Subject: Paul speaking of women in Corinth |
Bible Note: I think this presents a sound reasoning to the 1 Corinthians 14 passage. 14:35. Informed listeners customarily asked questions during lectures, but it was considered rude for the ignorant to do so. Although by modern standards literacy was generally low in antiquity (less so in the cities), women were far less trained in the Scriptures and public reasoning than men were. Paul does not expect these uneducated women to refrain from learning (indeed, that most of their culture had kept them from learning was the problem). Instead he provides the most progressive model of his day: their husbands are to respect their intellectual capabilities and give them private instruction. He wants them to stop interrupting the teaching period of the church service, however, because until they know more, they are distracting everyone and disrupting church order.—Bible Background Commentary I heard others explain this to mean women should stay in submission to their husband and refrain from asking potentially embarrassing questions. Remember the husband was considered the head and teacher of his family. It would reflect badly on him if his wife (out ignorance or spite) asked a question on something the husband should have taught her on. I kind of like this last answer the most since clearly Paul made this a matter of wifely submission to her husband by the way he wrote it. I think there are other verses that clearly define what a pastor should be and this verse actually lends nothing to the discussion. EdB |