We live in a soft, easily offended, emotionally fragile culture that disqualifies us from grasping what most of history has been like and what the majority of the world is still like.

As to the horrific depictions in the Bible, a lesson must be learned. There was a time with no king when everybody did what they wanted—a lesson of what happens when human beings run rampant without any restraints. That’s the most immediate, contextual explanation for the violence in the book of Judges, etc.

That’s a quick explanation. Humans tend to become violent when unrestrained and laws are not in place. As wrong as they were. So perhaps you can view those events as lessons to be learned?

As to the rationale for ritual impurity laws for women, you might want to remember that such times in the Bible represent the social and cosmological order of a primitive society.

As you very well stated, “a lot of foundation myths, many of which are echo[e]s of what preceded the Bible.”

TRUE.

Although the Biblical ritual of impurities is unique to the Hebrew Bible, it was common in ancient societies to observe rules regarding ritual impurity, with rules regarding the menstruant obtaining in various ancient cultures. For instance, the Babylonians believed the man who touched a menstruant or impure woman as he passed by her was impure for six days.

After all....we are the descendants of a primitive society, built upon block by block. AND we have not arrived yet.