The Reverend Dr. Claudette A. Copeland is a native of Buffalo, New York. She serves as Co-founder and Pastor of New Creation Christian Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas. Speaking of the anti-semitic nature of passages in the narratives of the passion, she said: "If we have a 2,000-year-old history of fostering contempt for Jews, then it becomes horrendous to talk of fidelity to the text." Jesus intentionally affirmed and included women. We see a continuation of this in the early Church, from Lydia and Tabitha to Philip's daughters. The New Testament ascribes numerous roles to women in the early Church ­as teachers of theology, deacons, church leaders and prophets, and there is even a disputed reference to a female apostle called Junia. All of us North Americans made gaffes. No matter how astute we thought ourselves, there were always stumbles.

First Person: Misogyny in the Bible” by Hershel Shanks originally appeared in Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April 2017. Just because Scripture includes accounts of sexism does not mean that it condones these actions. Also, some practices recorded in the Bible are products of the surrounding ancient cultures, such as polygamy, which is not supported by the Lord. Critics argue that the Bible favors men and promotes a patriarchal society. To them, Scripture is a book meant to oppress women and keep them in subordinate positions. Despite these claims, the Bible teaches that women are equal to men and can freely receive salvation. My friend told me that it would all be fine if I read the Bible in the company of the Holy Spirit because then I would understand God’s loving intent. Imagine, he said, that your friend Jenny, in the course of a conversation, told you that you were foolish. If you didn’t know her well, if you couldn’t see the gleam in her eye, you might be hurt and offended. But if you knew she was kidding around, you wouldn’t be hurt, you’d enjoy the banter. She does not fear for her household because of the snow, for all her household are clothed with double garments.*When He was resurrected, Jesus appeared first to the women, who were the initial ones to tell others the good news that He is risen ( Matthew 28:8). Sadly, people have often cast a shadow on the gospel because of the way they approach differing views or criticism. Instead of getting irritated, we should remember that everyone needs salvation, including the person who thinks God’s Word demeans women. See Hershel Shanks, “Predilections—Is the ‘Brother of Jesus’ Inscription a Forgery?” Biblical Archaeology Review, September/October 2015.

In making these final changes, the Crossway Board of Directors and the Translation Oversight Committee thus affirm that their highest responsibility is to ‘guard the deposit entrusted to you’ (1 Timothy 6:20)—to guard and preserve the very words of God as translated in the ESV Bible.” The reality is that the Bible talks about women in a way that appears not to align very nicely with the values which we as a culture hold dear - equality, freedom of the individual, feminism - all values which, by the way, I wholeheartedly stand by. Among other things, the Danvers Statement affirmed the submissive role of women. It said, “Wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands’ leadership.” James B. Hurley, Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pp. 20-78, explains what women’s lives were like in Old and New Testament times; Aida Besançon Spencer, Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1985), pp. 46-57, covers the position of women in rabbinic writings largely current at the time of Christ; and Mary J. Evans, Women in the Bible: An Overview of All the Crucial Passages on Women’s Roles (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983), pp. 24-43, describes women in Old Testament society and in the Graeco-Roman world. Ben Witherington III, Women in the Ministry of Jesus (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1984), p. 10, concludes, “It is fair to say that a low view of women was common, perhaps even predominant before, during and after Jesus’ era.” Because of the awkwardness of the ESV translation, I’ve heard pastors in churches with ESV Bibles in the pews abruptly interrupt their public Bible reading to explain that the actual meaning of the text is “brothers and sisters.”

But that’s kind of my point. The “Jenny is nice, really” argument would work if there was the occasional bit of misogyny in the context of a text that was generally egalitarian. You can explain the odd incident, the occasional conversation. But if the insult is part of a consistent pattern of behaviour, it becomes harder to brush off. If Jenny ignores and belittles you every chance she gets and throws a petrol bomb through your front window every second Tuesday, it won’t be long before you stop giving her the benefit of the doubt.