Present day women
are essentially regarded to as equals to men, but women have not
always possessed this respectful status. Women today are allowed to
obtain education, vote, and hold jobs previously considered only for
males. The extent of numerous ancient civilizations' female
activities included cleaning, cooking, producing heirs, and raising
the children. Women were not allowed to receive much of an education
and several of the jobs within their society were for males only.
However, in some societies such as the ancient Israelite
civilization, women possessed a little more influence, respect, and
standing than in others. Marriage, family life, and various jobs were
all several of the occurrences early Israelite women experienced.
Marriage was
regarded by the ancient Israelites as the most important of the three
great events in a family: birth, marriage, and death. When a marriage
was being arranged in Israel, the parents generally took over all
decisions from who was the groom or bride to what they would wear.
The groom then would present the future father-in-law with a
considerable gift, and in return the wife typically brought into the
marriage a dowry along with a slave that attended her. Marriages were
important economic as well as social institutions. On the contrary,
disadvantages were also associated with the momentous and important
event of marriage. Females were not able to initiate divorce for any
reason. Males however were allowed to divorce their wives for
whichever reason pleased them. A husband could divorce his wife if
she "spoiled his cooking", spoke loud enough for the
neighbors to heed, or even if he discovered someone he thought was
more appealing than her. Marriage could be beneficial in some
aspects, but it could also be disastrous for a number of females.
The Israelite
household depended tremendously on females. Nearly al the women in
the ancient society hauled the water needed for basic necessities,
milled the grain, prepared the food for every meal, and sewed the
clothes that they wore. Several of the women in addition labored
alongside their husbands breaking