Women speaking in the assembly

Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mom

Gen 3:16, 2:18

• “To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”

• “Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him."

1 Tim 3:2

• "An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife."

1 Cor 14:34-38 (NASB) 

• "The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35 If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. 36 Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only?

• 37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that

the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized."

1 Cor 11:5

• "But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved."

 Verse 34

• "The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says." • “The women" = αἱ γυναῖκες OR "hai gynakies," OR "hai

gune."  • Hai not used in many translations, but present in

manuscripts• “The women" = "The wives" are to keep silent in the

churches. This makes sense, because how can an unmarried woman as her non-existent husband? She can't!

The word "αἱ/hai" is the feminine form of "Οἱ/hoi." 

Why does it matter? Hai and hoi are very often translated as "those," not “the.” Look up some verses such as John 6:14; 8:26, Romans 8:5, 1 Cor 10:18; 15:18; 15:23, Gal 3:9; 5:24; 6:13, 1 Thess 5:7, 1 Tim 3:13, and 2 Tim 1:15 and 3:6.

John 6:14. First, the NASB: "Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Now the KJV: "Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world."

Now let's apply that to 1 Cor 14:34. "THOSE wives are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says."

NOPUNCTUATIONMARKSINTHEGREEK• Translators must decide where to put punctuation• Some translations rarely bother

1 Cor 6:13 says, "Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body." (NASB)

Or it says (NRSV): “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,”and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

1 Cor 7:1

• "Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.“• See 1 Cor 3:1-9

1 Cor 6:12

• "All things, unto me, are allowable, but, not all things, are profitable: all things, unto me, are allowable, but, I, will not be brought under authority by any."

“All things are lawful for me”—but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me”— but I will not be dominated by anything."

Does God permit all things?

Let’s apply the point-counterpoint as previously• QUOTE "The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not

permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35 If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church." UNQUOTE

• PAUL RESPONDS: "Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized."

 Verse 36

• "Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only?" (NASB)• "What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?" (KJV)

Why the “What?” Look at the interlinear.Ἢ ἢ

 Examples of Paul using it.

• 1 Cor. 10:21-22—"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. [RHETORICAL ETA Nonsense/that's gargabe/ridiculous!] Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"

• 1 Cor. 11:13-14--"Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled?" [RHETORICAL ETA Nonsense/that's gargabe/ridiculous!] Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering."

When Paul quotes the Law

• 1 Cor 1:19;31; 2:9; 10:7, 14:21. • In 14:21, he quotes Isaiah 28:11-12 and says, "In the Law it is written,

“By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me."

• But in 1 Cor 14:34, he doesn’t."The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says."

How about OT?

• 1. Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her (Exodus 15:20). • 2. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel

at that time ... and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment (Judges 4:4,5). • 3. So Hilkiah the priest ... went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife

of Shallum ... and they communed with her (2 Kings 22:14).

 How about the NT?

• 1. And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel ... which departed not from the temple ... and spake of him (Christ) to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-38).

• 2. The apostle Peter, on Pentecost, cited the Old Testament scriptures which

prophesied that in the times of the new testament, "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Acts 2:17).

• 3. "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deaconess of the church which is at

Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well." (Romans 16:1-2)

 Anything else in the NT?

• "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me." (Rom 16:3-7

Mrs. and Mr. Jessica LancasterGreet Priscilla and Aquila