(Women and Words) From Oppression to Empowerment: Women in Scripture

00:00 Introduction to Mutuality Matters 

00:02 Cultural Background and Personal Story 

01:33 Guest Introduction: Mayra Ugalde 

03:24 Mayra's Experience with the Bible 

07:22 Impact of the Bible on Women's Lives 

13:41 Challenges and Misinterpretations 

16:40 Mayra's Work and Contributions 

21:38 Jesus's View of Women 

24:02 Translation vs. Interpretation 

43:49 God's Maternal Love 

52:11 Conclusion and Resources 

Speaking as a Christian born, raised and in the Latin culture where she continues to work, Mayra explores the complex influence and tension between Bible translation and culture, including Bible culture. Mayra observes how often culture and church tradition have more influence than one’s one reading of Scripture. Mayra briefly explores the history of Christianity in Latin America with the influence of the Catholic church. It wasn’t until 1966 that the dominant religion opened opportunities for lay people to read Scripture, on their own. At this time, the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed these throughout Latin America. As people began to read the Bible, they began to change some of their perspectives. 

Mayra’s mother believed her daughters should serve their brothers. Mayra’s father treated her brothers as kings. Her father said women should have and raise children. Life’s work was defined by gender. Mayra met a man who did not believe girls and women should read the Bible without a man in the room. Reading scripture for herself, Mayra found Sheerah’s story (1 Chron. 7:20–24) empowering Though Sheerah’s father was disgraced by having a daughter, Scripture notes that her name means “At least one woman”; and this one daughter--Sheerah brought honor to her family and nation by building two large, strategic, and successful cities. While people believe that God’s word says negative things about females, if read well, Scripture challenges gender bias by honoring women like Sheerah as strong rescuers.  

Throughout her career, Mayra noticed how Bible translations and commentaries teams were produced by scholars holding to a single perspective. From this she learned the importance of including scholars that honor the authority of Scripture yet hold diverse perspectives on key issues. Mayra reminds us that the Holy Spirit guides us as we read Scripture. This is especially true and crucial for women who too often are told by pastors what the Scripture says about women. But by reading the text themselves, the Spirit can liberate women from cultural, church and denominational gender bias. Women in the Church have to read the Bible for themselves to hear the Lord speaking to them because the pastors are not God, as Paul said about the people from Berea, in Acts 17:11 “... Day after day they studied the Scriptures to see if these things were true.”  

It is fascinating how Jesus interpreted Scripture, introducing woman as the “daughter of Abraham” at a time when women were not considered equal heirs with the “sons of Abraham.” Luke’s Gospel is very clear about the welcome Jesus gave to women. 

Mayra discusses the importance of understanding Bible translation as a science. Skilled translators understand Bible culture and realize that Scripture was written by about 40 authors over 1,200 years. In lapses of time like this, there were vast changes in the culture; in languages; and in the people’s views. The Bible is a collection of books of many authors from many differing cultures, many of whom did not know each other. It’s important to understand the unique culture of each text we read and to understand what is applicable for us today.  

Consider the story of Vashti (Esther 1.15-20) as it honors how Vashti challenged the cultural expectation that a wife obeys their husband in everything even as he asks her to do something morally reprehensible. Vashti resisted evil. Her expectation was that her husband would behave as Paul notes in Ephesians 5:25-33.  

When you read the Bible, you need to recognize the historical and cultural context of the text, as every culture upholds good and permits evil. Mayra considers the story of Hagar and Sarah as examples. It’s possible that Pharoah gave Hagar to Sarah as they left Egypt as a cultural practice. We need not judge Egyptian culture, but we can learn from the story, that God never abandons Hagar or Sarah. God is very tender and sees their (and our) suffering.  
 
The greatest impact in freeing women are texts like Gen 1:26–27 (woman is created in God’s image); Gal 3:26–30 that being clothed in Christ is our highest identity regardless of race, class or gender; that Jesus found women who suffered (in Samaria and Syrophoenicia) and he freed and gave women respect, dignity and empowerment. 

Mayra explored the Motherly Love of God as it heals the church, especially women. God’s Motherly Love is noted in: 

• Gen. 3:8–21 when God sewed clothes (like a mother) for Adam and Eve, after they sinned and were naked and afraid. God does not abandon his son and daughter after they sin but sends them his maternal love. God loves us from his depth, from the bottom of his heart. God has maternal love for his creation, and for the human being. 

• In Hosea 11:3–4 Like a mother, God took Israel by the arm and taught them to walk. But they would not admit that I was the one who had healed them. 4 I led them with kindness and with love, not with ropes. I held them close to me; I bent down to feed them. 

• Deut. 32:11 God, like a mother bird, swooping down to catch it’s young  

• Isaiah 49:15 God, like a mother, cannot forget the child she bore, fed and nursed with her own body. Even if a mother forgets her child, God cannot not forget God’s children. 

Guest Bio 

Mayra Ugalde currently serves as Honorary Director of the Bible Society of Costa Rica, where serve in different areas of the Publishing, Promoting and Distribution of the Bible in all over the country, for more of 43 years.  Also serves in the Publishing Committee for the all American Continent in the United Bible Society, where participate in the developing and publishing different study Bibles and specifically in the developing of  Bible with helps for the women for Latin America that’s call “The Women in the Bible” and also a Bible with helps for the women in the adult time that was call “The Bible I Adore”. Mayra has an MBA in Administration, and Postgraduate in Bible, publish articles in national newspapers and nowadays writes devotionals and blogs leading readers to interact with the Bible.      

 

Other CBE Resources 

God as Motherly Father and Fatherly Mother 

Three (Faulty) Objections to Feminine Language for God 

Why Mothers Matter as much as Fathers in Shaping Our Perception of God