2:15a

Women, however, will be saved through childbearing: This is a very difficult expression to understand. Scholars understand it in two main ways:

(1) It means that God will save women spiritually (from sin) while they are bearing (and raising) children. (Moo, in Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, page 192, says, “We think it is preferable to view verse 15 as designating the circumstances in which Christian women will experience (work out; cf. Philippians 2:12) their salvation—in maintaining as priorities those key roles that Paul, in keeping with Scripture elsewhere, highlights: being faithful, helpful wives, raising children to love and reverence God, managing the household (cf. 1 Tim 5:14; Titus 2:3–5)…. Probably Paul makes this point because the false teachers were claiming that women could really experience what God had for them only if they abandoned the home and became actively involved in teaching and leadership roles in the church. If this interpretation is correct, then verse 15 fits perfectly with the emphasis we have seen in this text throughout. Against the attempt of the false teachers to get the women in Ephesus to adopt ‘libertarian,’ unbiblical attitudes and behavior, Paul reaffirms the Biblical model of the Christian woman…”) For example, the Revised English Bible says:

salvation for the woman will be in the bearing of children

(Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version)

(2) It means that women will be kept safe physically during childbirth. For example, the New American Standard Bible says:

women will be preserved through the bearing of children

(New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, King James Version)

Other versions are ambiguous. Neither interpretation is completely satisfactory. If it is possible for you to translate this expression in a neutral way, you should do so. However, we know that interpretation (2) is not true because Christian women do suffer pain, or even die, when they bear children. So, if you must choose an interpretation, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

however: The Greek particle de, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as however shows contrast. Although Eve “became a sinner,” God is able to save women from the consequences of Eve’s sin and of their own sin.

childbearing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as childbearing literally refers to “giving birth to children.” (Some modern commentators say that the text here probably represents all aspects of a woman’s normal role in Paul’s day, including raising children and all the things that women normally do to manage a household. However, the UBS Handbook Translator’s Guide objects to this, saying “this broader interpretation of the Greek noun, though more acceptable to modern thinking, does not seem warranted; the related verb in 5:14 means quite specifically ‘to bear children,’ not ‘to rear children.’” However, it is possible that Paul used the verb figuratively as metonymy for raising children.)

2:15b–c

Here Paul described the way the women in 2:15a should act.

2:15b

if they continue in: God wants people to act as believers continually: he wants them to show “faith”, “love”, and “holiness.” He does not want them to behave this way only occasionally. (We note that this verb, continue, is plural in the Greek, whereas the verb will be saved is singular. However, the verb will be saved in 2:15a refers to women generically. So, when Paul switches to the plural here, he is not making a significant change. Paul did a similar thing when he referred to men in 2:8a in the plural, then switched in 2:12a to the singular, making a generic reference.) They need to persevere. Paul said a similar thing in Romans 11:22 and Colossians 1:23.

they: This refers to the women mentioned in 2:15a.

faith: In some languages it may be necessary to translate faith as a verb. It may then be necessary to provide an object for the verb. If this is true in your language, you could say:

believe in Christ

love: In this verse, Paul did not say whom the women should love. There are three possibilities:

(1) He meant that the women should love other people

(2) He meant that the women should love God

(3) He meant that the women should love both God and other people

It is difficult to know which of these interpretations is best, and most English translations are ambiguous. If it is possible for you to translate this in the same ambiguous way, you should do so. However, if you must supply an object, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

2:15c

holiness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as holiness means to behave in a way that pleases God. It is the way he wants believers to behave.

self-control: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as self-control means to act in a way that people consider correct, acceptable, or appropriate. Paul used the same word in 2:9b to describe the way in which women should dress.

In this paragraph Paul told Timothy the qualities that a person needed to have in order to become an “overseer.” An overseer was someone who led and taught a group of believers.

© 2003 by SIL International®

Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.