Unless
otherwise noted, all Scriptures in this article will be quoted from the NRSVue
Bible. Does the Bible Really
Say Women Must be Silent, Can’t Preach, and are Subordinate to Men? The Complementarian camp says “Yes.”
They base this off of two main Scriptures: 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. -1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Christian
Complementarians say that the above teaches that women are not allowed to speak
in churches, and therefore cannot be preachers and pastors. Let a woman learn in silence with
full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a
man; she is to keep silent. -1 Timothy
2:11-12 Christian
Complementarians say that the above teaches that women are not allowed to teach
men, and that men have authority over women. Does the Bible Really
Say Women Must be Silent, Can’t Preach, and are Subordinate to Men? The
Egalitarian camp says No. They base
their stance on many Scriptures, of which the below are some: As many of you as were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or
Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female,
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
-Galatians 3:27-28 In
Christ, there is no genetic heritage, monetary status, or gender. All Christians are viewed as one in the same. At that time Deborah, a prophet,
wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of
Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the
Israelites came up to her for judgment.
-Judges 4:4-5 Deborah
was the leader of the nation of Israel, and she was also a prophet who spoke
the word of God. Pursue love and strive for the
spiritual gifts and especially that you may prophesy. -1 Corinthians 14:1 All
Christians are told to strive for spiritual gifts, especially prophecy. Other spiritual gifts include speaking in
tongues, teaching, etc. So, my brothers and sisters,
strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues -1 Corinthians 14:39 All
Christians are told to desire to prophesy, and also not to forbid speaking in
tongues. Therefore, it’s not a sin if a
woman speaks in tongues in church, but it is a sin, if people forbid her to. One day Elisha was passing
through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So
whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal. She said to her
husband, “Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy
man of God. Let us make a small roof chamber with walls and put there for him a
bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes
to us.” One day when he came there, he went up to the chamber and lay down
there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite woman.” When he had
called her, she stood before him.” -2 Kings 4:1-12 The
Shunammite woman chose to invite the prophet Elisha. There’s no mention of her getting her husband’s
permission, first. This woman of God was
speaking with a man of God directly, not having to have her husband be the
middle man. Years
later… He complained to his father, “Oh,
my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.”
He carried him and brought him to his mother; the child sat on her lap until
noon, and he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God,
closed the door on him, and left. Then she called to her husband and said,
“Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may quickly go
to the man of God and come back again.” He said, “Why go to him today? It is
neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “It will be all right.” Then she
saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not hold
back for me unless I tell you.” So she set out and came to the man of God at
Mount Carmel. -2 Kings 4:19-25 The Shunammite
woman didn’t have time to tell her husband what happened. She just told him to
get her the donkeys and servant, and when her husband asked what was going on,
she just said ‘it will be alright,’ and then she took off. She didn’t need her husband’s permission.
Further, he clearly trusted her to make wise decisions, and didn’t think he had
to be in charge of her. but any woman who prays or
prophesies with her head unveiled shames her head—it is one and the same thing
as having her head shaved. -1
Corinthians 11:5 Here we
see that women pray and prophesy. ‘In the last days it will be, God
declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old
men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days
I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. -Acts 2:17-18 Both
males and females receive the Spirit of God, and prophesy. There was also a prophet, Anna
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having
lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the
age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting
and prayer night and day. At that moment she came and began to praise God and
to speak about the child[Jesus] to all who were looking for the redemption of
Jerusalem. -Luke 2:36-38 The
prophet Anna was telling anyone who was looking for the redemption of Jerusalem
about Jesus Christ. In other words, she
was preaching Christ to the lost who were seeking. So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam,
Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophet Huldah the wife of Shallum son
of Tikvah son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; she resided in Jerusalem in
the Second Quarter, where they consulted her.
-2 Kings 24:14 The king
had found a copy of the Bible (as much as was written then) and read it. He was appalled to learn that they were not
keeping God’s Word. He sent a priest and
some of his men to ask the woman prophet Huldah, what to do. They went to the woman, not to her husband, to
seek out the Lord’s will. I commend to you our sister
Phebe, a minister of the assembly at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the
Lord, as becomes saints, and assist her in whatever matter she may require from
you, for she has been a leader of many, and of myself also. –Romans 16:1-2 CMLV (Corrected More Literal
Version) Phebe
was a minister of the church in Cenchreae, and she was a leader. We see that she was even a leader of
Paul. A woman was a leader of both women
and men. And let them first be tested;
then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them serve as deacons. Women
likewise must be serious, not slanderers, but temperate, faithful in all
things. Let deacons be married only once, and let them manage their children
and their households well -1 Timothy
3:10-12 In the
qualifications of the deacon, which is a minister/preacher, there are special
instructions to women ministers. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my
coworkers in Christ Jesus -Romans 16:3 Prisca/Priscilla
was a woman, and was a coworker with Paul the apostle in Christ. Notice also that her name is mentioned before her husband's name. In each mention of this couple in the New Testament, her name is more often mentioned before her husband's. Scripturally, the more prominent one is usually mentioned first, before the less prominent one. For example: Ephraim and Manasseh. Manasseh is the firstborn, and therefore supposed to have his name before his brother's, but Ephraim is more prominent than Manasseh, so his name is mentioned first. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. -Acts 18:26 Here is a Christian woman teaching a man about Christ. We see a woman, Priscilla, teaching a man about The Way, which was what Christianity was often referred to, in the Scriptures. Again we see Priscilla's name mentioned before that of her husband's, indicating, that she was the more prominent teacher. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my
fellow Israelites who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the
apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
-Romans 16:7 Junia, a
woman, was a prominent apostle. Greet those workers in the Lord,
Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the
Lord. -Romans 16:12 Tryphaena
and Tryphosa were female workers in the Lord. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche
to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal
companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of
the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are
in the book of life. -Philippians 4:2-3 Euodia
and Syntyche were women who did the work of the gospel with Paul, Clement, and
others. 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. -Acts 9:36 Not all
the disciples of Jesus were men. Tabitha
was a female disciple, as we see above. 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. -Luke 8:1-3 Those
who followed Jesus included women. Here
we see some of the female followers mentioned by name: Mary Magdalene, Joanna,
Susanna, and “many others.” We also see that the above is mentioning that women were providing for Jesus and the 12 disciples, "out of their own resources." But all his acquaintances,
including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching
these things. -Luke 23:49 Woman followers
of Jesus stood at a distance, watching Christ during the crucifixion. So God created humans in his
image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created
them. -Genesis 1:27 Both men and women are created in the image
of God. Jehovah is translated from the
Hebrew word Yahweh. Yahweh can be broken down into the short form, used
several times in the Bible - Yah, and the second part of His name is -
weh. Yah is a feminine noun, and weh is a masculine noun. God's
name is both feminine and masculine. Both genders are in the image of God,
because God is both. Just then his disciples came.
They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What
do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her
water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a
man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”
They left the city and were on their way to him. -John 4:27-30 and They said to the woman, “It is no
longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.” -John 4:42 The
disciples were likely shocked that Jesus was talking to a woman, because women
were often viewed in society in most cultures as “less.” They weren’t often educated, including in the
Scriptures. Jesus didn’t discriminate
against women as culture did, as women are in the image of God, just as men
are, and in Christ there is neither male nor female. This woman then went into the city, and
preached Christ to the men and women there, and then they followed her out, to
meet Jesus. 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 -1 Timothy 5:16-17 Widowed
women who were elders that ruled well, preached, and taught, were to be given
double honor. The Lord gives the command; The
women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host -Psalm 68:11 NASB This is referring
to women preaching the good news of God to the lost. Speak to the Israelites and say
to them: When either men or women make a special vow, the vow of a nazirite, to
separate themselves to the Lord -Numbers
6:2 Women
could take the vow of the Nazirite, just as men could. His daughter was Sheerah, who
built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon and Uzzen-sheerah. -1 Chronicles 7:24 Sheerah
was a woman who built cities, and even had one named after her. Suddenly Jesus met them and said,
“Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go
and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see
me.” -Matthew 28:9-10 After
His resurrection, Jesus first appeared to women. He told those women to go tell
the male disciples and the others to meet Him in Galilee. In other words, women were the first people to preach Christ's resurrection, after He rose from the dead, and were told by Jesus Himself to tell the others. The Elder to the choice Kyria,
and to her children, whom I love in truth, and not I only, but also all those
having known the truth -2 John 1:1 YLT A book
in the Bible, the second epistle of John, was written to a woman. Do we Have a Contradiction? As you
see, Scriptures that the Egalitarian camp use are many, and the above is not
all of them. Why then
does the Complementarian camp stick with the two sections of Scripture
mentioned at the beginning of this treatise, but largely ignore the many
Scriptures of the Egalitarians? The
Comps will try to dismantle the Egal Scriptures, and try to show that they mean
other than what they say. If there were
only a few strong Egal Scriptures, that could be viable, but when there are
dozens upon dozens of Scriptures that say differently than the Comp’s
interpretations of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, and 1 Timothy 2:11-12, then we need
to consider that perhaps the Comp’s interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, and
1 Timothy 2:11-12 is wrong. The
standard Complementarian view of these two passages in question cannot be
correct, else we have contradictions in the Word of God, and God’s Word does
not contradict. This is a classic case
of “One-Verse Willyism.” This is where a
person, group, or cult takes a few verses, and stands them alone, and creates a
doctrine from them, ignoring the culture at the time of the penning of those
verses, and ignoring the context in the Scriptures. Understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 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. -1 Corinthians 14:34-35 There is
a convincing argument that the two above verses were actually added to the
Bible, and were not in the originals.
While I don’t think this is the case, it is something to consider, for
the following reasons: 1) 1) The
topic of the whole chapter is about speaking in tongues, and prophesying in the
church, in an orderly way. Verses 34 and
35 seem to be out of place, when you read the whole chapter in one sitting
2) 2) Some
ancient manuscripts have verses 34 and 35 following verse 33, but there are
other ancient manuscripts that have verses 34 and 35 instead following verse
40. This introduces the possibility that
verses 34 and 35 were later added by someone other than Paul, as a footnote,
and some copyists thought it was supposed to be in the text, and it was added,
but there was not agreement on where in the text these two verses were supposed
to go. 3)
3) The
Latin Codex Fuldensis of AD 546/547 has notes stating that verses 34-35 should
be omitted, indicating they were possibly not in the original text. It’s
viable to consider the possibility that these two verses in question were not
in the original Bible. Take a look at
verses 34-35 in their surrounding context.
Do they seem to fit, to you? 26 What should
be done then, my brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a
hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be
done for building up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let
there be only two or at most three and each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But
if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to
themselves and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and
let the others weigh what is said. 30 If someone sitting
receives a revelation, let the first person be silent. 31 For
you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged 32 (and
the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God
is a God not of disorder but of peace), as in all the churches of the saints.34 Women
should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but
should be subordinate, as the law also says. 35 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. 36 Or did the word of
God originate with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?37 Anyone
who claims to be a prophet or spiritual must acknowledge that what I am writing
to you is a command of the Lord. 38 Anyone who does not
recognize this is not to be recognized. 39 So, my brothers and
sisters, strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, 40 but
all things should be done decently and in order. -1 Corinthians 14:26-40 The whole
chapter is about speaking in tongues and prophesying. It comes after chapter 13,
where it says that while gifts of the Holy Spirit (including tongues and
prophesying) are great, love is greater than those. Chapter 13 follows chapter 12. Chapter 12
lists some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including tongues and
prophesying. In chapter 11, verse 5
refers to women prophesying and praying.
How do verses 34 and 35 fit in the context? At face value, they do not fit, and they
don’t seem to belong, but I think they do belong, and here’s why… Psalm 12 and
Matthew 5 indicate that God protects the Bible, and is keeping it pure. I believe this, and I therefore think verses
34 and 35 do belong in the Scriptures.
Let’s go through the earlier 3 points. I’ll do
point 1 last. Point 2 mentioned that
some manuscripts have these verses after verse 40. Read this chapter either way, and regardless
if the two verses in question are after verse 33, or after verse 40, nothing
changes. Also notice that both verses 33
and 40 are the “order” verses – “God is a God not of disorder,” and “all things
should be done decently and in order.” As for point
3, while it is compelling, there have been zero Greek manuscripts found that
omit the two verses in question, so we therefore can’t base the removal of
these two verses on one Latin manuscript. Now to point
1 – it seems like these two verses don’t fit the context. They actually do. The only way they don’t fit
the context, is when they are read with the Complementarian
interpretation. If we read them within
the context of the time they were written, and within the context of the
chapter, something magical happens: we see what 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 is
actually saying. This is
easier to see, when these verses are translated more literally. Therefore, I am going to replace the NRSVue’s
translation of verses 34 and 35 in the below, with the CMLV (Corrected More
Literal Version). I will have the CMLV
verses in green, and the NRSVue verses in the standard text color of
this treatise. Please note that
“assembly” is the same as “church.” 26 What should
be done then, my brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a
hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be
done for building up. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let
there be only two or at most three and each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But
if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to
themselves and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and
let the others weigh what is said. 30 If someone sitting
receives a revelation, let the first person be silent. 31 For
you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged 32 (and
the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God
is a God not of disorder but of peace), as in all the churches of the saints.34Your wives should be silent in the assemblies. For they are not
permitted to speak but should be subject, as the law also says. 35If they want to learn, let them ask
their husbands at home. For it is a shame to a wife to speak in an assembly. 36 Or did the word of God originate
with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?37 Anyone who
claims to be a prophet or spiritual must acknowledge that what I am writing to
you is a command of the Lord. 38 Anyone who does not recognize
this is not to be recognized. 39 So, my brothers and sisters,
strive to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, 40 but
all things should be done decently and in order. -1 Corinthians 14:26-40 If the above verses in green are saying that women aren’t allowed
to speak at all in church, then we have contradictions just a few verses
away. In verse 26, it talks of both men
and women coming together in church with hymns, lessons, revelations, tongues,
and interpretations. Verse 1 in the
chapter says “Pursue
love and strive for the spiritual gifts and especially that you may
prophesy.” Verse 39 says “So, my brothers and sisters, strive to prophesy, and
do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
Therefore, we can see, just from this very chapter itself, that verses
34 and 35 must not be teaching that women aren’t allowed to speak in church. Remember,
the context of chapter 14 is speaking in tongues and prophesying, while taking
turns, in an orderly fashion, and listening to those who are speaking. The key words in this chapter, regarding
verses 34 and 35 are “silent,” and “learn.”
We see that
if one wants to speak in tongues, but there is no one there to interpret, then
they are to be silent – “But if there is no one to interpret, let them be
silent in church and speak to themselves and to God.” It also says “in church,” indicating that
they are free to speak in tongues aloud, without an interpreter, outside of an
assembly/church gathering. · >> In church,
if you speak in tongues, but there is no interpreter, you must be silent. Prophesying
is to take place with one person speaking at a time, while the others are
silent, and are learning from what they are hearing – “If someone sitting
receives a revelation, let the first person be silent. For you
can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn.” ·
>>If you are
prophesying, wait until it’s your turn to speak, and when it’s not your turn,
you must be silent, so that you can hear the speaker, and learn. Under the
context of speaking in tongues aloud only if there is an interpreter, and
prophesying one by one, we see the next instance of the word “silent” in verse
34 – this is a reminder specifically to the wives/women in the assembly/church
to also be silent if they have a tongue, but no interpreter, and that if they
have a prophecy, to wait their turn.
They are to quietly listen, as is also told in verse 30. Women were
generally not as educated as the men on the Scriptures and often in general
education. The wives would turn to their
husband and ask questions about what the tongue interpreters were saying, or
what the prophets were prophesying. This was disruptive, but church is supposed
to be orderly. The wives were reminded to stay quiet, and ask those questions
to their husbands at home. Let’s break
this down: 34Your wives should
be silent in the assemblies. For they are not permitted to speak but should be
subject, as the law also says. 35If they want to
learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is a shame to a wife to
speak in an assembly. ·
The wives/women are to be silent in church if they
have a tongue, but no interpreter, or if they have a prophecy, but it’s not
their turn to speak. ·
They are to be subject to this rule (law) as are all
the others in the congregation. ·
“If they want to learn” indicates that the women of
those days weren’t as educated, and had questions about what they were hearing
in church, from the tongue interpreters and the prophets. They were therefore commanded to wait to ask
their questions to their husbands at home, and not in church. ·
If they were to ask their questions in church, it
would be a shame to them, because they’d be disrupting the orderly service with
their talking, while people were trying to listen to the tongue interpreters
and/or prophets. How does
this apply to women today, who are educated, and have equal access to the
Scriptures? Simply that when in the
assembly, which is the church gathering, when someone speaks in tongues, and
one stands to interpret, we should stay quiet and listen, just as the men are
to. When one stands up to prophesy in
church, we should be quiet, and listen, just as the men are to. If we don’t
understand what a tongue interpreter said, or what a prophet said, we are not
to be disruptive by asking right then and there what they mean. We are to remain silent, and listen to the
tongue interpreter, or the prophet, and we can ask our questions to our
husbands later, at home. Interestingly,
one of the biggest proponents of the “women must be silent in church” stance
are certain Baptist denominations, but most Baptist denominations teach that
there are no more tongues, prophecy, or gifts of the Holy Spirit. They teach
that those gifts stopped after we got the full cannon of the Bible. This is incorrect, but that’s not what this
treatise is about. Therefore,
under their stance, they say that verses 34 and 35 are relevant for today,
(with their interpretation being that women are to be silent in the church) but
the rest of chapter 14 is not for today, because according to them, there is no
more tongues, interpretation of tongues, and prophesying. This is a classic case of "One-Verse Willyism." What about 1 Timothy 2:11-12? Let a woman learn in silence with
full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a
man; she is to keep silent. -1 Timothy
2:11-12 For years, I
tried to tie the above in with 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, because I thought they
were talking about the same thing, since both passages use the words
“silent/silence,” ‘submit/subject,’ and “learn.” Then, I studied both of these passages in the
Greek. This is when I learned that these
two passages are actually talking about different things. When we read a translation of something,
sometimes we lose the meaning, because the language translated into doesn’t
always have a readily available, sufficient word for the original
language. This is the case with 1 Timothy
2, but it can be more accurately
translated, and I will show you a few such translations in a little bit. If you read
these two verses by themselves, it looks like they are saying that women have
to be silent, and they are not to have any authority over men. This has lead to a LOT of abuse of innocent,
Christian girls, because they felt they had to submit to a male predator, which
was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. By taking
just these two verses, without paying attention to the time and culture in which
they were written, and the context of the surrounding verses, one could
conclude that men are in charge of women.
If this is what the above verses mean, then we have massive
contradictions in the Bible, because Deborah was in charge of the whole nation
of Israel; the Shunemite woman had dealings with the prophet Elisha, and he
therefore dealt with her, not with her husband; Phebe was a minister of the
church in Cenchrea and was a leader of both men and women, women apostles and
disciples are mentioned by name in the New Testament, there were women
preachers and prophets in both Testaments, and we even have an instance where
the king sent a priest and other men to a woman prophet, to inquire of the Lord
what to do. First, let
us look at the culture of that time. As
I mentioned in our above study of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, women were generally
not as educated as the men were, and didn’t have as much knowledge of the
Scriptures. However, women tend to be
spiritual by nature, so they will often seek out spiritual things. We see inklings of this being a problem here
in the book of Timothy. In 1 Timothy
5:13, it says of the young widows, that they’d do something that is not good:
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. -1 Timothy 5:15 The above
word translated as “busybodies” is not translated as “busybodies”
elsewhere in the Scriptures. The Greek
behind this word is periergos. This word
is only in the Bible twice, and the other place it occurs is entirely relevant
to 1 Timothy 2:11-12, as you’ll see, as we continue weaving this tapestry of
truth. Periergos is also in Acts: A number of those who practiced magic[Periergos] 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. -Acts 19:19 In the
above, we see that periergos was translated as “magic.” The people burning the books of magic were
people who newly turned to Christ, and wanted to get rid of their magic books
of their previous religion. If you read
all of Acts chapter 19, you’ll see that the religion there was worship of
Artemis/Diana. She is the same false
goddess known in the Old Testament as Ashtoreth/Ashteroth/Queen of Heaven. Uneducated
women of the time, who were given limited or no knowledge of the Scriptures
were drawn to Artemis worship, where they could worship the "divine goddess." The
young widows of 1 Timothy 5 were idle, so they went from house to house,
spreading their knowledge of Artemis, the female goddess they ignorantly were
drawn to. Here’s
a more literal translation of 1 Timothy 5:15, and we are going to tie this in
to other Scriptures in 1 Timothy: And
at the same time, they learn idleness, going from house to house, and not only
idleness, but also speaking foolish things, even magic, speaking things they ought
not. -1 Timothy 5:15 CMLV Before we look at more Scriptures related to this in Timothy, let's get some Scriptural, contextual background. 1 Timothy 1:3 says: 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 -1 Timothy 1:3 Notice two very relevant things in the above verse, which has everything to do with understanding our controversial verses of 1 Timothy 2:11-12. 1) The church Timothy was over, when he received the epistle of 1 Timothy from Paul, was in Ephesus. 2) Paul tells Timothy that he must instruct certain people not to teach different teachings. What were the "different teachings" in Ephesus, that have anything to do with the women in Timothy's church? Recall the young Ephesian widows in 1 Timothy 5 were going house to house, teaching magic. What was the Ephesian magic that women were drawn to? Let's take a look: 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. -Acts 19:19 When the above happened, the idol makers for the false divine goddess Artemis were enraged, because they were losing Artemis worshipers, which means less money made for them, in selling idols... You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship her.” When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” -Acts 19:26-28 Do you see the connection? The Greek word periergos is only in the Bible twice, and the two times are completely connected. A number of those who practiced magic[Periergos] 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. -Acts 19:19 And
at the same time, they learn idleness, going from house to house, and not only
idleness, but also speaking foolish things, even magic[Periergos], speaking things they ought
not. -1 Timothy 5:15 CMLV Some women in Timothy's church, which was in Ephesus, were going around teaching magic. The women were drawn to Artemis worship, as she was the "divine goddess." As a side note, this is the same goddess of Wicca. We see the
influence of these women on Christian women in the verses that precede our 1
Timothy 2:11-12 passage. also that the women should dress themselves in
moderate clothing with reverence and self-control, not with their hair braided
or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is proper
for women who profess reverence for God.
-1 Timothy 2:9-10 The braided
hair likely refers to the extravagant hair temples women used to wear, where
they would braid jewels and ribbons in their hair. Further, the wealthy women used
to wear the clothing of women of royalty, which were see-thru robes. They were very expensive, and see though –
thus not at all moderate. Women were
being influenced to dress for, and learn the ways of the Artemis religion – the
magic. We see
another instance about women influencing others to evil instead of to good, in
Timothy: and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived
and became a transgressor. -1 Timothy
2:14 In Genesis
chapter 3, we read about the fall of humans.
In Genesis 2:17, God directly told Adam to not eat of the tree of Good
and Evil. This was before Eve. There is no
record of God directly telling Eve not to eat of the tree, but we see in
Genesis 3, that she knew not to eat of it, so we can assume Adam told her about
it. Yet, Eve was deceived by the
serpent, and ate of the tree. Adam was
right there with her, the Scriptures record, and Eve talked him into eating of
it, as well. Adam was
directly told by GOD to not eat of that specific tree, yet his wife convinced
him to go against the wishes of God, which eventually lead to the death of both
Adam and Eve. We’ll get back to this
point shortly, but for now, I’m using this to point out how 1 Timothy 2:14 is
reminding us that wives (often being the more “spiritual one,”) can influence
their husbands away from God, and we must be careful of this. Here we see
a groundwork laid: Women were generally not as educated as the men, and didn’t
have as much learning of the Scriptures.
Therefore, some of them turned to Artemis, whose temples were all over,
especially in Ephesus. Just as Eve
followed the false teaching of the serpent, and influenced her husband to do
so, these women mentioned in 1 Timothy were young widows going house to house,
talking of magic. Who were the ignorant
married woman talking about magic to?
Their husbands. Recall
earlier that I said that in English, there appears to be many similarities
between 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, but when read in Greek,
we see they are talking about two different things. Let’s take a look at this, now. Let a woman learn in silence[hēsychia]
with full submission[hypotagē]. I do not permit a woman to teach or to
have authority[authenteō] over a man; she is to keep silent[hēsychia]. -1 Timothy 2:11-12 The above
Greek words are not accurately portrayed in the English. The ISV 2.0 Bible recognized this, and tried
to remedy it, by translating 1 Timothy 2:11-12 as follows: Let a woman learn with a quiet
spirit, and submissively. Moreover, in the area of teaching,
I am not allowing a woman to instigate conflict toward a man. Instead, she is
to remain calm. -1 Timothy 2:11-12 ISV 2.0 What
many Bibles translate as “silence” in “let a woman learn in silence,” the ISV
2.0 says “a quiet spirit.” Why? This is because the word “silent/silence” in
1 Timothy 2:11-12 is NOT the same Greek word used for “silent/silence” in 1
Corinthians 14:34-35. In
the 1 Corinthians 14 passage, the Greek underling silence is sigaō, which means to be
silent, quiet, to hold one’s peace, to keep a secret hidden. This is NOT the Greek word underlying silent
in the 1 Timothy 2 passage. The
Greek underlying silent there, is hēsychia, which means stillness,
calmness, a quiet spirit. We see hēsychia translated as “quiet
spirit” in 1 Peter 3: Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your
hair and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment
be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit[hēsychia], which is
very precious in God’s sight. -1 Peter 3:3-4 If hēsychia meant “silence,” then the
above would say “…let your adornment be the inner self with lasting beauty of
gentleness and silence, which is precious in God’s sight.” Could you imagine if hēsychia were wrongly translated as
“silence” there in Bibles? Christian
women would be told they are only to be seen, and not heard. We wouldn’t be allowed to talk. “Quiet
spirit” is a bit hard to understand, but ‘stillness’ makes sense to most
people, and hēsychia means stillness, calmness, a quiet spirit. I think translating hēsychia in 1 Timothy 2 as
“stillness” makes a lot of sense. The
ISV 2.0 translated it as “quiet spirit” at the beginning of the passage, and
then as “calm” at the end of our passage in question, but if they translated it
as stillness/still, it would have made more sense, in my opinion. Now
we see that 1 Timothy 2:11-12 isn’t telling the woman to be quiet, or
silent. It’s telling her to be in
stillness – to be calm. Next, we come to
the word hypotagē, which the NRSVue translated to submission. In the Greek, it’s more literally
“subject/subjection.” The
next Greek word in question is a big one – authenteō. Most Bibles translate this word as
“authority,” but this is not the Greek word for authority. The Greek for “authority” is exousia. For example: Let every person be subject to the governing
authorities[exousia], for there is no authority[exousia] except from
God, and those authorities[exousia] that exist have been instituted by
God. -Romans 13:1 In our 1
Timothy passage - I do not permit a woman to teach
or to have authority[authenteō] over a man, we see authenteō, not exousia. Authenteō means ‘ones who use their
own hand to kill others, or themselves.’
As you see, this is a very serious word, and this is the only place in
the Bible where it appears. The ISV 2.0
translated this word as “instigate conflict,” but that is still not powerful
enough. In our 1 Timothy 2 passage, it
is literally telling the wife to be calm, and not to take her husband’s
life. How is this fitting the context,
and why does it say this? This
is where we need to look at the context of the chapter. Right after verses 11 and 12, it says: For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not
deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be
saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and
holiness, with self-control. -1 Timothy 2:13-15 Let’s work
through this passage backwards, working back up to verses 11-12. The above says the wife will be saved in or
through childbearing, if “they continue in faith and love and holiness, with
self-control.” If the
husband and wife continue in the things listed above, the wife will be saved in
childbearing. What is this referring
to? It must be referring to Genesis
chapter 3, because the words preceding this clearly are. Let’s take a look at childbearing in Genesis
chapter 3: To the woman he said, “I will make your pangs in
childbirth exceedingly great; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your
desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” -Genesis 3:16 This is
referring to the judgment brought to Eve and women, which happened after the
fall of humans. What lead to the
fall? We now move further up in our
above 1 Timothy 2:13-15 passage, and we see “Adam was not deceived, but the
woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” What was
Eve’s transgression? We saw this a bit earlier in this treatise – she talked Adam into going
against the command of God, and doing what the serpent said, instead. She lead him to his eventual death. This was a spiritual form of authenteō. The spiritual form of authenteō is to spiritually mislead
someone, and what were the women in 1 Timothy doing? They were spiritually misleading people,
leading them to magic. With
all this in mind, let us look at a more literal translation of 1 Timothy
2:11-12: Let a wife learn in stillness,
with full subjection. I do not permit a
wife to instruct or spiritually mislead her husband. Rather, she is to be still. -1 Timothy 2:11-12 CMLV The wife
is to be allowed to learn – “let a wife learn.”
The wife is to learn in stillness, with subjection. The wife is not permitted to spiritually
mislead her husband, such as towards magic, Artemis, or other false teachings
that lead him away from God. Instead,
the wife is to remain still or calm, and learn.
The wife is not to be like Eve, who spiritually mislead Adam to his
eventual death. Let a wife learn in stillness,
with full subjection. I do not permit a
wife to instruct or spiritually mislead her husband. Rather, she is to be still. -1
Timothy 2:11-12 CMLV
For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the
woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through
childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with
self-control. -1 Timothy 2:13-15 NRSVue How does
this apply to women today, who are educated, and have equal access to the
Scriptures? It simply means we are not
to mislead our husbands away from God, as Eve mislead Adam away from God. We are to continue learning, and to learn in
stillness. Notice the CMLV says “wife”
and “ husband,” rather than “woman” and “man.”
This is because the Greek underlying these words can mean married or not
married. It is to be determined, via
context. We see the context here is
clearly married, as we have ‘THEY continue in faith…’ and it is talking about
childbirth, and Adam and Eve. Does the Bible Really
Say Women Must be Silent, Can’t Preach, and are Subordinate to Men? No, it
doesn’t. In fact, as shown earlier in
this treatise, we have many examples in the Scriptures of Godly women who were
leaders, and preachers, and we see men submitting to women in some cases, such
as the nation of Israel submitting to Deborah, and the king’s men and the
priest consulting a female prophet, upon the king’s orders. 1
Corinthians 14:34-35 is teaching What
does 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 mean to us, today? Simply to not speak in
tongues or prophesy in church if it is not your turn, and while
listening to tongues and prophecy in church, not to ask one's husband
questions about what is being heard during the church service, which
would be disruptive. Both genders in the congregation are instructed in
chapter 14 to be quiet and listen, as people speak one at a time, and
not everyone at once. 1
Timothy 2:11-12 is about What
does 1 Timothy 2:11-12 mean to us, today? Statistically, women are shown to be more spiritual than men. Women are responsible for learning the truth in Christ, and not to mislead others/men/their husbands towards false religious teachings, which could draw them away from Christ, and lead to their spiritual death. This was the sin of Jezebel: But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practise fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. -Revelation 2:20-21 NRSV As we see above, it wasn't a sin that this woman was teaching the church, the sin was in what she was teaching. She was leading people away from Christ, via her false teachings. The 1 Timothy 2 woman is to learn proper teachings about Christ, so as not to deliver damnable teachings, which can lead people to hell. In conclusion, let's remember the big picture: There is no longer Jew or Greek;
there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all
of you are one in Christ Jesus.
-Galatians 3:28
