The Ten Commandments were meant exclusively for Jewish males. Michael Coogan writes that according to the text the wives are the property of their man, marriage meaning transfer of property (from father to husband), and women are less valuable than real estate, being mentioned after real estate. Adultery is violating the property right of a man. Coogan's book was criticized by Phyllis Trible, who argues that he failed to note that patriarchy was not decreed, but only described by God, patriarchy being specific to people after the fall. She states that Paul the Apostle made the same mistake as Coogan.