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For 1500 years, men and women have interpreted the creation stories in the Christian Bible in a variety of ways. Not until about the fifth century did the "orthodox" interpretation emerge - the interpretation in which woman is seen as bringing sin and death into the world, the interpretation in which woman is seen as causing mankind's expulsion from paradise. Yet, there were always a few voices that had another, woman-friendly interpretation of the stories. And, in the last half of the second millennium, voices in defense of women have become stronger and more common. As women, and men, spoke out in defense of womankind, the traditionalist used their interpretation of the story to attempt to silence the other voice. In part to defend their right to speak and write in a positive manner about women, the untraditional men and women came up with their own interpretations of the creation stories. Sometimes their interpretation is made only in passing, at other times, their interpretation forms a major part of their work. They used literal interpretations and allegorical interpretations. They spoke in a variety of tones, sacred or profane, serious or humorous, learned or common place. The works in which we find their interpretations are among some of the best works which womankind has produced. Almost all of the works from which these interpretations come address 'the woman question" and belong on every woman's bookshelf.
These commentaries will enable us to
Our writers used a variety of approaches to biblical interpretation. Some
Each day for the month of March 2000, one page will be added. Each page will contain biographical information about the author, a discussion of the text in which the author's commentary of the creation story resides along with an introduction to the commentary itself, and, finally, the commentary itself.
| Gnostics (c. 300 A. D.) | The Nag Hammadi Library and The Gnostic Gospel by Elaine Pagels |
| Saint Hildegard of Bingen ( 1098 - 1179 ) | Scivias (Know the Way) (1151) and Liber Divinorum Operum (The Book of the Divine Works) (1173) |
| Christine de Pizan ( 1365 - c. 1430 ) | Book of the City of Ladies (1405) Christine de Pizan Society |
| Isotta Nogarola ( 1418 - 1466 ) | letters in Her Immaculate Hand |
| Laura Cereta ( 1469 - 1499 ) | letters in Her Immaculate Hand |
| Heinricus Cornelius Agrippa ( 1486 - 1535 ) | Declamation on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex (1529) |
| Jane Anger ( fl. 1589) | Her Protection for Women (1589) |
| Moderata Fonte (1555-1592) | The Worth of Women (1600) |
| Aemilia Lanyer ( 1568/9 - 1645) | Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum (1611) |
| Rachel Speght ( 1597 - c. 1630) | Mouzel for Melastomus (Muzzle for Evil - Mouth) (1617) |
| Ester Sowernam ( fl. 1617) | Ester Hath Hang'd Haman (1617) |
| Mary Tattle-well and Joane Hit-him-home (fl. 1640) | Women's Sharp Revenge (1640) |
| Margaret Askew Fell Fox ( 1614 - 1702 ) | Women's Speaking Justified (1666) |
| Mary Astell ( 1666 - 1731 ) | Some Reflections on Marriage (1700) |
| Sarah Fyge Field Egerton ( 1669/72 - 1722/23 ) | The Female Advocate (1686) |
| Sophia (fl. 1740) | Woman Superior Excellence Over Man (1739-1741) |
| Judith Sargent Murray ( 1751 - 1820 ) | On the Equality of Woman (1790) |
| Angelina Grimke ( 1805 - 1879 ) Sarah Moore Grimke ( 1792 - 1873 ) | Letters to Catherine Beecher (1837) Letters on the Equality of the Sexes (1838) |
| Sojourner Truth ( c. 1791 - 1883 ) | Ain't I a Woman? (c. 1853) |
| Anna Bonus Kingsford ( 1846 - 1888 ) Edward Maitland ( 1824 - 1897 ) | The Perfect Way (c. 1882) |
| Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826 - 1898) | Woman, Church, and State (1893) |
| Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815 - 1902 ) | The Woman's Bible (1895 part 1) |
| Lillie Devereux Blake (1833 - 1913) | The Woman's Bible (1895 part 1) |
| Ellen Battelle Dietrick ( - 1895 ) | The Woman's Bible (1895 part 1) |
| Merlin Stone (fl. 1976) | When God Was a Woman (1976) |
| Rosemary Radford Ruether (fl. 1983) | Sexism and God Talk (1983) |
| Barbara MacHaffie (fl. 1986) | Her Story: Women in the Christian Tradition (1986) |
| Nancy Tuana (fl. 1993) | The Less Noble Sex (1993) |
| Lynn Gottlieb (fl. 1995) | She Who Dwells Within: A Feminist Vision of a Renewed Judaism (1995) |
| From the Internet (fl. 2000) | The Creation Story in Genesis and Popular culture |
| Summary (fl. 2000) | Sunny's Commentary |
Norman E. Masters: "Who's To Blame For Mankind's Fall In The Garden?"
For those of you who don't remember the details of the two creation stories and the story of the fall, here is a copy of the biblical texts which the authors address.
The First Creation Story in Genesis: Genesis 1:26-31
To bring our story up to date, God has already created all other living creatures.
26 The God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." 27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29 God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The Second Creation Story in Genesis: Genesis 2:7
To bring our story up to date, God created the heavens and the earth but has not yet created any living things.
7 then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.God proceeded to create all living things, except woman. Finally,
21 the Lord God caused a sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
The Story of the Fall: Genesis 3:1-24
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the women, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?' " 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.' " 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loin clothes for themselves.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" 12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate." 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
14 The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel." 16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." 17 And to the man he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and eaten of the tree about which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it.' cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
20 The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man and for his wife, and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" - 23 therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life."
Return to Women's History Month 2000 Table of Contents
sunshine@pinn.net
Sunshine for Women encourages you to support our feminist sisters by purchasing their books, reading them, disseminating the ideas they contain, but most especially, by making their book available to our sisters, our daughters, and the community at large by requesting your school library, your public library, and area bookstores to carry their books. Remember it is not enough to write literature, history, and theology, we must pass these works on to future generations. Help us to preserve these works for a new generation by putting them on library bookshelves.
last updated February 2000