Scriptural Basis for the Legitimacy of Women in Leadership within the Church
By Eileen Slattery Berglund (02/18/15)
PART 7
Understanding the real meaning of 1 Timothy 2:8-15.
Understanding the real meaning of 1 Timothy 2:8-15.
Before I start laying out my evidence for why this passage does not limit women in leadership, let me make some general statements again.
First, I’d like to say that when it comes to the Bible and truly understanding the intent of scripture, things are “never an issue unless they’re an issue”. What do I mean by that? I mean that if you, or for men, a daughter or wife, are not being called to leadership as a woman, then these verses which appear to limit women (and are being used by many to do just that) are not an “issue” to you. You are fine to just go with the “normal” teaching that seems to say women are equal in value but not in function in God’s kingdom. However, if you are called to leadership within the body and you know God has given you giftings consistent with leadership then these passages become a big issue.
So while many people are content to not delve deeper, I was not. Years ago, as a woman called to leadership in the Body, I needed to know that I have legitimate ground to stand on. I could clearly see God’s heart for women throughout the Bible. I could clearly see how He used women in leadership positions. But what was I to do with these two verses (the other one will be part 8) that seem to be the most troubling and most readily used to wipe all women out of church leadership in one fail swoop?
My answer was, I needed to study these verses. And then, as I’m doing now, I need to teach the truth. I know that when I am done writing this and you are done reading this there may still be some who disagree. That is okay with me. (Sad, but okay) This is not a salvation issue. This is not an issue to break fellowship over.
It is however a necessary discussion and an ultimate lifeline to many women who are currently searching for one! So even if you are not personally struggling with this issue of being limited, I want to encourage you to care enough to read through these points and keep an open mind. Worldwide, the teaching that has come forth from what I believe has been a misunderstanding of these verses, has wreaked and continues to wreak great havoc on women. It is not God’s heart that women be limited in ministry roles within the church. Remember, it is the same Father, same Jesus, and same Holy Spirit for both men and women.
I am certainly not the first to discuss this issue in this way, I have learned from those who have gone before me and have continued my own study on these passages. I want to write in an easy, understandable way so you can see where things may have “gone wrong”.
So let’s look at 1 Timothy 2 now.
We will see at the beginning of 1Timothy that this is a letter written from Paul to Timothy who is currently in Ephesus. (This is the same Ephesus that is addressed in the letter to the Ephesians). It is written for the purpose of correcting false doctrine/myths and the people bringing that false teaching into the church. These are key points to the understanding of what Paul writes. There is so much to unravel here so please bear with me as we go along point by point. In the end, I will summarize and you should have a clear picture of the passage and what Paul was really warning them about.
The passage in question is the following, 1 Timothy 2:8-15 (but primarily v. 11-12 which I’ve bolded)
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
You can see in verses 8-10 Paul was addressing both men and women. It is interesting how no one questions any of these previous verses when speaking about church practice/decorum. I have been in churches where not one man was lifting up holy hands during praise and worship or prayer time. And I’ve been to several churches where if you didn’t show up with a little bling you are judged and sometimes even told that you aren’t “giving your best to God”. Why people are not all upset about that but decide to hold up verses 11 and 12 as some sort of conclusive evidence against women in leadership/authority is beyond me. And to be sure that you don’t misunderstand my point here, it is not that I think we DO need to focus on the above verses. It’s rather that IF someone is going to make such a doctrinal across the board decision based on v11 and 12, I sure hope they are doing the same with v 8-10 (and as you’ll soon see, v 13-15) as well.
But they don’t. So this should be our first “yellow flag” that something may be a bit askew. But trust me, there’ll be plenty more.
If we move along to v 11 and 12, the way they read in the NIV (and many other versions) is as they are highlighted in bold print above.
Let’s look at v 11 first. One of the first things you’ll notice is that Paul switches from the plural “women”, to the singular “woman”. In this verse, we find the only actual grammatical command which is “a woman should learn”. Now he’s going to go on to describe how they should learn, but this is radical for this time. In a day and age where women were not held in high esteem in most areas and certainly were still in a patriarchal church culture, Paul’s statement that a woman should learn was massively affirming to women. (This makes sense because this is exactly how Jesus treated women when he was here on Earth. Jesus allowed women to learn and interact with Him and Paul is following that example in his own ministry.)
He then continues by saying what, in many versions, is translated above as “in quietness and full submission”. I see no problem with this. Even I, as a University instructor, would expect this same learning style from both my male and female students. However, let me give you some more understanding/proof. The words used here in the original Greek for quietness and full submission are:
Quietness= “hesychia” which means just that, quietness or silence.
Submission= “hypotage” which means act of subjecting or obedience.
Why the translators chose to translate the word “hypotage” as “submission” is just an example of the patriarchal influence that makes its way into our current translations. (But that is another topic for another day and my point here is just to point out the true meaning of what Paul is saying.)
So Paul is saying that a woman should learn but should do so in quietness and obedience…basically, respectfully.
Thus far, there is nothing permitting any restriction of a woman learning so long as it is done in a respectful, non-distracting and obedient way.
Moving on then to v 12, we see Paul writes (as currently translated) “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. She must be quiet” That is the NIV translation. Others say “have authority” and “must be silent”. Either way, they seem to be saying generally the same thing. The problem is that these translations are both somewhat erroneous if we look back to the original Greek. And the manner in which the errors are made has led to a horrible misunderstanding of Paul’s words and the heart of God toward women.
In the original Greek we will see a number of things that play a role in the understanding of this tricky passage. First off, keep in mind, Paul is using the single form “woman” in this verse, whereas in the passages before and after v 11-12, he uses the form “women” (plural). Since this letter was written to correct false teachings and teachers, he likely had a specific woman in mind that Timothy may have written him about. But even if he didn’t, let’s keep going…
Paul is clearly trying to tell Timothy that he does not permit something. But what is the something that he does not permit?While in our versions it looks like there is actually two things he is forbidding: (a) a woman from teaching and (b) a woman from having authority over a man, when you study the original Greek you see that is not actually the case at all.
(I’m not trying to write a doctoral thesis here, I’m trying to write the truth of the passage in an understandable, retainable way that will help you see what Paul is really trying to say. I want to give you enough evidence though so even if this gets a little complicated, just hang in there with me please. It will become clearer as we go on.)
Instead of Paul forbidding two things, he’s really just forbidding one and I’m going to give you proof of this in a minute. But I want you to get the concept so you don’t get confused when we delve into grammar. The best example I have heard (not my original idea but also not sure who would get the credit for it) of this type of grammar in today’s language might be something like “I do not permit a woman to run and chew gum”. You see, there are two verbs here linked together with a conjunction but they now carry a whole new idea and/or meaning than they do separately. It would be okay for a woman to run. And it would be okay for her to chew gum. But to “run and chew gum” would be dangerous. In our Biblical text, the “to teach” that Paul uses is directly coupled with the next word which refers to “having authority”. So the point is, it’s just one concept.
Paul is not saying women (plural) can’t teach, nor is he saying a woman (single) can’t teach, but he IS saying that a woman (singular) can’t teach “something”….so let’s look first at that word that is being translated as “authority”.
The word used in v 12 for authority is actually the Greek verb authenteos (from the root authentein). Interestingly enough, it is the only place in the Bible where we see this word. That becomes interesting seeing as how Paul talks a lot about authority in his other letters but in every other instance where Paul is talking about authority, he uses the Greek word “exousia”. This 1 Timothy passage is the only time he uses a different word. Do you think perhaps there was a reason for this? The answer to that somewhat rhetorical question is yes, there is.
The word that Paul did use in this passage, “authenteos”, to describe what he was forbidding, actually has quite a different meaning. It actually means: “one who with his own hands kills another or himself, one who acts on his own authority, autocratic, an absolute master, or exercise dominion over.” It always as aggression associated with it and often sexual connotations too, believe it or not.
So take note. That is very different than “exousia” which means “the power of choice, physical and mental power, the power of authority (influence) and right (privilege), the power of rule or government”.
So we have to erase the notion from our minds that Paul is even talking about normal Christian power and authority and rule here. He’s not. If he was, he would have used “exousia” which he used every other time.
An additional point to consider and one I was eluding to before was that many scholars believe that the grammatical structure of this sentence actually has what is called a hendiadys (don’t panic- I had to look it up myself!) which means that two words are joined by a conjunction to make a single point. So the verb for “teach” which is “didaskein” and the verb “authentein” (which was falsely translated as having authority but really means to kill or aggressively or even sexually dominate) are actually combined to form a single point/concept.
In this case, a better translation of what Paul was saying in this verse would go something like, “I do not permit a woman to teach in a domineering way” or “I do not permit a woman to teach or persuade using sexual or aggressive advances.”
So, if that’s the case, if that’s what Paul really meant, we should be able to find some more evidence to back this up. Well, real quick before I tell you about the next bit of evidence, let’s take a quick look at the verses that follow. You never want to isolate a verse or two and try to interpret out of context. You always want to keep it in context and look for other clues and cues that will allow you to understand its true meaning and intent.
So if we look at v. 13-15 we will see some very interesting things. First we can see that Paul seems to launch into a brief review of Genesis, highlighting the fact that Adam was formed first before Eve, and that Adam was not deceived, but it was Eve who was deceived and sinned. Okay, sort of an interesting follow up, Paul. What does v 15 say? Wow, now Paul says something really weird…that women will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love and holiness, with self control.
I want to just pause here for a moment. I want to ask YOU if anything seems weird with any of those statements. Any conflict within? Any agreement in your spirit? Any idea why in the world Paul would be saying all of that?
I hope you will agree with his statements about Adam being formed first and not being the first deceived. That is all true and supported by Genesis. I also hope you will disagree with the statement that seems like it says women will be saved through childbearing. I mean, it actually does say that, but does it mean that women are really saved that way? What about young girls or women who never have children, are they doomed to hell? The Bible clearly teaches that there is one way of true salvation and that is through belief in Christ Jesus. Paul himself teaches that! So clearly, Paul was getting at something else. But what?
Let’s look at the social and cultural context of the time frame in which this letter was sent. This will clarify not only the child bearing passage but also v 11-14 as well.
Remember what I said up front. This is a letter, an actual letter, written by Paul and being sent to Timothy who is currently overseeing a church in a city called Ephesus. There is a purpose in his writing this letter (which is given to us in Ch 1 v 3-7. ) and that is to come against the false teaching/false doctrine that was being taught in the church. The passage we are looking at is situated within a larger text (the entire epistle/letter) yet shares the same purpose- to correct false doctrine or teachings/myths that were circulating through the church.
So what exactly was going on in Ephesus at this time? What was being taught? What was the predominant cultural thought process and practice that Paul seemed to feel a need to come against and correct? I will tell you.
(By the way, I know this is a super long post but you cannot even imagine how much I am condensing it from all the hours of research, study and prayer I’ve put into unraveling this mystery! So please hang in there and keep reading! This is where your understanding will really break open!)
Ephesus was a Greek city that we can read about historically but also that we are first introduced to in Acts. Information on the church in Ephesus is actually found in Acts, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Revelation. And as I mentioned above, we also have numerous historical texts that have recorded the history of this popular ancient city.
When we combine the information from these different sources we can begin to understand the setting in which this letter to Timothy was written. We can understand some of the false teaching and myths that were circulating at the time and we can see the issues that Paul was trying to address.
One of the first things we need to understand is that Ephesus was a Greek city and really was the 4th largest city at the time. It was highly populated and was also a main city that travelers would pass through en route to other places. As a Greek city, they had a strong foundation and belief in the gods and goddesses. Unlike many other cities, their primary “god” was not a god at all …it was a goddess. This goddess went by the name Diana or Artemis (of Ephesia….there actually is a different Artemis, so just clarifying that).
If we research this historically, outside of Biblical accounts, we learn that people traveled from all over to visit Ephesus and the great temple that was erected for Diana/Artemis. In fact, the temple was so large and so popular that it was actually one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
If we look to Acts Ch 19 we can read a lot more about Ephesus and the worship of goddess Diana/Artemis. I won’t print the whole passage here but please get out your Bibles or pull it up online and read the chapter for yourself. You will see that in v. 24 a silversmith named Demetrius made a lot of money by making and selling silver shrines of Diana/Artemis. You’ll see he wasn’t alone either. Many other men also made a good living this way. In v 27 you’ll see the breadth of this worship of Diana/Artemis as we read that “all Asia and the world worship” her. Furthermore, in v 34 you will see the local Ephesians cried out for two hours “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” That is devotion. Unfortunately, it was not to the One True God.
If you read further in historical texts about this goddess, one of the first things you will learn is that the temple featured an image/statue of her carved from wood which was always kept adorned and decorated with jewelry. (Tuck that little nugget away for now and keep reading.) You will also come to understand that the Ephesians (and many others in the world- as shown above through Scripture) believed that they were the “temple guardian of the great goddess Diana/Artemis which fell down from Zeus” (or the sky).
In this mythological belief, Diana/Artemis was the source of all life, male and female. Female was created first and then male came forth. Females also dominated males. They not only dominated them but violently, aggressively and sexually did so. From many different sources we learn that worship at the temple of Diana/Artemis became, well, I’m sorry to say, all out violent sexually perverse sessions (even orgies) where women were elevated above men and even worshipped for having more power and authority than men.
Also, the Ephesian Artemis/Diana was also known as the goddess of childbearing. Visitors traveled from far and wide to worship at the temple when they were about to give birth as they wanted the protection of the goddess.
So now that you have some of this background information (which you can all verify on your own!) we can go back to this somewhat tricky passage in 1 Timothy and take a fresh look at what Paul was really trying to convey.
To remind you, we had concluded that he certainly was trying to warn Timothy that a woman (singular) should not be allowed to teach “something”…but what exactly was the something?
With this new background information of the cultural and religious (non-Christian) climate of Ephesus, let’s take another look at the passage in question.
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
I will remind you once again, this whole letter was written to Timothy to correct “false teachings and myths” (1 Timothy 1: 4) that were making their way into the church and also to specifically correct (v 6-7) the people that were trying to be teachers of the law but who teach these things with no understanding.
So if we look at v 8-10 above in Ch 2 of 1 Tim, we see Paul is addressing men and women and as far as the women go, he doesn’t want them adorning themselves with jewelry but rather with good character and deeds. The church that Paul was building and speaking into through Timothy was built on Jesus Christ, not Diana/Artemis. The adorning of the goddess, and oneself to be like the goddess, was not something Paul wanted the women doing. It wasn’t a statement made for all women of all time in all settings, it was a statement made to the women who were smack dab in the cultural hub of pagan worship of the goddess Diana/Artemis. It was to set them apart. To teach them and remind them that “we don’t do that here”…”this isn’t the goddess’s temple”.
Next if we look at v 11-12, we can see why Paul likely switched to a singular form, “woman” when he writes, I do not permit a woman to teach in an aggressive, domineering way. I don’t permit her to teach in a violent or sexual manner that overrides man’s authority. (remember God's true authority rests equally on men and women. We saw this in Genesis 1 and 2) Again, he is directly coming against the cultural norm which was huge by the way, that says women have power over men and can use this power to seduce, kill, or dominate men violently to get their way.
It is extremely likely that there was “a” woman who was bringing this false teaching into the church. (Some early translations actually say “the woman”, instead of “a woman”.) It’s also possible there was more than one. Again this letter was written to correct exactly this kind of thing, “false teachings and myths” and the people who were teaching them.
Paul then continues on with this thought, almost as if he wants to drive home the point to not let anyone be teaching this crazy “women dominate and have more authority than men practice”. He goes on to attack another lie of the great cultural Diana/Artemis worship and in doing so is really kind of telling Timothy (who can then tell others) here is your proof…
V13-14
For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
Here is the beauty of what Paul is saying and what many people fail to ever understand. Paul was there to preach the truth. In places where men were falsely elevated above women he spoke such things as “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female”. But here in Ephesus where the reverse was true and the women were falsely elevated above men, Paul was not afraid to speak into that situation and destroy that falsehood also.
This is where my whole “nutter butter cookie analogy” from Part 4 or 5 comes back into play. Sometimes, you can have what seems like contrasting or conflicting advice, but really it isn’t. It all is relevant to the situation and the circumstances at hand.
Continuing on, Paul finishes up his attack on this invading lie/myth by dismantling yet another one of the false strongholds of the Ephesians minds. He says in v 15…
But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
Here Paul is trying to tell them that they do not need to be running to the temple goddess when they are pregnant or wanting to be pregnant or about to give birth and that women are safe and protected by God Himself and they just need to focus on developing inner character that puts Him first.
WHEW!!!! That was a lot to type out and a lot for you all to read. So, we’re almost done with this section. Let me just try to summarize for you.
(1) 1 Timothy 2:8-15 has been taught almost exclusively through a patriarchal lens because of the way it was translated into our “modern” Bibles. In doing so, it becomes a very choppy, disjointed passage that seems to have Paul giving advice that he clearly doesn’t even follow regarding women in ministry.
(2) When we go back to the original structure of the passage and the grammatical components we see the meaning that has been taught to us all these years is not exactly accurate. It is open to discussion and re-examination as we move forward as the Church.
(3) Paul wrote thousands of words to many different locations and people groups and this one passage that seems to limit women in the church has been blown way out of proportion, taken out of context and stated- not really even taught because there’d be no evidence- over and over again in churches worldwide. The main word it hinges on, “authentein”, is used only once in the entire Bible and is therefore considered (from a scholarly view) absolutely useless for doctrinal foundation. Furthermore, as shown above, “authentein” is not even properly translated in our modern Bibles.
(4) An ample understanding of the culture at Ephesus and of the surrounding scripture in the New Testament brings clarity into what is otherwise a choppy, confusing and inconsistent statement from Paul.
In conclusion, I hope you have learned a little by reading through this. As I’ve said from the beginning, I am writing this whole series in a way that makes it practical and easy to understand. I have not used citations for all the extra Biblical research I’ve done but I can guarantee I have done it! And you can easily verify anything written here on your own. I do however plan to go back through and add general citations or recommended sources for you to peruse in the weeks and months to come. I just wanted to get this part up as it has been a while since I posted. (I will say that all of the above are my own words and my own thoughts and this is my original work.)
I hope you are now equipped with a greater understanding and defense of the legitimacy of women in ministry within the church. We still have one more tricky passage to go through before we wrap up this series. I invite you to join me to the end!
And remember, if you are reading this and you don’t agree, that is your choice and it is okay. Differing opinions on this matter will always exist even within the true Body of Christ. (Just like it did with slavery which is nearly impossible for us to comprehend now!) I am just presenting my evidence here for why I believe what I believe and I thank you for visiting my page and considering its merit.
First, I’d like to say that when it comes to the Bible and truly understanding the intent of scripture, things are “never an issue unless they’re an issue”. What do I mean by that? I mean that if you, or for men, a daughter or wife, are not being called to leadership as a woman, then these verses which appear to limit women (and are being used by many to do just that) are not an “issue” to you. You are fine to just go with the “normal” teaching that seems to say women are equal in value but not in function in God’s kingdom. However, if you are called to leadership within the body and you know God has given you giftings consistent with leadership then these passages become a big issue.
So while many people are content to not delve deeper, I was not. Years ago, as a woman called to leadership in the Body, I needed to know that I have legitimate ground to stand on. I could clearly see God’s heart for women throughout the Bible. I could clearly see how He used women in leadership positions. But what was I to do with these two verses (the other one will be part 8) that seem to be the most troubling and most readily used to wipe all women out of church leadership in one fail swoop?
My answer was, I needed to study these verses. And then, as I’m doing now, I need to teach the truth. I know that when I am done writing this and you are done reading this there may still be some who disagree. That is okay with me. (Sad, but okay) This is not a salvation issue. This is not an issue to break fellowship over.
It is however a necessary discussion and an ultimate lifeline to many women who are currently searching for one! So even if you are not personally struggling with this issue of being limited, I want to encourage you to care enough to read through these points and keep an open mind. Worldwide, the teaching that has come forth from what I believe has been a misunderstanding of these verses, has wreaked and continues to wreak great havoc on women. It is not God’s heart that women be limited in ministry roles within the church. Remember, it is the same Father, same Jesus, and same Holy Spirit for both men and women.
I am certainly not the first to discuss this issue in this way, I have learned from those who have gone before me and have continued my own study on these passages. I want to write in an easy, understandable way so you can see where things may have “gone wrong”.
So let’s look at 1 Timothy 2 now.
We will see at the beginning of 1Timothy that this is a letter written from Paul to Timothy who is currently in Ephesus. (This is the same Ephesus that is addressed in the letter to the Ephesians). It is written for the purpose of correcting false doctrine/myths and the people bringing that false teaching into the church. These are key points to the understanding of what Paul writes. There is so much to unravel here so please bear with me as we go along point by point. In the end, I will summarize and you should have a clear picture of the passage and what Paul was really warning them about.
The passage in question is the following, 1 Timothy 2:8-15 (but primarily v. 11-12 which I’ve bolded)
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
You can see in verses 8-10 Paul was addressing both men and women. It is interesting how no one questions any of these previous verses when speaking about church practice/decorum. I have been in churches where not one man was lifting up holy hands during praise and worship or prayer time. And I’ve been to several churches where if you didn’t show up with a little bling you are judged and sometimes even told that you aren’t “giving your best to God”. Why people are not all upset about that but decide to hold up verses 11 and 12 as some sort of conclusive evidence against women in leadership/authority is beyond me. And to be sure that you don’t misunderstand my point here, it is not that I think we DO need to focus on the above verses. It’s rather that IF someone is going to make such a doctrinal across the board decision based on v11 and 12, I sure hope they are doing the same with v 8-10 (and as you’ll soon see, v 13-15) as well.
But they don’t. So this should be our first “yellow flag” that something may be a bit askew. But trust me, there’ll be plenty more.
If we move along to v 11 and 12, the way they read in the NIV (and many other versions) is as they are highlighted in bold print above.
Let’s look at v 11 first. One of the first things you’ll notice is that Paul switches from the plural “women”, to the singular “woman”. In this verse, we find the only actual grammatical command which is “a woman should learn”. Now he’s going to go on to describe how they should learn, but this is radical for this time. In a day and age where women were not held in high esteem in most areas and certainly were still in a patriarchal church culture, Paul’s statement that a woman should learn was massively affirming to women. (This makes sense because this is exactly how Jesus treated women when he was here on Earth. Jesus allowed women to learn and interact with Him and Paul is following that example in his own ministry.)
He then continues by saying what, in many versions, is translated above as “in quietness and full submission”. I see no problem with this. Even I, as a University instructor, would expect this same learning style from both my male and female students. However, let me give you some more understanding/proof. The words used here in the original Greek for quietness and full submission are:
Quietness= “hesychia” which means just that, quietness or silence.
Submission= “hypotage” which means act of subjecting or obedience.
Why the translators chose to translate the word “hypotage” as “submission” is just an example of the patriarchal influence that makes its way into our current translations. (But that is another topic for another day and my point here is just to point out the true meaning of what Paul is saying.)
So Paul is saying that a woman should learn but should do so in quietness and obedience…basically, respectfully.
Thus far, there is nothing permitting any restriction of a woman learning so long as it is done in a respectful, non-distracting and obedient way.
Moving on then to v 12, we see Paul writes (as currently translated) “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. She must be quiet” That is the NIV translation. Others say “have authority” and “must be silent”. Either way, they seem to be saying generally the same thing. The problem is that these translations are both somewhat erroneous if we look back to the original Greek. And the manner in which the errors are made has led to a horrible misunderstanding of Paul’s words and the heart of God toward women.
In the original Greek we will see a number of things that play a role in the understanding of this tricky passage. First off, keep in mind, Paul is using the single form “woman” in this verse, whereas in the passages before and after v 11-12, he uses the form “women” (plural). Since this letter was written to correct false teachings and teachers, he likely had a specific woman in mind that Timothy may have written him about. But even if he didn’t, let’s keep going…
Paul is clearly trying to tell Timothy that he does not permit something. But what is the something that he does not permit?While in our versions it looks like there is actually two things he is forbidding: (a) a woman from teaching and (b) a woman from having authority over a man, when you study the original Greek you see that is not actually the case at all.
(I’m not trying to write a doctoral thesis here, I’m trying to write the truth of the passage in an understandable, retainable way that will help you see what Paul is really trying to say. I want to give you enough evidence though so even if this gets a little complicated, just hang in there with me please. It will become clearer as we go on.)
Instead of Paul forbidding two things, he’s really just forbidding one and I’m going to give you proof of this in a minute. But I want you to get the concept so you don’t get confused when we delve into grammar. The best example I have heard (not my original idea but also not sure who would get the credit for it) of this type of grammar in today’s language might be something like “I do not permit a woman to run and chew gum”. You see, there are two verbs here linked together with a conjunction but they now carry a whole new idea and/or meaning than they do separately. It would be okay for a woman to run. And it would be okay for her to chew gum. But to “run and chew gum” would be dangerous. In our Biblical text, the “to teach” that Paul uses is directly coupled with the next word which refers to “having authority”. So the point is, it’s just one concept.
Paul is not saying women (plural) can’t teach, nor is he saying a woman (single) can’t teach, but he IS saying that a woman (singular) can’t teach “something”….so let’s look first at that word that is being translated as “authority”.
The word used in v 12 for authority is actually the Greek verb authenteos (from the root authentein). Interestingly enough, it is the only place in the Bible where we see this word. That becomes interesting seeing as how Paul talks a lot about authority in his other letters but in every other instance where Paul is talking about authority, he uses the Greek word “exousia”. This 1 Timothy passage is the only time he uses a different word. Do you think perhaps there was a reason for this? The answer to that somewhat rhetorical question is yes, there is.
The word that Paul did use in this passage, “authenteos”, to describe what he was forbidding, actually has quite a different meaning. It actually means: “one who with his own hands kills another or himself, one who acts on his own authority, autocratic, an absolute master, or exercise dominion over.” It always as aggression associated with it and often sexual connotations too, believe it or not.
So take note. That is very different than “exousia” which means “the power of choice, physical and mental power, the power of authority (influence) and right (privilege), the power of rule or government”.
So we have to erase the notion from our minds that Paul is even talking about normal Christian power and authority and rule here. He’s not. If he was, he would have used “exousia” which he used every other time.
An additional point to consider and one I was eluding to before was that many scholars believe that the grammatical structure of this sentence actually has what is called a hendiadys (don’t panic- I had to look it up myself!) which means that two words are joined by a conjunction to make a single point. So the verb for “teach” which is “didaskein” and the verb “authentein” (which was falsely translated as having authority but really means to kill or aggressively or even sexually dominate) are actually combined to form a single point/concept.
In this case, a better translation of what Paul was saying in this verse would go something like, “I do not permit a woman to teach in a domineering way” or “I do not permit a woman to teach or persuade using sexual or aggressive advances.”
So, if that’s the case, if that’s what Paul really meant, we should be able to find some more evidence to back this up. Well, real quick before I tell you about the next bit of evidence, let’s take a quick look at the verses that follow. You never want to isolate a verse or two and try to interpret out of context. You always want to keep it in context and look for other clues and cues that will allow you to understand its true meaning and intent.
So if we look at v. 13-15 we will see some very interesting things. First we can see that Paul seems to launch into a brief review of Genesis, highlighting the fact that Adam was formed first before Eve, and that Adam was not deceived, but it was Eve who was deceived and sinned. Okay, sort of an interesting follow up, Paul. What does v 15 say? Wow, now Paul says something really weird…that women will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love and holiness, with self control.
I want to just pause here for a moment. I want to ask YOU if anything seems weird with any of those statements. Any conflict within? Any agreement in your spirit? Any idea why in the world Paul would be saying all of that?
I hope you will agree with his statements about Adam being formed first and not being the first deceived. That is all true and supported by Genesis. I also hope you will disagree with the statement that seems like it says women will be saved through childbearing. I mean, it actually does say that, but does it mean that women are really saved that way? What about young girls or women who never have children, are they doomed to hell? The Bible clearly teaches that there is one way of true salvation and that is through belief in Christ Jesus. Paul himself teaches that! So clearly, Paul was getting at something else. But what?
Let’s look at the social and cultural context of the time frame in which this letter was sent. This will clarify not only the child bearing passage but also v 11-14 as well.
Remember what I said up front. This is a letter, an actual letter, written by Paul and being sent to Timothy who is currently overseeing a church in a city called Ephesus. There is a purpose in his writing this letter (which is given to us in Ch 1 v 3-7. ) and that is to come against the false teaching/false doctrine that was being taught in the church. The passage we are looking at is situated within a larger text (the entire epistle/letter) yet shares the same purpose- to correct false doctrine or teachings/myths that were circulating through the church.
So what exactly was going on in Ephesus at this time? What was being taught? What was the predominant cultural thought process and practice that Paul seemed to feel a need to come against and correct? I will tell you.
(By the way, I know this is a super long post but you cannot even imagine how much I am condensing it from all the hours of research, study and prayer I’ve put into unraveling this mystery! So please hang in there and keep reading! This is where your understanding will really break open!)
Ephesus was a Greek city that we can read about historically but also that we are first introduced to in Acts. Information on the church in Ephesus is actually found in Acts, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Revelation. And as I mentioned above, we also have numerous historical texts that have recorded the history of this popular ancient city.
When we combine the information from these different sources we can begin to understand the setting in which this letter to Timothy was written. We can understand some of the false teaching and myths that were circulating at the time and we can see the issues that Paul was trying to address.
One of the first things we need to understand is that Ephesus was a Greek city and really was the 4th largest city at the time. It was highly populated and was also a main city that travelers would pass through en route to other places. As a Greek city, they had a strong foundation and belief in the gods and goddesses. Unlike many other cities, their primary “god” was not a god at all …it was a goddess. This goddess went by the name Diana or Artemis (of Ephesia….there actually is a different Artemis, so just clarifying that).
If we research this historically, outside of Biblical accounts, we learn that people traveled from all over to visit Ephesus and the great temple that was erected for Diana/Artemis. In fact, the temple was so large and so popular that it was actually one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
If we look to Acts Ch 19 we can read a lot more about Ephesus and the worship of goddess Diana/Artemis. I won’t print the whole passage here but please get out your Bibles or pull it up online and read the chapter for yourself. You will see that in v. 24 a silversmith named Demetrius made a lot of money by making and selling silver shrines of Diana/Artemis. You’ll see he wasn’t alone either. Many other men also made a good living this way. In v 27 you’ll see the breadth of this worship of Diana/Artemis as we read that “all Asia and the world worship” her. Furthermore, in v 34 you will see the local Ephesians cried out for two hours “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” That is devotion. Unfortunately, it was not to the One True God.
If you read further in historical texts about this goddess, one of the first things you will learn is that the temple featured an image/statue of her carved from wood which was always kept adorned and decorated with jewelry. (Tuck that little nugget away for now and keep reading.) You will also come to understand that the Ephesians (and many others in the world- as shown above through Scripture) believed that they were the “temple guardian of the great goddess Diana/Artemis which fell down from Zeus” (or the sky).
In this mythological belief, Diana/Artemis was the source of all life, male and female. Female was created first and then male came forth. Females also dominated males. They not only dominated them but violently, aggressively and sexually did so. From many different sources we learn that worship at the temple of Diana/Artemis became, well, I’m sorry to say, all out violent sexually perverse sessions (even orgies) where women were elevated above men and even worshipped for having more power and authority than men.
Also, the Ephesian Artemis/Diana was also known as the goddess of childbearing. Visitors traveled from far and wide to worship at the temple when they were about to give birth as they wanted the protection of the goddess.
So now that you have some of this background information (which you can all verify on your own!) we can go back to this somewhat tricky passage in 1 Timothy and take a fresh look at what Paul was really trying to convey.
To remind you, we had concluded that he certainly was trying to warn Timothy that a woman (singular) should not be allowed to teach “something”…but what exactly was the something?
With this new background information of the cultural and religious (non-Christian) climate of Ephesus, let’s take another look at the passage in question.
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
I will remind you once again, this whole letter was written to Timothy to correct “false teachings and myths” (1 Timothy 1: 4) that were making their way into the church and also to specifically correct (v 6-7) the people that were trying to be teachers of the law but who teach these things with no understanding.
So if we look at v 8-10 above in Ch 2 of 1 Tim, we see Paul is addressing men and women and as far as the women go, he doesn’t want them adorning themselves with jewelry but rather with good character and deeds. The church that Paul was building and speaking into through Timothy was built on Jesus Christ, not Diana/Artemis. The adorning of the goddess, and oneself to be like the goddess, was not something Paul wanted the women doing. It wasn’t a statement made for all women of all time in all settings, it was a statement made to the women who were smack dab in the cultural hub of pagan worship of the goddess Diana/Artemis. It was to set them apart. To teach them and remind them that “we don’t do that here”…”this isn’t the goddess’s temple”.
Next if we look at v 11-12, we can see why Paul likely switched to a singular form, “woman” when he writes, I do not permit a woman to teach in an aggressive, domineering way. I don’t permit her to teach in a violent or sexual manner that overrides man’s authority. (remember God's true authority rests equally on men and women. We saw this in Genesis 1 and 2) Again, he is directly coming against the cultural norm which was huge by the way, that says women have power over men and can use this power to seduce, kill, or dominate men violently to get their way.
It is extremely likely that there was “a” woman who was bringing this false teaching into the church. (Some early translations actually say “the woman”, instead of “a woman”.) It’s also possible there was more than one. Again this letter was written to correct exactly this kind of thing, “false teachings and myths” and the people who were teaching them.
Paul then continues on with this thought, almost as if he wants to drive home the point to not let anyone be teaching this crazy “women dominate and have more authority than men practice”. He goes on to attack another lie of the great cultural Diana/Artemis worship and in doing so is really kind of telling Timothy (who can then tell others) here is your proof…
V13-14
For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
Here is the beauty of what Paul is saying and what many people fail to ever understand. Paul was there to preach the truth. In places where men were falsely elevated above women he spoke such things as “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female”. But here in Ephesus where the reverse was true and the women were falsely elevated above men, Paul was not afraid to speak into that situation and destroy that falsehood also.
This is where my whole “nutter butter cookie analogy” from Part 4 or 5 comes back into play. Sometimes, you can have what seems like contrasting or conflicting advice, but really it isn’t. It all is relevant to the situation and the circumstances at hand.
Continuing on, Paul finishes up his attack on this invading lie/myth by dismantling yet another one of the false strongholds of the Ephesians minds. He says in v 15…
But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
Here Paul is trying to tell them that they do not need to be running to the temple goddess when they are pregnant or wanting to be pregnant or about to give birth and that women are safe and protected by God Himself and they just need to focus on developing inner character that puts Him first.
WHEW!!!! That was a lot to type out and a lot for you all to read. So, we’re almost done with this section. Let me just try to summarize for you.
(1) 1 Timothy 2:8-15 has been taught almost exclusively through a patriarchal lens because of the way it was translated into our “modern” Bibles. In doing so, it becomes a very choppy, disjointed passage that seems to have Paul giving advice that he clearly doesn’t even follow regarding women in ministry.
(2) When we go back to the original structure of the passage and the grammatical components we see the meaning that has been taught to us all these years is not exactly accurate. It is open to discussion and re-examination as we move forward as the Church.
(3) Paul wrote thousands of words to many different locations and people groups and this one passage that seems to limit women in the church has been blown way out of proportion, taken out of context and stated- not really even taught because there’d be no evidence- over and over again in churches worldwide. The main word it hinges on, “authentein”, is used only once in the entire Bible and is therefore considered (from a scholarly view) absolutely useless for doctrinal foundation. Furthermore, as shown above, “authentein” is not even properly translated in our modern Bibles.
(4) An ample understanding of the culture at Ephesus and of the surrounding scripture in the New Testament brings clarity into what is otherwise a choppy, confusing and inconsistent statement from Paul.
In conclusion, I hope you have learned a little by reading through this. As I’ve said from the beginning, I am writing this whole series in a way that makes it practical and easy to understand. I have not used citations for all the extra Biblical research I’ve done but I can guarantee I have done it! And you can easily verify anything written here on your own. I do however plan to go back through and add general citations or recommended sources for you to peruse in the weeks and months to come. I just wanted to get this part up as it has been a while since I posted. (I will say that all of the above are my own words and my own thoughts and this is my original work.)
I hope you are now equipped with a greater understanding and defense of the legitimacy of women in ministry within the church. We still have one more tricky passage to go through before we wrap up this series. I invite you to join me to the end!
And remember, if you are reading this and you don’t agree, that is your choice and it is okay. Differing opinions on this matter will always exist even within the true Body of Christ. (Just like it did with slavery which is nearly impossible for us to comprehend now!) I am just presenting my evidence here for why I believe what I believe and I thank you for visiting my page and considering its merit.
Copyright © Eileen Slattery Berglund - Scriptural Basis for Legitimacy of Women in Leadership Within the Church
Scriptural Basis for the Legitimacy of Women in Leadership within the Church
by Eileen Slattery Berglund
Part 1
Introduction & understanding the mandate of the Lord in Genesis.
Part 2
Understanding more from Genesis of God's original plan & the fall.
Part 3
Understanding how the Lord used Deborah of the Old Testament, Judge & Prophetess.
Part 4
Foundational considerations regarding original text.
Part 5
Understanding 1st century Jewish cultural attitude toward women, Jesus' attitude toward women & initiating the concept that the Cross is the beginning of Redemption for women also.
Part 6
Understanding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in relationship to women.
Part 8
Understanding the real meaning of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.
MAIN ARTICLE MENU
If you would like to buy the book with all articles, click here The Truth Ministry.
Scriptural Basis for the Legitimacy of Women in Leadership within the Church
by Eileen Slattery Berglund
Part 1
Introduction & understanding the mandate of the Lord in Genesis.
Part 2
Understanding more from Genesis of God's original plan & the fall.
Part 3
Understanding how the Lord used Deborah of the Old Testament, Judge & Prophetess.
Part 4
Foundational considerations regarding original text.
Part 5
Understanding 1st century Jewish cultural attitude toward women, Jesus' attitude toward women & initiating the concept that the Cross is the beginning of Redemption for women also.
Part 6
Understanding the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in relationship to women.
Part 8
Understanding the real meaning of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.
MAIN ARTICLE MENU
If you would like to buy the book with all articles, click here The Truth Ministry.