The Verse That Launched a Thousand Arguments.
1 Timothy 2:12 sounds pretty clear in English. A woman can’t teach. A woman can’t have authority over a man. Case closed.
Except it isn’t. Because when you look at the Greek beneath the English, you find two words that are far more complicated than any translation can capture. Let's dive into this mystery.
Appreciate how you’re helping readers contextualize this hapax and suggesting how a potential hendiadys interpretation complicates the possibilities. I’m wondering about vernacular variants from what could be considered a parallel passage. The Lamsa translation offers a perspective that goes along with the teacher training process you mentioned in this post: “Teach the older women likewise, to behave as becomes the worship of God, not false accusers, not enslaved to much wine, but to become teachers of good things” (Titus 2:3). And the Douay-Rheims mentions clothing, which compares with the Vulgate’s “in habitu sancto,” as part of this paragraph: “The aged women, in like manner, in holy attire, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teaching well: That they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house, gentle, obedient to their husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5). Is there perhaps any source you might recommend on this related topic?
Although they deal with the topic a bit more broadly, the two that come to mind are Philip Payne's Man and Woman, One in Christ: https://amzn.to/4tQ8on1
Thank you for breaking down the Greek and giving historical context for these passages. I agree that woman teachers is a gray issue. Each individual's situation is different and needs to be evaluated according. But it's nice to know that there was more going on behind the scenes than what we see the English.
Appreciate how you’re helping readers contextualize this hapax and suggesting how a potential hendiadys interpretation complicates the possibilities. I’m wondering about vernacular variants from what could be considered a parallel passage. The Lamsa translation offers a perspective that goes along with the teacher training process you mentioned in this post: “Teach the older women likewise, to behave as becomes the worship of God, not false accusers, not enslaved to much wine, but to become teachers of good things” (Titus 2:3). And the Douay-Rheims mentions clothing, which compares with the Vulgate’s “in habitu sancto,” as part of this paragraph: “The aged women, in like manner, in holy attire, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teaching well: That they may teach the young women to be wise, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, sober, having a care of the house, gentle, obedient to their husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3-5). Is there perhaps any source you might recommend on this related topic?
Thank you, I really appreciate that.
Although they deal with the topic a bit more broadly, the two that come to mind are Philip Payne's Man and Woman, One in Christ: https://amzn.to/4tQ8on1
and
Craig Keener's Paul, Women, and Wives: https://amzn.to/4emoCji
Thank you for breaking down the Greek and giving historical context for these passages. I agree that woman teachers is a gray issue. Each individual's situation is different and needs to be evaluated according. But it's nice to know that there was more going on behind the scenes than what we see the English.