Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 62:4 (Dec 2019)
Article: Male And Female Sexual Exploitation In Light Of The Book Of Genesis
Author: Brian Neil Peterson

JETS 62:4 (December 2019) p. 693

Male And Female Sexual Exploitation
In Light Of The Book Of Genesis

Brian Neil Peterson*

* Brian Neil Peterson is Associate Professor of OT at Lee University, 1120 N. Ocoee Street, Cleveland, TN 37311. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: In recent years, Western society, and America in particular, has seen an increase of high-profile accusations of sexual abuse leveled against men, especially those in positions of power. These cases have been litigated in both the court of public opinion and in actual courtrooms. This, in turn, has spawned an unprecedented rash of movements as well as a social-media storm that have indicted men and their putative toxic masculinity as the root of many of the ills of Western culture. Such positions have left many men reeling in the wake of these broad-stroke accusations. But are men the only ones to blame for the sexual oppression within Western society, and culture at large? Indeed, does the biblical evidence support such a position in light of the fall? This paper uses the foundational book of the Torah—Genesis—as a test case to assess this modern axiom. By examining the numerous cases of sexual abuse and abuse of power in Genesis, this paper will conclude that the fall affected both men and women in their sexuality in a more profound way than is often realized. In fact, a number of the cases of sexual abuse and exploitation recorded in Genesis are perpetrated by women. What is more, a number of the examples of sexual exploitation and abuse of power parallel sexual exploitation in today’s Western culture.

Key words: sexuality, Genesis, Genesis 3, #MeToo movement, patriarchy, sexual exploitation

Living both in the midst, and in the wake, of the #MeToo movement in the United States over the past couple of years has been liberating for some, and downright frightening for others, especially if they are male. No indiscretion from one’s past, even if it transpired during one’s youth, is beyond the scrutiny of sexual-justice warriors. While the breaking of the laws of a country is certainly grounds for the call for justice and appropriate retribution, one must be careful with always siding with a person—of either gender—against another without due process; the high-profile Supreme Court nomination hearings of the recent past certainly have proven to be a poignant reminder in this regard. The reality is that both males and females are flawed when it comes to sexual sin and the exploitation of others. Unfortunately, this is not always the way in which the mainstream media or social media “commentators” present these types of cases: men, especially powerful men, it is argued, are most often to blame and man...