Women in Ugarit and Israel: Their Social and Religious Position in the Context of the Ancient Near East

Some commentators have suggested that monotheism is the culprit behind the patriarchal society of the biblical Israelites. Comparing biblical texts with extra-biblical sources from Ugarit, a polytheistic society existing on the coast of Syria ca. 1400-1185 BCE, independent scholar Marsman (Ph.D. in theology, Theological U. Kampen, the Netherlands) contrasts the social and religious positions of women in the two societies, with often ambiguous results in regards to family and other social po...