Scott Rae β August 18, Many critics of the Bible hold that the OT views women as property and is demeaning toward women. OT scholar Dr. Sandra Richter looks at the parts of the Mosaic law that deal with sexual violence toward women and concludes that, "far fewer lives were ravaged by sexual misconduct in the central hill country of Israel in the Iron Age than in southern California in Richter on this fascinating topic. Sandra Richter, Ph. D Harvard , holds the Robert H. Scott Rae : Welcome to podcast Think Biblically, conversations on faith and culture.
We're here with our guest today, Doctor Sandy Richter, whose Professor of old testimony at Westmont College, and a specialist in a very interesting area of old testament study. In fact, I think some of her work has gone under the heading of "Does the God of the old testament hate women? Scott Rae : Because there's some pretty anastigmatic texts, or scripture, that would seem to indicate that God may have a problem with women.
Scott Rae : And you've provided some really good answers to some of those things. So welcome, great to have you with us. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. Scott Rae : So maybe the best place to start would be to tell us a little bit about the culture of the Ancient Near East, and the status of women in that culture.
Sandra Richter : It really is the essential place to start. Because for modern readers, western readers, especially American readers, what we're experiencing when we step into the old testament is a cross cultural experience. And because we've come to know and love our bibles for so long, we don't necessarily anticipate that we're stepping into somebody else's world. And we wind up evaluating these old testament texts as though they belong in the suburbs of San Diego, as opposed to the central hill country of Ancient Israel.
Scott Rae : Okay. So be a little more specific, how would you summarize what the status of women was in the hill country of Ancient Israel? Sandra Richter : Okay.
