Women at Work in the Deuteronomistic History - International Voices ...

REASSESSING THE SOCIAL LOCATION OF FEMALE LABOR IN THE DTRH | 343
The degree of seclusion of women was correlated to their social status. The
higher women’s status was, the more secluded they were. Royal and upper
class women had their personnel to do the work. Social status and living
conditions thus intertwined. Servants would do the tasks that required going
out, while the mistress stayed in. Moreover, there was enough space in larger
houses to make a distinction between male (public) and female (private)
quarters.
It also mattered whether a woman lived in a rural or an urban context. The
Bible describes the circumstances of women living in a rural context, where
they went out to perform tasks of animal husbandry and agriculture. Moreover,
both in towns and villages women went out to draw water. According to
archaeological data on household units in the Cisjordan hill country at the
beginning of the Iron Age, women were involved in all aspects of economic
life, although a certain gender distinction always existed. 29
We concur with her analysis and applaud her distinction between urban and
rural environments (although these are sometimes blurred by the stories
themselves, especially when they have to do with palace personnel located
somewhere else). From our viewpoint, her assessment that social status
intertwined with living and working conditions is especially important, for it has
not been that clear in a body of texts where the preoccupation with religious and
political matters seemed to be universal preoccupations.
In the DtrH, the private is political—political and religious decisions impact
on the familiar and vice versa, since even the most private actions are read
through the political and religious lenses of the Dtr. A couple of examples
suffice to make the point. The appearance and disappearance of the only two
women guarding children—Mephibosheth in 2 Sam 4:4, Joash in 2 Kgs 11:2—
are determined by the royal children of whom they are in charge. Not only are
they determined by the children, but the only information about them is how
they are hidden for years with the child in danger. Otherwise, we would never
learn there were “nannies” in court. 30
In the first two chapters of Exodus concern for women’s and children’s
needs is apparent; and, for a change, midwives, and wet nurses are active parts
of a story. However they made their way into the Bible mainly because of the
broader picture of Israel’s struggle for survival in slavery and as pre-condition
for Moses’ exalted role. The role of the midwives in Pharaoh’s court and not in
29 Marsman, Women, 709–10.
30 Even more evident are some of David’s undertakings and their consequences for the whole nation,
such as his adultery and murder involving Bath-sheba and Uriah (2 Sam 11) and following and his
census (2 Sam 24).