Why then were women included in prophetic, religious and social ministries in Old Testament times, but excluded from serving as priests?
One reason appears to be that the role of the priest was seen in the Bible as representing the head of the household. During patriarchal times the male head of the household or tribe functioned as the priest, representing his household to God (Gen. 8:20; 22:13; Job 1:5). Later God appointed the tribe of Levi as priests instead of the first-born son or head of each family (Num. 3:6-13). “The Levites shall be mine, for all the first-born are mine” (Num. 3:12-13). A woman could minister as a prophet, communicating God’s will, but a male was appointed to the priestly role because the male was viewed by Bible writers as the “first-born” of the human family (Gen. 2:7, 21-23) to whom God assigned the headship role in the home and in the church. The New Testament continued this concept, appointing representative males as elders or pastors. The New Testament practice ran contrary to the culture of the time, since most pagan religions had priestesses as well as priests. The New Testament practic
