An Exploration of Theological Experience of Biblical Jacob An Essay in Honour of Rev J.A.S. Areo on his 60th (Diamond) Birthday Celebration EDITED BY Stephen 0. A. Awoleye All Rights Reserved ® 2020 Stephen O.A. Awoleye This publication may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the publisher. ISBN: 978-978-58188-2-6 Published in Nigeria by Prime Publishers & Educational Services Medester Shopping Complex Agbon Road, lyana Church, lbadan Oyo State, Nigeria. 08032713756, 08059296387 primepublishers@yahoo.com 9 Women and Conflict Management in the Bible Stephen Olusola Awoieye, PhD Fortunatus Godwin P. Alabi, PhD Introduction The Jewish and Christian religions grew out of a world where men dominated in all areas of life: politics, religion, the economy and in the home. Everyone assumed it was true that women are slaves, and even children to some extent, were less than human, and were simply possessions of men. This is called a patriarchal society, and many societies in the world still operate on the assumption of male superiority. The gospel stories, however, show that Jesus defied this patriarchal view of the world: • He spoke to women in public and risked public disgrace. • He had women as close friends, discussed theology with them, and even trusted women with the news of his resurrection. He affirmed the courage of a woman with a menstrual disorder for breaking a taboo and coming out in public in hope of obtaining healing. 126 He challenged women's traditional service role when he told Martha that Mary had the right idea when she preferred to sit and talk with Him and learn from Him rather than doing housework. He scolded His disciples when they would not let children come to him. He put children at the centre of things. He openly criticised authoritarian leadership; he directly challenged those who lorded it over others and taught His disciples that service, love and acceptance of everyone was how God calls us to live. The Status of Women in Old Testament of the Bible Women in the bible were in most cases depicted as second class citizens because they were expected to just listen and not speak. Thus, one of the writer in the bible states, "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 with the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church" (1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Despite the relegation of women in the Bible, many women played significant roles as were portrayed in both Old and New Testaments. The Bible in both Old and New Testaments laid little emphasis on the significant roles played by women in the Bible while most of the Bible authors paid more attention on what women should not do or be. The significant roles played by women in the Bible were not displayed clearly except for the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Bible writers dealt more on what women are not supposed to do, thereby representing them to be passive without playing any role in the Bible. In many passages in the Bible, women were expected to be quite and listen to the men. Thus it says, "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam 127 was first formed, then Eve. In considering the situation of Adam and Eve in the garden, Eve the woman was also seen to be the one who was deceived to eat the fruit. Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression" (1Timothy 2:11-14). Timothy, the author of this passage in the bible depicts the position of women and even showed how Eve (woman) was blamed for the sin committed by her and Adam (man). Eve was said to have played a significant role in the salvation history of the world because she was the mother of all creation. The writers in the Bible continued to depict women as subordinate to their male counterparts. They represented women as inferior to men and therefore the bible says, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the Lord by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver. And if it be from sixty years old and above, if it be a male, then thy estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female, ten shekels" (Leviticus 27:1-7). Considering this passage from the Old Testament, one would see that women were considered to be completely inferior to men in the whole of the Old Testament of the bible. However, the position of women in the Old Testament community did not prevent the women from playing courageous and positive roles in their communities that made great difference for the people in the communities. For instance, Deborah was the only woman prophet and great army leader in her community and Esther was a great woman who also saved her people from the hands of the king. 128 There were many women in the Bible who played different important roles and among them were women like Sarah, Claudia, Deborah, Esther, Jael, Jephthah s daughter, Judith, Miriam, Naomi, Pharaoh s daughter, Priscilla, Rachael, Rebecca, Rahab, Ruth, Salome, Susanna, the Egyptian midwives, and Hanna the mother of Samuel. All these women in their lives played great roles that brought salvation to their people and to us today. For instance, Prophetess Deborah, who prophesied to Barak that God will Deliver Sisera into his hands. Thus the Bible says, "Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time" (Judges 4:4). Deborah was equally a judge in Israel at this time. At the time of Deborah's reign in Israel, God gave victory to His people through a woman named Jeal who killed Sisera; "But Jael, Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized a hammer in her hand, and went secretly to him and drove the peg into his temple, and it went through into the ground; for he was sound asleep and exhausted; So he died" (Judges 4:21). Eve, though deceived, played a role because her letting herself to be deceived led to the coming of Christ to redeem the whole of human race. It is said that through her disobedience all human disobeyed God. Eve played a great role in the salvation of mankind as the first woman and mother of the human race. She is a sign of human imperfection and the reality of life. She was the source of Christ because if she had not allowed herself to be deceived by the serpent we may not have Christ and possibly may not have come to know God the way we do today. Pharaoh's daughter and Miriam, Moses sister, were other women who played great roles in the salvation of their people and in bringing about the plan of God. Miriam took the risk of watching her brother at the Nile and even going up to Pharaoh's daughter, to ask if she could get a Hebrew woman to take care of the child for her. She could have implicated herself, since, according to the Bible, she appeared at the scene as soon as the child was picked. Thus 129 it says, "She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said. Then his sister asked. Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?"(Exodus 4:5b-7). Pharaoh's daughter played a great role too. Knowing that the child was one of the Hebrew's children and that her father had issued an order for them to be killed, she would have just handed the child to her father's servant to be killed but kept the child thereby violating her father's order. In violating her father's orders she played a role in the lives of the Israelites who were finally led out of the land of slavery by this same Moses saved by Pharaoh's daughter. The Hebrew midwives were another group of women who played great role in the Bible. They disobeyed the order of the king who is an authority to be obeyed by sparing the lives of the babies born by the Hebrew women. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. (Exodus 1:15-19). Miriam, the prophetess took the tumbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tumbrels and dancing in thanksgiving to God for rescuing the Israelites from the hands of Pharaoh and all his army. Miriam answered them, sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea." (Exodus 15:20-21). Miriam is here depicted as a great woman leader who motivated women around her to sing praises to God. 130 Ruth and Naomi played role in the salvation of humankind since it was through them that David the ancestor of Jesus came (Ruth 4:13, 17). Rebecca equally played a great role of helping Jacob claim the blessing which led to the fulfillment of God's plan in Jacob's life and in the lives of the Israelites (Genesis 27). Rahab was a harlots who played great role in the lives of the people. Rahab hid the spies sent by Joshua to spy Jericho (Joshua 2:1-2). Perhaps the most daring and enduring woman character in the Bible is Esther. She single-handedly conquered Haman, the man who hated the Jews with passion, and she fought for the Jews freedom. Through Esther's heroic act, Mordecai escaped death, and the Jews in the city gained their freedom. Such bravery displayed by. Esther remains a great source of inspiration to millions of women in the world, especially African women who continue to struggle to free themselves from the stultifying shackles of patriarchy and the vast insecurity everywhere in Africa. The Status of Women in the New Testament of the Bible Looking through the Bible and digesting the stories, one would see that women played great roles in their communities even though they were not to be heard in the society or given positions of authority. The New Testament has great stories of women who played great role that made difference in the lives of the people in their communities. Among the women were Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Elizabeth, Jairus daughter, Anna, Lydia, Martha, Mary, Dorcas and the woman at the well. Mary, the mother of Jesus accepted the call to play a role that will change the world with all its challenges and difficulties. Her role brought about change in her immediate community and in the world at large even up to date (Lkl) Mary Magdalene was one of the first evangelists, since she was one of the women who ran to the tomb early in the 131 morning, and the person Jesus sent to preach the good news of His resurrection to the other apostles. (Mt:28:1-7; Mk 16:5-7) The vital roles played by women as portrayed in the New Testament were mainly by the writer of Luke; hence the Gospel of Luke will be used to depict the role played by women in the New Testament. Luke portrayed women in an extremely progressive and almost modern fashion, giving them new identity and new social status. Even as the gospel highlights women as included among the followers of Jesus, subjects of His teaching and objects of His healing, it deftly portrays them as models of subordinate service, excluded from the power center of the movement and from significant responsibilities. Claiming the authority of Jesus, this portrayal is an attempt to legitimate male dominance in the Christianity of the author's time (Schaberg 2002). Luke can be said to be a feminist, in line with the definition of feminist given by Schaberg (2002) "as men and women committed to eliminating sexism in their relations with one another and in the structures of their faith communities and society." In line with the above definition of feminist then, Luke, the author of the third Gospel, is a feminist because he, among the four evangelists wrote more about women and their role in the ministry of Jesus and the early church. He did not write about them in his Gospel as a means of depicting them as models of subordinate service, excluded from the power center of the movement and from significant responsibilities (Schaberg, 2002). He showed that women as well as men played some roles in the building of the church and her ministry, which is the ministry of Jesus. This ministry of Jesus includes His healing, teaching, preaching in both words and deeds, touching, and praying. Luke makes reference to women in many passages of his Gospels, in as many as forty—two passages, of which twenty—three are unique. Some passages are those 132 concerning Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-7, 24-25, 39-45, 57-66), Mary (1:26-56, 2:1-52), Ana (2:36-38), Widows (7:11-17, 18:1-8), Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and other Galilean women who ministered (8:1-3), Mary and Martha (10:38- 42), women at the death and burial of Jesus who also discovered the empty tomb (23:49,55-56, 24:1-12) to name some of the prominent ones. He also gave the account of women's roles in the early church in Acts. Reid (2008), affirms this saying, "Only Luke, in his second volume, gives us the traditions about the women disciples in the upper room (Acts 1:14); Sapphira (5:1-11); the slave girl of Philippi (16:16-24); Tabitha (9:36-43); Lydia (16:13-15, 40); Damaris (17:34); Priscilla (18:2, 18, 26); and Philip's four daughters (21:8-11). The ancient society in which Luke lived was a patriarchal society. , Thus, Moltmann (1998) claimed that the Bible was written or given its final form in a predominantly patriarchal culture. It contains a number of sexist remark that is, remarks which suppress women, for example, in the Old Testament, women are seen as wives and as their husband's personal properties. Therefore, Luke, starting his Gospel with the powerful stories of women, credits him with the recognition of women as among the societal prophets Anna (Lk 2:36) and disciples (Lk 6:13). To show this equality among men and women in the early Christian society, he identifies Priscilla as a teacher of the good news (Acts 18:28). He continued to challenge the society in which he lived by depicting women in Jesus ministry as equal with men by pairing many characters and events; the appearance of the angel to Zechariah (1:1.1-20) and to Mary (1:26-38). These episodes of appearances show that God does not in any way choose to speak to women through their husbands or men but speak to them directly. Luke continued to show this in his gospel. He also continued this depiction of equality between women and men in Jesus ministry by having two lists of 133 Jesus' disciples; one of men (6:12-19) and one of women (8:1-3). Luke continued to promote the cause of women in his society by praising, defending, and reassuring women through his references to widows (2:37; 4:25-26; 7:12; 18:3,5; 20:47;21:2-3); the sinful woman (7:3650) and the woman bent over (13:16); all of these women are people that the society had little or no regard for. In a society where men (husbands) and child-birth are the defining elements for women, a widow or a barren woman is practically nobody, since she has no man or child to give meaning to her life. By making reference to these people, Luke promoted the cause of women and challenged his readers to see beyond where they stood. The episodes of Elizabeth, who was barren and passed the age of child birth but later conceived, and of Mary, a young girl not fully married were another way Luke clothed woman with dignity in a culture where they had little place. He mentioned many more women by name unlike Mark, Matthew and John who never mentioned neither Elizabeth nor Anna in their Gospels. Schaberg (2002), continued to ascertain that women even though portrayed as not being commissioned by Jesus to preach, did not stop their mission of preaching since Mary was commissioned by God through the angel to preach and that was the reason she was sent to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary's presence in Elizabeth's house was a great proclamation of the good news that she was the first bearer. Mary was commissioned by God through the power of the Holy Spirit like all the prophets of old; Jeremiah (1:4-6), Isaiah (6:5-8), and even Zechariah (Lk1:18-20) because they either doubted or were afraid of what was said to them until they were commissioned to proclaim what they have been told. This shows that women have a significant role to play in bringing good news to people around them. This good news could be in the form of encouragement to those suffering or a word of advice to people around them that can lead to peace and joy in the society. 134 Reid (2008) argued that in the remainder of the gospel of Luke, the writer did not portray Jesus as reversing the status quo, so that those on the bottom are now on top. Rather, his Gospel proclaims inclusivity, where no one is automatically in or out, up or down. All are invited as equal participants, across boundaries of status, gender, and race. This then shows that both men and women need to contribute to the development of peace in a world full of insecurity and wars. Luke played a great role in the Bible to depict the important roles women played in the salvation history and in the early church. In the annunciation of John, Zachariah was made speechless because he doubted (Lk1:20) but Mary was not made speechless when she doubted; instead, she was helped to believe (Lkl :35-36). Even though, Zachariah was made speechless for Elizabeth to speak in public among her kinsmen, thereby proclaiming the good news of God to them (Lk 1:60), it doesn't in any way imply that one sex has to be suppressed for the other to thrive. It only gave the woman the opportunity to express her faith and ability. Concept of conflicts Conflict had been described by many scholars, as inevitable, among whom include Mitchel and Banks (1996:21) who posit that in the actual sense, conflict is an inevitable phenomenon that keeps occurring in all human relationships. It has been a fundamental question that is unanswered by the scholars of conflict resolution, because in principle conflict resolution connotes a sense of finality. There is no consensus among scholars on the definition of conflict as each defined it according to the writer's perspective but what seems to be common in the scholarly definitions is that conflict occurs when there is a state of struggle, opposition, incompatibility, interference, divergence of interest, tension, interaction and interdependence among others (Adeniyi 2014:16). 135 According to Boulding (1989:17), human beings as social animals have always been embroiled in temporary and continuous disputes and fracas collectively called conflicts since time immemorial. This come in the form of individual against individual, families against families, kingdoms against kingdoms, and more contemporary, countries against countries. According to Rubin and Pruitt (2002:110) conflict can be defined as the perceived divergence of interest, or a belief that the party's current aspirations cannot be achieved simultaneously from gradual interactions between the parties. Bercovitch (2002) added that they are ultimately a direct result of the given relationships and interactions between species, will in one way or another breed friction and discontent thereby, giving rise to perceived injustice and the attendant frictions and agitations Resolving conflict or otherwise conflict resolution is aimed at nipping such conflict in the bud by identifying the underlying and root causes of such conflict. Anyanwu (2013:14) posits that conflict resolution is generally conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful resolution or ending of conflict. Conflict resolution is an expected situation where the deep-rooted sources of conflict are addressed and resolved, and the behaviour is no longer violent, nor the attitudes hostile any longer and the structure of the conflict has been changed (Miall, Oliver and Tom, 1999:42). In the same manner, Mitchel and Banks (1996:130-143), sees conflict resolution as an outcome in which the issues in an existing conflict are satisfactorily dealt with, through a solution that is mutually acceptable to the parties, and self-sustaining in the long run and productive of a new positive relationship between the parties that were previously hostile adversaries. It is also a process or procedure by which such an outcome is achieved. The value of women as agents of peace and their role as mothers made it possible that in war time, it is a taboo to kill a woman even if she is armed. This is because women 136 are mothers of male combatants. Even when a woman is mistakenly killed during war, there must be appeasement of the land. The respect accorded to woman during war which takes its root from traditional African society and further extended to International arena which made provisions for the protection of women in both conventional and unconventional war. Women as mothers are always in traumatic condition whenever there is war in which male adults are participating; this is because they are the ones who suffered the pains of carrying humans in their womb and giving birth to them. Echoing the above, Abdulkarim (2010:1-11) argued that women are always caught in a vicious paradox; while they are the main civilian victims of conflict, they are often powerless; prevented and excluded from the negotiations when it comes to their resolution and confined to a marginal role of post conflict reconstruction and reconciliation efforts, the general exclusion of women from decision making positions prior to and during violent conflicts reinforces their victimisation. The bitter experiences of women in times of war often make them strong adherents of peace building and constitution making for conflict resolution. However, women's roles in and contributions to conflict resolution are underutilised or wholly ignored in mainstream peace building and constitution making processes. Nevertheless, women all over the world are devising creative and effective strategies to ending wars and building peace (Agbu, Nwogu, Ngozi-Eruwayo, Oyakhiromen and Durojaye Agbu 2006:43). In the same manner, Kasali, Olaniyi, Oyakhiromen, and Durojaye, (2006:40) posits that several humanitarian interventions and peace operations have actually undermined the importance of women in peace missions. The probability that most of the injustices of conflict and post conflict societies perpetuated against women will not be adequately reported and addressed will definitely be high if women are not adequately represented 137 in peace operations. In many wars, women have used their different roles to try to minimise the effect of violence if not actively to try to end wars themselves (Pankuurst 2000). Women and Conflicts related Cases in the Bible There are two positions here. The women that proffer solution to conflicts and those that propel conflicts. The two groups played important roles in fulfilling the divine mandates. Rebecca: The problem between Esau and Jacob was propelled by Rebecca being their mother, though prophecy has been told about the tussle. The mismanagement of Rebecca by teaching Jacob to take the blessing that belong to his brother from their father Isaac was highly unwarranted. Dinah: She was Jacob's daughter whose exposure made her to be raped by Shechem of the tribe of Hivites Gen. 34. This led to a serious crisis; that her brothers killed all the men of the city. She became a proponent of conflict. Zipporah: She was a daughter of Jethro, the wife of Moses. She came into the life of Moses to make the covenant fulfilled. When Moses forgot his own side of the covenant of circumcision and the wrath of the Lord came against him to be killed, it was Zipporah his wife that rescued him. Rahab the Harlot: Though she had an appellation that impedes yet she was a solution and conflict manager. She supported divine programme when the spies sent by Joshua got into Jericho. Conflict broke-out but Rahab used her wisdom to protect the two spies sent. Joshua 2:1-3. It was through her the nation of Israel gained access to Jericho. She was also blessed for it. Deborah: Here is a great woman in the bible who led men, into battles and won. She was the first female Judge in Israel. Her reign was exceptional. She broke the shackles of segregation which existed during the mosaic period against women. 138 Ruth: She was a comforter. Her husband died with her brother-in-law. Her mother-in-law experienced great loss and was in crisis and confused, but Ruth decided not to leave her in her state of mourning. She stood by her mother- in-law. She later became part of the descent of Christ. Sarah and Hagar: The battle for ownership of husband and covenant heritage of heirship. Hagar was a maid to Sarah but became the mother of the first son of Abraham. Sarah introduced her maid, Hagar to her husband when she felt like a barren. When Hagar had Ismael, she became proud and rebellious to her master. This led to a great conflict. Leah and Rachael: This is another feministic conflict in the Bible where two biological sisters became wives to same man (Jacob). But because one seemed loved by husband and the second loved by God. Rachael was loved by the husband but had no child while Leah seemed loved by God and was blessed with children. This led to serious rivalry and jealousy between them. It became a wide spread crisis. Hannah and Peninnah: They both married the same man Elkanah but one (Hannah) was barren while Peninnah was blessed with children who always teased Hannah to make her feel bad and angry. Phoebe: Was a deacon. If there is no service, there cannot be deacons. The emergence of Deaconess Phoebe was due to the conflict in the Roman Church. Paul paid serious homage to her value. Romans 16:1-2 Conclusion Considering all that women go through in the society, the victims seats are not meant for them because they have great powers within them to conquer every huddle. Women today can make a difference like the women in the Bible who brought about changes in their communities. Yes the women in the Bible, stood up against all odds and made the difference in their society. The women in Africa and especially in Nigeria can do the same as the women in the 139 Bible. Nigerian women must find their voice, speak up against oppressions in the society and make a difference in Nigeria. Considering the situation of security in Nigeria today, women in Nigeria have great responsibilities to see that peace returns to the country. As mothers, sisters, daughters and wives in the society, they need to rise up to the challenge of making their voices heard by their immediate communities through talking to their fathers, brothers, sons and husband about peace. Women should figure out ways for achieving high level of mobilisation of women at all levels especially local and community levels. For example, the group 'Women for Change' could be a forum to mobilise women for peace building in the society. The women leaders in every community should be equipped with relevant information and experience built through broad based interaction which will become useful in mediating the local networks for peace building objective. Like the women in the Bible, the women today will be equipped to work for peace in their society. 140 References Adamu Fatima (1999). A Double-Edge Sword: Challenging Women s Oppression within Muslim Society in Northern Nigeria. Gender and Development Journal Vol. 7, No. 1. Coper Barbara M. (1997). Marriage in Maradi: Gender and Culture in a Hausa Society in Niger, 1900-1989 Nigeria Heinemann. Getty-Sullivan, Mary Ann (2001). Women in the New Testament: Collegeville, Minneapolis MN: Liturgical Press. Johnson E. A. (2007). Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc Moltmann-Wendel, Elisabeth (1982). The women around Jesus: Reflections on Authentic Personhood [translated by John Bowden from the German]. London: SCM Press. Powell M.A (1998). Introduction to the Gospels Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. Reid Barbara (1996) Choosing the Better Part: Women in the Gospel of Luke Collegeville, Minneapolis MN: Liturgical Press Schaberg Jane (2002). The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha, and the Christian Testament. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc www.uscongregations.org/key.htm Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18