Women's Witness in Christianity

 Women’s testimony in Christianity: According to the teachings of the Holy Bible and Church tradition

First: The Holy Bible:



A. The Old Testament: The first example: The dispute:

Deuteronomy 19:15
“ One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity or sin in any of the sins in which he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, the matter shall be established .” 16 If a false witness rises up against a man to testify against him of a perversion, 17 the men between whom the dispute has occurred shall standbefore the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in those days. 18 If the judges make a careful examination, and the witness is a false witness, having testified falsely against his brother,(JohnGill)(1) says,commenting on this text, “Deuteronomy 19:17,”in his famous commentary, “Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible”:

and teaches that there is no witness by women ; and so it is elsewhere said (a), an oath of witness is made by men, and not by women ; on which it is observed (b) that a woman is not fit to bear witness, as it is written: then both the men,.... men and not women; and the above writer remarks further, that it teaches that they ought to bear testimony standing.

Translation: And it is known that there is no testimony from women , since he says elsewhere (a), The oath of testimony is made by men, not by women ; since (b) he notes that women are not fit to testify , as it is written: Then both men, .... men, not women; and the above writer makes it clearer, that he teaches that they must give testimony standing.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
http://gill.biblecommenter.com/deuteronomy/19.htm This is because: The Hebrew word used in the previous text ( Deuteronomy 19:17 The men between whom there is a dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who shall be in those days. ) and translated as “ the two men ” is ( אִישׁ - iysh - ايش ) and it only means men (as opposed to women):

Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

H376: אישׁ - 'îysh (eesh): Contracted for H582 (or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant); a man as an individual or a male person ; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation.): - also, another, any (man) , a certain, + champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, [foot-, husband -] man, (good-, great, mighty) man , he , high (degree), him (that is), husband , man [-kind], + none, one, people, person, + steward, what (man) soever, whoso (-ever), worthy. Compare H802.

Translation: Related to ( H582 ) (or perhaps rather from an unused root H376: אישׁ - to be present); man as an individual or male as a person ; often used as an appendix to a more emphatic expression (and in such cases often does not appear in the translation): - also, any (man), emphatic, + hero, agreement, each, every (one), fellow , [origin, husband ] man, (great great good) man, he (He) , high (degree), (that), husband , man [type] , + nothing, one, people, person, + host, which (man) whoever, which he (ever), worthy. Compare H802. A. Old Testament: Second Example: Cursed Water: Numbers 5 11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: If a man’s wife goes astray and commits trespass against him, 13 and a man lies with her as if she were a virgin, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband , and she is hid, and she is unclean, and there is no witness against her, and she has not been taken, 14 and a spirit of jealousy comes upon him, and he is jealous for his wife , 15 Then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and bring her offering with her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall not pour oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a food offering of jealousy, a memorial offering that brings to mind transgression. 16 Then the priest shall bring her and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman’s head, and put in her hands the memorial offering, which is the offering of the sacrifice. 19 And the priest shall make the woman swear , and say to her, If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness from under your husband, then be free from this bitter water that causes a curse . 20 But if you have gone astray from under your husband and have become defiled, and a man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 then the priest shall make the woman swear an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say to the woman, ‘The Lord makes you a curse and an oath among your people, that the Lord makes your thigh fall off and your belly swell. 22






And this water that causes the curse shall enter into your bowels to cause the swelling of the belly, and to cause the loss of the thigh. And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen. 23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall blot them out in the bitter water. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that causes the curse, and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her for bitterness. 25 And the priest shall take the jealousy offering from the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest shall take from the offering, her memorial offering, and burn it on the altar, and afterward he shall give the woman water to drink. 27 And when he gives her the water to drink, and if she has been defiled and has been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings the curse shall enter into her to make her bitter, and her belly shall swell up, and her thigh shall fall off, and the woman shall be a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not been defiled, but is clean, then she shall be clean and shall conceive seed. 29 “ This is the law of jealousy: If a woman goes astray from her husband and becomes defiled, 30 or if a man is possessed by a spirit of jealousy and is jealous for his wife, then he shall bring the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall do for her according to all this law. 31 Then the man shall be free from the iniquity, and the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

Hence we find:that the Holy Book did not make or give any value to a woman’s testimony for herself, completely contrary tothe Holy Qur’an, which gave women complete equality with men in this matter as in the Almighty’s saying:

{And those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses except themselves -then the testimony of one of them is four testimonies by Allah that he is of the truthful(6)and the fifthis that the curse of Allah be upon him if he is of the liars (7)and the punishment will be averted from her if she bears witness four times by Allah that he is{From the liars(8)and the fifth,that the wrath of Allah is upon her, if he is of the truthful (9) and had it not been for the grace of Allah upon you and His mercy and that Allah is Forgiving and Wise (10)}
[An-Nur: 6-10] Here the Holy Quran has completely equated the testimony of a man with the testimony of a woman (each of them has four testimonies) , while in the story of the Bible , it did not give the testimony of a woman any value or status based on the previous text (

Deuteronomy 19:17 ) which clearly states that the testimony is only from men and there is no testimony from women.

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B. New Testament:

1 Corinthians 11
6 For if the woman does not cover herself, let her also be shorn; and if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair shorn or shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man . 8 For man is not of woman, but woman of man. 9 And man was not created for woman , but woman for man. 10 Therefore the woman ought to have a power of attorney on her head because of the angels.

1 Corinthians 14
34 Let your women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted to them to speak, but to be submissive , as the law also says. 35 But if they want to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

1 Timothy 2:12
But I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence . 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve . 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, was in the transgression.

And in the commentary of (Ambrosiaster) “Ambrose” (2) on these texts it says:

Ambrosiaster: Author of a commentary on St. Paul's Letters; wrongly attributed to St. Ambrose; 4th cent. AD: Women are not created in the image of God:

On 1 Corinthians 14, 34. “Women must cover their heads because they are not the image of God. They must do this as a sign of their subjection to authority and because sin came into the world through them. Their heads must be covered in church in order to honor the bishop. In like manner they have no authority to speak because the bishop is the embodiment of Christ. They must thus act before the bishop as before Christ, the judge, since the bishop is the representative of the Lord. Because of original sin they must show themselves submissive.”
“How can anyone maintain that woman is the likeness of God when she is demonstrably subject to the dominion of man and has no kind of authority? For she can neither teach nor be a witness in a court nor exercise citizenship nor be a judge-then certainly not exercise dominion.”

Translation: In 1 Corinthians 14:34. “ Women should cover their heads because they are not made in the image of God. They should do so as a sign of their submission to authority and because sin came into the world through them. They should cover their heads in church out of respect for the bishop (metropolitan). In this way they have no authority to speak, because the bishop is from Christ. Therefore they should act before the bishop as before Christ, and before the judge, since the bishop is the representative of the Lord. Because of original sin they should show themselves submissive.

” How can any conservative say that women are made in the image of God when they are clearly under the control of men and have no authority of any kind? " She cannot teach or testify in court , nor exercise citizenship, nor be a judge, and certainly cannot exercise any sovereignty."

Ambrosiaster: Author of a commentary on St. Paul's Letters; wrongly attributed to St. Ambrose; 4th cent. AD:
http://www.womenpriests.org/traditio/brosiast.asp

(1) : (John Gill - John Gill ) was an English Baptist minister, biblical scholar: (November 23, 1697 -- October 14, 1771) :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gill_%28theologian%29

(2): ( Ambrose - Ambrosiaster ): The name given to the author of the commentary on all the Epistles of Saint Paul, with the exception of the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is usually published with the Acts of Saint Ambrose (R.L., XVII, 45-508).
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01406a.htm