Who had more rights in Israelite and Jewish society men or women?

Answer 1

Men had more rights. They had more rights because they were either rulers or other leaders of the society, or leaders of their families or clans. However, women were not completely without rights.

Answer 2

In traditional Judaism, the husband is seen as the head of the household. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that thousands of years before other societies had done so, the Torah established rights for women, and the Torah-sages urged us to honor and respect our wives (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59a).

• Israelite women could own property, could initiate court cases, could have their own servants, and could own fields and businesses.
• The Torah specifies marital rights for women (Exodus 21:10).
• Any husband who anguishes his wife can expect Divine punishment (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59).
• Several Israelite women achieved prophecy (Talmud, Megillah 14a).
• One of the Judges, Deborah, was a woman. Together with another woman named Jael, she brought about a great victory against Canaanite oppressors (Judges ch.4).
• A circumspect husband will seek out the advice of his wife (Genesis 31:3-16), because she can be trusted to supervise the goings-on in the home (Proverbs 31:27), just like a Chief Executive Officer.
• The righteous among the Israelites would treasure their wives (Proverbs 31:11); as Rabbi Akiva (2nd century CE) said, "All that I accomplished (in Torah) is hers (is thanks to her)" (Talmud, Ketubot 63a).

It may be noted that traditional Judaism looks askance upon modern feminism, which is seen as destructive and divisive.

Answer 2

In traditional Judaism, the husband is seen as the head of the household. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that thousands of years before other societies had done so, the Torah established rights for women, and the Torah-sages urged us to honor and respect our wives (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59a). Israelite women learned their traditions and the appropriate portions of Torah-laws during their childhood. They took care of their household as married adults. In times of festivity it is mentioned in the Tanakh that they had a prominent role in leading celebrations, such as occurred during the Exodus (15:20) and after David's victories (1 Samuel 18:7).

• Israelite women could own property, could initiate court cases, could have their own servants, and could own fields and businesses.
• The Torah specifies marital rights for women (Exodus 21:10).
• Any husband who anguishes his wife can expect Divine punishment (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59).
• Several Israelite women achieved prophecy (Talmud, Megillah 14a).
• One of the Judges, Deborah, was a woman. Together with another woman named Jael, she brought about a great victory against Canaanite oppressors (Judges ch.4).
• A circumspect husband will seek out the advice of his wife (Genesis 31:3-16), because she can be trusted to supervise the goings-on in the home (Proverbs 31:27), just like a Chief Executive Officer.
• The righteous among the Israelites would treasure their wives (Proverbs 31:11); as Rabbi Akiva (2nd century CE) said, "All that I accomplished (in Torah) is hers (is thanks to her)" (Talmud, Ketubot 63a).

It may be noted that traditional Judaism looks askance upon modern feminism, which is seen as destructive and divisive.

See also:

Criticisms against Judaism

Answer 3

An important thing to note is that the concept of Rights comes out the Enlightenment. Prior to this point, there was a system of privilege wherein the Ruler would provide privileges (out of the kindness of his heart) to a certain group of people to do acts. A person did not have the "right" to anything and this was the mentality worldwide. Therefore, it would not be proper to speak about Rights in Ancient Israelite Society.

Most of the things that people consider to be "Rights" did not exist for Israelites (and most people of ancient society) of both genders.

• There was no freedom of religion and to the extent that foreigners with other religions were tolerated, there was no difference between a foreign man or woman in terms of toleration.
• Nobody voted on anything; it was either rule by tribal elders or rule by monarch and prophet
• There was no freedom of association or petition; the king could use the military or police to break up any meeting of the public.
  
• There was no right of protection from government expropriation of property or from arbitrary arrest.
• There were no jury trials, but an aggrieved party (male or female) could petition a tribal elder to arbitrate a dispute.
• Freedom of Movement was limited to typically within clan or tribal territory.

However, as Expert Dan Galilee notes in his answer, Ancient Israelite society was patriarchal, where the man was seen as head of the household and the wife was seen as the maintainer of the household and the person who raised the children. These gender roles put a lot of stress on both the man, who was obligated to provide for his family and would work in the fields for roughly twelve hours a day to provide for his family, and the woman, who was obligated to prepare food and raise the children around the clock. Neither men nor women were free to "redefine" their roles in society.

Answer 4

The Israelites pioneered in treating women differently than they were being treated elsewhere.

• Israelite women could own property, could initiate court cases, could have their own servants, and could own fields and businesses. Compare the above to other ancient societies, in which only land-owning mature males had any rights at all.
  

Link: Life as a servant in ancient Israel

• The Torah specifies marital rights for women (Exodus 21:10); and any husband who anguished his wife could expect Divine punishment (Talmud, Bava Metzia 59).
• Several women achieved prophecy (Talmud, Megillah 14a).
• One of the Judges, Deborah, was a woman. Together with another woman named Jael, she brought about a great victory against Canaanite oppressors (Judges ch.4).
• A circumspect husband would seek out the advice of his wife (Genesis 31:3-16), because she could be trusted to supervise the goings-on in the home (Proverbs 31:27), just like a Chief Executive Officer.
• The righteous among the Israelites would treasure their wives (Proverbs 31:11); as Rabbi Akiva (2nd century CE) said, "All that I accomplished (in Torah) is hers (is thanks to her)" (Talmud, Ketubot 63a).
  

It may be noted that traditional Judaism looks askance upon modern feminism, which is seen as destructive and divisive.

See also the Related Link.
Link: Criticisms against Judaism

Answer 5

they had equal rights