Can Women Not Be Pastors? Part 1 of 1 Timothy 2:11-15

Today we are going to visit another hard-hitting passage of Scripture with a history of being used as a tool to disempower women. Because there is a lot to cover in this passage, I am going to split it into three parts. Let’s dig in!

1 Timothy 2:11-15:

Let a woman learn in silence in all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control.

To begin with, this is a personal letter to Timothy. Also, Paul is merely stating his own practice, but is not commanding Timothy to do the same. To put it another way, there is no ought on the subject. We cannot exaggerate advice of this nature in a personal letter, and make it law for all of time.

For example, in this same letter, Paul says, “use a little wine for the stomach's sake.” Does this mean that we all must drink wine when we feel the least bit nauseated? As much as I love wine, I will not make this personal advice in a personal letter to a friend, law in my life. In 1 Timothy 4:13 Paul says, “when you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas.” Now who is Carpus? And where is Troas? And I’m pretty sure Paul is dead so I cannot bring him his cloak even if I found it. Do you see the absurdity in this? We do not get to pick and choose what constitutes law and what does not based on our preference.

Paul was inspired and often uttered exhortations and commands for us Christians to follow. But Paul was not hampered by inspiration so that he could not write personal letters of advice and requests, in danger of being mistaken for divine law. We must see the obvious difference between personal letters of advice and requests, and God's inexorable laws and commands. 

In this letter Paul is not saying he does not allow women to preach or teach, but rather he preferred they would not at that time. In 1 Cor 7:6-7, Paul says, “I say this as a concession, not as a command, I wish that everyone were single, just as I am.” Do we follow this preference of Paul? Obviously not. So is it a sin not to follow this preference of Paul? We get our answer in verse 28, “but if you do marry, you have not sinned.” Therefore, we know from the Apostle's own words that he could give advice that could be disobeyed without sin.

This letter was written to Timothy in regards to the Ephesian church. Ephesus was home to the temple of Artemis. The religion consisted of sacred priestesses and temple prostitutes who worshipped the goddess Artemis. Many of the church members of the Ephesian church were no doubt saved out of this cult. Ephesus was also home to the Hetaerae who were highly educated and respected Greek women who taught men as well as women in the city. These women were especially likely to become teachers in the church upon conversion. The word that is translated as submissiveness is hupotage (Strongs G5292) in Greek, which means to be in subjection to the instruction or instructor. People like to imply that this is about women being in submission to all men, but that is not being said. This word is used for men and women in 2 Corinthians 9:12-13 in regards to submission or obedience among the saints. From this context, scholars believe Paul is likely referring to these new converts of the temple Artemis, not women in general. Paul is encouraging these new converts to be quiet and willing to learn and take a respectful posture in their new way of worship.

This also makes sense in the larger context of the epistle, which mainly focuses on false teaching. False teaching is also addressed in 1 Tim 1:3-4, 4:1-7, and 5:13. There was a big issue with syncretism (the fusing of two religious beliefs into one) at that time. This looked like Greek goddess cults being fused with Christian doctrine, which Paul is trying to prevent, hence not letting these new converts speak and infiltrate the church with false doctrines. One such false belief was that Eve was created before Adam, and saved the world by listening to the snake. This is potentially why, in verse 13, Paul says. “For Adam was formed first and then Eve.”

Not only was there the issue of women coming from the cult teaching false doctrines, but there was also heavy persecution at the time. Paul wrote this letter while he was imprisoned in Rome under Nero’s rule. Nero was married to a Jewish Proselyte, Poppaea. Because of this, Jews were in favor, while Christians were not. As I have mentioned before, Jewish women had few rights, while Christian women enjoyed the freedom of Galatians 3:28, that they are free and equal in Christ. Most people are familiar with the brutal history of Nero’s persecution against Christians, but this was especially awful for Christian women, who were often raped and tortured. Women teaching and hearing the Word was angering the Jews and Romans, and only served to make them a more direct target for persecution. This gives us another reason as to why Paul might advise against women teaching at that time. Paul knew better than anyone the need for protection for women against arrest by brutal Romans under the rule of Nero at that time. However, he did not prohibit women from preaching and teaching at other times.

This is not a stretch to assume he is talking to new converts to temporarily follow. Paul uses the Greek word epitrepo (Strongs G2010), which is a present, active indicative rather than the imperative. Because of this, we can conclude that Paul is not giving a timeless command, but rather a temporary directive to be applied to a specific situation. Additional support is found in that Paul uses but (de) (Strongs G1161) to join the verses. “Let the women learn...but I am not (currently) permitting them to teach.” This makes sense in the context where women who were used to teaching in the temples were teaching false doctrines because they had not yet learned correct orthodoxy. Not only was the false teaching an issue, but the presence of women in leadership reinforced old pagan rituals of female dominance. It could be for this reason that Paul barred all women from leadership at this time.

In the next post I will look at some more details regarding this controversial and often confusing verse.

Thank you for reading!