Women were considered inferior to men:

Genesis 1:27 to 3:24:
In the first creation story (Genesis 1:27) God is described as
creating man, both male and female at the same time: “So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them.” 2 This might be interpreted as implying
equality between the two genders.

But in the second creation story, (Genesis 2:7) God formed only a man:
“…the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Realizing that he needed a helper (Genesis 2:18), God marched all of
the animals past Adam (Genesis 2:19-20) looking for a suitable animal.
Finding none suitable, God created Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs. The
term “helper” has historically been interpreted as implying an
inferior role for Eve, although some modern interpreters believe that
the word can mean a companion of equal status. “…the Hebrew word
translated “helper” is used twenty-one times in the Old Testament:
twenty of these cases refer to help from a superior.” (3) In Genesis
2:27, Adam later asserts his authority over Eve by naming her:
“…she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” In
ancient times, one was believed to have authority over a person or
thing by naming it.

Genesis 3:16: Adam’s role is to be Eve’s master. The King James
Version (KJV), New International Version (NIV), and Revised Standard
Version (RSV) use the term “rule” to describe Adam’s role over Eve:
“…thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
The Living Bible uses the term “master”. The Modern Language Bible
uses “dominate”. By implication, all of their descendents are would
have the same power imbalance between spouses.

A man could marry (literally “become the master of the woman”) as
often as he desired. In Genesis 4:19, Lamech became the first known
polygamist when he took two wives. Subsequent men who took multiple
wives included: Esau with 3 wives; Jacob: 2; Ashur: 2; Gideon: many;
Elkanah: 2; David: many; Solomon: 700 wives of royal birth; Rehaboam:
3; Abijah: 14. Jehoram, Joash, Ahab, Jeholachin and Belshazzar also
had multiple wives.

Genesis 21:10: A man could simultaneously keep numerous concubines.
These were sexual partners of an even lower status than a wife was. As
implied in this verse she could be dismissed when no longer needed:
Sarah is recorded as saying: “…Cast out this bondwoman and her son:
for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with
Isaac.” Abraham had two concubines; Gideon: at least 1; David: many;
Nahor: 1; Jacob: 1; Eliphaz: 1; Gideon: 1; Caleb: 2; Manassah: 1;
Saul: 1; David: at least 10; Rehoboam: 60; Solomon: 300; an
unidentified Levite: 1; Belshazzar: more than 1.

In Exodus 1:15-16, the Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill all Jewish
boys at birth, because of the threat that they might pose to the
kingdom. “And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the
Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye
shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.” The
girls, being considered less important, were not seen as a threat;
they were allowed to live.

Exodus 20 & 21: This is perhaps the most misogynistic pair of chapters
in the Bible. A number of verses describe a woman as the property of
her father. At marriage, her ownership was transferred to her new
husband:

Exodus 20:17 lists the last of the Ten Commandments: “Thou shalt not
covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his
ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” It is important to
realize that a manservent and a maidservant were male and female
slaves. They were not a hired butler and maid. The tenth commandment
forbids coveting your neighbor’s house, wife, male slave female slave,
animals or anything else that the neighbor owns. The wife is clearly
regarded as equivalent to a piece of property.

Exodus 21:2-4: “If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall
serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing….If his
master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters;
the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out
by himself.” A slaveowner was permitted to give a woman to his male
slave as a wife. There is no indication that women were consulted
during this type of transaction. After serving six years, he would
leave, but his wife and children would remain slaves of the
slaveowner. Again, there is no indication that the woman was consulted
on this arrangement,

Exodus 21:7: “And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she
shall not go out as the menservants do.” A father could sell his
daughter as a slave. Even though a male slave is automatically given
his freedom after 6 years, a female slave remained a slave forever.

Exodus 22:16-17: The first seventeen verses of Exodus 22 deal with
restitution in case of stealing, or damage to, a person’s property.
Verses 16 and 17 deal with the case of a man who seduces a virgin.
This was viewed as a property offense against the woman’s father. The
woman was expected to marry the seducer. If her father refused to
transfer ownership of his daughter to the seducer, the latter was
required to required to pay money to her father. The money would be in
compensation for the damage to the father’s property – his daughter.
It would be difficult for a non-virgin to marry.

Exodus 21:22-25 describes a situation in which two men are fighting
and one hits a pregnant woman. If the woman has a miscarriage because
of the blow, the man is punished as the husband decides and must pay a
fine for their act – not to the woman, but to her husband, presumably
because he has been deprived of a child. The woman had no involvement.
Exodus 21:22: “…he shall be surely punished, according as the
woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges
determine.”

Exodus 23:17 states that only men are required to take part in the
feasts of unleavened bread, of harvest and of ingathering: “Three
times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD.”

Leviticus: This book deals mainly with the duties of the priesthood,
the Levites. Women were not allowed to become priests.
bullet Leviticus 12:1-5 Quotes God as stating that a woman who has
given birth to a boy is ritually unclean for 7 days. If the baby is a
girl, the mother is unclean for 14 days. “If a woman have conceived
seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days…But
if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean two weeks…” It
would appear that the act of having a baby is a highly polluting act.
To give birth to a girl is twice as polluting as is giving birth to a
boy.

Leviticus 27:6 A child aged 1 month to five years of age was worth 5
shekels if a boy and 3 shekels if a girl. “And if it be from a month
old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male
five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be
three shekels of silver.”

Numbers 3:15 shows that a census counted only male infants over the
age of one month, boys and men. “Number the children of Levi after the
house of their fathers, by their families: every male from a month old
and upward shalt thou number them.” Females were not considered worthy
of being included.

Numbers 5:11-31 describes a lengthy magical ritual that women were
forced to perform if their husbands suspected them of having had an
affair. A priest prepared a potion composed of holy water mixed with
sweepings from the floor of the tabernacle. He proclaimed a curse over
the potion and required the woman to drink it. If she were guilty, she
would suffer greatly: her abdomen would swell and her thighs waste
away. There is no similar magical test for husbands suspecting of
having an affair with another woman.

In Numbers 27:8-11, Moses describes the rules of inheritance that God
has stated. If a man dies, his son inherits the estate; his daughter
gets nothing. Only if there is no son, will his daughter inherit. If
there are no children, then the estate is given to the man’s brothers;
his sister(s) get nothing. If he had no brother, the estate goes to
his nearest male relative. “…If a man die, and have no son, then ye
shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. And if he have
no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. And
if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his
father’s brethren. And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall
give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his
family….”

Numbers 30 describes that a vow taken by a man is binding. But a vow
taken by a woman can be nullified by her father, if she is still
living in her family of origin, or by her husband, if she is married.

Deuteronomy 21:10-13 describes how a soldier can force a woman captive
to marry him without regard for her wishes. “When thou goest forth to
war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them
into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, And seest among
the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou
wouldest have her to thy wife; Then thou shalt bring her home to thine
house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; And she shall
put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in
thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and
after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she
shall be thy wife.”

Deuteronomy 22:28-29 requires that a virgin woman who has been raped
must marry her attacker, no matter what her feelings are towards the
rapist. “If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not
betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father
fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife….”

Deuteronomy 24:1 describes the procedure for obtaining a divorce. This
can only be initiated by the husband, not by the wife: “When a man
hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find
no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her:
then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand,
and send her out of his house.”

Deuteronomy 25:5-10: states that if a woman is widowed, she would be
required to marry her former brother-in-law. This was called a
“levirate” marriage. Their first-born son will later be considered to
be the son of the deceased husband. The man could refuse to marry her.
Women were not given a choice in the matter. ” If brethren dwell
together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead
shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall
go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of
an husband’s brother unto her.”

Deuteronomy 25:11: If two men are fighting, and the wife of one of
them grabs the other man’s testicles, her hand is to be chopped off.
There is no penalty if a male relative were to grab the other man.
“When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one
draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that
smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the
secrets. Then thou shalt cut off her hand…”

Judges 19:16-30 describes an event similar to Genesis 19. Some men in
the city wanted to “know” a visiting Levite. The owner of the house
offered his virgin daughter and the Levite’s concubine so that the men
could rape them. Verse 24 states: “Behold, here is my daughter a
maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye
them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man
do not so vile a thing.” The man sent his own concubine outside to the
gang, who proceeded to serially rape her. She died of the attacks. The
man only learned of her death when he was leaving the house in the
morning and stumbled across her body.

The woman was clearly considered expendable and of little value.

2 Chronicles 36:23 mentions the Second Temple which was constructed
after some Jews returned from exile in Babylon. It was rebuilt by
Herod late in the 1st century BCE. One of its features was women’s
court, considered the least sacred area. Next was the court of the
Israelites (reserved for males), then the court of the Priests, and
finally the Temple itself. The courts were laid out in this order to
separate the women as far as possible from the Temple.

During the Second Temple period, women were not allowed to testify in
court trials. They could not go out in public, or talk to strangers.
When outside of their homes, they were to be doubly veiled. “They had
become second-class Jews, excluded from the worship and teaching of
God, with status scarcely above that of slaves.” 3

Biblical references promoting female inferiority:

1 Corinthians 11:3: “…Christ is the head of every man, and a husband
the head of his wife, and the head of Christ is God. (NIV)”. There is
some debate among theologians about the translation of the Greek word
“kephale” as “head.” However that word is universally used in New
Testament translations.

1 Corinthians 11:7-10
The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks
with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the
authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who
speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the
authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors
herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is
basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head
coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic
acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other,
submit their “heads” to the Head: God.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35: “…women should remain silent in the
churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as
the Law says, If they want to inquire about something, they should ask
their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak
in the church.” (NIV) This is a curious passage. It appears to
prohibit all talking by women during services. But it contradicts
verse 11:5, in which St. Paul states that women can actively pray and
prophesy during services.

Many theologians have concluded that verses 14:33b to 36 are a later
addition, added by an unknown counterfeiter with little talent at
forgery. Bible scholar, Hans Conzelmann, comments on these three and a
half verses: “Moreover, there are peculiarities of linguistic usage,
and of thought. [within them].” 6 If they are removed, then Verse 33a
merges well with Verse 37 in a seamless transition. Since they were a
later forgery, they do not fulfill the basic requirement to be
considered inerrant: they were not in the original manuscript written
by Paul.

Ephesians 5:22-24: “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For
the husband is the head of the wife…wives should submit to their
husbands in everything.” (NIV)

1 Timothy; various passages: Conservative theologians date this
“pastoral epistle” as having being written prior to 65 CE, and assign
its authorship to Paul. Liberal theologians generally believe that it
was written by an unknown author during the first half of the second
century, a half-century or longer after St. Paul’s execution. If the
latter is true then the epistle’s many passages reflecting female
inferiority can be attributed to a gradual reinstatement of
patriarchal authority by the early Church. Some of these passages are:

1 Timothy 2:11-15:”A woman should learn in quietness and full
submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over
a man; she must be silent…” (NIV) Some Biblical scholars believe
that woman and man should be replaced by wife and husband in the above
passage. This would mean that the passage would not refer to women
teaching men in the church, but rather wives teaching their husbands
within the home. 5

1 Timothy 3:2: “Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband
of but one wife…” (NIV) This would seem to imply that all overseers
(bishops) must be male.

1 Timothy 3:8: “Deacons likewise, are to be men worthy of respect,
sincere…” (NIV)
bullet Titus 1:6: “An elder must be blameless, a husband of but one
wife” (NIV). Women are apparently excluded from the position of elder
or bishop.

Titus 2:4: “…train the younger women…to be subject to their
husbands.” There is no indication of equal power sharing in marriage.
1 Peter 3:7: Women are referred to as “the weaker vessel” in
comparison to their husbands