This essay is about the Jewish roots of Christianity and what it says about the role of women as an oppressed group. Overall, the theme of women with Jewish roots illustrates how women were typically mistreated within the community. The representation of leading women in historical texts was minimal, and they were usually subjected to harsh treatment. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the Jewish roots of Christianity, when Abraham and his wife Sarai were unable to become pregnant, Sarai offered to her slave, Hagar, so she could conceive Abraham's son. At that time it was considered acceptable to offer slaves for sexual intercourse without their consent. The widespread practice and acceptance of sexual slavery shows the terrible treatment of women during that time period. Women were treated as men's property and could be sold to other men at the time. Another example of this is found in Genesis 31 when Jacob, son of Isaac, wanted to marry Rachel but Laban, his father, told him that he would have to work hard for Rachel's hand. Meanwhile, Laban married his eldest daughter, Leah, to Jacob. The fact that Leah and Rachel were both sisters and yet married to the same man says a lot about what was acceptable during that time and also tells us how they were treated after Laban gave birth to their eldest daughter, Leah, without asking them first. Jacob had 12 sons by his wives, Leah and Rachel, and their slaves. These 12 sons represented the 12 tribes of Israel. While the writings speak of the sons of Jacob, we have little to no texts about the daughters of Jacob. Genesis 34 mentions one of his daughters, Dinah, but the 12 tribes of Israel were not named after any of his daughters. One of the Jewish laws under the covenant was the practice of circumcision to be considered Jewish. This also means that women were not directly involved in Jewish law as the practice of circumcision was limited to men only. The Jewish people considered women to be an outgroup and therefore excluded Jewish law. Anyone unfamiliar with the Jewish people was considered excluded from Jewish law. Factors predicting familiarity were geography (people close to the temple), indicators of purity (circumcision, dietary restrictions, and temple sacrifices), family, and gender. Women in the temple era were not allowed to conduct worship and they were not allowed to worship inside the temple either. They were all segregated from men. Women had their own single-sex synagogues; furthermore, a higher percentage of men during that time were taught to read and write than women because a woman's education was highly questioned. Furthermore, it was very unusual for a woman to be involved in labor or to be a teacher for others within the community. This shows that women have not had the chance to show their potential or represent themselves as intellectual beings within the community. Instead, they were taught domestic tasks, such as cleaning, making clothes, and cooking for men. Widowed women in Jewish roots were described as the poorest in the Jewish community. Without the role of the male in the lives of women, they would hardly be able to survive within society. This was due to the lack of proper education and employment opportunities for women in the society. Furthermore, women who menstruated were considered impure. They had to be kept separate from everyone because any person or object they touched was also considered unclean. That is.