When God Was a Woman

In this chapter, Stone examines how Hebrew religious leaders systematically opposed goddess worship through violent suppression and the establishment of patriarchal sexual codes. She argues that the Levite priests viewed the ancient goddess religion as a direct threat to their emerging male-dominated social order.

The Hebrew religious texts contain explicit commands to murder family members who worship other deities, including children, spouses, and friends. Stone notes that these laws specifically targeted men as enforcers, while notably excluding husbands from the list of relatives who might be killed for suggesting alternative worship. The Levites also ordered the destruction of entire towns that served gods other than Yahweh.

Stone contends that the fundamental conflict centered on different attitudes toward female sexuality and property ownership. In goddess-worshipping cultures, women maintained sexual autonomy, owned property, and practiced matrilineal inheritance. This system directly challenged the Hebrew patriarchal structure that required women to be designated as male property to ensure paternal lineage.

The Hebrew prophets consistently used sexual metaphors to condemn both goddess worship and female independence. Stone provides extensive examples from Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and other biblical figures who compared Hebrew defection to Yahweh with female adultery and prostitution. These religious leaders labeled temple priestesses and sexually autonomous women as “harlots,” transforming sacred practices into symbols of moral corruption.