A gender perspective on male and female sacrificial animals in Leviticus 1-7

Abstract

This dissertation attempts to look at the value of animals found in the blood sacrifices presented in Leviticus 1-7 from a feminist/gender perspective. The dissertation shows that from an economic perspective, female animals seem to hold more value than male animals. However, on a symbolic and metaphoric level, male animals dominate. The first objective was to find a feminist approach which fits with an analysis of animal values; as a feminist/gender approach often uses multiple methods. Overall the feminist historical approach highlights the understanding that patriarchy is at the root of most misinterpreted values, misinterpreted social, class, gender, age and agricultural values. Thus, an understanding of the cultural, societal and agricultural structures is necessary. The analysis on culture, society and agriculture provided the understanding that the Ancient Near East’s society operated within an interactive domain. Each sector (environmental, religious, economic, etc.) acted in accordance with one another, influenced each other and to an extent, mirrored one another. The analysis also emphasised the fact that Ancient Israel was a patriarchal, patrilocal and patrilineal society, which inevitably deemed females as of lower status in public, private and political spheres. However, the analysis of female animals illustrates that they had more abilities to produce commodities which should elevate their value. A further objective was understanding how the ordering of sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7 portrayed and possibly influenced the value of animals. When accepting the natural order of Leviticus 1-5 as it stands in the text, the emphasis on male animals as superior is subtle but evident. However, Leviticus 6-7 presents one with a different order; this has been coined as the administrative order, which motivates and emphasises male animal superiority as well as the social hierarchy. Another aspect of influence is what significance the victim holds when presented alongside certain members of the community. In Leviticus 4, the חַטָּאת offering, allocates specific 2 animals, with their specific sex to certain individuals. The internal ordering of the חַטָּאת leaves female animals with a lower social status as they are always described alongside low-status individuals. Entering the final stage of the dissertation, with a feminist historical approach one can show that the value of male and female humans were superimposed onto the value of male and female animals and that male animal’s value was elevated due to its connection with patriarchal societal constructs. Thus, sacrifices acted as a form of communication which claimed ultimate authority. Connecting social hierarchies subtly into the sacrificial system through the displacement of animals values helped implement and maintain the societal values which the patriarchal society had by justifying its authority based on Yahweh’s holy instructions for the Israelites.