Conclusion
(Please MAKE comments on this post)
When 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is reviewed with close scrutiny of the Greek text and a mind on the overall context of the first 2 chapters of the letter, a stunning realization occurs. Not only is this passage of Scripture poorly translated, but the interpretation and application of those poor translations are completely erroneous. Entire philosophies about marriage and church leadership and conduct have been developed around this foundational error. It may be that only men should lead churches, that women should be silent, and that a woman’s place is in the home bringing up children, but Paul’s letter to Timothy does not teach it. What this passage does teach is that false teaching and domineering behaviors in the home require special handling, but even in that most private of settings, a remedy and restoration can be found in Christ.
To conclude, here are our two versions of 1 Timothy 2:11-15. First, our template from the Contemporary English Version:
and they [women] should learn by being quiet and paying attention. They should be silent and not be allowed to teach or to tell men what to do. After all, Adam was created before Eve, and the man Adam wasn't the one who was fooled. It was the woman Eve who was completely fooled and sinned. But women will be saved by having children, if they stay faithful, loving, holy, and modest.Now, our multi-version rendering (with the addition of martial nouns):
A wife should learn in peace, being ready to cooperate in everything. But I do not allow the wife to teach [false doctrine] or to be domineering over the husband, rather, she is to remain at peace. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, has come to be in transgression. But she will be saved through the birth of the child, if she and her husband continue to live in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.What a difference! One more time, here it is broken down by verse noting the translation used at each step. When it says “common” that means that there are no difficulties with translation of that particular section. In those cases, I use the NASB.
Verse 11
A wife should learn (Aramaic Bible English Translation)
in peace, (The Complete Jewish Bible)
being ready to cooperate in everything. (New Century Version)
Verse 12
But I do not allow (common)
the wife (The Word of Yah)
to teach (common)
[false doctrine] (my extra-biblical addition)
or to be domineering over (Concordant Literal New Testament)
the husband, (The Word of Yah)
rather, she is to remain at peace. (The Complete Jewish Bible)
Verse 13
For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. (common)
Verse 14
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, has come to be in transgression. (Analytical-Literal Translation)
Verse 15
But she will be saved (many, although not the NASB)
through the birth of the child, (God’s Word Translation)
if she and her husband continue to live (Weymouth New Testament)
in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. (common)
This concludes the show stoppers series. This last entry is an important show stopper not because of interpretations that use it to dictate church policy, but because of interpretations that use it to define a particular feminine nature (easily deceived, deceitful) or confine women to a particular “role” (domestic nurturer). Until men get over the idea that women are stupid and they should therefore remain “barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen” or “seen but not heard”, there is no use having any further discussion on the marriage relationship. My hope with these posts is that minds will be changed through careful consideration of what Scripture says regarding men, women, and marriage and that the equal status of women not only in the Spiritual realm but in the domestic realm will be embraced by everyone. Only then can we explore further the more difficult passages such as Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3, and 1 Corinthians 11.
Show Stoppers - 1 Tim 2 Series:
Introduction
Verse 11
Verse 12
Verse 13-14
Verse 15
Conclusion
Posts
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ReplyDeleteGengwell,
ReplyDeleteI liked your attempt to resolve the seemingly never ending debate on gender roles. But honestly i am intrigued. Let me ask a few questions from you.
In your translation i see you insert (false doctrine) as the type of 'teaching' spoken of. So my question is: why is this passage so seemingly obscure about such an important issue such as false teaching? Has not Paul been very clear beforehand on false teachers and in fact named them, yet you wish to make us believe that an un-named female false teacher in an obscure passage is the meaning?
Also you have said that the context of both chapters 1 and 2 are about false teaching. Can you point me to 1 or more verses within chapter 2 which is dealing with this issue? And therefore why have you ignored the immediate context of the passage which is not dealing with false teachers. Is it not better therefore to begin the exegesis at the appropriate break in the text, namely verse 8 so as to not distort the context, which i believe you have done.
Also gengwell,
ReplyDeleteyour interpretation of verse 14 seems to suggest to me that 'the woman' was not in trangression until she began to be deceived. Is this what you really hold to. Can you believe that this woman was not a sinner until after her deception since this is what the verse was saying. The problem is, this truth cannot be applied to any other woman apart from Eve therefore she must be the one in view here.
Of course the fact that Eve was sinless until after her deception is true. Yet to believe that this un-named woman was sinless until after her deception is contrary to scripture.
Can you reconcile this issue for me?
Thanks.
Mark - "In your translation i see you insert (false doctrine) as the type of 'teaching' spoken of. So my question is: why is this passage so seemingly obscure about such an important issue such as false teaching? Has not Paul been very clear beforehand on false teachers and in fact named them, yet you wish to make us believe that an un-named female false teacher in an obscure passage is the meaning?"
ReplyDeleteI would respond that there is nothing obscure here. The theme all along has been false teaching. I would ask back - what in the text makes you think Paul has changed topics to now be speaking of the teaching of sound doctrine? More specifically, why would Paul be referencing the deception and salvation of a woman who was engaged in nothing but the public teaching of proper biblical tenets? Considering the Ephesian cultural setting, the prior discussion by Paul leading up to this passage, and the highlighted issues and remedy within this passage, it seems quite obvious to me that the teaching in question is somehow quite "bad".
Mark - "Also you have said that the context of both chapters 1 and 2 are about false teaching. Can you point me to 1 or more verses within chapter 2 which is dealing with this issue? And therefore why have you ignored the immediate context of the passage which is not dealing with false teachers. Is it not better therefore to begin the exegesis at the appropriate break in the text, namely verse 8 so as to not distort the context, which i believe you have done."
This deserves a post of its own, but I will try to provide a brief explanation and maybe we can flesh it out further as we go. Chapter 2 begins with "I exhort therefore, that..." (KJV). Paul's coming exhortations are the proper actions for the congregation to deal with the false teaching in their midst, which he has been discussing throughout chapter 1. False teaching has not left our view. This introductory phrase could be paraphrased "I exhort, in light of the false teaching I have been discussing, that...". Paul outlines what he wants Timothy to enact or make sure continues: Supplications, prayers, intersessions, and thanksgiving. In verse 8, (another "therefore" verse indicating continuation of thought), Paul then gives instructions to Timothy on issues within his particular congregation that are inhibiting those supplications, etc. which are necessary to deal with the false teaching. Verse 8-10 is not a break from Paul's topic of false teaching nor from his congregational level of instruction, it is a particular instruction for the Ephesians to help them get over their internal obstacles to remedying false teaching. The only break, as it were, occurs in verse 11 where the grammatical number changes abruptly.
Many interpreters (and translators) see verse 11 as a continuation of verses 8-10, which they in turn see as some kind of general congregational rule setting. I don't believe the text supports that at all. Verse 11 is a distinct break, but not away from the topic of false teaching. It simply breaks from a broad discussion with general congregational instruction to a specific case requiring special handling.
"your interpretation of verse 14 seems to suggest to me that 'the woman' was not in trangression until she began to be deceived. Is this what you really hold to. Can you believe that this woman was not a sinner until after her deception since this is what the verse was saying. The problem is, this truth cannot be applied to any other woman apart from Eve therefore she must be the one in view here."
ReplyDeleteThe passage is talking about a specific transgression - false teaching - not a general sinless or sinful state. There is no question that this Ephesian woman was a sinner same as all of us. Paul even speaks in chapter one verse 13 about his trangressions which were brought about because of his being deceived (or ignorant). Do we assume Paul was not a sinner before he was deceived against Christ? Of course not. But his blasphemes against Christ and persecutions of Christians were brought about by his ignorance, just as Eve's initial sin was and just as this Ephesian woman's was. So, I do not contend that the woman was not a sinner before her deception, just that she was not a false teacher.
Contrast that with Adam who was not deceived. Adam shoulders the complete blame for sin entering the world. Hymenaeus and Alexander are like Adam - they sinned with full knowledge of their crime. That is why Paul turns them over to the enemy. But Eve and Paul received mercy because they were deceived, and Paul is telling Timothy that this woman is entitled to the same.
All of this is a Red Herring, of course, because the grammer specifically exempts Eve from consideration as the specific woman in view, whose transgression is ongoing and whose salvation is in the future. Our job is not to ignore the grammer to try and place Eve as protaganist in the narrative, but to explore why Paul begins with Adam and Eve to highlight this contemporary woman's situation and the remedy for it.