Giving Voice to the Voiceless: Neglected and Anonymous Women in Genesis 4 to 11

Abstract

Women are ubiquitous in the Primeval History. Yet, they are erased from biblical genealogies and have often been negatively interpreted in biblical reception history. Cain’s wife (Gen 4:17), Adah and Zillah (Gen 4:19-22), and Noah’s wife (Gen 6-8) represent the epitome of countless women’s life experiences. Early biblical teaching suggests that whether women are unnamed, named, or even portrayed as blessed figures, they have often been accused of various forms of sins. The fear of contaminating righteous seeds through women appears to be a major drive behind these negative interpretations, which caused them to suffer from various forms of accusations. Inspired by Anne Grung’s study on gender justice in Muslim and Christian readings of canonical texts, this study argues that studying a voiceless female character from biblical reception history approach without evaluating the sources from gender perspectives is reinscribing, even reaffirming biblical conceptions of patriarchy. The contrasting interpretations of voiceless biblical women in Genesis 4-11 summon modern readers to participate in biblical interpretations that dispense divine justice for all human beings. Modern readers are not only called to evaluate the representation of the past, but also to participate in shaping the representations of the future. Giving voice to voiceless characters of the Bible thus becomes an act of embodiment and brings their existence into the world. It can also nurture more gender-balanced biblical interpretations for future generations and establish shared agency for achieving gender justice in Abrahamic faith communities.