Can women be prophetesses in Abrahamic religions?

[Sahar]

There's nothing in Judaism or in the scripture that say a woman must take a male escort (kinsman) to go out in public.

Nor do they have dress code of what they should wear.

Women wearing headscarf is not mandate to hide the women's modesty. The ancient Israelites lived in arid region, just like the pre-Islamic and Islamic Arab societies do, so it make sense to protect the body from harsh climate. That's far more pragmatic reason why the women dress the way they back then and in that region. It is more to with survival.

Do you think Deborah could be both judge and prophetess if she stayed at home?

With Islam there are too many rules that restrict women movements in public, how they dress or they can't to strangers (esp. males) in public, which is far more oppressive than they do in Judaism.

And more importantly, you insist on your ignorance in a strange way...

 

[gnostic]

Then feel free to refute any point. This is a debate forum.

If you think I ignorant than show the similarities between the Qur'an/Sunnah and the Judaic Torah, where Israelite/Jewish women must keep their head covered because of decency. Or that women going out required escorts or else they get rape.

The Muslims here and in other topics make women weak. I think they are strong enough to seek any job they want, study what they want, marry whom they want. They don't need religion to oppress or suppress women's capabilities. You have Islamic societies, not all, but some that arrest and punish women if they go out without escorts or if they wear headscarves or proper clothings.

If men can be prophets, then so can women.

I don't even believe in prophecy, prophet or god, but I read the literature and see that there is possibilities that there can be female prophets. Proud Muslim, Fullyveiled Muslimah and AbuKhalid have each stated that women can't be prophets. When I showed them actual passages in the Bible/Tanakh where there are women who are prophetesses, they completely ignore it.

This is not just about female prophets in Islam. My topic is about Abrahamic religion. If I prove that there are precedence for being female prophets, even the numbers are significant large, and showed you the relevant passages or books, then who is the really ignorant ones here?

 

[gnostic]

I have noticed that Bah'ai Faith have non-Abrahamic prophets (eg. Krishna and Buddha), and they accepted all Abrahamic scriptures.

Do Bah'ai believe that women can be prophet too?

Also LDS. So far LDS have only accepted men as prophets, since Joseph Smith.

Do Mormons believe that women can be prophets too, seeing that Miriam, Deborah, Huldah and Anna were prophets in the bible?

 

[Peace]

Then feel free to refute any point. This is a debate forum.

If you think I ignorant than show the similarities between the Qur'an/Sunnah and the Judaic Torah, where Israelite/Jewish women must keep their head covered because of decency. Or that women going out required escorts or else they get rape.

The Muslims here and in other topics make women weak. I think they are strong enough to seek any job they want, study what they want, marry whom they want. They don't need religion to oppress or suppress women's capabilities. You have Islamic societies, not all, but some that arrest and punish women if they go out without escorts or if they wear headscarves or proper clothings.

If you are really willing to learn you can have a look at the following thread.

http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/islam/78516-women-islam-5.html

 

[fullyveiled muslimah]

Just for the record, I am not of the opinion that women are weak. Islam doesn't say so either. Under Islam a woman may pursue whatever halal career she wants, level of education she wants, run a business, be a doctor, engineer, or whatever else. Neither me nor Islam asserts that women are stupid or weak.

I mentioned only some possible reasons why a woman wouldn't have been a good choice for the position. Among those was the types of societies and how women were generally regarded. I never said this was some result of an inherent flaw of women.

If other religions wish to accept that some women mentioned in their scriptures were prophets that's fine by me. I don't have any problem with that, but I am certainly not obliged to accept it myself.

I don't believe Allah sent women as per Qur'an:

7. And We sent not before you (O Muhammad SAW) but men to whom We inspired, so ask the people of the Reminder [Scriptures - the Taurât (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel)] if you do not know.

In this verse in the arabic the word rijalaan is used here. That word is translated as men as in the males. As opposed to other places in Qur'an where ahl is used for a group of people, or nas is used to mean mankind/humanity as opposed to another species or race of beings i.e., jinn or angels.

This verse indicates that the messengers of Allah were males. I cannot say why Allah chose the way He did. Perhaps He meant to spare the women from such an arduous task inherent in the station of a prophet. I don't know why. I am content that the messengers were men. Had Allah sent all goats for messengers I would have been cool with that too.

 

[gnostic]

To fully expand on Caladan post, earlier on page 1, post #10.

According to the Talmud there were also seven women who are counted as prophets whose message bears relevance for all generations: Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah (mother of the prophet Samuel), Abigail (a wife of King David), Huldah (from the time of Jeremiah), and Esther.

The Talmud, listed 7 women as prophetesses. Here are some quotes, from the Talmud:

Who were the seven prophetesses? Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, Esther.

In the previous paragraph it say that there were only 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses:

The rabbis taught: Forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses preached to Israel, and subtracted or added nothing, save the reading of the Megilla, which was instituted by the prophets alone.

The Talmud then goes on, with brief info on why they (at least some of them) were prophetesses.

Sarah, as it is written [Gen. xi. 29]: "The father of Milcah and the father of Yiscah." And R. Itz'hak said: By Yiscah is meant Sarah. Why was she called Yiscah? Because that signifies seeing, and she was a seer through the Holy Spirit. Miriam, as it is written [Ex. xv. 26]: "Then took Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron." Aaron's, and not Moses' sister? Said R. Na'hman in the name of Rabh: She had prophesied even when she had been yet but Aaron's sister, before Moses' birth, and she said: In the future my mother will give birth to a child that will deliver the Israelites. Finally, when Moses was born, the whole house was filled with light. And her father rose, and kissed her on her head, and said: Daughter, thy prophecy is fulfilled. Afterward, when he was cast into the river, the father asked: Daughter, what has become of thy prophecy? And this is what is written [ibid. ii. 4]: "And his sister placed herself afar off, to ascertain what would be done to him," i.e., to know what would be the end of her prophecy.
Deborah, as it is written [Judges, ix. 4]: "And Deborah, a prophetess."
Hannah, as it is written [I Sam. ii. I]: "And Hannah prayed and said, My heart is glad in the Lord, my horn is exalted through the Lord." My horn is exalted, and not my flask. David and Solomon, who were anointed with the horn, their dynasty endured; but Saul and Jehu, who were anointed with a flask, their dynasties did not last.
"There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none beside thee" [ibid. 2]. The expression for "none beside thee" is ‏בלתך‎. Said R. Jehudah b. Menassia: 'Do not read ‏בלתך‎, but ‏לבלותך‎, because not as a human being is the Holy One, blessed be He: a human being is survived by his own work, but God survives all His works. 1
"There is not any rock like our God," i.e., there is no sculptor like our God. Do not read ‏עור‎ (rock), but ‏צייר‎: 2 a man makes a statue, and cannot endow it with a soul; but the Holy One, blessed be He, makes an image within an image, and endows it with a soul and life, entrails, etc.


p. 37
Abigail, as it is written [I Sam. xxv. 31]: "And when the Lord will do good unto my lord." She prophesied that he would be king.
Huldah, as it is said [II Kings, xxii. 14]: "Huldah the prophetess."
And Esther, because it is written [Esther, v. 7]: "Esther put on royalty." 1 It should be written, "royal apparel"? That means, she clothed herself in the Holy Spirit, and this is inferred from an analogy of expression; here it is written, "she put on," and in I Chron. xii. 18, "a spirit invested 2 Amassoi." As there the Holy Spirit is meant, so here.

Caladan also listed 3 other prophetesses (source from Rashi): Rebecca, Leah and Rachel.

I had a little trouble tracking down the source, but judging from the Genesis in regards to Rebecca, she seemed wiser than Isaac, her husband. Where Isaac favoured Esau, the hunter, Rebecca favoured Jacob. Her choice was wiser, because her god clearly favoured Jacob over the other brother.

 

[gnostic]

Although Islam teaches us that Allah has sent 124,000 Prophets, and amongst them, there were 315 Messengers,

Does this number (124,000) comes from the Qur'an, or elsewhere?

And the number, 315. Where did number come from?

Even this smaller number (315) is unusually high, and I don't think the Qur'an even come close to naming a quarter of this smaller number (78). With such large numbers, I doubt very much that the bible even list that much, even if you do include Ishmael, David and Solomon, it don't make much a big difference.

How many does that Qur'an ACTUALLY named as prophets or messengers?