most momentous +reform yet launched upon the world--the emancipation of woman--will be +found in "The History of Woman Suffrage." + +New York City, September, 1897 Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + + +Mrs. Stanton in this book, in her inimitable way, relates anecdotes +of, and experiences with, a number of the leading women, statesmen, +authors, and reformers of the last sixty years. The following are a few +names selected at random from the + +INDEX OF NAMES. + +Beecher, Rev. Henry Ward. +Bradlaugh, Hon. Charles, M. P. +Bright, Hon. Jacob M. P. +Bright, Hon. John, M. P. +Browning, Robert. +Bryant, William Cullen. +Curtis, George William. +Cobbe, Frances Power. +Clarkson, Thomas. +Charming, Rev. William Ellery. +Carlisle, Lord and Lady. +Byron, Lady. +Cushman, Charlotte. +Dana, Charles A. +Douglass, Frederick. +Emerson, Ralph Waldo. +Fry, Elizabeth. +Fuller, Margaret. +Garrison, William Lloyd. +George, Henry. +Grant, General Ulysses S +Greeley, Horace. +Grevy, President Jules. +Holmes, Oliver Wendell. +Hyacinthe, Pere. +Ingersoll, Robert G. +Kingsley, Canon Charles. +Krapotkine, Prince. +Lowell, James Russell. +Martineau, Harriet. +Mill, John Stuart. +Mott, Lucretia. +O'Connell, Daniel. +Owen, Robert Dale. +Parker, Rev. Theodore. +Parnell, Hon. Charles Stuart, M. P. +Phillips, Wendell. +Seward, Governor William H. +Shelley, Percy Bysshe. +Smith, Hon. Gerrit. +Stanton, Hon. Henry B. +Stepniak. +Stone, Lucy. +Stowe, Harriet Beecher. +Sumner, Hon. Charles. +Whittier, John G. +Willard, Emma. +Willard, Frances E. + + + +See Press Comments on following pages. + +This book will be sent, mail prepaid, on receipt of price, by + +European Publishing Company, + +W Broad Street, New York City. + + + +PRESS COMMENTS. + +It is a very readable book.--Albany Times-Union. + +The Reminiscences are delightful.--The Louisville Dispatch. + +The tale is as interesting as any romance or drama.--N. Y. Mail and +Express. + +A bright, entertaining tale, and one which contains much valuable +information.--N. Y. Herald. + +We know of no other autobiography which will command more profound +interest.--The Rocky Mountain News. + +It is the life story of a genuine American woman and will excite wide +interest.--The Minneapolis Tribune. + +A breezy narrative of a long and active life, told with spirit and +humor.--The Woman's Journal. + +Every sentence in this book would serve as a text for a chapter were +merited amplification practicable.--Ithaca Journal. + +The book is illustrated with a number of excellent portraits of the +author, and is full of interest.--New London Day. + +A well written account of a long and busy life. A highly interesting +biography and a delightful book, which is well worth reading.--N. Y. +Evening World. + +A human document of no small interest and value. A straightforward and +piquant story of a noteworthy personality.--The Chicago Tribune. + +A combination of several kinds of charm. It is frankly personal. It is +impossible not to wish there had been very much more of each chapter. +--N. Y. Evening Sun. + +It is unexpectedly amusing, as well as instructive, some of the +author's experiences being narrated in a most realistic and delightful +manner.--Washington Post. + +Two chapters of this interesting autobiography are devoted to Miss +Susan B. Anthony, the friend and fellow-laborer in the field of Woman's +Rights with Mrs. Stanton.--Jeannette L. Gilder in N. Y. Sunday Journal. + +It is a book well worth reading and shows what one woman may do with a +purpose and a will back of it. The personal part of the Reminiscences +are of much interest, and force admiration for the tactful, courageous +and able woman.--Pittsburg Post. + +It is one of the most important books of the year, Particularly to the +women of this country. It is absorbingly interesting. The trouble that +the reader encounters is that he finds it hard work to lay the book +down.--Boston Daily Advertiser. + +The story of the life of this great American woman will be read with +much interest in many homes. It is a book of much artistic merit and +her Reminiscences cannot be other than interesting. The book throughout +is delightfully entertaining--Troy Times. + +A most charming and interesting picture of a wife, mother and a +friend. Every one who has seen or heard of this leader of the woman +question of the century will rejoice that such a book has been given to +the world.--Boston Investigator. + +It is not principally the record of her public career as a leader in +the movement for the emancipation of woman, but rather the story of her +private life which is set forth in this volume. Especially interesting +are those reminiscences that deal with the author's early days.--N. Y. +Sun. + +This book abounds in interesting experiences. The style is simple and +amusing, showing the writer possessed of a keen sense of humor and the +fitness of things, as well as justice. It is particularly interesting +to women whether they sympathize with the views of the writer or +otherwise.--Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. + +This is a thoroughly enjoyable book and never lacking in interest. It +will be an inspiration for American girls to read its chapters. She +gives graphic pictures. The volume contains several fine portraits. The +book is racy and pleasing, whether the reader agrees with the author in +all things or not.--Chicago Inter-Ocean. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton's recollections, covering eighty years, easily +come first in the array of new noteworthy books, because of the +surprise they will afford the public, having been almost unheralded; +because of the impressive and protracted public career of the author; +because of her inflexible devotion to and sincerity in a cause long +unpopular, and because, moreover, Mrs. Stanton is an American. This is +a most interesting volume.--N. Y. Times. + + + +Eighty Years and More. + +Being the Reminiscences of ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. Complete In one +volume. 12mo, 475 pp. Cloth, eleven portraits. Price $2.00. + +PRESS COMMENTS--(Continued). + +The story of Mrs. Stanton's life is one which interests many thousands +in this country, and which will also be read with interest in other +lands, for her reputation as a reformer and writer is international; +her strong personal characteristics give to this autobiographical work +a charm of its own. It contains some of the most entertaining +reminiscences that have been given to the public. It is a book which is +sure to be widely read.--Worcester Spy. + +The personal element is the fascinating part of the book which holds +one's attention and keeps him reading to the end. It is a bright, +breezy, and radical turn-the-world-upside-down book. We do not like its +religious tone. We do not like the author's occult theosophy. We do not +like her sociology, with its good word for the windmill logic of the +speculative Bellamy. We do not like her views of marriage and divorce. +But when all is said, and with all these wide differences lying between +us to qualify our enjoyment of this book, we have enjoyed it much. Mrs. +Stanton is a first-rate raconteuse and fills her pages with amusing +recitals and brilliant encounters--N. Y. Independent. + +TO WOMAN SUFFRAGE CLUBS: We will supply Clubs with single copies of +this book at $2 per copy, postage prepaid. We will forward five (5) +copies of this book to any address, express charges prepaid, on the +receipt of six dollars ($6.00). + +We Wish An Agent In Every Woman Suffrage Club. Correspondence with +those who desire to become Agents solicited. + + + + + +SPEECHES, LETTERS AND MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS + +OF + +ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + + +12mo, 500 pp., cloth, five portraits. Price $2.00. + +This work will be similar in style and binding to Eighty Years and +More, will contain valuable editorial notes by Theodore Stanton, A. M., +and will be published in January, 1899. + +New York + +European Publishing Company + +And Paris + + + + + +THE WOMAN'S BIBLE. + +COMPLETE IN TWO PARTS. + + + +REVISING COMMITTEE. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford. +Clara Bewick Colby. +Rev. Augusta Chapin. +Mary Seymour Howell. +Josephine K. Henry. +Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll. +Sarah A. Underwood. +Catharine F. Stebbins. +Ellen Battelle Dietrick. +Ursula N. Gestefeld. +Lillie Devereux Blake. +Matilda Joslyn Gage. +Rev. Olympia Brown. +Frances Ellen Burr. +Clara B. Neyman. +Helen H. Gardener. +Charlotte Beebe Wilbour. +Lucinda B. Chandler. +Louisa Southworth. +Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, Finland. +Ursula M. Bright, England. +Irma von Troll-Borostyani, Austria. +Priscilla Bright McLaren, Scotland. +Isabelle Bogelot, France. + + + +PART I. + +A 12mo, 160 pp. paper. Third American and Second English Edition. +Twentieth Thousand. Price 50 Cents. + +It contains Comments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and +Deuteronomy, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lillie Devereux Blake, Rev. +Phebe A. Hanaford, Clara Bewick Colby, Ellen Battelle Dietrick, Ursula +N. Gestefeld, Louisa Southworth, Frances Ellen Burr. + + +PART II. + +A 12mo, 217 pp. paper. First American Edition, Ten Thousand. Price 50 +Cents. + +It contains Comments on The Old and New Testaments from Joshua to +Revelation, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Louisa Southworth, Lucinda B. +Chandler, Anonymous, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Clara +B. Neyman, Frances Ellen Burr, Ellen Battelle Dietrick, and Letters and +Comments in an Appendix, by Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Mary A. +Livermore, Frances E. Willard, Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll, Irma von Troll- +Borostyani, Mrs. Jacob Bright, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Anonymous, Susan +B. Anthony, Edna D. Cheney, Sarah A. Underwood, Dr. Elizabeth +Blackwell, Josephine K. Henry, Ursula N. Gestefeld, Catharine F. +Stebbins, Alice Stone Blackwell, Matilda Joslyn Gage, E. T. M., +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others, and the resolution passed by the +National-American Woman Suffrage Association, repudiating "The Woman's +Bible," together with the discussion thereon. + +See Press Comments on The Woman's Bible on next page. + + + +PRESS COMMENTS + +ON THE + +WOMAN'S BIBLE + +The comments are right up to date.--Cincinnati Tribune. + +The most humorous book of the year.--The Hartford Seminary Record. + +Of all possible books this is perhaps the most extraordinary possible. +--The Week, Toronto, Canada. + +A very clever analysis of passages relating to the sex.--Public +Opinion, N. Y. City. + +The new Woman's Bible is one of the remarkable productions of the +century.--Denver News. + +A unique edition of the Scripture. An extraordinary presentment of +Holy Writ!--Denver Times. + +The work is unique. Its aim is to help the cause of woman in her +battle for equality.--Beacon, Akron, Ohio. + +Robert G. Ingersoll is the only person on earth capable of a work +equal to Mrs. Stanton's sensation, "The Woman's Bible."--Chicago Times- +Herald. + +The attack of the new woman on the King James Bible will be observed +with interest where it does not alarm. But let "The Woman's Bible" and +the truth prevail. It may be that Lot himself was turned into a pillar +of salt.--Chicago Post. + +It has come at last, as it was bound to come--the emancipated woman's +Bible. The wonder is it has been delayed so long. This is not a +blasphemous book.--The Egyptian Gazette, Alexandria, Egypt. + +The "new woman" has broken out in a fresh direction and published "The +Woman's Bible." In it the conduct of Adam, the father of the race, is +described as "to the last degree dastardly."--Westminster Budget, +London, Eng. + +One of the most striking protests devised by woman for the purpose of +showing her rejection of the conditions under which our mothers lived. +It is evidently the mission of "The Woman's Bible" to exalt and dignify +woman.--The Morning, London, Eng. + +We have read some of the passages of the commentary prepared for "the +Woman's Bible" by that very accomplished American woman and Biblical +student, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They are a great deal more +satisfactory than many of the comments upon the same texts that we have +read in other and more pretentious Commentaries. Mrs. Stanton's +interpretative remarks are shrewd and sensible--Editorial N. Y. Sun. + +Of man-made commentaries on the Bible we have had sufficient to stock +a library and yet they have left room for this commentary by women. +These revisers have proved the need of an intelligent examination of +the Scriptures from the woman's point of view. The lady commentators +are not wanting in a sense of humor--the quality in which biblical +critics of the male sex are usually unhappily deficient. There is much +that is very funny and very interesting in this new commentary upon the +Bible.--The Daily Chronicle, London, Eng. + +The Standard says, "The Sisterhood of Advanced Women has taken a bold +step towards emancipation. It has long groaned under certain +implications of servitude contained in a few passages of Scripture, and +has, therefore, determined to abolish these disabilities by publishing +'The Woman's Bible.'" It is not only the type that is new. New readings +of old passages are given, and the volume contains suggestions to show +that the verses about women's inferiority really mean the opposite of +the ordinary acceptation. In it Eve is rather praised than otherwise +for having eaten the apple. It is pointed out that Satan did not tempt +her with an array of silks and satins, and gold watches, or even a +cycling costume--the things which some people think most seductive to +her descendants--but with the offer of knowledge; a man being of such a +lethargic and groveling nature that a similar lofty ambition never +entered his mind. Besides, if the fruit was not to be eaten, Eve should +have been informed of the fact at first hand, and not through an +agent.--Pall Mall Gazette, London, Eng. + + +The above books will be sent, mail prepaid, on receipt of price, by + +European Publishing Company, + +68 Broad Street, New York City. + + + + + +THE WOMAN'S BIBLE + +PART II + + +COMMENTS ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS + +FROM + +JOSHUA TO REVELATION + + +"OH! Rather give me commentators plain, +Who with no deep researches vex the brain; +Who from the dark and doubtful love to run. +And hold their glimmering tapers to the sun." + +--The Parish Register. + + + +1898. + + + +The Bible in its teachings degrades Woman from Genesis to Revelations. + + + +REVISING COMMITTEE. + +"We took sweet counsel together."-Ps. Iv., 14. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, +Clara Bewick Colby, +Rev. Augusta Chapin, +Ursula N. Gestefeld, +Mary Seymour Howell, +Josephine K. Henry, +Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll, +Sarah A. Underwood, +Ellen Battelle Dietrick,[FN#4] + +Lillie Devereux Blake, +Matilda Joslyn Gage, +Rev. Olympia Brown, +Frances Ellen Burr, +Clara B. Neyman, +Helen H. Gardener, +Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, +Lucinda B. Chandler, +Catharine F. Stebbins, +Louisa Southworth. + + + +[FN#4] Deceased. + + + +FOREIGN MEMBERS. + +Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, Finland, + +Ursula M. Bright, England, + +Irma Von Troll-Borostyani, Austria, + +Priscilla Bright Mclaren, Scotland, + +Isabelle Bogelot, France. + + + + + + +COMMENTS ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS + +FROM + +JOSHUA TO REVELATION, BY + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick, +Louisa Southworth, +Lucinda B. Chandler, +Anonymous, + +Matilda Joslyn Gage, +Frances Ellen Burr, +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, +Clara B. Neyman. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +LETTERS AND COMMENTS BY + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Josephine K. Henry, Frances E. Willard, Eva A. +Ingersoll, Mary A. Livermore, Irma von Troll-Borostyani, Mrs. Jacob +Bright, Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Anonymous, Rev. Phebe A. +Hanaford, Ednah D. Cheney, Sarah A. Underwood, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, +Alice Stone Blackwell, Ursula N. Gestefeld, E. M., Matilda Joslyn Gage, +Sarah M. Perkins, and Catharine F. Stebbins. + + + +Resolution + +Of + +National-American Woman Suffrage Association repudiating "The Woman's +Bible," and Speech of Susan B. Anthony. + + + +Dedicated To The Memory Of + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick, + +In Whose Death We Lost The Ablest Member Of Our Revising Committee. + + + +PREFACE TO PART II. + +The criticisms on "The Woman's Bible" are as varied as they are +unreasonable. Both friend and foe object to the title. When John Stuart +Mill wrote his "Subjection of Woman" there was a great outcry against +that title. He said that proved it to be a good one. The critics said: +"It will suggest to women that they are in subjection and make them +rebellious." "That," said he, "is just the effect I wish to produce." +Rider Haggard's "She" was denounced so universally that every one read +it to see who "She" was. Thus the title in both cases called attention +to the book. + +The critics say that our title should have been "Commentaries on the +Bible." That would have been misleading, as the book simply contains +short comments on the passages referring to woman. Some say that it +should have been "The Women of the Bible;" but several books with that +title have already been published. The Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage says: +"You might as well have a 'Shoemakers' Bible'; the Scriptures apply to +women as we'll as to men." As the Bible treats women as of a different +class, inferior to man or in subjection to him, which is not the case +with shoemakers, Mr. Talmage's criticism has no significance. + + +"There's nothing so becomes a man, +As modest stillness and humility." + + +Another clergyman says: "It is the work of women, and the devil." This +is a grave mistake. His Satanic Majesty was not invited to join the +Revising Committee, which consists of women alone. Moreover, he has +been so busy of late years attending Synods, General Assemblies and +Conferences, to prevent the recognition of women delegates, that he +has had no time to study the languages and "higher criticism." + +Other critics say that our comments do not display a profound +knowledge of Biblical history or of the Greek and Hebrew languages. As +the position of woman in all religions is the same, it does not need a +knowledge of either Greek, Hebrew or the works of scholars to show that +the Bible degrades the Mothers of the Race. Furthermore, "The Woman's +Bible" is intended for readers who do not care for, and would not be +convinced by, a learned, technical work of so-called "higher criticism." + +The Old Testament makes woman a mere after-thought in creation; the +author of evil; cursed in her maternity; a subject in marriage; and all +female life, animal and human, unclean. The Church in all ages has +taught these doctrines and acted on them, claiming divine authority +therefor. "As Christ is the head of the Church, so is man the head of +woman." This idea of woman's subordination is reiterated times without +number, from Genesis to Revelations; and this is the basis of all +church action. + +Parts I. and II. of "The Woman's Bible" state these dogmas in plain +English, as agreeing fully with Bible teaching and church action. And +yet women meet in convention and denounce "The Woman's Bible," while +clinging to the Church and their Scriptures. The only difference +between us is, we say that these degrading ideas of woman emanated from +the brain of man, while the Church says that they came from God. + +Now, to my mind, the Revising Committee of "The Woman's Bible," in +denying divine inspiration for such demoralizing ideas, shows a more +worshipful reverence for the great Spirit of All Good than does the +Church. We have made a fetich of the Bible long enough. The time has +come to read it as we do all other books, accepting the good and +rejecting the evil it teaches. + + +"There lives more faith in honest doubt, +Believe me, than in half the creeds." + + +Hon. Andrew D. White, formerly President of Cornell University, shows +us in his great work, "A History of the Warfare of Science with +Theology," that the Bible, with its fables, allegories and endless +contradictions, has been the great block in the way of civilization. +All through the centuries scholars and scientists have been imprisoned, +tortured and burned alive for some discovery which seemed to conflict +with a petty text of Scripture. Surely the immutable laws of the +universe can teach more impressive and exalted lessons than the holy +books of all the religions on earth. + + +ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + +January, 1898. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. + + + +Joshua ii. + + + +1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy +secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and +came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. + +2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men +in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the country. + +3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men +that are come to thee which are entered into thine house: for they be +come to search out all the country. + +4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them and said thus, There +came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were. + +5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate when it +was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I wot not; pursue +after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. + + +This book gives an account of the final entrance of the children of +Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua was the successor of Moses, and +performed the same miracle in parting the waters of the Jordan that +Moses did to enable his people to pass through the Red Sea. He was +seven years fighting his way into the land of Canaan, where he spent +the closing years of his life in peace. + +There is mention of two women only in this book, though a casual +reference is again made to the daughters of Zelophehad, as described in +a former chapter. + +In saving the spies from their pursuers, Rahab made them promise that +when Jericho fell into the hands of Joshua, they would save her and her +kinsmen. From the text, it seems that Rahab fully understood the spirit +of her time, and with keen insight and religious fervor, marked +characteristics of women, she readily entered into the plans of the +great general of Israel. + +Rahab was supposed to have been a great sinner, her life in many +respects questionable; but seeing that victory was with the Israelites, +she cast her lot with them. From the text and what we know of humanity +in general, it is difficult to decide Rahab's real motive, whether to +serve the Lord by helping Joshua to take the land of Canaan, or to +save her own life and that of her kinsmen. It is interesting to see +mat in all national emergencies, leading men are quite willing to avail +themselves of the craft and cunning of women, qualities uniformly +condemned when used for their own advantage. + +There is no more significance, as one of our critics says, in +commentating on the myths of the Bible than on Aesop's fables. The +difference, however, is this: that in the latter case we admit that +they were written by a man; while in the former, they are claimed to +have been inspired by God. Though at variance with all natural laws, it +is claimed that our eternal salvation depends on believing in the +plenary inspiration of the myths of the Scriptures; as the "higher +criticisms," written by learned scholars and scientists, are not +familiar to women, our comments in plain English may rid them of some +of their superstitions. + +Though the injustice to woman is the blackest page in sacred history, +the distinguished Biblical writers take no note of it whatever. Even +Hon. Andrew D. White, though he devotes several pages of his work to +the statue of Lot's wife in salt, vouchsafes no criticism on the +position of Lot's wife in the flesh, nor of Lot's outrageous treatment +of his daughters. The wonder is that women themselves should either +believe that such unholy proceedings were inspired by God, or make a +fetich of the very book which is responsible for their civil and social +degradation. + + + +Joshua x. + + + +11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in +the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from +heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died +with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the +sword. + +12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up +the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of +Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the +valley of Ajalon. + +13 And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stayed, until the people had +avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book +of Jasher? So the Sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted +not to go down about a whole day. + +14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord +hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel. + + +According to the sacred fabulist, Joshua surpassed Moses in the +wonders which he performed. In taking the city of Jericho, as +recorded in Chapter viii., he did not use the ordinary enginery of war, +but told his soldiers to blow a simultaneous blast upon their trumpets, +while all the people with united shouts should produce such a violent +concussion of the air as to bring down the walls of the city. He not +only subsidized the atmosphere to overpower his enemies, but he +commanded the sun and the moon to stand still to lengthen the day and +to lighten the night until this victory was complete. + +It seems that the Lord was so well pleased with Joshua's refined +military tactics that he suspended the laws of the vast solar system to +vindicate the superior prowess of one small tribe on the small planet +called the earth. The Lord also resorted to more material and forcible +means, sending down tremendous hailstones from heaven, and thus with +one fell blow destroyed more of his enemies than the children of Israel +did with the sword. + +There are no events recorded in secular history that strain the faith +of the reader to such a degree as the feats of Joshua. Moses, with his +manna and pillar of light in the wilderness and his dazzling +pyrotechnics on Mount Sinai, fades into insignificance before these +marvellous manifestations by Joshua, with the Canaanites, Jericho, and +the sun and moon under his feet. Though teaching the people that all +these fables are facts, still the Church condemns prestidigitators, +soothsayers, fortune tellers, Spiritualists, witches, and the +assumptions of Christian Scientists. + + + +Joshua xv. + + + +16 And Catch said, He that smiteth Kirjathesepher and taketh it, to +him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. + +17 And Othniel, the son of Kenez, the brother of Caleb, took it; and +he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. + +18 And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to +ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said +unto her, What wouldest thou? + +19 Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south +land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, +and the nether springs. + + +In giving Achsah her inheritance it is evident that the judges of +Israel had not forgotten the judgment of the Lord in the case of +Zelophehad's daughters. He said to Moses, "When a father dies leaving +no sons, the inheritance shall go to the daughters. Let this henceforth +be an ordinance in Israel." Very good as far as it goes; but in case +there were sons, justice demanded that daughters should have an equal +share in the inheritance. + +As the Lord has put it into the hearts of the women of this Republic +to demand equal rights in everything and everywhere, and as He is said +to be immutable and unchangeable, it is fair to infer that Moses did +not fully comprehend the message, and in proclaiming it to the great +assembly he gave his own interpretation, just as our judges do in this +year of the Lord 1898. + +Achsah's example is worthy the imitation of the women of this +Republic. She did not humbly accept what was given her, but bravely +asked for more. We should give to our rulers, our sires and sons no +rest until all our rights--social, civil and political--are fully +accorded. How are men to know what we want unless we tell them? They +have no idea that our wants, material and spiritual, are the same as +theirs; that we love justice, liberty and equality as well as they do; +that we believe in the principles of self-government, in individual +rights, individual conscience and judgment, the fundamental ideas of +the Protestant religion and republican government. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JUDGES. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Judges i. + + + +19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of +the mountain: but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, +because they had chariots of iron. + + + +Judges ii. + + + +6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went +every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. + +7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the +days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great +works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. + +8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a +hundred and ten years old. + + +This book, supposed to have been written by Samuel the Prophet, covers +a period of 300 years. During all of this time the children of Israel +are in constant friction with the Lord and neighboring tribes, never +loyal to either. When at peace with the Lord, they are fighting with +their neighbors; when at peace with them, worshiping their gods and +giving them their daughters in marriage, then the Lord is angry, and +vents His wrath on them. Thus, they are continually between two fires; +now repenting in sackcloth and ashes, and now, with the help of the +Lord, blessed with victories. + +Life with them was a brief period of success and defeat. It seems that +the Lord, according to their ideas, had His limitations, and could not +fight tribes who had iron chariots. + +What could iron chariots be in the way of that Great Force which +creates cyclones, hurricanes and earthquakes, or the pyrotechnics of a +thunderstorm. How little these people knew of the Great Intelligence +behind the laws of the universe, with whom they pretended to talk in +the Hebrew language, and from whom they claimed to have received +directions as to their treatment of women? + +In the opening of this book Joshua still governs Israel. After his +death, the Lord raised up a succession of judges, remarkable for +their uprightness and wisdom; but they found it impossible to keep the +chosen people in the straight and narrow path. The children of Israel +did not learn wisdom by experience. They tired of a rigid code of +morals, of a mystical system of theology, and of the women of their own +tribe. There was a fascination in the manners and the appearance of a +new type of womanhood which they could not resist. There should have +been some allowance for these human proclivities. If the Jews of our +day had followed this tendency of their ancestors and intermarried with +other nations, there would have been by this time no peculiar people to +persecute. + +The most important feature of this book is the number of remarkable +women herein described; six in number, Achsah, Deborah, Jael, +Jephthah's daughter, Delilah, and two whose names are not mentioned-- +she who slew Abimelech, and the concubine of a Levite, whose fate was +terrible and repulsive. There are many instances in the Old Testament +where women have been thrown to the mob, like a bone to dogs, to pacify +their passions; and women suffer to-day from these lessons of contempt, +taught in a book so revered by the people. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The writer of the Book of judges is unknown. Professor Moore, of +Andover Theological Seminary, supposes that the author used as a basis +for his work an older collection of tales wherein the heroes of Israel +and the varying fortunes of the people were related, and which, like +all good tales, pointed a moral. In all Jewish literature is to be +found the same moral--namely, that the prime cause of all of the evils +which befell the Jewish people was unfaithfulness to Jehovah. +"Adherence to the written law brings God's favor, while disobedience is +followed by God's wrath and punishment." + +It is not obedience to the inner truth of the individual soul that is +made the spring of action, but obedience to an external authority, to a +book, to a prophet, to a judge or to a king. In judges, to woman in +various ways is given an exalted position; she is not the abject slave +or unclean vessel, the drudge, the servile sinner, the +nonentity, as depicted in other parts of the Bible. + +Woman has at no time of the world's history maintained the high +position which she commands to-day in the hearts of the best and most +enlightened; but there were stages when her independence was an assured +fact. With Christianity came the notion of man's dual nature; the +physical was looked upon as sinful; this earth was merely preparatory +for a life beyond. Woman, as the mother of the race, was not honored +and revered as such, the monastic idea being considered more God-like, +she was made the instrument of sin. To be born into this life was not a +blessing so long as ascetism ruled supreme. + +The Bible has been of service in some respects; but the time has come +for us to point out the evil of many of its teachings. It now behooves +us to throw the light of a new civilization upon the women who figure +in the Book of judges. We begin with Achsah, a woman of good sense. +Married to a hero, she must needs look out for material subsistence. +Her husband being a warrior, had probably no property of his own, so +that upon her devolved the necessity of providing the means of +livelihood. Great men, heroic warriors, generally lack the practical +virtues, so that it seems befitting in her to ask of her father the +blessing of a fruitful piece of land; her husband would have been +satisfied with the south land. She knew that she required the upper and +the nether springs to fertilize it, so that it might yield a successful +harvest. + + +C. B. N. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Judges iv. + + + +4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at +that time. + +5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth- +el in Mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for +judgment. + +6 And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh- +naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, +saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand +men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? + +7 And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera the captain +of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will +deliver him into thine hand. + +8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; +but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. + +9 And she said, I will surely go with thee; notwithstanding the +journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for the Lord +shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went +with Barak to Kedesh. + +10 And Barak called Zebulon and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up +with ten thousand men at his feet; and Deborah went up with him. + + +Some commentators say that Deborah was not married to a man by the +name of Lapidoth, that such a terminology is not customary to the name +of a person, but of a place. They think that the text should read, +Deborah of Lapidoth. Indeed, Deborah seems to have had too much +independence of character, wisdom and self-reliance to have ever filled +the role of the Jewish idea of a wife. + +"Deborah" signifies "bee;" and by her industry, sagacity, usefulness +and kindness to her friends and dependents she fully answers to her +name. "Lapidoth" signifies "lamps." The Rabbis say that Deborah was +employed to make wicks for the lamps in the Tabernacle; and having +stooped to that humble office for God's service, she was afterward +exalted as a prophetess, to special illumination and communion with God +--the first woman thus honored in Scripture. + +Deborah was a woman of great ability. She was consulted by the +children of Israel in all matters of government, of religion and of +war. Her judgment seat was under a palm tree, known ever after as +"Deborah's Palm." Though she was one of the great judges of Israel for +forty years, her name is not in the list, as it should have been, with +Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah. Men have always been +slow to confer on women the honors; which they deserve. + +Deborah did not judge as a princess by any civil authority conferred +upon her, but as a prophetess, as the mouthpiece of God, redressing +grievances and correcting abuses. The children of Israel appealed to +her, not so much to settle controversies between man and man as to +learn what was amiss in their service to God; yet she did take an +active part in the councils of war and spurred the generals to their +duty. + +The text shows Barak hesitating and lukewarm in the last eventful +battle with Sisera and his host. He flatly refused to go unless Deborah +would go with him. She was the divinely chosen leader; to her came the +command, "Go to Mount Tabor and meet Sisera and his host." Not +considering herself fit too lead an army, she chose Barak, who had +already distinguished himself. He, feeling the need of her wisdom and +inspiration, insisted that she accompany him; so, mounted on pure white +jackasses, they started for the field of battle. The color of the +jackass indicated the class to which the rider belonged. Distinguished +personages were always mounted on pure white and ordinary mortals on +gray or mottled animals. + +As they journeyed along side by side, with wonderful insight Deborah +saw what was passing in Barak's mind; he was already pluming himself on +his victory over Sisera. So she told him that the victory would not be +his, that the Lord would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. It +added an extra pang to a man's death to be slain by the hand of a +woman. Fortunately, poor Sisera was spared the knowledge of his +humiliation. What a picture of painful contrasts his death presents--a +loving mother watching and praying at her window for the return of her +only son, while at the same time Jael performs her deadly deed and +blasts that mother's hopes forever! What a melancholy dirge to her must +have been that song of triumph, chanted by the army of Deborah and +Barak, and for years after, by generation after generation. + +We never hear sermons pointing women to the heroic virtues of Deborah +as worthy of their imitation. Nothing is said in the pulpit to rouse +their from the apathy of ages, to inspire them to do and dare great +things, to intellectual and spiritual achievements, in real +communion with the Great Spirit of the Universe. Oh, no! The lessons +doled out to women, from the canon law, the Bible, the prayer-books and +the catechisms, are meekness and self-abnegation; ever with covered +heads (a badge of servitude) to do some humble service for man; that +they are unfit to sit as a delegate in a Methodist conference, to be +ordained to preach the Gospel, or to fill the office of elder, of +deacon or of trustee, or to enter the Holy of Holies in cathedrals. + +Deborah was a poetess as well as a prophetess, a judge as well as a +general. She composed the famous historical poem of that period on the +eventful final battle with Sisera and his hosts; and she ordered the +soldiers to sing the triumphant song as they marched through the the +{sic} land, that all the people might catch the strains and that +generations might proclaim the victory. + + + +Judges iv. + + + +18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my +Lord, turn in to me: fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into +the tent, she covered him with a mantle. + +19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to +drink: for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him +to drink, and covered him. + +20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall +be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any +man here? that thou shalt say, No. + +21 Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer +in her hand and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his +temples, and fastened it into the ground; for he was fast asleep and +weary. So he died. + +22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and +said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. +And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail +was in his temples. + + +The deception and the cruelty practised on Sisera by Jael under the +guise of hospitality is revolting under our code of morality. To decoy +the luckless general fleeing before his enemy into her tent, pledging +him safety, and with seeming tenderness ministering to his wants, with +such words of sympathy and consolation lulling him to sleep, and then +in cold blood driving a nail through his temples, seems more like the +work of a fiend than of a woman. + +The song of Deborah and Barak, in their triumph over Sisera, has been +sung in cathedrals and oratorios and celebrated in all time for its +beauty and pathos. The great generals did not forget in the hour of +victory to place the crown of honor on the brow of Jael for +what they considered a great deed of heroism. Jael imagined herself in +the line of her duty and specially called by the Lord to do this +service for his people. + +Nations make their ideal gods like unto themselves. At this period He +was the God of battles. Though He had made all the tribes, we hope, to +the best of His ability; yet He hated all, the sacred fabulist tells +us, but the tribe of Israel, and even they were objects of His +vengeance half the time. Instead of Midianites and Philistines, in our +day we have saints and sinners, orthodox and heterodox, persecuting +each other, although you cannot distinguish them in the ordinary walks +of life. They are governed by the same principles in the exchanges and +the marts of trade. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Judges v. + + + +Then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that day, saying, + +2 Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people +willingly offered themselves. + +3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I will sing unto +the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. + +4 Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the +field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds +also dropped water. + +5 The mountains melted from before the Lord even that Sinai from +before the Lord God of Israel. + +6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the +highways were unoccupied and the travellers walked through byways. + +7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until +that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. + + +The woman who most attracts our attention in the Book of judges is +Deborah, priestess, prophetess, poetess and judge. What woman is there +in modern or in ancient history who equals in loftiness of position, in +public esteem and honorable distinction this gifted and heroic Jewish +creation? The writer who compiled the story of her gifts and deeds must +have had women before him who inspired him with such a wonderful +personality. How could Christianity teach and preach that women should +be silent in the church when already among the Jews equal honor was +shown to women? The truth is that Christianity has in many instances +circumscribed woman's sphere of action, and has been guilty of great +injustice toward the whole sex. + +Deborah was, perhaps, only one of many women who held such high and +honorable positions. Unlike any modern ruler, Deborah dispensed justice +directly, proclaimed war, led her men to victory, and glorified the +deeds of her army in immortal song. This is the most glorious tribute +to woman's genius and power. If Deborah, way back in ancient Judaism, +was considered wise enough to advise her people in time of need and +distress, why is it that at the end of the nineteenth century, woman +has to contend for equal rights and fight to regain every inch of +ground she has lost since then? It is now an assured fact that not only +among the Hebrews, but also among the Greeks and the Germans, women +formerly maintained greater freedom and power. + +The struggle of to-day among the advanced of our sex is to regain and +to reaffirm what has been lost since the establishment of Christianity. +Every religion, says a modern thinker, has curtailed the rights of +woman, has subjected her to man's ruling; in emphasizing the life +beyond, the earthly existence became a secondary consideration. We are +learning the great harm which comes from this one-sided view of life; +and by arousing woman to the dignity of her position we shall again +have women like Deborah, honored openly and publicly for political +wisdom, to whom men will come in time of need. + +Genius knows no sex; and woman must again usurp her Divine prerogative +as a leader in thought, song and action. The religion of the future +will honor and revere motherhood, wifehood and maidenhood. Asceticism, +an erroneous philosophy, church doctrines based not upon reason or the +facts of life, issued out of crude imaginings; phantasms obstructed the +truth, held in check the wheel of progress. Let our church women turn +their gaze to such characters as Deborah, and claim the same +recognition in their different congregations. + +The antagonism which the Christian church has built up between the +male and the female must entirely vanish. Together they will slay the +enemies--ignorance, superstition and cruelty. United in every +enterprise, they will win; like Deborah and Barak, they will clear the +highways and restore peace and prosperity to their people. Like +Deborah, woman will forever be the inspired leader, if she will have +the courage to assert and maintain her power. Her aspirations +must keep pace with the demands of our civilization. "New times teach +new duties." + +God never discriminates; it is man who has made the laws and compelled +woman to obey him. The Old Testament and the New are books written by +men; the coming Bible will be the result of the efforts of both, and +contain the wisdom of both sexes, their combined spiritual experience. +Together they will unfold the mysteries of life, and heaven will be +here on earth when love and justice reign supreme. + + +C. B. N. + + + +Judges viii. + + + +30 And Gideon had three score and ten sons: for he had many wives. + +31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, +whose name he called Abimelech. + + + +Judges ix. + + + +52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went +hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. + +53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's +head, and all to break his skull. + +54 Then he called hastily unto the young man, his armour-bearer, and +said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A +woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. + + +Abimelech destroyed the city of Thebez, drove all the people into a +tower and then tried to set it on fire, as he had done in many places +before in his war on other tribes; but here he lost his life, and at +the hand of a woman, which was considered the greatest disgrace which +could befall a man. Commentators say that as Sisera and Abimelech were +exceptionally proud and lofty, they were thus degraded in their death. +Sisera was spared the knowledge of his fate by being taken off when +asleep; but Abimelech saw the stone coming and knew that it was from +the hand of a woman, an added pang to his death agony. He had no +thoughts of his wicked life nor his eternal welfare, but with his dying +breath implored his armor-bearer to thrust him through with his sword, +that it might not be said that he was slain by the hand of a woman. + +Abimelech had three score and ten brethren. It is said that his mother +roused his ambition to be one of the judges of Israel. To attain this +he killed all his brethren but one, who escaped. He enjoyed his +ill-gotten honors but a short space of time. We find many such stories +in the Hebrew mythology which have no foundation in fact. + + + +Judges xi. + + + +30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt +without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, + +31 Then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my +house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, +shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. + +33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even +twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great +slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children +of Israel. + +34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his +daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she +was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. + +35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and +said, Alas, my daughter! thou has brought me very low, and thou art one +of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and +I cannot go back. + +36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth +unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of +thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine +enemies, even of the children of Ammon. + +37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me +alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and +bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. + + +A woman's vow, as we have already seen, could be disallowed at the +pleasure of any male relative; but a man's was considered sacred even +though it involved the violation of the sixth commandment, the +violation of the individual rights of another human being. These loving +fathers in the Old Testament, like Jephthah and Abraham, thought to +make themselves specially pleasing to the Lord by sacrificing their +children to Him as burnt offerings. If the ethics of their moral code +had permitted suicide, they might with some show of justice have +offered themselves, if they thought that the first-born kid would not +do; but what right had they to offer up their sons and daughters in +return for supposed favors from the Lord? + +The submission of Isaac and Jephthah's daughter to this violation of +their most sacred rights is truly pathetic. But, like all oppressed +classes, they were ignorant of the fact that they had any natural, +inalienable rights. We have such a type of womanhood even in our day. If +any man had asked Jephthah's daughter if she would not like to have the +Jewish law on vows so amended that she might disallow her father's vow, +and thus secure to herself the right of life, she would no doubt have +said, "No; I have all the rights I want," just as a class of New York +women said in 1895, when it was proposed to amend the constitution of +the State in their favor. + +The only favor which Jephthah's daughter asks, is that she may have +two months of solitude on the mountain tops to bewail the fact that she +will die childless. Motherhood among the Jewish women was considered +the highest honor and glory ever vouchsafed to mortals. So she was +permitted for a brief period to enjoy her freedom, accompanied by young +Jewish maidens who had hoped to dance at her wedding. + +Commentators differ as to the probable fate of Jephthah's daughter. +Some think that she was merely sequestered in some religious retreat, +others that the Lord spoke to Jephthah as He did to Abraham forbidding +the sacrifice. We might attribute this helpless condition of woman to +the benighted state of those times if we did not see the trail of the +serpent through our civil laws and church discipline. + +This Jewish maiden is known in history only as Jephthah's daughter-- +she belongs to the no-name series. The father owns her absolutely, +having her life even at his disposal. We often hear people laud the +beautiful submission and the self-sacrifice of this nameless maiden. To +me it is pitiful and painful. I would that this page of history were +gilded with a dignified whole-souled rebellion. I would have had +daughter receive the father's confession with a stern rebuke, saying: +"I will not consent to such a sacrifice. Your vow must be disallowed. +You may sacrifice your own life as you please, but you have no right +over mine. I am on the threshold of life, the joys of youth and of +middle age are all before me. You are in the sunset; you have had your +blessings and your triumphs; but mine are yet to come. Life is to me +full of hope and of happiness. Better that you die than I, if the God +whom you worship is pleased with the sacrifice of human life. I +consider that God has made me the arbiter of my own fate and all my +possibilities. My first duty is to develop all the powers given to me +and to make the most of myself and my own life. Self-development is a +higher duty than self-sacrifice. I demand the immediate abolition of +the Jewish law on vows. Not with my consent can you fulfill yours." +This would have been a position worthy of a brave woman. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The ideal womanhood portrayed by ancient writers has had by far too +much sway. The prevailing type which permeates all literature is that +of inferiority and subjection. In early times Oriental poets often +likened woman to some clear, flawless jewel, and made them serve simply +as ornaments, while, on the other hand, they were made subordinate by +the legislation of barbarous minds; and men, because of their selfish +passion, have inflicted woe after woe upon them. Ancient literature is +wholly against the equality of the sexes or the rights of women, and +subordinates them in every relation of life. + +The writings of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, are no +exception to this rule. The reference, "The sons of God and daughters +of men," while it admits of many interpolations, legendary or mythical +as it may be, portrays the real animus of the Scriptures. To what +extent the sentiment of the Hebrews favored sons rather than daughters, +and the injustice of this distinction is fully exemplified by the +stories of Abraham and Isaac, and of Jephthah and his daughter. Abraham +was commanded by his God to sacrifice his son Isaac, after the manner +of the Canaanites, who often slew their children and burnt them upon +their altars in honor of their deities. But when all was made ready for +the sacrifice an angel of Jehovah appeared, the hand of Abraham was +stayed, and a ram was made a substitute for the son of promise. + +The conditions were quite different in the case of Jephthah and his +daughter. The Israelites had been brought very low in their contest +with the Ammonites, and they chose the famous warrior, Jephthah, to +lead them against their foe, who with warlike zeal summoned the hosts +to battle. The risk was enormous, the enemy powerful, and the general, +burning for victory, intent on securing the assistance of the Deity, +made a solemn and fatal vow. + +In the first case it was a direct command of God, but means were found +to revoke this explicit command with regard to a son; in the second +case it was only a hasty and unwise promise of a general going to war, +and the prevailing sentiment of the age felt it unnecessary to evade +its fulfillment--the victim was only a girl. The unhappy father must +sacrifice his daughter! + +What a masculine coloring is given to the rest of the narrative: "A +maiden who did not mourn her death, but wandered up and down the +mountain mourning her virginity." So much glamor has been thrown by +poetry and by song, over the sacrifice of this Jewish maiden, that the +popular mind has become too benumbed to perceive its great injustice. +The Iphigenias have been many and are still too numerous to awaken +compassion. We must destroy the root of this false and pernicious +teaching, and plant in its place a just and righteous doctrine. + +What women have to win for the race is a theory of conduct which shall +be more equitable. The unalterable subserviency of woman in her natural +condition can never be overcome and social development progress so long +as there is a lack of distributive justice to every living soul without +discrimination of sex. + + +L. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Judges xiii. + + + +And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, +whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren. + +3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto +her, Behold now, thou art barren; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a +son. + +4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong +drink, and eat not any unclean thing: + +5 For, lo, thou shalt bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: +for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God; and he shall begin to +deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. + +6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came +unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of +God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he +me his name: + +7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt bear a son; and now drink no +wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child +shall be a Nazarite to God to the day of his death. + +8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O try Lord, let the man of +God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we +shall do unto the child that shall be born. + +9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah: and the angel of God came +again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband +was not with her. + +10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said +unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the +other day. + +11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and +said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he +said, I am. + +12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order +the child, and how shall we do unto him? + +13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto +the woman let her beware. + + +We come now to a very interesting incident, giving proof of the +remarkable knowledge which the writers had of some intrinsic laws and +the power of transmission which, even to-day, are known and adhered to +only by a very small minority of wise, thoughtful mothers. However, the +wife of Manoah, the future mother of Samson, is visited by an angel, +giving her instructions as to her way of living during pregnancy. It +appears that the writer was acquainted with some pre-natal influences +and their effect upon the unborn. + +We are just now beginning to investigate the important problem of +child culture. Many good thoughts have been given on this subject by +earnest thinkers. A knowledge of these important laws of life will +do away with the most harassing evils and sins which human flesh is +heir to. Intelligent, free mothers will be enabled to forecast not only +the physical, but also the psychical, traits of their offspring. How +and why this once recognized knowledge was lost we know not. We may, +however, rightly infer that so long as woman was not the arbiter of her +own destiny she had no power to make use of this knowledge. Only the +thoughful, {sic} independent wife can administer the laws and the rules +necessary for her own wellbeing and that of her offspring. Freedom is +the first prerequisite to a noble life. + +Observe how simple and trustful the relation is between this husband +and wife. Manoah is thoughtful and ready to unite with his wife in all +that the angel had commanded. There is no trace of disunion or of +disobedience to the higher law which his wife had been instructed to +follow. To her the law was revealed, and he sustained her in its +observance. Mark, however, one difference from our interpretation of +to-day, and how the omission of it worked out the destruction of the +child. All the injunctions received were of a physical nature; strength +of body and faith in God were to be the attributes through which Samson +was to serve his people. The absence of moral traits is very evident in +Samson; and this is the reason why he fell an easy prey to the wiles of +designing women. It was not moral, but physical heroism which +distinguished Samson from his combatants. Vengeance, cruelty, deceit, +cunning devices were practised not only by the Philistines, but +likewise by the Nazarite. + +The angel who appeared to Manoah's wife was probably her own inner +sense, and the appearance is to be understood rather as a figure of +speech than as an actual occurrence, although there may have been, as +there are to-day, people who were so credulous as to believe that such +things actually occurred. The angel who whispers into our ears is +knowledge, foresight, high motive, ideality, unselfish love. A +conscious attitude towards the ideal still unattained, a lofty standard +of virtue for the coming offspring, an intelligent, pure fatherhood, +and a wise, loving motherhood must take the place of a mysterious, +instinctive trust--the blind faith of the past. C. B. N. + +One would suppose that this woman, so honored of God, worthy to +converse with angels on the most delicate of her domestic relations, +might have had a name to designate her personality instead of being +mentioned merely--as the wife of Manoah or the mother of Samson. I +suppose that it is from these Biblical examples that the wives of this +Republic are known as Mrs. John Doe or Mrs. Richard Roe, to whatever +Roe or Doe she may belong. If she chance to marry two or three times, +the woman's identity is wholly lost. To make this custom more +ludicrous, women sometimes keep the names of two husbands, clinging +only to the maiden name, as Dolly Doe Roe, ignoring her family name, +the father from whom she may have derived all of her talent. Samson's +wife had no name, nor had the second woman on whom he bestowed his +attentions; to the third one is vouchsafed the name of Delilah, but no +family name is mentioned. All three represented one type of character +and betrayed the "consecrated Nazarite," "the canonized judge of +Israel." + +It would be a great blessing to the race, if parents would take heed +to the important lesson taught in the above texts. The nine months of +ante-natal life is the period when the mother can make the deepest +impression in forming future character, when she has absolute power for +weal or for woe over the immortal being. Locke, the philosopher, said, +"Every child is born into the world with a mind like a piece of blank +paper, and we may write thereon whatever we will;" but Descartes said, +"Nay, nay; the child is born with all its possibilities. You can +develop all you find there, but you cannot add genius or power." +"Nascitur, non fit," although our learned blacksmith, Elihu Burritt, +always reversed this motto. E. C. S. + +No body of ecclesiastics has taught the message of the angel of the +Lord to Manoah's wife as a message of direction from the Lord to save +the race from the disastrous results of strong drink and impure food. +And although the degree of enlightenment attained shows that science +and the instructions of the angel to Manoah's wife agree, this +knowledge does not protect the unborn child from the effects of the +use by the mothers of to-day of wine, strong drink and +unclean food. + +Could the light which reveals to the mother what would be a saving +power to her child, be followed carefully by both herself and the +father during ante-natal life, the race would more rapidly be brought +to the full stature of its destined perfection. Not only is physical +endowment available to the child through the wholesome sustenance of +the mother, but the qualities of the higher nature may also be +transmitted, and moral grandeur be an inheritance equally with grand +physical powers. + +The theological teaching that has made human nature depraved and cut +off from the divine source of all perfection, has hindered the +development of the higher faculties of understanding. It has led to a +misapprehension of the creative power of parenthood. From the idea that +the creation of humanity was finished "in the beginning," and that man +fell from his high estate as the image of God, has resulted a +demoralized race. The instruction of the angel to Samson's mother, was +in accord with the dominant spirit that wrought the victories of Israel +over enemies, and the reign of physical force that characterized the +people of that age. + +The woman, having had no experience of motherhood, had not been +subject to the deep soul-stirring that belongs to the mystery of life +in a developed womanhood. Nor did that experience evidently transmit to +Samson a high degree of moral strength. He was but a well developed +physical organism, which the spirit of life could act through without +limitation. He consorted with the harlot, but it was the woman whom he +loved who succeeded in wringing from him the secret of his strength, +and thus the possibility of delivering him to his enemies. + +In the relation of women to this man of might there is illustrated the +dominant characteristics of the purely animal man. The father of +Samson's first wife gave her to another man after Samson had gone in +anger to his father's house, and when he returned and proposed to +resume his conjugal relations, this father proposed that he should take +the younger sister, who "was fairer than she." + +It is a significant suggestion of the quality of the relation that +Samson's first wife (who had also no name of her own) and Delilah, +whom he loved, were both more loyal to their own people, and had more +regard for them, than for the man to whom they had been "given." + + +L. B. C. + + + +Judges xiv. + + + +1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the +daughters of the Philistines. + +2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have +seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now +therefore get her for me to wife. + +3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman +among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou +goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said +unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. + + +So the father and the mother, much against their wishes, went down to +Timnath and secured for Samson the desired wife. He conformed to the +custom of the Philistines; and on the occasion of the nuptial +solemnities he made a great feast, and invited thirty young men to join +in the festivities, which lasted seven days. These feasts were +enlivened with interesting discussions, stories and riddles. Samson +propounded one, with promises of valuable gifts to those who guessed +the riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat, out of the strong came +forth sweetness." + +It seems that on one occasion, being attacked by a lion, Samson, +without any weapon of defense, tore the lion to pieces. Passing the +vineyard some time after, he went in to see if the lion still rested +there; and lo! the skeleton was a hive of bees. He partook freely of +the honey and carried some to his parents. Being proof against the +lion's paws, he had no fear of the bees. Day after day passed, and the +young men could not guess the riddle. So they persuaded the wife to +coax him for the answer, with promises of silver if she succeeded, and +threatenings of wrath if she failed. So, with constant weeping and +doubts of his love, she at last worried the answer out of him, with +promises of secrecy. + +As soon as Samson saw that he was betrayed he sent his wife back to +her father's house, who gave her at once to one of the leaders at the +festivities. As Samson loved the woman, he forgave her, and sought to +bring her back to his own home. The father informed him that he had +already given her to another, and that he might have the younger +daughter, if he chose, who had far more grace and beauty. + +The commentators say that it was very generous in Samson to make this +concession, as he was the party offended. But Samson was himself a +riddle and a paradox of a man. "He saw something in her face which +pleased him well." "He that in the choice of a wife is guided by his +eye, and governed by his fancy, must afterwards blame himself if he +find a Philistine in his arms." It is a great calamity that even able +men are so easily influenced by weak and wicked women to do what they +know is dangerous; and yet they feel it a disparagement to follow the +advice of a good wife in what is virtuous and praiseworthy. + +Samson was most unfortunate in all his associations with women. It is +a pity that the angel who impressed on his parents the importance of +considering everything that pertained to the physical development of +the child, had not made some suggestions to them as to the formation of +his moral character. Even his physical prowess was not used by him for +any great purpose. To kill a lion, to walk off with the gates of the +city, to catch three hundred foxes and to tie them together by their +tails two by two, with firebrands to burn the cornfields and the +vineyards--all this seems more like the frolics of a boy, than the +military tactics of a great general or the statesmanship of a judge in +Israel. + +Samson does not seem to have learned wisdom from experience in his +dealings with women. He foolishly trusted another woman, "whose face +pleased him," with the secret of his great strength, which she, too, +worried out of him with tears and doubts of his affection. For the +betrayal of his secret the Philistines paid her eleven hundred pieces +of silver. + +In the last act of this complicated tragedy, it is said that Samson at +his death killed more people than in all his life before. After Delilah +betrayed him into the hands of the Philistines, they put out his eyes, +and left him to grind in the prison house. As was their custom, they +brought him out to make sport for the people assembled in a spacious +building. As his hair had begun to grow, he braced himself against the +door posts, overturned the building, and killed all of its occupants, +and himself, gladly ending his own sad life. + +The name Delilah is fitly used to describe those who with flattery +bring destruction on those whom they pretend to love. Many a strong man +has been slain by this type of designing woman. Commentators do not +agree as to whether Delilah was an Israelite or a Philistine, probably +the latter, as Samson seemed to be more pleased with the women of that +tribe than with those of his own. One hesitates to decide which is most +surprising--Samson's weakness or Delilah's wickedness. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The writer of the Book of Judges would fail in his endeavor to present +a complete picture of his time, did he omit the important +characteristic of a woman and her influence upon man therein portrayed. + +In Delilah, the treacherous, the sinister, the sensuous side of woman +is depicted. Like Vivian, in the Idyls of King Arthur, Delilah uses-- +nay, abuses--the power which she had gained over Samson by virtue of +her beauty and her personal attractions. She uses these personal gifts +for a sinister purpose. They serve her as a snare to beguile the man +whose lust she had aroused. + +What a lesson this story teaches to men as well as to women! Let man +overcome the lust of his eyes and prostitution will die a natural +death. Let woman beware that her influence is of the purest and +highest; let her spiritual nature be so attractive that man will be +drawn toward it. Forever "the eternal womanly draweth man" onward and +upward. Soul unity will become the rule when the same chastity and +purity are demanded of the sexes alike. Woman's chastity is never +secure as long as there are two standards of morality. + + +C. B. N. + + + +"Colonial days" is the felicitous term given by Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott to +the period of nearly three centuries following the campaign against the +inhabitants of Canaan, when the Israelites took possession of their +land. The Book of, Judges is a record of those "colonial days;" and they +are described also in the first part of the book which bears the name of +the prophet Samuel. During those Hebrew "colonial days," as Dr. Abbott +states, "there was no true Capital--indeed, no true Nation. There were a +variety of separate provinces, having almost as little common life as +had the American colonies before the formation of the Constitution of +the United States. In war these colonies united; in peace they separated +from each other again." + +But in one thing they were united. They clung to the teachings of +their great law-giver, Moses, and emphasized a belief in one righteous +God. Whether expressed by priestly ritual or in prophetic declaration, +the truth was clearly revealed that the Jews were a people who +worshiped one God, and that they accorded to Him the attribute of +righteousness. He was a sovereign, but a just one. And to this belief +they clung tenaciously, believing themselves justified in conquering +the nations about them, because their God was the only ruler. + +The Book of Judges contains the record of many harrowing events; but +what besides savagery can be expected of a warring people whose Deity +is invoked as the "God of battles," and who believed themselves +Divinely commissioned to drive other tribes from off the face of the +earth! The book is as sensational as are our newspapers; and if each +chapter and verse were illustrated as are the papers of what is termed +the "New journalism," they would present an appearance of striking and +painful similarity. + +The fate of Adoni-besek, an example of retributive justice; the +treacherous act of the left-handed Ehud, causing the death of the fat +King Eglon of Moab; the inhospitable cruelty--or cruel inhospitality-- +of Jael, the wife of Heber, whose hammer and nail are welded fast in +historical narration with the brow of the sleeping guest, Sisera, the +captain of Jabin's army; the famous exploits of Gideon who, if he was a +superior strategist and warrior, gave little evidence, by his seventy +sons, of his morality according to Christian standards; the death of +Abimelech, which was half suicidal lest it should be said that a +woman's hand had slain him; these, and more also of the same sort, +leave the impression on the mind that those "colonial days" of the +Hebrew nation were far from days of peace or of high morality; and the +record of them is certainly as unfit for the minds of children +and of youth as are the illustrated and graphic accounts of many unholy +acts which are to found in our daily newspapers. + +General Weyler, in his Cuban warfare, has, in many respects, a +prototype in General Gideon, and also in General Jephthah, "a mighty +man of valor" and "the son of a harlot," as the author of the Book of +Judges declares him to have been. We deprecate the savage butchery of +the one--what ought we to say of the renown of the others? War is +everywhere terrible, and "deeds of violence and of blood" are sad +reminders of the imperfections of mankind. The men of those "colonial +days" were far from being patterns of excellence; and the women +"matched the men," in most instances. Deborah, as a "mother in Israel," +won deserved renown, so that her song of victory is even now rehearsed, +but it is a query that can have but one answer, whether her anthem of +triumph is not a musical rehearsal of treacherous and warlike deeds, +unworthy of a woman's praise? + +In the Book of judges Delilah appears, and if the mother of her strong +lover, Samson, was not a perfect woman, in the modern sense, she has +helped to make some readers feel that the law of heredity is a revealer +of secrets, and that the story of the angel of the Lord may be received +with due caution. The name "Delilah" has become a synonym for a woman +tempting to sin, and the moral weakness and physical strength of Samson +show the power of heredity. But whether the stories should be in the +hands of our youth, without sufficient explanation and wise +commentaries, is a question which coming days will solve to the extent +of a wise elimination. Solemn lessons, and those of moral import, are +given in the Book of Judges; yet, as a whole, the book does not leave +one with an exalted opinion of either the men or the women of those +days. But it certainly gives no evidence that in shrewdness, in a wise +adaptation of means to ends, in a persistent effort after desired +objects, in a successful accomplishment of plans and purposes, the +women were the inferiors of the men in that age. They appear to have +been their equals, and occasionally their superiors. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF RUTH. + + + +Ruth i. + + + +1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there +was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem--Judah went to +sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. + +2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife +Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion. And they came +into the country of Moab, and continued there. + +3 And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two +sons. + +4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one +was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about +ten years. + +5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was +left of her two sons and her husband. + +6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from +the country of Moab; for she had heard in the country of Moab how that +the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. + +7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two +daughters in law with her. + +8 And Naomi said unto her daughters in law, Go, return each to her +mother's house; + +The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and +with me. + +10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy +people. + +14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept: and Orpah kissed her +mother in law; but Ruth clave to her. + +15 And he said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her +people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. + +16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee: for whither thou +goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people +shall be my people, and thy God my God: + +19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to +pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved +about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? + +20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the +Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. + +21 I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why +then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and +the Almighty hath afflicted me. + +22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, +with her. + + +Commentators differ as to the exact period when this book was written +and as to the judge who ruled Israel at that time. + +It must have been, however, in the beginning of the days when the +judges ruled, as Boaz, who married Ruth, was the son of Rahab, who +protected the spies in Joshua's reign. Some say that it was in the +reign of Deborah. Tradition says that the "Messiah was descended from +two Gentile maidens, Rahab and Ruth, and that Ruth was the daughter of +Eglon, King of Moab; but this is denied, as Boaz, whom Ruth married, +judged Israel two hundred years after Eglon's death. However widely the +authorities differ as to Ruth's genealogical tree, they all agree that +she was a remarkably sincere, refined, discreet maiden, a loving +daughter and an honored wife." + +Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, is severely criticised by Biblical +writers for leaving his people and his country when in distress and +seeking his fortune among the heathen Moabites, thus leading his sons +into the temptation of taking strange wives. They say that the speedy +deaths of the father and the sons were a proof of God's disapprobation. +Naomi manifested such remarkable goodness and wisdom as a widow, that +one wonders that she did not use her influence to keep her husband in +his native land to share the trials of his neighbors. + +The tender friendship between Ruth and Naomi, so unusual with a mother- +in-law, has been celebrated in poetry, in prose and in art the world +round. The scene between Naomi and her daughters in parting was most +affectionate. As soon as Naomi decided to return to her own country, +her daughters assisted her in making the necessary preparations. Ruth +secretly made her own, having decided to go with Naomi to the land of +Judea. + +When the appointed day arrived, mounted on three gray jackasses, they +departed. A few miles out Naomi proposed to rest by the roadside and to +say farewell, and, after thanking them for all the love and kindness +they had shown her, advised them to go no farther, but return to their +home in that land of plenty. She told them frankly that she had no home +luxuries to offer, life with her would for them be poverty and +privation in a strange land, and she was not willing that they should +sacrifice all the pleasures of their young lives for her. Sad and +lonely with the loss of their husbands, parting with Naomi seemed to +intensify their grief. United in a common sorrow, the three women stood +gazing in silence into each other's faces, until Naomi, with her usual +self-control and common sense, again pointed out to them all the +hardships involved in the change which they proposed. + +Her words made a deep impression on Orpah. She hesitated, and at last +decided to abide by Naomi's advice; but not so with Ruth. Naomi had a +peculiar magnetic attraction for her, a charm stronger than kindred, +country or ease. Her expressions of steadfast friendship in making her +decision were so tender and sincere that they have become household +words. She said: "Entreat me not to leave thee; for whither thou goest +I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my +people, and thy God my God; where thou diest will I die, and there will +I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death +part thee and me." (These words are on a bronze tablet on the stone +over the grave of Robert Louis Stevenson at Samoa.) + +Having bade farewell to Orpah, they journeyed together and made a home +for themselves in Bethlehem. Naomi owned a small house, lot and spring +of water on the outskirts of the town. After a few days of rest, Ruth +said to Naomi, I must not sit here with folded hands, nor spend my time +in visiting neighbors, nor in search of amusement, but I must go forth +to work, to provide food and clothes, and leave thee to rest. As it was +the season for the wheat and barley harvests, Ruth heard that laborers +were needed in the fields. It was evident that Ruth believed in the +dignity of labor and of self-support. She thought, no doubt, that every +one with a sound mind in a sound body and two hands should earn her own +livelihood. She threw her whole soul into her work and proved a +blessing to her mother. So Naomi consented that she might go and glean +in the fields with other maidens engaged in that work. + +When Naomi was settled in Bethlehem she remembered that she had a rich +kinsman, Boaz, whose name means strength, a man of great wealth as well +as wisdom. Ruth was employed in the field of Boaz; and in due time he +took note of the fair maiden from Moab. In harvest time he needed many +extra hands, and he came often among the reapers to see how the work +went forward. He heard such good accounts of Ruth's industry, dignity +and discretion that he ordered his men to make her work as easy as +possible, to leave plenty for her to glean and to carry home in the +evening. This she often sold on the way, and bought something which +Naomi needed. + +Naomi and Ruth enjoyed their evenings together. Naomi did not spend +the day in idleness either. She had her spinning-wheel and loom to +make their garments; she worked also in her garden, raising vegetables, +herbs and chickens; and they talked over their day's labor as they +enjoyed their simple supper of herb tea, bread and watercresses. Their +menu was oft times more tempting, thanks to Ruth's generous purchases +on her way home. Being busy, practical women, their talk during the +evening was chiefly on "ways and means;" they seldom rose to the higher +themes of pedagogics and psychology, subjects so familiar in the clubs +of American women. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Ruth ii. + + + +1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of +the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. + +2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, +and glean cars of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And +she said unto her, Go, my daughter. + +4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem . . . + +7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers +among the sheaves: so she came. + +8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to +glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by +my maidens: . . . . It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast +done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband; and how +thou hast left thy father and thy mother. + +19 And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned +to-day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge +of thee . . . . And Ruth said, the man's name is Boaz . . . . And Naomi +said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. + + +It was a custom among the Israelites, in order to preserve their own +line, that the nearest kinsman should marry the young widow on whom +their hopes depended. So when Naomi remembered that Boaz was her +kinsman, and that as age made marriage with her undesirable, Ruth would +be the proper person to fill her place. With great tact on their part +Naomi's wishes were accomplished. + +Boaz was the son of Salmon and Rahab, and according to the Chaldee was +not only a mighty man in wealth but also in wisdom, a most rare and +excellent conjunction. Boaz was of the family of Elimelech, of which +Ruth, by marriage, was a part also. Moreover, as she had adopted the +country of Naomi and was a proselyte to her faith, her marriage with +Boaz was in accordance with Jewish custom. Naomi was told by the spirit +of prophecy, says the Chaldee, that from her line should descend six +of the most righteous men of the age, namely, David, Daniel, his three +compeers and the King Messiah. + +Commentators say that Boaz was probably himself one of the elders, or +the aldermen, of the city, and that he went up to the gates as one +having authority, and not as a common person. They say that Ruth was +neither rich nor beautiful, but a poor stranger, "whose hard work in +the fields" had withered her "lilies and roses." But Boaz had heard her +virtue and dignity extolled by all who knew her. The Chaldee says, +"house and riches are the inheritance from fathers; but a prudent wife +is more valuable than rubies and is a special gift from heaven." Boaz +prized Ruth for her virtues, for her great moral qualities of head and +heart. He did not say like Samson, when his parents objected to his +choice, "her face pleaseth me." + +In narrating the story of Ruth and Naomi to children they invariably +ask questions of interest, to which the sacred fabulist gives no +answer. They always ask if Ruth and Naomi had no pets when living +alone, before Obed made his appearance. If the modern historian may be +allowed to wander occasionally outside of the received text, it may be +said undoubtedly that they had pets, as there is nothing said of cats +and dogs and parrots, but frequent mention of doves, kids and lambs, we +may infer that in these gentle innocents they found their pets. No +doubt Providence softened their solitude by providing them with +something on which to expend their mother love. + + + +Ruth iv. + + + +1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, +the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said, He, such a +one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. + +2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down +here. + +3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the +country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother +Elimelech's: + +4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the +inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem +it, redeem it; but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may +know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. +And he said, I will redeem it. + +5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, +thou must buy it also of Ruth the wife of the dead, to raise up the +name of the dead upon his inheritance. + +6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine +own inheritance; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot. + + +Boaz was one of the district judges, and he held his court in the town +hall over the gates of Bethlehem. The kinsman who was summoned to +appear there and to settle the case readily agreed to the proposal of +Boaz to fill his place, as he was already married. He was willing to +take the land; but as the widow and the land went together, according +to the Jewish law of inheritance, Boaz was in a position to fill the +legal requirements; and as he loved Ruth, he was happy to do so. Ruth +was summoned to appear before the grave and reverend seigniors; the +civil pledges were made and the legal documents duly signed. The +reporter is silent as to the religious observances and the marriage +festivities. They were not as vigilant and as satisfying as are the +skilled reporters of our day, who have the imagination to weave a +connected story and to give to us all the hidden facts which we desire +to know. Our reporters would have told us how, when and where Ruth was +married, what kind of a house Boaz had, how Ruth was dressed, etc., +etc., whereas we are left in doubt on all of these points. + +The historian does vouchsafe to give to us further information on the +general feeling of the people. They all joined in the prayer of the +elders that the Lord would "make the woman that is come into thine +house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of +Israel;" they prayed for Boaz that he might be more famous and +powerful; they prayed for the wife that she might be a blessing in the +house, and the husband in the public business of the town; that all of +their children might be faithful in the church, and their descendants +be as numerous as the sands of the sea. + +In due time one prayer was answered, and Ruth bore a son. Naomi loved +the child and shared in its care. But Ruth said: "The, love of Naomi is +more to me than that of seven sons could be." Naomi was a part of +Ruth's household to the day of her death and shared all of her luxuries +and her happiness. + +The child's name was Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. +The name Obed signifies one who serves. The motto of the Prince of +Wales is (ich dien) "I serve." It is to be hoped that Obed was more +profoundly interested in the problems of industrial economics than the +Prince seems to be, and that he spent a more useful and practical life. +If the Bethlehem newspapers had been as enterprising as our journals +they would have given us some pictorial +representations of Obed on Naomi's lap, or at the baptismal font, or in +the arms of Boaz, who, like Napoleon, stood contemplating in silence +his firstborn. + +Some fastidious readers object to the general tenor of Ruth's +courtship. But as her manners conformed to the customs of the times, +and as she followed Naomi's instructions implicitly, it is fair to +assume that Ruth's conduct was irreproachable. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF SAMUEL. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +1 Samuel i. + + + +1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, +and his name was Elkanah. + +2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name +of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no +children. + +3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to +sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. + +4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his +wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: + +5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah; but +Peninnah mocked her. + +7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the +Lord; so she provoked her, therefore she wept, and did not eat. + +8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and +why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to +thee than ten sons? Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the +temple of the Lord. + +10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and +wept sore. + +11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed +look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and wilt give unto me a man +child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. + +17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the God of Israel +grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she bare a +son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of +the Lord. + +26 And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, I am the woman that +stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. + +27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition +which I asked of him. + +28 Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord, as long as he liveth. + + +These books contain the history of the last two of the judges of +Israel. Eli and Samuel were not as the rest, men of war, but priests. +It is uncertain who wrote these books. Some say that Samuel wrote the +history of his times, and that Nathan the Prophet continued it. +Elkanah, though a godly man, had sore family trials, the result of +having married two wives, just as Abraham and Jacob did before him. It +is probable that Elkanah married Hannah from pure love; but she had no +children, and as at that time every man had great pride in building up +a family, he married Peninnah, who bare him children, but in other +respects was a constant vexation. + +Peninnah was haughty and insolent because she had children, while +Hannah was melancholy and discontented because she had none, hence +Elkanah had no pleasure in his daily life with either. He had a +difficult part to act. Hoping much from the consolations of religion, +he took his wives and children annually up to the temple of the Lord in +Shiloh to worship. Being of a devout spiritual nature, he thought that +worshiping at the same altar must produce greater harmony between his +wives. But Penninah {sic} became more peevish and provoking, and Hannah +more silent and sorrowful, weeping most of the time. Elkanah's love and +patience with Hannah was beautiful to behold. He paid her every +possible attention and gave her valuable gifts. + +Appreciating his own feelings, he said to her one day in an exuberant +burst of devotion, "Am I not more to thee than ten sons?" He made peace +offerings to the Lord, gave Hannah the choice bits at the table, but +all his delicate attentions made Hannah more melancholy and Peninnah +more rebellious. He and Hannah continued to, pray earnestly to the Lord +to remove her reproach, and their prayers were at last answered. + +Eli was presiding at the temple one day when he noticed Hannah in a +remote corner wrestling in prayer with the Lord. Though her manner was +intense, and her lips moved, he heard no sound, and inferred that she +was intoxicated. Hannah, hearing of his suspicion, said, that naught +but the debauchery of his own sons could have made such a suspicion +possible. But Eli made atonement for his rash, unfriendly censure by a +kind of fatherly benediction. With all these adverse winds in this +visit to Shiloh, Elkanah must have felt as if his family had been +possessed by the spirit of evil. When the sons of God come "to present +themselves before the Lord, Satan will be seen to come also." Peninnah +behaved worse during these religious festivities because she saw more +of Elkanah's devotion to Hannah. Hannah became more sad because she was +losing faith in prayer. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." + +An endless discord in the harmony of the family joys was a puzzling +problem for the sweet tempered Elkanah. But the ever-turning wheel of +fortune brought peace and prosperity to his domestic altar at last. +Hannah bore a son and named him Samuel, which signifies +"heard of the Lord," or given by the Lord. Hannah was very modest in +her petition; she said, "O Lord, give me a son," while Rachel said, +"give me children." + +The one sorrow which overtopped all others with these Bible women was +in regard to children. If they had none, they made everybody miserable. +If they had children, they fanned the jealousies of one for the other. +See how Rebekah deceived Isaac and defrauded Esau of his birthright. +The men, instead of appealing to the common sense of the women, join in +constant prayer for the Lord to do what was sometimes impossible. + +Hannah in due time took Samuel up to the temple at Shiloh. In +presenting Samuel to Eli the priest she reminded him that she was the +woman on whom he passed the severe comment; but now she came to present +the child the Lord had given to her. She offered three bullocks, one +for each year of his life, one for a burnt offering, one for a sin +offering and one for a peace offering. So Hannah dedicated him wholly +to the Lord and left him in Shiloh to be educated with the sons of the +priests. Although Samuel was Hannah's only child and dearly loved, she +did not hesitate to keep her vow unto the Lord. + + + +I. Samuel ii. + + + +11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister +unto the Lord before Eli the priest. + +18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a +linen ephod. + +19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him +from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the +yearly sacrifice. + +20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. And they went unto their own +home. + +21 And Hannah bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel +grew before the Lord. + + +The historians and commentators dwell on the fact that Hannah made her +son "a little coat," and brought one annually. It is more probable that +she brought to him a complete suit of clothes once in three months, +especially trousers, if those destined to service in the temple were +allowed to join in any sports. Even devotional genuflections are severe +on that garment, which must have often needed Hannah's care. Her virtue +and wisdom as a mother were in due time rewarded by five other +children, three sons and two daughters. + +And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Saul was made king +at the request of the people. The ark of the Lord fell into the hands +of the Philistines. This event, with the death of Eli and his sons, had +most tragic results, viz., in the killing of thirty thousand people and +the death of the wife of Phinehas, who was said to have been a woman of +gracious spirit, though the wife of a wicked husband. Her grief for the +death of her husband and father-in-law proved her strong natural +affection, but her much greater concern for the loss of the ark of the +Lord was an evidence of her devout affection to God. Her dying words, +"the glory has departed from Israel," show that her last thought was of +her religion. She named her son Ichabod, whose premature birth was the +result of many calamities, both public and private, crowning all with +the great battle with the Philistines. Samuel was the last judge of +Israel. As the people clamored for a king, Saul was chosen to rule over +them. The women joined in the festivities of the occasion with music +and dancing. + + + +1 Samuel xviii. + + + +6 And it came to pass when David was returned from the slaughter of +the Philistines that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, +singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets and instruments of +music. + +7 And the women answered one another a--, they played, and said, Saul +hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. + +8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, +They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have +ascribed but thousands; and what can he have more than the kingdom? + + +It was the custom among women to celebrate the triumphs of their +warriors after a great battle in spectacular performances. Decked with +wreaths, they danced down the public streets, singing the songs of +victory in praise of their great leaders. They were specially +enthusiastic over David, the chorus, "Saul hath killed his thousands, +but David his ten thousands," chanted with pride by beautiful maidens +and wise matrons, stirred the very soul of Saul to deadly jealousy, and +he determined to suppress David in some way or to kill him outright. It +is not probable that any of these battle hymns, so much admired, +emanated from the brain of woman; the blood and thunder style shows +clearly that they were all written by the pen of a warrior, long after +the women of their respective tribes +were at rest in Abraham's bosom. + +David was a general favorite; even the Philistines admired his courage +and modesty. The killing of Goliath impressed the people generally that +David was the chosen of the Lord to succeed Saul as King of Israel. + +But on the heels of his triumphs David's troubles soon began. Saul was +absorbed in plotting and in planning how to circumvent David, and +looked with jealousy on the warm friendship maturing between him and +his son Jonathan. + + +17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab; her will I +give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord's +battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand +of the Philistines be upon him. + +18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my +father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? + +19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should +have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel, the +Meholathite, to wife. + +20 And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and +the thing pleased him. + +21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, +and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul +said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the +twain. + +22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David +secretly, and say, Behold the king hath delight in thee, and all his +servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law. + +24 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And +David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, +seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? + +28 And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that +Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. + + +Saul thought if he could get David to marry his daughter he would make +her a snare to entrap him. He promised David his daughter, and then +married her to another to provoke him to some act of violence, that he +might have an excuse for whatever he chose to do. But when Saul offered +to give him Michal, David modestly replied that he belonged to a humble +shepherd family and was not worthy to be the son-in-law of a king. + +In due time David did marry Michal, who loved him and proved a +blessing rather than a snare. On one occasion when Saul had made secret +plans to capture David, Michal with her diplomacy saved him. Saul +surrounded his house with guards and ordered them to kill David the +moment he appeared in the morning. Michal, seeing their preparations, +knew their significance, and at night, when all was still, she let +David down through a window and told him to flee. In the morning, as +David did not appear, they searched the house. Michal told them that +David was ill and in bed. She had covered the head of a wooden image +with goat's hair and tucked the supposed David up snug and warm. The +guards would not wake a sick man in order to kill him, and they +reported what they saw to Saul, but he ordered them to return and to +bring David, sick or well. + +When Saul found that he had escaped, he was very wroth and upbraided +Michal for her disrespect to him. Though she had saved the man she +loved, yet she marred her noble deed by saying that David would have +killed her if he suspected she had connived with her father to kill +him. But alas! the poor woman was between two fires--the husband whom +she loved on one side, and the father whom she feared on the other. +Most of the women in the Bible seem to have been in a quandary the +chief part of the time. + +Saul made a special war on the soothsayers and the fortunetellers, +because they were divining evil things of him. But losing faith in +himself and embittered by many troubles, be went to the witch of Endor +to take counsel with Samuel, hoping to find more comfort with the dead +than with the living. The witch recognized him and asked him why he +came to her, having so cruelly persecuted her craft. However, she +summoned Samuel at his request, who told him that on the morrow, in the +coming battle with the Philistines, he and his sons would be slain by +the enemy. When the witch saw Saul's grief and consternation she begged +him to eat, placing some tempting viands before him, which he did, and +then hastened to depart while it was yet dark, that he might not be +seen coming from such a house. Commentators say it was not Samuel who +appeared, but Satan in the guise of the prophet, as he especially +enjoys all psychical mysteries. Josephus extols the witch for her +courtesy, and Saul for his courage in going forth to the battle on the +next day to meet his doom. + +The poet says that the heart from love to one grows bountiful to all. +This seems to have been the case with David as he adds wife to wife, +Michal, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess. His +meeting with Abigail in the hills of Carmel was quite romantic. + +She made an indelible impression on his heart, and as soon as her +husband was gathered to his fathers David at once proposed and was +accepted. Though the women who attracted David were "beautiful to look +upon," yet they had great qualities of head and heart, and he seemed +equally devoted to all of them. When carried off captives in war he +made haste to recapture them. Michal's steadfastness seems questionable +at one or two points of her career, but the historian does not let us +into the secret recesses of her feelings. + +David's time and thoughts seem to have been equally divided between +the study of government and social ethics, and he does not appear very +wise in either. His honor shines brighter in his psalms than in his +ordinary, everyday life. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +1 Samuel xxv. + + + +2 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and +the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand +goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. + +3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; +and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful +countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings. + +4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. + +5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, +Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: + +6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be +both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that +thou hast. + +8 . . . Give, I pray thee, whatsover cometh to thine hand unto thy +servants. + +10 And Nabal said, Who is David? and--who is the son of Jesse? + +11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have +killed for my shearers, and give unto men, whom I know not whence they +be? + +12 So David's young men came and told him all these sayings. + +13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword; and +David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about +four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff. + +14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, +Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our +master; and he railed on them. + +18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two +bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of +parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cases +of figs, and laid them on asses. + +23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, +and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. + +25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even +Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is +with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom +thou didst send. + +32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which +sent thee this day to meet me: + +35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and +said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; + +38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote +Nabal, that he died. + +39 . . . And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him +to wife. + +41 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five +damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers +of David, and became his wife. + + +The chief business of the women in the reigns of Kings Saul and David +seems to have been to rescue men from the craft and the greed of each +other. The whole interest in this story of Nabal centres in the tact of +Abigail in saving their lives and possessions from threatened +destruction, owing to the folly and the ignorance of her husband. His +name, Nabal, signifying folly, describes his character. + +It is a wonder that his parents should have given to him such a name, +and a greater wonder that Abigail should have married him. He inherited +Caleb's estate; but he was far from inheriting his virtues. His wealth +was great; but he was a selfish, snarling cynic. Abigail's name +signifies "the joy of her father;" but he could not have promised +himself much joy in her, caring more for the wealth than for the wisdom +of her husband. Many a child is thus thrown away--married to worldly +wealth and to nothing else which is desirable. Wisdom is good with an +inheritance; but an inheritance without wisdom is good for nothing. +Many an Abigail is tied to a Nabal; but even if they have her +understanding they will find it hard enough to fill such a relation. + +David and his men were returning from Samuel's funeral through the +wilderness of Paran and were in sore need of provisions, and knowing +that Nabal had immense wealth, and, moreover, that it was the season +for sheep shearing, David thought that he would be happy to place the +king under obligations to him, and was surprised to find him so +disloyal. Abigail, however, appreciated the situation, and by her +courtesy and her generosity made amends for the rudeness of her +husband. She did not stop to parley with him, but hastened to meet the +king with the needed provisions. She wasted no words of excuse for +Nabal, but spoke of him with marked contempt. Her conduct would have +shocked the Apostle who laid such stress on the motto, "Wives, obey +your husbands." "What little reason we have to value the wealth of this +world," says the historian, "when such a churl as Nabal abounds in +plenty, while such a saint as David suffers want." + +David sent to him most gracious messages; but he replied in his usual +gruff manner, "Who is David, that I should share with him my riches? +What care I for the son of Jesse?" The servant did not return to Nabal +with David's outburst of wrath nor his resolution of vengeance; but he +told all to Abigail, who made haste to avert the threatened danger. She +did what she saw was to be done, quickly. Wisdom in such a case was +better than weapons of war. + +Nabal begrudged the king and his retinue water; but Abigail gave them +two casks of wine and all sorts of provisions in abundance. She +met David on the march big with resentment, meditating the destruction +of Nabal. But Abigail by her humility completely disarmed the king. +With great respect and complaisance she urges him to lay all of the +blame on her; and to attribute Nabal's faults to his want of wit, born +simple, not spiteful. Abigail puts herself in the attitude of a humble +petitioner. + +David received all that Abigail brought him with many thanks. It is +evident from the text that she gave to him many of the delicacies from +her larder. Ten days after this Nabal died. David immediately sent +messengers to Abigail asking her to be his wife. She readily accepted, +as David had made a deep impression on her heart. So, with her five +damsels, all mounted on white jackasses, she accompanied the messengers +to the king and became his wife. + +The Hebrew mythology does not gild the season of courtship and +marriage with much sentiment or romance. The transfer of a camel or a +donkey from one owner to another, no doubt, was often marked with more +consideration than that of a daughter. One loves a faithful animal long +in our possession and manifests more grief in parting than did these +Hebrew fathers in giving away their daughters, or than the daughters +did in leaving their family, their home or their country. + +We have no beautiful pictures of lovers sitting in shady groves, +exchanging their tributes of love and of friendship, their hopes and +fears of the future; no temples of knowledge where philosophers and +learned matrons discussed great questions of human destiny, such as +Greek mythology gives to us; Socrates and Plato, learning wisdom at the +feet of the Diametias of their times, give to us a glimpse of a more +exalted type of womanhood than any which the sacred fabulists have +vouchsafed thus far. + + + +2 Samuel iii. + + + +2 And unto David were sons born 'n Hebron: and his firstborn was +Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess: + +3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; +and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of +Geshur: + +4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, +Shephatiah the son of Abital; + +5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to +David in Hebron. + + +The last is called David's wife, his only rightful wife, Michal. It +was a fault in David, say the commentators, thus to multiply wives +contrary to Jewish law. It was a bad example to his successors. Men who +make the laws should not be the first to disobey them. None of his sons +was famous, but three were infamous, due in part to their father's +nature and example. + + +14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was +girded with a linen ephod. + +15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord +with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. + +16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal +Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and +dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. + +20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter +of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of +Israel to-day, who uncovered himself in the eyes of his servants, as +one of the vain fellows. + +21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me +before thy father. + + +Michal, like Abigail, does not seem to have been overburdened with +conjugal respect. She was so impatient to let the king know how he +appeared in her sight that she could not wait at home, but went out to +meet him. She even questions the wisdom of such a parade over the ark, +and tells the king that it would have been better to leave it where it +had been hidden for years. + +Neither Michal nor Abigail seem to have made idols of their husbands; +they did not even consult them as to what they should think, say or do. +They furnish a good example to wives to use their own judgment and to +keep their own secrets, not make the family altar a constant +confessional. + + + +2 Samuel xi. + + + +2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his +bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and saw a woman +washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. + +3 And David sent and inquired after her. And one said, Is not this +Bath-she-ba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? + +4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him. + +6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab +sent Uriah to David. + +7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab +did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. + +9 And Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the +servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. + +14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to +Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. + +15 And he wrote in the letter saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of +the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and +die. + +16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned +Uriah unto a place where he knew that +valiant men were. + +26 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there +fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite +died also. + +16 And when the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she +mourned for her husband. + +27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his +house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that +David had done displeased the Lord. + + +This book contains but little in regard to women. What is worthy of +mention in the story of Bath-sheba is finished in the following book. +David's first vision of her is such a reflection on his honor that, +from respect to the "man after the Lord's own heart," we pass it in +silence. + +David's social ethics were not quite up to the standard even of his +own times. It is said that he was a master of his pen as well as of his +sword. His poem on the death of Saul and Jonathan has been much praised +by literary critics. But, alas! David was not able to hold the Divine +heights which he occasionally attained. As in the case of Bath-sheba, +he remained where he could see her; instead of going with his army to +Jerusalem to attend to his duties as King of Israel and general of the +army, he delegated them to others. Had he been at his post he would +have been out of the way of temptation. He used to pray three times a +day, not only at morning and evening, but at noon also. It is to be +feared than on this day he forgot his devotions and thought only of +Bath-sheba. + +Uriah, the husband of Bath-sheba, was one of David's soldiers, a man +of strict honor and virtue. To get rid of him for a season, David sent +him with a message to one of the officers at Jerusalem, telling him +that in the next battle to place Uriah in the front rank that he might +distinguish himself. Uriah was a poor man and tenderly loved his wife. +He little knew the fatal contents of the letter which he carried. When +Joab received the letter, he took it for granted that he was guilty of +some crime and that the king wished him to be punished. So Joab obeyed +the king and Uriah was killed. In due time all this was known, and +filled the people with astonishment and greatly displeased the Lord. + +It is to be hoped that he did not commune with God during this period of +humiliation or pen any psalms of praise for His goodness and mercy. He +married Bath-sheba, and she bore him a son and called his name Solomon. +But this did not atone for his sin. "His heart was sad, his soul," says +a commentator, "was like a tree in winter which has life in the root +only." + + + +2 Samuel xii. + + + +And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said +unto him: There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other +poor. + + +2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds; + +3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had +bought and nourished: and it grew up together with him, and with his +children: it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay +in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. + +4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take +of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man, +but took the poor man's lamb and dressed it. + +5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said +to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall +surely die: + +6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing. + +7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God +of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out +of the hand of Saul; + +9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil +in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and +hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword +of the children of Ammon. + +10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; +because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the +Hittite to be thy wife. + + +And the Lord said unto Nathan the Prophet, David's faithful friend, +"Go thou and instruct and counsel him." Nathan judiciously gives his +advice in the form of a parable, on which David gives his judgment as +to the sin of the chief actor and denounces him in unmeasured terms, +and says that he should be punished with death--"he shall surely die." +David did not suspect the bearing of the fable until Nathan applied it, +and, to David's surprise and consternation, said, "Thou art the man." + +Uriah the Hittite had but "one little ewe lamb," one wife whom he +loved as his own soul, while King David had many; yet he robbed Uriah +of all that he had and made him carry his own message of death to Joab, +the general of the army, who gave to him the most dangerous place in +the battle, and, as the king desired, he was killed. + +When the king first recalled Uriah from the field, Uriah went not to his +own house, as he suspected foul play, having heard that Bath-sheba often +appeared at court. Both the king and Bath-sheba urged him to go to his +own house; but he went not. Bath-sheba had been to him all that was pure +and beautiful in woman, and he could not endure even the suspicion of +guilt in her. He understood the king's plans, and probably welcomed +death, as without Bath-sheba's love, life had no joy for him. But to be +transferred from the cottage of a poor soldier to the palace of a king +was a sufficient compensation for the loss of the love of a true and +faithful man. + +This was one of the most cruel deeds of David's life, marked with so +many acts of weakness and of crime. He was ruled entirely by his +passions. Reason had no sway over him. Fortunately, the development of +self-respect and independence in woman, and a higher idea of individual +conscience and judgment in religion and in government, have supplied +the needed restraint for man. Men will be wise and virtuous just in +proportion as women are self-reliant and able to meet them on the +highest planes of thought and of action. + +No magnet is so powerful as that which draws men and women to each +other. Hence they rise or fall together. This is one lesson which the +Bible illustrates over and over--the degradation of woman degrades man +also. "Her face pleaseth me," said Samson, who, although he could +conquer lions, was like putty in the hands of women. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF KINGS. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +1 Kings i. + + + +11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, +saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth +reign. Go . . . unto King David, and say unto him, Didst thou not swear +unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign +after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then doth Adonijah reign? + +15 And Bath-sheba went in unto the king. . . . And the king said, What +wouldst thou? + +17 And she said unto him, Thou swarest unto thine handmaid, saying, +Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon +my throne. + +18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth. + +22 And lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also +came in. + +21 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall +reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? + +28 Then King David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came +and stood before the king. + +29 And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that bath +redeemed my soul out of all distress, + +30 Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, +Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon +my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. + +31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence +to the king, and said, Let my lord, King David, live for ever. + +32 And King David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the +prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came. + +33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your +lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring +him down to Gihon: + +34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there +king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save King +Solomon. + + +These books give an account of David's death, of his successor +Solomon, of the division of his kingdom between the kings of Judah and +of Israel, with an abstract of the history down to the captivity. + +Neither the king nor Bath-sheba knew that Adonijah was making +preparations to be crowned king the moment when he heard of David's +death. He made a great feast, inviting all the king's sons except +Solomon. He began his feast by a show of devotion, sacrificing sheep and +oxen. But Nathan the Prophet warns the king and Bath-sheba. In his +anxiety he appeals to Bath-sheba as the one who has the greatest concern +about Solomon, and can most easily get an audience with the king. He +suggests that Solomon is not only in danger of losing his crown, but +both he and she of losing their lives. + +Accordingly, Bath-sheba, without being announced, enters the presence +of the king. She takes no notice of the presence of Abishag, but makes +known the object of her visit at once. She reminds the king of his vow +to her that Solomon, her son, should be his successor to his throne. +Nathan the Prophet is announced in the audience chamber and tells the +king of the preparations that Adonijah is making to usurp the crown and +throne, and appeals to him to keep his vow to Bath-sheba. He reminds +him that the eyes of all Israel are upon him, and that David's word +should be an oracle of honor unto them. He urged the king to immediate +action and to put an end to all Adonijah's pretensions at once, which +the king did; and Solomon was anointed by the chief priests and +proclaimed king. + +Adonijah had organized a party, recognizing him as king, as if David +were already dead; but when a messenger brought the news that Solomon +had been anointed king, in the midst of the feast their jollities were +turned to mourning. + +Nathan's visits to the king were always welcome, especially when he +was sick and when something lay heavy on his heart. He came to the +king, not as a petitioner, but as an ambassador from God, not merely to +right the wrongs of individuals, but to maintain the honor of the +nation. + +As David grew older he suffered great depression of spirits, hence his +physicians advised that he be surrounded with young company, who might +cheer and comfort him with their own happiness and pleasure in life. He +was specially cheered by the society of Abishag, the Shunammite, a +maiden of great beauty and of many attractions in manner and +conversation, and who created a most genial atmosphere in the palace of +the king. Bath-sheba's ambition for her son was so all absorbing that +she cared but little for the attentions of the king. David reigned forty +years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. + + + +1 Kings ii. + + + +Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged +Solomon his son, saying, + + +2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show +thyself a man. + +It is a great pity that David's advice could not have been fortified +by the honor and the uprightness of his own life. "Example is stronger +than precept." + + + +1 Kings iii. + + + +16 Then came there two women unto the king, and stood before him. + +17 And the one woman said, O my lord. I and this woman dwell in one +house: and I was delivered of a child. + +19 And it came to pass the third day after, this woman was delivered +also: + +19 And her child died in the night; because she overlaid it. + +20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while +thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child +in my bosom. + +21 And when I rose in the morning it was dead; but when I had +considered it, behold, it was not my son. + +22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the +dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the +living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. + +24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword +before the king. + +25 And he said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the +one, and half to the other. + +26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, and +she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. +But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. + +27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in +no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. + +28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and +they feared the king for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to +do judgment. + + +This case was opened in court, not by lawyers, but by the parties +themselves, though both plaintiff and defendant were women. +Commentators thing that it had already been tried in the lower courts, +and the judges not being able to arrive at a satisfactory decision, +preferred to submit the case to Solomon the King. It was an occasion of +great interest; the halls of justice were crowded, all waiting with +great expectation to hear what the king would say. When he said, "bring +me my sword," the sages wondered if he intended to kill the parties, as +the shortest way to end the case; but his proposition to kill only the +living child and give half to each, showed such an intuitive knowledge +of human nature that all were impressed with his wisdom, recognizing at +once what the natural feelings of the mother would be. Solomon won +great reputation by this judgment. The people feared his piercing eye +ever after, knowing that he would see the real truth through all +disguises and complications. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In Bath-sheba's interview with David one feature impresses me +unfavorably, that she stood before the king instead of being seated +during the conference. In the older apostolic churches the elder women +and widows were provided with seats--only the young women stood; but in +the instance which we are considering the faithful wife of many years, +the mother of wise Solomon, stood before her husband. Then David, with +the fear of death before his eyes and the warning words of the prophet +ringing in his ears, remembered his oath to Bath-sheba. Bath-sheba, the +wife of whom no moral wrong is spoken, except her obedience to David in +the affairs of her first husband, bowed with her face to the earth and +did reverence to the king. + +This was entirely wrong: David should have arisen from his bed and +done reverence to this woman, his wife, bowing his face to the earth. +Yet we find this Bible teaching the subservience of woman to man, of +the wife to the husband, of the queen to the king, ruling the world +to-day. During the recent magnificent coronation ceremonies of the Czar, +his wife, granddaughter of Victoria, Queen of England and Empress of +India, who changed her religion in order to become Czarina, knelt +before her husband while he momentarily placed the crown upon her brow. +A kneeling wife at this era of civilization is proof that the +degradation of woman continues from the time of Bath-sheba to that of +Alexandria. + +In 1 Kings ii. 13-25, we have a record of Solomon's treatment of that +mother to whom he was indebted not only for his throne, but also for +life itself. Adonijah, who had lost the kingdom, requested Bath-sheba's +influence with Solomon that the fair young Abishag should be given to +him for a wife. Having lost his father's kingdom, he thought to console +himself with the maiden. + +19 So Bath-sheba therefore went unto King Solomon to speak unto him +for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto +her, and sat down on his throne and caused a seat to be set for the +king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. + +All very well thus far; and the king, in his reception of his mother, +showed to her the reverence and the respect which was due to her. Thus +emboldened, Bath-sheba said: + + +20 I desire one small petition of thee; say me not nay. And the king +said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not say thee nay. + +21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, thy +brother, to wife. + +But did King Solomon, who owed both throne and life to his mother, +keep his word that he had just pledged to her, "Ask on, my mother; for +I will not say thee nay?" + +No indeed, for was she not a woman, a being to whom it was customary +to make promises for the apparent purpose of breaking them; for the +king, immediately forgetting his promise of one moment previously, +cried out: + +22 And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for +him the kingdom also: for he is mine elder brother. + +23 Then King Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and +more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. + +24 Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, who hath established me, and set +me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as +he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. + + +Solomon was anxious to give credit to the Lord instead of his mother +for having set him on the throne, and also to credit him with having +kept his promise, while at the very same moment he was breaking his own +promise to his mother. And this promise-breaking to women, taught in +the Bible, has been incorporated into the laws of both England and the +United States--a true union of Church and State where woman is +concerned. + +It is only a few years since that a suit was brought in England by a +wife against a husband in order to compel the keeping of his ante- +nuptial promise that the children of the marriage should be brought up +in the mother's religious faith. Having married the woman, this husband +and father found it convenient to break his word, ordering her to +instruct the children in his own faith, and the highest court in +England, that of Appeals, through the vice-chancellor, decided against +her upon the ground that a wife has no rights in law against a husband. +While a man's word broken at the gaming table renders him infamous, +subjecting him to dishonor through life, a husband's pledged word to +his wife in this nineteenth century of the Christian era is of no more +worth than was the pledged word of King Solomon to Bath-sheba in the +tenth century before the Christian +era. + +The Albany Law journal, commenting upon the Agar-Ellis case, declared +the English decision to be in harmony with the general law in regard to +religious education--the child is to be educated in the religion of its +father. But in the case of Bath-sheba, Solomon's surprising acrobatic +feat is the more remarkable from the reception which he at first gave +to his mother. Not only did Solomon "say her nay," but poor Adonijah +lost not only wife, but life also, because of her intercession. + +This chapter closes with an account of Solomon's judgment between two +mothers, each of whom claimed a living child as her own and the dead +child as that of her rival. This judgment has often been referred to as +showing the wisdom of Solomon. He understood a mother's boundless love, +that the true mother would infinitely prefer that her rival should +retain her infant than that the child should be divided between them. + +However, this tale, like many another Biblical story, is found +imbedded in the folk-lore-myths of other peoples and religions. Prof. +White's "Warfare of Science and Theology" quotes Fansboll as finding it +in "Buddhist Birth Stories." The able Biblical critic, Henry Macdonald, +regards the Israelitish kings as wholly legendary, and Solomon as +unreal as Mug Nuadat or Partholan; but let its history be real or +unreal, the Bible accurately represents the condition of women under +the Jewish patriarchal and the Christian monogamous religions. + + +M. J. G. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +1 Kings x. + + + +1 And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning +the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. + +2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that +bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was +come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. + +3 And Solomon told her all her questions. + +4 And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the +house that he had built, + +5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the +attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cup-bearers, +and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there +was no more spirit in her. + +6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine +own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. + +7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had +seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and +prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. + +9 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighteth in thee, to set thee +on the throne of Israel. + +10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of +spices very great store, and precious stones: . . . + +13 And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, +whatsoever she asked. So she turned and went to her own country. + + +In the height of Solomon's piety and prosperity the Queen of Sheba +came to visit him. She had heard of his great wealth and wisdom and +desired to see if all was true. She was called the Queen of the South, +supposed to be in Africa. The Christians in Ethiopia say to this day +that she came from their country, and that Candace, spoken of in Acts +viii., 27, was her successor. She was queen regent, sovereign of her +country. Many a kingdom would have been deprived of its greatest +blessing if the Salic law had been admitted into its constitution. + +It was a great journey for the queen, with her retinue, to undertake. +The reports of the magnificence of Solomon's surroundings, the temple +of the Lord and the palace for the daughter of Pharaoh, roused her +curiosity to see his wealth. The reports of his wisdom inspired her +with the hope that she might obtain new ideas on the science of +government and help her to establish a more perfect system +in her kingdom. She had heard of his piety, too, his religion and the +God whom he worshiped, and his maxims of policy in morals and public +life. She is mentioned again in the New Testament ill Matthew xii., 42. +She brought many valuable presents of gold, jewels, spices and precious +stones to defray all the expenses of her retinue at Solomon's court, to +show him that her country was worthy of honor and of respect. + +The queen was greatly surprised with all that she saw, the reality +surpassed her wildest imagination. Solomon's reception was most cordial +and respectful, and he conversed with her as he would with a friendly +king coming to visit from afar. This is the first account which we have +in the Bible of a prolonged rational conversation with a woman on +questions of public policy. He answered all her questions, though the +commentators volunteer the opinion that some may have been frivolous +and captious. As the text suggests no such idea, we have a right to +assume that her conduct and conversation were pre-eminently judicious. +Solomon did not suggest to the queen that she was out of her sphere, +that home duties, children and the philosophy of domestic life were the +proper subjects for her consideration; but he talked with her as one +sovereign should with another. + +She was deeply impressed by the elegance of his surroundings, the +artistic effect of his table, and the gold, silver and glass, the skill +of his servants, the perfect order which reigned throughout the palace, +but more than all with his piety and wisdom, and his reverence when he +went up to the temple to worship God or to make the customary offering. +She wondered at such greatness and goodness combined in one man. Her +visit was one succession of surprises; and she rejoiced to find that +the truth of all that she had heard exceeded her expectations. She is +spo +ken of in Psalms lxxii., 15, as a pattern for Solomon. + +E. C. S. + + + +1 Kings xi. + + + +1 But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the +daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, +Zidonians and Hittites: + +2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of +Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto +you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: +Solomon clave unto these in love. + +3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred +concubines: + +4 It came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away +his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord +his God. + + +This is a sad story of Solomon's defection and degeneracy. As the +Queen of Sheba did not have seven hundred husbands, she had time for +travel and the observation of the great world outside of her domain. It +is impossible to estimate the ennui a thousand women must have suffered +crowded together, with only one old gentleman to contemplate; but he +probably solaced their many hours with some of his choice songs, so +appreciative of the charms of beautiful women. It is probable that his +little volume of poems was in the hand of every woman, and that Solomon +gave them occasional recitations on the imaginative and emotional +nature of women. We have reason to believe that with his wisdom he gave +as much variety to their lives as possible, and with fine oratory, +graceful manners and gorgeous apparel made himself as attractive as the +situation permitted. + + +E. C. S. + + + +There have been a great number of different views held in regard to +the Queen of Sheba, both in reference to the signification of the name +"Sheba," and also in relation to the country from which this famous +personage made a visit to Solomon. Abyssinia, Ethiopia, Persia and +Arabia have each laid claim to this wise woman. Menelik, the present +king of the former country, who so effectually defeated Italy in his +recent war with that country, possesses the same name as, and claims +descent from, the fabled son of this wise woman and of the wise king +Solomon, one of whose numerous wives, it is traditionally said, she +became. Ethiopia, the seat of a very ancient and great civilization, +and whose capital was called Saba; Persia, where the worship of the sun +and of fire originated; and Arabia, the country of gold, of +frankincense and of myrrh, also claim her. It is to the latter country +that this queen belonged. + +Whether we look upon the Bible as a historical work, a mythological +work, or, as many now do regard it, as "A Book of the Adepts, written +by Initiates, for Initiates," a record of ancient mysteries hidden to +all but initiates, the Queen of Sheba is a most interesting character. + +The words Sab, Saba, Sheba, all have an astronomical or astrological +meaning, signifying the "Host of Heaven," "The Planetary System." Saba, +or Sheba, was especially the home of astronomical wisdom; and all words +of this character mean wise in regard to the stars. The wisdom of Saba +and of the Sabeans was planetary wisdom, the "Sabean language" meaning +astronomy, or astrology, the latter being the esoteric portion of the +science. At the time of the mysteries, astrology was a sacred or secret +science, the words "sacred" and "secret" meaning the same thing. Among +the oldest mysteries, when all learning was confined to initiates, were +those of Sabasia, whose periodic festivals of a sacred character were +so extremely ancient that their origin is now lost. + +Solomon, also, whether looked upon as a historical or a mythical +character, is philologically shown to have been connected with the +planetary system, Sol-Om-On signifying "the sun." It is singular to +note how closely the sun, the moon and the stars are connected with +ancient religions, even that of the Jewish. In the Old Testament the +new moon and the Sab-bath are almost invariably mentioned together. The +full moon also possessed a religious signification to the Jews, the +agricultural feasts taking place at the full moon, which were called +Sab-baths. Even in the Old Testament we find that Sab has an +astronomical or astrological meaning, connected with the planetary +system. + +The Sabeans were an occult body, especially devoted to a study of the +heavens; at their head, the wisest among them, the chief astronomer and +astrologer of the nation, the wisest person in a nation of wisdom, was +that Queen of Sheba, who visited that other planetary dignitary, +Solomon, to prove him with hard astronomical and astrological questions. + +There is historic proof that the city of Saba was the royal seat of +the kings of Arabia, which country, Diodorus says, was never conquered. +Among ancient peoples it bore the names of "Araby the Happy," +"Araby the Blest." It was a country of gold and spices whose perfume +was wafted far over the sea. All cups and utensils were of the precious +metals; all beds, chairs and stools having feet of silver; the temples +were magnificently adorned; and the porticoes of even the private +houses were of gold inlaid with ivory and precious stones. + +Among the presents carried by the Queen of Sheba to Sol-Om-On were the +famous balsam trees of her country. The first attempt at plant +acclimatizing of which the world has record was made with this tree by +the magnificent Pharaoh, Queen Hatasu, of the brilliant eighteenth +Egyptian dynasty. A thousand years before she of Sheba, Queen Hatasu, +upon her return from a naval expedition to the Red Sea, carried home +with her twelve of these trees in baskets of earth, which lived and +became one of the three species of sacred trees of Egypt. + +Arabia was the seat of Eastern wisdom, from which it also radiated to +the British Isles of Europe at the time of the Celtic Druids, with whom +Sabs was the day when these lords of Sabaoth rested from study and gave +instructions to the people. As previously among the Jews, this day of +instruction became known as one of rest from physical labor, Sab-bath +and rest becoming synonymous. Seven being a sacred number among +initiates, every seventh day was devoted to instruction. When a +knowledge of the mysteries became lost, the words "Sab-bath," "rest" +and "seven" began to have a very wrong meaning in the minds of people; +and much injury has been done to the world through this perversion. + +But later than Druidical times, Arabian wisdom made the southwestern +portion of the European continent brilliant with learning, during the +long period of the Christian dark ages, a time when, like the Bourbons +of later date, Christians learned nothing, a time when no heresy arose +because no thought was allowed, when there was no progress because +there was no doubt. + +From these countrymen of the Queen of Sheba, the Spanish Arabs, +Columbus first learned of a world beyond the Pillars of Hercules. +Architecture rose to its height in the beautiful Alhambra, with its +exquisite interlaced tracery in geometric design; medicine +had its profound schools at various points; poetry numbered women among +its most famous composers; the ballad originated there; and the modern +literature of Europe was born from a woman's pen upon the hearth of the +despised Ishmaelite, whose ancestral mother was known as Hagar, and +whose most brilliant descendant was the Queen of Sheba. + +Nowhere upon the earth has there existed a race of improvisatores +equal to the daughters of that despised bondwoman, the countrywoman of +the Queen of Sheba. As storytellers the world has not their equal. +Scherezade is a name upon the lips of Jews, of Gentiles, of Mohammedans +and of Christians. A woman's "Thousand and One Nights" is famous as a +combination of wit, wisdom and occultism wherever the language of +civilization is spoken. With increasing knowledge we learn somewhat of +the mysteries of the inner, higher life contained in those tales of +genii, of rings and of lamps of wondrous and curious power. The race +descended from Hagar, of which the Queen of Sheba is the most brilliant +reminder, has given to the world the most of its profound literature, +elegant poetry, art, science and occultism. Arabia is the mother of +mathematics; from this country was borrowed our one (1) and our cipher +(0), from which all other notation is evolved. + +Astronomy and astrology being among the oldest sciences, the moon +early became known as "the Measurer," her varied motions, her influence +upon the tides, her connection with the generative functions, all +giving her a high place in the secret sciences. While in a planetary +sense the Queen of Sheba has in a manner been identified with the moon, +as Sabs, she was also connected with the sun, the same as Solomon and +the serpent. When Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness +it was specifically a part of sun worship. The golden calf of Aaron was +more closely connected with moon worship, although the serpentine path +of both these bodies in the heavens identified each with the serpent. + +The occult knowledge which the Jews possessed in regard to those +planets was borrowed by them from Egypt, where for many ages the sun +and the moon had been studied in connection with their movements in +the zodiac. In that country these serpentine movements were +symbolized by the uroeus, or asp, worn upon the crown above the head of +every Pharaoh. So closely was the Jewish religion connected with +worship of the planetary bodies that Moses is said to have disappeared +upon Mount Nebo, a word which shows the mountain to have been sacred to +the moon; while Elijah ascending in a chariot of fire is a record of +sun worship. When the famous woman astronomer and astrologer, Queen of +Sheba, visited the symbolic King Solomon, it was for the purpose of +proving him with hard planetary questions and thus learning the depth +of his astronomical and his astrological knowledge, which, thanks to +the planetary worship of the Jews, she found equal to her own. + +We are further told that Solomon, not content with a princess from the +royal house of Pharaoh as wife, married seven hundred wives, all +princesses, besides taking to himself three hundred concubines. It is +upon teachings of the Old Testament, and especially from this statement +in regard to Solomon, that the Mormons of Utah largely base their +polygamous doctrines, the revelations of Joseph Smith being upon the +Solomon line. Yet the Mormons have advanced in their treatment of women +from the time of Solomon. While the revelations of Joseph Smith +commended plural marriages, the system and the name of concubinage was +entirely omitted, each woman thus taken being endowed with the name of +"wife." + +The polygamy of New York, of Chicago, of London, of Paris, of Vienna +and of other parts of the Christian world, like that of Solomon's three +hundred, is a system of concubinage in which the woman possesses no +legal rights, the mistress neither being recognized as wife, nor her +children as legitimate; whereas Mormon polygamy grants Mormon respect +to the second, the third, and to all subsequent wives. + +The senility of old men is well illustrated in the case of Solomon, +despite Biblical reference to his great wisdom, as we learn that when +he became "old" he was led away by "strange" women, worshiping strange +gods to whom he erected temples and offered sacrifices. To those who +believe in the doctrine of re-incarnation, and who look upon the Bible +as an occult work written in symbolic language, Solomon's reputed +"wives" and "concubines" are regarded as symbolic of +his incarnations, the wives representing good incarnations and the +concubines evil ones. + + +M. J. G. + + + +1 Kings xvii. + + + +8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, + +9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, and dwell there: behold, I have +commanded a widow there to sustain thee. + +10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of +the city, behold, the widow was there gathering sticks: and he called +to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water and a morsel of +bread. + +12 And she said, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, +and a little oil in a cruse; and I am gathering sticks, that I may +dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. + +13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: +but make me thereof a little cake first, and after make for thee and +for thy son. + +14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not +waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord +sendeth rain upon the earth. + +15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, +and he, and her house, did eat many days. + +16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail. + +17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman +fell sick; and there was no breath left in him. + +18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man +of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to +slay my son? + +19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he carried him up and +laid him upon his own bed. + +20 And he cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also +brought evil upon the widow by slaying her son? + +21 And be stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto +the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul +come into him again. + +22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child +came into him again, and he revived. + +23 And Elijah took the child and delivered him unto his mother, and +said, See, thy son liveth. + +24 And the woman said, Now I know that thou art a man of God. + + +The history of Elijah the prophet begins somewhat abruptly, without +any mention of father, of family or of country. He seems, as it were, +suddenly to drop from the clouds. He does not come with glad tidings of +joy to the people; but with prophecies of a prolonged famine, in which +there shall be neither rain nor dew to moisten the earth, until King +Ahab and his people repent of their sins. Elijah himself was fed by +ravens in a miraculous manner, and later by a poor widow who had only +just enough in her larder to furnish one meal for herself and her son. +Here are a series of complications enough to stagger the faith of the +strongest believer in the supernatural. But the poor widow meets him at +the gates of the city as directed by the Lord, improvises bread and +water, takes him to her home and for two years treats him with all the +kindness and the attention which she would naturally give to one of +her own kinsmen. "Oh! woman, great is thy faith," exclaimed the +prophet. Women are so easily deluded that most of the miracles of the +Bible are performed for their benefit; and, as in the case of the witch +of Endor, she occasionally performs some herself. + +The widow believed that Elijah was "a man of God," and that she could +do whatever he ordered; that she could get water, though there had been +a drought for a long time; that although she had only a handful of meal +and a little cruse of oil, yet they would increase day by day. "Never +did corn or olives in the growing," says Bishop Hall, "increase as did +that of the widow in the using." During the two years in which she +entertained the prophet, she enjoyed peace and prosperity; but when she +supposed that her son was dead, her faith wavered; and she deplored her +kindness to the prophet, and reproved him for bringing sorrow upon her +household. However, as the prophet was able to restore him to life, her +faith was restored also. + +This is the first record which we have of the restoration of the dead +to life in the Bible; and it is the first also of any one ascending +into heaven "in a chariot of fire with horses of fire." Probably Elijah +knew how to construct a balloon. Much of the ascending and the +descending of seers, of angels and of prophets which astonished the +ignorant was accomplished in balloons--a lost art for many centuries. +No doubt that the poor widow, when she saw Elijah ascend, thought that +he went straight to heaven, though in all probability he landed at +twilight in some retired corn field or olive grove, at some distance +from the point where his ascent took place. + +The question is often asked where the ravens got the cooked meat and +bread for the prophet. Knowing their impelling instinct to steal, the +Creator felt safe in trusting his prophet to their care, and they +proved themselves worthy his confidence. Their rookeries were near the +cave where Elijah was sequestered. Having keen olfactories, they smelt +the cooking of dainty viands from afar. Guided by this sense, they +perched on a fence near by where they could watch the movements of the +cook, and when her back was turned they flew in and seized the little +birds and soft shell crabs and carried them to Elijah, halting by the +way only long enough to satisfy their own imperative hunger. + +Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet the Lord bade him hide in her +country by the brook Cherith, that he might have plenty of water. The +Lord hid him so that the people should not besiege him to shorten the +drought. So he was entirely alone with the ravens, and had all his time +for prayer and contemplation. When removed from the care of the ravens, +the Lord did not send him to the rich and the prosperous, but to a poor +widow, who, believing him a man of God, ministered to his necessities. +She did not suggest that he was a stranger to her and that water cost +money, but hastened to do whatever he ordered. She had her recompense +in the restoration of her son to life. In the prophet's struggle with +God for this blessing to the widow, the man appears to greater +advantage than does the Master. + +It appears from the reports in our metropolitan journals that a +railroad is now about to be built from Tor to the summit of Mount +Sinai. The mountain is only accessible on one side. A depot, it is +said, will be erected near the spot where a stone cross was placed by +the Russian Empress Helena, and where, according to tradition, Moses +stood when receiving the commandments. The railroad will also pass the +cave in which the prophet Elijah remained in hiding while fleeing from +the priest of Baal. + + + +1 Kings xxi. + + + +And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had +a vineyard, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. + + +2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, because it +is near unto my house: and I will give thee the worth of it. + +3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid that I should give the +inheritance of my fathers unto thee. + +4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the +word which Naboth had spoken to him. And he laid him down upon his bed, +and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. + +5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy +spirit so sad? + +6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth, and said unto +him, Give me thy vineyard for money; and he answered, I will not. + +7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom +of Israel? arise, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the +vineyard of Naboth. + +8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, +and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his +city. + +9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, + +Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: + +10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness +against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then +carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. + +11 And the men of his city did as Jezebel had sent unto them. + +12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. + +13 And there came in two men and sat before him: and the men witnessed +against him, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they +carried him forth and stoned him with stones, that he died. + +14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is dead. + +15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel beard that Naboth was dead, she +said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard. + + +Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Zidonians and the wife of +Ahab, is generally referred to as the most wicked and cruel woman on +record; and her name is the synonym of all that is evil. She came +honestly by these characteristics, if it is true "that evil +communications corrupt good manners," as her husband Ahab was the most +wicked of all the kings of Israel. And yet he does not seem to have +been a man of much fortitude; for in a slight disappointment in the +purchase of land he comes home in a hopeless mood, throws himself on +his bed and turns his face to the wall. According to the text, Jezebel +was equal to the occasion. She not only infused new life into Ahab, but +got possession of the desired land, though in a most infamous manner. +The false prophetess spoken of in Rev. ii., 20, is called Jezebel. She +was a devout adherent and worshiper of Baal and influenced Ahab to +follow strange gods. He reigned twenty-two years without one worthy +action to gild his memory. Jezebel's death, like her life, was a +tragedy of evil. + + +E. C. S. + + + +All we know about Jezebel is told us by a rival religionist, who hated +her as the Pope of Rome hated Martin Luther, or as an American A. P. A. +now hates a Roman Catholic. Nevertheless, even the Jewish historian, +evidently biassed against Jezebel by his theological prejudices as he +is, does not give any facts whatever which warrant the assertion that +Jezebel was any more satanic than the ancient Israelitish gentleman, to +whom her theological views were opposed. Of course we, at this stage of +scientific thought, know that Jezebel's religion was not an admirable +one. Strangely enough, for a religion, it actually made her intolerant! +But to Jezebel it was a truth, for which she battled as bravely as +Elijah did for what he imagined to be eternal verity. The facts, +admitted even by the historian who hated her, prove that, +notwithstanding her unfortunate and childish conception of theology, +Jezebel was a brave, fearless, generous woman, so wholly devoted to her +own husband that even wrong seemed justifiable to her, if she could +thereby make him happy. (In that respect she seems to have entirely +fulfilled the Southern Methodist's ideal of the pattern wife absorbed +in her husband.) Four hundred of the preachers of her own faith were +fed at her table (what a pity we have not their opinion of their +benefactor!). Elijah was the preacher of a new and rival religion, +which Jezebel, naturally, regarded with that same abhorrence which the +established always feel for the innovating. To her, Elijahism doubtless +appeared as did Christianity to the Jews, Lutheranism to the Pope, or +John Wesleyism to the Church of England; but in the days of the +Israelites the world had not developed that sweet patience with heresy +which animates the Andover theologians of our time, and Jezebel had as +little forbearance with Elijah as had Torquemada with the Jews or +Elizabeth with the Puritans. + +Yet, to do Jezebel justice, we must ask ourselves, how did the +assumedly good Elijah proceed in order to persuade her of the +superiority of his truth? It is painful to have to relate that that +much overestimated "man of God" invited four hundred and fifty of +Jezebel's preachers to an open air exhibition of miracles, but, not +satisfied with gaining a victory over them in this display, he pursued +his defeated rivals in religion, shouting, "Let not one of them +escape!" and thus roused the thoughtless mob of lookers-on to slaughter +the whole four hundred and fifty in cold blood! Jezebel had signalized +her advent as queen by slaying Israelitish preachers in order to put +her own preachers in office. Elijah promptly retaliated at his earliest +opportunity. + +It seems to me that it would puzzle a disinterested person to decide +which of those savage deeds was more "satanic" than the other, and to +imagine why Jezebel is now dragged forth to "shake her gory locks" as a +frightful example to the American women who ask for recognized right to +self-government. I submit, that if Jezebel is a disgrace to womankind, +our dear brethren at any rate have not much cause to be proud of +Elijah, so, possibly, we might strike a truce over the character of +these two long-buried worthies. It may be well, though, to note here +that the now most offensive epithet which the English translators +attached to Jezebel's name, originally signified nothing more than that +she was consecrated to the worship of a religion, rival to that which +ancient Israel assumed to be "the only true one." + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +2 Kings iv. + + + +1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the +prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou +knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to +take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. + +2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what +hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything +save a pot of oil. + +3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, + +4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door and shalt pour +out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. + +5 So she shut the door and poured out. + +6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto +her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a +vessel more. And the oil stayed. + +7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the +oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. + + +The first Book of Kings had an illustrious beginning in the glories of +the kingdom of Israel when it was entirely under King David and in the +beginning of the reign of Solomon; but the second book has a melancholy +outlook in the desolation and division of the kingdom of Israel and of +Judea. Then Elijah and Elisha, their prophets, instructed the princes +and the people in all that would come to pass, the captivity of the ten +tribes, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the good reigns of Josiah and +of Hezekiah. + +This book contains the mention of four women, but only in a +perfunctory manner, more to exhibit the accomplishments of the prophet +Elisha than his beneficiaries. He raises the dead, surpasses our +Standard Oil Company in the production of that valuable article of +commerce, cures one man of leprosy and cruelly fastens the disease on +his servant for being guilty of a pardonable prevarication. Only one of +the women mentioned has a name. One is the widow of a prophet, whom +Elisha helps to pay off all her debts; for another he intercedes with +the Lord to give her a son; another, is the little captive maid of the +tribe of Israel; and the last a wicked queen, Athaliah, who sought to +kill the heir apparent. She rivalled Jezebel in her evil propensities +and suffered the same tragic death. + +As the historian proceeds from book to book less is said of the +mothers of the various tribes, unless some deed of darkness is called +for, that the men would fain avoid, then some Jezebel is resurrected +for that purpose. They are seldom required to rise to a higher moral +altitude than the men of the tribe, and are sometimes permitted to fall +below it. + + + +2 Kings iv. + + + +8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a +great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. + +9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a +holy man of God. + +10 Let us make a little chamber on the wall. + +11 And it fell on a day that, he came thither; and he turned into the +chamber, and lay there. + +12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And she +came and stood before him. And he said, Thou shalt embrace a son. And +she said, Nay, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. + +17 And the woman bare a son. + +18 And when the child was grown, he went out to his father to the +reapers. + +19 And said, My head, my head! And he said to a lad, Carry him to his +mother. + +20 And when he had brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till +noon, and then died. + +21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and +shut the door upon him, and went out. + +24 And she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive; slack not +thy riding, except I bid thee. + +25 So she went unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. + +32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold the child was dead. + +33 He went in and shut the door and prayed unto the Lord. + +34 And lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his +eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his bands; and he stretched +himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. + +35 Then he walked to and fro; and went up, and stretched upon him; and +the child sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes, + +36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called +her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. + +37 Then she fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and +took up her son. + + +Elisha seems to have had the same power of working miracles which +Elijah possessed. In his travels about the country he often passed the +city of Shunem, where he heard of a great woman who was very hospitable +and had a rich husband. She had often noticed the prophet passing by; +and knowing that he was a godly man, and that he could be better +entertained at her house than elsewhere, she proposed to her husband to +invite him there. So they arranged an apartment for him in a quiet part +of the house that he might have opportunities for worship and +contemplation. + +After spending much time under her roof, he naturally desired to make +some recompense. So he asked her if there was anything that he could do +for her at court, any favor which she desired of the king. But +she said "no," as she had all the blessings which she desired, except, +as they had great wealth and no children to inherit it, she would like +a son. She had probably heard of all that the Lord had done in that +line for Sarah and Rebecca and the wives of Manoah and Elkanah; so she +was not much surprised when the prophet suggested such a contingency; +and she bare a son. + +In due time, when the son was grown, he was taken suddenly ill and +died. The mother supposed that, as by a miracle he was brought into +life, the prophet might raise him from the dead. Accordingly, she +harnessed her mule and hastened to the prophet, who promptly returned +with her and restored him to life. She was a very discreet and +judicious woman and her husband had always entrusted everything to her +management. She was devout and conscientious and greatly enjoyed the +godly conversation of the prophet. She was known in the city as a great +and good woman. Though we find here and there among the women of the +Bible some exceptionally evil minded, yet the wise and virtuous +predominate, and, fortunately for the race, this is the case in the +American Republic to-day. + + + +2 Kings v. + + + +1 Now Naaman, captain of the hosts of the king of Syria, was a great +man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given +deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a +leper. + +2 And the Syrians had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a +little maid, and she waited on Naaman's wife. + +3 And she said unto her mistress, Would my lord were with the prophet +that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. + +4 And one went in and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the +maid that is of the land of Israel. + + +Naaman, a Syrian general and prime minister, was a great man in a +great place. He was happy, too, in that he had been serviceable to his +country and honored by his prince. But alas! he was a leper. It was +generally supposed that this was an affliction for evil doing, but +Naaman was an exceptionally perfect man. + +A little maid from Israel had been carried captive into Syria and +fortunately was taken into the family of the great general, as an +attendant on his wife. While making the wife's toilet they no doubt +chatted quite freely of what was going on in the outside world. So the +little maid, sympathizing with her master in his affliction, told the +wife there was a prophet in Israel who could cure him of his leprosy. +Her earnestness roused him and his wife to make the experiment. But +after loading his white mules with many valuable gifts, and taking a +great retinue of soldiers to dazzle the prophet with Syrian +magnificence, the prophet did not deign to meet him, but sent word to +him to bathe in the river Jordan. Even a letter from the king did not +ensure a personal interview. So the general, with all his pomp, went +off in great wrath. "Are not," said he, "the rivers of Damascus, Abana +and Pharpar, greater than the Jordan? Cannot all the skill in Syria +accomplish as much as the prophet in Israel?" However, the little maid +urged him to try the river Jordan, as he was near that point, so he did +and was healed. + + + +2 Kings viii. + + + +Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, +saying, sojourn wheresoever thou canst for a famine shall come upon the +land seven years. + + +2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: + +3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned +out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the +king for her house and land. + +4 And the king talked with Gehazi saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all +the great things that Elisha bath done. + +5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored +a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman cried to the king for her +house and land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, +and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. + +6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king +appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was +hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the +land, even until now. + + +In due time her husband died; and there was a famine; and she went for +a season to the land of the Philistines; and when she returned she +could not recover her possessions. Then Elisha befriended her and +appealed to the king; and she was reinstated in her own home. + +Elisha was very democratic. He had his servant sleep in his own +chamber and consulted him in regard to many important matters. Gehazi +never forgot his place but once, when he ran after the great Syrian +general to ask for the valuable presents which the prophet had +declined. Both Elijah and Elisha preferred to do their missionary work +among the common people, finding them more teachable and superstitious. +Especially is this true of woman at all periods. In great revival +seasons in our own day, one will always see a dozen women on the +anxious seat to one man, and the same at the +communion table. + + + +2 Kings xi. + + + +And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she +arose and destroyed all the seed royal. + + +2 But Jehosheba, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and +stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him +and his nurse. + +3 And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And +Athaliah did reign over the land. + +12 And Jehoiada, the priest brought forth the king's son, and put the +crown upon him; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they +clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. + +13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, +she came into the temple of the Lord. + +14 And hen she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar; and she +rent her clothes and cried, Treason, treason. + +20 And they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. + +21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign. + + +Never was royal blood more profusely shed, and never a meaner ambition +than to destroy a reigning family in order to be the last occupant on +the throne. The daughter of a king, the wife of a king, and the mother +of a king, should have had some mercy on her family descendants. +Personal ambition can never compensate for the loss of the love and +companionship of kindred. Such characters as Athaliah are abnormal, +their lives not worth recording. + + + +2 Kings xxii. + + + +11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book +of the law, that he rent his clothes. + +12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, + +13 Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all +Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is +the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers +have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto +all that which is written concerning us. + +14 So Hilkiah the priest, and the wise men went unto Huldah the +prophetess, the wife of Shallum keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt +in Jerusalem in the college); and they communed with her. + +15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the +man that sent you to me. + +16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and +upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the +king of Judah hath read: + +17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other +gods. + +18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, +thus shall ye say to him, + +19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself +before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, + +20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou +shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see +all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the +king word again. + + +The greatest character among the women thus far mentioned is Huldah +the prophetess, residing in the college in Jerusalem. She was a +statesman as well as a prophetess, understanding the true policy +of government and the Jewish system of jurisprudence, able not only to +advise the common people of their duties to Jehovah and their country, +but to teach kings the sound basis for a kingdom. Her wisdom and +insight were well known to Josiah the king; and when the wise men came +to him with the "Book of the Law," to learn what was written therein, +Josiah ordered them to take it to Huldah, as neither the wise men nor +Josiah himself could interpret its contents. It is fair to suppose that +there was not a man at court who could read the book; hence the honor +devolved upon Huldah. Even Shallum her husband was not consulted, as he +occupied the humble office of keeper of the robes. + +While Huldah was pondering great questions of State and Ecclesiastical +Law, her husband was probably arranging the royal buttons and buckles +of the household. This is the first mention of a woman in a college. +She was doubtless a professor of jurisprudence, or of the languages. +She evidently had other gifts besides that of prophecy. + +We should not have had such a struggle in our day to open the college +doors had the clergy read of the dignity accorded to Huldah. People who +talk the most of what the Bible teaches often know the least about its +contents. Some years ago, when we were trying to establish a woman's +college, we asked a rich widow, worth millions, to contribute. She said +that she would ask her pastor what she ought to do about it. He +referred her to the Bible, saying that this book makes no mention of +colleges for women. To her great surprise, I referred her to 2 Kings +xxii. Both she and her pastor felt rather ashamed that they did not +know what their Bible did teach. The widow gave $30,000 soon after to a +Theological Seminary, being more interested in the education of boys +and in the promulgation of church dogmas, creeds and superstitions, +than in the education of the Mothers of the Race in the natural +sciences. + +Now, women had performed great deeds in Bible times. Miriam had helped +to lead Israel out of Egypt. Deborah judged them, and led the army +against the enemy, and Huldah instructed them in their duties to the +nation. Although Jeremiah and Zephaniah were prophets at this time, yet +the king chose Huldah as the oracle. She was one of the ladies of the +court, and resided in the second rank of buildings from the royal +palace. Marriage, in her case, does not appear to have been any obstacle +in the way of individual freedom and dignity. She had evidently outgrown +the curse of subjection pronounced in the Garden of Eden, as had many +other of the Jewish women. + +There is a great discrepancy between the character and the conduct of +many of the women, and the designs of God as set forth in the +Scriptures and enforced by the discipline of the Church to-day. Imagine +the moral hardihood of the reverend gentlemen who should dare to reject +such women as Deborah, Huldah and Vashti as delegates to a Methodist +conference, and claim the approval of God for such an indignity. + +In the four following books, from Kings to Esther, there is no mention +of women. During that long, eventful period the men must have sprung, +Minerva-like, from the brains of their fathers, fully armed and +equipped for the battle of life. Having no infancy, there was no need +of mothers. As two remarkable women flourished at the close of one +period and at the dawn of the other, we shall make no record of the +masculine dynasty which intervened, satisfied that Huldah and Vashti +added new glory to their day and generation--one by her learning and +the other by her disobedience; for "Resistance to tyrants is obedience +to God." + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF ESTHER. + + + +Esther i. + + + +2 In those days when King Ahasuerus sat upon the throne in the palace +at Shushan, + +3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes +and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes +of the provinces being before him: + +4 When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of +his excellent majesty many days. + +5 And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the +people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and +small, seven days, in the court of the garden; + +6 Where were white, green and blue hangings, fastened with cords of +fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds +were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, +and black marble. + +7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, and royal wine in +abundance. + +9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house. + +10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, +he commanded: + +11 To bring Vashti the queen with the crown royal, to shew the people +and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. + +12 But the queen Vashti refused to come: therefore was the king very +wroth. + +13 Then the king said to the wise men, + +15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to the law? + +16 And Memucan answered, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the +king only, but also to all the people that are in the provinces of the +king. + +17 For this deed shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall +despise their husbands. The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen +to be brought in before him, but she came not. + +18 Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all +the king's princes, which have beard of the deed of the queen. + +19 If it please the king, let there go a royal command from him, and +let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, That +Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her +royal estate unto another that is better than she. + +20 And when the king's decree shall be published throughout his +empire, all the wives shall give to their husband's honor, both to +great and small. + +21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did +accordingly to the word of Memucan: + +22 For he sent letters into all the provinces, that every man should +bear rule in his own house. + + +The kingdom of Ahasuerus extended from India to Ethiopia, consisting +of one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, an overgrown kingdom which +in time sunk by its own weight. The king was fond of display and +invited subjects from all his provinces to come by turns to behold his +magnificent palaces and sumptuous +entertainments. + +He gave two great feasts in the beginning of his reign, one to the +nobles and the princes, and one to the people, which lasted over a +hundred days. The king had the feast for the men spread in the court +under the trees. Vashti entertained her guests in the great hall of the +palace. It was not the custom among the Persians for the sexes to eat +promiscuously together, especially when the king and the princes were +partaking freely of wine. + +This feast ended in heaviness, not as Balshazzar's with a handwriting +on the wall, nor like that of Job's children with a wind from the +wilderness, but by the folly of the king, with an unhappy falling out +between the queen and himself, which ended the feast abruptly and sent +the guests away silent and ashamed. He sent seven different messages to +Vashti to put on her royal crown, which greatly enhanced her beauty, +and come to show his guests the majesty of his queen. But to all the +chamberlains alike she said, "Go tell the king I will not come; dignity +and modesty alike forbid." + +This vanity of a drunken man illustrates the truth of an old proverb, +"When the wine is in, the wit is out." Josephus says that all the court +heard his command; hence, while he was showing the glory of his court, +he also showed that he had a wife who would do as she pleased. + +Besides seven chamberlains he had seven learned counsellors whom he +consulted on all the affairs of State. The day after the feast, when +all were sober once more, they held a cabinet council to discuss a +proper punishment for the rebellious queen. Memucan, Secretary of +State, advised that she be divorced for her disobedience and ordered +"to come no more before the king," for unless she was severely +punished, he said, all the women of Medea and of Persia would despise +the commands of their husbands. + +We have some grand types of women presented for our admiration in the +Bible. Deborah for her courage and military prowess; Huldah for her +learning, prophetic insight and statesmanship, seated in the college in +Jerusalem, where Josiah the king sent his cabinet ministers to consult +her as to the policy of his government; Esther, who ruled as well as +reigned, and Vashti, who scorned the Apostle's +command, "Wives, obey your husbands." She refused the king's orders to +grace with her presence his revelling court. Tennyson pays this tribute +to her virtue and dignity: + + +"Oh, Vashti! noble Vashti! +Summoned forth, she kept her state, +And left the drunken king to brawl +In Shushan underneath his palms." + + +E. C. S. + + + +The feast, with the preliminary exhibition of the king's magnificent +palace and treasures, was not a social occasion in which the king and +the queen participated under the same roof. The equal dignity of woman +and of queen as companion of the king was not recognized. The men +feasted together purely as a physical enjoyment. If there was any +intellectual feature of the occasion it is not recorded. On the seventh +day, when appetite was satiated and the heart of the king was merry +with wine, as a further means of gratifying sensual tastes and +exhibiting his power, the king bethought him of the beauty of the queen. + +The command to the chamberlains was to bring Vashti. It was such an +order as he might have sent to the jester, or to any other person whose +sole duty was to do the king's bidding, and whose presence might add to +the entertainment of his assemblage of men. It was not an invitation +which anywise recognized the queen's condescension in honoring the +company by her presence. + +But Vashti refused to come at the king's command! An unprecedented act +of both wife and queen. Probably Vashti had had previous knowledge of +the condition of the king when his heart was merry with wine and when +the physical man was under the effects of seven day's conviviality. She +had a higher idea of womanly dignity than placing herself on exhibition +as one of the king's possessions, which it pleased him to present to +his assembled princes. Vashti is conspicuous as the first woman +recorded whose self-respect and courage enabled her to act contrary to +the will of her husband. She was the first "woman who dared." + +This was the more marked because her husband was also king. So far as +the record proves, woman had been obedient to the commands of the +husband and the father, or, if seeking to avoid them, had sought +indirect methods and diplomacy. It was the first exhibition of the +individual sovereignty of woman on record. Excepting Deborah as judge, +no example had been given of a woman who formed her own judgment and +acted upon it. There had been no exhibition of a self-respecting +womanhood which might stand for a higher type of social life than was +customary among men. + +Vashti was the prototype of the higher unfoldment of woman beyond her +time. She stands for the point in human development when womanliness +asserts itself and begins to revolt and to throw off the yoke of +sensualism and of tyranny. Her revolt was not an overt act, or a +criticism of the proceedings of the king. It was merely exercising her +own judgment as to her own proceeding. She did not choose to be brought +before the assembly of men as an exhibit. The growth of self-respect +and of individual sovereignty in woman has been slow. The sequence of +Vashti's refusal to obey the king suggests at least one of the reasons +why the law has been made, as it has down to the present day, by men +alone. Woman has not been consulted, as she is not consulted to-day +about any law, even such as bears especially upon herself, but was and +is expected to obey it. + +The idea of maintaining the respect of women and of wives by +worthiness and by nobility of character and of manner, had not been +born in the man of that day. The husband was to be held an authority. +His superiority was his power to command obedience. + +"And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published +throughout all his empire, all the wives shall give to their husbands +honour, both great and small." + +King Ahasuerus was but a forerunner of the more modern lawmaker, who +seeks the same end of male rulership, by making the wife and all +property the possession of the husband. That every living soul has an +inherent right to control its life and activities, and that woman +equally with man should enjoy this opportunity, had not dawned +upon the consciousness of the men of the times of Ahasuerus. + +Vashti stands out a sublime representative of self-centred womanhood. +Rising to the heights of self-consciousness and of self-respect, she +takes her soul into her own keeping, and though her position both as +wife and as queen are jeopardized, she is true to the Divine +aspirations of her nature. + + +L. B. C. + + + +Esther ii. + + + +After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he +remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against +her. + + +2 Then said his servants, Let there be fair young virgins sought for +the king: + +3 And let him appoint officers in all the provinces that they may +gather together the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, + +4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of +Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. + +5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was +Mordecai. + +7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter; +for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and +beautiful; whom Moredcai {sic}, when her father and mother were dead, +took for his own daughter. + +8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment was heard, and when +many maidens were gathered together, that Esther was brought also unto +the king's house. + +11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's +house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. + +17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained +grace and favour in his sight; so that be set the royal crown upon her +head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. + +18 Then the king made a great feast, even Esther's feast; and he made +a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of +the king. + + +Esther was a Jewess, one of the children of the captivity, an orphan +whom Mordecai adopted as his own child. She was beautiful, symmetrical +in form, fair in face, and of rare intelligence. Her wisdom and virtue +were her greatest gifts. "It is an advantage to a diamond even to be +well set." Mordecai was her cousin-german and her guardian. It was said +that he intended to marry her; but when he saw what her prospects in +life were, and what she might do as a favorite of the king for his own +promotion and the safety of his people, he held his individual +affection in abeyance for the benefit of his race and the safety of the +king; for he soon saw the dishonest, intriguing character of Haman, +whom he despised in his heart and to whom he would not bow in passing, +nor make any show of respect. As he was a keeper of the door +and sat at the king's gate, he had many opportunities to show his +disrespect. + +He discovered a plot against the king's life which he revealed to +Esther, that, in due time, secured him promotion to the head of the +king's cabinet. But in the meantime Haman had the ear of the king; and +to revenge the indignities of Mordecai, he decided to slay all the Jews +throughout all the provinces of the kingdom, and procured an edict to +that effect from the king, and stamped with the king's signet ring the +letters that he sent by post into all the provinces. The day was set +for this terrible slaughter; and the Jews were fasting in sack-cloth +and ashes. + +The king loved Esther above all the women and had made her his queen. +She was not known at court as a Jewess, but was supposed to be of +Persian extraction. Mordecai had told her to say nothing on that +subject. Ahasuerus placed the royal crown upon her head, and solemnized +her coronation with a great feast, which Esther graced with her +presence, at the request of the king. She profited by the example of +Vashti, and saw the good policy of at least making a show of obedience +in all things. Mordecai walked up and down past her door many times a +day; and through a faithful messenger kept her informed of all that +transpired, so she was aware of the plot Haman had laid against her +people. So she made a banquet for the king and Haman, and told the king +the effect of his royal edict and letters sent by post in all the +provinces stamped with his ring. She told him of Mordecai's +faithfulness in saving his life; that she and Mordecai were Jews, and +that it was their people who were to be slain, young and old, women and +children, without mercy; that their possessions were to be confiscated +to raise the money which Haman promised to put into the royal treasury, +and that Haman had already built a gallows thirty feet high on which +Mordecai was to be hanged. + +Haman trembled in the presence of the king, who ordered him to be +hanged on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai; and the +latter was installed as the favorite of the king. The family and the +followers of Haman were slain by the thousands, and the Jews were +filled with gladness. The day appointed for their destruction was one +of thanksgiving. They appointed a certain day in the last +month of the year, just before the Passover, to be kept ever after as +the feast of Purim, one of thanksgiving for their deliverance from the +vengeance of Haman. Purim is a Persian word. It is not a holy day +feast, but of human appointment. It is celebrated at the present time, +and in the service the whole story is told. It is to be regretted that +this feast often ends in gluttony. + +One commentator says that the Talmud states that in the feast of Purim +a man may drink until he knows not the difference between "cursed be +Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai." If the Talmud means that he may drink +the wine of good fellowship until all feelings of vengeance, hatred and +malice are banished from the human soul, the sentiment is not so +objectionable as at the first blush it appears. There is one thing in +the Jewish service worse than this, and that is for each man to stand +up in the synagogue every Sabbath morning and say: "I thank thee, O +Lord, that I was not born a woman," as if that were the depth of human +degradation. It is to be feared that the thanksgiving feast of the +Purim has degenerated in many localities into the same kind of a +gathering as the Irish wake. + +In the history of Esther, those who believe in special Providence will +see that in her coming to the throne multitudes of her people were +saved from a cruel death, hence the disobedience of Vashti was +providential. A faith "that all things are working together for good," +"that good only is positive, evil negative," is most cheerful and +sustaining to the believer. I have always regretted that the historian +allowed Vashti to drop out of sight so suddenly. Perhaps she was doomed +to some menial service, or to entire sequestration in her own +apartments. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The record fails to state whether or not the king's judgment was +modified in regard to Vashti's refusal to appear on exhibition when his +wrath abated. But the decree had gone forth, and could not be altered; +and Vashti banished, no further record of her fate appears. The +king's ministers at once set about providing a successor to Vashti. + +The king in those days had the advantage of the search for fair young +virgins, in that he could command the entire collection within his +dominions. The only consideration was whether or not the maiden +"pleased" him. There is no hint that the maiden was expected to signify +her acceptance or rejection of the king's choice. She was no more to be +consulted than if she had been an animal. Her position as queen was but +an added distinction of her lord and master. + +Esther, the orphaned and adopted daughter of Mordecai the Jew, was the +favored maiden. She was "fair and beautiful." The truth of the historic +record of the men of those days is indisputable. Down to the present +the average man sums up his estimate of woman by her "looks." Is she +fair to look upon is the criterion. Esther was destined to play an +important part in the salvation of her people from the destructive +purposes of Haman, who had been "set above all the princes who were +with him." This young woman, who had been crowned by her royal master +because she "pleased" him, was called upon by the peril of her people, +whom Haman was seeking to destroy, to place her own life in jeopardy, +by venturing to obtain audience with the king, without having been +summoned into his presence. + +When Esther received from Mordecai the assurance, "Think not with +thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the +Jews," he asked, "Who knoweth, whether thou art come to the kingdom for +such a time as this?" then this young woman rose to the extremity of +the situation. She exercised a high degree of wisdom and courage, and +bade them return Mordecai this answer: + +Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast +ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also +and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, +which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.--Vs. 15, +16. + +She prepared herself thus by fasting to receive and to exercise the +power of spirit. Her high purpose was only equalled by her unfaltering +courage and entire self-abnegation. Vashti had exercised +heroic courage in asserting womanly dignity and the inherent human +right never recognized by kingship, to choose whether to please and to +obey the king. Esther, so as to save her people from destruction, +risked her life. + +This King Ahasuerus, who, according to the record, was only a man of +selfish purposes, delighting in power and given to the enjoyment of his +passions, was the legal lord and master of two women, each +distinguished by a nobility of character well worthy of the distinction +of queen. Their royalty was of a higher order than that of sceptres and +of crowns. While we rejoice in the higher manhood which the centuries +have evolved, we are in this hour reminded of the dominating +disposition of King Ahasuerus and the habits of those times. A +distinguished man and a scholar in this closing nineteenth century +claims that "the family is necessarily a despotism," and that man is +the "ruler of the household." + +Women as queenly, as noble and as self-sacrificing as was Esther, as +self-respecting and as brave as was Vashti, are hampered in their +creative office by the unjust statutes of men; but God is marching on; +and it is the seed of woman which is to bruise the head of the serpent. +It is not man's boasted superiority of intellect through which the +eternally working Divine power will perfect the race, but the +receptiveness and the love of woman. + + +L. B. C. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JOB. + + + +Job i. + + + +There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man +was perfect and upright, and one that feared God. + + +2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. + +3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand +camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and +a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the +men of the east. + +4 And his sons feasted in their houses; and sent and called for their +three sisters to eat with them. + +6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves +before the Lord, and Satan came also. + +7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Satan answered, +From going to and fro in the earth. + +8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, +that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man. + +9 Then Satan answered, Doth Job fear God for nought? + +10 Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and +about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his +hands. + +11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he +will curse thee to thy face. + +12 And the Lord said unto Satan, all that he hath is in thy power: +only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from +the presence of the Lord. + +14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were +ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them: + +15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have +stain the servants. + +16 There came another, and said, fire is fallen from heaven, and hath +burned up the sheep. + +17 There came also another, and said, The Chaldeans fell upon the +camels, and have carried them away. + +18 There came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were +eating and drinking. + +19 And, behold there came a great wind and smote the four corners of +the house, and it fell upon, the young men, and they are dead. + +20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell +down upon the ground, and worshiped. + + + +Job ii. + + + +9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? +curse God and die. + +10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women +speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we +not receive evil? + + + +Job xlii. + + + +11 Then came there unto him his brethren, and his sisters, and they +that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in +his house: and they comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had +brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every +one an earring of gold. + +12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; +for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a +thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. + +13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. + +15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of +Job; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. + +16 After this lived Job a hundred and forty years. + +17 So Job died, being old and full of days. + + +The Book of Job opens with an imaginary discussion between the Lord +and Satan as to the true character of Job. Satan hates him because he +is good, and envies him because he is a favorite of the Lord, who +expresses unbounded faith in his steadfastness to +religious principles. Satan replies that Job is all right in +prosperity, when surrounded with every comfort; but stripped of his +blessings, his faith in a superintending Providence would vanish like +dew before the rising sun. The Lord said, "You may test Job. I give you +permission to do your worst and to see if he will not remain as true in +adversity as he is in prosperity." + +The Book of Job is an epic poem, an allegory, to show the grand +elements in human nature, enabling mortals to rise superior to all +trials and temptations, to the humiliations of the spirit, and to +prolonged suffering in the flesh. Though illustrated in the personality +of a man, yet the principle applies equally to the wisdom and the +virtue of woman. The elements of Job's goodness and greatness must have +existed in his mother. But little is said of women in this book; and +that little is by no means complimentary. Job's wife's name was Dinah; +some commentators say that she was the daughter of Jacob. Satan uses +her as the last and most subtle influence for the downfall of his +victim. Between the two forces of good and of evil, the triumph of the +spiritual nature over the temptations of the flesh, the god-like in the +human, was thoroughly proven. Job is represented as a great man. He has +wealth, inflexible integrity and a charming family life, seven sons and +three daughters, immense herds of oxen, sheep, asses, camels, and +servants without number. + +The spirit of evil, to test his faithfulness, strips him of all his +possessions. In one day Job's houses were destroyed, his lands made +desolate, his cattle stolen and his children carried off in a +whirlwind. Job was stunned by these calamities. He put on sackcloth, +shaved his head, as was the custom, and calmly accepted the situation; +and his faith in the goodness of God remained. Then the spirit of evil, +to test him still further, afflicted him with a terrible disease, +loathsome to endure and pitiful to behold. His three friends, Eliphaz, +Bildad and Zophar, mocked him in his misery. + +His last affliction was the disgust of his wife. She ridiculed his +faith in God, and scoffed at his piety, as Michal did at David. She was +spared to be his last tempter when all his comforts were taken away. +She bantered him for his constancy, "Dost thou still maintain thy +confidence in the God who has punished thee? Why dost thou be so +obstinate in thy religion, which serves no good to thee? Why truckle to +a God who, so far from rewarding thy services with marks of his favor, +seems to take pleasure in making thee miserable and scourges thee +without any provocation? Is this a God to be still loved and served? +'Curse God and die.'" She urges him to commit suicide. Better to die at +once than to endure his life of lingering misery. + +Deserted by wife, by friends, and, seemingly by God, too, Job's faith +wavered not. The spirit of evil had done its worst. Man had proven his +Divine origin, himself the incarnation of the great Spirit of Good; and +now that Job had proved himself superior to all human calamities, he is +restored to health; and all his earthly possessions are returned +fourfold. + +Nothing more is said of his first wife, but his ten children are +restored. The names of his three daughters are significant, though not +euphonious: Jemima, the day, because of Job's prosperity; Kezia, a +spice, because he was healed, and Karen-Happuch, plenty restored. God +adorned them with great beauty, no women being so fair as were the +daughters of Job. In the Old Testament we often find women praised for +their beauty; but in the New Testament we find no notice of physical +charms, not even in the Virgin Mary herself. Job gave to his daughters +an equal inheritance with his sons. It is pleasant to see that the +brothers paid them marked attention, and always invited them to their +dinners, and that his ten children were reproduced just as his flocks +and his herds had been. + +Much more sympathy has been expressed by women for the wife, than for +Job. Poor woman, she had scraped lint, nursed him and waited on him to +the point of nervous exhaustion--no wonder that she was resigned to see +him pass to Abraham's bosom. Job lived one hundred and forty years. +Some conjecture that he was seventy years old when his calamities came +upon him, so that his age was doubled with his other blessings. Whether +Dinah lived to cheer Job's declining years, or whether she was lured by +Satan to his kingdom, does not appear; but he is supposed to have had a +second wife, by the name of Sitis--the probable mother of the second +brood. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF PSALMS, PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES + +AND + +THE SONG OF SOLOMON. + + + +PSALMS. + + + +Psalms xlv. + + + +9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right +hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. + +10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget +also thine own people, and thy father's house; + +11 So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; +and worship thou him. + +12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift: even the rich +among the people shall entreat thy favour. + +13 The King's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of +wrought gold. + +14 She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the +virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. + +15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter +into the King's palace. + + +This book is supposed to have been written by David, the son of Jesse, +called the sweet psalmist of Israel. He had a taste for the arts, a +real genius for poetry and song. Many of the poems are beautiful in +sentiment and celebrated as specimens of literature, as are some +passages in Job; but the general tone is pessimistic. David's old age +was full of repinings over the follies of his youth and of his middle +age. The declining years of a well-spent life should be the most +peaceful and happy. Then the lessons of experience are understood, and +one knows how to bear its joys and sorrows with equal philosophy. Yet +David in the twilight of his days seemed to dwell in the shadows of +despair, in sackcloth and ashes, repenting for his own sins and +bemoaning the evil tendency of men in general. There is a passing +mention of the existence of women as imaginary beings in the Psalms, +the Proverbs, and The Song of Solomon, but not illustrated by any +grand personalities or individual characters. + + + +Psalms ii. + + + +To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came +unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. + + +1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: +according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my +transgressions. + +2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. + +3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. + + +David's treatment of Uriah was the darkest passage in his life; and to +those who love justice it is a satisfaction to know that his conscience +troubled him for this act to the end of his days. We are not told +whether Bath-sheba ever dropped a tear over the sad fate of Uriah, or +suffered any upbraidings of conscience. + + + +PROVERBS + + + +ix., 13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth +nothing. + +xi., 16 A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches. + +xiv. Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it +down with her hands. + +xvii., 25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her +that bare him. + +xix., 14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a +prudent wife is from the Lord. + +xxi., 9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a +brawling woman in a wide house. + +xxi., 19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a +contentious and an angry woman. + +xxvii., 15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious +woman are alike. + +xxx., 21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which +it cannot bear: + +22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with +meat; + +23 For an odious woman when she is married; and a handmaid that is +heir to her mistress. + +xxxi., 10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above +rubies. + +11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her. + +12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. + +13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. + +16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands +she planteth a vineyard. + +20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor. + +21 She is not afraid of the snow; for all her household are clothed +with scarlet. + +22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and +purple. + +23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders +of the land. + +24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it. + +26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of +kindness. + +28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and +he praiseth her. + +29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. + +30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth +the Lord, shall be praised. + + +With these pen pictures of the foolish, contentious wife contrasted +with the more gracious woman, surely every reader of common sense will +try to follow the example of the latter. A complaining woman is worse +than a leaky house, because with paint and putty you can stop the +dropping; but how can one find the source of constant complaints? + +Heretofore Biblical writers have given to us battles, laws, histories, +songs; now we have in Solomon's writings a new style in short, +epigrammatic sentences. The proverb was the most ancient way of +teaching among the Greeks. The seven wise men of Greece each had his +own motto on which he made himself famous. These were engraved on stone +in public places. Thus the gist of an argument or a long discussion may +be thrown into a proverb, in which the whole point will be easily seen +and remembered. + +Solomon's idea of a wise woman, a good mother, a prudent wife, a +saving housekeeper and a successful merchant, will be found in the +foregoing texts, which every woman who reads should have printed, +framed and hung up at her family altar. As Solomon had a thousand women +in his household, he had great opportunity for the study of the +characteristics of the sex, though one would naturally suppose that +wise women, even in his day, preferred a larger sphere of action than +within his palace walls. Solomon's opinion of the sex in general is +plainly expressed in the foregoing texts. + +Solomon is supposed to have written his Song when he was young, +Proverbs in middle life, and Ecclesiastes when he was old. He gave +admirable rules for wisdom and virtue to all classes, to men, to women +and to children, but failed to practise the lessons which he taught. + + + +ECCLESIASTES. + + + +This book, written in Solomon's old age, is by no means comforting or +inspiring. Everything in life seems to have been disappointing to him. +Wealth, position, learning, all earthly possessions and acquirements +he declares alike to be "vanity of vanities and +vexation of spirit." To one whose life has been useful to others and +sweet to himself, it is quite impossible to accept these pessimistic +pictures of human destiny. + + + +Eccles. ii. + + + +I said in mine heart, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy +pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. + + +4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: + +5 I made me gardens and orchards. + +7 I had great possessions above all that were in Jerusalem before me: + +8 I gathered me also silver and gold and particular treasures: I gat +me men singers and women singers, and musical instruments. + +10 And whatsover mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld +not my heart from any joy. + +13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth +darkness. + +14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in +darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them +all. + + +This constant depreciation of human dignity and power is very +demoralizing in its influence on character. When we consider the +struggles of the race from savagism to civilization, all the wonderful +achievements, discoveries and inventions of man, we must feel more like +bowing down to him as an incarnation of his Creator than deploring his +follies like "a poor worm of the dust." The Episcopal service is most +demoralizing in this view. Whole congregations of educated men and +women, day after day, year after year, confessing themselves "miserable +sinners," with no evident improvement from generation to generation. +And this confession is made in a perfunctory manner, as if no disgrace +attended that mental condition, and without hope or promise of a change +from that unworthy attitude. + + + +Eccles. vii. + + + +26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares +and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from +her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. + +28 One wise man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all +those have I not found. + +29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but +they have sought out many inventions. + + +Solomon must have had a sad experience in his relations with women. Such +an opinion is a grave reflection on his own mother, who was so devoted +to his success in the world. But for her ambition he would never have +been crowned King of Israel. The commentators vouchsafe the opinion that +there are more good women than men. It is very kind in some of the +commentators to give us a word of praise now and then; but from the +general tone of the learned fabulists, one would think that the Jezebels +and the Jaels predominated. In fact, Solomon says that he has not found +one wise woman in a thousand. + + + +THE SONG OF SOLOMON. + + + +The name of God does not appear in this Song, neither is the latter +ever mentioned in the New Testament. This book has no special religious +significance, being merely a love poem, an epithalamium, sung on +nuptial occasions in praise of the bride and the groom. The proper +place for this book is before either Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, as it +was written in Solomon's youth, and is a more pardonable outburst for +his early days than for his declining years. The Jewish doctors advised +their young people not to read this book until they were thirty years +old, when they were supposed to be more susceptible to spiritual +beauties and virtues than to the mere attractions of face and of form. + +The Church, as an excuse for retaining this book as a part of "Holy +Scriptures," interprets the Song as expressive of Christ's love for the +Church; but that is rather far-fetched, and unworthy the character of +the ideal Jesus. The most rational view to take of the Song is, it was +that of a luxurious king to the women of his seraglio. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF ISAIAH AND DANIEL, MICAH AND MALACHI. + + +ISAIAH. + + + +The closing books, of the Old Testament make but little mention of +women as illustrating individual characteristics. The ideal woman is +used more as a standard of comparison for good and for evil, the good +woman representing the elements of success in building up the family, +the tribe, the nation, as a devout worshiper of the God of Israel; the +wicked woman, the elements of destruction in the downfall of great +cities and nations. As woman is chosen to represent the extremes of +human conditions she has no special reason to complain. + +The Prophets sum up the graces of the "daughters of men" in the +following texts: + + + +Isaiah iii. + + + +16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, +and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and +mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: + +19 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling +ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like +the moon, + +19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, + +20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and +the tablets, and the earrings, + +21 The rings, and nose jewels, + +22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, +and the crisping pins, + +23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. + + +Before the sacred canon of the Old Testament was written there were +Prophets who took the place of Bibles to the Church. It is said that +God himself spake to the children of Israel from the top of Mount +Sinai, but that it was so terrible they entreated the Lord ever after +to speak to them through men. So ever after he did communicate with +them through Prophets and Angels. Isaiah was of the royal family; +he was nephew to King Uzziah. The Prophet in the above texts reproves +and warns the daughters of Zion and tells them of their faults. He does +not like their style of walking, which from the description must have +been much like the mincing gait of some women to-day. + +The Prophet expressly vouches God's authority for what he said +concerning their manners and elaborate ornamentation, lest they should +be offended with his criticisms. If the Prophets could visit our stores +and see all the fashions there are to tempt the daughters of to-day, +they would declaim against our frivolities on the very doorsteps, and +in view of the Easter bonnets, at the entrance to our churches. The +badges which our young women wear as members of societies, pinned in +rows on broad ribbons, the earrings, the bangles, the big sleeves, the +bonnets trimmed with osprey feathers, answer to the crisping pins, the +wimples, the nose jewels, the tablets, the chains, the bracelets, the +mufflers, the veils, the glasses and the girdles of the daughters of +Zion. If the Prophets, instead of the French milliners and dressmakers, +could supervise the toilets of our women, they would dress in far +better taste. + + + +DANIEL. + + + +The name of this Prophet in Hebrew was "Da##il,"[FN#5] which +signifies "the judgment of God." His Chaldean name was Bethshazzai. He +was of the tribe of Judah of the royal family. Josephus calls him one +of the greatest of the Prophets. + + + +[FN#5] Redactor's note. Text was illegible. + + + +Daniel v. + + + +Belshazzar the king made a great feast and commanded to bring the +golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out +of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his princes, +his wives and his concubines, might drink therein. + + +3 Then they brought the golden vessels, . . . and praised the gods of +gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. + +5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over +against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall: and the king saw +the part of the hand that wrote. + +6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled +him, so that his knees smote one against another. + +7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and +the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of +Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew +me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have +a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the +kingdom. + +8 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the +writing, nor make known the interpretation thereof. + +10 Now the queen came into the banquet house, and said, O king, live +forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee. + +11 There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy +gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, +like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom Nebuchadnezzar thy +father made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and +soothsayers; . . . now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the +interpretation. + +13 Then was Daniel brought in; and he said, I will read the writing +unto the king. + +25 And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, +Upharsin. + +26 This Is The Interpretation Of The Thing: Mene; God Hath Numbered +Thy Kingdom, And Finished It. + +27 Tekel; Thou Are Weighed In The Balance, And Art Found Wanting. + +28 Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. + +29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, +and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation +concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. + +20 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. + + +Historians say that Cyrus was at this time besieging the city and knew +of this feast, and took this opportunity to make his attack and to slay +the king. + +In the midst of the consternation at the feast the queen entered to +advise Belshazzar. It is supposed that this queen was the widow of the +evil Merodach, and was that famous Nitocris whom Herodotus mentions as +a woman of extraordinary prudence and wisdom. She was not present at +the feast, as were the king's wives and concubines. It was not +agreeable to her age and gravity to dissipate at night; but tidings of +the consternation in the banquet hall were brought to her, so that she +came and entreated him not to be discouraged by the incapacity of the +wise men to solve the riddle; for there was a man in his kingdom who +had more than once helped his father in emergencies and would no doubt +advise him. She could not read the writing herself; but she said, let +the Prophet Daniel be called. The account she gives of the respect +Nebuchadnezzar had for him, for his insight into the deepest mysteries, +and of his goodness and wisdom, moved the king to summon Daniel into +his presence. + +Daniel was now near ninety years of age, and for a long time had not +been in court circles; but the queen dowager remembered him in the +court of the king's father. She reminded her son of the high esteem in +which he was held by his father. The interpretation which +Daniel gave of these mystic characters was far from easing the king of +his fears. Daniel being in years, and Belshazzar still young, he took +greater liberty in dealing plainly with him than he had with his +father. He read the warning as written on the wall: + +"Thou hast been weighed in the balance and found wanting, and thy +kingdom is divided and rent from thee." + +Although the exposition of the handwriting was most discouraging, yet +the king kept his promise, and put on Daniel the scarlet gown and the +gold chain. + + + +MICAH. + + + +Micah ii. + + + +9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; +from their children have ye taken away my glory forever. + + + +Micah vii. + + + +6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against +her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law. + +Here the Israelites are rebuked for their cruel treatment of their own +people, robbing widows and selling children into slavery. Family life +as well as public affairs seems to have become unsettled. The contempt +and the violation of the laws of domestic duties are a sad symptom of +universal corruption. + + + +MALACHI. + + + +Malachi ii. + + + +11 Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and +hath married the daughter of a strange god. + +14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between +thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt +treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. + +15 That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your +spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. + + +These Israelites were always violating the national law which forbade +them to marry strange women. The corruption of the nation began, say +the historians, with the intermarriage of the "sons of God" +with the "daughters of men," meaning, I suppose, those of the tribes +who had a different religion, "He that marries a heathen woman is as if +he made himself son-in-law to an idol." They put away the wives of +their own nation, and, as was the fashion at one time, married those of +other nations. This spoiled the lives of the daughters of Israel. They +were uncertain as to their social relations, family, right to their +children, and support in their old age, as a paper of divorce could be +given to them at any time. The denunciations of the Prophets had no +great weight in matters where strong feeling and sound judgment +conflicted. + +Charming women, of the Hittites and of the Midianites, with their +novel dress, manners and conversation, attracted the men of Israel. +They could not resist the temptation. When the strongest man and the +wisest one are alike led captive, there is no significance in calling +woman--"the weaker sex." + +Though few women appear in the closing tragedies of the Old Testament, +yet the idiosyncrasies of the sex are constantly used to point a moral +or to condemn a sin. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE KABBALAH. + + + +The Bible is an occult book, and a remarkable one. About all creeds +and faiths this side of Pagandom go to it for their authority. Read in +the light of occult teachings, it becomes something more than the old +battle ground of controversy for warring religions. Occultism alone +furnishes the key to this ancient treasury of wisdom. But to turn now +to another point, it may be well to call the attention of the readers +of The Woman's Bible to a few quotations from MacGregor Mathers' +"Kabbalah Unveiled," which has been pronounced by competent authorities +the work of a master hand. This work is a translation of Knorr Von +Rosenroth's "Kabbalah Denudata." + +The Kabbalah--the Hebrew esoteric doctrines--is a system of teachings +with which only the very learned attempt to wrestle. It is claimed to +have been handed down by oral tradition from angelic sources, through +Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Seventy Elders, to David and to +Solomon. No attempt was made to commit this sacred knowledge to +writing, till, in the early centuries of the Christian era (authorities +differ widely as to the date) the pupils of Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi put +his teachings into writing; and this in later ages became known as the +"Zohar," or "Book of Splendor." Around the name of this Rabbi Simeon +ben Joachi, as one scholarly writer puts it, "cluster the mystery and +the poetry of the religion of the Kabbalah as a gift of the Deity to +mankind." The Zohar, which is only a part of the Kabbalah, is the great +store-house of the esoteric teaching of the ancient Hebrews. + +Returning to the quotations referred to above, MacGregor Mathers in +his preface says: "I wish particularly to direct the reader's attention +to the stress laid by the Kabbalah on the feminine aspects of the +Deity, and to the shameful way in which any allusion to these has been +suppressed in the ordinary translations of the Bible, also to the +Kabbalistical equality of male and female." + +Referring to the Sephiroth (the ten Kabbalistical attributes of God), +Mr. Mathers says: + +"Among these Sephiroth, jointly and severally, we find the development +of the persons and the attributes of God. Of these, some are male and +some are female. Now, for some reason or other, best known to +themselves, the translators of the Bible have carefully crowded out of +existence and smothered up every reference to the fact that the Deity +is both masculine and feminine. They have translated a feminine plural +by a masculine singular in the case of the word Elohim. They have, +however, left an inadvertent admission of their knowledge that it was +plural in Genesis iv., 26: 'And Elohim said: Let US make man.' + +"Again (v., 27), how could Adam be made in the image of the Elohim, +male and female, unless the Elohim were male and female also? The word +Elohim is a plural formed from the feminine singular ALH, Eloh, by +adding IM to the word. But inasmuch as IM is usually the termination of +the masculine plural, and is here added to a feminine noun, it gives to +the word Elohim the sense of a female potency united to a masculine +idea, and thereby capable of producing an offspring. Now we hear much +of the Father and the Son, but we hear nothing of the Mother in the +ordinary religions of the day. But in the Kabbalah we find that the +Ancient of Days conforms himself simultaneously into the Father and the +Mother, and thus begets the Son. Now this Mother is Elohim." + +The writer then goes on to show that the Holy Spirit, usually +represented as masculine, is in fact feminine. The first Sephira +contained the other nine, and produced them in succession. The second +is Chokmah (Wisdom), and is the active and evident Father to whom the +Mother is united. The third is a feminine passive potency called Binah +(Understanding), and is co-equal with Chokmah. Chokmah is powerless +till the number three forms the triangle. + +"Thus this Sephira completes and makes evident the supernal Trinity. +It is also called AMA, Mother, the great productive Mother, who is +eternally conjoined with the Father for the maintenance of the +universe in order. Therefore is she the most evident form in whom we +can know the Father, and therefore is she worthy of all honor. She is +the supernal Mother, co-equal with Chokmah, and the great feminine form +of God, the Elohim, in whose image man and woman were created, +according to the teaching of the Kabbalah, equal before God. Woman is +equal with man, not inferior to him, as it has been the persistent +endeavor of so-called Christians to make her. Aima is the woman +described in the Apocalypse (ch. 12)." + +"This third Sephira is also sometimes called the Great Sea. To her are +attributed the Divine names, Alaim, Elohim, and Iahveh Alhim; and the +angelic order, Arhlim, the Thrones. She is the supernal Mother as +distinguished from Malkuth, the inferior Mother, Bride and Queen. . . . +In each of the three trinities or triads of the Sephiroth is a dual of +opposite sexes, and a uniting intelligence which is the result. In +this, the masculine and feminine potencies are regarded as the two +scales of the balance, and the uniting Sephira as the beam which joins +them." + +In chapter viii. we read: "Chokmah is the Father, and Binah is the +Mother, and therein are Chokmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding), +counterbalanced together in most perfect equality of Male and Female. +And therefore are all things established in the equality of Male and +Female; if it were not so, how could they subsist? . . . In their +conformations are They found to be the perfections of all things-- +Father and Mother, Son and Daughter. These things have not been +revealed save unto the Holy Superiors who have entered therein and +departed therefrom, and have known the paths of the Most Holy God, so +that they have not erred in them, either on the right hand or on the +left." + +In a note in regard to Chokmah and Binah the author says: "Chokmah is +the second and Binah is the third of the Sephiroth. This section is a +sufficient condemnation of all those who wish to make out that woman is +inferior to man." + +The Kabbalah also speaks of the separation of the sexes as the cause +of evil, or as the author puts it in a note: "Where there is unbalanced +force, there is the origin of evil." Further on it is written: "And +therefore is Aima (the Mother) known to be the consummation of +all things; and She is signified to be the beginning and the end. . . . +And hence that which is not both Male and Female together is called +half a body. Now, no blessing can rest upon a mutilated and defective +being, but only upon a perfect place and upon a perfect being, and not +at all in an incomplete being. And a semi-complete being cannot live +forever, neither can it receive blessing forever." + +The following is the author's comment upon the above: "This section is +another all-sufficient proof of the teachings maintained throughout the +Kabbalah, namely, that man and woman are from the creation co-equal and +co-existent, perfectly equal, one with the other. This fact the +translators of the Bible have been at great pains to conceal by +carefully suppressing every reference to the feminine portion of the +Deity, and by constantly translating feminine nouns by masculine. And +this is the work of so-called religious men!" + +A learned Jewish Rabbi, with whom the writer is acquainted, says: +"Those who write on the Bible must be very careful when they come to +speak of the position of woman to make a clear distinction between the +Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament, except in the second +chapter of Genesis, woman occupies a true and a dignified position in +society and in the family. For example, take the position of Sarah, of +the Prophetess Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Deborah the Prophetess. +They all exemplify the true position of woman in the Old Testament. +While Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, and the chief writer in the +New Testament, condemned woman to silence in the Church and to strict +obedience to her husband, making her thereby inferior to the man, the +Old Testament gave free scope to the development of the Holy Spirit in +woman. To intensify this teaching upon the position of woman, we find +even the voice of the Deity telling Abraham: 'Whatever Sarah tells +thee, thou shalt hearken unto her voice,' showing that woman in her own +home was the guiding power." In regard to another point this Rabbi +says: "The learned Jewish Rabbis of modern times do not take the rib +story literally. And this may be said of many of the olden times." + +The Kabbalah and its learned expositors may be said to be "the +throbbing heart" of the Jewish religion, as was graphically said of the +mystic teachings of another occult fraternity. And in view of the +Kabbalah's antiquity, and the fact that it is the fountain head of the +body of the Old Testament teachings, these quotations as to the real +Kabbalistic teachings in regard to woman, or to the feminine aspects of +the Deity, are of first-class importance in such a book as "The Woman's +Bible." In Kabbalistic teachings "there is one Trinity which comprises +all the Sephiroth, and it consists of the crown, the king and the +queen. . . . It is the Trinity which created the world, or, in +Kabbalistic language, the universe was born from the union of the +crowned king and queen." + +The rib story is veiled in the mystic language of symbolism. According +to occult teachings, there was a time before man was differentiated +into sexes--that is, when he was androgynous. Then the time came, +millions of years ago, when the differentiation into sexes took place. +And to this the rib story refers. There has been much ignorance and +confusion in regard to the real nature of woman, indicating that she is +possessed of a mystic nature and a power which will gradually be +developed and better understood as the world becomes more enlightened. +Woman has been branded as the author of evil in the world; and at the +same time she has been exalted to the position of mother of the Saviour +of the world. These two positions are as conflicting as the general +ideas which have prevailed in regard to woman--the great enigma of the +world. + +Theological odium has laid its hand heavily upon her. "This odium," as +a Rev. D. D. once said to the writer, "is a thing with more horns, more +thorns, more quills and more snarls than almost any other sort of thing +you have ever heard of. It has kindled as many fires of martyrdom; it +has slipnoosed as many ropes for the necks of well-meaning men; it has +built as many racks for the dislocation of human bones; it has forged +as many thumbscrews; it has built as many dungeons; it has ostracised +as many scholars and philosophers; it has set itself against light and +pushed as hard to make the earth revolve the other way on its axis, as +any other force of mischief of whatever name or kind." + +And that is the fearful thing with which woman has had to contend. +When she is free from it we may be assured that the dawn of a new day +is not far off. And among the indications pointing that way is the fact +that the Bible itself has been "under treatment" for some time. What is +known as the "Higher Criticism" has done much to clear away the clouds +of superstition which have enveloped it. + +One of the latest works on this line is "The Polychrome Bible"--the +word meaning the different colors in which the texts, the notes, the +dates, the translations, etc., are printed for the sake of simplifying +matters. Prof. Paul Haupt, of Johns Hopkins University, is at the head +of this great work, ably assisted by a large corps of the best Biblical +scholars in the world. It is not to be a revision of the accepted +version, but a new translation in modern English. The translation is +not to be literal except in the highest sense of the word, viz., "to +render the sense of the original as faithfully as possible." There are +to be explanatory notes, historical and archaelogical illustrations of +the text, paraphrases of difficult passages, etc. In short, everything +possible is to be done to simplify and to make plain this ancient book. +The contributors have instructions not to hesitate to state what they +consider to be the truth, but with as little offence to the general +reader as possible. This work has been pronounced the greatest literary +undertaking of the century--a work which will prepare the way for the +coming generation to give an entirely new consideration to the +religious problem. It was begun in 1890, and will probably not be +completed before 1900. + +Another important work, small in actual size but big with +significance, has just been issued in England under the title of "The +Bible and the Child." It is not, as its name might imply, a book for +children, but it is for the purpose of "showing the right way of +presenting the Bible to the young in the light of the Higher +Criticism." Its eight contributors are headed by Canon F. W. Farrar, of +England, and includes a number of noted English divines. An English +writer outside of the orthodox pale says: "It is one of the most +extraordinary books published in the English language. It is small; but +it is just the turning-scale to the side of common sense in matters +religious. The Church has at last taken a step in the right direction. +We cannot expect it to set off at a gallop; but it is fairly ambling +along on its comfortable palfrey." + +The advance is all along the line; and we need not fear any retrograde +movement to the past. Canon Farrar says that the manner in which the +Higher Criticism has progressed "is exactly analogous to the way in +which the truths of astronomy and of geology have triumphed over +universal opposition. They were once anathematized as 'Infidel;' they +are now accepted as axiomatic." When an official of the Church of +England of the high standing of Canon Farrar comes out so boldly in the +interest of free thought and free criticism on lines hitherto held to +be too sacred for human reason to cross, it is one of the "signs of the +times," and a most hopeful one of the future. + +And now that we are coming to understand the Bible better than to +worship it as an idol, it will gradually be lifted from the shadows and +the superstitions of an age when, as a fetich, it was exalted above +reason, and placed where a spiritually enlightened people can see it in +its true light-a book in which many a bright jewel has been buried +under some rubbish, perhaps, as well as under many symbolisms and +mystic language--a book which is not above the application of reason +and of common sense. And with these new lights on the Bible, it is +gratifying to know at the same time that the stately Hebrew Kabbalah, +hoary with antiquity, and the fountain source of the Old Testament, +places woman on a perfect equality in the Godhead. For better authority +than that one can hardly ask. + +We are nearing the close of a remarkable century, the last half of +which, and especially the last quarter, has been crowded with +discoveries, some of them startling in their approximation to the +inner, or occult world--a world in which woman has potent sway. The +close of this century has long been pointed to by scholars, by writers +and by Prophets, within the Church and out of it, as the close of the +old dispensation and the opening of the new one. And in view of the +rapid steps which we are taking in these latter years, we can almost +feel the breath of the new cycle fan our cheeks as we watch the +deepening hues of the breaking dawn. + + +F. E. B. + + + + + +THE NEW TESTAMENT. + + + +"Great is Truth, and mighty above all things."--1 Esdras, iv., 41. + + + +Does the New Testament bring promises of new dignity and of larger +liberties for woman? When thinking women make any criticisms on their +degraded position in the Bible, Christians point to her exaltation in +the New Testament, as if, under their religion, woman really does +occupy a higher position than under the Jewish dispensation. While +there are grand types of women presented under both religions, there is +no difference in the general estimate of the sex. In fact, her inferior +position is more clearly and emphatically set forth by the Apostles +than by the Prophets and the Patriarchs. There are no such specific +directions for woman's subordination in the Pentateuch as in the +Epistles. + +We are told that the whole sex was highly honored in Mary being the +mother of Jesus. Surely a wise and virtuous son is more indebted to his +mother than she is to him, and is honored only by reflecting her +superior characteristics. Why the founders of the Christian religion +did not improvise an earthly Father as well as an earthly Mother does +not clearly appear. The questionable position of Joseph is +unsatisfactory. As Mary belonged to the Jewish aristocracy, she should +have had a husband of the same rank. If a Heavenly Father was +necessary, why not a Heavenly Mother? If an earthly Mother was +admirable, why not not {sic} an earthly Father? The Jewish idea that +Jesus was born according to natural law is more rational than is the +Christian record of the immaculate conception by the Holy Ghost, the +third person of the Trinity. These Biblical mysteries and +inconsistencies are a great strain on the credulity of the ordinary +mind. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Jesus was the great leading Radical of his age. Everything that he was +and said and did alienated and angered the Conservatives, those that +represented and stood for the established order of what they believed +to be the fixed and final revelation of God. Is it any wonder that they +procured his death? They had no power to put him to death themselves, +and so they stirred the suspicions of the Roman authorities. + +We owe the conquest of Christianity to two things. First, to Paul. +Christianity never would have been anything but a little Jewish sect if +it had not been for Paul. And the other thing is--what? The conquest +over death. It was the abounding belief of the disciples that Jesus was +alive, their leader still, though in the invisible, which made them +laugh in the face of death, which made them fearless in the presence of +the lions in the arena, which made them seek for the honor and glory of +martyrdom, and which gave them such conquest over all fear, all sorrow, +all toil, as can come only to those who believe that this life is +merely a training school, that death is nothing but a doorway and that +it leads out into the eternal glories and grandeurs beyond. + +I think that the doctrine of the Virgin birth as something higher, +sweeter, nobler than ordinary motherhood, is a slue on all the natural +motherhood of the world. I believe that millions of children have been +as immaculately conceived, as purely born, as was the Nazarene. Why +not? Out of this doctrine, and that which is akin to it, have sprung +all the monasteries and the nunneries of the world, which have +disgraced and distorted and demoralized manhood and womanhood for a +thousand years. I place beside the false, monkish, unnatural claim of +the Immaculate Conception my mother, who was as holy in her motherhood +as was Mary herself. + +Another suggestion. This thought of Jesus as the second person of an +inconceivable trinity, a being neither of heaven nor earth, but between +the two; a being having two natures and one will; a being who was +ignorant as a man, and who suffered as a man, while he knew everything +as God and could not suffer as God--this conception is part of a scheme +of the universe which represents humanity as ruined and lost and +hopeless, God as unjust, and man as looking only to a fearful judgment +in the ages that are to be. I believe that thousands of people have +lived since the time of Jesus as good, as tender, as loving, as true, as +faithful, as he. There is no more mystery in the one case than in the +other, for it is all mystery. Old Father Taylor, the famous Methodist +Bethel preacher in Boston, was a Perfectionist, and when he was asked if +he thought anybody had since lived who was as good as Jesus, he said: +"Yes; millions of them." This is Methodist authority. + +What made Jesus the power he was of his time? In the first place, +there was an inexplicable charm about his personality which drew all +the common people to him, as iron filings are drawn by a magnet. He +loved the people, who instinctively felt it, and loved him. Then there +was his intellectual power of speech. Most of the sayings of Jesus are +not original in the sense that nobody else ever uttered any similar +truths before. Confucius, six thousand years before Jesus, gave +utterance to the Golden Rule. And then there was the pity, the +sympathy, the tenderness of the man. And then he had trust in God-- +trust in the simple Fatherhood of God, that never could be shaken. +Jesus taught us, as no one else has ever done it, the humanness of God +and the divineness of man, so that, standing there eighteen hundred +years ago, he has naturally and infallibly attracted the eyes, the +thought, the love, the reverence of the world. + +When it is dark in the morning, and before the sun rises, there are +high peaks that catch the far-off rays and begin to glow, while the +rest of the world still lies in shadow. So there are mountainous men, +not supernatural, but as natural as the mountains and the sun-- +mountainous men who catch the light before our common eyes on the +plains and in the valleys can see it, who see and proclaim from their +lofty heights far-off visions of truth and beauty that we as yet cannot +discern. + + +ANON. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF MATTHEW. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Matthew i. + + + +16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, +who is called Christ. + +17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen +generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are +fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto +Christ are fourteen generations. + + +Saint Matthew is supposed to be distinguished from the other Apostles +by the frequency of his references to the Old Testament. He records +more particulars of Jesus than the others do, far more of his birth, +his sayings and his miracles. + +There has been much difference of opinion among writers of both sacred +and profane history as to the paternity of Jesus, and whether he was a +real or an ideal character. If, as the Scriptures claim, he descended +from heaven, begotten by the Holy Ghost, the incarnation of God +himself, then there was nothing remarkable in his career, nor +miraculous in the seeming wonders which he performed, being the soul +and the centre of all the forces of the universe of matter and of mind. +If he was an ideal character, like the gifted hero of some novel or +tragedy, his great deeds and his wise sayings the result of the +imagination of some skilful artist, then we may admire the sketch as a +beautiful picture. But if Jesus was a man who was born, lived and died +as do other men, a worthy example for imitation, he is deserving of our +love and reverence, and by showing us the possibilities of human nature +he is a constant inspiration, our hope and salvation; for the path, +however rough, in which one man has walked, others may follow. As a God +with infinite power he could have been no example to us; but with human +limitations we may emulate his virtues and walk in his footsteps. + +Some writers think that his mother was a wise, great and beautiful +Jewish maiden, and his father a learned rabbi, who devoted much time +and thought to his son's education. At a period when learning was +confined to the few, it was a matter of surprise that as a mere boy he +could read and write, and discuss the vital questions of the hour with +doctors in the sacred temples. His great physical beauty, the wisdom of +his replies to the puzzling questions of the Pharisees and the +Sadducces, his sympathy with the poor and the needy, his ambition for +all that is best in human development, and his indifference to worldly +aggrandizement, altogether made him a marked man in his day and +generation. For these reasons he was hated, reviled, persecuted, like +the long line of martyrs who followed his teachings. He commands far +more love and reverence as a true man with only human possibilities, +than as a God, superior to all human frailties and temptations. + +What were years of persecution, the solitude on the mountain, the +agonies on the cross, with the power of a God to sustain him? But +unaided and alone to triumph over all human weakness, trials and +temptation, was victory not only for Jesus but for every human being +made in his image. + + + +Matthew ii. + + + +1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod +the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, + +2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen +his star in the cast, and are come to worship him. + +3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all +Jerusalem with him. + +4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests together, he demanded +of them where Christ should be born. + +5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: + +8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently +for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word. + +9 And they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, +went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. + +11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child +with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they +had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and +frankincense, and myrrh. + +12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to +Herod, they departed into their own country another way. + +13 And the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, +Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt; +for Herod will seek to destroy him. + +14 And he arose, and departed into Egypt; + +19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in +a dream to Joseph + +20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into +the land of Israel. + + +These sages were supposed to be men of great learning belonging to a +sect called Magians, who came from Arabia. There was a general +feeling that the king of the Jews was yet to be born, and that they +were soon to see the long expected and promised Messiah. Herod was +greatly troubled by the tidings that a child had been born under +remarkable circumstances. The star spoken of was supposed to be a +luminous meteor the wise men had seen in their own country before they +set out on their journey for Bethlehem, and which now guided them to +the house where the young child was. Notwithstanding the common +surroundings, the wise men recognizing something more than human in the +child, fell down and worshiped him and presented unto him the most +precious gifts which their country yielded. Some have supposed that the +frankincense and the myrrh were intended as an acknowledgment of his +deity, as the gold was of his royalty. + +To defeat the subtle malice of Herod, who was determined to take the +child's life, Joseph was warned in a dream to flee into Egypt with the +child and his mother. The wise men did not return to Herod as +commanded, but went at once to their own country. + + + +Matthew ix. + + + +18 Behold, there came a certain ruler, saying, My daughter is even now +dead; but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. + +19 And Jesus arose and followed him. + +2 And behold, a woman, which was diseased twelve years, came behind +him, and touched the hem of his garment: + +21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I +shall be whole. + +22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, +be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was +made whole from that hour. + +23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, * * * + +24 He said, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And +they laughed him to scorn, + +25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the +hand, and the maid arose. + + + +Matthew xiv. + + + +3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and put him in prison for Herodias' +sake, his brother Philip's wife. + +4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. + +5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, +because they counted him as a prophet. + +6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced +before them, and pleased Herod. + +7 Whereupon he promised to give her whatsoever she would ask. + +8 And she being before instructed of her met, Give me here John +Baptist's head in a charger. + +9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake he +commanded it to be given her, + +10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. + +11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and +she brought it to her mother. + +12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and +went and told Jesus. + + +Josephus says that Herodias was niece both to her former husband, +Philip, and to Herod, with whom she at this time lived. Herod had +divorced his own wife in order to take her; and her husband Philip was +still living, as well as the daughter Salome, whom he had by her. No +connection could be more contrary to the law of God than this. John, +therefore, being a prophet and no courtier, plainly reproved Herod, and +declared that it was not lawful for him to retain Herodias. This +greatly offended Herod and Herodias, and they cast John into prison, +Herodias waited her opportunity to wreak her malice on him, counting +John's reproof an insult to her character as well as an interference +with her ambition. + +At length when Herod celebrated his birthday, entertaining his nobles +with great magnificence, the daughter of Herodias danced before them +all, with such exquisite grace as to delight the company, whereupon +Herod promised her whatever she desired, though equal in value to half +his kingdom. Salome consulted her mother, who urged her to demand the +head of John the Baptist. By the influence of Herodias, Herod, contrary +to his own conscience, was induced to put John to death, for he feared +him as a righteous man. + +It must have been a great trial to the daughter, who might have asked +so many beautiful gifts and rare indulgences, to yield all to her +wicked mother's revenge. But these deeds were speedily avenged. It is +said that Salome had her head cut off by the ice breaking as she passed +over it. Herod was shortly after engaged in a disastrous war on account +of Herodias, and was expelled from his territories; and both died in +exile, hated by everybody and hating one another. + + +L. C. S. + + + +In regard to the charge against Herodias, which is current among +theological scandal-mongers, there is not a moderately intelligent jury +of Christendom (if composed half of men and half of women) which, after +examining all the available evidence, would not render a verdict in her +favor of "Not Guilty." The statement that She "paid the price of her +own daughter's debasement and disgrace for the head of John the +Baptist," is an assertion born wholly of the ecclesiastical, distorted +imagination. Not even a hint, much less an iota of proof, to +warrant such an assertion, is found anywhere in history--sacred or +profane. While some anonymous writer of the early Christian centuries +did put in circulation the charge that John the Baptist was put to +death at the instigation of Herodias (without implicating her +daughter's character, however), Josephus, on the contrary, explicitly +declares that his death was wholly a political matter, with which the +names of Herodias and her daughter are not even connected by rumor. +Says Josephus: "When others came in crowds about him (John the +Baptist), for they were greatly moved by hearing his words, Herod, who +feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it +into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed +ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him +to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause. . . . Accordingly he +was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the +castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death." + +Now, the jury must remember that Josephus was born in Jerusalem about +38 A. D., that he was an educated man and in a position to know the +facts in this case, owing both to his prominent position among the Jews +and to his study of contemporaneous history. But that, on the other +hand, the anonymous writers who bring Herodias' name into the +transaction, are not traceable further back than the fourth century of +our era, and that even they do not bring any charge against her +character as a mother. + + +E. B. D. + + + +Matthew xv. + + + +21 Then Jesus departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. + +22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan cried unto him, saying, Have mercy +on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with +a devil. + +23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples besought him to +send her away. + +24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of +the house of .Israel. + +25 Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. + +26 But he said, It is not meet to take the children's food, and to +cast it to dogs. + +27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which +fall from their master's table. + +23 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: +be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from +that very hour. + + +Peter had a house in Capernaum; and his wife's mother lived with them; +and Jesus lodged with them when in that city. It is hoped +that his presence brought out the best traits of the mother-in-law, so +as to make her agreeable to Peter. As soon as Jesus rebuked the fever, +she was able without delay to rise and to wait on Jesus and his +disciples. These displays of the power of Christ in performing +miracles, according to the text, are varied, in almost every +conceivable way of beneficence; but he wrought no miracles of +vengeance, even the destruction of the swine was doubtless intended in +mercy and conducive to much good--so say the commentators. He not only +healed the sick and cast out devils, but he made the blind to see and +the dumb to speak. + +The woman of Canaan proved herself quite equal in argument with Jesus; +and though by her persistency she tired the patience of the disciples, +she made her points with Jesus with remarkable clearness. His patience +with women was a sore trial to the disciples, who were always disposed +to nip their appeals in the bud. It was very ungracious in Jesus to +speak of the Jews as dogs, saying, "It is not meet to take the +children's food, and to cast it to dogs." Her reply, "Yet the dogs eat +of the crumbs which fall from the master's table," was bright and +appropriate. Jesus appreciated her tact and her perseverance, and +granted her request; and her daughter, the text says, was healed. + +We might doubt the truth of all these miracles did We not see so many +wonderful things in our own day which we would have pronounced +impossible years ago. The fact of human power developing in so many +remarkable ways proves that Jesus's gift of performing miracles is +attainable by those who, like him, live pure lives, and whose blood +flows in the higher arches of the brain. If one man, at any period of +the world's history, performed miracles, others equally gifted may do +the same. + + + +Matthew xx. + + + +20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, +worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. + +21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant +that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the +other on the left, in thy kingdom. + + +Zebedee, the father of James and of John, was dead; and he was not so +constant a follower of Christ as his wife; so she is mentioned +as the mother of Zebedee's children, which saying has passed into a +conundrum, "Who was the mother of Zebedee's children?" Scott in his +commentaries gives her name as Salome. Whatever her name, she had great +ambition for her sons, and asked that they might have the chief places +of honor and authority in his kingdom. Her son James was the first of +the Apostles who suffered martyrdom. John survived all the rest and is +not supposed to have died a violent death. + +A mother's ambition to lift her sons over her own head in education +and position, planning extraordinary responsibilities for ordinary men, +has proved a misfortune in many cases. Many a young man who would be a +success as a carpenter would be a failure as the governor of a State. +Mothers are quite apt to overestimate the genius of their children and +push them into niches which they cannot fill. + + + +Matthew xxii. + + + +23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no +resurrection and asked him, + +24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his +brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. + +25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had +married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his +brother: + +26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. + +27 And last of all the woman died also. + +28 Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the +seven? for they all had her. + +29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the +Scriptures, nor the power of God. + +30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in +marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. + + +Jesus reminded the Sadducees that marriage was intended only for the +present world, to replenish the earth and to repair the ravages which +death continually makes among its inhabitants; but as in the future +state there was to be no death, so no marriage. There the body even +would be made spiritual; and all the employments and the pleasures pure +and angelic. The marriage relation seems to have been a tangled problem +in all ages. Scientists tell us that both the masculine and feminine +elements were united in one person in the beginning, and will probably +be reunited again for eternity. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Matthew xxv. + + + +1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which +took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. + +2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. + +3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: + +4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. + +5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. + +6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; +go ye out to meet him. + +7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. + +8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our +lamps are gone out. + +9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for +us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. + +10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were +ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. + +11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to +us. + +12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. + + +In this chapter we have the duty of self-development impressively and +repeatedly urged in the form of parables, addressed alike to man and to +woman. The sin of neglecting and of burying one's talents, capacities +and powers, and the penalties which such a course involve, are here +strikingly portrayed. + +This parable is found among the Jewish records substantially the same +as in our own Scriptures. Their weddings were generally celebrated at +night; yet they usually began at the rising of the evening star; but in +this case there was a more than ordinary delay. Adam Clarke in his +commentaries explains this parable as referring chiefly to spiritual +gifts and the religious life. He makes the Lord of Hosts the +bridegroom, the judgment day the wedding feast, the foolish virgins the +sinners whose hearts were cold and dead, devoid of all spiritual +graces, and unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven, The wise virgins were +the saints who were ready for translation, or for the bridal +procession. They followed to the wedding feast; and when the chosen had +entered "the door was shut." + +This strikes us as a strained interpretation of a very simple parable, +which, considered in connection with the other parables, seems to apply +much more closely to this life than to that which is to come, to the +intellectual and the moral nature, and to the whole round of human +duties. It fairly describes the two classes which help to make up +society in general. The one who, like the foolish virgins, have never +learned the first important duty of cultivating their own individual +powers, using the talents given to them, and keeping their own lamps +trimmed and burning. The idea of being a helpmeet to somebody else has +been so sedulously drilled into most women that an individual life, +aim, purpose and ambition are never taken into consideration. They +oftimes do so much in other directions that they neglect the most vital +duties to themselves. + +We may find in this simple parable a lesson for the cultivation of +courage and of self-reliance. These virgins are summoned to the +discharge of an important duty at midnight, alone, in darkness, and in +solitude. No chivalrous gentleman is there to run for oil and to trim +their lamps. They must depend on themselves, unsupported, and pay the +penalty of their own improvidence and unwisdom. Perhaps in that bridal +procession might have been seen fathers, brothers, friends, for whose +service and amusement the foolish virgins had wasted many precious +hours, when they should have been trimming their own lamps and keeping +oil in their vessels. + +And now, with music, banners, lanterns, torches, guns and rockets fired +at intervals, come the bride and the groom, with their attendants and +friends numbering thousands, brilliant in jewels, gold and silver, +magnificently mounted on richly caparisoned horses--for nothing can be +more brilliant than were those nuptial solemnities of Eastern nations. +As this spectacle, grand beyond description, sweeps by, imagine the +foolish virgins pushed aside, in the shadow of some tall edifice, with +dark, empty lamps in their hands, unnoticed and unknown. And while the +castle walls resound with music and merriment, and the lights from every +window stream out far into the darkness, no kind friends gather round +them to sympathize in their humiliation, nor to cheer their loneliness. +It matters little that women may be ignorant, dependent, unprepared for +trial and for temptation. Alone they must meet the terrible emergencies +of life, to be sustained and protected amid danger and death by their +own courage, skill and self-reliance, or perish. + +Woman's devotion to the comfort, the education, the success of men in +general, and to their plans and projects, is in a great measure due to +her self-abnegation and self-sacrifice having been so long and so +sweetly lauded by poets, philosophers and priests as the acme of human +goodness and glory. + +Now, to my mind, there is nothing commendable in the action of young +women who go about begging funds to educate young men for the ministry, +while they and the majority of their sex are too poor to educate +themselves, and if able, are still denied admittance into some of the +leading institutions of learning throughout our land. It is not +commendable for women to get up fairs and donation parties for churches +in which the gifted of their sex may neither pray, preach, share in the +offices and honors, nor have a voice in the business affairs, creeds +and discipline, and from whose altars come forth Biblical +interpretations in favor of woman's subjection. + +It is not commendable for the women of this Republic to expend much +enthusiasm on political parties as now organized, nor in national +celebrations, for they have as yet no lot or part in the great +experiment of self-government. + +In their ignorance, women sacrifice themselves to educate the men of +their households, and to make of themselves ladders by which their +husbands, brothers and sons climb up into the kingdom of knowledge, +while they themselves are shut out from all intellectual companionship, +even with those they love best; such are indeed like the foolish +virgins. They have not kept their own lamps trimmed and burning; they +have no oil in their vessels, no resources in themselves; they bring no +light to their households nor to the circle in which they move; and +when the bridegroom cometh, when the philosopher, the scientist, the +saint, the scholar, the great and the learned, all come together to +celebrate the marriage feast of science and religion, the foolish +virgins, though present, are practically shut out; for what know they +of the grand themes which inspire each tongue and kindle every +thought? Even the brothers and the sons whom they have educated, now +rise to heights which they cannot reach, span distances which they +cannot comprehend. + +The solitude of ignorance, oh, who can measure its misery! + +The wise virgins are they who keep their lamps trimmed, who burn oil +in their vessels for their own use, who have improved every advantage +for their education, secured a healthy, happy, complete development, +and entered all the profitable avenues of labor, for self-support, so +that when the opportunities and the responsibilities of life come, they +may be fitted fully to enjoy the one and ably to discharge the other. + +These are the women who to-day are close upon the heels of man in the +whole realm of thought, in art, in science, in literature and in +government. With telescopic vision they explore the starry firmament, +and bring back the history of the planetary world. With chart and +compass they pilot ships across the mighty deep, and with skilful +fingers send electric messages around the world. In galleries of art, +the grandeur of nature and the greatness of humanity are immortalized +by them on canvas, and by their inspired touch, dull blocks of marble +are transformed into angels of light. In music they speak again the +language of Mendelssohn, of Beethoven, of Chopin, of Schumann, and are +worthy interpreters of their great souls. The poetry and the novels of +the century are theirs; they, too, have touched the keynote of reform +in religion, in politics and in social life. They fill the editors' and +the professors' chairs, plead at the bar of justice, walk the wards of +the hospital, and speak from the pulpit and the platform. + +Such is the widespread preparation for the marriage feast of science +and religion; such is the type of womanhood which the bridegroom of an +enlightened public sentiment welcomes to-day; and such is the triumph +of the wise virgins over the folly, the ignorance and the degradation +of the past as in grand procession they enter the temple of knowledge, +and the door is no longer shut. + + + +Matthew xxvi. + + + +6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, + +7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious +ointment, and poured it on his head. + +8 But. when his disciples saw it, they said, To what purpose is this +waste? + +9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the +poor. + +10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the +woman? + +11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. + +12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it +for my burial. + +13 Verily, I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached, +there shall also this be told for a memorial of her. + + + +Matthew xxvii. + + + +19 When Pilate was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto +him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have +suffered many things this day in a dream, because of him. + +24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a +tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the +multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see +ye to it. + +25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on +our children. + +55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus +from Galilee, ministering unto him; + +56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James and +Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. + +61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over +against the sepulchre. + + +It is a common opinion among Christians that the persecutions of the +Jews in all periods and latitudes is a punishment on them for their +crucifixion of Jesus, and that this defiant acceptance of the +responsibility is being justly fulfilled. + + + +Matthew xxviii. + + + +1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn came Mary Magdalene +and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. + +2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord +descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the +door, and sat upon it. + +3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: + +4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. + +5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I +know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. + +7 Go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; +and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him. + +8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with great joy. + +9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, +saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped +him. + +10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: tell my brethren that +they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. + + +Among the witnesses of the crucifixion, this melancholy and untimely +scene, there were some women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and +had waited on him, supplying his wants from their substance. Affection +and anxious concern induced them to be present, and probably they stand +afar off, fearing the outrages of the multitude. Words cannot +express the mixed emotions of true gratitude, reverence, sorrow and +compassion which must have agitated their souls on this occasion. We +find from John, who was also present, that Mary the mother of Jesus was +a spectator of this distressing scene. + +When Jesus was brought before Pilate, he was greatly troubled as to +what judgment he should give, and his hesitation was increased by a +warning from his wife, to have no part in the death of that righteous +man; for she had terrifying dreams respecting him, which made her +conclude that his death would be avenged by some unseen power. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF MARK. + + + +Mark iii. + + + +31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, +sent unto him, + +32 And the multitude sat about him, and said unto him, Behold, thy +mother and thy brethren seek for thee. + +33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? + +34 And he looked round about and said. Behold my mother and my brethren! + +35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and +my sister and mother. + + +Many of the same texts found in the Book of Matthew are repeated by +the other Evangelists. It appears from the text that the earnestness of +Jesus in teaching the people, made some of his friends, who did not +believe in his mission, anxious. Even his mother feared to have him +teach doctrines in opposition to the public sentiment of his day. His +words of seeming disrespect to her, simply meant to imply that he had +an important work to do, that his duties to humanity were more to him +than the ties of natural affection. + +Many of the ancient writers criticise Mary severely, for trying to +exercise control over Jesus, assuming rightful authority over him. +Theophylact taxes her with vainglory; Tertullian accuses her of +ambition; St. Chrysostom of impiety and of disbelief; Whitby says, it +is plain that this is a protest against the idolatrous worship of Mary. +She was generally admitted to be a woman of good character and worthy +of all praise; but whatever she was, it ill becomes those who believe +that she was the mother of God to criticise her as they would an +ordinary mortal. + + + +Mark x. + + + +2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man +to put away his wife? tempting him. + +3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? + +4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to +put her away. + +5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your +heart he wrote you this precept. + +6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. + +7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave +to his wife; + +8 And they twain shall be one flesh: + +9 what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. + + +The question of marriage was a constant theme for discussion in the +days of Moses and of Jesus, as in our own times. The Pharisees are +still asking questions, not that they care for an answer on the highest +plane of morality, but to entrap some one as opposed to the authorities +of their times. Life with Jesus was too short and his mission too stern +to parley with pettifoggers; so he gives to them a clear cut, +unmistakable definition as to what marriage is: "Whoever puts away his +wife, save for the cause of unchastity, which violates the marriage +covenant, commits adultery." Hence, under the Christian dispensation we +must judge husband and wife by the same code of morals. + +If this rule of the perfect equality of the sexes were observed in all +social relations the marriage problem might be easily solved. But with +one code of morals for man and another for woman, we are involved in +all manner of complications. In England, for example, a woman may marry +her husband's brother; but a man may not marry his wife's sister. They +have had "a deceased wife's sister's bill" before Parliament for +generations. Ever and anon they take it up, look at it with their opera +glasses, air their grandfather's old platitudes over it, give a sickly +smile at some well-worn witticism, or drop a tear at a pathetic whine +from some bishop, then lay the bill reverently back in its sacred +pigeon-hole for a period of rest. + +The discussion in the United States is now in the form of a +homogeneous divorce law in all the States of the Union, but this is not +in woman's interest. What Canada was to the Southern slaves under the +old regime, a State with liberal divorce laws is to fugitive wives. If +a dozen learned judges should get together, as is proposed, to revise +the divorce laws, they would make them more stringent in liberal States +instead of more lax in conservative States. When such a commission is +decided upon, one-half of the members should be women, as they have an +equal interest in the marriage and divorce laws; and common justice +demands that they should have an equal voice in their reconstruction. I +do not think a homogeneous law desirable; though I should like to see +New York and South Carolina liberalized, I should not like to see South +Dakota and Indiana more conservative. + + + +Mark xii. + + + +41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people +cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. + +42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she thew in two mites, +which make a farthing. + +43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I +say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they +which have cast into the treasury: + +44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want +did cast in all that she had, even all her living. + + +The widow's gift no doubt might have represented more generosity than +all beside, for the large donations of the rich were only a part of +their superfluities, and bore a small proportion to the abundance which +they still had, but she gave in reality of her necessities. The small +contribution was of no special use in the treasury of the Church, but +as an act of self-sacrifice it was of more real value in estimating +character. Jesus with his intuition saw the motives of the giver, as +well as the act. + +This woman, belonging to an impoverished class, was trained to self- +abnegation; but when women learn the higher duty of self-development, +they will not so readily expend all their forces in serving others. +Paul says that a husband who does not provide for his own household is +worse than an infidel. So a woman, who spends all her time in churches, +with priests, in charities, neglects to cultivate her own natural +gifts, to make the most of herself as an individual in the scale of +being, a responsible soul whose place no other can fill, is worse than +an infidel. "Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice," +should be woman's motto henceforward. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF LUKE. + + + +Luke i. + + + +5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest +named Zacharias, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her +name was Elizabeth. + +6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the +commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. + +7 And they had no child; and they both were now well stricken in years. + +8 And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priest's office +before God--his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of +the Lord. + +11 And there appeared unto him an angel standing on the right side of +the altar of incense. + +12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. + +13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is +heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt +call his name John. + +14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his +birth. + +15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink +neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy +Ghost. + + +Luke was the companion of the Apostle Paul in all of his labors during +many years. He also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. + +He was a Syrian, and became acquainted with the Christians at Antioch. +He is called by Paul "the beloved physician." + +Luke opens his book with the parentage and the birth of John. His +father, Zacharias, was a priest, and his mother, Elizabeth, was also +descended from Aaron. They were exemplary persons. They habitually +walked in all upright course of obedience to all the commandments. They +had no children, but in answer to their prayers a son was at last given +to them, whose name was John, which signifies "grace, or favor of the +Lord." + +While Zacharias ministered at the altar, an angel appeared to him to +tell him of the advent of his son. The vision was so startling that +Zacharias was struck dumb for a season. The same angel appeared soon +after to Mary, the mother of Jesus, with glad tidings of her +motherhood. She and Elizabeth met often during that joyful period, and +talked over the promised blessings. John was born about six months +before Jesus, and is sometimes called his forerunner. +Elizabeth and Mary were cousins on the mother's side. + +Soon after the angel appeared to Mary she went in haste to the home of +Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth, who said, "Blessed art thou among +women; and how comes this honor to me, that the mother of my Lord +should cross my threshold?" Mary replied, "My soul doth magnify the +Lord that he hath thus honored his handmaiden. Henceforth all +generations shall call me blessed." + +When Elizabeth's son was born, the neighbors, cousins and aunts all +assembled and at once volunteered their opinions as to the boy's name, +and all insisted that he should be named "Zacharias," after his father. +But Elizabeth said, "No; his name is John, as the angel said." As none +of the family had ever been called by that name, they appealed by signs +to the father (who was still dumb); but he promptly wrote on the table, +"His name is John." + + + +Luke ii. + + + +36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess. + +37 And she was a widow of about four-score and four years, which +departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers +night and day. + + +Anna having lost her husband in the prime of her life, remained a +widow to her death. She resided near the temple that she might attend +all its sacred ordinances. Having no other engagements to occupy her +attention, she spent her whole time in the service of God, and joined +frequent fastings with her constant prayers for herself and her people. +She was employed day and night in those religious exercises, so says +the text; but Scott allows the poor widow, now over eighty years of +age, some hours for rest at night (more merciful than the Evangelist). +She came into the temple just as Simon held the child in his arms, and +she also returned thanks to God for the coming of the promised Saviour, +and that her eyes had beheld him. + + +41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the +Passover. + +42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after +the custom of the feast. + +43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child +Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem: and Joseph and his mother knew not +of it. + +44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's +journey: and they sought him among their +kinsfolk and acquaintance. + +45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, +seeking him. + +46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the +temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and +asking them questions. + +47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and +answers. + +49 And when they saw him, his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou +thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. + +49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not +that I must be about my Father's business? + +50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. + +51 And he went with them to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but +his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. + + +These texts contain all that is said of the childhood and the youth of +Jesus, though we should have expected fuller information on so +extraordinary a subject. Joseph and Mary went up to the feast of the +passover every year, and it was the custom to take children of that age +with them. They journeyed in a great company for mutual security, and +thus in starting they overlooked the boy, supposing that he was with +the other children. But when the families separated for the night they +could not find him, so they journeyed back to Jerusalem and found him +in a court of the temple, listening to, and asking questions of the +doctors, who were surprised at his intelligence. + +It is often said that he was disputing with the doctors, which the +commentators say gives a wrong impression; he was modestly asking +questions. Neither Mary nor Joseph remembered nor fully understood what +the angel had told them concerning the mission of their child; neither +did they comprehend the answer of Jesus. However, he went back with +them to Nazareth, and was subject to them in all things, working at the +carpenter's trade until he entered on his mission. It was a great +mistake that some angel had not made clear to Mary the important +character and mission of her son, that she might not have been a +seeming hindrance on so many occasions, and made it necessary for Jesus +to rebuke her so often, and thus subject herself to criticism for his +seeming disrespect. + + + +Luke xiii. + + + +11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity +eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up +herself. + +12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, +Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. + +13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made +straight, and glorified God. + +14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because +that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, +There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come +and be healed, but not on the Sabbath day, + +15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each +one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and +lead him away to watering? + +16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan +hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, he loosed from this bond on the +Sabbath day? + +17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were +ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that +were done by him. + + +Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day, and +saw the distress of this woman who attended worship; he called her to +him, and, by the laying on of his hands and by prayer, immediately +restored her; and being made straight, she glorified God before all for +this unexpected deliverance. The ruler of the synagogue, who hated the +doctrines of Jesus and envied the honor, tried to veil his enmity with +pretence of singular piety, telling the people that they should come +for healing other days and not on the holy rest of the Sabbath, as if +the woman had come there on purpose for a cure, or as if a word and a +touch attended with so beneficent an effect could break the Sabbath. +Jesus' rebuke of the malice and hypocrisy of the man was fully +justified. + +The Sabbath-day-Pharisees are not all dead yet. While more rational +people are striving to open libraries, art galleries and concert halls +on Sundays, a class of religious bigots are endeavoring to close up on +that day, all places of entertainment for the people. The large class +of citizens shut up in factories, in mercantile establishments, in +offices, and in shops all the week, should have the liberty to enjoy +themselves in all rational amusements on Sunday. All healthy sports in +the open air, music in parks, popular lectures in all the school +buildings, should be encouraged and protected by law for their benefit. + + + +Luke xviii. + + + +2 There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded +man: + +3 And there was a widow in that City; and she came unto him, saying, +Avenge me of mine adversary. + +4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, +Though I fear not God, neither regard man; + +5 Yet because this widow troubleth me. I will avenge her, lest by her +continual coming she weary me. + +6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. + +7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto +him, though he bear long with them? + + +The lesson taught in this parable is perseverance. Everything can be +accomplished by continued effort. Saints hope to acquire all spiritual +graces through prayers; philanthropists to carry out their reform +measures through constant discussion; politicians their public measures +by continued party combat and repeated acts of legislation. Through +forty years of conflict we abolished slavery. Through fifty years of +conflict we have partially emancipated woman from the bondage of the +old common law of England, and crowned her with the rights of full +citizenship in four States in the American Republic. + +The condition of the woman in this parable, bowed to the earth with +all her disabilities, well represents the degraded condition of the sex +under every form of government and of religion the world over; but, +unlike her, women still, in many latitudes, make their appeals in vain +at cathedral altars and in the halls of legislation. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The sentiment concerning the equality of male and female, which Paul +avowed to the Galatians, is perfectly in accord with what "Luke" +reports of Jesus' own custom. It will be remembered that the chief +adherents of Paul accepted only this report (and this only partly) as +worthy of credit; and therein we find the statement that many female +ministers had accompanied Jesus and the male ministers, as they +wandered (in Salvation Army fashion) "throughout every city and village +preaching." It is true that we now find a qualifying passage in +reference to the female ministers, namely "which ministered unto him of +their substance" (Luke, ch. 8, v. 3). But this is, plainly, one of +those numerous marginal comments, made at late date (when all the +original manuscripts had disappeared), by men who had, doubtless, lost +knowledge of women's original equality in the ministry; for Ignatius of +Antioch, one of the earliest Christian writers, expressly affirms that +the deacons were "not ministers of meats and drinks, but ministers of +the Church of God." + +Although this is well known, our modern theologians seem to have been +unable to avoid jumping to the conclusion that, whenever women are +mentioned in the ministry, it must be only as ministers of +their substance, either as a kind of commissaries, or, at most, as +kindergarten officials. It is manifestly true that the early Church was +immensely indebted to the benefactions of rich widows and virgin +heiresses for the means of sustaining life in its fellowship. Thecla, +Paula, Eustochium, Marcella, Melanie, Susanna, are but a few of the +women of wealth who gave both themselves and their large fortunes to +the establishment of the ethics of Jesus. Yet Paula's greatest work +(from men's standpoint of great works) is rarely mentioned in +Christendom, and it is significant of the degradation which women +suffered at the hands of the Church that the time came when Churchmen +could not believe that she had performed it, even with Jerome's +acknowledgment confronting them, and consequently erased the word +"sister" accompanying the name Paula, substituting therefor the word +"brother!" + +Paula founded and endowed monasteries, won to the Christian cause +allegiance from one of the noblest families of Greece and Rome, and +originated within the monasteries the occupation of copying +manuscripts, to which civilization is indebted for the preservation of +much precious literature; but her most important service to the Church +was her co-labor with Jerome in the great task of translating the +Jewish scriptures from the original Hebrew into Latin. It was Paula who +suggested and inspired the undertaking, furnishing the expensive works +of reference, without which it would have been impossible, and being +herself a woman of fine intellect, highly trained, and an excellent +Hebrew scholar, revised and corrected Jerome's work; then, finally, +assisted by her brilliant daughter, Eustochium, performed the enormous +task of copying it accurately for circulation. It was the least that +Jerome could do to dedicate the completed work to those able +coadjutors, and it is an amazing thing to find Churchmen still +eulogizing Jerome as "author of the Vulgate," without the slightest +reference to the fact that, but for Paula's help, the Vulgate would not +have come into existence. But until men and women return to more +natural relations, until women cast off their false subserviency, +thereby helping men to get rid of their unnatural arrogance, nothing +different from the injustice Christendom has shown Paula can be looked +for. + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JOHN. + + + +John ii. + + + +And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the +mother of Jesus was there: + + +2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. + +3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They +have no wine. + +4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour +is not yet come. + +5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do +it. + +7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they +filled them up to the brim. + +8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now and bear unto the governor of +the feast. And they bare it. + +9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, +he called the bridegroom. + +10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good +wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou +hast kept the good wine until now. + + +John was distinguished among the Apostles for his many virtues, and +was specially honored as the bosom friend of Jesus. + +He is supposed to have lived in the neighborhood of Judea until the +time approached for the predicted destruction of Jerusalem; then he +went to Asia and resided some years in Ephesus, was banished to the +Island of Patmos by the Emperor Domitian, and returned to Asia after +the death of that Emperor. He lived to be a hundred years of age, and +died a natural death, being the only Apostle who escaped martyrdom. +John alone records the resurrection of Lazarus, and many things not +mentioned in the other Gospels. + +Probably Mary was related to one of the parties to the marriage, for +she appears to have given directions as one of the family. As Joseph is +not mentioned either on this occasion or afterwards, we may suppose +that he died before Jesus entered into his public ministry. There was +no disrespect intended in the word "woman" with which Jesus addressed +his mother, as the greatest princesses were accosted even by their +servants in the same manner among the ancients. Jesus merely intended +to suggest that no one could command when he should perform miracles, +as they would in any ordinary event +subject to human discretion. + +The Jews always kept a great number of water-pots filled with water in +their houses for the ceremonial washing prescribed by law. Commentators +differ as to how much these pots contained, but it is estimated that +the six contained a hogshead. The ruler of the feast was generally a +Levite or a priest; and he expressed his surprise that they should have +kept the best wine until the last. + + + +John iv. + + + +5. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar. + +6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his +journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. + +7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, +Give me to drink. + +9 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) + +9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being +a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews +have no dealings with the Samaritans. + +10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, +and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have +asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. + +27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with +the woman, yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou +with her? + + +As the Samaritans were not generally disposed to receive the Jews into +their houses, Jesus did not try to enter, but sat down by Jacob's well, +and sent his disciples into the town to buy some necessary provisions. +The prejudices against each other were so inveterate that they never +asked for a favor, hence the woman was surprised when Jesus spoke to +her. They might buy of each other, but never borrow nor receive a favor +or gift, nor manifest friendship in any way. + +But Christ, despising all such prejudices that had no foundation +either in equity or in the law of God, asked drink of the Samaritan +woman. He did not notice the woman's narrow prejudices, but directed +her attention to matters of greater importance. He told her though she +should refuse him the small favor for which he asked because he was a +Jew, yet he was ready to confer far greater benefits on her, though a +Samaritan. The living water to which Jesus referred, the woman did not +understand. + + +16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. + +17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto +her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: + +18 For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not +thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. + +19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. + +28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, +and saith to the men. + +29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not +this the Christ? + +39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the +saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. + +40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that +he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. + +41 And many more believed because of his own word. + + +The woman could not understand Jesus' words because she had no +conviction of sin nor desire for a purer, better life; and as soon as +possible she changed the subject of the conversation from her private +life to the subjects of controversy between the Jews and the Samaritans. + + + +John viii. + + + +2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the +people came unto him: and he sat down, and taught them. + +3 And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in +adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, + +4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, + +5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but +what sayest thou? + +6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. +But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as +though he heard them not. + +7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said +unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone +at her. + +8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. + +9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, +went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and +Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. + +10 He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no +man condemned thee? + +11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I +condemn thee: go, and sin no more. + + +The Scribes and the Pharisees concocted a plan to draw Jesus into a +snare. They concluded from many of his doctrines that he deemed himself +authorized to alter or to abrogate the commands of Moses; therefore +they desired his opinion as to the fitting punishment for an +adulteress. If he had ordered them to execute her, they would doubtless +have accused him to the Romans of assuming a judicial authority, +independent of their government; had he directed them to set her at +liberty, they would have represented him to the people as an enemy to +the law, and a patron of the most infamous characters; and had he +referred them to the Roman authority, they would have accused him to +the multitude as a betrayer of their +liberties. + + + +John ix. + + + +And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. + + +2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, +or his parents, that he was born blind? + +3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but +that the works of God should be made manifest in him. + + +A prevalent idea of the Jews was that, in accord with the ten +commandments, the sins of the parents were visited upon the children. +This is recognized as absolute law to-day; but it by no means follows +that all afflictions are the result of sin. The blindness may have +resulted from a combination of circumstances beyond the control of the +parents. The statement does not disprove the law of transmission, but +simply shows that defects are not always the result of sin. + + + +John xi. + + + +Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of +Mary and her sister Martha. + + +3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom +thou lovest is sick. + +5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. + +6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days +still in the same place where he was. + +17 When Jesus came, he found that he bad lain in the grave four days +already. + +20 Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met +him: but Mary sat still in the house. + +21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if then hadst been here, my +brother had not died. + +22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God +will give it thee. + +23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. + +24 Martha saith unto him, 1 know that he shall rise again in the +resurrection at the last day. + +25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: + +28 And she went her way, and called Mary her sister, saying, The +Master is come, and calleth for thee. + +29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. + +32 When Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at +his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother +had not died. + +35 Jesus wept. + +36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! + +41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. + +43 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. + +44 And he that was dead came forth. + + +It appears that Jesus was a frequent visitor at the home of Mary, +Martha and Lazarus, and felt a strong friendship for them. They lived +in Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem. Many Jews came out from the city +to express their sympathy. Martha did not fully understand Jesus; she +considered him as a prophet who wrought miracles by faith +and prayer in the same manner as the ancient prophets. + +The grief of Mary, the tears of the Jews, and his own warm friendship +for the sisters, affected Jesus himself to tears and groans. In +appealing to Divine power, Jesus wished to show the unbelieving Jews +that his miracles were performed by influence from above and not by the +spirit of evil, to which source they attributed his wonderful works. +Many who were said to witness this miracle did not believe. + +After this Jesus again rested at the home of Mary, where she washed +his feet and wiped them with the hair of her head, and then anointed +him with costly spices from an alabaster box. He then went up to +Jerusalem to attend the passover. + + + +John xx. + + + +The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet +dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the +sepulchre. + + +2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other +disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away +the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. + +3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the +sepulchre. + +4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, +and came first to the sepulchre. + +5 And he stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; +yet went he not in. + +6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, +and seeth the linen clothes lie. + +7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen +clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. + +8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the +sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. + +9 For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from +the dead. + +10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. + +11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, +she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre. + +12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the +other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. + +13 And they say unto her, Woman, Why weepest thou? She saith unto +them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they +have laid him. + +14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus +standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. + +15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? +She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou +hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take +him away. + +16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, +Rabboni, which is to say, Master. + +17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my +Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my +Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. + +18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the +Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. + + +Mary appears to have arrived at the sepulchre before any of the other +women, and conversed with Jesus. Though the disciples, in visiting the +tomb, saw nothing but cast-off clothes, yet Mary sees and talks with +angels and with Jesus. As usual, the woman is always most ready to +believe miracles and fables, however extravagant and though beyond all +human comprehension. Several women purposed to be at the tomb at sunrise +to embalm the body. + +The men who visited the tomb saw no visions; but all the women saw +Jesus and the angels, though the men, who went to the tomb twice, saw +nothing. Mary arrived at the tomb before light, and waited for the +other women; but seeing some one approaching, she supposed he was the +person employed by Joseph to take care of the garden, so asked him what +had been done to him. Though speaking to a supposed stranger, she did +not mention any name. Jesus then called her by name; and his voice and +his address made him known to her. Filled with joy and with amazement, +she called him "Rabboni," which signifies, "teacher." Jesus said unto +her, "Touch me not." + +This finishes the consideration of the four Gospels--the direct +recorded words of Jesus upon the question of purity; and all further +references should harmonize, in spirit, with his teachings, and should +be so interpreted, without regard to contrary assertions by learned but +unwise commentators. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Is it not astonishing that so little is in the New Testament concerning +the mother of Christ? My own opinion is that she was an excellent woman, +and the wife of Joseph, and that Joseph was the actual father of Christ. +I think there can be no reasonable doubt that such was the opinion of +the authors of the original Gospels. Upon any other hypothesis it is +impossible to account for their having given the genealogy of Joseph to +prove that Christ was of the blood of David. The idea that he was the +Son of God, or in any way miraculously produced, was an afterthought, +and is hardly entitled now to serious consideration. The Gospels were +written so long after the death of Christ that very little was known of +him, and substantially nothing of his parents. How is it that not one +word is said about the death of Mary, not one word about the death of +Joseph? How did it happen that Christ did not visit his mother after his +resurrection? The first time he speaks to his mother is when he was +twelve years old. His mother having told him that she and his father had +been seeking him, he replied: "How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not +that I must be about my father's business?" The second time was at the +marriage feast in Cana, when he said to her: "Woman, what have I to do +with thee?" And the third time was at the cross, when "Jesus, seeing his +mother standing by the disciple whom he loved, said to her: 'Woman, +behold thy son;' and to the disciple: 'Behold thy mother.'" And this is +all. + +The best thing about the Catholic Church is the deification of Mary; +and yet this is denounced by Protestantism as idolatry. There is +something in the human heart that prompts man to tell his faults more +freely to the mother than to the father. The cruelty of Jehovah is +softened by the mercy of Mary. + +Is it not strange that none of the disciples of Christ said any thing +about their parents--that we know absolutely nothing of them? Is there +any evidence that they showed any particular respect even for the +mother of Christ? Mary Magdalene is, in many respects, the tenderest +and most loving character in the New Testament {sic}. According to the +account, her love for Christ knew no abatement, no change--true even in +the hopeless shadow of the cross. Neither did it die with his death. +She waited at the sepulchre; she hastened in the early morning to his +tomb; and yet the only comfort Christ gave to this true and loving soul +lies in these strangely cold and heartless words: "Touch me not." + + +ANON. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF ACTS. + + + +Acts v. + + + +But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a +possession. + + +2 And kept back a part of the price, and brought a certain part, and +laid it at the apostles' feet. + +3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to +the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? + +4 While it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was +it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine +heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. + +5 And Ananias bearing the words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and +great fear came on all them that heard these things. + +6 And the young men arose and carried him out, and buried him. + +7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife not +knowing what was done, came in, + +8 And Peter answered her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so +much? And she said, Yea, for so much. + +9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to +tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have +buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. + +10 Then she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost. + + +This book is supposed to have been written by Luke about thirty years +after the death of Jesus, as all appendix to the Evangelists. It +contains brief mention of a few women of varied characters and +fortunes. We have the usual number afflicted with religious mysteries, +with the gift of prophecy, and some possessed of the devil, who +promptly comes forth at the commands of Jesus and of his Apostles. + +The case of Ananias and Sapphira was very peculiar. This example was +made, not of avowed enemies, but avowed friends. Many expositors say +that Ananias had made a vow to give his estate for the support of the +Christian cause, and that sacrilege was the crime for which he was +punished. He had, from corrupt motives, attempted to impose upon the +Apostles in pretending to give all that he had to the church, while +withholding a good share for himself. He had evidently instructed his +wife to substantiate his assertions. Obedience of one responsible being +to another may ofttimes prove dangerous, even if the command comes from +a husband. + + + +Acts ix. + + + +36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by +interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and +alms-deeds. + +37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick and died. + +38 And as Lydda was night to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that +Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him to come to +them. + +39 Then Peter arose and went with them, and they brought him into the +upper chamber, and all the widows stood weeping, and shewing the +garments which Dorcas made. + +40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and +turning him to the body said, Tabitha, rise. And she opened her eyes: +and when she saw Peter, she sat up. + +41 And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. + + +Tabitha was called by this name among the Jews; but she was known to +the Greeks as Dorcas. She was considered an ornament to her Christian +profession; for she so abounded in good works and alms-deeds that her +whole life was devoted to the wants and the needs of the poor. She not +only gave away her substance, but she employed her time and her skill +in laboring constantly for the poor and the unfortunate. Her death was +looked upon as a public calamity. This is the first instance of any +Apostle performing a miracle of this kind. There was no witness to this +miracle. What men teach in their high places, such women as Dorcas +illustrate in their lives. + + + +Acts xii. + + + +12 And he came into the house of Mary the mother of John, whose +surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. + +13 And as Peter knocked at the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named +Rhoda. + +14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for +gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. + +15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed +that it was even so. Then they said, It is an angel. + +16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, +and saw him, they were astonished. + +17 But he declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the +prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the +brethren. + + +Herod the king, at this time, killed James, the brother of John, and +cast Peter into prison, and intended to destroy the other Apostles as +soon as he could entrap them. Peter, it is said, escaped from prison by +the miraculous interposition of an angel, who led him to the gate of +one Mary, the sister of Barnabas, where Christians often assembled for +religious worship. Although they often prayed for Peter's deliverance; +they could not believe Rhoda when she said that +Peter stood knocking at the gate. + + + +Acts xvi. + + + +14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of +Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened +unto the things which were spoken of Paul. + +15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, +saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my +house, and abide there. + +16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel +possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters +much gain by soothsaying: + +17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the +servants of the most high God. + +18 And this did she many days. But Paul said to the spirit, I command +thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out +the same hour. + +19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, +they caught Paul and Silas, + +20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, these men, being Jews, +do exceedingly trouble our city. + +22 And the multitude rose up against them; and the magistrates rent +off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. + +23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into +prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. + + +Lydia, a native Thyatiran, who at this time resided at Philippi, was a +merchant who trafficked in purple clothes, which were held in great +estimation. She was a Gentile, but was proselyted to the Jewish +religion, believed in the teachings of Paul and was baptized with her +household. She was a person in affluent circumstances; and being of a +generous disposition, was very hospitable. As the Apostles were poorly +accommodated elsewhere, she entertained them in her own house. + +The Apostles and their friends on their way to the oratory, where they +went to worship, were met by a female slave who was possessed with a +spirit of divination and uttered ambiguous predictions. She had +acquired great reputation as an oracle or fortune-teller and for making +wonderful discoveries. By this practice she brought her masters +considerable gain and was very valuable to them. When Paul cast out the +evil spirit and restored the maiden to her normal condition of body and +mind, her master was full of wrath, as she was no longer of any value +to him; and he accused Paul before the magistrates. The people were all +stirred with indignation; so they stripped Paul and Silas, scourged +them severely; and, without trial, the magistrates threw them into +prison. + + + +Acts xviii. + + + +After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; + + +2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come +from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, (because that Claudius had +commanded all Jews to depart from Rome,) + +3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and +wrought: (for by their occupation they were tentmakers). + +18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took +his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him +Priscilla and Aquila; + +24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent +man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. + +25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent +in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, +knowing only the baptism of John. + +26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and +Priscilla had heard, they took him and expounded the way of God more +perfectly. + + +It was an excellent custom of those days for educated people to be +also instructed in some mechanical trade. This served them as an +amusement in prosperity, and was a certain resource in case other +prospects failed. Thus Paul was now prepared to support himself in an +emergency. He was frequently compelled to work with his hands to +provide for his own necessities. + +Apollos was a native of Alexandria, in Egypt, a ready and graceful +speaker, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. Coming to +Ephesus, he boldly preached in the synagogue in the presence of Aquila +and of Priscilla; and they seeing his ability, zeal and piety, said +nothing to his disadvantage, though they perceived that his views of +the Christian doctrines were very imperfect. So they sought his +acquaintance and instructed him more fully in the gospel of Jesus. He, +with great humility, received their instructions, for he had never been +much among Christians; and no one knew when or by whom he was baptized. + + + +Acts xxi. + + + +8 And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came +unto Cesarea, and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, +which was one of the seven; and abode with him. + +9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. + + +Philip, one of the seven deacons in Cesarea, was also an Evangelist, and +had the peculiar honor of having four daughters, all endowed with the +gift of prophecy; and perhaps they gave intimations to Paul of his +approaching trials. With Philip's four daughters, all endowed with the +spirit of prophecy, and Priscilla as a teacher of great principles to +the orators of her time, and one of Paul's chosen travelling companions, +women are quite highly honored in the Book of Acts, if we except the +tragedy of the unfortunate wife who obeyed her husband. + + + +Acts xxiv. + + + +24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, +which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the +faith in Christ. + +25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to +come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I +have a convenient season, I will call for thee. + + +Drusilla was a daughter of that Herod who beheaded James, the brother +of John, and sister to King Agrippa. She was married to the king of the +Emerines, Azizas; but she left her husband and went to live with Felix. +He and Drusilla were curious to hear more authentic accounts of Jesus +and his doctrines. They do not seem to have been much impressed with +the purity of his teachings. Their curiosity did not arise from a love +of the truth, nor from a desire for a higher, better life, but was a +mere curiosity, for which it is probable that Felix was responsible, as +Drusilla doubtless asked her husband at home all she desired to know. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The Rev. Dr. Edwin Hatch expresses the latest decision of historical +theology concerning Paul, in frankly confessing: "His life at Rome and +all the rest of his history are enveloped in mists from which no single +gleam of certain light emerges. . . . The place and occasion of his +death are not less uncertain than are the facts of his later life. . . +The chronology of the rest of his life is as uncertain as the date of +his death. We have no means of knowing when he was born, or how long he +lived, or at what date the several events of his life took place." +Exactly the same may be said of Peter. The strongest probability is +that Paul and Peter were two obscure men who lived in the latter part +of the first, or beginning of the second century, neither of whom could +have seen the first century Jesus. It can easily be shown that the +Christian Church admitted women into her regularly ordained ministry +during the first two hundred years of Christianity. Whether Bishop +Doane is ignorant of this fact, or whether he is merely presuming upon +women's ignorance thereof, it is impossible to say. But one thing is +clear, and that is, that the time has arrived when all women should be +informed of the true status of their sex in the ministry of the +primitive Church. + +The first important truth for them to learn concerning the question is +that there is a missing link of some five hundred years between the +close of that body of literature known to us as the "Old Testament" and +the compilation of that collection of letters, narratives, etc., now +presented to us as the "New Testament." Girls of Christian families are +commonly inoculated in their ignorant, and therefore helplessly +credulous youth, with unquestioning belief that the New Testament was +written in the first century of our era, by disciples who were +contemporary with Jesus, and that Peter and Paul were first century +Christians, the former of whom had personally known and followed Jesus, +while the latter was a convert from Judaism after Jesus' death, never +having seen the teacher himself. + +Yet he is, indeed, a very ignorant ecclesiastic, who to-day is not +perfectly well aware that the above belief is pure theory, resting on +nothing more stable than vague conjecture, irresponsible tradition, and +slowly evolving fable. Among scholarly Christian theologians no +questions are now more unsettled than are the queries: Who wrote the +Gospels? In which of the first three centuries did they assume their +present shape? And at what time did Peter and Paul live and quarrel +with each other concerning Christian polity? + +As for the passages now found in the New Testament epistles of Paul, +concerning women's non-equality with men and duty of subjection, there +is no room to doubt that they are bare-faced forgeries, interpolated by +unscrupulous bishops, during the early period in which a combined and +determined effort was made to reduce women to silent submission, not +only in the Church, but also in the home and in the State. A most +laudably intended attempt to excuse Paul for the inexcusable passages +attributed to his authorship has been made by a clergyman, who, +accepting them as genuine Pauline utterances, endeavors to show that +they were meant to apply, only to Greek female converts, natives of +Corinth, and that the command to cover the head and to keep silent in +public was warranted, both because veiling the head and face was a +Grecian custom, and because the women of Corinth were of notoriously +bad character. In support of this theory our modern apologist quotes +the testimony of numerous writers of antiquity who denounced Corinthian +profligacy. But, setting aside the fact that the men of Corinth must +always have been, at least, as bad as the women, and that a sorry case +would be made out for Paul, if it were on the score of morals that he +ordered Greek women to subject themselves to such men, there are yet +two serious impediments in the way of this theory. In the first place, +that wealthy and luxurious Corinth to which the writers quoted refer, +was no longer in existence in Paul's time; 146 B. C. it was conquered +by the Romans, who killed the men, carried the women and children into +slavery, and levelled the dwellings to the ground. For a whole century +the site of the once famous city remained a desolate waste, but about +46 B. C. it was colonized by some Roman immigrants, and a Romanized +city, with Roman customs, it was when Paul knew it. Now, not only did +the Roman women go unveiled, mingling freely in all public places with +men (a fact which Paul, as citizen of a Roman province must have +known), but Paul specially commends the Greek woman, Phebe, whom he +endorses as minister of the Church in the Greek city, Cenchrea (a +seaport within a few miles of Corinth), and in Acts, chapter 17, we are +explicitly told that the Greek converts made by Paul, in Greece, were +"chief women," "honorable women." + +This is sufficient refutation of the argument of the clergyman who +strives to clear the character of Paul at the expense of the character +of the women of Corinth. + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. + + + +Romans xvi. + + + +I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church +which is at Cenchrea: + + +2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye +assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you; for she hath +been a succourer of many, and of myself also. + +3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus: + +4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I +give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. + +6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. + +12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the +beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. + +13 Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, and mine. + +15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, +and all the saints which are with them. + + +Cenchrea was the seaport of Corinth, where a separate church was +founded. Phebe was a deaconess, and was probably employed in visiting +the sick and in teaching the women in the doctrines of the Church. She +appears to have been a woman in good circumstances, and probably had +more than ordinary intelligence and education. Even Paul acknowledged +himself under great obligations to her. Aquila and Priscilla had risked +their lives in protecting the Apostles at Corinth and Ephesus. So Paul +sent his affectionate salutations and good wishes to all the women who +had helped to build up the churches and spread the Gospel of +Christianity. + +In good works men have always found a reserved force in the women of +their generation. Paul seems to have been specially mindful of all who +had received and hospitably entertained him. The men of our times have +been equally thankful to women for serving them, for hospitable +entertainment, generous donations to the priest hood, lifting church +debts, etc., and are equally ready to remand them to their "divinely +appointed sphere," whenever women claim an equal voice in church creeds +and discipline. Then the Marys, the Phebes, and the Priscillas are +ordered to keep silence and to discuss all questions with their +husbands at home, taking it for granted that all men are logical and +wise. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Martin Luther had good cause to declare: "There is something in the +office of a bishop which is dreadfully demoralizing. Even good men +change their natures at consecration; Satan enters into them, as he +entered into Judas, as soon as they have taken the sop." But to return +to the primitive Church, a famous Apostle of that simple era was +Priscilla, a Jewess, who was one of the theological instructors of +Apollos (the fellow-minister, or fellow-servant, to whom Paul refers in +his first letter to the Corinthians). There is strong reason to believe +that the Apostle Priscilla, in co-operation with her husband, the +Apostle Aquila, performed the important task of founding the Church of +Rome: for Paul, writing to the Christians, admits that he himself has +not yet visited that city; there is no proof whatever that Peter ever +went to Rome at all (but, on the contrary, much proof that he wished to +confine Christianity to Jewish converts); and yet Paul, hailing +Priscilla by the current term which specially active Apostles and +bishops used in addressing other specially active workers in the +Apostolate, "Helper in Christ Jesus," eulogizes her as one known, +gratefully, by "all the churches of the Gentiles," and recognizes a +Church of Rome as established in Priscilla's own house (see Paul's +letter to the Romans, chapter 16). It is highly probable that that was +the tiny acorn from which has grown the present great oak--the Roman +Catholic Church,--which would profit much by more remembrance and +imitation of the modest and undogmatic women who helped to give it +being and who nursed it through its infancy. + +The inability of modern men to comprehend the position of women in the +primitive Church, is strikingly shown in Chalmers' commentary on the +fact that Paul used exactly the same title in addressing Priscilla that +he uses in greeting Urbane, Although conceding that Priscilla had +shared the work of an Apostle in teaching Apollos "the way of God more +perfectly," and, although he knows nothing whatever of Urbane's work, +yet Chalmers unhesitatingly concludes that Urbane's help to Paul must +have been in things spiritual, but that Priscilla's must have been in +regard to things temporal only: and, as Aquila and Priscilla were an +inseparable couple, poor Aquila, too, is relegated to Priscilla's +assumedly inferior position! There is not, however, the slightest +reason for such a conclusion by Chalmers. It is manifestly due to the +modern prejudice which renders the Paul-worshipping male Protestants +incapable of comprehending that "Our Great Apostle," Paul, was as not a +great Apostle at all, in those days, but a simple, self-sent tent-maker +with a vigorous spirit, who gladly shared the "Apostolic dignity" with +all the good women he could rally to his assistance. Chalmers +conjectures that if Priscilla really did help Paul, it must have been +as "a teacher of women and children," even while the fact stares him in +the face that she was a recognized teacher of the man whom Paul +specially and emphatically pronounces his own equal. (Compare Acts, +chap. 18, V. 26, with 1st Cor., chap. 3.) + +To one who uses unbiassed common sense in regard to the New Testament +records, there can be no question of women's activity and prominence in +the early ministry. Paul not only virtually pronounces Priscilla a +fellow-Apostle and fellow-bishop (Romans, chap. 16, verses 3-5), but +specially commends Phebe, a Greek woman, as a minister (diakonos), +which, as we have seen, may be legitimately interpreted either +presbyter, bishop, or Apostle. That it was well understood, throughout +the whole Church, that women had shared the labors of the Apostles, is +evidenced by Chrysostom's specific eulogy thereupon. Phebe was the +bishop of the Church in Cenchrea, and that she was both a powerful and +useful overseer in the episcopate, Paul testifies in affirming that she +had not only been a helper to him, but to many others also. (Romans, +chap. 16, verses 1-2.) Addressing that first Church of Rome (which was +in the house of Priscilla and Aquila before Paul, or Peter, or the +barely-mentioned Linus, are heard of in Rome), Paul indicates the +equality of male and female Apostles by mentioning in one and the same +category Priscilla and Aquila, Andronicus and Junia, Mary, "who +bestowed much labor among you," Amphis, Urbane, Tryphena and Tryphosa, +Persis, Julia, Rufus and Hermas. + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS. + + + +1 Corinthians vii. + + + +2 Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own +husband. + +3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise +also the wife unto the husband. + +10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not +the wife depart from her husband: + +11 But if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to +her husband, and let not the husband put away his wife. + +12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife +that believeth not: and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not +put her away. + +13 And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be +pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. + +14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the +unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children +unclean: but now are they holy. + +16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? +or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? + + +The people appear to have been specially anxious to know what The +Christian idea was in regard to the question of marriage. The +Pythagoreans taught that marriage is unfavorable to high intellectual +development. On the other hand, the Pharisees taught that it is sinful +for a man to live unmarried beyond his twentieth year. 'The Apostles +allowed that in many cases it might be wise for a man to live +unmarried, as he could be more useful to others, provided that he were +able to live with that entire chastity which the single life required. + +The Apostle says that Christians should not marry unbelievers, but if +either should change his or her opinions after, he would not advise +separation, as they might sanctify each other. Scott thinks that the +children are no more holy with one unbelieving parent, than when both +are unbelieving; and he has not much faith in their sanctifying each +other, except in a real change of faith. A union with an unbeliever +would occasion grief and trouble, yet that ought patiently to be +endured, for God might make use of the unbelieving wife or husband as +an instrument in converting the other by affectionate and +conscientious behavior; as this might not be the case, there is no +reason to oppose the dissolution of the marriage. + +There are no restrictions in the Scriptures on divorced persons +marrying again, though many improvised by human laws are spoken of as +in the Bible. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In this chapter Paul laments that all men are not bachelors like +himself; and in the second verse of that chapter he gives the only +reason for which he was willing that men and women should marry. He +advised all the unmarried and all widows to remain as he was. Paul sums +up the whole matter, however, by telling those who have wives or +husbands to stay with them--as necessary evils only to be tolerated; +but sincerely regrets that anybody was ever married, and finally says +that, "they that have wives should be as though they had none;" +because, in his opinion, "he that is unmarried careth for the things +that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is +married careth for the things that are of the world, how he please his +wife." + +"There is this difference, also," he tells us, "between a wife and a +virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she +may be holy both in body and spirit; but she that is married careth for +the things of the world, how she may please her husband." Of course, it +is contended that these things have tended to the elevation of woman. +The idea that it is better to love the Lord than to love your wife or +husband is infinitely absurd. Nobody ever did love the Lord--nobody +can--until he becomes acquainted with him. + +Saint Paul also tells us that "man is the image and glory of God; but +woman is the glory of man." And, for the purpose of sustaining this +position, he says: "For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of +the man; neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for +the man." Of course we can all see that man could have gotten along +well enough without woman. And yet this is called "inspired!" and this +Apostle Paul is supposed to have known more than all the people now +upon the earth. No wonder Paul at last +was constrained to say: "We are fools for Christ's sake." + + +ANON. + + + +1 Corinthians xi. + + + +3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and +the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. + +4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, +dishonoureth his head. + +5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered +dishonoureth her head. + +7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the +image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. + +8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. + +9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. + +10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of +the angels. + +11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the +woman without the man, in the Lord. + +13 judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God +uncovered? + +14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long +hair, it is a shame unto him? + +15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair +is given her for a covering. + + +According to the custom of those days a veil on the head was a token +of respect to superiors; hence for a woman to lay aside her veil was to +affect authority over the man. The shaving of the head was a +disgraceful punishment inflicted on women of bad repute; it not only +deprived them of a great beauty, but also of the badge of virtue and +honor. + +Though these directions appear to be very frivolous, even for those +times, they are much more so for our stage of civilization. Yet the +same customs prevail in our day and are enforced by the Church, as of +vital consequence; their non-observance so irreligious that it would +exclude a woman from the church. It is not a mere social fashion that +allows men to sit in church with their heads uncovered and women with +theirs covered, but a requirement of canon law of vital significance, +showing the superiority, the authority, the headship of man, and the +humility and the subservience of woman. The aristocracy in social life +requires the same badge of respect of all female servants. In Europe +they uniformly wear caps, and in many families in America, though under +protest after learning its significance. + +It is certainly high time that educated women in a Republic should +rebel against a custom based on the supposition of their heaven- +ordained subjection. Jesus is always represented as having long, +curling hair, and so is the Trinity. Imagine a painting of these Gods +all with clipped hair. Flowing robes and beautiful hair add greatly to +the beauty and dignity of their pictures. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The injunctions of St. Paul have had such a decided influence in +fixing the legal status of women, that it is worth our while to +consider their source. In dealing with this question we must never +forget that the majority of the writings of the New Testament were not +really written or published by those whose names they bear. Ancient +writers considered it quite permissible for a man to put out letters +under the name of another, and thus to bring his own ideas before the +world under the protection of an honored sponsor. It is not usually +claimed that St. Paul was the originator of the great religious +movement called Christianity; but there is a strong belief that he was +Divinely inspired. His inward persuasions, and especially his visions, +appeared as a gift or endowment which had the force of inspiration; +therefore, his mandates concerning women have a strong hold upon the +popular mind; and when opponents to the equality of the sexes are put +to bay, they glibly quote his injunctions. + +We congratulate ourselves that we may shift some of these Biblical, +arguments that have such a sinister effect from their firm foundation. +He who claims to give a message must satisfy us that he has himself +received such a message. The origin of the command that women should +cover their heads is found in an old Jewish or Hebrew legend which +appears in literature for the first time in Genesis vi. There we are +told that the sons of God, that is, the angels, took to wives the +daughters of men, and begat the giants and the heroes who were +instrumental in bringing about the flood. The Rabbins held that the way +in which the angels got possession of women was by laying hold of their +hair; they accordingly warned women to cover their heads in public so +that the angels might not get possession of +them. + +Paul merely repeats this warning, which he must often have heard at +the feet of Gamaliel, who was at that time prince or president of the +Sanhedrim, telling women to have a power (that is, protection) on their +heads because of the angels: "For this cause ought the woman to have +power on her head because of the angels." Thus the command had its +origin in an absurd old myth. This legend will be found fully treated +in a German pamphlet, "Die Paulinische Angelologie und Daemonologie." +Otto Everling, Gottingen, 1883. + +If the command to keep silence in the churches has no higher origin +than that to keep covered in public, should so much weight be given it, +or should it be so often quoted as having Divine sanction? + + +L. S. + + + +1 Corinthians xiv. + + + +34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not +permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under +obedience, as also saith the law. + +35 And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at +home: for it is a shame for woman to speak in the church. + +The church at Corinth was peculiarly given to diversion and to +disputation; and women were apt to join in and to ask many troublesome +questions; hence they were advised to consult their husbands at home. +The Apostle took it for granted that all men were wise enough to give +to women the necessary information on all subjects. Others, again, +advise wives never to discuss knotty points with their husbands; for if +they should chance to differ from each other, that fact might give rise +to much domestic infelicity. There is such a wide difference of opinion +on this point among wise men, that perhaps it would be as safe to leave +women to be guided by their own unassisted common sense. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +EPISTLES TO THE EPHESIANS AND PHILLIPPIANS. + + + +Ephesians v. + + + +22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. + +23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head +of the church. + +24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be +to their own husbands in every thing. + +25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, +and gave himself for it; + +28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that +loveth his wife loveth himself. + +31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall +be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. + +33 Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife +even as himself: and the wife see that she reverence her husband. + + +If every man were as pure and as self-sacrificing as Jesus is said to +have been in his relations to the Church, respect, honor and obedience +from the wife might be more easily rendered. Let every man love his +wife (not wives) points to monogamic marriage. It is quite natural for +women to love and to honor good men, and to return a full measure of +love on husbands who bestow much kindness and attention on them; but it +is not easy to love those who treat us spitefully in any relation, +except as mothers; their love triumphs over all shortcomings and +disappointments. Occasionally conjugal love combines that of the +mother. Then the kindness and the forbearance of a wife may surpass all +understanding. + + + +Phillippians iv. + + + +2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same +mind in the Lord. + +3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which +laboured with me in the Gospel, with Clement also, and with other my +fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. + +There were women of note at Phillippi who disagreed and caused +divisions in the Church. The Apostle therefore entreated them to make +mutual concessions for the welfare of the Church. The yokefellow +referred to was supposed by some to have been the husband of one of the +women, while others think that he was some eminent minister. But such +mention by the Apostle must have been highly appreciated by any man or +woman for whom it was intended. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +1 Timothy ii. + + + +9 In like manner, also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, +with shamefacedness and sobriety: not with braided hair, or gold, or +pearls, or costly array: + +10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. + +11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. + +12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the +man, but to be in silence. + +13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. + +14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the +transgression. + + +The Apostle Paul, though older than Timothy, had travelled much with +him, and was at one time imprisoned with him in Rome. Paul had +converted Timothy to the faith and watched over him as a father. He +often speaks of him as my son, and was peculiarly beloved by him. When +Paul was driven from Ephesus he wrote this epistle to Timothy for his +direction. + +It is perhaps not fair to judge Paul by the strict letter of the word. +We are not well informed of the habits of women in his time in regard +to personal adornment. What Paul means by "modest apparel" (supposing +the translation to be correct), we may not precisely understand. Paul +speaks especially of "braided hair." In his time Paul evidently +considered as of account the extreme susceptibility of his sex to the +effect of the garb and adornment of women. + +The Apostles all appeared to be much exercised by the ornaments and +the braided hair of the women. While they insisted that women should +wear long hair, they objected to having it braided lest the beautiful +coils should be too attractive to men. But women had other reasons for +braiding their hair beside attracting men. A compact braid was much +more comfortable than individual hairs free to be blown about with +every breeze. + +It appears very trifling for men, commissioned to do so great a work +on earth, to give so much thought to the toilets of women. Ordering the +men to have their heads shaved and hair cropped, while the women were +to have their locks hanging around their shoulders, looks as if they +feared that the sexes were not distinguishable and that they must +finish Nature's work. Woman's braids and ornaments had a deeper +significance than the Apostles seem to have understood. Her necessities +compelled her to look to man for sup port and protection, hence her +efforts to make herself attractive are not prompted by feminine vanity, +but the economic conditions of civilization. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The injunction that women should adorn themselves through good works +was sensible. The Apostle did not imply that this adornment was not +already possessed by women. Neither did he testify that the generations +of men, of Prophets and of Apostles had been objects of the good works +and all the ministrations of self-abnegation, which are required only +of the mothers of men. Comparatively few women, who have fulfilled the +special function which man assigns to them as their chief duty in life, +lack the adornment of good works. In addition to these good works of +motherhood in the family, woman has ministered to the necessities and +the comfort of the sick, the feeble and the poor, through the centuries. + +Could Paul have looked down to the nineteenth century with clairvoyant +vision and beheld the good works of a Lucretia Mott, a Florence +Nightingale, a Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, not to mention a host of +faithful mothers, he might, perhaps, have been less anxious about the +apparel and the manners of his converts. Could he have foreseen a +Margaret Fuller, a Maria Mitchell, or an Emma Willard, possibly he +might have suspected that sex does not determine the capacity of the +individual. Or, could he have had a vision of the public school system +of this Republic, and witnessed the fact that a large proportion of the +teachers are women, it is possible that he might have hesitated to +utter so tyrannical an edict: "But I permit not a woman to teach." + +Had the Apostle enjoined upon women to do good works without envy or +jealousy, it would have had the weight and the wisdom of a Divine +command. But that, from the earliest record of human events, woman +should have been condemned and punished for trying to get knowledge, +and forbidden to impart what she has learned, is the most unaccountable +peculiarity of masculine wisdom. After cherishing and nursing helpless. +infancy, the most necessary qualification of motherhood is that of +teaching. If it is contrary to the perfect operation of human +development that woman should teach, the infinite and all wise +directing power of the universe has blundered. It cannot be admitted +that Paul was inspired by infinite wisdom in this utterance. This was +evidently the unilluminated utterance of Paul, the man, biassed by +prejudice. But, it may be claimed that this edict referred especially +to teaching in religious assemblies. It is strikingly inconsistent that +Paul, who had proclaimed the broadest definition of human souls, "There +is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male or female, but ye are one +in Christ Jesus," as the Christian idea, should have commanded the +subjection of woman, and silence as essential to her proper sphere in +the Church. + +It is not a decade since a manifesto was issued by a religious +convention bewailing the fact that woman is not only seeking to control +her property, but claiming the right of the wife to control her person! +This seems to be as great an offence to ecclesiasticism in this hour +and this land of boasted freedom, as it was to Paul in Judea nineteen +centuries ago. But the "new man," as well as the "new woman," is here. +He is inspired by the Divine truth that woman is to contribute to the +redemption of the race by free and enlightened motherhood. He is +proving his fitness to be her companion by achieving the greatest of +all victories--victory over himself. The new humanity is to be born of +this higher manhood and emancipated womanhood. Then it will be possible +for motherhood to "continue in sanctification." + +The doctrine of woman the origin of sin, and her subjection in +consequence, planted in the early Christian Church by Paul, has been a +poisonous stream in Church and in State. It has debased marriage and +made both canon and civil law a monstrous oppression to woman. M. +Renan sums up concisely a mighty truth in the following words: "The +writings of Paul have been a danger and a hidden rock--the causes of +the principal defects of Christian theology." His teachings about woman +are no longer a hidden rock, however, for, in the light of science, it +is disclosed to all truth seeking Minds. How much satisfaction it would +have been to the mothers adown the centuries, had there been a +testimony by Mary and Elizabeth recording their experiences of +motherhood. Not a statement by them, nor one about them, except what +man wrote. + +Under church law, woman's property, time and services were all at the +husband's disposal. Woman was not rescued from slavery by the +Reformation. Luther's ninety-five theses, nailed upon the church door +in Wittenberg, did not assert woman's natural or religious equality +with man. It was a maxim of his that "no gown worse becomes a woman, +than that she should be wise." A curious old black letter volume, +published in London in 1632, declares that "the reason why women have +no control in parliament, why they make no laws, consent to none, +abrogate none, is their original sin." The trial of Mrs. Anne +Hutchinson, in the seventeenth century, was chiefly for the sin of +having taught men. + +To-day, in free America, a wife cannot collect damages for injury to +her person by a municipality. Legally her husband owns her person; and +he alone can collect damages if the wife is injured by any defect or +mishap for which the administration of the municipality is responsible. +This was tested in the Court of Appeals in New York in 1890. The judges +decided that "the time and the services of the wife belong to the +husband, and if she has received wages from him it was a gift." Thus +the spirit and the intent of the church law to make the wife a servant +of the husband, subject to and controlled by him, and engrafted in +common law, is a part of statute law operative in these United States +to-day. Blackstone admits the outgrowth of common law from canon law, +in saying: "Whoever wishes to gain insight into that great institution, +common law, can do so most efficiently by studying canon law in regard +to married women." + +Jesus is not recorded as having uttered any similar claim that woman +should be subject to man, or that in teaching she would be a +usurper. The dominion of woman over man or of man over woman makes no +part of the sayings of the Nazarene. He spoke to the individual soul, +not recognizing sex as a quality of spiritual life, or as determining +the sphere of action of either man or woman. + +Stevens, in his "Pauline Theology," says: "Paul has been read as if he +had written in the nineteenth century, or, more commonly, as if he had +written in the fifth or seventeenth, as if his writings had no +peculiarities arising from his own time, education and mental +constitution." Down these nineteen centuries in a portion of the +Christian Church the contempt for woman which Paul projected into +Christianity has been perpetuated. The Protestant Evangelical Church +still refuses to place her on an equality with man. + +Although Paul said: "Neither is the man without the woman nor the +woman without the man in the Lord," he taught also that the male alone +is in the image of God. "For a man ought not to have his head veiled +forasmuch as he is the image of God; but the woman is the glory of +man." Thus he carried the spirit of the Talmud, "aggravated and +re-enforced," into Christianity, represented by the following appointed +daily prayer for pious Jews: "Blessed art thou, O Lord, that thou hast +not made me a Gentile, an idiot nor a woman." Paul exhibits fairness in +giving reasons for his peremptory mandate. "For Adam was first formed, +then Eve," he says. This appears to be a weak statement for the higher +position of man. If male man is first in station and authority, is +superior because of priority of formation, what is his relation to +"whales and every living creature that moveth which the waters bring +forth, and every winged fowl after his kind," which were formed before +him? + +And again, "Adam was not beguiled, but, the woman being beguiled, hath +fallen into transgression." There was then already existing the +beguiling agency. The transgression of Eve was in listening to this +existing source of error, which, in the allegory, is styled "the most +subtle beast of the field which the Lord God hath made." Woman did not +bring this subtle agency into activity. She was not therefore the +author of sin, as has been charged. She was tempted by her desire for +the knowledge which would enable her to distinguish between good and +evil. According to this story, woman led the race out of the ignorance +of innocence into the truth. Calvin, the commentator, says: "Adam did +not fall into error, but was overcome by the allurements of his wife." +It is singular that the man, who was "first formed," and therefore +superior, and to whom only God has committed the office of teaching, +not only was not susceptible to the temptation to acquire knowledge, +but should have been the weak creature who was "overcome by the +allurements of his wife." + +But the story of the fall and all cognate myths and parables are far +older and more universal than the ordinary reader of the Bible supposes +them to be. The Bible itself in its Hebrew form is a comparatively +recent compilation and adaptation of mysteries, the chief scenes of +which were sculptured on temple walls and written or painted on papyri, +ages before the time of Moses. History tells us, moreover, that the +Book of Genesis, as it now stands, is the work not even of Moses, but +of Ezra or Esdras, who lived at the time of the captivity, between five +hundred and six hundred years before our era, and that he recovered it +and other writings by the process of intuitional memory. "My heart," he +says, "uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast; for the +spirit strengthened my memory." + +With regard to the particular myth of the fall, the walls of ancient +Thebes, Elphantine, Edfou and Karnak bear evidence that long before +Moses taught, and certainly ages before Esdras wrote, its acts and +symbols were embodied in the religious ceremonials of the people, of +whom, according to Manetho, Moses was himself a priest. And the whole +history of the fall of man is, says Sharpe, in a work on Egypt, "of +Egyptian origin. The temptation of the woman by the serpent, the man by +the woman, the sacred tree of knowledge, the cherubs guarding with +flaming swords the door of the garden, the warfare declared between the +woman and the serpent, may all be seen upon the Egyptian sculptured +monuments." + +This symbology signifies a deeper meaning than a material garden, a +material apple, a tree and a snake. It is the relation of the soul or +feminine part of man, "his living mother," to the physical and external +man of sense. The temptation of woman brought the soul into the +limitations of matter, of the physical. The soul derives its life from +spirit, the eternal substance, God. Knowledge, through intellect alone, +is of the limitation of flesh and sense. Intuition, the feminine part +of reason, is the higher light. If the soul, the feminine part of man, +is turned toward God, humanity is saved from the dissipations and the +perversions of sensuality. Humanity is not alone dual in the two forms, +male and female, but every soul is dual. The more perfect the balance +in the individual of masculine and feminine, the more perfect the man +or the woman. The masculine represents force, the feminine love. "Force +without love can but work evil until it is spent." + +Paul evidently was not learned in Egyptian lore. He did not recognize +the esoteric meaning of the parable of the fall. To him it was a +literal fact, apparently, and Eve was to be to all womankind the +transmitter of a "curse" in maternity. We know that down to the very +recent date of the introduction of anesthetics the idea prevailed that +travail pains are the result of, and punishment for, the transgression +of Mother Eve. It was claimed that it was wrong to attempt to remove +"the curse" from woman, by mitigating her suffering in that hour of +peril and of agony. + +Whatever Paul may mean, it is a fact that the women of our aboriginal +tribes, whose living was natural and healthful, who were not enervated +by civilized customs, were not subject to the sufferings of civilized +women. And it has been proven by the civilized woman that a strict +observance of hygienic conditions of dress, of diet, and the mode of +life, reduces the pangs of parturition. Painless child-bearing is a +physiological problem; and "the curse" has never borne upon the woman +whose life had been in strict accord with the laws of life. Science has +come to the rescue of humanity, in the recognition of the truth, that +the advancement as well as the conservation of the race is through the +female. The great Apostle left no evidence that he apprehended this +fact. His audacity was sublime; but it was the audacity of ignorance. + +No more stupendous demonstration of the power of thought can be +imagined, than is illustrated in the customs of the Church for +centuries, when in the general canons were found that "No woman may +approach the altar," "A woman may not baptize without extreme +necessity," "Woman may not receive the eucharist under a black veil." +Under canon 81 she was forbidden to write in her own name to lay +Christians, but only in the name of her husband; and women were not to +receive letters of friendship from any one addressed to themselves. +Canon law, framed by the priesthood, compiled as early as the ninth +century, has come down in effect to the nineteenth, making woman +subordinate in civil law. Under canon law, wives were deprived of the +control of both person and property. Canon law created marriage a +sacrament "to be performed at the church door," in order to make it a +source of revenue to the Church. Marriage, however, was reckoned too +sinful "to be allowed for many years to take place within the sacred +building consecrated to God, and deemed too holy to permit the entrance +of a woman within its sacred walls at certain periods of her life." + + +L. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +1 Timothy iii. + + + +2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, +sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; + +3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but +patient, not a brawler, not covetous; + +4 One that ruleth well in his own house, having his children in +subjection with all gravity: + +5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take +care of the church of God?) + +8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to +much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre. + +11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful +in all things. + +12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children +and their own houses well. + + +In this chapter the advice of the Apostle in regard to the overseer or +bishop is unexceptionable. The first injunction that relates to woman +is, that the bishop must be the husband of one wife. Under the present +ideas of Christendom, the inference naturally is that the bishop was +enjoined to be the husband of but one wife. If, as appears probable, +this was an injunction in favor of monogamy, it was a true and +progressive idea established with the foundation of the Christian +Church. + +Deacons also are instructed to be the husbands of one wife. "Women in +like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all +things." It is not clear whether this is spoken for the direction of +women in general in the Church, or for the wives of deacons. The +advice, however, is equally good for either class. The word "sober" in +the old version is rendered "temperate" in the new one. Whether women +in those days were liable to take too much wine does not appear. But +nowhere in the Old or the New Testaments is there an account of +drunkenness by women. + +The directions for the conduct of the bishop are explicit. He is to be +"gentle, not contentious," which sets aside much that distinguishes the +masculine nature. In fact, with the exception of the qualification +"apt to teach," before forbidden, the entire list of the necessary +qualities of a bishop is that of womanly characteristics. Temperate, +sober-minded (i. e., not given to trifling speech), orderly, given to +hospitality, no brawler, no striker (this supposedly refers to +pugilistic tendencies), but gentle, not contentious. Every +qualification is essentially womanly. + + +1 Timothy v. + +3 Honour widows that are widows indeed. + +4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to +shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and +acceptable before God. + +5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, + +6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. + +8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his +own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an Infidel. + +9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years, +having been the wife of one man. + +10 Well reported of for her good works; if she have brought up +children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' +feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently +followed every good work. + +11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax +wanton against Christ, they will marry; + +12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. + +13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to +house; and not only idle, but tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking +things which they ought not. + +14 I will therefore that the Younger women marry, bear children, guide +the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. + +15 For some are already turned aside after Satan, + +16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve +them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that +are widows indeed. + + +No one can be desolate who has a purpose and a sphere of action, with +ability to work. Paul's widow, who was a widow indeed, "continueth in +supplication and prayers night and day." What an existence! Desolate +indeed. Exercising but one faculty of the soul--that of supplication! +Women of this period cannot be too thankful, that the numerous +opportunities for educational and philanthropic work are open to them +in addition to the opportunities to win subsistence in the various +avocations of life. + +The widow who was to be enrolled, to be provided for by the Church, must +be three score years old, having been the wife of one man. Whether this +is a repudiation of second marriages, or refers to polyandry, is not +apparent. This obligation of the early Church to provide for women who +had fulfilled the duties of motherhood, ministered to the afflicted, +washed the saints' feet, and diligently followed every good work, is a +recognition of a right principle, and which should be made a part of +social organization. + +But he directs that younger women be refused. Paul thought that women +could not be loyal followers of Christ and "desire to marry." Therefore +he desires them all to marry, to bear children and to rule the family. +Another inconsistency of Paul. Having stated as expressly the teaching +of the spirit that the doctrine forbidding to marry was of devils, he +here again claims that when the younger widows desire to, marry they +have waxed wanton against Christ. There is even by Paul one place in +which woman is to be the head. If she may not teach, she may provide +for the physical comfort of her husband and family. + +The Apostle accuses women of learning to be idle, going about from +house to house, of being tattlers and busybodies--these young widows, +or unmarried women. What a spectacle the thousands of bread-winning +young and unmarried women of to-day, would be to Paul if he could come +here! And these young women have no time to go from house to house, or +even to fulfill social obligations. And the students in our colleges +and universities, Paul would not find them tattlers or busybodies. What +could the unmarried women of Paul's time do? They had no absorbing +mental pursuit or physical occupation. Perhaps they could not read; and +there was little for them to study. Lacking mental furnishing to noble +ends, they must of necessity deal with trivial matters. What could a +woman do who had no home to care for, no business to attend to, perhaps +nothing to read (if she could read), no social organizations in which +she had a place and part except the religious assemblies in which she +was to be "in quietness," "in silence"? + +They were not worthy of condemnation if they were going from house to +house and tattling. The unmarried woman will not lack opportunity for +the dignity of self-support and the ministrations of philanthropy in +the new dispensation. Womanhood and its high possibilities of mind and +of heart are worthy attainments, even though not crowned with self- +elected motherhood. Whether married or unmarried, the highest duty of +every living soul, woman or man, is to seek truth and righteousness; +and the liberty which is of the spirit of truth does not admit of the +bondage of husband and wife, +the one to the other. Freedom to seek soul development is paramount to +all other demands. + + + +1 Timothy i. + + + +2 Too Timothy, my dearly beloved son: grace, mercy, and peace, from +God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. + +5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, +which dwelt first in thy grand-mother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and +I am persuaded that in thee also. + + +Timothy, whom Paul calls his true child in faith, and whom he placed +as overseer, or bishop of the first church at Ephesus, as all +commentators agree, was the child of mixed parentage, his father being +a Greek and his mother a Jewess. It is supposed that his father died in +Timothy's childhood, as no mention is made of him. Timothy, then, was +educated religiously by the teaching and the example of his mother and +his grandmother. Paul expresses with fervent emotion his remembrance of +his "beloved child," and of the unfeigned faith which is in him, and, +"which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice." + +After having instructed Timothy to exercise all the gentle virtues +which are feminine and womanly, the Apostle in this acknowledgment that +he was the child of a devout mother and grandmother, discloses a fact +which places in no favorable light his strenuous opposition to woman's +equality in the Church. This mother and grandmother under whose +teaching Timothy had become qualified to receive the important office +of bishop, and whose faithfulness so endeared him to the Apostle, were +required to keep silence in the Church equally with all other women +whose evidence of faith were not so conclusive. There was no +distinction. The ban was placed upon woman solely on the ground of sex. + +The Church has only in this nineteenth century partially amended this +record, by establishing the order of deaconesses for women who devote +themselves to good works and to religious teaching. While in the liberal +denominations the pulpit is accessible to woman, it is only in very +recent years that in any evangelistic denomination it has been +permissible for woman to "teach." The priesthood are as unwilling to-day +as was Paul in the first century, that women shall be placed on an +equality in offices of distinction. Perhaps this disposition comes of a +dim, not fully evolved consciousness that, "when the present evolution +of woman is complete, a new world will result; for woman is destined to +rule the world. She is the centre and the fountain of its life," which +the new man has recently announced from his pulpit. + +There is no prerogative more tenaciously held by the common man than +that of rulership. There is no greater opposition to woman's equality +in the State than there is in the Church, and this notwithstanding the +fact that the Church and the pulpit are largely sustained by women. The +Church is spiritually and actually a womanly institution, and this is +recognized by the unvarying expression, "Mother Church." Yet man +monopolizes all offices of distinction and of leadership, and receives +the salaries for material support. As the inevitable result, spiritual +life has become so languid as to be ineffectual, and an effort is being +persistently pushed by a portion of the Evangelical Church, a portion, +too, which most strenuously keeps its women silent, to fortify the +Church by the power of civil government. + +There is no suggestion in the teaching of Jesus, as recorded, of +compelling individuals, authorities, or powers, to acknowledge God. The +religion of Jesus is a voluntary acceptance of truth. "God is a spirit, +and they who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." There +can be no compulsory life of the spirit, quickened by the source of +life, light and love. The masculine idea of compelling a formal +acknowledgment of God by the State is entirely unchristian. + +Until the feminine is recognized in the Divine Being, and justice is +established in the Church by the complete equality of woman with man, +the Church cannot be thoroughly Christian. "Honor thy father and thy +mother" is the commandment. The human race cannot be brought to its +highest state until motherhood is equally honored with fatherhood in +human institutions. + + +L. B. C. + + + + + +EPISTLES OF PETER AND JOHN. + + + +1 Peter iii. + + + +1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if +any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the +conversation of the wives; + +3 Whose adorning, let it not be that out, ward adorning of plaiting +the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; + +7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, +giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel. + +Woman's influence is most clearly set forth by all the Apostles in +meek submission to their husbands and to all the Church ordinances and +discipline. A reverent silence, a respectful observance of rules and +authorities was their power. They could not aid in spreading the gospel +and in converting their husbands to the true faith by teaching, by +personal attraction, by braided hair or ornaments. The normal beauty of +a sanctified heart would be manifested by a meek and quiet spirit, +valuable in the sight of God as well as their husbands, and do far more +to fix their affections and to secure their esteem than the studied +decoration of fashionable apparel. Woman's love of satins, of velvets, +of laces, and of jewels, has its corresponding expression in man's love +of wealth, of position, and his ambition for personal and family +aggrandizement. + +There is much talk of the poor and the needy, especially during +political campaigns. In the autumn of 1896, when the workingman's +interests formed the warp and woof of every speech, three thousand +children stood in the streets of New York City, for whom there was no +room in the schoolhouses and no play-grounds; and yet thousands of +dollars were spent in buying votes. Large, well-ventilated homes for +those who do the work of the world, plenty of schoolhouses and play- +grounds for the children of the poor, would be much more beneficial to +the race than expensive monuments to dead men, and large appropriations +from the public treasury for holidays and convivial occasions to honor +men in high places. + +The Apostles having given such specific directions as to the toilets +of women, their hair, ornaments, manners and position, in the Church, +the State and the home, one is curious to know what kind of honor is +intended for this complete subordination. Man is her head, her teacher, +her guardian and her Saviour. What Christ is to him, that is he to the +weaker vessel. It is fair to infer that what he has done in the past he +will continue to do in the future. Unless she rebels outright, he will +make her a slave, a subject, the mere reflection of another human will. + + +E. C. S. + + + +2 John i. + + + +1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, + +5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new +commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that +we love one another. + +6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. + +12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper +and ink; but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our +joy may be full. + + +Some critics conjecture that the Church at Jerusalem is meant by the +"elect lady," and the one at Ephesus by her elect sister. Others +suppose that an eminent and honorable Christian woman was intended by +the "elect lady," and that some other Christian woman, well known in +the Church, was intended by her elect sister. The aged Apostle wrote +this short letter to this lady, who was a person of rank, hence he did +not scruple to give to her the title of honor. He assured her children +of his deep interest in their welfare. The word lady was always used in +addressing, or speaking of one who was an acknowledged superior. In +their travels about the country the Apostles especially enjoyed the +hospitality of families of rank. Though democratic in their principles, +they were susceptible to the attractions of wealth and of culture. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +REVELATION. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Revelation i. + + + +The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto +his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and +signified it by his angel unto his servant John: + + +2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus +Christ, and of all things that he saw. + +3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this +prophecy and keep those things which are written therein: for the time +is at hand. + +4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and +peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from +the seven Spirits which are before his throne. + + +John Morley once said to the priests--"We shall not attack you, we +shall explain you." The Book of Revelation, properly Re-Veilings, +cannot even be approximately explained without some knowledge of +astrology. It is a purely esoteric work, largely referring to woman, +her intuition, her spiritual powers, and all she represents. Even the +name of its putative author, John, is identical in meaning with "dove," +the emblem of the Holy Ghost, the female principle of the Divinity. + +This book came down from old Egyptian "mystery" times, and was one of +the profoundly "sacred" and profoundly "secret" books of the great +temple of Luxor, the words "sacred" and "secret" possessing the same +meaning during the mysteries. All knowledge was anciently concealed in +the mysteries; letters, numbers, astrology (until the sixteenth century +identical with astronomy), alchemy, the parent of chemistry, these, and +all other sciences were hidden from the common people. Even to all +initiates the most important part of the mysteries was not revealed. + +It is not then strange that such a profoundly mystic book as +Re-Veilings should be so little understood by the Christian Church +as to have been many times rejected from the sacred canon. It did not +appear in the Syriac Testament as late as 1562. Neither did Luther, the +great reformer of the sixteenth century, nor his coworker, Erasmus, +respect it, Luther declaring that for his part he would as soon it had +not been written; Calvin, also, had small regard for it. The first +collection of the New Testament canon, decided upon by the Council of +Laodicea (A. D. 364), omitted the entire book from its list of sacred +works; Jerome said that some Greek churches would not receive it. The +celebrated Vatican codex in the papal library, the oldest uncial or +Biblical manuscript in existence, does not contain Revelation. The +canon of the New Testament was fixed as it now is by Pope Innocent I., +A. D. 405, with the Book of Revelation still in dispute. + +Its mystic character has been vaguely surmised by the later Church, +which, while claiming to be the exponent of spiritual things, has yet +taught the grossest materialism, and from no part of the Bible more +fully than from Revelation. It asserts a literal coming of Christ in +the literal clouds of heaven, riding a literal horse, while Gabriel +(angel of the moon), with a literal trumpet sounds the blast of earth's +destruction. A literal devil is to be bound for a thousand years, +during which time the saints are to dwell on earth, "every man to have +a farm," as I once heard a devout Methodist declare. "But there will +not be land enough for that," objected a brother. "O, well, the earth +is now two-thirds water, and that will be dried up," was the reply. To +such straits have Christians been driven in their efforts to comprehend +this book. + +But during the centuries a few students have not failed to apprehend +its character; the Abbe Constant (Eliphas Levi), declaring it to be one +of the masterpieces of occult science. While for even a partial +comprehension of Re-Veilings, some knowledge of astrology is required, +it is no less true that the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation +demands a knowledge of astrology, of letters, and of numbers, with +their interchangeable values as they were understood by those who wrote +it, "a book written by initiates for initiates." Sir William Drummond +proved that all names of places in the holy land of the Hebrews were +astronomical. + +Not only were Hebrew feasts and seasons based upon that science, but +many Christian ones, as Easter and Christmas are due to the same cause. +The festival of St. John the Baptist takes place at the time of the +sun's lowest southern declination, December 22. In like manner the +festival of St. John the Evangelist occurs at midsummer day, when the +sun reaches its highest northern declination. All those church periods +are purely astronomical or astrological in character. The "Alpha" and +"Omega" of Revelation contain profound evolutionary truths, +significative of spirit and of matter, or God unmanifested and +manifested. + +The famous seven churches of Asia, to whom this book was largely +addressed, were all astrological and based upon the seven planets of +the ancients. Of these seven churches that of Ephesus stood first. On +the shores of Aegean Sea, it was famous for its magnificent temple to +the moon-goddess Artemis, or Diana. This temple was one of the seven +wonders of the ancient world, nations vieing with each other in their +gifts to add to its splendor. The moon being the emblem or "angel" of +Ephesus, the cry of the multitude when Paul spake there, "Great is +Diana of the Ephesians!" was an astrological recognition of the power +of the moon over human affairs. It is to be noted that none of the +seven churches of Asia received the writings of Paul. In the astrology +of Chaldea, as in that of Asia Minor, the moon was first among the +planets. It must be remembered that the numbers seven and twelve, so +frequently mentioned in Re-Veilings, are of great occult significance +in relation to the earth. + +The angel of the church of Smyrna, to whom the second letter was +addressed, was the sun, "the only sun" dying and rising each day; that +of Pergamos, the beneficent Jupiter, who became the supreme god of the +Greek world. The angel of Thyatira, the lovely and loving Venus, by +some deemed the most occult of the planets, sustained her old-time +character for lasciviousness in her connection with that church. The +fiery, warlike Mars, angel of the church of Sardis, called "the Great +King," and Saturn, the angel of the church of Philadelphia, are +astrologically known as malefic planets. Saturn identified with Satan, +matter and time, is for occult reasons looked upon as the great +malefic. The angel of the church of Laodicea, +Mercury or Hermes, the ambiguous planet, is, next to Venus, the most +occult of all the planets; it is, masculine or feminine, the patron of +learning or of thieves, as it is aspected. Most profound secrets +connected with the spiritual interests of the race during the middle +portion of the fifth round are hidden in the letter to the angel of the +church of Laodicea. + + +M. J. G. + + + +This book is styled the Apocalypse or Revelation, and is supposed to +have been written by John, called the Divine, on the Island of Patmos, +in the Aegean Sea, whither he was banished. Professor Goldwin Smith, in +a recent work entitled "Guesses at the Riddle of Existence," thinks +that we have but little reliable information as to the writers of +either the Old or the New Testaments. In this case the style is so +different from that of John, that the same Apostle could not have +written both books. Whoever wrote The Revelation was evidently the +victim of a terrible and extravagant imagination and of visions which +make the blood curdle. + + + +Revelation ii. + + + +18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write: + +19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy +patience. + +20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou +sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophet, to teach +and to seduce my servants. + +21 And I gave her space to repent; and she repented not. + +22 Behold, I will cast her into great tribulation. + +23 And I will kill her children and all the churches shall know that I +am he which searcheth the hearts; and I will give unto every one of you +according to your works. + + +The town of Thyatira lay to the southeast of Pergamos. The epistle to +the church was sent by John, with some commendations; but it was said +that there was a worm at the root of its prosperity, which would +destroy the whole unless it were removed. It is not agreed whether the +expression Jezebel, is to be understood literally or figuratively. From +the reading of some manuscripts it has been thought, that the wife of +the presiding minister was intended, that she had obtained great +influence in the affairs of the church and made a bad use of it; that +she pretended to have prophetic gifts, and +under that sanction propagated abominable principles. + +The figurative meaning, however, seems more suited to the style and +the manner of this book; and in this sense it denotes a company of +persons, of the spirit and character of Jezebel, within the church +under one principal deceiver. Jezebel, a Zidonian and a zealous +idolater, being married to the King of Israel (Ahab) contrary to the +Divine law, used all her influence to draw the Israelites from the +worship of Jehovah into idolatry. Satan and woman are the chief +characters in all the frightful visions; and the sacred period of +maternity is made to illustrate some of the most terrible upheavals in +national life, as between the old dragon and the mother of the race. +Whatever this book was intended to illustrate, its pictures are +painfully vivid. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Revelation xii. + + + +And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the +sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve +stars: + + +2 And she being with child travailed in birth. + +3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red +dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his +heads. + +4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and the +dragon stood before the woman to devour her child as soon as it was +born. + +5 And she brought forth a man child, that was caught up unto God. + +6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place +prepared of God. + +13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he was +wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed. + + +The constellation Draco, the Great Serpent, was at one time ruler of +the night, being formerly at the very centre of the heavens and so +large that it was called the Great Dragon. Its body spread over seven +signs of the Zodiac, which were called its seven heads. So great a +space did it occupy, that, in mystic language, it "drew a third part of +the stars from heaven and cast them to the earth." Thuban, in its tail, +was formerly the pole-star, or "judge of the earth!" It approached much +nearer the true pole than Cynosura, the present pole-star, which is one +and a half degrees distant and will never approach nearer than twelve +minutes, while Thuban was only ten minutes distant. + +At an early day serpents were much respected; they were thought to +have more "pneuma" or spirit than any other living thing and were +termed "fiery." For this cause high initiates were called "naga," or +serpents of wisdom; and a living serpent was always carried in the +celebration of the mysteries. During the brilliant eighteenth and +nineteenth Egyptian dynasties, Draco was a great god; but when this +constellation lost its place in the heavens, and Thuban ceased to be +the guiding sidereal Divinity, it shared the fate of all the fallen +gods. "The gods of our fathers are our devils," says an Arabic proverb. +When Re-Veilings was written, Draco had become a fallen angel +representing evil spirituality. By precessional motion the foot of +Hercules rests upon its head, and we find it depicted as of the most +material color, red. + +Colors and jewels are parts of astrology; and ancient cities, as +Ectabana, were built and colored after the planets. The New Jerusalem +of Re-Veilings is purely an astrological city, not to be understood +without a knowledge of mystic numbers, letters, jewels and colors. So, +also, the four and twenty elders of Re-Veilings are twenty-four stars +of the Chaldean Zodiac, "counsellors" or "judges," which rose and set +with it. Astrology was brought into great prominence by the visit of +the magi, the zodiacal constellation Virgo, the "woman with a child," +ruling Palestine, in which country Bethlehem is situated. The great +astronomer and astrologer, Ptolemy, judged the character of countries +from the signs ruling them, as to this day is done by astrologers. + +The woman attacked by the great red dragon, Cassiopea, was known as +Nim-Makh, the Mighty Lady. For many centuries, at intervals of about +three hundred years, a brilliant star suddenly appeared in this +constellation, remaining visible a few months, then as suddenly +disappearing. In mystic phraseology this star was a child. It was seen +A. D. 945, A. D. 1264, and was noted by Tycho Brahe and other +astronomers in 1562, when it suddenly became so brilliant that it could +be seen at midday, gradually assuming the appearance of a great +conflagration, then as gradually fading away. Since thus caught up to +the throne of God, this star-child has not again appeared, although +watched for by astronomers during the past few years. The Greeks, who +borrowed so much from the Egyptians, created from this book the story +of Andromeda and the monster sent by Neptune to destroy her, while +Madame Blavatsky says that St. John's dragon is Neptune, a symbol of +Atlantaen magi. + +The crown of twelve stars upon the head of the apocalyptic woman are the +twelve constellations of the Zodiac. Clothed with the sun, woman here +represents the Divinity of the feminine, its spirituality as opposed to +the materiality of the masculine; for in Egypt the sun, as giver of +life, was regarded as feminine, while the moon, shining by reflected +light, was looked upon as masculine. With her feet upon the moon, woman, +corresponding to and representing the soul, portrays the ultimate +triumph of spiritual things over material things--over the body, which +man, or the male principle, corresponds to and represents. + +"There was war in heaven." The wonderful progress and freedom of +woman, as woman, within the last half century, despite the false +interpretation of the Bible by the Church and by masculine power, is +the result of this great battle; and all attempts to destroy her will +be futile. Her day and hour have arrived; the dragon of physical power +over her, the supremacy of material things in the world, as depicted by +the male principle, are yielding to the spiritual, represented by +woman. The eagle, true bird of the sun and emblem of our own great +country, gives his wings to her aid; and the whole earth comes to help +her against her destroyer. + +And thus must Re-Veilings be left with much truth untouched, yet with +the hope that what has been written will somewhat help to a +comprehension of this greatly misunderstood yet profoundly "sacred" and +"secret" book, whose true reading is of such vast importance to the +human race. + + +M. J. G. + + + +Here is a little well intended respect for woman as representing the +Church. In this vision she appears clothed with the sun, and the moon +under her feet, which denotes her superiority, says the commentator, to +her reflected feebler light of the Mosaic dispensation. The crown of +twelve stars on her head represents her honorable maintenance of the +doctrines of the Church. just as the woman was watched by the dragon, +and her children devoured, so was the Church watched and persecuted by +the emissaries of the Papal hierachy {sic}. The seven heads of the +dragon represent the seven hills on which Rome is built; the ten horns, +ten kingdoms into which the Western empire was divided. The tail of the +dragon drawing a third part of the stars represent the power of the +Romans, who had conquered one-third part of the earth. + + + +Revelation xvii. + + + +3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a +woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, +having saves heads and ten horns. + +4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked +with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in bar +hand. + +5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great. + +18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth +over the kings of the earth. + + +The woman draped in scarlet, seated on a beast, was the emblem of the +Church of Rome. The beast represents the temporal power by which it has +been supported. These colors have always distinguished the popes and +the cardinals, as well as the Roman emperors and senators. The horses +and the mules were covered with scarlet cloth to answer the +description, and the woman was decked in the brightest colors, in gold +and jewels. No one can describe the pomp, splendor and magnificence of +the Church of Rome. The cup in the woman's hand contained potions to +intoxicate her victims. It was the custom at that time for public women +to have their names on their foreheads, and as they represented the +abominations of social life, they were often named after cities. The +writers of the Bible are prone to make woman the standard for all kinds +of abominations; and even motherhood, which should be held most sacred, +is used to illustrate the most revolting crimes. What picture can be +more horrible than the mother, in her hour of mortal agony, watched by +the dragon with his seven heads and ten horns! + +Why so many different revising committees of bishops and clergymen +should have retained this book as holy and inspiring to the ordinary +reader, is a mystery. It does not seem possible that the Divine John +could have painted these dark pictures of the struggles of humanity +with the Spirit of Evil. Verily, we need an expurgated edition of the +Old and the New Testaments before they are fit to be placed in the +hands of our youth to be read in the public schools and in theological +seminaries, especially if we wish to inspire our children with proper +love and respect for the Mothers of the Race. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +APPENDIX. + + + +"Ignorance is the mother of devotion."--Jeremy Taylor. + + + +The following letters and comments are in answer to the questions: + +1. Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded the +emancipation of women? + +2. Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race? + + +Dear Mrs. Stanton:--I believe, as you said in your birthday address, +that "women ought to demand that the Canon law, the Mosaic code, the +Scriptures, prayer-books and liturgies be purged of all invidious +distinctions of sex, of all false teaching as to woman's origin, +character and destiny." I believe that the Bible needs explanation and +comment on many statements therein which tend to degrade woman. Christ +taught the equality of the sexes, and Paul said: "There is neither male +nor female; ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Hence I welcome "The +Woman's Bible" as a needed commentary in regard to woman's position. + +Phebe A. Hanaford. + + + +If the suggestions and teachings of the various books of our Bible, +concerning women, are compared with the times in which severally they +probably were written, in general they are certainly in advance of most +contemporary opinion. The hurtful blunder of later eras has been the +setting up of early, cruder standards touching the relations of men and +of women, as moulding influences and guides to broader civilizations. +They cannot be authoritative. + +I believe that the Bible's Golden Rule has been the real substratum of +all religions, when fairly applied from their own point of view. But +the broader and more discriminating applications of the rule +theoretically both to men and to women in every relation of life have +made, and necessarily must have made, most of the earlier practical +regulations and teachings, beneficent perhaps in their day, pernicious +in ours when regarded as still authoritative. Interpreted by its +fundamental principles, in the light of its time--not in the fast +increasing light of ours, which, as I understand it, is your +searchlight and that of your collaborators--I have very little quarrel +with the Bible. But neither have I much quarrel with Buddhism, with +Paganism in general, or with any serious religious cult, tested in the +same way. + +Turn on the light and so change the point of view. But criticism of +ancient creeds, literatures or morals, to be entirely fair and just. +must be comparative criticism. To be broadly comparative it must +virtually include contemporary and intermediate as well as existing +creeds, literatures or morals. Very sincerely yours, + +Antoinette Brown Blackwell. + + + +Like the shield which was gold on one side and silver on the other, +the Bible has two sides or aspects. As travellers approaching the +shield from opposite directions quarrelled over its nature because each +saw only that side which he had approached, people have differed in +their view of the Bible and its influence upon mankind because only one +aspect has been visible to them. + +Acceptance of the Bible literally tends to retard the development of +both man and woman, and consequently the establishment of their +highest and best relation to each other, a relation upon +which depends their usefulness to the community. Both the law of Moses +and the teachings of Paul, thus considered, belittle woman more than +they exalt her. While words of praise and promises of future place and +power are not altogether lacking, this is the impression left upon the +mind of the reader who is not able to pass around to the other side and +gain another view. + +Exoterically considered, the Bible offers less of the ethical and the +spiritual than of the physical possibilities of woman as the complement +to man; but esoterically considered, it is found to exact the spiritual +possibilities above the rest--above even the like possibilities of the +man. The Bible has been, and will continue to be, a stumbling-block in +the way of development of inherent resources, consequently of the +truest civilization, in proportion to the strength of its exoteric +aspect with the people. It will cease to be a stumbling block and +become a powerful impetus in the desired direction instead, when its +inner meaning becomes revelator, companion and friend. + +In the literal rendering of the Bible, woman appears first and above +all as man's subordinate; but this inner meaning shows her first and +above all as the individual equal with him, and afterward his +complement, or what she is able to be for him. Portrayed as the mother +of the Saviour of the world, one woman is exalted above all women when +only physical motherhood is seen; and the consequence has been that one +woman has been worshiped and the sex has been crucified. This one woman +has been lifted above her place; and all women have fallen +correspondingly below it. + +Not till "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the +world" shall pierce with its rays the darkness of the sensuous nature, +will woman's spiritual motherhood for the race, be discerned as the way +of its redemption from that darkness and its consequences. As that +light is uncovered in individual souls the inner meaning of the Bible +will appear, woman's nature as the individual and her true relativity +to man be seen. Then the mistakes which have been ignorantly made will +be rectified, because both sides of the shield will be seen. Men and +women will clasp hands as comrades with a common destiny; religion and +science will each reveal their destiny and prove that truth which the +Bible even exoterically declares that "the woman is the glory of the +man." + +Ursula N. Gestefeld. + + + + +It is requested that I shall answer two questions: + +1. Has the Bible advanced or retarded woman's emancipation? + +2. Has it elevated or degraded the Mothers of the Race? + +If by "emancipation" is meant the social, legal and political position +of women, and if by the "Bible" the authorized version of the Old +Testament, it would be difficult to prove that the opponents of that +emancipation have not derived their narrow views from many passages in +the Bible. This, however, applies only to the exoteric interpretation, +the weak points of which have been so mercilessly exposed in Part I. of +"The Woman's Bible." + +The Divine wisdom whose occult truths form the basis of Judaism, of +Christianity and of all other religions, has nothing to do with the +subjection of sex: and to be fair we must confess that there are many +texts in the exoteric version which proclaim the equality of woman, +notably the first chapter of Genesis. I believe that H. P. Blavatsky +was right when she said of the Bible: "It is a grand volume, a +masterpiece composed of clever, ingenious fables, containing great +verities; but it reveals the latter only to those who, like the +Initiates, have a key to its inner meaning; a tale sublime in its +morality and didactics truly--still a tale and an allegory; a repertory +of invented personages in its older Jewish portions, and of dark +sayings and parables in its later additions, and thus quite misleading +to any one ignorant of its esotericism." + +This being the case, the discussion which "The Woman's Bible" raises +is to my judgment somewhat futile. It is said that from Genesis to +Revelation the Bible degrades woman. Does it not, as it stands, equally +in many passages degrade the conception of the Supreme Being? Many +noble and Divine truths have been utterly degraded by the coarse +fallacies of men. All this is so sure to be made clear in the near +future that I am doubtful of the wisdom of laying too much stress on +passages whose meaning is entirely misunderstood by the vast majority +of Christians. + +Slowly we see a light breaking. When the dawn comes we shall have a +revision of the Bible on very different lines from any yet attempted. +In the meantime may we not ask, Is there any curse or crime which has +not appealed to the Bible for support? Polygamy, capital punishment, +slavery and war have all done so. Why not the subjection of women? Let +us hold fast that which is good in the Bible and the rest will modify +itself in the future, as it has done in the past, to the needs of +humanity and the advance of knowledge. + +London, England. + +Ursula Bright. + + + +Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton:--Dear Madam: I have received your letter +and the specimen of "The Woman's Bible" which you have sent me. I have +not had time to examine it minutely; but I have been aware of your +purpose from the beginning. I am afraid that I cannot say anything +which you will wish to print; for I look upon the Bible very +differently from what you do. + +I have no superstitious reverence for it, but hold it in high regard +as a valuable collection of very old literature well representing the +thought and the life of a great, earnest people at different periods of +their career. As such, it is full of precious lessons of wisdom and of +sweet and beautiful poetry. I certainly could not endorse Mr. White's +statement; for I have very recently in public lectures spoken of the +great value of this collection as one of the best educators of the +common people in Christendom generally, and especially in Scotland and +the United States. I should say the same, so far as my knowledge +extends, of the Koran and other so-called sacred books. + +That the superstitious worship of the Bible as a direct revelation +from God, and the practice of using what is merely the history of human +life as authority for human action now, or as prophecy, has produced or +strengthened great evils in the world I readily admit, and I welcome +all the thorough and searching criticism which can be applied to the +Bible, but nothing is gained by exaggeration. There are noble examples +of woman in the Old Testament of the heroic type, as in the New +Testament of the tender and loving one. + +The whole subject of the relations of the sexes is a deep and +difficult one; and the ages have been struggling with it. That woman is +handicapped by peculiarities of physical structure seems evident; and +according to the character of the age these are more or less +unfavorable. Civilization in many instances has emphasized and +increased them to her great disadvantage; but it is only by making her +limitations her powers that the balance can be restored, and in an age +of more intellectual and spiritual superiority this will come to pass. +I read this in the development of woman's life in education, in +industry and in self-support. + +I have tried to express my views frankly, although I cannot fully +illustrate them in a brief letter, which is all I have time for at +present. Your own active mind will follow out whatever there is of +value in my thought. Yours very respectfully, + +Jamaica Plain, Mass. + +Ednah D. Cheney. + + + +The Bible--both the books of the Old Testament and of the New, express +the views in regard to woman which prevailed when those books were +written. The conception in regard to woman was that she was naturally +man's inferior, that her position should be one of subordination, that +she should have no will of her own, except as it was in accord with +that of her father, husband, or master. + +The enlightened portions of the world have gradually been outgrowing +these ideas. This progress has constantly been opposed by the influence +of Bible teachings on the subject. The influence of the Bible against +the elevation of woman, like its influence in favor of slavery, has +been great because of the infallibility and the Divine authority with +which the teachings of the Bible have been invested. If the Bible had, +like other books, been judged by its actual merits, in the light of +reason and common sense, its teachings +about woman would have had no authoritative weight; but when millions +have for centuries been brought up to believe that the Bible is an +inspired and infallible revelation from God, its influence has been +mischievous in a thousand ways. + +A collection of books which teaches, as from God, that man was made +first for the glory of God, and woman for man simply; that woman was +first to sin, and therefore should be in submission to man; that +motherhood implies moral impurity and requires a sin offering (twice as +much in the case of a female as a male child), must have continued to +keep woman in a degraded condition just in proportion as such ideas +have been believed to be true and inspired by God. + +The advancement of woman throughout Christendom has been going on only +where these doctrines have been outgrown or modified through the +influence of science, of skepticism, and of liberal thought generally. +That the Bible does teach that woman's position should be one of +subordination and submission to man, and that through her first came +sin into the world, is indisputable; and I do not see how such +teachings, believed to be direct from God, can be accepted without +retarding woman's progress. Mr. Lecky and others have shown +historically that these Oriental conceptions have distinctly degraded +woman wherever they have prevailed. + +What we should naturally expect to have resulted from these +conceptions is shown by experience actually to have been the result of +such teachings, enforced by the authority of Moses and of St. Paul. + +The idea of woman's equality with man in all natural rights and +opportunities finds no support in the Bible. The doctrine that there is +neither male nor female, neither bond nor free, in Christ Jesus, had no +practical application to social conditions. It left the slave in +chains, and the woman in fetters. Where the old theological dogmas +respecting woman are the least impaired, woman's condition is the least +hopeful. Where the authority of reason is in the ascendant, or where it +is superseding the authority of book revelations, of creeds and of +churches, woman's position is the most advanced, her rights are the +most completely recognized, her opportunities for +progress the most fully allowed, and her character the most fully +developed. + +Sarah A. Underwood. + + + +A solution, in accordance with the fundamental laws of ethics, of the +woman question, which is a part of the great social question, can be +arrived at only by a transformation of the social order of things, made +in conformity with the principle of equal liberty and equal justice to +each and every one. + +As a necessary proposition to let this principle be universally +recognized, we must designate the philosophical view of the world, +based upon scientific Materialism, which former, penetrated by the +conviction that the natural doctrine of evolution also retains its +validity with regard to the mental, vital principles of humanity, +believes in the social, political and ethical evolution of human +society, from which progressive evolution the equal claim to all social +relations of the female and the male halves of humanity are inseparable. + +As the firmest enemy of modern ethics based upon scientific knowledge +of natural laws, there stands the Christian religion, the outspring of +the Jewish one, which former, resting upon the principle of the +necessary subordination of woman to man, in consequence thereof +energetically combats the attempts for equal rights to both sexes, and, +as far as lies in its power, ever will and must combat the same. + +To the influence of the Christian Church upon social conditions we must +in the first instance ascribe that, notwithstanding all advances of +culture, the mental development of the female sex has been +systematically kept back through all these tens of centuries. And not +only for the reason that the Christian religion considers woman as a +creature inferior to man, owing to the legendary eating of the apple by +Eve ("Satan," says St. Augustine, "considered the man to be less +credulous and approachable"), but also--and possibly foremost of all-- +for the reason that the Christian Church knows very well that in woman, +intellectually undeveloped, and therefore easy to be led, and ready to +lend a willing ear to priestly promptings, it possesses its most +powerful ally, and knows that it would lose that powerful support as +soon as women, by a thorough mental training, by an elevating education +adapted to their condition of mind and of fortune, would be taken away +from clerical influences. + +As a contrast to the lying statement, which falsifies the historical +facts, that the Christian religion has raised the condition of woman, +the Christian Church offers to woman nothing but serfdom. And it is the +first duty of those women who combat for right and liberty to unite in +the fight against religious obscurity, against the powers of darkness +and the suppression resting on the Church, that revolution of the mind +for which the most elevated thinkers of all time have suffered and +fought, and to whose deeds alone we owe all advances in the mental +freeing of humanity and all accomplishments of the awakening +consciousness of justice. + +Vienna, Austria. + +Irma Von Troll-Borostyani. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--I thank you very much for the book which I have +received and shall consider with interest. I respond at once and +heartily to the inquiry with which you have honored me. I consider the +Bible the most wonderful record of the evolution of spiritual life +which our race possesses. The sympathetic justice displayed by the +Christ when he said, "Let him that is without sin cast the first +stone," will be the inspiration of the future for man and for woman +alike. + +With cordial remembrance of the past and hope for the future, + +I am + +Sincerely yours, + +Hastings, London, England. + +Elizabeth Blackwell. + + + +Since it is accepted that the status of woman is the gauge of +civilization, this is the burning question which now presents itself to +Christendom. If the Bible had elevated woman to her present status, it +would seem that the fact could be demonstrated beyond question; yet +to-day the whole Christian world is on the defensive, trying to prove the +validity of this claim. Despite the opposition of Bible teaching, woman +has secured the right to education, to speak and to print her thoughts; +therefore her answer to these questions will decide the fate of +Christian civilization. + +In Genesis the Bible strikes the key-note of woman's inferiority and +subjection; and the note rings true through every accepted and rejected +book which has ever constituted the Bible. In the face of this fact, +the supreme effort of the Christian Church has been to inculcate the +idea that Christianity alone has elevated woman, and that all other +religions have degraded and enslaved her. It has feared nothing so much +as to face the truth. + +Women have but to read the Bible and the history of Christianity in +conjunction with the sacred books and the histories of other religions +to discover the falsity of this claim, and that the Bible cannot stand +the light of truth. The Bible estimate of woman is summed up in the +words of the president of a leading theological seminary when he +exclaimed to his students, "My Bible commands the subjection of women +forever." + +In an address to the graduating class of a woman's college in England, +Mr. Gladstone, in awarding the diplomas, said: "Young women, you who +belong to the favored half of the human race, enormous changes have +taken place in your positions as members of society. It is almost +terrible to look back upon the state of women sixty years ago, upon the +manner in which they were viewed by the law, and the scanty provision +made for their welfare, and the gross injustice, the flagrant +injustice, the shameful injustice, to which in certain particulars they +were subjected. Great changes are taking place, and greater are +impending." For centuries England has been the light of the Christian +world; yet what an indictment is this against Christian England by the +greatest living defender of the Bible and the Christian religion. + +This one statement of Mr. Gladstone at once refutes the claim that the +Bible has elevated woman, and confirms the idea of the president of the +theological seminary. Add to these declarations the true condition of +women to-day, and the testimony that the Bible bears against itself, +and the falsity of the claim that it has elevated woman is at once +established. If Mr. Gladstone acknowledges the "gross, flagrant and +shameful injustice" to woman sixty years ago in Christian England, what +can be said of woman's condition six hundred, or sixteen hundred years +ago, when the Bible held the greatest sway over the human mind and +Christianity was at the zenith of its power, when it was denied that +woman has a soul, when she was bought and sold as the cattle of the +field, robbed of her name, her children, her property, and "elevated" +(?) on the gibbet of infamy, and on the high altar of lust by the +decree of the Christian priesthood? + +If it can be proven that during the last thousand years the Christian +clergy, with the Bible in their hands, have pointed out or attempted to +remove one single cruelty or wrong which women have suffered, now is +the opportune time to furnish such proof. Now, to-day, when woman +herself is rising in her mental majesty, and when her wrongs are being +righted, Christianity is dead in the strongest brains and the most +heroic hearts of Europe and of America; and now, when the myth and the +miracle of Bible teaching have lost their hold on the minds of people, +this is the very age when the position of woman is more exalted than it +has ever been since Chrisianity {sic} began. + +If even the claim that the Bible has elevated woman to her present +status were true, when the light is turned on to the social, domestic +and religious life of the Christian world, this achievement reflects no +credit on Bible teaching. After nineteen hundred years no woman's +thought has ever been incorporated into the ecclesiastical or civil +code of any Christian land. + +Monogamic marriage is the strongest institution of the Christian +system; yet all the men of the Old Testament were polygamists; and +Christ and Paul, the central figures of the New Testament, were +celibates and condemned marriage by both precept and example. In +Christian lands monogamy is strictly demanded of women; but bigamy, +trigamy, and polygamy are in reality practised by men as one of the +methods of elevating women, Largely, the majority of men have one +legal wife; but assisted by a small per cent. of youths and of +bachelors, Christendom maintains an army of several millions of +courtesans. Thousands of wretched women are yearly driven to graves in +the potter's field, while manhood is degraded by deception, by +drunkenness and by disease; and the blood of the innocents cries out +against a system which thus "elevates" woman. + +The Bible says that "a tree is known by its fruit;" yet this tree is +carefully pruned, watered, and tended as the "Tree of life" whose +fruit, in the words of Archdeacon Farrar, "alone elevates woman, and +shrouds as with a halo of sacred innocence the tender years of the +child." The Bible records that God created woman by a method different +from that employed in bringing into life any other creature, then +cursed her for seeking knowledge; yet God declares in the Bible: "My +people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." "Because thou hast +rejected knowledge I will reject thee." "Add to your faith virtue, and +to virtue knowledge," and knowledge is the savior of the human race. + +Ever since Eve was cursed for seeking knowledge, the priest with the +Bible in his hands has pronounced her the most unnatural, untrustworthy +and dangerous creation of God. She has been given away as a sheep at +the marriage altar, classed with the ox and the ass, cursed in +maternity, required to receive purification at the hands of the priest +for the crime of child-bearing, her body enslaved, and robbed of her +name and of her property. + +The ownership of the wife established and perpetuated through Bible +teaching is responsible for the domestic pandemonium and the carnival +of wife murder which reigns throughout Christendom. In the United +States alone, in the eighteen hundred and ninety-seventh year of the +Christian era, 3,482 wives, many with unborn children in their bodies, +have been murdered in cold blood by their husbands; yet the Christian +clergy from their pulpits reprove women for not bearing more children +in the face of the fact that millions of the children who have been +born by Christian women are homeless tramps, degraded drunkards, +victims of disease, inmates of insane asylums or prisons, condemned to +the scaffold, or bond slaves to priests or to plutocrats who revel in +wealth at the expense of women whom it is claimed that the Bible has +"emancipated and +elevated." + +"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive +me." This declaration of the Bible puts the brand of infamy upon every +woman who ever bore a child; and this, it is claimed, elevates the +Mothers of the Race. The wife who places her destiny in the keeping of +the father of her children bestows upon him the wealth of her +affection, who is to bear the blood and the name of her husband to +conquests yet undreamed of, and to generations yet unborn, is by Divine +decree made a fountain of iniquity. Would not men and women rather +pluck their tongues out by the roots than brand with infamy the mothers +who went down into the valley and the shadow of death to give birth to +them? + +Place the Bible Trinity of "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" beside the +Homeric trinity, "Father, Mother and Child," and prove that the Bible +has elevated woman. The Homeric conception of woman towers like the +Norway pine above the noxious growth of the Mosaic ideal. Compare the +men and the women of the Bible with the stately figures culled from the +temple of Pagan antiquity. Zipporah denouncing Moses as a "bloody +husband," Abraham sending Hagar and his child into the desert and +pocketing twice over the gains from his wife's prostitution; Lot and +his daughters; Judah and his daughter-in-law, Onan; Yamar, the Levite, +and his concubine; David and Bath-sheba; Solomon in the sewer of +sensualism; Rahab, Aholibah, Mary of Bethlehem, and Mary Magdala. + +Place these by the side of the man and the woman, Hector and +Andromache, of the "Iliad," who called upon the immortal gods to bless +their child of love; the virgin Isis with her son Horus; the Vedic +virgin Indrance, the mother of the savior-god, Indra; Devaki and her +Divine child, Chrishna; Hipparchia, Pandora, Protogenia, Cornelia, +Plotina, and a host of the noble and virtuous of Pagan history. Prove +by comparing these with the position of woman in Christendom that woman +owes all that she is to the Bible. + +Compare Ruth of the Bible with the magnificent Pagan, Penelope, who +refused the hands of kings, was as true to her love as the star is to +the pole, who, after years of waiting, clasped the old wanderer in +rags to her heart, her husband, her long-lost Ulysses; yet this +Pagan woman lived ten centuries before the laws of Moses and of Christ +were promulgated. While there are millions of Penelopes in Christendom, +there are other millions of women, after centuries of Bible teaching, +who lie outside the pale of motherhood, and even outside of the pale of +swine-hood. Under Bible teaching the scarlet woman is "anathema, +marantha," while the scarlet man holds high place in the Sanctuary and +the State. + +The by-paths of ecclesiastical history are fetid with the records of +crimes against women; and "the half has never been told." And what of +the history which Christianity is making to-day? Answer, ye victims of +domestic warfare who crowd the divorce courts of Bible lands. Answer, +ye wretched offspring of involuntary motherhood. Answer, ye five +hundred thousand outcast women of Christian America, who should have +been five hundred thousand blessings, bearing humanity in your +unvitiated blood down the streams of time. Answer, ye mental dwarfs and +moral monstrosities, and tell what the Holy Bible has done for you. + +While these answers echo through the stately cathedrals of Bible +lands, if the priest, with the Holy Bible in his hands, can show just +cause why woman should not look to reason and to science rather than to +Scripture for deliverance, "let him speak now, or forever after hold +his peace." + +When Reason reigns and Science lights the way, a countless host of +women will move in majesty down the coming centuries. A voice will cry, +"Who are these?" and the answer will ring out: "These are the mothers +of the coming race, who have locked the door of the Temple of Faith and +thrown the key away; 'these are they which came out of great +tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the' +fountain of knowledge." + +Josephine K. Henry. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--To say that "the Bible for two thousand years +has been the greatest block in the way of civilization" is, +misleading. Until the Protestant reformation, the Bible was hidden +from the common people by the hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church; +and it is only about three centuries that it has been read in the +vernacular. + +I cannot agree with you that "the Bible degrades women from Genesis to +Revelation." The Bible, which is a collection of ancient literature, +historic, prophetic, poetic and epistolary, is valuable as showing the +status of woman at the time when the books were written. And the +advice, or the commands, to women given by Paul in the Epistles, +against which there has been so much railing, when studied in the light +of the higher criticism, with the aid of cotemporary {sic} history and +Greek scholarship, show Paul to have been in advance of the religious +teachers of his time. + +All these commands that have offended us in the past appear in his +Epistles to the churches in cities of Greece, where marriage was bitter +slavery to women. Paul was aiming to uplift marriage to the level of +the great Christian idea, as he uttered it, in Gal. iii., 28: "There is +neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither +male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Christianity is +simply the universal fatherhood of God, and the universal brotherhood +of man. And Paul was declaring this in the utterance which I have +quoted. All the unjust distinctions of race and of caste, all the +oppressions of slavery and the degradations of woman were effaced by +the two cardinal doctrines of pristine Christianity; and Paul seems to +have lived up to his teaching. + +I cannot say that "Christianity has been the foe of woman." The study +of the evolution of woman does not show this. My later studies have +changed many of my earlier crude notions concerning the development of +woman. She has developed slowly, and so has man; and the history of the +past shows that every activity of man which has advanced him has been +shared by her. + +There is so wide a belief among orthodox people, nowadays, in what +Professor Briggs calls "the errancy of the Bible," that I doubt if you +will be attacked, no matter how startling may be your heresies in Part +II. Nobody cares much about heresy in these days; and my desire to +withhold my name from your work, as an endorser, comes from my utter +ignorance of it, and from my belief that I should +disagree with you, judging from your letter before me. + +Yours very truly, + +M. A. Livermore. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--You have sent to me the following questions: +"Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded the emancipation +of women? Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race?" + +In reply I would say, that as a matter of fact, the nations which +treat women with the most consideration are all Christian nations; the +countries in which women have open to them all the opportunities for +education which men possess are Christian countries; coeducation +originated in Christian colleges; the professions and the trades are +closed to us in all except Christian lands; and woman's ballot is +unknown except where the Gospel of Christ has mellowed the hearts of +men until they became willing to do women justice. Wherever we find an +institution for the care and the comfort of the defective or the +dependent classes, that institution was founded by men and women who +were Christians by heredity and by training. + +No such woman as Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with her heart aflame +against all forms of injustice and of cruelty, with her intellect +illumed and her tongue quickened into eloquence, has ever been produced +in a country where the Bible was not incorporated into the thoughts and +the affections of the people and had not been so during many +generations. + +I think that men have read their own selfish theories into the Book, +that theologians have not in the past sufficiently recognized the +progressive quality of its revelation, nor adequately discriminated +between its records as history and its principles of ethics and of +religion, nor have they until recently perceived that it is not in any +sense a scientific treatise; but I believe that the Bible comes to us +from God, and that it is a sufficient rule of faith and of practice. I +believe that it is no accident which has placed this Book at the +parting of the ways between a good life and a bad one, and enshrined +it at the centre of the holiest scenes which the heart can know, +placing it in the pastor's hand at the wedding and at the grave, on the +father's knee at family prayer, in the trembling fingers of the sick, +and at the pillow of the dying, making it the hope of the penitent and +the power of God unto salvation of those who sin. + +To me the Bible is the dear and sacred home book which makes a +hallowed motherhood possible because it raises woman up, and with her +lifts toward heaven the world. This is the faith taught to me by those +whom I have most revered and cherished; it has produced the finest +characters which I have ever known; by it I propose to live; and +holding to the truth which it brings to us, I expect to pass from this +world to one even more full of beauty and of hope. + +Believe me, honored co-worker for the enfranchisement of women, + +Yours with sisterly regard, + +Frances E. Willard. + + + +Among the letters in reply to the interrogatories propounded are two, +noticeable because they are in such a striking contrast to that of Mrs. +Josephine K. Henry, which immediately precedes them. Their first marked +characteristic is their total lack of facts which are sufficient to +sustain the conclusions therein stated. Conceding for the purpose of +this discussion the truth of Mrs. Livermore's assertions contained in +the first paragraph of her letter, she fails absolutely to show that +the Holy Scriptures have been of any benefit, or have rendered any aid, +to woman in her efforts to obtain her rights in either the social, the +business, or the political world; and unless she is able to present +stronger or more cogent reasons to justify that conclusion than any +which are therein specified, I shall be compelled to adhere to my +present conviction, which is, that this book always has been, and is at +present, one of the greatest obstacles in the way of the emancipation +and the advancement of the sex. + +In regard to the letter of the distinguished President of the Woman's +Christian Temperance Union, her position is entirely indefensible and +completely lacking in logical conclusions. Her leading proposition is +in substance that to the extent that the Christian religion has +prevailed there has been a corresponding improvement in the condition +of women; and the conclusion which she draws from that premise is that +this religion has been the cause of this advancement. Before I admit +the truth of this conclusion I must first inquire whether or not the +premise upon which it is based is true; and judging from the fact that +the condition of women is most degraded in those countries where Church +and State are in closest affiliation, as in Spain, in Italy, in Russia +and in Ireland, and most advanced in nations where the power of +ecclesiasticism is markedly on the wane, the inference is obvious that +the Bible and the religion based upon it have retarded rather than +promoted the progress of woman. + +But, granting that her premise is true, her conclusion by no means +follows from it. She desires her reader to infer that the existence of +Christianity in certain countries is responsible for the high degree of +civilization which there obtains, and that the improved condition of +women in those countries is owing entirely to the influence of that +religion therein. This is what the logicians would call a non sequitur, +which means a conclusion which does not follow from the premises stated. + +It is now a well-settled principle recognized by all writers upon the +science of logic, that the co-existence of two facts does not +necessarily imply that one is the cause of the other; and, as is often +the case, they may have no relation to each other, and each may exist +independently of the other. Many illustrations of this fallacy might be +presented were it necessary to do so; but I will refer to only one of +them. I have heard it asserted that more murders and other crimes are +committed in Christian countries than in any others. Whether this be +true or false, I am not prepared to state; but if it were proven to be +a fact, could one justly contend that the influence of the Bible is in +favor of the commission of crime? Indeed, there would be more reason +for so thinking than there is for the opinion which she holds, as +numerous passages may be found in that volume which clearly justify +both crime and vice. + +The truth of the matter is, as Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Henry, and other +contributors to "The Woman's Bible" have clearly proven, that whatever +progress woman has made in any department of effort she has +accomplished independently of, and in opposition to, the so-called +inspired and infallible "Word of God," and that this book has been of +more injury to her than has any other which has ever been written in +the history of the world. + +E. M. + + + +"Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded the emancipation +of women?" + + +"Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race?" + + +There are always two sides to every question. It sometimes happens +that the Christian, the historian, the clergyman, and the devotee, in +their enthusiasm, are long on assertion and short on proof. Turning the +light on the past and present, the writer of this comment asserts "as a +matter of fact that the nations which treat women with the most +consideration are all" civilized nations. If the condition of woman is +highest in Christian civilization, the question arises, Is it +Christianity or civilization which has accorded to women the "most +consideration"? Christianity means belief in the tenets laid down in a +book called the Bible, claimed to be the Word of God. Civilization +means the state of being refined in manners from the grossness of +savage life, and improved in arts and in learning. If civilization is +due entirely to the teachings of the Bible, then, as claimed, woman +owes to Christianity all the "consideration" which she receives. + +We claim that woman's advancement is due to civilization, and that the +Bible has been a bar to her progress. It is true that "woman receives +most consideration in Christian nations;" but this is due to the mental +evolution of humanity, stimulated by climate and by soil, and the +intercommunication of ideas through modern invention. All the Christian +nations are in the north temperate zone, whose climate, and soil are +better adapted to the development of the race than any other portions +of the earth. Christianity took its rise in thirty degrees north +latitude. Mohammedanism took its rise in the torrid zone; and as +it made its way north it advanced in education, in art, in science, and +in invention, until the civilization of Moslem Spain far surpassed that +of Christian Europe, and as it retreated before the Christian sword +from the fertile valleys of Spain into the and plains of Arabia it +retrograded, after giving to the world some of the greatest scientific +truths and inventions. + +The women of the United States receive "more consideration" and are +being emancipated more rapidly than are the women of Europe; yet, in +Europe, Christianity holds iron sway, while in America the people are +free to accept or to reject its teachings; and in the United States, +out of a population of seventy millions, but twenty-two millions have +accepted it; and a large percentage of these are children, who have not +arrived at the years of discretion, and foreigners from Christian +Europe. The consideration extended to woman does not depend upon the +teachings of the Bible, but upon the mental and material advancement of +the men of a nation. Now if it can be proven that Bible teaching has +inspired men to explore and to subdue new lands, to give to the world +inventions, to build ships, railroads and telegraphs, to open mines, to +construct foundries and factories, and to amass knowledge and wealth, +then the Bible has been woman's best friend; for she receives most +consideration where men have liberty of thought and of action, have +prospered materially, builded homes, and have bank accounts. + +The women in the slums of Christian London and New York receive no +more consideration than the women in the slums of Hong Kong or Bombay. +If the nations which give the most consideration to women do so because +of their Christianity, then it logically follows that the more +intensely Christian a class or an individual may be, the greater +consideration will be shown to their women. The most intensely +Christian people in Christendom are negroes; yet it is an +incontrovertible fact that negro women receive less consideration, and +are more wronged and abused, than any class on the earth. The women of +the middle and upper classes in Bible lands receive consideration just +in proportion to the amount of intelligence and worldly goods possessed +by their male relatives, while the pauper classes are abused, +subjected, and degraded in proportion to the ignorance and the poverty +of the men of their class. + +The Church is the channel through which Bible influence flows. Has the +Church ever issued an edict that woman must be equal with man before +the canon or the civil law, that her thoughts should be incorporated in +creed or code, that she should own her own body and property in +marriage, or have a legal claim to her children born in wedlock, which +Christianity claims is a "sacrament" and one of the "holy mysteries"? +Has the Church ever demanded that woman be educated beyond the Bible +(and that interpreted for her) and the cook book, or given a chance in +all the callings of life to earn an honest living? Is not the Church +to-day a masculine hierarchy, with a female constituency, which holds +woman in Bible lands in silence and in subjection? + +No institution in modern civilization is so tyrannical and so unjust +to woman as is the Christian Church. It demands everything from her and +gives her nothing in return. The history of the Church does not contain +a single suggestion for the equality of woman with man. Yet it is +claimed that women owe their advancement to the Bible. It would be +quite as true to say that they owe their improved condition to the +almanac or to the vernal equinox. Under Bible influence woman has been +burned as a witch, sold in the shambles, reduced to a drudge and a +pauper, and silenced and subjected before her ecclesiastical and +marital law-givers. "She was first in the transgression, therefore keep +her in subjection." These words of Paul have filled our whole +civilization with a deadly virus, yet how strange is it that the +average Christian woman holds the name of Paul above all others, and is +oblivious to the fact that he has brought deeper shame, subjection, +servitude and sorrow to woman than has any other human being in history. + +The nations under Bible influence are the only drunken nations on the +earth. The W. C. T. U. will certainly not claim that drunkenness +elevates woman; indeed, its great work for our sex is a splendid +protest against this idea. Throughout Christendom millions of wretched +women wait in suspense and in terror for the return of drunken +husbands, while in heathendom a drunkard's wife cannot be found unless +a heathen husband is being Christianized by Christian whiskey. The +Chinese women have their feet compressed, but, unlike Christian women, +they do not need their feet to give broom drills or skirt dances for +the "benefit of their church." The child-wives of India need to be +rescued and protected, but no more than many adult wives in Bible lands +need protection from drunken and brutal husbands. The heathen wife +seeks death on her husband's funeral pyre, but the Christian wife is +often sent to death by a bullet in her brain, or a knife in her heart. + +It is said that "woman's ballot is unknown except where the Gospel of +Christ has mellowed the hearts of men until they became willing to do +women justice." justice through the ballot has been accorded only to +the women of Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and far away New Zealand. +In these States the people are honest, industrious and law-abiding; but +the "influence of the Gospel of Christ," according to religious +statistics, is so small it would take a search-warrant to find it, +while Utah is full of Mormons and New Zealand is a convict dumping +ground for Christian nations. Is this the extent of justice to women +after the "influence of the Gospel of Christ has mellowed the hearts of +men" for nineteen hundred years? + +The fact is that woman has been elevated in spite of Bible influence. +Every effort that woman has made to secure education has been +challenged by popes, bishops, priests, moderators, conferences and +college presidents, yet against all these protests she has battered +down the doors of Christian colleges and is now studying the Bible of +Science in conjunction with the Bible of the Christian religion. With +increasing knowledge woman is founding her faith on reason and +demonstrated truth, instead of taking it second-hand from priest, +parson or presbyter. + +Remove from Bible lands the busy brains and hands which have guided +the plow and the locomotive, driven the machinery of the mine, the +foundry, the factory, the home, the mental and the physical labor which +have brought material prosperity, broadened the mind, subdued the +brutal instincts, and humanized the race--remove all these and leave +but the Bible and its influence, and where, let me, ask, would woman be +to-day? Where, indeed, would man be? A crouching and cowering slave to +the Bible doctrine of the Divine right of kings, living as the brutes +of the field, as he did when Bible Christianity was at the zenith of +its power. Wherever in Christian lands man has been a slave, woman has +been the slave of a slave. + +Imagine the condition of woman if to-day should be removed from +Christian civilization the school, the steam engine, the smokestack and +the printing press, and leave but the Scriptures, the steeple and the +parson. Would Elizabeth Cady Stantons, Mary A. Livermores and Frances +E. Willards be the products of this strictly Christian civilization? + +Christianity has instilled into woman the canting falsehood that the +women of all other religions are degraded and immoral. Through tyranny +and falsehood alone is Christianity able to hold woman in subjection. +To tell her the truth would rend the temple of faith in twain and +strike terror to the heart of the priest at the altar. Nothing but the +truth will set woman free. She should know that Christian England +captures the Hindoo girl to act as a harlot to the British soldier, and +that a Christian chaplain is commanded to see that she performs her +duty. She should know that in Christian Austria the maiden must partake +of the Holy Eucharist before she will be granted a license as a +prostitute. She should know that Christian Europe and America trade +upon the bodies, the hearts and the hopes of millions of wretched +women, victims of ignorance and of poverty, and that the centres, of +Christian civilization are seething cauldrons of immorality, +dissipation and disease, which spread ruin and despair in the shadow of +the loftiest cathedrals and palatial Christian temples. + +These things are too shocking for pure Christian women to know, so +they expend their prayers and pelf on the "poor heathen" who have never +heard that Adam ate an apple, or that the whale swallowed Jonah. +Christianity feeds and fattens on the sentiment and the credulity of +women. It slanders the women of India, of China and of Japan that it +may rob the woman of Europe and of America. Dr. Simmons, of the +National Hospital at Yokohama, who has lived in the Orient for thirty- +five years, says: + +"The family in Japan is the cornerstone of the nation. The father and +the mother are regarded with reverence. Politeness and self-restraint +are instilled into children, and an uncivil word is rarely heard. The +Japanese are truthful and honest. The wife has equal influence with the +husband; while divorce is rarely heard of in Oriental lands; and laws +are more stringent protecting the chastity of women." + +O that women could learn the truth! The laws of the Orient are against +trafficking in young girls, but Christian England, which has an iron +hand on the throat of India and a sword thrust into her heart, carries +on a lively trade in native and foreign women, to be the prey of the +Christian soldier, who makes way for the Christian missionary. Here, in +Christian America, marriageable young women are trotted off to church, +the theatre or the ball, and practically set up for sale in the market +of holy matrimony; and the Christian minister, for a consideration, +seals the "Divine mystery." The Church would indignantly deny that it +is a marriage mart, but denial does not throttle the truth. + +Truth makes her way slowly but surely, because the eternities are +hers. Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the greatest liberator of our time, +has, with magnificent courage, pressed into humanity's Thermopylae, and +turned the light on the superstitions which have visited cruelties and +wrongs on woman, and this, too, under a system which claims to extend +"great consideration" to the Mothers of the Race. O women of +Christendom! will ye not seek the truth? Leave the priestly mendicants +who demand your devotion and your dollars, leave to their religion the +heathen women on the banks of the Yangtse-Kiang and the Ganges, and +turn your eyes to millions of your enslaved, toiling, struggling +sisters in Christendom whom it is claimed the Bible has elevated; and +remember that these are the victims upon whom the "glad feet" of the +Gospel have been trampling for two thousand years. + +Versailles, Ky. + +Josephine K. Henry. + + + +The Christian theory of the sacredness of the Bible has been at the +cost of the world's civilization. Whether we regard the work as +custodian of the profoundest secrets of the "ancient mysteries," a +spiritual book trebly veiled, or as the physical and religious history +of the world in its most material forms, its interpretation by the +Church, by the State, and by society has ever been prejudicial to the +best interests of humanity. Science, art, inventions, reforms of +existing wrongs, all, all have been opposed upon its authority. That +even the most enlightened nations are not yet out of barbarism is due +to the teachings of the Bible. + +From "Thou shalt not make any graven image, or any likeness of +anything in heaven above, the earth beneath, or the waters under the +earth," down to "A woman shall not speak in church, but shall ask her +husband at home," the tendency of the Bible has been to crush out +aspiration, to deaden human faculties, and to humiliate mankind. From +Adam's plaint, "The woman gave me and I did eat," down to Christ's +"Woman, what have I to do with thee?" the tendency of the Bible has +been degradation of the divinest half of humanity--woman. Even the +Christian Church itself is not based upon Christ as a savior, but upon +its own teachings that woman brought sin into the world, a theory in +direct contradiction, not alone to the mysteries, but to spiritual +truth. But our present quest is not what the mystic or the spiritual +character of the Bible may be; we are investigating its influence upon +woman under Judaism and Christianity, and pronounce it evil. + +Matilda Joslyn Gage. + + + +There is nothing tending to show that the women spoken of in the Bible +were superior to the ones we know. There are to-day millions of women +making coats for their sons; hundreds of thousands of women, true, not +simply to innocent people falsely accused, but to criminals. Many a +loving heart is as true to the gallows as Mary was to the cross. There +are hundreds of thousands of women accepting poverty and want and +dishonor for the love they bear unworthy men; hundreds and thousands-- +hundreds and thousands--working day and night, with strained eyes and +tired hands, for husbands and children--clothed in rags, housed in huts +and hovels, hoping day after day for the Angel of Death. There are +thousands of women in Christian England working in iron, laboring in +the fields and toiling in the mines. There are hundreds and thousands +in Europe, everywhere, doing the work of men--deformed by toil, and who +would become simply wild and ferocious beasts, except for the love they +bear for home and child. + +We need not go back four thousand years for heroines. The world is +filled with them to-day. They do not belong to any nation, nor any +religion, nor exclusively to any race. Wherever woman is found, they +are found. There are no women portrayed in the Bible who equal +thousands and thousands of known to-day. The women of the Bible fall +almost infinitely below, not simply those in real life, but the +creations of the imagination found in the world of fiction. They will +not compare with the women born of Shakespeare's brain. You will find +none like Isabella, in whose spotless life, love and reason blended +into perfect truth; nor Juliet, within whose heart, passion and purity +met like white and red within the bosom of a rose; nor Cordelia, who +chose to suffer loss rather than show her wealth of love with those who +gilded dross with golden words in hope of gain; nor Miranda, who told +her love as freely as a flower gives its blossom to the kisses of the +sun; nor Imogene, who asked, "What is it to be false?" nor Hermione, +who bore with perfect faith and hope the cross of shame, and who at +last forgave with all her heart; nor Desdemona, her innocence so +perfect and her love so pure that she was incapable of suspecting that +another could suspect, and sought with dying words to hide her lover's +crime. + +If we wish to find what the Bible thinks of woman, all that is +necessary to do is to read it. We shall find that everywhere she is +spoken of simply as property--as belonging absolutely to the man. We +shall find that, whenever a man got tired of his wife, all he had to do +was to give her a writing of divorcement, and that then the mother of +his children became a houseless and homeless wanderer. We shall find +that men were allowed to have as many wives as they could get, either +by courtship, purchase, or conquest. The Jewish +people in the olden time were, in many respects, like their barbarian +neighbors. + +Anon. + + + +The Bible, viewed by men as the infallible "Word of God," and +translated and explained for ages by men only, tends to the subjection +and degradation of woman. Historical facts to prove this are abundant. +In the dark days of "witchcraft"--through centuries--alleged witches +were arrested, tried in ecclesiastical courts, tortured and hung or +burned at the stake by men under priestly direction, and the great +majority of the victims were women. Eve's alleged transgression, and +the Bible edict in the days of the reputed Witch of Endor, "Thou shalt +not suffer a witch to live," being the warrant and Divine authority for +this awful slaughter of women. + +In the days of chattel-slavery in our country, the slave-laws, framed +by men only, degraded woman by making her the defenseless victim of her +slave-master's passions, and then inflicting a cruel stab, reaching the +heart of motherhood, by laws which made her children follow the +condition of the mother, as slaves; never that of the father, as free +women or men. The clergy became slaveholders and defenders of slavery +without loss of priestly position or influence, and quoted "Cursed be +Canaan" as their justification. + +The Lord gave the Word, great was the company of those that published +it.--Old version of the Bible, 68th Psalm. + +The Lord giveth the Word, and great is the multitude of women who +publish it.--Revised version of the Bible, 68th Psalm. + +Here is "a reform" not "against Nature," nor the facts of history, but +is true to the Mother of the Race, to her knowledge of "the Word," to +her desire to promulgate it, to her actual participation in declaring +and proclaiming it. And true to a present and continuous inspiration +and influx of the Spirit, it is giveth, and not "gave," in the past. +And this one recognition of woman as preacher and Apostle forbids the +assertion that woman is degraded from Genesis to Revelation. + +The light of a more generous religious thought, a growth out of the +old beliefs, impelled the learned "Committee on Revision" to speak the +truth in regard to the religious character and work of women, and they +have exalted her where before she was "degraded." + +This revision is also prophetic of this era, for never were women +doing so excellently the world's work, or, like Tryphena and Tryphosa, +prophesying the light still to come. + +Catharine A. F. Stebbins. + + + +The general principles of righteousness and justice laid down in the +Bible have elevated the race in general, the mothers included, and have +aided in securing reforms for women, as well as for other classes. But +the specific texts of Saint Paul enjoining subjection upon women have +undoubtedly been a hindrance. + +Alice Stone Blackwell. + + + +1. In my opinion the teachings of the Bible have advanced woman's +emancipation. + +Look at the freedom of the Jewish women of the Old Testament--of +Miriam, Deborah, Abigail, Ruth and Esther. In comparison, where were +the Gentile women who knew not God? + +2. The teachings of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, have +dignified the Mothers of the Race. Christ was very severe to the men +who were sinners, he called them Scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites, +and pronounced, "Woe be unto you." He even whipped the money changers +out of the temple. But no rebuke to woman ever fell from his lips save +the gentle one to Martha, that she cared too much for her home and her +nice housekeeping. Christ's mission meant the elevation of womanhood. +Compare Christian countries with the heathen countries, and see how +Christianity elevates and heathenism degrades womanhood. + +I have studied the questions in the Indian Territory in our own United +States. Under the influence of the Christian missionaries the +Indian woman is an important factor in Church and State. Where the +Gospel of Christ is not preached the women are slaves to the men. In +their long tramps they do not even walk beside their husbands, but +follow behind like dogs. I am aware that small ministers still preach +foolishness, defining "woman's sphere," but the real Biblical +Christianity elevates womanhood. + +Sarah M. Perkins. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--I regard the Bible as I do the other so-called +sacred books of the world. They were all produced in savage times, and, +of course, contain many things that shock our sense of justice. In the +days of darkness women were regarded and treated as slaves. They were +allowed no voice in public affairs. Neither man nor woman were +civilized, and the gods were like their worshipers. It gives me +pleasure to know that women are beginning to think and are becoming +dissatisfied with the religion of barbarians. + +I congratulate you on what you have already accomplished and for the +work you are now doing. Sincerely yours, + +Eva A. Ingersoll. + + + +In reading some of these letters and comments I have been deeply +impressed with the difficulty of substituting reason for superstition +in minds once perverted by a false faith. Women have been taught by +their religious guardians that the Bible, unlike all other books, was +written under the special inspiration of the Great Ruling Intelligence +of the Universe. Not conversant with works on science and higher +criticism, which point out its fabulous pretensions, they cling to it +with an unreasoning tenacity, like a savage to his fetich. Though it is +full of contradictions, absurdities and impossibilities, and bears the +strongest evidence in every line of its human origin, and in moral +sentiment is below many of the best books of our own day, +they blindly worship it as the Word of God. + +When you point out what in plain English it tells us God did say to +his people in regard to woman, and there is no escape from its +degrading teaching as to her position, then they shelter themselves +under false translations, interpretations and symbolic meanings. It +does not occur to them that men learned in the languages have revised +the book many times, but made no change in woman's position. Though +familiar with "the designs of God," trained in Biblical research and +higher criticism, interpreters of signs and symbols and Egyptian +hieroglyphics, learned astronomers and astrologers, yet they cannot +twist out of the Old or New Testaments a message of justice, liberty or +equality from God to the women of the nineteenth century! + +The real difficulty in woman's case is that the whole foundation of +the Christian religion rests on her temptation and man's fall, hence +the necessity of a Redeemer and a plan of salvation. As the chief cause +of this dire calamity, woman's degradation and subordination were made +a necessity. If, however, we accept the Darwinian theory, that the race +has been a gradual growth from the lower to a higher form of life, and +that the story of the fall is a myth, we can exonerate the snake, +emancipate the woman, and reconstruct a more rational religion for the +nineteenth century, and thus escape all the perplexities of the Jewish +mythology as of no more importance than those of the Greek, Persian and +Egyptian. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + + + + + +"THE WOMAN'S BIBLE" REPUDIATED. + +At the twenty-eighth annual convention of the National-American Woman +Suffrage Association, held in Washington, D. C., in January, 1896, the +following, was reported by the Committee on Resolutions: + +"That this Association is non-sectarian, being composed of persons of +all shades of religious opinion, and that it has no official connection +with the so-called 'Woman's Bible,' or any theological publication." + +Charlotte Perkins Stetson moved to amend by striking out everything +after the word "opinion." + +Anna R. Simmons moved, as an amendment to the amendment, to omit the +words "the so-called Woman's Bible, or." + +This was followed by a long and animated discussion, in which the +following persons participated: + +Frances A. Williamson, Helen Morris Lewis, Annie L. Diggs, Carrie +Chapman Catt, Rachel Foster Avery, Henry B. Blackwell, Laura M. Johns, +Elizabeth U. Yates, Katie R. Addison, Alice Stone Blackwell and Rev. +Anna Howard Shaw, speaking for the resolution; and Charlotte Perkins +Stetson, Mary Bentley Thomas, J. B. Merwin, Clara B. Colby, Harriette +A. Keyser, Lavina A. Hatch, Lillie Devereux Blake, Caroline Hallowell +Miller, Victoria Conkling Whitney, Althea B. Stryker, and Cornelia H. +Cary speaking against it. + +The President, Susan B. Anthony, left the chair and spoke with much +earnestness against the adoption of the resolution as follows: + +"The one distinct feature of our Association has been the right of +individual opinion for every member. We have been beset at every step +with the cry that somebody was injuring the cause by the +expression of some sentiments that differed with those held by the +majority of mankind. The religious persecution of the ages has been +done under what was claimed to be the command of God. I distrust those +people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows, +because it always coincides with their own desires. All the way along +the history of our movement there has been this same contest on account +of religious theories. Forty years ago one of our noblest men said to +me: 'You would better never hold another convention than let Ernestine +L. Rose stand on your platform,' because that talented and eloquent +Polish woman, who ever stood for justice and freedom, did not believe +in the plenary inspiration of the Bible. Did we banish Mrs. Rose? No, +indeed! Every new generation of converts threshes over the same old +straw. Twenty-five years ago a prominent woman, who stood on our +platform for the first time, wanted us to pass a resolution that we +were not free lovers; and I was not more shocked than I am to-day at +this attempt. The question is whether you will sit in judgment on one +who has questioned the Divine inspiration of certain passages in the +Bible derogatory to women. If she had written approvingly of these +passages, you would not have brought in this resolution because you +thought the cause might be injured among the liberals in religion. In +other words, if she had written your views, you would not have +considered a resolution necessary. To pass this one is to set back the +hands on the dial of reform. It is the reviving of the old time +censorship, which I hoped we had outgrown. + +"What you should do is to say to outsiders that a Christian has +neither more nor less rights in our Association than an atheist. When +our platform becomes too narrow for people of all creeds and of no +creeds, I myself shall not stand upon it. Many things have been said +and done by our orthodox friends that I have felt to be extremely +harmful to our cause; but I should no more consent to a resolution +denouncing them than I shall consent to this. Who is to draw the line? +Who can tell now whether Mrs. Stanton's commentaries may not prove a +great help to woman's emancipation from old superstitions that have +barred her way? Lucretia Mott at first thought Mrs. Stanton had +injured the cause of all woman's other rights by insisting upon the +demand for suffrage, but she had sense enough not to bring in a +resolution against it. In 1860, when Mrs. Stanton made a speech before +the New York Legislature in favor of a bill making drunkenness a cause +for divorce, there was a general cry among the friends that she had +killed the woman's cause. I shall be pained beyond expression if the +delegates here are so narrow and illiberal as to adopt this resolution. +You would better not begin resolving against individual action or you +will find no limit. This year it is Mrs. Stanton; next year it may be +me or one of yourselves who will be the victim. + +"Are you going to cater to the whims and prejudices of people who have +no intelligent knowledge of what they condemn? If we do not inspire in +woman a broad and catholic spirit, they will fail, when enfranchised, +to constitute that power for better government which we have always +claimed for them. You would better educate ten women into the practice +of liberal principles than to organize ten thousand on a platform of +intolerance and bigotry. I pray you, vote for religious liberty, +without censorship or inquisition. This resolution, adopted, will be a +vote of censure upon a woman who is without a peer in intellectual and +statesmanlike ability; one who has stood for half a century the +acknowledged leader of progressive thought and demand in regard to all +matters pertaining to the absolute freedom of women." + +The Resolution was then adopted by a vote of 53 to 41. + +"The Truth shall make you free."--John viii., 32- + +THE END. + + + + + + +Advertisements from original, Vol. 2 + + + + +"Of all Magazines the most American in interest." + +The National Magazine. + +A MONTHLY ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE OF THE BEST READING FOR THE HOME. +BRIGHT, TIMELY AND ORIGINAL. + +FOR SALE BY ALL NEWSDEALERS AND IN THE TRAINS. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Woman's Bible. + Part I. Comments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and + Deuteronomy. + Part II. Comments on the Old and New Testaments from Joshua + to Revelation. + +Author: Elizabeth Cady Stanton + +Release Date: February, 2006 [EBook #9880] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on October 27, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WOMAN'S BIBLE. *** + + + + +Produced by Carrie Lorenz and John B. Hare + + + + +THE WOMAN'S BIBLE. + + +PART I. + + + +Comments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. + + +"In every soul there is bound up some truth and some error, and each +gives to the world of thought what no other one possesses."--Cousin. + + + + +1898. + + + + +By + + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton + + + + + +REVISING COMMITTEE. + + +"We took sweet counsel together."--Ps. Iv., 14. + + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, + +Lillie Devereux Blake, + +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, + +Matilda Joslyn Gage, + +Clara Bewick Colby, + +Rev. Olympia Brown, + +Rev. Augusta Chapin, + +Frances Ellen Burr, + +Ursula N. Gestefeld, + +Clara B. Neyman, + +Mary Seymour Howell, + +Helen H. Gardener, + +Josephine K. Henry, + +Charlotte Beebe: Wilbour, + +Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll, + +Lucinda B. Chandler, + +Sarah A. Underwood, + +Catharine F. Stebbins, + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick,[FN#1] + +Louisa Southworth. + + + +[FN#1] Deceased. + + + + +FOREIGN MEMBERS. + + +Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, Finland, + +Ursula M. Bright, England, + +Irma Von Troll-Borostyant, Austria, + +Priscilla Bright Mclaren, Scotland, + +Isabelle Bogelot, France + + + + + +COMMENTS + +ON + +GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS AND DEUTERONOMY, + + + +By + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, +Lillie Devereux Blake, +Rev. Phebe Hanaford, +Clara Bewick Colby, + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick, +Ursula N. Gestefeld, +Mrs. Louisa Southworth, +Frances Ellen Burr. + + + + + +PREFACE. + + +So many letters are daily received asking questions about the Woman's +Bible,--as to the extent of the revision, and the standpoint from which +it will be conducted--that it seems best, though every detail is not as +yet matured, to state the plan, as concisely as possible, upon which +those who have been in consultation during the summer, propose to do +the work. + + +I. The object is to revise only those texts and chapters directly +referring to women, and those also in which women are made prominent by +exclusion. As all such passages combined form but one-tenth of the +Scriptures, the undertaking will not be so laborious as, at the first +thought, one would imagine. These texts, with the commentaries, can +easily be compressed into a duodecimo volume of about four hundred +pages. + + +II. The commentaries will be of a threefold character, the writers in +the different branches being selected according to their special +aptitude for the work: + +1. Two or three Greek and Hebrew scholars will devote themselves to +the translation and the meaning of particular words and texts in the +original. + +2. Others will devote themselves to Biblical history, old manuscripts, +to the new version, and to the latest theories as to the occult meaning +of certain texts and parables. + +3. For the commentaries on the plain English version a committee of +some thirty members has been formed. These are women of earnestness and +liberal ideas, quick to see the real purport of the Bible as regards +their sex. Among them the various books of the Old and New Testament +will be distributed for comment. + + +III. There will be two or more editors to bring the work of the +various committees into one consistent whole. + + +IV. The completed work will be submitted to an advisory committee +assembled at some central point, as London, New York, or Chicago, to +sit in final judgment on "The Woman's Bible." + + +As to the manner of doing the practical work: + +Those who have been engaged this summer have adopted the following +plan, which may be suggestive to new members of the committee. Each +person purchased two Bibles, ran through them from Genesis to +Revelations, marking all the texts that concerned women. The passages +were cut out, and pasted in a blank book, and the commentaries then +written underneath. + +Those not having time to read all the books can confine their labors +to the particular ones they propose to review. + +It is thought best to publish the different parts as soon as prepared +so that the Committee may have all in print in a compact form before +the final revision. + + + +E. C. S. + +August 1st, 1895. + + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +From the inauguration of the movement for woman's emancipation the +Bible has been used to hold her in the "divinely ordained sphere," +prescribed in the Old and New Testaments. + +The canon and civil law; church and state; priests and legislators; +all political parties and religious denominations have alike taught +that woman was made after man, of man, and for man, an inferior being, +subject to man. Creeds, codes, Scriptures and statutes, are all based +on this idea. The fashions, forms, ceremonies and customs of society, +church ordinances and discipline all grow out of this idea. + +Of the old English common law, responsible for woman's civil and +political status, Lord Brougham said, "it is a disgrace to the +civilization and Christianity of the Nineteenth Century." Of the canon +law, which is responsible for woman's status in the church, Charles +Kingsley said, "this will never be a good world for women until the +last remnant of the canon law is swept from the face of the earth." + +The Bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world, +that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned +before the judgment seat of Heaven, tried, condemned and sentenced. +Marriage for her was to be a condition of bondage, maternity a period +of suffering and anguish, and in silence and subjection, she was to +play the role of a dependent on man's bounty for all her material +wants, and for all the information she might desire on the vital +questions of the hour, she was commanded to ask her husband at home. +Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up. + +Those who have the divine insight to translate, transpose and +transfigure this mournful object of pity into an exalted, dignified +personage, worthy our worship as the mother of the race, are to be +congratulated as having a share of the occult mystic power of the +eastern Mahatmas. + +The plain English to the ordinary mind admits of no such liberal +interpretation. The unvarnished texts speak for themselves. The canon +law, church ordinances and Scriptures, are homogeneous, and all +reflect the same spirit and sentiments. + +These familiar texts are quoted by clergymen in their pulpits, by +statesmen in the halls of legislation, by lawyers in the courts, and +are echoed by the press of all civilized nations, and accepted by woman +herself as "The Word of God." So perverted is the religious element in +her nature, that with faith and works she is the chief support of the +church and clergy; the very powers that make her emancipation +impossible. When, in the early part of the Nineteenth Century, women +began to protest against their civil and political degradation, they +were referred to the Bible for an answer. When they protested against +their unequal position in the church, they were referred to the Bible +for an answer. + +This led to a general and critical study of the Scriptures. Some, +having made a fetish of these books and believing them to be the +veritable "Word of God," with liberal translations, interpretations, +allegories and symbols, glossed over the most objectionable features of +the various books and clung to them as divinely inspired. Others, +seeing the family resemblance between the Mosaic code, the canon law, +and the old English common law, came to the conclusion that all alike +emanated from the same source; wholly human in their origin and +inspired by the natural love of domination in the historians. Others, +bewildered with their doubts and fears, came to no conclusion. While +their clergymen told them on the one hand, that they owed all the +blessings and freedom they enjoyed to the Bible, on the other, they +said it clearly marked out their circumscribed sphere of action: that +the demands for political and civil rights were irreligious, dangerous +to the stability of the home, the state and the church. Clerical +appeals were circulated from time to time, conjuring members of their +churches to take no part in the anti-slavery or woman suffrage +movements, as they were infidel in their tendencies, undermining the +very foundations of society. No wonder the majority of women stood +still, and with bowed heads, accepted the situation. + +Listening to the varied opinions of women, I have long thought it +would be interesting and profitable to get them clearly stated in book +form. To this end six years ago I proposed to a committee of women to +issue a Woman's Bible, that we might have women's commentaries on +women's position in the Old and New Testaments. It was agreed on by +several leading women in England and America and the work was begun, +but from various causes it has been delayed, until now the idea is +received with renewed enthusiasm, and a large committee has been +formed, and we hope to complete the work within a year. + +Those who have undertaken the labor are desirous to have some Hebrew +and Greek scholars, versed in Biblical criticism, to gild our pages +with their learning. Several distinguished women have been urged to do +so, but they are afraid that their high reputation and scholarly +attainments might be compromised by taking part in an enterprise that +for a time may prove very unpopular. Hence we may not be able to get +help from that class. + +Others fear that they might compromise their evangelical faith by +affiliating with those of more liberal views, who do not regard the +Bible as the "Word of God," but like any other book, to be judged by +its merits. If the Bible teaches the equality of Woman, why does the +church refuse to ordain women to preach the gospel, to fill the offices +of deacons and elders, and to administer the Sacraments, or to admit +them as delegates to the Synods, General Assemblies and Conferences of +the different denominations? They have never yet invited a woman to +join one of their Revising Committees, nor tried to mitigate the +sentence pronounced on her by changing one count in the indictment +served on her in Paradise. + +The large number of letters received, highly appreciative of the +undertaking, is very encouraging to those who have inaugurated the +movement, and indicate a growing self-respect and self-assertion in the +women of this generation. But we have the usual array of objectors to +meet and answer. One correspondent conjures us to suspend the work, as +it is "ridiculous" for "women to attempt the revision of the +Scriptures." I wonder if any man wrote to the late revising committee +of Divines to stop their work on the ground that it was ridiculous for +men to revise the Bible. Why is it more ridiculous for women to protest +against her present status in the Old and New Testament, in the +ordinances and discipline of the church, than in the statutes and +constitution of the state? Why is it more ridiculous to arraign +ecclesiastics for their false teaching and acts of injustice to women, +than members of Congress and the House of Commons? Why is it more +audacious to review Moses than Blackstone, the Jewish code of laws, +than the English system of jurisprudence? Women have compelled their +legislators in every state in this Union to so modify their statutes +for women that the old common law is now almost a dead letter. Why not +compel Bishops and Revising Committees to modify their creeds and +dogmas? Forty years ago it seemed as ridiculous to timid, time-serving +and retrograde folk for women to demand an expurgated edition of the +laws, as it now does to demand an expurgated edition of the Liturgies +and the Scriptures. Come, come, my conservative friend, wipe the dew +off your spectacles, and see that the world is moving. Whatever your +views may be as to the importance of the proposed work, your political +and social degradation are but an outgrowth of your status in the +Bible. When you express your aversion, based on a blind feeling of +reverence in which reason has no control, to the revision of the +Scriptures, you do but echo Cowper, who, when asked to read Paine's +"Rights of Man," exclaimed "No man shall convince me that I am +improperly governed while I feel the contrary." + +Others say it is not politic to rouse religious opposition. + +This much-lauded policy is but another word for cowardice. How can +woman's position be changed from that of a subordinate to an equal, +without opposition, without the broadest discussion of all the +questions involved in her present degradation? For so far-reaching and +momentous a reform as her complete independence, an entire revolution +in all existing institutions is inevitable. + +Let us remember that all reforms are interdependent, and that whatever +is done to establish one principle on a solid basis, strengthens all. +Reformers who are always compromising, have not yet grasped the idea +that truth is the only safe ground to stand upon. The object of an +individual life is not to carry one fragmentary measure in human +progress, but to utter the highest truth clearly seen in all +directions, and thus to round out and perfect a well balanced +character. Was not the sum of influence exerted by John Stuart Mill on +political, religious and social questions far greater than that of any +statesman or reformer who has sedulously limited his sympathies and +activities to carrying one specific measure? We have many women +abundantly endowed with capabilities to understand and revise what men +have thus far written. But they are all suffering from inherited ideas +of their inferiority; they do not perceive it, yet such is the true +explanation of their solicitude, lest they should seem to be too self- +asserting. + +Again there are some who write us that our work is a useless +expenditure of force over a book that has lost its hold on the human +mind. Most intelligent women, they say, regard it simply as the history +of a rude people in a barbarous age, and have no more reverence for the +Scriptures than any other work. So long as tens of thousands of Bibles +are printed every year, and circulated over the whole habitable globe, +and the masses in all English-speaking nations revere it as the word of +God, it is vain to belittle its influence. The sentimental feelings we +all have for those things we were educated to believe sacred, do not +readily yield to pure reason. I distinctly remember the shudder that +passed over me on seeing a mother take our family Bible to make a high +seat for her child at table. It seemed such a desecration. I was +tempted to protest against its use for such a purpose, and this, +too, long after my reason had repudiated its divine authority. + +To women still believing in the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, +we say give us by all means your exegesis in the light of the higher +criticism learned men are now making, and illumine the Woman's Bible, +with your inspiration. + +Bible historians claim special inspiration for the Old and New +Testaments containing most contradictory records of the same events, of +miracles opposed to all known laws, of customs that degrade the female +sex of all human and animal life, stated in most questionable language +that could not be read in a promiscuous assembly, and call all this +"The Word of God." + +The only points in which I differ from all ecclesiastical teaching is +that I do not believe that any man ever saw or talked with God, I do +not believe that God inspired the Mosaic code, or told the historians +what they say he did about woman, for all the religions on the face of +the earth degrade her, and so long as woman accepts the position that +they assign her, her emancipation is impossible. Whatever the Bible may +be made to do in Hebrew or Greek, in plain English it does not exalt +and dignify woman. My standpoint for criticism is the revised edition +of 1888. 1 will so far honor the revising committee of wise men who +have given us the best exegesis they can according to their ability, +although Disraeli said the last one before he died, contained 150,000 +blunders in the Hebrew, and 7,000 in the Greek. + +But the verbal criticism in regard to woman's position amounts to +little. The spirit is the same in all periods and languages, hostile to +her as an equal. + +There are some general principles in the holy books of all religions +that teach love, charity, liberty, justice and equality for all the +human family, there are many grand and beautiful passages, the golden +rule has been echoed and re-echoed around the world. There are lofty +examples of good and true men and women, all worthy our acceptance and +imitation whose lustre cannot be dimmed by the false sentiments and +vicious characters bound up in the same volume. The Bible cannot be +accepted or rejected as a whole, its teachings are varied and its +lessons differ widely from each other. In criticising the peccadilloes +of Sarah, Rebecca and Rachel, we would not shadow the virtues of +Deborah, Huldah and Vashti. In criticising the Mosaic code, we would +not question the wisdom of the golden rule and the fifth Commandment. +Again the church claims special consecration for its cathedrals and +priesthood, parts of these aristocratic churches are too holy for +women to enter, boys were early introduced into the choirs for this +reason, woman singing in an obscure corner closely veiled. A few of +the more democratic denominations accord women some privileges, but +invidious discriminations of sex are found in all religious +organizations, and the most bitter outspoken enemies of woman +are found among clergymen and bishops of the Protestant religion.[FN#2] + + + +[FN#2] See the address of Bishop Doane, June 7th, 1895, in the closing +exercises of St. Agnes School, Albany. + + + +The canon law, the Scriptures, the creeds and codes and church +discipline of the leading religions bear the impress of fallible man, +and not of our ideal great first cause, "the Spirit of all Good," that +set the universe of matter and mind in motion, and by immutable law +holds the land, the sea, the planets, revolving round the great centre +of light and heat, each in its own elliptic, with millions of stars in +harmony all singing together, the glory of creation forever and ever. + + + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF GENESIS. + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Genesis i: 26, 27, 28. + + + +26 And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: +and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl +of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every +creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth 27 So God created man in +his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female +image, created he them. + +28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and +multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion +over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every +living thing that moveth upon the earth. + + +Here is the sacred historian's first account of the advent of woman; a +simultaneous creation of both sexes, in the image of God. It is evident +from the language that there was consultation in the Godhead, and that +the masculine and feminine elements were equally represented. Scott in +his commentaries says, "this consultation of the Gods is the origin of +the doctrine of the trinity." But instead of three male personages, as +generally represented, a Heavenly Father, Mother, and Son would seem +more rational. + +The first step in the elevation of woman to her true position, as an +equal factor in human progress, is the cultivation of the religious +sentiment in regard to her dignity and equality, the recognition by the +rising generation of an ideal Heavenly Mother, to whom their prayers +should be addressed, as well as to a Father. + +If language has any meaning, we have in these texts a plain +declaration of the existence of the feminine element in the Godhead, +equal in power and glory with the masculine. The Heavenly Mother and +Father! "God created man in his own image, male and female." Thus +Scripture, as well as science and philosophy, declares the eternity +and equality of sex--the philosophical fact, without which there could +have been no perpetuation of creation, no growth or development in the +animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms, no awakening nor progressing in +the world of thought. The masculine and feminine elements, exactly +equal and balancing each other, are as essential to the maintenance of +the equilibrium of the universe as positive and negative electricity, +the centripetal and centrifugal forces, the laws of attraction which +bind together all we know of this planet whereon we dwell and of the +system in which we revolve. + +In the great work of creation the crowning glory was realized, when +man and woman were evolved on the sixth day, the masculine and feminine +forces in the image of God, that must have existed eternally, in all +forms of matter and mind. All the persons in the Godhead are +represented in the Elohim the divine plurality taking counsel in regard +to this last and highest form of life. Who were the members of this +high council, and were they a duality or a trinity? Verse 27 declares +the image of God male and female. How then is it possible to make woman +an afterthought? We find in verses 5-16 the pronoun "he" used. Should +it not in harmony with verse 26 be "they," a dual pronoun? We may +attribute this to the same cause as the use of "his" in verse 11 +instead of "it." The fruit tree yielding fruit after "his" kind instead +of after "its" kind. The paucity of a language may give rise to many +misunderstandings. + +The above texts plainly show the simultaneous creation of man and +woman, and their equal importance in the development of the race. All +those theories based on the assumption that man was prior in the +creation, have no foundation in Scripture. + +As to woman's subjection, on which both the canon and the civil law +delight to dwell, it is important to note that equal dominion is given +to woman over every living thing, but not one word is said giving man +dominion over woman. + +Here is the first title deed to this green earth giving alike to the +sons and daughters of God. No lesson of woman's subjection can be +fairly drawn from the first chapter of the Old Testament. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The most important thing for a woman to note, in reading Genesis, is +that that portion which is now divided into "the first three chapters" +(there was no such division until about five centuries ago), contains +two entirely separate, and very contradictory, stories of creation, +written by two different, but equally anonymous, authors. No Christian +theologian of to-day, with any pretensions to scholarship, claims that +Genesis was written by Moses. As was long ago pointed out, the Bible +itself declares that all the books the Jews originally possessed were +burned in the destruction of Jerusalem, about 588 B. C., at the time +the people were taken to Babylonia as slaves too the Assyrians, (see II +Esdras, ch. xiv, V. 21, Apocrypha). Not until about 247 B. C. (some +theologians say 226 and others; 169 B. C.) is there any record of a +collection of literature in the re-built Jerusalem, and, then, the +anonymous writer of II Maccabees briefly mentions that some Nehemiah +"gathered together the acts of the kings and the prophets and those of +David" when "founding a library" for use in Jerusalem. But the earliest +mention anywhere in the Bible of a book that might have corresponded to +Genesis is made by an apocryphal writer, who says that Ezra wrote "all +that hath been done in the world since the beginning," after the Jews +returned from Babylon, under his leadership, about 450 B. C. (see II +Esdras, ch. xiv, v. 22, of the Apocrypha). + +When it is remembered that the Jewish books were written on rolls of +leather, without much attention to vowel points and with no division +into verses or chapters, by uncritical copyists, who altered passages +greatly, and did not always even pretend to understand what they were +copying, then the reader of Genesis begins to put herself in position +to understand how it can be contradictory. Great as were the liberties +which the Jews took with Genesis, those of the English translators, +however, greatly surpassed them. + +The first chapter of Genesis, for instance, in Hebrew, tells us, in +verses one and two, "As to origin, created the gods (Elohim) these +skies (or air or clouds) and this earth. . . And a wind moved upon the +face of the waters." Here we have the opening of a polytheistic fable +of creation, but, so strongly convinced were the English translators +that the ancient Hebrews must have been originally monotheistic that +they rendered the above, as follows: "In the beginning God created the +heaven and the earth. . . . And the spirit of God (!) moved upon the +face of the waters." + +It is now generally conceded that some one (nobody pretends to know +who) at some time (nobody pretends to know exactly when), copied two +creation myths on the same leather roll, one immediately following the +other. About one hundred years ago, it was discovered by Dr. Astruc, of +France, that from Genesis ch. i, v. 1 to Genesis ch. ii, v. 4, is given +one complete account of creation, by an author who always used the term +"the gods" (Elohim), in speaking of the fashioning of the universe, +mentioning it altogether thirty-four times, while, in Genesis ch. ii, +v. 4, to the end of chapter iii, we have a totally different narrative, +by an author of unmistakably different style, who uses the term "Iahveh +of the gods" twenty times, but "Elohim" only three times. The first +author, evidently, attributes creation to a council of gods, acting in +concert, and seems never to have heard of Iahveh. The second attributes +creation to Iahveh, a tribal god of ancient Israel, but represents +Iahveh as one of two or more gods, conferring with them (in Genesis ch. +xiii, V. 22) as to the danger of man's acquiring immortality. + +Modern theologians have, for convenience sake, entitled these two +fables, respectively, the Elohistic and the Iahoistic stories. They +differ, not only in the point I have mentioned above, but in the order +of the "creative acts;" in regard to the mutual attitude of man and +woman, and in regard to human freedom from prohibitions imposed by +deity. In order to exhibit their striking contradictions, I will place +them in parallel columns: + + +ELOHISTIC. --- IAHOISTIC. + +Order of Creation: --- Order of Creation: +First--Water. --- First--Land. +Second--Land. --- Second--Water. +Third--Vegetation. --- Third--Male Man, only. +Fourth--Animals. --- Fourth--Vegetation. +Fifth--Mankind; male and female. --- Fifth--Animals. + --- Sixth--Woman. + +In this story male and female man are created simultaneously, both +alike, in the image of the gods, after animals have been called into +existence. --- In this story male man is sculptured out of clay, +before any animals are created, and before female man has been +constructed. + +Here, joint dominion over the earth is given to woman and man, without +limit or prohibition. --- Here, woman is punished with subjection to +man for breaking a prohibitory law. + +Everything, without exception, is pronounced "very good." --- There is +a tree of evil, whose fruit, is said by Iahveh to cause sudden death, +but which does not do so, as Adam lived 930 years after eating it. + +Man and woman are told that "every plant bearing seed upon the face of +the earth and every tree. . . To you it shall be for meat." They are +thus given perfect freedom. --- Man is told there is one tree of which +he must not eat, "for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely +die." + +Man and woman are given special dominion over all the animals-"every +creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." --- An animal, a +"creeping thing," is given dominion over man and woman, and proves +himself more truthful than Iahveh Elohim. (Compare Genesis chapter ii, +verse 17, with chapter iii, verses 4 and 22.) + + + +Now as it is manifest that both of these stories cannot be true; +intelligent women, who feel bound to give the preference to either, may +decide according to their own judgment of which is more worthy of an +intelligent woman's acceptance. Paul's rule is a good one in this +dilemma, "Prove all things: hold fast to that which is good." My own +opinion is that the second story was manipulated by some Jew, in an +endeavor to give "heavenly authority" for requiring a woman to obey the +man she married. In a work which I am now completing, I give some facts +concerning ancient Israelitish history, which will be of peculiar +interest to those who wish to understand the origin of woman's +subjection. + + +E. B. D. + + + +Many orientalists and students of theology have maintained that the +consultation of the Gods here described is proof that the Hebrews were +in early days polytheists--Scott's supposition that this is the origin +of the Trinity has no foundation in fact, as the beginning of that +conception is to be found in the earliest of all known religious nature +worship. The acknowledgment of the dual principal, masculine and +feminine, is much more probably the explanation of the expressions here +used. + +In the detailed description of creation we find a gradually ascending +series. Creeping things, "great sea monsters," (chap. I, V. 21, literal +translation). "Every bird of wing," cattle and living things of the +earth, the fish of the sea and the "birds of the heavens," then man, +and last and crowning glory of the whole, woman. + +It cannot be maintained that woman was inferior to man even if, as +asserted in chapter ii, she was created after him without at once +admitting that man is inferior to the creeping things, because created +after them. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +Genesis ii, 21-25. + + + +21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he +slept; and be took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh thereof. + +22 And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, +and brought her unto the man. + +23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: +she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. + +24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall +cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. + +25. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not +ashamed. + + +As the account of the creation in the first chapter is in harmony with +science, common sense, and the experience of mankind in natural laws, +the inquiry naturally arises, why should there be two contradictory +accounts in the same book, of the same event? It is fair to infer that +the second version, which is found in some form in the different +religions of all nations, is a mere allegory, symbolizing some +mysterious conception of a highly imaginative editor. + +The first account dignifies woman as an important factor in the +creation, equal in power and glory with man. The second makes her a +mere afterthought. The world in good running order without her. The +only reason for her advent being the solitude of man. + +There is something sublime in bringing order out of chaos; light out +of darkness; giving each planet its place in the solar system; oceans +and lands their limits; wholly inconsistent with a petty surgical +operation, to find material for the mother of the race. It is on this +allegory that all the enemies of women rest their battering rams, to +prove her inferiority. Accepting the view that man was prior in the +creation, some Scriptural writers say that as the woman was of the man, +therefore, her position should be one of subjection. Grant it, then as +the historical fact is reversed in our day, and the man is now of the +woman, shall his place be one of subjection? + +The equal position declared in the first account must prove more +satisfactory to both sexes; created alike in the image of God--The +Heavenly Mother and Father. + +Thus, the Old Testament, "in the beginning," proclaims the +simultaneous creation of man and woman, the eternity and equality of +sex; and the New Testament echoes back through the centuries the +individual sovereignty of woman growing out of this natural fact. Paul, +in speaking of equality as the very soul and essence of Christianity, +said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, +there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." +With this recognition of the feminine element in the Godhead in the Old +Testament, and this declaration of the equality of the sexes in the +New, we may well wonder at the contemptible status woman occupies in +the Christian Church of to-day. + +All the commentators and publicists writing on woman's position, go +through an immense amount of fine-spun metaphysical speculations, to +prove her subordination in harmony with the Creator's original design. + +It is evident that some wily writer, seeing the perfect equality of +man and woman in the first chapter, felt it important for the dignity +and dominion of man to effect woman's subordination in some way. To do +this a spirit of evil must be introduced, which at once proved itself +stronger than the spirit of good, and man's supremacy was based on the +downfall of all that had just been pronounced very good. This spirit of +evil evidently existed before the supposed fall of man, hence woman was +not the origin of sin as so often asserted. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In v. 23 Adam proclaims the eternal oneness of the happy pair, "This +is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh;" no hint of her +subordination. How could men, admitting these words to be divine +revelation, ever have preached the subjection of woman! + +Next comes the naming of the mother of the race. "She shall be called +Woman," in the ancient form of the word Womb-man. She was man and more +than man because of her maternity. + +The assertion of the supremacy of the woman in the marriage relation +is contained in v. 24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his +mother and cleave unto his wife." Nothing is said of the headship of +man, but he is commanded to make her the head of the household, the +home, a rule followed for centuries under the Matriarchate. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Genesis iii: 1-24. + + + +1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which +the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, +Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? + +2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the +trees of the garden: + +3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, +God hath said Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest +ye die. + +4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: + +5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes +shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. + +6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it +was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, +she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat and gave also unto her +husband with her; and he did eat. + +7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were +naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. + +8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in +the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the +presence of the Lord God amongst the trees in the garden. + +9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? + +10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, +because I was naked; and I hid myself. + +11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of +the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? + +12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she +gave me of the tree, and I did eat. + +13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast +done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. + +14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done +this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the +field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the +days of thy life: + +15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy +seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his +heel. + +16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy +conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: and thy desire +shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. + +17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice +of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, +saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in +sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; + +18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou +shalt eat the herb of the field; + +19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return +unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and +unto dust shalt thou return. + +20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve: because she was the mother of +all living. + +21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins +and clothed them. + +22 And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us, to +know good and evil; and now, let he put forth his hand, and take also +of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever; + +23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to +till the ground from whence he was taken. + +24 So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of +Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the +way of the tree of life. + + +Adam Clarke, in his commentaries, asks the question, "is this an +allegory?" He finds it beset with so many difficulties as an historical +fact, that he inclines at first to regard it as a fable, a mere symbol, +of some hidden truth. His mind seems more troubled about the serpent +than any other personage in the drama. As snakes cannot walk upright, +and have never been known to speak, he thinks this beguiling creature +must have been an ourang-outang, or some species of ape. However, after +expressing all his doubts, he rests in the assumption that it must be +taken literally, and that with higher knowledge of the possibilities of +all living things, many seeming improbabilities will be fully realized. + +A learned professor in Yale College,[FN#3] before a large class of +students, expressed serious doubts as to the forbidden fruit being an +apple, as none grew in that latitude. He said it must have been a +quince. If the serpent and the apple are to be withdrawn thus +recklessly from the tableaux, it is feared that with advancing +civilization the whole drama may fall into discredit. Scientists tells +us that "the missing link" between the ape and man, has recently been +discovered., so that we can now trace back an unbroken line of +ancestors to the dawn of creation. + + + +[FN#3] Daniel Cady Eaton, Professor of Botany. + + + +As out of this allegory grows the doctrines of original sin, the fall +of man, and woman the author of all our woes, and the curses on the +serpent, the woman, and the man; the Darwinian theory of the gradual +growth of the race from a lower to a higher type of animal life, is +more hopeful and encouraging. However, as our chief interest is in +woman's part in the drama, we are equally pleased with her attitude, +whether as a myth in an allegory, or as the heroine of an historical +occurrence. + +In this prolonged interview, the unprejudiced reader must be impressed +with the courage, the dignity, and the lofty ambition of the woman. The +tempter evidently had a profound knowledge of human nature, and saw at +a glance the high character of the person he met by chance in his walks +in the garden. He did not try to tempt her from the path of duty by +brilliant jewels, rich dresses, worldly luxuries or pleasures, but with +the promise of knowledge, with the wisdom of the Gods. + +Like Socrates or Plato, his powers of conversation and asking +puzzling questions, were no doubt marvellous, and he roused in the +woman that intense thirst for knowledge, that the simple pleasures of +picking flowers and talking with Adam did not satisfy. Compared with +Adam she appears to great advantage through the entire drama. + +The curse pronounced on woman is inserted in an unfriendly spirit to +justify her degradation and subjection to man. With obedience to the +laws of health, diet, dress, and exercise, the period of maternity +should be one of added vigor in both body and mind, a perfectly natural +operation should not be attended with suffering. By the observance of +physical and psychical laws the supposed curse can be easily +transformed into a blessing. Some churchmen speak of maternity as a +disability, and then chant the Magnificat in all their cathedrals round +the globe. Through all life's shifting scenes, the mother of the race +has been the greatest factor in civilization. + +We hear the opinion often expressed, that woman always has, and always +will be in subjection. Neither assertion is true. She enjoyed unlimited +individual freedom for many centuries, and the events of the present +day all point to her speedy emancipation. Scientists now give 85,000 +years for the growth of the race. They assign 60,000 to savagism, +20,000 to barbarism, and 5,000 to civilization. Recent historians tell +us that for centuries woman reigned supreme. That period was called the +Matriarchate. Then man seized the reins of government, and we are now +under the Patriarchate. But we see on all sides new forces gathering, +and woman is already abreast with man in art, science, literature, and +government. The next dynasty, in which both will reign as equals, will +be the Amphiarchate, which is close at hand. + +Psychologists tell us of a sixth sense now in process of development, +by which we can read each other's mind and communicate without speech. +The Tempter might have had that sense, as he evidently read the minds +of both the creature and the Creator, if we are to take this account +as literally true, as Adam Clarke advises. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Note the significant fact that we always hear of the "fall of man," +not the fall of woman, showing that the consensus of human thought has +been more unerring than masculine interpretation. Reading this +narrative carefully, it is amazing that any set of men ever claimed +that the dogma of the inferiority of woman is here set forth. The +conduct of Eve from the beginning to the end is so superior to that of +Adam. The command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge was +given to the man alone before woman was formed. Genesis ii, 17. +Therefore the injunction was not brought to Eve with the impressive +solemnity of a Divine Voice, but whispered to her by her husband and +equal. It was a serpent supernaturally endowed, a seraphim as Scott and +other commentators have claimed, who talked with Eve, and whose words +might reasonably seem superior to the second-hand story of her +companion nor does the woman yield at once. She quotes the command not +to eat of the fruit to which the serpent replies "Dying ye shall not +die," v. 4, literal translation. In other words telling her that if the +mortal body does perish, the immortal part shall live forever, and +offering as the reward of her act the attainment of Knowledge. + +Then the woman fearless of death if she can gain wisdom takes of the +fruit; and all this time Adam standing beside her interposes no word of +objection. "Her husband with her" are the words of v. 6. Had he been +the representative of the divinely appointed head in married life, he +assuredly would have taken upon himself the burden of the discussion +with the serpent, but no, he is silent in this crisis of their fate. +Having had the command from God himself he interposes no word of +warning or remonstrance, but takes the fruit from the hand of his wife +without a protest. It takes six verses to describe the "fall" of +woman, the fall of man is contemptuously dismissed in a line and a half. + +The subsequent conduct of Adam was to the last degree dastardly. When +the awful time of reckoning comes, and the Jehovah God appears to +demand why his command has been disobeyed, Adam endeavors to shield +himself behind the gentle being he has declared to be so dear. "The +woman thou gavest to be with me, she gave me and I did eat," he whines-- +trying to shield himself at his wife's expense! Again we are amazed +that upon such a story men have built up a theory of their superiority! + +Then follows what has been called the curse. Is it not rather a +prediction? First is the future fate of the serpent described, the +enmity of the whole human race--"it shall lie in wait for thee as to +the head" (v. 15, literal translation). Next the subjection of the +woman is foretold, thy husband "shall rule over thee," v. 16. Lastly +the long struggle of man with the forces of nature is portrayed. "In +the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat food until thy turning back to the +earth" (v. 19, literal translation). With the evolution of humanity an +ever increasing number of men have ceased to toil for their bread with +their hands, and with the introduction of improved machinery, and the +uplifting of the race there will come a time when there shall be no +severities of labor, and when women shall be freed from all oppressions. + +"And Adam called his wife's name Life for she was the mother of all +living" (V. 20, literal translation). + +It is a pity that all versions of the Bible do not give this word +instead of the Hebrew Eve. She was Life, the eternal mother, the first +representative of the more valuable and important half of the human +race. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Genesis iv: 1-12, 19, 21. + + + +1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and +said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. + +2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, +but Cain was a tiller of the ground. + +3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the +fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. + +4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the +fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. + +5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was +very wroth, and his countenance fell. + +6 And the lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy +countenance fallen? + +7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted: and if thou doest +not well, sin lieth at the door: and unto thee shall be his desire, and +thou shalt rule over him. + +8 And Cain talked with Abet his brother: and it came to pass, when +they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and +slew him. + +9. And the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel thy brother? And he said +"Am I my brother's keeper?" + +10. And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brothers blood +crieth unto me from the ground. + +11. And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth +to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. + +12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto +thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. + +19. And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was +Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. + +23 And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice, ye +wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech. + + +One would naturally suppose that Cain's offering of fruit indicated a +more refined and spiritual idea of the fitness of things than Abel's of +animal food. Why Cain's offering was rejected as unworthy does not +appear. + +There is something pathetic in Eve's joy and faith at the advent of +her first-born: "Lo I have a man child from the Lord." She evidently +thought that Cain was to be to her a great blessing. Some expositors +say that Eve thought that Cain was the promised seed that was to bruise +the serpent's head; but Adam Clarke, in estimating woman's reasoning +powers, says, "it was too metaphysical an idea for that period." But as +that is just what the Lord said to Eve, she must have had the capacity +to understand it. But all speculations as to what Eve thought in that +eventful hour are vain. Clarke asserts that Cain and Abel were twins. +Eve must have been too much occupied with her vacillating joys and +sorrows to have indulged in any connected train of thought. Her grief +in the fratricidal tragedy that followed can be more easily +understood. The dreary environments of the mother, and the hopeless +prophesies of her future struggling life, banished to a dreary, +desolate region, beyond the love and care of her Creator, is revenged +on her children. If Adam and Eve merited the severe punishment +inflicted on them, they should have had some advice from the Heavenly +Mother and Father as to the sin of propagating such an unworthy stock. +No good avails in increasing and multiplying evil propensities and +deformities that produce only crime and misery from generation to +generation. During the ante-natal period the mother should be held +sacred, and surrounded with all the sweetest influences that Heaven and +earth can give, loving companionship, beautiful scenery, music and +flowers, and all the pleasures that art in its highest form can produce. + +As the women at this period seem to be myths, no one takes the trouble +to tell from whence they came. It is sufficient that their husbands +know, and it is not necessary that the casual reader should. The +question is often asked, whom did Cain marry? Some expositors say that +Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters living in different parts of +the planet, and that they married each other. + +There seems to have been no scarcity of women, for Lamech, Cain's +great grandson, took unto himself two wives. Thus early in the history +of the race polygamic relations were recognized. The phraseology +announcing the marriage of Lamech is very significant. + +In the case of Adam and Eve the ceremony was more imposing and +dignified. It was declared an equal relation. But with the announcement +of Lamech's, he simply took two wives, Adah and Zillah. Whether the +women were willingly captured will ever remain an open question. The +manner in which he is accustomed to issue his orders does not indicate +a tender relation between the parties. + +"Hear my voice: ye wives of Lamech, and hearken unto my speech!" + +As the wives made no reply, it shows that they had already learned +that discreet silence is the only security for domestic happiness. + +Naamah the sister of Tubal Cain was supposed to be the wife of Noah. +Her name in Hebrew signifies the beautiful or the gracious. Jewish +doctors say her name is recorded here because she was an upright, +chaste woman, but others affirm the contrary because "the whole world +wandered after her." But the fact that Naamah's beauty attracted the +multitude, does not prove that she either courted or accepted their +attentions. + +The manner in which the writer of these chapters presents the women so +in conflict with Chapters i and v, which immediately precede and +follow, inclines the unprejudiced mind to relegate the ii, iii and iv +chapters to the realm of fancy as no part of the real history of +creation's dawn. + +The curse pronounced on Cain is similar to that inflicted on Adam, +both were to till the ground, which was to bring forth weeds +abundantly. Hale's statistics of weeds show their rapid and widespread +power of propagation. "A progeny," he says, "more than sufficient in a +few years to stock every planet of the solar system." In the face of +such discouraging facts, Hale coolly remarks. "Such provisions has the +just God made to fulfil the curse which he promised on man." + +It seems far more rational to believe that the curses on both woman +and man were but figments of the human brain, and that by the +observance of natural laws, both labor and maternity may prove great +blessings. + +With all the modern appliances of steam and electricity, and the new +inventions in machinery, the cultivation of the soil is fast coming to +be a recreation and amusement. The farmer now sits at ease on his +plough, while his steed turns up the furrows at his will. With +machinery the sons of Adam now sow and reap their harvests, keep the +wheels of their great manufactories in motion, and with daily +increasing speed carry on the commerce of the world. The time is at +hand when the heavy burdens of the laborer will all be shifted on the +shoulders of these +tireless machines. And when the woman, too, learns and obeys the laws +of life, these supposed curses will be but idle dreams of the past. The +curse falls lightly even now on women who live in natural conditions, +and with anaesthetics is essentially mitigated in all cases. + +When these remedial agents were first discovered, some women refused +to avail themselves of their blessings, and some orthodox physicians +refused to administer them, lest they should interfere with the wise +provisions of Providence in making maternity a curse. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +MYTHS OF CREATION. + + +Nothing would be more interesting in connection with the "Woman's +Bible" than a comparative study of the accounts of the creation held by +people of different races and faiths. Our Norse ancestors, whose myths +were of a very exalted nature, recorded in their Bible, the Edda, that +one day the sons of Bor (a frost giant), Odin, Hoener, and Loder, found +two trees on the sea beach, and from them created the first human pair, +man and woman. Odin gave them life and spirit, Hoener endowed them with +reason and motion, and Loder gave them the senses and physical +characteristics. The man they called Ask, and the woman Embla. Prof. +Anderson finds in the brothers the threefold Trinity of the Bible. It +is easy to fancy that there is some philological connection between the +names of the first pair in the Bible and in the Edda. Perhaps the +formation of the first pair out of trees had a deep connection with the +tree of life, Ygdrasil, which extended, according to Norse mythology +throughout the universe, furnishing bodies for mankind from its +branches. It had three great roots, one extending to the nebulous +world, and this was constantly gnawed by the serpent Nidhug. There was +nothing in the Norse mythology that taught the degradation of woman, +and the lay of Sigdrifa, in the Edda, is one of the noblest conceptions +of the character of woman in all literature. + +North American Indian mythology has the human race born of the earth, +but the writer cannot learn that women held an inferior place. Among +the Quiches the mothers and fathers of old slept in the waters, covered +with green, under a limpid twilight, from which the earth and they were +called out by a mighty wind. The Algonkins believed the human family +were the children of Michabo, the spirit of the dawn, and their supreme +deity. In their language the words earth, mother and father were from +the same root. Many tribes claim descent from a raven, symbolizing the +clouds; others from a dog, which is the symbol of the water goddess. + +Dr. and Madame Le Plongeon relate that in their discoveries among the +buried remains of the Mayas in Yucatan, everything marks a very high +state of civilization. In one of the exhumed temples they found +pictures on the walls, which seem to be a combination of the stories of +the Garden of Eden and Cain and Abel. The Serpent was always the royal +emblem, because the shape of Yucatan is that of a serpent ready to +spring. It was the custom among the Mayas for the oldest son of the +king to be a priest, and the second son to marry the oldest daughter. +The pictures represent that the oldest son in this particular case was +dissatisfied with this arrangement, and wanted to marry the sister +himself. To tempt her he sends a basket of apples by a messenger. He +stands watching the way in which the present is received, and the +serpent in the picture (indicating the royal family), makes it +curiously suggestive of the temptation of Eve. The sister, however, +rejects the present, and this so enrages the elder brother that he +kills the younger, who accordingly is deified by the Mayas. The image +of Chacmohl was discovered by the Le Plongeons, and is now in the +possession of the Mexican Government. Perhaps these brothers were +twins, as the commentator says Cain and Abel were, and that gave rise +to the jealousy. + +Nothing can surpass in grandeur the account in the first chapter of +Genesis of the creation of the race, and it satisfies the highest +aspirations and the deepest longings of the human soul. No matter of +what material formed, or through how many ages the +formative period ran, or is to run, the image of God is the birthright +of man, male and female. Whatever the second chapter may mean, it +cannot set aside the first. It probably has a deep spiritual +significance which mankind will appreciate when cavilling about the +letter ceases. To the writer's mind its meaning is best expressed in +the words of Goethe:--- "The eternal womanly leads us on." + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Genesis v: 1, 2. + + + +1. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God +created man, in the likeness of God made he him. + +2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their +name Adam, in the day when they were created. + + +Here we have the first account of the dual creation verified. Man and +woman a simultaneous creation, alike in the image of God. + +The dual relation, both in the Godhead and humanity, is here again +declared, though contradicted in the intervening chapters. In this and +the following chapters we have a prolix statement of the births, +deaths, and ages in the male line. They all take wives, beget sons, but +nothing is said of the origin or destiny of the wives and daughters; +they are incidentally mentioned merely as necessary factors in the +propagation of the male line. + +The men of this period seem to have lived to a ripe old age, but +nothing is said of the age of the women; it is probable as child- +bearing was their chief ambition, that men had a succession of wives, +all gathered to their fathers in the prime of life. Although Eve and +her daughters devoted their energies to this occupation, yet the entire +credit for the growth of the race is given to Adam and his male +descendants. In all this chapter the begetting of the oldest son is +made prominent, his name only is given, and the begetting of more "sons +and daughters" is cursorily mentioned. Here is the first suggestion of +the law of primogeniture responsible for so many of the evils that +perplexed our Saxon fathers. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Genesis vi: 1-8, 14-22. + + + +1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the +earth, and daughters were born unto them, + +2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, +and they took them wives of all which they chose. + +3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for +that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. + +4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, +when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare +children to them, the same became mighty men which were as of old, men +of renown. + +5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and +that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil +continually. + +6 And it repented the Lord that he had made them man on the earth, and +it grieved him at his heart. + +7 And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the +face of the earth; both man and beast, and the creeping thing, and the +fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. + +8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. + +13 And God said unto Noah, + +14 Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the +ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. + +15 And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of; The length of +the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits +and the height of it thirty cubits. + +16 A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou +finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side +thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. + +17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, +to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven, +and everything that is in the earth shall die. + +18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come +into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives +with thee. + +19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt +thou bring in to the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be +male and female. + +20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every +creeping thing of the earth, after his kind; two of every sort shall +come unto thee, to keep them alive. + +21 And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt +gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. + +22 Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. + + +The Jews evidently believed the males the superior sex. Men are called +"the sons of God," women "the daughters of men." From the text it would +seem that the influence of the wives was not elevating and inspiring, +and that the sin and misery resulting from their marriages, all +attributed to the women. 'This condition of things so discouraged the +Creator that he determined to blot out both man and beast, the fowls of +the air and the creeping things on the earth. How very human this +sounds. It shows what a low ideal the Jews had of the great first +cause, from which the moral and material world of thought and action +were evolved. + +It was in mature life, when chastened by the experiences and trials of +her early day, that Seth was born to Eve. It was among the descendants +of Seth that purer morals and religion were cultivated. Intermarriage +with the descendants of Cain had corrupted the progeny, perplexed the +Creator, and precipitated the flood. + +The female of each species of animal was preserved; males and females +all walked into the ark two by two, and out again in equal and loving +companionship. It has been a question with critics whether the ark was +large enough for all it was supposed to contain. Commentators seem to +agree as to its capacity to accommodate men, women, children, animals, +and the food necessary for their preservation. Adam Clarke tells us +that Noah and his family and the birds occupied the third, story, so +they had the benefit of the one window it contained. + +The paucity of light and air in this ancient vessel shows that woman +had no part in its architecture, or a series of port holes would have +been deemed indispensable. Commentators relegate all difficulties to +the direct intervention of Providence. The ark, made by unseen hands, +like a palace of india rubber, was capable of expanding indefinitely; +the spirit of all good, caused the lion and lamb to lie down peaceably +together. To attribute all the myths, allegories, and parables to the +interposition of Providence, ever working outside of his own inexorable +laws, is to confuse and set at defiance human reason, and prevent all +stimulus to investigation. + +In several following chapters we have the history of Abram and Sarah, +their wanderings from the land of their nativity to Canaan, their +blunders on the journey, their grief at having no children, except one +son by Hagar, his concubine, who was afterwards driven from their door, +into the wilderness. However, Sarah in her old age was blessed with a +son of her own, which event gave them great joy and satisfaction. As +Sarah did not possess any of the heroic virtues, worthy our imitation, +we need not linger either to praise or blame her characteristics. +Neither she nor Abraham deemed it important to speak the truth when any +form of tergiversation might serve them. In fact the wives of the +patriarchs, all untruthful, and one a kleptomaniac, but illustrate the +law, that the cardinal virtues are seldom found in oppressed classes. + + +E. C. S. + + + +A careful study of the Bible would alter the views of many as to what +it teaches about the position of women. The trouble is too often +instead of searching the Bible to see what is right, we form our +belief, and then search for Bible texts to sustain us, and are +satisfied with isolated texts without regard to context, and ask no +questions as to the circumstances that may have existed then but do not +now. We forget that portions of the Bible are only histories of events +given as a chain of evidence to sustain the fact that the real +revelations of the Godhead, be it in any form, are true. Second, that +our translators were not inspired, and that we have strong presumptive +proof that prejudice of education was in some instances stronger than +the grammatical context, in translating these contested points. For +instance, the word translated obey between husband and wife, is in but +one instance in the New Testament the word used between master and +servant, parent and child, but is the word that in other places is +translated defer. The one instance states Sarah obeyed Abram. Read that +history and you will find that in both instances in which she obeyed, +God had to interfere with a miracle to save them from the result of +that obedience, and both Abram and Sarah were reproved. While twice, +once by direct command of God, Abram obeyed Sarah. You cannot find a +direct command of God or Christ for the wife to obey the husband. + +It was Eve's curse that her desire should be to her husband, and he +should rule over her. Have you not seen her clinging to a drunken or +brutal husband, and read in letters of fire upon her forehead her +curse? But God did not say the curse was good, nor bid Adam enforce it. +Nor did he say, all men shall rule over thee. For Adam, not Eve, the +earth was to bring forth the thorn and the thistle, and he was to eat +his bread by the sweat of his brow. Yet I never heard a sermon on the +sin of uprooting weeds, or letting Eve, as she does, help him to bear +his burden. It is when she tries to lighten her load that the world is +afraid of sacrilege and the overthrow of nature. + + +C. B. C. + + + +In the story "of the sons of God, and the daughters of men"--we find a +myth like those of Greek, Roman and Scandinavian fable, demi-gods love +mortal maidens and their offspring are giants. Then follows the +traditional account of some great cataclysm of the last glacial epoch. +According to the latest geological students, Wright, McGee and others; +the records of Niagara, the falls of St. Anthony and other glacial +chasms, indicate that the great ice caps receded for the last time +about seven thousand years ago; the latest archeological discoveries +carry our historical knowledge of mankind back nearly four thousand +years B. C., so that some record of the mighty floods which must have +followed the breaking of great glacial dams might well survive in the +stories of the nations. + +Abram who came from Ur of the Chaldees brought with him the Chaldean +story of the flood. At that time Ur, now a town fifty miles inland, was +a great seaport of the Persian gulf. Their story of the flood is that +of a maritime people; in it the ark is a well built ship, Hasisadra, +the Chaldean Noah takes on board not only his own family, but his +neighbors and friends; a pilot is employed to guide the course, and +proper provision is made for the voyage. A raven and a dove are sent +out as in the biblical account, and a fortunate landing effected. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +Genesis xxi. + + + +1 And the lord visited Sarah as he had said. + +2. For Sarah bare Abraham a son in his old age. + +3 And Abraham called the name of his son whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. + +5 And Abraham was a hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born +unto him. + +6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear +will laugh with me. + +9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had home +unto Abraham, mocking. + +10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her +son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even +with Isaac. + +11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight. + +12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight; +in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in +Isaac shall thy seed be called. + +13 And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because +he is thy seed. + +14 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a +bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, +and the child, and sent her away; and she departed, and wandered in the +wilderness of Beer-sheba. + +15 And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under +one of the shrubs. + +17 And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off: for +she said, let me not see the death of the child. And she lifted up her +voice, and wept. + +17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to +Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear +not, for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. + +18 Arise, lift up the lad, and bold him in thine hand: for I will make +him a great nation. + +19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water: and she went, +and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. + +20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, +and became an archer. + +21 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a +wife out of the land of Egypt. + + +The great event of Isaac's birth having taken place, Sarah is +represented through several chapters as laughing, even in the presence +of angels, not only in the anticipation of motherhood, but in its +realization. She evidently forgot that maternity was intended as a +curse on all Eve's daughters, for the sin of the first woman, and all +merry-making on such occasions was unpardonable. Some philosophers +consider the most exalted of all forms of love to be that of a mother +for her children. But this divine awakening of a new affection does not +seem to have softened Sarah's heart towards her unfortunate slave +Hagar. And so far from Sarah's desire being to her husband, and Abraham +dominating her, he seemed to be under her control, as the Lord told him +"to hearken to her voice, and to obey her command." In so doing he +drives Hagar out of his house. + +In this scene Abraham does not appear in a very attractive light, +rising early in the morning, and sending his child and its mother forth +into the wilderness, with a breakfast of bread and water, to care for +themselves. Why did he not provide them with a servant, an ass laden +with provisions, and a tent to shelter them from the elements, or +better still, some abiding, resting place. Common humanity demanded +this much attention to his own son and the woman who bore him. But the +worst feature in this drama is that it seems to have been done with +Jehovah's approval. + +Does any one seriously believe that the great spirit of all good +talked with these Jews, and really said the extraordinary things they +report? It was, however, a very cunning way for the Patriarchs to +enforce their own authority, to do whatever they desired, and say the +Lord commanded them to do and say thus and so. Many pulpits even in our +day enforce their lessons of subjection for woman with the same +authority, "Thus saith the Lord," "Thou shalt," and "Thou shall not." + + +E. C. S. + + + +Genesis xxiii. + + + +1 And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old. + +2 And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of +Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. + +3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons +of Heth, saying, + +4 I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a +burying place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. + +5 And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him. + +6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice +of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee +his sepulchre. + +7 And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the land. + +8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should +bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat Ephron the son of +Zohar. + +9 That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is +in the end of his field; for as much money as it is worth. + +14 And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him. + +15 My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred shekels of +silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead. + +16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron +the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, +four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. + +19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the +field of Machpelah before Mamre. + +20 And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto +Abraham for a burying place by the sons of Heth. + + +It is seldom that the age and death of any woman, are recorded by the +sacred historian, but Sarah seems to have been specially honored, not +only in the mention of her demise and ripe years, but in the tender +manifestations of grief by Abraham, and +his painstaking selection of her burial place. That Abraham paid for +all this in silver, "current money with the merchant," might suggest to +the financiers of our day that our commercial relations might be +adjusted with the same coin, especially as we have plenty of it. + +If our bimetallists in the halls of legislation were conversant with +sacred history, they might get fresh inspiration from the views of the +Patriarchs on good money. + +Some critics tell us that there was no coined money at that time; the +Israelites had no written language, no commerce with neighboring +tribes, and that they could neither read nor write. + +Whilst we drop a tear at the tomb of Sarah, we cannot recommend her as +an example to the young women of our day, as she lacked several of the +cardinal virtues. She was undignified, untruthful, and unkind to Hagar. +But our moral standard differs from that of the period in which she +lived, as our ideas of right and wrong are not innate, but depend on +education. Sarah probably lived up to the light that was in her. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The cruelty and injustice of Abraham and Sarah, as commented on by +Mrs. Stanton, doubtless stand out much more prominently in this +condensed account than their proper proportions to the motives which +actuated the figures in the drama. If we take any part of the story we +must take it all, and remember that it had been promised to Abraham +that of Ishmael a great nation should be born. Whether this was an +actual revelation from God, or a prophetic vision that Abraham had, or +is interpolated by the historian to correspond with the actual facts +that transpired, in either case the firm belief that no harm could come +to Ishmael, must be taken into account when estimating the motives +which led Abraham and Sarah, for doubtless Abraham told Sarah of his +vision, to send Hagar and her son off into the wilderness; just as much +as the firm belief that the promise of God with regard to his seed +would be fulfilled made Abraham, a little afterward, prepare to offer +up his son Isaac. + +Abraham loved and honored his wife very greatly, probably admiring +equally her beauty and strength of character. Abraham was ten years +older than Sarah and we read that he was seventy-five years old when he +started from Haran for the land of Canaan. Some time after this driven, +by famine, he went down into Egypt, and here when she must have been at +least seventy years of age the Egyptians saw that she was very fair, +and the princes of Pharaoh so praised her beauty to their royal master +that he sent and took her for his wife. The same thing happened when +she was ninety years old, when she was seized by Abimelech, king of +Gerar. In both cases they told, not a lie, but a half truth, for Sarah +was Abraham's half sister, it being then the custom for children of the +same father by different mothers to marry. Abraham's deceit was brought +about by cowardice, while Sarah connived at the fraud for love of her +husband, being besought to do so to save his life. Perhaps, too, she +might have been amenable to the gracious tribute to her beauty that +Abraham gave in making the request. + +Sarah's strength of character is shown all through her history. +Wherever she is mentioned the reader is made to feet that she is an +important part of the narrative, and not merely a connecting link +between two generations. In this story she carries her point, and +Abraham follows her instructions implicitly, nay, is even commanded by +God to do so. + +Notwithstanding that Abraham mourned Sarah so sincerely, within three +years after she died, and when at the ripe age of a hundred and forty +years, he married again and the six children he begat by Keturah he +took quite as a matter of course, although half a century before, when +told that a son should be born to him, he laughed incredulously. +Abraham had his failings, some of which are shared by the moderns, yet +doubtless he was a moral giant compared with other men of the land from +which he came and of the nations around him. As such he was chosen as +the founder of a race whose history should promulgate the idea of the +one true God. Certainly the descendants from this remarkable trio have +retained their own peculiar characteristics and have ever been +worshippers at the shrine +of Jehovah. + +A singular fact may be mentioned here that Mrs. Souvielle in her book +"The Sequel to the Parliament of Religions," has shown that from +Midian, one of the sons of Keturah, came Jethro or Zoroaster. + +Western thinkers are so matter-of-fact in their speech and thought +that it might not have occurred to them that the true value of this +story of Sarah and Hagar, like that of all else, not only in our own +Bible but in the scriptures of other faiths, lies in the esoteric +meaning, had it not been for Paul, that prince of occult philosophers, +who distinctly says, according to the old version, that it is an +allegory; according to the revised, that it contains an allegory: "for +these women are two covenants," one bearing, children unto bondage, the +other unto freedom. It is our privilege, Paul goes on to teach, to be +children of the free woman, but although we are this by birthright, yet +there has to be a personal appreciation of that fact, and an effort to +maintain our liberty. The mystical significance of this allegory has +never been elucidated in reference to the position of woman, but it may +well be considered as establishing her claim, not only for personal +freedom, but for the integrity of the home. Acting according to the +customs of the day, Sarah connived at her own degradation. Later, when +her womanly dignity was developed by reason of her motherhood, she saw +what should be her true position in her home, and she made her rightful +demand for unrivalled supremacy in that home and in her husband's +affections. She was blessed of God in taking that attitude, and was +held up to the elect descendants of Abraham nearly 1660 years later by +the Apostle Peter as an example to be imitated. And these later women +are to be Sarah's daughters, we are told, if like her, they "are not +afraid with any amazement," or as the new version hath it, if they "are +not put in fear by any terror." + +Even as mere history the life and character of Sarah certainly do not +intimate that it was the Divine plan that woman was to be a +subordinate, either in person or in her home. Taken esoterically, as +all ancient Oriental writings must be to get their full significance, +it is an inspiration to woman to-day to stand for her liberty. The +bondwoman must be cast out. All that makes for industrial bondage, for +sex slavery and humiliation, for the dwarfing of individuality, and for +the thralldom of the soul, must be cast out from our home, from +society, and from our lives. The woman who does not claim her +birthright of freedom will remain in the wilderness with the children +that she has borne in degradation, heart starvation, and anguish of +spirit, only to find that they are Ishmaels, with their hand against +every man. They will be the subjects of Divine care and protection +until their destiny is worked out. But she who is to be the mother of +kings must herself be free, and have surroundings conducive to +maintaining her own purity and dignity. After long ages of freedom +shall have eradicated from woman's mind and heart the thought habits of +the slave, then will she be a true daughter of Sarah, the Princess. + + +C. B. C. + + + +Abraham has been held up as one of the model men of sacred history. +One credit he doubtless deserves, he was a monotheist, in the midst of +the degraded and cruel forms of religion then prevalent in all the +oriental world; this man and his wife saw enough of the light to +worship a God of Spirit. Yet we find his conduct to the last degree +reprehensible. While in Egypt in order to gain wealth he voluntarily +surrenders his wife to Pharaoh. Sarah having been trained in subjection +to her husband had no choice but to obey his will. When she left the +king, Abraham complacently took her back without objection, which was +no more than he should do seeing that her sacrifice had brought him +wealth and honor. Like many a modern millionaire he was not a self-made +but a wife-made man. When Pharaoh sent him away with his dangerously +beautiful wife he is described as, "being rich in cattle, in silver and +in gold," but it is a little curious that the man who thus gained +wealth as the price of his wife's dishonor should have been held up as +a model of all the patriarchal virtues. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + +Genesis xxiv. + + + +37 And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shall not take a wife to +my son of the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell. + +38 But thou shalt go unto my fathers house, and to my kindred, and +take a wife unto my son. + +39 And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. + +40 And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his +angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my +son of my kindred, and of my father's house: + +42 And I came this day unto the well, and said, O Lord God of my +master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go: + +43 Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, +that when the virgin cometh to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I +pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink: + +44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for the +camels: let the same be the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out for +my master's son. + +45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart behold Rebekah came +forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the +well, and drew water: and I said unto her; Let me drink, I pray thee. + +46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and +said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she +made the camels drink also. + +47 And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, +The daughter of Bethuel Nabor's son, whom Malcah bare unto him: and I +put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands. + +49 And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: +and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left. + +50 Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said. The thing proceedeth from +the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. + +51 Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her, and go, and let her be +thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken. + +53 And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, +and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah; he gave also to her brother and +to her mother precious things. + +56 And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath +prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. + +57 And they said, we will call the damsel and inquire at her mouth. + +58 And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this +man? And she said, I will go. + +59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse and +Abraham's servant, and his men. + +61 And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the +camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah and went his +way. + +63 And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he +lifted up his eyes, and saw, and behold, the camels were coming. + +64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac she lighted +off the camel. + +65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is that walketh in the +field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore +she took a vail, and covered herself. + +66 And the servant told Isaac all things that be had done. + +67 And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took +Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was +comforted after his mother's death. + + +Here is the first account we have of a Jewish courtship. The Women +seem quite as resigned to the custom of "being taken" as the men "to +take." Outside parties could no doubt in most cases make more judicious +selections of partners, than young folks themselves under the glamour +of their ideals. Altogether the marriage of Isaac, though rather +prosaic, has a touch of the romantic. + +It has furnished the subject for some charming pictures, that decorate +the galleries in the old world and the new. "Rebekah at the well," has +been immortalized both on canvas and in marble. Women as milk-maids and +drawers of water, with pails and pitchers on their heads, are always +artistic, and far more attractive to men than those with votes in their +hands at the polling booths, or as queens, ruling over the destinies of +nations. + +In fact, as soon as man left Paradise, he began by degrees to roll off +of his own shoulders all he could of his curse, and place it on woman. +Why did not Laban and Bethuel draw the water for the household and the +cattle. Scott says that Eliezer had attendants with him who might have +saved Rebekah the labor of drawing water for ten camels, but he would +not interfere, as he wished to see whether she possessed the virtues of +industry, affability and cheerfulness in being serviceable and +hospitable. + +It was certainly a good test of her patience and humility to draw +water for an hour, with a dozen men looking on at their case, and none +offering help. The Rebekahs of 1895 would have promptly summoned the +spectators to share their labors, even at the risk of sacrificing a +desirable matrimonial alliance. The virtue of self-sacrifice has its +wise limitations. Though it is most commendable to serve our fellow- +beings, yet woman's first duty is to herself, to develop all her own +powers and possibilities, that she may better guide and serve the next +generation. + +It is refreshing to find in the fifty-eighth verse that Rebekah was +really supposed to have some personal interest and rights in the +betrothal. + +The meeting of Isaac and Rebekah in the field at eventide is charming. +That sweet restful hour after the sun had gone down, at the end of a +long journey from a far-off country. Rebekah must have been in just the +mood to appreciate a strong right arm on which to rest, a loving heart +to trust, on the threshold of her conjugal life. To see her future +lord for the first time, must have been very embarrassing to Rebekah. +She no doubt concealed her blushes behind her veil, which Isaac +probably raised at the first opportunity, to behold the charms of the +bride whom the Lord had chosen for him. As Isaac was forty years old at +this time, he probably made a most judicious and affectionate husband. + +The 67th verse would be more appropriate to the occasion if the words +"took Rebekah" had been omitted, leaving the text to read thus: "And +Isaac brought her into his mother's tent, and she became his wife, and +he loved her." This verse is remarkable as the first announcement of +love on the part of a husband at first sight. We may indulge the hope +that he confessed his love to Rebekah, and thus placed their conjugal +relations on a more spiritual plane than was usual in those days. The +Revising Committees by the infusion of a little sentiment into these +ancient manuscripts, might have improved the moral tone of our +ancestors' domestic relations, without falsifying the important facts +of history. Many ancient writings in both sacred and profane history +might be translated into more choice language, to the advantage of the +rising generation. What we glean in regard to Rebekah's character in +the following chapter shows, she, too, is lacking in a nice sense of +honor. + +With our ideal of the great first cause, a God of justice, wisdom and +truth, the Jewish Lord, guiding and directing that people in all their +devious ways, and sanctioning their petty immoralities seems strangely +out of place; a very contradictory character, unworthy our love and +admiration. The ancient Jewish ideal of Jehovah was not an exalted one. + + +E. C. S. + + + +This romantic pastoral is most instructive as to the high position which +women really held among the people whose religious history is the +foundation of our own, and still further substantiates our claim that +the Bible does not teach woman's subordination. The fact that Rebekah +was drawing water for family use does not indicate lack of dignity in +her position, any more than the household tasks performed by Sarah. The +wives and daughters of patriarchal families had their maid-servants just +as the men of the family had their man-servants, and their position +indicates only a division of responsibility. At this period, although +queens and princesses were cooks and waiters, kings and princes did not +hesitate to reap their own fields and slay their own cattle. We are told +that Abraham rushed out to his herd and caught a calf to make a meal for +the strangers, and that while he asked Sarah to make the cakes, he +turned over the calf to a man servant to prepare for the table. Thus the +labor of securing the food fell upon the male sex, while the labor of +preparing it was divided between both. + +The one supreme virtue among the patriarchs was hospitality, and no +matter how many servants a person had it must be the royal service of +his own hands that he performed for a guest. In harmony with this +spirit Rebekah volunteered to water the thirsty camels of the tired and +way-worn travellers. It is not at all likely that, as Mr. Scott +suggests, Eliezer waited simply to test Rebekah's amiability. The test +which he had asked for was sufficiently answered by her offering the +service in the first place, and doubtless it would have been a churlish +and ungracious; breach of courtesy to have refused the proffered +kindness. + +That the Jewish women were treated with greater politeness than the +daughters of neighboring peoples we may learn from the incident +narrated of the daughters of Jethro who, even though their father was +high priest of the country were driven away by the shepherds from the +wells where they came to water their flocks. Of all outdoor occupations +that of watering thirsty animals is, perhaps, the most fascinating, and +if the work was harder for Rebekah than for our country maidens who +water their animals from the trough well filled by the windmill she had +the strength and the will for it, else she would have entrusted the +task to some of the damsels of whom we read as her especial +servants and who, as such, accompanied her to the land of Canaan. + +The whole narrative shows Rebekah's personal freedom and dignity. She +was alone at some distance from her family. She was not afraid of the +strangers, but greeted them with the self-possession of a queen. The +decision whether she should go or stay, was left wholly with herself, +and her nurse and servants accompanied her. With grace and modesty she +relieved the embarrassment of the situation by getting down from the +altitude of the camel when Isaac came to meet her, and by enshrouding +herself in a veil she very tactfully gave him an opportunity to do his +courting in his own proper person, if he should be pleased to do so +after hearing the servant's report. + +It has been the judgment of masculine commentators that the veil was a +sign of woman's subject condition, but even this may be disputed now +that women are looking into history for themselves. The fashion of +veiling a prospective bride was common to many nations, but to none +where there were brutal ceremonies. The custom was sometimes carried to +the extent, as in some parts of Turkey, of keeping the woman wholly +covered for eight days previous to marriage, sometimes, as among the +Russians, by not only veiling the bride, but putting a curtain between +her and the groom at the bridal feast. In all cases the veil seems to +have been worn to protect a woman from premature or unwelcome +intrusion, and not to indicate her humiliated position. The veil is +rather a reflection upon the habits and thoughts of men than a badge of +inferiority for women. + +How serenely beautiful and chaste appear the marriage customs of the +Bible as compared with some that are wholly of man's invention. The +Kamchatkan had to find his future wife alone and then fight with her +and her female friends until every particle of clothing had been +stripped from her and then the ceremony was complete. This may be +called the other extreme from the veil. Something akin to this appears +among our own kith and kin, so to speak, in modern times. Many +instances of marriage en chemise are on record in England of quite +recent dates, the notion being that if a man married a woman in this +garment only he was not liable for any debts which she might previously +have contracted. At Whitehaven, England, 1766, a woman stripped herself +to her chemise in the church and in that condition stood at the altar +and was married. + +There is nothing so degrading to the wife in all Oriental customs as +our modern common law ruling that the husband owns the wife's clothing. +This has been so held times innumerable, and in Connecticut quite +recently a husband did not like the gowns his wife bought so he burned +them. He was arrested for destruction of property, but his claim was +sustained that they were his own so he could not be punished. + +As long as woman's condition, outside of the Bible, has been as +described by Macaulay when he said: "If there be a word of truth in +history, women have been always, and still are over the greater part of +the globe, humble companions, play things, captives, menials, and +beasts of burden," it is a comfort to reflect that among the Hebrews, +whose records are relied on by the enemies of woman's freedom to teach +her subjection, we find women holding the dignified position in the +family that was held by Sarah and Rebekah. + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + +Genesis xxv. + + + +1 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. + +2 And she bare him Zimran and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and +Ishbak, and Shuah. + +5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. + +6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave +gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, unto +the east country. + +7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which be +lived, a hundred and three score and fifteen years. + +8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost. + +9 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the grave of Machpelah. + +10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth; there was +Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. + +21 And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, and Rebekah his wife +conceived. + +24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled she bore twins. I + +27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the +field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. + +28 And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; but +Rebekah loved Jacob. + +29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was +faint. + +30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red +pottage, for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom. + +31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. + +32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit +shall this birthright do to me? + +33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him; and he +sold his birthright unto Jacob. + +34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat +and drink, and rose up, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his +birthright. + + +In these verses we have the account of Abraham's second marriage, and +the birth of several sons. It does not seem clear from the text whether +Keturah was a legal wife, or one of the Patriarch's numerous +concubines. Clarke inclines to the latter idea, on account of Abraham's +age, and then he gave all that be had to Isaac, and left Keturah's sons +to share with those of other concubines, to whom he gave gifts and sent +them away from his son Isaac to an eastern country. Abraham evidently +thought that the descendants of Isaac might be superior in moral +probity to those of his other sons, hence he desired to keep Isaac as +exclusive as possible. But Jacob and Esau did not fulfill the +Patriarch's expectations. Esau in selling his birthright for a mess of +pottage, and Jacob taking advantage of his brother in a weak moment, +and overreaching him in a bargain, alike illustrate the hereditary +qualities of their ancestors. + + + +Genesis xxvi. + + + +6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar. + +7 And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is +my sister; for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men +of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look +upon. + +9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said Behold, or a surety she is thy +wife; and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, +Because I said, Lest I die for her. + +11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this +man or his wife shall surely be put to death. + +34 And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the +daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the +Hittite; + +35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. + + +The account of the private family affairs of Isaac and Rebekah; their +partiality to different sons; Jacob, aided and abetted by his mother, +robbing his elder brother of both his birthright and his father's +blessing; the parents on one of their eventful journeys representing +themselves as brother and sister, instead of husband and wife, for fear +that some potentate might kill Isaac, in order to possess his beautiful +wife; all these petty deceptions handed down from generation to +generation, show that the law of heredity asserted itself even at that +early day. + +Abraham through fear denied that Sarah was his wife, and Isaac does +the same thing. The grief of Isaac and Rebekah over Esau, was not that +he took two wives, but that they were Hittites. Chapter xxvii gives the +details of the manner that Jacob and his mother betrayed Isaac into +giving the blessing to Jacob intended for Esau. One must read the whole +story in order to appreciate the blind confidence Isaac placed in +Rebekah's integrity; the pathos of his situation; the bitter +disappointment of Esau; Jacob's temptation, and the supreme wickedness +of Rebekah in deceiving Isaac, defrauding Esau, and undermining the +moral sense of the son she loved. + +Having entirely undermined his moral sense, Rebekah fears the +influence of Jacob's marriage with a daughter of the Hittites, and she +sends him to her own people, to find a wife in the household of her +uncle Laban. This is indeed a sad record of the cruel deception that +Jacob and his mother palmed off on Isaac and Esau. Both verbal and +practical lying were necessary to defraud the elder son, and Rebekah +was equal to the occasion. Neither she nor Jacob faltered in the hour +of peril. Altogether it is a pitiful tale of greed and deception. +Alas! where can a child look for lessons in truth, honor, and +generosity, when the mother they naturally trust, sets at defiance +every principle of justice and mercy to secure some worldly advantage. +Rebekah in her beautiful girlhood at the well drawing water for man and +beast, so full of compassion, does not exemplify the virtues we looked +for, in her mature womanhood. The conjugal and maternal relations so +far from expanding her most tender sentiments, making the heart from +love to, one grow bountiful to all, seem rather to have narrowed hers +into the extreme of individual selfishness. In obedience to his +mother's commands, Jacob starts on his journey to find a fitting wife. +If Sarah and Rebekah are the types of womanhood the Patriarchs admired, +Jacob need not have gone far to find their equal. + +In woman's struggle for freedom during the last half century, men have +been continually pointing her to the women of the Bible for examples +worthy imitation, but we fail to see the merits of their character, +their position, the laws and sentiments concerning them. The only +significance of dwelling on these women and this period of woman's +history, is to show the absurd ity of pointing the women of the +nineteenth century to these as examples of virtue. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Keturah is spoken of as a concubine in I Chronicles i, 32. As such she +held a recognized legal position which implied no disgrace in those +days of polygamy, only the children of these secondary wives were not +equal in inheritance. For this reason the sons of Keturah had to be +satisfied with gifts while Isaac received the patrimony. Notice the +charge of Abimelech to his people showing the high sense of honor in +this Philistine. He seems also in the 10th verse to have realized the +terrible guilt that it would have been if one of them had taken +Rebekah, not knowing she was Isaac's wife. With all Rebekah's faults +she seems to have had things her own way and therefore she did not set +any marked example of wifely submission for women of to-day to +follow. Her great error was deceiving her husband to carry her point +and this is always the result where woman is deprived in any degree of +personal freedom unless she has attained high moral development. + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + +Genesis xxix. + + + +1 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people +of the east. + +3 And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and lo, there were +three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered +the flocks; and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. + +3 And thither were all the flocks gathered, and they rolled the stone +from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again +upon the well's mouth in his place. + +4 And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye? And they said, +Of Haran are we. + +5 And he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they +said, we know him. + +6 And he said unto them, Is he well? And they said, He is well: and +behold Rachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. + +9 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's +sheep: for she kept them. + +10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban +his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, and +Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and +watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. + +11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. + +12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, and that he +was Rebekah's son: and she ran and told her father: + +13 And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his +sister's son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed +him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all these things. + +14 And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he +abode with him the space of a month. + +15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldst +thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? + +18 And Jacob loved Rachel: and said, I will serve thee seven years for +Rachel thy younger daughter. + +19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I +should give her to another man, abide with me. + +20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed unto him +but a few days, for the love he had to her. + +21 If And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are +fulfilled. + + +Jacob's journey to the land of Canaan in search of a wife, and the +details of his courtship, have a passing interest with the ordinary +reader, interested in his happiness and success. The classic ground for +the cultivation of the tender emotions in these early days, seems to +have been near a well, where the daughters of those who were rich in +flocks and herds found opportunities to exhibit their fine points in +drawing water for men and cattle. From the records of these interesting +events, the girls seemed ready to accept the slightest advances from +passing strangers, and to give their hands and hearts as readily as +they gave a drink of water to the thirsty. Marriage was as simple a +contract as the purchase of a lamb, the lamb and the woman having about +an equal voice in the purchase, though the lamb was not quite as ready +to leave his accustomed grazing ground. Jacob loved Rachel at first +sight, and agreed to serve Laban seven years, but when the time expired +Laban did not keep his agreement, but insisted on Jacob taking the +other sister, and serving seven years more for Rachel. Jacob submitted, +but by the knowledge of a physiological law of which Laban was +ignorant, he revenged himself, and obtained all the strongest and best +of the flocks and herds. Thus in their business relations as well as in +family matters, the Patriarchs seem to have played as sharp games in +overreaching each other as the sons of our Pilgrim Fathers do to-day. +In getting all they could out of Laban, Jacob and Rachel seem to have +been of one mind. + +A critical study of the Pentateuch is just now agitating the learned +classes in Germany. Bonn is an ancient stronghold of theological +learning, and two of the professors of its famous university have +recently exhibited a courage in Biblical criticism and interpretation +which has further extended the celebrity of the school, if it has not +added to its repute for orthodoxy. In a course of lectures held during +the university holidays, addressed to and largely attended by pastors, +they declared the Old Testament history to "be a series of legends, and +Abraham, Isaac and Jacob mythical persons." Israel, they declared, was +an idolatrous people, Jehovah being nothing more than a "God of the +Jewish Nation." This radical outbreak of criticism and interpretation +has aroused considerable attention throughout Germany, and a +declaration against it and other teachings of the kind has been signed +by some hundreds of pastors and some thousands of laymen, but so far it +has produced no effect whatever on the professors of Bonn, and there is +no prospect of its doing so. It is fortunate for the faith thus +assailed that the critical and rhetorical style of the ordinary German +professor is too heavy for export or general circulation. So that the +theories of Messrs. Graef and Meinhold are not likely to do the faith +of the Fatherland any particular harm. That country has always been +divided into two classes, one of which believes nothing and the +other everything, the latter numerically preponderant, but the former +exceeding in erudition and dialectic--a condition of things quite +certain to continue and on which a few essays more or less in +destructive criticism can produce little effect. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Mrs. Stanton's statements concerning the undeveloped religious +sentiment of the early Hebrews cannot be criticized from the orthodox +standpoint as in this account, where the God of Abraham is represented +as taking an active personal interest in the affairs of the chosen +people, they did not trust wholly to Him, but kept images of the gods +of the neighboring tribes in their houses, Laban feeling sorry enough +over their loss to go seven days' journey to recover them while his +daughter felt she could not leave her father's house without taking the +images with her as a protection. + +The faults of Laban, of Jacob and of most of his sons are brought out +without any reserve by the historian who follows the custom of early +writers in stating things exactly as they were. There was no secrecy +and little delicacy in connection with sexual matters. It may, however, +be noticed that while this people had the same crude notions about +these things that were common to other nations, yet every infraction of +the Divine law of monogamy, symbolized in the account of the creation +of woman in the second chapter of Genesis, brings its own punishment +whether in or out of the marriage relation. When one or another people +sinned against a Jewish woman the men of the family were the avengers, +as when the sons of Jacob slew a whole city to avenge an outrage +committed against their sister. Polygamy and concubinage wove a thread +of disaster and complications throughout the whole lives of families +and its dire effects are directly traceable in the feuds and +degeneration of their descendants. The chief lesson taught by history +is danger of violating, physically, mentally, or spiritually the +personal integrity of woman. Customs of the country and the cupidity +of Laban, forced polygamy on Jacob, and all the shadows in his life, +and he had no end of trouble in after years, are due to this. Perhaps +nothing but telling their stories in this brutally frank way would make +the lesson so plain. + +If we search this narrative ever so closely it gives us no hint of +Divinely intended subordination of woman. Jacob had to buy his wives +with service which indicates that a high value was placed upon them. +Now-a-days in high life men demand instead of give. The degradation of +woman involved in being sold to a husband, to put it in the most +humiliating way, is not comparable to the degradation of having to buy +a husband. Euripides made Medea say: "We women are the most unfortunate +of all creatures since we have to buy our masters at so dear a price," +and the degradation of Grecian women is repeated--all flower-garlanded +and disguised by show--in the marriage sentiments of our own +civilization. Jacob was dominated by his wives as Abraham and Isaac had +been and there is no hint of their subjection. Rachel's refusal to move +when the gods were being searched for, showed that her will was +supreme, nobody tried to force her to rise against her own desire. + +The love which Jacob bore for Rachel has been through all time the +symbol of constancy. Seven years he served for her, and so great was +his love, so pure his delight in her presence that the time seemed but +as a day. Had this simple, absorbing affection not been interfered with +by Laban, how different would have been the tranquil life of Jacob and +Rachel, developing undisturbed by the inevitable jealousies and +vexations connected with the double marriage. Still this love was the +solace of Jacob's troubled life and remained unabated until Rachel died +and then found expression in tenderness for Benjamin. "the son of my +right hand." It was no accident, but has a great significance, that +this most ardent and faithful of Jewish lovers should have deeper +spiritual experiences than any of his predecessors. + + +C. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + +Genesis xxix, xxxi. + + + +18 And Jacob loved Rachel; and said I will serve thee seven years for +Rachel thy younger daughter. + +19 And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I +should give her to another man; abide with me. + +20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him +but a few days, for the love he had to her. + +21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are +fulfilled. + +22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a +feast. + +23 And it came to pass in the evening that be took Leah his daughter, +and brought her to him. + +26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the +younger before the firstborn. + +27 We will give thee Rachel also thou shalt serve with me yet seven +other years. + +28 And Jacob did so, and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. + +29 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, that Jacob +said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto my mine own place, +and to my country. + +26 Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served thee, and +let me go; for thou knowest my service which I have done thee. + +17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels; + +18 And he carried away all his cattle, and all his goods which he had +gotten, the cattle of his getting, which he had gotten in Padan-aram, +for to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. + +19 And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel had stolen the images +that were her father's + +20 And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in that he told +him not that he fled; + +22 And it was told Laban on the third day, that Jacob was fled. + +23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven +days' journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead. + + +While Laban played his petty deceptions on Jacob, the latter proved +himself in fraud and overreaching fully his match. In being compelled +to labor fourteen years for Rachel instead of seven, as agreed upon, he +amply revenged himself in getting possession of all Laban's best +cattle, availing himself of a physiological law in breeding of which +Laban was profoundly ignorant. + +The parting of Jacob and Laban was not amicable, although they did not +come to an open rupture. Rachel's character for theft and deception is +still further illustrated. Having stolen her father's images and hidden +them under the camel's saddles and furniture, and sat thereon, when her +father came to search for the images, which he valued highly, she said +she was too ill to rise, so she calmly kept her seat, while the tent +was searched and nothing found, thus by act as well as word, deceiving +her father. + +Jacob and his wives alike seemed to think Laban fair game for fraud +and deception. As Laban knew his images were gone, he was left to +suspect that Jacob knew where they were, so little regard had Rachel +for the reputation of her husband. In making a God after their own +image, who approved of whatever they did, the Jews did not differ much +from ourselves; the men of our day talk too as if they reflected the +opinions of Jehovah on the vital questions of the hour. In our late +civil war both armies carried the Bible in their knapsacks, and both +alike prayed to the same God for victory, as if he could be in favor of +slavery and against it at the same time. + +Like the women, too, who are working and praying for woman suffrage, +both in the state legislature and in their closets, and others against +it, to the same God and legislative assembly. One must accept the +conclusion that their acquaintance with the Lord was quite as limited +as our own in this century, and that they were governed by their own +desires and judgment, whether for good or evil, just as we are; their +plans by day and their dreams by night having no deeper significance +than our own. Some writers say that the constant interposition of God +in their behalf was because they needed his special care and attention. +But the irregularity and ignorance of their lives show clearly that +their guiding hand was of human origin. If the Jewish account is true, +then the God of the Hebrews falls far short of the Christian ideal of a +good, true manhood, and the Christian ideal as set forth in the New +Testament falls short of our ideal of the Heavenly Father to-day. We +have no fault to find with the Bible as a mere history of an ignorant, +undeveloped people, but when special inspiration is claimed for the +historian, we must judge of its merits by the moral standard of to-day, +and the refinement of the writer by the questionable language in which +he clothes his descriptions. + +We have often wondered that the revising committees that have gone +over these documents so often, should have adhered so closely to such +gross translations. Surely a fact related to us in coarse language, is +not less a fact when repeated in choice, words. We need an expurgated +edition of most of the books called holy before they are fit to place +in the hands of the rising generation. + +Some members of the Revising Committee write me that the tone of some +of my comments should be more reverent in criticising the "Word of +God." Does any one at this stage of civilization think the Bible was +written by the finger of God, that the Old and New Testaments emanated +from the highest divine thought in the universe? Do they think that all +the men who wrote the different books were specially inspired, and that +all the various revising committees that have translated, interpolated, +rejected some books and accepted others, who have dug round the roots +of the Greek and Hebrew to find out the true meaning, have one and all +been watched and guided in their literary labors by the great spirit of +the universe, who by immutable law holds the solar system in place, +every planet steadily moving in its own elliptic, worlds upon worlds +revolving in order and harmony? + +These great object-lessons in nature and the efforts of the soul to +fathom the incomprehensible, are more inspiring than any written page. +To this "Word of God" I bow with reverence, and I can find no language +too exalted to express my love, my faith, my admiration. + +To criticise the peccadilloes of Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel does not +shadow the virtues of Deborah, Huldah and Vashti; to condemn the laws +and customs of the Jews as recorded in the book of Genesis, does not +destroy the force of the golden rule and the ten commandments. Parts of +the Bible are so true, so grand, so beautiful, that it is a pity it +should have been bound in the same volume with sentiments and +descriptions so gross and immoral. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + + +Genesis xxxv. + + + +8 But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el +under an oak; and the name of it was called Allonbachuth. + +9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram, +and blessed him. + +10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: Thy name shall not be +called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his +name Israel. + +16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but a little way +to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. + +17 The midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou, shalt have this son also. + +18 And it came to pass as her soul was in departing (for she died), +that she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin. + +19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is +Beth-lehem. + +20 And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of +Rachel's grave unto this day. + + +Why Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, should be interjected here does not +appear. However, if all Isaac's and Jacob's children had been intrusted +to her care through the perils of infancy, it was fitting that the +younger generation with their father should pause in their journey and +drop a tear to her memory, and cultivate a tender sentiment for the old +oak tree at Bethel. + +There is no manifestation of gratitude more beautiful in family life +than kindness and respect to servants for long years of faithful +service, especially for those who have watched the children night and +day, tender in sickness, and patient with all their mischief in health. +In dealing with children one needs to exercise all the cardinal +virtues, more tact, diplomacy, more honor and honesty than even an +ambassador to the Court of St. James. Children readily see whom they +can trust, on whose word they can rely. + +In Rachel's hour of peril the midwife whispers sweet words of +consolation. She tells her to fear not, that she will have a son, and +he will be born alive. Whether she died herself is of small importance +so that the boy lived. Scott points a moral on the death of Rachel. He +thinks she was unduly anxious to have sons, and so the Lord granted her +prayers to her own destruction. If she had accepted with pious +resignation whatever weal or woe naturally fell to her lot, she might +have lived to a good old age, and been buried by Jacob's side at last, +and not left alone in Bethlehem. People who obstinately seek what they +deem their highest good, ofttimes perish in the attainment of their +ambition. (Thus Scott philosophizes.) + +Jacob was evidently a man of but little sentiment. The dying wife +gasps a name for her son, but the father pays no heed to her request, +and chooses one to suit himself. Though we must admit that Benjamin is +more dignified than Ben-oni; the former more suited to a public +officer, the latter to a household pet. And now Rachel is gone, and her +race with Leah for children is ended. The latter with her maids is the +victor, for she can reckon eight sons, while Rachel with her; can +muster only four. One may smile at this ambition of the women for +children, but a man's wealth was estimated at that time by the number +of his children and cattle; women who had no children were objects of +pity and dislike among the Jewish tribes. The Jews of to-day have much +of the same feeling. They believe in the home sphere for all women, +that wifehood and motherhood are the most exalted offices. If they are +really so considered, why does every Jew on each returning Holy Day say +in reading the service, "I thank thee, oh Lord! that I was not born a +woman!"? And if Gentiles are of the same opinion, why do they consider +the education of boys more important than that of girls? Surely those +who are to fill the most responsible offices should have the most +thorough and liberal education. + +The home sphere has so many attractions that most women prefer it to +all others. A strong right arm on which to lean, a safe harbor where +adverse winds never blow, nor rough seas roll, makes a most inviting +picture. But alas! even good husbands sometime die, and the family +drifts out on the great ocean of life, without chart or compass, or the +least knowledge of the science of navigation. In such emergencies the +woman trained to self-protection, self-independence, and self-support +holds the vantage ground against all theories on the home sphere. + +The first mention we have of an aristocratic class of Kings and Dukes, +is in the line of Cain's descendants. + + + +Genesis xxxvi. + + + +18 And these are the sons of Aholibamah, Esau's wife: duke Jeush, duke +Jaalam, duke Korah: these were the dukes that came of Aholibamah the +daughter of Anah Esau's wife. + + +The name Aholibamah has a suggestion of high descent, but the +historian tells us nothing of the virtues or idiosyncrasies of +character, such a high-sounding name suggests, but simply that she was +the daughter of Anah, and the wife of Esau, and that she was blessed +with children, all interesting facts, which might have been intensified +with a knowledge of some of her characteristics, what she thought, said +and did, her theories of life in general. One longs all through Genesis +to know what the women thought of a strictly masculine dynasty. + +Some writers claim that these gross records of primitive races, have a +deep spiritual meaning, that they are symbolical of the struggles of an +individual soul from animalism to the highest, purest development of +all the Godlike in man. + +Some on the Revising Committee take this view, and will give us from +time to time more exalted interpretations than the account in plain +English conveys to the ordinary mind. + +In my exegesis thus far, not being versed in scriptural metaphors and +symbols, I have attempted no scientific interpretation of the simple +narration, merely commenting on the supposed facts as stated. As the +Bible is placed in the hands of children and uneducated men and women +to point them the way of salvation, the letter should have no doubtful +meaning. What should we think of guide posts on our highways, if we +needed a symbolical interpreter at every point to tell us which way to +go? the significance of the letters? and the point of compass indicated +by the digital finger? Learned men have revised the Scriptures times +without number, and I do not propose to go back of the latest Revision. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + + +Genesis xxxix. + + + +1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar an officer of +Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the +Ishmaelites, which bad brought him down thither. + +2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he +was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. + +4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made +him overseer over his house and all that he had he put into his hand. + +7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife +cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she solicited him. + +8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master +wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all +that he hath to my hand. + +9 How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? + +10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he +hearkened not unto her, and she caught him by his garment, and he left +his garment in her hand and fled. + +13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in +her hand and was fled forth, + +14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, +saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in +unto me, and I cried with a loud voice: + +15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and +cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled. + +16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. + +17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew +servant which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: + +18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he +left his garment with me, and fled out. + +19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, +that his wrath was kindled. + +20 And Joseph's master took him; and put him into the prison, a place +where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. + +211 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him +favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. + +22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the +prisoners that were in the prison; and whatever they did there, he was +the doer of it. + + +Potiphar's wife surpasses all the women yet mentioned in perfidy and +dishonor. + +Joseph's virtues, his dignity, his honor, go far to redeem the +reputation of his ancestors, and the customs of his times. It would +have been generous, at least, if the editor of these pages could have +given us one woman the counterpart of Joseph, a noble, high-minded, +virtuous type. Thus far those of all the different nationalities have +been of an ordinary low type. Historians usually dwell on the virtues +of the people, the heroism of their deeds, the wisdom of their words, +but the sacred fabulist dwells on the most questionable behavior of the +Jewish race, and much in character and language that we can neither +print nor answer. + +Indeed the Pentateuch is a long painful record of war, corruption, +rapine, and lust. Why Christians who wished to convert the heathen to +our religion should send them these books, passes all understanding. It +is most demoralizing reading for children and the unthinking masses, +giving all alike the lowest possible idea of womanhood, having no hope +nor ambition beyond conjugal unions with men they scarcely knew, for +whom they could not have had the slighest {sic} sentiment of +friendship, to say nothing of affection. There is no mention of women +except when the advent of sons is announced. When the Children of +Israel go down into Egypt we are told that the wives of Jacob's sons +were taken too, but we hear nothing of Jacob's wives or concubines, +until the death and burial of Leah is incidentally mentioned. +Throughout the book of Genesis the leading men declare from time to +that the Lord comes to them and promises great fruitfulness. A strange +promise in that it could only be fulfilled in questionable relations. +To begin with Abraham, and go through to Joseph, leaving out all +conjugal irregularities, we find Abraham and Sarah had Isaac, Isaac and +Rebekah had Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Rachel (for she alone was his +true wife), had Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph and Asenath had Manassah +and Ephraim. Thus giving the Patriarchs just seven legitimate +descendants in the first generation. If it had not been for polygamy +and concubinage, the great harvest so recklessly promised would have +been meagre indeed. + + + +Genesis xli. + + + +45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him +to wife Asenath the daughter of Potar-pherah priest of On. And Joseph +went out over all the land of Egypt. + +46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king +of Egypt. + +50 And unto Joseph were born two sons, before the years of the famine +came: which Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On bare unto +him. + +51 And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manassah: For God, +said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. + +52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused +me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. + + +This is all we ever hear of Asenath, that she was a good woman, +probably worthy of Joseph, it is fair to infer, for had she been +otherwise her evil deeds would have been recorded. A few passing +remarks where ever we find the mention of woman is about all we can +vouchsafe. The writer probably took the same view of the virtuous woman +as the great Roman General who said "the highest praise for Caesar's +wife is that she should never be mentioned at all." + +The texts on Lot's daughters and Tamar we omit altogether, as unworthy +a place in the "Woman's Bible." In the remaining chapters of Genesis, +the brethren of Joseph take leave of each other; the fathers bless +their sons and grandsons, and also take leave of each other, some to go +to remote parts of the country, some to die at a ripe old age. As +nothing is said of their wives and daughters, the historian probably +knew nothing of their occupations nor environments. Joseph was a +hundred and ten years old when he died. They embalmed him according to +the custom in Egypt, and put him in a coffin, and buried him in the +land of his fathers, where his brethren had promised to take his bones +after death to rest with his kindred at last. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The literal translation of the first verse of chapter xxxix of Genesis +is as follows: + +"And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, Pharaoh's eunuch, +chief of the cooks, an Egyptian bought him of the Ishmaelites who +brought him down." + +These facts which are given in Julia Smith's translation of the Bible +throw a new light on the story of Joseph and the woman who was +Potiphar's wife only in name. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + + +THE BOOK OF EXODUS. + + +CHAPTER 1. + + + +Exodus i. + + + +1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into +Egypt: every man and his household came with Jacob. + +2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, + +3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, + +4 Dan, and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. + +5 And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy +souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. + +15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the +name of the one was Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah. + +16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew +women, and they bare a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be a +daughter, then she shall live. + +17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt +commanded them, but saved the men children alive. + +18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, +Why have ye done this thing and have saved the men children alive? + +19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are +delivered ere the midwives come in unto them: + +20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people +multiplied, and waxed very mighty. + +21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made +them houses. + +22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born +ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive. + + +The Book of Exodus or the Departure, so called because of the escape +of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, and their wanderings +in the wilderness for forty years, are herein recalled. + +The unparalleled multiplication of the children of Israel renewed +Pharaoh's anxiety especially as the Israelites were very large and +strong as compared with the Egyptians, and their numbers were computed +to double every fourteen years. Hence their multitude and power grew +more formidable day by day in the eyes of the Egyptians, though they +feared their presence, yet as their labors added greatly to the wealth +of the nation, they were unwilling to let them go. Pharaoh hoped by +making their daily tasks much harder and killing all the male children +at birth, they, would be so crippled and dispirited that there would be +no danger of rebellion against his government. + +For a list of the seventy souls, turn to Genesis, chapter xlvi, where +Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and Sarah, Asher's daughter, are mentioned +among the seventy souls. It is certainly curious that there should have +been only two daughters to sixty-eight sons. But perhaps the seventy +souls refer only to sons, and the daughters are merely persons, not +souls. It is not an uncommon idea with many nations that women have no +souls. A missionary to China tells of a native who asked him why he +preached the Gospel to women. "To save their souls, to be sure." "Why," +said he, "women have no souls." "Yes they have," said the missionary. +When the thought dawned on the Chinaman that it might be true, he was +greatly amused, and said, "Well, I'll run home and tell my wife she has +a soul, and we will sit down and laugh together." We find at many +points that the Bible does not reckon women as souls. It may be that +because there is no future for them is the reason why they punish them +here more severely than they do men for the same crimes. Here it is +plainly asserted that all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob +were seventy in number. The meaning conveyed may be that the man +supplies the spirit and intellect of the race, and woman the body only. +Some late writers take this ground. If so, the phraseology would have +been more in harmony with the idea, if the seventy souls had emanated, +Minerva-like, from the brain of father Jacob, rather than from his +loins. + +The children of Israel multiplied so rapidly that Pharaoh became +alarmed, lest the nation should become mightier than the Egyptians, so +he ordered all the males at birth to be slain. To this end he had a +private interview with the midwives, two women, Shiphrah and Puah, and +laid his commands upon them. But they did not obey his orders, and +excused themselves on the ground that the Jewish women seldom needed +their services. Here we have another example of women who "feared God," +and yet used deception to accomplish what they deemed right. + +The Hebrew God seemed to be well pleased with the deception, and gave +them each a house for their fidelity in saving the lives of +his chosen children. Such is the plain English of the story. Origen +ascribes a deep spiritual meaning to these passages, as more recent +writers and speakers do, making the whole Bible a collection of symbols +and allegories, but none of them are complimentary to our unfortunate +sex. Adam Clarke says if we begin by taking some parts of the +Scriptures figuratively we shall soon figure it all away. Though the +midwives in their comfortable homes enjoyed the approbation of God, +Pharaoh was not to be thwarted by their petty excuses, so he ordered +his own people to cast into the river every Jewish boy that was born. +We are so accustomed to the assumption that men alone form a nation, +that we forget to resent such texts as these. Surely daughters in +freedom could perpetuate family and national pride and honor, and if +allowed to wed the men of their choice, their children would vindicate +their ancestral dignity. The greatest block to advancing civilization +all along the line has been the degradation of woman. Having no +independent existence, no name, holding no place of honor or trust, +being mere subjects in the family, the birth of a son is naturally +considered more important than a daughter, as the one inherits because +of sex all the rights and privileges denied the other. + +Shiphrah and Puah, Aben Ezra tells us, were probably at the head of +their profession, and instructed others in the science of obstetrics. +At this time there were five hundred midwives among the Hebrews. This +branch of the profession was, among the Egyptians, also in the hands of +the women. Statistics show that the ratio of deaths among mothers and +children at birth was far less than when under male supervision +exclusively. + +Moses spent the first forty years of his life in Egypt, the next forty +with Jethro his father in law, and the next forty wandering in the +wilderness. One writer said the Lord must have buried Moses, and no one +ever knew where. There is no record of the burial place of Moses. As +his life had been surrounded with mysteries, perhaps to verify his +providential guidance in that long journey in the wilderness, he chose +to surround his death also with mystery, and arranged with members of +the priesthood to keep his last resting place a profound secret. He was +well versed in all the law and mythology of the Egyptians, and intended +the people should no doubt think that Jehovah had taken the great +leader to himself. For the purpose of controlling his followers in that +long journey through the wilderness, he referred all his commands and +actions to Jehovah. Moses declared that he met him face to face on +Mount Sinai, veiled in a cloud of fire, received minute instructions +how to feed and conduct the people, as well as to minister to their +moral and spiritual necessities. In order to enforce his teachings, he +said the ten commandments were written on tablets of stone by Jehovah +himself, and given into his hands to convey to the people, with many +ordinances and religious observances, to be sacredly kept. In this way +the Jewish religion and the Mosaic code were established. + +As these people had no written language at that time, and could +neither read nor write, they were fitting subjects for all manner of +delusions and superstitions. The question naturally suggests itself to +any rational mind, why should the customs and opinions of this ignorant +people, who lived centuries ago, have any influence in the religious +thought of this generation? + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Exodus ii. + + + +1 And there went a man of the house of Levi and took to wife a +daughter of Levi. + +2 And the woman bare a son: and when she saw that he was a goodly +child, she hid him three months. + +3 And when she could not longer hide him she took for him an ark of +bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child +therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. + +4 And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. + +5 And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the +river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side: and when she +saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. + +6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe +wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the +Hebrews' children. + +7 Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to +thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee? + +8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called +the child's mother. + +9 And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and +nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the +child, and nursed it. + +10 And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, +and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, +Because I drew him out of the water. + +15 But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of +Midian: and he sat down by a well. + +16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and +drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. + +17 And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and +helped them, and watered their flock. + +18 And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that +ye are come so soon to day? + +19 And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the +shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock. + +20 And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye +have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread. + +21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses +Zipporah his daughter. + +22 And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershon: for he +said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. + + +The account of the birth of Moses, his mother's anxiety in protecting +him from the wrath of Pharaoh, and the goodness of the king's daughter, +make altogether an interesting story, and is almost the first touch of +sentiment with which the historian has refreshed us; a pleasant change +from the continued accounts of corruption, violence, lust, war and +petty falsehood, that have thus far marked the history of this people. +The only value of these records to us is to show the character of the +Jewish nation, and make it easy for us to reject their ideas as to the +true status of woman, and their pretension of being guided by the hand +of God, in all their devious wanderings. Surely such teachings as +these, should have no influence in regulating the lives of women in the +nineteenth century. Moses' conduct towards the seven daughters of the +priest at the well, shows that there were some sparks of chivalry here +and there in a few representative souls, notwithstanding the contempt +for the sex in general. These Hebrew wooings and weddings were +curiously similar, alike marked for the beauty and simplicity of the +daughters of the land, the wells, the flocks, the handsome strangers, +the strong, active young men who will prove so helpful in cultivating +the lands. The father-in-law usually gets the young husband completely +under his thumb, and we hear nothing of the dreaded mother-in-law of +the nineteenth century. If we go through this chapter carefully we will +find mention of about a dozen women, but with the exception of one +given to Moses, all are nameless. Then as now names for women and +slaves are of no importance; they have no individual life, and why +should their personality require a life-long name? To-day the woman is +Mrs. Richard Roe, to-morrow Mrs. John Doe, and again Mrs. James Smith +according as she changes masters, and she has so little self-respect +that she does not see the insult of the custom. We have had in this +generation one married woman in England, and one in America, who had +one name from birth to death, and though married they kept it. Think of +the inconvenience of vanishing as it were from your friends and, +correspondents three times in one's natural life. + +In helping the children of Israel to escape from the land of Egypt the +Lord said to Moses: + + + +Exodus iii. + + + +19 And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not +by a mighty hand. + +20 And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders +which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go. + +21 And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: +and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty: + +22 But every woman shall borrow of her neighhour, and of her that +sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and +raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; +and ye shall spoil the Egyptians. + + +The role assigned the women, in helping the children of Israel to +escape in safety from bondage, is by no means complimentary +to their heroism or honesty. To help bear the expenses of the journey, +they were instructed to steal all the jewels of silver and gold, and +all the rich raiment of the Egyptian ladies. The Lord and Moses no +doubt went on the principle that the Israelites had richly earned all +in the years of their bondage. This is the position that some of our +good abolitionists took, when Africans were escaping from American +bondage, that the slaves had the right to seize horses, boats, anything +to help them to Canada, to find safety in the shadow of the British +lion. Some of our pro-slavery clergymen, who no doubt often read the +third chapter of Exodus to their congregations, forgot the advice of +Moses, in condemning the abolitionists; as the Americans had stolen the +African's body and soul, and kept them in hopeless bondage for +generations--they had richly earned whatever they needed to help them +to the land of freedom. Stretch the principle of natural rights a +little further, and ask the question, why should women, denied all +their political rights, obey laws to which they have never given their +consent, either by proxy or in person? Our fathers in an inspired +moment said, "No just government can be formed without the consent of +the governed." + +Women have had no voice in the canon law, the catechisms, the church +creeds and discipline, and why should they obey the behests of a +strictly masculine religion, that places the sex at a disadvantage in +all life's emergencies? + +Our civil and criminal codes reflect at many points the spirit of the +Mosaic. In the criminal code we find no feminine pronouns, as "He," +"His," "Him," we are arrested, tried and hung, but singularly enough, +we are denied the highest privileges of citizens, because the pronouns +"She," "Hers" and "Her," are not found in the constitutions. It is a +pertinent question, if women can pay the penalties of their crimes as +"He," why may they not enjoy the privileges of citizens as "He"? + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Exodus iv. + + + +18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said +unto him, let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are +in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, +Go in peace. + +19 And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for +all the men are dead which sought thy life. + +20 And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and +he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his +hand. + +21 And the Lord said unto Moses, when thou goest to return into Egypt, +see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in +thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the +people go. + +22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my +son, even my firstborn: + +23 And I say unto thee, let my son go, that he may serve me: and if +thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy +firstborn: + +24 And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, +and sought to kill him. + +25 Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and circumcised her son. + +26 So he let him go. + + +When Moses married Zipporah he represented himself as a stranger who +desired nothing better than to adopt Jethro's mode of life, But now +that he desired to see his own people, his wife has no choice but to +accompany him. So Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on an +ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. + +The reason the Lord met them and sought to kill the son, was readily +devined by Zipporah; her son had not been circumcised; so with woman's +quick intuition and natural courage to save the life of her husband, +she skillfully performed the necessary operation, and the travellers +went on their way rejoicing. The word circumcision seems to have a very +elastic meaning "uncircumcised lips" is used to describe that want of +power to speak fluently, from which Moses suffered and which he so +often deplored. + +As in every chapter of Jewish history this rite is dwelt upon it is +worthy of remark that its prominence as a religious observance means a +disparagement of all female life, unfit for offerings, and unfit to, +take part in religious services, incapable of consecration. The +circumcision of the heart even, which women might achieve, does not +render them fit to take an active part in any of the holy services of +the Lord. They were permitted to violate the moral code of laws to +secure liberty for their people, but they could not officiate in any +of the sacraments, nor eat of the consecrated bread at meals. Although +the Mosaic code and customs so plainly degrade the female sex, and +their position in the church to-day grows out of these ancient customs, +yet many people insist that our religion dignifies women. But so long +as the Pentateuch is read and accepted as the Word of God, an undefined +influence is felt by each generation that, destroys a proper respect +for all womankind. + +It is the contempt that the canon and civil law alike express for +women that has multiplied their hardships and intensified man's, desire +to hold them in subjection. The sentiment that statesmen and bishops +proclaim in their high places are responsible for the actions of the +lower classes on the highways. We scarce take up a paper that does not +herald some outrage committed on a matron on her way to church, or the +little girl gathering wild flowers on her way to school; yet you cannot +go so low down in the scale of being as to find men who will enter our +churches to desecrate the altars or toss about the emblems of the +sacrament; because they have been educated with some respect for +churches, altars and sacraments. But where are any lessons of respect +taught for the mothers of the human family? And yet as the great factor +in the building of the race are they not more sacred than churches, +altars, sacraments or the priesthood? + +Do our sons in their law schools, who read the old common law of +England and its commentators, rise from their studies with higher +respect for women? Do our sons in their theological seminaries rise +from their studies of the Mosaic laws and Paul's epistles with higher +respect for their mothers? Alas! in both cases they may have learned +their first lessons of disrespect and contempt. They who would protect +their innocent daughters from the outrages so common to-day, must lay +anew the foundation stones of law and gospel in justice and equality, +in a profound respect of the sexes for each other. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Exodus xii. + + + +12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will +smite all the firstborn in tile land of Egypt, both man and beast: and +against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. + +18 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye +are: and when I see that blood, I will pass over you, and the plague +not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. + +43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of +the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: + +44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast +circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. + +45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. + +46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of +the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone +thereof. + +47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. + +48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the +passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let +him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the +land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. + + +In commemoration of this promise of the Lord's to pass over their +homes in executing vengeance on the Egyptians, and of the prolonged +battles between Jehovah and Moses on the one side, and Pharaoh and his +Cabinet on the other, the Jews held an annual feast to which all +circumcised males were summoned. The point of interest to us is whether +women were disqualified, not being circumcised, or whether as members +of the congregation they could slip in under the provision in the 47th +verse, and enjoy the unleavened bread and nice roast lamb with the men +of their household. It seems from the above texts that this blessed +feast of deliverance from bondage must have been confined to males, +that they only, could express, their joy and gratitude. But women were +permitted to perform a subordinate part in the grand hegira, beside +carrying their respective infants they manifested their patriotism by +stealing all the jewels of gold and silver, all the rich silks and +velvets from their Egyptian neighbors, all they could carry, according +to the commands of Moses. And why should these women take any part in +the passover; their condition remained about the same under all +dynasties in all lands. They were regarded merely as necessary factors +in race building. As Jewish wives or Egyptian concubines, there was no +essential difference in their social status. + +As Satan, represented by a male snake, seemed to be women's counsellor +from the beginning, making her skillful in cunning and tergiversation, +it is fair to suppose that they were destined to commune with the +spirit of evil for ever and ever, that is if women have souls and are +immortal, which is thought to be doubtful by many nations. There is no +trace thus far that the Jews believed in a future state, good or bad. +No promise of immortality is held out to men even. So far the promise +to them is a purely material triumph, "their seed shall not fill the +earth." + +The firstborn of males both man and beast are claimed by the Lord as +his own. From the general sentiment expressed in the various texts, it +is evident that Satan claims the women as his own. The Hebrew God had +very little to say in regard to them. If the passover, the lamb and the +unleavened bread, were necessary to make the males acceptable in +religious services, the females could find no favor in the eyes of +either God or man. + +In most of the sacrifices female animals are not accepted, nor a male, +born after a female by the same parent. Males are the race, females +only the creatures that carry it on. This arrangement must be +providential, as it saves men from many disabilities. Men never fail to +dwell on maternity as a disqualification for the possession of many +civil and political rights. Suggest the idea of women having a voice in +making laws and administering the Government in the halls of +legislation, in Congress, or the British Parliament, and men will +declaim at once on the disabilities of maternity in a sneering +contemptuous way, as if the office of motherhood was undignified and +did not comport with the highest public offices in church and state. It +is vain that we point them to Queen Victoria, who has carefully reared +a large family, while considering and signing all state papers. She has +been a pattern wife and mother, kept a clean court, and used her +influence as far as her position would admit, to keep peace with all +nations. Why should representative American women be incapable of +discharging similar public and private duties at the same time in an +equally commendable manner? + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Exodus xviii. + + + +1 When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of +all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that +the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt; + +2 Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after +he had sent her back. + +3 And her two sons; of which the name of one was Gershom; for he said, +I have been an alien in a strange land: + +4 And the name of the other was Eliezer: for the God of my father, +said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh; + +5 And Jethro, Moses father in law, came with his sons and his wife +unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God: + +6 And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto +thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. + +7 And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, +and kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare; and they +came into the tent. + +8 And Moses told his father in law all that the Lord had done unto the +Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail +that had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord delivered them. + + +After a long separation the record of the meeting between Moses and +his wife Zipporah I,; very unsatisfactory to the casual reader. There +is some sentiment in the meeting of Jethro and Moses, they embraced and +kissed each other. How tender and beautiful the seeming relation to a +father in law, more fortunate than the mother in law in our time. +Zipporah like all the women of her time was hustled about, sent forward +and back by husbands and fathers, generally transported with their sons +and belongings on some long-suffering jackass. Nothing is said of the +daughters, but the sons, their names and their significance seem of +vital importance. We must smile or heave a sigh at all this injustice, +but different phases of the same guiding principle blocks woman's way +to-day to perfect liberty. See the struggle they have made to gain +admittance to the schools and colleges, the trades and professions, +their civil and political rights. The darkest page in history is the +persecutions of woman. + +We take note of these discriminations of sex, and reiterate them again +and again to call the attention of women to the real source of their +multiplied disabilities. As long as our religion teaches woman's +subjection and man's right of domination, we shall have chaos in the +world of morals. Women are never referred to as persons, merely as +property, and to see why, you must read the Bible until you also see +how many other opportunities for the exercise of sex were given to +men, and why the single one of marriage to one husband was allowed to +women. + +In all the directions given Moses, for the regulation of the social +and civil life of the children of Israel, and in the commandments on +Mount Sinai, it is rarely that females are mentioned. The regulations +are chiefly for males, the offerings are male, the transgressions +referred to are male. + +When the Lord was about to give the ten commandments to the children +of Israel he gave the most minute directions as to the preparatory +duties of the people. It is evident from the text that males only were +to witness Moses' ascent to Mount Sinai and the coming of the Lord in a +cloud of fire. + + + +Exodus xix. + + + +12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take +heed to yourselves, that ye go not up in to the mount, or touch the +border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to +death.. + +13 There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or +shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the +trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount. + +14 And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified +the people; and they washed their clothes. + +16 And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come +not at your wives. + +The children of Israel were to sanctify themselves for this great +event. Besides a thorough cleaning of their persons and clothes, they +were to have no affiliations or conversations with women for the space +of three days. The Hebrew laws regulating the relations of men and +women are never complimentary to the latter. + +This feeling was in due time cultivated in the persecutions women +endured under witchcraft and celibacy, when all women were supposed to +be in collusion with the spirit of evil, and every man was warned that +the less he had to do with the "daughters of men" the more perfect +might be his communion with the Creator. Lecky in his History of +Rationalism shows what women endured when these ideas were prevalent, +and their sufferings were not mitigated until rationalism took the +place of religion, and reason trumphed {sic} over superstition. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +Exodus xv. + + + +20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in +her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with +dances. + +21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath +triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the +sea. + + +After many previous disappointments from Pharaoh, the children of +Israel were permitted to start from Egypt and cross the Red Sea, while +Pharaoh and his host in pursuit, were overwhelmed in the waters. + +Then Moses and the children of Israel expressed their gratitude to the +Lord in a song, comprising nineteen verses, while Miriam and the women +expressed theirs in the above two. Has this proportion any significance +as to the comparative happiness of the men and the women, or is it a +poor attempt by the male historian to make out that though the women +took part in the general rejoicing, they were mutinous or sulky. We +know that Miriam was not altogether satisfied with the management of +Moses at many points of the expedition, and later on expressed her +dissatisfaction. If their gratitude is to be measured by the length of +their expression, the women were only one-tenth as grateful as the men. +It must always be a wonder to us, that in view of their degradation, +they ever felt like singing or dancing, for what desirable change was +there in their lives--the same hard work or bondage they suffered in +Egypt. There, they were all slaves together, but now the men, in their +respective families were exalted above their heads. Clarke gives the +song in metre with a chorus, and says the women, led by Miriam, +answered in a chorus by themselves which greatly heightened the effect. + + + +Exodus xvi. + + + +23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To +morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which +ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which +remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. + +29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he +giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man +in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. + +30 So the people rested on the seventh day. + + +In these texts we note that the work of men was done on the sixth day, +but the women must work as usual on the seventh. We see the same thing +to-day, woman's work is never done. What irony to say to them rest on +the seventh day. The Puritan fathers would not let the children romp or +play, nor give their wives a drive on Sunday, but they enjoyed a better +dinner on the Sabbath than any other day; yet the xxxi chapter and 15th +verse contains the following warning: + + +15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of +rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he +shall surely be put to death. + + +As the women continued to work and yet seemed to live in the flesh, it +may refer to the death of their civil rights, their individuality, as +nonentities without souls or personal responsibility. + +A critical reading of the ten commandments will show that they are +chiefly for men. After purifying themselves by put ting aside their +wives and soiled clothes, they assembled at the foot of Mount Sinai. We +have no hint of the presence of a woman. One commandment speaks of +visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children. There is an +element of justice in this, for to talk of children getting iniquities +from their mothers, in a history of males, of fathers and sons, would +be as ridiculous as getting them from the clothes they wore. + +"Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work." With the majority of +women this is impossible. Men of all classes can make the Sabbath a day +of rest, at least a change of employment, but for women the same +monotonous duties must be performed. In the homes of the rich and poor +alike, most women cook, clean, and take care of children from morning +till night. Men must have good dinners Sundays above all other days, as +then they have plenty of time in which to eat. If the first born male +child lifts up his voice at the midnight hour, the female attendant +takes heed to his discontent; if in the early morning at the cock +crowing, or the eventide, she is there. They who watch and guard the +infancy of men are like faithful sentinels, always on duty. + +The fifth commandment will take the reader by surprise. It is rather +remarkable that the young Hebrews should have been told to honor their +mothers, when the whole drift of the teaching thus far has been to +throw contempt on the whole sex. In what way could they show their +mothers honor? All the laws and customs forbid it. Why should they make +any such manifestations? Scientists claim that the father gives the +life, the spirit, the soul, all there is of most value in existence. +Why honor the mother, for giving the mere covering of flesh. It was not +her idea, but the father's, to start their existence. He thought of +them, he conceived them. You might as well pay the price of a sack of +wheat to the field, instead of the farmer who sowed it, as to honor the +mother for giving life. According to the Jewish code, the father is the +great factor in family life, the mother of minor consideration. In the +midst of such teachings and examples of the subjection and degradation +of all womankind, a mere command to honor the mother has no +significance. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + +Exodus xxxii. + + + +1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the +mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said +unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this +Moses, the man that brought us up out of land of Egypt, we wot not what +is become of him. + +2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are +in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and +bring them unto me. + +And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their +ears, and brought them unto Aaron. + +And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving +tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy +gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. + +5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made +proclamation, and said, To-morrow is a feast to the Lord. + +6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, +and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to +drink, and rose up to play. + +7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, +which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted +themselves. + + +So tired were the children of Israel waiting at the foot of Mount +Sinai for the return of Moses, that Aaron to pacify them made a golden +calf which they worshipped. To procure the gold he took the jewelry of +the women young and old, men never understanding how precious it is to +them, and the great self-sacrifice required to part with it. But as the +men generally give it to them during courtship, and as wedding +presents, they feel that they have a vested right therein for +emergencies. + +It was just so in the American Revolution, in 1776, the first delicacy +the men threw overboard in Boston harbor was the tea, woman's favorite +beverage. The tobacco and whiskey, though heavily taxed, they clung to +with the tenacity of the devil-fish. Rather than throw their luxuries +overboard they would no doubt have succumbed to King George's +pretensions. Men think that self-sacrifice is the most charming of all +the cardinal virtues for women, and in order to keep it in healthy +working order, they make opportunities for its illustration as often as +possible. I would fain teach women that self-development is a higher +duty than self-sacrifice. + +The pillar of cloud for day and light for night, that went before the +children of Israel in the wilderness, was indeed a marvel. It was an +aqueous cloud that kept them well watered by day, and shadowed from the +heat of the sun; by night it showed its light side to the Israelites, +and its dark side to whatever enemy might pursue them. It is supposed +that about 3,200,000 started on this march with 165,000 children. They +carried all their provisions, cooking utensils, flocks, herds and all +the gold, silver, precious stones and rich raiment that they borrowed +(stole) of the Egyptians, besides the bones of the twelve sons of +Jacob. It is said the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the +wilderness, kept there because of their wickedness, though they might +have accomplished the journey in a few weeks. They disobeyed the +commandments given them by Moses, and worshipped a golden calf, so they +journeyed through deep waters, woe and tribulation. Fire was always a +significant emblem of Deity, not only among the Hebrews but many other +ancient nations, hence men have adopted it as a male emblem. They talk +of Moses seeing God; but Moses says: "ye saw no manner of similitude on +the day the Lord spoke unto me on Mount Horeb out of the cloud of fire." + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + +Exodus xxxiv. + + + +12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the +inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in +the midst of thee; + +13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down +their groves: + +14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, who is a jealous +God. + +15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and +they go after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one +call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; + +16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters +go after their gods, and make thy sons go after their gods. + +23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the +Lord God, the God of Israel. + +24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy +borders; neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up +to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year. + +25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither +shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the +morning. + +26 The first of the first fruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the +house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's +milk. + + +The Jews did not seem to have an abiding faith in the attractions of +their own religion. They evidently lived in constant fear lest their +sons and daughters should worship the strange gods of other nations. +They seem also to have had most exaggerated fears as to the influence +alien women might exert over their sons. Three times in the year all +the men were to appear before the Lord. Why the women were not +commanded to appear has been a point of much questioning. Probably the +women, then as now, were more conscientious in their religious duties, +and not so susceptible to the attractions of alien men and their +strange gods. + +If the Lord had talked more freely with the Jewish women and impressed +some of his wise commands on their hearts, they would have had a more +refined and religious influence on the men of Israel. But all their +knowledge of the divine commands was second hand and through an +acknowledged corrupt medium. + +"Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk." After all the +learning critics have bestowed on this passage, the simple meaning, says +Adam Clarke, seems to be this: Thou shalt do nothing that may have a +tendency to blunt thy moral feelings, or teach thee hardness of heart. +Even human nature shudders at the thought of taking the mother's milk to +seethe the flesh of her own dead lamb. With all their cruelty towards +alien tribes and all their sacrifices of lambs and kids, there is an +occasional touch of tenderness for animal life among the Hebrews that is +quite praiseworthy. + + + +Exodus xxxvi. + + + +22 And they came, both men and women, as many, as were willing +hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, +all jewels of gold; and every man offered an offering of gold unto the +Lord. + +23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, +and fine linen, and goats hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' +skins, brought them. + +25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, +and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and +of scarlet, and of fine linen. + +26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' +hair. + + +Women were always considered sufficiently clean to beg, work and give +generously for the building and decoration of churches, and the support +of the priesthood. They might always serve as inferiors, but never +receive as equals. + +Great preparations were made for building the Tabernacle, and all the +willing hearted were invited to bring all their ornaments and all +manner of rich embroideries, and brilliant fancy work of scarlet, blue +and purple. As usual in our own day the Jewish women were allowed to +give generously, work untiringly and beg eloquently to build altars and +Tabernacles to the Lord, to embroider slippers and make flowing robes +for the priesthood, but they could not enter the holy of holies or take +any active part, in the services. + +Some women in our times think these unhappy Jewesses would have been +much "wiser hearted" if they had kept their jewelry and beautiful +embroideries to decorate themselves and their homes, where they were at +least satellites of the dinner pot and the cradle, and Godesses {sic} at +their own altars. Seeing they had no right inside the sacred Temple, but +stood looking-glass in hand at the door, it would have indicated more +self-respect to have washed their hands of all that pertained to male +ceremonies, altars and temples. But the women were wild with enthusiasm, +just as they are to-day with fairs and donation parties, to build +churches, and they brought such loads of bric-a-brac that at last Moses +compelled them to stop, as the supply exceeded all reasonable demand. +But for the building of the Tabernacle the women brought all they deemed +most precious, even the most necessary and convenient articles of their +toilets. + + + +Exodus xxxviii. + + + +8 And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of +the looking glasses of the women assembling at the door of the +tabernacle of the congregation. + + +The men readily accepted the sacrifice of all their jewelry, rich +laces, velvets and silks, their looking glasses of solid precious +metal. These being made of metal could be used for building purposes. +The women carried these with them wherever they went, and always stood +with them in hand at the door of the Tabernacle, as they were the +doorkeepers standing outside to watch and guard the door from those not +permitted to enter. + +An objective view of the manner these women were imposed upon, +wheedled and deceived with male pretensions and the pat use of the +phrase "thus saith the Lord," must make every one who reads indignant +at the masculine assumption, even at this late day. + + +E. C. S. + + + +At every stage of his existence Moses was indebted to some woman for +safety and success. Miriam, by her sagacity, saved his life. Pharaoh's +daughter reared and educated him and made the way possible for the high +offices he was called to fill; and Zipporah, his wife, a woman of +strong character and decided opinions, often gave him good advice. +Evidently from the text she criticised his conduct and management as a +leader, and doubted his supernatural mission, for she refused to go out +of Egypt with him, preferring to remain with her sons under her +father's roof--Jethro, a priest of Midian. After the destruction of +Pharaoh's host, when the expedition, led by Moses seemed to be an +assured success, she followed with her father to join the leader of the +wandering Israelites. (Chapter xviii, 2.) + +In the ordinances which follow the ten commandments, exact judgment +and cruel punishment are ordained alike for man and +woman; life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand and +foot for foot (Chapter xxi, 23). + +In pronouncing punishments, woman's individuality and responsibility +are always fully recognized, alike in the canon and civil laws, which +reflect the spirit of the Mosaic code. + + + +Exodus xxii. + + + +21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were +strangers in the land of Egypt. + +22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. + +23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I +will surely hear their cry; + +24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and +your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless: + +This special threat against those who oppress the widow and the +fatherless, has a touch of tenderness and mercy, but if the vengeance +is to make more widows and fatherless, the sum of human misery is +increased rather than diminished. As to the stranger, after his country +has been made desolate, his cities burned, his property, cattle, lands +and merchandise all confiscated, kind words and alms would be but a +small measure of justice under any circumstances. + +In closing the book of Exodus, the reader must wonder that the faith +and patience of the people, in that long sorrowful march through the +wilderness, held out as long as it did. Whether fact or fiction, it is +one of the most melancholy records in human history. Whether as a mere +work of the imagination, or the real experience of an afflicted people, +our finer sentiments of pity and sympathy find relief only in doubts of +its truth. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Leviticus iv, vi. + + + +22 When a ruler hath sinned and somewhat through ignorance, against +any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which +should not be done, and is guilty. + +23 Or if his sin, wherein he hath sinned, come to his knowledge; he +shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a male without blemish: + +27 And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while +he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord +concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty: + +28 Then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female +without blemish, for his sin. + +24 And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall +offer it before the Lord, before the altar. + +15 And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat +offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is +upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet +savour, even the memorial of it, unto the Lord. + +18 All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall +be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of +the Lord made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy. + + +There seems to have been some distinction of sex even in the offerings +of male and female animals. For rulers, priests and people of +distinction male animals were required, but for the common people a +female lamb or goat would do. There is a difference of opinion among +writers as to the reason of this custom, some say because all female +animals were considered unclean, others that the females were too +valuable for wholesale slaughter. Farmers use the male fowls for the +table because the hens are too valuable producing eggs and chickens. +The fact has some significance, though Adam Clarke throws no light on +it, he says--"the whole sacrificial system in this book refers to the +coming sacrifice of Christ; without this spiritual reference, the +general reader can feel no spiritual interest in this book" For burnt +offerings males were required, but for peace offerings and minor sins +the female would answer. + +As the idea of sacrifice to unknown gods, was the custom with all +nations and religions, why should the Jewish have more significance +than that of any other people. For swearing, an offence to ears polite, +rather than eternal justice, a female creature or turtle dove might be +offered. + +The meat so delicately cooked by the priests, with wood and coals in +the altar, in clean linen, no woman was permitted to taste, only the +males among the children of Aaron. Seeing that the holy men were the +cooks, it seems like a work of supererogation to direct them to clean +themselves and their cooking utensils. Perhaps the daughters of Israel +were utilized for that work. + +It is clearly shown that child-bearing among the Jews was not +considered a sacred office and that offerings to the Lord were +necessary for their purification, and that double the time was +necessary after the birth of a daughter. + +In several of the following chapters the sins of men and women are +treated on equal grounds, hence they need no special comments. In +reading many of these chapters we wonder that an expurgated edition of +these books was not issued long ago. We trust the volume we propose to +issue may suggest to the next Revising Committee of gentlemen the +propriety of omitting many texts that are gross and obscene, especially +if the Bible is to be read in our public schools. + + + +Leviticus x. + + + +12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, +his sons that were left, Take the meat offering that remaineth of the +offerings of the Lord made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside +the altar: for it is most holy. + +13 And ye shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy due, and +thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire: for so I am +commanded. + +14 And the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a clean +place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with thee: for they be thy +due, and thy sons' due, which are given out of the sacrifices of peace +offerings of the children of Israel. + + +Why the daughters cannot eat with the sons in the thirteenth verse and +may in the fourteenth we cannot conjecture. We notice, however, that +where the sons eat alone is called a "holy place," where the daughters +eat with them it is called simply a "clean place." We are thankful, +however, that in the distribution of meats the women come in +occasionally for a substantial meal in a +clean place. + +All the directions given in the eighteenth chapter are for men and +women alike, for all nations and all periods of human development. The +social habits and sanitary conditions prescribed are equally good for +our times as when given by Moses to the children of Israel. The virtue +of cleanliness so sedulously taught cannot be too highly commended. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Leviticus xix. + + + +3 If ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my +sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. + +20 If And whosoever cohabits with a bondmaid, betrothed to a husband, +and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged: +they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. + +21 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, unto the +door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass +offering. + +22 And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the +trespass offering before the Lord for his sin which he hath done: and +the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him. + + +By what possible chance the mother is mentioned first here, it is +difficult to conjecture, but we do see the cruel injustice of the +comparative severity of the punishment for man and woman for the same +offence. The woman is scourged, the man presents the priest with a ram +and is forgiven. + + + +Leviticus xx. + + + +9 If For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be +surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood +shall be upon him. + +21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: +he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless. + +27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a +wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with +stones; their blood shall be upon them. + + +Clarke remarks that all language that tends to lessen respect for +father or mother, is included in this judgment. In this chapter we have +still further directions for race and family purity. I suppose in the +21st verse we have that stumbling-block in the British Parliament +whenever the deceased wife's sister's bill comes up for passage. Here, +too, those who in times past have persecuted witches, will find +justification for their cruelties. The actors in one of the blackest +pages in human history, claim Scripture authority for their infernal +deeds. Far into the eighteenth century in England, the clergy dragged +innocent women into the courts as witches, and learned judges +pronounced on them the sentence of torture and death. The chapter on +witchcraft in Lecky's History of Rationalism, contains the most +heartrending facts in human history. It is unsafe to put unquestioned +confidence in all the vagaries of mortal man. While women were +tortured, drowned and burned by the thousands, scarce one wizard to a +hundred was ever condemned. The marked distinction in the treatment of +the sexes, all through the Jewish dispensation, is curious and +depressing, especially as we see the trail of the serpent all through +history, wherever their form of religion has made its impress. In the +old common law of our Saxon fathers, the Jewish code is essentially +reproduced. This same distinction of sex appears in our own day. One +code of morals for men, another for women. All the opportunities and +advantages of life for education, self-support and self-development +freely accorded boys, have, in a small measure, been reluctantly +conceded to women after long and persevering struggles. + + + +Leviticus xxii. + + + +12 If the priest's daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may +not eat of an offering of the holy things. + +13 But if the priest's daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no +child, and is returned unto her father's house, as in her youth, she +shall eat of her father's meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof. + + +These restrictions on the priests' daughters would never be tolerated +by the priests' sons should they marry strangers. The individuality of +a woman, the little she ever possessed, is obliterated by marriage. + + + +Leviticus xxiv. + + + +10 And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an +Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the +Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp; + +11 And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, +and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother's name was +Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:) + + +The interesting fact here is that a woman is dignified by a name, the +only one so mentioned in the book of Leviticus. This is probably due to +the fact that the son's character was so disreputable that he would +reflect no lustre on his father's family, and so on his maternal +ancestors rested his disgrace. If there had been anything good to tell +of him, reference would no doubt have been made to his male progenitors. + + + +Leviticus xxvi. + + + +26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall +bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread +again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. + +29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your +daughters shall ye eat. + + +There could be no greater punishment in ordinary life than for ten +women to bake in one oven. As every woman would necessarily look at her +pies and cakes two or three times, that would involve a frequent +looking in, which might make the contents heavy as lead. A current of +cold air rushing in too often, would wreck the most perfect compound. +But perhaps heavy bread was intended as part of the punishment of the +people for their sins. Some commentators say that the labors of the ten +women are symbolical of the poverty of the family. When people are in +fortunate circumstances, the women are supposed, like the lilies of the +valley, to neither toil nor spin, but when the adverse winds blow they +suddenly find themselves compelled to use their own brains and hands or +perish. + +The 29th verse at last gives us one touch of absolute equality, the +right to be eaten. This Josephus tells us really did occur in the +sieges of Samaria by Benhadad, of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and also +in the last siege of Jerusalem by the Romans. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Amid the long list of directions for sacrifices and injunctions +against forbidden actions, chapter xii gives the law of purification, +not only degrading motherhood by the observance of certain ceremonies +and exclusion from the sanctuary, but by discriminating against sex, +honoring the birth of a son above that of a daughter. + +According to the Levitical law, the ewe lambs were not used for +sacrifice as offerings to the Lord, because they were unclean. This was +an idea put forth by the priests and Levites. But there was a better and +more rational reason. To sacrifice the ewes was to speedily deplete the +flocks, but beyond a certain number needed as sires for the coming +generation, the males could be put to no better use than to feed the +priests, the refuse of the animal, the skin, feet, etc., constituted the +sacrifice to the Lord. + +Bishop Colenso, in his remarkable work on the Pentateuch, gives the +enormous number of lambs annually sacrificed by the Hebrews. A certain +portion of the flocks were assigned to the priests, who were +continually provided with the best mutton. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF NUMBERS + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Numbers i. + + + +And the Lord spake unto Moses in tire wilderness of Sinai, saying, + +2 Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, +after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of +their names, every male by their polls: + +3 These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by +the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps +throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and +five hundred and fifty. + + +In this chapter Moses is commanded to number the people and the +princes of the tribe, males only, and by the houses of their fathers. +As the object was to see how many effective men there were able to go +to war, the priests, the women, the feeble old men and children were +not counted. Women have frequently been classified with priests in some +privileges and disabilities. At one time in the United States the +clergy were not allowed to vote nor hold office. Like women, they were +considered too good to mingle in political circles. For them to have +individual opinions on the vital questions of the hour might introduce +dissensions alike into the church and the home. + +This census of able bodied men still runs on through chapter ii, and +all these potential soldiers are called children of their fathers. +Although at this period woman's chief duty and happiness was bearing +children, no mention is made of the mothers of this mighty host, though +some woman had gone to the gates of death to give each soldier life; +provided him with rations long before he could forage for himself, and +first taught his little feet to march to tune and time. But, perhaps, +if we could refer to the old Jewish census tables we might find that +the able bodied males of these tribes, favorites of Heaven, +had all sprung, Minerva-like, from the brains of their fathers, and +that only the priests, the feeble old men and the children had mothers +to care for them, in the absence of the princes and soldiers. + +However, in some valuable calculations of Schencher we learn that +there was some thought of the mothers of the tribes by German +commentators. We find in his census such references as the following: +The children of Jacob by Leah. The children of Jacob by Zilpah. The +children of Jacob by Rachel. The children of Jacob by Bilhah. But even +this generous mention of the mothers of the tribe of Jacob does not +satisfy the exacting members of the Revising Committee. We feel that +the facts should have been stated thus: The children of Leah, Zilpah, +Rachel and Bilhah by Jacob, making Jacob the incident instead of the +four women. Men may consider this a small matter on which to make a +point, but in restoring woman's equality everywhere we must insist on +her recognition in all these minor particulars, and especially in the +Bible, to which people go for their authority on the civil and social +status of all womankind. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Numbers v. + + + +1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, + +2 Command the children of Israel. that they put out of the camp every +leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by +the dead: + +3 Both male and female that they defile not their camps. + +4 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, + +12 If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him. + +14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and she be defiled: or if +she be not defiled: + +15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall +bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; +he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is +an offering of jealousy. + +17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of +the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, +and put it into the water: + +18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and uncover the +woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is +the jealousy offering, and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter +water that causeth the curse: + +19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, +if thou hast not gone aside be thou free from this bitter water that +causeth the curse: + +20 But if thou hast gone aside, and if thou be defiled. + +21 Then, the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, +and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and +an oath among they people. + +24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth +the curse. + +25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's +hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon +the altar: + +26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the +memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause +the woman to drink the water. + +27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to +pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her +husband, that if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her +husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, +and become bitter. + +28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be +free. + + +At the first blush it seems very cruel for the Jewish God to order the +diseased and unfortunate to be thrown out of the camp and left in the +wilderness. But commentators suggest that they must have had a +sanatorium near by where the helpless could be protected. Though +improbable, still the suggestion will be a relief to sensitive souls. +This ordinance of Moses probably suggested the first idea of a +hospital. The above account of the unfortunate wife was called "trial +by ordeal," of which Clarke gives a minute description in his +commentaries. It was common at one time among many nations, the women +in all cases being the chief sufferers as in the modern trials for +witchcraft. If the witch was guilty when thrown into the water she went +to the bottom, if innocent she floated on the surface and was left to +sink, so in either case her fate was the same. As men make and execute +the laws, prescribe and administer the punishment, "trials by a jury or +ordeal" for women though seemingly fair, are never based on principles +of equity. The one remarkable fact in all these social transgressions +in the early periods as well as in our modern civilization is that the +penalties whether moral or material all fall on woman. Verily the +darkest page in human history is the slavery of women! + +The offering by the priest to secure her freedom was of the cheapest +character. Oil and frankincense signifying grace and acceptableness +were not permitted to be used in her case. The woman's head is +uncovered as a token of her shame, the dust from the floor signifies +contempt and condemnation, compelling the woman to drink water mixed +with dirt and gall is in the same malicious spirit. There is no +instance recorded of one of these trials by ordeal ever actually taking +place, as divorce was so easy that a man could put away his wife at +pleasure, so he need not go to the expense of even "a tenth part of an +ephah of barley," on a wife of doubtful faithfulness. Moreover the +woman upon whom it was proposed to try all these pranks might be +innocent, and the jealous husband make himself ridiculous in the eyes +of the people. But the publication of these ordinances no doubt had a +restraining influence on the young and heedless daughters of Israel, +and they serve as landmarks in man's system of jurisprudence, to show +us how far back he has been consistent in his unjust legislation for +woman. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Numbers xii. + + + +And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian +woman whom he had married. + +2 And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he +not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. + +3 (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon +the face of the earth.) + +5 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the +door of the tabernacle and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came +forth. + +6 And He Said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I, +the Lord, will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak +unto him in a dream. + +8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in +dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: +wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my Servant Moses? + +9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them: and he departed. + +10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam +became leprous, white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and +behold, she was leprous. + +11 And Aaron said unto Muses. Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not +the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have +sinned. + +13 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saving Heal her now, O God, I +beseech thee. + +15 And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people +journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again. + + +Here we have the first mention of Moses's second marriage, but the +name of the woman is not given, though she is the assigned cause of the +sedition. Both Aaron and Miriam had received a portion of the prophetic +genius that distinguished Moses, and they naturally thought that they +should have some share in the government, at least to make a few +suggestions, when they thought Moses made a blunder. Miriam was older +than Moses, and had at this time the experience of 120 years. When +Moses was an infant on the River Nile, Miriam was intrusted by his +parents to watch the fate of the infant in the bulrushes and the +daughter of Pharaoh in her daily walks by, the river side. It was her +diplomacy that secured the child's own mother for his nurse in the +household of the King of Egypt. + +It is rather remarkable, if Moses was as meek as he is represented in +the third verse, that he should have penned that strong assertion of +his own innate modesty. There are evidences at this and several other +points that Moses was not the sole editor of the Pentateuch, if it can +be shown that he wrote any part of it. Speaking of the punishment of +Miriam, Clarke. in his commentaries says it is probable that Miriam was +chief in this mutiny; hence she was punished while Aaron was spared. A +mere excuse for man's injustice; had he been a woman he would have +shared the same fate. The real reason was that Aaron was a priest. Had +he been smitten with leprosy, his sacred office would have suffered and +the priesthood fallen into disrepute. + +As women are supposed to have no character or sacred office, it is +always safe to punish them to the full extent of the law. So Miriam was +not only afflicted with leprosy, but also shut out of the camp for +seven days. One would think that potential motherhood should make women +as a class as sacred as the priesthood. In common parlance we have much +fine-spun theorizing on the exalted office of the mother, her immense +influence in moulding the character of her sons; "the hand that rocks +the cradle moves the world," etc., but in creeds and codes, in +constitutions and Scriptures, in prose and verse, we do not see these +lofty paeans recorded or verified in living facts. As a class, women +were treated among the Jews as an inferior order of beings, just as +they are to-day in all civilized nations. And now, as then, men claim +to be guided by the will of God. + +In this narrative we see thus early woman's desire to take some part +in government, though denied all share in its honor and dignity. +Miriam, no doubt, saw the humiliating distinctions of sex in the Mosaic +code and customs, and longed for the power to make the needed +amendments. In criticising the discrepancies in Moses's character and +government, Miriam showed a keen insight into the common principles of +equity and individual conduct, and great self-respect and self- +assertion in expressing her opinions--qualities most lacking in ordinary +women. + +Evidently the same blood that made Moses and Aaron what they were, as +leaders of men, flowed also in the veins, of Miriam. As daughters are +said to be more like their fathers and sons like their mothers, Moses +probably inherited his meekness and distrust of himself from his +mother, and Miriam her self-reliance and heroism from her father. +Knowing these laws of heredity, Moses should have averted the +punishment of Miriam instead of allowing the full force of God's wrath +to fall upon her alone. If Miriam had helped to plan the journey to +Canaan, it would no doubt have been accomplished in forty days instead +of forty years. With her counsel in the cabinet, the people might have +enjoyed peace and prosperity, cultivating the arts and sciences, +instead of making war on other tribes, and burning offerings to their +gods. Miriam was called a prophetess, as the Lord had, on some +occasions, it is said, spoken through her, giving messages to the +women. After their triumphal escape from Egypt, Miriam led the women in +their songs of victory. With timbrels and dances, they chanted, that +grand chorus that has been echoed and re-echoed for centuries in all +our cathedrals round the globe. Catholic writers represent Miriam "as a +type of the Virgin Mary, being legislatrix over the Israelitish women, +especially endowed with the spirit of prophecy." + + + +Numbers xx. + + + +Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into +the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode In Kadesh; +and Miriam died there, and was buried there. + +Eusebius says her tomb was to be seen at Kadesh, near the city of +Petra, in his time, and that she and her brothers all died in the same +year, it is hoped to reappear as equals in the resurrection. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Numbers vi. + + + +1 And the Lord said unto Moses, + +2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say, When either man or woman +shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, unto the Lord. + +5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come +upon his head; until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth +himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the +hair of his head grow. + +The Nazarites, both men and women, allowed their hair to grow long, as +the hair of the Nazarine was a token of subjection, the man to God, the +woman to man. St. Paul no doubt alluded to this custom when he said the +woman ought to have power upon her head, that is, wear her hair and +veil and bonnet in church as a proof of her subjection to man, as he is +to the Lord. The discipline of the church to-day requires a woman to +cover her head before entering a cathedral for worship. + +The fashion for men to sit with their heads bare in our churches, +while women must wear bonnets, is based on this ancient custom of the +Nazarine. But as fashion is gradually reducing the bonnet to an +infinitesimal fraction it will probably in the near future be dispensed +with altogether. A lady in England made the experiment of going to the +established church without her bonnet, but it created such an agitation +in the congregation that the Bishop wrote her a letter on the +impropriety and requested her to come with her head covered. She +refused. He then called and labored with her as to the sinfulness of +the proceedings, and at parting commanded her either to cover her bead +or stay away from church altogether. She choose the latter. I saw and +beard that letter read at a luncheon in London, where several ladies +were present. It was received with peals of laughter. The lady is the +wife of a colonel in the British army. + + + +Numbers xxv. + + + +6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto +his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses and all the +congregation of the children of Israel. + +7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, +saw it, he rose and took a javelin in his hand; + +8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both +of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman. + +14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain +with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a +chief house among the Simeonites. + +15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the +daughter of Zur: he was head over a people, and of a chief house in +Midian. + + +Some commentators say the tie between Zimri and Cozbi was a +matrimonial alliance, understood in good faith by the Midianitish +woman. He was a prince and she was a princess. + +But the Jewish law forbade a man going outside of his tribe for a +wife. It was deemed idolatry. But why kill the woman. She had not +violated the laws of her tribe and was no doubt ignorant of Jewish law. +Other commentators say that Zimri was notorious at the licentious +feasts of Baal-poer and that the Midianitish women tempted the sons of +Israel to idolatry. Hence the justice of killing both Zimri and Cozbi +in one blow. It is remarkable that the influence of woman is so readily +and universally recognized in leading the strongest men into sin, but +so uniformly ignored as a stimulus to purity and perfection. Unless the +good predominates over the evil in the mothers of the race, there is no +hope of our ultimate perfection. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The origin of the command that women should cover their heads is found +in an old Jewish or Hebrew legend which appears in literature for the +first time in Genesis vi. There we are told the Sons of God, that is, +the angels, took to wives the daughters of men, and begat the giants +and heroes, who were instrumental in bringing about the flood. The +Rabbins held that the way in which the angels got possession of women +was by laying hold of their hair; they accordingly warned women to +cover their heads in public, so that the angels might not get +possession of them. It was believed that the strength of people lay in +their hair, as the story of Samson illustrates. Paul merely repeats this +warning which he must often have heard at the feet of Gamaliel, who was +at that time Prince or President of the Sanhedrim, telling women to +have a "power (that is, protection) on their heads because of the +angels:" I Corinthians, chapter xi, verse 10. "For this cause ought the +woman to have power on her head because of the angels." Thus the +command has its origin in an absurd old myth. This legend will be found +fully treated in a German pamphlet--Die paulinische Angelologie und +Daemonologie. Otto Everling, Gottingen, 1888. + +If the command to keep silence in the churches has no higher origin +than that to keep covered in public, should so much weight be given it, +or should it be so often quoted as having Divine sanction? + +The injunctions of St. Paul have had such a decided influence in +fixing the legal status of women that it is worth our while to consider +their source. In dealing with this question we must never forget that +the majority of the writings of the New Testament were not really +written or published by those whose names they bear. Ancient writers +considered it quite permissible for a man to put out letters under the +name of another, and thus to bring his own ideas before the world under +the protection of an honored sponsor. It is not usually claimed that +St. Paul was the originator of the great religious movement called +Christianity, but there is a strong belief that he was divinely +inspired. His inward persuasions, and especially his visions appeared +as a gift or endowment which had the force of inspiration; therefore, +his mandates concerning women have a strong hold upon the popular mind, +and when opponents to the equality of the sexes are put to bay they +glibly quote his injunctions. + +We congratulate ourselves that we may shift some of these biblical +arguments that have such a sinister effect from their firm foundation. +He who claims to give a message must satisfy us that he has himself +received such message. + + +L. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Numbers xxvii. + + + +1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of +Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of +Manasseh, the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters: +Mahiah, Noah, and Hogiah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. + +2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and +before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the +tabernacle of the congregation, saying, + +3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of +them that gathered themselves together again at the Lord in the company +of Korah. + +4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his +family, because he hath no son? Give us therefore a possession among +the brethren of our father. + +5 And Moses brought their cause before the Lord. + +6 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, + +7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right thou shalt surely give them +a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou +shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. + +8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saving, If a man +die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto +his daughter. + +9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto +his brethren. + +10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto +his father's brethren. + +11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his +inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he +shall possess it; and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute +of judgment, as the Lord commanded Moses. + + +The respect paid to the daughters of Zelophehad at that early day is +worthy the imitation of the rulers in our own times. These daughters +were no doubt fine-looking, well-developed women, gifted with the power +of eloquence, able to impress their personality and arguments on that +immense assemblage of the people. They were allowed to plead their own +case in person before the lawgivers, the priests, and the princes, the +rulers in State and Church, and all the congregation, at the very door +of the tabernacle. They presented their case with such force and +clearness that all saw the justice of their claims. Moses was so deeply +impressed that he at once retired to his closet to listen to the still +small voice of conscience and commune with his Maker. In response, the +Lord said to him: "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right, if a man +die and leave no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto +his daughters." It would have been commendable if the members of the +late Constitutional Convention in New York had, like Moses, asked the +guidance of the Lord in deciding the rights of the daughters of the Van +Rensselaers, the Stuyvesants, the Livingstons, and the Knickerbockers. +Their final action revealed the painful fact that they never thought to +take the case to the highest court in the moral universe. The daughters +of Zelophehad were fortunate in being all of one mind; none there to +plead the fatigue, the publicity, the responsibility of paying taxes +and investing property, of keeping a bank account, and having some +knowledge of mathematics. The daughters of Zelophehad were happy to +accept all the necessary burdens, imposed by the laws of inheritance, +while the daughters of the Knickerbockers trembled at the thought of +assuming the duties involved in self-government. + +As soon as Moses laid the case before the Lord, He not only allowed +the justice of the claim, but gave "a statute of judgment," by which +the Jewish magistrates should determine all such cases in the division +of property in the land of Canaan in all after ages. + +When the rights of property were secured to married women in the State +of New York in 1848, a certain class were opposed to the measure, and +would cross the street to avoid speaking to the sisters who had prayed +and petitioned for its success. They did not object, however, in due +time to use the property thus secured, and the same type of women will +as readily avail them selves of all the advantages of political +equality when the right of suffrage is secured. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The account given in this chapter of the directions as to the division +or inheritance of property in the case of Zelophehad, and his daughters +shows them to be just, because the daughters are to be treated as well +as the sons would be; but the law thereafter given, apparently suggested +by this querying of Zelophehad's daughters in reference to their +father's possessions is obviously unjust, in that it gives no freedom to +the owner of property as to the disposition of the same after his death, +i. e. leaves him without power to will it to any one, and leaves +unmentioned the female relatives as heirs at law. Only "brethren" and +"kinsman" are the words used, and it is very plain that only males were +heirs, except where a man had no son, but had one or more daughters. +"The exception proves the rule." + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + +Numbers xviii. + + + +11 And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the +wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, +and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: +every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. + +19 All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of +Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy +daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt +for ever before the LORD unto thee and to I thy seed with thee. + + +The house of Aaron was now thoroughly confirmed in the priesthood, and +the Lord gives minute directions as to the provisions to be made for +the priests. The people then, as now, were made to feel that whatever +was given to them was given to the Lord, and that "the Lord loveth a +cheerful giver." That their minds might be at peace and always in a +devout frame, in communion with God, they must not be perplexed with +worldly cares and anxieties about bread and raiment for themselves and +families. Whatever privations they suffered themselves, they must see +that their priests were kept above all human wants and temptations. The +Mosaic code is responsible for the religious customs of our own day and +generation. Church property all over this broad land is exempt from +taxation, while the smallest house and lot of every poor widow is taxed +at its full value. Our Levites have their homes free, and good salaries +from funds principally contributed by women, for preaching denunciatory +sermons on women and their sphere. They travel for half fare, the +lawyer pleads their cases for nothing, the physician medicates their +families for nothing, and generally in the world of work they are +served at half price. While the common people must be careful not to +traduce their neighbors lest they be sued for libel, the Levite in +surplice and gown from his pulpit (aptly called the coward's castle) +may smirch the fairest characters and defame the noblest lives with +impunity. + +This whole chapter is interesting reading as the source of priestly +power, that has done more to block woman's way to freedom than all +other earthly influences combined. But the chief point in this chapter +centers in the above verses, as the daughters of the Levites are here +to enjoy an equal privilege with the sons. Scott tells us "that +covenants were generally ratified at an amiable feast, in which salt +was always freely used, hence it became an emblem of friendship." +Perhaps it was the purifying, refining influence of this element that +secured these friendly relations between the sons and daughters of the +priesthood on one occasion at least. From the present bitter, turbulent +tone of our Levites, I fear the salt we both manufacture and import +must all have lost its savor. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + +Numbers xxii. + + + +21 And Balsam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went +with the princes of Moab. + +22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the +Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding +upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. + +23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his +sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and +went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. + +24 But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall +being on this side, and a wall on that side. + +25 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto +the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her +again. + +26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow +place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. + +27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under +Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a +staff. + +28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, +What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? + +29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me; I would +there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. + +30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou +hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do +so unto thee? And he said, Nay. + +31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of +the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he +bowed down his bead, and fell flat on his face. + +32 And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou +smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand +thee, because thy way is perverse before me: + +33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless +she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her +alive. + +34 And Balaam, said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I +knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it +displease thee, I will get me back again. + + +The chief point of interest in this parable of Balaam and his ass, is +that the latter belonged to the female sex. This animal has been one of +the most remarkable characters in literature. Her virtues have been +quoted in the stately cathedral, in the courts of justice, in the +editorial sanctum, in both tragedy and comedy on the stage, to point a +moral and adorn a tale. Some of the fairest of Eve's daughters bear her +baptismal name, and she has been immortalized in poetry and prose. +Wordsworth sends her with his Peter Bell to enjoy the first flowers of +early spring. To express her love of the beautiful "upon the pivot of +her skull she turned round her long left ear" while stolid Peter makes +no sign-- + +"A primrose by a river's brim +A yellow primrose was to him, +And it was nothing more." + +The courage and persistence of the ass has made her as famous in war +as in literature. She is a marked feature everywhere in military +stations, alike in the camp and the field, and her bray always in the +minor key, gives a touch of pathos to the music of the band! The ass +accompanied Deborah and Barak when they went to fight their great +battle, she has gone with pioneers in all their weary wanderings, and +has taken an active part in the commerce of the world, bearing the +heaviest burdens though poorly fed and sheltered. At one time this +animal voted at three successive elections in the state of New York. +The property qualification being $250, just the price of a jackass, Ben +Franklin facetiously asked "if a man must own a jackass in order to +vote, who does the voting, the man or the jackass?" It so happened once +that the same animal passed into the hands of three different owners, +constituting all the earthly possessions of each at that time and thus +by proxy she was represented at the polls. Yet with this world-wide +fame, this is the first time the sacred historian has so richly endowed +and highly complimented any living thing of the supposed inferior sex. +Far wiser than the master who rode her, with a far keener spiritual +insight than he possessed, and so intensely earnest and impressible, +that to meet the necessities of the occasion, she suddenly exercised +the gift of speech. While Balaam was angry, violent, stubborn and +unreasonable, the ass calmly manifested all the cardinal virtues. +Obedient to the light that was in her, she was patient under abuse, and +tried in her mute way to save the life of her tormentor from the sword +of the angel. But when all ordinary warnings of danger proved +unavailable, she burst into speech and opened the eyes of her stolid +master. Scott, who considers this parable a literal fact, says in his +commentaries, "The faculty of speech in man is the gift of God and we +cannot comprehend how we ourselves articulate. We need not therefore be +surprised that the Lord made use of the mouth of the ass to rebuke the +madness of His prophet, and to shame him by the reproof and example of +a brute. Satan spoke to Eve by a subtle male serpent, but the Lord +chose to speak to Balaam by a she ass, for He does not use enticing +words of man's wisdom, but works by instruments and means that men +despise." + +Seeing that the Lord has endowed "the daughters of men" also with the +gift of speech, and they may have messages from Him to deliver to "the +sons of God," it would be wise for the prophets of our day to admit +them into their Conferences, Synods and General Assemblies, and give +them opportunities for speech. + +The appeal of the meek, long suffering ass, to her master, to remember +her faithfulness and companionship from his youth up, is quite pathetic +and reminds one of woman's appeals and petitions to her law-givers for +the last half century. In the same language she might say to her +oppressors, to fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, have we not served +you with faithfulness; companions from your youth up; watched you +through all your infant years; and carried you triumphantly through +every danger? When at the midnight hour or the cock crowing, your first +born lifted up his voice and wept, lo! we were there, with water for +his parched lips; a cool place for his aching head; or patiently for +hours to pace with him the chamber floor. In youth and manhood what +have we not done to add to your comfort and happiness; ever rejoicing +in your triumphs and sympathizing in your defeats? + +This waiting and watching for half a century to recover our civil and +political rights and yet no redress, makes the struggle seem like a +painful dream in which one strives to fly from some impending danger +and yet stands still. Balaam, unlike our masters, confessed that he had +sinned, but it is evident from his conduct that he felt no special +contrition for disobedience to the commands of his Creator, nor for his +cruelty to the creature. So merely to save his life he sulkily retraced +his steps with a determination still to consider Barak's propositions. +Whether he took the same ass on the next journey does not +appear. + +It must have been peculiarly humiliating to that proud man, who +boasted of his eyes being open and seeing the vision of the Almighty, +to be reproved and silenced by the mouth of a brute. As the Lord +appeared first to the ass and spake by her, he had but little reason to +boast that his eyes were opened by the Lord. The keen spiritual insight +and the ready power of speech with which the female sex has been +specially endowed, are often referred to with ridicule and reproach by +stolid, envious observers of the less impressible sex. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + +Numbers xx. + + + +1 And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children +of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded. + +2 If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul +with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all +that proceedeth out of his mouth. + +3 If a woman also vow a vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond, +being in her father's house in her youth; + +4 And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound +her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her; then all her vows +shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall +stand. + +5 But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth, not any +of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she had bound her soul, shall +stand; and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed +her. + +6 And if she had at all a husband, when she vowed, or uttered aught +out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul; + +7 And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that +he heard it; then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she +bound her soul shall stand. + +8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then +he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with +her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect; and the Lord +shall forgive her. + +9 But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith +they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. + +13 Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband +may establish it, or her husband may make it void. + +14 But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to +day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are +upon her he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the +day that he heard them. + +15 But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard +them; then he shall bear her iniquity. + +16 These are the statutes, which the Lord commanded Moses, between a +man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her +youth in her father's house. + +A vow is a religious promise made to God, and yet in the face of such +a definition is placed the authority of husband and father between the +woman and her God. God seems thus far to have dealt directly with women +when they sinned, but in making a religious vow, or dedication of +themselves to some high purpose, their fathers and husbands must be +consulted. A man's vow stands; a woman's is always conditional. Neither +wisdom nor age can make her secure in any privileges, though always +personally responsible for crime. If she have sufficient intelligence +to decide between good and evil, and pay the penalty for violated law, +why not make her responsible for her words and deeds when obedient to +moral law. To hold woman in such an attitude is to rob her words and +actions of all moral character. We see from this chapter that Jewish +women, as well as those of other nations, were held in a condition of +perpetual tutelage or minority under the authority of the father until +married and then under the husband, hence vows if in their presence if +disallowed were as nothing. That Jewish men appreciate the degradation +of woman's position is seen in a part of their service in which each +man says on every Sabbath day, "I thank Thee, oh Lord, that I was not +born a woman!" and the woman meekly responds, "I thank Thee, oh Lord, +that I am what I am, according to Thy holy, will." + +The injunction in the above texts in regard to the interference of +fathers is given only once, while the husband's authority is mentioned +three times. If the woman was betrothed, even the future husband had +the right to disallow her vows. It is supposed by, some expositors that +by a parity of reason minor sons should have been under the same +restrictions as daughters, but if it were intended, it is extraordinary +that daughters alone should have been mentioned. Scott, in extenuating +the custom, says: "Males were certainly allowed more liberty than +females; the vows of the latter might be adjudged more prejudicial to +families; or the sons being more immediately under the father's tuition +might be thought less liable to be inveigled into rash engagements of +any kind." + + +E. C. S. + + + +Woman is here taught that she is irresponsible. The father or the +husband is all. They are wisdom, power, responsibility. But woman is a +nonentity, if still in her father's house, or if she has a husband. I +object to this teaching. It is unjust to man that he should have the +added responsibility of his daughter's or wife's word, and it is cruel +to woman because the irresponsibility is enslaving in its influence. It +is contrary to true Gospel teaching, for only, in freedom to do right +can a soul dwell in that love which is the fulfilling of the law. + +The whole import of this chapter is that a woman's word is worthless, +unless she is a widow or divorced. While an unmarried daughter, her +father is her surety; when married, the husband allows or disallows +what she promises, and the promise is kept or broken according to his +will. The whole Mosaic law in this respect seems based upon the idea +that a woman is an irresponsible being; and that it is supposed each +daughter will marry at some time, and thus be continually under the +control of some male--the father or the husband. Unjust, arbitrary and +debasing are such ideas, and the laws based upon them. Could the +Infinite Father and Mother have give them to Moses? I think not. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + +Numbers xxxi. + + + +9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, +and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all +their flocks, and all their goods. + +10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their +goodly castles with fire. + +12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto +Moses and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children +of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan +near Jericho. + +14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the +captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from +the battle. + +15 And Moses said unto them, have ye saved all the women alive? + +16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel. through the counsel of +Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor. and +there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. + +17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every +woman that hath known man. + +18 But all the women children, that have not known a man keep alive +for yourselves. + +25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. + +26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, +thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: + +32 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. + +32 And the, booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had +caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand +sheep, + +33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves. + +34 And threescore and one thousand asses. + +35 And thirty and two thousand persons in of women that had not known +man. + + +It appears from the enumeration here of the booty, that the Israelites +took in this war against the Midianites seventy-two thousand beeves, +six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, sixty-one thousand asses +and thirty-two thousand women virgins, beside the women and children +killed, (as they said) by God's order. The thirty-two thousand women +and women children were given to the soldiers and the priests. Why +should the social purity societies in England and America who believe +in the divine origin of all Scripture object to the use of women +children by their statesmen and soldiers when the custom was permitted +to the chosen people of Israel? True, the welfare of the priests, +lawgivers and soldiers was carefully guarded in selecting for them the +purest of the daughters of the Midianites. + +Surely such records are enough to make the most obstinate believer +doubt the divine origin of Jewish history and the claim of that people +to have been under the special guidance of Jehovah. Their +claim to have had conversations with God daily and to have acted under +His commands in all their tergiversations of word and action is simply +blasphemous. We must discredit their pretensions, or else the wisdom of +Jehovah himself. "Talking with God," at that period was a mere form of +speech, as "tempted of the devil" was once in the records of our +courts. Criminals said "tempted of the devil, I did commit the crime." +This chapter places Moses and Eleazar the priest, in a most unenviable +light according to the moral standard of any period of human history. +Verily the revelations in the Pall Hall Gazette a few years ago, pale +before this wholesale desecration of women and children. Bishop Colenso +in his exhaustive work on the Pentateuch shows that most of the records +therein claiming to be historical facts are merely parables and +figments of the imagination of different writers, composed at different +periods, full of contradictions, interpolations and discrepancies. + +He shows geologically and geographically that a flood over the whole +face of the earth was a myth. He asks how was it possible to save two +of every animal, bird and creeping thing on both continents and get +them safely into the ark and back again to their respective localities. +How could they make their way from South America up north through the +frigid zone and cross over the polar ices to the eastern continent and +carry with them the necessary food to which they had been accustomed, +they would all have perished with the cold before reaching the Arctic +circle. While the animals from the northern latitudes would all perish +with heat before reaching the equator. What a long weary journey the +animals, birds and fowls would have taken from Japan and China to Mount +Ararat. The parable as an historical fact is hedged with +impossibilities and so is the whole journey of forty years from Egypt +to Canaan; but if we make up our minds to believe in miracles then it +is plain sailing from Genesis to the end of Deuteronomy, Both Ezra and +Jeremiah are said to have written the last book of the Pentateuch, and +some, question whether Moses was the author of either. Bishop Colenso +also questions the arithmetical calculations of the historians in +regard to the conquest of the Midianites, as described in the book of +Numbers. + + +E. C. S. + + + +But how thankful we must be that we are no longer obligated to +believe, as a matter of fact, of vital consequence to our eternal hope, +each separate statement contained in the Pentateuch, such for instance, +as the story related in Numbers xxxi!--where we are told that a force +of twelve thousand Israelites slew all the males of the Midianites, +took captive all the females and children, seized all their cattle and +flocks, (seventy-two thousand oxen, sixty one thousand asses, six +hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,) and all their goods, and +burnt all their cities, and all their goodly castles, without the loss +of a single man,--and then, by command of Moses, butchered in cold +blood all the women, except "the women-children and virgins, to be +given to the priests and soldiers." + +They amounted to thirty-two thousand, mostly, we suppose, under the +age of sixteen. We may fairly reckon that there were as many more under +the age of forty, and half as many more above forty, making altogether +eighty thousand females, of whom, according to the story, Moses ordered +forty-eight thousand to be killed, besides (say) twenty thousand young +boys. The tragedy of Cawnpore, where three hundred were butchered, +would sink into nothing, compared with such a massacre, if, indeed, we +were required to believe it. + +The obvious intention of Moses, as shown in these directions, was to +keep the Jewish race from amalgamation. But the great lawgiver seems to +have ignored the fact, or been ignorant of it, that transmission of +race qualities is even greater through the female line than through the +male, and if they kept the women children for themselves they were +making sure the fact that in days to come there would be Jewish +descendants who might be Jews in name, but, through the law of +heredity, aliens in spirit. The freedom of the natural law will make +itself evident, for so-called natural law is divine. + + +P. A. H. + + + +Zipporah the wife of Moses was a Midianite, Jethro her father was a +priest of some sagacity and consideration. When he met Moses in the +desert he gave him valuable advice about the government of his people, +which the great lawgiver obeyed. + +The sons of Zipporah and Moses, Gershon and Eliezer, were therefore of +Midianite blood, yet Moses sent an army of twelve thousand armed for +war; a thousand of each tribe, with orders to slay every man. If the +venerable Jethro was still alive he must have been murdered by his +grandsons and their comrades. This is a most extraordinary story. If +after the men, women and male children were all killed, thirty thousand +maidens and young girls still remained, the Midianites must have been +too large a tribe to have been wholly destroyed by twelve thousand +Israelites, unless the Jewish God fought the battle. + + +L. D. B. + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + +Numbers xxxii. + + + +1 And the chief fathers of the families or the children of Gilead drew +near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers +of the children of Israel: + +2 And they said, The Lord commanded my lord to give the land for an +inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded +by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his +daughters. + +3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the +children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the +inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the +tribe whereunto they are received; so shall it be taken from the lot of +our inheritance. + +4 And when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then shall +their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto +they are received: + +5 And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of +the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. + +6 ......the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, +saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of +the tribe of their father shall they marry. + +7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from +tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep +himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. + +8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of +the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the +tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man +the inheritance of his fathers. + +10 Even is the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: + +11 ...... and were turned unto their father's brothers' sons. + + +In a former chapter there was a sense of justice shown towards the +daughters of Zelophehad, but here a new complication arises. The uncles +of these girls had their eyes on the property and perhaps feared that +their sons had not found favor in the eyes of their cousins, as they +might have seen and admired some fine looking young men from other +tribes. So the crafty old uncles moved in time to get a statute passed +that would compel daughters to marry in the tribe of their fathers and +got a direct command from the Lord to that effect, then the young +women, compelled to limit their predilections, married their cousins, +setting the laws of heredity quite aside; property in all ages being +considered of more importance than persons. Thus, after making some +show of justice in giving the daughters of Zelophehad the inheritance +of their fathers, the Israelites began to consider the loss to their +tribe, if peradventure the five sisters should marry into other tribes +and all this property be transferred to their enemies. + +They seemed to consider these noble women destitute of the virtue of +patriotism, of family pride, of all the tender sentiments of +friendship, kindred and home, and so with their usual masculine +arrogance they passed laws to compel the daughters of Zelophehad to do +what they probably would have done had there been no law to that +effect. These daughters were known by the euphonious names of Mahlah, +Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah and Noah, and they all married their father's +brothers' sons. Cousins on the mother's side would probably have been +forbidden. + +If Moses, as the mouthpiece of God, aimed to do exact justice, why did +he not pass an ordinance giving property in all cases equally to sons +and daughters. + + +E. C. S.. + + + +Moses gave what appears to be, in the light of this Christian era, a +just judgment when he decided that the daughters of Zelophehad should +inherit their father's property, but he gave as the law of inheritance +the direction that "if a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause +his inheritance to pass unto his daughter;" thus, as I think, unjustly +discriminating between women who have brothers and women who have none, +and he goes on further to deal unjustly with women when he directs that +the daughters of Zelophehad marry so that the inheritance justly +awarded them should not go out of the family of the tribe of their +fathers. + +"Let them marry to whom they think best," and those words seemingly +recognize their righteous freedom. But immediately he limits that +phrase and informs the five women they must only marry in their +father's tribe, and were limited also to their father's family. The +result was that each married her own cousin. If this was contrary to +physiological law, as some distinguished physiologists affirm, then +they were compelled by the arbitrary law of Moses to break the law of +God. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Deuteronomy i. + + + +3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on +the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of +Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment +unto them; + +6 The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long +enough in this mount: + +7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the +Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the +hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by sea side, to the land +of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river +Euphrates. + +8 Behold, I have set the before you: go in and possess the land which +the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give +unto them and to their seed after them. + +10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day +as the stars of heaven for multitude. + + +This book contains an account of what passed in the wilderness the +last month of the fortieth year, which is supposed to be written by +Ezra, as the history is continued several days after the death of +Moses. Moses' farewell address to the children of Israel is full of +wisdom, with a touch of pathos. This had been a melancholy year with +the Hebrews in the death of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. The manner in +which this people were kept wandering up and down on the very verge of +the land of Canaan because they were rebellious does seem like child's +play. No wonder they were discouraged and murmured. It is difficult +from the record to see that these people were any better fitted to +enter the promised land at the end of forty years than when they first +left Egypt. But the promise that they should be as numerous as the +stars in the heavens, according to Adam Clarke, had been fulfilled. He +tells us that only three thousand stars can be seen by the naked eye, +which the children of Israel numbered at this time six hundred thousand +fighting men, beside all the women and children. Astronomers, However, +now estimate that there are over seventy-five million stars within the +range of their telescopes. If census takers had prophetic telescopes, +they could no doubt see the promises to the Hebrews fully realized in +that one line of their ambition. + + + +Deuteronomy ii. + + + +34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the +men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to +remain. + + +Though the women were ignored in all the civil affairs and religious +observances of the Jews, yet in making war on other tribes they thought +them too dangerous to be allowed to live, and so they killed all the +women and children. The women might much better have helped to do the +fighting, as it is far easier to die in the excitement of the +battlefield than to be murdered in cold blood. In making war on +neighboring tribes, the Jewish military code permitted them to take all +the pure, virgins and child women for booty to be given to the priests +and soldiers, thus debauching the men of Israel and destroying all +feelings of honor and chivalry for women. This utter contempt for all +the decencies of life, and all the natural personal rights of women as +set forth in these pages, should destroy in the minds of women at +least, all authority to superhuman origin and stamp the Pentateuch at +least as emanating from the most obscene minds of a barbarous age. + + + +Deuteronomy v, vi. + + + +16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath +commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well +with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. + +17 Thou shalt not kill. + +18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. + +19 Neither shalt thou steal. + +20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. + +21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou +covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his +maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's. + +2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes +and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy +son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. + + +The best commentary on these texts is that no Revising Committee of +Ecclesiastics has found it necessary to make any suggestions as to whom +the commandments are addressed. Suppose we reverse the language and see +how one-sided it would seem addressed only to women. Suppose this were +the statement. Here is a great lawgiver and he says: "Thou art to keep +all God's commandments, thou and thy daughters and thy daughter's +daughters, and these are the commandments: 'Thou shalt honor thy mother +and thy father.' 'Thou shalt not steal nor lie.' 'Thou shalt not covet +thy neighbor's husband, nor her field, nor her ox, nor anything that is +thy neighbor's.'" + +Would such commandments occasion no remark among Biblical scholars? In +our criminal code to-day the pronouns she, her and hers are not found, +yet we are tried in the courts, imprisoned and hung as "he," "him" or +"his," though denied the privileges of citizenship, because the +masculine pronouns apply only to disabilities. What a hustling there +would be among prisoners and genders if laws and constitutions, +Scriptures and commandments, played this fast and loose game with the +men of any nation. + + + +Deuteronomy iv. + + + +5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord +my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to +possess it. + +6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your +understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these +statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding +people. + +7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, +as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? + +8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments +so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? + + +Adam Clarke in his comments on chapter iv, says, "there was no form of +worship at this time on the face of the earth that was not wicked and +obscene, puerile and foolish and ridiculous, except that established by +God himself among the Israelites, and every part of this taken in its +connection and reference may be truly called a wise and reasonable +service. Almost all the nations of the earth manifested in time their +respect for the Jewish religion by copying different parts of the +Mosaic code as to civil and moral customs." + +As thoughtful, intelligent women, we question all this: First.--We see +no evidence that a just and wise being wrote either the canon or civil +laws that have been gradually compiled by ecclesiastics and lawgivers. +Second.--We cannot accept any code or creed that uniformly defrauds +woman of all her natural rights. For the last half century we have +publicly and persistently appealed from these laws, which Clarke says +all nations have copied, to the common sense of a more humane and +progressive age. To-day women are asking to be delivered from all the +curses and blessings alike of the Jewish God and the ordinances he +established. In this book we have the ten commandments repeated. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Deuteronomy vii. + + + +1 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou +goest to possess it and hath cast out many nations before thee. + +2 Thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no +covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: + +3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt +not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. + +4 For they will turn away thy son from following me. + +5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and +break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their +graven images with fire. + +6 For thou art a holy people. + +7 The Lord did not set his love upon you, not choose you, because ye +were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all +people: + +8 But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath +which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out +with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from +the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. + + +With the seven nations that God cast out, the children of Israel were +commanded to make no covenants, nor matrimonial alliances lest they +should fall into idolatry. As men are more given to wandering in +strange countries than women these injunctions are intended specially +for them. Adam Clarke says, the heart being naturally inclined to evil, +the idolatrous wife would more readily draw aside the believing +husband, than the believing husband the idolatrous wife. That being the +case, could not the believing wife with her subtle influence have +brought over the idolatrous husband? Why should she not have the power +to convert to one religion as well as another, especially as there was +no choice between them. There could not have been anything worse than +the Jewish religion illustrated in their daily walk and conversation, +as described in their books, and if the human heart naturally inclined +to evil, as many converts might have been made to the faith of Moses as +to any other. + +With this consideration it is plain that if the Jews had offered women +any superior privileges, above any other tribe, they could have readily +converted the women to their way of thinking. The Jewish God +seems as vacillating and tempest-tossed between loving and hating his +subjects as the most undisciplined son of Adam. The supreme ideal of +these people was pitiful to the last degree and the appeals to them +were all on the lowest plane of human ambition. The chief promise to +the well-doer was that his descendants should be as numerous as the +sands of the sea. + +In chapter ix when rebellion at Horeb is described, Aaron only is +refered to, and in chapter x when his death is mentioned, nothing is +said of Miriam. In the whole recapitulation she is forgotten, though +altogether the grandest character of the three, though cast out of the +camp and stricken with leprosy, in vengeance, she harbors no +resentment, but comforts and cheers the women with songs and dances, +all through their dreary march of forty years. + + + +Deuteronomy x. + + + +18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and +loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. + +19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land +of Egypt. + + + +The sacred fabulist has failed to give us any choice examples in which +the Jews executed just judgments for widows or fatherless girls; on the +contrary in all their dealings with women of all ranks, classes and +ages they were merciless and unjust. + +As to the stranger, their chief occupation was war and wholesale +slaughter, not only of the men on the battlefield, but of innocent +women and children, destroying their cities and making their lands +desolate. A humane person reading these books for the first time +without any glamour of divine inspiration, would shudder at their +cruelty and blush at their obscenity. + +Those who can make these foul facts illustrate beautiful symbols must +have genius of a high order. + + + +Deuteronomy xii. + + + +18 But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which +the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and +thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy +gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that them +puttest thine hands unto. + +19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as +thou livest upon the earth. + + +If women have been faithful to any class of the human family it has +been to the Levite. The chief occupation of their lives next to +bearing children has been to sustain the priesthood and the churches. + +With continual begging, fairs and donation parties, they have helped +to plant religious temples on every hill-top and valley, and in the +streets of all our cities, so that the doleful church bell is forever +ringing in our ears. The Levites have not been an unqualified blessing, +ever fanning the flames of religious persecution they have been the +chief actors in subjugating mankind. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Deuteronomy xiii. + + + +6 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy +daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine +own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, +which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; + +7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh +unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even +unto the other end of the earth; + +8 Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall +thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou +conceal him: + +9 But thou shalt surely kill him: thine hand shall be first upon him +to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. + + +Here is the foundation of all the terrible persecutions for a change +of faith so lamentable among the Jews and so intensified among the +Christians. And this idea still holds, that faith in the crude +speculations of unbalanced minds as to the nature of the great first +cause and his commands as to the conduct of life, should be the same in +the beginning, now and forever. All other institutions may change, +opinions on all other subjects may be modified and improved, but the +old theologies are a finality that have reached the ultimatum of +spiritual thought. We imagine our religion with its dogmas and +absurdities must remain like the rock of ages, forever. + + + +Deuteronomy xv. + + + +6 And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, +and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the +Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, +and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God +hath chosen to place his name there. + +14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy +daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the +stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. + +15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in +the place which the Lord shall choose. + +16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord +thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened +bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. + + +In the general festivities women of all ranks were invited to take part, +but three times a year Moses had something special to say to the men; +then women were not allowed to be present. We have no instance thus far +in the Jewish economy of any direct communication from God to woman. The +general opinion seemed to be that man was an all-sufficient object of +worship for them, an idea not confined to that period. Milton makes his +Eve with sweet humility say to Adam, "God thy law, thou mine." + +This is the fundamental principle on which the canon and civil laws +are based, as well as the English classics. It is only in the galleries +of art that we see the foreshadowing of the good time coming. There the +divine artist represents the virtues, the graces, the sciences, the +seasons, day with its glorious dawn, and night with its holy mysteries, +all radiant and beautiful in the form of woman. The poet, the artist, +the novelist of our own day, are more hopeful prophets for the mother +of the race than those who have spoken in the Scriptures. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Deuteronomy xvii. + + + +1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock or sheep, +wherein is blemish, or any evil favouredness: for that is an +abomination unto the Lord thy God. + +2 If there be found among you, man or woman that hath wrought +wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his +covenant: + +3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the +sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not +commanded; + +4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired +diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such +abomination is wrought in Israel: + +5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman unto thy gates +and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. + + +This is certainly a very effective way of strengthening religious +faith. Most people would assent to any religious dogma, however absurd, +rather than be stoned to death. As all their healthy tender lambs and +calves were eaten by the priests and rulers, no wonder they were so +particular to get the best. To delude the people it was necessary to +give a religious complexion to the sacrifices and to make God command +the people to bring their choicest fruits and grains and meats. It was +very easy for these accomplished prestidigitators to substitute the +offal for sacrifices on their altars, and keep the dainty fruits and +meats for themselves, luxuries for their own tables. + +The people have always been deluded with the idea that what they gave +to the church and the priesthood was given unto the Lord, as if the +Maker of the universe needed anything at our hands. How incongruous the +idea of an Infinite being who made all the planets and the inhabitants +thereof commanding his +creatures to kill and burn animals for offerings to him. It is truly +pitiful to see the deceptions that have been played upon the people in +all ages and countries by the priests in the name of religion. They are +omnipresent, ever playing on human credulity, at birth and death, in +affliction and at the marriage feast, in the saddest and happiest +moments of our lives they are near to administer consolation in our +sorrows, and to add blessings to our joys. No other class of teachers +have such prestige and power, especially over woman. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + +Deuteronomy xviii. + + + +9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth +thee, thou shalt not learn the abominations of those nations. + +10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or +his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an +observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, + +11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or +a necromancer, + +12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. + + +One would think that Moses with his rod taking the children of Israel +through the Red Sea, bringing water out of a rock and manna from +heaven, going up into a mountain and there surrounding himself with a +cloud of smoke, sending out all manner of pyrotechnics, thunder and +lightning, and deluding the people into the idea that there he met and +talked with Jehovah, should have been more merciful in his judgments of +all witches, necromancers and soothsayers. One would think witches, +charmers and necromancers possessing the same power and manifesting +many of the same wonders that he did, should not have been so severely +punished for their delusions. Moses had taught them to believe in +miracles. When the human mind is led to believe things outside the +realm of known law, it is prepared to accept all manner of absurdities. +And yet the same people that ridicule Spiritualism, Theosophy and +Psychology, believe in the ten plagues of Egypt and the passage of the +children of Israel through the Red Sea. If they did go through, it was +when the tide was low at that point, which Moses understood and Pharaoh +did not. Perhaps the difficulty is to be gotten over in much the same +way as that employed by the negro preacher who, when his statement, +that the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on the ice, was +questioned on the ground that geography showed that the climate there +was too warm for the formation of ice, replied: "Why, this happened +before there was any geography!" The Jews, as well as the surrounding +nations, were dominated by all manner of supernatural ideas. All these +uncanny tricks and delusions being forbidden shows that they were +extensively practised by the chosen people, as well as by other nations. + + + +Deuteronomy xx, xxi. + + + +14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is +in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; +and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God +hath given thee. + +15 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord +thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them +captive, + +11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire +unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife; + +12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave +her head, and pare her nails; + +13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and +shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a +full month: and after that she shall be thy wife. + +14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt +let her go whither she will: but thou shalt not sell her at all for +money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast +humbled her. + +15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they +have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the +firstborn son be hers that was hated: + +16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his son to inherit that which he +hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the +son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: + +17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by +giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the +beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. + + +All this is done if the woman will renounce her religion and accept +the new faith. The shaving of the head was a rite in accepting the new +faith, the paring of the nails a token of submission. In all these +transactions the woman had no fixed rights whatever. In that word +"humbled" is included the whole of our false morality in regard to the +equal relations of the sexes. Why in this responsible act of creation, +on which depends life and immortality, woman is said to be humbled, +when she is the prime factor in the relation, is a question difficult +to answer, except in her general degradation, carried off without her +consent as spoils of war, subject to the fancy of any man, to be taken +or cast off at his pleasure, no matter what is done with her. Her sons +must be carefully guarded and the rights of the first-born fully +recognized. The man is of more value than the mother in the scale of +being whatever her graces and virtues may be. If these Jewish ideas +were obsolete they might not be worth our attention, but our creeds and +codes are still tinged with the Mosaic laws and customs. The English +law of primogeniture has its foundation in the above text. The position +of the wife under the old common law has the same origin. + +When Bishop Colenso went as a missionary to Zululand, the horror with +which the most devout and intelligent of the natives questioned the +truth of the Pentateuch confirmed his own doubts of the records. +Translating with the help of a Zulu scholar he was deeply impressed +with his revulsion of feeling at the following passage: "If a man smite +his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand, he +shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, +he shall not be punished: for he is his money." Exodus xxi: 20, 2 1. "I +shall never forget," says the Bishop, "the revulsion of feeling, with +which a very intelligent Christian native, with whose help I was +translating these last words into the Zulu tongue, first heard them as +words said to be uttered by the same great and gracious Being, whom I +was teaching him to trust in and adore. His whole soul revolted against +the notion, that the Great and Blessed God, the Merciful Father of all +mankind, would speak of a servant or maid as mere 'money,' and allow a +horrible crime to go unpunished, because the victim of the brutal usage +had survived a few hours!" + +Though they had no Pentateuch nor knowledge of our religion, their +respect for the mother of the race and their recognition of the +feminine element in the Godhead, as shown in the following beautiful +prayer, might teach our Bishops, Priests and Levites a lesson they have +all yet to learn. + + + +EVENING PRAYER. + + + +"O God, Thou hast let me pass the day in peace: let me pass the night +in peace, O Lord, who hast no Lord! There is no strength but in Thee: +Thou alone hast no obligation. Under Thy hand I pass the day! under Thy +hand I pass the night! Thou art my Mother, Thou my Father!" + +Placing the mother first shows they were taught by Nature that she was +the prime factor in their existence. In the whole Bible and the +Christian religion man is made the alpha and omega everywhere in the +state, the church and the home. And we see the result in the general +contempt for the sex expressed freely in our literature, in the halls +of legislation, in church convocations and by leading Bishops wherever +they have opportunities for speech and whenever they are welcomed in +the popular magazines of the day. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + +Deuteronomy xxiv. + + + +1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass +that she find no favour in his eyes, then let him write her a bill of +divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. + +2 And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another +man's wife. + +3 And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of +divorcement, and giveth it in her hand and sendeth her out of his +house: or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; + +4 Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to +be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before +the Lord: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy +God giveth thee for an inheritance. + +5 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, +neither shalt he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at +home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. + + +All the privileges accorded man alone, are based on the principle that +women have no causes for divorce. If they had equal rights in law and +public sentiment, a large number of cruel, whiskey drinking and profane +husbands, would be sued for divorce before wives endured one year of +such gross companionship. + +There is a good suggestion in the text, that when a man takes a new +wife he shall stay at home at least one year to cheer and comfort her. +If they propose to have children, the responsible duties of parents +should be equally shared as far as possible. In a busy commercial life, +fathers have but little time to guard their children against the +temptations of life, or to prepare them for its struggles, and the +mother educated to believe that she has no rights or duties in public +affairs, can give no lessons on political morality from her standpoint. +Hence the home is in a condition of half orphanage for the want of +fathers, and the State suffers for need of wise mothers. + +It was customary among the Jews to dedicate a new house, a vineyard +just planted, or a betrothed wife to the Lord with prayer and +thanksgiving, before going forth to public duties. This idea is +enforced in several different chapters, impressing on men with families +that there are periods in their lives when "their sphere is home" +their primal duty to look after the wife, the +house and the vineyard. + + + +Deuteronomy xxv. + + + +5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no +child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: +her husband's brother shall take her to wire. + +6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed +in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out +of Israel. + +7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his +brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, my husband's +brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will +not perform the duty of my husband's brother. + +8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and +if she stand to it, and say, I like not to take her: + +9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the +elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot. + + +I would recommend these texts to the consideration of the Bishops in +the English House of Lords. If a man may marry a deceased brother's +wife, why not a deceased wife's sister? English statesmanship has +struggled with this problem for generations, and the same old +platitudes against the deceased wife's sister's bill are made to do +duty annually in Parliament. + + + +Deuteronomy xxviii. + + + +56 The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure +to set the sole of her foot upon ground for delicateness and +tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward her husband of her bosom, and +toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her children which +she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly +in the siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee +in thy gates. + +64 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy +ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the +flocks of thy sheep. + +68 And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the +way whereof I spake unto thee, thou shalt see it no more again: and +there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and +no man shall buy you. + + +This is addressed to men as most of the injunctions are, as to their +treatment of woman in general. In enumerating the good things that +would come to Israel if the commandments were obeyed, nothing is +promised to women, but when the curses are distributed, woman comes in +for her share. Similar treatment is accorded the daughters of Eve in +modern days. She is given equal privileges with man, in being +imprisoned and hung, but unlike him she has no voice in the laws, the +judge, the jury, nor the manner of exit to the unknown land. She is +denied the right of trial by her own peers; the laws are made by men, +the courts are filled with men; the judge, the advocates, the jurors, +all men! + +Moses follows the usual ancient idea that in the creation of human +life, man is the important factor. The child is his fruit, he is +the soul. The spirit the vital spark. The woman merely the earth that +warms and nourishes the seed, the earthly environment. This +unscientific idea still holds among people ignorant of physiology and +psychology. This notion chimes in with the popular view of woman's +secondary place in the world, and so is accepted as law and gospel. The +word "beget" applied only to men in Scripture is additional enforcement +of the idea that the creative act belongs to him alone. This is +flattering to male egoism and is readily accepted. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In the early chapters of this book Moses' praises of Hebrew valor in +marching into a land already occupied and utterly destroying men, women +and children, seems much like the rejoicing of those who believe in +exterminating the aboriginees in America. Evidently Moses believed in +the survival of the fittest and that his own people were the fittest. +He teaches the necessity of exclusiveness, that the hereditary traits +of the people may not be lost by intermarriage. Though the Israelites, +like the Puritans, had notable foremothers as well as forefathers, yet +it was not the custom to mention them. Perhaps the word fathers meant +both, as the word man in Scripture often includes woman. In the preface +by Lord Bishop Ely, to what is popularly known as the Speaker's Bible, +the remark is made that "whilst the Word of God is one, and does not +change, it must touch at new points the changing phases of physical, +philological and historical knowledge, and so the comments that suit +one generation are felt by another to be obsolete." So, also, it is +that with the higher education of women, their wider opportunities and +the increasing sense of justice, many interpretations of the Bible are +felt to be obsolete, hence the same reason exists for the Woman's +Commentary, which is already popularly known as the Woman's Bible. + +Deuteronomy is a name derived from the Greek and signifies that this +is the second or duplicate law, because this, the last book of the +Pentateuch, consists partly in a restatement of the law, +as already given in other books. Deuteronomy contains also, besides +special commands and advice not previously written, an account of the +death of Moses. Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia states that "the +authority of this book has been traditionally assigned to Moses, but, +of course, the part relating to his death is not supposed to be written +by himself, and indeed the last four chapters may have been added by +another hand." DeWette declares that Moses could not have been the +author. He not only points to the closing chapters as containing proof, +but he refers to the anachronisms in earlier chapters, and insists that +the general manner in which the Mosaic history is treated belongs to a +period after the time of Moses. And Rev. John White Chadwick in his +"Bible of To-day" declares that "Prophetism created Deuteronomy." He +speaks of Malachi, the last of the Prophets, as the first to mention +the Mosaic law, and says that in the eighth century before Christ there +was no Mosaic law in any modern sense. The Pentateuch in anything like +its present form was still far in the future. Deuteronomy more than a +hundred years ahead. Leviticus and Numbers nearly three hundred. * * * +The book of Deuteronomy was much more of a manufacture than any +previous portion of the Pentateuch. * * * Not Sinai and Wilderness, but +Babylon and Jerusalem, witnessed the promulgation of the Levitical law. +Its priest was Ezra and not Aaron; but who was its Moses the most +patient study is not likely ever to reveal. The roar of Babylon does +not give up its dead. It would seem as if the Rev. Dr. George Lansing +Taylor shared some of these ideas when, in his poem at the centennial +of Columbia College, he said: + + +"Great Ezra, Artaxerxes' courtly scholar-- +Doctor, ere old Bologna gave that collar, +A ready scribe in all the laws of heaven, +From Babylon ascends, to Zion given, +Armed with imperial power and proclamation, +To rear God's house and educate a nation. + +As editor for God, the first in story, +He crowns the editorial chair with glory. +Inspired to push Jehovah's mighty plan on +He lays its corner-stone, the Bible canon. +His Bible college, Bible publication, +Convert the city, crown the Restoration, +And fix the beacon date for History's pages +The chronologic milestone of the ages." + + +This chapter of Deuteronomy in the solemnity and explicitness of its +blessing and cursings must produce a deep impression on those who are +desirous of pursuing a course which would promote personal and national +prosperity. Reading chapter xix and remembering the history of the Jews +from Moses to this day I reverently acknowledge the sure word of +prophecy therein recorded. Chapter xxx also has high literary merit. +Its euphony is in accordance with its solemn but encouraging warnings +and promises. It touches the connection divinely ordained and eternally +existing between life and goodness, death and sin, emphasizing the +apostolic injunction, "cease to do evil, learn to do well." This +chapter, giving the last directions of Moses and intimations of his +departure from earth, is one of deep interest. How the Lord +communicated to him that his end approached does not appear, but deeply +impressed with the belief, he naturally called together Joshua and the +Levites and gave his final charge. Whether fact or fiction this +farewell is deeply interesting. The closing chapters, containing the +"song of blessing," comes to all lovers of religious poetry as the swan +song of Moses. Though doubting its authorship, one may enjoy its beauty +and grandeur. Chapter xxxiv narrates the death of Moses: + + +"By Nebo's lonely mountain, +On this side Jordan's wave." + + +It tells briefly the mourning of the children of Israel over their +great leader's departure and affirms the appointment of Joshua, the +son of Nun, as his successor, and fitly closes the +valuable collection of writings called the Pentateuch. + +Since I have proposeed the elimination of some of the coarser portions +of Deuteronomy, I wish to add the testimony of Stevens in his +"Scripture Speculations," as to the general morality of this ancient +code. "Barbarous as they were in many things, childish in more, their +laws are as much in advance of them as of their contemporaries,--were +even singular for humanity in that age, and not always equaled in ours. +We forget that there were contemporary nations which justified +stealing, authorised infanticide, legalized the murder of aged parents, +associated lust with worship. None of these blots can be traced on the +Jewish escutcheon. By preventing imprisonment for debt, Moses +anticipated the latest discovery of modern philanthropy. * * * Even the +mercy of Christianity was foreshadowed in his provision for the poor, +who were never to cease out of the land; the prospered were to lend +without interest, and never to harden their heart against a brother. +The hovel of the poor was a sanctuary, and many a minute safeguard like +the return of the debtor's garment at nightfall, to save him from +suffering during the chilliness of the night, has waited to be brought +to light by our more perfect knowledge of Jewish customs." But that the +Scriptures, rightly interpreted, do not teach the equality of the +sexes, I must be permitted to doubt. We who love the Old and New +Testaments take "Truth for authority, and not authority for truth," as +did our sainted Lucretia Mott, whose earnest appeals for liberty were +often jewelled, as were Daniel Webster's most eloquent speeches, with +some texts from the old Hebrew Bible. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +THE PENTATEUCH. + + + +The primal requisite for the more accurate understanding of the Bible +is its translation from the past to the present tense. It has been +studied as history, as the record of a remote past whose truth it has +been well-nigh impossible to verify. It should be studied as a record +of the present, the present experience of the individual and the race +which is to ultimate in the perfect actualization of generic +possibilities. + +Like the tables of stone the Bible is written on both sides; or it has +a letter which is its exterior and an interior spirit or meaning. The +history which constitutes its letter illustrates those principles which +constitute its meaning. The formless must be put into form to be +apprehended. Mistaking the form for that substance which has been +brought to the level of human apprehension by its means, is the error +which constitutes the basis of dogmatic theology. Error in a premise +compels error in conclusions. It is no wonder that woman's true +relation to man and just position in the social fabric has remained +unknown. A Moses on Pisgah's height is needed to-day to see and declare +this promised land; and he must be revelator, first, to women +themselves, for they especially need enlightenment upon the true nature +of the Bible. + +So long as they mistake superstition for religious revelation, they +will be content with the position and opportunities assigned them by +scholastic theology. They will remember and "keep their place" as thus +defined. Their religious nature is warped and twisted through +generations of denominational conservatism; which fact, by the way, is +the greatest stumbling block in the path of equal suffrage to-day, and +one to which the leaders of that movement have seemed unaccountably +blind. + +Thus woman's strongest foes have been of her own sex; and because her +sense of duty and religious sentiment have been operative +according to a false ideal, unintentionally women have been and will +continue to be bigoted until they allow a higher ideal to penetrate +their minds; until they see with the eye of reason and logic, as well +as with the sentiment which has so long kept them the dependent class. +The Bible from beginning to end teaches the equality of man and woman, +their relation as the two halves of the unit, but also their +distinctiveness in office. One cannot take the place of the other +because of the fundamental nature of each. The work of each half in its +own place is necessary to the perfect whole. + +The man has more prominence than the woman in the Bible because the +masculine characters in their succession represent man as a whole-- +generic man. The exterior or male half is outermost, the interior or +female half is covered by the outer. One is seen, the other has to be +discerned, and can be discerned by following the harmonious relativity +between the two halves of the unit. There is a straight line of ascent +from the Adam to the Christ, within which is the straight line of +ascent from the Eve to the Mary. The book of Genesis is the substance +of the whole Bible, its meaning is the key to the meaning of the whole; +it is the skeleton around which the rest is builded. If the remainder +of the Old Testament were destroyed its substance could be +reconstructed from Genesis. As the bony structure of the physical body +is the framework which is filled in and rounded to symmetrical +proportions by the muscular tissue, so Genesis is the framework which +is symmetrically rounded and filled by the other books, which supply +the necessary detail involved in basic principles. + +The first chapter of Genesis is not the record of the creation of the +world. It is a symbolical description of the composite nature of man, +that being which is male and female in one. The personal pronoun "He" +belongs to his exterior nature; and the characters which illustrate +this nature and the order of its development are men. The pronoun "She" +belongs to the interior nature, and all characters--fewer in number-- +which illustrate it, are women. "Male and female created he them." The +second chapter describes the nature and origin of the visible world, +the nature and origin of the soul, their relation to each other and to +this dual being. With the third chapter begins the symbolical +illustration of the soul's existence--of its continuity of existence +which is unbroken till its highest possibilities are actualized, till +all the inherent capabilities of the dual being are fully manifested. + +The leading characters of Genesis--Adam, Enos, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, +Jacob and Joseph--seven in number, represent the seven chief stages of +the soul's existence which follow each other like the notes in the +musical scale. It is our own experience that is there portrayed, both +present and prospective. What we as individuals, and nations are now +going through in our efforts for betterment, is told in the story of +Genesis. More than this, the clue to assured betterment is found there +also. This experience is on two lines which are always distinct but +never separate--the male and the female. These are indissolubly bound +together "from the beginning," the same principles, necessitating the +same moral standards and spiritual ideals, and governing both. The +largest measure of our individual and national perplexities and +sufferings has come from the ignorant straining apart of that which +"God hath joined together" and which we can not successfully and +permanently "put asunder." + +The remaining four books of the Pentateuch, supply the detail +beginning between the Adam and Noah of Genesis, rounding out that part +of the skeleton. The Exodus from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, +represents the soul's growth out of purely sense-consciousness by the +help of spiritual perception. Moses is the personification of this +faculty inherent in and operative from the eternal ego, the dual being, +which is "the Lord" of the Bible. The Old Testament presents the outer +or masculine nature of this "Lord" as the Jehovah. The New Testament +presents the inner or feminine nature as the Virgin. + +The children of Israel according to their tribes, represent the +ranging characteristics or parts which make up the soul of self- +consciousness. They are the "chosen people" because when the +soul sees with its spiritual insight as well as with its sensuous +outsight, it can, if it will, choose between the two as guides. Their +experiences in the wilderness are what we are passing through to-day; +for there is now a people who have made this choice and are following +the higher leader in their work for the human race, which is the only +satisfactory way of working for themselves. But this leader--spiritual +perception--cannot put the soul in possession of its promised land--a +higher state of existence or quality of self-consciousness. It sees the +higher and leads in its direction; but understanding of fundamental, +therefore unvarying and always applicable, principles is necessary for +that realization which Is the attainment of the higher, or its +possession. + +Moses' death before crossing Jordan illustrates this limitation, which +is also the limitation of earnest reformers to-day. They can see for us +and point out that which awaits them; but they can never take those +others "into the land." They must travel on their own feet. + +Joshua, as the leader after Moses, is the personification of this +understanding. He is Moses' sepulchre, for Moses is buried in him. +Spiritual insight develops understanding which is its continuity. Hence +the continuation of experiences under Joshua the "Saviour" through whom +the soul takes "possession" of its higher state. In the "wilderness" of +transition from the old to the new, mistakes occur which mar their +consequences. In this illustration of the Pentateuch, Miriam "speaks +against" Moses, is stricken with leprosy and "set without the camp," +and the people cannot journey till all is "brought in again." + +Woman's intellectual development after ages of repression, has +resulted with many of the sex, in an agnosticism which, at first +liberal, has grown to be a dogmatic materialism. She "speaks against" +spiritual insight and its revelations. In forsaking her dogmas and +creeds she has forsaken religion. She is to be "brought in again"-- +brought to see that religion is of the soul and is individual; while +dogma and doctrine are from the sensuous out-side alone. The one tends +to true freedom, the other generates bondage. Broadly, women of to-day +are of two classes; those who are still held by the conservatism of +creeds, and those who have gone to the other extreme through the +exhilaration of intellectual activity. Both classes must meet upon a +common ground, recognition of fundamental principles and effort to +apply them--before the New Testament can become the practical ethical +standard. + +An outline of a subject so vast and profound as the nature and meaning +of the Pentateuch, must necessarily be more or less unsatisfactory. It +cannot be detached from the rest of the Bible which is a complete +organic body. Its meaning is consecutive and harmonious with first +premises, from beginning to end. The obvious inconsistencies and +absurdities involve only its letter, which may or may not be true as +history without affecting the truth of the book itself which lies in +its meaning. + +The projectors of "The Woman's Bible" must not avoid the whirlpool of +a masculine Bible only, to split upon the rock of a feminine Bible +alone. This would be an attempt to separate what is intensely joined +together and defeat the end desired. The book is the soul's guide in +the fulfilling of its destiny--that destiny which is involved in its +origin; and the soul, in sleep, is sexless. Its faculties and powers +are differentiated are masculine and feminine. + +If the question is asked--"What is your authority for this view of the +Bible?" the answer is "I have none but the internal evidence of the +book itself. When joined it is self-evident truth, requiring no +external authority to give it support." + + +U. N. G. + + + + + +APPENDIX. + + + +As the Revising Committee refer to a woman's translation of the Bible +as their ultimate authority, for the Greek, Latin and Hebrew text, a +brief notice of this distinguished scholar is important: + +Julia Smith's translation of the Bible stands out unique among all +translations. It is the only one ever made by a woman, and the only +one, it appears, ever made by man or woman without help. Wyclif, "the +morning star of the Reformation," made a translation from the Vulgate, +assisted by Nicholas of Hereford. He was not sufficiently familiar with +Hebrew and Greek to translate from those tongues. Coverdale's +translation was not done alone. In his dedication to the king he says +he has humbly followed his interpreters and that under correction. +Tyndale, in his translation, had the assistance of Frye, of William +Roye, and also of Miles Coverdale. Julia Smith translated the whole +Bible absolutely alone, without consultation with any one. And this not +once, but five times--twice from the Hebrew, twice from the Greek and +once from the Latin. Literalness was one end she kept constantly in +view, though this does not work so well with the Hebrew tenses. But she +did not mind that. Frequently her wording is an improvement, or brings +one closer to the original than the common translation. Thus in I. +Corinthians viii, 1, of the King James translation, we have: "Knowledge +puffeth up, but charity edifieth." Julia Smith version: "Knowledge +puffs up and love builds the house." She uses "love" in place of +"charity" every time. And her translation was made nearly forty years +before the revised version of our day, which also does the same. +Tyndale, in his translation nearly three hundred and seventy-five years +ago, made the same translation of this word; but Julia Smith did not +know that and never saw his translation. This word "charity" was one of +the words that Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor of England, charged +Tyndale with mistranslating. The other two words were "priest" and +"church," Tyndale calling priests "seniors," and church, +"congregation." Both Julia Smith and the revised version call them +priests and church. And he gives the word, "Life" for "Eve" "And Adam +will call his wife's name Life, for she was the mother of all living." + +One more illustration: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea +in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east +to Jerusalem." King James translation. "Now when Jesus was born, etc., +behold there came wise men from the sunrisings to Jerusalem." Julia +Smith version. She claims to have made a perfectly literal +translation, and according to the verdict of competent authorities, +Hebrew scholars who have examined her Bible, she has done so. Her work +has had the endorsement of various learned men. A Hebrew professor of +Harvard College (Prof. Young) called on her soon after her Bible was +issued and examined it. He was much astonished that she had translated +o correctly without consulting some learned man. He expressed surprise +that she should have put the tenses as she did. She said to him: "You +acknowledge that I have translated according to the Hebrew idiom?" He +replied: "O yes, you have translated literally." That was just what she +aimed at, to get an exact literal translation, without regard to +smoothness. She received many letters from scholars, all speaking of +the exact, or literal translation. Some people have criticised this +feature, which is the great merit of the book. + +Julia Smith was led to make the translation at the time of the Miller +excitement in 1843, when the world was to come to a sudden termination; +when the saints were preparing their robes for ascension into the +empyrean, and wicked unbelievers (the vast majority) were to descend as +far the other way. She and her family were much interested in Miller's +predictions, and she was anxious to see for herself if, in the original +Hebrew text of the Bible there was any warrant for Miller's +predictions. So she set to work and studied Hebrew, having previously +translated the New Testament, and also the Septuagint from the Greek. +So absorbed did she become in her work that the dinner bell was +unheeded, and she would undoubtedly have many times gone to bed both +dinnerless and supperless had not the family called her off from her +work. Once a. week she met with the family and a friend and neighbor, +Miss Emily Moseley, to read over and discuss what she had translated +during the week. This practice was kept up for several years. When she +came to publish the work, (the manuscripts of which had lain in the +garret some twenty-five or thirty years) the cashier of the Hartford +bank, where the sisters had kept their money, told her she was very +foolish to throw away her money printing this Bible; that she would +never sell a copy. She told him it didn't matter whether she did or +not; that she was not doing it to make money; that she found more +satisfaction in spending her money in this way than in spending it all +on dress. Thanks to our more enlightened age, this translation did not +meet with the opposition the early translators had to contend with. The +scholars of those days thought learning should be confined to a select +few; it was, in their view, dangerous to put the Bible into a language +the common people could understand, especially women. Here is what one +Henry de Knyghton, a learned monk of that day, said: "This Master John +Wiclif hath translated the gospel out of Latin into English, which +Christ had intrusted with the clergy and doctors of the Church that +they might minister it to the laity and weaker sort, according to the +state of the times and the wants of men. But now the gospel is made +vulgar and more open to the laity, and even to women who can read, than +it used to be to the most learned of the clergy and those of the best +understanding." To say nothing of reading the Bible, what would this +learned man have thought of a woman translating it, and five times at +that! It would seem as if the bare suggestion must have stirred his dry +bones with indignation. + +King James appointed fifty-four men of learning to translate the +Bible. Seven of them died and forty-seven carried the work on. Compare +this corps of workers with one little woman performing the Herculean +task with without one suggestion or word of advice from mortal man! +This Bible is ten by seven inches, and is printed in large, clear +type. There are two styles of binding, cloth and sheepskin. The +cloth binding was $2.50 at the time it was issued and while Julia Smith +lived, and the other was $3.00, but as they are getting scarcer the +price may have gone up. They will be a rarity in the next century and +will be much sought after by bibliomaniacs, to say nothing of scholars +who will want it for its real value. Julia Smith had the plates of her +Bible preserved, but where they are now is more than I know. It was +published by the American Publishing Company, of Hartford, in 1876. + +Julia Evelina Smith, of Glastonbury, Conn., was one of five sisters of +a somewhat notable family, the father and mother both having strong +traits of character and marked individuality. The mother, Hannah +Hickok, was a fine linguist and mathematician. She once made an almanac +for her own convenience, almanacs being rather scarce in those days. +She could tell the time of night whenever she happened to awake by the +position of the stars. She was an omnivorous reader and a great +student, and in those days before the invention of stoves, her father, +in order to allow her the requisite retirement to gratify her studious +tastes, built her a small glass room. In the days of the Abby and Julia +Smith excitement, when they refused to pay their taxes, some writer was +so wicked as to say that Julia Smith's grandfather shut her mother up +in a glass cage. Seated in this glass enclosure, placed in a south +room, with the sun's rays beating down upon her, as upon a plant in a +conservatory, she could pursue her studies to her heart's content. She +was an only child and adored by her father; and so much did she think +of him that in his last illness, when she was away at school, she rode +four hundred miles on horseback in order to see him before he died. + +Julia Smith's father, the Rev. Zephaniah H. Smith, a graduate of Yale, +was settled in Newtown, Conn., near South Britain, where he married +Hannah Hickok. He preached but four years, resigning his position on +the ground that the gospel should be free; that it was wrong to preach +for money--ideas promulgated by the Sandemanians of those days, the +followers of Robert Sandeman, a Scotchman, who organized the sect in +England and in this country, it having originated with his father-in- +law, John Glas, the sect being called either Glassites or Sandemanians, +the former being given the preference in Scotland and England. The +ideas of these people were followed out by the Smith family, and at +Abby and Julia Smith's funeral, as at the funerals of those who had +gone before them, there was no officiating minister and no services. +Simply a chapter of the Bible was read, and one or two who wished, made +remarks. On a fly-leaf of the Bible Julia Smith read every day was +written the request that she should be buried by her sisters in +Glastonbury, and with no name on the tombstone but that of her own +maiden name. This request was followed out. The names of the Smith +sisters are so unique, and inasmuch as they have never been known to be +printed correctly, it may not be out of place to give them here, +preceding them by those of their parents, making a short family record +for future reference: + + +Zephaniah H. Smith, born August 19, 1758. Died February 1, 1836. + +Hannah Hickok, born August 7, 1767. Died December 27, 1850 + +They were married May 31, 1756. + + + +DAUGHTERS OF THE ABOVE + + +Hancy Zephina, born March 16, 1787. Died June 30, 1871. + +Cyrinthia Sacretia, born May 18, 1788. Died August 19, 1864. + +Laurilla Aleroyla, born November 26, 1789. Died March 19, 1857. + +Julia Evelina, born May 27, 1792. Died March 6, 1886. + +Abby Hadassah, born June 1, 1797. Died July 23, 1878. + + +Julia was educated at Mrs. Emma Willard's far-famed seminary at Troy, +New York. Abby, the youngest of the family, was the one who added to +their fame, when, in November, 1873, at a town meeting in Glastonbury, +she delivered a speech against taxation without representation. She had +just attended the first Woman's Congress in New York, and on her way +back said she was going to make a speech on taxation; that she should +apply to the authorites {sic} to speak in town hall on town meeting +day. She and Julia owned considerable property in Glastonbury and their +taxes were being increased while those of their neighbors (men) were +not. She applied to the authorities, but they would not let her speak +in the hall, so she spoke from a wagon outside to a crowd of people. +This speech was printed in a Hartford paper (the Courant) and was +copied all over the country, and the cry: "Abby Smith and her cows" was +caught up everywhere. Abby Smith's quaint, simple speeches attracted +attention, and the sale of the cows at the sign-post aroused sympathy, +and from that time on their fame grew apace. The hitherto light mail- +bags of Glastonbury came loaded with mail matter from all quarters for +the Smith sisters. And this continued for some years, or till the death +of Abby in 1878, which was followed by the marriage of Julia the +following spring, and the discontinuance of the sale of the cows at the +public sign-post. She married Mr. Amos A. Parker, both being eighty- +seven years of age. Julia Smith sold the old family mansion in +Glastonbury and bought a house at Parkville, Hartford. She died there +in 1886 and her husband died in 1893, nearly one hundred and two years +of age. + + +F. E. B. + + + + + +Advertisements from original, Vol. 1 + + + +EIGHTY YEARS AND MORE + +BEING THE REMINISCENCES OF + +ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + +(1815-1897.) + + +This new work by our distinguished countrywoman is a 12mo of 475 pp., +complete in one volume, cloth bound, with eleven portraits. Price $2.00. + + +I Dedicate This Volume To + +Susan B. Anthony, + +My Steadfast Friend For Half A Century. + + + +CONTENTS. + +Chapter. + + +I. + +Childhood. + + +II. + +School Days. + + +III. + +Girlhood. + + +IV. + +Life at Peterboro. + + +V. + +Our Wedding journey. + + +VI. + +Homeward Bound. + + +VII. + +Motherhood. + + +VIII. + +Boston and Chelsea. + + +IX. + +The First Woman's Rights Convention. + + +X. + +Susan B. Anthony. + + +XI. + +Susan B. Anthony (Continued). + +XII. + +My First Speech Before a Legislature. + + +XIII. + +Reforms and Mobs. + + +XIV. + +Views on Marriage and Divorce. + + +XV. + +Women as Patriots. + + +XVI. + +Pioneer Life in Kansas--Our Newspaper, "The Revolution." + + +XVII. + +Lyceums and Lecturers. + + +XVIII. + +Westward Ho! + + +XIX. + +The Spirit Of '76. + + +XX. + +Writing "The History of Woman Suffrage." + + +XXI. + +In the South of France. + + +XXII. + +Reforms and Reformers in Great Britain. + + +XXIII. + +Woman and Theology. + + +XXIV. + +England and France Revisited. + + +XXV. + +The International Council of Women. + + +XXVI. + +My Last Visit to England. + + +XXVII. + +Sixtieth Anniversary of the Class of 1832--The Woman's Bible. + + +XXVIII. + +My Eightieth Birthday. + + + +PREFACE + +The interest my family and friends have always manifested in the +narration of my early and varied experiences, and their earnest desire +to have them in permanent form for the amusement of another generation, +moved me to publish this volume. I am fully aware that its contents have +no especial artistic merit, being composed partly of extracts from my +diary, a few hasty sketches of my travels and people I have met, and of +my opinions on many social questions. + +The story of my private life as the wife of an earnest reformer, as an +enthusiastic housekeeper, proud of my skill in every department of +domestic economy, and as the mother of seven children., may amuse and +benefit the reader. + +The incidents of my public career as a leader in the most momentous +reform yet launched upon the world--the emancipation of woman--will be +found in "The History of Woman Suffrage." + +New York City, September, 1897 Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + + +Mrs. Stanton in this book, in her inimitable way, relates anecdotes +of, and experiences with, a number of the leading women, statesmen, +authors, and reformers of the last sixty years. The following are a few +names selected at random from the + +INDEX OF NAMES. + +Beecher, Rev. Henry Ward. +Bradlaugh, Hon. Charles, M. P. +Bright, Hon. Jacob M. P. +Bright, Hon. John, M. P. +Browning, Robert. +Bryant, William Cullen. +Curtis, George William. +Cobbe, Frances Power. +Clarkson, Thomas. +Charming, Rev. William Ellery. +Carlisle, Lord and Lady. +Byron, Lady. +Cushman, Charlotte. +Dana, Charles A. +Douglass, Frederick. +Emerson, Ralph Waldo. +Fry, Elizabeth. +Fuller, Margaret. +Garrison, William Lloyd. +George, Henry. +Grant, General Ulysses S +Greeley, Horace. +Grevy, President Jules. +Holmes, Oliver Wendell. +Hyacinthe, Pere. +Ingersoll, Robert G. +Kingsley, Canon Charles. +Krapotkine, Prince. +Lowell, James Russell. +Martineau, Harriet. +Mill, John Stuart. +Mott, Lucretia. +O'Connell, Daniel. +Owen, Robert Dale. +Parker, Rev. Theodore. +Parnell, Hon. Charles Stuart, M. P. +Phillips, Wendell. +Seward, Governor William H. +Shelley, Percy Bysshe. +Smith, Hon. Gerrit. +Stanton, Hon. Henry B. +Stepniak. +Stone, Lucy. +Stowe, Harriet Beecher. +Sumner, Hon. Charles. +Whittier, John G. +Willard, Emma. +Willard, Frances E. + + + +See Press Comments on following pages. + +This book will be sent, mail prepaid, on receipt of price, by + +European Publishing Company, + +W Broad Street, New York City. + + + +PRESS COMMENTS. + +It is a very readable book.--Albany Times-Union. + +The Reminiscences are delightful.--The Louisville Dispatch. + +The tale is as interesting as any romance or drama.--N. Y. Mail and +Express. + +A bright, entertaining tale, and one which contains much valuable +information.--N. Y. Herald. + +We know of no other autobiography which will command more profound +interest.--The Rocky Mountain News. + +It is the life story of a genuine American woman and will excite wide +interest.--The Minneapolis Tribune. + +A breezy narrative of a long and active life, told with spirit and +humor.--The Woman's Journal. + +Every sentence in this book would serve as a text for a chapter were +merited amplification practicable.--Ithaca Journal. + +The book is illustrated with a number of excellent portraits of the +author, and is full of interest.--New London Day. + +A well written account of a long and busy life. A highly interesting +biography and a delightful book, which is well worth reading.--N. Y. +Evening World. + +A human document of no small interest and value. A straightforward and +piquant story of a noteworthy personality.--The Chicago Tribune. + +A combination of several kinds of charm. It is frankly personal. It is +impossible not to wish there had been very much more of each chapter. +--N. Y. Evening Sun. + +It is unexpectedly amusing, as well as instructive, some of the +author's experiences being narrated in a most realistic and delightful +manner.--Washington Post. + +Two chapters of this interesting autobiography are devoted to Miss +Susan B. Anthony, the friend and fellow-laborer in the field of Woman's +Rights with Mrs. Stanton.--Jeannette L. Gilder in N. Y. Sunday Journal. + +It is a book well worth reading and shows what one woman may do with a +purpose and a will back of it. The personal part of the Reminiscences +are of much interest, and force admiration for the tactful, courageous +and able woman.--Pittsburg Post. + +It is one of the most important books of the year, Particularly to the +women of this country. It is absorbingly interesting. The trouble that +the reader encounters is that he finds it hard work to lay the book +down.--Boston Daily Advertiser. + +The story of the life of this great American woman will be read with +much interest in many homes. It is a book of much artistic merit and +her Reminiscences cannot be other than interesting. The book throughout +is delightfully entertaining--Troy Times. + +A most charming and interesting picture of a wife, mother and a +friend. Every one who has seen or heard of this leader of the woman +question of the century will rejoice that such a book has been given to +the world.--Boston Investigator. + +It is not principally the record of her public career as a leader in +the movement for the emancipation of woman, but rather the story of her +private life which is set forth in this volume. Especially interesting +are those reminiscences that deal with the author's early days.--N. Y. +Sun. + +This book abounds in interesting experiences. The style is simple and +amusing, showing the writer possessed of a keen sense of humor and the +fitness of things, as well as justice. It is particularly interesting +to women whether they sympathize with the views of the writer or +otherwise.--Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. + +This is a thoroughly enjoyable book and never lacking in interest. It +will be an inspiration for American girls to read its chapters. She +gives graphic pictures. The volume contains several fine portraits. The +book is racy and pleasing, whether the reader agrees with the author in +all things or not.--Chicago Inter-Ocean. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton's recollections, covering eighty years, easily +come first in the array of new noteworthy books, because of the +surprise they will afford the public, having been almost unheralded; +because of the impressive and protracted public career of the author; +because of her inflexible devotion to and sincerity in a cause long +unpopular, and because, moreover, Mrs. Stanton is an American. This is +a most interesting volume.--N. Y. Times. + + + +Eighty Years and More. + +Being the Reminiscences of ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. Complete In one +volume. 12mo, 475 pp. Cloth, eleven portraits. Price $2.00. + +PRESS COMMENTS--(Continued). + +The story of Mrs. Stanton's life is one which interests many thousands +in this country, and which will also be read with interest in other +lands, for her reputation as a reformer and writer is international; +her strong personal characteristics give to this autobiographical work +a charm of its own. It contains some of the most entertaining +reminiscences that have been given to the public. It is a book which is +sure to be widely read.--Worcester Spy. + +The personal element is the fascinating part of the book which holds +one's attention and keeps him reading to the end. It is a bright, +breezy, and radical turn-the-world-upside-down book. We do not like its +religious tone. We do not like the author's occult theosophy. We do not +like her sociology, with its good word for the windmill logic of the +speculative Bellamy. We do not like her views of marriage and divorce. +But when all is said, and with all these wide differences lying between +us to qualify our enjoyment of this book, we have enjoyed it much. Mrs. +Stanton is a first-rate raconteuse and fills her pages with amusing +recitals and brilliant encounters--N. Y. Independent. + +TO WOMAN SUFFRAGE CLUBS: We will supply Clubs with single copies of +this book at $2 per copy, postage prepaid. We will forward five (5) +copies of this book to any address, express charges prepaid, on the +receipt of six dollars ($6.00). + +We Wish An Agent In Every Woman Suffrage Club. Correspondence with +those who desire to become Agents solicited. + + + + + +SPEECHES, LETTERS AND MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS + +OF + +ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + + +12mo, 500 pp., cloth, five portraits. Price $2.00. + +This work will be similar in style and binding to Eighty Years and +More, will contain valuable editorial notes by Theodore Stanton, A. M., +and will be published in January, 1899. + +New York + +European Publishing Company + +And Paris + + + + + +THE WOMAN'S BIBLE. + +COMPLETE IN TWO PARTS. + + + +REVISING COMMITTEE. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford. +Clara Bewick Colby. +Rev. Augusta Chapin. +Mary Seymour Howell. +Josephine K. Henry. +Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll. +Sarah A. Underwood. +Catharine F. Stebbins. +Ellen Battelle Dietrick. +Ursula N. Gestefeld. +Lillie Devereux Blake. +Matilda Joslyn Gage. +Rev. Olympia Brown. +Frances Ellen Burr. +Clara B. Neyman. +Helen H. Gardener. +Charlotte Beebe Wilbour. +Lucinda B. Chandler. +Louisa Southworth. +Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, Finland. +Ursula M. Bright, England. +Irma von Troll-Borostyani, Austria. +Priscilla Bright McLaren, Scotland. +Isabelle Bogelot, France. + + + +PART I. + +A 12mo, 160 pp. paper. Third American and Second English Edition. +Twentieth Thousand. Price 50 Cents. + +It contains Comments on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and +Deuteronomy, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lillie Devereux Blake, Rev. +Phebe A. Hanaford, Clara Bewick Colby, Ellen Battelle Dietrick, Ursula +N. Gestefeld, Louisa Southworth, Frances Ellen Burr. + + +PART II. + +A 12mo, 217 pp. paper. First American Edition, Ten Thousand. Price 50 +Cents. + +It contains Comments on The Old and New Testaments from Joshua to +Revelation, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Louisa Southworth, Lucinda B. +Chandler, Anonymous, Matilda Joslyn Gage, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Clara +B. Neyman, Frances Ellen Burr, Ellen Battelle Dietrick, and Letters and +Comments in an Appendix, by Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Mary A. +Livermore, Frances E. Willard, Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll, Irma von Troll- +Borostyani, Mrs. Jacob Bright, Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, Anonymous, Susan +B. Anthony, Edna D. Cheney, Sarah A. Underwood, Dr. Elizabeth +Blackwell, Josephine K. Henry, Ursula N. Gestefeld, Catharine F. +Stebbins, Alice Stone Blackwell, Matilda Joslyn Gage, E. T. M., +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others, and the resolution passed by the +National-American Woman Suffrage Association, repudiating "The Woman's +Bible," together with the discussion thereon. + +See Press Comments on The Woman's Bible on next page. + + + +PRESS COMMENTS + +ON THE + +WOMAN'S BIBLE + +The comments are right up to date.--Cincinnati Tribune. + +The most humorous book of the year.--The Hartford Seminary Record. + +Of all possible books this is perhaps the most extraordinary possible. +--The Week, Toronto, Canada. + +A very clever analysis of passages relating to the sex.--Public +Opinion, N. Y. City. + +The new Woman's Bible is one of the remarkable productions of the +century.--Denver News. + +A unique edition of the Scripture. An extraordinary presentment of +Holy Writ!--Denver Times. + +The work is unique. Its aim is to help the cause of woman in her +battle for equality.--Beacon, Akron, Ohio. + +Robert G. Ingersoll is the only person on earth capable of a work +equal to Mrs. Stanton's sensation, "The Woman's Bible."--Chicago Times- +Herald. + +The attack of the new woman on the King James Bible will be observed +with interest where it does not alarm. But let "The Woman's Bible" and +the truth prevail. It may be that Lot himself was turned into a pillar +of salt.--Chicago Post. + +It has come at last, as it was bound to come--the emancipated woman's +Bible. The wonder is it has been delayed so long. This is not a +blasphemous book.--The Egyptian Gazette, Alexandria, Egypt. + +The "new woman" has broken out in a fresh direction and published "The +Woman's Bible." In it the conduct of Adam, the father of the race, is +described as "to the last degree dastardly."--Westminster Budget, +London, Eng. + +One of the most striking protests devised by woman for the purpose of +showing her rejection of the conditions under which our mothers lived. +It is evidently the mission of "The Woman's Bible" to exalt and dignify +woman.--The Morning, London, Eng. + +We have read some of the passages of the commentary prepared for "the +Woman's Bible" by that very accomplished American woman and Biblical +student, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. They are a great deal more +satisfactory than many of the comments upon the same texts that we have +read in other and more pretentious Commentaries. Mrs. Stanton's +interpretative remarks are shrewd and sensible--Editorial N. Y. Sun. + +Of man-made commentaries on the Bible we have had sufficient to stock +a library and yet they have left room for this commentary by women. +These revisers have proved the need of an intelligent examination of +the Scriptures from the woman's point of view. The lady commentators +are not wanting in a sense of humor--the quality in which biblical +critics of the male sex are usually unhappily deficient. There is much +that is very funny and very interesting in this new commentary upon the +Bible.--The Daily Chronicle, London, Eng. + +The Standard says, "The Sisterhood of Advanced Women has taken a bold +step towards emancipation. It has long groaned under certain +implications of servitude contained in a few passages of Scripture, and +has, therefore, determined to abolish these disabilities by publishing +'The Woman's Bible.'" It is not only the type that is new. New readings +of old passages are given, and the volume contains suggestions to show +that the verses about women's inferiority really mean the opposite of +the ordinary acceptation. In it Eve is rather praised than otherwise +for having eaten the apple. It is pointed out that Satan did not tempt +her with an array of silks and satins, and gold watches, or even a +cycling costume--the things which some people think most seductive to +her descendants--but with the offer of knowledge; a man being of such a +lethargic and groveling nature that a similar lofty ambition never +entered his mind. Besides, if the fruit was not to be eaten, Eve should +have been informed of the fact at first hand, and not through an +agent.--Pall Mall Gazette, London, Eng. + + +The above books will be sent, mail prepaid, on receipt of price, by + +European Publishing Company, + +68 Broad Street, New York City. + + + + + +THE WOMAN'S BIBLE + +PART II + + +COMMENTS ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS + +FROM + +JOSHUA TO REVELATION + + +"OH! Rather give me commentators plain, +Who with no deep researches vex the brain; +Who from the dark and doubtful love to run. +And hold their glimmering tapers to the sun." + +--The Parish Register. + + + +1898. + + + +The Bible in its teachings degrades Woman from Genesis to Revelations. + + + +REVISING COMMITTEE. + +"We took sweet counsel together."-Ps. Iv., 14. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, +Clara Bewick Colby, +Rev. Augusta Chapin, +Ursula N. Gestefeld, +Mary Seymour Howell, +Josephine K. Henry, +Mrs. Robert G. Ingersoll, +Sarah A. Underwood, +Ellen Battelle Dietrick,[FN#4] + +Lillie Devereux Blake, +Matilda Joslyn Gage, +Rev. Olympia Brown, +Frances Ellen Burr, +Clara B. Neyman, +Helen H. Gardener, +Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, +Lucinda B. Chandler, +Catharine F. Stebbins, +Louisa Southworth. + + + +[FN#4] Deceased. + + + +FOREIGN MEMBERS. + +Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg, Finland, + +Ursula M. Bright, England, + +Irma Von Troll-Borostyani, Austria, + +Priscilla Bright Mclaren, Scotland, + +Isabelle Bogelot, France. + + + + + + +COMMENTS ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS + +FROM + +JOSHUA TO REVELATION, BY + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick, +Louisa Southworth, +Lucinda B. Chandler, +Anonymous, + +Matilda Joslyn Gage, +Frances Ellen Burr, +Rev. Phebe A. Hanaford, +Clara B. Neyman. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +LETTERS AND COMMENTS BY + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Josephine K. Henry, Frances E. Willard, Eva A. +Ingersoll, Mary A. Livermore, Irma von Troll-Borostyani, Mrs. Jacob +Bright, Rev. Antoinette Brown Blackwell, Anonymous, Rev. Phebe A. +Hanaford, Ednah D. Cheney, Sarah A. Underwood, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, +Alice Stone Blackwell, Ursula N. Gestefeld, E. M., Matilda Joslyn Gage, +Sarah M. Perkins, and Catharine F. Stebbins. + + + +Resolution + +Of + +National-American Woman Suffrage Association repudiating "The Woman's +Bible," and Speech of Susan B. Anthony. + + + +Dedicated To The Memory Of + +Ellen Battelle Dietrick, + +In Whose Death We Lost The Ablest Member Of Our Revising Committee. + + + +PREFACE TO PART II. + +The criticisms on "The Woman's Bible" are as varied as they are +unreasonable. Both friend and foe object to the title. When John Stuart +Mill wrote his "Subjection of Woman" there was a great outcry against +that title. He said that proved it to be a good one. The critics said: +"It will suggest to women that they are in subjection and make them +rebellious." "That," said he, "is just the effect I wish to produce." +Rider Haggard's "She" was denounced so universally that every one read +it to see who "She" was. Thus the title in both cases called attention +to the book. + +The critics say that our title should have been "Commentaries on the +Bible." That would have been misleading, as the book simply contains +short comments on the passages referring to woman. Some say that it +should have been "The Women of the Bible;" but several books with that +title have already been published. The Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage says: +"You might as well have a 'Shoemakers' Bible'; the Scriptures apply to +women as we'll as to men." As the Bible treats women as of a different +class, inferior to man or in subjection to him, which is not the case +with shoemakers, Mr. Talmage's criticism has no significance. + + +"There's nothing so becomes a man, +As modest stillness and humility." + + +Another clergyman says: "It is the work of women, and the devil." This +is a grave mistake. His Satanic Majesty was not invited to join the +Revising Committee, which consists of women alone. Moreover, he has +been so busy of late years attending Synods, General Assemblies and +Conferences, to prevent the recognition of women delegates, that he +has had no time to study the languages and "higher criticism." + +Other critics say that our comments do not display a profound +knowledge of Biblical history or of the Greek and Hebrew languages. As +the position of woman in all religions is the same, it does not need a +knowledge of either Greek, Hebrew or the works of scholars to show that +the Bible degrades the Mothers of the Race. Furthermore, "The Woman's +Bible" is intended for readers who do not care for, and would not be +convinced by, a learned, technical work of so-called "higher criticism." + +The Old Testament makes woman a mere after-thought in creation; the +author of evil; cursed in her maternity; a subject in marriage; and all +female life, animal and human, unclean. The Church in all ages has +taught these doctrines and acted on them, claiming divine authority +therefor. "As Christ is the head of the Church, so is man the head of +woman." This idea of woman's subordination is reiterated times without +number, from Genesis to Revelations; and this is the basis of all +church action. + +Parts I. and II. of "The Woman's Bible" state these dogmas in plain +English, as agreeing fully with Bible teaching and church action. And +yet women meet in convention and denounce "The Woman's Bible," while +clinging to the Church and their Scriptures. The only difference +between us is, we say that these degrading ideas of woman emanated from +the brain of man, while the Church says that they came from God. + +Now, to my mind, the Revising Committee of "The Woman's Bible," in +denying divine inspiration for such demoralizing ideas, shows a more +worshipful reverence for the great Spirit of All Good than does the +Church. We have made a fetich of the Bible long enough. The time has +come to read it as we do all other books, accepting the good and +rejecting the evil it teaches. + + +"There lives more faith in honest doubt, +Believe me, than in half the creeds." + + +Hon. Andrew D. White, formerly President of Cornell University, shows +us in his great work, "A History of the Warfare of Science with +Theology," that the Bible, with its fables, allegories and endless +contradictions, has been the great block in the way of civilization. +All through the centuries scholars and scientists have been imprisoned, +tortured and burned alive for some discovery which seemed to conflict +with a petty text of Scripture. Surely the immutable laws of the +universe can teach more impressive and exalted lessons than the holy +books of all the religions on earth. + + +ELIZABETH CADY STANTON. + +January, 1898. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. + + + +Joshua ii. + + + +1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy +secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and +came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. + +2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men +in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the country. + +3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men +that are come to thee which are entered into thine house: for they be +come to search out all the country. + +4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them and said thus, There +came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were. + +5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate when it +was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I wot not; pursue +after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. + + +This book gives an account of the final entrance of the children of +Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua was the successor of Moses, and +performed the same miracle in parting the waters of the Jordan that +Moses did to enable his people to pass through the Red Sea. He was +seven years fighting his way into the land of Canaan, where he spent +the closing years of his life in peace. + +There is mention of two women only in this book, though a casual +reference is again made to the daughters of Zelophehad, as described in +a former chapter. + +In saving the spies from their pursuers, Rahab made them promise that +when Jericho fell into the hands of Joshua, they would save her and her +kinsmen. From the text, it seems that Rahab fully understood the spirit +of her time, and with keen insight and religious fervor, marked +characteristics of women, she readily entered into the plans of the +great general of Israel. + +Rahab was supposed to have been a great sinner, her life in many +respects questionable; but seeing that victory was with the Israelites, +she cast her lot with them. From the text and what we know of humanity +in general, it is difficult to decide Rahab's real motive, whether to +serve the Lord by helping Joshua to take the land of Canaan, or to +save her own life and that of her kinsmen. It is interesting to see +mat in all national emergencies, leading men are quite willing to avail +themselves of the craft and cunning of women, qualities uniformly +condemned when used for their own advantage. + +There is no more significance, as one of our critics says, in +commentating on the myths of the Bible than on Aesop's fables. The +difference, however, is this: that in the latter case we admit that +they were written by a man; while in the former, they are claimed to +have been inspired by God. Though at variance with all natural laws, it +is claimed that our eternal salvation depends on believing in the +plenary inspiration of the myths of the Scriptures; as the "higher +criticisms," written by learned scholars and scientists, are not +familiar to women, our comments in plain English may rid them of some +of their superstitions. + +Though the injustice to woman is the blackest page in sacred history, +the distinguished Biblical writers take no note of it whatever. Even +Hon. Andrew D. White, though he devotes several pages of his work to +the statue of Lot's wife in salt, vouchsafes no criticism on the +position of Lot's wife in the flesh, nor of Lot's outrageous treatment +of his daughters. The wonder is that women themselves should either +believe that such unholy proceedings were inspired by God, or make a +fetich of the very book which is responsible for their civil and social +degradation. + + + +Joshua x. + + + +11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in +the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from +heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died +with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the +sword. + +12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up +the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of +Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the +valley of Ajalon. + +13 And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stayed, until the people had +avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book +of Jasher? So the Sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted +not to go down about a whole day. + +14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord +hearkened unto the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel. + + +According to the sacred fabulist, Joshua surpassed Moses in the +wonders which he performed. In taking the city of Jericho, as +recorded in Chapter viii., he did not use the ordinary enginery of war, +but told his soldiers to blow a simultaneous blast upon their trumpets, +while all the people with united shouts should produce such a violent +concussion of the air as to bring down the walls of the city. He not +only subsidized the atmosphere to overpower his enemies, but he +commanded the sun and the moon to stand still to lengthen the day and +to lighten the night until this victory was complete. + +It seems that the Lord was so well pleased with Joshua's refined +military tactics that he suspended the laws of the vast solar system to +vindicate the superior prowess of one small tribe on the small planet +called the earth. The Lord also resorted to more material and forcible +means, sending down tremendous hailstones from heaven, and thus with +one fell blow destroyed more of his enemies than the children of Israel +did with the sword. + +There are no events recorded in secular history that strain the faith +of the reader to such a degree as the feats of Joshua. Moses, with his +manna and pillar of light in the wilderness and his dazzling +pyrotechnics on Mount Sinai, fades into insignificance before these +marvellous manifestations by Joshua, with the Canaanites, Jericho, and +the sun and moon under his feet. Though teaching the people that all +these fables are facts, still the Church condemns prestidigitators, +soothsayers, fortune tellers, Spiritualists, witches, and the +assumptions of Christian Scientists. + + + +Joshua xv. + + + +16 And Catch said, He that smiteth Kirjathesepher and taketh it, to +him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. + +17 And Othniel, the son of Kenez, the brother of Caleb, took it; and +he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. + +18 And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to +ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said +unto her, What wouldest thou? + +19 Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south +land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, +and the nether springs. + + +In giving Achsah her inheritance it is evident that the judges of +Israel had not forgotten the judgment of the Lord in the case of +Zelophehad's daughters. He said to Moses, "When a father dies leaving +no sons, the inheritance shall go to the daughters. Let this henceforth +be an ordinance in Israel." Very good as far as it goes; but in case +there were sons, justice demanded that daughters should have an equal +share in the inheritance. + +As the Lord has put it into the hearts of the women of this Republic +to demand equal rights in everything and everywhere, and as He is said +to be immutable and unchangeable, it is fair to infer that Moses did +not fully comprehend the message, and in proclaiming it to the great +assembly he gave his own interpretation, just as our judges do in this +year of the Lord 1898. + +Achsah's example is worthy the imitation of the women of this +Republic. She did not humbly accept what was given her, but bravely +asked for more. We should give to our rulers, our sires and sons no +rest until all our rights--social, civil and political--are fully +accorded. How are men to know what we want unless we tell them? They +have no idea that our wants, material and spiritual, are the same as +theirs; that we love justice, liberty and equality as well as they do; +that we believe in the principles of self-government, in individual +rights, individual conscience and judgment, the fundamental ideas of +the Protestant religion and republican government. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JUDGES. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Judges i. + + + +19 And the Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of +the mountain: but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, +because they had chariots of iron. + + + +Judges ii. + + + +6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went +every man unto his inheritance to possess the land. + +7 And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the +days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great +works of the Lord, that he did for Israel. + +8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being a +hundred and ten years old. + + +This book, supposed to have been written by Samuel the Prophet, covers +a period of 300 years. During all of this time the children of Israel +are in constant friction with the Lord and neighboring tribes, never +loyal to either. When at peace with the Lord, they are fighting with +their neighbors; when at peace with them, worshiping their gods and +giving them their daughters in marriage, then the Lord is angry, and +vents His wrath on them. Thus, they are continually between two fires; +now repenting in sackcloth and ashes, and now, with the help of the +Lord, blessed with victories. + +Life with them was a brief period of success and defeat. It seems that +the Lord, according to their ideas, had His limitations, and could not +fight tribes who had iron chariots. + +What could iron chariots be in the way of that Great Force which +creates cyclones, hurricanes and earthquakes, or the pyrotechnics of a +thunderstorm. How little these people knew of the Great Intelligence +behind the laws of the universe, with whom they pretended to talk in +the Hebrew language, and from whom they claimed to have received +directions as to their treatment of women? + +In the opening of this book Joshua still governs Israel. After his +death, the Lord raised up a succession of judges, remarkable for +their uprightness and wisdom; but they found it impossible to keep the +chosen people in the straight and narrow path. The children of Israel +did not learn wisdom by experience. They tired of a rigid code of +morals, of a mystical system of theology, and of the women of their own +tribe. There was a fascination in the manners and the appearance of a +new type of womanhood which they could not resist. There should have +been some allowance for these human proclivities. If the Jews of our +day had followed this tendency of their ancestors and intermarried with +other nations, there would have been by this time no peculiar people to +persecute. + +The most important feature of this book is the number of remarkable +women herein described; six in number, Achsah, Deborah, Jael, +Jephthah's daughter, Delilah, and two whose names are not mentioned-- +she who slew Abimelech, and the concubine of a Levite, whose fate was +terrible and repulsive. There are many instances in the Old Testament +where women have been thrown to the mob, like a bone to dogs, to pacify +their passions; and women suffer to-day from these lessons of contempt, +taught in a book so revered by the people. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The writer of the Book of judges is unknown. Professor Moore, of +Andover Theological Seminary, supposes that the author used as a basis +for his work an older collection of tales wherein the heroes of Israel +and the varying fortunes of the people were related, and which, like +all good tales, pointed a moral. In all Jewish literature is to be +found the same moral--namely, that the prime cause of all of the evils +which befell the Jewish people was unfaithfulness to Jehovah. +"Adherence to the written law brings God's favor, while disobedience is +followed by God's wrath and punishment." + +It is not obedience to the inner truth of the individual soul that is +made the spring of action, but obedience to an external authority, to a +book, to a prophet, to a judge or to a king. In judges, to woman in +various ways is given an exalted position; she is not the abject slave +or unclean vessel, the drudge, the servile sinner, the +nonentity, as depicted in other parts of the Bible. + +Woman has at no time of the world's history maintained the high +position which she commands to-day in the hearts of the best and most +enlightened; but there were stages when her independence was an assured +fact. With Christianity came the notion of man's dual nature; the +physical was looked upon as sinful; this earth was merely preparatory +for a life beyond. Woman, as the mother of the race, was not honored +and revered as such, the monastic idea being considered more God-like, +she was made the instrument of sin. To be born into this life was not a +blessing so long as ascetism ruled supreme. + +The Bible has been of service in some respects; but the time has come +for us to point out the evil of many of its teachings. It now behooves +us to throw the light of a new civilization upon the women who figure +in the Book of judges. We begin with Achsah, a woman of good sense. +Married to a hero, she must needs look out for material subsistence. +Her husband being a warrior, had probably no property of his own, so +that upon her devolved the necessity of providing the means of +livelihood. Great men, heroic warriors, generally lack the practical +virtues, so that it seems befitting in her to ask of her father the +blessing of a fruitful piece of land; her husband would have been +satisfied with the south land. She knew that she required the upper and +the nether springs to fertilize it, so that it might yield a successful +harvest. + + +C. B. N. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Judges iv. + + + +4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, judged Israel at +that time. + +5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah, between Ramah and Beth- +el in Mount Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for +judgment. + +6 And she sent and called Barak, the son of Abinoam, out of Kedesh- +naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, +saying, Go and draw toward Mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand +men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? + +7 And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera the captain +of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will +deliver him into thine hand. + +8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go; +but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. + +9 And she said, I will surely go with thee; notwithstanding the +journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor; for the Lord +shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went +with Barak to Kedesh. + +10 And Barak called Zebulon and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up +with ten thousand men at his feet; and Deborah went up with him. + + +Some commentators say that Deborah was not married to a man by the +name of Lapidoth, that such a terminology is not customary to the name +of a person, but of a place. They think that the text should read, +Deborah of Lapidoth. Indeed, Deborah seems to have had too much +independence of character, wisdom and self-reliance to have ever filled +the role of the Jewish idea of a wife. + +"Deborah" signifies "bee;" and by her industry, sagacity, usefulness +and kindness to her friends and dependents she fully answers to her +name. "Lapidoth" signifies "lamps." The Rabbis say that Deborah was +employed to make wicks for the lamps in the Tabernacle; and having +stooped to that humble office for God's service, she was afterward +exalted as a prophetess, to special illumination and communion with God +--the first woman thus honored in Scripture. + +Deborah was a woman of great ability. She was consulted by the +children of Israel in all matters of government, of religion and of +war. Her judgment seat was under a palm tree, known ever after as +"Deborah's Palm." Though she was one of the great judges of Israel for +forty years, her name is not in the list, as it should have been, with +Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah. Men have always been +slow to confer on women the honors; which they deserve. + +Deborah did not judge as a princess by any civil authority conferred +upon her, but as a prophetess, as the mouthpiece of God, redressing +grievances and correcting abuses. The children of Israel appealed to +her, not so much to settle controversies between man and man as to +learn what was amiss in their service to God; yet she did take an +active part in the councils of war and spurred the generals to their +duty. + +The text shows Barak hesitating and lukewarm in the last eventful +battle with Sisera and his host. He flatly refused to go unless Deborah +would go with him. She was the divinely chosen leader; to her came the +command, "Go to Mount Tabor and meet Sisera and his host." Not +considering herself fit too lead an army, she chose Barak, who had +already distinguished himself. He, feeling the need of her wisdom and +inspiration, insisted that she accompany him; so, mounted on pure white +jackasses, they started for the field of battle. The color of the +jackass indicated the class to which the rider belonged. Distinguished +personages were always mounted on pure white and ordinary mortals on +gray or mottled animals. + +As they journeyed along side by side, with wonderful insight Deborah +saw what was passing in Barak's mind; he was already pluming himself on +his victory over Sisera. So she told him that the victory would not be +his, that the Lord would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. It +added an extra pang to a man's death to be slain by the hand of a +woman. Fortunately, poor Sisera was spared the knowledge of his +humiliation. What a picture of painful contrasts his death presents--a +loving mother watching and praying at her window for the return of her +only son, while at the same time Jael performs her deadly deed and +blasts that mother's hopes forever! What a melancholy dirge to her must +have been that song of triumph, chanted by the army of Deborah and +Barak, and for years after, by generation after generation. + +We never hear sermons pointing women to the heroic virtues of Deborah +as worthy of their imitation. Nothing is said in the pulpit to rouse +their from the apathy of ages, to inspire them to do and dare great +things, to intellectual and spiritual achievements, in real +communion with the Great Spirit of the Universe. Oh, no! The lessons +doled out to women, from the canon law, the Bible, the prayer-books and +the catechisms, are meekness and self-abnegation; ever with covered +heads (a badge of servitude) to do some humble service for man; that +they are unfit to sit as a delegate in a Methodist conference, to be +ordained to preach the Gospel, or to fill the office of elder, of +deacon or of trustee, or to enter the Holy of Holies in cathedrals. + +Deborah was a poetess as well as a prophetess, a judge as well as a +general. She composed the famous historical poem of that period on the +eventful final battle with Sisera and his hosts; and she ordered the +soldiers to sing the triumphant song as they marched through the the +{sic} land, that all the people might catch the strains and that +generations might proclaim the victory. + + + +Judges iv. + + + +18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my +Lord, turn in to me: fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into +the tent, she covered him with a mantle. + +19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to +drink: for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him +to drink, and covered him. + +20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall +be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any +man here? that thou shalt say, No. + +21 Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer +in her hand and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his +temples, and fastened it into the ground; for he was fast asleep and +weary. So he died. + +22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and +said unto him, Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest. +And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail +was in his temples. + + +The deception and the cruelty practised on Sisera by Jael under the +guise of hospitality is revolting under our code of morality. To decoy +the luckless general fleeing before his enemy into her tent, pledging +him safety, and with seeming tenderness ministering to his wants, with +such words of sympathy and consolation lulling him to sleep, and then +in cold blood driving a nail through his temples, seems more like the +work of a fiend than of a woman. + +The song of Deborah and Barak, in their triumph over Sisera, has been +sung in cathedrals and oratorios and celebrated in all time for its +beauty and pathos. The great generals did not forget in the hour of +victory to place the crown of honor on the brow of Jael for +what they considered a great deed of heroism. Jael imagined herself in +the line of her duty and specially called by the Lord to do this +service for his people. + +Nations make their ideal gods like unto themselves. At this period He +was the God of battles. Though He had made all the tribes, we hope, to +the best of His ability; yet He hated all, the sacred fabulist tells +us, but the tribe of Israel, and even they were objects of His +vengeance half the time. Instead of Midianites and Philistines, in our +day we have saints and sinners, orthodox and heterodox, persecuting +each other, although you cannot distinguish them in the ordinary walks +of life. They are governed by the same principles in the exchanges and +the marts of trade. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Judges v. + + + +Then sang Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinoam, on that day, saying, + +2 Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people +willingly offered themselves. + +3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I will sing unto +the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. + +4 Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the +field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds +also dropped water. + +5 The mountains melted from before the Lord even that Sinai from +before the Lord God of Israel. + +6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the +highways were unoccupied and the travellers walked through byways. + +7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until +that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. + + +The woman who most attracts our attention in the Book of judges is +Deborah, priestess, prophetess, poetess and judge. What woman is there +in modern or in ancient history who equals in loftiness of position, in +public esteem and honorable distinction this gifted and heroic Jewish +creation? The writer who compiled the story of her gifts and deeds must +have had women before him who inspired him with such a wonderful +personality. How could Christianity teach and preach that women should +be silent in the church when already among the Jews equal honor was +shown to women? The truth is that Christianity has in many instances +circumscribed woman's sphere of action, and has been guilty of great +injustice toward the whole sex. + +Deborah was, perhaps, only one of many women who held such high and +honorable positions. Unlike any modern ruler, Deborah dispensed justice +directly, proclaimed war, led her men to victory, and glorified the +deeds of her army in immortal song. This is the most glorious tribute +to woman's genius and power. If Deborah, way back in ancient Judaism, +was considered wise enough to advise her people in time of need and +distress, why is it that at the end of the nineteenth century, woman +has to contend for equal rights and fight to regain every inch of +ground she has lost since then? It is now an assured fact that not only +among the Hebrews, but also among the Greeks and the Germans, women +formerly maintained greater freedom and power. + +The struggle of to-day among the advanced of our sex is to regain and +to reaffirm what has been lost since the establishment of Christianity. +Every religion, says a modern thinker, has curtailed the rights of +woman, has subjected her to man's ruling; in emphasizing the life +beyond, the earthly existence became a secondary consideration. We are +learning the great harm which comes from this one-sided view of life; +and by arousing woman to the dignity of her position we shall again +have women like Deborah, honored openly and publicly for political +wisdom, to whom men will come in time of need. + +Genius knows no sex; and woman must again usurp her Divine prerogative +as a leader in thought, song and action. The religion of the future +will honor and revere motherhood, wifehood and maidenhood. Asceticism, +an erroneous philosophy, church doctrines based not upon reason or the +facts of life, issued out of crude imaginings; phantasms obstructed the +truth, held in check the wheel of progress. Let our church women turn +their gaze to such characters as Deborah, and claim the same +recognition in their different congregations. + +The antagonism which the Christian church has built up between the +male and the female must entirely vanish. Together they will slay the +enemies--ignorance, superstition and cruelty. United in every +enterprise, they will win; like Deborah and Barak, they will clear the +highways and restore peace and prosperity to their people. Like +Deborah, woman will forever be the inspired leader, if she will have +the courage to assert and maintain her power. Her aspirations +must keep pace with the demands of our civilization. "New times teach +new duties." + +God never discriminates; it is man who has made the laws and compelled +woman to obey him. The Old Testament and the New are books written by +men; the coming Bible will be the result of the efforts of both, and +contain the wisdom of both sexes, their combined spiritual experience. +Together they will unfold the mysteries of life, and heaven will be +here on earth when love and justice reign supreme. + + +C. B. N. + + + +Judges viii. + + + +30 And Gideon had three score and ten sons: for he had many wives. + +31 And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, +whose name he called Abimelech. + + + +Judges ix. + + + +52 And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went +hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. + +53 And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's +head, and all to break his skull. + +54 Then he called hastily unto the young man, his armour-bearer, and +said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men say not of me, A +woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died. + + +Abimelech destroyed the city of Thebez, drove all the people into a +tower and then tried to set it on fire, as he had done in many places +before in his war on other tribes; but here he lost his life, and at +the hand of a woman, which was considered the greatest disgrace which +could befall a man. Commentators say that as Sisera and Abimelech were +exceptionally proud and lofty, they were thus degraded in their death. +Sisera was spared the knowledge of his fate by being taken off when +asleep; but Abimelech saw the stone coming and knew that it was from +the hand of a woman, an added pang to his death agony. He had no +thoughts of his wicked life nor his eternal welfare, but with his dying +breath implored his armor-bearer to thrust him through with his sword, +that it might not be said that he was slain by the hand of a woman. + +Abimelech had three score and ten brethren. It is said that his mother +roused his ambition to be one of the judges of Israel. To attain this +he killed all his brethren but one, who escaped. He enjoyed his +ill-gotten honors but a short space of time. We find many such stories +in the Hebrew mythology which have no foundation in fact. + + + +Judges xi. + + + +30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt +without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, + +31 Then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my +house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, +shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. + +33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even +twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great +slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children +of Israel. + +34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his +daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she +was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. + +35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and +said, Alas, my daughter! thou has brought me very low, and thou art one +of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and +I cannot go back. + +36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth +unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of +thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine +enemies, even of the children of Ammon. + +37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me +alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and +bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. + + +A woman's vow, as we have already seen, could be disallowed at the +pleasure of any male relative; but a man's was considered sacred even +though it involved the violation of the sixth commandment, the +violation of the individual rights of another human being. These loving +fathers in the Old Testament, like Jephthah and Abraham, thought to +make themselves specially pleasing to the Lord by sacrificing their +children to Him as burnt offerings. If the ethics of their moral code +had permitted suicide, they might with some show of justice have +offered themselves, if they thought that the first-born kid would not +do; but what right had they to offer up their sons and daughters in +return for supposed favors from the Lord? + +The submission of Isaac and Jephthah's daughter to this violation of +their most sacred rights is truly pathetic. But, like all oppressed +classes, they were ignorant of the fact that they had any natural, +inalienable rights. We have such a type of womanhood even in our day. If +any man had asked Jephthah's daughter if she would not like to have the +Jewish law on vows so amended that she might disallow her father's vow, +and thus secure to herself the right of life, she would no doubt have +said, "No; I have all the rights I want," just as a class of New York +women said in 1895, when it was proposed to amend the constitution of +the State in their favor. + +The only favor which Jephthah's daughter asks, is that she may have +two months of solitude on the mountain tops to bewail the fact that she +will die childless. Motherhood among the Jewish women was considered +the highest honor and glory ever vouchsafed to mortals. So she was +permitted for a brief period to enjoy her freedom, accompanied by young +Jewish maidens who had hoped to dance at her wedding. + +Commentators differ as to the probable fate of Jephthah's daughter. +Some think that she was merely sequestered in some religious retreat, +others that the Lord spoke to Jephthah as He did to Abraham forbidding +the sacrifice. We might attribute this helpless condition of woman to +the benighted state of those times if we did not see the trail of the +serpent through our civil laws and church discipline. + +This Jewish maiden is known in history only as Jephthah's daughter-- +she belongs to the no-name series. The father owns her absolutely, +having her life even at his disposal. We often hear people laud the +beautiful submission and the self-sacrifice of this nameless maiden. To +me it is pitiful and painful. I would that this page of history were +gilded with a dignified whole-souled rebellion. I would have had +daughter receive the father's confession with a stern rebuke, saying: +"I will not consent to such a sacrifice. Your vow must be disallowed. +You may sacrifice your own life as you please, but you have no right +over mine. I am on the threshold of life, the joys of youth and of +middle age are all before me. You are in the sunset; you have had your +blessings and your triumphs; but mine are yet to come. Life is to me +full of hope and of happiness. Better that you die than I, if the God +whom you worship is pleased with the sacrifice of human life. I +consider that God has made me the arbiter of my own fate and all my +possibilities. My first duty is to develop all the powers given to me +and to make the most of myself and my own life. Self-development is a +higher duty than self-sacrifice. I demand the immediate abolition of +the Jewish law on vows. Not with my consent can you fulfill yours." +This would have been a position worthy of a brave woman. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The ideal womanhood portrayed by ancient writers has had by far too +much sway. The prevailing type which permeates all literature is that +of inferiority and subjection. In early times Oriental poets often +likened woman to some clear, flawless jewel, and made them serve simply +as ornaments, while, on the other hand, they were made subordinate by +the legislation of barbarous minds; and men, because of their selfish +passion, have inflicted woe after woe upon them. Ancient literature is +wholly against the equality of the sexes or the rights of women, and +subordinates them in every relation of life. + +The writings of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, are no +exception to this rule. The reference, "The sons of God and daughters +of men," while it admits of many interpolations, legendary or mythical +as it may be, portrays the real animus of the Scriptures. To what +extent the sentiment of the Hebrews favored sons rather than daughters, +and the injustice of this distinction is fully exemplified by the +stories of Abraham and Isaac, and of Jephthah and his daughter. Abraham +was commanded by his God to sacrifice his son Isaac, after the manner +of the Canaanites, who often slew their children and burnt them upon +their altars in honor of their deities. But when all was made ready for +the sacrifice an angel of Jehovah appeared, the hand of Abraham was +stayed, and a ram was made a substitute for the son of promise. + +The conditions were quite different in the case of Jephthah and his +daughter. The Israelites had been brought very low in their contest +with the Ammonites, and they chose the famous warrior, Jephthah, to +lead them against their foe, who with warlike zeal summoned the hosts +to battle. The risk was enormous, the enemy powerful, and the general, +burning for victory, intent on securing the assistance of the Deity, +made a solemn and fatal vow. + +In the first case it was a direct command of God, but means were found +to revoke this explicit command with regard to a son; in the second +case it was only a hasty and unwise promise of a general going to war, +and the prevailing sentiment of the age felt it unnecessary to evade +its fulfillment--the victim was only a girl. The unhappy father must +sacrifice his daughter! + +What a masculine coloring is given to the rest of the narrative: "A +maiden who did not mourn her death, but wandered up and down the +mountain mourning her virginity." So much glamor has been thrown by +poetry and by song, over the sacrifice of this Jewish maiden, that the +popular mind has become too benumbed to perceive its great injustice. +The Iphigenias have been many and are still too numerous to awaken +compassion. We must destroy the root of this false and pernicious +teaching, and plant in its place a just and righteous doctrine. + +What women have to win for the race is a theory of conduct which shall +be more equitable. The unalterable subserviency of woman in her natural +condition can never be overcome and social development progress so long +as there is a lack of distributive justice to every living soul without +discrimination of sex. + + +L. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +Judges xiii. + + + +And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, +whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren. + +3 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto +her, Behold now, thou art barren; but thou shalt conceive, and bear a +son. + +4 Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong +drink, and eat not any unclean thing: + +5 For, lo, thou shalt bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: +for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God; and he shall begin to +deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. + +6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came +unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of +God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he +me his name: + +7 But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt bear a son; and now drink no +wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child +shall be a Nazarite to God to the day of his death. + +8 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O try Lord, let the man of +God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we +shall do unto the child that shall be born. + +9 And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah: and the angel of God came +again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband +was not with her. + +10 And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said +unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the +other day. + +11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and +said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he +said, I am. + +12 And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order +the child, and how shall we do unto him? + +13 And the angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto +the woman let her beware. + + +We come now to a very interesting incident, giving proof of the +remarkable knowledge which the writers had of some intrinsic laws and +the power of transmission which, even to-day, are known and adhered to +only by a very small minority of wise, thoughtful mothers. However, the +wife of Manoah, the future mother of Samson, is visited by an angel, +giving her instructions as to her way of living during pregnancy. It +appears that the writer was acquainted with some pre-natal influences +and their effect upon the unborn. + +We are just now beginning to investigate the important problem of +child culture. Many good thoughts have been given on this subject by +earnest thinkers. A knowledge of these important laws of life will +do away with the most harassing evils and sins which human flesh is +heir to. Intelligent, free mothers will be enabled to forecast not only +the physical, but also the psychical, traits of their offspring. How +and why this once recognized knowledge was lost we know not. We may, +however, rightly infer that so long as woman was not the arbiter of her +own destiny she had no power to make use of this knowledge. Only the +thoughful, {sic} independent wife can administer the laws and the rules +necessary for her own wellbeing and that of her offspring. Freedom is +the first prerequisite to a noble life. + +Observe how simple and trustful the relation is between this husband +and wife. Manoah is thoughtful and ready to unite with his wife in all +that the angel had commanded. There is no trace of disunion or of +disobedience to the higher law which his wife had been instructed to +follow. To her the law was revealed, and he sustained her in its +observance. Mark, however, one difference from our interpretation of +to-day, and how the omission of it worked out the destruction of the +child. All the injunctions received were of a physical nature; strength +of body and faith in God were to be the attributes through which Samson +was to serve his people. The absence of moral traits is very evident in +Samson; and this is the reason why he fell an easy prey to the wiles of +designing women. It was not moral, but physical heroism which +distinguished Samson from his combatants. Vengeance, cruelty, deceit, +cunning devices were practised not only by the Philistines, but +likewise by the Nazarite. + +The angel who appeared to Manoah's wife was probably her own inner +sense, and the appearance is to be understood rather as a figure of +speech than as an actual occurrence, although there may have been, as +there are to-day, people who were so credulous as to believe that such +things actually occurred. The angel who whispers into our ears is +knowledge, foresight, high motive, ideality, unselfish love. A +conscious attitude towards the ideal still unattained, a lofty standard +of virtue for the coming offspring, an intelligent, pure fatherhood, +and a wise, loving motherhood must take the place of a mysterious, +instinctive trust--the blind faith of the past. C. B. N. + +One would suppose that this woman, so honored of God, worthy to +converse with angels on the most delicate of her domestic relations, +might have had a name to designate her personality instead of being +mentioned merely--as the wife of Manoah or the mother of Samson. I +suppose that it is from these Biblical examples that the wives of this +Republic are known as Mrs. John Doe or Mrs. Richard Roe, to whatever +Roe or Doe she may belong. If she chance to marry two or three times, +the woman's identity is wholly lost. To make this custom more +ludicrous, women sometimes keep the names of two husbands, clinging +only to the maiden name, as Dolly Doe Roe, ignoring her family name, +the father from whom she may have derived all of her talent. Samson's +wife had no name, nor had the second woman on whom he bestowed his +attentions; to the third one is vouchsafed the name of Delilah, but no +family name is mentioned. All three represented one type of character +and betrayed the "consecrated Nazarite," "the canonized judge of +Israel." + +It would be a great blessing to the race, if parents would take heed +to the important lesson taught in the above texts. The nine months of +ante-natal life is the period when the mother can make the deepest +impression in forming future character, when she has absolute power for +weal or for woe over the immortal being. Locke, the philosopher, said, +"Every child is born into the world with a mind like a piece of blank +paper, and we may write thereon whatever we will;" but Descartes said, +"Nay, nay; the child is born with all its possibilities. You can +develop all you find there, but you cannot add genius or power." +"Nascitur, non fit," although our learned blacksmith, Elihu Burritt, +always reversed this motto. E. C. S. + +No body of ecclesiastics has taught the message of the angel of the +Lord to Manoah's wife as a message of direction from the Lord to save +the race from the disastrous results of strong drink and impure food. +And although the degree of enlightenment attained shows that science +and the instructions of the angel to Manoah's wife agree, this +knowledge does not protect the unborn child from the effects of the +use by the mothers of to-day of wine, strong drink and +unclean food. + +Could the light which reveals to the mother what would be a saving +power to her child, be followed carefully by both herself and the +father during ante-natal life, the race would more rapidly be brought +to the full stature of its destined perfection. Not only is physical +endowment available to the child through the wholesome sustenance of +the mother, but the qualities of the higher nature may also be +transmitted, and moral grandeur be an inheritance equally with grand +physical powers. + +The theological teaching that has made human nature depraved and cut +off from the divine source of all perfection, has hindered the +development of the higher faculties of understanding. It has led to a +misapprehension of the creative power of parenthood. From the idea that +the creation of humanity was finished "in the beginning," and that man +fell from his high estate as the image of God, has resulted a +demoralized race. The instruction of the angel to Samson's mother, was +in accord with the dominant spirit that wrought the victories of Israel +over enemies, and the reign of physical force that characterized the +people of that age. + +The woman, having had no experience of motherhood, had not been +subject to the deep soul-stirring that belongs to the mystery of life +in a developed womanhood. Nor did that experience evidently transmit to +Samson a high degree of moral strength. He was but a well developed +physical organism, which the spirit of life could act through without +limitation. He consorted with the harlot, but it was the woman whom he +loved who succeeded in wringing from him the secret of his strength, +and thus the possibility of delivering him to his enemies. + +In the relation of women to this man of might there is illustrated the +dominant characteristics of the purely animal man. The father of +Samson's first wife gave her to another man after Samson had gone in +anger to his father's house, and when he returned and proposed to +resume his conjugal relations, this father proposed that he should take +the younger sister, who "was fairer than she." + +It is a significant suggestion of the quality of the relation that +Samson's first wife (who had also no name of her own) and Delilah, +whom he loved, were both more loyal to their own people, and had more +regard for them, than for the man to whom they had been "given." + + +L. B. C. + + + +Judges xiv. + + + +1 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the +daughters of the Philistines. + +2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have +seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now +therefore get her for me to wife. + +3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman +among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou +goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said +unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. + + +So the father and the mother, much against their wishes, went down to +Timnath and secured for Samson the desired wife. He conformed to the +custom of the Philistines; and on the occasion of the nuptial +solemnities he made a great feast, and invited thirty young men to join +in the festivities, which lasted seven days. These feasts were +enlivened with interesting discussions, stories and riddles. Samson +propounded one, with promises of valuable gifts to those who guessed +the riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat, out of the strong came +forth sweetness." + +It seems that on one occasion, being attacked by a lion, Samson, +without any weapon of defense, tore the lion to pieces. Passing the +vineyard some time after, he went in to see if the lion still rested +there; and lo! the skeleton was a hive of bees. He partook freely of +the honey and carried some to his parents. Being proof against the +lion's paws, he had no fear of the bees. Day after day passed, and the +young men could not guess the riddle. So they persuaded the wife to +coax him for the answer, with promises of silver if she succeeded, and +threatenings of wrath if she failed. So, with constant weeping and +doubts of his love, she at last worried the answer out of him, with +promises of secrecy. + +As soon as Samson saw that he was betrayed he sent his wife back to +her father's house, who gave her at once to one of the leaders at the +festivities. As Samson loved the woman, he forgave her, and sought to +bring her back to his own home. The father informed him that he had +already given her to another, and that he might have the younger +daughter, if he chose, who had far more grace and beauty. + +The commentators say that it was very generous in Samson to make this +concession, as he was the party offended. But Samson was himself a +riddle and a paradox of a man. "He saw something in her face which +pleased him well." "He that in the choice of a wife is guided by his +eye, and governed by his fancy, must afterwards blame himself if he +find a Philistine in his arms." It is a great calamity that even able +men are so easily influenced by weak and wicked women to do what they +know is dangerous; and yet they feel it a disparagement to follow the +advice of a good wife in what is virtuous and praiseworthy. + +Samson was most unfortunate in all his associations with women. It is +a pity that the angel who impressed on his parents the importance of +considering everything that pertained to the physical development of +the child, had not made some suggestions to them as to the formation of +his moral character. Even his physical prowess was not used by him for +any great purpose. To kill a lion, to walk off with the gates of the +city, to catch three hundred foxes and to tie them together by their +tails two by two, with firebrands to burn the cornfields and the +vineyards--all this seems more like the frolics of a boy, than the +military tactics of a great general or the statesmanship of a judge in +Israel. + +Samson does not seem to have learned wisdom from experience in his +dealings with women. He foolishly trusted another woman, "whose face +pleased him," with the secret of his great strength, which she, too, +worried out of him with tears and doubts of his affection. For the +betrayal of his secret the Philistines paid her eleven hundred pieces +of silver. + +In the last act of this complicated tragedy, it is said that Samson at +his death killed more people than in all his life before. After Delilah +betrayed him into the hands of the Philistines, they put out his eyes, +and left him to grind in the prison house. As was their custom, they +brought him out to make sport for the people assembled in a spacious +building. As his hair had begun to grow, he braced himself against the +door posts, overturned the building, and killed all of its occupants, +and himself, gladly ending his own sad life. + +The name Delilah is fitly used to describe those who with flattery +bring destruction on those whom they pretend to love. Many a strong man +has been slain by this type of designing woman. Commentators do not +agree as to whether Delilah was an Israelite or a Philistine, probably +the latter, as Samson seemed to be more pleased with the women of that +tribe than with those of his own. One hesitates to decide which is most +surprising--Samson's weakness or Delilah's wickedness. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The writer of the Book of Judges would fail in his endeavor to present +a complete picture of his time, did he omit the important +characteristic of a woman and her influence upon man therein portrayed. + +In Delilah, the treacherous, the sinister, the sensuous side of woman +is depicted. Like Vivian, in the Idyls of King Arthur, Delilah uses-- +nay, abuses--the power which she had gained over Samson by virtue of +her beauty and her personal attractions. She uses these personal gifts +for a sinister purpose. They serve her as a snare to beguile the man +whose lust she had aroused. + +What a lesson this story teaches to men as well as to women! Let man +overcome the lust of his eyes and prostitution will die a natural +death. Let woman beware that her influence is of the purest and +highest; let her spiritual nature be so attractive that man will be +drawn toward it. Forever "the eternal womanly draweth man" onward and +upward. Soul unity will become the rule when the same chastity and +purity are demanded of the sexes alike. Woman's chastity is never +secure as long as there are two standards of morality. + + +C. B. N. + + + +"Colonial days" is the felicitous term given by Rev. Dr. Lyman Abbott to +the period of nearly three centuries following the campaign against the +inhabitants of Canaan, when the Israelites took possession of their +land. The Book of, Judges is a record of those "colonial days;" and they +are described also in the first part of the book which bears the name of +the prophet Samuel. During those Hebrew "colonial days," as Dr. Abbott +states, "there was no true Capital--indeed, no true Nation. There were a +variety of separate provinces, having almost as little common life as +had the American colonies before the formation of the Constitution of +the United States. In war these colonies united; in peace they separated +from each other again." + +But in one thing they were united. They clung to the teachings of +their great law-giver, Moses, and emphasized a belief in one righteous +God. Whether expressed by priestly ritual or in prophetic declaration, +the truth was clearly revealed that the Jews were a people who +worshiped one God, and that they accorded to Him the attribute of +righteousness. He was a sovereign, but a just one. And to this belief +they clung tenaciously, believing themselves justified in conquering +the nations about them, because their God was the only ruler. + +The Book of Judges contains the record of many harrowing events; but +what besides savagery can be expected of a warring people whose Deity +is invoked as the "God of battles," and who believed themselves +Divinely commissioned to drive other tribes from off the face of the +earth! The book is as sensational as are our newspapers; and if each +chapter and verse were illustrated as are the papers of what is termed +the "New journalism," they would present an appearance of striking and +painful similarity. + +The fate of Adoni-besek, an example of retributive justice; the +treacherous act of the left-handed Ehud, causing the death of the fat +King Eglon of Moab; the inhospitable cruelty--or cruel inhospitality-- +of Jael, the wife of Heber, whose hammer and nail are welded fast in +historical narration with the brow of the sleeping guest, Sisera, the +captain of Jabin's army; the famous exploits of Gideon who, if he was a +superior strategist and warrior, gave little evidence, by his seventy +sons, of his morality according to Christian standards; the death of +Abimelech, which was half suicidal lest it should be said that a +woman's hand had slain him; these, and more also of the same sort, +leave the impression on the mind that those "colonial days" of the +Hebrew nation were far from days of peace or of high morality; and the +record of them is certainly as unfit for the minds of children +and of youth as are the illustrated and graphic accounts of many unholy +acts which are to found in our daily newspapers. + +General Weyler, in his Cuban warfare, has, in many respects, a +prototype in General Gideon, and also in General Jephthah, "a mighty +man of valor" and "the son of a harlot," as the author of the Book of +Judges declares him to have been. We deprecate the savage butchery of +the one--what ought we to say of the renown of the others? War is +everywhere terrible, and "deeds of violence and of blood" are sad +reminders of the imperfections of mankind. The men of those "colonial +days" were far from being patterns of excellence; and the women +"matched the men," in most instances. Deborah, as a "mother in Israel," +won deserved renown, so that her song of victory is even now rehearsed, +but it is a query that can have but one answer, whether her anthem of +triumph is not a musical rehearsal of treacherous and warlike deeds, +unworthy of a woman's praise? + +In the Book of judges Delilah appears, and if the mother of her strong +lover, Samson, was not a perfect woman, in the modern sense, she has +helped to make some readers feel that the law of heredity is a revealer +of secrets, and that the story of the angel of the Lord may be received +with due caution. The name "Delilah" has become a synonym for a woman +tempting to sin, and the moral weakness and physical strength of Samson +show the power of heredity. But whether the stories should be in the +hands of our youth, without sufficient explanation and wise +commentaries, is a question which coming days will solve to the extent +of a wise elimination. Solemn lessons, and those of moral import, are +given in the Book of Judges; yet, as a whole, the book does not leave +one with an exalted opinion of either the men or the women of those +days. But it certainly gives no evidence that in shrewdness, in a wise +adaptation of means to ends, in a persistent effort after desired +objects, in a successful accomplishment of plans and purposes, the +women were the inferiors of the men in that age. They appear to have +been their equals, and occasionally their superiors. + + +P. A. H. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF RUTH. + + + +Ruth i. + + + +1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there +was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem--Judah went to +sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons. + +2 And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife +Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion. And they came +into the country of Moab, and continued there. + +3 And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two +sons. + +4 And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one +was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about +ten years. + +5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was +left of her two sons and her husband. + +6 Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from +the country of Moab; for she had heard in the country of Moab how that +the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. + +7 Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two +daughters in law with her. + +8 And Naomi said unto her daughters in law, Go, return each to her +mother's house; + +The Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and +with me. + +10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy +people. + +14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept: and Orpah kissed her +mother in law; but Ruth clave to her. + +15 And he said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her +people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. + +16 And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee: for whither thou +goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people +shall be my people, and thy God my God: + +19 So they two went until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to +pass, when they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved +about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? + +20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the +Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. + +21 I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why +then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and +the Almighty hath afflicted me. + +22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, +with her. + + +Commentators differ as to the exact period when this book was written +and as to the judge who ruled Israel at that time. + +It must have been, however, in the beginning of the days when the +judges ruled, as Boaz, who married Ruth, was the son of Rahab, who +protected the spies in Joshua's reign. Some say that it was in the +reign of Deborah. Tradition says that the "Messiah was descended from +two Gentile maidens, Rahab and Ruth, and that Ruth was the daughter of +Eglon, King of Moab; but this is denied, as Boaz, whom Ruth married, +judged Israel two hundred years after Eglon's death. However widely the +authorities differ as to Ruth's genealogical tree, they all agree that +she was a remarkably sincere, refined, discreet maiden, a loving +daughter and an honored wife." + +Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, is severely criticised by Biblical +writers for leaving his people and his country when in distress and +seeking his fortune among the heathen Moabites, thus leading his sons +into the temptation of taking strange wives. They say that the speedy +deaths of the father and the sons were a proof of God's disapprobation. +Naomi manifested such remarkable goodness and wisdom as a widow, that +one wonders that she did not use her influence to keep her husband in +his native land to share the trials of his neighbors. + +The tender friendship between Ruth and Naomi, so unusual with a mother- +in-law, has been celebrated in poetry, in prose and in art the world +round. The scene between Naomi and her daughters in parting was most +affectionate. As soon as Naomi decided to return to her own country, +her daughters assisted her in making the necessary preparations. Ruth +secretly made her own, having decided to go with Naomi to the land of +Judea. + +When the appointed day arrived, mounted on three gray jackasses, they +departed. A few miles out Naomi proposed to rest by the roadside and to +say farewell, and, after thanking them for all the love and kindness +they had shown her, advised them to go no farther, but return to their +home in that land of plenty. She told them frankly that she had no home +luxuries to offer, life with her would for them be poverty and +privation in a strange land, and she was not willing that they should +sacrifice all the pleasures of their young lives for her. Sad and +lonely with the loss of their husbands, parting with Naomi seemed to +intensify their grief. United in a common sorrow, the three women stood +gazing in silence into each other's faces, until Naomi, with her usual +self-control and common sense, again pointed out to them all the +hardships involved in the change which they proposed. + +Her words made a deep impression on Orpah. She hesitated, and at last +decided to abide by Naomi's advice; but not so with Ruth. Naomi had a +peculiar magnetic attraction for her, a charm stronger than kindred, +country or ease. Her expressions of steadfast friendship in making her +decision were so tender and sincere that they have become household +words. She said: "Entreat me not to leave thee; for whither thou goest +I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my +people, and thy God my God; where thou diest will I die, and there will +I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death +part thee and me." (These words are on a bronze tablet on the stone +over the grave of Robert Louis Stevenson at Samoa.) + +Having bade farewell to Orpah, they journeyed together and made a home +for themselves in Bethlehem. Naomi owned a small house, lot and spring +of water on the outskirts of the town. After a few days of rest, Ruth +said to Naomi, I must not sit here with folded hands, nor spend my time +in visiting neighbors, nor in search of amusement, but I must go forth +to work, to provide food and clothes, and leave thee to rest. As it was +the season for the wheat and barley harvests, Ruth heard that laborers +were needed in the fields. It was evident that Ruth believed in the +dignity of labor and of self-support. She thought, no doubt, that every +one with a sound mind in a sound body and two hands should earn her own +livelihood. She threw her whole soul into her work and proved a +blessing to her mother. So Naomi consented that she might go and glean +in the fields with other maidens engaged in that work. + +When Naomi was settled in Bethlehem she remembered that she had a rich +kinsman, Boaz, whose name means strength, a man of great wealth as well +as wisdom. Ruth was employed in the field of Boaz; and in due time he +took note of the fair maiden from Moab. In harvest time he needed many +extra hands, and he came often among the reapers to see how the work +went forward. He heard such good accounts of Ruth's industry, dignity +and discretion that he ordered his men to make her work as easy as +possible, to leave plenty for her to glean and to carry home in the +evening. This she often sold on the way, and bought something which +Naomi needed. + +Naomi and Ruth enjoyed their evenings together. Naomi did not spend +the day in idleness either. She had her spinning-wheel and loom to +make their garments; she worked also in her garden, raising vegetables, +herbs and chickens; and they talked over their day's labor as they +enjoyed their simple supper of herb tea, bread and watercresses. Their +menu was oft times more tempting, thanks to Ruth's generous purchases +on her way home. Being busy, practical women, their talk during the +evening was chiefly on "ways and means;" they seldom rose to the higher +themes of pedagogics and psychology, subjects so familiar in the clubs +of American women. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Ruth ii. + + + +1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of +the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. + +2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, +and glean cars of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And +she said unto her, Go, my daughter. + +4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem . . . + +7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers +among the sheaves: so she came. + +8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to +glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by +my maidens: . . . . It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast +done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband; and how +thou hast left thy father and thy mother. + +19 And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned +to-day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge +of thee . . . . And Ruth said, the man's name is Boaz . . . . And Naomi +said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. + + +It was a custom among the Israelites, in order to preserve their own +line, that the nearest kinsman should marry the young widow on whom +their hopes depended. So when Naomi remembered that Boaz was her +kinsman, and that as age made marriage with her undesirable, Ruth would +be the proper person to fill her place. With great tact on their part +Naomi's wishes were accomplished. + +Boaz was the son of Salmon and Rahab, and according to the Chaldee was +not only a mighty man in wealth but also in wisdom, a most rare and +excellent conjunction. Boaz was of the family of Elimelech, of which +Ruth, by marriage, was a part also. Moreover, as she had adopted the +country of Naomi and was a proselyte to her faith, her marriage with +Boaz was in accordance with Jewish custom. Naomi was told by the spirit +of prophecy, says the Chaldee, that from her line should descend six +of the most righteous men of the age, namely, David, Daniel, his three +compeers and the King Messiah. + +Commentators say that Boaz was probably himself one of the elders, or +the aldermen, of the city, and that he went up to the gates as one +having authority, and not as a common person. They say that Ruth was +neither rich nor beautiful, but a poor stranger, "whose hard work in +the fields" had withered her "lilies and roses." But Boaz had heard her +virtue and dignity extolled by all who knew her. The Chaldee says, +"house and riches are the inheritance from fathers; but a prudent wife +is more valuable than rubies and is a special gift from heaven." Boaz +prized Ruth for her virtues, for her great moral qualities of head and +heart. He did not say like Samson, when his parents objected to his +choice, "her face pleaseth me." + +In narrating the story of Ruth and Naomi to children they invariably +ask questions of interest, to which the sacred fabulist gives no +answer. They always ask if Ruth and Naomi had no pets when living +alone, before Obed made his appearance. If the modern historian may be +allowed to wander occasionally outside of the received text, it may be +said undoubtedly that they had pets, as there is nothing said of cats +and dogs and parrots, but frequent mention of doves, kids and lambs, we +may infer that in these gentle innocents they found their pets. No +doubt Providence softened their solitude by providing them with +something on which to expend their mother love. + + + +Ruth iv. + + + +1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there; and, behold, +the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by; unto whom he said, He, such a +one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. + +2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down +here. + +3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the +country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother +Elimelech's: + +4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the +inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem +it, redeem it; but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may +know; for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. +And he said, I will redeem it. + +5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, +thou must buy it also of Ruth the wife of the dead, to raise up the +name of the dead upon his inheritance. + +6 And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine +own inheritance; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot. + + +Boaz was one of the district judges, and he held his court in the town +hall over the gates of Bethlehem. The kinsman who was summoned to +appear there and to settle the case readily agreed to the proposal of +Boaz to fill his place, as he was already married. He was willing to +take the land; but as the widow and the land went together, according +to the Jewish law of inheritance, Boaz was in a position to fill the +legal requirements; and as he loved Ruth, he was happy to do so. Ruth +was summoned to appear before the grave and reverend seigniors; the +civil pledges were made and the legal documents duly signed. The +reporter is silent as to the religious observances and the marriage +festivities. They were not as vigilant and as satisfying as are the +skilled reporters of our day, who have the imagination to weave a +connected story and to give to us all the hidden facts which we desire +to know. Our reporters would have told us how, when and where Ruth was +married, what kind of a house Boaz had, how Ruth was dressed, etc., +etc., whereas we are left in doubt on all of these points. + +The historian does vouchsafe to give to us further information on the +general feeling of the people. They all joined in the prayer of the +elders that the Lord would "make the woman that is come into thine +house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of +Israel;" they prayed for Boaz that he might be more famous and +powerful; they prayed for the wife that she might be a blessing in the +house, and the husband in the public business of the town; that all of +their children might be faithful in the church, and their descendants +be as numerous as the sands of the sea. + +In due time one prayer was answered, and Ruth bore a son. Naomi loved +the child and shared in its care. But Ruth said: "The, love of Naomi is +more to me than that of seven sons could be." Naomi was a part of +Ruth's household to the day of her death and shared all of her luxuries +and her happiness. + +The child's name was Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. +The name Obed signifies one who serves. The motto of the Prince of +Wales is (ich dien) "I serve." It is to be hoped that Obed was more +profoundly interested in the problems of industrial economics than the +Prince seems to be, and that he spent a more useful and practical life. +If the Bethlehem newspapers had been as enterprising as our journals +they would have given us some pictorial +representations of Obed on Naomi's lap, or at the baptismal font, or in +the arms of Boaz, who, like Napoleon, stood contemplating in silence +his firstborn. + +Some fastidious readers object to the general tenor of Ruth's +courtship. But as her manners conformed to the customs of the times, +and as she followed Naomi's instructions implicitly, it is fair to +assume that Ruth's conduct was irreproachable. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF SAMUEL. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +1 Samuel i. + + + +1 Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim, of mount Ephraim, +and his name was Elkanah. + +2 And he had two wives; the name of the one was Hannah, and the name +of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no +children. + +3 And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to +sacrifice unto the Lord of hosts in Shiloh. + +4 And when the time was that Elkanah offered, he gave to Peninnah his +wife, and to all her sons and her daughters, portions: + +5 But unto Hannah he gave a worthy portion; for he loved Hannah; but +Peninnah mocked her. + +7 And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the +Lord; so she provoked her, therefore she wept, and did not eat. + +8 Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and +why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to +thee than ten sons? Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the +temple of the Lord. + +10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the Lord, and +wept sore. + +11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed +look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and wilt give unto me a man +child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. + +17 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the God of Israel +grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she bare a +son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of +the Lord. + +26 And she said, O my lord, as thy soul liveth, I am the woman that +stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. + +27 For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition +which I asked of him. + +28 Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord, as long as he liveth. + + +These books contain the history of the last two of the judges of +Israel. Eli and Samuel were not as the rest, men of war, but priests. +It is uncertain who wrote these books. Some say that Samuel wrote the +history of his times, and that Nathan the Prophet continued it. +Elkanah, though a godly man, had sore family trials, the result of +having married two wives, just as Abraham and Jacob did before him. It +is probable that Elkanah married Hannah from pure love; but she had no +children, and as at that time every man had great pride in building up +a family, he married Peninnah, who bare him children, but in other +respects was a constant vexation. + +Peninnah was haughty and insolent because she had children, while +Hannah was melancholy and discontented because she had none, hence +Elkanah had no pleasure in his daily life with either. He had a +difficult part to act. Hoping much from the consolations of religion, +he took his wives and children annually up to the temple of the Lord in +Shiloh to worship. Being of a devout spiritual nature, he thought that +worshiping at the same altar must produce greater harmony between his +wives. But Penninah {sic} became more peevish and provoking, and Hannah +more silent and sorrowful, weeping most of the time. Elkanah's love and +patience with Hannah was beautiful to behold. He paid her every +possible attention and gave her valuable gifts. + +Appreciating his own feelings, he said to her one day in an exuberant +burst of devotion, "Am I not more to thee than ten sons?" He made peace +offerings to the Lord, gave Hannah the choice bits at the table, but +all his delicate attentions made Hannah more melancholy and Peninnah +more rebellious. He and Hannah continued to, pray earnestly to the Lord +to remove her reproach, and their prayers were at last answered. + +Eli was presiding at the temple one day when he noticed Hannah in a +remote corner wrestling in prayer with the Lord. Though her manner was +intense, and her lips moved, he heard no sound, and inferred that she +was intoxicated. Hannah, hearing of his suspicion, said, that naught +but the debauchery of his own sons could have made such a suspicion +possible. But Eli made atonement for his rash, unfriendly censure by a +kind of fatherly benediction. With all these adverse winds in this +visit to Shiloh, Elkanah must have felt as if his family had been +possessed by the spirit of evil. When the sons of God come "to present +themselves before the Lord, Satan will be seen to come also." Peninnah +behaved worse during these religious festivities because she saw more +of Elkanah's devotion to Hannah. Hannah became more sad because she was +losing faith in prayer. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." + +An endless discord in the harmony of the family joys was a puzzling +problem for the sweet tempered Elkanah. But the ever-turning wheel of +fortune brought peace and prosperity to his domestic altar at last. +Hannah bore a son and named him Samuel, which signifies +"heard of the Lord," or given by the Lord. Hannah was very modest in +her petition; she said, "O Lord, give me a son," while Rachel said, +"give me children." + +The one sorrow which overtopped all others with these Bible women was +in regard to children. If they had none, they made everybody miserable. +If they had children, they fanned the jealousies of one for the other. +See how Rebekah deceived Isaac and defrauded Esau of his birthright. +The men, instead of appealing to the common sense of the women, join in +constant prayer for the Lord to do what was sometimes impossible. + +Hannah in due time took Samuel up to the temple at Shiloh. In +presenting Samuel to Eli the priest she reminded him that she was the +woman on whom he passed the severe comment; but now she came to present +the child the Lord had given to her. She offered three bullocks, one +for each year of his life, one for a burnt offering, one for a sin +offering and one for a peace offering. So Hannah dedicated him wholly +to the Lord and left him in Shiloh to be educated with the sons of the +priests. Although Samuel was Hannah's only child and dearly loved, she +did not hesitate to keep her vow unto the Lord. + + + +I. Samuel ii. + + + +11 And Elkanah went to Ramah to his house. And the child did minister +unto the Lord before Eli the priest. + +18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a +linen ephod. + +19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him +from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the +yearly sacrifice. + +20 And Eli blessed Elkanah and his wife. And they went unto their own +home. + +21 And Hannah bare three sons and two daughters. And the child Samuel +grew before the Lord. + + +The historians and commentators dwell on the fact that Hannah made her +son "a little coat," and brought one annually. It is more probable that +she brought to him a complete suit of clothes once in three months, +especially trousers, if those destined to service in the temple were +allowed to join in any sports. Even devotional genuflections are severe +on that garment, which must have often needed Hannah's care. Her virtue +and wisdom as a mother were in due time rewarded by five other +children, three sons and two daughters. + +And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Saul was made king +at the request of the people. The ark of the Lord fell into the hands +of the Philistines. This event, with the death of Eli and his sons, had +most tragic results, viz., in the killing of thirty thousand people and +the death of the wife of Phinehas, who was said to have been a woman of +gracious spirit, though the wife of a wicked husband. Her grief for the +death of her husband and father-in-law proved her strong natural +affection, but her much greater concern for the loss of the ark of the +Lord was an evidence of her devout affection to God. Her dying words, +"the glory has departed from Israel," show that her last thought was of +her religion. She named her son Ichabod, whose premature birth was the +result of many calamities, both public and private, crowning all with +the great battle with the Philistines. Samuel was the last judge of +Israel. As the people clamored for a king, Saul was chosen to rule over +them. The women joined in the festivities of the occasion with music +and dancing. + + + +1 Samuel xviii. + + + +6 And it came to pass when David was returned from the slaughter of +the Philistines that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, +singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabrets and instruments of +music. + +7 And the women answered one another a--, they played, and said, Saul +hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. + +8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, +They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have +ascribed but thousands; and what can he have more than the kingdom? + + +It was the custom among women to celebrate the triumphs of their +warriors after a great battle in spectacular performances. Decked with +wreaths, they danced down the public streets, singing the songs of +victory in praise of their great leaders. They were specially +enthusiastic over David, the chorus, "Saul hath killed his thousands, +but David his ten thousands," chanted with pride by beautiful maidens +and wise matrons, stirred the very soul of Saul to deadly jealousy, and +he determined to suppress David in some way or to kill him outright. It +is not probable that any of these battle hymns, so much admired, +emanated from the brain of woman; the blood and thunder style shows +clearly that they were all written by the pen of a warrior, long after +the women of their respective tribes +were at rest in Abraham's bosom. + +David was a general favorite; even the Philistines admired his courage +and modesty. The killing of Goliath impressed the people generally that +David was the chosen of the Lord to succeed Saul as King of Israel. + +But on the heels of his triumphs David's troubles soon began. Saul was +absorbed in plotting and in planning how to circumvent David, and +looked with jealousy on the warm friendship maturing between him and +his son Jonathan. + + +17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab; her will I +give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the Lord's +battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand +of the Philistines be upon him. + +18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my +father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king? + +19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should +have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel, the +Meholathite, to wife. + +20 And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David: and they told Saul, and +the thing pleased him. + +21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, +and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul +said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the +twain. + +22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David +secretly, and say, Behold the king hath delight in thee, and all his +servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son-in-law. + +24 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And +David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, +seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? + +28 And Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that +Michal, Saul's daughter, loved him. + + +Saul thought if he could get David to marry his daughter he would make +her a snare to entrap him. He promised David his daughter, and then +married her to another to provoke him to some act of violence, that he +might have an excuse for whatever he chose to do. But when Saul offered +to give him Michal, David modestly replied that he belonged to a humble +shepherd family and was not worthy to be the son-in-law of a king. + +In due time David did marry Michal, who loved him and proved a +blessing rather than a snare. On one occasion when Saul had made secret +plans to capture David, Michal with her diplomacy saved him. Saul +surrounded his house with guards and ordered them to kill David the +moment he appeared in the morning. Michal, seeing their preparations, +knew their significance, and at night, when all was still, she let +David down through a window and told him to flee. In the morning, as +David did not appear, they searched the house. Michal told them that +David was ill and in bed. She had covered the head of a wooden image +with goat's hair and tucked the supposed David up snug and warm. The +guards would not wake a sick man in order to kill him, and they +reported what they saw to Saul, but he ordered them to return and to +bring David, sick or well. + +When Saul found that he had escaped, he was very wroth and upbraided +Michal for her disrespect to him. Though she had saved the man she +loved, yet she marred her noble deed by saying that David would have +killed her if he suspected she had connived with her father to kill +him. But alas! the poor woman was between two fires--the husband whom +she loved on one side, and the father whom she feared on the other. +Most of the women in the Bible seem to have been in a quandary the +chief part of the time. + +Saul made a special war on the soothsayers and the fortunetellers, +because they were divining evil things of him. But losing faith in +himself and embittered by many troubles, be went to the witch of Endor +to take counsel with Samuel, hoping to find more comfort with the dead +than with the living. The witch recognized him and asked him why he +came to her, having so cruelly persecuted her craft. However, she +summoned Samuel at his request, who told him that on the morrow, in the +coming battle with the Philistines, he and his sons would be slain by +the enemy. When the witch saw Saul's grief and consternation she begged +him to eat, placing some tempting viands before him, which he did, and +then hastened to depart while it was yet dark, that he might not be +seen coming from such a house. Commentators say it was not Samuel who +appeared, but Satan in the guise of the prophet, as he especially +enjoys all psychical mysteries. Josephus extols the witch for her +courtesy, and Saul for his courage in going forth to the battle on the +next day to meet his doom. + +The poet says that the heart from love to one grows bountiful to all. +This seems to have been the case with David as he adds wife to wife, +Michal, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess. His +meeting with Abigail in the hills of Carmel was quite romantic. + +She made an indelible impression on his heart, and as soon as her +husband was gathered to his fathers David at once proposed and was +accepted. Though the women who attracted David were "beautiful to look +upon," yet they had great qualities of head and heart, and he seemed +equally devoted to all of them. When carried off captives in war he +made haste to recapture them. Michal's steadfastness seems questionable +at one or two points of her career, but the historian does not let us +into the secret recesses of her feelings. + +David's time and thoughts seem to have been equally divided between +the study of government and social ethics, and he does not appear very +wise in either. His honor shines brighter in his psalms than in his +ordinary, everyday life. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +1 Samuel xxv. + + + +2 And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and +the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand +goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. + +3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail; +and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful +countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings. + +4 And David heard in the wilderness that Nabal did shear his sheep. + +5 And David sent out ten young men, and David said unto the young men, +Get you up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name: + +6 And thus shall ye say to him that liveth in prosperity, Peace be +both to thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that +thou hast. + +8 . . . Give, I pray thee, whatsover cometh to thine hand unto thy +servants. + +10 And Nabal said, Who is David? and--who is the son of Jesse? + +11 Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have +killed for my shearers, and give unto men, whom I know not whence they +be? + +12 So David's young men came and told him all these sayings. + +13 And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword; and +David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about +four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff. + +14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, +Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our +master; and he railed on them. + +18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two +bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of +parched corn, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cases +of figs, and laid them on asses. + +23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, +and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. + +25 Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even +Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is +with him: but I thine handmaid saw not the young men of my lord, whom +thou didst send. + +32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which +sent thee this day to meet me: + +35 So David received of her hand that which she had brought him, and +said unto her, Go up in peace to thine house; + +38 And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote +Nabal, that he died. + +39 . . . And David sent and communed with Abigail, to take her to him +to wife. + +41 And Abigail hasted, and arose, and rode upon an ass, with five +damsels of hers that went after her; and she went after the messengers +of David, and became his wife. + + +The chief business of the women in the reigns of Kings Saul and David +seems to have been to rescue men from the craft and the greed of each +other. The whole interest in this story of Nabal centres in the tact of +Abigail in saving their lives and possessions from threatened +destruction, owing to the folly and the ignorance of her husband. His +name, Nabal, signifying folly, describes his character. + +It is a wonder that his parents should have given to him such a name, +and a greater wonder that Abigail should have married him. He inherited +Caleb's estate; but he was far from inheriting his virtues. His wealth +was great; but he was a selfish, snarling cynic. Abigail's name +signifies "the joy of her father;" but he could not have promised +himself much joy in her, caring more for the wealth than for the wisdom +of her husband. Many a child is thus thrown away--married to worldly +wealth and to nothing else which is desirable. Wisdom is good with an +inheritance; but an inheritance without wisdom is good for nothing. +Many an Abigail is tied to a Nabal; but even if they have her +understanding they will find it hard enough to fill such a relation. + +David and his men were returning from Samuel's funeral through the +wilderness of Paran and were in sore need of provisions, and knowing +that Nabal had immense wealth, and, moreover, that it was the season +for sheep shearing, David thought that he would be happy to place the +king under obligations to him, and was surprised to find him so +disloyal. Abigail, however, appreciated the situation, and by her +courtesy and her generosity made amends for the rudeness of her +husband. She did not stop to parley with him, but hastened to meet the +king with the needed provisions. She wasted no words of excuse for +Nabal, but spoke of him with marked contempt. Her conduct would have +shocked the Apostle who laid such stress on the motto, "Wives, obey +your husbands." "What little reason we have to value the wealth of this +world," says the historian, "when such a churl as Nabal abounds in +plenty, while such a saint as David suffers want." + +David sent to him most gracious messages; but he replied in his usual +gruff manner, "Who is David, that I should share with him my riches? +What care I for the son of Jesse?" The servant did not return to Nabal +with David's outburst of wrath nor his resolution of vengeance; but he +told all to Abigail, who made haste to avert the threatened danger. She +did what she saw was to be done, quickly. Wisdom in such a case was +better than weapons of war. + +Nabal begrudged the king and his retinue water; but Abigail gave them +two casks of wine and all sorts of provisions in abundance. She +met David on the march big with resentment, meditating the destruction +of Nabal. But Abigail by her humility completely disarmed the king. +With great respect and complaisance she urges him to lay all of the +blame on her; and to attribute Nabal's faults to his want of wit, born +simple, not spiteful. Abigail puts herself in the attitude of a humble +petitioner. + +David received all that Abigail brought him with many thanks. It is +evident from the text that she gave to him many of the delicacies from +her larder. Ten days after this Nabal died. David immediately sent +messengers to Abigail asking her to be his wife. She readily accepted, +as David had made a deep impression on her heart. So, with her five +damsels, all mounted on white jackasses, she accompanied the messengers +to the king and became his wife. + +The Hebrew mythology does not gild the season of courtship and +marriage with much sentiment or romance. The transfer of a camel or a +donkey from one owner to another, no doubt, was often marked with more +consideration than that of a daughter. One loves a faithful animal long +in our possession and manifests more grief in parting than did these +Hebrew fathers in giving away their daughters, or than the daughters +did in leaving their family, their home or their country. + +We have no beautiful pictures of lovers sitting in shady groves, +exchanging their tributes of love and of friendship, their hopes and +fears of the future; no temples of knowledge where philosophers and +learned matrons discussed great questions of human destiny, such as +Greek mythology gives to us; Socrates and Plato, learning wisdom at the +feet of the Diametias of their times, give to us a glimpse of a more +exalted type of womanhood than any which the sacred fabulists have +vouchsafed thus far. + + + +2 Samuel iii. + + + +2 And unto David were sons born 'n Hebron: and his firstborn was +Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess: + +3 And his second, Chileab, of Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite; +and the third, Absalom the son of Maacah the daughter of Talmai king of +Geshur: + +4 And the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith; and the fifth, +Shephatiah the son of Abital; + +5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife. These were born to +David in Hebron. + + +The last is called David's wife, his only rightful wife, Michal. It +was a fault in David, say the commentators, thus to multiply wives +contrary to Jewish law. It was a bad example to his successors. Men who +make the laws should not be the first to disobey them. None of his sons +was famous, but three were infamous, due in part to their father's +nature and example. + + +14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was +girded with a linen ephod. + +15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord +with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. + +16 And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal +Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and +dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. + +20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter +of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of +Israel to-day, who uncovered himself in the eyes of his servants, as +one of the vain fellows. + +21 And David said unto Michal, It was before the Lord, which chose me +before thy father. + + +Michal, like Abigail, does not seem to have been overburdened with +conjugal respect. She was so impatient to let the king know how he +appeared in her sight that she could not wait at home, but went out to +meet him. She even questions the wisdom of such a parade over the ark, +and tells the king that it would have been better to leave it where it +had been hidden for years. + +Neither Michal nor Abigail seem to have made idols of their husbands; +they did not even consult them as to what they should think, say or do. +They furnish a good example to wives to use their own judgment and to +keep their own secrets, not make the family altar a constant +confessional. + + + +2 Samuel xi. + + + +2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his +bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house, and saw a woman +washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. + +3 And David sent and inquired after her. And one said, Is not this +Bath-she-ba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? + +4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him. + +6 And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab +sent Uriah to David. + +7 And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab +did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered. + +9 And Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the +servants of his lord, and went not down to his house. + +14 And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to +Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. + +15 And he wrote in the letter saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of +the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and +die. + +16 And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned +Uriah unto a place where he knew that +valiant men were. + +26 And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there +fell some of the people of the servants of David; and Uriah the Hittite +died also. + +16 And when the wife of Uriah heard that her husband was dead, she +mourned for her husband. + +27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his +house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that +David had done displeased the Lord. + + +This book contains but little in regard to women. What is worthy of +mention in the story of Bath-sheba is finished in the following book. +David's first vision of her is such a reflection on his honor that, +from respect to the "man after the Lord's own heart," we pass it in +silence. + +David's social ethics were not quite up to the standard even of his +own times. It is said that he was a master of his pen as well as of his +sword. His poem on the death of Saul and Jonathan has been much praised +by literary critics. But, alas! David was not able to hold the Divine +heights which he occasionally attained. As in the case of Bath-sheba, +he remained where he could see her; instead of going with his army to +Jerusalem to attend to his duties as King of Israel and general of the +army, he delegated them to others. Had he been at his post he would +have been out of the way of temptation. He used to pray three times a +day, not only at morning and evening, but at noon also. It is to be +feared than on this day he forgot his devotions and thought only of +Bath-sheba. + +Uriah, the husband of Bath-sheba, was one of David's soldiers, a man +of strict honor and virtue. To get rid of him for a season, David sent +him with a message to one of the officers at Jerusalem, telling him +that in the next battle to place Uriah in the front rank that he might +distinguish himself. Uriah was a poor man and tenderly loved his wife. +He little knew the fatal contents of the letter which he carried. When +Joab received the letter, he took it for granted that he was guilty of +some crime and that the king wished him to be punished. So Joab obeyed +the king and Uriah was killed. In due time all this was known, and +filled the people with astonishment and greatly displeased the Lord. + +It is to be hoped that he did not commune with God during this period of +humiliation or pen any psalms of praise for His goodness and mercy. He +married Bath-sheba, and she bore him a son and called his name Solomon. +But this did not atone for his sin. "His heart was sad, his soul," says +a commentator, "was like a tree in winter which has life in the root +only." + + + +2 Samuel xii. + + + +And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said +unto him: There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other +poor. + + +2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds; + +3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had +bought and nourished: and it grew up together with him, and with his +children: it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay +in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. + +4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take +of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man, +but took the poor man's lamb and dressed it. + +5 And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said +to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall +surely die: + +6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing. + +7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God +of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out +of the hand of Saul; + +9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil +in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and +hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword +of the children of Ammon. + +10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; +because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the +Hittite to be thy wife. + + +And the Lord said unto Nathan the Prophet, David's faithful friend, +"Go thou and instruct and counsel him." Nathan judiciously gives his +advice in the form of a parable, on which David gives his judgment as +to the sin of the chief actor and denounces him in unmeasured terms, +and says that he should be punished with death--"he shall surely die." +David did not suspect the bearing of the fable until Nathan applied it, +and, to David's surprise and consternation, said, "Thou art the man." + +Uriah the Hittite had but "one little ewe lamb," one wife whom he +loved as his own soul, while King David had many; yet he robbed Uriah +of all that he had and made him carry his own message of death to Joab, +the general of the army, who gave to him the most dangerous place in +the battle, and, as the king desired, he was killed. + +When the king first recalled Uriah from the field, Uriah went not to his +own house, as he suspected foul play, having heard that Bath-sheba often +appeared at court. Both the king and Bath-sheba urged him to go to his +own house; but he went not. Bath-sheba had been to him all that was pure +and beautiful in woman, and he could not endure even the suspicion of +guilt in her. He understood the king's plans, and probably welcomed +death, as without Bath-sheba's love, life had no joy for him. But to be +transferred from the cottage of a poor soldier to the palace of a king +was a sufficient compensation for the loss of the love of a true and +faithful man. + +This was one of the most cruel deeds of David's life, marked with so +many acts of weakness and of crime. He was ruled entirely by his +passions. Reason had no sway over him. Fortunately, the development of +self-respect and independence in woman, and a higher idea of individual +conscience and judgment in religion and in government, have supplied +the needed restraint for man. Men will be wise and virtuous just in +proportion as women are self-reliant and able to meet them on the +highest planes of thought and of action. + +No magnet is so powerful as that which draws men and women to each +other. Hence they rise or fall together. This is one lesson which the +Bible illustrates over and over--the degradation of woman degrades man +also. "Her face pleaseth me," said Samson, who, although he could +conquer lions, was like putty in the hands of women. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF KINGS. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +1 Kings i. + + + +11 Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, +saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth +reign. Go . . . unto King David, and say unto him, Didst thou not swear +unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign +after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then doth Adonijah reign? + +15 And Bath-sheba went in unto the king. . . . And the king said, What +wouldst thou? + +17 And she said unto him, Thou swarest unto thine handmaid, saying, +Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon +my throne. + +18 And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth. + +22 And lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also +came in. + +21 And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall +reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? + +28 Then King David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came +and stood before the king. + +29 And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth, that bath +redeemed my soul out of all distress, + +30 Even as I sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, +Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon +my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. + +31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence +to the king, and said, Let my lord, King David, live for ever. + +32 And King David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the +prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came. + +33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your +lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring +him down to Gihon: + +34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there +king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save King +Solomon. + + +These books give an account of David's death, of his successor +Solomon, of the division of his kingdom between the kings of Judah and +of Israel, with an abstract of the history down to the captivity. + +Neither the king nor Bath-sheba knew that Adonijah was making +preparations to be crowned king the moment when he heard of David's +death. He made a great feast, inviting all the king's sons except +Solomon. He began his feast by a show of devotion, sacrificing sheep and +oxen. But Nathan the Prophet warns the king and Bath-sheba. In his +anxiety he appeals to Bath-sheba as the one who has the greatest concern +about Solomon, and can most easily get an audience with the king. He +suggests that Solomon is not only in danger of losing his crown, but +both he and she of losing their lives. + +Accordingly, Bath-sheba, without being announced, enters the presence +of the king. She takes no notice of the presence of Abishag, but makes +known the object of her visit at once. She reminds the king of his vow +to her that Solomon, her son, should be his successor to his throne. +Nathan the Prophet is announced in the audience chamber and tells the +king of the preparations that Adonijah is making to usurp the crown and +throne, and appeals to him to keep his vow to Bath-sheba. He reminds +him that the eyes of all Israel are upon him, and that David's word +should be an oracle of honor unto them. He urged the king to immediate +action and to put an end to all Adonijah's pretensions at once, which +the king did; and Solomon was anointed by the chief priests and +proclaimed king. + +Adonijah had organized a party, recognizing him as king, as if David +were already dead; but when a messenger brought the news that Solomon +had been anointed king, in the midst of the feast their jollities were +turned to mourning. + +Nathan's visits to the king were always welcome, especially when he +was sick and when something lay heavy on his heart. He came to the +king, not as a petitioner, but as an ambassador from God, not merely to +right the wrongs of individuals, but to maintain the honor of the +nation. + +As David grew older he suffered great depression of spirits, hence his +physicians advised that he be surrounded with young company, who might +cheer and comfort him with their own happiness and pleasure in life. He +was specially cheered by the society of Abishag, the Shunammite, a +maiden of great beauty and of many attractions in manner and +conversation, and who created a most genial atmosphere in the palace of +the king. Bath-sheba's ambition for her son was so all absorbing that +she cared but little for the attentions of the king. David reigned forty +years, seven in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. + + + +1 Kings ii. + + + +Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged +Solomon his son, saying, + + +2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show +thyself a man. + +It is a great pity that David's advice could not have been fortified +by the honor and the uprightness of his own life. "Example is stronger +than precept." + + + +1 Kings iii. + + + +16 Then came there two women unto the king, and stood before him. + +17 And the one woman said, O my lord. I and this woman dwell in one +house: and I was delivered of a child. + +19 And it came to pass the third day after, this woman was delivered +also: + +19 And her child died in the night; because she overlaid it. + +20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while +thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child +in my bosom. + +21 And when I rose in the morning it was dead; but when I had +considered it, behold, it was not my son. + +22 And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the +dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the +living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. + +24 And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword +before the king. + +25 And he said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the +one, and half to the other. + +26 Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, and +she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. +But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. + +27 Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in +no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. + +28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and +they feared the king for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to +do judgment. + + +This case was opened in court, not by lawyers, but by the parties +themselves, though both plaintiff and defendant were women. +Commentators thing that it had already been tried in the lower courts, +and the judges not being able to arrive at a satisfactory decision, +preferred to submit the case to Solomon the King. It was an occasion of +great interest; the halls of justice were crowded, all waiting with +great expectation to hear what the king would say. When he said, "bring +me my sword," the sages wondered if he intended to kill the parties, as +the shortest way to end the case; but his proposition to kill only the +living child and give half to each, showed such an intuitive knowledge +of human nature that all were impressed with his wisdom, recognizing at +once what the natural feelings of the mother would be. Solomon won +great reputation by this judgment. The people feared his piercing eye +ever after, knowing that he would see the real truth through all +disguises and complications. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In Bath-sheba's interview with David one feature impresses me +unfavorably, that she stood before the king instead of being seated +during the conference. In the older apostolic churches the elder women +and widows were provided with seats--only the young women stood; but in +the instance which we are considering the faithful wife of many years, +the mother of wise Solomon, stood before her husband. Then David, with +the fear of death before his eyes and the warning words of the prophet +ringing in his ears, remembered his oath to Bath-sheba. Bath-sheba, the +wife of whom no moral wrong is spoken, except her obedience to David in +the affairs of her first husband, bowed with her face to the earth and +did reverence to the king. + +This was entirely wrong: David should have arisen from his bed and +done reverence to this woman, his wife, bowing his face to the earth. +Yet we find this Bible teaching the subservience of woman to man, of +the wife to the husband, of the queen to the king, ruling the world +to-day. During the recent magnificent coronation ceremonies of the Czar, +his wife, granddaughter of Victoria, Queen of England and Empress of +India, who changed her religion in order to become Czarina, knelt +before her husband while he momentarily placed the crown upon her brow. +A kneeling wife at this era of civilization is proof that the +degradation of woman continues from the time of Bath-sheba to that of +Alexandria. + +In 1 Kings ii. 13-25, we have a record of Solomon's treatment of that +mother to whom he was indebted not only for his throne, but also for +life itself. Adonijah, who had lost the kingdom, requested Bath-sheba's +influence with Solomon that the fair young Abishag should be given to +him for a wife. Having lost his father's kingdom, he thought to console +himself with the maiden. + +19 So Bath-sheba therefore went unto King Solomon to speak unto him +for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto +her, and sat down on his throne and caused a seat to be set for the +king's mother; and she sat on his right hand. + +All very well thus far; and the king, in his reception of his mother, +showed to her the reverence and the respect which was due to her. Thus +emboldened, Bath-sheba said: + + +20 I desire one small petition of thee; say me not nay. And the king +said unto her, Ask on, my mother; for I will not say thee nay. + +21 And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah, thy +brother, to wife. + +But did King Solomon, who owed both throne and life to his mother, +keep his word that he had just pledged to her, "Ask on, my mother; for +I will not say thee nay?" + +No indeed, for was she not a woman, a being to whom it was customary +to make promises for the apparent purpose of breaking them; for the +king, immediately forgetting his promise of one moment previously, +cried out: + +22 And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for +him the kingdom also: for he is mine elder brother. + +23 Then King Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do so to me, and +more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. + +24 Now therefore, as the Lord liveth, who hath established me, and set +me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as +he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. + + +Solomon was anxious to give credit to the Lord instead of his mother +for having set him on the throne, and also to credit him with having +kept his promise, while at the very same moment he was breaking his own +promise to his mother. And this promise-breaking to women, taught in +the Bible, has been incorporated into the laws of both England and the +United States--a true union of Church and State where woman is +concerned. + +It is only a few years since that a suit was brought in England by a +wife against a husband in order to compel the keeping of his ante- +nuptial promise that the children of the marriage should be brought up +in the mother's religious faith. Having married the woman, this husband +and father found it convenient to break his word, ordering her to +instruct the children in his own faith, and the highest court in +England, that of Appeals, through the vice-chancellor, decided against +her upon the ground that a wife has no rights in law against a husband. +While a man's word broken at the gaming table renders him infamous, +subjecting him to dishonor through life, a husband's pledged word to +his wife in this nineteenth century of the Christian era is of no more +worth than was the pledged word of King Solomon to Bath-sheba in the +tenth century before the Christian +era. + +The Albany Law journal, commenting upon the Agar-Ellis case, declared +the English decision to be in harmony with the general law in regard to +religious education--the child is to be educated in the religion of its +father. But in the case of Bath-sheba, Solomon's surprising acrobatic +feat is the more remarkable from the reception which he at first gave +to his mother. Not only did Solomon "say her nay," but poor Adonijah +lost not only wife, but life also, because of her intercession. + +This chapter closes with an account of Solomon's judgment between two +mothers, each of whom claimed a living child as her own and the dead +child as that of her rival. This judgment has often been referred to as +showing the wisdom of Solomon. He understood a mother's boundless love, +that the true mother would infinitely prefer that her rival should +retain her infant than that the child should be divided between them. + +However, this tale, like many another Biblical story, is found +imbedded in the folk-lore-myths of other peoples and religions. Prof. +White's "Warfare of Science and Theology" quotes Fansboll as finding it +in "Buddhist Birth Stories." The able Biblical critic, Henry Macdonald, +regards the Israelitish kings as wholly legendary, and Solomon as +unreal as Mug Nuadat or Partholan; but let its history be real or +unreal, the Bible accurately represents the condition of women under +the Jewish patriarchal and the Christian monogamous religions. + + +M. J. G. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +1 Kings x. + + + +1 And when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning +the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. + +2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that +bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was +come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. + +3 And Solomon told her all her questions. + +4 And when the Queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the +house that he had built, + +5 And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the +attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cup-bearers, +and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there +was no more spirit in her. + +6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine +own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. + +7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had +seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and +prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. + +9 Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighteth in thee, to set thee +on the throne of Israel. + +10 And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of +spices very great store, and precious stones: . . . + +13 And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, +whatsoever she asked. So she turned and went to her own country. + + +In the height of Solomon's piety and prosperity the Queen of Sheba +came to visit him. She had heard of his great wealth and wisdom and +desired to see if all was true. She was called the Queen of the South, +supposed to be in Africa. The Christians in Ethiopia say to this day +that she came from their country, and that Candace, spoken of in Acts +viii., 27, was her successor. She was queen regent, sovereign of her +country. Many a kingdom would have been deprived of its greatest +blessing if the Salic law had been admitted into its constitution. + +It was a great journey for the queen, with her retinue, to undertake. +The reports of the magnificence of Solomon's surroundings, the temple +of the Lord and the palace for the daughter of Pharaoh, roused her +curiosity to see his wealth. The reports of his wisdom inspired her +with the hope that she might obtain new ideas on the science of +government and help her to establish a more perfect system +in her kingdom. She had heard of his piety, too, his religion and the +God whom he worshiped, and his maxims of policy in morals and public +life. She is mentioned again in the New Testament ill Matthew xii., 42. +She brought many valuable presents of gold, jewels, spices and precious +stones to defray all the expenses of her retinue at Solomon's court, to +show him that her country was worthy of honor and of respect. + +The queen was greatly surprised with all that she saw, the reality +surpassed her wildest imagination. Solomon's reception was most cordial +and respectful, and he conversed with her as he would with a friendly +king coming to visit from afar. This is the first account which we have +in the Bible of a prolonged rational conversation with a woman on +questions of public policy. He answered all her questions, though the +commentators volunteer the opinion that some may have been frivolous +and captious. As the text suggests no such idea, we have a right to +assume that her conduct and conversation were pre-eminently judicious. +Solomon did not suggest to the queen that she was out of her sphere, +that home duties, children and the philosophy of domestic life were the +proper subjects for her consideration; but he talked with her as one +sovereign should with another. + +She was deeply impressed by the elegance of his surroundings, the +artistic effect of his table, and the gold, silver and glass, the skill +of his servants, the perfect order which reigned throughout the palace, +but more than all with his piety and wisdom, and his reverence when he +went up to the temple to worship God or to make the customary offering. +She wondered at such greatness and goodness combined in one man. Her +visit was one succession of surprises; and she rejoiced to find that +the truth of all that she had heard exceeded her expectations. She is +spo +ken of in Psalms lxxii., 15, as a pattern for Solomon. + +E. C. S. + + + +1 Kings xi. + + + +1 But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the +daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, +Zidonians and Hittites: + +2 Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of +Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto +you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: +Solomon clave unto these in love. + +3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred +concubines: + +4 It came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away +his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord +his God. + + +This is a sad story of Solomon's defection and degeneracy. As the +Queen of Sheba did not have seven hundred husbands, she had time for +travel and the observation of the great world outside of her domain. It +is impossible to estimate the ennui a thousand women must have suffered +crowded together, with only one old gentleman to contemplate; but he +probably solaced their many hours with some of his choice songs, so +appreciative of the charms of beautiful women. It is probable that his +little volume of poems was in the hand of every woman, and that Solomon +gave them occasional recitations on the imaginative and emotional +nature of women. We have reason to believe that with his wisdom he gave +as much variety to their lives as possible, and with fine oratory, +graceful manners and gorgeous apparel made himself as attractive as the +situation permitted. + + +E. C. S. + + + +There have been a great number of different views held in regard to +the Queen of Sheba, both in reference to the signification of the name +"Sheba," and also in relation to the country from which this famous +personage made a visit to Solomon. Abyssinia, Ethiopia, Persia and +Arabia have each laid claim to this wise woman. Menelik, the present +king of the former country, who so effectually defeated Italy in his +recent war with that country, possesses the same name as, and claims +descent from, the fabled son of this wise woman and of the wise king +Solomon, one of whose numerous wives, it is traditionally said, she +became. Ethiopia, the seat of a very ancient and great civilization, +and whose capital was called Saba; Persia, where the worship of the sun +and of fire originated; and Arabia, the country of gold, of +frankincense and of myrrh, also claim her. It is to the latter country +that this queen belonged. + +Whether we look upon the Bible as a historical work, a mythological +work, or, as many now do regard it, as "A Book of the Adepts, written +by Initiates, for Initiates," a record of ancient mysteries hidden to +all but initiates, the Queen of Sheba is a most interesting character. + +The words Sab, Saba, Sheba, all have an astronomical or astrological +meaning, signifying the "Host of Heaven," "The Planetary System." Saba, +or Sheba, was especially the home of astronomical wisdom; and all words +of this character mean wise in regard to the stars. The wisdom of Saba +and of the Sabeans was planetary wisdom, the "Sabean language" meaning +astronomy, or astrology, the latter being the esoteric portion of the +science. At the time of the mysteries, astrology was a sacred or secret +science, the words "sacred" and "secret" meaning the same thing. Among +the oldest mysteries, when all learning was confined to initiates, were +those of Sabasia, whose periodic festivals of a sacred character were +so extremely ancient that their origin is now lost. + +Solomon, also, whether looked upon as a historical or a mythical +character, is philologically shown to have been connected with the +planetary system, Sol-Om-On signifying "the sun." It is singular to +note how closely the sun, the moon and the stars are connected with +ancient religions, even that of the Jewish. In the Old Testament the +new moon and the Sab-bath are almost invariably mentioned together. The +full moon also possessed a religious signification to the Jews, the +agricultural feasts taking place at the full moon, which were called +Sab-baths. Even in the Old Testament we find that Sab has an +astronomical or astrological meaning, connected with the planetary +system. + +The Sabeans were an occult body, especially devoted to a study of the +heavens; at their head, the wisest among them, the chief astronomer and +astrologer of the nation, the wisest person in a nation of wisdom, was +that Queen of Sheba, who visited that other planetary dignitary, +Solomon, to prove him with hard astronomical and astrological questions. + +There is historic proof that the city of Saba was the royal seat of +the kings of Arabia, which country, Diodorus says, was never conquered. +Among ancient peoples it bore the names of "Araby the Happy," +"Araby the Blest." It was a country of gold and spices whose perfume +was wafted far over the sea. All cups and utensils were of the precious +metals; all beds, chairs and stools having feet of silver; the temples +were magnificently adorned; and the porticoes of even the private +houses were of gold inlaid with ivory and precious stones. + +Among the presents carried by the Queen of Sheba to Sol-Om-On were the +famous balsam trees of her country. The first attempt at plant +acclimatizing of which the world has record was made with this tree by +the magnificent Pharaoh, Queen Hatasu, of the brilliant eighteenth +Egyptian dynasty. A thousand years before she of Sheba, Queen Hatasu, +upon her return from a naval expedition to the Red Sea, carried home +with her twelve of these trees in baskets of earth, which lived and +became one of the three species of sacred trees of Egypt. + +Arabia was the seat of Eastern wisdom, from which it also radiated to +the British Isles of Europe at the time of the Celtic Druids, with whom +Sabs was the day when these lords of Sabaoth rested from study and gave +instructions to the people. As previously among the Jews, this day of +instruction became known as one of rest from physical labor, Sab-bath +and rest becoming synonymous. Seven being a sacred number among +initiates, every seventh day was devoted to instruction. When a +knowledge of the mysteries became lost, the words "Sab-bath," "rest" +and "seven" began to have a very wrong meaning in the minds of people; +and much injury has been done to the world through this perversion. + +But later than Druidical times, Arabian wisdom made the southwestern +portion of the European continent brilliant with learning, during the +long period of the Christian dark ages, a time when, like the Bourbons +of later date, Christians learned nothing, a time when no heresy arose +because no thought was allowed, when there was no progress because +there was no doubt. + +From these countrymen of the Queen of Sheba, the Spanish Arabs, +Columbus first learned of a world beyond the Pillars of Hercules. +Architecture rose to its height in the beautiful Alhambra, with its +exquisite interlaced tracery in geometric design; medicine +had its profound schools at various points; poetry numbered women among +its most famous composers; the ballad originated there; and the modern +literature of Europe was born from a woman's pen upon the hearth of the +despised Ishmaelite, whose ancestral mother was known as Hagar, and +whose most brilliant descendant was the Queen of Sheba. + +Nowhere upon the earth has there existed a race of improvisatores +equal to the daughters of that despised bondwoman, the countrywoman of +the Queen of Sheba. As storytellers the world has not their equal. +Scherezade is a name upon the lips of Jews, of Gentiles, of Mohammedans +and of Christians. A woman's "Thousand and One Nights" is famous as a +combination of wit, wisdom and occultism wherever the language of +civilization is spoken. With increasing knowledge we learn somewhat of +the mysteries of the inner, higher life contained in those tales of +genii, of rings and of lamps of wondrous and curious power. The race +descended from Hagar, of which the Queen of Sheba is the most brilliant +reminder, has given to the world the most of its profound literature, +elegant poetry, art, science and occultism. Arabia is the mother of +mathematics; from this country was borrowed our one (1) and our cipher +(0), from which all other notation is evolved. + +Astronomy and astrology being among the oldest sciences, the moon +early became known as "the Measurer," her varied motions, her influence +upon the tides, her connection with the generative functions, all +giving her a high place in the secret sciences. While in a planetary +sense the Queen of Sheba has in a manner been identified with the moon, +as Sabs, she was also connected with the sun, the same as Solomon and +the serpent. When Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness +it was specifically a part of sun worship. The golden calf of Aaron was +more closely connected with moon worship, although the serpentine path +of both these bodies in the heavens identified each with the serpent. + +The occult knowledge which the Jews possessed in regard to those +planets was borrowed by them from Egypt, where for many ages the sun +and the moon had been studied in connection with their movements in +the zodiac. In that country these serpentine movements were +symbolized by the uroeus, or asp, worn upon the crown above the head of +every Pharaoh. So closely was the Jewish religion connected with +worship of the planetary bodies that Moses is said to have disappeared +upon Mount Nebo, a word which shows the mountain to have been sacred to +the moon; while Elijah ascending in a chariot of fire is a record of +sun worship. When the famous woman astronomer and astrologer, Queen of +Sheba, visited the symbolic King Solomon, it was for the purpose of +proving him with hard planetary questions and thus learning the depth +of his astronomical and his astrological knowledge, which, thanks to +the planetary worship of the Jews, she found equal to her own. + +We are further told that Solomon, not content with a princess from the +royal house of Pharaoh as wife, married seven hundred wives, all +princesses, besides taking to himself three hundred concubines. It is +upon teachings of the Old Testament, and especially from this statement +in regard to Solomon, that the Mormons of Utah largely base their +polygamous doctrines, the revelations of Joseph Smith being upon the +Solomon line. Yet the Mormons have advanced in their treatment of women +from the time of Solomon. While the revelations of Joseph Smith +commended plural marriages, the system and the name of concubinage was +entirely omitted, each woman thus taken being endowed with the name of +"wife." + +The polygamy of New York, of Chicago, of London, of Paris, of Vienna +and of other parts of the Christian world, like that of Solomon's three +hundred, is a system of concubinage in which the woman possesses no +legal rights, the mistress neither being recognized as wife, nor her +children as legitimate; whereas Mormon polygamy grants Mormon respect +to the second, the third, and to all subsequent wives. + +The senility of old men is well illustrated in the case of Solomon, +despite Biblical reference to his great wisdom, as we learn that when +he became "old" he was led away by "strange" women, worshiping strange +gods to whom he erected temples and offered sacrifices. To those who +believe in the doctrine of re-incarnation, and who look upon the Bible +as an occult work written in symbolic language, Solomon's reputed +"wives" and "concubines" are regarded as symbolic of +his incarnations, the wives representing good incarnations and the +concubines evil ones. + + +M. J. G. + + + +1 Kings xvii. + + + +8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, + +9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, and dwell there: behold, I have +commanded a widow there to sustain thee. + +10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of +the city, behold, the widow was there gathering sticks: and he called +to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water and a morsel of +bread. + +12 And she said, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, +and a little oil in a cruse; and I am gathering sticks, that I may +dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. + +13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: +but make me thereof a little cake first, and after make for thee and +for thy son. + +14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not +waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord +sendeth rain upon the earth. + +15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, +and he, and her house, did eat many days. + +16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail. + +17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman +fell sick; and there was no breath left in him. + +18 And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man +of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to +slay my son? + +19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he carried him up and +laid him upon his own bed. + +20 And he cried unto the Lord and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also +brought evil upon the widow by slaying her son? + +21 And be stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto +the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul +come into him again. + +22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child +came into him again, and he revived. + +23 And Elijah took the child and delivered him unto his mother, and +said, See, thy son liveth. + +24 And the woman said, Now I know that thou art a man of God. + + +The history of Elijah the prophet begins somewhat abruptly, without +any mention of father, of family or of country. He seems, as it were, +suddenly to drop from the clouds. He does not come with glad tidings of +joy to the people; but with prophecies of a prolonged famine, in which +there shall be neither rain nor dew to moisten the earth, until King +Ahab and his people repent of their sins. Elijah himself was fed by +ravens in a miraculous manner, and later by a poor widow who had only +just enough in her larder to furnish one meal for herself and her son. +Here are a series of complications enough to stagger the faith of the +strongest believer in the supernatural. But the poor widow meets him at +the gates of the city as directed by the Lord, improvises bread and +water, takes him to her home and for two years treats him with all the +kindness and the attention which she would naturally give to one of +her own kinsmen. "Oh! woman, great is thy faith," exclaimed the +prophet. Women are so easily deluded that most of the miracles of the +Bible are performed for their benefit; and, as in the case of the witch +of Endor, she occasionally performs some herself. + +The widow believed that Elijah was "a man of God," and that she could +do whatever he ordered; that she could get water, though there had been +a drought for a long time; that although she had only a handful of meal +and a little cruse of oil, yet they would increase day by day. "Never +did corn or olives in the growing," says Bishop Hall, "increase as did +that of the widow in the using." During the two years in which she +entertained the prophet, she enjoyed peace and prosperity; but when she +supposed that her son was dead, her faith wavered; and she deplored her +kindness to the prophet, and reproved him for bringing sorrow upon her +household. However, as the prophet was able to restore him to life, her +faith was restored also. + +This is the first record which we have of the restoration of the dead +to life in the Bible; and it is the first also of any one ascending +into heaven "in a chariot of fire with horses of fire." Probably Elijah +knew how to construct a balloon. Much of the ascending and the +descending of seers, of angels and of prophets which astonished the +ignorant was accomplished in balloons--a lost art for many centuries. +No doubt that the poor widow, when she saw Elijah ascend, thought that +he went straight to heaven, though in all probability he landed at +twilight in some retired corn field or olive grove, at some distance +from the point where his ascent took place. + +The question is often asked where the ravens got the cooked meat and +bread for the prophet. Knowing their impelling instinct to steal, the +Creator felt safe in trusting his prophet to their care, and they +proved themselves worthy his confidence. Their rookeries were near the +cave where Elijah was sequestered. Having keen olfactories, they smelt +the cooking of dainty viands from afar. Guided by this sense, they +perched on a fence near by where they could watch the movements of the +cook, and when her back was turned they flew in and seized the little +birds and soft shell crabs and carried them to Elijah, halting by the +way only long enough to satisfy their own imperative hunger. + +Jezebel was Elijah's greatest enemy; yet the Lord bade him hide in her +country by the brook Cherith, that he might have plenty of water. The +Lord hid him so that the people should not besiege him to shorten the +drought. So he was entirely alone with the ravens, and had all his time +for prayer and contemplation. When removed from the care of the ravens, +the Lord did not send him to the rich and the prosperous, but to a poor +widow, who, believing him a man of God, ministered to his necessities. +She did not suggest that he was a stranger to her and that water cost +money, but hastened to do whatever he ordered. She had her recompense +in the restoration of her son to life. In the prophet's struggle with +God for this blessing to the widow, the man appears to greater +advantage than does the Master. + +It appears from the reports in our metropolitan journals that a +railroad is now about to be built from Tor to the summit of Mount +Sinai. The mountain is only accessible on one side. A depot, it is +said, will be erected near the spot where a stone cross was placed by +the Russian Empress Helena, and where, according to tradition, Moses +stood when receiving the commandments. The railroad will also pass the +cave in which the prophet Elijah remained in hiding while fleeing from +the priest of Baal. + + + +1 Kings xxi. + + + +And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had +a vineyard, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. + + +2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, because it +is near unto my house: and I will give thee the worth of it. + +3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid that I should give the +inheritance of my fathers unto thee. + +4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the +word which Naboth had spoken to him. And he laid him down upon his bed, +and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. + +5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy +spirit so sad? + +6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth, and said unto +him, Give me thy vineyard for money; and he answered, I will not. + +7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom +of Israel? arise, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the +vineyard of Naboth. + +8 So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, +and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his +city. + +9 And she wrote in the letters, saying, + +Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: + +10 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness +against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then +carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. + +11 And the men of his city did as Jezebel had sent unto them. + +12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. + +13 And there came in two men and sat before him: and the men witnessed +against him, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they +carried him forth and stoned him with stones, that he died. + +14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is dead. + +15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel beard that Naboth was dead, she +said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard. + + +Jezebel, the daughter of the king of the Zidonians and the wife of +Ahab, is generally referred to as the most wicked and cruel woman on +record; and her name is the synonym of all that is evil. She came +honestly by these characteristics, if it is true "that evil +communications corrupt good manners," as her husband Ahab was the most +wicked of all the kings of Israel. And yet he does not seem to have +been a man of much fortitude; for in a slight disappointment in the +purchase of land he comes home in a hopeless mood, throws himself on +his bed and turns his face to the wall. According to the text, Jezebel +was equal to the occasion. She not only infused new life into Ahab, but +got possession of the desired land, though in a most infamous manner. +The false prophetess spoken of in Rev. ii., 20, is called Jezebel. She +was a devout adherent and worshiper of Baal and influenced Ahab to +follow strange gods. He reigned twenty-two years without one worthy +action to gild his memory. Jezebel's death, like her life, was a +tragedy of evil. + + +E. C. S. + + + +All we know about Jezebel is told us by a rival religionist, who hated +her as the Pope of Rome hated Martin Luther, or as an American A. P. A. +now hates a Roman Catholic. Nevertheless, even the Jewish historian, +evidently biassed against Jezebel by his theological prejudices as he +is, does not give any facts whatever which warrant the assertion that +Jezebel was any more satanic than the ancient Israelitish gentleman, to +whom her theological views were opposed. Of course we, at this stage of +scientific thought, know that Jezebel's religion was not an admirable +one. Strangely enough, for a religion, it actually made her intolerant! +But to Jezebel it was a truth, for which she battled as bravely as +Elijah did for what he imagined to be eternal verity. The facts, +admitted even by the historian who hated her, prove that, +notwithstanding her unfortunate and childish conception of theology, +Jezebel was a brave, fearless, generous woman, so wholly devoted to her +own husband that even wrong seemed justifiable to her, if she could +thereby make him happy. (In that respect she seems to have entirely +fulfilled the Southern Methodist's ideal of the pattern wife absorbed +in her husband.) Four hundred of the preachers of her own faith were +fed at her table (what a pity we have not their opinion of their +benefactor!). Elijah was the preacher of a new and rival religion, +which Jezebel, naturally, regarded with that same abhorrence which the +established always feel for the innovating. To her, Elijahism doubtless +appeared as did Christianity to the Jews, Lutheranism to the Pope, or +John Wesleyism to the Church of England; but in the days of the +Israelites the world had not developed that sweet patience with heresy +which animates the Andover theologians of our time, and Jezebel had as +little forbearance with Elijah as had Torquemada with the Jews or +Elizabeth with the Puritans. + +Yet, to do Jezebel justice, we must ask ourselves, how did the +assumedly good Elijah proceed in order to persuade her of the +superiority of his truth? It is painful to have to relate that that +much overestimated "man of God" invited four hundred and fifty of +Jezebel's preachers to an open air exhibition of miracles, but, not +satisfied with gaining a victory over them in this display, he pursued +his defeated rivals in religion, shouting, "Let not one of them +escape!" and thus roused the thoughtless mob of lookers-on to slaughter +the whole four hundred and fifty in cold blood! Jezebel had signalized +her advent as queen by slaying Israelitish preachers in order to put +her own preachers in office. Elijah promptly retaliated at his earliest +opportunity. + +It seems to me that it would puzzle a disinterested person to decide +which of those savage deeds was more "satanic" than the other, and to +imagine why Jezebel is now dragged forth to "shake her gory locks" as a +frightful example to the American women who ask for recognized right to +self-government. I submit, that if Jezebel is a disgrace to womankind, +our dear brethren at any rate have not much cause to be proud of +Elijah, so, possibly, we might strike a truce over the character of +these two long-buried worthies. It may be well, though, to note here +that the now most offensive epithet which the English translators +attached to Jezebel's name, originally signified nothing more than that +she was consecrated to the worship of a religion, rival to that which +ancient Israel assumed to be "the only true one." + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + +2 Kings iv. + + + +1 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the +prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou +knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to +take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. + +2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what +hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything +save a pot of oil. + +3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, + +4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door and shalt pour +out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. + +5 So she shut the door and poured out. + +6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto +her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a +vessel more. And the oil stayed. + +7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the +oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. + + +The first Book of Kings had an illustrious beginning in the glories of +the kingdom of Israel when it was entirely under King David and in the +beginning of the reign of Solomon; but the second book has a melancholy +outlook in the desolation and division of the kingdom of Israel and of +Judea. Then Elijah and Elisha, their prophets, instructed the princes +and the people in all that would come to pass, the captivity of the ten +tribes, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the good reigns of Josiah and +of Hezekiah. + +This book contains the mention of four women, but only in a +perfunctory manner, more to exhibit the accomplishments of the prophet +Elisha than his beneficiaries. He raises the dead, surpasses our +Standard Oil Company in the production of that valuable article of +commerce, cures one man of leprosy and cruelly fastens the disease on +his servant for being guilty of a pardonable prevarication. Only one of +the women mentioned has a name. One is the widow of a prophet, whom +Elisha helps to pay off all her debts; for another he intercedes with +the Lord to give her a son; another, is the little captive maid of the +tribe of Israel; and the last a wicked queen, Athaliah, who sought to +kill the heir apparent. She rivalled Jezebel in her evil propensities +and suffered the same tragic death. + +As the historian proceeds from book to book less is said of the +mothers of the various tribes, unless some deed of darkness is called +for, that the men would fain avoid, then some Jezebel is resurrected +for that purpose. They are seldom required to rise to a higher moral +altitude than the men of the tribe, and are sometimes permitted to fall +below it. + + + +2 Kings iv. + + + +8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a +great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. + +9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is a +holy man of God. + +10 Let us make a little chamber on the wall. + +11 And it fell on a day that, he came thither; and he turned into the +chamber, and lay there. + +12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And she +came and stood before him. And he said, Thou shalt embrace a son. And +she said, Nay, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. + +17 And the woman bare a son. + +18 And when the child was grown, he went out to his father to the +reapers. + +19 And said, My head, my head! And he said to a lad, Carry him to his +mother. + +20 And when he had brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till +noon, and then died. + +21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and +shut the door upon him, and went out. + +24 And she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive; slack not +thy riding, except I bid thee. + +25 So she went unto the man of God to Mount Carmel. + +32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold the child was dead. + +33 He went in and shut the door and prayed unto the Lord. + +34 And lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his +eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his bands; and he stretched +himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. + +35 Then he walked to and fro; and went up, and stretched upon him; and +the child sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes, + +36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called +her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. + +37 Then she fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and +took up her son. + + +Elisha seems to have had the same power of working miracles which +Elijah possessed. In his travels about the country he often passed the +city of Shunem, where he heard of a great woman who was very hospitable +and had a rich husband. She had often noticed the prophet passing by; +and knowing that he was a godly man, and that he could be better +entertained at her house than elsewhere, she proposed to her husband to +invite him there. So they arranged an apartment for him in a quiet part +of the house that he might have opportunities for worship and +contemplation. + +After spending much time under her roof, he naturally desired to make +some recompense. So he asked her if there was anything that he could do +for her at court, any favor which she desired of the king. But +she said "no," as she had all the blessings which she desired, except, +as they had great wealth and no children to inherit it, she would like +a son. She had probably heard of all that the Lord had done in that +line for Sarah and Rebecca and the wives of Manoah and Elkanah; so she +was not much surprised when the prophet suggested such a contingency; +and she bare a son. + +In due time, when the son was grown, he was taken suddenly ill and +died. The mother supposed that, as by a miracle he was brought into +life, the prophet might raise him from the dead. Accordingly, she +harnessed her mule and hastened to the prophet, who promptly returned +with her and restored him to life. She was a very discreet and +judicious woman and her husband had always entrusted everything to her +management. She was devout and conscientious and greatly enjoyed the +godly conversation of the prophet. She was known in the city as a great +and good woman. Though we find here and there among the women of the +Bible some exceptionally evil minded, yet the wise and virtuous +predominate, and, fortunately for the race, this is the case in the +American Republic to-day. + + + +2 Kings v. + + + +1 Now Naaman, captain of the hosts of the king of Syria, was a great +man with his master, and honorable, because by him the Lord had given +deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a +leper. + +2 And the Syrians had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a +little maid, and she waited on Naaman's wife. + +3 And she said unto her mistress, Would my lord were with the prophet +that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. + +4 And one went in and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the +maid that is of the land of Israel. + + +Naaman, a Syrian general and prime minister, was a great man in a +great place. He was happy, too, in that he had been serviceable to his +country and honored by his prince. But alas! he was a leper. It was +generally supposed that this was an affliction for evil doing, but +Naaman was an exceptionally perfect man. + +A little maid from Israel had been carried captive into Syria and +fortunately was taken into the family of the great general, as an +attendant on his wife. While making the wife's toilet they no doubt +chatted quite freely of what was going on in the outside world. So the +little maid, sympathizing with her master in his affliction, told the +wife there was a prophet in Israel who could cure him of his leprosy. +Her earnestness roused him and his wife to make the experiment. But +after loading his white mules with many valuable gifts, and taking a +great retinue of soldiers to dazzle the prophet with Syrian +magnificence, the prophet did not deign to meet him, but sent word to +him to bathe in the river Jordan. Even a letter from the king did not +ensure a personal interview. So the general, with all his pomp, went +off in great wrath. "Are not," said he, "the rivers of Damascus, Abana +and Pharpar, greater than the Jordan? Cannot all the skill in Syria +accomplish as much as the prophet in Israel?" However, the little maid +urged him to try the river Jordan, as he was near that point, so he did +and was healed. + + + +2 Kings viii. + + + +Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, +saying, sojourn wheresoever thou canst for a famine shall come upon the +land seven years. + + +2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: + +3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned +out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the +king for her house and land. + +4 And the king talked with Gehazi saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all +the great things that Elisha bath done. + +5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored +a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman cried to the king for her +house and land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, +and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. + +6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king +appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was +hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the +land, even until now. + + +In due time her husband died; and there was a famine; and she went for +a season to the land of the Philistines; and when she returned she +could not recover her possessions. Then Elisha befriended her and +appealed to the king; and she was reinstated in her own home. + +Elisha was very democratic. He had his servant sleep in his own +chamber and consulted him in regard to many important matters. Gehazi +never forgot his place but once, when he ran after the great Syrian +general to ask for the valuable presents which the prophet had +declined. Both Elijah and Elisha preferred to do their missionary work +among the common people, finding them more teachable and superstitious. +Especially is this true of woman at all periods. In great revival +seasons in our own day, one will always see a dozen women on the +anxious seat to one man, and the same at the +communion table. + + + +2 Kings xi. + + + +And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she +arose and destroyed all the seed royal. + + +2 But Jehosheba, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and +stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him +and his nurse. + +3 And he was with her hid in the house of the Lord six years. And +Athaliah did reign over the land. + +12 And Jehoiada, the priest brought forth the king's son, and put the +crown upon him; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they +clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. + +13 And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, +she came into the temple of the Lord. + +14 And hen she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar; and she +rent her clothes and cried, Treason, treason. + +20 And they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. + +21 Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign. + + +Never was royal blood more profusely shed, and never a meaner ambition +than to destroy a reigning family in order to be the last occupant on +the throne. The daughter of a king, the wife of a king, and the mother +of a king, should have had some mercy on her family descendants. +Personal ambition can never compensate for the loss of the love and +companionship of kindred. Such characters as Athaliah are abnormal, +their lives not worth recording. + + + +2 Kings xxii. + + + +11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book +of the law, that he rent his clothes. + +12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, + +13 Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all +Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is +the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers +have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto +all that which is written concerning us. + +14 So Hilkiah the priest, and the wise men went unto Huldah the +prophetess, the wife of Shallum keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt +in Jerusalem in the college); and they communed with her. + +15 And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the +man that sent you to me. + +16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and +upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the +king of Judah hath read: + +17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other +gods. + +18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, +thus shall ye say to him, + +19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself +before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, + +20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou +shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see +all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the +king word again. + + +The greatest character among the women thus far mentioned is Huldah +the prophetess, residing in the college in Jerusalem. She was a +statesman as well as a prophetess, understanding the true policy +of government and the Jewish system of jurisprudence, able not only to +advise the common people of their duties to Jehovah and their country, +but to teach kings the sound basis for a kingdom. Her wisdom and +insight were well known to Josiah the king; and when the wise men came +to him with the "Book of the Law," to learn what was written therein, +Josiah ordered them to take it to Huldah, as neither the wise men nor +Josiah himself could interpret its contents. It is fair to suppose that +there was not a man at court who could read the book; hence the honor +devolved upon Huldah. Even Shallum her husband was not consulted, as he +occupied the humble office of keeper of the robes. + +While Huldah was pondering great questions of State and Ecclesiastical +Law, her husband was probably arranging the royal buttons and buckles +of the household. This is the first mention of a woman in a college. +She was doubtless a professor of jurisprudence, or of the languages. +She evidently had other gifts besides that of prophecy. + +We should not have had such a struggle in our day to open the college +doors had the clergy read of the dignity accorded to Huldah. People who +talk the most of what the Bible teaches often know the least about its +contents. Some years ago, when we were trying to establish a woman's +college, we asked a rich widow, worth millions, to contribute. She said +that she would ask her pastor what she ought to do about it. He +referred her to the Bible, saying that this book makes no mention of +colleges for women. To her great surprise, I referred her to 2 Kings +xxii. Both she and her pastor felt rather ashamed that they did not +know what their Bible did teach. The widow gave $30,000 soon after to a +Theological Seminary, being more interested in the education of boys +and in the promulgation of church dogmas, creeds and superstitions, +than in the education of the Mothers of the Race in the natural +sciences. + +Now, women had performed great deeds in Bible times. Miriam had helped +to lead Israel out of Egypt. Deborah judged them, and led the army +against the enemy, and Huldah instructed them in their duties to the +nation. Although Jeremiah and Zephaniah were prophets at this time, yet +the king chose Huldah as the oracle. She was one of the ladies of the +court, and resided in the second rank of buildings from the royal +palace. Marriage, in her case, does not appear to have been any obstacle +in the way of individual freedom and dignity. She had evidently outgrown +the curse of subjection pronounced in the Garden of Eden, as had many +other of the Jewish women. + +There is a great discrepancy between the character and the conduct of +many of the women, and the designs of God as set forth in the +Scriptures and enforced by the discipline of the Church to-day. Imagine +the moral hardihood of the reverend gentlemen who should dare to reject +such women as Deborah, Huldah and Vashti as delegates to a Methodist +conference, and claim the approval of God for such an indignity. + +In the four following books, from Kings to Esther, there is no mention +of women. During that long, eventful period the men must have sprung, +Minerva-like, from the brains of their fathers, fully armed and +equipped for the battle of life. Having no infancy, there was no need +of mothers. As two remarkable women flourished at the close of one +period and at the dawn of the other, we shall make no record of the +masculine dynasty which intervened, satisfied that Huldah and Vashti +added new glory to their day and generation--one by her learning and +the other by her disobedience; for "Resistance to tyrants is obedience +to God." + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF ESTHER. + + + +Esther i. + + + +2 In those days when King Ahasuerus sat upon the throne in the palace +at Shushan, + +3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes +and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes +of the provinces being before him: + +4 When he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of +his excellent majesty many days. + +5 And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the +people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and +small, seven days, in the court of the garden; + +6 Where were white, green and blue hangings, fastened with cords of +fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds +were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, +and black marble. + +7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, and royal wine in +abundance. + +9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house. + +10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, +he commanded: + +11 To bring Vashti the queen with the crown royal, to shew the people +and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. + +12 But the queen Vashti refused to come: therefore was the king very +wroth. + +13 Then the king said to the wise men, + +15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to the law? + +16 And Memucan answered, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the +king only, but also to all the people that are in the provinces of the +king. + +17 For this deed shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall +despise their husbands. The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen +to be brought in before him, but she came not. + +18 Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all +the king's princes, which have beard of the deed of the queen. + +19 If it please the king, let there go a royal command from him, and +let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, That +Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her +royal estate unto another that is better than she. + +20 And when the king's decree shall be published throughout his +empire, all the wives shall give to their husband's honor, both to +great and small. + +21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did +accordingly to the word of Memucan: + +22 For he sent letters into all the provinces, that every man should +bear rule in his own house. + + +The kingdom of Ahasuerus extended from India to Ethiopia, consisting +of one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, an overgrown kingdom which +in time sunk by its own weight. The king was fond of display and +invited subjects from all his provinces to come by turns to behold his +magnificent palaces and sumptuous +entertainments. + +He gave two great feasts in the beginning of his reign, one to the +nobles and the princes, and one to the people, which lasted over a +hundred days. The king had the feast for the men spread in the court +under the trees. Vashti entertained her guests in the great hall of the +palace. It was not the custom among the Persians for the sexes to eat +promiscuously together, especially when the king and the princes were +partaking freely of wine. + +This feast ended in heaviness, not as Balshazzar's with a handwriting +on the wall, nor like that of Job's children with a wind from the +wilderness, but by the folly of the king, with an unhappy falling out +between the queen and himself, which ended the feast abruptly and sent +the guests away silent and ashamed. He sent seven different messages to +Vashti to put on her royal crown, which greatly enhanced her beauty, +and come to show his guests the majesty of his queen. But to all the +chamberlains alike she said, "Go tell the king I will not come; dignity +and modesty alike forbid." + +This vanity of a drunken man illustrates the truth of an old proverb, +"When the wine is in, the wit is out." Josephus says that all the court +heard his command; hence, while he was showing the glory of his court, +he also showed that he had a wife who would do as she pleased. + +Besides seven chamberlains he had seven learned counsellors whom he +consulted on all the affairs of State. The day after the feast, when +all were sober once more, they held a cabinet council to discuss a +proper punishment for the rebellious queen. Memucan, Secretary of +State, advised that she be divorced for her disobedience and ordered +"to come no more before the king," for unless she was severely +punished, he said, all the women of Medea and of Persia would despise +the commands of their husbands. + +We have some grand types of women presented for our admiration in the +Bible. Deborah for her courage and military prowess; Huldah for her +learning, prophetic insight and statesmanship, seated in the college in +Jerusalem, where Josiah the king sent his cabinet ministers to consult +her as to the policy of his government; Esther, who ruled as well as +reigned, and Vashti, who scorned the Apostle's +command, "Wives, obey your husbands." She refused the king's orders to +grace with her presence his revelling court. Tennyson pays this tribute +to her virtue and dignity: + + +"Oh, Vashti! noble Vashti! +Summoned forth, she kept her state, +And left the drunken king to brawl +In Shushan underneath his palms." + + +E. C. S. + + + +The feast, with the preliminary exhibition of the king's magnificent +palace and treasures, was not a social occasion in which the king and +the queen participated under the same roof. The equal dignity of woman +and of queen as companion of the king was not recognized. The men +feasted together purely as a physical enjoyment. If there was any +intellectual feature of the occasion it is not recorded. On the seventh +day, when appetite was satiated and the heart of the king was merry +with wine, as a further means of gratifying sensual tastes and +exhibiting his power, the king bethought him of the beauty of the queen. + +The command to the chamberlains was to bring Vashti. It was such an +order as he might have sent to the jester, or to any other person whose +sole duty was to do the king's bidding, and whose presence might add to +the entertainment of his assemblage of men. It was not an invitation +which anywise recognized the queen's condescension in honoring the +company by her presence. + +But Vashti refused to come at the king's command! An unprecedented act +of both wife and queen. Probably Vashti had had previous knowledge of +the condition of the king when his heart was merry with wine and when +the physical man was under the effects of seven day's conviviality. She +had a higher idea of womanly dignity than placing herself on exhibition +as one of the king's possessions, which it pleased him to present to +his assembled princes. Vashti is conspicuous as the first woman +recorded whose self-respect and courage enabled her to act contrary to +the will of her husband. She was the first "woman who dared." + +This was the more marked because her husband was also king. So far as +the record proves, woman had been obedient to the commands of the +husband and the father, or, if seeking to avoid them, had sought +indirect methods and diplomacy. It was the first exhibition of the +individual sovereignty of woman on record. Excepting Deborah as judge, +no example had been given of a woman who formed her own judgment and +acted upon it. There had been no exhibition of a self-respecting +womanhood which might stand for a higher type of social life than was +customary among men. + +Vashti was the prototype of the higher unfoldment of woman beyond her +time. She stands for the point in human development when womanliness +asserts itself and begins to revolt and to throw off the yoke of +sensualism and of tyranny. Her revolt was not an overt act, or a +criticism of the proceedings of the king. It was merely exercising her +own judgment as to her own proceeding. She did not choose to be brought +before the assembly of men as an exhibit. The growth of self-respect +and of individual sovereignty in woman has been slow. The sequence of +Vashti's refusal to obey the king suggests at least one of the reasons +why the law has been made, as it has down to the present day, by men +alone. Woman has not been consulted, as she is not consulted to-day +about any law, even such as bears especially upon herself, but was and +is expected to obey it. + +The idea of maintaining the respect of women and of wives by +worthiness and by nobility of character and of manner, had not been +born in the man of that day. The husband was to be held an authority. +His superiority was his power to command obedience. + +"And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published +throughout all his empire, all the wives shall give to their husbands +honour, both great and small." + +King Ahasuerus was but a forerunner of the more modern lawmaker, who +seeks the same end of male rulership, by making the wife and all +property the possession of the husband. That every living soul has an +inherent right to control its life and activities, and that woman +equally with man should enjoy this opportunity, had not dawned +upon the consciousness of the men of the times of Ahasuerus. + +Vashti stands out a sublime representative of self-centred womanhood. +Rising to the heights of self-consciousness and of self-respect, she +takes her soul into her own keeping, and though her position both as +wife and as queen are jeopardized, she is true to the Divine +aspirations of her nature. + + +L. B. C. + + + +Esther ii. + + + +After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he +remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against +her. + + +2 Then said his servants, Let there be fair young virgins sought for +the king: + +3 And let him appoint officers in all the provinces that they may +gather together the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, + +4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of +Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. + +5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was +Mordecai. + +7 And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter; +for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and +beautiful; whom Moredcai {sic}, when her father and mother were dead, +took for his own daughter. + +8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment was heard, and when +many maidens were gathered together, that Esther was brought also unto +the king's house. + +11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's +house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. + +17 And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained +grace and favour in his sight; so that be set the royal crown upon her +head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. + +18 Then the king made a great feast, even Esther's feast; and he made +a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of +the king. + + +Esther was a Jewess, one of the children of the captivity, an orphan +whom Mordecai adopted as his own child. She was beautiful, symmetrical +in form, fair in face, and of rare intelligence. Her wisdom and virtue +were her greatest gifts. "It is an advantage to a diamond even to be +well set." Mordecai was her cousin-german and her guardian. It was said +that he intended to marry her; but when he saw what her prospects in +life were, and what she might do as a favorite of the king for his own +promotion and the safety of his people, he held his individual +affection in abeyance for the benefit of his race and the safety of the +king; for he soon saw the dishonest, intriguing character of Haman, +whom he despised in his heart and to whom he would not bow in passing, +nor make any show of respect. As he was a keeper of the door +and sat at the king's gate, he had many opportunities to show his +disrespect. + +He discovered a plot against the king's life which he revealed to +Esther, that, in due time, secured him promotion to the head of the +king's cabinet. But in the meantime Haman had the ear of the king; and +to revenge the indignities of Mordecai, he decided to slay all the Jews +throughout all the provinces of the kingdom, and procured an edict to +that effect from the king, and stamped with the king's signet ring the +letters that he sent by post into all the provinces. The day was set +for this terrible slaughter; and the Jews were fasting in sack-cloth +and ashes. + +The king loved Esther above all the women and had made her his queen. +She was not known at court as a Jewess, but was supposed to be of +Persian extraction. Mordecai had told her to say nothing on that +subject. Ahasuerus placed the royal crown upon her head, and solemnized +her coronation with a great feast, which Esther graced with her +presence, at the request of the king. She profited by the example of +Vashti, and saw the good policy of at least making a show of obedience +in all things. Mordecai walked up and down past her door many times a +day; and through a faithful messenger kept her informed of all that +transpired, so she was aware of the plot Haman had laid against her +people. So she made a banquet for the king and Haman, and told the king +the effect of his royal edict and letters sent by post in all the +provinces stamped with his ring. She told him of Mordecai's +faithfulness in saving his life; that she and Mordecai were Jews, and +that it was their people who were to be slain, young and old, women and +children, without mercy; that their possessions were to be confiscated +to raise the money which Haman promised to put into the royal treasury, +and that Haman had already built a gallows thirty feet high on which +Mordecai was to be hanged. + +Haman trembled in the presence of the king, who ordered him to be +hanged on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai; and the +latter was installed as the favorite of the king. The family and the +followers of Haman were slain by the thousands, and the Jews were +filled with gladness. The day appointed for their destruction was one +of thanksgiving. They appointed a certain day in the last +month of the year, just before the Passover, to be kept ever after as +the feast of Purim, one of thanksgiving for their deliverance from the +vengeance of Haman. Purim is a Persian word. It is not a holy day +feast, but of human appointment. It is celebrated at the present time, +and in the service the whole story is told. It is to be regretted that +this feast often ends in gluttony. + +One commentator says that the Talmud states that in the feast of Purim +a man may drink until he knows not the difference between "cursed be +Haman" and "blessed be Mordecai." If the Talmud means that he may drink +the wine of good fellowship until all feelings of vengeance, hatred and +malice are banished from the human soul, the sentiment is not so +objectionable as at the first blush it appears. There is one thing in +the Jewish service worse than this, and that is for each man to stand +up in the synagogue every Sabbath morning and say: "I thank thee, O +Lord, that I was not born a woman," as if that were the depth of human +degradation. It is to be feared that the thanksgiving feast of the +Purim has degenerated in many localities into the same kind of a +gathering as the Irish wake. + +In the history of Esther, those who believe in special Providence will +see that in her coming to the throne multitudes of her people were +saved from a cruel death, hence the disobedience of Vashti was +providential. A faith "that all things are working together for good," +"that good only is positive, evil negative," is most cheerful and +sustaining to the believer. I have always regretted that the historian +allowed Vashti to drop out of sight so suddenly. Perhaps she was doomed +to some menial service, or to entire sequestration in her own +apartments. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The record fails to state whether or not the king's judgment was +modified in regard to Vashti's refusal to appear on exhibition when his +wrath abated. But the decree had gone forth, and could not be altered; +and Vashti banished, no further record of her fate appears. The +king's ministers at once set about providing a successor to Vashti. + +The king in those days had the advantage of the search for fair young +virgins, in that he could command the entire collection within his +dominions. The only consideration was whether or not the maiden +"pleased" him. There is no hint that the maiden was expected to signify +her acceptance or rejection of the king's choice. She was no more to be +consulted than if she had been an animal. Her position as queen was but +an added distinction of her lord and master. + +Esther, the orphaned and adopted daughter of Mordecai the Jew, was the +favored maiden. She was "fair and beautiful." The truth of the historic +record of the men of those days is indisputable. Down to the present +the average man sums up his estimate of woman by her "looks." Is she +fair to look upon is the criterion. Esther was destined to play an +important part in the salvation of her people from the destructive +purposes of Haman, who had been "set above all the princes who were +with him." This young woman, who had been crowned by her royal master +because she "pleased" him, was called upon by the peril of her people, +whom Haman was seeking to destroy, to place her own life in jeopardy, +by venturing to obtain audience with the king, without having been +summoned into his presence. + +When Esther received from Mordecai the assurance, "Think not with +thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house more than all the +Jews," he asked, "Who knoweth, whether thou art come to the kingdom for +such a time as this?" then this young woman rose to the extremity of +the situation. She exercised a high degree of wisdom and courage, and +bade them return Mordecai this answer: + +Go gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast +ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also +and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, +which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.--Vs. 15, +16. + +She prepared herself thus by fasting to receive and to exercise the +power of spirit. Her high purpose was only equalled by her unfaltering +courage and entire self-abnegation. Vashti had exercised +heroic courage in asserting womanly dignity and the inherent human +right never recognized by kingship, to choose whether to please and to +obey the king. Esther, so as to save her people from destruction, +risked her life. + +This King Ahasuerus, who, according to the record, was only a man of +selfish purposes, delighting in power and given to the enjoyment of his +passions, was the legal lord and master of two women, each +distinguished by a nobility of character well worthy of the distinction +of queen. Their royalty was of a higher order than that of sceptres and +of crowns. While we rejoice in the higher manhood which the centuries +have evolved, we are in this hour reminded of the dominating +disposition of King Ahasuerus and the habits of those times. A +distinguished man and a scholar in this closing nineteenth century +claims that "the family is necessarily a despotism," and that man is +the "ruler of the household." + +Women as queenly, as noble and as self-sacrificing as was Esther, as +self-respecting and as brave as was Vashti, are hampered in their +creative office by the unjust statutes of men; but God is marching on; +and it is the seed of woman which is to bruise the head of the serpent. +It is not man's boasted superiority of intellect through which the +eternally working Divine power will perfect the race, but the +receptiveness and the love of woman. + + +L. B. C. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JOB. + + + +Job i. + + + +There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man +was perfect and upright, and one that feared God. + + +2 And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. + +3 His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand +camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and +a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the +men of the east. + +4 And his sons feasted in their houses; and sent and called for their +three sisters to eat with them. + +6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves +before the Lord, and Satan came also. + +7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Satan answered, +From going to and fro in the earth. + +8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, +that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man. + +9 Then Satan answered, Doth Job fear God for nought? + +10 Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and +about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his +hands. + +11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he +will curse thee to thy face. + +12 And the Lord said unto Satan, all that he hath is in thy power: +only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from +the presence of the Lord. + +14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were +ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them: + +15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have +stain the servants. + +16 There came another, and said, fire is fallen from heaven, and hath +burned up the sheep. + +17 There came also another, and said, The Chaldeans fell upon the +camels, and have carried them away. + +18 There came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were +eating and drinking. + +19 And, behold there came a great wind and smote the four corners of +the house, and it fell upon, the young men, and they are dead. + +20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell +down upon the ground, and worshiped. + + + +Job ii. + + + +9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? +curse God and die. + +10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women +speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we +not receive evil? + + + +Job xlii. + + + +11 Then came there unto him his brethren, and his sisters, and they +that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in +his house: and they comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had +brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every +one an earring of gold. + +12 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning; +for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a +thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. + +13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. + +15 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of +Job; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. + +16 After this lived Job a hundred and forty years. + +17 So Job died, being old and full of days. + + +The Book of Job opens with an imaginary discussion between the Lord +and Satan as to the true character of Job. Satan hates him because he +is good, and envies him because he is a favorite of the Lord, who +expresses unbounded faith in his steadfastness to +religious principles. Satan replies that Job is all right in +prosperity, when surrounded with every comfort; but stripped of his +blessings, his faith in a superintending Providence would vanish like +dew before the rising sun. The Lord said, "You may test Job. I give you +permission to do your worst and to see if he will not remain as true in +adversity as he is in prosperity." + +The Book of Job is an epic poem, an allegory, to show the grand +elements in human nature, enabling mortals to rise superior to all +trials and temptations, to the humiliations of the spirit, and to +prolonged suffering in the flesh. Though illustrated in the personality +of a man, yet the principle applies equally to the wisdom and the +virtue of woman. The elements of Job's goodness and greatness must have +existed in his mother. But little is said of women in this book; and +that little is by no means complimentary. Job's wife's name was Dinah; +some commentators say that she was the daughter of Jacob. Satan uses +her as the last and most subtle influence for the downfall of his +victim. Between the two forces of good and of evil, the triumph of the +spiritual nature over the temptations of the flesh, the god-like in the +human, was thoroughly proven. Job is represented as a great man. He has +wealth, inflexible integrity and a charming family life, seven sons and +three daughters, immense herds of oxen, sheep, asses, camels, and +servants without number. + +The spirit of evil, to test his faithfulness, strips him of all his +possessions. In one day Job's houses were destroyed, his lands made +desolate, his cattle stolen and his children carried off in a +whirlwind. Job was stunned by these calamities. He put on sackcloth, +shaved his head, as was the custom, and calmly accepted the situation; +and his faith in the goodness of God remained. Then the spirit of evil, +to test him still further, afflicted him with a terrible disease, +loathsome to endure and pitiful to behold. His three friends, Eliphaz, +Bildad and Zophar, mocked him in his misery. + +His last affliction was the disgust of his wife. She ridiculed his +faith in God, and scoffed at his piety, as Michal did at David. She was +spared to be his last tempter when all his comforts were taken away. +She bantered him for his constancy, "Dost thou still maintain thy +confidence in the God who has punished thee? Why dost thou be so +obstinate in thy religion, which serves no good to thee? Why truckle to +a God who, so far from rewarding thy services with marks of his favor, +seems to take pleasure in making thee miserable and scourges thee +without any provocation? Is this a God to be still loved and served? +'Curse God and die.'" She urges him to commit suicide. Better to die at +once than to endure his life of lingering misery. + +Deserted by wife, by friends, and, seemingly by God, too, Job's faith +wavered not. The spirit of evil had done its worst. Man had proven his +Divine origin, himself the incarnation of the great Spirit of Good; and +now that Job had proved himself superior to all human calamities, he is +restored to health; and all his earthly possessions are returned +fourfold. + +Nothing more is said of his first wife, but his ten children are +restored. The names of his three daughters are significant, though not +euphonious: Jemima, the day, because of Job's prosperity; Kezia, a +spice, because he was healed, and Karen-Happuch, plenty restored. God +adorned them with great beauty, no women being so fair as were the +daughters of Job. In the Old Testament we often find women praised for +their beauty; but in the New Testament we find no notice of physical +charms, not even in the Virgin Mary herself. Job gave to his daughters +an equal inheritance with his sons. It is pleasant to see that the +brothers paid them marked attention, and always invited them to their +dinners, and that his ten children were reproduced just as his flocks +and his herds had been. + +Much more sympathy has been expressed by women for the wife, than for +Job. Poor woman, she had scraped lint, nursed him and waited on him to +the point of nervous exhaustion--no wonder that she was resigned to see +him pass to Abraham's bosom. Job lived one hundred and forty years. +Some conjecture that he was seventy years old when his calamities came +upon him, so that his age was doubled with his other blessings. Whether +Dinah lived to cheer Job's declining years, or whether she was lured by +Satan to his kingdom, does not appear; but he is supposed to have had a +second wife, by the name of Sitis--the probable mother of the second +brood. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF PSALMS, PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES + +AND + +THE SONG OF SOLOMON. + + + +PSALMS. + + + +Psalms xlv. + + + +9 Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right +hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. + +10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget +also thine own people, and thy father's house; + +11 So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; +and worship thou him. + +12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift: even the rich +among the people shall entreat thy favour. + +13 The King's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of +wrought gold. + +14 She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needlework: the +virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. + +15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter +into the King's palace. + + +This book is supposed to have been written by David, the son of Jesse, +called the sweet psalmist of Israel. He had a taste for the arts, a +real genius for poetry and song. Many of the poems are beautiful in +sentiment and celebrated as specimens of literature, as are some +passages in Job; but the general tone is pessimistic. David's old age +was full of repinings over the follies of his youth and of his middle +age. The declining years of a well-spent life should be the most +peaceful and happy. Then the lessons of experience are understood, and +one knows how to bear its joys and sorrows with equal philosophy. Yet +David in the twilight of his days seemed to dwell in the shadows of +despair, in sackcloth and ashes, repenting for his own sins and +bemoaning the evil tendency of men in general. There is a passing +mention of the existence of women as imaginary beings in the Psalms, +the Proverbs, and The Song of Solomon, but not illustrated by any +grand personalities or individual characters. + + + +Psalms ii. + + + +To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came +unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. + + +1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: +according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my +transgressions. + +2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. + +3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. + + +David's treatment of Uriah was the darkest passage in his life; and to +those who love justice it is a satisfaction to know that his conscience +troubled him for this act to the end of his days. We are not told +whether Bath-sheba ever dropped a tear over the sad fate of Uriah, or +suffered any upbraidings of conscience. + + + +PROVERBS + + + +ix., 13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth +nothing. + +xi., 16 A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches. + +xiv. Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it +down with her hands. + +xvii., 25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her +that bare him. + +xix., 14 House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a +prudent wife is from the Lord. + +xxi., 9 It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a +brawling woman in a wide house. + +xxi., 19 It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a +contentious and an angry woman. + +xxvii., 15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious +woman are alike. + +xxx., 21 For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which +it cannot bear: + +22 For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with +meat; + +23 For an odious woman when she is married; and a handmaid that is +heir to her mistress. + +xxxi., 10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above +rubies. + +11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her. + +12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. + +13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. + +16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands +she planteth a vineyard. + +20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor. + +21 She is not afraid of the snow; for all her household are clothed +with scarlet. + +22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and +purple. + +23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders +of the land. + +24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it. + +26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of +kindness. + +28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and +he praiseth her. + +29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. + +30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth +the Lord, shall be praised. + + +With these pen pictures of the foolish, contentious wife contrasted +with the more gracious woman, surely every reader of common sense will +try to follow the example of the latter. A complaining woman is worse +than a leaky house, because with paint and putty you can stop the +dropping; but how can one find the source of constant complaints? + +Heretofore Biblical writers have given to us battles, laws, histories, +songs; now we have in Solomon's writings a new style in short, +epigrammatic sentences. The proverb was the most ancient way of +teaching among the Greeks. The seven wise men of Greece each had his +own motto on which he made himself famous. These were engraved on stone +in public places. Thus the gist of an argument or a long discussion may +be thrown into a proverb, in which the whole point will be easily seen +and remembered. + +Solomon's idea of a wise woman, a good mother, a prudent wife, a +saving housekeeper and a successful merchant, will be found in the +foregoing texts, which every woman who reads should have printed, +framed and hung up at her family altar. As Solomon had a thousand women +in his household, he had great opportunity for the study of the +characteristics of the sex, though one would naturally suppose that +wise women, even in his day, preferred a larger sphere of action than +within his palace walls. Solomon's opinion of the sex in general is +plainly expressed in the foregoing texts. + +Solomon is supposed to have written his Song when he was young, +Proverbs in middle life, and Ecclesiastes when he was old. He gave +admirable rules for wisdom and virtue to all classes, to men, to women +and to children, but failed to practise the lessons which he taught. + + + +ECCLESIASTES. + + + +This book, written in Solomon's old age, is by no means comforting or +inspiring. Everything in life seems to have been disappointing to him. +Wealth, position, learning, all earthly possessions and acquirements +he declares alike to be "vanity of vanities and +vexation of spirit." To one whose life has been useful to others and +sweet to himself, it is quite impossible to accept these pessimistic +pictures of human destiny. + + + +Eccles. ii. + + + +I said in mine heart, I will prove thee with mirth; therefore enjoy +pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. + + +4 I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: + +5 I made me gardens and orchards. + +7 I had great possessions above all that were in Jerusalem before me: + +8 I gathered me also silver and gold and particular treasures: I gat +me men singers and women singers, and musical instruments. + +10 And whatsover mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld +not my heart from any joy. + +13 Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth +darkness. + +14 The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in +darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them +all. + + +This constant depreciation of human dignity and power is very +demoralizing in its influence on character. When we consider the +struggles of the race from savagism to civilization, all the wonderful +achievements, discoveries and inventions of man, we must feel more like +bowing down to him as an incarnation of his Creator than deploring his +follies like "a poor worm of the dust." The Episcopal service is most +demoralizing in this view. Whole congregations of educated men and +women, day after day, year after year, confessing themselves "miserable +sinners," with no evident improvement from generation to generation. +And this confession is made in a perfunctory manner, as if no disgrace +attended that mental condition, and without hope or promise of a change +from that unworthy attitude. + + + +Eccles. vii. + + + +26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares +and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from +her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. + +28 One wise man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all +those have I not found. + +29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but +they have sought out many inventions. + + +Solomon must have had a sad experience in his relations with women. Such +an opinion is a grave reflection on his own mother, who was so devoted +to his success in the world. But for her ambition he would never have +been crowned King of Israel. The commentators vouchsafe the opinion that +there are more good women than men. It is very kind in some of the +commentators to give us a word of praise now and then; but from the +general tone of the learned fabulists, one would think that the Jezebels +and the Jaels predominated. In fact, Solomon says that he has not found +one wise woman in a thousand. + + + +THE SONG OF SOLOMON. + + + +The name of God does not appear in this Song, neither is the latter +ever mentioned in the New Testament. This book has no special religious +significance, being merely a love poem, an epithalamium, sung on +nuptial occasions in praise of the bride and the groom. The proper +place for this book is before either Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, as it +was written in Solomon's youth, and is a more pardonable outburst for +his early days than for his declining years. The Jewish doctors advised +their young people not to read this book until they were thirty years +old, when they were supposed to be more susceptible to spiritual +beauties and virtues than to the mere attractions of face and of form. + +The Church, as an excuse for retaining this book as a part of "Holy +Scriptures," interprets the Song as expressive of Christ's love for the +Church; but that is rather far-fetched, and unworthy the character of +the ideal Jesus. The most rational view to take of the Song is, it was +that of a luxurious king to the women of his seraglio. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +BOOKS OF ISAIAH AND DANIEL, MICAH AND MALACHI. + + +ISAIAH. + + + +The closing books, of the Old Testament make but little mention of +women as illustrating individual characteristics. The ideal woman is +used more as a standard of comparison for good and for evil, the good +woman representing the elements of success in building up the family, +the tribe, the nation, as a devout worshiper of the God of Israel; the +wicked woman, the elements of destruction in the downfall of great +cities and nations. As woman is chosen to represent the extremes of +human conditions she has no special reason to complain. + +The Prophets sum up the graces of the "daughters of men" in the +following texts: + + + +Isaiah iii. + + + +16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, +and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and +mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: + +19 In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling +ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like +the moon, + +19 The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, + +20 The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and +the tablets, and the earrings, + +21 The rings, and nose jewels, + +22 The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, +and the crisping pins, + +23 The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails. + + +Before the sacred canon of the Old Testament was written there were +Prophets who took the place of Bibles to the Church. It is said that +God himself spake to the children of Israel from the top of Mount +Sinai, but that it was so terrible they entreated the Lord ever after +to speak to them through men. So ever after he did communicate with +them through Prophets and Angels. Isaiah was of the royal family; +he was nephew to King Uzziah. The Prophet in the above texts reproves +and warns the daughters of Zion and tells them of their faults. He does +not like their style of walking, which from the description must have +been much like the mincing gait of some women to-day. + +The Prophet expressly vouches God's authority for what he said +concerning their manners and elaborate ornamentation, lest they should +be offended with his criticisms. If the Prophets could visit our stores +and see all the fashions there are to tempt the daughters of to-day, +they would declaim against our frivolities on the very doorsteps, and +in view of the Easter bonnets, at the entrance to our churches. The +badges which our young women wear as members of societies, pinned in +rows on broad ribbons, the earrings, the bangles, the big sleeves, the +bonnets trimmed with osprey feathers, answer to the crisping pins, the +wimples, the nose jewels, the tablets, the chains, the bracelets, the +mufflers, the veils, the glasses and the girdles of the daughters of +Zion. If the Prophets, instead of the French milliners and dressmakers, +could supervise the toilets of our women, they would dress in far +better taste. + + + +DANIEL. + + + +The name of this Prophet in Hebrew was "Da##il,"[FN#5] which +signifies "the judgment of God." His Chaldean name was Bethshazzai. He +was of the tribe of Judah of the royal family. Josephus calls him one +of the greatest of the Prophets. + + + +[FN#5] Redactor's note. Text was illegible. + + + +Daniel v. + + + +Belshazzar the king made a great feast and commanded to bring the +golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out +of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his princes, +his wives and his concubines, might drink therein. + + +3 Then they brought the golden vessels, . . . and praised the gods of +gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. + +5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over +against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall: and the king saw +the part of the hand that wrote. + +6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled +him, so that his knees smote one against another. + +7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and +the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise men of +Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew +me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have +a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the +kingdom. + +8 Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the +writing, nor make known the interpretation thereof. + +10 Now the queen came into the banquet house, and said, O king, live +forever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee. + +11 There is a man in thy kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy +gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, +like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom Nebuchadnezzar thy +father made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and +soothsayers; . . . now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the +interpretation. + +13 Then was Daniel brought in; and he said, I will read the writing +unto the king. + +25 And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, +Upharsin. + +26 This Is The Interpretation Of The Thing: Mene; God Hath Numbered +Thy Kingdom, And Finished It. + +27 Tekel; Thou Are Weighed In The Balance, And Art Found Wanting. + +28 Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. + +29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, +and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation +concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. + +20 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. + + +Historians say that Cyrus was at this time besieging the city and knew +of this feast, and took this opportunity to make his attack and to slay +the king. + +In the midst of the consternation at the feast the queen entered to +advise Belshazzar. It is supposed that this queen was the widow of the +evil Merodach, and was that famous Nitocris whom Herodotus mentions as +a woman of extraordinary prudence and wisdom. She was not present at +the feast, as were the king's wives and concubines. It was not +agreeable to her age and gravity to dissipate at night; but tidings of +the consternation in the banquet hall were brought to her, so that she +came and entreated him not to be discouraged by the incapacity of the +wise men to solve the riddle; for there was a man in his kingdom who +had more than once helped his father in emergencies and would no doubt +advise him. She could not read the writing herself; but she said, let +the Prophet Daniel be called. The account she gives of the respect +Nebuchadnezzar had for him, for his insight into the deepest mysteries, +and of his goodness and wisdom, moved the king to summon Daniel into +his presence. + +Daniel was now near ninety years of age, and for a long time had not +been in court circles; but the queen dowager remembered him in the +court of the king's father. She reminded her son of the high esteem in +which he was held by his father. The interpretation which +Daniel gave of these mystic characters was far from easing the king of +his fears. Daniel being in years, and Belshazzar still young, he took +greater liberty in dealing plainly with him than he had with his +father. He read the warning as written on the wall: + +"Thou hast been weighed in the balance and found wanting, and thy +kingdom is divided and rent from thee." + +Although the exposition of the handwriting was most discouraging, yet +the king kept his promise, and put on Daniel the scarlet gown and the +gold chain. + + + +MICAH. + + + +Micah ii. + + + +9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; +from their children have ye taken away my glory forever. + + + +Micah vii. + + + +6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against +her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law. + +Here the Israelites are rebuked for their cruel treatment of their own +people, robbing widows and selling children into slavery. Family life +as well as public affairs seems to have become unsettled. The contempt +and the violation of the laws of domestic duties are a sad symptom of +universal corruption. + + + +MALACHI. + + + +Malachi ii. + + + +11 Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and +hath married the daughter of a strange god. + +14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between +thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt +treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. + +15 That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your +spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. + + +These Israelites were always violating the national law which forbade +them to marry strange women. The corruption of the nation began, say +the historians, with the intermarriage of the "sons of God" +with the "daughters of men," meaning, I suppose, those of the tribes +who had a different religion, "He that marries a heathen woman is as if +he made himself son-in-law to an idol." They put away the wives of +their own nation, and, as was the fashion at one time, married those of +other nations. This spoiled the lives of the daughters of Israel. They +were uncertain as to their social relations, family, right to their +children, and support in their old age, as a paper of divorce could be +given to them at any time. The denunciations of the Prophets had no +great weight in matters where strong feeling and sound judgment +conflicted. + +Charming women, of the Hittites and of the Midianites, with their +novel dress, manners and conversation, attracted the men of Israel. +They could not resist the temptation. When the strongest man and the +wisest one are alike led captive, there is no significance in calling +woman--"the weaker sex." + +Though few women appear in the closing tragedies of the Old Testament, +yet the idiosyncrasies of the sex are constantly used to point a moral +or to condemn a sin. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE KABBALAH. + + + +The Bible is an occult book, and a remarkable one. About all creeds +and faiths this side of Pagandom go to it for their authority. Read in +the light of occult teachings, it becomes something more than the old +battle ground of controversy for warring religions. Occultism alone +furnishes the key to this ancient treasury of wisdom. But to turn now +to another point, it may be well to call the attention of the readers +of The Woman's Bible to a few quotations from MacGregor Mathers' +"Kabbalah Unveiled," which has been pronounced by competent authorities +the work of a master hand. This work is a translation of Knorr Von +Rosenroth's "Kabbalah Denudata." + +The Kabbalah--the Hebrew esoteric doctrines--is a system of teachings +with which only the very learned attempt to wrestle. It is claimed to +have been handed down by oral tradition from angelic sources, through +Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, the Seventy Elders, to David and to +Solomon. No attempt was made to commit this sacred knowledge to +writing, till, in the early centuries of the Christian era (authorities +differ widely as to the date) the pupils of Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi put +his teachings into writing; and this in later ages became known as the +"Zohar," or "Book of Splendor." Around the name of this Rabbi Simeon +ben Joachi, as one scholarly writer puts it, "cluster the mystery and +the poetry of the religion of the Kabbalah as a gift of the Deity to +mankind." The Zohar, which is only a part of the Kabbalah, is the great +store-house of the esoteric teaching of the ancient Hebrews. + +Returning to the quotations referred to above, MacGregor Mathers in +his preface says: "I wish particularly to direct the reader's attention +to the stress laid by the Kabbalah on the feminine aspects of the +Deity, and to the shameful way in which any allusion to these has been +suppressed in the ordinary translations of the Bible, also to the +Kabbalistical equality of male and female." + +Referring to the Sephiroth (the ten Kabbalistical attributes of God), +Mr. Mathers says: + +"Among these Sephiroth, jointly and severally, we find the development +of the persons and the attributes of God. Of these, some are male and +some are female. Now, for some reason or other, best known to +themselves, the translators of the Bible have carefully crowded out of +existence and smothered up every reference to the fact that the Deity +is both masculine and feminine. They have translated a feminine plural +by a masculine singular in the case of the word Elohim. They have, +however, left an inadvertent admission of their knowledge that it was +plural in Genesis iv., 26: 'And Elohim said: Let US make man.' + +"Again (v., 27), how could Adam be made in the image of the Elohim, +male and female, unless the Elohim were male and female also? The word +Elohim is a plural formed from the feminine singular ALH, Eloh, by +adding IM to the word. But inasmuch as IM is usually the termination of +the masculine plural, and is here added to a feminine noun, it gives to +the word Elohim the sense of a female potency united to a masculine +idea, and thereby capable of producing an offspring. Now we hear much +of the Father and the Son, but we hear nothing of the Mother in the +ordinary religions of the day. But in the Kabbalah we find that the +Ancient of Days conforms himself simultaneously into the Father and the +Mother, and thus begets the Son. Now this Mother is Elohim." + +The writer then goes on to show that the Holy Spirit, usually +represented as masculine, is in fact feminine. The first Sephira +contained the other nine, and produced them in succession. The second +is Chokmah (Wisdom), and is the active and evident Father to whom the +Mother is united. The third is a feminine passive potency called Binah +(Understanding), and is co-equal with Chokmah. Chokmah is powerless +till the number three forms the triangle. + +"Thus this Sephira completes and makes evident the supernal Trinity. +It is also called AMA, Mother, the great productive Mother, who is +eternally conjoined with the Father for the maintenance of the +universe in order. Therefore is she the most evident form in whom we +can know the Father, and therefore is she worthy of all honor. She is +the supernal Mother, co-equal with Chokmah, and the great feminine form +of God, the Elohim, in whose image man and woman were created, +according to the teaching of the Kabbalah, equal before God. Woman is +equal with man, not inferior to him, as it has been the persistent +endeavor of so-called Christians to make her. Aima is the woman +described in the Apocalypse (ch. 12)." + +"This third Sephira is also sometimes called the Great Sea. To her are +attributed the Divine names, Alaim, Elohim, and Iahveh Alhim; and the +angelic order, Arhlim, the Thrones. She is the supernal Mother as +distinguished from Malkuth, the inferior Mother, Bride and Queen. . . . +In each of the three trinities or triads of the Sephiroth is a dual of +opposite sexes, and a uniting intelligence which is the result. In +this, the masculine and feminine potencies are regarded as the two +scales of the balance, and the uniting Sephira as the beam which joins +them." + +In chapter viii. we read: "Chokmah is the Father, and Binah is the +Mother, and therein are Chokmah (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding), +counterbalanced together in most perfect equality of Male and Female. +And therefore are all things established in the equality of Male and +Female; if it were not so, how could they subsist? . . . In their +conformations are They found to be the perfections of all things-- +Father and Mother, Son and Daughter. These things have not been +revealed save unto the Holy Superiors who have entered therein and +departed therefrom, and have known the paths of the Most Holy God, so +that they have not erred in them, either on the right hand or on the +left." + +In a note in regard to Chokmah and Binah the author says: "Chokmah is +the second and Binah is the third of the Sephiroth. This section is a +sufficient condemnation of all those who wish to make out that woman is +inferior to man." + +The Kabbalah also speaks of the separation of the sexes as the cause +of evil, or as the author puts it in a note: "Where there is unbalanced +force, there is the origin of evil." Further on it is written: "And +therefore is Aima (the Mother) known to be the consummation of +all things; and She is signified to be the beginning and the end. . . . +And hence that which is not both Male and Female together is called +half a body. Now, no blessing can rest upon a mutilated and defective +being, but only upon a perfect place and upon a perfect being, and not +at all in an incomplete being. And a semi-complete being cannot live +forever, neither can it receive blessing forever." + +The following is the author's comment upon the above: "This section is +another all-sufficient proof of the teachings maintained throughout the +Kabbalah, namely, that man and woman are from the creation co-equal and +co-existent, perfectly equal, one with the other. This fact the +translators of the Bible have been at great pains to conceal by +carefully suppressing every reference to the feminine portion of the +Deity, and by constantly translating feminine nouns by masculine. And +this is the work of so-called religious men!" + +A learned Jewish Rabbi, with whom the writer is acquainted, says: +"Those who write on the Bible must be very careful when they come to +speak of the position of woman to make a clear distinction between the +Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament, except in the second +chapter of Genesis, woman occupies a true and a dignified position in +society and in the family. For example, take the position of Sarah, of +the Prophetess Miriam, the sister of Moses, and Deborah the Prophetess. +They all exemplify the true position of woman in the Old Testament. +While Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, and the chief writer in the +New Testament, condemned woman to silence in the Church and to strict +obedience to her husband, making her thereby inferior to the man, the +Old Testament gave free scope to the development of the Holy Spirit in +woman. To intensify this teaching upon the position of woman, we find +even the voice of the Deity telling Abraham: 'Whatever Sarah tells +thee, thou shalt hearken unto her voice,' showing that woman in her own +home was the guiding power." In regard to another point this Rabbi +says: "The learned Jewish Rabbis of modern times do not take the rib +story literally. And this may be said of many of the olden times." + +The Kabbalah and its learned expositors may be said to be "the +throbbing heart" of the Jewish religion, as was graphically said of the +mystic teachings of another occult fraternity. And in view of the +Kabbalah's antiquity, and the fact that it is the fountain head of the +body of the Old Testament teachings, these quotations as to the real +Kabbalistic teachings in regard to woman, or to the feminine aspects of +the Deity, are of first-class importance in such a book as "The Woman's +Bible." In Kabbalistic teachings "there is one Trinity which comprises +all the Sephiroth, and it consists of the crown, the king and the +queen. . . . It is the Trinity which created the world, or, in +Kabbalistic language, the universe was born from the union of the +crowned king and queen." + +The rib story is veiled in the mystic language of symbolism. According +to occult teachings, there was a time before man was differentiated +into sexes--that is, when he was androgynous. Then the time came, +millions of years ago, when the differentiation into sexes took place. +And to this the rib story refers. There has been much ignorance and +confusion in regard to the real nature of woman, indicating that she is +possessed of a mystic nature and a power which will gradually be +developed and better understood as the world becomes more enlightened. +Woman has been branded as the author of evil in the world; and at the +same time she has been exalted to the position of mother of the Saviour +of the world. These two positions are as conflicting as the general +ideas which have prevailed in regard to woman--the great enigma of the +world. + +Theological odium has laid its hand heavily upon her. "This odium," as +a Rev. D. D. once said to the writer, "is a thing with more horns, more +thorns, more quills and more snarls than almost any other sort of thing +you have ever heard of. It has kindled as many fires of martyrdom; it +has slipnoosed as many ropes for the necks of well-meaning men; it has +built as many racks for the dislocation of human bones; it has forged +as many thumbscrews; it has built as many dungeons; it has ostracised +as many scholars and philosophers; it has set itself against light and +pushed as hard to make the earth revolve the other way on its axis, as +any other force of mischief of whatever name or kind." + +And that is the fearful thing with which woman has had to contend. +When she is free from it we may be assured that the dawn of a new day +is not far off. And among the indications pointing that way is the fact +that the Bible itself has been "under treatment" for some time. What is +known as the "Higher Criticism" has done much to clear away the clouds +of superstition which have enveloped it. + +One of the latest works on this line is "The Polychrome Bible"--the +word meaning the different colors in which the texts, the notes, the +dates, the translations, etc., are printed for the sake of simplifying +matters. Prof. Paul Haupt, of Johns Hopkins University, is at the head +of this great work, ably assisted by a large corps of the best Biblical +scholars in the world. It is not to be a revision of the accepted +version, but a new translation in modern English. The translation is +not to be literal except in the highest sense of the word, viz., "to +render the sense of the original as faithfully as possible." There are +to be explanatory notes, historical and archaelogical illustrations of +the text, paraphrases of difficult passages, etc. In short, everything +possible is to be done to simplify and to make plain this ancient book. +The contributors have instructions not to hesitate to state what they +consider to be the truth, but with as little offence to the general +reader as possible. This work has been pronounced the greatest literary +undertaking of the century--a work which will prepare the way for the +coming generation to give an entirely new consideration to the +religious problem. It was begun in 1890, and will probably not be +completed before 1900. + +Another important work, small in actual size but big with +significance, has just been issued in England under the title of "The +Bible and the Child." It is not, as its name might imply, a book for +children, but it is for the purpose of "showing the right way of +presenting the Bible to the young in the light of the Higher +Criticism." Its eight contributors are headed by Canon F. W. Farrar, of +England, and includes a number of noted English divines. An English +writer outside of the orthodox pale says: "It is one of the most +extraordinary books published in the English language. It is small; but +it is just the turning-scale to the side of common sense in matters +religious. The Church has at last taken a step in the right direction. +We cannot expect it to set off at a gallop; but it is fairly ambling +along on its comfortable palfrey." + +The advance is all along the line; and we need not fear any retrograde +movement to the past. Canon Farrar says that the manner in which the +Higher Criticism has progressed "is exactly analogous to the way in +which the truths of astronomy and of geology have triumphed over +universal opposition. They were once anathematized as 'Infidel;' they +are now accepted as axiomatic." When an official of the Church of +England of the high standing of Canon Farrar comes out so boldly in the +interest of free thought and free criticism on lines hitherto held to +be too sacred for human reason to cross, it is one of the "signs of the +times," and a most hopeful one of the future. + +And now that we are coming to understand the Bible better than to +worship it as an idol, it will gradually be lifted from the shadows and +the superstitions of an age when, as a fetich, it was exalted above +reason, and placed where a spiritually enlightened people can see it in +its true light-a book in which many a bright jewel has been buried +under some rubbish, perhaps, as well as under many symbolisms and +mystic language--a book which is not above the application of reason +and of common sense. And with these new lights on the Bible, it is +gratifying to know at the same time that the stately Hebrew Kabbalah, +hoary with antiquity, and the fountain source of the Old Testament, +places woman on a perfect equality in the Godhead. For better authority +than that one can hardly ask. + +We are nearing the close of a remarkable century, the last half of +which, and especially the last quarter, has been crowded with +discoveries, some of them startling in their approximation to the +inner, or occult world--a world in which woman has potent sway. The +close of this century has long been pointed to by scholars, by writers +and by Prophets, within the Church and out of it, as the close of the +old dispensation and the opening of the new one. And in view of the +rapid steps which we are taking in these latter years, we can almost +feel the breath of the new cycle fan our cheeks as we watch the +deepening hues of the breaking dawn. + + +F. E. B. + + + + + +THE NEW TESTAMENT. + + + +"Great is Truth, and mighty above all things."--1 Esdras, iv., 41. + + + +Does the New Testament bring promises of new dignity and of larger +liberties for woman? When thinking women make any criticisms on their +degraded position in the Bible, Christians point to her exaltation in +the New Testament, as if, under their religion, woman really does +occupy a higher position than under the Jewish dispensation. While +there are grand types of women presented under both religions, there is +no difference in the general estimate of the sex. In fact, her inferior +position is more clearly and emphatically set forth by the Apostles +than by the Prophets and the Patriarchs. There are no such specific +directions for woman's subordination in the Pentateuch as in the +Epistles. + +We are told that the whole sex was highly honored in Mary being the +mother of Jesus. Surely a wise and virtuous son is more indebted to his +mother than she is to him, and is honored only by reflecting her +superior characteristics. Why the founders of the Christian religion +did not improvise an earthly Father as well as an earthly Mother does +not clearly appear. The questionable position of Joseph is +unsatisfactory. As Mary belonged to the Jewish aristocracy, she should +have had a husband of the same rank. If a Heavenly Father was +necessary, why not a Heavenly Mother? If an earthly Mother was +admirable, why not not {sic} an earthly Father? The Jewish idea that +Jesus was born according to natural law is more rational than is the +Christian record of the immaculate conception by the Holy Ghost, the +third person of the Trinity. These Biblical mysteries and +inconsistencies are a great strain on the credulity of the ordinary +mind. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Jesus was the great leading Radical of his age. Everything that he was +and said and did alienated and angered the Conservatives, those that +represented and stood for the established order of what they believed +to be the fixed and final revelation of God. Is it any wonder that they +procured his death? They had no power to put him to death themselves, +and so they stirred the suspicions of the Roman authorities. + +We owe the conquest of Christianity to two things. First, to Paul. +Christianity never would have been anything but a little Jewish sect if +it had not been for Paul. And the other thing is--what? The conquest +over death. It was the abounding belief of the disciples that Jesus was +alive, their leader still, though in the invisible, which made them +laugh in the face of death, which made them fearless in the presence of +the lions in the arena, which made them seek for the honor and glory of +martyrdom, and which gave them such conquest over all fear, all sorrow, +all toil, as can come only to those who believe that this life is +merely a training school, that death is nothing but a doorway and that +it leads out into the eternal glories and grandeurs beyond. + +I think that the doctrine of the Virgin birth as something higher, +sweeter, nobler than ordinary motherhood, is a slue on all the natural +motherhood of the world. I believe that millions of children have been +as immaculately conceived, as purely born, as was the Nazarene. Why +not? Out of this doctrine, and that which is akin to it, have sprung +all the monasteries and the nunneries of the world, which have +disgraced and distorted and demoralized manhood and womanhood for a +thousand years. I place beside the false, monkish, unnatural claim of +the Immaculate Conception my mother, who was as holy in her motherhood +as was Mary herself. + +Another suggestion. This thought of Jesus as the second person of an +inconceivable trinity, a being neither of heaven nor earth, but between +the two; a being having two natures and one will; a being who was +ignorant as a man, and who suffered as a man, while he knew everything +as God and could not suffer as God--this conception is part of a scheme +of the universe which represents humanity as ruined and lost and +hopeless, God as unjust, and man as looking only to a fearful judgment +in the ages that are to be. I believe that thousands of people have +lived since the time of Jesus as good, as tender, as loving, as true, as +faithful, as he. There is no more mystery in the one case than in the +other, for it is all mystery. Old Father Taylor, the famous Methodist +Bethel preacher in Boston, was a Perfectionist, and when he was asked if +he thought anybody had since lived who was as good as Jesus, he said: +"Yes; millions of them." This is Methodist authority. + +What made Jesus the power he was of his time? In the first place, +there was an inexplicable charm about his personality which drew all +the common people to him, as iron filings are drawn by a magnet. He +loved the people, who instinctively felt it, and loved him. Then there +was his intellectual power of speech. Most of the sayings of Jesus are +not original in the sense that nobody else ever uttered any similar +truths before. Confucius, six thousand years before Jesus, gave +utterance to the Golden Rule. And then there was the pity, the +sympathy, the tenderness of the man. And then he had trust in God-- +trust in the simple Fatherhood of God, that never could be shaken. +Jesus taught us, as no one else has ever done it, the humanness of God +and the divineness of man, so that, standing there eighteen hundred +years ago, he has naturally and infallibly attracted the eyes, the +thought, the love, the reverence of the world. + +When it is dark in the morning, and before the sun rises, there are +high peaks that catch the far-off rays and begin to glow, while the +rest of the world still lies in shadow. So there are mountainous men, +not supernatural, but as natural as the mountains and the sun-- +mountainous men who catch the light before our common eyes on the +plains and in the valleys can see it, who see and proclaim from their +lofty heights far-off visions of truth and beauty that we as yet cannot +discern. + + +ANON. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF MATTHEW. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Matthew i. + + + +16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, +who is called Christ. + +17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen +generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are +fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto +Christ are fourteen generations. + + +Saint Matthew is supposed to be distinguished from the other Apostles +by the frequency of his references to the Old Testament. He records +more particulars of Jesus than the others do, far more of his birth, +his sayings and his miracles. + +There has been much difference of opinion among writers of both sacred +and profane history as to the paternity of Jesus, and whether he was a +real or an ideal character. If, as the Scriptures claim, he descended +from heaven, begotten by the Holy Ghost, the incarnation of God +himself, then there was nothing remarkable in his career, nor +miraculous in the seeming wonders which he performed, being the soul +and the centre of all the forces of the universe of matter and of mind. +If he was an ideal character, like the gifted hero of some novel or +tragedy, his great deeds and his wise sayings the result of the +imagination of some skilful artist, then we may admire the sketch as a +beautiful picture. But if Jesus was a man who was born, lived and died +as do other men, a worthy example for imitation, he is deserving of our +love and reverence, and by showing us the possibilities of human nature +he is a constant inspiration, our hope and salvation; for the path, +however rough, in which one man has walked, others may follow. As a God +with infinite power he could have been no example to us; but with human +limitations we may emulate his virtues and walk in his footsteps. + +Some writers think that his mother was a wise, great and beautiful +Jewish maiden, and his father a learned rabbi, who devoted much time +and thought to his son's education. At a period when learning was +confined to the few, it was a matter of surprise that as a mere boy he +could read and write, and discuss the vital questions of the hour with +doctors in the sacred temples. His great physical beauty, the wisdom of +his replies to the puzzling questions of the Pharisees and the +Sadducces, his sympathy with the poor and the needy, his ambition for +all that is best in human development, and his indifference to worldly +aggrandizement, altogether made him a marked man in his day and +generation. For these reasons he was hated, reviled, persecuted, like +the long line of martyrs who followed his teachings. He commands far +more love and reverence as a true man with only human possibilities, +than as a God, superior to all human frailties and temptations. + +What were years of persecution, the solitude on the mountain, the +agonies on the cross, with the power of a God to sustain him? But +unaided and alone to triumph over all human weakness, trials and +temptation, was victory not only for Jesus but for every human being +made in his image. + + + +Matthew ii. + + + +1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod +the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, + +2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen +his star in the cast, and are come to worship him. + +3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all +Jerusalem with him. + +4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests together, he demanded +of them where Christ should be born. + +5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: + +8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently +for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word. + +9 And they departed; and lo, the star, which they saw in the east, +went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. + +11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child +with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they +had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and +frankincense, and myrrh. + +12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to +Herod, they departed into their own country another way. + +13 And the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, +Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt; +for Herod will seek to destroy him. + +14 And he arose, and departed into Egypt; + +19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in +a dream to Joseph + +20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into +the land of Israel. + + +These sages were supposed to be men of great learning belonging to a +sect called Magians, who came from Arabia. There was a general +feeling that the king of the Jews was yet to be born, and that they +were soon to see the long expected and promised Messiah. Herod was +greatly troubled by the tidings that a child had been born under +remarkable circumstances. The star spoken of was supposed to be a +luminous meteor the wise men had seen in their own country before they +set out on their journey for Bethlehem, and which now guided them to +the house where the young child was. Notwithstanding the common +surroundings, the wise men recognizing something more than human in the +child, fell down and worshiped him and presented unto him the most +precious gifts which their country yielded. Some have supposed that the +frankincense and the myrrh were intended as an acknowledgment of his +deity, as the gold was of his royalty. + +To defeat the subtle malice of Herod, who was determined to take the +child's life, Joseph was warned in a dream to flee into Egypt with the +child and his mother. The wise men did not return to Herod as +commanded, but went at once to their own country. + + + +Matthew ix. + + + +18 Behold, there came a certain ruler, saying, My daughter is even now +dead; but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. + +19 And Jesus arose and followed him. + +2 And behold, a woman, which was diseased twelve years, came behind +him, and touched the hem of his garment: + +21 For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I +shall be whole. + +22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, +be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was +made whole from that hour. + +23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, * * * + +24 He said, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And +they laughed him to scorn, + +25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the +hand, and the maid arose. + + + +Matthew xiv. + + + +3 For Herod had laid hold on John, and put him in prison for Herodias' +sake, his brother Philip's wife. + +4 For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. + +5 And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, +because they counted him as a prophet. + +6 But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced +before them, and pleased Herod. + +7 Whereupon he promised to give her whatsoever she would ask. + +8 And she being before instructed of her met, Give me here John +Baptist's head in a charger. + +9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake he +commanded it to be given her, + +10 And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. + +11 And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and +she brought it to her mother. + +12 And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and +went and told Jesus. + + +Josephus says that Herodias was niece both to her former husband, +Philip, and to Herod, with whom she at this time lived. Herod had +divorced his own wife in order to take her; and her husband Philip was +still living, as well as the daughter Salome, whom he had by her. No +connection could be more contrary to the law of God than this. John, +therefore, being a prophet and no courtier, plainly reproved Herod, and +declared that it was not lawful for him to retain Herodias. This +greatly offended Herod and Herodias, and they cast John into prison, +Herodias waited her opportunity to wreak her malice on him, counting +John's reproof an insult to her character as well as an interference +with her ambition. + +At length when Herod celebrated his birthday, entertaining his nobles +with great magnificence, the daughter of Herodias danced before them +all, with such exquisite grace as to delight the company, whereupon +Herod promised her whatever she desired, though equal in value to half +his kingdom. Salome consulted her mother, who urged her to demand the +head of John the Baptist. By the influence of Herodias, Herod, contrary +to his own conscience, was induced to put John to death, for he feared +him as a righteous man. + +It must have been a great trial to the daughter, who might have asked +so many beautiful gifts and rare indulgences, to yield all to her +wicked mother's revenge. But these deeds were speedily avenged. It is +said that Salome had her head cut off by the ice breaking as she passed +over it. Herod was shortly after engaged in a disastrous war on account +of Herodias, and was expelled from his territories; and both died in +exile, hated by everybody and hating one another. + + +L. C. S. + + + +In regard to the charge against Herodias, which is current among +theological scandal-mongers, there is not a moderately intelligent jury +of Christendom (if composed half of men and half of women) which, after +examining all the available evidence, would not render a verdict in her +favor of "Not Guilty." The statement that She "paid the price of her +own daughter's debasement and disgrace for the head of John the +Baptist," is an assertion born wholly of the ecclesiastical, distorted +imagination. Not even a hint, much less an iota of proof, to +warrant such an assertion, is found anywhere in history--sacred or +profane. While some anonymous writer of the early Christian centuries +did put in circulation the charge that John the Baptist was put to +death at the instigation of Herodias (without implicating her +daughter's character, however), Josephus, on the contrary, explicitly +declares that his death was wholly a political matter, with which the +names of Herodias and her daughter are not even connected by rumor. +Says Josephus: "When others came in crowds about him (John the +Baptist), for they were greatly moved by hearing his words, Herod, who +feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it +into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed +ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him +to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause. . . . Accordingly he +was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the +castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death." + +Now, the jury must remember that Josephus was born in Jerusalem about +38 A. D., that he was an educated man and in a position to know the +facts in this case, owing both to his prominent position among the Jews +and to his study of contemporaneous history. But that, on the other +hand, the anonymous writers who bring Herodias' name into the +transaction, are not traceable further back than the fourth century of +our era, and that even they do not bring any charge against her +character as a mother. + + +E. B. D. + + + +Matthew xv. + + + +21 Then Jesus departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. + +22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan cried unto him, saying, Have mercy +on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with +a devil. + +23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples besought him to +send her away. + +24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of +the house of .Israel. + +25 Then came she and worshiped him, saying, Lord, help me. + +26 But he said, It is not meet to take the children's food, and to +cast it to dogs. + +27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which +fall from their master's table. + +23 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: +be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from +that very hour. + + +Peter had a house in Capernaum; and his wife's mother lived with them; +and Jesus lodged with them when in that city. It is hoped +that his presence brought out the best traits of the mother-in-law, so +as to make her agreeable to Peter. As soon as Jesus rebuked the fever, +she was able without delay to rise and to wait on Jesus and his +disciples. These displays of the power of Christ in performing +miracles, according to the text, are varied, in almost every +conceivable way of beneficence; but he wrought no miracles of +vengeance, even the destruction of the swine was doubtless intended in +mercy and conducive to much good--so say the commentators. He not only +healed the sick and cast out devils, but he made the blind to see and +the dumb to speak. + +The woman of Canaan proved herself quite equal in argument with Jesus; +and though by her persistency she tired the patience of the disciples, +she made her points with Jesus with remarkable clearness. His patience +with women was a sore trial to the disciples, who were always disposed +to nip their appeals in the bud. It was very ungracious in Jesus to +speak of the Jews as dogs, saying, "It is not meet to take the +children's food, and to cast it to dogs." Her reply, "Yet the dogs eat +of the crumbs which fall from the master's table," was bright and +appropriate. Jesus appreciated her tact and her perseverance, and +granted her request; and her daughter, the text says, was healed. + +We might doubt the truth of all these miracles did We not see so many +wonderful things in our own day which we would have pronounced +impossible years ago. The fact of human power developing in so many +remarkable ways proves that Jesus's gift of performing miracles is +attainable by those who, like him, live pure lives, and whose blood +flows in the higher arches of the brain. If one man, at any period of +the world's history, performed miracles, others equally gifted may do +the same. + + + +Matthew xx. + + + +20 Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, +worshiping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. + +21 And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant +that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the +other on the left, in thy kingdom. + + +Zebedee, the father of James and of John, was dead; and he was not so +constant a follower of Christ as his wife; so she is mentioned +as the mother of Zebedee's children, which saying has passed into a +conundrum, "Who was the mother of Zebedee's children?" Scott in his +commentaries gives her name as Salome. Whatever her name, she had great +ambition for her sons, and asked that they might have the chief places +of honor and authority in his kingdom. Her son James was the first of +the Apostles who suffered martyrdom. John survived all the rest and is +not supposed to have died a violent death. + +A mother's ambition to lift her sons over her own head in education +and position, planning extraordinary responsibilities for ordinary men, +has proved a misfortune in many cases. Many a young man who would be a +success as a carpenter would be a failure as the governor of a State. +Mothers are quite apt to overestimate the genius of their children and +push them into niches which they cannot fill. + + + +Matthew xxii. + + + +23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no +resurrection and asked him, + +24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his +brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. + +25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had +married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his +brother: + +26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. + +27 And last of all the woman died also. + +28 Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the +seven? for they all had her. + +29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the +Scriptures, nor the power of God. + +30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in +marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. + + +Jesus reminded the Sadducees that marriage was intended only for the +present world, to replenish the earth and to repair the ravages which +death continually makes among its inhabitants; but as in the future +state there was to be no death, so no marriage. There the body even +would be made spiritual; and all the employments and the pleasures pure +and angelic. The marriage relation seems to have been a tangled problem +in all ages. Scientists tell us that both the masculine and feminine +elements were united in one person in the beginning, and will probably +be reunited again for eternity. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Matthew xxv. + + + +1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which +took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. + +2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. + +3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: + +4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. + +5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. + +6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; +go ye out to meet him. + +7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. + +8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our +lamps are gone out. + +9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for +us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. + +10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were +ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. + +11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to +us. + +12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. + + +In this chapter we have the duty of self-development impressively and +repeatedly urged in the form of parables, addressed alike to man and to +woman. The sin of neglecting and of burying one's talents, capacities +and powers, and the penalties which such a course involve, are here +strikingly portrayed. + +This parable is found among the Jewish records substantially the same +as in our own Scriptures. Their weddings were generally celebrated at +night; yet they usually began at the rising of the evening star; but in +this case there was a more than ordinary delay. Adam Clarke in his +commentaries explains this parable as referring chiefly to spiritual +gifts and the religious life. He makes the Lord of Hosts the +bridegroom, the judgment day the wedding feast, the foolish virgins the +sinners whose hearts were cold and dead, devoid of all spiritual +graces, and unfit to enter the kingdom of heaven, The wise virgins were +the saints who were ready for translation, or for the bridal +procession. They followed to the wedding feast; and when the chosen had +entered "the door was shut." + +This strikes us as a strained interpretation of a very simple parable, +which, considered in connection with the other parables, seems to apply +much more closely to this life than to that which is to come, to the +intellectual and the moral nature, and to the whole round of human +duties. It fairly describes the two classes which help to make up +society in general. The one who, like the foolish virgins, have never +learned the first important duty of cultivating their own individual +powers, using the talents given to them, and keeping their own lamps +trimmed and burning. The idea of being a helpmeet to somebody else has +been so sedulously drilled into most women that an individual life, +aim, purpose and ambition are never taken into consideration. They +oftimes do so much in other directions that they neglect the most vital +duties to themselves. + +We may find in this simple parable a lesson for the cultivation of +courage and of self-reliance. These virgins are summoned to the +discharge of an important duty at midnight, alone, in darkness, and in +solitude. No chivalrous gentleman is there to run for oil and to trim +their lamps. They must depend on themselves, unsupported, and pay the +penalty of their own improvidence and unwisdom. Perhaps in that bridal +procession might have been seen fathers, brothers, friends, for whose +service and amusement the foolish virgins had wasted many precious +hours, when they should have been trimming their own lamps and keeping +oil in their vessels. + +And now, with music, banners, lanterns, torches, guns and rockets fired +at intervals, come the bride and the groom, with their attendants and +friends numbering thousands, brilliant in jewels, gold and silver, +magnificently mounted on richly caparisoned horses--for nothing can be +more brilliant than were those nuptial solemnities of Eastern nations. +As this spectacle, grand beyond description, sweeps by, imagine the +foolish virgins pushed aside, in the shadow of some tall edifice, with +dark, empty lamps in their hands, unnoticed and unknown. And while the +castle walls resound with music and merriment, and the lights from every +window stream out far into the darkness, no kind friends gather round +them to sympathize in their humiliation, nor to cheer their loneliness. +It matters little that women may be ignorant, dependent, unprepared for +trial and for temptation. Alone they must meet the terrible emergencies +of life, to be sustained and protected amid danger and death by their +own courage, skill and self-reliance, or perish. + +Woman's devotion to the comfort, the education, the success of men in +general, and to their plans and projects, is in a great measure due to +her self-abnegation and self-sacrifice having been so long and so +sweetly lauded by poets, philosophers and priests as the acme of human +goodness and glory. + +Now, to my mind, there is nothing commendable in the action of young +women who go about begging funds to educate young men for the ministry, +while they and the majority of their sex are too poor to educate +themselves, and if able, are still denied admittance into some of the +leading institutions of learning throughout our land. It is not +commendable for women to get up fairs and donation parties for churches +in which the gifted of their sex may neither pray, preach, share in the +offices and honors, nor have a voice in the business affairs, creeds +and discipline, and from whose altars come forth Biblical +interpretations in favor of woman's subjection. + +It is not commendable for the women of this Republic to expend much +enthusiasm on political parties as now organized, nor in national +celebrations, for they have as yet no lot or part in the great +experiment of self-government. + +In their ignorance, women sacrifice themselves to educate the men of +their households, and to make of themselves ladders by which their +husbands, brothers and sons climb up into the kingdom of knowledge, +while they themselves are shut out from all intellectual companionship, +even with those they love best; such are indeed like the foolish +virgins. They have not kept their own lamps trimmed and burning; they +have no oil in their vessels, no resources in themselves; they bring no +light to their households nor to the circle in which they move; and +when the bridegroom cometh, when the philosopher, the scientist, the +saint, the scholar, the great and the learned, all come together to +celebrate the marriage feast of science and religion, the foolish +virgins, though present, are practically shut out; for what know they +of the grand themes which inspire each tongue and kindle every +thought? Even the brothers and the sons whom they have educated, now +rise to heights which they cannot reach, span distances which they +cannot comprehend. + +The solitude of ignorance, oh, who can measure its misery! + +The wise virgins are they who keep their lamps trimmed, who burn oil +in their vessels for their own use, who have improved every advantage +for their education, secured a healthy, happy, complete development, +and entered all the profitable avenues of labor, for self-support, so +that when the opportunities and the responsibilities of life come, they +may be fitted fully to enjoy the one and ably to discharge the other. + +These are the women who to-day are close upon the heels of man in the +whole realm of thought, in art, in science, in literature and in +government. With telescopic vision they explore the starry firmament, +and bring back the history of the planetary world. With chart and +compass they pilot ships across the mighty deep, and with skilful +fingers send electric messages around the world. In galleries of art, +the grandeur of nature and the greatness of humanity are immortalized +by them on canvas, and by their inspired touch, dull blocks of marble +are transformed into angels of light. In music they speak again the +language of Mendelssohn, of Beethoven, of Chopin, of Schumann, and are +worthy interpreters of their great souls. The poetry and the novels of +the century are theirs; they, too, have touched the keynote of reform +in religion, in politics and in social life. They fill the editors' and +the professors' chairs, plead at the bar of justice, walk the wards of +the hospital, and speak from the pulpit and the platform. + +Such is the widespread preparation for the marriage feast of science +and religion; such is the type of womanhood which the bridegroom of an +enlightened public sentiment welcomes to-day; and such is the triumph +of the wise virgins over the folly, the ignorance and the degradation +of the past as in grand procession they enter the temple of knowledge, +and the door is no longer shut. + + + +Matthew xxvi. + + + +6 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, + +7 There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious +ointment, and poured it on his head. + +8 But. when his disciples saw it, they said, To what purpose is this +waste? + +9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the +poor. + +10 When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble ye the +woman? + +11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always. + +12 For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it +for my burial. + +13 Verily, I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached, +there shall also this be told for a memorial of her. + + + +Matthew xxvii. + + + +19 When Pilate was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto +him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have +suffered many things this day in a dream, because of him. + +24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a +tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the +multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see +ye to it. + +25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on +our children. + +55 And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus +from Galilee, ministering unto him; + +56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James and +Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. + +61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over +against the sepulchre. + + +It is a common opinion among Christians that the persecutions of the +Jews in all periods and latitudes is a punishment on them for their +crucifixion of Jesus, and that this defiant acceptance of the +responsibility is being justly fulfilled. + + + +Matthew xxviii. + + + +1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn came Mary Magdalene +and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. + +2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord +descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the +door, and sat upon it. + +3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: + +4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. + +5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye; for I +know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. + +7 Go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; +and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him. + +8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with great joy. + +9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, +saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped +him. + +10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: tell my brethren that +they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. + + +Among the witnesses of the crucifixion, this melancholy and untimely +scene, there were some women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and +had waited on him, supplying his wants from their substance. Affection +and anxious concern induced them to be present, and probably they stand +afar off, fearing the outrages of the multitude. Words cannot +express the mixed emotions of true gratitude, reverence, sorrow and +compassion which must have agitated their souls on this occasion. We +find from John, who was also present, that Mary the mother of Jesus was +a spectator of this distressing scene. + +When Jesus was brought before Pilate, he was greatly troubled as to +what judgment he should give, and his hesitation was increased by a +warning from his wife, to have no part in the death of that righteous +man; for she had terrifying dreams respecting him, which made her +conclude that his death would be avenged by some unseen power. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF MARK. + + + +Mark iii. + + + +31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, +sent unto him, + +32 And the multitude sat about him, and said unto him, Behold, thy +mother and thy brethren seek for thee. + +33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? + +34 And he looked round about and said. Behold my mother and my brethren! + +35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and +my sister and mother. + + +Many of the same texts found in the Book of Matthew are repeated by +the other Evangelists. It appears from the text that the earnestness of +Jesus in teaching the people, made some of his friends, who did not +believe in his mission, anxious. Even his mother feared to have him +teach doctrines in opposition to the public sentiment of his day. His +words of seeming disrespect to her, simply meant to imply that he had +an important work to do, that his duties to humanity were more to him +than the ties of natural affection. + +Many of the ancient writers criticise Mary severely, for trying to +exercise control over Jesus, assuming rightful authority over him. +Theophylact taxes her with vainglory; Tertullian accuses her of +ambition; St. Chrysostom of impiety and of disbelief; Whitby says, it +is plain that this is a protest against the idolatrous worship of Mary. +She was generally admitted to be a woman of good character and worthy +of all praise; but whatever she was, it ill becomes those who believe +that she was the mother of God to criticise her as they would an +ordinary mortal. + + + +Mark x. + + + +2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man +to put away his wife? tempting him. + +3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? + +4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to +put her away. + +5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your +heart he wrote you this precept. + +6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. + +7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave +to his wife; + +8 And they twain shall be one flesh: + +9 what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. + + +The question of marriage was a constant theme for discussion in the +days of Moses and of Jesus, as in our own times. The Pharisees are +still asking questions, not that they care for an answer on the highest +plane of morality, but to entrap some one as opposed to the authorities +of their times. Life with Jesus was too short and his mission too stern +to parley with pettifoggers; so he gives to them a clear cut, +unmistakable definition as to what marriage is: "Whoever puts away his +wife, save for the cause of unchastity, which violates the marriage +covenant, commits adultery." Hence, under the Christian dispensation we +must judge husband and wife by the same code of morals. + +If this rule of the perfect equality of the sexes were observed in all +social relations the marriage problem might be easily solved. But with +one code of morals for man and another for woman, we are involved in +all manner of complications. In England, for example, a woman may marry +her husband's brother; but a man may not marry his wife's sister. They +have had "a deceased wife's sister's bill" before Parliament for +generations. Ever and anon they take it up, look at it with their opera +glasses, air their grandfather's old platitudes over it, give a sickly +smile at some well-worn witticism, or drop a tear at a pathetic whine +from some bishop, then lay the bill reverently back in its sacred +pigeon-hole for a period of rest. + +The discussion in the United States is now in the form of a +homogeneous divorce law in all the States of the Union, but this is not +in woman's interest. What Canada was to the Southern slaves under the +old regime, a State with liberal divorce laws is to fugitive wives. If +a dozen learned judges should get together, as is proposed, to revise +the divorce laws, they would make them more stringent in liberal States +instead of more lax in conservative States. When such a commission is +decided upon, one-half of the members should be women, as they have an +equal interest in the marriage and divorce laws; and common justice +demands that they should have an equal voice in their reconstruction. I +do not think a homogeneous law desirable; though I should like to see +New York and South Carolina liberalized, I should not like to see South +Dakota and Indiana more conservative. + + + +Mark xii. + + + +41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people +cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much. + +42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she thew in two mites, +which make a farthing. + +43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I +say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in than all they +which have cast into the treasury: + +44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want +did cast in all that she had, even all her living. + + +The widow's gift no doubt might have represented more generosity than +all beside, for the large donations of the rich were only a part of +their superfluities, and bore a small proportion to the abundance which +they still had, but she gave in reality of her necessities. The small +contribution was of no special use in the treasury of the Church, but +as an act of self-sacrifice it was of more real value in estimating +character. Jesus with his intuition saw the motives of the giver, as +well as the act. + +This woman, belonging to an impoverished class, was trained to self- +abnegation; but when women learn the higher duty of self-development, +they will not so readily expend all their forces in serving others. +Paul says that a husband who does not provide for his own household is +worse than an infidel. So a woman, who spends all her time in churches, +with priests, in charities, neglects to cultivate her own natural +gifts, to make the most of herself as an individual in the scale of +being, a responsible soul whose place no other can fill, is worse than +an infidel. "Self-development is a higher duty than self-sacrifice," +should be woman's motto henceforward. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF LUKE. + + + +Luke i. + + + +5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest +named Zacharias, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her +name was Elizabeth. + +6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the +commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. + +7 And they had no child; and they both were now well stricken in years. + +8 And it came to pass, that, while he executed the priest's office +before God--his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of +the Lord. + +11 And there appeared unto him an angel standing on the right side of +the altar of incense. + +12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. + +13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is +heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt +call his name John. + +14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his +birth. + +15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink +neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy +Ghost. + + +Luke was the companion of the Apostle Paul in all of his labors during +many years. He also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. + +He was a Syrian, and became acquainted with the Christians at Antioch. +He is called by Paul "the beloved physician." + +Luke opens his book with the parentage and the birth of John. His +father, Zacharias, was a priest, and his mother, Elizabeth, was also +descended from Aaron. They were exemplary persons. They habitually +walked in all upright course of obedience to all the commandments. They +had no children, but in answer to their prayers a son was at last given +to them, whose name was John, which signifies "grace, or favor of the +Lord." + +While Zacharias ministered at the altar, an angel appeared to him to +tell him of the advent of his son. The vision was so startling that +Zacharias was struck dumb for a season. The same angel appeared soon +after to Mary, the mother of Jesus, with glad tidings of her +motherhood. She and Elizabeth met often during that joyful period, and +talked over the promised blessings. John was born about six months +before Jesus, and is sometimes called his forerunner. +Elizabeth and Mary were cousins on the mother's side. + +Soon after the angel appeared to Mary she went in haste to the home of +Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth, who said, "Blessed art thou among +women; and how comes this honor to me, that the mother of my Lord +should cross my threshold?" Mary replied, "My soul doth magnify the +Lord that he hath thus honored his handmaiden. Henceforth all +generations shall call me blessed." + +When Elizabeth's son was born, the neighbors, cousins and aunts all +assembled and at once volunteered their opinions as to the boy's name, +and all insisted that he should be named "Zacharias," after his father. +But Elizabeth said, "No; his name is John, as the angel said." As none +of the family had ever been called by that name, they appealed by signs +to the father (who was still dumb); but he promptly wrote on the table, +"His name is John." + + + +Luke ii. + + + +36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess. + +37 And she was a widow of about four-score and four years, which +departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers +night and day. + + +Anna having lost her husband in the prime of her life, remained a +widow to her death. She resided near the temple that she might attend +all its sacred ordinances. Having no other engagements to occupy her +attention, she spent her whole time in the service of God, and joined +frequent fastings with her constant prayers for herself and her people. +She was employed day and night in those religious exercises, so says +the text; but Scott allows the poor widow, now over eighty years of +age, some hours for rest at night (more merciful than the Evangelist). +She came into the temple just as Simon held the child in his arms, and +she also returned thanks to God for the coming of the promised Saviour, +and that her eyes had beheld him. + + +41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the +Passover. + +42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after +the custom of the feast. + +43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child +Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem: and Joseph and his mother knew not +of it. + +44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's +journey: and they sought him among their +kinsfolk and acquaintance. + +45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, +seeking him. + +46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the +temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and +asking them questions. + +47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and +answers. + +49 And when they saw him, his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou +thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. + +49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not +that I must be about my Father's business? + +50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. + +51 And he went with them to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but +his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. + + +These texts contain all that is said of the childhood and the youth of +Jesus, though we should have expected fuller information on so +extraordinary a subject. Joseph and Mary went up to the feast of the +passover every year, and it was the custom to take children of that age +with them. They journeyed in a great company for mutual security, and +thus in starting they overlooked the boy, supposing that he was with +the other children. But when the families separated for the night they +could not find him, so they journeyed back to Jerusalem and found him +in a court of the temple, listening to, and asking questions of the +doctors, who were surprised at his intelligence. + +It is often said that he was disputing with the doctors, which the +commentators say gives a wrong impression; he was modestly asking +questions. Neither Mary nor Joseph remembered nor fully understood what +the angel had told them concerning the mission of their child; neither +did they comprehend the answer of Jesus. However, he went back with +them to Nazareth, and was subject to them in all things, working at the +carpenter's trade until he entered on his mission. It was a great +mistake that some angel had not made clear to Mary the important +character and mission of her son, that she might not have been a +seeming hindrance on so many occasions, and made it necessary for Jesus +to rebuke her so often, and thus subject herself to criticism for his +seeming disrespect. + + + +Luke xiii. + + + +11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity +eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up +herself. + +12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, +Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. + +13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made +straight, and glorified God. + +14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because +that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, +There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come +and be healed, but not on the Sabbath day, + +15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each +one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and +lead him away to watering? + +16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan +hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, he loosed from this bond on the +Sabbath day? + +17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were +ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that +were done by him. + + +Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day, and +saw the distress of this woman who attended worship; he called her to +him, and, by the laying on of his hands and by prayer, immediately +restored her; and being made straight, she glorified God before all for +this unexpected deliverance. The ruler of the synagogue, who hated the +doctrines of Jesus and envied the honor, tried to veil his enmity with +pretence of singular piety, telling the people that they should come +for healing other days and not on the holy rest of the Sabbath, as if +the woman had come there on purpose for a cure, or as if a word and a +touch attended with so beneficent an effect could break the Sabbath. +Jesus' rebuke of the malice and hypocrisy of the man was fully +justified. + +The Sabbath-day-Pharisees are not all dead yet. While more rational +people are striving to open libraries, art galleries and concert halls +on Sundays, a class of religious bigots are endeavoring to close up on +that day, all places of entertainment for the people. The large class +of citizens shut up in factories, in mercantile establishments, in +offices, and in shops all the week, should have the liberty to enjoy +themselves in all rational amusements on Sunday. All healthy sports in +the open air, music in parks, popular lectures in all the school +buildings, should be encouraged and protected by law for their benefit. + + + +Luke xviii. + + + +2 There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded +man: + +3 And there was a widow in that City; and she came unto him, saying, +Avenge me of mine adversary. + +4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, +Though I fear not God, neither regard man; + +5 Yet because this widow troubleth me. I will avenge her, lest by her +continual coming she weary me. + +6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. + +7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto +him, though he bear long with them? + + +The lesson taught in this parable is perseverance. Everything can be +accomplished by continued effort. Saints hope to acquire all spiritual +graces through prayers; philanthropists to carry out their reform +measures through constant discussion; politicians their public measures +by continued party combat and repeated acts of legislation. Through +forty years of conflict we abolished slavery. Through fifty years of +conflict we have partially emancipated woman from the bondage of the +old common law of England, and crowned her with the rights of full +citizenship in four States in the American Republic. + +The condition of the woman in this parable, bowed to the earth with +all her disabilities, well represents the degraded condition of the sex +under every form of government and of religion the world over; but, +unlike her, women still, in many latitudes, make their appeals in vain +at cathedral altars and in the halls of legislation. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The sentiment concerning the equality of male and female, which Paul +avowed to the Galatians, is perfectly in accord with what "Luke" +reports of Jesus' own custom. It will be remembered that the chief +adherents of Paul accepted only this report (and this only partly) as +worthy of credit; and therein we find the statement that many female +ministers had accompanied Jesus and the male ministers, as they +wandered (in Salvation Army fashion) "throughout every city and village +preaching." It is true that we now find a qualifying passage in +reference to the female ministers, namely "which ministered unto him of +their substance" (Luke, ch. 8, v. 3). But this is, plainly, one of +those numerous marginal comments, made at late date (when all the +original manuscripts had disappeared), by men who had, doubtless, lost +knowledge of women's original equality in the ministry; for Ignatius of +Antioch, one of the earliest Christian writers, expressly affirms that +the deacons were "not ministers of meats and drinks, but ministers of +the Church of God." + +Although this is well known, our modern theologians seem to have been +unable to avoid jumping to the conclusion that, whenever women are +mentioned in the ministry, it must be only as ministers of +their substance, either as a kind of commissaries, or, at most, as +kindergarten officials. It is manifestly true that the early Church was +immensely indebted to the benefactions of rich widows and virgin +heiresses for the means of sustaining life in its fellowship. Thecla, +Paula, Eustochium, Marcella, Melanie, Susanna, are but a few of the +women of wealth who gave both themselves and their large fortunes to +the establishment of the ethics of Jesus. Yet Paula's greatest work +(from men's standpoint of great works) is rarely mentioned in +Christendom, and it is significant of the degradation which women +suffered at the hands of the Church that the time came when Churchmen +could not believe that she had performed it, even with Jerome's +acknowledgment confronting them, and consequently erased the word +"sister" accompanying the name Paula, substituting therefor the word +"brother!" + +Paula founded and endowed monasteries, won to the Christian cause +allegiance from one of the noblest families of Greece and Rome, and +originated within the monasteries the occupation of copying +manuscripts, to which civilization is indebted for the preservation of +much precious literature; but her most important service to the Church +was her co-labor with Jerome in the great task of translating the +Jewish scriptures from the original Hebrew into Latin. It was Paula who +suggested and inspired the undertaking, furnishing the expensive works +of reference, without which it would have been impossible, and being +herself a woman of fine intellect, highly trained, and an excellent +Hebrew scholar, revised and corrected Jerome's work; then, finally, +assisted by her brilliant daughter, Eustochium, performed the enormous +task of copying it accurately for circulation. It was the least that +Jerome could do to dedicate the completed work to those able +coadjutors, and it is an amazing thing to find Churchmen still +eulogizing Jerome as "author of the Vulgate," without the slightest +reference to the fact that, but for Paula's help, the Vulgate would not +have come into existence. But until men and women return to more +natural relations, until women cast off their false subserviency, +thereby helping men to get rid of their unnatural arrogance, nothing +different from the injustice Christendom has shown Paula can be looked +for. + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF JOHN. + + + +John ii. + + + +And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the +mother of Jesus was there: + + +2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. + +3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They +have no wine. + +4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour +is not yet come. + +5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do +it. + +7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they +filled them up to the brim. + +8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now and bear unto the governor of +the feast. And they bare it. + +9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, +he called the bridegroom. + +10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good +wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou +hast kept the good wine until now. + + +John was distinguished among the Apostles for his many virtues, and +was specially honored as the bosom friend of Jesus. + +He is supposed to have lived in the neighborhood of Judea until the +time approached for the predicted destruction of Jerusalem; then he +went to Asia and resided some years in Ephesus, was banished to the +Island of Patmos by the Emperor Domitian, and returned to Asia after +the death of that Emperor. He lived to be a hundred years of age, and +died a natural death, being the only Apostle who escaped martyrdom. +John alone records the resurrection of Lazarus, and many things not +mentioned in the other Gospels. + +Probably Mary was related to one of the parties to the marriage, for +she appears to have given directions as one of the family. As Joseph is +not mentioned either on this occasion or afterwards, we may suppose +that he died before Jesus entered into his public ministry. There was +no disrespect intended in the word "woman" with which Jesus addressed +his mother, as the greatest princesses were accosted even by their +servants in the same manner among the ancients. Jesus merely intended +to suggest that no one could command when he should perform miracles, +as they would in any ordinary event +subject to human discretion. + +The Jews always kept a great number of water-pots filled with water in +their houses for the ceremonial washing prescribed by law. Commentators +differ as to how much these pots contained, but it is estimated that +the six contained a hogshead. The ruler of the feast was generally a +Levite or a priest; and he expressed his surprise that they should have +kept the best wine until the last. + + + +John iv. + + + +5. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar. + +6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his +journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. + +7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, +Give me to drink. + +9 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) + +9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being +a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews +have no dealings with the Samaritans. + +10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, +and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have +asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. + +27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with +the woman, yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou +with her? + + +As the Samaritans were not generally disposed to receive the Jews into +their houses, Jesus did not try to enter, but sat down by Jacob's well, +and sent his disciples into the town to buy some necessary provisions. +The prejudices against each other were so inveterate that they never +asked for a favor, hence the woman was surprised when Jesus spoke to +her. They might buy of each other, but never borrow nor receive a favor +or gift, nor manifest friendship in any way. + +But Christ, despising all such prejudices that had no foundation +either in equity or in the law of God, asked drink of the Samaritan +woman. He did not notice the woman's narrow prejudices, but directed +her attention to matters of greater importance. He told her though she +should refuse him the small favor for which he asked because he was a +Jew, yet he was ready to confer far greater benefits on her, though a +Samaritan. The living water to which Jesus referred, the woman did not +understand. + + +16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. + +17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto +her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: + +18 For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not +thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. + +19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. + +28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, +and saith to the men. + +29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not +this the Christ? + +39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the +saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. + +40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that +he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. + +41 And many more believed because of his own word. + + +The woman could not understand Jesus' words because she had no +conviction of sin nor desire for a purer, better life; and as soon as +possible she changed the subject of the conversation from her private +life to the subjects of controversy between the Jews and the Samaritans. + + + +John viii. + + + +2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the +people came unto him: and he sat down, and taught them. + +3 And the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in +adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, + +4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, + +5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but +what sayest thou? + +6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. +But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as +though he heard them not. + +7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said +unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone +at her. + +8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. + +9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, +went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and +Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. + +10 He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no +man condemned thee? + +11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I +condemn thee: go, and sin no more. + + +The Scribes and the Pharisees concocted a plan to draw Jesus into a +snare. They concluded from many of his doctrines that he deemed himself +authorized to alter or to abrogate the commands of Moses; therefore +they desired his opinion as to the fitting punishment for an +adulteress. If he had ordered them to execute her, they would doubtless +have accused him to the Romans of assuming a judicial authority, +independent of their government; had he directed them to set her at +liberty, they would have represented him to the people as an enemy to +the law, and a patron of the most infamous characters; and had he +referred them to the Roman authority, they would have accused him to +the multitude as a betrayer of their +liberties. + + + +John ix. + + + +And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. + + +2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, +or his parents, that he was born blind? + +3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but +that the works of God should be made manifest in him. + + +A prevalent idea of the Jews was that, in accord with the ten +commandments, the sins of the parents were visited upon the children. +This is recognized as absolute law to-day; but it by no means follows +that all afflictions are the result of sin. The blindness may have +resulted from a combination of circumstances beyond the control of the +parents. The statement does not disprove the law of transmission, but +simply shows that defects are not always the result of sin. + + + +John xi. + + + +Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of +Mary and her sister Martha. + + +3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom +thou lovest is sick. + +5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. + +6 When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days +still in the same place where he was. + +17 When Jesus came, he found that he bad lain in the grave four days +already. + +20 Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met +him: but Mary sat still in the house. + +21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if then hadst been here, my +brother had not died. + +22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God +will give it thee. + +23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. + +24 Martha saith unto him, 1 know that he shall rise again in the +resurrection at the last day. + +25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: + +28 And she went her way, and called Mary her sister, saying, The +Master is come, and calleth for thee. + +29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him. + +32 When Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at +his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother +had not died. + +35 Jesus wept. + +36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! + +41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. + +43 And Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. + +44 And he that was dead came forth. + + +It appears that Jesus was a frequent visitor at the home of Mary, +Martha and Lazarus, and felt a strong friendship for them. They lived +in Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem. Many Jews came out from the city +to express their sympathy. Martha did not fully understand Jesus; she +considered him as a prophet who wrought miracles by faith +and prayer in the same manner as the ancient prophets. + +The grief of Mary, the tears of the Jews, and his own warm friendship +for the sisters, affected Jesus himself to tears and groans. In +appealing to Divine power, Jesus wished to show the unbelieving Jews +that his miracles were performed by influence from above and not by the +spirit of evil, to which source they attributed his wonderful works. +Many who were said to witness this miracle did not believe. + +After this Jesus again rested at the home of Mary, where she washed +his feet and wiped them with the hair of her head, and then anointed +him with costly spices from an alabaster box. He then went up to +Jerusalem to attend the passover. + + + +John xx. + + + +The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet +dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the +sepulchre. + + +2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other +disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away +the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. + +3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the +sepulchre. + +4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, +and came first to the sepulchre. + +5 And he stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; +yet went he not in. + +6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, +and seeth the linen clothes lie. + +7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen +clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. + +8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the +sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. + +9 For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from +the dead. + +10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. + +11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, +she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre. + +12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the +other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. + +13 And they say unto her, Woman, Why weepest thou? She saith unto +them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they +have laid him. + +14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus +standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. + +15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? +She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou +hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take +him away. + +16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, +Rabboni, which is to say, Master. + +17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my +Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my +Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. + +18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the +Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. + + +Mary appears to have arrived at the sepulchre before any of the other +women, and conversed with Jesus. Though the disciples, in visiting the +tomb, saw nothing but cast-off clothes, yet Mary sees and talks with +angels and with Jesus. As usual, the woman is always most ready to +believe miracles and fables, however extravagant and though beyond all +human comprehension. Several women purposed to be at the tomb at sunrise +to embalm the body. + +The men who visited the tomb saw no visions; but all the women saw +Jesus and the angels, though the men, who went to the tomb twice, saw +nothing. Mary arrived at the tomb before light, and waited for the +other women; but seeing some one approaching, she supposed he was the +person employed by Joseph to take care of the garden, so asked him what +had been done to him. Though speaking to a supposed stranger, she did +not mention any name. Jesus then called her by name; and his voice and +his address made him known to her. Filled with joy and with amazement, +she called him "Rabboni," which signifies, "teacher." Jesus said unto +her, "Touch me not." + +This finishes the consideration of the four Gospels--the direct +recorded words of Jesus upon the question of purity; and all further +references should harmonize, in spirit, with his teachings, and should +be so interpreted, without regard to contrary assertions by learned but +unwise commentators. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Is it not astonishing that so little is in the New Testament concerning +the mother of Christ? My own opinion is that she was an excellent woman, +and the wife of Joseph, and that Joseph was the actual father of Christ. +I think there can be no reasonable doubt that such was the opinion of +the authors of the original Gospels. Upon any other hypothesis it is +impossible to account for their having given the genealogy of Joseph to +prove that Christ was of the blood of David. The idea that he was the +Son of God, or in any way miraculously produced, was an afterthought, +and is hardly entitled now to serious consideration. The Gospels were +written so long after the death of Christ that very little was known of +him, and substantially nothing of his parents. How is it that not one +word is said about the death of Mary, not one word about the death of +Joseph? How did it happen that Christ did not visit his mother after his +resurrection? The first time he speaks to his mother is when he was +twelve years old. His mother having told him that she and his father had +been seeking him, he replied: "How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not +that I must be about my father's business?" The second time was at the +marriage feast in Cana, when he said to her: "Woman, what have I to do +with thee?" And the third time was at the cross, when "Jesus, seeing his +mother standing by the disciple whom he loved, said to her: 'Woman, +behold thy son;' and to the disciple: 'Behold thy mother.'" And this is +all. + +The best thing about the Catholic Church is the deification of Mary; +and yet this is denounced by Protestantism as idolatry. There is +something in the human heart that prompts man to tell his faults more +freely to the mother than to the father. The cruelty of Jehovah is +softened by the mercy of Mary. + +Is it not strange that none of the disciples of Christ said any thing +about their parents--that we know absolutely nothing of them? Is there +any evidence that they showed any particular respect even for the +mother of Christ? Mary Magdalene is, in many respects, the tenderest +and most loving character in the New Testament {sic}. According to the +account, her love for Christ knew no abatement, no change--true even in +the hopeless shadow of the cross. Neither did it die with his death. +She waited at the sepulchre; she hastened in the early morning to his +tomb; and yet the only comfort Christ gave to this true and loving soul +lies in these strangely cold and heartless words: "Touch me not." + + +ANON. + + + + + +THE BOOK OF ACTS. + + + +Acts v. + + + +But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a +possession. + + +2 And kept back a part of the price, and brought a certain part, and +laid it at the apostles' feet. + +3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to +the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? + +4 While it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was +it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine +heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. + +5 And Ananias bearing the words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and +great fear came on all them that heard these things. + +6 And the young men arose and carried him out, and buried him. + +7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife not +knowing what was done, came in, + +8 And Peter answered her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so +much? And she said, Yea, for so much. + +9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to +tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have +buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. + +10 Then she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost. + + +This book is supposed to have been written by Luke about thirty years +after the death of Jesus, as all appendix to the Evangelists. It +contains brief mention of a few women of varied characters and +fortunes. We have the usual number afflicted with religious mysteries, +with the gift of prophecy, and some possessed of the devil, who +promptly comes forth at the commands of Jesus and of his Apostles. + +The case of Ananias and Sapphira was very peculiar. This example was +made, not of avowed enemies, but avowed friends. Many expositors say +that Ananias had made a vow to give his estate for the support of the +Christian cause, and that sacrilege was the crime for which he was +punished. He had, from corrupt motives, attempted to impose upon the +Apostles in pretending to give all that he had to the church, while +withholding a good share for himself. He had evidently instructed his +wife to substantiate his assertions. Obedience of one responsible being +to another may ofttimes prove dangerous, even if the command comes from +a husband. + + + +Acts ix. + + + +36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by +interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and +alms-deeds. + +37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick and died. + +38 And as Lydda was night to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that +Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him to come to +them. + +39 Then Peter arose and went with them, and they brought him into the +upper chamber, and all the widows stood weeping, and shewing the +garments which Dorcas made. + +40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and +turning him to the body said, Tabitha, rise. And she opened her eyes: +and when she saw Peter, she sat up. + +41 And when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. + + +Tabitha was called by this name among the Jews; but she was known to +the Greeks as Dorcas. She was considered an ornament to her Christian +profession; for she so abounded in good works and alms-deeds that her +whole life was devoted to the wants and the needs of the poor. She not +only gave away her substance, but she employed her time and her skill +in laboring constantly for the poor and the unfortunate. Her death was +looked upon as a public calamity. This is the first instance of any +Apostle performing a miracle of this kind. There was no witness to this +miracle. What men teach in their high places, such women as Dorcas +illustrate in their lives. + + + +Acts xii. + + + +12 And he came into the house of Mary the mother of John, whose +surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. + +13 And as Peter knocked at the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named +Rhoda. + +14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for +gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. + +15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed +that it was even so. Then they said, It is an angel. + +16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, +and saw him, they were astonished. + +17 But he declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the +prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the +brethren. + + +Herod the king, at this time, killed James, the brother of John, and +cast Peter into prison, and intended to destroy the other Apostles as +soon as he could entrap them. Peter, it is said, escaped from prison by +the miraculous interposition of an angel, who led him to the gate of +one Mary, the sister of Barnabas, where Christians often assembled for +religious worship. Although they often prayed for Peter's deliverance; +they could not believe Rhoda when she said that +Peter stood knocking at the gate. + + + +Acts xvi. + + + +14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of +Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened +unto the things which were spoken of Paul. + +15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, +saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my +house, and abide there. + +16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel +possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters +much gain by soothsaying: + +17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the +servants of the most high God. + +18 And this did she many days. But Paul said to the spirit, I command +thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out +the same hour. + +19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, +they caught Paul and Silas, + +20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, these men, being Jews, +do exceedingly trouble our city. + +22 And the multitude rose up against them; and the magistrates rent +off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. + +23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into +prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. + + +Lydia, a native Thyatiran, who at this time resided at Philippi, was a +merchant who trafficked in purple clothes, which were held in great +estimation. She was a Gentile, but was proselyted to the Jewish +religion, believed in the teachings of Paul and was baptized with her +household. She was a person in affluent circumstances; and being of a +generous disposition, was very hospitable. As the Apostles were poorly +accommodated elsewhere, she entertained them in her own house. + +The Apostles and their friends on their way to the oratory, where they +went to worship, were met by a female slave who was possessed with a +spirit of divination and uttered ambiguous predictions. She had +acquired great reputation as an oracle or fortune-teller and for making +wonderful discoveries. By this practice she brought her masters +considerable gain and was very valuable to them. When Paul cast out the +evil spirit and restored the maiden to her normal condition of body and +mind, her master was full of wrath, as she was no longer of any value +to him; and he accused Paul before the magistrates. The people were all +stirred with indignation; so they stripped Paul and Silas, scourged +them severely; and, without trial, the magistrates threw them into +prison. + + + +Acts xviii. + + + +After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; + + +2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come +from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, (because that Claudius had +commanded all Jews to depart from Rome,) + +3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and +wrought: (for by their occupation they were tentmakers). + +18 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took +his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him +Priscilla and Aquila; + +24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent +man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. + +25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent +in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, +knowing only the baptism of John. + +26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and +Priscilla had heard, they took him and expounded the way of God more +perfectly. + + +It was an excellent custom of those days for educated people to be +also instructed in some mechanical trade. This served them as an +amusement in prosperity, and was a certain resource in case other +prospects failed. Thus Paul was now prepared to support himself in an +emergency. He was frequently compelled to work with his hands to +provide for his own necessities. + +Apollos was a native of Alexandria, in Egypt, a ready and graceful +speaker, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. Coming to +Ephesus, he boldly preached in the synagogue in the presence of Aquila +and of Priscilla; and they seeing his ability, zeal and piety, said +nothing to his disadvantage, though they perceived that his views of +the Christian doctrines were very imperfect. So they sought his +acquaintance and instructed him more fully in the gospel of Jesus. He, +with great humility, received their instructions, for he had never been +much among Christians; and no one knew when or by whom he was baptized. + + + +Acts xxi. + + + +8 And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came +unto Cesarea, and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, +which was one of the seven; and abode with him. + +9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. + + +Philip, one of the seven deacons in Cesarea, was also an Evangelist, and +had the peculiar honor of having four daughters, all endowed with the +gift of prophecy; and perhaps they gave intimations to Paul of his +approaching trials. With Philip's four daughters, all endowed with the +spirit of prophecy, and Priscilla as a teacher of great principles to +the orators of her time, and one of Paul's chosen travelling companions, +women are quite highly honored in the Book of Acts, if we except the +tragedy of the unfortunate wife who obeyed her husband. + + + +Acts xxiv. + + + +24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, +which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the +faith in Christ. + +25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to +come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I +have a convenient season, I will call for thee. + + +Drusilla was a daughter of that Herod who beheaded James, the brother +of John, and sister to King Agrippa. She was married to the king of the +Emerines, Azizas; but she left her husband and went to live with Felix. +He and Drusilla were curious to hear more authentic accounts of Jesus +and his doctrines. They do not seem to have been much impressed with +the purity of his teachings. Their curiosity did not arise from a love +of the truth, nor from a desire for a higher, better life, but was a +mere curiosity, for which it is probable that Felix was responsible, as +Drusilla doubtless asked her husband at home all she desired to know. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The Rev. Dr. Edwin Hatch expresses the latest decision of historical +theology concerning Paul, in frankly confessing: "His life at Rome and +all the rest of his history are enveloped in mists from which no single +gleam of certain light emerges. . . . The place and occasion of his +death are not less uncertain than are the facts of his later life. . . +The chronology of the rest of his life is as uncertain as the date of +his death. We have no means of knowing when he was born, or how long he +lived, or at what date the several events of his life took place." +Exactly the same may be said of Peter. The strongest probability is +that Paul and Peter were two obscure men who lived in the latter part +of the first, or beginning of the second century, neither of whom could +have seen the first century Jesus. It can easily be shown that the +Christian Church admitted women into her regularly ordained ministry +during the first two hundred years of Christianity. Whether Bishop +Doane is ignorant of this fact, or whether he is merely presuming upon +women's ignorance thereof, it is impossible to say. But one thing is +clear, and that is, that the time has arrived when all women should be +informed of the true status of their sex in the ministry of the +primitive Church. + +The first important truth for them to learn concerning the question is +that there is a missing link of some five hundred years between the +close of that body of literature known to us as the "Old Testament" and +the compilation of that collection of letters, narratives, etc., now +presented to us as the "New Testament." Girls of Christian families are +commonly inoculated in their ignorant, and therefore helplessly +credulous youth, with unquestioning belief that the New Testament was +written in the first century of our era, by disciples who were +contemporary with Jesus, and that Peter and Paul were first century +Christians, the former of whom had personally known and followed Jesus, +while the latter was a convert from Judaism after Jesus' death, never +having seen the teacher himself. + +Yet he is, indeed, a very ignorant ecclesiastic, who to-day is not +perfectly well aware that the above belief is pure theory, resting on +nothing more stable than vague conjecture, irresponsible tradition, and +slowly evolving fable. Among scholarly Christian theologians no +questions are now more unsettled than are the queries: Who wrote the +Gospels? In which of the first three centuries did they assume their +present shape? And at what time did Peter and Paul live and quarrel +with each other concerning Christian polity? + +As for the passages now found in the New Testament epistles of Paul, +concerning women's non-equality with men and duty of subjection, there +is no room to doubt that they are bare-faced forgeries, interpolated by +unscrupulous bishops, during the early period in which a combined and +determined effort was made to reduce women to silent submission, not +only in the Church, but also in the home and in the State. A most +laudably intended attempt to excuse Paul for the inexcusable passages +attributed to his authorship has been made by a clergyman, who, +accepting them as genuine Pauline utterances, endeavors to show that +they were meant to apply, only to Greek female converts, natives of +Corinth, and that the command to cover the head and to keep silent in +public was warranted, both because veiling the head and face was a +Grecian custom, and because the women of Corinth were of notoriously +bad character. In support of this theory our modern apologist quotes +the testimony of numerous writers of antiquity who denounced Corinthian +profligacy. But, setting aside the fact that the men of Corinth must +always have been, at least, as bad as the women, and that a sorry case +would be made out for Paul, if it were on the score of morals that he +ordered Greek women to subject themselves to such men, there are yet +two serious impediments in the way of this theory. In the first place, +that wealthy and luxurious Corinth to which the writers quoted refer, +was no longer in existence in Paul's time; 146 B. C. it was conquered +by the Romans, who killed the men, carried the women and children into +slavery, and levelled the dwellings to the ground. For a whole century +the site of the once famous city remained a desolate waste, but about +46 B. C. it was colonized by some Roman immigrants, and a Romanized +city, with Roman customs, it was when Paul knew it. Now, not only did +the Roman women go unveiled, mingling freely in all public places with +men (a fact which Paul, as citizen of a Roman province must have +known), but Paul specially commends the Greek woman, Phebe, whom he +endorses as minister of the Church in the Greek city, Cenchrea (a +seaport within a few miles of Corinth), and in Acts, chapter 17, we are +explicitly told that the Greek converts made by Paul, in Greece, were +"chief women," "honorable women." + +This is sufficient refutation of the argument of the clergyman who +strives to clear the character of Paul at the expense of the character +of the women of Corinth. + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. + + + +Romans xvi. + + + +I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church +which is at Cenchrea: + + +2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye +assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you; for she hath +been a succourer of many, and of myself also. + +3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus: + +4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I +give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. + +6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labor on us. + +12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the +beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord. + +13 Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, and mine. + +15 Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, +and all the saints which are with them. + + +Cenchrea was the seaport of Corinth, where a separate church was +founded. Phebe was a deaconess, and was probably employed in visiting +the sick and in teaching the women in the doctrines of the Church. She +appears to have been a woman in good circumstances, and probably had +more than ordinary intelligence and education. Even Paul acknowledged +himself under great obligations to her. Aquila and Priscilla had risked +their lives in protecting the Apostles at Corinth and Ephesus. So Paul +sent his affectionate salutations and good wishes to all the women who +had helped to build up the churches and spread the Gospel of +Christianity. + +In good works men have always found a reserved force in the women of +their generation. Paul seems to have been specially mindful of all who +had received and hospitably entertained him. The men of our times have +been equally thankful to women for serving them, for hospitable +entertainment, generous donations to the priest hood, lifting church +debts, etc., and are equally ready to remand them to their "divinely +appointed sphere," whenever women claim an equal voice in church creeds +and discipline. Then the Marys, the Phebes, and the Priscillas are +ordered to keep silence and to discuss all questions with their +husbands at home, taking it for granted that all men are logical and +wise. + + +E. C. S. + + + +Martin Luther had good cause to declare: "There is something in the +office of a bishop which is dreadfully demoralizing. Even good men +change their natures at consecration; Satan enters into them, as he +entered into Judas, as soon as they have taken the sop." But to return +to the primitive Church, a famous Apostle of that simple era was +Priscilla, a Jewess, who was one of the theological instructors of +Apollos (the fellow-minister, or fellow-servant, to whom Paul refers in +his first letter to the Corinthians). There is strong reason to believe +that the Apostle Priscilla, in co-operation with her husband, the +Apostle Aquila, performed the important task of founding the Church of +Rome: for Paul, writing to the Christians, admits that he himself has +not yet visited that city; there is no proof whatever that Peter ever +went to Rome at all (but, on the contrary, much proof that he wished to +confine Christianity to Jewish converts); and yet Paul, hailing +Priscilla by the current term which specially active Apostles and +bishops used in addressing other specially active workers in the +Apostolate, "Helper in Christ Jesus," eulogizes her as one known, +gratefully, by "all the churches of the Gentiles," and recognizes a +Church of Rome as established in Priscilla's own house (see Paul's +letter to the Romans, chapter 16). It is highly probable that that was +the tiny acorn from which has grown the present great oak--the Roman +Catholic Church,--which would profit much by more remembrance and +imitation of the modest and undogmatic women who helped to give it +being and who nursed it through its infancy. + +The inability of modern men to comprehend the position of women in the +primitive Church, is strikingly shown in Chalmers' commentary on the +fact that Paul used exactly the same title in addressing Priscilla that +he uses in greeting Urbane, Although conceding that Priscilla had +shared the work of an Apostle in teaching Apollos "the way of God more +perfectly," and, although he knows nothing whatever of Urbane's work, +yet Chalmers unhesitatingly concludes that Urbane's help to Paul must +have been in things spiritual, but that Priscilla's must have been in +regard to things temporal only: and, as Aquila and Priscilla were an +inseparable couple, poor Aquila, too, is relegated to Priscilla's +assumedly inferior position! There is not, however, the slightest +reason for such a conclusion by Chalmers. It is manifestly due to the +modern prejudice which renders the Paul-worshipping male Protestants +incapable of comprehending that "Our Great Apostle," Paul, was as not a +great Apostle at all, in those days, but a simple, self-sent tent-maker +with a vigorous spirit, who gladly shared the "Apostolic dignity" with +all the good women he could rally to his assistance. Chalmers +conjectures that if Priscilla really did help Paul, it must have been +as "a teacher of women and children," even while the fact stares him in +the face that she was a recognized teacher of the man whom Paul +specially and emphatically pronounces his own equal. (Compare Acts, +chap. 18, V. 26, with 1st Cor., chap. 3.) + +To one who uses unbiassed common sense in regard to the New Testament +records, there can be no question of women's activity and prominence in +the early ministry. Paul not only virtually pronounces Priscilla a +fellow-Apostle and fellow-bishop (Romans, chap. 16, verses 3-5), but +specially commends Phebe, a Greek woman, as a minister (diakonos), +which, as we have seen, may be legitimately interpreted either +presbyter, bishop, or Apostle. That it was well understood, throughout +the whole Church, that women had shared the labors of the Apostles, is +evidenced by Chrysostom's specific eulogy thereupon. Phebe was the +bishop of the Church in Cenchrea, and that she was both a powerful and +useful overseer in the episcopate, Paul testifies in affirming that she +had not only been a helper to him, but to many others also. (Romans, +chap. 16, verses 1-2.) Addressing that first Church of Rome (which was +in the house of Priscilla and Aquila before Paul, or Peter, or the +barely-mentioned Linus, are heard of in Rome), Paul indicates the +equality of male and female Apostles by mentioning in one and the same +category Priscilla and Aquila, Andronicus and Junia, Mary, "who +bestowed much labor among you," Amphis, Urbane, Tryphena and Tryphosa, +Persis, Julia, Rufus and Hermas. + + +E. B. D. + + + + + +EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS. + + + +1 Corinthians vii. + + + +2 Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own +husband. + +3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise +also the wife unto the husband. + +10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not +the wife depart from her husband: + +11 But if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to +her husband, and let not the husband put away his wife. + +12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife +that believeth not: and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not +put her away. + +13 And the woman which hath a husband that believeth not, and if he be +pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. + +14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the +unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children +unclean: but now are they holy. + +16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? +or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? + + +The people appear to have been specially anxious to know what The +Christian idea was in regard to the question of marriage. The +Pythagoreans taught that marriage is unfavorable to high intellectual +development. On the other hand, the Pharisees taught that it is sinful +for a man to live unmarried beyond his twentieth year. 'The Apostles +allowed that in many cases it might be wise for a man to live +unmarried, as he could be more useful to others, provided that he were +able to live with that entire chastity which the single life required. + +The Apostle says that Christians should not marry unbelievers, but if +either should change his or her opinions after, he would not advise +separation, as they might sanctify each other. Scott thinks that the +children are no more holy with one unbelieving parent, than when both +are unbelieving; and he has not much faith in their sanctifying each +other, except in a real change of faith. A union with an unbeliever +would occasion grief and trouble, yet that ought patiently to be +endured, for God might make use of the unbelieving wife or husband as +an instrument in converting the other by affectionate and +conscientious behavior; as this might not be the case, there is no +reason to oppose the dissolution of the marriage. + +There are no restrictions in the Scriptures on divorced persons +marrying again, though many improvised by human laws are spoken of as +in the Bible. + + +E. C. S. + + + +In this chapter Paul laments that all men are not bachelors like +himself; and in the second verse of that chapter he gives the only +reason for which he was willing that men and women should marry. He +advised all the unmarried and all widows to remain as he was. Paul sums +up the whole matter, however, by telling those who have wives or +husbands to stay with them--as necessary evils only to be tolerated; +but sincerely regrets that anybody was ever married, and finally says +that, "they that have wives should be as though they had none;" +because, in his opinion, "he that is unmarried careth for the things +that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he that is +married careth for the things that are of the world, how he please his +wife." + +"There is this difference, also," he tells us, "between a wife and a +virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she +may be holy both in body and spirit; but she that is married careth for +the things of the world, how she may please her husband." Of course, it +is contended that these things have tended to the elevation of woman. +The idea that it is better to love the Lord than to love your wife or +husband is infinitely absurd. Nobody ever did love the Lord--nobody +can--until he becomes acquainted with him. + +Saint Paul also tells us that "man is the image and glory of God; but +woman is the glory of man." And, for the purpose of sustaining this +position, he says: "For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of +the man; neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for +the man." Of course we can all see that man could have gotten along +well enough without woman. And yet this is called "inspired!" and this +Apostle Paul is supposed to have known more than all the people now +upon the earth. No wonder Paul at last +was constrained to say: "We are fools for Christ's sake." + + +ANON. + + + +1 Corinthians xi. + + + +3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and +the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. + +4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, +dishonoureth his head. + +5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered +dishonoureth her head. + +7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the +image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. + +8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. + +9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. + +10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of +the angels. + +11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the +woman without the man, in the Lord. + +13 judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God +uncovered? + +14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long +hair, it is a shame unto him? + +15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair +is given her for a covering. + + +According to the custom of those days a veil on the head was a token +of respect to superiors; hence for a woman to lay aside her veil was to +affect authority over the man. The shaving of the head was a +disgraceful punishment inflicted on women of bad repute; it not only +deprived them of a great beauty, but also of the badge of virtue and +honor. + +Though these directions appear to be very frivolous, even for those +times, they are much more so for our stage of civilization. Yet the +same customs prevail in our day and are enforced by the Church, as of +vital consequence; their non-observance so irreligious that it would +exclude a woman from the church. It is not a mere social fashion that +allows men to sit in church with their heads uncovered and women with +theirs covered, but a requirement of canon law of vital significance, +showing the superiority, the authority, the headship of man, and the +humility and the subservience of woman. The aristocracy in social life +requires the same badge of respect of all female servants. In Europe +they uniformly wear caps, and in many families in America, though under +protest after learning its significance. + +It is certainly high time that educated women in a Republic should +rebel against a custom based on the supposition of their heaven- +ordained subjection. Jesus is always represented as having long, +curling hair, and so is the Trinity. Imagine a painting of these Gods +all with clipped hair. Flowing robes and beautiful hair add greatly to +the beauty and dignity of their pictures. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The injunctions of St. Paul have had such a decided influence in +fixing the legal status of women, that it is worth our while to +consider their source. In dealing with this question we must never +forget that the majority of the writings of the New Testament were not +really written or published by those whose names they bear. Ancient +writers considered it quite permissible for a man to put out letters +under the name of another, and thus to bring his own ideas before the +world under the protection of an honored sponsor. It is not usually +claimed that St. Paul was the originator of the great religious +movement called Christianity; but there is a strong belief that he was +Divinely inspired. His inward persuasions, and especially his visions, +appeared as a gift or endowment which had the force of inspiration; +therefore, his mandates concerning women have a strong hold upon the +popular mind; and when opponents to the equality of the sexes are put +to bay, they glibly quote his injunctions. + +We congratulate ourselves that we may shift some of these Biblical, +arguments that have such a sinister effect from their firm foundation. +He who claims to give a message must satisfy us that he has himself +received such a message. The origin of the command that women should +cover their heads is found in an old Jewish or Hebrew legend which +appears in literature for the first time in Genesis vi. There we are +told that the sons of God, that is, the angels, took to wives the +daughters of men, and begat the giants and the heroes who were +instrumental in bringing about the flood. The Rabbins held that the way +in which the angels got possession of women was by laying hold of their +hair; they accordingly warned women to cover their heads in public so +that the angels might not get possession of +them. + +Paul merely repeats this warning, which he must often have heard at +the feet of Gamaliel, who was at that time prince or president of the +Sanhedrim, telling women to have a power (that is, protection) on their +heads because of the angels: "For this cause ought the woman to have +power on her head because of the angels." Thus the command had its +origin in an absurd old myth. This legend will be found fully treated +in a German pamphlet, "Die Paulinische Angelologie und Daemonologie." +Otto Everling, Gottingen, 1883. + +If the command to keep silence in the churches has no higher origin +than that to keep covered in public, should so much weight be given it, +or should it be so often quoted as having Divine sanction? + + +L. S. + + + +1 Corinthians xiv. + + + +34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not +permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under +obedience, as also saith the law. + +35 And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at +home: for it is a shame for woman to speak in the church. + +The church at Corinth was peculiarly given to diversion and to +disputation; and women were apt to join in and to ask many troublesome +questions; hence they were advised to consult their husbands at home. +The Apostle took it for granted that all men were wise enough to give +to women the necessary information on all subjects. Others, again, +advise wives never to discuss knotty points with their husbands; for if +they should chance to differ from each other, that fact might give rise +to much domestic infelicity. There is such a wide difference of opinion +on this point among wise men, that perhaps it would be as safe to leave +women to be guided by their own unassisted common sense. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +EPISTLES TO THE EPHESIANS AND PHILLIPPIANS. + + + +Ephesians v. + + + +22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. + +23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head +of the church. + +24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be +to their own husbands in every thing. + +25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, +and gave himself for it; + +28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that +loveth his wife loveth himself. + +31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall +be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. + +33 Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife +even as himself: and the wife see that she reverence her husband. + + +If every man were as pure and as self-sacrificing as Jesus is said to +have been in his relations to the Church, respect, honor and obedience +from the wife might be more easily rendered. Let every man love his +wife (not wives) points to monogamic marriage. It is quite natural for +women to love and to honor good men, and to return a full measure of +love on husbands who bestow much kindness and attention on them; but it +is not easy to love those who treat us spitefully in any relation, +except as mothers; their love triumphs over all shortcomings and +disappointments. Occasionally conjugal love combines that of the +mother. Then the kindness and the forbearance of a wife may surpass all +understanding. + + + +Phillippians iv. + + + +2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same +mind in the Lord. + +3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which +laboured with me in the Gospel, with Clement also, and with other my +fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. + +There were women of note at Phillippi who disagreed and caused +divisions in the Church. The Apostle therefore entreated them to make +mutual concessions for the welfare of the Church. The yokefellow +referred to was supposed by some to have been the husband of one of the +women, while others think that he was some eminent minister. But such +mention by the Apostle must have been highly appreciated by any man or +woman for whom it was intended. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +1 Timothy ii. + + + +9 In like manner, also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, +with shamefacedness and sobriety: not with braided hair, or gold, or +pearls, or costly array: + +10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. + +11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. + +12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the +man, but to be in silence. + +13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. + +14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the +transgression. + + +The Apostle Paul, though older than Timothy, had travelled much with +him, and was at one time imprisoned with him in Rome. Paul had +converted Timothy to the faith and watched over him as a father. He +often speaks of him as my son, and was peculiarly beloved by him. When +Paul was driven from Ephesus he wrote this epistle to Timothy for his +direction. + +It is perhaps not fair to judge Paul by the strict letter of the word. +We are not well informed of the habits of women in his time in regard +to personal adornment. What Paul means by "modest apparel" (supposing +the translation to be correct), we may not precisely understand. Paul +speaks especially of "braided hair." In his time Paul evidently +considered as of account the extreme susceptibility of his sex to the +effect of the garb and adornment of women. + +The Apostles all appeared to be much exercised by the ornaments and +the braided hair of the women. While they insisted that women should +wear long hair, they objected to having it braided lest the beautiful +coils should be too attractive to men. But women had other reasons for +braiding their hair beside attracting men. A compact braid was much +more comfortable than individual hairs free to be blown about with +every breeze. + +It appears very trifling for men, commissioned to do so great a work +on earth, to give so much thought to the toilets of women. Ordering the +men to have their heads shaved and hair cropped, while the women were +to have their locks hanging around their shoulders, looks as if they +feared that the sexes were not distinguishable and that they must +finish Nature's work. Woman's braids and ornaments had a deeper +significance than the Apostles seem to have understood. Her necessities +compelled her to look to man for sup port and protection, hence her +efforts to make herself attractive are not prompted by feminine vanity, +but the economic conditions of civilization. + + +E. C. S. + + + +The injunction that women should adorn themselves through good works +was sensible. The Apostle did not imply that this adornment was not +already possessed by women. Neither did he testify that the generations +of men, of Prophets and of Apostles had been objects of the good works +and all the ministrations of self-abnegation, which are required only +of the mothers of men. Comparatively few women, who have fulfilled the +special function which man assigns to them as their chief duty in life, +lack the adornment of good works. In addition to these good works of +motherhood in the family, woman has ministered to the necessities and +the comfort of the sick, the feeble and the poor, through the centuries. + +Could Paul have looked down to the nineteenth century with clairvoyant +vision and beheld the good works of a Lucretia Mott, a Florence +Nightingale, a Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, not to mention a host of +faithful mothers, he might, perhaps, have been less anxious about the +apparel and the manners of his converts. Could he have foreseen a +Margaret Fuller, a Maria Mitchell, or an Emma Willard, possibly he +might have suspected that sex does not determine the capacity of the +individual. Or, could he have had a vision of the public school system +of this Republic, and witnessed the fact that a large proportion of the +teachers are women, it is possible that he might have hesitated to +utter so tyrannical an edict: "But I permit not a woman to teach." + +Had the Apostle enjoined upon women to do good works without envy or +jealousy, it would have had the weight and the wisdom of a Divine +command. But that, from the earliest record of human events, woman +should have been condemned and punished for trying to get knowledge, +and forbidden to impart what she has learned, is the most unaccountable +peculiarity of masculine wisdom. After cherishing and nursing helpless. +infancy, the most necessary qualification of motherhood is that of +teaching. If it is contrary to the perfect operation of human +development that woman should teach, the infinite and all wise +directing power of the universe has blundered. It cannot be admitted +that Paul was inspired by infinite wisdom in this utterance. This was +evidently the unilluminated utterance of Paul, the man, biassed by +prejudice. But, it may be claimed that this edict referred especially +to teaching in religious assemblies. It is strikingly inconsistent that +Paul, who had proclaimed the broadest definition of human souls, "There +is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male or female, but ye are one +in Christ Jesus," as the Christian idea, should have commanded the +subjection of woman, and silence as essential to her proper sphere in +the Church. + +It is not a decade since a manifesto was issued by a religious +convention bewailing the fact that woman is not only seeking to control +her property, but claiming the right of the wife to control her person! +This seems to be as great an offence to ecclesiasticism in this hour +and this land of boasted freedom, as it was to Paul in Judea nineteen +centuries ago. But the "new man," as well as the "new woman," is here. +He is inspired by the Divine truth that woman is to contribute to the +redemption of the race by free and enlightened motherhood. He is +proving his fitness to be her companion by achieving the greatest of +all victories--victory over himself. The new humanity is to be born of +this higher manhood and emancipated womanhood. Then it will be possible +for motherhood to "continue in sanctification." + +The doctrine of woman the origin of sin, and her subjection in +consequence, planted in the early Christian Church by Paul, has been a +poisonous stream in Church and in State. It has debased marriage and +made both canon and civil law a monstrous oppression to woman. M. +Renan sums up concisely a mighty truth in the following words: "The +writings of Paul have been a danger and a hidden rock--the causes of +the principal defects of Christian theology." His teachings about woman +are no longer a hidden rock, however, for, in the light of science, it +is disclosed to all truth seeking Minds. How much satisfaction it would +have been to the mothers adown the centuries, had there been a +testimony by Mary and Elizabeth recording their experiences of +motherhood. Not a statement by them, nor one about them, except what +man wrote. + +Under church law, woman's property, time and services were all at the +husband's disposal. Woman was not rescued from slavery by the +Reformation. Luther's ninety-five theses, nailed upon the church door +in Wittenberg, did not assert woman's natural or religious equality +with man. It was a maxim of his that "no gown worse becomes a woman, +than that she should be wise." A curious old black letter volume, +published in London in 1632, declares that "the reason why women have +no control in parliament, why they make no laws, consent to none, +abrogate none, is their original sin." The trial of Mrs. Anne +Hutchinson, in the seventeenth century, was chiefly for the sin of +having taught men. + +To-day, in free America, a wife cannot collect damages for injury to +her person by a municipality. Legally her husband owns her person; and +he alone can collect damages if the wife is injured by any defect or +mishap for which the administration of the municipality is responsible. +This was tested in the Court of Appeals in New York in 1890. The judges +decided that "the time and the services of the wife belong to the +husband, and if she has received wages from him it was a gift." Thus +the spirit and the intent of the church law to make the wife a servant +of the husband, subject to and controlled by him, and engrafted in +common law, is a part of statute law operative in these United States +to-day. Blackstone admits the outgrowth of common law from canon law, +in saying: "Whoever wishes to gain insight into that great institution, +common law, can do so most efficiently by studying canon law in regard +to married women." + +Jesus is not recorded as having uttered any similar claim that woman +should be subject to man, or that in teaching she would be a +usurper. The dominion of woman over man or of man over woman makes no +part of the sayings of the Nazarene. He spoke to the individual soul, +not recognizing sex as a quality of spiritual life, or as determining +the sphere of action of either man or woman. + +Stevens, in his "Pauline Theology," says: "Paul has been read as if he +had written in the nineteenth century, or, more commonly, as if he had +written in the fifth or seventeenth, as if his writings had no +peculiarities arising from his own time, education and mental +constitution." Down these nineteen centuries in a portion of the +Christian Church the contempt for woman which Paul projected into +Christianity has been perpetuated. The Protestant Evangelical Church +still refuses to place her on an equality with man. + +Although Paul said: "Neither is the man without the woman nor the +woman without the man in the Lord," he taught also that the male alone +is in the image of God. "For a man ought not to have his head veiled +forasmuch as he is the image of God; but the woman is the glory of +man." Thus he carried the spirit of the Talmud, "aggravated and +re-enforced," into Christianity, represented by the following appointed +daily prayer for pious Jews: "Blessed art thou, O Lord, that thou hast +not made me a Gentile, an idiot nor a woman." Paul exhibits fairness in +giving reasons for his peremptory mandate. "For Adam was first formed, +then Eve," he says. This appears to be a weak statement for the higher +position of man. If male man is first in station and authority, is +superior because of priority of formation, what is his relation to +"whales and every living creature that moveth which the waters bring +forth, and every winged fowl after his kind," which were formed before +him? + +And again, "Adam was not beguiled, but, the woman being beguiled, hath +fallen into transgression." There was then already existing the +beguiling agency. The transgression of Eve was in listening to this +existing source of error, which, in the allegory, is styled "the most +subtle beast of the field which the Lord God hath made." Woman did not +bring this subtle agency into activity. She was not therefore the +author of sin, as has been charged. She was tempted by her desire for +the knowledge which would enable her to distinguish between good and +evil. According to this story, woman led the race out of the ignorance +of innocence into the truth. Calvin, the commentator, says: "Adam did +not fall into error, but was overcome by the allurements of his wife." +It is singular that the man, who was "first formed," and therefore +superior, and to whom only God has committed the office of teaching, +not only was not susceptible to the temptation to acquire knowledge, +but should have been the weak creature who was "overcome by the +allurements of his wife." + +But the story of the fall and all cognate myths and parables are far +older and more universal than the ordinary reader of the Bible supposes +them to be. The Bible itself in its Hebrew form is a comparatively +recent compilation and adaptation of mysteries, the chief scenes of +which were sculptured on temple walls and written or painted on papyri, +ages before the time of Moses. History tells us, moreover, that the +Book of Genesis, as it now stands, is the work not even of Moses, but +of Ezra or Esdras, who lived at the time of the captivity, between five +hundred and six hundred years before our era, and that he recovered it +and other writings by the process of intuitional memory. "My heart," he +says, "uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast; for the +spirit strengthened my memory." + +With regard to the particular myth of the fall, the walls of ancient +Thebes, Elphantine, Edfou and Karnak bear evidence that long before +Moses taught, and certainly ages before Esdras wrote, its acts and +symbols were embodied in the religious ceremonials of the people, of +whom, according to Manetho, Moses was himself a priest. And the whole +history of the fall of man is, says Sharpe, in a work on Egypt, "of +Egyptian origin. The temptation of the woman by the serpent, the man by +the woman, the sacred tree of knowledge, the cherubs guarding with +flaming swords the door of the garden, the warfare declared between the +woman and the serpent, may all be seen upon the Egyptian sculptured +monuments." + +This symbology signifies a deeper meaning than a material garden, a +material apple, a tree and a snake. It is the relation of the soul or +feminine part of man, "his living mother," to the physical and external +man of sense. The temptation of woman brought the soul into the +limitations of matter, of the physical. The soul derives its life from +spirit, the eternal substance, God. Knowledge, through intellect alone, +is of the limitation of flesh and sense. Intuition, the feminine part +of reason, is the higher light. If the soul, the feminine part of man, +is turned toward God, humanity is saved from the dissipations and the +perversions of sensuality. Humanity is not alone dual in the two forms, +male and female, but every soul is dual. The more perfect the balance +in the individual of masculine and feminine, the more perfect the man +or the woman. The masculine represents force, the feminine love. "Force +without love can but work evil until it is spent." + +Paul evidently was not learned in Egyptian lore. He did not recognize +the esoteric meaning of the parable of the fall. To him it was a +literal fact, apparently, and Eve was to be to all womankind the +transmitter of a "curse" in maternity. We know that down to the very +recent date of the introduction of anesthetics the idea prevailed that +travail pains are the result of, and punishment for, the transgression +of Mother Eve. It was claimed that it was wrong to attempt to remove +"the curse" from woman, by mitigating her suffering in that hour of +peril and of agony. + +Whatever Paul may mean, it is a fact that the women of our aboriginal +tribes, whose living was natural and healthful, who were not enervated +by civilized customs, were not subject to the sufferings of civilized +women. And it has been proven by the civilized woman that a strict +observance of hygienic conditions of dress, of diet, and the mode of +life, reduces the pangs of parturition. Painless child-bearing is a +physiological problem; and "the curse" has never borne upon the woman +whose life had been in strict accord with the laws of life. Science has +come to the rescue of humanity, in the recognition of the truth, that +the advancement as well as the conservation of the race is through the +female. The great Apostle left no evidence that he apprehended this +fact. His audacity was sublime; but it was the audacity of ignorance. + +No more stupendous demonstration of the power of thought can be +imagined, than is illustrated in the customs of the Church for +centuries, when in the general canons were found that "No woman may +approach the altar," "A woman may not baptize without extreme +necessity," "Woman may not receive the eucharist under a black veil." +Under canon 81 she was forbidden to write in her own name to lay +Christians, but only in the name of her husband; and women were not to +receive letters of friendship from any one addressed to themselves. +Canon law, framed by the priesthood, compiled as early as the ninth +century, has come down in effect to the nineteenth, making woman +subordinate in civil law. Under canon law, wives were deprived of the +control of both person and property. Canon law created marriage a +sacrament "to be performed at the church door," in order to make it a +source of revenue to the Church. Marriage, however, was reckoned too +sinful "to be allowed for many years to take place within the sacred +building consecrated to God, and deemed too holy to permit the entrance +of a woman within its sacred walls at certain periods of her life." + + +L. B. C. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +1 Timothy iii. + + + +2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, +sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; + +3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but +patient, not a brawler, not covetous; + +4 One that ruleth well in his own house, having his children in +subjection with all gravity: + +5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take +care of the church of God?) + +8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to +much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre. + +11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful +in all things. + +12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children +and their own houses well. + + +In this chapter the advice of the Apostle in regard to the overseer or +bishop is unexceptionable. The first injunction that relates to woman +is, that the bishop must be the husband of one wife. Under the present +ideas of Christendom, the inference naturally is that the bishop was +enjoined to be the husband of but one wife. If, as appears probable, +this was an injunction in favor of monogamy, it was a true and +progressive idea established with the foundation of the Christian +Church. + +Deacons also are instructed to be the husbands of one wife. "Women in +like manner must be grave, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all +things." It is not clear whether this is spoken for the direction of +women in general in the Church, or for the wives of deacons. The +advice, however, is equally good for either class. The word "sober" in +the old version is rendered "temperate" in the new one. Whether women +in those days were liable to take too much wine does not appear. But +nowhere in the Old or the New Testaments is there an account of +drunkenness by women. + +The directions for the conduct of the bishop are explicit. He is to be +"gentle, not contentious," which sets aside much that distinguishes the +masculine nature. In fact, with the exception of the qualification +"apt to teach," before forbidden, the entire list of the necessary +qualities of a bishop is that of womanly characteristics. Temperate, +sober-minded (i. e., not given to trifling speech), orderly, given to +hospitality, no brawler, no striker (this supposedly refers to +pugilistic tendencies), but gentle, not contentious. Every +qualification is essentially womanly. + + +1 Timothy v. + +3 Honour widows that are widows indeed. + +4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to +shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and +acceptable before God. + +5 Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, + +6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. + +8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his +own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an Infidel. + +9 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years, +having been the wife of one man. + +10 Well reported of for her good works; if she have brought up +children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' +feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently +followed every good work. + +11 But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax +wanton against Christ, they will marry; + +12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. + +13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to +house; and not only idle, but tattlers also, and busybodies, speaking +things which they ought not. + +14 I will therefore that the Younger women marry, bear children, guide +the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. + +15 For some are already turned aside after Satan, + +16 If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve +them, and let not the church be charged; that it may relieve them that +are widows indeed. + + +No one can be desolate who has a purpose and a sphere of action, with +ability to work. Paul's widow, who was a widow indeed, "continueth in +supplication and prayers night and day." What an existence! Desolate +indeed. Exercising but one faculty of the soul--that of supplication! +Women of this period cannot be too thankful, that the numerous +opportunities for educational and philanthropic work are open to them +in addition to the opportunities to win subsistence in the various +avocations of life. + +The widow who was to be enrolled, to be provided for by the Church, must +be three score years old, having been the wife of one man. Whether this +is a repudiation of second marriages, or refers to polyandry, is not +apparent. This obligation of the early Church to provide for women who +had fulfilled the duties of motherhood, ministered to the afflicted, +washed the saints' feet, and diligently followed every good work, is a +recognition of a right principle, and which should be made a part of +social organization. + +But he directs that younger women be refused. Paul thought that women +could not be loyal followers of Christ and "desire to marry." Therefore +he desires them all to marry, to bear children and to rule the family. +Another inconsistency of Paul. Having stated as expressly the teaching +of the spirit that the doctrine forbidding to marry was of devils, he +here again claims that when the younger widows desire to, marry they +have waxed wanton against Christ. There is even by Paul one place in +which woman is to be the head. If she may not teach, she may provide +for the physical comfort of her husband and family. + +The Apostle accuses women of learning to be idle, going about from +house to house, of being tattlers and busybodies--these young widows, +or unmarried women. What a spectacle the thousands of bread-winning +young and unmarried women of to-day, would be to Paul if he could come +here! And these young women have no time to go from house to house, or +even to fulfill social obligations. And the students in our colleges +and universities, Paul would not find them tattlers or busybodies. What +could the unmarried women of Paul's time do? They had no absorbing +mental pursuit or physical occupation. Perhaps they could not read; and +there was little for them to study. Lacking mental furnishing to noble +ends, they must of necessity deal with trivial matters. What could a +woman do who had no home to care for, no business to attend to, perhaps +nothing to read (if she could read), no social organizations in which +she had a place and part except the religious assemblies in which she +was to be "in quietness," "in silence"? + +They were not worthy of condemnation if they were going from house to +house and tattling. The unmarried woman will not lack opportunity for +the dignity of self-support and the ministrations of philanthropy in +the new dispensation. Womanhood and its high possibilities of mind and +of heart are worthy attainments, even though not crowned with self- +elected motherhood. Whether married or unmarried, the highest duty of +every living soul, woman or man, is to seek truth and righteousness; +and the liberty which is of the spirit of truth does not admit of the +bondage of husband and wife, +the one to the other. Freedom to seek soul development is paramount to +all other demands. + + + +1 Timothy i. + + + +2 Too Timothy, my dearly beloved son: grace, mercy, and peace, from +God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. + +5 When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, +which dwelt first in thy grand-mother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and +I am persuaded that in thee also. + + +Timothy, whom Paul calls his true child in faith, and whom he placed +as overseer, or bishop of the first church at Ephesus, as all +commentators agree, was the child of mixed parentage, his father being +a Greek and his mother a Jewess. It is supposed that his father died in +Timothy's childhood, as no mention is made of him. Timothy, then, was +educated religiously by the teaching and the example of his mother and +his grandmother. Paul expresses with fervent emotion his remembrance of +his "beloved child," and of the unfeigned faith which is in him, and, +"which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice." + +After having instructed Timothy to exercise all the gentle virtues +which are feminine and womanly, the Apostle in this acknowledgment that +he was the child of a devout mother and grandmother, discloses a fact +which places in no favorable light his strenuous opposition to woman's +equality in the Church. This mother and grandmother under whose +teaching Timothy had become qualified to receive the important office +of bishop, and whose faithfulness so endeared him to the Apostle, were +required to keep silence in the Church equally with all other women +whose evidence of faith were not so conclusive. There was no +distinction. The ban was placed upon woman solely on the ground of sex. + +The Church has only in this nineteenth century partially amended this +record, by establishing the order of deaconesses for women who devote +themselves to good works and to religious teaching. While in the liberal +denominations the pulpit is accessible to woman, it is only in very +recent years that in any evangelistic denomination it has been +permissible for woman to "teach." The priesthood are as unwilling to-day +as was Paul in the first century, that women shall be placed on an +equality in offices of distinction. Perhaps this disposition comes of a +dim, not fully evolved consciousness that, "when the present evolution +of woman is complete, a new world will result; for woman is destined to +rule the world. She is the centre and the fountain of its life," which +the new man has recently announced from his pulpit. + +There is no prerogative more tenaciously held by the common man than +that of rulership. There is no greater opposition to woman's equality +in the State than there is in the Church, and this notwithstanding the +fact that the Church and the pulpit are largely sustained by women. The +Church is spiritually and actually a womanly institution, and this is +recognized by the unvarying expression, "Mother Church." Yet man +monopolizes all offices of distinction and of leadership, and receives +the salaries for material support. As the inevitable result, spiritual +life has become so languid as to be ineffectual, and an effort is being +persistently pushed by a portion of the Evangelical Church, a portion, +too, which most strenuously keeps its women silent, to fortify the +Church by the power of civil government. + +There is no suggestion in the teaching of Jesus, as recorded, of +compelling individuals, authorities, or powers, to acknowledge God. The +religion of Jesus is a voluntary acceptance of truth. "God is a spirit, +and they who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." There +can be no compulsory life of the spirit, quickened by the source of +life, light and love. The masculine idea of compelling a formal +acknowledgment of God by the State is entirely unchristian. + +Until the feminine is recognized in the Divine Being, and justice is +established in the Church by the complete equality of woman with man, +the Church cannot be thoroughly Christian. "Honor thy father and thy +mother" is the commandment. The human race cannot be brought to its +highest state until motherhood is equally honored with fatherhood in +human institutions. + + +L. B. C. + + + + + +EPISTLES OF PETER AND JOHN. + + + +1 Peter iii. + + + +1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if +any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the +conversation of the wives; + +3 Whose adorning, let it not be that out, ward adorning of plaiting +the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; + +7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, +giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel. + +Woman's influence is most clearly set forth by all the Apostles in +meek submission to their husbands and to all the Church ordinances and +discipline. A reverent silence, a respectful observance of rules and +authorities was their power. They could not aid in spreading the gospel +and in converting their husbands to the true faith by teaching, by +personal attraction, by braided hair or ornaments. The normal beauty of +a sanctified heart would be manifested by a meek and quiet spirit, +valuable in the sight of God as well as their husbands, and do far more +to fix their affections and to secure their esteem than the studied +decoration of fashionable apparel. Woman's love of satins, of velvets, +of laces, and of jewels, has its corresponding expression in man's love +of wealth, of position, and his ambition for personal and family +aggrandizement. + +There is much talk of the poor and the needy, especially during +political campaigns. In the autumn of 1896, when the workingman's +interests formed the warp and woof of every speech, three thousand +children stood in the streets of New York City, for whom there was no +room in the schoolhouses and no play-grounds; and yet thousands of +dollars were spent in buying votes. Large, well-ventilated homes for +those who do the work of the world, plenty of schoolhouses and play- +grounds for the children of the poor, would be much more beneficial to +the race than expensive monuments to dead men, and large appropriations +from the public treasury for holidays and convivial occasions to honor +men in high places. + +The Apostles having given such specific directions as to the toilets +of women, their hair, ornaments, manners and position, in the Church, +the State and the home, one is curious to know what kind of honor is +intended for this complete subordination. Man is her head, her teacher, +her guardian and her Saviour. What Christ is to him, that is he to the +weaker vessel. It is fair to infer that what he has done in the past he +will continue to do in the future. Unless she rebels outright, he will +make her a slave, a subject, the mere reflection of another human will. + + +E. C. S. + + + +2 John i. + + + +1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, + +5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new +commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that +we love one another. + +6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. + +12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper +and ink; but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our +joy may be full. + + +Some critics conjecture that the Church at Jerusalem is meant by the +"elect lady," and the one at Ephesus by her elect sister. Others +suppose that an eminent and honorable Christian woman was intended by +the "elect lady," and that some other Christian woman, well known in +the Church, was intended by her elect sister. The aged Apostle wrote +this short letter to this lady, who was a person of rank, hence he did +not scruple to give to her the title of honor. He assured her children +of his deep interest in their welfare. The word lady was always used in +addressing, or speaking of one who was an acknowledged superior. In +their travels about the country the Apostles especially enjoyed the +hospitality of families of rank. Though democratic in their principles, +they were susceptible to the attractions of wealth and of culture. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +REVELATION. + + +CHAPTER I. + + + +Revelation i. + + + +The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto +his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and +signified it by his angel unto his servant John: + + +2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus +Christ, and of all things that he saw. + +3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this +prophecy and keep those things which are written therein: for the time +is at hand. + +4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and +peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from +the seven Spirits which are before his throne. + + +John Morley once said to the priests--"We shall not attack you, we +shall explain you." The Book of Revelation, properly Re-Veilings, +cannot even be approximately explained without some knowledge of +astrology. It is a purely esoteric work, largely referring to woman, +her intuition, her spiritual powers, and all she represents. Even the +name of its putative author, John, is identical in meaning with "dove," +the emblem of the Holy Ghost, the female principle of the Divinity. + +This book came down from old Egyptian "mystery" times, and was one of +the profoundly "sacred" and profoundly "secret" books of the great +temple of Luxor, the words "sacred" and "secret" possessing the same +meaning during the mysteries. All knowledge was anciently concealed in +the mysteries; letters, numbers, astrology (until the sixteenth century +identical with astronomy), alchemy, the parent of chemistry, these, and +all other sciences were hidden from the common people. Even to all +initiates the most important part of the mysteries was not revealed. + +It is not then strange that such a profoundly mystic book as +Re-Veilings should be so little understood by the Christian Church +as to have been many times rejected from the sacred canon. It did not +appear in the Syriac Testament as late as 1562. Neither did Luther, the +great reformer of the sixteenth century, nor his coworker, Erasmus, +respect it, Luther declaring that for his part he would as soon it had +not been written; Calvin, also, had small regard for it. The first +collection of the New Testament canon, decided upon by the Council of +Laodicea (A. D. 364), omitted the entire book from its list of sacred +works; Jerome said that some Greek churches would not receive it. The +celebrated Vatican codex in the papal library, the oldest uncial or +Biblical manuscript in existence, does not contain Revelation. The +canon of the New Testament was fixed as it now is by Pope Innocent I., +A. D. 405, with the Book of Revelation still in dispute. + +Its mystic character has been vaguely surmised by the later Church, +which, while claiming to be the exponent of spiritual things, has yet +taught the grossest materialism, and from no part of the Bible more +fully than from Revelation. It asserts a literal coming of Christ in +the literal clouds of heaven, riding a literal horse, while Gabriel +(angel of the moon), with a literal trumpet sounds the blast of earth's +destruction. A literal devil is to be bound for a thousand years, +during which time the saints are to dwell on earth, "every man to have +a farm," as I once heard a devout Methodist declare. "But there will +not be land enough for that," objected a brother. "O, well, the earth +is now two-thirds water, and that will be dried up," was the reply. To +such straits have Christians been driven in their efforts to comprehend +this book. + +But during the centuries a few students have not failed to apprehend +its character; the Abbe Constant (Eliphas Levi), declaring it to be one +of the masterpieces of occult science. While for even a partial +comprehension of Re-Veilings, some knowledge of astrology is required, +it is no less true that the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation +demands a knowledge of astrology, of letters, and of numbers, with +their interchangeable values as they were understood by those who wrote +it, "a book written by initiates for initiates." Sir William Drummond +proved that all names of places in the holy land of the Hebrews were +astronomical. + +Not only were Hebrew feasts and seasons based upon that science, but +many Christian ones, as Easter and Christmas are due to the same cause. +The festival of St. John the Baptist takes place at the time of the +sun's lowest southern declination, December 22. In like manner the +festival of St. John the Evangelist occurs at midsummer day, when the +sun reaches its highest northern declination. All those church periods +are purely astronomical or astrological in character. The "Alpha" and +"Omega" of Revelation contain profound evolutionary truths, +significative of spirit and of matter, or God unmanifested and +manifested. + +The famous seven churches of Asia, to whom this book was largely +addressed, were all astrological and based upon the seven planets of +the ancients. Of these seven churches that of Ephesus stood first. On +the shores of Aegean Sea, it was famous for its magnificent temple to +the moon-goddess Artemis, or Diana. This temple was one of the seven +wonders of the ancient world, nations vieing with each other in their +gifts to add to its splendor. The moon being the emblem or "angel" of +Ephesus, the cry of the multitude when Paul spake there, "Great is +Diana of the Ephesians!" was an astrological recognition of the power +of the moon over human affairs. It is to be noted that none of the +seven churches of Asia received the writings of Paul. In the astrology +of Chaldea, as in that of Asia Minor, the moon was first among the +planets. It must be remembered that the numbers seven and twelve, so +frequently mentioned in Re-Veilings, are of great occult significance +in relation to the earth. + +The angel of the church of Smyrna, to whom the second letter was +addressed, was the sun, "the only sun" dying and rising each day; that +of Pergamos, the beneficent Jupiter, who became the supreme god of the +Greek world. The angel of Thyatira, the lovely and loving Venus, by +some deemed the most occult of the planets, sustained her old-time +character for lasciviousness in her connection with that church. The +fiery, warlike Mars, angel of the church of Sardis, called "the Great +King," and Saturn, the angel of the church of Philadelphia, are +astrologically known as malefic planets. Saturn identified with Satan, +matter and time, is for occult reasons looked upon as the great +malefic. The angel of the church of Laodicea, +Mercury or Hermes, the ambiguous planet, is, next to Venus, the most +occult of all the planets; it is, masculine or feminine, the patron of +learning or of thieves, as it is aspected. Most profound secrets +connected with the spiritual interests of the race during the middle +portion of the fifth round are hidden in the letter to the angel of the +church of Laodicea. + + +M. J. G. + + + +This book is styled the Apocalypse or Revelation, and is supposed to +have been written by John, called the Divine, on the Island of Patmos, +in the Aegean Sea, whither he was banished. Professor Goldwin Smith, in +a recent work entitled "Guesses at the Riddle of Existence," thinks +that we have but little reliable information as to the writers of +either the Old or the New Testaments. In this case the style is so +different from that of John, that the same Apostle could not have +written both books. Whoever wrote The Revelation was evidently the +victim of a terrible and extravagant imagination and of visions which +make the blood curdle. + + + +Revelation ii. + + + +18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write: + +19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy +patience. + +20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou +sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophet, to teach +and to seduce my servants. + +21 And I gave her space to repent; and she repented not. + +22 Behold, I will cast her into great tribulation. + +23 And I will kill her children and all the churches shall know that I +am he which searcheth the hearts; and I will give unto every one of you +according to your works. + + +The town of Thyatira lay to the southeast of Pergamos. The epistle to +the church was sent by John, with some commendations; but it was said +that there was a worm at the root of its prosperity, which would +destroy the whole unless it were removed. It is not agreed whether the +expression Jezebel, is to be understood literally or figuratively. From +the reading of some manuscripts it has been thought, that the wife of +the presiding minister was intended, that she had obtained great +influence in the affairs of the church and made a bad use of it; that +she pretended to have prophetic gifts, and +under that sanction propagated abominable principles. + +The figurative meaning, however, seems more suited to the style and +the manner of this book; and in this sense it denotes a company of +persons, of the spirit and character of Jezebel, within the church +under one principal deceiver. Jezebel, a Zidonian and a zealous +idolater, being married to the King of Israel (Ahab) contrary to the +Divine law, used all her influence to draw the Israelites from the +worship of Jehovah into idolatry. Satan and woman are the chief +characters in all the frightful visions; and the sacred period of +maternity is made to illustrate some of the most terrible upheavals in +national life, as between the old dragon and the mother of the race. +Whatever this book was intended to illustrate, its pictures are +painfully vivid. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + +Revelation xii. + + + +And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the +sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve +stars: + + +2 And she being with child travailed in birth. + +3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red +dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his +heads. + +4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and the +dragon stood before the woman to devour her child as soon as it was +born. + +5 And she brought forth a man child, that was caught up unto God. + +6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place +prepared of God. + +13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he was +wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed. + + +The constellation Draco, the Great Serpent, was at one time ruler of +the night, being formerly at the very centre of the heavens and so +large that it was called the Great Dragon. Its body spread over seven +signs of the Zodiac, which were called its seven heads. So great a +space did it occupy, that, in mystic language, it "drew a third part of +the stars from heaven and cast them to the earth." Thuban, in its tail, +was formerly the pole-star, or "judge of the earth!" It approached much +nearer the true pole than Cynosura, the present pole-star, which is one +and a half degrees distant and will never approach nearer than twelve +minutes, while Thuban was only ten minutes distant. + +At an early day serpents were much respected; they were thought to +have more "pneuma" or spirit than any other living thing and were +termed "fiery." For this cause high initiates were called "naga," or +serpents of wisdom; and a living serpent was always carried in the +celebration of the mysteries. During the brilliant eighteenth and +nineteenth Egyptian dynasties, Draco was a great god; but when this +constellation lost its place in the heavens, and Thuban ceased to be +the guiding sidereal Divinity, it shared the fate of all the fallen +gods. "The gods of our fathers are our devils," says an Arabic proverb. +When Re-Veilings was written, Draco had become a fallen angel +representing evil spirituality. By precessional motion the foot of +Hercules rests upon its head, and we find it depicted as of the most +material color, red. + +Colors and jewels are parts of astrology; and ancient cities, as +Ectabana, were built and colored after the planets. The New Jerusalem +of Re-Veilings is purely an astrological city, not to be understood +without a knowledge of mystic numbers, letters, jewels and colors. So, +also, the four and twenty elders of Re-Veilings are twenty-four stars +of the Chaldean Zodiac, "counsellors" or "judges," which rose and set +with it. Astrology was brought into great prominence by the visit of +the magi, the zodiacal constellation Virgo, the "woman with a child," +ruling Palestine, in which country Bethlehem is situated. The great +astronomer and astrologer, Ptolemy, judged the character of countries +from the signs ruling them, as to this day is done by astrologers. + +The woman attacked by the great red dragon, Cassiopea, was known as +Nim-Makh, the Mighty Lady. For many centuries, at intervals of about +three hundred years, a brilliant star suddenly appeared in this +constellation, remaining visible a few months, then as suddenly +disappearing. In mystic phraseology this star was a child. It was seen +A. D. 945, A. D. 1264, and was noted by Tycho Brahe and other +astronomers in 1562, when it suddenly became so brilliant that it could +be seen at midday, gradually assuming the appearance of a great +conflagration, then as gradually fading away. Since thus caught up to +the throne of God, this star-child has not again appeared, although +watched for by astronomers during the past few years. The Greeks, who +borrowed so much from the Egyptians, created from this book the story +of Andromeda and the monster sent by Neptune to destroy her, while +Madame Blavatsky says that St. John's dragon is Neptune, a symbol of +Atlantaen magi. + +The crown of twelve stars upon the head of the apocalyptic woman are the +twelve constellations of the Zodiac. Clothed with the sun, woman here +represents the Divinity of the feminine, its spirituality as opposed to +the materiality of the masculine; for in Egypt the sun, as giver of +life, was regarded as feminine, while the moon, shining by reflected +light, was looked upon as masculine. With her feet upon the moon, woman, +corresponding to and representing the soul, portrays the ultimate +triumph of spiritual things over material things--over the body, which +man, or the male principle, corresponds to and represents. + +"There was war in heaven." The wonderful progress and freedom of +woman, as woman, within the last half century, despite the false +interpretation of the Bible by the Church and by masculine power, is +the result of this great battle; and all attempts to destroy her will +be futile. Her day and hour have arrived; the dragon of physical power +over her, the supremacy of material things in the world, as depicted by +the male principle, are yielding to the spiritual, represented by +woman. The eagle, true bird of the sun and emblem of our own great +country, gives his wings to her aid; and the whole earth comes to help +her against her destroyer. + +And thus must Re-Veilings be left with much truth untouched, yet with +the hope that what has been written will somewhat help to a +comprehension of this greatly misunderstood yet profoundly "sacred" and +"secret" book, whose true reading is of such vast importance to the +human race. + + +M. J. G. + + + +Here is a little well intended respect for woman as representing the +Church. In this vision she appears clothed with the sun, and the moon +under her feet, which denotes her superiority, says the commentator, to +her reflected feebler light of the Mosaic dispensation. The crown of +twelve stars on her head represents her honorable maintenance of the +doctrines of the Church. just as the woman was watched by the dragon, +and her children devoured, so was the Church watched and persecuted by +the emissaries of the Papal hierachy {sic}. The seven heads of the +dragon represent the seven hills on which Rome is built; the ten horns, +ten kingdoms into which the Western empire was divided. The tail of the +dragon drawing a third part of the stars represent the power of the +Romans, who had conquered one-third part of the earth. + + + +Revelation xvii. + + + +3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a +woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, +having saves heads and ten horns. + +4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked +with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in bar +hand. + +5 And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great. + +18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth +over the kings of the earth. + + +The woman draped in scarlet, seated on a beast, was the emblem of the +Church of Rome. The beast represents the temporal power by which it has +been supported. These colors have always distinguished the popes and +the cardinals, as well as the Roman emperors and senators. The horses +and the mules were covered with scarlet cloth to answer the +description, and the woman was decked in the brightest colors, in gold +and jewels. No one can describe the pomp, splendor and magnificence of +the Church of Rome. The cup in the woman's hand contained potions to +intoxicate her victims. It was the custom at that time for public women +to have their names on their foreheads, and as they represented the +abominations of social life, they were often named after cities. The +writers of the Bible are prone to make woman the standard for all kinds +of abominations; and even motherhood, which should be held most sacred, +is used to illustrate the most revolting crimes. What picture can be +more horrible than the mother, in her hour of mortal agony, watched by +the dragon with his seven heads and ten horns! + +Why so many different revising committees of bishops and clergymen +should have retained this book as holy and inspiring to the ordinary +reader, is a mystery. It does not seem possible that the Divine John +could have painted these dark pictures of the struggles of humanity +with the Spirit of Evil. Verily, we need an expurgated edition of the +Old and the New Testaments before they are fit to be placed in the +hands of our youth to be read in the public schools and in theological +seminaries, especially if we wish to inspire our children with proper +love and respect for the Mothers of the Race. + + +E. C. S. + + + + + +APPENDIX. + + + +"Ignorance is the mother of devotion."--Jeremy Taylor. + + + +The following letters and comments are in answer to the questions: + +1. Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded the +emancipation of women? + +2. Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race? + + +Dear Mrs. Stanton:--I believe, as you said in your birthday address, +that "women ought to demand that the Canon law, the Mosaic code, the +Scriptures, prayer-books and liturgies be purged of all invidious +distinctions of sex, of all false teaching as to woman's origin, +character and destiny." I believe that the Bible needs explanation and +comment on many statements therein which tend to degrade woman. Christ +taught the equality of the sexes, and Paul said: "There is neither male +nor female; ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Hence I welcome "The +Woman's Bible" as a needed commentary in regard to woman's position. + +Phebe A. Hanaford. + + + +If the suggestions and teachings of the various books of our Bible, +concerning women, are compared with the times in which severally they +probably were written, in general they are certainly in advance of most +contemporary opinion. The hurtful blunder of later eras has been the +setting up of early, cruder standards touching the relations of men and +of women, as moulding influences and guides to broader civilizations. +They cannot be authoritative. + +I believe that the Bible's Golden Rule has been the real substratum of +all religions, when fairly applied from their own point of view. But +the broader and more discriminating applications of the rule +theoretically both to men and to women in every relation of life have +made, and necessarily must have made, most of the earlier practical +regulations and teachings, beneficent perhaps in their day, pernicious +in ours when regarded as still authoritative. Interpreted by its +fundamental principles, in the light of its time--not in the fast +increasing light of ours, which, as I understand it, is your +searchlight and that of your collaborators--I have very little quarrel +with the Bible. But neither have I much quarrel with Buddhism, with +Paganism in general, or with any serious religious cult, tested in the +same way. + +Turn on the light and so change the point of view. But criticism of +ancient creeds, literatures or morals, to be entirely fair and just. +must be comparative criticism. To be broadly comparative it must +virtually include contemporary and intermediate as well as existing +creeds, literatures or morals. Very sincerely yours, + +Antoinette Brown Blackwell. + + + +Like the shield which was gold on one side and silver on the other, +the Bible has two sides or aspects. As travellers approaching the +shield from opposite directions quarrelled over its nature because each +saw only that side which he had approached, people have differed in +their view of the Bible and its influence upon mankind because only one +aspect has been visible to them. + +Acceptance of the Bible literally tends to retard the development of +both man and woman, and consequently the establishment of their +highest and best relation to each other, a relation upon +which depends their usefulness to the community. Both the law of Moses +and the teachings of Paul, thus considered, belittle woman more than +they exalt her. While words of praise and promises of future place and +power are not altogether lacking, this is the impression left upon the +mind of the reader who is not able to pass around to the other side and +gain another view. + +Exoterically considered, the Bible offers less of the ethical and the +spiritual than of the physical possibilities of woman as the complement +to man; but esoterically considered, it is found to exact the spiritual +possibilities above the rest--above even the like possibilities of the +man. The Bible has been, and will continue to be, a stumbling-block in +the way of development of inherent resources, consequently of the +truest civilization, in proportion to the strength of its exoteric +aspect with the people. It will cease to be a stumbling block and +become a powerful impetus in the desired direction instead, when its +inner meaning becomes revelator, companion and friend. + +In the literal rendering of the Bible, woman appears first and above +all as man's subordinate; but this inner meaning shows her first and +above all as the individual equal with him, and afterward his +complement, or what she is able to be for him. Portrayed as the mother +of the Saviour of the world, one woman is exalted above all women when +only physical motherhood is seen; and the consequence has been that one +woman has been worshiped and the sex has been crucified. This one woman +has been lifted above her place; and all women have fallen +correspondingly below it. + +Not till "the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the +world" shall pierce with its rays the darkness of the sensuous nature, +will woman's spiritual motherhood for the race, be discerned as the way +of its redemption from that darkness and its consequences. As that +light is uncovered in individual souls the inner meaning of the Bible +will appear, woman's nature as the individual and her true relativity +to man be seen. Then the mistakes which have been ignorantly made will +be rectified, because both sides of the shield will be seen. Men and +women will clasp hands as comrades with a common destiny; religion and +science will each reveal their destiny and prove that truth which the +Bible even exoterically declares that "the woman is the glory of the +man." + +Ursula N. Gestefeld. + + + + +It is requested that I shall answer two questions: + +1. Has the Bible advanced or retarded woman's emancipation? + +2. Has it elevated or degraded the Mothers of the Race? + +If by "emancipation" is meant the social, legal and political position +of women, and if by the "Bible" the authorized version of the Old +Testament, it would be difficult to prove that the opponents of that +emancipation have not derived their narrow views from many passages in +the Bible. This, however, applies only to the exoteric interpretation, +the weak points of which have been so mercilessly exposed in Part I. of +"The Woman's Bible." + +The Divine wisdom whose occult truths form the basis of Judaism, of +Christianity and of all other religions, has nothing to do with the +subjection of sex: and to be fair we must confess that there are many +texts in the exoteric version which proclaim the equality of woman, +notably the first chapter of Genesis. I believe that H. P. Blavatsky +was right when she said of the Bible: "It is a grand volume, a +masterpiece composed of clever, ingenious fables, containing great +verities; but it reveals the latter only to those who, like the +Initiates, have a key to its inner meaning; a tale sublime in its +morality and didactics truly--still a tale and an allegory; a repertory +of invented personages in its older Jewish portions, and of dark +sayings and parables in its later additions, and thus quite misleading +to any one ignorant of its esotericism." + +This being the case, the discussion which "The Woman's Bible" raises +is to my judgment somewhat futile. It is said that from Genesis to +Revelation the Bible degrades woman. Does it not, as it stands, equally +in many passages degrade the conception of the Supreme Being? Many +noble and Divine truths have been utterly degraded by the coarse +fallacies of men. All this is so sure to be made clear in the near +future that I am doubtful of the wisdom of laying too much stress on +passages whose meaning is entirely misunderstood by the vast majority +of Christians. + +Slowly we see a light breaking. When the dawn comes we shall have a +revision of the Bible on very different lines from any yet attempted. +In the meantime may we not ask, Is there any curse or crime which has +not appealed to the Bible for support? Polygamy, capital punishment, +slavery and war have all done so. Why not the subjection of women? Let +us hold fast that which is good in the Bible and the rest will modify +itself in the future, as it has done in the past, to the needs of +humanity and the advance of knowledge. + +London, England. + +Ursula Bright. + + + +Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton:--Dear Madam: I have received your letter +and the specimen of "The Woman's Bible" which you have sent me. I have +not had time to examine it minutely; but I have been aware of your +purpose from the beginning. I am afraid that I cannot say anything +which you will wish to print; for I look upon the Bible very +differently from what you do. + +I have no superstitious reverence for it, but hold it in high regard +as a valuable collection of very old literature well representing the +thought and the life of a great, earnest people at different periods of +their career. As such, it is full of precious lessons of wisdom and of +sweet and beautiful poetry. I certainly could not endorse Mr. White's +statement; for I have very recently in public lectures spoken of the +great value of this collection as one of the best educators of the +common people in Christendom generally, and especially in Scotland and +the United States. I should say the same, so far as my knowledge +extends, of the Koran and other so-called sacred books. + +That the superstitious worship of the Bible as a direct revelation +from God, and the practice of using what is merely the history of human +life as authority for human action now, or as prophecy, has produced or +strengthened great evils in the world I readily admit, and I welcome +all the thorough and searching criticism which can be applied to the +Bible, but nothing is gained by exaggeration. There are noble examples +of woman in the Old Testament of the heroic type, as in the New +Testament of the tender and loving one. + +The whole subject of the relations of the sexes is a deep and +difficult one; and the ages have been struggling with it. That woman is +handicapped by peculiarities of physical structure seems evident; and +according to the character of the age these are more or less +unfavorable. Civilization in many instances has emphasized and +increased them to her great disadvantage; but it is only by making her +limitations her powers that the balance can be restored, and in an age +of more intellectual and spiritual superiority this will come to pass. +I read this in the development of woman's life in education, in +industry and in self-support. + +I have tried to express my views frankly, although I cannot fully +illustrate them in a brief letter, which is all I have time for at +present. Your own active mind will follow out whatever there is of +value in my thought. Yours very respectfully, + +Jamaica Plain, Mass. + +Ednah D. Cheney. + + + +The Bible--both the books of the Old Testament and of the New, express +the views in regard to woman which prevailed when those books were +written. The conception in regard to woman was that she was naturally +man's inferior, that her position should be one of subordination, that +she should have no will of her own, except as it was in accord with +that of her father, husband, or master. + +The enlightened portions of the world have gradually been outgrowing +these ideas. This progress has constantly been opposed by the influence +of Bible teachings on the subject. The influence of the Bible against +the elevation of woman, like its influence in favor of slavery, has +been great because of the infallibility and the Divine authority with +which the teachings of the Bible have been invested. If the Bible had, +like other books, been judged by its actual merits, in the light of +reason and common sense, its teachings +about woman would have had no authoritative weight; but when millions +have for centuries been brought up to believe that the Bible is an +inspired and infallible revelation from God, its influence has been +mischievous in a thousand ways. + +A collection of books which teaches, as from God, that man was made +first for the glory of God, and woman for man simply; that woman was +first to sin, and therefore should be in submission to man; that +motherhood implies moral impurity and requires a sin offering (twice as +much in the case of a female as a male child), must have continued to +keep woman in a degraded condition just in proportion as such ideas +have been believed to be true and inspired by God. + +The advancement of woman throughout Christendom has been going on only +where these doctrines have been outgrown or modified through the +influence of science, of skepticism, and of liberal thought generally. +That the Bible does teach that woman's position should be one of +subordination and submission to man, and that through her first came +sin into the world, is indisputable; and I do not see how such +teachings, believed to be direct from God, can be accepted without +retarding woman's progress. Mr. Lecky and others have shown +historically that these Oriental conceptions have distinctly degraded +woman wherever they have prevailed. + +What we should naturally expect to have resulted from these +conceptions is shown by experience actually to have been the result of +such teachings, enforced by the authority of Moses and of St. Paul. + +The idea of woman's equality with man in all natural rights and +opportunities finds no support in the Bible. The doctrine that there is +neither male nor female, neither bond nor free, in Christ Jesus, had no +practical application to social conditions. It left the slave in +chains, and the woman in fetters. Where the old theological dogmas +respecting woman are the least impaired, woman's condition is the least +hopeful. Where the authority of reason is in the ascendant, or where it +is superseding the authority of book revelations, of creeds and of +churches, woman's position is the most advanced, her rights are the +most completely recognized, her opportunities for +progress the most fully allowed, and her character the most fully +developed. + +Sarah A. Underwood. + + + +A solution, in accordance with the fundamental laws of ethics, of the +woman question, which is a part of the great social question, can be +arrived at only by a transformation of the social order of things, made +in conformity with the principle of equal liberty and equal justice to +each and every one. + +As a necessary proposition to let this principle be universally +recognized, we must designate the philosophical view of the world, +based upon scientific Materialism, which former, penetrated by the +conviction that the natural doctrine of evolution also retains its +validity with regard to the mental, vital principles of humanity, +believes in the social, political and ethical evolution of human +society, from which progressive evolution the equal claim to all social +relations of the female and the male halves of humanity are inseparable. + +As the firmest enemy of modern ethics based upon scientific knowledge +of natural laws, there stands the Christian religion, the outspring of +the Jewish one, which former, resting upon the principle of the +necessary subordination of woman to man, in consequence thereof +energetically combats the attempts for equal rights to both sexes, and, +as far as lies in its power, ever will and must combat the same. + +To the influence of the Christian Church upon social conditions we must +in the first instance ascribe that, notwithstanding all advances of +culture, the mental development of the female sex has been +systematically kept back through all these tens of centuries. And not +only for the reason that the Christian religion considers woman as a +creature inferior to man, owing to the legendary eating of the apple by +Eve ("Satan," says St. Augustine, "considered the man to be less +credulous and approachable"), but also--and possibly foremost of all-- +for the reason that the Christian Church knows very well that in woman, +intellectually undeveloped, and therefore easy to be led, and ready to +lend a willing ear to priestly promptings, it possesses its most +powerful ally, and knows that it would lose that powerful support as +soon as women, by a thorough mental training, by an elevating education +adapted to their condition of mind and of fortune, would be taken away +from clerical influences. + +As a contrast to the lying statement, which falsifies the historical +facts, that the Christian religion has raised the condition of woman, +the Christian Church offers to woman nothing but serfdom. And it is the +first duty of those women who combat for right and liberty to unite in +the fight against religious obscurity, against the powers of darkness +and the suppression resting on the Church, that revolution of the mind +for which the most elevated thinkers of all time have suffered and +fought, and to whose deeds alone we owe all advances in the mental +freeing of humanity and all accomplishments of the awakening +consciousness of justice. + +Vienna, Austria. + +Irma Von Troll-Borostyani. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--I thank you very much for the book which I have +received and shall consider with interest. I respond at once and +heartily to the inquiry with which you have honored me. I consider the +Bible the most wonderful record of the evolution of spiritual life +which our race possesses. The sympathetic justice displayed by the +Christ when he said, "Let him that is without sin cast the first +stone," will be the inspiration of the future for man and for woman +alike. + +With cordial remembrance of the past and hope for the future, + +I am + +Sincerely yours, + +Hastings, London, England. + +Elizabeth Blackwell. + + + +Since it is accepted that the status of woman is the gauge of +civilization, this is the burning question which now presents itself to +Christendom. If the Bible had elevated woman to her present status, it +would seem that the fact could be demonstrated beyond question; yet +to-day the whole Christian world is on the defensive, trying to prove the +validity of this claim. Despite the opposition of Bible teaching, woman +has secured the right to education, to speak and to print her thoughts; +therefore her answer to these questions will decide the fate of +Christian civilization. + +In Genesis the Bible strikes the key-note of woman's inferiority and +subjection; and the note rings true through every accepted and rejected +book which has ever constituted the Bible. In the face of this fact, +the supreme effort of the Christian Church has been to inculcate the +idea that Christianity alone has elevated woman, and that all other +religions have degraded and enslaved her. It has feared nothing so much +as to face the truth. + +Women have but to read the Bible and the history of Christianity in +conjunction with the sacred books and the histories of other religions +to discover the falsity of this claim, and that the Bible cannot stand +the light of truth. The Bible estimate of woman is summed up in the +words of the president of a leading theological seminary when he +exclaimed to his students, "My Bible commands the subjection of women +forever." + +In an address to the graduating class of a woman's college in England, +Mr. Gladstone, in awarding the diplomas, said: "Young women, you who +belong to the favored half of the human race, enormous changes have +taken place in your positions as members of society. It is almost +terrible to look back upon the state of women sixty years ago, upon the +manner in which they were viewed by the law, and the scanty provision +made for their welfare, and the gross injustice, the flagrant +injustice, the shameful injustice, to which in certain particulars they +were subjected. Great changes are taking place, and greater are +impending." For centuries England has been the light of the Christian +world; yet what an indictment is this against Christian England by the +greatest living defender of the Bible and the Christian religion. + +This one statement of Mr. Gladstone at once refutes the claim that the +Bible has elevated woman, and confirms the idea of the president of the +theological seminary. Add to these declarations the true condition of +women to-day, and the testimony that the Bible bears against itself, +and the falsity of the claim that it has elevated woman is at once +established. If Mr. Gladstone acknowledges the "gross, flagrant and +shameful injustice" to woman sixty years ago in Christian England, what +can be said of woman's condition six hundred, or sixteen hundred years +ago, when the Bible held the greatest sway over the human mind and +Christianity was at the zenith of its power, when it was denied that +woman has a soul, when she was bought and sold as the cattle of the +field, robbed of her name, her children, her property, and "elevated" +(?) on the gibbet of infamy, and on the high altar of lust by the +decree of the Christian priesthood? + +If it can be proven that during the last thousand years the Christian +clergy, with the Bible in their hands, have pointed out or attempted to +remove one single cruelty or wrong which women have suffered, now is +the opportune time to furnish such proof. Now, to-day, when woman +herself is rising in her mental majesty, and when her wrongs are being +righted, Christianity is dead in the strongest brains and the most +heroic hearts of Europe and of America; and now, when the myth and the +miracle of Bible teaching have lost their hold on the minds of people, +this is the very age when the position of woman is more exalted than it +has ever been since Chrisianity {sic} began. + +If even the claim that the Bible has elevated woman to her present +status were true, when the light is turned on to the social, domestic +and religious life of the Christian world, this achievement reflects no +credit on Bible teaching. After nineteen hundred years no woman's +thought has ever been incorporated into the ecclesiastical or civil +code of any Christian land. + +Monogamic marriage is the strongest institution of the Christian +system; yet all the men of the Old Testament were polygamists; and +Christ and Paul, the central figures of the New Testament, were +celibates and condemned marriage by both precept and example. In +Christian lands monogamy is strictly demanded of women; but bigamy, +trigamy, and polygamy are in reality practised by men as one of the +methods of elevating women, Largely, the majority of men have one +legal wife; but assisted by a small per cent. of youths and of +bachelors, Christendom maintains an army of several millions of +courtesans. Thousands of wretched women are yearly driven to graves in +the potter's field, while manhood is degraded by deception, by +drunkenness and by disease; and the blood of the innocents cries out +against a system which thus "elevates" woman. + +The Bible says that "a tree is known by its fruit;" yet this tree is +carefully pruned, watered, and tended as the "Tree of life" whose +fruit, in the words of Archdeacon Farrar, "alone elevates woman, and +shrouds as with a halo of sacred innocence the tender years of the +child." The Bible records that God created woman by a method different +from that employed in bringing into life any other creature, then +cursed her for seeking knowledge; yet God declares in the Bible: "My +people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." "Because thou hast +rejected knowledge I will reject thee." "Add to your faith virtue, and +to virtue knowledge," and knowledge is the savior of the human race. + +Ever since Eve was cursed for seeking knowledge, the priest with the +Bible in his hands has pronounced her the most unnatural, untrustworthy +and dangerous creation of God. She has been given away as a sheep at +the marriage altar, classed with the ox and the ass, cursed in +maternity, required to receive purification at the hands of the priest +for the crime of child-bearing, her body enslaved, and robbed of her +name and of her property. + +The ownership of the wife established and perpetuated through Bible +teaching is responsible for the domestic pandemonium and the carnival +of wife murder which reigns throughout Christendom. In the United +States alone, in the eighteen hundred and ninety-seventh year of the +Christian era, 3,482 wives, many with unborn children in their bodies, +have been murdered in cold blood by their husbands; yet the Christian +clergy from their pulpits reprove women for not bearing more children +in the face of the fact that millions of the children who have been +born by Christian women are homeless tramps, degraded drunkards, +victims of disease, inmates of insane asylums or prisons, condemned to +the scaffold, or bond slaves to priests or to plutocrats who revel in +wealth at the expense of women whom it is claimed that the Bible has +"emancipated and +elevated." + +"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive +me." This declaration of the Bible puts the brand of infamy upon every +woman who ever bore a child; and this, it is claimed, elevates the +Mothers of the Race. The wife who places her destiny in the keeping of +the father of her children bestows upon him the wealth of her +affection, who is to bear the blood and the name of her husband to +conquests yet undreamed of, and to generations yet unborn, is by Divine +decree made a fountain of iniquity. Would not men and women rather +pluck their tongues out by the roots than brand with infamy the mothers +who went down into the valley and the shadow of death to give birth to +them? + +Place the Bible Trinity of "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" beside the +Homeric trinity, "Father, Mother and Child," and prove that the Bible +has elevated woman. The Homeric conception of woman towers like the +Norway pine above the noxious growth of the Mosaic ideal. Compare the +men and the women of the Bible with the stately figures culled from the +temple of Pagan antiquity. Zipporah denouncing Moses as a "bloody +husband," Abraham sending Hagar and his child into the desert and +pocketing twice over the gains from his wife's prostitution; Lot and +his daughters; Judah and his daughter-in-law, Onan; Yamar, the Levite, +and his concubine; David and Bath-sheba; Solomon in the sewer of +sensualism; Rahab, Aholibah, Mary of Bethlehem, and Mary Magdala. + +Place these by the side of the man and the woman, Hector and +Andromache, of the "Iliad," who called upon the immortal gods to bless +their child of love; the virgin Isis with her son Horus; the Vedic +virgin Indrance, the mother of the savior-god, Indra; Devaki and her +Divine child, Chrishna; Hipparchia, Pandora, Protogenia, Cornelia, +Plotina, and a host of the noble and virtuous of Pagan history. Prove +by comparing these with the position of woman in Christendom that woman +owes all that she is to the Bible. + +Compare Ruth of the Bible with the magnificent Pagan, Penelope, who +refused the hands of kings, was as true to her love as the star is to +the pole, who, after years of waiting, clasped the old wanderer in +rags to her heart, her husband, her long-lost Ulysses; yet this +Pagan woman lived ten centuries before the laws of Moses and of Christ +were promulgated. While there are millions of Penelopes in Christendom, +there are other millions of women, after centuries of Bible teaching, +who lie outside the pale of motherhood, and even outside of the pale of +swine-hood. Under Bible teaching the scarlet woman is "anathema, +marantha," while the scarlet man holds high place in the Sanctuary and +the State. + +The by-paths of ecclesiastical history are fetid with the records of +crimes against women; and "the half has never been told." And what of +the history which Christianity is making to-day? Answer, ye victims of +domestic warfare who crowd the divorce courts of Bible lands. Answer, +ye wretched offspring of involuntary motherhood. Answer, ye five +hundred thousand outcast women of Christian America, who should have +been five hundred thousand blessings, bearing humanity in your +unvitiated blood down the streams of time. Answer, ye mental dwarfs and +moral monstrosities, and tell what the Holy Bible has done for you. + +While these answers echo through the stately cathedrals of Bible +lands, if the priest, with the Holy Bible in his hands, can show just +cause why woman should not look to reason and to science rather than to +Scripture for deliverance, "let him speak now, or forever after hold +his peace." + +When Reason reigns and Science lights the way, a countless host of +women will move in majesty down the coming centuries. A voice will cry, +"Who are these?" and the answer will ring out: "These are the mothers +of the coming race, who have locked the door of the Temple of Faith and +thrown the key away; 'these are they which came out of great +tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the' +fountain of knowledge." + +Josephine K. Henry. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--To say that "the Bible for two thousand years +has been the greatest block in the way of civilization" is, +misleading. Until the Protestant reformation, the Bible was hidden +from the common people by the hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church; +and it is only about three centuries that it has been read in the +vernacular. + +I cannot agree with you that "the Bible degrades women from Genesis to +Revelation." The Bible, which is a collection of ancient literature, +historic, prophetic, poetic and epistolary, is valuable as showing the +status of woman at the time when the books were written. And the +advice, or the commands, to women given by Paul in the Epistles, +against which there has been so much railing, when studied in the light +of the higher criticism, with the aid of cotemporary {sic} history and +Greek scholarship, show Paul to have been in advance of the religious +teachers of his time. + +All these commands that have offended us in the past appear in his +Epistles to the churches in cities of Greece, where marriage was bitter +slavery to women. Paul was aiming to uplift marriage to the level of +the great Christian idea, as he uttered it, in Gal. iii., 28: "There is +neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither +male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Christianity is +simply the universal fatherhood of God, and the universal brotherhood +of man. And Paul was declaring this in the utterance which I have +quoted. All the unjust distinctions of race and of caste, all the +oppressions of slavery and the degradations of woman were effaced by +the two cardinal doctrines of pristine Christianity; and Paul seems to +have lived up to his teaching. + +I cannot say that "Christianity has been the foe of woman." The study +of the evolution of woman does not show this. My later studies have +changed many of my earlier crude notions concerning the development of +woman. She has developed slowly, and so has man; and the history of the +past shows that every activity of man which has advanced him has been +shared by her. + +There is so wide a belief among orthodox people, nowadays, in what +Professor Briggs calls "the errancy of the Bible," that I doubt if you +will be attacked, no matter how startling may be your heresies in Part +II. Nobody cares much about heresy in these days; and my desire to +withhold my name from your work, as an endorser, comes from my utter +ignorance of it, and from my belief that I should +disagree with you, judging from your letter before me. + +Yours very truly, + +M. A. Livermore. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--You have sent to me the following questions: +"Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded the emancipation +of women? Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race?" + +In reply I would say, that as a matter of fact, the nations which +treat women with the most consideration are all Christian nations; the +countries in which women have open to them all the opportunities for +education which men possess are Christian countries; coeducation +originated in Christian colleges; the professions and the trades are +closed to us in all except Christian lands; and woman's ballot is +unknown except where the Gospel of Christ has mellowed the hearts of +men until they became willing to do women justice. Wherever we find an +institution for the care and the comfort of the defective or the +dependent classes, that institution was founded by men and women who +were Christians by heredity and by training. + +No such woman as Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with her heart aflame +against all forms of injustice and of cruelty, with her intellect +illumed and her tongue quickened into eloquence, has ever been produced +in a country where the Bible was not incorporated into the thoughts and +the affections of the people and had not been so during many +generations. + +I think that men have read their own selfish theories into the Book, +that theologians have not in the past sufficiently recognized the +progressive quality of its revelation, nor adequately discriminated +between its records as history and its principles of ethics and of +religion, nor have they until recently perceived that it is not in any +sense a scientific treatise; but I believe that the Bible comes to us +from God, and that it is a sufficient rule of faith and of practice. I +believe that it is no accident which has placed this Book at the +parting of the ways between a good life and a bad one, and enshrined +it at the centre of the holiest scenes which the heart can know, +placing it in the pastor's hand at the wedding and at the grave, on the +father's knee at family prayer, in the trembling fingers of the sick, +and at the pillow of the dying, making it the hope of the penitent and +the power of God unto salvation of those who sin. + +To me the Bible is the dear and sacred home book which makes a +hallowed motherhood possible because it raises woman up, and with her +lifts toward heaven the world. This is the faith taught to me by those +whom I have most revered and cherished; it has produced the finest +characters which I have ever known; by it I propose to live; and +holding to the truth which it brings to us, I expect to pass from this +world to one even more full of beauty and of hope. + +Believe me, honored co-worker for the enfranchisement of women, + +Yours with sisterly regard, + +Frances E. Willard. + + + +Among the letters in reply to the interrogatories propounded are two, +noticeable because they are in such a striking contrast to that of Mrs. +Josephine K. Henry, which immediately precedes them. Their first marked +characteristic is their total lack of facts which are sufficient to +sustain the conclusions therein stated. Conceding for the purpose of +this discussion the truth of Mrs. Livermore's assertions contained in +the first paragraph of her letter, she fails absolutely to show that +the Holy Scriptures have been of any benefit, or have rendered any aid, +to woman in her efforts to obtain her rights in either the social, the +business, or the political world; and unless she is able to present +stronger or more cogent reasons to justify that conclusion than any +which are therein specified, I shall be compelled to adhere to my +present conviction, which is, that this book always has been, and is at +present, one of the greatest obstacles in the way of the emancipation +and the advancement of the sex. + +In regard to the letter of the distinguished President of the Woman's +Christian Temperance Union, her position is entirely indefensible and +completely lacking in logical conclusions. Her leading proposition is +in substance that to the extent that the Christian religion has +prevailed there has been a corresponding improvement in the condition +of women; and the conclusion which she draws from that premise is that +this religion has been the cause of this advancement. Before I admit +the truth of this conclusion I must first inquire whether or not the +premise upon which it is based is true; and judging from the fact that +the condition of women is most degraded in those countries where Church +and State are in closest affiliation, as in Spain, in Italy, in Russia +and in Ireland, and most advanced in nations where the power of +ecclesiasticism is markedly on the wane, the inference is obvious that +the Bible and the religion based upon it have retarded rather than +promoted the progress of woman. + +But, granting that her premise is true, her conclusion by no means +follows from it. She desires her reader to infer that the existence of +Christianity in certain countries is responsible for the high degree of +civilization which there obtains, and that the improved condition of +women in those countries is owing entirely to the influence of that +religion therein. This is what the logicians would call a non sequitur, +which means a conclusion which does not follow from the premises stated. + +It is now a well-settled principle recognized by all writers upon the +science of logic, that the co-existence of two facts does not +necessarily imply that one is the cause of the other; and, as is often +the case, they may have no relation to each other, and each may exist +independently of the other. Many illustrations of this fallacy might be +presented were it necessary to do so; but I will refer to only one of +them. I have heard it asserted that more murders and other crimes are +committed in Christian countries than in any others. Whether this be +true or false, I am not prepared to state; but if it were proven to be +a fact, could one justly contend that the influence of the Bible is in +favor of the commission of crime? Indeed, there would be more reason +for so thinking than there is for the opinion which she holds, as +numerous passages may be found in that volume which clearly justify +both crime and vice. + +The truth of the matter is, as Mrs. Stanton, Mrs. Henry, and other +contributors to "The Woman's Bible" have clearly proven, that whatever +progress woman has made in any department of effort she has +accomplished independently of, and in opposition to, the so-called +inspired and infallible "Word of God," and that this book has been of +more injury to her than has any other which has ever been written in +the history of the world. + +E. M. + + + +"Have the teachings of the Bible advanced or retarded the emancipation +of women?" + + +"Have they dignified or degraded the Mothers of the Race?" + + +There are always two sides to every question. It sometimes happens +that the Christian, the historian, the clergyman, and the devotee, in +their enthusiasm, are long on assertion and short on proof. Turning the +light on the past and present, the writer of this comment asserts "as a +matter of fact that the nations which treat women with the most +consideration are all" civilized nations. If the condition of woman is +highest in Christian civilization, the question arises, Is it +Christianity or civilization which has accorded to women the "most +consideration"? Christianity means belief in the tenets laid down in a +book called the Bible, claimed to be the Word of God. Civilization +means the state of being refined in manners from the grossness of +savage life, and improved in arts and in learning. If civilization is +due entirely to the teachings of the Bible, then, as claimed, woman +owes to Christianity all the "consideration" which she receives. + +We claim that woman's advancement is due to civilization, and that the +Bible has been a bar to her progress. It is true that "woman receives +most consideration in Christian nations;" but this is due to the mental +evolution of humanity, stimulated by climate and by soil, and the +intercommunication of ideas through modern invention. All the Christian +nations are in the north temperate zone, whose climate, and soil are +better adapted to the development of the race than any other portions +of the earth. Christianity took its rise in thirty degrees north +latitude. Mohammedanism took its rise in the torrid zone; and as +it made its way north it advanced in education, in art, in science, and +in invention, until the civilization of Moslem Spain far surpassed that +of Christian Europe, and as it retreated before the Christian sword +from the fertile valleys of Spain into the and plains of Arabia it +retrograded, after giving to the world some of the greatest scientific +truths and inventions. + +The women of the United States receive "more consideration" and are +being emancipated more rapidly than are the women of Europe; yet, in +Europe, Christianity holds iron sway, while in America the people are +free to accept or to reject its teachings; and in the United States, +out of a population of seventy millions, but twenty-two millions have +accepted it; and a large percentage of these are children, who have not +arrived at the years of discretion, and foreigners from Christian +Europe. The consideration extended to woman does not depend upon the +teachings of the Bible, but upon the mental and material advancement of +the men of a nation. Now if it can be proven that Bible teaching has +inspired men to explore and to subdue new lands, to give to the world +inventions, to build ships, railroads and telegraphs, to open mines, to +construct foundries and factories, and to amass knowledge and wealth, +then the Bible has been woman's best friend; for she receives most +consideration where men have liberty of thought and of action, have +prospered materially, builded homes, and have bank accounts. + +The women in the slums of Christian London and New York receive no +more consideration than the women in the slums of Hong Kong or Bombay. +If the nations which give the most consideration to women do so because +of their Christianity, then it logically follows that the more +intensely Christian a class or an individual may be, the greater +consideration will be shown to their women. The most intensely +Christian people in Christendom are negroes; yet it is an +incontrovertible fact that negro women receive less consideration, and +are more wronged and abused, than any class on the earth. The women of +the middle and upper classes in Bible lands receive consideration just +in proportion to the amount of intelligence and worldly goods possessed +by their male relatives, while the pauper classes are abused, +subjected, and degraded in proportion to the ignorance and the poverty +of the men of their class. + +The Church is the channel through which Bible influence flows. Has the +Church ever issued an edict that woman must be equal with man before +the canon or the civil law, that her thoughts should be incorporated in +creed or code, that she should own her own body and property in +marriage, or have a legal claim to her children born in wedlock, which +Christianity claims is a "sacrament" and one of the "holy mysteries"? +Has the Church ever demanded that woman be educated beyond the Bible +(and that interpreted for her) and the cook book, or given a chance in +all the callings of life to earn an honest living? Is not the Church +to-day a masculine hierarchy, with a female constituency, which holds +woman in Bible lands in silence and in subjection? + +No institution in modern civilization is so tyrannical and so unjust +to woman as is the Christian Church. It demands everything from her and +gives her nothing in return. The history of the Church does not contain +a single suggestion for the equality of woman with man. Yet it is +claimed that women owe their advancement to the Bible. It would be +quite as true to say that they owe their improved condition to the +almanac or to the vernal equinox. Under Bible influence woman has been +burned as a witch, sold in the shambles, reduced to a drudge and a +pauper, and silenced and subjected before her ecclesiastical and +marital law-givers. "She was first in the transgression, therefore keep +her in subjection." These words of Paul have filled our whole +civilization with a deadly virus, yet how strange is it that the +average Christian woman holds the name of Paul above all others, and is +oblivious to the fact that he has brought deeper shame, subjection, +servitude and sorrow to woman than has any other human being in history. + +The nations under Bible influence are the only drunken nations on the +earth. The W. C. T. U. will certainly not claim that drunkenness +elevates woman; indeed, its great work for our sex is a splendid +protest against this idea. Throughout Christendom millions of wretched +women wait in suspense and in terror for the return of drunken +husbands, while in heathendom a drunkard's wife cannot be found unless +a heathen husband is being Christianized by Christian whiskey. The +Chinese women have their feet compressed, but, unlike Christian women, +they do not need their feet to give broom drills or skirt dances for +the "benefit of their church." The child-wives of India need to be +rescued and protected, but no more than many adult wives in Bible lands +need protection from drunken and brutal husbands. The heathen wife +seeks death on her husband's funeral pyre, but the Christian wife is +often sent to death by a bullet in her brain, or a knife in her heart. + +It is said that "woman's ballot is unknown except where the Gospel of +Christ has mellowed the hearts of men until they became willing to do +women justice." justice through the ballot has been accorded only to +the women of Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and far away New Zealand. +In these States the people are honest, industrious and law-abiding; but +the "influence of the Gospel of Christ," according to religious +statistics, is so small it would take a search-warrant to find it, +while Utah is full of Mormons and New Zealand is a convict dumping +ground for Christian nations. Is this the extent of justice to women +after the "influence of the Gospel of Christ has mellowed the hearts of +men" for nineteen hundred years? + +The fact is that woman has been elevated in spite of Bible influence. +Every effort that woman has made to secure education has been +challenged by popes, bishops, priests, moderators, conferences and +college presidents, yet against all these protests she has battered +down the doors of Christian colleges and is now studying the Bible of +Science in conjunction with the Bible of the Christian religion. With +increasing knowledge woman is founding her faith on reason and +demonstrated truth, instead of taking it second-hand from priest, +parson or presbyter. + +Remove from Bible lands the busy brains and hands which have guided +the plow and the locomotive, driven the machinery of the mine, the +foundry, the factory, the home, the mental and the physical labor which +have brought material prosperity, broadened the mind, subdued the +brutal instincts, and humanized the race--remove all these and leave +but the Bible and its influence, and where, let me, ask, would woman be +to-day? Where, indeed, would man be? A crouching and cowering slave to +the Bible doctrine of the Divine right of kings, living as the brutes +of the field, as he did when Bible Christianity was at the zenith of +its power. Wherever in Christian lands man has been a slave, woman has +been the slave of a slave. + +Imagine the condition of woman if to-day should be removed from +Christian civilization the school, the steam engine, the smokestack and +the printing press, and leave but the Scriptures, the steeple and the +parson. Would Elizabeth Cady Stantons, Mary A. Livermores and Frances +E. Willards be the products of this strictly Christian civilization? + +Christianity has instilled into woman the canting falsehood that the +women of all other religions are degraded and immoral. Through tyranny +and falsehood alone is Christianity able to hold woman in subjection. +To tell her the truth would rend the temple of faith in twain and +strike terror to the heart of the priest at the altar. Nothing but the +truth will set woman free. She should know that Christian England +captures the Hindoo girl to act as a harlot to the British soldier, and +that a Christian chaplain is commanded to see that she performs her +duty. She should know that in Christian Austria the maiden must partake +of the Holy Eucharist before she will be granted a license as a +prostitute. She should know that Christian Europe and America trade +upon the bodies, the hearts and the hopes of millions of wretched +women, victims of ignorance and of poverty, and that the centres, of +Christian civilization are seething cauldrons of immorality, +dissipation and disease, which spread ruin and despair in the shadow of +the loftiest cathedrals and palatial Christian temples. + +These things are too shocking for pure Christian women to know, so +they expend their prayers and pelf on the "poor heathen" who have never +heard that Adam ate an apple, or that the whale swallowed Jonah. +Christianity feeds and fattens on the sentiment and the credulity of +women. It slanders the women of India, of China and of Japan that it +may rob the woman of Europe and of America. Dr. Simmons, of the +National Hospital at Yokohama, who has lived in the Orient for thirty- +five years, says: + +"The family in Japan is the cornerstone of the nation. The father and +the mother are regarded with reverence. Politeness and self-restraint +are instilled into children, and an uncivil word is rarely heard. The +Japanese are truthful and honest. The wife has equal influence with the +husband; while divorce is rarely heard of in Oriental lands; and laws +are more stringent protecting the chastity of women." + +O that women could learn the truth! The laws of the Orient are against +trafficking in young girls, but Christian England, which has an iron +hand on the throat of India and a sword thrust into her heart, carries +on a lively trade in native and foreign women, to be the prey of the +Christian soldier, who makes way for the Christian missionary. Here, in +Christian America, marriageable young women are trotted off to church, +the theatre or the ball, and practically set up for sale in the market +of holy matrimony; and the Christian minister, for a consideration, +seals the "Divine mystery." The Church would indignantly deny that it +is a marriage mart, but denial does not throttle the truth. + +Truth makes her way slowly but surely, because the eternities are +hers. Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the greatest liberator of our time, +has, with magnificent courage, pressed into humanity's Thermopylae, and +turned the light on the superstitions which have visited cruelties and +wrongs on woman, and this, too, under a system which claims to extend +"great consideration" to the Mothers of the Race. O women of +Christendom! will ye not seek the truth? Leave the priestly mendicants +who demand your devotion and your dollars, leave to their religion the +heathen women on the banks of the Yangtse-Kiang and the Ganges, and +turn your eyes to millions of your enslaved, toiling, struggling +sisters in Christendom whom it is claimed the Bible has elevated; and +remember that these are the victims upon whom the "glad feet" of the +Gospel have been trampling for two thousand years. + +Versailles, Ky. + +Josephine K. Henry. + + + +The Christian theory of the sacredness of the Bible has been at the +cost of the world's civilization. Whether we regard the work as +custodian of the profoundest secrets of the "ancient mysteries," a +spiritual book trebly veiled, or as the physical and religious history +of the world in its most material forms, its interpretation by the +Church, by the State, and by society has ever been prejudicial to the +best interests of humanity. Science, art, inventions, reforms of +existing wrongs, all, all have been opposed upon its authority. That +even the most enlightened nations are not yet out of barbarism is due +to the teachings of the Bible. + +From "Thou shalt not make any graven image, or any likeness of +anything in heaven above, the earth beneath, or the waters under the +earth," down to "A woman shall not speak in church, but shall ask her +husband at home," the tendency of the Bible has been to crush out +aspiration, to deaden human faculties, and to humiliate mankind. From +Adam's plaint, "The woman gave me and I did eat," down to Christ's +"Woman, what have I to do with thee?" the tendency of the Bible has +been degradation of the divinest half of humanity--woman. Even the +Christian Church itself is not based upon Christ as a savior, but upon +its own teachings that woman brought sin into the world, a theory in +direct contradiction, not alone to the mysteries, but to spiritual +truth. But our present quest is not what the mystic or the spiritual +character of the Bible may be; we are investigating its influence upon +woman under Judaism and Christianity, and pronounce it evil. + +Matilda Joslyn Gage. + + + +There is nothing tending to show that the women spoken of in the Bible +were superior to the ones we know. There are to-day millions of women +making coats for their sons; hundreds of thousands of women, true, not +simply to innocent people falsely accused, but to criminals. Many a +loving heart is as true to the gallows as Mary was to the cross. There +are hundreds of thousands of women accepting poverty and want and +dishonor for the love they bear unworthy men; hundreds and thousands-- +hundreds and thousands--working day and night, with strained eyes and +tired hands, for husbands and children--clothed in rags, housed in huts +and hovels, hoping day after day for the Angel of Death. There are +thousands of women in Christian England working in iron, laboring in +the fields and toiling in the mines. There are hundreds and thousands +in Europe, everywhere, doing the work of men--deformed by toil, and who +would become simply wild and ferocious beasts, except for the love they +bear for home and child. + +We need not go back four thousand years for heroines. The world is +filled with them to-day. They do not belong to any nation, nor any +religion, nor exclusively to any race. Wherever woman is found, they +are found. There are no women portrayed in the Bible who equal +thousands and thousands of known to-day. The women of the Bible fall +almost infinitely below, not simply those in real life, but the +creations of the imagination found in the world of fiction. They will +not compare with the women born of Shakespeare's brain. You will find +none like Isabella, in whose spotless life, love and reason blended +into perfect truth; nor Juliet, within whose heart, passion and purity +met like white and red within the bosom of a rose; nor Cordelia, who +chose to suffer loss rather than show her wealth of love with those who +gilded dross with golden words in hope of gain; nor Miranda, who told +her love as freely as a flower gives its blossom to the kisses of the +sun; nor Imogene, who asked, "What is it to be false?" nor Hermione, +who bore with perfect faith and hope the cross of shame, and who at +last forgave with all her heart; nor Desdemona, her innocence so +perfect and her love so pure that she was incapable of suspecting that +another could suspect, and sought with dying words to hide her lover's +crime. + +If we wish to find what the Bible thinks of woman, all that is +necessary to do is to read it. We shall find that everywhere she is +spoken of simply as property--as belonging absolutely to the man. We +shall find that, whenever a man got tired of his wife, all he had to do +was to give her a writing of divorcement, and that then the mother of +his children became a houseless and homeless wanderer. We shall find +that men were allowed to have as many wives as they could get, either +by courtship, purchase, or conquest. The Jewish +people in the olden time were, in many respects, like their barbarian +neighbors. + +Anon. + + + +The Bible, viewed by men as the infallible "Word of God," and +translated and explained for ages by men only, tends to the subjection +and degradation of woman. Historical facts to prove this are abundant. +In the dark days of "witchcraft"--through centuries--alleged witches +were arrested, tried in ecclesiastical courts, tortured and hung or +burned at the stake by men under priestly direction, and the great +majority of the victims were women. Eve's alleged transgression, and +the Bible edict in the days of the reputed Witch of Endor, "Thou shalt +not suffer a witch to live," being the warrant and Divine authority for +this awful slaughter of women. + +In the days of chattel-slavery in our country, the slave-laws, framed +by men only, degraded woman by making her the defenseless victim of her +slave-master's passions, and then inflicting a cruel stab, reaching the +heart of motherhood, by laws which made her children follow the +condition of the mother, as slaves; never that of the father, as free +women or men. The clergy became slaveholders and defenders of slavery +without loss of priestly position or influence, and quoted "Cursed be +Canaan" as their justification. + +The Lord gave the Word, great was the company of those that published +it.--Old version of the Bible, 68th Psalm. + +The Lord giveth the Word, and great is the multitude of women who +publish it.--Revised version of the Bible, 68th Psalm. + +Here is "a reform" not "against Nature," nor the facts of history, but +is true to the Mother of the Race, to her knowledge of "the Word," to +her desire to promulgate it, to her actual participation in declaring +and proclaiming it. And true to a present and continuous inspiration +and influx of the Spirit, it is giveth, and not "gave," in the past. +And this one recognition of woman as preacher and Apostle forbids the +assertion that woman is degraded from Genesis to Revelation. + +The light of a more generous religious thought, a growth out of the +old beliefs, impelled the learned "Committee on Revision" to speak the +truth in regard to the religious character and work of women, and they +have exalted her where before she was "degraded." + +This revision is also prophetic of this era, for never were women +doing so excellently the world's work, or, like Tryphena and Tryphosa, +prophesying the light still to come. + +Catharine A. F. Stebbins. + + + +The general principles of righteousness and justice laid down in the +Bible have elevated the race in general, the mothers included, and have +aided in securing reforms for women, as well as for other classes. But +the specific texts of Saint Paul enjoining subjection upon women have +undoubtedly been a hindrance. + +Alice Stone Blackwell. + + + +1. In my opinion the teachings of the Bible have advanced woman's +emancipation. + +Look at the freedom of the Jewish women of the Old Testament--of +Miriam, Deborah, Abigail, Ruth and Esther. In comparison, where were +the Gentile women who knew not God? + +2. The teachings of the Bible, particularly the New Testament, have +dignified the Mothers of the Race. Christ was very severe to the men +who were sinners, he called them Scribes and Pharisees and hypocrites, +and pronounced, "Woe be unto you." He even whipped the money changers +out of the temple. But no rebuke to woman ever fell from his lips save +the gentle one to Martha, that she cared too much for her home and her +nice housekeeping. Christ's mission meant the elevation of womanhood. +Compare Christian countries with the heathen countries, and see how +Christianity elevates and heathenism degrades womanhood. + +I have studied the questions in the Indian Territory in our own United +States. Under the influence of the Christian missionaries the +Indian woman is an important factor in Church and State. Where the +Gospel of Christ is not preached the women are slaves to the men. In +their long tramps they do not even walk beside their husbands, but +follow behind like dogs. I am aware that small ministers still preach +foolishness, defining "woman's sphere," but the real Biblical +Christianity elevates womanhood. + +Sarah M. Perkins. + + + +My Dear Mrs. Stanton:--I regard the Bible as I do the other so-called +sacred books of the world. They were all produced in savage times, and, +of course, contain many things that shock our sense of justice. In the +days of darkness women were regarded and treated as slaves. They were +allowed no voice in public affairs. Neither man nor woman were +civilized, and the gods were like their worshipers. It gives me +pleasure to know that women are beginning to think and are becoming +dissatisfied with the religion of barbarians. + +I congratulate you on what you have already accomplished and for the +work you are now doing. Sincerely yours, + +Eva A. Ingersoll. + + + +In reading some of these letters and comments I have been deeply +impressed with the difficulty of substituting reason for superstition +in minds once perverted by a false faith. Women have been taught by +their religious guardians that the Bible, unlike all other books, was +written under the special inspiration of the Great Ruling Intelligence +of the Universe. Not conversant with works on science and higher +criticism, which point out its fabulous pretensions, they cling to it +with an unreasoning tenacity, like a savage to his fetich. Though it is +full of contradictions, absurdities and impossibilities, and bears the +strongest evidence in every line of its human origin, and in moral +sentiment is below many of the best books of our own day, +they blindly worship it as the Word of God. + +When you point out what in plain English it tells us God did say to +his people in regard to woman, and there is no escape from its +degrading teaching as to her position, then they shelter themselves +under false translations, interpretations and symbolic meanings. It +does not occur to them that men learned in the languages have revised +the book many times, but made no change in woman's position. Though +familiar with "the designs of God," trained in Biblical research and +higher criticism, interpreters of signs and symbols and Egyptian +hieroglyphics, learned astronomers and astrologers, yet they cannot +twist out of the Old or New Testaments a message of justice, liberty or +equality from God to the women of the nineteenth century! + +The real difficulty in woman's case is that the whole foundation of +the Christian religion rests on her temptation and man's fall, hence +the necessity of a Redeemer and a plan of salvation. As the chief cause +of this dire calamity, woman's degradation and subordination were made +a necessity. If, however, we accept the Darwinian theory, that the race +has been a gradual growth from the lower to a higher form of life, and +that the story of the fall is a myth, we can exonerate the snake, +emancipate the woman, and reconstruct a more rational religion for the +nineteenth century, and thus escape all the perplexities of the Jewish +mythology as of no more importance than those of the Greek, Persian and +Egyptian. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton. + + + + + +"THE WOMAN'S BIBLE" REPUDIATED. + +At the twenty-eighth annual convention of the National-American Woman +Suffrage Association, held in Washington, D. C., in January, 1896, the +following, was reported by the Committee on Resolutions: + +"That this Association is non-sectarian, being composed of persons of +all shades of religious opinion, and that it has no official connection +with the so-called 'Woman's Bible,' or any theological publication." + +Charlotte Perkins Stetson moved to amend by striking out everything +after the word "opinion." + +Anna R. Simmons moved, as an amendment to the amendment, to omit the +words "the so-called Woman's Bible, or." + +This was followed by a long and animated discussion, in which the +following persons participated: + +Frances A. Williamson, Helen Morris Lewis, Annie L. Diggs, Carrie +Chapman Catt, Rachel Foster Avery, Henry B. Blackwell, Laura M. Johns, +Elizabeth U. Yates, Katie R. Addison, Alice Stone Blackwell and Rev. +Anna Howard Shaw, speaking for the resolution; and Charlotte Perkins +Stetson, Mary Bentley Thomas, J. B. Merwin, Clara B. Colby, Harriette +A. Keyser, Lavina A. Hatch, Lillie Devereux Blake, Caroline Hallowell +Miller, Victoria Conkling Whitney, Althea B. Stryker, and Cornelia H. +Cary speaking against it. + +The President, Susan B. Anthony, left the chair and spoke with much +earnestness against the adoption of the resolution as follows: + +"The one distinct feature of our Association has been the right of +individual opinion for every member. We have been beset at every step +with the cry that somebody was injuring the cause by the +expression of some sentiments that differed with those held by the +majority of mankind. The religious persecution of the ages has been +done under what was claimed to be the command of God. I distrust those +people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows, +because it always coincides with their own desires. All the way along +the history of our movement there has been this same contest on account +of religious theories. Forty years ago one of our noblest men said to +me: 'You would better never hold another convention than let Ernestine +L. Rose stand on your platform,' because that talented and eloquent +Polish woman, who ever stood for justice and freedom, did not believe +in the plenary inspiration of the Bible. Did we banish Mrs. Rose? No, +indeed! Every new generation of converts threshes over the same old +straw. Twenty-five years ago a prominent woman, who stood on our +platform for the first time, wanted us to pass a resolution that we +were not free lovers; and I was not more shocked than I am to-day at +this attempt. The question is whether you will sit in judgment on one +who has questioned the Divine inspiration of certain passages in the +Bible derogatory to women. If she had written approvingly of these +passages, you would not have brought in this resolution because you +thought the cause might be injured among the liberals in religion. In +other words, if she had written your views, you would not have +considered a resolution necessary. To pass this one is to set back the +hands on the dial of reform. It is the reviving of the old time +censorship, which I hoped we had outgrown. + +"What you should do is to say to outsiders that a Christian has +neither more nor less rights in our Association than an atheist. When +our platform becomes too narrow for people of all creeds and of no +creeds, I myself shall not stand upon it. Many things have been said +and done by our orthodox friends that I have felt to be extremely +harmful to our cause; but I should no more consent to a resolution +denouncing them than I shall consent to this. Who is to draw the line? +Who can tell now whether Mrs. Stanton's commentaries may not prove a +great help to woman's emancipation from old superstitions that have +barred her way? Lucretia Mott at first thought Mrs. Stanton had +injured the cause of all woman's other rights by insisting upon the +demand for suffrage, but she had sense enough not to bring in a +resolution against it. In 1860, when Mrs. Stanton made a speech before +the New York Legislature in favor of a bill making drunkenness a cause +for divorce, there was a general cry among the friends that she had +killed the woman's cause. I shall be pained beyond expression if the +delegates here are so narrow and illiberal as to adopt this resolution. +You would better not begin resolving against individual action or you +will find no limit. This year it is Mrs. Stanton; next year it may be +me or one of yourselves who will be the victim. + +"Are you going to cater to the whims and prejudices of people who have +no intelligent knowledge of what they condemn? If we do not inspire in +woman a broad and catholic spirit, they will fail, when enfranchised, +to constitute that power for better government which we have always +claimed for them. You would better educate ten women into the practice +of liberal principles than to organize ten thousand on a platform of +intolerance and bigotry. I pray you, vote for religious liberty, +without censorship or inquisition. This resolution, adopted, will be a +vote of censure upon a woman who is without a peer in intellectual and +statesmanlike ability; one who has stood for half a century the +acknowledged leader of progressive thought and demand in regard to all +matters pertaining to the absolute freedom of women." + +The Resolution was then adopted by a vote of 53 to 41. + +"The Truth shall make you free."--John viii., 32- + +THE END. + + + + + + +Advertisements from original, Vol. 2 + + + + +"Of all Magazines the most American in interest." + +The National Magazine. + +A MONTHLY ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE OF THE BEST READING FOR THE HOME. +BRIGHT, TIMELY AND ORIGINAL. + +FOR SALE BY ALL NEWSDEALERS AND IN THE TRAINS. 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Fifteen questions in art, +literature and current topics are given each month, and FOUR PRIZES +are awarded for the four best sets of answers. Every subscriber to THE +NATIONAL becomes a member of this class by merely writing for a +certificate of entry. + +The search for the answers to these fifteen questions monthly is not +only a pleasure but an education. Mothers should have their children +try these contests. + +Your newsdealer will sell you THE NATIONAL or take your subscription. + +The W. W. Potter Co., + +Arthur W. Tarbell, Editor. + +91 Bedford Street, Boston, Mass. + +JOE. M. 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Sent postpaid on receipt of price. + + + + + +THE NESTOR OF THE MAGAZINES + +"According to Homer, Nestor, the old warrior and the wise counselor of +the Greeks, had ruled over three generations of men, and was wise as +the immortal gods." + +THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW + +has been in the van of American thought for more than three-quarters +of a century, ranking always with the best and most influential +periodicals in the world. + +It is the mouthpiece of the men who know most about the great topics +on which Americans require to be informed from month to month, its +contributors being the leaders of thought and action in every field. + +Those who would take counsel of the highest knowledge on the .affairs +of the time, and learn what is to be said regarding them by the +recognized authorities on both sides, must therefore read The North +American Review, the Nestor of the magazines. + +The North American Review constantly offers to the public a programme +of writers and essays that excite the reader and gratify the +intellectual appetite. In this respect there is no other magazine that +approaches it.--New York Sun. + +The North American Review is ahead of any magazine this country has +ever seen in the importance of the topics it discusses and the eminence +of its contributors.--Albany Argus. + +No other magazine in the world so fully and fairly presents the +opinions of the leading writers and thinkers on all questions of public +interest as The North American Review.--Boston Journal. + +This magazine has for more than eighty years, within its own well- +defined lines, stood at the head of monthly publications.--Chicago +Record. + +Presents the best current thought on the topics it treats of. It +appeals to a field above mere popularity, and it stands there +pre-eminent.--Wheeling Intelligencer. + +Cannot be ignored by the reader who keeps along with current +discussion.--Indianapolis Journal. + +50 Cents a Number, $5.00 a Year. + +The North American Review, 291 Fifth Avenue, New York. + + + + +THE WOMAN'S TRIBUNE + +ONE DOLLAR A YEAR + +Published Fortnightly at 1325 Tenth Street, N, W., Washington, D. C. + +(Founded in 1883 at Beatrice, Neb.) + +The Woman's Tribune is one of the two National Woman Suffrage papers +in the United States, and being published at the National Capital, has +many points of advantage. + +It reports all important features of National and State work of Woman +Suffrage Associations; gives a summary of whatever relates to the +advancement of women and general progress; has choice poetry, book +reviews, a corner for Zintka Lanuni and her friends, and much that is +of interest to all members of the family. + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton writes for the Tribune. Valuable books offered +as premiums. Send ten cents for five sample copies. Clara Bewick Colby, +Editor and Publisher. + +Mrs. Clara Bewick Colby is prepared to lecture for Woman's Clubs and +Literary Societies on Reform, Literary and Historical Topics. Send for +circulars to 1325 Tenth St., N. W., Washington, D. C. + +------------------------ + +WOMAN, CHURCH AND STATE. + +By Matilda Joslyn Gage. + +This is Mrs. Gage's latest and crowning work. It is the book to show +how the Church has enslaved women, and kept and keeps her in an +inferior position. Every woman ought to read it. Every liberal man and +woman will want it. + +Cloth, $2.00; Half Leather, $3.00. + +(Complete in One Vol.) + +Address + +Matilda Joslyn Gage, + +120 Fleurnoy St., Chicago, Ill. + + + + +FREE THOUGHT MAGAZINE H. L. Green . . . Editor and Publisher. + +Price:--$ 1.00 a Year; 15 Cents a Single Copy. + +Editorial Contributors: + +Judge C. B. Waite, Thaddeus B. Wakeman, + +B. F. Underwood, Helen H. Gardener, + +George Jacob Holyoake + + +Testimonials: + +Col. Robert G. Ingersoll: + +"Every Liberal in this country ought to take the Free Thought +Magazine, and I hope they will." + +Elizabeth Cady Stanton: + +"I like the Free Thought Magazine because it breathes the spirit of +liberty. It deserves the support of all Liberal thinkers." + +Hon. Geo. W. Julian: + +"It fills a place and meets a want which is not supplied by any other +publication, and it deserves the support and encouragement of all true +Liberals." + +Helen H. Gardener: + +"I have always liked and admired the Free Thought Magazine. I am glad +to hear it is to be enlarged though I am sure that all of us were +satisfied with it before." + +Hon. D. K. Tenney: + +"It stands decidedly in the front rank of publications designed to +clear the religious atmosphere of the delusions, superstitions and +dogmas which for so many centuries have misled and cursed the world. It +deserves the sympathy and support of all who favor the highest thought +on gravest subjects." + +B. F. Underwood: + +"The Free Thought Magazine, which has steadily improved from the +first, is now a publication that reflects great credit upon its editor +and corps of contributors. 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