Chapter 4: Evangelical Feminist Claims from the Rest of the Old Testament
Wayne Grudem
Egalitarian claim 4.1: Deborah: Deborah’s leadership in Israel (Judges 4) shows that God can call women to leadership roles.(131)
Answer 4.1a: We should be thankful for Deborah. (132)Egalitarian claim 4.2: Women Prophets: Old Testament examples of women prophets like Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah give precedents for women in leadership roles today. (136)
Answer 4.1b: Deborah affirmed male leadership over God’s people. (132)
Answer 4.1c: The text does not say that Deborah ruled over God’s people or taught them publicly or led them militarily. (133)
Answer 4.1d: The Bible views Deborah’s judgeship as a rebuke against the absence of male leadership. (134)
Answer 4.1e: We must use caution in drawing examples to imitate from the book of Judges. (135)
Answer 4.2a: While there were women prophets in the Old Testament, no women taught God’s people because there were no women priests. (137)
Answer 4.2b: Women prophets always prophesied privately or prophesied to women. (138)
Egalitarian claim 4.3: Women As Governmental Leaders: Old Testament
examples of women as leaders of the government over God’s
people give precedents for women in all sorts of leadership
roles today. (138)
Answer 4.3a: Instances where women seized ruling authority over God’s people in the Old Testament are always viewed negatively. (139)
Answer 4.3b: The Old Testament views the absence of male headship as a matter of shame and an indication of God’s judgment on a society. (139)
Answer 4.3c: These Old Testament examples should not be used to discourage women from holding office in civil government today. (140)
Egalitarian claim 4.4: Women Preachers: Psalm 68:11 and Isaiah 40:9
talk about women who were preachers, proclaiming God’s
good news. (141)
Answer 4.4a: Psalm 68:11 talks about women who announce a victory in battle. (141)
Answer 4.4b: Isaiah 40:9 has feminine verbs because cities (like Jerusalem) are treated as grammatically feminine in Hebrew. (142)
Egalitarian claim 4.5: Miriam As Leader: Miriam served as a leader over Israel. (143)
Answer 4.5a: Miriam did not “lead” the people of Israel. (143)
Answer 4.5b: The people of Israel did not insist that Miriam be “at the helm.” (144)
Egalitarian claim 4.6: Godly Women: There were many godly women in
the Old Testament who serve as examples of God’s
blessing on the leadership of women. (145)
Answer 4.6a: The Old Testament provides many examples of faithful women who received God’s approval and blessing. (145)
Answer 4.6b: But the Old Testament never approves women taking authority over their husbands. (145)
Answer 4.6c: Instances where women seized ruling authority over God’s people in the Old Testament are always viewed negatively. (146)
Egalitarian claim 4.7: Male Leadership Caused Abuse: Old Testament examples of oppression and mistreatment of women were the result of male headship in the family (or patriarchy),
and show male headship to be wrong. (146)
Answer 4.7a: These evils were the result of sin and the abuse of male headship, not of male headship in itself. (147)
Answer 4.7b. This approach imposes a biased filter that leads to misinterpretation of the Old Testament. (147)
Answer 4.7c: Polygamy was tolerated but not commanded by God in the Old Testament. (148)
Answer 4.7d: Gilbert Bilezikian maligns God’s Old Testament laws on adultery, saying the laws were unfair. (147)
Egalitarian claim 4.8: Abraham Obeyed Sarah: The Old Testament shows
that Abraham obeyed Sarah several times. (151)
Answer 4.8a: Sarah never led her household or ruled over Abraham. (152)
Answer 4.8b: We are not free to take biblical statements and commands as a joke. (153)
Answer 4.8c: We are not free to take Sarah’s obedience as a negative example when Peter takes it as a positive example. (153)
Egalitarian claim 4.9: Abigail: The story of Abigail (1 Samuel 25)
shows God’s approval of a wife who assumed authority
in her family. (154)
Answer 4.9a: Bilezikian reads into the text of Scripture things that are not there. (154)
Egalitarian claim 4.10: The Proverbs 31 Wife: The description of “a
good wife” in Proverbs 31 overturns male leadership
in the family. (155)
Answer 4.10a: Bilezikian often inserts into the Biblical text things that are not there. (156)
