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NASB | 1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 3:2 Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
Subject: standards for a preacher/biship |
Bible Note: Dear Victrix, With some exception, does 1 Tim. 3:2 really say "That is he cannot have more than one wife"? The text reads, "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach"(NASB). The verb here "must be" (I am) is in the present tense- the same as in Titus 1:6. Based on my study and understanding of these passages, I would submit that Paul is not prohibiting these from being married more than once. They are to be (presently) the husband of one wife. The passage is not a prescription against having been divorced! Divorce is not the unpardonable sin. Here is what two former NT Greek scholars have to say of this passage. May this add to our understanding- A.T. Robertson: "Of one wife ([mias gunaikos]). One at a time, clearly." [A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament] Dr. Kenneth Wuest: "Now, to consider the meaning of the words, “the husband of one wife.” The Greek is mias(one) gunaikos (woman) andra (man). The word “man” is not anthropos, the generic term for man, but aner, the term used of a male individual of the human race. The other two words are in the genitive case, while aner is in the accusative. The literal translation is, “a man of one woman.” The words, when used of the marriage relation come to mean, “a husband of one wife.” The two nouns are without the definite article, which construction emphasizes character or nature. The entire context is one in which the character of the bishop is being discussed. Thus, one can translate, “a one-wife sort of a husband,” or “a one-woman sort of a man.” We speak of the Airedale as a one-man dog. We mean by that, that it is his nature to become attached to only one man, his master. Since character is emphasized by the Greek construction, the bishop should be a man who loves only one woman as his wife. It should be his nature to thus isolate and centralize his love. Does this mean that if the bishop is married, he is only to have one wife, not two, or does it mean that if his wife dies, he is not to marry again? As to the answer, we will let Expositors, Alford, and Vincent speak. The two first named believe that the words forbid a second marriage, and the last thinks that that is the probable meaning. As to the meaning that a bishop may have only one wife at a time, not two or more, Alford has this to say; “But the objection to taking this meaning is, that the Apostle would hardly have specified that as a requisite for the episcopate or presbyterate, which we know to have been fulfilled by all the Christians whatever: no instance being adduced of polygamy being practiced in the Christian church, and no exhortations to abstain from it.” [Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament] Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |