Control Through Conception:

Gods Use of Sex and Pregnancy in

Genesis
Chelsea Griffin
Literature Humanities Term Paper
Professor Jo Ann Cavallo
Fall 2012 Semester

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

Control Through Conception: Gods Use of Sex and Pregnancy in
Genesis

Since the early 1970s, the question Is a womans body her

own? has been both present and pressing in American politics and
society. Looking into literature, while not extremely effective, can
provide insight into the beliefs of different people on the issue. By
interpreting Genesis as literature, it is evident God is always more
focused on his personal agenda. Although His definition of morality is
complex, God uses sex to ensure supplicants and legacies, balance
relationships, and to make an example of humans who use sex for the
wrong reasons by punishing them. By exploring the role of sex and
pregnancy in Genesis, it is evident God uses these tools at his own free
will, not the womans.
In the story of creation, God made his view on sex very clear.
Immediately after creating man and woman, he instructed them to be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it (Genesis
1:28). This was Gods first command to the first humans, Adam and
Eve. If one associates importance with chronology, God views sex as
the most important thing in which humans should partake. By placing
such emphasis on reproduction, it is obvious that God wishes to fill the
earth as soon as possible. If God wanted the earth to be full, though,
why did he only create two people? Logically, it would have been much

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

quicker for God to create more humans himself rather than relying on
human-to-human reproduction methods. When humans were first
created, they needed something to do, and God granted them with a
purpose in lifeto multiply. By telling them to multiply, God made sex
a mundane, required task. Adam and Eve didnt have sex because they
loved each other; they did it because they had to. Keeping this in mind,
one comes to the conclusion that Gods use of sex in the beginning
was to increase the number of sacrifices he would personally receive
and to create bloodlines for humankind.
Similarly, this attitude towards sex continues throughout
Genesis. In Genesis 16:2, Sarai (the wife of Abram) tells him to sleep
with her slave Hagar. Sarai, who is very old at this time, wants Abram
to build a family through her. This shows that humans are aware of
the key reason for sex. However, after God granted Hagar with a child,
Hagar began to despise her mistress. Sarai suffered due to Hagars
hatred of her, so she sent her away. To end the sadness Sarai felt, the
Lord was gracious to Sarah (Sarai) and Sarah became pregnant and
bore a son to Abraham (Abram) (Genesis 21:2). Gods use of sex and
pregnancy in this instance was to diffuse the tension that Sarahs
infertility had caused. Both Sarah and Abraham desperately wanted
children to continue their family bloodline, and through Gods grace,
they were given Isaac.

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

By the same token, God used sex and pregnancy to balance
relationships later in Genesis too. Isaacs son Jacob worked for seven
years to marry Rachel. However, at the end of the time period, he was
instead given Rachels older sister, Leah. Isaac did not love Leah, so he
worked another seven years to have Rachel as his wife as well. When
God saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to conceive, but left
Rachel childless (Genesis 29:31). God had seen her suffering, and
wanted Isaac to love her too. Since in that time, it was a wifes sole
duty to present offspring, Leah became important to Isaac. She
(because Rachel was infertile) was the only one who could continue the
bloodline. Leah gave Isaac six sons, and it is safe to say that Rachel
was miserable. It wasnt her fault that Isaac initially loved her more,
but she (in order to retain balance) was deprived by God of her
childbearing abilities. Finally, though, God remembered Rachel
(Genesis 30:22). She had a son, Joseph, and balance between she and
her sister, Leah, was restored. No longer would Rachel have to face the
disgrace of being infertile; she had (by Gods will) given Isaac a son. In
both the example of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar and the example of
Isaac, Leah, and Rachel, God gave and withheld childbearing abilities
and pregnancy when he saw fit. The women had absolutely no choice
in the matter, but were simply dangled like puppets in Gods hands.
This simile is consistent with Gods actions throughout Genesis as a
whole. Although humans are said to have free will, their actions

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

(especially regarding sex and pregnancy) are at the will of God, not
themselves.
In contrast to the granting of pregnancy and sex for good, God
makes an example of those who go against his definition of the
sanctity and morality of the act. The most obvious example of this
punishment is in chapter 19 of Genesis. There had been outcries that
Sodom and Gomorrah had sins so grievous that the Lord decided to
destroy the city completely. For instance, when Lot had three visitors
(actually angels) as guests in his home, all the men from every part of
the city of Sodom surrounded the house and called out to Lot, Where
are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so we can
have sex with them (Genesis 19:5). The angels were furious upon
hearing this, and the next day the city of Sodom was destroyed. God
makes his opinion on homosexuality clear by having angels destroy the
city full of men who choose to partake in homosexual tendencies. From
this example, it is extremely apparent that Gods idea of sexual
interaction involves a single man and a single woman. This view of love
is vastly different from other texts that were featured in Columbias
Literature Humanities fall curriculum in that it outright dismisses all
forms of sexual interaction that are not man to woman.
Furthermore, another instance in the Genesis in which moral
lawbreakers are punished regards the ruler Shechem and Dinah,
daughter of Jacob. When Dinah was out visiting women, Shechem

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

took her and raped her (Genesis 34:2). This was unsightful in the
eyes of God not only because Dinah was raped, but also because
Shechem was uncircumcised. Shechem wanted to marry Dinah (after
he had slept with her) but the only way Jacob would let this happen
was if all the men of Shechems city were circumcised. While the men
were recovering, Dinahs brothers, Simeon and Levi, killed every male
in the city (Genesis 34:25). God allowed all the men of the city to be
punished because one man participated in a sexual act that was
immoral on multiple levels. From this instance, the reader can gather
many insights as to what should (in the eyes of God) be in place before
sex occurs. First, the man participating in the act should be
circumcised. When God made a covenant with Abraham that nations
and kings would come from his bloodline, Abraham agreed that all
males would be circumcised. Any uncircumcised male would be cut off
from his people because he has broken the covenant. From this, the
reader learns that in Gods eyes a man must be circumcised in order
for sex to be moral. Second, the sexual act occurred out of wedlock. In
other parts of The Bible, men have sex with women who are not their
wives; however, these women are their slaves (so that makes it okay).
In the instance of Shechem and Dinah, though, Dinah had no relation
whatsoever to Shechem when he raped her, and thus this was seen as
an immoral act in the eyes of God. Gods definition of morality, which

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

can be questioned from the beginning of Genesis in the Garden of
Eden, becomes even more complex regarding sexual interaction.
Indeed, some of the actions that God chooses not to punish are
found appalling to modern readers. For example, after Lot and his two
daughters escaped from Sodom in Genesis 19, they lived in the
mountains, making their home in a cave. They were all alone, and the
daughters worried about not having any children as is the custom all
over Earth (Genesis 19:31). Secretly, they got their father drunk, and
each of them slept with Lot without him knowing. To the reader, this
seems completely incorrect and outlandish. Girls should not sleep with
their father! Yet, this act remained unpunished by God. Once again, the
moral code set forth and adhered to by God is a complex and everchanging web of time periods, societal customs, and Gods specific
wants. In this instance, God wanted Lots daughters to continue their
bloodlines, so the father-daughter sex and the resulting pregnancies
were in his favor.
On the whole, the character of God in Genesis is at the same
time very rigid and very lenient in his approach to sex and pregnancy.
Due to this, it is important to question the beliefs, actions, and morality
of God himself. From his actions in Genesis, the reader can conclude
his beliefs and his definition of morality regarding sex. Throughout
Genesis, God repeats that the purpose of sexual acts between a man
and a woman is to multiply and build a family line. One reason this

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION

might be is that God already knows that Jesus will be born to bring
future humans to eternal life, and he wants him to be born into the line
of David. This, as readers learn in the New Testament, does come to
pass. In addition to using sex for procreation, God also uses sex and
pregnancy to alleviate tension and balance relationships. In both the
cases of Sarah and Hagar, and Leah and Rachel, a woman is finally
granted pregnancy after previously being rendered infertile. This not
only shows Gods graciousness toward those who call upon him, but
also his attempts at keeping things as fair as possible. Finally, God
makes his beliefs about the morality associated with sex and
pregnancy evident in the instances in which he punishes those who do
not follow his commands. Whether it is the destruction of Sodom for
homosexuality or the death of all men in Shechems city due to the
raping of Dinah, God shows that those who participate in sex for the
wrong reasons will be swiftly punished. So, is a womans body her
own? Perhaps it is today, but in Genesis, women were frequently
manipulated chess pieces under Gods massive thumb. Can present
women challenge him to a game?

CONTROL THROUGH CONCEPTION