I have been confronted with the assertion that it is not proper for a woman/wife to pray out loud when praying with her husband, that only he should pray out loud for both of them and she should remain silent. Further, the assertion is that she may pray out loud with other women or with children. I am curious if this is Biblically accurate.
2006-08-22 10:00:36 · 4 answers · asked by Zebra4 5 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Other - Arts & Humanities
I think it was the custom that the man lead the worship and would have done any verbal praying as he was seen as representing the family before God (and the community). Nowhere in the Bible is any dictation (as far as I know), regarding the manner in which a woman should have done her prayers. 1 Samuel 1 describes Hannah praying to the Lord to give her a son. She was praying with only her lips moving. Eli the priest observed her and because he could not hear her, he assumed she was drunk. I thus assume from that description that women were allowed to pray out loud. I do not think that religion would have dictated the manner, as much as society would have.
2006-08-27 23:56:38 · answer #1 · answered by lew_lewisje 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God says in the bible that the man is the head of his family like christ is the head of the church. The man praying is symbolic of him leading his family. I guess if the head of the family is present, why not have him pray? But maybe the wife might want to add something. I'm sure that the wife remained silent according to ancient hebrew custom. After all, in what ancient times was it ever not a widely accepted thing for women to remain silent in most everything?
2006-08-26 20:25:30 · answer #2 · answered by Kalinka 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it involves singing, since a woman's 'voice' is considered seductive, even if it isn't, it is not proper for a man to pray when he can hear the voice of women singing. There are differences of opinion in regards to prayer though. There are some Rabbis that say that since prayer is a holy service, it is not seen as seductive, but most Rabbinic Authorities have disagreed with this. In regards to praying in front of other woman or children they are not seduced in the same way.
2006-08-22 10:11:26 · answer #3 · answered by victorygirl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not too sure about the Hebrew women but I don't know of anywhere in the Bible that is says that. As for Christian women , they have every right to pray outloud alone, in a group, or with their husband.
2006-08-27 01:34:43 · answer #4 · answered by vanhammer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋