Ready to strike a blow – Women and Violence in Petitions from Egypt and Early Christian Discourse

Abstract

The judge in Luke 18:5 is afraid that a widow is going to give him a black eye. Is this rooted in every day experience? The article looks for evidence for every day physical violence used by women. Every now and then we have petitions from Egypt accusing women of violent behavior. An analysis of this material generates some patterns regarding violence used by women. Against the background of this results, early Christian literature can be understood more nuanced compared to their environment. The article shows that petitions from Egypt support a literal translation of Luke 18:5 and that there are different attitudes and contradictory gender stereotypes to be found in Early Christian Literature regarding violence used by women.