We are finishing up 1 Corinthians 14 today with an examination of verses 33b-36. These are some of the most problematic verses in the Bible because they pose a seeming contradiction to 1 Corinthians 11:2-9. I think it is worth reprinting both passages here.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says. 35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Did the word of God begin with you, or did it come to you alone?
1 Cor. 14:33b-36
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2 I praise you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. 5 But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is one and the same thing as having a shaved head. 6 For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head. 7 For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for man.
1 Cor. 11:2-9
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So, in order to try to be comprehensive, I did some research on these passages. Along the way I encountered terms like "early marginal gloss" or "transcriptional probability" or "lectio difficilior potior", for goodness' sake! For literally centuries, Bible scholars have tried to explain (or explain away) these verses.
Other relevant verses include Acts 2:16-17 and 1 Timothy 2:11, if you want to go read those before proceeding.
Most assuredly, I am not a Bible scholar of any merit. I expect you, the reader, to search matters such as this one out for yourself and let the Holy Spirit speak to you from the Scriptures. That is what I try to do in my personal studies. Like I said in yesterday's post, we all must weigh what we read from those who have studied the Bible for years. With the complexities of God's revelation to us, I doubt that any human (excepting Jesus, who was also divine) has a 100% infallible interpretation, 100% of the time.
I'm going to start by bullet-pointing some of the misinterpretations of this passage, sometimes accompanied by the scholars who propagated it. For the sake of space, I won't extensively refute them. I am taking much of this material from a publication by Dr. D.A. Carson's series Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 20051 If you want to read the refutations, please visit that site.
- The verses are not authentic; they were later textual additions to the original manuscripts. {Fee, Bengel} (However, be advised that these verses DO appear in all known manuscripts of this letter.)
- Women may pray and prophesy privately, but not in the public church assembly. In other words, the 1 Cor. 11 passage refers to the former only, and 1 Cor. 14 to the latter only. There are a couple of problems with this: earlier in this same chapter (14) Paul expressly defined prophesying as a publicly expressed spiritual gift and that after its public expression the prophecy would be evaluated. Second, there were no large church assemblies at all at the time this letter was written. The believers met in small groups in homes. Furthermore, there is nothing in the 1 Cor. 11 passage that restricts it to a private setting.
- It's a contradiction; let's leave it at that. For me, though, it is inconceivable that Paul would so boldly contradict himself in the space of a few pages!
- Fiorenza and Ellis suggest that the prohibition in 1 Cor. 14 only applies to wives, not to single women. (That, to me, makes no logical sense...)
- Paul's admonition is specific to problems in the Corinthian church; the command is a local and cultural one. There are a couple of problems with this, the first one being that Paul made it clear in the chapter 14 verses that this practice was followed in all the New Testament churches. So, we must then assume that all the NT churches had this problem with their women? There is also the danger of applying this dismissive attitude toward other passages of Scripture, a perilous practice, at best.
- Still another interpretation is that in verses 34-35 Paul is speaking sarcastically because he follows in verse 36 with an exasperated "What?! Did the Word of God come only to you?", with the "you" referring to men specifically. {Odell-Scott, Manus, Thayer, Bilezikian} While this is a beguiling interpretation, Carson extensively refutes it. I won't get into all that here, as it takes a lot of coffee to get through it, believe me. It's too bad that Paul didn't make an audiobook of his letters. So much is lost by our not being able to hear his vocal inflections...
Here is what Carson believes to be the correct interpretation within the context of the passage, and Wiersbe agrees with him (see Sources).
Paul has been writing about the correct use of the gifts of tongues and prophecy. In 14:37-40, he returns to that same topic to close the chapter. So, it makes sense that verses 33b-36 should apply to this specific context. Let me quote Carson here:
Paul has just been requiring that the church in Corinth carefully weigh the prophecies presented to it. Women, of course, may participate in such prophesying; that was established in chapter 11. Paul’s point here, however, is that they may not participate in the oral weighing of such prophecies. That is not permitted in any of the churches.
More broadly, a strong case can be made for the view that Paul refused to permit any woman to enjoy a church-recognized teaching authority over men (1 Timothy 2:11ff.),46 and the careful weighing of prophecies falls under that magisterial function.
Honestly, this interpretation seems the most sensible and logical to me, for what it's worth. It lines up with other scriptural commands about women's leadership role in the church and in their relationship to men. This position does not make me feel enslaved or inferior, nor does it prevent me from teaching other women and also children/youth in the local body, nor does it imply that only women misinterpret Scripture, or cause discord, etc. It does not prevent me from praying and prophesying and teaching, as the Holy Spirit leads. I am quite content to let men take the primary leadership roles in the Church, those of pastor, elder, deacon and so forth. I am content because this is the order and structure that God established, even as far back as Genesis 2!
I realize that this will "rile" some of you who interpret the Bible differently. You could argue that because I blog on biblical matters I am violating these scriptural injunctions. Perhaps you are right. I could also point out, though, that people may feel free to read my blog...or not, according to their own convictions on this point.
We need to avoid being legalistic on this point, as there are far more important matters on which we must unite for the furtherance of the Lord's kingdom. I have a very dear friend who is a female minister in the United Church of Christ, in Canada. I love her, although we don't totally agree on this passage (and others!)
Let me close with a true story. When I was preparing to go to Peru, I had been asked to speak to the women there about a couple of topics. So, I did that study and preparation. In the process of that, though, I was reading a book on the topic of effective prayer. It just flowed out of my spirit to prepare a lesson on that as well. I took all of that material with me. On the trip, I was privileged to share with the women 4 of the 6 lessons prepared beforehand. The two that remained were on Rahab and also that one on prayer. The last morning we were at the teaching retreat, the schedule and "plan" got disrupted by an emergency. The pastor who had been scheduled to speak was unable to do so. The leader of the retreat asked me to teach in his place. It became crystal-clear that God had placed that lesson on prayer in my hands for that very moment. No one stood around and debated 1 Cor. 14:33b-36. Similarly, there are times when a woman will teach our "couples" Sunday School class at church, in our regular (male) teacher's absence.
Finally, let's remember to be united in Christ's love and to minister to one another in peace.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
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Father, we have difficulty with your revealed Word when it clashes with the worldly society in which we live. In such cases, Your way seems...extreme. It appears that the Corinthians felt the same, which is why Paul wrote this letter of correction and redirection. Make our hearts soft toward You, O God, and receptive to Your ways, so that we can walk resplendent on the path You have laid out before us. In Jesus' name, amen.
Sources:
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. 492. Print.
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