Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative

Traditional Christian patriarchy and primacy of the male gender, at any rate, are linked to the Yahwist creation narrative in which the man is seemingly created before the woman. Prevailing conversations have constructed doctrinal positions, polity and dogmatism around the tradition of male headship...

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Main Authors: Uzoma A. Dike, Paulinus O. Agbo
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: AOSIS 2025-03-01
Series:Verbum et Ecclesia
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Online Access:https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3274
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author Uzoma A. Dike
Paulinus O. Agbo
author_facet Uzoma A. Dike
Paulinus O. Agbo
author_sort Uzoma A. Dike
collection DOAJ
description Traditional Christian patriarchy and primacy of the male gender, at any rate, are linked to the Yahwist creation narrative in which the man is seemingly created before the woman. Prevailing conversations have constructed doctrinal positions, polity and dogmatism around the tradition of male headship and female subjugation. The objective of this study was to reread the Yahwist narrative with the view of demystifying the male headship mythology through a systematic analysis of the interconnection between adam and Adamah. The study utilised grammatical and syntactical exegesis and feminist hermeneutics to advance informed constructions on demystifying male headship. While the grammatical and syntactical focused on the grammar and word ordering of the text to arrive at the authorial intended meaning, the feminist hermeneutics renders interpretation from the women’s experience. Despite eisegetical tendencies surrounding some interpretations of the text of Genesis 2:21–25, the study adds to the discourses on a systematised derogatory view of the feminine gender by the Yahwist. This account presents gender asymmetry as it relates to biblical studies. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This study contextualises gender asymmetries in ways that add to the discourse on egalitarianism.
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spelling doaj-art-e4cc1eee16d84119972ef023abadd0f22025-08-20T01:50:57ZafrAOSISVerbum et Ecclesia1609-99822074-77052025-03-01461e1e610.4102/ve.v46i1.32742049Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrativeUzoma A. Dike0Paulinus O. Agbo1Department of Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and, Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, National Open University of Nigeria, AbujaDepartment of Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and, Department of Religion & Cultural Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria; and, Humanities Unit, School of General Studies, University of Nigeria, NsukkaTraditional Christian patriarchy and primacy of the male gender, at any rate, are linked to the Yahwist creation narrative in which the man is seemingly created before the woman. Prevailing conversations have constructed doctrinal positions, polity and dogmatism around the tradition of male headship and female subjugation. The objective of this study was to reread the Yahwist narrative with the view of demystifying the male headship mythology through a systematic analysis of the interconnection between adam and Adamah. The study utilised grammatical and syntactical exegesis and feminist hermeneutics to advance informed constructions on demystifying male headship. While the grammatical and syntactical focused on the grammar and word ordering of the text to arrive at the authorial intended meaning, the feminist hermeneutics renders interpretation from the women’s experience. Despite eisegetical tendencies surrounding some interpretations of the text of Genesis 2:21–25, the study adds to the discourses on a systematised derogatory view of the feminine gender by the Yahwist. This account presents gender asymmetry as it relates to biblical studies. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This study contextualises gender asymmetries in ways that add to the discourse on egalitarianism.https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3274mythologyyahwist creation narrativeexegesissemiotic analysisfeminist hermeneuticsgenesis 2:21–25.
spellingShingle Uzoma A. Dike
Paulinus O. Agbo
Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative
Verbum et Ecclesia
mythology
yahwist creation narrative
exegesis
semiotic analysis
feminist hermeneutics
genesis 2:21–25.
title Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative
title_full Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative
title_fullStr Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative
title_full_unstemmed Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative
title_short Is God partial in creation? A feminist re-examination of gender in the Yahwist’s narrative
title_sort is god partial in creation a feminist re examination of gender in the yahwist s narrative
topic mythology
yahwist creation narrative
exegesis
semiotic analysis
feminist hermeneutics
genesis 2:21–25.
url https://verbumetecclesia.org.za/index.php/ve/article/view/3274
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