- 1 Timothy
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2
About prayer
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men* The term “men” here is generic and can include women and children = all people. By putting four synonyms in a row Paul achieves an unusual emphasis on the importance of praying for everybody. 2 —on behalf of kings and all who are in authority, that we may live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.† This is what God would like to see. War, turmoil and distress are not God's desire for mankind but result from men's bad choices. If everyone would obey God's laws we would have paradise on earth. 3 Because this is good and pleasing to our Savior God, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come into a real knowledge of Truth.‡ When people are in the middle of distress and turmoil it is difficult to pause and reflect on spiritual things. People who live in a tranquil society where godliness is promoted have every chance to come into “a real knowledge of Truth”. 5 For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men—a man!§ Wonder of wonders! God has provided a man to represent us! Of course He is also God, so He can represent both sides with complete competence—the best of all possible mediators!—Jesus Christ, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom on behalf of all people (to be testified in its own seasons),* Although Jesus Christ “gave Himself as a ransom on behalf of all people”, obviously the exact time when a given people heard about it has varied considerably down through the last two millennia, and some have yet to hear! I take it that Paul is saying that God has a ‘time’ (καιρος) for each people to hear, unless he is just saying that different people hear at different times. 7 to which ransom I was appointed† Recall from 1:1 above that he was appointed by both Father and Son. a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying‡ I wonder why he felt the need to say this to Timothy—or did he know that it would be read by many others? Perhaps 15% of the Greek manuscripts omit “in Christ” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).—a teacher of nations§ Through his epistles he has taught many hundreds of ethnic nations—no wonder both Father and Son were involved in the appointing. in faith and truth.
8 So I desire that the men in every place pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.* When a number of men are together, any competition tends to take place in the realm of ideas, often producing more heat than light; when a number of women are together, any competition tends to involve physical appearance. This sort of thing can happen even when people gather to pray (supposedly). 9 Similarly the women also, dressing themselves in appropriate clothing, with modesty and good sense; not with braided hair† Presumably the reference is not to simple braids, but adding fancy things to the hair in the braid. or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good works, which is appropriate to women who profess godliness.
About women
11 Let a woman learn in silence, in full subordination. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.‡ The crucial factor here is authority, and the underlying need is to protect the structure of the home, the foundational unit of society, including the church. If a woman teaches her husband in church, crossing the street to their house will not make her want to submit to him; human nature does not work that way. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.§ Paul appeals to God's purpose in Creation. God created the man first and gave him the responsibility to administer the earth. Later on He created the woman, using a part of the man's body, for the declared purpose of being his assistant (Genesis 2:18). An assistant does not give orders to the boss; nor does he make policy decisions on his own. The first woman did make a policy decision on her own, with catastrophic consequence. 14 Also, Adam was not deceived; rather, the woman, being deceived, became a transgressor.* As a general rule (there are exceptions) a man tends to think things through before reaching a decision, so he can defend his choice on the basis of logical argument. A woman tends to be more intuitive and will decide on that basis, without being able to defend the choice logically (which tends to frustrate men no end). Whether that was why Eve could be so easily deceived, I am not prepared to say, but Paul uses that susceptibility as an argument in his case against allowing women to teach. Doctrine must be based on reason, not intuition—to teach is to define. Paul affirms that Adam was not deceived, so his choice was deliberate. To disobey the Creator was a policy decision that Eve, as assistant, had no business making—she rebelled against the role that the Creator assigned her. Her fait accompli left Adam with a difficult decision—let her die alone, or die with her. It is idle to speculate on why he decided as he did, but it was Adam's choice (not Eve's) that condemned the race to ‘death through sin’ (Romans 5:12-21). 15 However, she will be saved through the Childbirth† Note that ‘she’ refers to Eve, she is the antecedent. Neither Eve nor any other woman is saved by bearing a child. ‘Childbirth’ is accompanied by the definite article, in the Text, so it is “the childbirth”. There is only one childbirth that could result in salvation for Eve, and the rest of us, the birth of the Messiah.—if they‡ Paul breaks the rules of grammar and switches from ‘she’ to ‘they’ in the middle of the sentence—what is true of Eve is applied to all women. Well, strictly speaking, since “they” has no antecedent I suppose it could include men as well, everybody (unless someone wants to argue that women are saved on a different basis than men [which I think would run afoul of other passages]). Still, the paragraph is about women. Any sisters in Christ who have been troubled by this verse, thinking they must bear a child, may relax on that score. continue in faith, love and holiness, with self-control.§ So what happens if they do not “continue”?

- 1 Timothy
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*2:1 The term “men” here is generic and can include women and children = all people. By putting four synonyms in a row Paul achieves an unusual emphasis on the importance of praying for everybody.

†2:2 This is what God would like to see. War, turmoil and distress are not God's desire for mankind but result from men's bad choices. If everyone would obey God's laws we would have paradise on earth.

‡2:4 When people are in the middle of distress and turmoil it is difficult to pause and reflect on spiritual things. People who live in a tranquil society where godliness is promoted have every chance to come into “a real knowledge of Truth”.

§2:5 Wonder of wonders! God has provided a man to represent us! Of course He is also God, so He can represent both sides with complete competence—the best of all possible mediators!

*2:6 Although Jesus Christ “gave Himself as a ransom on behalf of all people”, obviously the exact time when a given people heard about it has varied considerably down through the last two millennia, and some have yet to hear! I take it that Paul is saying that God has a ‘time’ (καιρος) for each people to hear, unless he is just saying that different people hear at different times.

†2:7 Recall from 1:1 above that he was appointed by both Father and Son.

‡2:7 I wonder why he felt the need to say this to Timothy—or did he know that it would be read by many others? Perhaps 15% of the Greek manuscripts omit “in Christ” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).

§2:7 Through his epistles he has taught many hundreds of ethnic nations—no wonder both Father and Son were involved in the appointing.

*2:8 When a number of men are together, any competition tends to take place in the realm of ideas, often producing more heat than light; when a number of women are together, any competition tends to involve physical appearance. This sort of thing can happen even when people gather to pray (supposedly).

†2:9 Presumably the reference is not to simple braids, but adding fancy things to the hair in the braid.

‡2:12 The crucial factor here is authority, and the underlying need is to protect the structure of the home, the foundational unit of society, including the church. If a woman teaches her husband in church, crossing the street to their house will not make her want to submit to him; human nature does not work that way.

§2:13 Paul appeals to God's purpose in Creation. God created the man first and gave him the responsibility to administer the earth. Later on He created the woman, using a part of the man's body, for the declared purpose of being his assistant (Genesis 2:18). An assistant does not give orders to the boss; nor does he make policy decisions on his own. The first woman did make a policy decision on her own, with catastrophic consequence.

*2:14 As a general rule (there are exceptions) a man tends to think things through before reaching a decision, so he can defend his choice on the basis of logical argument. A woman tends to be more intuitive and will decide on that basis, without being able to defend the choice logically (which tends to frustrate men no end). Whether that was why Eve could be so easily deceived, I am not prepared to say, but Paul uses that susceptibility as an argument in his case against allowing women to teach. Doctrine must be based on reason, not intuition—to teach is to define. Paul affirms that Adam was not deceived, so his choice was deliberate. To disobey the Creator was a policy decision that Eve, as assistant, had no business making—she rebelled against the role that the Creator assigned her. Her fait accompli left Adam with a difficult decision—let her die alone, or die with her. It is idle to speculate on why he decided as he did, but it was Adam's choice (not Eve's) that condemned the race to ‘death through sin’ (Romans 5:12-21).

†2:15 Note that ‘she’ refers to Eve, she is the antecedent. Neither Eve nor any other woman is saved by bearing a child. ‘Childbirth’ is accompanied by the definite article, in the Text, so it is “the childbirth”. There is only one childbirth that could result in salvation for Eve, and the rest of us, the birth of the Messiah.

‡2:15 Paul breaks the rules of grammar and switches from ‘she’ to ‘they’ in the middle of the sentence—what is true of Eve is applied to all women. Well, strictly speaking, since “they” has no antecedent I suppose it could include men as well, everybody (unless someone wants to argue that women are saved on a different basis than men [which I think would run afoul of other passages]). Still, the paragraph is about women. Any sisters in Christ who have been troubled by this verse, thinking they must bear a child, may relax on that score.

§2:15 So what happens if they do not “continue”?

© 2016 Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD