SHALL WOMEN BE SILENT?

Our purpose here is to explain why 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 doesn’t mean that women should forever be silent in church. The scripture appears to forbid women speaking in church but today it is common practice. To prevent encouraging people from picking and choosing which scriptures to believe and which to reject, it is critically important to deal with passages like this one. Let’s start by getting a little background on why Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians.

Paul spent eighteen months in Corinth on his second missionary journey. He wrote 1 Corinthians around 55 AD during his third missionary journey while he was living and teaching in Ephesus. We know that there were problems in the Corinthian church from 1 Corinthians 1:11 where Paul says,

(1Co 1:11) For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

We also know a letter came from Corinth bringing a list of questions because Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:1

(1Co 7:1) Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

This is important because it is likely that the first six chapters of 1 Corinthians address the concerns raised by Chloe’s people and try to correct misunderstandings from his first letter. Chapters 7 through 16 address the questions raised in the letter to Paul from the Corinthians.

In most of chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing about the orderly use of spiritual gifts. To whom is he speaking?

(1Co 14:26) How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

(1Co 14:31) For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.

Obviously, Paul is speaking to all the people, men and women. Then all of a sudden we have verses 34 and 35:

(1Co 14:34) Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

(1Co 14:35) And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

Doesn’t it seem strange that Paul would say this immediately after calling on all to contribute? If you read back through previous verses and even when you read whole chapters, you will find that over and over everyone is included in participation.

The fact that Paul seems to contradict everything he has been teaching is a clue that something is wrong with the traditional translation.

If we remember that Paul is responding to questions asked him, a clear case can be made for considering this a quotation from the letter written to him. When you carefully read 1 Corinthians, you will find the letter is also referred to in 7:1, 25, 36, 39; 8:1 and 9:3.

Further evidence is that Paul provides support for this ruling as he sates that it is stated in “The Law” . Unfortunately, nowhere in the first five books of the Old Testament, which are known as the Law of Moses, does it tell a woman to be silent in an assembly. In fact, nowhere in the whole Old Testament do we find such words. Therefore, we must assume that the reference is to a different Law. It is possible that the Talmud (Jewish Oral Law), not the Bible, refers to such a ruling..It also could be Roman law but it was not God's law.

What is interesting is what comes in the next text

(1Co 14:36) What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

Surprisingly, the King James version comes closest to Paul’s intent by translating verse 36, “What! Came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” The modern translations tend to leave out the “What!” Should it be there? Let’s see!

The word translated “what” is “è” in Greek. It is a disjunctive pronoun.Disjunctive means it contradicts or opposes what has just been said. In the second half of the verse even King James translates “è” as “Or” instead of “what.” (“Or are you the only people it has reached?) It would be an improvement to say, “What! Are you the only people it has reached?”
When the Greek word “e” is translated “Or,” we don’t realize that Paul is making a strong statement against the words that silence women. Some translations don’t even say “Or.” In The New International Version verse 36 says, “Did the word of God originate with you?” NIV

By leaving out the disjunctive pronoun, the context is changed and the meaning is made unclear. The King James use of “What?” with a question mark is certainly better than “Or,” but a better translation would be something like “NO!” or “Nonsense!”

Paul continues:

(1Co 14:36)  What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

(1Co 14:37)  If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

 Paul is angry with their words. Because the Corinthians have made a statement that contradicts all he has taught them, he asks if they are the ones who wrote the scriptures, if they are the only ones who have heard the word.

Paul is saying that what he is teaching is a “commandment of the Lord.” If we do not understand that Paul is referring to his own teaching and not the words in the letter from part of the Corinthian church that is found in verses 34 and 35, it can be very confusing.

Paul is using strong language to oppose teaching that is not scriptural. He is saying that if you are so mistaken or ignorant of God’s Word that you do not recognize that my teaching is from the Lord and you replace it with an untrue statement based on Jewish tradition (or Roman law) rather than the Word of God, you are truly ignorant and entirely mistaken.

In every commonly used English Bible, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 has been translated as though Paul were making a statement of what he believed. Most Bibles do not even say the authorship of these words is in question. What Paul intended by including quotes in his letter was to say that silencing women was not God’s will and anyone who thought it was, ignorant of God and His Word. Instead, the quotation has been used for just the opposite purpose, and Christians have taught that women should be silent.

When words seem to contradict the overall message, take the time to find out why. Train your mind to remember that 99.9% of the time, when you see the words he, him, his, himself or man and men in the scripture, they don’t refer to males only.

Many of the passages that have been used to limit women are not easy to translate but this is not one of them. It is unacceptable that translators have not corrected their work. Women today are rejecting limitations. Poorly translated scriptures that put women in second class status cause many to reject the faith or minimize the authority of the Word. As believers we must follow the admonition to, “Study to show yourselves approved. . .” 2 Timothy 2:15. God loves us and He’ll help!
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