Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART TWELVE

What About the Household Codes?

While we've delved a bit into the dangers of cults developing from looking at the Scriptures with an eisegesis view, rather than with exegesis, we also get cults taking parts of passages from the Bible, and applying prescription to a passage that is merely giving a description.  Polygamous cults are famous for this, but as we saw in 1 Corinthians 7, each wife is to have own husband, and each husband his own wife.

While there were polygamists in the Old Testament of the Bible, it is nowhere a command.  It is merely a description of fallen people living their lives.  Yes, King David was a polygamist, but he was also a murderer, adulterer, and possible rapist.  Yes, King Solomon was a polygamist, but he also forsook worshipping YHWH God alone, and started worshipping the pagan gods of some of his wives.  This is what lead to the eventual breaking up of Israel.

The Bible no more prescribes polygamy anymore than it does rape, murder, adultery, and idolatry.  Recall much earlier in this treatise we say that men ruling over women was not a prescription from the Fall, but a description of one of the repercussions that would occur, right along with the ground growing thorns and thistles, etc.  

What about Household Codes?  Are they a prescription that Christian homes are to be under today, or a description of the early church?  As we are going to see, it was a description for the people at that time, in the Greco-Roman culture.

Aristotle came up with Household Codes, since each home was considered a hub as part of the community.  Aristotle introduced three core hierarchical groups as the backbone for his code: Master/Slave; Husband/Wife; and Father/Child.

Aristotle's household codes taught Master over the Slave, stating the sick belief that not all people are created equally, and thus some people are made to be ruled, and some people are made to be rulers.  He taught that masters must make sure they keep strict rule over their slaves.

For the second group addressed, Aristotle taught that while wives are not slaves, they are still under the rulership of their husbands (the paterfamilias/householder) and thus the husbands are to make sure their wives are obeying them.

As for the third group, Aristotle taught that children too need to obey the father, as he taught that the father is the supreme authority of the household.  The mother could only rule the children as much as the father allowed.

As you hopefully can clearly see, the Aristotle Household Codes were antithetical to what Jesus taught. For example:

Mark 10:42-45 CEB
Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, for the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

The leader is a servant in the New Testament!  The Christian leader is to serve others, not lord it over people.  

Notice in the above passage in the CEB translation, it has Jesus calling Himself "the Human One," rather than the Son of Man.  I chose the CEB on purpose for the above to also show this to you.

Did you know that Jesus never once called Himself "the Son of Man?"  Most translations make you think He did, but that's NOT what it says in the Greek.  Every time most translations say that Jesus called Himself "the Son of Man," the Greek is υἱός ἄνθρωπος - hwee-os' anth'-ro-pos, which literally in English is Child of Humans, or Child of Humanity.  Often when the Bible calls someone a child of something, it can also be translated as the type of person they are, thus why the CEB translates hwee-os' anth'-ro-pos as The Human One.

People will argue that hwee-os' means "son," but that is incorrect. This word was often used in the Greek to address both genders, and was known as the word "children."  For example:

Galatians 3:26 KJV
For ye are all the children (hwee-os') of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

So remember that every time your Bible says "Son of Man," it's really "Child of Humanity."

Back to the Household Codes...

As we see over and over in the New Testament, Christians are equal in Christ, and are to serve one another, not dominate one another.  New Christians in the Greco-Roman culture had a problem with the Aristotle Household Codes, because these codes went against Christianity.  Therefore, Paul altered the Household Codes for the Christian households at that time and in that culture.

The Ephesians Household Code

Ephesians 5:22 NRSVue
Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord

Whoops, the above word "subject" is not in the Greek.  Here's a better translation:

Ephesians 5:22 TLV
wives to your own husbands as to the Lord.

Now we ask - "okay, wives what to their husbands?"  This is a case of several times in the New Testament where a previous verb was being referenced.  In this case, the previous verb being referenced is in the previous verse.

Ephesians 5:21 NRSVue
being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

The what in verse 22 is saying that wives are to submit to their husband, as husbands are to submit to their wives.  This is made more clear in the NLT Bible:

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 For wives, this means..
25 For husbands, this means...

What do we see here that is flipping the Aristotle Code upside down?  The Aristotle code addressed how husbands are to rule over their wives, and doesn't even address the wife.  Paul's revised household code for the new churches in the Greco-Roman culture addressed both husband and wife, but specifically addressed the wife first, but not after stating that all Christians are to submit to one another, including in marriage.

Paul doesn't spend much time tell the wife how she is to submit to her husband, because in that culture, women were already doing so.  He spends most of the Ephesians 5 Household Code explaining to husbands how they are to submit to their wives.

Ephesians 5:25 NRSVue
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

Sound familiar?  

Mark 10:45 CEB
for the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.

The household code wraps up with giving simple instructions on how the wife is to submit to her husband, and how the husband is to submit to his wife:

Ephesians 5:33 NRSVue
Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband.

Why love from the husband, and respect from the wife?  In that culture at that time, husbands didn't necessarily love their wives, and possibly not even liked them.  The "wives," were often teenaged girls being married off to much older, adult men.  Wives were considered property and were often treated as such.  The husbands are being told to love their wives as they love themselves.  This makes sense, because remember that Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:5 both say "a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."  Thus Paul quotes this in verse 31.

Ephesians 5:31 NRSVue
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Verse 33 says that the wife is to respect her husband.  Why respect?  Would you respect a grownup who took you, a teenager, as his property and you didn't get a say? Thus, in that Greco-Roman culture, regardless how the marriage may have occurred before they both became Christians, now that they are Christians, they are to submit to each other (verse 21) and the husband is to love his wife, and the wife is to respect her husband.

Notice in Ephesians 5:21-33 we have the word "submit" or similar, and the word "head."  Recall that we looked at the Greek behind "submit" in an earlier Scripture, and it actually means to support, append to, or be devoted to.  Thus, the mutual submission between wife and husband is mutual support, not mutual subordination.

And as for "head," recall that we saw that symbolic head during the time of Paul meant "source," NOT "authority."  Symbolic head didn't take on the meaning of sometimes being authority until about 300 years after Paul.

Thus, patriarchalists who abuse the below Scripture have no foot to stand on:

Ephesians 5:23-24 NRSVue
for the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Recall that symbolic "head" means "source," and that "subject" is more accurate as "support, appended to, devoted to."  So let's fix this so we see it more clearly:

Ephesians 5:23-24
for Adam was the source of Eve, just as Christ is the source of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Just as the church is devoted to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Do you see the parallel between the above, and 1 Corinthians 11:3?

1 Corinthians 11:3 TPT 2017
But I want you to understand that Christ is the source of every human alive, and Adam was the source of Eve, and God is the source of the Messiah.

Ephesians 5:23+ is referring back to the same source language that 1 Corinthians 11 was.  Eve came out of Adam, just as the church grew out of Christ - CHRISTians.  As Christ and Church will eventually be married and go to the Wedding feast of the Lamb, so the earthly wife and husband are married, and are to demonstrate devotion and support in their marriage, as Christians do to Christ.

Recall that the Household Code in Ephesians 5 is not a prescription that we are to follow today, as if you read the whole code, it also goes into addressing slaves and masters.  The households back in that time were different than the modern households in our current culture.

We generally live in our home, eat and sleep and rest there, but most of us go outside of our home for errands, appointments, to socialize, to work, for fun activities, etc.  Not so much with the homes at the time of Paul.  Each home was like a hub of the community.  The householder, usually the paterfamilias - man, would be in charge of his wife, his children, any other relatives living there, and of the slaves.  Slaves were normal.

The Christian household codes then go on to instruct the masters to treat their slaves very well:

Ephesians 6:9 NLT
Masters ... remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.

Christians couldn't just immediately overturn slavery.  It took time. The first step was treating the slaves as fellow imagers of God, and treating them respectfully.  Eventually, thanks largely to Christians, the cultural slavery was overturn.  

If you read through the whole household code here in Ephesians chapters 5 and 6, notice that it's not just the man being addressed, like it was in the Aristotle codes.  Each party is addressed, but it addresses the wife before the husband, the children before the parents, and the slaves before masters.  That's respect, and a thumbing of the nose to the patriarchal Aristotle Household Code.

If you are insisting on living under the descriptive household codes in the Bible, then get some slaves, or you aren't following the codes.

The Colossians Household Code

Recall that Ephesians 5:21 set the stage for mutual "submission" - support/devotion.  We also have a mutuality statement before the household code that Paul gives in Colossians.

Colossians 3:15-16a NRSVue
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom

Like in Ephesians we were reminded that the church is the Body of Christ, we get reminded in the above that we are all "one body."  We are not an unequal body of half of it (the males) being dominant over the other half of it (the females).  We are all ONE BODY - equally.  Thus the above passage goes on to say "teach and admonish one another."  Not 'men teach and admonished women,' and not 'teach and admonish one another, except the women to the men.'  No.  All Christians make up the body, and the body is balanced.  "Teach and admonish one another."

The Colossians household code is short, because it's basically just a summary of the longer one given in Ephesians 5.  Again, recall that "submit/subject" is better translated as "support/devoted to."

Colossians 3:18-19 TPT
Let every wife be supportive and tenderly devoted to her husband, for this is a beautiful illustration of our devotion to Christ. Let every husband be filled with cherishing love for his wife and never be insensitive toward her.

The Peter Household Code

There are only three household codes in the Bible.  We have the main one in Ephesians 5, written by Paul, and then the one in Colossians which is a summary of the one in Ephesians.  The first two household codes are written by Paul.  

The third household code is written by Peter.  His direction was not to also correct Aristotle, but to be in agreement with Paul's code and tweak it to address a specific situation that many Christian women found themselves in in that time and culture.

In order for Peter to go in this direction, he addressed slaves and masters before wife and husband:

1 Peter 2:20-21 NRSVue
If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do good and suffer for it, this is a commendable thing before God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

You see, some slaves were becoming Christians, but their masters were not Christian.  Remember that in the standard household back in that culture, the household was expected to follow the same religion of the householder.  Slaves were becoming Christians and thus no longer partaking in the householder's pagan religions.  For that reason, Christian slaves were enduring more hardship and abuse from their unbelieving masters.  In 1 Peter 2, Peter encourages these slaves to keep doing good, and endure the suffering, remembering the suffering Christ endured for them.

It is under this topic that Peter then moves on to addressing wives and husbands.  

1 Peter 3:1-2 NRSVue
Wives, in the same way, be subject to your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see the purity and respect of your conduct.

Wives were also expected to follow the same religion of their husbands in that culture at that time.  There were some wives who were becoming Christians, but their husbands were still pagan.  This was shaky and dangerous ground for the wife.  She could no longer participate in the husband's religious rituals, and he may not have been interested in learning about Christianity.  Thus Paul recommends the wife show her unbelieving husband who Christ is through her actions and the way she lives.

Notice I underlined "in the same way."  This connects back to the type of "subject/submit" in this verse being the same type the believing slave is to have towards the unbelieving master.  Be willing to accept suffering for being a Christian, even if at the hands of your own husband.

WARNING:  This was a description for within the culture in those times, and not today.  In those days, a woman usually had no way to have food or shelter except through a man, be it her father or a husband.  Women who didn't have a man supporting them often had to resort to prostitution so that they wouldn't starve to death.  Thus it was advised that wives stayed with their husbands if they had no monetary support without them, because it was better to be with a horrible man than literally starving to death on the streets.

Moving on, you may be wondering where the mutuality is in this household code.  It's in verse 7:

1 Peter 3:7 NRSVue
Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman—though the weaker vessel, they are joint heirs of the gracious gift of life—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

In the same way as what?  If the husband became a Christian, then this is what he is supposed to do.  But there's more.  "In the same way" is still carrying over "submission/subjection" from the wife and the slaves.  Thus some translations carry the verb over, just like how most translations do so in Ephesians 5:22.  

1 Peter 3:7 CEB
Husbands, likewise, submit by living with your wife in ways that honor her, knowing that she is the weaker partner. Honor her all the more, as she is also a coheir of the gracious care of life. Do this so that your prayers won’t be hindered.

Recall that "submit" in all three cases - slaves, wife, husband, is better translated as support, or synonymous words.

As for "weaker partner," that's a given.  In the households at that time and culture, the husband usually got a lot more fresh air, sunshine, and exercise.  The wife was usually at home, and the tasks she'd do (often for the business they likely ran out of their household) were more intricate, smaller tasks that didn't require as much use of large muscle groups.

Now let's look at a few things Peter instructed the wives at that time and in that culture to do, as part of his household code:

1 Peter 3:3-6 NIV2011
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

A lot of people use the beginning of the above passage to say that the Bible teaches that women are to dress modestly, but we see that is not the case.  Like in 1 Timothy 2, and Proverbs 31, this is saying that women are to focus on their inner person, not their outer person.  The Proverbs 31 Woman clothed herself with Strength, for example.

There is literally not one place in the Bible that addresses women and tells them to wear modest clothes, just like there are no Scriptures that tell men to dress modestly.  There are, however, Scriptures that address men who lust after women:

Matthew 5:27-28 NRSVue
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Tearing out the eye is hyperbole to drive home a point, not a command to literally do so.  

Our above 1 Peter passage goes on to say "They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord."  Recall that "submitted" is better translated as "devoted/supported."

Thus we see it better translated as "They supported their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord."

"Obeyed" from the Greek here is ὑπακούω - hoop-ak-oo'-o, which can mean to heed, listen to someone, or to give an answer.  We see hoop-ak-oo'-o used in the context of giving an answer in Acts 12.

Acts 12:13 NIV 2011
Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer (hoop-ak-oo'-o) the door.

Rhoda didn't come to "obey" the door, she answered it.

If you look all over Genesis, you are not going to see a specific instance where Sarah called Abraham "lord," and "obeyed" him.  However, you do see her laughingly calling him her "lord," and giving an answer in her laughter.  

Before looking at this, note that "lord" is not referring to Lord.  "lord" could also be equally translated as "sir."  It was a title of respect, not one of subservience or authority.

1 Peter 3:6 is referring to Genesis 18:12.

Genesis 18:12 Darby
And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am become old, shall I have pleasure, and my lord old?

Sarah was laughing at hearing that at the age of 90+, her post-menopausal body was going to birth a baby, and then she laughed more, because her 100+ aged husband (who she respectfully called lord in a joking manner) was too old to do the deed to inseminate her.

So now we see the example of Sarah was of her inner person.  Yes, she jokingly called Abraham her "lord" while pointing out that he was unable to rise to the occasion of inseminating her, but she wasn't belittling him, everything she said and laughed about was 100% true, and it was after that that she decided to step out in faith and believe God, in the face of pure impossibility.  That's her inner person, and that's who women were being called to emulate. 

This is why Sarah is in the Faith Hall of Fame:

Hebrews 11:11 NIV2011
And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.

This is why the end of 1 Peter 3:6 says "You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."  Women are called to emulate the faith of Sarah.

If you want to talk about obedience, Abraham obeyed Sarah.

Genesis 16:2 NRSVue
and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART ELEVEN

Are Christian Women Supposed to Wear Head Coverings?

Have you noticed that when reading writings by Paul in the Bible, there are several places where it looks like he says one thing, and then right afterward, he seems to say the opposite?  We saw this with 1 Corinthians 14.  In verses 34 and 35 it looked like Paul was saying that women are not allowed to speak in tongues or prophesy in church, but then the verses after that are Paul saying that the command from the Lord is said to all in the church to: "strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues."

When we looked at this portion of Scripture earlier, we discovered that this is a diatribe.  An easy way to recognize a diatribe in the Scriptures is when a letter says one thing, and then after it, it seems to say the opposite.  

We see a clear diatribe in the first two verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 7:

1 Corinthians 7:1-2 NRSVue
Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

Paul quoted something that the Corinthians previously wrote to him - "It is good for a man not to touch a woman."  He then refutes that quote by responding "because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband."

Why did Paul say each should have their own spouse?  Immediately we see this rules out polygamy being permissible in the Scriptures, but we also get a glimpse into Paul's correcting Corinthian culture here as well.  In the Corinthian culture at that time, wives were the property of husbands, and husbands were allowed to go out and cheat on their wives, but the wives were expected to be faithful.  We see here that Paul is saying the wife belongs to the husband, but the husband also belongs to the wife.  Thus neither are allowed to cheat, and should thus honor one another.

There are multiple diatribes in Paul's letters, but especially in 1 Corinthians.  What's likely the longest diatribe in the Bible is in 1 Corinthians chapter 11.

1 Corinthians 11:3-12 NIV2011
3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.  "4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man."  10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 

*I added the quotation marks in red

Before we get into the diatribe, which will reveal what the Christian woman's real head covering is, let's first go over verse 3.  This verse is the foundation verse for a heretical infographic that has regularly made its rounds online for years.  It's a picture of an umbrella, with Christ as the biggest umbrella at the top, the husband with the next biggest umbrella under Christ, and the wife with the tiny umbrella under the husband's bigger umbrella, and "children" and "managers of the home" under the wife's tiny umbrella.

This infographic is a cult's representation of 1 Corinthians 11:3, but not truly demonstrating at all what 1 Corinthians 11:3 actually says.  This is a classic case of a cult applying eisegesis to the Scriptures to gain power over certain people, rather than the proper exegesis, which always reveals the truth.  In the eisegesis view, the cult see's a hierarchy, where they interpret the symbolic use of the word "head" as the modern symbolic use in English, which is authority.  For example, one may be the head of their department at work.  There are two problems with this view:

1) This creates a known heresy to most denominations, knowns as Arianism, or Subordinationism.  Under this old teaching, it states that since 1 Corinthians 11:3 says "the head of Christ is God," thus members in the Trinity must not have equal authority, Christ is under the umbrella of the authority of God.  This heresy began with the man Arius in the 4th century, when he began claiming that Christ is merely a created being under the 'headship of God.'  Most Christian churches have been in agreement since 325 AD that Arianism is a heresy  and incorrect.

2) Symbolic "head" in the New Testament does not mean authority, like it does in modern English. Symbolic head at the time of Paul, in the old Koine Greek meant "source, origin, beginning of."  This is clearly recorded in the Lidell Scott Jones dictionary:

Symbolic κεφαλή - kef-al-ay' - origin, source of a river, source, starting-point

In fact, if you look this up in the Lidell Scott Jones dictionary for yourself, notice that "authority," "leader," or anything synonymous to that is nowhere in the definition! Take a look for yourself HERE.

This is more known to scholars and translators than a lot of churches like to admit.  For example, the NLT Bible gives a translator's note for 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3, where it gives an alternate translation as "Or to know: The source of every man is Christ, the source of woman is man, and the source of Christ is God."

In fact, the 2017 TPT Bible translated this verse fabulously:

1 Corinthians 11:3 TPT 2017
But I want you to understand that Christ is the source of every human alive, and Adam was the source of Eve, and God is the source of the Messiah.

Notice that the TPT says Christ is the source of every human, and not "man," like many translations say.  That's because the Greek word aner which is the word here, can refer to men, or all humans, depending on context.  The context is here clearly referring to Adam, right after creation.  Recall that before Eve was taken out of Adam, Adam was both genders.  Remember that "Adam" is from the Hebrew word for "human," and does not refer to a gender.

Notice also that the above scripture passage in the TPT says "Adam was the source of Eve," instead of the NIV2011's "the head of the woman is man."  Take note that we went from plurality to singularity.  The Scriptures teach that God created through Christ, and thus verse 3 here is telling us that Christ is the Source of all humans (plural), and then it says the man is the source of... (singular).  

Remember Adam in Hebrew is אָדָם - aw-dam', and aw-dam' is Hebrew for "human being."  Thus the above TPT's "and Adam was the source of Eve" fits, as this is referring to the first human, of which the second human was taken/removed out of half of the first human. Recall the Hebrew conveys that Eve was not take from a rib, nor was she a piece of a side, she was HALF of the first human.  She was one side of the first human, and Adam was the other side.

The last part of verse 3 in the TPT says "God is the source of the Messiah."  Verse 3 is in order of cration, so let's look at the order:

1) First, all humans appeared, via Christ being their Source.

2) Second, the first human, Adam, was the source of the second human, Eve.  (The Corinthians will refer to Adam as "the man," or "man," later in this chapter.)

3) Later, Christ was born of the Virgin Mary in human form.  Christ Incarnate's Source is God the Father.

Recall that the Bible often uses synonymous words to match other important words.  We saw this, for example, when we looked at 1 Timothy chapter 2.  We saw "calm" and "self-controlled" as synonyms.  

We have a Greek synonym to "source" from verse 3, later in this chapter.

1 Corinthians 11:12 TPT
For just as woman was taken from the side of man, in the same way man is taken from the womb of woman. God, as the source of all things, designed it this way.

1 Corinthians 11:12 NIV2011
For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

"Came from" above is from the Greek ἐκ - ek - which is defined by the LSJ Koine Greek Dictionary, under the "Of Origin" section is - "out of."

As you see, ek here is being used synonymously with kef-al-ay' - source from verse 3.  Both mean where something or someone came from in this chapter.  Verses 8 and 9 from the Corinthian's argument also carry this synonymous source language:

1 Corinthians 11:8-9 NIV2011
8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

Now that we've established that verse 3 of 1 Corinthians 11 is describing source, and not authority, we are ready to move on to what is likely the longest diatribe in the Bible.

Consider that Paul is quoting from a letter the Corinthians sent to him in verses 4-9.  Let's review what they say:

1 Corinthians 11:4-9 NIV2011
"4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man."  

*I added the quotation marks in red

The Corinthians were trying to mix culture with church, and create a cultural and worldly propriety in the church.  There were certain cultural rules there, which decided what was and wasn't modest for a woman regarding her hair and also her social standing.  The Corinthians were trying to make this cultural preference a rule that had to be followed in their church. 

The Corinthians thought that women who didn't wear head coverings in their church were dishonoring themselves.  They also pointed out that Adam was created in the image of God, but failed to remember that so was Eve - ("male and female God created them, in the image of God" - from Genesis 1:27).  The Corinthians thought that since Eve came out of Adam, men were the glory of God, but that women were just the glory of men, since the first woman came out of the half of the first man.  And they wrapped up their argument saying that woman was created for man.

Now let's see Paul's refutation:

1 Corinthians 11:10-12 NIV2011
10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 

Paul gets right to the point of what the woman's head covering is, and it's in verse 10 - the Christian woman's head covering is having authority "over her own head!"  Paul is saying it's up to each woman if she wants to follow the cultural custom of covering or not covering.  It's her head, and women have authority over their own heads!  He goes further and gives an example as a reason for woman's authority, where he says in the end of verse 10 that it's "because of the angels."

Paul didn't explain what he meant by this, and that's because he didn't have to.  He just mentioned angels and a form of authority just a little earlier in this letter to the Corinthians. 

1 Corinthians 6:3 NIV2011
Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

Christian women, along with Christian men will be judging angels!  If women have the authority to judge angels, then surely they have authority over their own head to chose to cover their heads or not. 

Make sure you pay close attention to what I'm about to say: The woman's covering is her having authority over herself.  A pastor is not her covering, neither is a husband, a father, or any other person.  Her covering is her having authority to cover herself!  The Corinthians already knew that men had this authority over themselves, and now Paul is letting them know that women have authority over themselves as well.

Now look at verse 11.  This is Paul's response to the Corinthians stating that in verse 9 that woman was created for man.  Paul corrects them here in verse 11 and says "woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman."

Then verse 12 is our "headship" key verse.  Verse 12 is Paul's response to the Corinthians stating that man is the glory of God, as God made Adam before Eve but woman came from man, so she is just the glory of man.  

The reason I call verse 12 the "headship" key verse, is because people run to verse 3, and use symbolic head under the modern use as 'authority,' instead of the use it was at the time of Paul in the Koine Greek, which was 'source.'  People will say man is the head of woman, and that men have headship over women.  The Corinthians were trying this too, but not the way the modern patriarchalists do it.  The Corinthians were reasoning that since Adam came from God, and Eve came from Adam, men are superior over women.  They thought that order of appearance meant order of authority.  Now let's see Paul's refutation and correction of this:

Verse 12
as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God

Paul is reminding them that if they want to say that Eve came from the first "man," and that that gives men authority over women, then we have a problem here, because every man since after Adam has come from a woman.  Think about.  Our planet is populated by women and their children.  If source equals automatic authority, then women should be in charge of all men everywhere, for every single man came out of a woman's body, since after Adam.

Then Paul gets to the point - "But everything comes from God."  Women and men have the same Source!  It's God!  When people teach the false doctrine of "headship," they are teaching the heresy that men are the head of women, but we see that "head" here symbolically means source, and verse 12 says that GOD is the head/source ("comes from") of both men and women. For any human to claim spiritual headship over any other human is blasphemous, because God is the source/head of all of us. We are all on equal footing, having come from the same Source.  Jesus emphasizes this multiple times. For example:

"I am the Vine, you are the branches" - Jesus tells this to Christians in John 15:5. Jesus is the Vine, and all Christians branch out from Him. He is the Source.  Headship Theology is blasphemous. The head of women is Christ.  The head of men is Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NRSVue
He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Christians, WE are the Body of Christ, and Christ is the head/source of the body!  Look at the list in the above verse 11 - "pastors and teachers."  There is no gender stipulation.  This is open to both women and men, as WE are the Body of Christ, and Christ is our Head.  Period.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART TEN

 Does the Bible Say Woman are Supposed to be Homemakers?

Key verses many "Biblical Womanhood" Complementarians run to which they say states women are to be homemakers are in 1 Timothy 5.

1 Timothy 5:14-15 LSB
Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no opportunity for reviling, for some have already turned aside after Satan.

Some people point to the above verses in the above translation, or translations similar to it, and say that this teaches that if women aren't homemakers - those who "keep house," then they have "turned aside after Satan."

As by this point you can surely guess, "keep house" is not what it says in the Greek.  Because of this, some translations will state this a bit differently.

1 Timothy 5:14-15 NRSVue
So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.  For some have already turned away to follow Satan.

Notice the above translation, like several others, instead says "manage their households."  "Manage" here is still too soft for what the Greek says.  Thus, a few Bible translations will be more bold, and translate this word more accurately from the Greek, such as the below:

1 Timothy 5:14-15 LSV
I intend, therefore, younger ones to marry, to bear children, to be mistress of the house, to give no occasion to the opposer of reviling; for some already turned aside after Satan

So, for this word in question, is the wife to keep house, manage the house, or be mistress of the house?  The Greek word behind this is οἰκοδεσποτέω - oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o which literally means Master of the House.  The Greek oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o had a common Latin term at that time, which was "Paterfamilias."  

The Paterfamilias was literally "The Man of the House."  Recall we've come across this term already in this treatise.  Remember that the Christian paterfamilias was the pastor of his house church, and ruler of his household, but sometimes we come across a female ruler of a household - materfamilias - in the Bible, such as Chloe, Nympha, Kyria, Lydia, and probably also the mother of John Mark, and these would be women pastors of their household churches, and women rulers in their homes.

Oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o directly translates to the Latin Paterfamilias!  Thus Latin translations of this, including the Latin Vulgate, will say "materfamilias" in verse 14, since the context shows it's referring to a female.

What is going on here?!  Most English translations translate oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o which literally means "master of the house" in 1 Timothy 5:14 to:

'manage their homes' - NIV, NKJV, NASB2020, NRSVue.  A manager is under a boss, but an oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o is the boss!

'keep house' / 'take care of their homes' - LSB, NLT, NASB1995, NLT. An oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o is the Master/Ruler of the house, not the housekeeper. Thus the oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o is in charge of the household servants, as well as all other occupants in their home.  

The Master is not 'the Manager', nor is the Master 'The Help.'  The Master is the Ruler - the One in Charge!

Let's see this verse from 1 Timothy 5 honestly translated from the Greek.

1 Timothy 5:14
So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and be the rulers of their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.

Friends, the Bible doesn't say women are to be 'keepers at home,' it says we are RULE our homes.  Let that sink in for a moment.

While oy-kod-es-pot-eh'-o in its verb form is only in the Bible once - in our verse in question, it is in its noun form multiple times.  When referring to men, it gets translated as "ruler," "master," "householder," etc.  Imagine if we translated this word when referring to men as one who 'keeps house,' like so many Bibles do with this word when referring to women.

Here is one of the places where we see this word referring to a male householder:

Matthew 20:1 KJV
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

Let's do to this man what so many Bible translations have done to the woman in 1 Timothy 5:14.  Let's mistranslate him into a keeper of the home...

Matthew 20:1
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a keeper of the home, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.

This man has now been reduced to a supervisor, or a servant of high rank, but it not longer shows him as the householder - the master/ruler.  Yet we know the Greek word here is indeed householder/master/ruler, just as it is for 1 Timothy 5:14.

Let's look again at the proper translation of 1 Timothy 5:14:

So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and be the rulers of their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us.

A matriarchal society can use this verse to wrongly state that the Bible is saying that women are to be the rulers of the household, and that men must be submissive to women.  Sound familiar?  That's the wrong patriarchal view of 1 Timothy 2:12, isn't it.

Yet when we read all of the Scriptures, we also see instances where it refers to men being householders or masters/rulers of their households.  So the question arises: who, therefore, is supposed to be in charge of the household?  The answer is given in one simple word in the below:

Romans 16:3-5a NRSVue
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but also all the churches of the gentiles. Greet also the church in their house.

It's a biarchy!  Remember God's will straight from creation:

Genesis 1:26a NRSVue
Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion

Some people will then turn to Titus 2:5 to state that women should be 'keepers of their homes,' / homemakers:

Titus 2:5 KJV
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Let's break this down:

"keepers at home" is οἰκουργός - oy-koo-ros', which means managing a household, and refers to what we see in the Old Testament with The Woman of Strength:

Proverbs 31:15 NRSVue
She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her female servants.

The Woman of Strength manages the household servants.  Recall that in both cultures in those times, the common household was composed of parents, children, other family members, servants and/or slaves, and often  businesses were run out of the homes.

The woman of Titus 2:5 isn't a 'keeper at home' or a housekeeper, she is a manager of the people in her household.  We see this more clearly in better Bible translations, such as the below:

Titus 2:5 NRSVue
to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited.

As for where the KJV for this verse says "obedient to their own husbands," and where the above NRSVue says "submissive to their husbands," the word obedient/submissive is "translated" from the Greek word ὑποτάσσω - hoop-ot-as'-so, which means to support, append to, or be devoted to. 

Titus 2:5 TPT
and to be self-controlled and pure, taking care of their household and being devoted to their husbands. By doing these things the word of God will not be discredited.

What have we learned here?  We've learned there is not one Scripture in the Bible that says women are to be homemakers.  Homemaking is a choice, and not a command.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART NINE

Romans 16:1-2 vs. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12

Recall that the proper translation of Romans 16:1-2 as seen in the CEV, LSV, and TPT shows us that the misogynistic, patriarchal, eisegesis views of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12 are absolutely wrong.  Let's quickly review.

Romans 16:1-2 TPT
1 Now let me introduce to you our dear and beloved sister in the faith, Phoebe, a shining minister of the church in Cenchrea. 
2 I am sending her with this letter and ask that you shower her with your hospitality when she arrives.  Embrace her with honor, as is fitting for one who belongs to the Lord and is set apart for him. So provide her whatever she may need, for she's been a great leader and champion for many - I know, for she's been that even for me!

In verse 1, we see that Phoebe was the minister of the church in Cenchrea.  Cenchrea was a port of Corinth, thus Phoebe was the minister of a chruch in Corinth.  Therefore 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 (which was in Corinth) cannot be saying that women aren't allowed to speak in church, because Paul had given accolades to a women minister of a church in Corinth.

In verse 2, we see that Phoebe was also a leader, and not just of women and children, but clearly of men as well, because the end of the verse says that Phoebe was also a leader of Paul the Apostle himself.  So we see that 1 Timothy 2:12 therefore must not be saying that women aren't allowed to teach men or have authority over them, because Paul gave accolades to the woman Phoebe as a leader of him. And as per verse 1, recall she was also the minister of a church.

The 1 Timothy 5 and Acts 19 Connection

Why did Paul want Timothy to spend time with the church in Ephesus? The answer is given in 1 Timothy, where Paul writes to Timothy in both First and Second Timothy on how to handle a specific problem.

1 Timothy 1:3 NRSVue
I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings

From this one verse we learn that 1 and 2 Timothy are written to the church in Ephesus, where Timothy was left by Paul to stop false teachings - "instruct certain people not to teach different things."

If you do an honest reading through both 1 and 2 Timothy, you find that that is indeed the main theme running through both books: Stopping false teachers in the Ephesian church.

Some of these false teachers are mentioned by name, such as Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus.  Some of the false teachers are mentioned as groups, such as those who taught myths as facts, and misinformation about the Torah, etc, and some of the false teachers were married women teaching Artemis worship, such as we saw when we delved into 1 Timothy 2, and some of the false teachers were widowed women proselytizing for Artemis, such in the below:

1 Timothy 5:13 NRSVue
Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house, and they are not merely idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say.

Oh wait, you don't see it in the English, do you?  It's clear in the Greek.  First of all, the above word "gossips" is translated from the Greek word φλύαρος - floo'-ar-os - which means "nonsense."  These widowed women in this chapter were NOT going house to house gossiping, they were stating something as fact which is actually nonsense.  And what is the nonsense that they were proselytizing from house to house?  The above English translation says that they were "busybodies."  Yet if we look in the Greek, the word there is περίεργος - per-ee'-er-gos.  Per-ee'-er-gos is only in the Bible two times, so if it means "busybodies," then we'll see that word or a synonymous one in the other place where this Greek word is.  The other place where per-ee'-er-gos appears in the Bible is the below:

Acts 19:19 NRSVue
A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.

I don't see "busybodies" or anything close to that in the above.  Do you?  If we look in our interlinear Bibles, we see that here per-ee'-er-gos was correctly translated as "magic."  Magic and busybodies are in no way synonymous. 

If you read more in Acts chapter 19, you'll see that verse 19 is occurring in Ephesus (where 1 and 2 Timothy are written to) and that Acts 19:19 is part of a revival where a bunch of Artemis worshippers turned to Jesus and got saved, so they burned their witchcraft Artemis books.  These people practiced Artemis magic - per-ee'-er-gos.  When we plug in the correct translations of floo'-ar-os and per-ee'-er-gos in 1 Timothy 5:13, we get the following:

"Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house, and they are not merely idle but also speaking nonsense and magic, saying what they should not say."

The only two places in the Bible where we have the Greek word per-ee'-er-gos is Acts 19:19 and 1 Timothy 5:13.  Both places are in Ephesus, where Artemis magic was huge at that time, especially for women.

Remember that 1 and 2 Timothy are about correcting or ousting the false teachers from the Ephesus church.  While both books mention groups and some men doing some false teachings, we see it also mentions some married women trying to bring Artemis worship into the church which would corrupt their husbands in 1 Timothy 2:12, and in 1 Timothy 5:13 we have some widowed women going house to house teaching Artemis magic.

Now we see a connection between 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Timothy 5:13.  These were two groups of women trying to bring Artemis magic to Christians.  These were some of the false teachers Timothy was sent to correct or stop.

Artemis worship still exists today, and still has many of the same rituals.  In our modern world, it usually now goes by the name of Wicca.  While there are male priests and attendants in Wicca, it is still considered quite a female religion, with more adherents being women, and the high priestesses often being revered in each coven. They believe in feminine power and the female goddess in line with their view of the Divine Feminine.

What else do we see with flawed English translations of 1 Timothy 5:13?  It looks like it's saying that bored women were going house to house to gossip and stick their noses in other people's business.   But when we look in the Greek, we find out that these women were not doing that.  They were going house to house teaching Artemis magic.  These were some of the people giving wrong (different) teachings that Timothy was to correct:

1 Timothy 1:3 NRSVue
I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach different teachings

Some of those "certain people" were the women from 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Timothy 5:13.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART EIGHT

Women and 1 Timothy 2

1 Timothy 2:8-9a KJV
I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel

"In like manner also," translated "likewise" in many other translations literally means - 'just what I told the previous people group, I also mean for this other people group.'  Thus "In like manner also" is saying that just as the men are to "pray every where, lifting up holy hands," so are the women.  Right after this "in like manner also" phrase, many Bible translations suddenly go off topic and randomly discuss how women are to dress 'modestly.'  What does women 'dressing modestly' have to do with their prayers and the topic in verse 8?

Guess what?  The Greek for this does not say women are to 'dress modest.'  Because of this, some Bible translations won't say 'modest,' like the below...

1 Timothy 2:8-9a NRSVue
I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument,  also that the women should dress themselves in moderate clothing

While "moderate clothing" is better, it still does not convey what the Greek is actually saying.  

The word that the KJV translated as "modest" is the Greek word κόσμιος - kos'-mee-os.  The Koine Greek kos'-mee-os literally means 'orderly, well-behaved.'  It doesn't have to do with physical clothing, it has to do with behavior. This is why the KJV translated this exact same Greek word as "of good behaviour" in 1 Timothy 3:2, when describing the qualities of a church leader.  

The next word in question in our above 1 Timothy 2:8-9a KJV passage is the word "apparel."  This is from the Greek word καταστολή - kat-as-tol-ay', which is a noun and means "dignity, restraint," not clothing!  In the noun form this word is in the bible only once, but it appears twice in the New Testament in its verb form, of which the KJV translates it as "had appeased" in Acts 19:35 and "quiet" in Acts 19:36. 

Thus, "modest apparel" in the above 1 Timothy 2:9 passage is incorrect.  From the Greek it is "well-behaved and with dignity."  The church leader is also called to this Greek - "well-behaved" in 1 Timothy 3:2.  Therefore, if we are being honest with the Greek, then this part of 1 Timothy 2:9 should say:

Likewise, that women arrange (κοσμέω) themselves with (ἐν) good behavior (κόσμιος) and dignity (καταστολή).

Thus 1 Timothy 2:8-9a actually says from Greek to English:
I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  Likewise, that women arrange themselves with good behavior and dignity.

In other words, men are to pray without wrath and doubting, and women are to pray with good behavior (also used to describe the church leader in 1 Timothy 3) and with dignity.

Men without wrath - as men were considered to be fight-ready, and women with dignity - because women were usually not treated with dignity in that culture, but nonetheless a woman of God has dignity, regardless of how she is treated.  Further recall that 1 and 2 Timothy were in Ephesus, so the women are also to "arrange themselves in good behavior."  Thus they are to be calm, and not pray to God in the frantic way they would to Artemis in certain rituals before they got saved.

People who run to 1 Timothy 2:8-9 to state how women should dress modestly are running to something that is actually not talking about her physical outfit, so much as it's referring to her dressing her personality with good character traits, rather than putting her focus on wearing expensive clothes of that time (thus the rest of verse 9).  Notice, however, that these verses do not stipulate that she is to dress modestly.  That's in most English Bible translations, but not in the Greek or thus the originals. 

Men use this wrongly translated section to accuse women of tempting them.  Now we see the Bible doesn't say that women are to dress "modestly" here.  However, the Bible over and over says that both men and women are to exercise self-control.

Moving further along in 1 Timothy chapter 2, we next come across the following...

1 Timothy 2:11-12 ESV
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

Have you ever looked at these two verses in the Greek?  When looking in the Greek, we are expecting we will find the word παύω - pow'-o - "to cease or refrain," or a similar word in regards to women being quiet (or silent in the KJV).  We see pow'-o used like this several times in the Bible, for example:

1 Peter 3:10 KJV
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile

"Let him refrain" above is pow'-o.

However, when we look at 1 Timothy 2:11-12, both places where the ESV says "quiet," and where the KJV says "silent," it's not the Greek pow'-o.  Instead it is ἡσυχία - hay-soo-khee'-ah, which is a Greek noun that means "calm, peaceful."  It does not mean cessation of verbal speech, and is not used that way anywhere else in the Bible.  In this same 1 Timothy 2 chapter, we have the adjective form of this very same word, and it is translated as "peaceful:"

1 Timothy 2:2 ESV
for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful (hay-soo'-khee-os) and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

The above word quiet is not hay-soo-khee'-ah / hay-soo'-khee-os, but rather is an entirely different word - ay'-rem-os.  However notice that the above word "peaceful" is our word hay-soo'-khee-os.

Thus we already see a problem with the ESV (and many other versions) translation.  If we correct the ESV on this, then we have:

1 Timothy 2:11-12
Let a woman learn calmly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain calm.

Why did Paul say the woman is to be calm?  Recall this is in Ephesus, and Ephesus had one of the ancient seven wonders of the world - the Artemis Temple, where the priests were primarily women and eunuchs (considered men made into women).  These women were becoming Christians and for the first time, going to church. They tried to behave in church as they did during certain rituals in the Artemis temple which was anything but peaceful and calm.

Women in that time and culture were not allowed to learn, so they had no experience in sitting calmly, submitting to the teacher and listening to learn. They had to be taught how to learn - "learn calmly with all submissiveness."  The "submissiveness" is better translated as "with subjection."  They were to learn calmly and subject themselves to the teacher or preacher they were supposed to be learning from, as anyone who learns from another should.

What's radical for that culture at that time is that the above says "Let a woman learn."  LET, because in that culture women were not educated or allowed to learn.  "Let them learn too!"  Is what Paul was saying.  This made Paul a radical feminist for that time and culture.

As we continue looking at these two verses in the Greek, we fully expect to find the Greek word ἐξουσία - ex-oo-see'-ah, which was the common Koine Greek word for "authority."  After all, most English Bible translations have the word "authority" in 1 Timothy 2:12, so we fully expect to see that word in the Greek.

Take a look.  It's not there.

That's right. The word authority is not in the Greek for 1 Timothy 2:12!  Let that sink in for a minute...  First we see that 1 Timothy 2:11-12 doesn't say the woman is to be silent/quiet in the Greek, but merely says she is to be calm, and the Greek word for "authority" isn't even in 1 Timothy 2:12.

Ex-oo-see'-ah is the common Koine Greek word for "authority" and is in the New Testament over 100 times. 

The word that most English translations are translating as "authority" in 1 Timothy 2:12 is αὐθεντέω - ow-then-teh'-o, which means "murder."

Ow-then-teh'-o is in the New Testament only once, thus Paul chose this rare word for 1 Timothy 2:12.  If Paul meant "authority," he would have used ex-oo-see'-ah as he did many times in the New Testament.  Instead he used a word that means "murder."

While ow-then-teh'-o is only in the canonical Scriptures one time, it does also appear in the deuterocanon/apocrypha.  We see this word in Wisdom 12:6:

Wisdom 12:6 NRSVue
these parents who murder helpless lives, you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors

"Murder" above is ow-then-teh'-o.  The above is about parents who were sacrificing their own children to idols.  Imagine if they translated ow-then-teh'-o as "authority" here.  It would then say:

these parents who had authority over helpless lives, you willed to destroy by the hands of our ancestors

The above now says that God wills to destroy any parents who have authority over their own children.  See how ridiculous that is?  Translators knew ow-then-teh'-o means murder in Wisdom 12:6 but somehow forgot that when it comes to 1 Timothy 2:12.

Because of "quiet" actually being "calm," and the word "authority" actually being nowhere in 1 Timothy 2:11-12, there are Bible translations that translate these verses differently than the KJV, ESV, CSB, NLT, NASB, etc.  There are Bible translations that aim to be more accurate.  Thus they translate 1 Timothy 2:12 as:

___________________________________________________________________________________

I don’t allow a wife to teach or to control her husband. Instead, she should be a quiet listener. CEB

Moreover, in the area of teaching, I am not allowing a woman to instigate conflict toward a man. Instead, she is to remain calm.  ISV 2.0

I don’t advocate that the newly converted women be the teachers in the church, assuming authority over the men, but to live in peace. TPT

I'm not saying that women should teach men, or try to dictate to them; rather, that they should be left undisturbed.  N.T. Wright Translation  

I do not permit a woman to teach that she is the originator of man, rather she is not to cause a disturbance.  REV 2020

___________________________________________________________________________________

Thus we see that various translations struggle with how to translate ow-then-teh'-o, but we see them properly translating hay-soo-khee'-ah as "calm/peace/undisturbed" as it is translated elsewhere in the Bible.

Notice the CEB says "wife" and "husband."  This is more accurate, as the Greek word for woman is the same word for wife, and the Greek word for husband is the same word for man.  Thus, to determine when the Greek is referring to a married individual or just their gender, you have to use context.  The context here changes from men and women in the plural in verses 8-10 to singular man and singular woman in verses 11 and 12.  We went from all Christian men and women to a specific man and a specific woman, indicating a contextual change from gender to marriage - a wife and a husband.

As for "teaching" in these verses, ow-then-teh'-o is describing the type of teaching. Thus verse 12 is saying that the wife is not to bring a teaching to her husband that leads to his spiritual murder.

How 1 Timothy 2:11-12 Should be Translated if we are Being Honest with the Greek:
Let a wife learn in calmness with full subjection [to the teacher]. I do not permit a wife to teach unto [spiritual] murder a husband. Rather, she is to be calm.

When read this way, the rest of 1 Timothy chapter 2 makes sense.

Verse 13 NRSVue
For Adam was formed first, then Eve

This recalls us to the Garden of Eden where God told Adam not to eat of the forbidden tree. Adam was told this before Eve came to be.  Eve thus was later told by Adam.  

Verse 14 NRSVue
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Adam had the command directly from God, not Eve.  Satan, the beautiful shining winged serpent angelic creature at that time, came to Eve and convinced her that she must have misunderstood Adam, or that Adam must have misunderstood God.  With Adam watching all of this and not saying a word, Eve eats the forbidden fruit.  She then teaches Adam about what she thinks are its good qualities and extends the forbidden fruit to Adam.  He eats it upon her ow-then-teh'-o teaching, disregarding the teaching he has previously gotten directly from God, so he dies spiritually.

The Artemis women priests and worshippers in Ephesus at the time of 1 Timothy 2:12 were trying to teach their newly converted Christian husbands about Artemis worship, which was an ow-then-teh'-o teaching that could lead to their spiritual murder.  This is why Paul used the word ow-then-teh'-o!  It's supposed to connect us to what happened between Eve and Adam with the forbidden fruit.

Verse 15 NRSVue
Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

The wife will be saved through childbearing, provided that they - both husband and wife, continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.  Self-control here is from the Greek σωφροσύνη - so-fros-oo'-nay, which is a Greek synonym to hay-soo-khee'-ah - "she is to be calm" from the end of verse 12.

Thus, both husband and wife are to remain in the faith and be calm/self-controlled.

How is the wife "saved through childbearing?" Eve did ow-then-teh'-o to the first Adam.  Notice the New Testament tells us Eve was deceived, but it attributes the Fall to Adam, even though he ate after Eve. Why is the Fall attributed to Adam?  Because Adam was not deceived. Adam knowingly disobeyed a command he had gotten directly from the mouth of God.

Through Eve the first Adam fell, because he heeded her false teaching.  The New Testament calls Jesus the Last Adam.  This is one of the reasons Jesus was born male.  The Last Adam abolished the Law of Sin and Death that began with the first Adam, thus saving the woman through childbearing, as the Last Adam was born of the Virgin Mary.  Through Eve's ow-then-teh'-o teaching the first Adam was spiritually murdered.  Through the woman - the Virgin Mary, the Last Adam was born, who conquered Sin and Death.

1 Corinthians 15:45 NRSVue
Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Romans 5:15 NRSVue
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many.

Romans 5:18 NRSVue
Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.

Romans 8:1-2 NRSVue
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART SEVEN

Are Women Supposed to be Silent in Church?

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 NRSVue
Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is something they want to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

People will quote the above verses and state that this means women are not allowed to teach or preach in the church.  However, we know that that cannot be what the above is saying, because

1) Phoebe was a leader of the church in Cenchreae, which was a port in Corinth (Rom. 16:1-2)

2) The topic of all of chapter 14 is specifically about speaking in tongues and prophesying in church in an orderly manner

Right off the bat we see that the above verses can't be saying that women are to be silent in the church, because that contradicts Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2, and the above can't be saying that women aren't allowed to speak in tongues or prophesy in church, because we have them prophesying in 1 Corinthians 11:5, and we have multiple verses here in chapter 14 that emphasize that speaking in tongues and prophesying are for anyone in the church - with no gender stipulations given.

Some Bible translations have the above 1 Corinthians 14 passage as thus:

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 REV
[Let the women keep silence in the churches, for it is not permitted for them to speak, but they are to be in submission, as also says the law. And if they want to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church.]

Notice the REV has these two verses in brackets.  What does that mean?  Generally, when a Bible translation has words, phrases or verses in brackets, it means the translators believe the words or verses in question were an interpolation, and are not in the actual originals of the Bible.

Why would the REV think that these two verses may be an interpolation?  First off all, depending on which ancient Bible manuscript you look at, these verses may come after verse 33, or they come later in chapter 14.  Usually when there are Bible verses that are in different places in different ancient manuscripts, it's a strong indicator that those verses were later added by someone and are not in the originals.

There are a few Bible manuscripts that have an omit symbol next to these verses, indicating that the scribe who made that copy believed those verses were an interpolation and not in the originals.  When studied under a special light, the original inking of the very ancient Vaticanus manuscript of the New Testament can be seen, and there appears to be an omit symbol next to those verses.  This is one of the oldest Bible manuscripts in existence that we know of.

I, however, personally believe these two verses may actually be in the originals, and thus belong in the Bible, because I believe these two verses are a common rhetorical device that Paul used a lot, called a Diatribe.  If these verses are a diatribe, then that means Paul is quoting someone else, and then refuting them.  There are some Bible translations that put these verses in quotation marks, and I believe that is correct.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Montgomery Translation
"In your congregation" you write, "as in all the churches of the saints, let the women keep silence in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. On the contrary let them be subordinate, as also says the law. And if they want to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church."

Paul the apostle was quoting from a letter that the Corinthians had previously sent to him, where they were quoting Cato the Elder, as recorded by Livy.  Cato the Elder was a renowned public speaker and a proponent of making the Oppian Law "as also says the law" stronger.  The Oppian Law dictated that women had no rights, were not allowed to own much if any property or money, and had to be subordinate to men.  

Women took to the streets and tried to protest this Oppian Law.  Cato was sickened by seeing these women speaking to other men who were not their own husbands, and deemed that inappropriate.  Thus Cato began publicly speaking in support of the Oppian Law, and taught that the Oppian Law needed to be made stronger, to state that women shouldn't be allowed to speak in public at all, and even if they had a question about anything, they were to keep that to themselves until they got home, and then ask their husbands.

In trying to help bring order to the church, the Corinthians were wanting to bring in Cato's teaching, and then they'd only have to deal with the men speaking in tongues and prophesying, instead of both the men and the women doing so.

Paul quoted their quote that they gave him in their previous letter to them in verses 34 and 35, thus the Montgomery Translation having these verses in quotes, and then Paul refutes this heretical stance right afterward:

1 Corinthians 14:36-39 NRSVue
Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached? Anyone who claims to be a prophet or spiritual must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord. Anyone who does not recognize this is not to be recognized. So, my brothers and sisters, strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues

The word "or" above is more accurately translated as "What," as seen in the RSV:

What! Did the word of God originate with you, or are you the only ones it has reached? - 1 Corinthians 14:36 RSV

Paul quotes Cato the Elder in verses 34 and 35, and then verses 36-39 are Paul's refutation:

1)What!  Did the word of God originate with you [Corinthians]?! 

2) Are you [Corinthians] the only ones the word of God has reached? - Indicating the Cato teaching from verses 34 and 35 is not a teaching in any other church.

3) Any Christian must acknowledge the command Paul is about to say to them.  Paul says anyone who does not recognize the command should not be recognized.

4) He gives the command in verse 39 - "So, my brothers and sisters, strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues."

Remember, the topic of all of chapter 14 is speaking in tongues and prophesying.  The Corinthian church was trying to say that women were not allowed to speak in tongues or prophesy in the church, and they were citing Cato the Elder's teachings to back that up.  Paul then tells them in verse 39 - no, ALL Christians are allowed to speak in tongues and prophesy.

Paul didn't author 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.  Livy wrote it down from a speech Cato the Elder gave, and then the Corinthian church wrote that quote to Paul. Paul then quoted that quote and completely refuted it, standing up for women speaking in the church.

How to Deeply Study and Understand the Bible

This is a four-week series on how to deeply study and understand the Bible.  Click Here to watch the series videos.  Below are the handouts/worksheets that go with the lessons.  You can click on any of the below to make them larger:

Women Erased/Demoted in Many Bible Translations PART SIX

Women Disciples of Jesus 

We saw a female apostle mentioned specifically by name - Junia.  There are also female disciples of Jesus.  

Luke 8:1-3 NRSVue
Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them out of their own resources.

Notice the above mentions other disciples with and following Jesus besides His inner 12. It says "The twelve were with him, as well as some women."  Some people think Jesus only had 12 disciples and thus all of His disciple were men.  As we see above and in many places in the New Testament, Jesus had many disciples.

The 12 were His inner circle who generally even slept in the same room as He.  Thus the ones who slept in the same room as Jesus would have to be male, so that rumors of impropriety could not be hatched.  The shocking thing in the above verses is that it is clear that women followed Him as disciples too. 

This was unheard of in the culture at that time.  During those days and in that culture, rabbis/masters had disciples who were only men, and these men were often what we'd call boys.  The "men" were usually teenagers, with some being in their early 20s.  Most of Jesus' 12 disciples were likely teens.  Women weren't allowed to learn at that time, and certainly were not allowed to be disciples of rabbis/masters.  Whenever women tried, we read on the historic record that they were turned away.

In the above verses we get the names of some of Jesus' female disciples: Mary Magdalene, Joanna (who may be the same person as Junia in Romans 16:7), and Susanna.

Notice the above verses state that these three women 'ministered to Jesus and the disciples out of their own resources.'  This is important to mention, because if any women in that time and culture went to try to follow a rabbi/master, then their husbands would usually divorce them, or their fathers would kick them out of their home. If the above Joanna is the same person as Junia in Romans 16:7, which is quite likely, then her husband Chuza likely divorced her for following Jesus, but she may have quickly remarried a male apostle of Jesus - Andronicus. Thus the only women who were able to follow Jesus publicly in the beginning were women who had wealth (or some form of financial support) and thus didn't need to depend on a husband or father in order to eat and live.

A key word in this phrase is "ministered." Notice the NRSVue is being honest in the translation of this word.  We came across their word in it's noun form when we studied the church minister Phoebe.  "Ministered" above is from the Greek word διακονέω which in phonetic English is dee-ak-on-eh'-o.  Dee-ak-on-eh'-o is the verb form of the noun dee-ak'-on-os, which we see in Romans 16:2 Phoebe was.  

We see in the Scriptures that Paul and Apollos were dee-ak'-on-os (ministers) which was the same Greek word given for Phoebe:

1 Corinthians 3:5 NABRE
What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one.

NOTE: The woman Priscilla taught the man Apollos corrections in the Scriptures were he had some things wrong.  You can read about this in Acts 18.

The women disciples mentioned in Luke 8:1-3 ministered - dee-ak-on-eh'-o to Jesus and the disciples.  This exact same Greek word is in 1 Timothy chapter 3, where it is describing the church deacon/minister:

1 Timothy 3:10 YLT
and let these also first be proved, then let them minister, being unblameable.

One who ministers in a minister.  These women disciples were ministers/deacons.  It's the exact Greek word.  Yet some Bibles obscure this fact by translating dee-ak-on-eh'-o as other words. For example, the NASB 2020 says "contributing" for dee-ak-on-eh'-o:

Luke 8:3 NASB 2020
and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

The above translation and other many others like it obscure the fact that Jesus' female disciples were ministers, and if we follow some of them, we see that some became preachers (Mary Magdalene) and some were actually Apostles (likely Joanna). 

A disciple of note of Jesus' was the woman Tabitha.  We see her mentioned in Acts 9.

Acts 9:36 NRSVue
Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.

Women Deacons/Ministers and Woman Pastors/Bishops/Elders in the New Testament

If you've ever wondered what the difference is between a Pastor, Bishop, and Elder in the Bible, you'll find when you look all these words up in the New Testament they are used interchangeably.  They are the same church office, just as deacons and ministers are.

A deacon/minister can preach at the same church, or can travel and preach and minister at various churches or locales.  We see Paul, Timothy, and Phoebe were deacons/ministers, for example.  The Pastor/Bishop/Elder generally is over one specific church.

1 Timothy chapter 3 gives qualities of the church deacon and bishop:

1 Timothy 3:1-13 NKJV
This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?);  not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

If you read the above as stated, it looks very clear that only men "if a man desires the position of" can be church leaders such as bishops and deacons - notice all the male pronouns throughout.

Imagine how shocked I and many others were when we looked at these verses in an interlinear Bible, and saw that in not one of these verses does it say man/men, or he/him/his.  "Man" in the above verse 1, for example, is in the Greek interlinear Bible as τις - tis - which is a gender neutral pronoun that literally means "any," or "anyone."  And what about all of the male pronouns through out the above?  In the Greek we see not one male pronoun. The above is written purely in gender neutral terms.  Bible translations adding man/men and he/him/his are literally changing and adding to the Word of God!

The above NKJV example also does something else many may find a bit smarmy.  Look at verse 11:

1 Timothy 3:11 NKJV
Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

Look at "their wives must be" in the Greek/English interlinear Bible, and you'll see that the words 'their,' and 'must be' are not in the Greek!  Further, the above "wives" in the Greek Bible is γυνή - goo-nay' which means women.  It only means "wife" when used in the context of marriage, which is not the case here.  Verse 11 is not giving sudden instructions to the wives of deacons, while there was never any sudden instruction to the wives of the bishops.  Verse 11 is a special mention to female deacons, which recall Phoebe was.  Some Bible versions translate this verse correctly as thus:

1 Timothy 3:11 NRSVue
Women likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all things.

Some people still think the above 1 Timothy 3:1-13 passage must be church offices only for men, because verse 2 in many English Bible translations says "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife."  I posit to you that that is not the correct translation, as we see this phrase repeated in verse 12, which is right after we had a special note to female deacons. Verse 12 says "Let deacons be the husbands of one wife."

If you look in many Bible translations, you'll see that some will instead say things like "married only once," "faithful in marriage," or "faithful to their spouse."  These translations are closer to what the Greek says, but still not close enough.  

If you study ancient idioms, you'll notice that this phrase in question is an idiom.  If we translate it very literally from the Greek, it is "one-woman man."  The Koine Greek of the New Testament was a patriarchal language, so when referring to a group of both genders, it stated things in the male.  "One-woman man" is the very literal translation from the Greek into the English here, for verses 2 and 12.  Since we've established that when read in the Greek, 1 Timothy 3:1-13 is gender neutral - thus for both genders, then the idiom "one-woman man" would default in the male when referring to both genders.

"One-woman man" meant that if a person was married, they didn't cheat, and if they were single, they didn't commit fornication.

The Koine Greek defaulting to the masculine when referring to both genders is obvious in the Bible, and even more so in a Greek/English interlinear Bible.  For example:

Matthew 5:28 NRSVue
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Does the above mean that only men are guilty of adultery if they lust?  Or does the above mean that women are allowed to lust after men, but just not after women, and that men are allowed to lust after other men, but not after women?

Of course not.

This teaching was said to a crowd of both genders, so in the patriarchal Koine Greek language, it defaulted to the masculine.  It means that just as men are not to lust after other people, neither are women to lust after other people.

We also see this default to the masculine when speaking to both genders throughout the New Testament, such as the below example:

Romans 12:1 NRSVue
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.

Romans 12:1 ESV
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Is it to "brothers," or "brothers and sisters?"  The Greek word underlying this is ἀδελφός - ad-el-fos', which literally means a brother in a physical family.  However, when used spiritually or symbolically, when addressing a crowd of both genders, it means "brothers and sisters."  Thus the above NRSVue translation is more accurate than the ESV.

We see an example of this in many modern languages, such as Spanish.  The Spanish word for "brother" in a physical family is hermano.  When a Spanish speaker asks you how many brothers and sisters do you have, they only ask how many hermanos do you have.  Some English speakers will then only tell them how many brothers they have, but the Spanish "hermanos" in this context means brothers and sisters.

When referring to just women, the Koine Greek will change to being in the feminine.  For example:

1 Timothy 5:9 ESV
Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband

"The wife of one husband" in the above ESV rendition is literally "one-man woman" in the Greek, and is the idiom meaning if married, don't commit adultery, if not married, don't commit fornication.

Thus when we understand this idiom, and when we look at 1 Timothy 3:1-13 in the Greek, we find out the whole section is in 100% gender neutral terms, because the church offices of Bishop and Deacon were and are open to both genders.

The CEV Bible is honest from the Greek in these verses.  I'll show you this below, but keep in mind that the CEV calls a bishop a "church official," and a deacon a "church officer."

1 Timothy 3:1-13 CEV
It is true that anyone who desires to be a church official wants to be something worthwhile.  That's why officials must have a good reputation and be faithful in marriage. They must be self-controlled, sensible, well-behaved, friendly to strangers, and able to teach. They must not be heavy drinkers or troublemakers. Instead, they must be kind and gentle and not love money. Church officials must be in control of their own families, and they must see that their children are obedient and always respectful. If they don't know how to control their own families, how can they look after God's people? They must not be new followers of the Lord. If they are, they might become proud and be doomed along with the devil. Finally, they must be well-respected by people who are not followers. Then they won't be trapped and disgraced by the devil. Church officers should be serious. They must not be liars, heavy drinkers, or greedy for money. And they must have a clear conscience and hold firmly to what God has shown us about our faith. They must first prove themselves. Then if no one has anything against them, they can serve as officers. Women must also be serious. They must not gossip or be heavy drinkers, and they must be faithful in everything they do. Church officers must be faithful in marriage. They must be in full control of their children and everyone else in their home. Those who serve well as officers will earn a good reputation and will be highly respected for their faith in Christ Jesus.

When the above translation is read, it is crystal clear that the church offices are open to either gender. The above is much more accurate to the Greek in this section than most English Bible translations are.

We now move on to the women church elders mentioned in 1 Timothy chapter 5...

1 Timothy 5:1-3 KJV
Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity. Honour widows that are widows indeed.

The word "elder" above in referencing both men and women is the Greek pronoun πρεσβύτερος - pres-boo'-ter-os, where we get our English word "presbyter."  Most Bibles translate this word as "Elder."  When we study this word in the Bible, we see it used interchangeably with the church office of  Pastor/Bishop.  An Elder is a church Pastor, and specifically an older person serving as a Pastor.

The above KJV rightly translates πρεσβύτερος - pres-boo'-ter-os as "elder" for both the man and the woman, but some English translations obscure the fact that the above is mentioning female church Elders.  They will then translate this as such:

1 Timothy 5:1-3 CSB
Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters with all purity. Support widows who are genuinely in need.

Pres-boo'-ter-os can refer to age, but when referring to a church, it's the office of Pastor - specifically an older person serving as Pastor.  Context tells us which is the correct translation.  We know from context the correct translation for the above should indeed be the church office of Elder/Pastor, not age, as we see just a bit later in this same chapter:

1 Timothy 5:17 CSB
The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

Look in your interlinear Bible, and what do you see?  The word "elders" above is πρεσβύτερος - pres-boo'-ter-os - the exact same Greek word for the men and women in verses 1 and 2.

Notice the CSB and many other English Bible translations will honestly translate πρεσβύτερος - pres-boo'-ter-os as elder (which is an older person serving as a church Pastor) in verse 17, but that exact same word is translated as "older" in verses 1 and 2.  If they were consistent, then you'd see female church elders clearly being mentioned.

1 Timothy 5:1-3 Darby
Rebuke not an elder sharply, but exhort [him] as a father, younger [men] as brethren, elder women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity. Honour widows who are really widows

Look at the above word "honour" in the Greek/English interlinear Bible, and what word is it?  It is τιμάω - tim-ah'-o, which is a verb, and means to honor, or to value.  This word appears only one other time in this chapter, and it is in its noun form, which is τιμή - tee-may'.  This therefore informs us that the word "honor" in verse 2 ties in with the only other place "honor" is in this chapter - verse 17.

Starting in the above verse 3, we see that it says to honor widows, so we know the topic here is honoring or valuing widows.  Thus verses 16-18 is referring to honoring women widows who served well as church elders/pastors:

1 Timothy 5:16-18 NRSVue
If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her assist them; let the church not be burdened, so that it can assist those who are real widows. Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching, for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” and “The laborer deserves to be paid.” 

This is obscured in some other English Bible translations, where they insert the word "his," which is NOT in the Greek here.

1 Timothy 5:18 ESV
For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”

The above ESV added the word "his," which is not in the Greek here, and now obscures the fact that these verses are referring to female church pastors who are widowed.

The Titus 2 Woman

Titus 2:1-6 ESV
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 

Women all over the country are taught in churches that the Titus 2 Woman is a submissive Suzy Homemaker who doesn't have a career or ambitions other than staying home to take care of her house, husband, and children.  This couldn't be farther from the TRUTH.  By this point, would you actually be shocked to find out that this is not what this passage says in the Greek?

First of all, notice the word "older" for both the men and the women.  Yep, it's the Greek word πρεσβύτης - pres-boo'-tace - masculine noun referring to the men, which is literally Elder in English, and πρεσβῦτις - pres-boo'-tis - feminine noun referring to the women, which is literally Elder in English.

Now the question arises, is pres-boo'-tace/pres-boo'-tis referring to these men's' and women's ages, or to the church office of Presbyter, which we usually call Elder or Pastor?  We let context tell us, and the context is very clear.

Titus 1:5 NRSVue
I left you behind in Crete for this reason, so that you should put in order what remained to be done and should appoint elders in every town, as I directed you

"Elders" above is the Greek πρεσβύτερος - pres-boo'-ter-os, which is an adjective, meaning a person of either gender that is a church elder/pastor.  We see the masculine and feminine noun versions of this same word in verses 2 and 3 of chapter 2.

From verse 6 to the end of chapter one, Paul then describes the church elder's office, just as we have the same description for Bishop and Elder in 1 Timothy 3.  And yes, there are no masculine pronouns or the words man/men anywhere in this description in the Greek.  Thus if the Bible translation you are reading has man/men or he/him/his is this description, your translation has added to and changed the word of God, as this whole passage is 100% gender neutral in the Greek.

Recall that the originals of the Bible do not have chapter and verse divisions. That was added by humans so that it's easier for all of us to study the Bible together and follow along, as we have been doing in this treatise.  Therefore, chapter two is continuing directly where chapter one left off.  Thus we open in chapter 2 with specific instructions to male church elders/pastors, and specific instructions to female church elders/pastors.

By most Bible versions suddenly changing the word from "elder" to "older," we lose the fact that the Bible is directly describing Women Pastors in Titus 2:3-5.  

Here is a translation that remains honest to the Greek:

Titus 2:1-6 TPT
Your duty is to teach them to embrace a lifestyle that is consistent with sound doctrine. Lead the male elders into disciplined lives full of dignity and self-control. Urge them to have a solid faith, generous love, and patient endurance. Likewise with the female elders, lead them into lives free from gossip and drunkenness and to be teachers of beautiful things. This will enable them to teach the younger women to love their husbands, to love their children, and to be self-controlled and pure, taking care of their household and being devoted to their husbands. By doing these things the word of God will not be discredited.  Likewise, guide the younger men into living disciplined lives for Christ.

Thus we now see revealed what was in the Greek the whole time.  The Titus 2 Woman is a Pastor.

Notice the male elders are to have disciplined lives of dignity and self control.  Self control is very important here, as many modern churches teach a cult heresy that states that women are responsible in how they dress in order to not tempt men.  There is not one verse in the Bible that teaches that, but due to some misleading English translations, some bible versions make us think that is a teaching.  We'll get into that a little bit later in this treatise.  

Rather, the Bible repeatedly teaches that all Christians are to exercise self-control.  In regards to men, part of that means averting their eyes from women's bodies and remembering that women are humans created in the image of God 100% as much as men are, and deserve just as much respect.

The above passage goes on to say that male church elders are to have faith, love, and patience, and to guide the younger men into living disciplined lives for Christ.

The above says of female church elders that they are to not gossip or be drunks, and to teach beautiful things.  "Teach beautiful things" is from one Greek word here.  That word is καλοδιδάσκαλος - kal-od-id-as'-kal-os, which literally means a person who teaches what is right and good.  Thus the female church elders are to teach their congregation what is right and good.

The above passage then goes on to say "This will enable them to teach the younger women."  "This will enable them to teach" is also from one Greek word, and that word is σωφρονίζω - so-fron-id'-zo, which means to teach someone self-control.  Why would the female church elders need to teach the younger women to love their husbands with self-control?  In the culture at that time girls often at the age of 13-15 were married off to grown men who were significantly older.  Wives were seen as property, and were usually treated as such.  This made it challenging for women to love their husbands.

With both the wife and husband now being Christians and attending the theoretical church of Titus 2, the woman pastor is to teach the "younger women" - often likely teenagers, to love their husbands with self-control.  This could be a challenge, as society sees her as her husband's property. Where the above passage says the younger women are to be taught to 'take care of their household,' in the Greek it's the adjective form of the noun οἶκος - oy'-kos which literally means home or household.  

Thus the above is not saying the wife has to be a homemaker.  It literally says 'to love their husband and children with self-control and household.'  "Household" here could refer to the family unit of husband and children, including servants or slaves that were part of the general household at that time.  This then could be a nod to The Woman of Strength - the Proverbs 31 Woman:

Proverbs 31:15 NRSVue
She rises while it is still night and provides food for her household and tasks for her female servants.