Ambrosiaster and 1 Timothy 2:12 were cited by John Knox in The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women, a 1558 book attacking the idea of rule by queens and women in leadership on biblical grounds. It was cited frequently by those who wished to condemn women or believed them inferior to men. The verse was widely used to oppose all education for women, and all teaching by women, during the Renaissance and early modern period in Europe. 1 Timothy 2:12 was used in court against Anne Hutchinson In the Greek-speaking church, John Chrysostom wrote that the verse prohibits women from teaching the public or making public speeches. Ambrosiaster's strictly patriarchal understanding was copied by Glossa Ordinaria and most other medieval interpretations of the verse in the Latin Church. He writes that women "were put under the power of men from the beginning" and should be severely subjugated to men. In his 4th century Latin commentary on the epistles, Ambrosiaster viewed 1 Timothy 2:12 as requiring a strict system of patriarchy. New Testament scholar Marcus Borg contends that this verse fits poorly with Paul's more positive references to Christian women and may be a later interpolation rather than part of the original text. As a pseudepigraphical work incorrectly attributed to Paul, the verse is often described as deutero-Pauline literature or as a pastoral epistle. The consensus view among modern scholars of 1 Timothy is that the epistle was not written by Paul, but dates to after Paul's death and has an unknown author. A minority of modern scholars, such as Catherine Kroeger, support this traditional view. The traditional view is that the words "I suffer not a woman." are Paul's own words, along with the rest of the epistle. Complementarians argue that the instructions contained in 1 Timothy 2:12 should be accepted as normative in the church today. Christian egalitarians maintain that there should be no institutional distinctions between men and women. Others interpret the text as a universal instruction. Today, some scholars argue that the instruction is directed to the particular church in Ephesus and must be interpreted in a contemporary context. Most modern scholars believe 1 Timothy was not actually written by Paul. The verse has been criticized for its sexism and its perceived inconsistency with other verses attributed to Paul, such as Galatians 3:28, which states "there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Richard and Catherine Kroeger point to examples of female teachers and leaders known to Paul, such as Priscilla and Phoebe, to support their conclusion that the verse has been mistranslated. Others, like John Chrysostom and Martin Luther, write that it excludes women from teaching, praying, or speaking in public but grant some freedom to women in the home. Some theologians, like Ambrosiaster in the 4th century and John Knox in the 16th century, wrote that it requires very strict domination of women in every sphere of life. Historically, the verse was used to justify legal inequality for women and to exclude women from secular leadership roles as well.įor most of the history of Christian theology the verse has been interpreted to require some degree of subordination of women to men. Many such groups that do not permit women to become clergy also cite 1 Corinthians 14:32–35 and 1 Timothy 3:1–7. The verse is widely used to oppose ordination of women as clergy, and to oppose certain other positions of ministry and leadership for women in large segments of Christianity. It is often quoted using the King James Version translation:īut I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 1 Timothy 2:12 is the twelfth verse of the second chapter of the First Epistle to Timothy.
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