Let a Woman Learn (1 Timothy

We start our verse-by-verse walk through 1 Timothy 2:11-15 with "let a woman learn quietly and in all submissiveness" (v. 11, ESV).

[@explore.365]

Real good teacher, thanks Dr

[@tshilidzimanavhela8752]

this is awesome .. learning a lot through these videos - looking forward to the next one! blessings :)

[@KevinSmith126]

Thanks for the encouraging note, Tshilidzi. Nice to know that they are helping a little.

[@jilliangorven3234]

Thanks for this excellent teaching. Just a couple of questions which I understand if you prefer not to discuss, in which case I offer them as food for thought: *When talking about 'gyne' as 'wife' you gave the context for that as community. I am wondering why? Wouldn't the understanding of 'gyne' being 'wife' come from seeing the context as marriage and 'woman' more from seeing the context as the church community? *If the interpretation of 'gyne' is 'wife', it would seem to imply that married women were less free to learn than single women. Do you know about the historical evidence here? *With your mention of the Swazi and Muslim cultures as contemporary examples of patriarchy, I wondered about whether the early church members were more concerned with distinguishing themselves from the Roman culture or from the Jewish culture. Probably both I would imagine. But I can't help but think that most of the NT teachings are concerned with distinguishing between OT laws and norms that were transient and those that needed to endure in the now present kingdom of God. Do you have any thoughts on this?

[@KevinSmith126]

1. I don't script the videos, so my word-usage is impromptu. Please don't critique it as you would a written argument. The key point is "not in a church service," i.e. within the daily life of a faith community, but not specifically in a church gathering. If the presumed sphere is broader than a church service, it is unlikely that "a woman" (generic) subordinate to "a man" (generic). 2. I don't follow the logic of the question. 3. The point of the Muslim and Swazi analogies was not to argue that they are typical of patriarchy, but to illustrate that in such contexts Christians may have no room to challenge prevailing systems with which they may (in these cases would) disagree. With respect to Roman culture, I imagine the early church walked a difficult tightrope. On the one hand, it wanted to live by values defined by Christ, which often conflicted with the cultural norms. On the other hand, it needed to protect itself and its witness against the prevailing distrust and scepticism the culture had about it as a strange and deviant sect. This might be somewhat analogous to being Christian in a place like Egypt, which officially tolerates Christianity, but in reality, Christians are marginalised and viewed with distrust and disdain-any small "infraction" might be a pretext for persecution.

[@jilliangorven3234]

@@KevinSmith126 Thanks so much Kevin and apologies if the questions seemed picky. They were not intended that way. The 2nd q is if Paul was saying, let a wife learn, did this exclude single woman at all?

[@KevinSmith126]

@@jilliangorven3234 When Paul said, "An overseer must be the husband of one wife," was he saying that only married men could be elders? Or was he simply speaking to the default reality that candidates would typically be married? Since most women married around 15, single was much less common than it is today. (Similarly, for the eldership one, does he mean only married fathers qualify? If the fathers part is the presumed default for the sake of illustration, might the man part be too?)

[@jilliangorven3234]

@@KevinSmith126 I take your point, but do wonder why then the shift from women to wife in this verse. So appreciate your input especially the clear unpacking in the videos which is so helpful in thinking through this very difficult passage.

[@KevinSmith126]

@@jilliangorven3234 Thanks for probing and affirming. The "wife" interpretation is not without difficulties, but then no aspect of this passage and no interpretation is.