Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis: Aristotle, Philo, Origen

Aristotle, Politics Book 1, 1254b

Here Aristotle explained the importance of superiority in nature. He began by pointing out that the soul had natural control over the body, as well as the "rational element over the passionate." However, he believed that equality or rule of the inferiority was detrimental. If the body always went with its instincts, men would sin, and passion overshadowing reason can lead to deleterious repercussions. Aristotle went on relating this to animals and men. Because tame animals have "better nature" than wild animals, he believed that men ruling over animals was a beneficial practice. He then took out the animals and replaced them with women, stating that men being superior over their female counterparts was "of necesssity" and thus essential to the survival of mankind altogether.

On Creation of the Cosmos:

According to Philo, the creation of woman was the origin of Adam's suffering. Before Eve was created, Adam resembled God has much as possible for a mortal. But when God created woman from man, God took a piece of Adam's body away from him. Philo argued that, because they both were separate halves, the two beings would have desire to unite with one another in order to be complete, and more "similar to themselves." Philo then went on to say that this gave rise to bodily desire, a physical longing that led to "wicked deeds and violations of the Law." Because woman was created from man, Philo argued, Adam had to give up a life of immortality for a "life of mortality and misfortune." As such, Philo believed that God's choice to create man from woman was the origin of human suffering. Because men and woman were incomplete persons, they would constantly have a desire to find the missing piece to their flesh and soul. In essence, loneliness became a human condition that would lead to other forms of suffering and "wicked deeds." Men and women would go to great lengths to satisfy this desire that became apart of their emotional infrastructure. Thus, it was clear Philo had negative feelings toward woman and blamed them for all forms of human suffering.

Quaestiones et Solutiones in Genesin:

Here, Philo once again discussed his feelings about woman and their place in society. First, he answered the question, "Why does Scripture call the likeness of the woman "a building"?" Because female vocation involved "affairs of the home," this comparison was very appropriate. It was even more appropriate because without a house, and therefore without a woman, men are homeless and incomplete. The next question Philo answered why woman were created from man rather than "from earth?" He explained that woman were inferior to men and thus, this was appropriate. But how can woman be inferior to men if they are incomplete without them? He goes on further to say that woman are meant to serve men as a whole and because of this, woman should play the role of a daughter to their husbands, who are their father. Thus, Philo attempted to answer this question by elucidating the inequality between men and women. Because women was created from man in the Garden of Eden, men would rule over woman, but would be completely dependent on their services.

The next question Philo answered was, "Why does (Scripture) say, "Wherefore man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh?" He explained that this had to do with the nature of man. Men were naturally more bold than woman, and thus, were more driven to leave their parents and to fufill their desires to find their wives. Thus, men would have a much closer partnership with their wives, which would be even greater than their parents. This was important so that the woman would be obedient to her master, her husband. He went further and referred to the Scripture in which the man and woman are two in one flesh. He elucidated that this meant that together man and woman would feel the same emotions, whether it be pain, pleasure, or happiness. Thus, Philo believed that because woman was created from man, the two would feel the same things when they were reunited to become one flesh. He also believed that it was necessary for a man to leave his parents for the woman, so that the woman would be able to leave her parents. Thus, men have the strength to leave their parents, but women acquire this strength from her husband.

The next question Philo answered was, "Why does the serpent speak to the woman and not to the man?". Philo explained that the snake knew that a woman was much more easily deceived than man. Thus, Philo used stereotypical behavior of woman to answer this question. He believed that because stereotypical woman were softer than man, and thus, more gullible, the snake thought it would be easier to trick Eve rather than Adam. Philo obviously believed in the superiority of man over woman. The next question he answered was similar, asking, "Why does the woman first touch the tree and eat of its fruit, and afterwards the man also take of it?" He explained that because the two were "sense-perceptible," the woman was "a symbol of sense and man, of mind." Thus, the woman's choice became the man's choice as well. Phil also introduced the allegory of men and women, in which men symbolized immortality and good, woman represented death and everything vile. Philo's belief that men were superior to women was once again clear, here. He believed that, in the Garden of Eden, women, not the snake, tainted men with the evil that they represented. Before the influence of women, men were this godlike, great creature, but with the creation and sin of Eve became tainted and imperfect.

The next question Philo answered was, "Why, when they hid themselves from the face of God, was not the woman, who first ate of the forbidden fruit, first mentioned, but the man, for (Scripture) says, "Adam and his wife hid themselves"? He explained that it was because men were superior to women that this happened. Once again, Phil revealed his anti-feminist beliefs. Once again, Philo answered another question, "Why does He, who knows all things, ask Adam, "Where art thou?" and why does He not also ask the woman?" He believed that this question directed towards Adam was not necessarily dealing with geographical location, but rather a "threat," asking why Adam had chosen a life of "death and unhappiness." Thus, Philo explained, the question would not be fitting for Eve, since she represented death and unhappiness. Philo's anti-feminist views were clearly exemplified once again.

Finally, Philo answered the question of why woman were curse with painful childbirths and being ruled by husbands. He believed that these "curses" were a necessity, just as men's painful labor was a necessity. Without pain and suffering, their can be no senses, and thus, our senses of smell, touch, hearing, taste, and sight have both negative and positive outcomes. Things may be sensibly good, but without the bad, something cannot be good, since one cannot distinguish the two. Perhaps, Philo was trying to use this analogy to emphasize the creation of man and woman. Why would God create man, an allegory of perfection and righteousness, and woman, a symbol of imperfection and evil? Philo reasoned that this was because without woman, men could not be considered perfect and good, since he had nothing to be compared with.

Homilies on Genesis: Origen

In Homily 1, Origen addressed the various meanings behind the following passage:

"Male and female he made them, and God blessed them saying: 'Increase and multiply and fill the earth and have dominion over it."

Origen first pointed out that because God preceded to say that male and female were created together, and followed this statement with a command to reproduce, God was giving his blessing to humans to have sex in order to multiply. From this, one could conclude that God created man and woman together in order for them to reproduce and survive. He also indicated that God created things in pairs, such as the moon and the sun, heaven adn earth, and sea and land. Thus, God was following this pattern when he created humans in opposing pairs, male and female.

After this, Origen decided to look at the passage from an allegorical standpoint. He explained that men consist of a spirit (male) and soul (female). The relationship of a spirit and a soul related to the relationship between a man and a woman. The spirit has dominion over flesh, but soul, if united with the spirit, could turn the spirit away based on bodily desires. Thus, the soul can lead the body and the spirit to becoming sinners, and thus turning away from God. However, the soul, despite the fact that it causes the soul to yield into bodily desires, is still absolutely essential in order for a spirit to persist. Like men and women, a soul is nothing without a spirit, and a spirit is nothing without a soul. In other words, men have control over their lives, but when a women comes into their life, even though women are essential to the survival of man, men typically turn to bodily desires and sin.

In Homily 6, Origen goes further into the relationship between a man and a women by using Sara and Abraham as examples. He described Sara as the virtue of the soul. God told Abraham to "hearken" Sara's voice. Even though God has instructed husbands to rule over their wives, he also teached men to respect and listen to their wives. For without them, they will have no counsel. Thus, a healthy marriage is all about the husband ruling over the wife, but the husband also "Hearkening to the voice" of his wife, the virtue of his soul. As such, the wife contributes virtue to the marriage.