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The women in the Bible are rarely mentioned by name, with named women representing only 5.5 to 8 percent of the total of all named characters, male and female. This suggests that women were not usually in the forefront of public life. Those women that are named, rose to prominence for reasons outside the ordinary. They are often an aspect of the over-turning of man-made power structures commonly found in a biblical literary device called a reversal. Abigail and Esther, Jael who drove a tent peg into the enemy commander's temple while he slept, are a few examples of women who turned the tables on men with power. The founding matriarchs are mentioned by name, as are some prophetesses, judges, heroines, and Queens, while the common woman is largely, though not completely, unseen. The slave Hagar's story is told, and the prostitute Rahab's story is also told, along with a few others like them. All Ancient Near Eastern societies were patriarchal, and the Bible is a patriarchal document, written by men from a patriarchal age. Many scholars see the primary emphasis of the Bible as reinforcing women's subordinate status. However, there are also scholars who claim there is a kind of gender blindness in the Bible as well as patriarchy. Marital laws in the Bible favored men, as did inheritance laws. There were strict laws of sexual behavior with adultery a crime punishable by stoning. A woman in ancient Bible days was always under the authority of a man and was subject to strict purity laws, both ritual and moral. However, women such as Deborah, the Shunnemite woman, and the prophetess Huldah, rise above societal limitations in their stories and help demonstrate that the Hebrew Bible does not attempt to justify cultural subordination with an ideology of superiority or otherness. The Bible contains many noted narratives of women as both victors and victims, women who change the course of events, and women who are powerless and unable to affect their own destinies. The New Testament refers to a number of women in Jesus’ inner circle, and he is generally seen by scholars as dealing with women with respect. The New Testament names many women in positions of leadership in the early church as well. There are controversies within the contemporary Christian church concerning women. For example, Paul the Apostle refers to Junia as outstanding among the apostles and there is disagreement over whether Junia was a woman and an apostle, and Mary Magdalene's role as a leader is also disputed. Sexuality has played a major role in these issues which have impacted, and continue to impact, how the modern Christian church sees the role of women. These changing views of women in the Bible are reflected in art and culture.
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