Paul’s first letter to Timothy has been used to justify women’s submission to men in church (together with Ephesians 5, to be discussed another time). However, this came from a misunderstanding due to mistranslations from the Greek text, that started at the lexical level and culminated to the holistic misunderstanding of the letter.
As an example of how a small lexical change can prevent us from getting the whole picture, we need not look further than the opening. The name Timothy is really Τιμόθεος (5095: Timotheos) in Greek. It is a contraction of τιμώ (Timo, to honor) and θεός (Theos, God), meaning honoring God. Paul addresses him by the full name in 1 Timothy 1:2, but by the nickname Τιμόθεε (Timothee) later in verse 18, in the phrase “my child Timothee” in an endearing way. This contrast of tone is lost in the translation.
There are four mistranslations we will look at here: 1 Timothy 1:4, 1 Timothy 2:2, 1 Timothy 2:11-12, and various verses in 1 Timothy 3.
The original text in Greek is:
μηδὲ (nor) προσέχειν (to give heed) μύθοις (to myths) καὶ (and) γενεαλογίαις (genealogies) ἀπεράντοις (endless), αἵτινες (which) ἐκζητήσεις (speculations) παρέχουσιν (bring), μᾶλλον (rather) ἢ (than) οἰκονομίαν (stewardship) Θεοῦ (of God), τὴν (which is) ἐν (in) πίστει (faith).
Source: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/1.htm
The word οἰκονομίαν (3622: oikonomian) is commonly mistranslated as stewardship. It is a contraction of οἴκος (3624: oikos-household) and νόμος (3551: nomos-laws), together meaning the ruling of a household.
The word oikos is also used to describe the qualification of an overseer (1 Timothy 3:4) and deacons (1 Timothy 3:12) that they must “manage their own household well.” We will discuss this more below. But the connotation about a household tying the opening to these qualifications is lost in the various English translations of 1 Timothy 1:4:
It should literally be translated to “the ruling of God’s household” (or house rules). Fully, the verse should read:
Nor to give heed to myths and endless genealogies, which bring speculations rather than the ruling of God’s household in the faith.
This sets the context of 1 Timothy, which is about the ruling of God’s household in the faith. Therefore, Paul’s recommendations in this letter should be understood to apply to church polity, rather than the private households of Christians in general.
To set the context, the first two verses are:
1 I exhort therefore, first of all, to be made–entreaties, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings–on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all those being in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
The original text in Greek for the second verse is:
ὑπὲρ (for) βασιλέων (kings) καὶ (and) πάντων (all) τῶν (those) ἐν (in) ὑπεροχῇ (authority) ὄντων (being), ἵνα (so that) ἤρεμον (a tranquil) καὶ (and) ἡσύχιον (quiet) βίον (life) διάγωμεν (we may lead), ἐν (in) πάσῃ (all) εὐσεβείᾳ (godliness) καὶ (and) σεμνότητι (dignity).
Source: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/2.htm
The word ἡσύχιον (2272: hesuchion) is commonly translated as quiet or peaceable. Strong believes that the word is based on ἑδραῖος (1476: hedraios) meaning sedentary (seat) or steadfast, and ἔχω (2192: echo) meaning to hold. Together, holding one’s seat means enduring or long lasting.
Regardless whether ἡσύχιον means enduring or peaceable, it is not the same as being quiet: even though someone enduring or peaceable might be quiet, quietness does not necessarily imply endurance or favoring peace; a conspiracy is a quiet kind of violence. Moreover, endurance and peaceability are voluntary, but being silenced is involuntary.
The word ἤρεμον (2263: eremon) also requires scrutiny. If we translate it as tranquil, then the implied conflict aversion would seem to contradict what Jesus says in Matthew 10:34-36,
34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.
More properly, ἤρεμον (2263), also meaning wilderness, could be translated as undisturbed, or being left alone. Therefore, the real meaning of verse 2 is to pray for the kings and those being in authority, so that we may lead an undisturbed and enduring life in all godliness and dignity. We understand that our faith may put us at odds with people of the world, which requires our endurance, but we can pray that disturbance will not come from them.
This mistranslation about quietness is more unfortunate in 1 Timothy 2:12.
To set the context, verses 9-10 instruct a woman to wear respectable clothes, with modesty and self-control, avoid adorning themselves with jewelry, and to behave as someone professing the devotion to God.
The original text of verses 11-12 in Greek is:
11 Γυνὴ (a woman) ἐν (in) ἡσυχίᾳ (quietness) μανθανέτω (let learn) ἐν (in) πάσῃ (all) ὑποταγῇ (submissiveness).
12 διδάσκειν (to teach) δὲ (however), γυναικὶ (a woman) οὐκ (not) ἐπιτρέπω (I do permit), οὐδὲ (nor) αὐθεντεῖν (to use authority over) ἀνδρός (a man), ἀλλ’ (but) εἶναι (to be) ἐν (in) ἡσυχίᾳ (quietness).
Source: https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/2.htm
First of all, it should be said that ὑποταγῇ (submissiveness) refers to the θεοσέβειαν (devotion to God) in verse 10, certainly not to men.
The word ἡσυχίᾳ (2271) is the feminine noun of the word ἡσύχιον (2272) that we have seen before. Again, instead of quietness, it should be translated as endurance. Endurance is voluntarily done out of someone’s own free will, here with the purpose to devote to God, and it is not the same as being silenced involuntarily.
Together, the real meaning of verses 11-12 should be,
Let a woman learn in endurance and in submission (to God). However, I do not permit a woman to teach, nor to use authority over a man, but to be in endurance.
Regarding Paul not permitting women to teach but appears to encourage men to do so (1 Timothy 4:11), recall that Jesus says in Matthew 8:8-12,
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
We should not forget that Paul also commands his followers to serve through love (1 Corinthians 8:1, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:16). This is consistent with what Jesus says in John 13:34-35,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Therefore, the point for followers of Christ is not to teach nor to lord over others, but to endure in the service and edification of others in love. This applies to both men and women.
Chapter 3 is probably the most cited chapter regarding roles in a church. In the English translation, there are two main roles:
It’s worth noting that ἀνήρ / ἄνδρα (435) almost certainly means “a husband,” in contrast with ἄνθρωπος (444) in singular which always means “a man” regardless of marital status (e.g. 1 Corinthians 7). On the other hand, γυνή (1135) can mean “a wife,” but it is possibly related to γεννάω (1080) “to give birth,” referring to a woman in general.
Given the ambiguity of γυνή (1135), 1 Timothy 3:11 offers the possibility that Paul actually allows a woman to be a deacon, mirroring the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3:8. She does not have to be the wife of a deacon, and she can be unmarried.
Γυναῖκας (women) ὡσαύτως (likewise) σεμνάς ([must be] dignified), μὴ (not) διαβόλους (slanderers), νηφαλίους (clear-minded), πιστὰς (faithful) ἐν (in) πᾶσιν (all things).
Moreover, the plural noun διάκονοι (1249) can include both males and females. Paul also used the singular form διάκονον in both masculine and feminine senses.
So we can infer that a church would have a single overseer (caretaker) who is a husband, but the servants can be either married husbands or women (regardless of marital status). The allowance of unmarried women to serve as deacons should now be abundantly self-evident without relying on lexical analysis alone. Similarly, the requirement for men to be married husbands in order to serve as overseer or deacons is also self-evident from the respective verses 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12.
Regarding the role of overseer as caretaker, Jesus says in Matthew 20:25-28,
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant (διάκονος), 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
So we can understand that the overseer is a servant to the servants, rather than their master.
Now that we painstakingly corrected the errors in the English translations of 1 Timothy 1:4, 1 Timothy 2:2, 1 Timothy 2:11-12, and various verses in 1 Timothy 3, we learned that:
This paints a much more equitable picture about women’s role in a church, and in no way does it ever imply submission of women under the authority of men, nor does it imply silencing of women.