Although throughout history women are portrayed as the weaker of the two sexes, incapable of defending themselves let alone being equal compared to their male counterparts, some stand out in the banal context of the “ideal woman.” Seen throughout history as troublemakers, these women may only be trying to exercise their power. Certainly, their power is not found in their physical strength, but that power comes from a deeper source, from their very essence as sexual beings. Women of the Old Testament, such as Eve, Lot's daughters, Potiphar's wife, and Delilah, are seen throughout history as "scandalous" women. But perhaps through their sexuality they awaken in themselves, as well as in all women, an innate, yet powerful, capacity to exert control over the men who they believe are trying to dominate them. For centuries, men have used the belief that since Adam had authority over the earth, they should also have authority over women. Many countries today still use this belief to keep women in submissive roles. Because of this belief, women have sometimes found themselves in subservient positions, frustrated and jealous that they cannot be in control like their male counterparts are. This is how Satan persuades Eve to eat the fruit. He goads her by telling her that the only reason God doesn't want her to eat the forbidden fruit is because she would be like God if she ate it. Through his cunning and persuasion, Satan uses these same facts against Eve. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the sight, and that it was a desirable tree for making one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate, and also gave him husband with her; and he ate: (Genesis 3:6). Falling in love with the middle of paper......ly and socially. At times in the Old Testament, women discovered a powerful advantage in their journey toward equality. God gives humanity sex as a means of procreation and pleasure between man and woman. Sometimes sex can also be used as a weapon against women to keep them subjugated. There are, however, a few examples in the Old Testament where women realized that sexuality can be a simple but powerful tool. From Eve enticing Adam to eat the forbidden fruit to Lot's daughter's illicit encounters with their drunken father, from Potiphar's wife's attempts to seduce Joseph to Delilah's incitement of Samson which led to After its fall, these Old Testament women used their sexuality, whether a conscious or unconscious act, to level the playing field in their relationships with men. Works CitedKing James Version of the Holy Bible.