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NASB | 1 Corinthians 14:34 ¶ The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 14:34 ¶ the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not authorized to speak, but are to take a subordinate place, as the Law says. |
Subject: Women speak in church? |
Bible Note: Dear souljouners, I think we're mis-communicating here. I'm attempting to keep our discussion within the bounds of scripture! At issue is not what you or I think, but what the inspired, authoritative Word of God says! How then, would you interpret 1 Tim. 2:12-13?: "But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve." You seem to imply that this was merely a "suggestion" of Paul and in no way instructive!? Is what Paul says- through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit- not authoritative? Was he simply offering his opinion? What Paul is writing in 1 Tim. 2 has a direct bearing upon his continuation in Chap. 3 dealing with qualifications of Bishops and Elders. It is also referred to as context! Here are some comments from the late Dr. Kenneth Wuest- a noted NT Greek Scholar: "(2:11, 12) Paul is still dealing with the conduct of women in the assemblies. This admonition to the effect that women are to learn in silence with all subjection, is made clear as to its meaing by I Corinthians 14:34, 35, where the women were disturbing the church service by asking their husbands questions, presumably about that which was being preached. The silence here and in our I Timothy passage has to do with maintaining quiet in the assembly, and does not forbid a woman to take an active part in the work of the church in her own sphere and under the limitations imposed upon her in the contextual passage (I Tim. 2:12). The correct understanding of Paul’s words, “I suffer not a woman to teach,” are dependent upon the tense of the Greek infinitive and the grammatical rule pertaining to it." "Thus, didaxai (aorist), is to teach, while didaskein (present 2:12), is to be a teacher. Paul, therefore, says, “I do not permit a woman to be a teacher.” The context here has to do with church order, and the position of the man and woman in the church worship and work. The kind of teacher Paul has in mind is spoken of in Acts 13:1, I Corinthians 12:28, 29, and Ephesians 4:11, God-called, and God-equipped teachers, recognized by the Church as those having authority in the Church in matters of doctrine and interpretation. This prohibition of a woman to be a teacher, does not include the teaching of classes of women, girls, or children in a Sunday School, for instance, but does prohibit the woman from being a pastor, or a doctrine teacher in a school. It would not be seemly, either, for a woman to teach a mixed class of adults. The expression, “usurp authority,” Vincent says, is not a correct translation of the Greek word. It is rather, “to exercise dominion over.” In the sphere of doctrinal disputes or questions of interpretation, where authoritative pronouncements are to be made, the woman is to keep silence." [Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament] A.T. Robertson, also another well-known 20th Century Greek Scholar stated: "I permit not [ouk epitrepo]. Old word [epitrepo], to permit, to allow (I Cor. 16:7). Paul speaks authoritatively." [A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament] I don't pretend to think that this will settle the matter, but trust that it will add to the discussion and be edifying as we seek better understanding. Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |