The New Roman Woman

Click to here to view the sermon from Sunday.

First, a note about plural nouns and singular nouns. While a few translations miss this, most reputable translations of the Bible capture the change from plural to singular in verse 11. In 2:8, Paul refers to “the men.” In 2:9, Paul refers to “the women.” When we get to our key texts, verses 11-12, Paul changes from plural to singular. It is no longer “women,” but “woman.”

Translators and scholars are divided over whether verse 11 should be translated as “Let a woman learn…” or as “Let the woman…” If it is the former, then Paul’s message to Timothy is still about women in general. If it is the latter, then it is possible that Paul’s message to Timothy is about a specific woman in the Ephesian church. Scholars who follow this approach to the text suggest that Paul is talking to Timothy about a specific married couple in the Ephesian church. These scholars note that Paul continues with the singular toward the end of the text when he writes, “Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they (the couple?) continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.”

If this is true, then what we are dealing with in verses 11-12 is a relationship issue in the Ephesian church, not a church-wide doctrinal issue. This particular couple was bearing witness to the truth of the Genesis 3 curse. Maybe the wife in particular was trying to domineer her husband? I’m not quite sure where I land on this approach to 1 Timothy 2:11-12. As of now, I stand by the approach I shared in my sermon on Sunday. But I believe this is worth exploring, which is why I share it with you. In our pursuit of truth, we should never be afraid to explore.

Adam, Eve, and Childbearing

Peter warned his readers, “Some things Paul writes are difficult to understand” (2 Peter 3:16). There is probably no better example of this than what Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:9-15. More specifically, verses 13-15:

“For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.”

Scholars, theologians, and preachers throughout the history of Christianity have spent countless hours wrestling with what Paul is saying in these verses and why he is saying it. I am not going to pretend that I have the answer to this hermeneutical dilemma. I do however have some thoughts on the matter.

To help us better understand what Paul is saying and why he is saying it, we need to know something about the “new Roman woman” culture. The “new Roman woman” is the term given to an aggressive feminist revolution that was taking place in Paul’s day. Highly respected New Testament scholar, Scot McKnight, writes in his book The Blue Parakeet, “When Paul wrote his letters to the Christians in Corinth and to Timothy in Ephesus, a gender and sexual revolution was observable in many of the major cities of the Roman Empire. What many today are calling the ‘new Roman woman’ describes an aggressive, confrontational public presence on the part of women during the very time Paul was writing these letters.”

McKnight goes on to say that there were three prominent features of the “new Roman woman” that help give us some context to our passage:

• The “new Roman woman” was expressing her newfound freedoms in immodest, sexually provocative, and extravagant dress.
• The “new Roman woman” was noted for snatching the podium for public addresses and teaching.
• The “new Roman woman” in Ephesus was connected to the Artemis cult.

The Artemis cult was a worship cult that promoted freedom of women in public religion. They also despised traditional marriage, childbearing, and childrearing. There is also evidence to suggest that they taught that Eve was actually created first, not Adam.

So far, it sounds like a lot of what Paul says in 2:9-15 directly relates to this “new Roman woman” culture that Timothy and the other Ephesian Christians found themselves in. It is reasonable to believe that many of their new converts came out of that culture.

Listen to Paul again. He says that “women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing, not with their hair braided, or with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God.” What does McKnight say about the “new Roman woman?” They express their newfound freedoms in the way they dress.

Paul also says that these women should not “usurp authority” (KJV) or “assume authority” (NIV). As I suggest in my sermon, Paul did not say that women should not have authority over men. He says they should not usurp or assume authority. Again, this sounds like McKnight’s description of the “new Roman woman” who was noted for “snatching the podium” during public addresses.

Paul will go on to write, “she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.” This one sentence raises a whole host of questions. Who is the “she” in this text? Is this Eve? Is this a very specific woman in Ephesus that Timothy would have known? Is this all women in general?

What does Paul mean when he says that she will be “saved through childbearing?” Surely, he isn’t saying that women will find their salvation in childbearing, right? What about women who never have children? Could Paul be saying that women will be kept safe during childbearing? What about all the women who have died giving birth to children?

If this really is about all women and childbearing in general, it is interesting to note Paul’s command to the young widows who are going around being busybodies and gossips. He tells them in 1 Timothy 5:14, “I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households…”

Some have suggested that the Greek indicates that this is not about childbearing in general, but about a very specific childbearing. In other word, “She will be saved through THE childbearing.” Those who interpret the Greek this way suggest that this is about Jesus. That salvation came to this world through the very thing the “new Roman woman” despises – childbearing. Mary gave birth to the salvation of the world, so childbearing can’t be the evil that the “new Roman woman” makes it out to be.

I do not know for sure what Paul means here. I am more confident in what I believe he cannot mean. I do not believe he means that women will find their salvation in childbearing, because Paul would never suggest salvation comes through anything or anyone other than Jesus. I also do not believe that he is suggesting that women, if they remain faithful, will be kept safe during childbearing. Too many faithful women have died giving birth to their child, and I’m confident Paul knew this to be true as well. Ultimately, I believe Paul is just trying to refute the “new Roman woman” claim that childbearing is an evil they should be freed of. Salvation entered this world through the birth of a child.

I have also come to believe that Paul is refuting the “new Roman woman” claims when he writes, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” It seems most likely to me that Paul is correcting a false teaching. Also (and this is highly important!) I do not believe that Paul is using this statement as the basis for why he thinks women should be silent, but rather he is using this statement as the basis for why women should be allowed to learn. The NRSV says, “Let a woman learn…” In other words, allow these women to learn.

If it is true that these women have been taught that Eve came before Adam, and that Adam was the one deceived, then it is also likely that is what they have been going from house to house teaching. Obviously, if that is what they are saying then they should not be allowed to teach. No one, man or woman, should be allowed to teach if that is what they are going around teaching. These women need to be allowed to learn the truths of God’s story before they can be allowed to teach.

In other words, they do not need to be silent because Adam came before Eve. They need to be allowed to learn because what they are teaching is wrong. They are “gadding about from house to house… saying what they should not say” (1 Tim. 5:13). So, these women in Ephesus need to be allowed to learn. And these learning women have a responsibility. They should do so submissively and in a calm, peaceful manner.

Shouldn’t all learners learn this way?

To take this a little deeper, and to further emphasize just how difficult this text is, there are major interpretive issues surrounding verse 12 in our passage. The NIV says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man.” I am no Greek expert. Let me repeat, I am no Greek expert. Dan Knight might be? I have to rely on others, and scholars are not exactly sure how the Greek should read in this sentence. It all has to do with verb tense, which is extremely important in Greek. There are many Greek scholars who suggest that the verb tense in this sentence is “progressive present,” which means that the sentence is saying, “I am not currently (or at this moment) permitting…”

If that is true, then this would be a temporary prohibition specific to women (or a particular woman) in Timothy’s church at Ephesus. At the moment, they (or she?) are not allowed to teach. Why? Because of what we have already discussed. They need to take the time to learn before they can begin to teach because they have been saying the wrong things.

Have I thoroughly confused you? If so, you have a friend in me!

I really just want to emphasize how difficult this text is. It is not as simple as saying, “Paul says women should silent, and here is why.” I love what Scot McKnight concludes after his own lengthy research. He writes:

“We cannot be sure why Paul says what he says here. However one interprets these verses – and let’s be honest enough to say they are difficult – if we make them an inflexible rule that women should always be silent, we have a flat-out contradiction to the Story of the Bible, to the practices of Priscilla and Junia and Phoebe, and to Paul himself."