Can women teach men? The Bible seems to say “no they cannot” and it seems to be stated very directly. Here is what Paul wrote,
“I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” – 1 Tim 2:12-15
We have all been taught by women in some form or fashion. Timothy was taught by his mother and grandmother (2 Tim 1:5).
Some would say women can teach male children but at some unknown “age of accountability” it is no longer acceptable. At that point, so the thinking goes, a 12 year old boy would be allowed to teach the 60 year old female Bible class teacher but not the other way around…except…if the context wasn’t in the church building.
Then there is location and situation – A woman teaching in a church building or classroom seems to be not okay with people but on the radio is okay. A man cannot run the sound board for the women’s conference on Thursday evening because he would hear a woman teach!
First, biblical examples:
– The strongest is Priscilla and Aquilla teaching Apollos (Acts 18:24-26). Some will say she had her husband there with her and that made it okay or they will say this wasn’t the “worship service” so this was okay.
– There were women prophets like the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8-9). Not exactly the same thing as teaching.
– Women were praying and prophesying in the assembly in Corinth (1 Cor 11) but no mention of them teaching.
– In all likelihood (although not stated directly) Phoebe in Romans 16 delivered the letter and being the one who delivered it would be prepared to answer questions. Again, not stated in the text but highly likely. I do think it is important to differentiate what the Bible says vs our assumptions and speculations. Otherwise we are right back to making inference authoritative.
– This one flies under the radar a bit but it involves everyone teaching everyone through song – Col 3:16 “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
– It is often pointed out that women were the first witnesses of the resurrection and were the ones who told the men. I see that as not entirely the same as teaching in the gathering.
That’s pretty much what we have. That and our experience (which isn’t scripture but is not unimportant)…but hold on. Unpacking 1 Tim 2:12-15 can be very helpful in gaining a deeper understanding of what is going on.
What Paul wrote in 1 Tim 2:12-15 seems pretty straight forward. And I am not going to tell you what to believe but I am going to give you some data to consider.
There are typically two interpretations of the Greek in that verse (and both are possible while being completely fair to the text) – “I do not permit a woman to teach…” or “I am not permitting a woman to teach…” The first is more of a timeless rule, the second is more limited to something that was going on in Ephesus (where Timothy is located).
Was there something going on in Ephesus that could have caused Paul to say women shouldn’t be teaching at that time and place? And if so, what information do we have?
The pieces here come together so precisely that it I believe it is important to pay attention to.
If you read the whole letter you will find out that the young childless widows are going around spreading false teaching,
“13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to. 14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.” – 1 Tim 5:13-15
This is key because it ties together both things Paul says in 1 Tim 2 and also then helps us understand what he said about Adam/Eve.
The Greek
There are two Greek words used in 1 Tim 2:15 and 1 Tim 5:14 for bearing children.
1 Tim 2:15 – τεκνογονία
1 Tim 5:14 – τεκνογονέω
These two words are each used only once in the New Testament and these are the two usages in 1 Timothy.
The young childless widows were in a position to have time to be idle (no husband, no kids, no job) and were going around teaching things that were false (5:13). They were deceived and passing on deception..”turned away to follow Satan” (5:15)
That fits chapter 2 where he goes from women not teaching because Eve was deceived first.
And the solution in chapter 2 was to be “saved through childbearing” which seems so strange and mysterious is actually practical because it perfectly parallels the solution in chapter 5 – get married and have children so you no longer have time to be idle and, presumably, have a husband that might help offset some of the false teaching.
If the women marry and have children they will not have the margin to be idle and spread deception.
Creation order/universal/for all time argument?
This means the argument that this must be universal for all time because it mentions Adam and Eve may not hold up. It may be that Paul is saying “we have seen something like this before.”
Does this passage prohibit all women from teaching any male at any point in time? I am not sure anyone believes that.
Can women teach men? Are there lines and if so, where does this passage put them?
If you ever want some “ground rules” for this conversation, you will find this helpful – Ground Rules for Discussing Women’s Roles in Church.
