Vicente Bejo Jr.
Quezon City, Philippines 

I.                   Introduction.

This is an exegesis of 1 Timothy 2:8-15.  This paper addresses 2  main questions.  (1) Whether the prohibition on women to teach in the context of church setting is universal for all time or not. And (2) can this verses be used to support the church’s doctrine  that women should not be ordained?

I am all too aware of my egalitarian bias in interpreting the text in question.  Therefore I had tried to uncompromisingly and relentlessly adhere to the rules  of historical-grammatical method.  However, I am aware that various scholars have utilized this method on the same text and their efforts have resulted into a bewildering array of interpretations.  I hope that this paper may lead to some enlightenment and not add to the confusion.

I have concluded that (1) 1 Timothy 2:1-15 is occasioned by the heresy that threatened the church at Ephesus.  (2) According to the norms of his social and cultural  setting, Paul has issued a universal command. On the other hand, (3) this text cannot be used to support the doctrine that  women should not be ordained.

I proceed from the assumption that this epistle is Pauline. 

II.                Ephesus in the Time of Paul.

Paul came to Ephesus in 52 A.D.[1] and preached there for three long years (Acts 20:31).  Among his converts were Jewish disciples of John the Baptist[2] and pagan sorcerers and magicians (Acts 19:1-5, 18-20).  Paul won many converts of different ethnic backgrounds and religious persuasions.  This was not surprising since all kinds of people flowed to Ephesus, a major emporium in the Roman Empire.

The notion of Ephesus as the “chief” city of Asia Minor in the first century A.D. receives widespread support. Almost a century ago Sir William Ramsay suggested that Ephesus was the communication and transportation hub of Asia Minor in the Imperial period – all roads led from Ephesus.  This conclusion has recently been upheld by D.H. French in his study of the Roman road-system of Asia Minor.[3]            

Social Context.  Ephesus was a bustling metropolis in the second half of first century A.D.  Nevertheless, its household structure was typically Hellinistic – patriarchal.  Males usually marry in their thirties and take wives who were just entering puberty.[4]  Hence, it is no surprise that Hellenistic husbands viewed their wives as immature and intellectually inferior.  “The wife’s quiet submission was viewed as one of her greatest virtues throughout Greco-Roman antiquity.”[5]

            Nonetheless, the first century was a time of liberation of sorts, especially for Roman women.  Pax Romana has given women greater freedom.  Women could engage in commerce[6] and travel with little threat from criminal elements.  As some women grew wealthy through commerce and inheritance,[7] the city-states took advantage of their resources.[8]  They were given honors as special citizens of the city in exchange for sponsoring infrastructure and other projects.  This led the wealthy Roman women to desire to wield more influence and eventually, it led to major disruptions in Roman society. Less than a hundred years after Paul’s execution,[9] a mob of women went to the Forum to seek political representation.

            Evidently, there were disruptions in the traditional roles of men and women in Roman society, especially among the elite.  Men traditionally held power, taught and wrote.  But the wealth gained by women and the influence of the wives of the Roman officials over their husbands gave impetus to their desire for power. These rich, independent Roman women, sporting elaborate coiffures invariably influenced Hellenistic women[10], not only in fashion, but also in their outlook.  First Timothy tells us that Roman hairstyles were being copied by rich women in Ephesus.

The prevailing disruptions in the homes of believers in the Roman Empire, specifically in Ephesus, was also occasioned by a prevailing doctrinal problem  (this we will see later in my discussion of the heresy in that area).   These disruptions put a heavy strain on Paul.  He desired that families in the church be shining examples to their neighbors with regards to the highest virtues of propriety and decorum of their time.  He was calling on the members of the Hellenistic Christian churches to return to their traditional spheres: wives to submit to their husbands, slaves to their masters, children to their parents, to be examples so that they may win their neighbors to the faith.  Moreover, with more disastrous consequences in mind, he was trying to keep the church from arousing the wrath of the Roman government, which was distrustful of any sect that disrupted the peace. 

III.             Wider Biblical Context.

Pauline Support on Women Ministry.  Paul calls two women in Phil 4:2-3 as her fellow-workers “who had contended at my side in the cause of the gospel.”  It is not clear whether they preached the gospel together with him or that they simply aided him during his imprisonment.  What is certain is that their presence and help greatly encouraged Paul.  In Rom 16:3-16, Paul commends many women with kind words, “those women who work hard for the Lord.”  Why does he omit the same comment for men?  Perhaps Paul was trying to be sensitive to the bias on women and was trying to counterbalance it?  Most likely he was exerting efforts to encourage the believers to accord due respect to these women, to exhort other women to imitate them and not allow their gender to be a hindrance, and perhaps (but not evident in the text) even exhorting men to recognize the roles of women in the ministry.  In 16:1 he mentions his patroness Phoebe.[11] 

In 16:7, Paul greets a female apostle by the name of Iunia.[12]

            Moreover, the presence of women prophetess in the church is not contested (1 Cor 11:5).  The women were allowed to pray and prophesy.  More importantly, Paul ranks the office of the prophet second only to an apostle (1 Cor 12:28).  In the Old Testament, three among the most notable women of ancient Israel were Miriam, Deborah and Huldah. 

Pauline Restriction on Women. Three passages are cited regarding Paul’s limitation on women, namely, 1 Timothy 2:12-15, 1 Cor 11:7 and 14:34-55.  I Cor 11:7 refer to the custom of women covering their head when they prophesy and pray. The other two verses are often interpreted as universal instructions to the church for all times and places because of Paul’s appeal to the creation account. (I will deal with this later in the exegesis of 1 Tim 2:11-15).  What is evident is that a grammatical-lexical investigation of these passages has resulted to a “bewildering array of interpretations.”[13]  

Immediate Context of 1 Timothy 2:11-15.

First of all, we have to note the genre of 1 Timothy.  This letter is akin to official imperial letters sent to newly appointed provincial officers or delegates.  These imperial letters were called mandata principis.[14] These letters are addressed to the official personally but are meant to be read in public.  The first purpose is to legitimize the authority given to the new official in the eyes of the public.  This public reading ensures that the populace receives clearly that the commandments are the will and given by the emperor himself to the delegate and that they are to submit to him and to the instructions given to him.  Secondly, the part of the letter which are personal exhortations to the delegate serves as a standard for evaluation of the delegate’s personal behavior towards the community.

1 Timothy resembles such letters very closely.  We can note that the letter is addressed personally to Timothy (1Tim 1:2) but the closing salutation includes the whole church (1 Tim 6:20).  The “you” is plural in the Greek original.

Timothy is instructed to “fight the good fight” and “to hold on to faith” (1:18-20).  To fight the good fight in the context meant to persevere in fighting against the heresy.  Some believers have abandoned the faith and were teaching false doctrines (1:3-4).  Timothy must persevere in fighting them and teaching the true gospel.  If he does this he will save himself and his hearers (4:16).

Paul shifts gear in 2:1 by enumerating a list of instructions to Timothy, however the ουν signifies that the following instructions were to be viewed in the light of the just cited context of fighting the heresy.

            2:9-15 is part of the block of instructions laid down from 2:1-3:16. These injunctions (2:9-15) are specified to women as to their proper modicum – as part of the instructions on “... how people ought to conduct themselves in the household of God (3:15).”

            Paul closes this section by arming Timothy with a prophecy that the heresies are to be expected according to the Holy Spirit (4:1-4). He therefore must be ready against it and should fight these false teachings to the end.   

The Ephesian Heresy.  In 1 and 2 Timothy, Paul names three men who were propagating heresies in Ephesus (at the most, the letters could have been written in the space of four years from each other.[15] But the similar tone of both letters and the same false teachers involved indicate that they were  written much closer).  These are Hymenaeus, Alexander (possibly the Jew mentioned in Acts 19:33) and Philetus (1 Tim 1:20, 2 Tim 2:17).  Paul has expelled them from the church because of their errors[16].

These men were teaching that the resurrection has taken place already (2 Tim. 2:18) – they were propagating an over-realized eschatology.[17]  This resurrection would be the resurrection of the believers in the last day, not of Christ (for he has been resurrected already). Through this erroneous doctrine, we can see the rationale of their teaching which “forbid people to marry...(1 Tim 4:3)”.  It would have been likely taught by them that believers are already glorified in their present physical bodies, that they are already like the angels in heaven who do not marry (Matt 12:24) and that there is no more distinction between man and woman, possibly a corruption of Paul’s teaching (Gal. 3:26-28).  These men also teach abstinence from certain foods.  Most possibly, this teaching is a concoction taken from ingredients of  Hellenistic ascetic philosophies and Jewish food laws (1 Tim 1:1-11).  Aside from these specific errors, Paul mentions the devotions of these men to myths and endless genealogies (1 Tim 1:4).

            It is not surprising that these heresies would arise at Ephesus.  It was the home of the widespread cult of Artemis.  The world-famous Temple of Artemis in that city was visited by her devotees from the entire expanse of the Roman Empire (Acts 19:23-41).  Also, among the first members of the church were former sorcerers and magicians (Acts 19:19). 

Now, these false teachers were motivated by greed (1 Tim. 6:5). They ingratiate themselves into the homes of believers especially targeting women (2 Tim. 3:6).  Their ambition is to be teachers but what they propagate are Jewish myths and endless genealogies.  Their teaching was a curious mix of incipient Gnosticism (1 Tim. 6:20), ascetism and Jewish fables (1 Tim 4:2-3).         

Hence, there were two major factors disrupting the church at Ephesus, the modernization due to Roman influence and the heresies propagated by former members of the church. 

IV.              Exegesis of the Passage.           

That Paul’s purpose in writing 1 Timothy is first and foremost to combat heresy is evinced by three proofs.  The first is that Paul starts the letter with instructions regarding the heresy.  He wastes no time in discussing the problem outright, giving us the sense of urgency that he must have felt.  After the personal greeting to Timothy in verses 1-2, he immediately launches into instructions re the problem (1 Tim. 1:3-20), which occupy the rest of chapter 1.[18] Secondly, he ends the letter with instructions regarding the same concern.  In the penultimate verse of the letter, he counsels Timothy to oppose “what is falsely called ‘knowledge’ ”.  Thirdly, the close resemblance of this letter to a mandata principis, tells us that Paul wants to make it clearly known to the Ephesian community that he was giving Timothy a blanket authority to deal with the problem.  It is therefore clear to us that Paul’s letter to Timothy was precipitated by this problem.

Now we can see that his express purpose in 3:15 – “...but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God” was occasioned by the problem of erroneous doctrines.  This is also supported by the fact that this verse is immediately followed by chapter 4, the topic of which is again the heresy.  Some conservative scholars like Paul Barnett see the main reason for Paul’s letter is 3:15 and that the concern regarding the heresy is merely secondary.  Barnett reconstructs the background of the injunction on women’s dress and silence in 1 Tim 2:9-15 as occasioned by the extravagance of rich women in the community and denies that such was impinged on by the heresy.[19]  That this is wrong is clear.

We will now start with the in-depth exegesis of 1 Tim. 2:8-15, which is the natural limits of the verses concerning us.

Verse 8.  Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.   “Therefore” signifies that verse 8 is a continuation of the instruction about prayer in 2:1-2a.  This instruction about prayer is interrupted by verses 2b-7 which contain Paul’s purposes for the instructions on prayer: (a) Survival of the Faith. 2:2b: “in order (ina  serves as subordinate conjunction showing purpose) that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity and (b) Propagation of the Faith. 2:3-4. Praying for all men is good in God’s sight (gar is explanatory) because he wants all men to be saved.

Most exegesis of 1 Tim. 2:8-15 dismisses verses 1b-7 as an aside.  I consider this a mistake because in this verses Paul gives the rationale for his commands.  Without understanding Paul’s purposes we cannot properly understand the nature and implication of his instructions to Timothy in verses 8-15.

In verse 2:1, Paul says, “First of all...” signifying a string of instructions.  But more importantly, proton panton relates this string of instructions to the problem discussed in chapter 1, the problem of men competing to teach, and worse, propagating errors.  Paul first turns to matter of worship when the community is gathered.  This is rightly so because Paul is motivated by anxiety with regard to peace with the authorities...”prayers be made...for kings and all who are in authority...that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life.”

It is appropriate that Paul turns his attention first to matters concerning worship, for it is when the community gathers itself physically as ekklesia that it truly realizes itself as church.  Because of this, tensions and conflicts that might otherwise remain dormant within the life of the community take on a more acute form, as Paul reveals in his extended discussion of the problems generated by worship in the Corinthian church (1 Cor 11-14).  The gathered assembly is consequently also the most dangerous manifestation of a nascent community; behaviors that might be disruptive of the social order will become visible to outsiders.  When the church is most powerfully and visibly an ekklesia is also when the church can be most weakened and vulnerable.  Whereas the Roman Empire was generous in its accommodation of foreign religions, it was also swift to punish any religious gathering that could be perceived as a threat to the social order.[20] 

Understandably, Paul subtly puts these concerns as first in the list prayer requests to preempt whatever ill-repute regarding the problems in the church has come  to the attention of the authorities.

Now, in verse 8, the first exegetical issue is the term “every place” which seems to be controlled by the infinitive to pray which in turn seems to limit the instruction within the worship service of the community alone.  We may look back to verse 2:1 and see Paul’s command “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers...”  Indeed Paul instructs regarding matters of worship before anything else and of course in the worship place.  But Paul’s choice of term, en pante topo, is odd.  He could have used ekklesiai¸ in every church assembly, to be more specific.  En pante topo is ambiguous at best.  It may mean all housechurches in Ephesus or all gatherings throughout the Empire, or wherever the believers are gathered whether in worship or not.  What we can be sure of is that en pante topo  reflects Paul’s major  emphasis on the seriousness of his  intention that his commands be carried out – in  every place.

Moreover, that “every place” is a term with much wider implication than the worship alone is borne out by Paul’s express purposes as we have seen above.  Every place signify the public life of the community as they are seen by their pagan neighbors so that the authorities may not find reason to prosecute the church and that they may witness effectively and bring them to “the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:4).  Another exegetical support for the view that every place is quite literal is the fact that godliness and dignity in verse 2 is contrasted with without wrath and dissension in verse 8, the continuation of the command.  This contrast shows Paul’s major concern -  the peace and dignity of the church in every place, in all places, not merely within Ephesus, is paramount for the survival and propagation of the faith.  Some scholars argue that “without wrath and dissension” point to a contact with the teaching of Christ in Mark 11:25 and its parallel in Matthew 6:14.  This is supported by the formulaic term “lifting up holy hands”.  However, the admonition to pray “without wrath and dissension” comes in the heels of discussions regarding contentious false teachers all throughout chapter 1.  The more likelihood is that this concern of Paul is occasioned by this matter.

It would also be quite incongruous to see “every place” as limited within the gathered church only. Another exegetical support for this is that the instruction on women’s clothing in verse 9 is closely connected with verse 8 since the former borrows the verb “I want” from the latter.  The command on women to dress properly cannot be limited only during times of worship but would make better sense if viewed in the context of the women’s daily lives as they interact with the pagans.  As we go further, we will notice that the scope, nature and emphasis of this string of commands shifts from the worship setting to a general setting - the home and the public life of the believers, especially the women (i.e., women would be saved by childbearing…v15).

The aim of this discussion about every place will be evident when we come to the command for women “not to have authority over a man.” Now that we have established that every place is much wider in its intent as opposed to mere limitations within the church worship meeting, the argument that to have authority means simply a ban on women to occupy official designation within the church hierarchy is not fully accurate.

In verse 8 also, we see that to pray without wrath and dissension is the emphasis as opposed to “to pray lifting up holy hands”.  Hans and Conzellman notes, “ “Holy hands” (osioi ceires) in the Greek tragedians are hands which are ritually pure.  Therefore in 1 Tim, the stress lies not on this formulaic expression, but rather on what follows.”[21]  The Greek word that was translated by NIV as disputing and by NASB as dissension may be translated as “doubt”or “evil thought”.  However, since in context it is paired with orges, NIV and NASB translates accurately.

“Wrath and dissension” perhaps reflect the actual situation, as I have earlier mentioned.  On what occasions these “wrath and dissension” is clear from the context of chapter 1- the heresy causing competition among men.  Lively and heated debates among them were caused by arguments re “myths and endless genealogies.”  This command is occasioned by Paul’s concern about the believing community’s safety and witness to the pagans.

We now proceed to the commands concerning the women.  The instructions with regards to men is contained in one verse, those for the women is explained in seven verses.  This tells us that Paul is more concerned with the women than with the men.  The erring teachers or men who wished to be teachers had been appropriately dealt with - expelled from the church and it would serve as warning to the rest of the men in the assembly.  The greater concern with the women can be explained by the instructions in 1 Tim 5:11-15 regarding phluaroi younger widows who were  still  part  of the church.  We will discuss this matter deeper as we exegete verse 12.

Verse 9. “Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; but rather by what fits women who profess to fear God, with good works.”

The word “likewise” links the instructions on women to the instructions on men. Men are to pray without anger or disputing.  Women are likewise to behave as befits women who fear God.  There is to be no ungodly competition among the men and no immodesty for godly women.

We may diagram verses 9-12 in this way:

9: Likewise,

      women    should dress           with decency and propriety in respectable clothes

                                                                                          not with elaborate hairstyles

                                                                                          or gold

or pearls

                                                                                          or expensive clothes

            10: but                                                with good works,          

which befits women

                                                                                          who profess to fear God.

            11:A woman                 in quietness       should learn,                 in full submission,

            12:           but                                       to teach, I do not allow a woman,

                            nor                                                                           to αυθεντειν ανδρος, 

    but               to be in quietness.

The order now details women’s behavior.  It seems to pick up with the theme of 2:1 on how to pray.  But as we have seen, the commands regarding the women is more  like a general rule.  It is doubtful whether they pertain merely to cultic behavior.  The emphasis in this instructions actually is not with regards to the external adornment of the woman, but her internal disposition, as “befits women who profess to fear God.”

The honor and esteem of the Graeco-Roman woman depended on her fulfillment of the expectations of the social order.  And the social order required her to submit to the men.  This requirement fell not only to women, but to children and slaves.  In writing to Timothy, he orders not only women, but for slaves to maintain the social equilibrium (1 Tim. 6:1). Disruption of this social equilibrium threatens the strong need for ordering in the Graeco-Roman world. 

The social concept of Paul’s time, as taught by Plato and followed by later Greek and Roman philosophers of the first century, was that the extended family is central as the basic unit of the society, and that the city-state, the other basic unit, is patterned after it.  Thus, it follows that to maintain the peace and order of the state requires maintaining the peace and order in the domestic realm, which will be violated if the wives were to break out of their socially assigned roles.  According to Demosthenes, “mistresses we keep for the sake of leisure, concubines for the daily care of our person, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to be faithful guardians of our household.”[22]

This stability was generally seen by the Roman authorities as threatened by the conversion to various cults springing all around the Empire, including Christianity (1 Cor. 7:12-14). 

These independent conversions naturally implied further ongoing independent activity (attendance at meetings and worship services and daily personal prayer) which was seen by many as a serious threat to the stability of the family.  Disparity of worship within a household was already a problem.  Disparity of worship between husband and wife was crucial;  one of the ideals proposed by writers on marriage and household management was that, no matter what gods a young woman was accustomed to worship in her parent’s house, she should forsake them at marriage and worship only those of her husband.  Encouraging wives and slaves to think independently and accept the authority of someone other than the male householder was indeed subversion of domestic order and therefore of civil order, a sufficient cause for resentment and persecution.[23] 

Going back to the diagram above, immediately we see that the parallels of (v9) “...should dress with decency and propriety...” and (v11) “...should learn in quietness, in  full submission...” reveal the author’s deep concern regarding the socially conditioned expectations of modesty on women.  He takes pains to enumerate four things that they should not put on as adornments: elaborate hairstyle, gold, pearl, expensive clothing.  Instead, they should “put on” good works, simply good works – meaning a life of productive virtue.  “True ornamentation is not external at all.”[24]

 Some rich women in Ephesus were copying the current Roman fashions.  But the new fad was negatively seen.  Elaborately coiffeured women were looked at with suspicion. Either they were prostitutes or wives announcing their desire for illicit affair.  The ostentatious display of wealth may also have offended the poorer women in the church.  Paul calls on the rich women to attire themselves with the proper attitude.  This connects later with 2:15, the end of the pericope, a call for the women to fulfill their domestic duties of rearing children well and to persevere in Christian virtues.

Let us now continue with the exegesis of verses 11-15 with the following diagram (My own translation and follows the Greek wording, without much regard to the smoothness): 

11:A woman     in quietness       should learn,                 in full submission,

            12:                   but                   to teach, I do not allow a woman,

                                    nor                                                       to αυθεντειν ανδρος, [25]           

but to be in quietness.

            13:     For Adam           was formed first,

                                                                                    then Eve.

             14:   For Adam            was not deceived,

                     But                                                                      the woman,                              

having been deceived,   fell into sin.

                    15: But she will be saved               by childbirth

                               if they continue to remain in       faith

and  love

and holiness with propriety:       

this is a faithful saying.

 Verses 11 and 12 are one compound sentence.  The first independent sentence is governed by the imperative “should learn” a positive command.  The second independent sentence is governed by the indicative “I do not allow” or “I am not allowing”, a negative command.

In verse 11, the first command is positive, a woman should learn.  The context now seems to place the instructions again within church worship.  The women are to learn what is taught by men in the church and they are to submit to it.  In other words, the women were learning something else.  And most likely, they were learning heresy.

 However, the emphasis is not on this command “to learn” but on the attitude of learning.  In the Greek original, the imperative μαντανεθω – “should learn” is sandwhiched between “in quietness” and “full submission” thereby underlining the author’s concern regarding the proper attitude in learning. (Paul compared to other Jewish teachers and Greek philosophers was ahead of his time, commanding that women should be taught.  Paul sees proper education as guard against deception.). And again, he closes the statement in v12 with, “but to be in quietness”, repeating it twice in one compound sentence. Indeed the women are commanded to learn, however, we see here, even with the positive, ahead-of-the times instructions for women to learn, Paul is cautioning them to maintain proper attitude.

Such a command underlined by concern regarding behavior points to a problematic setting in the Ephesians’ gathering.  Most likely, as many commentators have noted, the women were disrupting the teachers, interrupting the teaching sessions in unruly manners because they were insisting on what they have gathered from heretical teachers.

En pase hypotage, in full submission, cannot be seen as structural but attitudinal.[26] It is used together with “in quietness”, which implies attitude, and not structure. The same word is used for children (1 Tim 3:4) with regards to submission to parents.  Hence, this means a behavior required by the social order[27] and not a subordinate position originally imposed by the church hierarchy.  This strict command, full submission, is Paul’s guard against women who have learned, not to break out of their social limitations. In fact, some of the gullible Ephesian women were falling into the trap of the false teachers (2 Tim. 3;6-7). They have become gadabouts with nothing to do but to flit like butterflies from house to house, neglecting their domestic duties (1 Tim 5:11-15).

We go now to the second part of the command, which is a negative,  “I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to have authority over a man, but to be in quietness.” In the context of a church gathering, Paul commands that women should not teach.  Then he follows with a clause “nor to have authority over a man”, which may be translated as “nor to domineer a man”.[28] 

The Greek word here for woman maybe translated wife and the Greek word for man may be translated husband.  However, the church-setting character of the command require a more generic translation, that is to refer to men in general.  And another thing, this general usage of anhr is supported by other Pauline passages, e.g. Romans 7:2-3; 11:3-4; Col 3:18-19. The verb didaskw and its cognate are almost exclusively used for public teaching in the NT.  There is no exegetical grounds to question that this is not what the Apostle meant here. Teaching is a role culturally and traditionally assigned to men.

Another question we will tackle here is were the women teaching, and if so, what were they teaching?  It would be illogical for Paul to prohibit such a thing if the women were not teaching. According to Gordon Fee, 1 Tim 5:13 bears the answer.  Among the Ephesian women were young widows described as phluaroi. Fee comments “...phluaroi...despite our English translations to the contrary, does not – in fact cannot – mean “gossips,” but “speakers of foolishness.”  This word is used in all kinds of philosophical texts of people who “prate foolishness,” meaning of course, who teach a philosophy different from the author.”[29]

Unfortunately, Fee does not support his claim with any Greek text.  According to the Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Greek Lexicon, the adjective yluaroV,,on may mean gossipy or foolish and that the verb yluarew means “to talk nonsense” or “to bring unjustified charges.”[30]  However, the unabridged Liddel-Scott Lexicon supports Fee’s claim.  It lists that mostly, the meaning of this word is “to talk nonsense” and gossip is not a widely attested nuance.[31]

Nonetheless, we see a group of young widows, going about from house to house prattling of things that according to Paul they should not be talking about, or bringing serious slanderous accusations against someone (1 Tim. 5:19).  In a sense, then, these young women were abrogating to themselves the authority to teach, at least outside the church worship.  And or perhaps, questioning the integrity of those men who had the proper authority to teach because of the influence of the heretical teachers.  The phrase “for some have already turned aside to follow Satan” (v.15) refers to some younger widows who have fully embraced the teachings of the heretics.  Remember that in 1:20 Paul speaks of the false teachers as having been “handed over to Satan.”

A thorny exegetical issue in this verse is the verb επιτρεπω.  It is first person, active, indicative, not imperative. Note that with regards to women learning Paul uses an imperative μαντανεθω.  To Paul, there is no question about the expediency of educating women.  When it comes to women teaching, he shifts to a present indicative.

The most natural reading of this verb is to take it as a gnomic present or a descriptive present.  However, the flow of the argument favors a gnomic reading.[32]  The term en pante topo supports such a reading.  Paul considers this command binding for “every place.”

If this were a descriptive present (as it is sometimes popularly taken), the idea might be that in the future the author would allow this: I do not presently permit…However, there are several arguments against this: (1) it is overly subtle.  Without some temporal indicator,  such as arti or perhaps nun, this view begs the question. (2) Were we to do this with other commands in the present tense, our resultant exegesis would be both capricious and ludicrous…(3) Grammatically, the  present tense  is  used with a generic object (gunaiki)  suggests that it should be taken in gnomic present.  (4) Contextually,  the exhortation seems to be rooted in creation (note verse 13 and the introducing gar)…[33] 

However, caution must be taken whether this is binding “for all times.”  A gnomic present may be used to refer to a widely observed  custom of the time,[34] such is  teaching as a role assigned to  men.  A proper understanding of Pauline view on women ministry would require a hermeneutics which engages all pertinent texts and the actual praxis of Paul.[35]  Moreover, a truly proper understanding of the role of women in ministry should engage a hermeneutical spiral from Genesis, to the OT Laws, to the NT and to the contemporary cultural mores.

However, we can note certain observations regarding this verb and its context.[36]

This verb is used 18 times in the NT.[37]  Nowhere is it used in the gnomic form in the present active indicative.  It is used in Mark 10:4 in the present indicative (Moses permitted...) and seems to imply a universal command, but it is not.  It is permission, not a command.  Moreover, Jesus pointed out the rationale of the permission and its incongruency with God’s original intentions.

Paul uses this verb in 1 Cor.14:26-36 as a universalizing command, but he uses the third person present indicative passive.  However, he deals with a related subject – the silence of women in the worship gathering.  That is, for women, “it is not permitted for them to speak in church.”  More so, he says in verse 37 that this command is “the Lord’s commandment.”  This may sound to seal the case for the argument that this is a universally binding commandment – since women are enjoined to silence, they are not allowed to have positions of authority in the church for all time.  It would take another article to fully discuss this passage.  But it is enough to say that earlier in the epistle, in 11:5-6, Paul speaks of women who may prophesy and pray in the church worship setting as long as they have a head covering.  Does Paul contradict himself?  It is not without grounds that Fee and other  scholars  questions the integrity of verses 34-35.[38]  Moreover, why did Paul not cite the Lord’s authority in 1 Tim. 2:12 but appealed only to his position?  What we can be sure of is that we should not judge what Paul meant here based simply on the tense and mood of the verb concerned, but through the context.

The next exegetical issue in this passage is the infinitive αυθεντειν.  The meaning of this word is highly debated.  This word appears only once in the NT.  The dilemma is that upon this word hinges one major doctrine of Christian churches – that of prohibiting the ordination of women. The word is thought to have four ranges of meanings.[39] The context however, demands a meaning with reference to attitude since we see in the diagram above that it is contrasted with “in silence” and “in full submission”.   It is also connected by oude to the prohibition not to teach.  Oude is simply a negative  connective, joining two prohibition.  To reason that authentein would mean “to have authority” because it is joined by oude with “to teach” is questionable.  They are connected because  they  are related as  two negatives ideas.

It is almost certain that Paul used the word for a particularly nuanced meaning.  He could have used the infinitive exousiazein, “to have authority.” This word would signify structural, official authority.  Instead he chose the rare infinitive αυθεντειν.  In keeping with the shifting province of Paul’s command, from church gathering to more general setting such as the command on women to dress modestly, the more general meaning of “to domineer a man” or “to instigate a man”, i.e., to gaud a man to engage in contentious debate, may be in sight. But we cannot be sure.  However,  structurally αυθεντειν is in  contrast to “in quietness” and “in full submission.”  In the context, this means that women were being disruptive, interrupting the teacher. 

The word can also mean murder and curiously, in 1 Tim. 1:9, Paul writes of “those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers...”.  But we should look to the more immediate context of the infinitive in question to discern its meaning.

A history of the development of the meaning of αυθεντειν is discussed by Knight and Wilshire.[40] Wilshire’s study is obviously superior but his conclusion does not differ from Knight’s. He writes,

Sometime during the spread of koine, the word αυθεντεw went beyond the predominant Attic meaning connecting it with murder and suicide and into the broader concept of criminal behavior.  It also began to take on additional meanings of ‘to exercise authority/power/rights’ which became firmly established in the Greek Patristic writers to mean ‘to exercise authority’.  One must always take seriously interpretations within the tradition of the Church. 

However, one study that  differs in conclusion is by Timothy J. Harris.  He writes,

Our own study of the BAGD references for authentein, together with the material in Wilshire’s study has led us to the conclusion that  in all of the occurrences of the verb close to  the New Testament period, there is one indispensable element:  that to exercise  authentein was ‘to hold  sway or use power, to be ‘dominant’.  The word never means (in itself) ‘to be an official’  or “to be authorised’, but could mean to  have the power to be authoritative…. Furthermore…reference  to Eve’s deception is meaningless if ‘official authority’ is  in view.[41] 

We may therefore conclude from the evidences we have at hand and from the context of this verse that Paul prohibits women from teaching men in the context of a church assembly and his command sounds universal, “in every place.”  It is traditional, but it is also a command occasioned by the heretic teaching instigating the women to break out of their traditional roles.  With regards to authentein, he commands the women to bear proper attitude in learning, including not to disrupt the proceedings.  I question the interpretation of “to have authority” as official authority on the grounds of the structure of the sentence.  To infer this is to go beyond what is warranted by the text. 

Having given his instructions, Paul proceeds to give a rationale for it.  He cites in verses 13-14 the creation account.  Such a rhetorical style of alluding to nature or creation is common to rabbis  and  philosophers of Paul’s time.  The exegetical issue here is the use of gar.  According to Moo[42] it is used causally. According to Payne[43] it is illustrative. Moo presents the weightier arguments against Payne with regards to the normal (lexical) and most frequent usage of γαρ as causal. 

In opposition to those who read the gar as illustrative, it is most naturally read as  causal.  The flow of the argument of Paul is clear.  “For it was Adam who was first created…” Having given his personal command he strengthens it with an argument rooted in creation. The appeal to the order of creation is decisive.  The woman was deceived because she was created second.  This is traditional reference to the supposed natural inferiority of the female.  This “proof is for the author clearly a  matter of course and unimpeachable…”.[44]

The logic of this exegesis however, is not unimpeachable.  If Paul is saying that Adam is more resistant to  transgression because of his primacy in creation, he is clearly  wrong.  The woman was deceived  by the serpent who was “more crafty than any beast of the field” while Adam merely succumbed to the woman.  Moreover, this exegesis  reads more than what is allowed by the author of Genesis.  He did not draw nor imply any such conclusion to the creation narrative.  A better view of the creation account must take Genesis 2 in  the context of Genesis 1.[45]

We go now to verse 15, the phrase “she will be saved by childbirth if they continue to remain in faith, love holiness with propriety” speaks of the women’s endurance in the church (this echoes 1 Tim. 4:11).  Saved from what?  The text demands either from deception or from sin (eschatological). However, most of Paul’s usage of the verb σωζω refers to eschatological salvation.  The indication is he means the same thing in the passage because of “if they continue to remain in...”.

There are two possible readings of δια της τεκνογονιας:[46]  adverbial genitive of time, δια means throughout, or ablative of means, δια means by.  The adverbial genitive of time would read like “She will be saved during/throughout childbirth provided they (women) continue....”.  It sounds like Paul is trying to scare the women from bearing children and would not fit the author’s intention to persuade the women to fulfill their domestic roles.  The ablative of means would read, “She will be saved by childbirth provided she continues...”  This sounds like Paul is using a deliberative rhetorical style common to his day, i.e, persuading people to a course of action by showing its merits and by dissuading them to follow the opposite direction by showing its folly.  Paul here persuades the women to fulfill their domestic roles by elevating the status of bearing children in qualifying it as part of a woman’s salvation.

Childbearing is one aspect of the woman’s salvation, if they continue in  the Christian  virtues expected of a believing woman.  Why does Paul say this?  Again, reflecting on the problem of heresy, the reason is that the false teachers were probably subverting the women (2 Tim. 3:6) away from their traditional spheres at home, bringing problems to the church. In 5:8-16, there were members in the church who were neglecting to provide for their own relatives, younger widows were going from house to house gossiping.  Some have turned away to Satan.  In 4:1, the false teachers were teaching that people should not marry. In 1:9, Paul writes that the law was given for those who kill their own fathers and mothers.  Clearly, there was something in the false teachings that was disrupting the traditional roles in the family.  Paul was calling the women in Ephesus to fulfill their traditional roles and that there is honor to this.  He tries a  rhetoric of persuasion  by  elevating childbearing  as part of their salvation, provided they persevere in faith, in love and holiness. 

We may note how  verse 15 is so similar to Paul’s instructions to young widows in the context outside the church setting (1 Tim.  5:14).  “I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house and give the enemy no occasion for reproach.”  This clearly tells us that Paul is concerned that the women in the church should fulfill the social and cultural expectations.   

V.                 Conclusion, Application and Recommendation.

Scholars of varying persuasions have interpreted 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in different ways.  My own conclusions are: (1) 1 Timothy 2:1-15 is occasioned by a heresy that made men contentious and emboldened the women to break out of their traditional roles.  (2)  Based on the norms of his time, Paul issues what was in  his mind a universal instructions  for women not to teach in the church.  (3)  The verb authentein,  however, cannot be used support the  doctrine of  the church that women may not be ordained.  We must look at the whole testimony of Scriptures and listen to the contemporary culture for guidance in this matter.

The main concern of Paul, as seen in his other writings, is the propagation of the Gospel.  Hence, to his mind, all resources of the church must be mobilized toward this end.  The women of antiquity were disallowed to teach not only because of their lack of education but because it was prohibited  by Roman Law.  The same cannot be said of today.  Women are just as educated and as capable as men in many areas.  Neither  is it prohibited by contemporary laws.  The church cannot afford to neglect the gift given by God to women for the sake of a tradition of power upheld by men.

Paul issued this instructions because he was  concerned primarily with the survival of the church and its continued  effectiveness in propagating the Faith.  I  believe that these are the primary principles we have to look at in the hermeneutics of this text.   Will contemporary authorities find fault and prosecute the Church  if it ordains women?  Will the Church be more effective in propagating the gospel if it perpetuates an institutionalized inequality among the sexes?  These are the important questions. 

BIBLIOGRAPHIES 

Commentaries and Books 

Arndt, William F., et al.. A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Dibelius, Martin, Conzelmann, Hanz. The Pastoral Epistles. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1972.

Fee, Gordon D. First Epistle to the Corinthians. The New International Commentary on  the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.

Goodrick, Edward W , Kohlenberger, John R. eds. The NIV Exhaustive Concordance. Michigan: Harper Collins, 1990.

Hawthorne, Gerald F. et al. eds. Dictionary of Paul and his Letters. England: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Johnson, Luke Timothy.  The First and Second Letters to Timothy.  The Anchor Bible.  New York:  Doubleday, 2001.

Knight, George, W. The Pastoral Epistles, A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992.

Lea, Thomas D., Griffin, Hayne Jr, P. 1, 2 Timothy, Titus. The New American Commentary, vol. 34. Tennessee: Broadman Press, 1992.

Liddell and Scott, An Intermediate Greek Lexicon, 7th Edition. Great Britain:Clarendon Press, 1975.

Lock, Walter.  The Pastoral Epistles. The International Critical Commentary.  Edinburgh: Charles Scribners’ Sons, 1966.

Osiek, Carolyn. What are They Saying About the Social Setting of th New Testament. New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1984.

Pomeroy, Sarah, B. ed. Women’s History and Ancient History. London: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.

Wallace,  Daniel B.  Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996. 

Journals and Articles 

Barnett, Paul, W. Wives and Women’s Ministry (1 Timothy 2:11-15). Evangelical Quarterly, vol. 61. Howard Marshall, ed. Devon: Paternoster Press, 1989.

Brayford, Susan A. To Shame Or Not To Shame: Sexuality in The Mediterranean Diaspora.  SEMEIA, vol. 87. Athalya Brenner, ed. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999.

Bowman, Ann L. Women in Ministry: An Exegetical Study of 1 Timothy 2:11-15. Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. 194, No. 594. Texas: Dallas Seminary Press, 1992.

Fee, Gordon D. Gender Issues:  Reflections on the Perspective of the Apostle Paul. Crux,Vol. XXXV, No.  2. Canada: Regent College,  1999.

____________. Issues in Evangelical Hermeneutics, Part III: The Great Watershed – Intentionality & Particularity/Eternality: 1 Timothy 2:8-15 as a Test Case. Crux,Vol. XXVI, No. 4. Canada: Regent College, 1990.

Grenz, Stanley J. Theological Foundations for Male-Female Relationships. Crux .Vol. XXXV, No. 2. Canada: Regent College, 1999.

Hancock, Maxine. Christian Perspectives on Gender, Sexuality and Community.  Crux, Vol. XXV, No. 2. Canada: Regent College, 1999.

Harris, Timothy J.  Why did Paul Mention Eve’s Deception? A Critique of P.W Barnett’s Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2. Evangelical Quarterly, vol. 62. Howard Marshall ed. Devon: Paternoster Press 1990.

Knight, George, W.  ΑΥΘΕΝΤΕΩ in Reference to Women in 1Timothy 2.12. New Testament Study, vol. 30.  G.N. Stanton, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

Moo, Douglas, J. The Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11-15: A Rejoinder, Trinity Journal, vol 2, no. 2, D.A. Carson, ed. America: Open Door Press, 1981

Padgett, Allan.  Wealthy Women at Ephesus, I Timothy 2:8-15 in Social Context. Interpretation, A Journal of Bible and Theology, vol. XLI, No. 1. Paul J. Achtemeier, ed.  Virginia: Union Theological Seminary, 1987.

Payne B. Phillip, Libertarian Women in Ephesus: A Response to Douglas J. Moo’s Article…Trinity Journal, vol 2, no.2, DA Carson, ed. America: Open Door Press, 1981.

Perriman, Andrew C. What Eve Did, What Women Shouldn’t Do: The Meaning of ΑΥΘΕΝΤΕΩ In 1 Timothy 2:12. Tyndale Bulletin, vol 44.1. Cambridge: Tyndale House, 1993.

Porter, Stanley, E.  What Does It Mean To Be ‘Saved By Childbirth’ (1 Timothy 2:15)? Journal for the Study of the New Testament, vol 49.  Stanley Porter, ed. England :Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Provan, Iain. Why Bother With the Old Testament Regarding Gender and Sexuality. Crux. Vol. XXXV, No.  2. Canada: Regent  College, 1999.

Spencer, Aida Dina, B. Eve at Ephesus. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, vol. 17, no. 4.  Samuel J. Schultz, ed. Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 1974.

Towner, P.H. Gnosis And Realized Eschatology In Ephesus (Of The Pastoral Epistles) And The Corinthian Enthusiasm.  Journal for the Study of the New Testament, vol. 31. David Orton, ed. England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1987.

Waltke, Bruce K. The Role of Women in the Bible. Crux,Vol. XXXV, No. 2. Canada: Regent College, 1999.

______________.  The Role of the “Valiant Wife” in the Marketplace. Crux,Vol. XXXV, No. 3. Canada: Regent College, 1999.

______________.  1 Timothy 2:8-15:  Unique or Normative? Crux,Vol. XXVIII, No. 1. Canada: Regent College, 1992.

Watts, Rikki E. Women in the Gospels and Acts. Crux,Vol. XXXV, No. 2. Canada: Regent College, 1999.

Whelan, Caroline F.  Amica Pauli: The Role of Phoebe In The Early Church. Journal for the Study of the New Testament, vol. 49.  Francis Watson, ed. England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993.

Wilshire, Leland Edward. The TLG Computer and Further Reference to ΑΥΘΕΝΤΕΩ in 1 Timothy 2.12. New Testament Study, vol. 34.  G.N. Stanton, ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.

Endnotes