Thursday, October 29 2026
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1 Timothy 2:11-12-Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. 12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
When the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, the young Gospel preacher had been sent to Ephesus to combat false doctrines and religions (1 Timothy 1:3). We get a strong indicator of what those false religions were based on from what Paul said at the end of his Epistle.
1 Timothy 6:20-O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—
Look at that phrase “falsely called knowledge.” The word “knowledge” is gnosis (knowledge), which later formed the basis of the Gnostic religions. These people tried to combine paganism with Christianity, resulting in the creation of several heretical groups. As such, throughout this Epistle, Paul deals with several ideologies and teachings that are the result of “seducing spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
With that in mind, we see one reason why Paul did not want women in the church at Ephesus publicly preaching and teaching.
1 Timothy 5:13-And besides they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house, and not only idle but also gossips and busybodies, saying things which they ought not.
The Apostle says some of the women in the church were “busybodies.” The Greek word used here, periergos, is only used one other time in the New Testament.
Acts 19:19-Also, many of those who had practiced magic (periergos) brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
These women at Ephesus were going “fromhouse to house” (I.e.., from one house church to another) and promoting Gnostic paganism.
This background sheds light on the phrase translated “to have authority over” in 1 Timothy 2:12. It is the Greek word authenteo, and had a very specific meaning in Greek.
Hubner cites eight standard Greek lexicons most of which convey the meaning of authĕntĕ ō as referring to autocratic, domineering authority. These lexicons designate the meaning of authĕntĕ ō as follows: “to assume a stance of independent authority, to give orders to, to dictate to;” “of one who acts on his own authority; hence have control over, domineer, Lord it over;” to “control, have authority over;” to “domineer, have authority over;” “to have full power over;” “dominate;” “domineer over.” 287 The Greek-English Lexicon, which focuses on the contextual aspect of words, likewise represents the meaning of authĕntĕ ō as “to control in a domineering manner . . . [example from 1 Tim. 2:12] ‘I do not allow women . . . to dominate men’ . . . ‘To control in a domineering manner’ is often expressed idiomatically, for example, ‘to shout orders at,’ ‘to act like a chief toward,’ or ‘to bark at.’” 288 Further, lexical usages indicate that inherent to the meaning of authĕntĕ ō is that it refers to authority which is self-appointed or even commandeered, rather than commissioned, granted, or assigned appropriately. Clearly those lexical definitions at the very minimum indicate that the pejorative understanding of authĕntĕ ō in 1 Timothy 2:12 is a strong possibility, but more likely, that its normal meaning is derogatory….I attempted to read translations and/or the original Greek of nearly all of the most relevant extra-biblical uses of authĕntĕ ō in their original contexts. At risk of failing to recognize my own biases, from my own examination of those extra-biblical uses at a time when I was not yet settled on either position, it appeared to me that this party line division is very much out of sync with the preponderance of evidence clearly supporting a negative meaning for authĕntĕ ō . It appears to me that unless one is determined to force the evidence to fit a complementarian understanding, it obviously supports the conclusion that authĕntĕ ō is primarily about domineering and abusive authority….Stanley Grenz states that “Recent studies indicate that in the first century authĕntĕ ō was more likely to carry negative than neutral or positive connotations . . . At the time of Paul, the verb carried two closely related meanings: ‘instigating or perpetrating a crime’ and ‘the active wielding of influence (with respect to a person) or the initiation of an action . . . Timothy J. Harris concludes from his study of the occurrences of the verb close to the New Testament period that it meant ‘to hold sway or use power, to be dominant.’ (Dr. Bill Rudd, Should Women Be Pastors And Leaders In Church? My Journey To Discover What The Bible Teaches About Gender Roles, 5207-5546 (Kindle Edition); Bloomington, Indiana; WestBow Press)
What is fascinating is that authenteo (and cognates of that word) were also the names of some gods worshipped by the Gnostics!
Poimandres, an important deity in Hermetic writings, declares, “I am Poimandres, the intellect of the Absolute Beginning (Authentia). . . . That light is I, the Intellect, your god, the one who was before the moist nature appeared out of the shadows. . . . You have seen the archetypal form, the first principle before the infinite beginning.”[12] From the concept of originality and creation sprang other usages, especially in the Egyptian magic papyri of the third and fourth century C.E. Authentikon onoma denoted the genuine, valid name, a name of primal origin—a name which might be used as part of a magic charm to call up a god.[13] Authentēs is applied to the sun as the real, primordial lord.[14] Sevenfold offerings and feasts of the new moon are called authentikos.[15]…Cerinthus, a first-century Gnostic in Ephesus, used “Authentia” to denote the Primal Deity from which all else derived.[ 18] Proklos spoke of God as authentēs demiourgos (primal Creator). (Richard Clark Kroeger, Catherine Clark Kroeger, I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking I Timothy 2:11-15 in Light of Ancient Evidence, 100-101 (Kindle Edition): Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic)
This could mean that Paul’s primary concern with the women at Ephesus preaching was that they were exalting Gnostic gods and goddesses. That certainly makes sense contextually (although we cannot be certain if he discussing that or dictator-like preaching).
Regardless, one great lesson we learn from all this is the importance of learning context in properly interpreting and applying the Word of God. It also helps us to better understand Paul’s commands that women in the church be allowed (alongside the men) to continue learning the Scripture (1 Timothy 2:11).
What are some ways that we can better honor women in the Lord’s church?
Can you think of examples of how pagan religion has influenced Christianity in our time?
Lord, thank You for the women of Your church. Our mothers, wives, and sisters. Bless them, and help us to honor them. Amen.