The Place of Women in Public Settings in Matthew's Gospel: a Sociological Inquiry

Abstract

This study makes a gender analysis of the place of women among three character groups: the disciples, the crowds, and the religious leaders as they are taught by Jesus or interact with him in three representative public settings: the Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:28), the Parables Discourse (13:1-52), and the clash between Jesus and the authorities in the temple (21:12-23:29). The study opens with a description of two gender-specific analogies to provide a social index for analyzing the Matthean data: a macrosociological model of the public status of women in advanced agrarian societies, and a social summary of the public place of women in mishnaic culture. The religious authorities parallel advanced agrarian gender expectations without variation. The disciples are like and unlike the religious authorities. The crowds open a real but limited social alternative for women. The writing's treatment of women in public settings draws upon an old androcentric framework but emphasizes a new inclusion. To neglect either of these dimensions limits our understanding of this aspect of the social setting of the Matthean church.