2:12

This verse is similar to 2:11. (This verse starts with the word de in the Greek. Some people think that with the use of de here Paul is making a contrast, saying that “a woman can learn, but she cannot publicly teach the Scriptures to men or have authority over them.” However, that is not the point Paul is making. Paul stresses in 2:11 not just that a woman learn, but that a woman learn in quietness and full submission. Learning in quietness does not contrast with not permitting a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. Instead, it reinforces it.Some think that verses 11 and 12 are chiastic. Schreiner in Women in the Church, in footnote 88 on page 124, says, “I question whether there is a chiasm here because then the idea of exercising authority should have preceded teaching. Instead, the two verses are closely related, with an inclusio binding them together. Another problem with seeing a chiasm is that the scholars cited above do not agree on the chiastic arrangement.”) The chart below shows how the two verses are similar:

2:12a

I do not permit: Paul was not merely expressing his personal opinion. (Here I disagree with Phillips’ translation, which says, “Personally, I don’t allow…”) All through this section, he had been speaking as an apostle. This meant that God had given him the authority to tell believers what to do (see 2:1a, 2:8a, 2:9a). In this verse he continued speaking the same way. The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I do not permit meant that Paul was emphasizing that others should obey him.

a woman: That is, every woman, all women. If you used a plural in 2:11, you should do the same here.

to teach: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as teach refers to three things:

(a) instructing people about Christ

(b) instructing people about what Scripture teaches

(c) instructing people about the way in which God wants people to behave

or: When Paul used the word or here, he was saying that women should neither teach men nor have authority over them. (Some people (like Philip Payne in “The Interpretation of I Timothy 2:1–11: A Surrejoinder,” unpublished paper referred to by Moo in the reference below) take this as an example of hendiadys. They say that Paul does not say anything here about women not exercising authority over men. Instead, they say that the word or indicates that women should not teach men in an authoritative way. But other people (like Douglas Moo in “What Does It Mean Not to Teach or Have Authority Over Men? 1 Timothy 2:11–15,” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, page 187) point out that the Greek word or is not usually used in hendiadys. They say that Paul is prohibiting women from both teaching and exercising authority, whether done together or separately.)

to exercise authority: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to exercise authority means that a person controls, dominates, or begins to exert authority over another person. (Kroeger and Kroeger say that one of the senses of the word “have authority” is “to represent oneself as the author, originator, or source of something.” So, they say that certain women were teaching that they were the originator of men, and that what Paul was forbidding here was not that women “teach or have authority over men” but that women “teach that they are the originator of man.” They continue to say that pagan thought in the area had long held that woman was the source of man. They also say that certain types of gnosticism known to have been taught in the area of Ephesus about 100 to 200 years after this time may have already been taught in less well-developed forms during Paul’s time. These types of gnosticism also taught that woman was the source of man. So, Paul was combating that false teaching in this verse.However, see the exhaustive study of this word by Baldwin in Women in the Church, pages 65–80, and his exhaustive study of the full context of each occurrence of the word known in Koine Greek, pages 269–305. According to Baldwin, the Kroegers’ claims as to the meaning of the Greek word “to have authority” is based on a misinterpretation of one of the attested meanings “to be primarily responsible for or instigate something.” Furthermore, the Kroegers’ theory is speculative, assuming that specific forms of later Gnostic teachings were also taught during the time which Paul wrote. See also Schreiner’s survey and critique of various positions in Women in the Church, pages 130–134.) (John Stott, pages 74–81, draws a distinction between what is culturally conditioned and what are timeless principles in verses 8 through 15. He says that the timeless principles are that men should pray without sin, anger, or fighting, that women should dress modestly, and that women should be submissive to men. He says that the culturally conditioned elements are the way men pray (with lifted hands), the particular way women should not dress (with gold or braided hair), and the way women should be submissive to men (by being silent and not teaching). Further, on page 81, he distinguishes between two kinds of teaching roles. One is where the teacher is seen as an authority figure, and the other where the teacher is seen as a servant, under the authority of Scripture. He indicates that it would not be appropriate for a woman to be in the first role, but that a woman would be able to be in the second role without violating the principle of remaining in submission to men.Whereas I like Stott’s distinction between what is cultural and what is timeless, I think it would be hard for a woman to fill a pastoral role where she is the principle teacher without her also exercising authority over men. Even though she remains under the authority of Scripture and relates to the congregation as servant, she would need to speak with the authority of Scripture to declare what the word of God says. How would she be able to do the things which Paul tells Timothy to do, such as “command certain men not to teach false doctrines” (1:3), “command and teach these things” (4:11), publicly rebuke those who have sinned (5:20) and “command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant” (6:17), without exercising authority over them? Stott admits that such a woman should be “a member of a pastoral team whose leader is a man.” But this essentially undercuts what he says, because then the man would be the principle authoritative teacher, not the woman.)

This expression is similar to 2:11, where Paul said that women should learn in “full submissiveness.” Paul meant that women should not have authority over men in the Christian community. They were to submit to the authority of the male teachers, not try to rule over them.

over a man: Paul was still talking about men and women in general, not husbands and wives. He had been talking about women and men in general since 2:8a.

2:12b

she: This refers to every woman, not a specific woman. If you used a plural in 2:11 and in 2:12a, you should do the same here.

is to remain quiet: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as remain quiet here is the same word as was translated “quietness” in 2:11. Paul did not mean that women should never speak (see the note on 2:11). He meant that they should not speak while someone else was teaching.

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