Have you ever been told, "women should keep silent in the church," or that women can't teach men or be leaders? Much of that belief paradigm comes from this passage:
"Let your women be silent in the assemblies for they aren't allowed to speak; but let them subject themselves, as the law says. And if they wish to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in an assembly." -1 Corinthians 14:34-35
On a cursory reading, this seems black and white doesn't it? Women can't speak in a congregation or church setting. But there is a major problem with this passage...can you spot it?
First let's take a look at some of the minor problems:
-This passage is talking about speaking and not teaching. There's no side note here that it's okay for women to teach other women or children, despite what the church often teaches.
-Does anyone really believe that women can't speak at all like this passage seems to say? Can they greet others? Correct a child? Tell the men the building is on fire?
-Not all women are married. So who are the single ladies supposed to direct their questions to?
-Husbands don't have all the answers to spiritual questions, even if they are believers.
-Sometimes it's improper for men to speak in an assembly too, depending on the circumstances and what's being said.
These are pretty significant flaws but have you spotted the biggest problem of all?
As the law says. As the word says. As it is written.
Can you find a verse in the Torah that says women aren't allowed to speak in an assembly? Nope, because the Bible doesn't say anything like this! There is nothing in the Old Testament that is consistent with the rest of the above passage. There are no laws from Scripture about women needing to be silent. And we know, from Scripture, that women weren't forbidden to speak or could only seek spiritual counsel from their husband. Women throughout Scripture were outspoken, and leaders. They are seen in the Temple and worshiping YHWH. They served as prophets, gave counsel, lead armies to war. They were queens, mothers of nations, song writers, worship leaders, intercessors. All of these things require speaking.
What does this mean? Is there error in Scripture? Was one of the premier Bible teachers wrong? Paul, the author of Corinthians, was deeply familiar with the Torah. How could he have made an error like this?
Either...
1. This section was added by someone other than Paul, the author. This would be sin as Scripture says that it is wrong to add to or take away from Scripture, so we shouldn't be holding this up as sound doctrine.
or...
2. Paul is quoting someone else's opinion, not making a declaration.
Paul often used what is called a 'straw man' approach in his writings, basically meaning he would contrast different ideas. A good example of this would be in Romans 7. When we don't catch that he is doing this (either contrasting different beliefs, or quoting someone else's belief), his writings get confusing and, as Peter said, hard to understand.
Either way Paul was not advocating for women to be silent!
It's important to realize that Paul was incredibly familiar with Scripture and would not have incorrectly quoted it. Many scholars believe that he would have memorized the entire Old Testament. He was fully aware that Scripture does not forbid women from speaking in a congregational setting or from roles of ministry. We see that Paul himself didn't feel that way, and frequently mentioned women he worked with in ministry.
We also need to pay attention to the context of these two sentences. At this point in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul has spent more than the last two chapters talking about Spiritual gifts - specifically speaking in tongues. Just a few verses prior he even specified that both genders should speak in tongues, so does it make any sense to go back on that directive a couple of sentences later?
The very next verse cues us in even more.
"Or did the Word of YHWH start with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?" -1 Corinthians 14:36
Paul is calling them out for incorrectly claiming that Scripture says women can't speak in an assembly. It sounds like Paul says, "Nice try. We all know the Bible. And that's not what it says." Or, "Seriously? Do you think you guys are the only ones with a copy of Scripture? Because we all know that's not in it."
And then Paul encourages everyone to desire to prophesy and expressly says not to forbid speaking in tongues. As we can see, he is not forbidding women to speak or teach. He is quoting someone else's false teaching and correcting it by encouraging both genders to practice their spiritual gifts!
"Let your women be silent in the assemblies for they aren't allowed to speak; but let them subject themselves, as the law says. And if they wish to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in an assembly." -1 Corinthians 14:34-35
On a cursory reading, this seems black and white doesn't it? Women can't speak in a congregation or church setting. But there is a major problem with this passage...can you spot it?
First let's take a look at some of the minor problems:
-This passage is talking about speaking and not teaching. There's no side note here that it's okay for women to teach other women or children, despite what the church often teaches.
-Does anyone really believe that women can't speak at all like this passage seems to say? Can they greet others? Correct a child? Tell the men the building is on fire?
-Not all women are married. So who are the single ladies supposed to direct their questions to?
-Husbands don't have all the answers to spiritual questions, even if they are believers.
-Sometimes it's improper for men to speak in an assembly too, depending on the circumstances and what's being said.
These are pretty significant flaws but have you spotted the biggest problem of all?
As the law says. As the word says. As it is written.
Can you find a verse in the Torah that says women aren't allowed to speak in an assembly? Nope, because the Bible doesn't say anything like this! There is nothing in the Old Testament that is consistent with the rest of the above passage. There are no laws from Scripture about women needing to be silent. And we know, from Scripture, that women weren't forbidden to speak or could only seek spiritual counsel from their husband. Women throughout Scripture were outspoken, and leaders. They are seen in the Temple and worshiping YHWH. They served as prophets, gave counsel, lead armies to war. They were queens, mothers of nations, song writers, worship leaders, intercessors. All of these things require speaking.
What does this mean? Is there error in Scripture? Was one of the premier Bible teachers wrong? Paul, the author of Corinthians, was deeply familiar with the Torah. How could he have made an error like this?
Either...
1. This section was added by someone other than Paul, the author. This would be sin as Scripture says that it is wrong to add to or take away from Scripture, so we shouldn't be holding this up as sound doctrine.
or...
2. Paul is quoting someone else's opinion, not making a declaration.
Paul often used what is called a 'straw man' approach in his writings, basically meaning he would contrast different ideas. A good example of this would be in Romans 7. When we don't catch that he is doing this (either contrasting different beliefs, or quoting someone else's belief), his writings get confusing and, as Peter said, hard to understand.
Either way Paul was not advocating for women to be silent!
We also need to pay attention to the context of these two sentences. At this point in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul has spent more than the last two chapters talking about Spiritual gifts - specifically speaking in tongues. Just a few verses prior he even specified that both genders should speak in tongues, so does it make any sense to go back on that directive a couple of sentences later?
The very next verse cues us in even more.
"Or did the Word of YHWH start with you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?" -1 Corinthians 14:36
Paul is calling them out for incorrectly claiming that Scripture says women can't speak in an assembly. It sounds like Paul says, "Nice try. We all know the Bible. And that's not what it says." Or, "Seriously? Do you think you guys are the only ones with a copy of Scripture? Because we all know that's not in it."
And then Paul encourages everyone to desire to prophesy and expressly says not to forbid speaking in tongues. As we can see, he is not forbidding women to speak or teach. He is quoting someone else's false teaching and correcting it by encouraging both genders to practice their spiritual gifts!
Great Article!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a good explanation, but what about 1 Timothy 2:11-12?
ReplyDeleteIn that passage Paul is not forbidding ALL women from teaching, he is forbidding a specific woman from doing so, likely because she had been teaching incorrect things about Adam and Eve. This makes sense with the next couple of verses when he says, that Adam was formed first and that Eve was the one deceived. Paul's not saying that women shouldn't be able to teach because they were formed last, he's saying that this specific woman should stop, sit and learn because she has some ideas that don't fit with Scripture.
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