In seeking out the meaning of Isaiah's words in 3:16-4:1, I will employ methods of form-criticism, in this instance, attempting to reconstruct women's lives and experience through both the biblical text and other sources. I will also make use of sociorhetorical criticism that seeks out the history of marginalized groups, such as women in the rhetoric employed by the prophets.
As is often true, women's stories are hidden and buried within the text, thereby requiring a variety of methods to determine the actual nature of the story being told. Unfortunately, the bible is our only written record of ancient Israel. There are no marriage contracts or court transactions to shed light on the lives of real women in this society. For the purposes of this study, I will employ not only literary sources, but also archaeological evidence. Little literary evidence is left of the day to day lives of women; however archaeology can fill in some of the blanks, providing evidence of attire, behavior and social roles. While this study will focus specifically on a biblical text, it is necessary to consider the historical and social roles played by women during this period.
The bible does not question the male dominated society that created it. The subordination of women is, throughout the Old Testament, merely another part of the hierarchical power structure of the ancient Near East. Women were subordinate to men in not only society, but in the home as well. Women were accorded a higher status prior to the exile, but with the exile came new laws that lowered their relative status. While women were socially subordinate, they were not property, yet they were under male control. Women's sexuality, and in fact their very lives, were not their own, but were first under the control of their fathers and then of their husbands. This can be seen quite clearly in the story of Jephthah's daughter, told in Judges 11:5-40. This story, in which Jephthah sacrifices his daughter to Yahweh, clearly reveals the role of subordinate figures within ancient Israelite society. Women could be punished harshly by either father or husband if they exercised their sexuality in inappropriate ways, i.e. outside of marriage. Male control of female sexuality served to ensure the paternity of any offspring produced within a marriage.
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