1 Timothy 2:11-3:7

 

 

When we find a woman, or a man, who is saying that Eve was created before Adam then we can walk out 1 Timothy 2:12 & the created order verses. False teaching is the context, not male only authority.

1 Timothy 2:11-3:7

BibleHub.com is a tool that allows comparison of Bible translations. Here I pulled up the Christian Standard Bible, and compared it to the Greek Study Bible on 1 Timothy 2:11-3:7.

 

 

I clicked on each Greek word, got the Greek translation, and recorded it below. I will include an image of the English, and you can see how it compares to the Greek.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 is one of the more difficult passages to understand. I lean towards the understanding that women are invited to learn alongside the men, men who are already learning quietly and in full submission, so that women can also become teachers of truth. Some believe Paul was referring to “a woman” singular who was coming out of the indoctrination of a fertility cult, and needing to deconstruct from her beliefs. Others use this passage to say that women, as a whole, are more gullible than men, and they apply this as a universal command that all women are forbidden from having authority or teaching a man.

1. Marg Mowczko has written comprehensively on 1 Timothy 2:12

2. Nate Carlson says, “It’s not a verse about authority, it’s a verse about domineering, metaphorical murdering through heavy handed “leadership.” See this lexicon entry below!

(Greek word authentein: to use authority over.)

 

What Paul specifically forbids for women he isn’t permitting men to do. For example, if Paul wrote, “I do not permit a woman to commit murder,” it would be utterly ridiculous for us to read that and assume, “Oh sweet, men CAN commit murder!”

 

People often read this text and assume Paul is saying, “I permit a man to dominate a woman,” or more softly, “I permit a man to exercise authority over a woman.” Folks, that’s not in the text! 

What Paul seems to have in mind is a leadership structure where no one is dominating anyone, where domineering leaders are discarded, and authority is shared among members of the Body, of whom Christ is the head.

In short, gender is not a leadership qualification in the Church, but instead those who have been Christians longest and whose lives most conform to the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) are leaders.”

 

 

ETA

3. Who is Artemis of the Ephesians Birds of a Feather interview Dr. Sandra Glahn about the research for her book Nobody’s Mother. 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is a message to Ephesus about how Jesus is better than Artemis. The history of the Artemis culture can help us understand Paul’s corrections in verses 11-15.

TheoDisc Episode 27 – Dr. Sandra Glahn the author of Nobody’s Mother. The false teachings of Artemis: An anonymous woman should stop teaching the false teaching of Artemis and she should learn and teach about Jesus. Mythology: Artemis was born before her twin brother Apollos, and she watched her mother in agony of childbirth of Apollos. In creation Adam was created first. Artemis is deceiving you, Eve was deceived. Artemis was a virgin midwife who was worshiped to help women survive childbirth, or help to end their suffering in childbirth, with her arrows. It’s possible that Paul makes a limited promise to a few women deconstructing from this culture that they will survive childbirth if they trust in Jesus, and not go back to Artemis, in their concerns and fears about suffering and certain death in childbirth. 1Timothy 2:11-15 was not written to the modern day church.

Mark Grote:  The goddess Artemis (aka Diana) is mentioned in Acts 19. Worship of this false god in Ephesus is central to the restrictions that Paul gave in 1Tim 2:12 because it was seeping into the church. Ironically, we see Priscilla teaching Apollos in Acts 18 while he was in Ephesus too.

__________

The Greek

V11

A woman,

In, on, at, by, with

Stillness, quietness, silence

To learn

In, on, by, at, with, among

All, every, the whole

Submission, subjection, obedience

 

V12

To teach

But, and, now

A woman 

To turn to, entrust, hence to permit

and not, neither

To govern, exercise authority 

A man

Otherwise, on the other hand, but

I exist, I am

In, on, at, by, with

Stillness, quietness, silence

 

V13

Adam

For, indeed

First, chief

To form

Then, next, therefore

Eve

 

V14

And, even, also

Adam

Ouch, not, no

To deceive

The

But, and, now

A women

To seduce wholly, deceive

In, on, at, by, with, among

A going aside, a transgression 

To come into being, to happen, to become

 

V15

To save, heal, preserve, rescue

But, and, now

Through, on account of, because of

The

Childbearing

If

To stay, abide, remain, wait

In, on, at, by, with, among

Faith, belief, trust

And, even, also

Love, goodwill, benevolence

And, even, also

Consecration, Sanctification, holy, set apart

With, among, after, of time

Soundness of mind, self-control, sanity, sobriety

 

For 1 Timothy 3:1-7, I am making a note that the English is translated with male pronouns, but the Greek is gender neutral. 

V2 in the Greek says:

I exist, I am

One

A woman

A man

Is translated into English to mean “husband of one wife” or “a one woman man”. How do we know that this is in reference to marriage? Perhaps if *One means unity, as in unity of marriage. Is *One a reference to unit number of one individual, and translated to be reinforcing V1 “If anyone aspires to be an overseer…” V2 Meaning “one a man or a woman…” who aspires to be an overseer. The English has translated it as a reference to marriage, and every qualification for overseer is given male pronouns. In the English, male pronouns are being read into the text. Compared to the Greek being gender neutral. If “I exist, I am, One, A woman, A man” is a reference to marriage, the Greek is still gender neutral for the rest of the text.

ETA: Marg Mowczko answers my question here. She explains that “husband of one wife” is an idiom that was culturally, or socially, applied to both men and women.

Hi Sarah, Looking up English definitions of Greek words in a dictionary is a small part of reading and understanding Greek. It’s vital we understand the grammar to see how the words string together.

The adjective μιᾶς and the noun γυναικός are both feminine, singular and in the genitive case, and with the accusative noun ἄνδρα, the phrase is accurately translated as “husband of one wife.” Also, while εἰμί can mean “I exist” or “I am,” this is usually not how we would translate the infinitive εἶναι.

 

We also need to have “some sense of the social matrices” behind the language. We have some idea of what the phrase “husband of one wife” meant because of how it was used and understood in the Roman world.

 

 

 

The Greek

V1

Faithful, reliable, trustworthy, believing

The

A word, statement, speech

Forasmuch as, if, that

A certain one, someone, anyone

A visiting, an overseeing

To stretch out, to reach after, to yearn for 

Beautiful, good

Work, task

Desire, lust after

 

V2

It is necessary

Therefore, then, so

The

A superintendent, overseer

Without reproach, never caught doing wrong

I exist, I am

One

A woman

A man

Sober, temperate, vigilante

Of sound mind, self-controlled 

Orderly, well ordered

Loving strangers, hospitable

Apt at teaching

 

V3

Not, that… not, lest

Given to wine, drunken

Not, that…not, lest

A striker, brawler, contentious person

Otherwise, on the other hand, but

Seemly, equitable, yielding (gentle, mild, fair, reasonable)

Abstaining from fighting (peaceable)

Without love of money

 

V4

The

One’s own, distinct 

A house, a dwelling

Well (rightly, honorably)

I rule (maintain, give attention to, practice diligently)

A child

To have, hold (possess)

In, on, at, by, with

Subjection, obedience, submission

With, among, after

All, every, the whole

Seriousness

 

V5

Forasmuch as, if, that

But, and, now

A certain one, someone, anyone

The

One’s Own, distinct 

A dwelling place, house

I rule

Ouch, not, no

Be aware, behold, consider, perceive

How? (By what manner, by what means)

An assembly, a (religious) congregation 

God

To take care of

 

V6

Not, that…not, lest

Newly planted

In order that, that, so that

Not, that…not, lest

To be conceited, foolish

To, or into (indicating the point reached or entered, of place, time, purpose, result)

A judgement 

To fall into

The

Slanderous, accusing falsely

 

V7

It is necessary

But, and, now

And, even, also

Testimony

Beautiful, good

To have, hold

From, away from

The

From without

In order that, that, so that

Not, that…not, lest

To or into

A reproach

To fall into

And, even, also

A trap, snare

The

Slanderous, accusing falsely 

 

Terran Williams, the author of How God Sees Women, gives a more in-depth study of the Greek translation of 1Timothy 3:1-7.  Andrew Bartlett and Terran Williams respond to Mike Winger. Williams says:

“It seems that Paul is actively avoiding male pronouns or possessives, because he is thinking of both male and female candidates for eldership.8

Some modern translations accurately take into account the above features of the Greek text. The result is that there is no indication in those translations that an overseer/elder (or ‘supervisor’ or ‘church official’) must be male. Here is the CEB:

… if anyone has a goal to be a supervisor in the church, they want a good thing. 2 So the church’s supervisor must be without fault. They should be faithful to their spouse, sober, modest, and honest. They should show hospitality and be skilled at teaching. 3 They shouldn’t be addicted to alcohol or be a bully. Instead, they should be gentle, peaceable, and not greedy. 4 They should manage their own household well—they should see that their children are obedient with complete respect, 5 because if they don’t know how to manage their own household, how can they take care of God’s church? 6 They shouldn’t be new believers so that they won’t become proud and fall under the devil’s spell. 7 They should also have a good reputation with those outside the church so that they won’t be embarrassed and fall into the devil’s trap.’”

 

Something has been lost in Bible translation, from the Greek to the English. The gender neutral Greek language was translated into English with male only pronouns, which effectively centers male voices and authority as more valuable than female voices and authority. 1Timothy 2:12, in the Greek, could be understood as putting boundaries around human authority so that no one is domineering over others within the body of Christ. In the English, it has been assumed to mean that women are forbidden from having a general, goodwill authority. Perhaps this has blinded our eyes to women in the scripture who do have a God given healthy authority to oversee and teach the whole church. It is interesting to see the Greek, how it has been translated in the English, and understand the mutual freedom that both men and women have in Christ.

 

Related:

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

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