It Was the Woman Who Was Deceived: 1 Timothy 2:11-15

1 Timothy 2:11-15

¹¹ A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. ¹² 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. ¹⁴And 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 Timothy 2:12, for many of us, is the first verse we think of when we talk about women in the church. And perhaps for good reason, since it’s certainly the most talked about. We embrace it or we have questions or it makes us angry. We’ve had it wielded against us and we wish it wasn’t there. Whatever the case, perhaps we give this verse too high a priority when it comes to women’s place in the church.

Cynthia Long Westfall

Cynthia Long Westfall, in her excellent book Paul and Gender, writes, “[1 Timothy 2:12] has provided a lens or exegetical grid through which all other Scripture is applied to women.” Wise biblical interpreters use the clearer passages of Scripture to interpret unclear ones. This 1 Timothy passage is used as a lens because it is assumed that it is the clearest passage concerning women.

However, I and many others don’t find this passage as clear as some make it out to be. Many read these verses and seem to disregard the context. A plain reading of this text not only says women are not permitted to teach or to have authority—they are also more prone to deception. In fact, the reason they cannot teach is because they are more prone to deception than men. 

Most would say our experience tells us this is not true. More than that, the witness of Scripture doesn’t say there is anything inherent in women that makes them more easily deceived. Deception is a result of ignorance and sin—not a character quality specific to either gender.

Historically, the belief that women were inferior to men is why they weren’t permitted to be in church leadership. So it’s true that the dominant practice in church history was to prohibit women from being pastors. But the reason was because women were thought to be less intelligent, emotionally unstable, and more susceptible to temptation.¹ If we no longer believe this to be true, why are women often barred from leadership? And how do we adequately explain the reason given in verse 14?

Context

A primary reason Paul wrote 1 Timothy was to oppose false teaching in Ephesus. The surrounding culture—what Christian women were converted from—followed the false god Artemis. She was the goddess of childbirth and health, and women called on her to be spared of the dangers of childbirth. It’s likely that women in Ephesus were spreading false teaching concerning their beliefs about childbirth. Westfall writes,

This would have an attraction for the women in the church because in the ancient world each pregnancy was life-threatening; complications from pregnancy and childbirth were the leading cause of death for women. One thing that ancient women’s religion had in common was the use of magic, sacrifices, and prayer for help and protection in time of childbirth; perhaps women felt that they found the needed protection through the false teaching.

Artemis decided whether mothers and their babies lived or died during childbirth. Probably out of fear and ignorance, these particular women followed the Artemis cult when it came to issues in pregnancy and childbirth. They then spread this false teaching to others in the church.

Women in this time were significantly less educated than men. Therefore, in light of the false teaching, Paul tells women to learn. (This in itself was revolutionary, since we know women were considered intellectually inferior). Paul then uses the story of Adam and Eve to support his admonition to learn: Eve was deceived, so she fell into sin. Her ignorance of the truth made her vulnerable to deception. While it appears that Adam did tell Eve God’s command, she did not receive it directly. Adam heard the command straight from God—Eve did not, so she could be deceived about the facts. Westfall compares Adam and Eve’s level of responsibility with Jews and Gentiles:

It can be inferred that Paul finds the woman’s case to be similar to the case of the gentiles in Romans 4:15: the command had not been given directly to her, and so she was confused and deceived; she was essentially without the law.

The one with more information has greater accountability. Adam, like the Jews, sinned with full knowledge of God’s command; Eve, like the Gentiles, sinned out of confusion and deception about God’s words. Like Eve, the women who spread false teaching did so out of ignorance. Their ignorance of the truth made them susceptible to deception. The remedy against deception, Paul says, is to learn correct doctrine. 

Woman and Man or Wife and Husband?

I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

There are two important details in verse 12. First, this verse probably refers to husbands and wives rather than men and women. The Greek words for woman and man are also the words for husband and wife—we only know the difference by context. It’s also not likely that a woman would have any opportunity to teach a man in a group setting.²  The verses are also in the singular rather than the plural. It’s not about women teaching men, but a woman teaching a man. Therefore, it makes more sense that Paul is referring to interactions between a husband and a wife. Westfall says, “In the Greco-Roman culture, private interactions between a woman and a man would most appropriately occur between family members, and there is much in the passage that indicates a household context.”

Second, 1 Timothy 2 is structured similarly to 1 Peter 3:

¹ Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. ⁷ Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Both passages address the husband’s prayer life, warn against the husband’s harshness, call wives to dress modestly (not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or expensive clothes), quietness, submission, and hope in God/worship of God. Both give an example of a married couple. 1 Timothy, using Adam and Eve as what not to do, and 1 Peter using Abraham and Sarah as what to do. These similarities make it more likely that the context is in the home, between a wife and a husband.

“To Teach or to Exercise Authority”

Some take this phrase to mean that women in general cannot teach or have authority over men. In the household context, it could mean that a wife cannot teach or have authority over her husband. However, this verse isn’t referring to a general teaching or authority. That would be the Greek word exousiazo, which is used for both husbands and wives in 1 Corinthians 7:4: “The wife does not have authority (exousiazo) over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority (exousiazo) over his own body but yields it to his wife.”

The Greek word authentein is used in 1 Timothy 2:12. It’s the only instance of this word throughout the entire New Testament. Nowhere are men or leaders commanded to authentein women or their wives or anyone for that matter. That’s because authentein has a pejorative connotation. This is what Westfall says, 

However, the people who are the targets of these actions are harmed, forced against their will (compelled), or at least their self-interest is overridden, because the actions involve the imposition of the subject’s will over against the recipient’s will, ranging from dishonor to lethal force.

This harmful exercise of authority qualifies the prohibition against wives teaching their husbands. Wives are not to teach or to exercise authority over their husbands in a forceful or dishonoring way. The content of their teaching probably was the false teaching concerning childbirth. 

Saved through Childbirth

But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Verse 15 is one I’ve always ignored. It’s confusing and never seemed to fit within the context of the verses. However, I’ve now come to believe this verse is vital in order to interpret the rest of the passage. Paul put it there for a reason, so it must have something to do with the prohibition of wives ruling over their husbands. 

Some have said this verse refers to Mary: women will be saved through Mary giving birth to Jesus, who is the Savior. Others think this verse calls women to follow their God-given role of motherhood and motherly duties with faithfulness. Neither of these are sufficient. First, because this passage does not mention Mary. Second, because it doesn’t simply call women to follow their womanly role—it says they will be saved through childbearing. If we make childbearing a requirement for salvation, we are effectively saying the work of Christ wasn’t enough.

Westfall’s argument, again, is the best I’ve heard on this passage. Paul is saying if women trust in the Lord, if they follow him in faith, love, and holiness rather than trusting in Artemis, God will save them from the dangers of childbirth. She writes,

In the Greek Old Testament, the range of meaning for “save” (sozo) includes ‘delivery or rescue from trouble, danger, or illness.’ It involves rescue from dangers experiences by humanity such as sickness, warfare, and attack.

“Save” does not just refer to spiritual salvation, but a holistic salvation. It includes the body and physical danger, not just salvation from hell. We see this in Mark 5:34 where Jesus tells the woman suffering from a discharge of blood, “Daughter, your faith has healed (sozo) you. Go in peace and be well from your suffering.”

Craig Keener also writes, “The most natural way for an ancient reader to have understood ‘salvation’ in the context of childbirth would have been a safe delivery, for women regularly called upon patron deities (such as Artemis or Isis) in childbirth.”

Still, this raises the question: How could Paul promise a safe delivery if women continued to die in childbirth? James 5:14 is helpful here. “And the prayer of faith will save (sozo) the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins he will be forgiven.”

These verses are not guaranteed promises as much as they are general statements. Westfall says, “It is important to notice that 1 Timothy 2:15 is not a global promise to all women any more than James 5:15 or the promises of the psalms are global promises to all people.”

Conclusion

Paul writes 1 Timothy to address false teaching, and some of it includes issues with childbirth and the Artemis cult. Women in particular were trusting false gods to protect them in childbirth. Paul tells them instead to learn so they won’t continue to be deceived like Eve was. These verses do not address men and women in general but husbands and wives in particular. Paul’s prohibition against wives authentein their husbands is also not a general teaching or exercising of authority, but a forceful and domineering kind. This is likely in reference to the women spreading false teaching about childbirth. Therefore, Paul says that God promises to save women in childbirth. That is, God promises a safe delivery for them if they faithfully follow him rather than the Artemis cult.  

Sources used:

The Church’s Historical Belief in Women’s Inferiority

Hugenberger article comparing 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Peter 3

Cynthia Long Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ

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¹ William Witt

²  Westfall