Missing the radical teaching. 1 Timothy 2.

Entire books have been written about this chapter of 1 Timothy. I'm just going to note a few items that I find interesting and try to surface some of the radical teaching of Paul that can be overlooked in any heated discussion of the "proper role" of women in the church.

First things first. Paul has told Timothy that he wants him to remain in Ephesus, addressing the false teachings of others. And Paul says in verse 1, "First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people..." He goes on to point out that these prayers are for the benefit of all, asking for peace in which to share the gospel, and that acceptance of the gospel is God's desire for everyone. Not prayers for some, but for all, even for those in authority, and not like the prayer for Czar in Fiddler on the Roof: "God bless the Czar and keep him far, far away."

And so, Timothy, the men should pray with holy hands, not with anger and dispute. The implication in this admonition is that there was contention, unholy hands if you will, perhaps in the subject of the prayers, perhaps in the object of the prayers, perhaps in the attitude with which the prayers were made.

And, likewise, Timothy, the women should clothe themselves modestly, in good deeds. The implication, once again, is that they were not have been doing so. Remember that men and women are worshiping together, most likely in small house churches. That's radical. And Paul doesn't want that to end, but to be done properly.

Next, Paul says the women are to learn (v.11). Oh hook, you left out the most important bit -- they are to learn in quiet submission, and not teach men! No, I mentioned the learning. Paul is telling Timothy that all are to grow in their knowledge and understanding of Christ, and in the service of the goal of all people being "saved" through their knowledge of the truth of Christ as the intermediary who gave Himself as a ransom for all. Men and women. That's completely radical for the time and for the all the cultures involved - Jewish, Greek, and Roman.

Now the interesting part in what follows is that Paul is telling Timothy something different from what Timothy had already experienced with Paul. Paul's admonition about women learning was simply reinforcement of a practice he had already witnessed. But Paul was associated with women who were leaders and teachers in the church -- Phoebe and Priscilla to name two.

At this point (v.12-15) we need to step back a bit for a couple of reasons. The first is that Paul seems to be contradicting what his practice has been in the past when it comes to the practice of women teaching men. In this same church at Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila had taught/corrected Apollos, described as an eloquent and bold speaker (Acts 18:23-26). The second reason is that the final verse (2:15) is a real puzzler. "But she will be delivered through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self-control." (Delivered could also be translated as preserved or saved.) The footnotes in the NET Bible identify several possible interpretations. The first three are the traditional approaches to the verse, and those footnotes also present the objections to the interpretations. Here they are:

1. "Christian women will be saved, but only if they bear children."
2. "Despite the curse, Christian women will be kept safe when bearing children."
3. "Despite the sin of Eve and the results to her progeny, she would be saved through the childbirth – that is, through the birth of the Messiah..."

The additional interpretations in the footnotes don't hang together for me, either.

And so, as I said, we need to step back. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, Paul asked Timothy to remain in Ephesus to correct false teachings and teachers. We've also discussed in class and on the blog, that the key to interpreting the epistles, is to try and determine the conditions under which the letters were written -- often the problems and questions being addressed in the letter. Paul's already told us/Timothy about the false teachings. Paul has also emphasized, in verse 7, that this message is probably for the Gentile Christians.

If the entire set of verses (2:8-15) are written as a corrective to false teachings and practices, then we have a clue as to their meaning contained within the hints in the text about those practices. We can note at least three practical problems that Paul is addressing. One was already discussed above -- the contention in the prayers of the men. The second is that some of the women were dressing immodestly. The third is that the women were too noisy during instruction. Let's add some possible false teachings that would be hinted at in these verses:

1. The elevation of the woman or the goddess. (Acts 19:23-41 contains the account of the dispute in Ephesus, and the importance of Artemis.
2. A distorted gospel, a consequence of incorrectly stating the creation order. (This would explain the emphasis Paul places on Adam in verses 13-14. In other places, 1 Cor. 15:22, for example, Paul connects Adam and Christ as part of his message of good news.)
3. A distorted view of childbirth. (Paul assures Timothy that any message intended to prevent women from having children is wrong, whether it's the danger of childbirth, or a false warning that women can't be godly if mothers.)

As I stated at the outset, this chapter has caused a lot of heartburn in the last 100 years or so, and one of the issues raised is the actual meaning of the Greek word, authentein, which is used only here in the New Testament. In the NET Bible this word is translated as "exercise authority." In other documents of the time it has a meaning like "independent authority" or "domineer." The more usual word translated as authority is exousia. Why did Paul use this word instead?

Well, that's enough for now. I'll provide a more traditional view of the specific verses about women in another post. Or... in dialog in the comments.