2. Official and other leading Pusitiotis in Religion held by Women. — (a) Witchcraft. The lowest form of female influence in this direction is seen in the idea of witclicraft, according to which certain occult powers in dealing with the unseen world were ascribed to women. The witch of Endor was bupposed to be holding intercourse with ' a familiar spirit,' which enabled her to call back Samuel from the deail against the will of the great seer ;iS28"'). The Law attached the death penalty to the crime of sorcery on the part of a woman, in
the comnuand, ' Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live' (Ex 22'*). For the purpose of divination women attached some sort of amulets to the arm (nin:3 Ezk 1.3'*, which the Hexapla reiulers ^uXok. T^pia), and also something to the head, both used, according to W. R. Smith, for the purpose of in- voking the deity. With this we may compare Rachel's possession of the teraphim. She would hope to perform some occult rite with the idol and obtain an oracle from it (Gn 31'"). — (b) Mourning. While the funeral rites and their accompanying lamentations were used for women as well as for men (Jer IG', Mk 5**), women took a prominent place in the performance of them, just as there were ' mourning women ' in Arabic heathenism. — (c) Tabernacle and temple service. There were ' serving- women which served at the door of the tent of meeting ' (Ex 38' ; the mention of these women in 1 S 2--'' is generally regarded as an interpolation). No account of the service of these women is given anywhere in the OT. The LXX has in Exodua Tu>v VTjaTevacLU'uiv at dvijorevaav^ but in 1 Sam. rdf ■yviiaiKai Tas irapeaTjiaai ; Vulg. JJ/CB excubabant, and Targ. and Syr. have ' who prayed ' and ' who came to pray,' manifestly no more than a loose paraphrase of the original Hebrew nds, a word frequently used in the Priestly Code for some sort of Levitical service in the tabernacle (e.g. Nu 4^). The statement that the laver of brass, etc., were made out of the mirrore of ' the serving-women which served' (we might read 'which had served,' readingiN3sas a pluperfect), seems to imply that this service was no longer going on. Thus the sentence points to an ancient custom which had been aban- doned. Except that .some ritual service associated with the priest's sacrificial work is implied, it is impossible to say what the work of these women had been. — [d) Music, singing, and dancing. Women appeared in choral dances on occasions of great victories and other sources of rejoicing (e.g. Ex IS*', Jg 11", 1 S 18", Ps68"). In company with singing men, women were also engaged in the temple choir (Ezr 2"). The register of returned exiles contains a reference to ' two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women' (Neh 7"'). We are left to conjecture what their special function was, but the fact that there were sub- sequently men and women singers in the temjile points to the conclusion that a guild of singers in connexion with public worship had been formed as early as the Exile. — (e) Prophecy. Women appear from time to time in the history of Israel as in- spired prophetesses. Miriam is called a ' prophetess' (Ex IS-'"), and is associated with her brother Aaron in exclaiming, ' Hath J" indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us?' (Nu 12-). The prominence of Miriam appears also in Mic 6* ' And I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam' (see Miriam). Deborah appears both aa a prophetess and as a judge (.Ig4''-'). See Dehor ah. Huldah a]ipears as a prophetess to whom the messengers of Josiah applied when they were directed to ' inquire of the Lord ' (2 K 22'^-^''). See Huldah. In Neh 6" 'the prophetess Noadi.ih' [but see NOADIAH] appears among ' the rest of the prophets' hired by Tobiah and Sanballat to himler the restoration of Jerusalem, who must therefore he regarded either as heathens or as false Jewish prophets. It is manifest that the appearance of a prophetess in Israel was quite exceptional. The prophetic guilds did not include women ; they con- sisted only of ' sons of the prophets.' A prophetess was, like Amos coming from his farm work, not trained for ottice, but inspired and compelling re- spect by her gifts and the power of her utterancea. No law forbade her to speak ; no custom hindered her from rising to a position of great influence. ii. In the New Test, and Ciiristia.nitv.—
WOM^N
WOMAN
935
Tlie freedom and prominence of woman in the e.irly Church, compared with the restraint and suppression commonly observed in Eastern civiliza- tion, are to some extent developments of con- temporary Jewish customs. Women moved freely about in society, and were present at the table of hospitality, though it cannot be shown that in Palestine they partook of the meals in common with men. They went up to the temple to worship, but were there limited to the privilege of using the ' court of the women,' and could not advance 80 near the altar as men were permitted to go. They united in the worship at the synagogue, apparently sitting by themselves apart from the ni;ile worshippers. Now that Conybeare has gone some way towards vindicating the De Vita Von- tcmp/ativa as a genuine work of I'liilo, it is possible to appeal to tliat treatise as a witness to customs current in the time of Christ. The following extract describes the aiTangements of public wor- ship of the Therai]eut;e or Egyptian Essenes : —