Language Studies

Difficult Sayings

Women teaching or having authority/Who sinned first
1 Timothy 2:11-12

"11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.
12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." (1 Timothy 2:11-5)

Given the ongoing debate in the traditional Anglican Church as to the legitimacy of women bishops it seems appropriate to raise the interpretation of these verses. The Anglican communion allows women priests in most places and female bishops in 14 of its 38 provinces. Opposition to them comes from both the Catholic and Evangelical wings for different reasons. The Anglo-Catholics oppose them on the grounds of church tradition, i.e., they've never had them so why should we start now; also, that Christ only appointed male disciples and only a man can represent Christ as the altar. The evangelicals turn to Scripture and quote the above verses amongst others; yet, different evangelical interpreters offer varying opinions.

A true biblical literalist has no choice but to close off the teaching ministry to women, but they would still be inconsistent if they did not also stone disobedient children, accept slavery, and order women to cover their heads. The Catholic, meanwhile, to be consistent should only allow male Galilean Jews to be preside and study church history more closely for tradition did not begin at Nicaea in the 4th century, nor Ephesus a century later, and was both more varied and more Jewish 300 years earlier.

Firstly, in verse 11, Paul does encourage a woman's learning as was the case within Judaism but not all other cultures except the Greek and Roman elite. In general Greece thought of women as nothing more than breeders if free and servants if slaves, they would not even allow them to teach their own children let alone men in a church! The Romans allowed women home schooling duty but not much more and banned public speaking and teaching. So, at the very least, Paul is more radical than the Greeks and Romans by allowing women to teach the children and prophesy in public. This must inevitably have done two things.

Firstly, it would have attracted women into Christianity's more liberated culture and at the same time put some men off since it would have been undermining traditional Graeco-Roman male-female role balance. Thus, secondly, Paul would have been facing a potential backlash amongst men that he was reaching out to, and so, perhaps, he is asking women to be discrete in their new freedoms and to grow into them gradually, just as slavery was not banned until centuries later.

Verse 12 is interesting when compared with Acts 18:26 where Priscilla (and Aquila) takes authority over Apollos, another influential teacher, to teach him and correct his doctrine, particularly since this took place at Ephesus.

The verb διδασκω didaskô "to teach" (Strong's #1321) in Greek is a present active verb and could also have the meaning, "I am not presently permitting a woman to teach or have authority over a man", i.e., in the current situation. Should either the culture or the education (Scripture or otherwise) of women change then Paul may have accepted women teachers, indeed the second century church father Tertullian did until they went astray then he changed his mind.

Elsewhere (2 Timothy 2:2), Timothy is instructed to commit these things to faithful men, who will be competent to teach others. The word "men" is ανθηρωποσ anthrôpos (Strong's #444) and as a generic term, like "mankind", could include women, it certainly doesn't rule them out. Vine's (under the Greek entry for "man") says, "ANTHROPOS is used (a) generally, of a human being, male or female, without reference to sex or nationality" (italics added), the term aner = "man" is never used of the female sex and could be used in a passage to avoid any general application to women as well, e.g., in 1 Timothy 2:12 ανερ aner (Strong's #435) is used of man, so Paul could have used it if he'd wanted to, to avoid confusion and allow teaching to remain the exclusive domain of men.

The word for "usurping authority over" is αυθεντεω authenteô (Strong's #831), meaning "having mastery of" or "lording it over" or "one acting on their own authority", it occurs only here in the New Testament, and could relate to either men in general or husbands in particular. Women with their new freedoms were not to bring the church into disrepute by "lording it over" the men, or acting independently of them. It may not necessarily relate to specifically "teaching" authority over men. In the example in Acts 18:26, Priscilla is not acting independently of her husband but together they teach Apollos.

Women are to "learn" ("be discipled"/instructed in the Law) in ηεσυχια hesuchia (Strong's #2271) "silence", this may better be translated as "a calm quietness", as it is used in 2 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Timothy 2:2; 1 Peter 3:4; for there are other words for silence. One can talk quietly, but not silently! Learning involves questioning, particularly in the Jewish culture, but quietly, in an attitude of enquiry, not self-display or argumentativeness. One dictionary defines this word as "without officious meddling in the affairs of others"! Paul may even be saying to the men not to prevent or disturb the women in their learning.

Verses 9-14 are all related, women are to wear discrete and modest clothing, particularly as women professing godliness. The word "professing" is επαγγελλομαι epangellomai (Strong's #1861) and was also used of those offering promises through public speaking, e.g., political candidates in the secular world and 2 Peter 2:19 of false teachers. Thus these women may have been those offering the promise of salvation to others through their preaching or evangelism.

The reference back to the fall in the Garden of Eden evokes the scene of Eve successfully persuading Adam to take of the forbidden fruit. Paul is clearly concerned then with the potential for women to lead men astray, by their clothing and immodesty, by uninformed teaching or by usurping authority, hence the call for them to learn. In Revelation 2:20-21, Jezebel is one such example. She is described as a prophetess who teaches and beguiles the faithful, yet her sin is beguiling and sexual immorality, not teaching.

Interestingly C.C. Kroeger shows that authentein did not have the meaning "take authority over" in New Testament times. The main background to the word is erotic as in the writings of Euripides, Philodemus and Phyrnicus, cf. Wisdom of Solomon 12:6: The sexual overtones are clear and John Chrysostom, the early church writer thought similarly, seeing it as "sexual licence" in his commentary on 1Timothy. Thus the context may now mean that the woman is not to teach men sexual licence. This was a serious problem in early church times. In Ephesus, where Timothy was working, the temple prostitutes at the shrine of Diana were considered to bring one into closer union with the deity. The modest apparel mentioned may have been necessary in order to distinguish Christian women from Ephesian temple prostitutes, just as at Corinth to go about with your head uncovered was prostitution (cf. 1 Corinthians 11). In fact, Gnosticism and Nestorians used authentein to justify similar actions in the second century. Clement of Alexandria used authentes to complain about the turning of love feasts into orgies (Strom. 3:18). Paul is wary of sexual deception ("deceive" in 1 Timothy 2:14 has sexual overtones), women teachers in Greek society, hetairai, were renowned for the sexual favours offered after their lectures. The reference in 1 Timothy 2:15 may then be to these women being "kept safe/saved" through family childbearing rather than licentious sex.

In Titus 2:3-4 the elder women are exhorted to teach, and particularly to admonish the young women. Teaching here may be non-specific as to the recipients, however the admonishing and training involves taking authority over others, and here that is restricted to young women only. The character requirements and moral sobriety required of these elder women and elder men sound like the qualities required of those in the office of elder (1 Timothy 3:2-3; Titus 1:8-9). If this is the case Paul may be referring back to Titus 1:5 where he has encouraged Titus to appoint elders in every city.

Some have interpreted the context of the passage as only making the obvious prohibition against false teaching and teachers. Another alternative is that of the Kraegers, "I don't allow a woman to teach that she is superior to a man" (Women Elders, p.16); if, indeed, it meant the latter it would in one fell swoop solve a lot of problems but force a change in a number of church denominations.

Finally, the culture and practice at Ephesus needs to be carefully considered, as at Corinth, for these are the only two places where Paul writes and apparently prescribes restrictions on the ministry of women. Ephesus was famed for its heresies and female supremacy in various cults. For instance the pagan temples dedicated to Diana, in fact one such Dianic temple was given a coat of paint and rededicated as the first church to Mary, an easy change from one female divine to another soon to be declared virtually divine (by the theotokos, "mother of God" declaration). Further, the Montanist sect, which may have begun in the Spirit but which ended up in error and false prophecy, also came from this region, from nearby Phrygia. Two Montanist prophetesses asserted their divine inspiration and independence by leaving their husbands, against the doctrine of Scripture.

Thus, Paul may have been safeguarding the Ephesian church against women spreading a female supremacy cult and leading men astray. He was writing concerning false teaching (1 Timothy 1:3-4) and the aspirations of some to be teachers without any understanding and instead only being any good at "idle chatter" (1 Timothy 1:6-7). Many false teachers were leading the women astray and they were becoming a reproach to the church (1 Timothy 3:14-15) and perhaps Paul is asking them to go the second mile in submission in order to restore the church's reputation and to save it from error.

The Jewish rule of biblical interpretation that a complex and/or contradictory passage of Scripture should be interpreted in the light of a simpler less contested passage might hold true here, although the above passage appears simple enough its just that we don't accept it. A simpler passage would be the defining statement of Paul elsewhere in Galatians 3:28 that in Christ there is neither male nor female, and that this is the guiding principle subject to circumstances. Indeed, we should note that Paul says "I do not permit…" not that "Scripture teaches us…", it was probably a present expedient for the transition between cultures and to discourage women from lauding their new opportunities and bringing the nascent Christian church into disrepute. Now, their ongoing restriction in church office is what probably brings the church into disrepute.

Ultimately, the passage is more about humble submission, a quiet attitude and good order in the church, than about who can teach or whether women should be completely silent. Paul was more concerned about the church's reputation and ability to avoid falling into error than about people's apparent "rights" to teach. The Ephesian church needed "learning" (v.11) before it was ready for women teachers.

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