The Social Life Of The Hebrews

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The publisher of this book utilises modern printing technologies as well as photocopying processes for reprinting and preserving rare works of literature that are out-of-print or on the verge of becoming lost. This book is one such reprint. Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV THE FAMILY The most interesting social institution among these clans, and the one that promised most for the future of Israel, was the family.1 Though subordinate to the clan in many respects, it was destined to grow in importance. As the clans became larger and more unwieldy, and as they were slowly drawn nearer and nearer into something akin to a national life, the family acquired a self-sufficiency and local importance it had not hitherto possessed. In a study of the social life of the Hebrews of any period of their history, the question concerning woman's position is a vital one. Though inferior at this time to what it was later, it was one of considerable importance. There is probably little literary material in the old Hebrew Scriptures that is older than the so-called Song of Deborah. It bears the marks of having been written at or near the time of the overthrow of Sisera by the northern clans, though it probably was not the work of Deborah herself. It reveals the fact that this remarkable woman was able to play a conspicuous part in that conflict. The passage which represents her as being of the clan of Ephraim,as residing under the palm-tree of Deborah near Bethel, and as judging Israel many years, is unreliable ; but that this woman did incite and vindicate Israel, much as did the other Judges, seems evident. That in those troublous, turbulent times a woman could gain so much influence, thus making for herself a name that was celebrated in the songs of her people, is significant. The place assigned to the wife of Manoah in the old folk-tale of Samson and that occupied by Hannah in the later story of Samuel is suggestive of woman's position. It is the woman who first receives an intimation of the birth of a child who is to be devoted to Yahweh. And whe...

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