Thursday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading is part of the second creation account in Genesis. In the first account God creates man and woman at the same instant. No distinction, except that the man is mentioned first, is made between the two. Both are said to be created in the image of God. In the second account the man is created first from dust. After him, God creates all the other animals in an attempt to find a suitable partner for the man. As a final effort, God creates the woman from a rib taken from the man’s side.
Feminists have called this second creation account sexist. They point out that because the man is created first, he enjoys a priority of status. More offensive still is the way the woman is created -- from a single bone taken from the man’s side as if she were just a subsidiary being. However, there are strong counterarguments to these objections. First, the woman is at least created from another human being where man’s material component is dirt. Second, the woman is presumably made a complete form whereas the man, having a rib removed, is left incomplete. Third, the man gives his partner a certain priority as he names her “woman” (in Hebrew “’ishah”) before he names himself (‘ish). Indeed, he can name himself only because the woman stands before him as someone both alike and different.
Women have been called “the second sex.” This term accurately indicates the chronological appearance of women in the second creation account. But it need not denote moral or existential inferiority. In Genesis women and men are equal in dignity and are made to assist one another. Together they will appreciate and develop God’s creation.
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