Editor?s note:
Terri Moore earned the Henry Thiessen Award from Dallas Seminary for her fine work in New Testament studies for the 2002-03 school year. This thesis is the capstone of that year. In it she makes an important contribution to our understanding of 1 Timothy 2.15.
Daniel B. Wallace
August 29, 2004
The message of 1 Timothy 2:15 is notoriously enigmatic and has generated numerous interpretations. Found at the end of a passage which has been surrounded by increasing scholarly debate and examination, this verse closes Paul's thoughts on women in a manner most unusual to the modern-day reader and in apparent contradiction to his own teachings on salvation. A wooden translation reads, "But she shall be saved through childbirth, if they remain in faith and hope and love, with self-control" (swqhvsetai deV diaV th'" teknogoniva", ejaVn meivnwsin ejn pivstei kaiV ajgavph/ kaiV aJgiasmw/' metaV swfrosuvnh"). A cursory reading reveals some of the issues surrounding this verse and many questions arise at first glance. Does this statement contradict the repeated teaching of the New Testament, including Paul's writings, on salvation through faith alone? Put more bluntly, must a woman experience labor to attain salvation? This apparent theological contradiction is the major cause of attention and concern surrounding the interpretation of 1 Tim 2:15. Second, there is some confusion over the subjects of each verb in the sentence. The main verb is singular while the verb in the conditional clause is plural. Are the subjects of these verbs different and if so, or if not, to whom do they refer? A closer study of the verse yields more questions on the lexical, syntactical, and contextual levels. What is the sense of the main verb swqhvsetai and what is the significance of the future tense? Does it refer to physical deliverance or spiritual salvation? What relationship is implied by the preposition? The precise understanding of teknogoniva", a hapax legomenon, is also difficult to identify. Finally, what is the significance and relationship of the conditional clause and how does the entire structure relate to the immediate context of 1 Tim 2:8-12? Adding to the confusion created by this verse are the numerous interpretations found in commentaries and other literature concerning 1 Tim 2:15. Which, if any, of these ideas are viable options for the reader, and can any claim to be the best interpretation?
Certainly the scope of this paper does not allow for an exhaustive examination or definitive answer for each of the questions above, however the following sections do address these issues. The general aim of this study, then, is to discover the best possible interpretation of 1 Tim 2:15 in light of lexical, syntactical, and contextual analyses. The study begins with a review and critique of proposed interpretations to this verse. Several interpretations of 1 Tim 2:15 are described in chapter two and then critiques of each of these are enumerated in chapter three. Chapter four presents the results of a lexical and syntactical analysis of this verse, and in chapter five, important aspects of the literary and theological context are examined. The concluding section in chapter six presents and defends the most likely view or combination of views in light of the study of the previous chapters.
Every student of the Pastoral Epistles is forced to grapple with the message of 1 Tim 2:15. The number of different interpretations of this one verse seems to indicate that there are almost as many viewpoints as there are students! In this chapter, thirteen different interpretations are described, though some overlap in certain aspects and many are often associated together. The major points of these views are simply surveyed and described here; a discussion of the critiques and major disadvantages of each view awaits chapter three. The first major section sets out views of 1 Tim 2:15 which focus on the lexical and grammatical issues of the sentence, while the second major section describes several views which utilize the historical and literary context of the verse to explain its oft-confusing statement.
The following sub-sections describe nine different views of 1 Tim 2:15 which can be grouped under two headings: those which understand swqhvsetai as referring to physical salvation or deliverance and those which understand it as referring to some aspect of spiritual salvation. The different nuances in each individual interpretation center on the exact understanding of this verb swqhvsetai, the function of the preposition diav, and the meaning of teknogoniva".
Two interpretations grouped together based upon similar understandings of swqhvsetai include the physiological interpretation and the deliverance interpretation. Rather than seeing this occurrence of the verb as referring to spiritual salvation with eschatological consequences, these two views reflect a sense of physical safety or deliverance from a present temptation.
Supporters of this interpretation understand the main clause of 1 Tim 2:15 as referring to the safety and deliverance afforded to women throughout the events of labor and childbirth.1 This view suggests the common temporal use for the preposition and an understanding of teknogoniva" as limited to the specific act of childbirth. This idea relates well to the implied connection to Gen 3 found in the immediately preceding verses (1 Tim 2:13-14). Verse 14 may imply the curse of pain in childbirth found in Gen 3:16, and as such, the following phrase in verse 15 adds a promise of physical protection through that process.2 Eve's place in creation and the fall places women in a certain amount of distress and danger, through which verse 15 insists she shall be preserved.3 The conditional clause confirms that this preservation comes as women remain committed Christians.4 Supporters of the physiological interpretation may point to 1 Tim 4:16 and 2 Tim 4:18 for other uses of sw/vzw in the Pastorals which may refer to physical deliverance or to other parallels for their understanding of this verb outside the Pastorals.5 In 1 Tim 4:16, Paul urges Timothy to watch himself and hold tight to his teaching so that he might "save" himself and his parishioners, and in 2 Tim 4:18, Paul speaks of God rescuing him from evil and "saving" him for the heavenly kingdom. These two uses are understood to have a sense of physical preservation and thus supporting this meaning in 2:15.
Supporters of this interpretation understand 1 Tim 2:15 to refer to a woman's deliverance from the errors described and illustrated in verses 12-14.6 Women will be delivered from the temptations of Satan, specifically the temptation to transgress into the role of teacher, by keeping their proper role in family responsibilities. The bearing of children will save her from falling into the error of exercising authority over men and thus, like Eve, being deceived by Satan.7 Thus, sw/vzw is understood as referring to deliverance from a particular transgression or temptation found in the immediate context, and diav is used with a standard sense expressing means. For this interpretation, the meaning of teknogoniva" covers the spectrum of the family responsibilities of a woman, including but not limited to childbirth. This view is closely linked to the overall context of modesty and submissiveness found in verses 9-15 and is supported by the discussion in chapter 5 concerning young widows.8 For these young widows whose behavior was less than desirable, the remedy was to marry, bear children, and manage their household, similar to this understanding of 2:15. The explicit mention of Satan in chapter five gives an added probability of a reference to woman's preservation from Satan in 2:15.9 Further support comes from a proposed motif of deliverance from Satan in the Pastoral Epistles as a whole (c.f. 1 Tim 3:6; 5:15; 2 Tim 2:26).10 One other advantage of this interpretation is its connection of verse 15 with verse 14, where the fall and temptation of the first woman are explicitly mentioned.11
Seven interpretations of 1 Tim 2:15 may again be grouped together based upon their understanding of swqhvsetai. These include the Christological, concessional, attendant circumstance, perseverance, proof of salvation, spiritual children, and faithful children interpretations. All view the verb as here referring to spiritual salvation; whether that reference be to initial conversion or to perseverance toward final salvation depends upon the particular interpretation at hand.
This view understands teknogoniva" as referring to the birth of Jesus Christ, and thus the entire phrase refers to the spiritual salvation of women through the birth of the Messiah.12 The common spiritual sense is assigned to sw/vzw, an instrumental understanding to the preposition, and a more specific, technical meaning to teknogoniva". This Christological interpretation takes the reference to Adam and Eve in verse 14 seriously and picks up the promise of Gen 3:15 concerning the seed of the woman.13 First Timothy 2:15, then, reflects the idea that Jesus is the one who ultimately fulfilled this promise by undoing the curse. Eve and all women like her, who are enslaved by the curse and power of sin, will be saved by the birth of Jesus Christ. The conditional clause follows smoothly and logically within this interpretation by indicating that such salvation comes only to those who have a true faith that is reflected in a righteous lifestyle.14
Supporters propose that this Christological interpretation fits well both with the context and with the Pauline understanding of salvation. First, it builds on the allusion to Gen 3 found in verse 14, by referring to the fulfillment of the promise. Second, the conditional clause affirms that though objectively accomplished, salvation is not automatically experienced without sincere faith.15 Further support for this interpretation comes from its recognition of the presence of the article with teknogoniva" as implying a specific event, as well as its assignment of common meanings to both sw/vzw and to diav when it follows a passive form of sw/vzw.16 Additionally, this view seems to have been adopted by some of the early Church Fathers.17
The concessional view interprets this clause as reaffirming salvation for women despite having to endure the pain of the curse in childbearing.18 Woman shall be linked with man in salvation in spite of the penalty for transgression imposed upon her.19 Verse 15 is seen as a way of consolation to women, with the purpose of comforting them and reminding them that salvation is secure though they suffer the pains of punishment at the moment.20 This view then recognizes for both sw/vzw and teknogoniva" their normal meanings of spiritual salvation and childbirth in the narrow sense respectively, but holds a unique meaning thus far for diav. In this understanding the prepositional phrase is not dealing with the basis or means of salvation but the way through which God leads to salvation.21 Thus diav is assigned a sense of accompaniment with a concessional idea in that it describes the route to salvation. The idea is that women will be saved although they must go through the pains of childbirth. The conditional clause fits well with this interpretation by reaffirming the true source of this salvation as steadfast faith in Christ.22 This understanding of verse 15 also follows well after the reference to Eve's transgression and the implied reference to the curse of Gen 3:16, by confirming that women will be saved despite this curse.23 One strength of this interpretation is that it clearly shows how the original curse referred to in verse 14 is mitigated by Christian salvation.24 Additional support comes from parallel passages which use a passive form of sw/vzw plus a diav prepositional phrase to express a difficult circumstance through which one must pass in salvation (1 Cor 3:15—through fire, 1 Pet 3:20—through water).25 Other passages in which this construction appears with a similar meaning are Acts 14:22 and Rev 21:24.26 Coupland argues that this is the only explanation of the verse which both makes sense in the context and is in accordance with Pauline theology.27
This interpretation is similar to the previous one in that it views diav as having a sense of accompaniment, but here the focus is on the attendant circumstances of salvation rather than on a difficulty which must be passed through.28 Swqhvsetai is understood in its spiritual sense and teknogoniva" is viewed as referring to all of the responsibilities and tasks of motherhood. The normal and natural duties of a woman are found in the tasks of childrearing, and it is in these duties that women (and men alike) work out their salvation, as far as individual efforts can contribute.29 Falconer, the major supporter of this view, understands the entire phrase as referring to the spiritual salvation of women from the effects of the transgression and as proposing that this salvation occurs in the experience of childbirth and motherhood.30 This phrase, then, is related to the entire passage by discouraging a woman's effort to find fulfillment in public teaching because it declares motherhood as the highest function for women.31 Motherhood is seen as a mysterious and almost sacramental function in that it retrieves a blessing out of the primitive curse.32 This understanding of the phrase finds close parallels with the same passages mentioned above for the concessional view (1 Cor 3:15, 1 Pet 3:20) in that all three describe an experience which accompanies salvation.33 Further support for this view may be gleaned from the historical context of the book. By honoring and exalting motherhood as an experience connected to salvation, this phrase may have had significant impact in combating the false teachings that renounced marriage and exalted virginity.34
The perseverance interpretation understands 1 Tim 2:15 as referring to the perseverance of women in and towards final salvation. This perseverance is found in the proper role of women, including but not limited to the domestic bearing and nurturing of children.35 Thus the future tense verb, swqhvsetai, is significant and refers specifically to the perseverance towards final salvation rather than the initial conversion experience. The preposition carries its normal instrumental meaning and teknogoniva" functions as a synecdoche for the proper role of women.
Supporters see this interpretation as connected to the context of the passage. The outworking of a woman's salvation as she perseveres toward the return of Christ consists in accepting God-given roles, one of which is bearing children, as opposed to altering the roles for men and women in the church discussed in verses 8-12.36 Verses 13-14 allude to Gen 3:16 with its prediction that motherhood is a woman's appointed role, thus this phrase in 1 Tim 2:15 proposes that a woman's path to salvation consists in accepting this role. The statement also confirms that childbearing, with its connection to the curse, does not imply that women are under God's permanent displeasure.37 The conditional clause reveals that perseverance is not automatic with childbirth and motherhood, but only comes through fulfilling these roles in the practice of true Christianity, with the right spirit of faith, love, and holiness.38 The entire verse is not a definitive soteriological statement, but is more practically concerned with women carrying out their divinely given roles and living a life which issues in salvation.39 Many supporters admit that 1 Tim 2 :15 is an unusual if not awkward way of expressing this idea, but see the context of the letter and the present argument of the passage as producing such a statement.40
A major strength for this interpretation is its normal understanding of the preposition. It has been previously mentioned that of six occurrences of this construction in the NT (passive verb plus diav prepositional phrase), in all but two the preposition is functioning instrumentally.41 A second strength is its understanding of the function of teknogoniva" as synecdoche. To identify teknogoniva" as the means of attaining salvation is certainly strange, unless it is seen as counteracting the means by which the fall occurred and includes other proper duties, as this interpretation proposes.42 Additionally, the term teknogoniva" was most likely chosen as a synecdoche here because of the circulating false teachings which were downplaying the importance of marriage (c.f. 1 Tim 4:3).43 A third major strength exists in that, with the conditional clause, this phrase agrees with the Pauline thought that salvation requires a believer's continual perseverance in good works, which are not meritorious but give evidence to the work of grace in a true Christian.44 A final strength is its link to the context. The concept of urging women to adorn themselves in good works is similar to the message of verse 10 and this interpretation recognizes and builds on the allusion to Gen 3 found in 1 Tim 2:14.45 The perseverance view also parallels the discussion in 1 Timothy 5 concerning the perseverance of young widows in good works rather than destructive behavior.46
The proof of salvation view proposes that women find their deepest satisfaction from their accomplishments in the Christian home.47 Supporters understand swqhvsetai in its spiritual sense referring to forgiveness of sins and teknogoniva" as a synecdoche for motherhood as a whole.48 Diav is understood as functioning instrumentally, but the force of the entire phrase is that becoming a good wife and mother proves the reality of a woman's salvation. Women whose good deeds include marriage and raising children in faithfulness provide concrete testimony of God's gracious work of redemption in their lives.49 Supporters insist however that this does not exclude a woman from working outside the home, but rather her career opportunities should not take priority over her commitment to domestic duties.50
Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa both understood the message of 1 Tim 2:15 to be that a woman's salvation is found in her "spiritual children".51 Gregory of Nyssa's interpretation of this verse appears in the midst of his defense of the superiority of virginity as he writes:
Every one knows that the propagation of mortal frames is the work which the intercourse of the sexes has to do; whereas for those who are joined to the Spirit, life and immortality instead of children are produced by this latter intercourse; and the words of the Apostle beautifully suit their case, for the joyful mother of such children as these "shall be saved in child-bearing;" as the Psalmist in his divine songs thankfully cries, "He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children." Truly a joyful mother is the virgin mother who by the operation of the Spirit conceives the deathless children, and who is called by the Prophet barren because of her modesty only.52
These early interpretations understand both swqhvsetai and diav with their normal meanings (spiritual salvation for the verb and an instrumental/means preposition), but understand teknogoniva" symbolically. Childbirth refers to a Christian woman's "spiritual children" or her good works. It is these good works which bring about a woman's salvation.
This interpretation proposes that a woman's salvation may be contingent upon the perseverance of her children in faith, love, and holiness. Chrysostom and Jerome both appear to take 1 Tim 2:15 as referring to women's reward for bringing up faithful Christian children. Chrysostom writes:
God hath given her no small consolation, that of childbearing. And if it be said that this is of nature, so is that also of nature; for not only that which is of nature has been granted, but also the bringing up of children. "If they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety"; that is, if after childbearing, they keep them in charity and purity. By these means they will have no small reward on their account, because they have trained up wrestlers for the service of Christ.53
In one of his letters, Jerome compares the message to women in 1 Tim 2:15 first, with the story of Eli and God's displeasure with him because of the evil sins of his sons and second, with the prohibition of appointing to the office of bishop men who have unruly children.54 Both of these early interpretations understand the plural subject of the conditional clause to refer to the children of the woman who is the subject of the main clause.55 A woman's spiritual salvation is thus connected to the faithfulness of her children.
The following subsections present four interpretations of 1 Tim 2:15 which center on concerns beyond the grammatical and lexical issues of the text including issues of authorship, historical context, and literary context. Many of these ideas are often found in connection with one or more of the views mentioned in the preceding sections. These proposals are grouped below under "dismissive" explanations, recasting/response theories, the proverbial statement proposal, and the Midrash connection.
First Timothy 2:15 is considered by some who study it as a statement to be dismissed as lacking authority and irreconcilable with other teachings of Scripture. Four different causes for this lack of authority have been proposed.
First, there is the question of the authorship of the Pastoral Epistles. First Timothy 2:15 appears in an unpopular section of an epistle in which Pauline authorship is highly questioned. The concepts of the verse which link women with the fall of humanity and equate redemption with childbirth are seen to reflect a later reactionary movement rather than the apostolic teachings of Paul.56 Specifically, the hermeneutic of the Old Testament in 1 Tim 2:13-15 is seen as discernibly different from Paul's usual style. The use of Genesis in the 1 Timothy passage is more dependent upon popular notions and Jewish exegesis than is normally found in the widely accepted Pauline material.57 Therefore, the seemingly repressive position towards women found in 1 Tim 2:9-15 could not come from the authentic Paul, who was much more of an egalitarian.58 Some propose that the close parallel in 1 Cor 14:33-36 is actually a later interpolation into the Corinthian letter by an editor familiar with the Pastorals, obviously placed there to find support for the Corinthian editor's and the Pastoral's own views on women.59 Support for such an idea comes from the placement of 1 Cor 14:34-35 after 1 Cor 14:40 in certain Western manuscripts.60
A second proposal is similar in that it also seeks to question, if not plainly deny, the authority of the passage. However, the question of authority is not based on issues of authorship but on the message of the passage alone. Though canonical, this passage cannot be authoritative because it leads to the continued repression of women rather than to their liberation.61 The proposal is that not all canonical passages have equal authority, and 1 Tim 2:15 would be included among those which have little to no authority in the church, or at least over women. Though not always a conscious thought, this mindset is illustrated, as Luke Timothy Johnson articulates, in the absence of this text from recent lectionaries, sermons, devotionals, and Bible study material.62
A third reason for questioning the authority of this verse is the possibility that 1 Tim 2:12-14 is merely a quotation of 1 Cor 14:34-35. Supporters claim that in the 1 Timothy quotation, the material from 1 Corinthians is taken out of context and excludes Paul's apparent dismissal of these ideas found in the original passage.63
A fourth and final suggestion for a lack of authority in 1 Tim 2:15 is the belief that verse 15 is a later interpolation to 1 Timothy, probably inserted to oppose Montanism.64
The common strength of these arguments is in their recognition of a clear sense to the meaning of the phrase and their adoption of the usual meaning for each of the terms used. Supporters simply find the meaning morally offensive and non-authoritative because it seems first, to either rely upon oppressive sexual stereotypes or reflect a type of primitive mythology, and second, to contradict the teachings of Paul and other New Testament writers concerning women and salvation.65
Several theories concerning 1 Tim 2:15 propose that this statement is used by the author to respond to or recast a statement from another well-known source, or to respond to or recast a teaching of his opponents.
The message of 1 Tim 2:15 may be related to a Jewish idea or a Jewish- Christian source with which the original readers would have been familiar. Falconer alludes to this concept when he states that the writer of 1 Timothy may have adopted a Hebrew maxim and then inserted the conditional clause attempting to conform the original statement to full Christian truth.66 Support for this idea comes from the argument that a Jewish view did exist in which enduring the pains of physical childbirth was believed to overcome the curse pronounced in Genesis.67 Quinn and Wacker see evidence of such a Jewish-Christian source in the awkward Greek of the first statement in 2:15.68 The previous verses (2:13-14) may come from such a Jewish-Christian source which is glossing the narrative about Eve in the Septuagint, and thus verse 15 is just a continuation from this source.69 The sentence of verse 15 begins in a Semitic fashion (verb first), and the passive voice is used with God as the unnamed ultimate agent.70 All such evidence is believed to point to some type of source, probably with Jewish origins, which is being utilized by the author in 1 Tim 2:15.
Other theories understand this statement in 2:15 as a recasting of the thoughts and teachings of Paul's opponents, used here to provide a response to those teachings.71 It is possible that certain false teachings were encouraging women to give up conventional roles like motherhood in order to be saved and were ultimately declaring childbirth to be a condemnation.72 The response in verse 15 would then intend to combat such teachings by restoring the vocation of motherhood to its rightful place of honor and dismissing those who teach that it prevents salvation in any way.73 Second Timothy 2:18 reveals that the opposition was probably teaching some form of triumphalism, and thus the force of 2:15 could also be to remind readers of the reality of a sin-cursed world still dependent upon God's promised salvation.74 Each of these recasting/response theories has the advantage of listening closely to the historical and literary context of the book, and attempting to assign a normal meaning and explanation to the words and phrases in the verse.
Response and recasting explanations of 1 Tim 2:15 are commonly found in connection with other more grammatical proposals. Falconer's connection was mentioned above, and various forms of these ideas are commonly found in association with the perseverance view, the proof of salvation view, and the deliverance view in order to help explain the awkward nature of the verse's teachings.
Another possible explanation is that 1 Tim 2:15 represents a reference to a type of proverbial expression that would have had a specific meaning to the original audience, but which has now been lost.75 Classifying it as a proverbial statement yields more flexibility to the nuance of the words and phrases, increasing the possibility of uncommon uses and meanings. One theory is that the expression would most likely have referred to deliverance from the devastating effects of the role reversal that took place in the Garden, and the idea of childbearing would stand as a synecdoche for activities that represent a woman's submission to the leadership of man. Therefore, the statement would not have salvific importance but would refer to the working out of redemption in everyday life. Support for this interpretation comes from the appearance of many such proverbial sayings in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim 1:15, 3:1, 4:9; 2 Tim 2:11; Tit 1:12, 3:8) and its explanation of the awkwardness of the phrase. This theory, like the recasting/response explanations, lends itself to associations with other proposals because it may provide for uncommon or rare usages for words and phrases and explain the difficulties of interpretation for the modern reader. Most often it is found in relation to the deliverance view to help explain the unique understanding of swqhvsetai in that proposal.
A brief comment in a journal concerned with Bible translation suggests a possible link between 1 Tim 2:15 and a Midrash comment on Prov 5:21.76 The Midrash comment at Prov 5:21 states "Just as a woman's iniquities are recalled to her only during her labor pains, so a man's iniquities are recalled to him only when he comes to the pains of the nether world; hence it is said He will be caught up in the ropes of his sin."77 The proposal is that Paul had this comment in mind when writing 1 Tim 2:15. Thus, the basic sense of the verse is simply as an observation that in facing possible death, as a woman in labor does, people tend to face up to spiritual realities and are thus brought closer to salvation.78
1 Supporters include C. K. Barrett, The Pastoral Epistles, The New Clarendon Bible, ed. H. F. D. Sparks (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1963), 56-7; and J. H. Bernard, The Pastoral Epistles, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge: University Press, 1899), 49.
2 I. Howard Marshall, The Pastoral Epistles, The International Critical Commentary, ed. J. A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1999), 469.
3 Barrett, The Pastoral Epistles, 57.
4 Ibid.
5 Although, these other uses of the verb are debated. See critique of this view in chapter two.
6 Supporters include S. Jebb, "A Suggested Interpretation of 1 Ti 2:15," The Expository Times 81 (July, 1970): 221-2; James B. Hurley, Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 221-3; and Andrew J. Kstenberger, "Ascertaining Women's God-Ordained Roles: An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:15," Bulletin for Biblical Research 7 (1997): 107-44.
7 Jebb, "Suggested Interpretation," 221.
8 Ibid., 222.
9 Kstenberger, "God-Ordained Roles," 121.
10 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 469.
11 Kstenberger, "God-Ordained Roles," 121.
12 Supporters include George W. Knight, The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary, ed. I. Howard Marshall and W. Ward Gasque (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992), 144-9; Walter Lock, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1924), 33; Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. R. V. G. Tasker (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), 77-9; and Charles J. Ellicott, A Critical and Grammatical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles with a Revised Translation (Andover: Warren F. Draper, 1860), 54.
13 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 469.
14 Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 147.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid. Knight points out that the passive form of sw/vzw occurs 6 times with diav following it (Acts 15:11, Rom 5:9, 1 Cor 3:15, 15:2, I Tim 2:15, and 1 Pet 3:20). All but two of these have the preposition functioning instrumentally and those two (1 Cor 3:15 and 1 Pet 3:20) mention the elements through which salvation is brought. Thus, he argues that the instrumental use is the normal use for diav following a passive form of this verb.
17 Ibid., 146.
18 Supporters include E. F. Scott, The Pastoral Epistles, ed. James Moffatt (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1946), 27-9; John Calvin, 1,2 Timothy and Titus, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, ed. Alister McGrath and J. I. Packer (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 49-50; and Simon Coupland, "Salvation Through Childbearing? The Riddle of 1 Timothy 2:15," The Expository Times 112 (September, 2001): 302-3.
19 Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles, 78.
20 Calvin, 1,2 Timothy and Titus, 49.
21 Ibid.
22 Coupland, "Riddle," 303.
23 Ibid.
24 Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles, 78.
25 Coupland, "Riddle," 303.
26 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 469. In Acts 14:22 ( . . . through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God) the prepositional phrase describes the hardships which accompany the Christian life. In Rev 21:24 (The nations shall walk through its light . . .) the prepositional phrase describes the light in which the nations will walk.
27 Coupland, "Riddle," 303.
28 Supporters include Robert Falconer, "1 Timothy 2, 14.15. Interpretive Notes," Journal of Biblical Literature 60 (1941): 375-79; Newport J. D. White, The First and Second Epistles to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus, The Expositor's Greek Testament, ed. W. Robertson Nicoll, vol. 4 (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897-1910; reprint, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), 110 (page citations are to the reprint edition).
29 White, First and Second Epistles, 110.
30 Falconer, "Interpretive Notes," 376.
31 Ibid.
32 Ibid.
33 1 Cor 3:15 states, " . . . He himself will be saved, but only as through fire." ( . . . aujto" deV swqhvsetai, ou{tw" deV wJ" diaV purov".) 1 Pet 3:20 says, " . . . that is eight souls, were delivered through water." ( . . . tou't' e[stin ojktwV yucaiv, dieswvqhsan di' u{dato".)
34 Falconer, "Interpretive Notes," 377.
35 Supporters include Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 467-71; J. N. D. Kelly, A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, Black's New Testament Commentaries, ed. Henry Chadwick (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1963), 69-70; Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, New International Biblical Commentary, no. 13 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988), 74-6; Anthony Tyrrell Hanson, Studies in the Pastoral Epistles (London: SPCK, 1968), 73-4; J. L. Houlden, The Pastoral Epistles: I and II Timothy, Titus, TPI New Testament Commentaries, ed. Howard Clark Kee and Dennis Nineham (London: SCM Press, 1989), 71-3; Arland J. Hultgren, I-II Timothy, Titus, Ausburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984), 70; Joh. Ed. Huther, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, trans. by David Hunter (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1881), 133-5; Ann Bowman, "Women in Ministry: An Exegetical Study of 1 Timothy 2:11-15," Bibliotheca Sacra 149 (1992): 193-213.
36 William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, ed. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, no. 46 (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2000), 146.
37 Kelly, Pastoral Epistles, 69.
38 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 470.
39 Hultgren, I-II Timothy, Titus, 70.
40 Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 76.
41 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 147.
42 Houlden, The Pastoral Epistles, 72.
43 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 147. Another possible reason for using this term is because it is a most notable example of the divinely intended differences in roles for men and women.
44 Ibid., 146.
45 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 471.
46 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 146.
47 Thomas D. Lea and Hayne P. Griffin, Jr. 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, The New American Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery, no. 34 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1992), 102.
48 Ibid.
49 Ibid.
50 Ibid., 103.
51 Augustine, De Trinitate, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series, ed. Philip Schaff, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978), 159.
52 Gregory of Nyssa, De Virginitate, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1972), 359.
53 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Timothy, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series, ed. Philip Schaff, vol. 13 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979), 436.
54 St. Jerome, Letter 107, A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, vol. 6 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1954), 192.
55 Houlden, Pastoral Epistles, 72-3.
56 Mary Hayter, The New Eve in Christ (London: SPCK, 1987), 131-3.
57 Ibid., 132.
58 Robin Scroggs, "Paul and the Eschatological Woman," Journal of the American Academy of Religion 40 (September 1972): 283-303.
59 Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, trans. James W. Leitch, Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, ed. George W. MacRae (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975), 246. He argues for the inauthenticity of verses 33b-36 because it interrupts the flow of the passage, contradicts 11:2ff, and has peculiar linguistic usages. He claims that the regulations here are on the level of the Pastorals. See also Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), 699-702. He argues that verses 34-35 are not authentic to 1 Cor because of transcriptional probability and intrinsic probability. See also Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, "Interpolations in 1 Corinthians," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 48 (January 1986): 92. He also argues that verses 34-35 are interpolations into 1 Corinthians and parallel both the ideas and language of the later non-Pauline 1 Timothy passage.
60 Luke Timothy Johnson, The First and Second Letters to Timothy, The Anchor Bible, ed. William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman, no. 35A (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 209. See above footnote 59 for additional support for this proposal.
61 Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Bread Not Stone: The Challenge of Feminist Biblical Interpretation, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1984), 23-63; and Rosemary Radford Ruether, "The Feminist Critique in Religious Studies," Soundings 64 (Winter 1981): 388-402.
62 Johnson, Letters to Timothy, 210.
63 D. W. Odell-Scott, "In Defense of an Egalitarian Interpretation of 1 Cor. 14.34-36: A Reply to Murphy-O'Conner's Critique," Biblical Theology Bulletin 17 (1987): 100-3.
64 J. Alonso Diaz, "Restriccion en algunos textos paulinos de las reivindicaciones de la mujer en la Iglesia," Estudios Eclesiasticos 50 (1975): 77-93; and O. Michel, "Grundfragen der Pastoralbriefe," in Auf dem Grunde der Apostel und Propheten, ed. M. Loeser, 83-99 (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1948): 93; described in Stanley E. Porter, "What Does It Mean to be 'Saved by Childbirth' (1 Timothy 2.15)?" Journal for the Study of the New Testament 49 (1993): 88.
65 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 88.
66 Falconer, "Interpretive Notes," 377.
67 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 469.
68 Jerome D. Quinn and William C. Wacker, The First and Second Letters to Timothy (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 231.
69 Ibid.
70 Ibid.
71 Luke Timothy Johnson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Knox Preaching Guides, ed. John H. Hayes (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1973), 62-71; and Philip Towner, The Goal of Our Instruction: The Structure of Theology and Ethics in the Pastoral Epistles (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1989), 80.
72 David R. Kimberley, "1 Tim 2:15: A Possible Understanding of a Difficult Text," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 35 (April, 1992): 486.
73 Ibid.
74 Philip H. Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, ed. Grant R. Osborne (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 80. Another possible purpose for 2:15 could be to teach that, because the resurrection is yet future, Christians are to faithfully live in "the confines of a mundane social structure that still awaits the eschaton."
75 NET Bible (New English Translation) note on 1 Tim 2:15 includes and explains this idea.
76 David Thomas, "Saved by Childbearing!" Notes on Translation 10 (February, 1996): 52.
77 Burton L. Visotzky, trans, The Midrash on Proverbs, Yale Judaica Series, ed. Sid Z. Leiman (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 35.
78 Thomas, "Saved by Childbearing!" 52.
Certain problems occur with each of the proposals for 1 Tim 2:15 found in the previous chapter. The following sections will delineate the disadvantages pointed out by the critics of each view as well as present any responses of supporters to such criticisms.
The proposal that 1 Tim 2:15 is a statement concerning the physical salvation of women through the experience of childbirth has several problems, the first being that it is simply not true to reality.79 If this is a promise of safety through childbirth for committed Christian women, it has not been kept, for since it was penned many faithful women have died in labor. The second problem concerns the sense of swqhvsetai assumed for this interpretation. The verb occurs six additional times in the Pastoral Epistles. Four of those occurrences unquestionably refer to spiritual salvation (1 Tim 1:15; 2:4; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 3:5), while the two others used as support for this position are debatable, but very possibly carry the same spiritual connotation (1 Tim 4:16; 2 Tim 4:18).80 In other Pauline writings, the majority of uses of this verb denote a spiritual act with eschatological consequences implied.81 Additionally, Paul uses a form of rJuvomai to refer to deliverance from anything other than sin in other Pastoral passages (2 Tim 3:11; 4:18).82 In 2 Tim 4:18, both words (rJuvomai and sw/vzw) are used in the same sentence, showing a firm distinction between safety from evil and spiritual salvation.83 Finally, the context seems to focus on spiritual salvation, with the preceding verse referencing transgression. The idea of physical safety in childbirth is then left unmotivated with the context pointing rather to the need for spiritual salvation.84
Similar to the disadvantages of the physiological interpretation, problems with the deliverance view arise in connection with the use of sw/vzw among Paul's writings and especially within the Pastoral Epistles. The same arguments mentioned above therefore also apply here: the Pastoral Epistles seem to use sw/vzw in reference to spiritual salvation and rJuvomai in reference to deliverance. Though this interpretation recognizes deliverance from temptation to a specific sin, it underplays the spiritual and eschatological significance of the word as used elsewhere.85 Furthermore, such an absolute use of this important verb would have prompted the use of a qualifier to refer to verses 11-12 or the temptations of Satan.86 There is, however, no explicit mention of Satan in the passage at hand, and the context, especially verse 14, seems to refer to the broader sense of salvation rather than one specific temptation.87
Supporters would reply to these concerns by pointing to the uses of sw/vzw in 1 Tim 4:16 and 2 Tim 4:18 which may refer to something other than spiritual salvation, the concern in the Pastorals for deliverance from Satan, and the explicit mention of Satan in the parallel verse in 1 Tim 5:14.88 In general, they propose that sw/vzw has a considerable range of meaning in the New Testament as well as Paul's epistles, and that alternatives to the literal, i.e. spiritual, rendering should be explored.89
The main problem with the Christological view surrounds its interpretation of teknogoniva". Though it occurs only here in the New Testament, there is evidence that the term deals with the activity and fact of bearing children rather than to a single, specific childbirth.90 The verbal form used in 1 Tim 5:14 (teknogonei'n) emphasizes the act, not the children who are born. The related verb in 5:10 is also used to refer to the general act of raising children; thus it seems the word group does not appear elsewhere as a technical term referring to the incarnation.91 A second problem involves the understanding of the significance of the article, which is here more likely generic or identifying rather than referring to a particular instance.92 A third difficulty concerns the context, which does not explicitly echo the language of Gen 3:15-16.93 Although commentators disagree as to the specific purpose of the allusion in 1 Tim 2:13-14, most agree with Kstenberger that the reference to Gen 3 is functioning illustratively rather than establishing a Messianic typology.94 Another difficulty with the context involves the understanding of Gen 3:15 as the proto-evangelion, which is an interpretation debated among scholars for its absence in the New Testament and its late arrival among the early Church (the earliest form of this idea does not appear until the second century).95 Without this basic idea in the allusion of verses 13-14, the Christological interpretation would have little contextual support. A fourth disadvantage involves the early patristic support for this interpretation, which is not as clear as it might seem and only surfaces in the Latin Fathers, not the Greek Fathers.96 Finally, if this interpretation is correct, the allusion is certainly a highly cryptic and obscure way to refer to the birth of Christ.97
Some of these objections to the Christological view are answerable and thus a sweeping dismissal of the view loses a portion of its force.98 The presence of the article is quite rare in this construction and thus its significance should not so easily be set aside.99 Such a "par excellence" or monadic use of the article as this view suggests is quite a common usage in the Pastoral Epistles (especially in phrases such as toV musthvrion, hJ pivsti", hJ didaskaliva).100 Secondly, understanding teknogoniva" as functioning metaphorically to represent the birth of Christ is not so far removed from having it function metonymically to represent raising children, which is a prominent claim of most other views. Some type of figurative use of this word is almost necessary to make sense of the verse, so the suggestion by the Christological view must be taken seriously.
The most serious obstacle for the concessional view of 1 Tim 2:15 is the uncommon meaning it assigns to the preposition. Diav does not normally carry the proposed concessional meaning of "even though" or "in spite of," though the attendant circumstances use of the preposition (under whose head the concessional use falls) is more common. 101 It seems in order to make peace with Pauline theology this understanding may unduly choose a rare meaning for the preposition.102 A second difficulty arises with the link between 1 Tim 2:14 and the curse of Gen 3 which is vital to this concessional understanding of verse 15. As was stated earlier, the context of verses 13-14 does not exactly echo the curse language of Gen 3:16, but rather stops the illustration with Eve's fall into transgression with no explicit mention of the curse and pain in childbirth. Furthermore, even if the connection is implied, the curse of Gen 3 was in the accompanying pain of childbirth and did not indicate that the entire event of bearing children be viewed as a curse.103 Related to this idea is a third critique of this view: an understanding of diav with this concessional sense seems to connect childbirth itself to the curse and suggest it as a possible hindrance or endangerment to salvation.104 Finally, the parallel constructions usually listed as support for this idea (Acts 14:22, 1 Cor 3:15, 1 Pet 3:20, and Rev 21:24) are better described with more common uses of the preposition such as temporal or spatial.
Because of their close relation, the attendant circumstance and concessional views have similar weaknesses. With only four debatable parallel passages (1 Cor 3:15; 1 Pet 3:20; Acts 14:22; and Rev 21:24) as support for a similar meaning of the preposition within this construction, the attendant circumstance usage with this construction seems quite uncommon. Critics argue there is little grammatical support beyond these few verses for taking diav as having a sense of attendant circumstance, meaning "in the experience of," and find no grammatical support within the Pastoral Epistles.105 BDAG, however, lists nine examples of this usage, seven of which are Pauline and one is 1 Tim 2:15.106 However, it seems that, again, a determination to fit this verse with the Pauline idea of salvation through faith alone may influence the choice of this usage, which does not seem to appear elsewhere in the Pastorals. Secondly, the line between this usage and the instrumental usage of the preposition can be quite thin,107 and in the context of 1 Tim 2:15, may be quite inconsequential. If a woman's salvation comes in the experience of childbirth, is not that experience functioning as a type of means to her salvation? A third critique concerns this understanding of teknogoniva" as covering a broad range of ideas including both childbirth and motherhood. Arguments exist for limiting the meaning of this term to the act of childbearing, and these will be considered more fully in the perseverance section.
One critique of the perseverance interpretation involves its understanding of the significance of the future tense of sw/vzw in 1 Tim 2:15. Kstenberger argues that there are no other eschatological references in the context to corroborate an eschatological/perseverance interpretation of this verb.108 The verb is most probably a gnomic future, he argues, but if it is referring to time, it could point to any time in the future from the time-frame of the author, not necessarily the second coming of Christ.109 A second weakness with this interpretation is its ambiguity. Many supporters would agree with Marshall that a good paraphrase of the verse would be, "She will be (finally) saved by fulfilling her domestic role (the bearing and nurture of children)."110 If this is the message of 1 Tim 2:15, the construction of the sentence, especially the prepositional phrase, is certainly an obscure way of communicating that message.111 A final critique of this interpretation is that the apparent theological dilemma has not been solved; salvation, albeit final salvation, is still ascribed to a work of faithfulness in either motherhood or childbirth.112
There is some discontinuity among supporters concerning the meaning and range of teknogoniva" in 1 Tim 2:15. Porter agrees in the most part with the perseverance interpretation, but differs on one important issue.113 He argues strongly that teknogoniva" should not be expanded and refers only to the event of childbirth. First, he suggests that the most reliable extra-biblical information on this term points to a specified meaning restricted to childbirth. Second, he points to the use of the verb form in 1 Tim 5:14.114 Here the word is listed with and differentiated from marriage and household management, creating a difficulty in making it inclusive of these two ideas in 2:15. Third, in 1 Tim 5:10 a different word is used for the concept of child-rearing, teknotrofevw, again making it difficult to see teknogoniva" as inclusive of this idea. Finally, in all of these passages, there is no moral, spiritual, or theological quality attributed to any of these actions, they are all merely listed as specific and definable duties of a woman. Porter concludes that the fundamental assumption of 1 Tim 2:15 is found in the message of the conditional clause that women should live lives of faith, love, and holiness. The main clause of the verse, however, further equates the earthly function of bearing children with eschatological, salvific reward.115
The proof of salvation view of 1 Tim 2:15 is difficult to find in the actual words of the text. Supporters of this view claim to understand swqhvsetai as referring to spiritual salvation, yet in the interpretation of the entire phrase it is assigned the meaning, "to prove one's salvation." This understanding not only adds meaning to the phrase that is not inherent in the words, but overlooks the significance of the voice of the verb. Swqhvsetai is a passive verb, while this interpretation presents a distinct action on part of the subject.
The "spiritual children" interpretation is greatly criticized and enjoys few supporters today. This proposal for 1 Tim 2:15 is obviously highly allegorical and symbolic, which is inconsistent with both the immediate context and the overall genre of epistolary literature.116
The "faithful children" interpretation is also quickly dismissed among today's scholars. First, such an understanding only compounds the theological difficulties with this verse. The idea of connecting the salvation of a mother to the faithfulness of her children is simply incompatible with New Testament and Pauline teachings on salvation. Second, the switch from singular to plural verb forms in the verse does not necessitate a reference to the children in the conditional clause nor demand a change in subjects at all.117 This shift in number occurs throughout the immediate passage concerning women and the shift from Eve to the women in Ephesus in 2:14-15 is subtle, thus the apparent confusion in number. Such a change in number as is found in this passage is characteristic of paraenetic style and does not here support a change in subject from the main clause to the conditional clause.118
Each of the four proposals presented in chapter two as dismissive have individual problems and disadvantages. The denial of Pauline authorship is considered by many to be unconvincing, though a full discussion of the issues is beyond the scope of this paper.119 However, even if this passage is agreed to be deutero-Pauline material, to use this fact in declaring a passage as unauthoritative marginalizes not only the passage, but the book of 1 Tim, and the message of the Pastoral Epistles as a whole, as well as skirting the implications and issues involved in this specific passage and verse.120 Johnson points out that, especially for the Church today, a biblical book obtains its authority from its place in the canon of Scripture, of which authorship was a factor, but not the lone factor.121 Furthermore, ample evidence exists which reveal the ideas in 1 Tim 2:9-15 to be consistent with Paul's thoughts in other letters. Similar thoughts appear in 1 Cor 11:2-15, where the headship of man is discussed as well as the dishonor of a woman who prays and prophecies without a head covering, and in the household codes of Paul, which also teach the submission of wives to husbands (Col 3:18-19 and Eph 5:22-33).122 The close parallel in 1 Cor 14:33-36 is certainly the strongest evidence that the message in 1 Tim 2:9-15 is Pauline, and critics of this dismissive view believe the textual evidence confirms that this 1 Cor passage originated from the hand of Paul rather than as a later interpolation.123 Thus, the argument that Paul could not have written the words in 1 Tim 2:9-15 is weak, and even if assumed true, cannot be used to strip its authority and place in the canon of Scripture.
Equally problematic is the idea of censoring this passage because its message does not conform to contemporary norms and ideas. This proposal seems to lead to the proverbial "slippery slope" and prompts one to question where the practice of purging unwanted passages from Scripture might end.124 A second problem with such censorship of the text is that it may even exaggerate the harmful effect such passages can have when misunderstood and misapplied.125 Johnson states the problem succinctly, "Only if texts that have scandalous and even harmful possibilities are confronted and engaged by public discourse within the assembly can their harmful potential be exorcised and their remaining positive features be safely considered."126 Declaring 1 Tim 2:15 as unauthoritative and cutting it from discussion is both unwarranted and dangerous.
It is also difficult to find evidence for the passage in 1 Timothy as a quotation from 1 Corinthians. There is significant word change and thus it seems implausible that the author of 1 Timothy would study the Corinthians passage so well without noting the further commentary on the ideas in 14:34-35.127 Furthermore, this proposed quotation does not include 1 Tim 2:15, which under this theory would have been a further addition of the 1 Timothy author and would as such need to be examined for its own implications.128
Finally, the interpolation theory is lacking any sound exegetical or historical evidence with no existing manuscripts of 1 Timothy that omit this verse.129
The major obstacle facing recasting and response explanations of 1 Tim 2:15 is the impossibility of knowing the exact teaching or saying to which Paul was responding with this statement. Was he responding to Jewish teachings or some other false teachings circulating at Ephesus? Some historical information and literary clues may give the interpreter a general understanding of Paul's opposition, but specifics are difficult to nail down. Thus, these theories do not stand well alone, but are more helpful when joined with other explanations and proposals.
The problem with the proverbial statement view is the difficulty in either proving or disproving its claims. Though it is certainly true that the Pastoral Epistles are especially replete with such statements, most are identified with a marker which seems to be absent in this case.130 Though helpful in explaining the awkwardness of the verse, this theory seems to be fairly speculative and may only provide a convenient, if not falsifiable, hypothesis to allow for the application of rare and uncommon meanings to words and phrases.
Again, the major obstacle to the Proverbs Midrash theory is its highly speculative nature. Though studies of Jewish texts and teachings certainly impact New Testament interpretation, especially in Paul's writings, an attempt to deduce Paul's motivations and provide a definitive connection between 1 Tim 2:15 and this Midrash text is an impossible task.
79 Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, New International Biblical Commentary, no. 13 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988), 75; and William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, ed. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, no. 46 (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2000), 144.
80 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 45.
81 Stanley E. Porter, "What Does it Mean to be 'Saved by Childbirth' (1 Timothy 2.15)?" Journal for the Study of the New Testament 49 (1993): 93.
82 Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 75.
83 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 145. 2 Timothy 4:18a (Nestle-Aland, emphasis mine) reads: "rJuvsetaiv me oJ kuvrio" ajpoV pantoV" e[rgou ponhrou' kaiV swvsei eij" thVn basileivan aujtou' thVn ejpouravnion"
84 I. Howard Marshall, The Pastoral Epistles, The International Critical Commentary, ed. J. A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1999), 469; and Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 145.
85 Simon Coupland, "Salvation Through Childbearing? The Riddle of 1 Timothy 2:15," The Expository Times 112 (September, 2001): 303.
86 Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 75.
87 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 469-70.
88 Andrew J. Kstenberger, "Ascertaining Women's God-Ordained Roles: An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:15," Bulletin for Biblical Research 7 (1997): 121.
89 Ibid., 119.
90 Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 75.
91 Coupland, "Riddle," 303.
92 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 146.
93 Coupland, "Riddle," 303.
94 Kstenberger, "God-Ordained Roles," 118.
95 Ibid.
96 Arland J. Hultgren, I-II Timothy, Titus, Ausburg Commentary on the New Testament (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984), 70. See Kstenberger, "God-Ordained Roles," 109-21, for an overview of the history of interpretation of this verse.
97 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 469.
98 However, since this view seems to find its major support in older commentaries and its major critiques in newer commentaries, it is difficult to find literature where these objections have been answered in a systematic way by supporters of the Christological view.
99 In the New Testament, every other occurrence of this specific construction (a form of sw/vzw plus diaV plus a genitive) there is no article present with the noun. See chapter four under "The Sense of Teknogoniva" in 1 Tim 2:15" and the subsection on the article for further discussion.
100 Walter Lock, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, The International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1924), 33.
101 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 147.
102 See chapter four, "The Force of DiaV + Genitive: A Review" under the subsection discussing the modal usage for more discussion of this use.
103 Ibid.
104 Joh. Ed. Huther, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, trans. by David Hunter (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark , 1881), 134.
105 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 97. 1 Tim 4:14 and 2 Tim 2:2, however, seem to be possibilities.
106 Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 224.
107 C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: University Press, 1939), 57.
108 Kstenberger, "God-Ordained Roles," 120.
109 Ibid.
110 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 470.
111 Many supporters, including Marshall, account for this obscurity by pointing to the historical and literary context of the book—i.e. our present lack of a complete understanding of the false teaching and events surrounding the writing of the book.
112 Coupland, "Riddle," 303.
113 The following arguments are summarized from Porter, "What Does it Mean," 96. See also Huther, Handbook, 134.
114 "Therefore, I want younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for reproach" 1 Tim 5:14 NASV
115 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 101.
116 Ibid.
117 Kstenberger, "God-Ordained Roles," 117.
118 Ibid.
119 For a discussion of the issues see Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 607-49.
120 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 89.
121 Luke Timothy Johnson, The First and Second Letters to Timothy, The Anchor Bible, ed. William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman, no. 35A (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 210.
122 Ibid., 206-7.
123 Ibid. The statements in 1 Cor match Paul's conservative cultural perspective, and the specific support given for the regulation matches Paul's rhetorical strategy in 1 Cor.
124 Ibid., 210.
125 Ibid.
126 Ibid., 210-11
127 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 89. See NET Bible notes on 1 Cor 14:34-35 for a discussion of the issues surrounding these verses.
128 Ibid.
129 Ibid.
130 The marker, pistov" oJ lovgo", is found five times in the Pastoral Epistles. One such occurrence is in 1 Tim 3:1 immediately following 2:15. Certain interpreters identify this as a backwards reference and place this phrase with the preceding verse 2:15. See NA27; Lock, Critical and Exegetical Commentary, 33; Johnson, Letters to Timothy, 203; Jerome D. Quinn and William C. Wacker, The First and Second Letters to Timothy (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 234-42. Major support for this view comes from the fact that in all other cases this marker points to a statement concerning salvation of which 2:15 is and 3:1 is not (Lock, Critical and Exegetical Commentary, 33). However, a forward reference seems more likely due to the aphoristic character of the phrase in 3:1, a textual variant that assumes the marker points forward, the fact that in all other cases the formula points forward, and the nature of the marker as stressing the need for readers to accept the truthfulness of the saying. See Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 475; other supporters include E. F. Scott, The Pastoral Epistles, ed. James Moffatt (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1946), 29; and Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 79.
The length of this chapter in comparison to the remainder of the thesis provides some indication of the level of lexical and syntactical difficulty which exists surrounding the interpretation of 1 Tim 2:15. The following five sections analyze the elements of the verse individually: the meaning of swqhvsetai, the force of diav, the sense of teknogoniva", the conditional clause, and the issue of subjects. Within each section, conclusions are tentative with the recognition that no one element can be fully understood in isolation from the others. A final section summarizes and correlates significant observations and conclusions from each section.
Central to grasping the entire phrase found in 1 Tim 2:15 is the meaning of swqhvsetai, which appears first in the sentence. Even in our modern English-speaking church, the verb "to save," though commonly spoken and full of meaning, remains difficult to define for many Christians! Since the beginning of the church, this verb has described the Christian experience with God through Christ, yet its own definition is quite elusive and often misunderstood. This section begins a journey into the difficult appearance of sw/vzw in 1 Tim 2:15. The first sub-section comprises the bulk of the discussion and presents the results of a word study involving the usage of sw/vzw in the entire New Testament, focusing finally on the works of Paul and the Pastorals. The second sub-section draws out significant conclusions from the previous sections concerning the meaning of sw/vzw in the verse at hand.
The following sections examine the usage of sw/vzw in three major sections of the New Testament: the Gospels and Acts, the General Epistles and Revelation, and the writings of Paul. Such an overview will provide insight into the range of meaning and usage of this verb as employed by the writers of Scripture and understood by the first readers of Scripture.
Two basic categories of meaning are found in the Gospels and the book of Acts for sw/vzw. Not surprisingly, these two groups of meaning involve spiritual deliverance and physical rescue. The range of meaning and usage within each category are outlined below.
1. To save or deliver from eternal damnation and punishment
a. active verbs with a divine subject, describes the action of God or Christ in ultimately saving sinners (Matt 1:21, 18:11; Luke 19:10; John 12:47)
b. active verbs with a non-divine subject, describes the action of people or things which mediate God's salvation (Matt 16:25; Mark 8:35, 8:35; Luke 7:50, 9:24, 9:24; Acts 2:40131)
c. passive verbs, describes the spiritual salvation from eternal punishment received by the subject most often with no agent explicitly named (Matt 10:22, 19:25, 24:13, 24:22; Mark 10:26, 13:13, 13:20, 16:16; Luke 8:12, 13:23, 18:26; John 5:34, 10:9; Acts 2:21, 2:47, 15:1, 16:30, 16:31), but sometimes the agent is named (John 3:17, 10:9; Acts 4:12, 11:14, 15:11)
2. To rescue or deliver from some physical danger
a. healing from sickness or disease (Matt 9:21, 9:22, 9:22; Mark 5:23, 5:28, 5:34, 6:56, 10:52; Luke 8:36, 8:48, 17:19, 18:42; John 11:12; Acts 4:9, 14:9)
b. rescue from physical death of the body (Matt 8:25, 14:30, 27:40, 27:42, 27:42, 27:29; Mark 3:4, 15:30, 15:31, 15:31; Luke 6:9, 8:50, 23:35, 23:37, 23:39; Acts 27:20, 27:31)
c. rescue or deliverance from a dangerous situation (John 12:27)
In the Gospels and Acts, sw/vzw enjoys a wide range of usage, each of which is distinguished by contextual clues. The notion of spiritual salvation has special depth of meaning in these books. Salvation is the action of God and his son, Jesus, as they are the subjects of the active form of the word and the agents expressed with the passive forms. This spiritual salvation is connected with faith (Luke 7:50), forgiveness of sins (Matt 1:21), entering the kingdom (Matt 19:25), belief (Acts 16:31) and is applied to those who are "lost" (Matt 18:11, Luke 19:10). Salvation is pictured as an accomplished fact for those who believe (Acts 2:21), but there are sometimes hints of a future redemption in the use of swv/zw, especially when the future passive form is used.132 The majority of occurrences of the future passive form, however, simply point to a time in the future from the speaker's perspective and present salvation as the outcome of another event. For example, Matt 1:21 speaks of the unborn Jesus as the one who will save his people from their sins, and Acts 16:31 pleads for readers to believe and they will be saved.133 In these instances the future form is used simply to indicate an action that will occur subsequent to the time of the speaker or another event.
The phrase "your faith has saved (healed) you" is common to the "physical healing" use of sw/vzw.134 In Luke 7:50, this same phrase is used to refer to the spiritual salvation that accompanies forgiveness of sins. It seems that the choice of this verb (sw/vzw) in reference to the physical healings performed by Jesus and his disciples may hint at the connection between the two ideas: Christ's physical healing power and the saving power of faith to go beyond the healing experienced in physical life.135
The categories of meaning which appear in the Gospels and Acts each appear in the General Epistles (in lesser number of course), yet with one small exception: the passive form of sw/vzw does not occur with the agent specifically named. The verb does not occur at all in 2 Pet, the epistles of John, or the book of Revelation. The following outline reveals the categories and usage for the remaining epistles.
1. To save or deliver from eternal damnation and punishment
a. active verbs with a divine subject, describes the action of God or Christ in ultimately saving sinners (Heb 7:25; Jas 4:12)
b. active verbs with a non-divine subject, describes the action of people or things which mediate God's salvation (Jas 1:21, 2:14, 5:20; 1 Pet 3:21; Jude 23)
c. passive verbs, describes the spiritual salvation from eternal punishment received by the subject with no agent explicitly named (1 Pet 4:18), none appear in which the agent is named
2. To rescue or deliver from some physical danger
a. healing from sickness or disease (Jas 5:15)
b. rescue from physical death of the body (Heb 5:7)
c. rescue or deliverance from a dangerous situation (Jude 5)
The most popular use for sw/vzw in these general epistles is the idea of spiritual salvation, and more specifically, the active form of the verb with a subject other than God or Christ. It is within this category that some of the most difficult passages concerning salvation are found. For instance, baptism and other Christians serve as the subjects who act to save others from eternal punishment in 1 Pet 3:21, Jas 5:20, and Jude 23, and James questions whether faith without works is salvific in 2:14. It seems that in most of these epistles the focus is on future salvation and the coming glory of the end times. In 1 Peter, the content of salvation is the coming glory of the end-time redemption.136 James and Jude both have references to the last judgment and the deliverance God will provide at that time.137 Additionally, the book of Hebrews centers on the future coming salvation, while typically viewing this salvation as already present in some form.138 This preoccupation with the future salvation and redemption awaiting Christians helps to explain the prominent role which the present obedience and actions of believers enjoy in these passages concerning salvation.
Paul's use of sw/vzw reflects his own personal style, purpose, and mission in writing his epistles and thus gives special insight into the possible range of meaning for the occurrence in 1 Tim 2:15. This section is further divided into two subsections, the first of which discusses Paul's use of sw/vzw outside the Pastorals and the second of which examines the uses within the Pastoral Epistles.
Romans and 1 Corinthians contain the bulk of the occurrences of sw/vzw in these epistles, while 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 Thessalonians, and 2 Thessalonians each use the verb less than three times.139 Sw/vzw does not appear at all in Philippians, Colossians, or Philemon. The distinctive characteristic of Paul's use of sw/vzw in these epistles is the absence of any occurrence involving the idea of physical rescue or deliverance.
1. To save or deliver from eternal damnation and punishment
a. active verbs with a divine subject, describes the action of God or Christ in ultimately saving sinners (1 Cor 1:21)
b. active verbs with a non-divine subject, describes the action of people or things which mediate God's salvation (Rom 11:14; 1 Cor 7:16, 7:16, 9:22)
c. passive verbs, describes the spiritual salvation from eternal punishment received by the subject most often with no agent explicitly named (Rom 8:24, 9:27, 10:9, 10:13, 11:26; 1 Cor 1:18, 3:15, 5:5, 10:33; 2 Cor 2:15; 1 Thess 2:16; 2 Thess 2:10), but sometimes the agent is named (Rom 5:9, 5:10; 1 Cor 15:2; Eph 2:5, 2:8)
As was stated above, the most remarkable observation concerning Paul's use of sw/vzw in these epistles is the absence of any reference toward physical rescue or deliverance, whether from sickness, death, or danger. Paul appears to have limited his use of the word quite intentionally to the relationship between God and man, choosing to use a form of rjuvomai when referring to physical deliverance.140 The major concern of Paul's life and ministry was the spiritual salvation of the souls of mankind and this is reflected in his use of sw/vzw.
A second observation surfaces from this portion of the word study: Paul's use of sw/vzw in these epistles expresses the comprehensive nature of salvation. Paul is conscious of and expresses an inner relationship between the present and future realities of salvation.141 Paul often utilizes sw/vzw as a future, eschatological term.142 This final salvation is the goal which believers press toward and is concerned with deliverance from God's wrath on the day of judgment and with the conformation of believers to the image of Christ.143 This idea is most clearly seen in Rom 5:9-10 where the accomplished facts of justification and reconciliation are compared to the future salvation of believers from the wrath of God by the life of his Son.144 Paul's use of sw/vzw, however, also presents salvation as a present reality connected to the reception of the gospel.145 Romans 8:24 uses the aorist form of sw/vzw to reveal salvation as an accomplished fact. The context of this statement is the pains and groaning believers experience as they await their full adoption and the full redemption of their bodies, both of which are connected with final salvation. It is in the hope of this final redemption that believers were saved (aorist use of sw/vzw). Ephesians 2:5-10 provides an example of the comprehensive nature of sw/vzw in the epistles of Paul. The verb appears twice as a perfect participle in this passage in identical phrases, "by grace you have been saved." The picture here is of a salvation that is a fact accomplished by the work of God, yet final redemption is also connected. The future aspect of salvation is not only found in the perfect tense which signifies ongoing results or consequences, but in the references to being seated in the heavenly places with Christ and the expression of Christ's rich kindness and grace in the ages to come. In these epistles, sw/vzw is a comprehensive term for the saving action of God. Depending on context, its focus may be on the future redemption from wrath and to Christlikeness as distinguished from the accomplished facts of reconciliation, justification, and forgiveness; it may center its meaning on these accomplished facts, or it may include both aspects.
A third and final observation concerning Paul's use of sw/vzw in these epistles involves the use of the future tense. Certain uses of the future tense involve the idea of future or final salvation including Rom 5:9, 5:10, and 1 Cor 3:15. Most uses of the future tense, however, simply denote the saving action will occur in a time subsequent to the time of the speaker or another event.146 Two verses, Rom 5:10 and 1 Cor 3:15, deserve special attention because of the construction they share with 1 Tim 2:15 (future, passive, indicative verb with a diav plus genitive prepositional phrase). First Corinthians 3:15 is referring to a man or woman whose works have been found to be of poor quality and are burned in the fire. The last part of the verse affirms that this man or woman will be saved but this salvation comes through fire. Rom 5:10 compares the accomplished reconciliation believers received from God as his enemies through the death of his son with the salvation/redemption believers will receive from God by the life of his son. Both of these verses use the verb to refer to the ultimate and final salvation believers will experience in the future day of redemption.
Sw/vzw appears seven times in the Pastoral Epistles and it is possible that again, Paul uses it each time to refer to spiritual salvation; in the Pastorals, however, its use is somewhat more clouded. Two instances, including of course 1 Tim 2:15, but also 1 Tim 4:16 could refer to some type of physical deliverance or rescue. The following outline of usages recognizes this dilemma by placing these two references tentatively in both categories. The only category that can be firmly omitted from consideration within the Pastorals is a reference to physical healing from sickness or disease.
1. To save or deliver from eternal damnation and punishment
a. active verbs with a divine subject, describes the action of God or Christ in ultimately saving sinners (1 Tim 1:15; 2 Tim 1:9, 4:18;147 Tit 3:5)
b. active verbs with a non-divine subject, describes the action of people or things which mediate God's salvation (possibly 1 Tim 4:16)
c. passive verbs, describes the spiritual salvation from eternal punishment received by the subject with no agent explicitly named, (1 Tim 2:4 and possibly 1 Tim 2:15), none appear in which the agent is named
2. To rescue or deliver from some physical danger
a. rescue from physical death of the body (possibly 1 Tim 2:15)
b. rescue or deliverance from a dangerous situation (possibly 1 Tim 2:15 and 4:16)
The above analysis of the uses of sw/vzw serves to illuminate once again the difficulty in determining the exact meaning in 1 Tim 2:15. Five of the seven appearances of the verb obviously refer to some aspect of spiritual salvation, but is the verb used with the same comprehensive nature found in the other of Paul's epistles? An examination of each usage seems to provide a tentative "yes" answer to this question. The Pastorals contain four statements concerning salvation which present the action as a fact that has been accomplished by the Godhead, all of which utilize the aorist tense of the verb. First Tim 1:15 declares the purpose of Christ's coming as the salvation of sinners, and in 2:4, God is described as desiring all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of him. In 2 Tim 1:9, it is God who saved us by his own purpose and grace which "was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity." Tit 3:5 declares that God saved us because of his mercy and by the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. The idea of future and final salvation/redemption is also found in the Pastorals in 2 Tim 4:18. Paul first states that God will rescue him from every evil and uses rjuvomai to express this idea. In the second part of this sentence, he uses the future, active form of sw/vzw to describe God's action in saving him for his heavenly kingdom. We may be assured that at this point in Paul's life he has come to saving faith in Christ, thus his justification is accomplished and is not in view here. The contrast here between the physical deliverance from earthly evils and the reference to the heavenly kingdom seems to imply a connection with the idea of final salvation and redemption for sw/vzw. If so, then Paul's use of sw/vzw in the Pastorals does exhibit the comprehensive nature consistent with his other epistles, as well as his tendency to use rjuvomai to refer to physical deliverance.148
What then of the use of sw/vzw in 1 Tim 2:15 and 4:16? The discussion of the usage in 2:15 will await, for the most part, the final conclusions of this entire section which follow below. In 1 Tim 4:16, Paul commands Timothy: "Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach. Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you."149 Here the future, active, indicative form of the verb is used and it could possibly refer to deliverance from false teachers. If this is the case, however, is the deliverance not a spiritual one? The book never mentions any physical danger or threat from the false teachers, only spiritual danger. It seems more likely that this use of sw/vzw is one in which Timothy is a mediating agent for the redemption of his flock. His own godliness and faithfulness in teaching will mediate God's full and final redemption of the people.
Paul's use of sw/vzw in the Pastoral Epistles matches the comprehensive understanding of salvation expressed in his other epistles by this verb. Salvation is God's desire, is related to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4), and is the task of Jesus (1 Tim 1:5).150 It is a present experience based on the mercy of God (2 Tim 1:9, 3:14; Tit 3:5) yet also a coming experience (1 Tim 4:16; 2 Tim 2:10, 4:18). As with his other epistles, however, Paul's use of sw/vzw in the Pastorals seems to intentionally exclude the idea of physical salvation from sickness, death, or the threat of it.
In the books of the New Testament, sw/vzw is not merely a synonym for justification. In the Gospels, Acts, and General Epistles it is used significantly to describe physical healing or deliverance. When a spiritual connotation is the focus, the comprehensive nature of the word requires a close look at the context and the usage of the author to discover the focus and range of meaning. Throughout the New Testament the Godhead is pictured as the ultimate actor for this verb, yet many times faithful people or other things are viewed as mediating salvation.
An overview of Paul's use of sw/vzw suggests that he has limited its range of meaning to the spiritual realm of deliverance from eternal punishment and that within this realm the word is rather comprehensive, referring to many aspects of salvation. Sw/vzw is used to describe the accomplished fact of justification as well as the yet future aspect of final glorification. This same focus is apparent in the Pastoral Epistles, with only two possible references to physical deliverance, one being 1 Tim 2:15 (and as was discussed above 1 Tim 4:16 is more likely a spiritual reference). Therefore, the evidence seems to favor a spiritual connotation for the meaning of swqhvsetai in 1 Tim 2:15. If this is so, the idea of future glorification must be the focus, lest a condition beyond grace be added to the requirements of justification and other teachings of Scripture be blatantly contradicted.
A fuller discussion of the context follows in chapter five, yet some examination is helpful at this point. The first epistle to Timothy as well as the other two Pastoral Epistles emphasize the conduct and behavior of believers and 1 Tim 2: 9-15 is particularly interested in the conduct of women. Undergirding these teachings concerning conduct is the challenge to remain faithful to the true teachings of the church in the face of heresy. Thus, a focus on the final glorification of believing women in 1 Tim 2:15 and how this anticipated final glorification relates to their everyday conduct and life is certainly appropriate.
In all fairness, however, we must not leave this topic without asking if it is impossible to have a reference to physical deliverance in 1 Tim 2:15; the answer must be no. Though the above sections seem to affirm that it is improbable, the possibility cannot be dismissed lightly. However, to support a physical deliverance reading in 1 Tim 2:15, an explanation must accompany which provides significant reasons and support for adopting this sense so odd for Paul's writings. Thus at this point, we may tentatively conclude that the best understanding of swqhvsetai in 1 Tim 2:15 is with spiritual connotations referring to the ultimate glorification of believers.
Prepositions appear over 10,000 times in the New Testament text and a proper understanding of their use and function is essential to exegesis.151 Prepositions basically serve as extended adverbs, but in governing a noun, show the connection between the verb and various objects.152 Greek prepositions, then, must not be translated and interpreted in isolation but with the verb factored in considerably. In 1 Tim 2:15, the preposition diav connects the verb "save" to the genitive noun "childbirth" and as chapters two and three illustrated, this connection has been interpreted several different ways. The first sub-section below provides a quick review of six uses of diav with a genitive noun: spatial, temporal, modal, instrumental, causal, and idiomatical. The second section examines constructions in the New Testament involving a form of sw/vzw modified by a diav preposition with a genitive noun (John 3:17, 1 Pet 3:21, Rom 5:9, 1 Cor 3:15, Eph 2:8, and Tit 3:5). The third section draws out significant observations from the previous two sections to aid in illuminating the usage of diav in the construction in 1 Tim 2:15.
As stated above, no preposition may be translated and interpreted in isolation, for they are by nature inseparably connected to a verb in context. However, we must begin with a basic understanding of the range of usage and sense of a preposition in the literature at hand in order to analyze a particular instance of that preposition. Thus the following sections outline six New Testament uses for the preposition diav. The fundamental idea of diav is one of separation, with the notion of interval and of moving between two things, idea, or concepts.153 The preposition has a generic sense of "through" and originally signified passing through and out from something.154 These basic ideas appear in the usages outlined below.
The spatial force of diav is the literal and local use of the preposition signifying extension through an area or object.155 It may indicate movement through and out of or simply through an area without comment on moving out.156 The spatial force of diav occurs often with verbs of going and verbs of motion.157
When used temporally, diav is a marker of extension in time and appears with three connotations.158 It may signify a whole duration of time uninterrupted from beginning to end ("throughout"), a part of a period of time in which something occurs ("during, at, within"), or distance in time ("after").159
This category of usage includes both the ideas of manner and attendant circumstance.160 When diav expresses the manner of the verb, it simply describes the way in which the action takes place and answers the question "How?"161 Manner can be an accompanying action, attitude, or emotion,162 and the basic translation includes "through, in, or with."163 This usage especially occurs with saying verbs.164
The attendant circumstance usage expresses the circumstances or the environment that accompany or prevail along with the action or state described by the verb ("with, among").165 This category of usage extends to circumstances which possibly hinder rather than help an action and includes the glosses "even with" and "in spite of" (a concessional idea).166
Diav followed by a genitive noun is often used as a marker of instrumentality whereby an action is accomplished or effected, with appropriate glosses being "by, via, through."167 It marks the medium through which an action passes before its completion and may describe the efficient, mediate agent or the principal cause.168 Therefore, this usage may focus attention on the agency or on the originator whether that be human or divine activity.169 The preposition may also be followed by either a genitive of cause and translated "by means of" or by a genitive of person which is more appropriately translated "through the mediation of."170
Two uses of diav are less common in the New Testament. These include the causal idea and an idiomatic urgent position.
Like the instrumental use, the causal use of diav may express the intermediate or instrumental causality or the principal cause of the action.171 When expressing the intermediate cause it may be translated "on account of" or "on the basis of" and when speaking of the author of the action, it may be translated "from" or "for the sake of."172
Finally, diav is sometimes used idiomatically with the genitive in wording urgent requests and in these cases is translated "by."173
Because prepositions must be interpreted in relation to the verb they modify and clarify, it will be helpful to our understanding of the force of diav in 1 Tim 2:15 to discover its usage when found connected to sw/vzw throughout the New Testament. A form of sw/vzw modified by a diav plus genitive prepositional phrase occurs seven times in the New Testament, five times in Paul's epistles and twice elsewhere. Six occurrences are examined below in order to glean insight into the seventh, 1 Tim 2:15.
In John 3:17, the construction is found within a i{na clause describing the purpose for which God sent his Son into the world: that the world be saved through him (i{na swqh/' oJ kovsmo" di' aujtou'). The salvation described here is spiritual salvation rather than physical deliverance and the verb is the aorist, passive, subjunctive form. The entire prepositional phrase is an example of intermediate agency expressed by diav plus genitive.174 Thus, this use of the preposition can be classified as a marker of instrumentality or means. It is also important to note that diav is followed by a genitive of person and thus describes a personal agent.
The next example of this construction appears in what is widely considered the most difficult passage of 1 Peter and quite possibly the entire New Testament.175 Our discussion here will not cover all the issues, but will focus only on the relationship between the verb and the prepositional phrase.176 As with the previous construction, spiritual salvation is the focus of the verb. Sw/vzw (present, active, indicative form) is the main verb of the sentence in 1 Pet 3:21 and is separated from its diav prepositional phrase by a parenthetical statement, both of which are important clarifying elements. The central thrust of the sentence is "baptism saves you" (sw/vzei bavptisma) while the parenthetical statement describes what this does and does not mean.177 The diav prepositional phrase identifies Christ's resurrection as the true source of salvation, without which baptism would be an empty form.178 Baptism saves, not by any virtue in itself, but by the effects of and because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.179 The usage of the preposition in 1 Pet 3:21 may best be categorized as a combination of cause and instrumentality. The resurrection of Christ is certainly the means by which baptism saves, but the passage also seems to focus on the resurrection as the principal source of this salvation.
The remaining four examples are found in the epistles of Paul. The phrase in Rom 5:9, "we will be saved through him" (swqhsovmeqa di' aujtou'), is similar to that found in John 3:17. In the Romans passage, the verb is a future, passive, indicative form and refers to spiritual salvation from the wrath of God. The phrase describes the salvation which results from having been declared righteous by the blood of Christ. As with John 3:17, the preposition is functioning as a marker of instrumentality describing Jesus as the personal agent of salvation.180
1 Cor 3:15 contains another difficult statement involving the construction at hand. Speaking of someone whose unworthy works are burned up, Paul says "He himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (aujtoV" deV swqhvsetai, ou{tw" deV wJ" diaV purov"). The main verb in 1 Cor 3:15 is identical to the form found in 1 Tim 2:15 (future, passive, indicative) and refers here to eternal salvation.181 The diav phrase however is not directly connected to the main verb, but rather is found in the phrase "but only as through fire," a quasi-proverbial phrase used as a metaphor indicating a narrow escape from peril.182 This phrase is comparable to the modern "saved by the skin of one's teeth" and refers to being rescued at the last moment.183 Thus within the metaphorical phrase, the salvation referred to is more physical and the preposition is functioning locally or spatially.184 Paul's purpose in 1 Cor 3:15 is to communicate that the person who persists in the course of worldly wisdom is in grave danger and will only be plucked out of this danger in the nick of time just as one who is rescued from a fire at the last minute.185 Unsatisfactory works done as a Christian do not bring damnation, but neither does punishment for them cancel out eternal salvation.186 Works do not bring salvation but believers remain responsible before God for their works.187
Ephesians 2:8 contains the much memorized (and rightly so!) statement: "For by grace you are saved through faith" (Th/' gaVr cavritiv ejste sesw/smevnoi diaV pivstew"). The verb form here is a perfect, passive, participle and the focus is again on spiritual salvation. The preposition is functioning as a marker of instrumentality and describes faith as the means, along with grace, to this transcendent salvation.
Titus 3:15 contains the only other example of the construction in the Pastoral Epistles and the only example with two objects for the preposition: "He saved us through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit" (e[swmen hJma'" diaV loutrou' paliggenesiva" kaiV ajnakainwvsew" pneuvmato" aJgivou). This salvation is further qualified as one that is not by works of righteousness but based on God's mercy. This form of sw/vzw is an aorist, active, indicative verb and it again refers to spiritual salvation. The diav prepositional phrase clarifies this saving action by supplying the means or instruments of the salvation and the preposition itself thus functions as a marker of instrumentality.
The majority of appearances of diav + genitive with a form of sw/vzw in the New Testament involve the spiritual sense of the verb and an instrumental use for the preposition. In 1 Corinthians, when the sense of the implied verb within the proverbial statement is a physical deliverance, the preposition is used as a spatial or temporal marker. Thus, if the idea of spiritual salvation is adopted in 1 Tim 2:15 there is ample support for understanding the preposition instrumentally (i.e. she will be spiritually saved by means of childbirth). However, the idea of attendant circumstances or even concession cannot be excluded as possibilities for they are legitimate usages for the preposition. If physical deliverance is preferred for swqhvsetai, the spatial or temporal force seems best, considering the use in 1 Corinthians (i.e. physically rescued through the experience of childbirth).
Finding information on the meaning of teknogoniva is, to say the least, challenging! It occurs only once in the New Testament and appearances of this noun are scarce in other ancient extant Greek writings. Entries in wordbooks and lexicons are quite bare or even nonexistent. The concept expressed by this noun, however, seems to have been in the forefront of Paul's mind when writing 1 Timothy, for two related verbs, also hapax legomena, appear in this letter. The following sections review the use of teknogoniva outside the New Testament, examine similar words within the New Testament, and conclude by summarizing significant insights into the sense of teknogoniva" in 1 Tim 2:15.
Only one extant use of teknogoniva preserved in ancient writings is readily available for study. It is from the Classical period and found in a scientific work penned by Aristotle. The subject of Aristotle's book seven in History of Animals is the physical development of humans.188 In a paragraph concerning puberty and sexual development, he uses the noun teknogoniva: "After thrice seven years the women have reached a favourable state for childbearing, while the men continue to improve." (metaV deV taV triV" eJptaV e[th aiJ meVn gunai'ke" proV" taV" teknogoniva" h[dh eujkaivrw" e[cousin, oiJ d' a[ndre" e[ti e[cousin ejpivdosin.)189 The meaning of teknogoniva here is the physical event of childbirth, for it seems Aristotle is referring to the age at which women are capable of conceiving, carrying, and delivering a child.
The most commonly used word in the New Testament related to teknogoniva is the noun tevknon. This word may describe the physical child of human parents, descendants from a common ancestor, one who is dear to another or has the characteristics of another, the inhabitants of a city, or a class of people with specific characteristics.190 Each of these meanings for tevknon can be found in Paul's epistles. In the Pastoral Epistles, it is used five times to describe Timothy and Titus as Paul's spiritual children (1 Tim 1:2, 1:18; 2 Tim 1:2, 2:1; Tit 1:4) and three times to describe the physical children of human elders and deacons (1 Tim 3:4, 3:12, 5:4; Tit 1:6).191
Three words in 1 Timothy may give some insight into the sense and meaning of one another: teknogoniva" in 1 Tim 2:15, ejteknotrovfhsen in 5:10, and teknogonei'n in 5:14. All three are used only here in the New Testament and all are found in contexts regarding the behavior and conduct of believing women. The first in 2:15 is a noun, the object of the preposition diav, and is defined as the physical act of bearing/birthing children.192 The second in 5:10 is an aorist, active, indicative verb from teknotrofevw, defined as bringing up or rearing children and involving their physical and spiritual care.193 This verb is found in the description of a widow who qualifies to be enrolled for help from the church. Her good works should have included bringing up children, showing hospitality, serving the saints, and helping the afflicted. The third word in 5:14 is a present, active, infinitive form of teknogonevw defined as the physical act of bearing or begetting children.194 This concept is found in a list of instructions for younger widows. Paul has observed a pattern of idleness, gossip, and disruption from this group of women and wants them instead to marry, bear children, run their household, and thus give Satan no occasion to lead them astray.
Teknotrofevw by definition involves the care, guidance, and teaching of children which are the basic components of motherhood. The widows seeking help from the church could list this as an evidence for a lifetime of good works. Teknogonevw and teknogoniva however, seem to have a more technical definition referring to the physical labor and experience involved in the actual birthing of a child. Could the use of these words in 1 Timothy be metonymical and more closely resemble the ideas of teknotrofevw? The context of 5:14 certainly seems to suggest so for the verb. The list in general provides a spectrum of wifely and motherly duties and would seem to include the nurturing and bringing up of children. The years spent in rearing godly children are much more likely to keep these women from straying after Satan than the hours spent in labor. The entire passage (5:9-16) exalts marriage and motherhood as a good work worthy of praise and helpful in keeping young women on the path of godliness. It is most probable then that these two verbs, teknotrofevw and teknogonevw, used in similar contexts, describe the same idea or concept.
What about the idea that this term refers to the Incarnation? There is no lexical evidence for using this word as a technical term for the birth of Christ. However, the appearance of the article which is not seen in any of the other similar constructions (sw/vzw + diav + genitive) is quite interesting and could possibly have some significance. Wallace states that the article is not necessary to make the object of a preposition definite, but if it has the article, it must be definite (emphasis his).195 He goes on to say that the reason for the article then is usually for other purposes, possibly as a function marker.196 With such a rare word, it is difficult to identify what definiteness might signify or what other purpose the article might have.
In the Pastoral Epistles, the article is used with a diav plus genitive construction three additional times (of a total fourteen appearances of the construction), once in 2 Tim 1:6 and twice in 2 Tim 1:10. In 2 Tim 1:6, the article is used to identify a particular event that is prominent in Timothy's life: his ordination. In 2 Tim 1:10a and b, the article is functioning in a similar way to identify a certain event, the appearing of Jesus, and the specific content of the gospel message that Jesus taught. It seems possible then, that the use of the article in 1 Tim 2:15 could be identifying a particular event such as the Incarnation. It must be noted, however, that in these three other examples the object or event is clearly identified in the noun (and its modifiers where applicable). Why no modifiers with teknogoniva" in 2:15 to avoid any confusion, especially when related words in the Pastorals refer to childbirth and childrearing in general? Therefore, it seems quite a leap to allow the article say so much about the definition of the noun, when it is just as likely generic and/or simply identifying the event of childbirth.197
A second question arises when the 1 Tim 2:15 appearance of the noun (diav th'" teknogoniva") is compared to the appearance in Aristotle (proV" taV" teknogoniva"). Could the article be included to distinguish between the identical genitive singular form and accusative plural form, especially when the force of the preposition used in 1Tim 2:15 is governed by the case?
The literal definition of teknogoniva is limited to the physical labor of giving birth to a child, but in 1 Tim 2:15 it seems likely that it may have a metonymical force and refer to the care, nurture, and guidance a mother gives her child throughout life. Support for this conclusion comes from the use of similar words in 1 Timothy which point to child rearing as a good work for women. Especially important is the use of teknogonevw in 5:14 which literally means birthing a child, but seems to be used of the entire process of rearing a child.
It must also be noted that the understanding of the preceding verb and preposition will most likely affect the interpretation of a literal or metonymical sense for teknogoniva. If one finds the evidence for a physical deliverance in swqhvsetai and a spatial or temporal force for diav convincing, the literal view fits well in the phrase. However, if the spiritual salvation view is adopted and an instrumental force for diav, the metonymical view completes the phrase. This is evidence of the intimate connection between the elements of the verse and the difficulty in examining them independently (and thus the need for tentative conclusions).
The bulk of this thesis focuses on the main clause of the sentence found in 1 Tim 2:15 because it is within that clause that most of the difficulty lies. It must not be forgotten, however, that 1 Tim 2:15 is a conditional sentence of which the protasis is an integral part. This section is committed to analyzing the conditional clause as it relates to the apodosis. The details and specifics within the protasis will not be addressed (i.e. the grammar of the verb and prepositional phrases or any lexical issues), but rather the examination will cover the relationship of the entire clause to the apodosis and how it affects the interpretation of the main clause.
Structurally, 1 Tim 2:15 is a third class conditional sentence since the protasis contains the particle ejavn followed by a subjunctive mood: ejaVn meivnwsin ejn pivstei kaiV ajgavph/ kaiV aJgiasmw/' metaV swfrosuvnh" (if they remain in faith and love and holiness, with modesty). There is however difficulty in assigning one semantic label to this structure.198 The particle and the subjunctive mood both give the condition a sense of contingency and the semantic range of this structure includes a logical connection, a mere hypothetical situation that will probably not be fulfilled, and a more probable future occurrence.199 Thus, many third class conditional sentences, like 1 Tim 2:15, are quite open to interpretation.
The conditional sentence in 1 Tim 2:15 most likely reflects a cause and effect relationship with the more probable future occurrence force of the third class in the forefront.200 If believing women abide in faithfulness and godliness (cause), the effect will be their future salvation through childbirth.
What influence does this conditional clause have for the possible interpretations of the apodosis? An examination of a few of the choices will be helpful. If the apodosis is understood as referring to final glorification and redemption coming to women by means of childbirth or the activities of motherhood, the conditional clause reminds readers that the sanctifying process is not automatic for good mothers. They must fulfill motherly duties in the realm of the spiritual practices required by all Christians. However, if the main clause refers to the spiritual salvation of women through the birth of Christ, the protasis seems to add extra works as conditions to salvation. If the apodosis refers to physical deliverance through the process of childbirth, the conditional clause connects spiritual qualities and practices to this physical deliverance. Though not impossible it seems odd to connect a physical deliverance through the period of childbirth to such abiding and integral characteristics of the Christian walk. Accordingly, the lofty and generally spiritual characteristics described within the conditional clause seem to suggest a spiritual significance for the apodosis.
Adding to the difficulty in 1 Tim 2:15 is the shift in subjects from the apodosis to the protasis: swqhvsetai in the main clause is a singular verb and meivnwsin in the conditional clause is plural. The last mentioned antecedent is the generic term 'the woman' (hJ gunhv) in verse 14, which is usually associated with Eve who is explicitly named in verse 13. Thus, various proposals for the singular subject of swqhvsetai include Eve, but also Mary (as the ideal woman), women in general, the representative woman of Ephesus, and the representative Christian woman.201 Explanations for the number shift in the conditional clause include the idea that the conditional clause refers to both husbands and wives,202 to the woman's children,203 or that meivnwsin, like swqhvsetai, refers collectively to the whole sex.
Several problems exist with taking the subject of swqhvsetai to be either Eve or Mary. First, the brief reference to Adam and Eve in verses 13-14 must be understood in the wider context of the entire passage which refers to men and women in general.204 This reference is illustrative and does not constitute the major focus of the passage, and there seems to be a subtle shift in verses 13-15 from Eve to the larger sphere of women. Second, there is no logical progression from Eve to Mary, and recognizing her as the subject seems to over theologize the interpretation of the verse.205
The proposals that meivnwsin refers to either the husband and wife as a unit or the woman's children seem rather remote in the immediate context.206 First, neither the marriage relationship nor the faithfulness of the children is at issue in this passage and a switch to these subjects in the conditional clause would disrupt the flow of the entire paragraph.207 The children or the husbands of the women are not the focus of attention in the immediate context nor is there a direct reference to them. This type of shift seems implausible without some type of marker.208 Finally these interpretations would seem to imply that the behavior of a woman's child or husband would have some effect on her salvation, which simply does not agree with the clear teaching of Scripture regarding salvation through personal faith.
Most commentators and scholars see these two verbs in 1 Tim 2:15 as both referring generically to all women, with the conditional clause qualifying the discussion to refer to Christian women in particular. The singular swqhvsetai applies collectively to the whole sex while referring especially to the representative woman, Eve, mentioned in the previous verse.209 The shift to the plural in the conditional clause makes it clear that the entire sentence refers, not merely to one woman, but to the women addressed in the entire passage.210 Thus the main clause of the sentence cannot be separated from the conditional clause since it must be interpreted in light of the qualifications presented by the ejavn clause.211 The shift from Eve to the women at Ephesus is subtle, with the proper name, Eve, used in verse 13, the generic noun (hJ gunhv) used in verse 14, the singular verb in verse 15a, and the plural verb in verse 15b. The entire paragraph (verses 9-15) concerning women often shifts from the plural to the generic singular, thus explaining the awkwardness of the change in number here.212 The plural use of gunhv in verses 9-10 refers to the larger sphere of women, the singular uses in verses 11-12 and in verse 14 referring to Eve have a generic or representative force, and verse 15 expands from the representative back to the larger sphere of Christian women with which the passage began.213 This shift in number is a characteristic of paraenetic style and occurs throughout the passage, thus there is no reason to interpret it as connoting a change of subject.214
If there were ever any doubt, it has now been eliminated: 1 Tim 2:15 is a difficult verse to unravel! Each element of the verse presents a challenge to the exegete, and tentative conclusions seem to be the only ones that can be made. It is no wonder there are so many interpretations among Christians of yesterday and today. The information in the above sections, however, does suggest which options might be more probable, though not necessarily demanded, from the evidence.
The interpretation of swqhvsetai is certainly a significant dividing line on which many of the other elements hinge. Though used of both physical and spiritual salvation in the New Testament, Paul considerably limits his use of the word to spiritual salvation. The only questionable instances occur in 1 Tim 2:15 and 4:16, the latter of which can be shown as quite probably a spiritual reference. The transcendent salvation described by Paul with sw/vzw is, however, quite comprehensive and may refer to justification, glorification, or the entire process of redemption. This evidence gives strong support for, but does not demand, a spiritual connotation in 1 Tim 2:15, while the prepositional phrase and conditional clause point to activities related to sanctification and final redemption rather than justification. A physical referent for swqhvsetai in 1 Tim 2:15 seems unlikely, but the possibility cannot be ruled out pending some explanation or evidence for the uncharacteristic use by Paul.
In five of the six other occurrences of diav following a form of sw/vzw in the New Testament (including 3 instances in Pauline epistles), the verb refers to spiritual salvation and the preposition is functioning as a marker of instrumentality. Thus, there is support for assigning diav an instrumental use in 1 Tim 2:15 but the plausibility of an attendant circumstance or concessional idea cannot be discounted.
Teknogoniva literally refers to the act of childbirth but quite possibly has a metonymical use in 1 Tim 2:15, referring to the entire responsibilities and duties of motherhood. Similar terms in 1 Tim, especially the use of teknogonevw in 5:14, suggest this idea and it is certainly more plausible to see a lifetime of faithful nurturing as sanctifying rather than the relatively short time span of labor. A metonymical use also allows this verse to be applicable to all women, in that even childless women may be involved in raising the children around them in their community. However, a physical understanding of swqhvsetai would lead to the literal connotation for teknogoniva".
The conditional clause adds much to an understanding of the entire verse for it states the primary cause or contingency upon which the main clause is based. The lofty and spiritual nature of the characteristics in the protasis suggests a similar idea in the main clause while the idea of persevering in these characteristics suggests a lifetime commitment is in view. This idea supports both the proposal that final glorification is in focus here and the metonymical understanding of teknogoniva" as a reference to the duties and responsibilities of motherhood in general.
Finally, the shift in number from the apodosis to the protasis, though often a "red herring" to exegetes of this verse, does not demand two different subjects for the elements. There are subtle shifts in subjects throughout the passage, yet the entire message is directed toward the believing women at Ephesus.
131 Acts 2:40 actually uses an aorist, passive, imperative verb. The passive idea is for the people to let themselves be saved or accept salvation, but because the command implies some type of action on the part of the people the verse is included in this section.
132 Matt 10:22, 24:13; Mark 13:13 all use the future passive form to indicate that those who endure to the end will be saved. This idea may also be found in passages which speak of one who loses his life in order to save it (Matt 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24).
133 Other examples of the simple future use of the verb are Mark 16:16; John 10:9, 11:14; and Acts 2:21. Also included are some examples from the realm of the physical deliverance usage: Matt 9:21; Mark 5:28; Luke 8:50; and John 11:12
134 See Matt 9:22; Mark 5:34, 10:52; Luke 8:48, 17:19, 8:42; and also Acts 14:9 which says that the crippled man had the faith to be healed.
135 Werner Foerster and Georg Fohrer, "sw/vzw, swthriva, swthvr, swthvrio"," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 7, ed. Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), 990.
136 Ibid., 995.
137 Ibid., 996-7.
138 Ibid., 996.
139 The verb occurs 8 times in Romans and 9 times in 1 Corinthians.
140 Foerster and Fohrer, "sw/vzw," 992. JRuvomai appears in Rom 7:24, 11:26, 15:31; 2 Cor 1:10 (three times); Col 1:13; 1 Thess 1:10; and 2 Thess 3:2 and may connote deliverance from the "body of death," the deliverance of Jews, deliverance from unbelievers, from a deadly peril, from the dominion of darkness, from the wrath to come, and from wicked men.
141 J. Schneider and C. Brown, "Salvation, Savior," in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978), 214.
142 Foerster and Fohrer, "sw/vzw," 992.
143 Schneider and Brown, "Salvation, Savior," 214.
144 Other passages which fit this context are 1 Cor 1:18, 3:15, 5:5; 2 Cor 2:15.
145 Foerster and Fohrer, "sw/vzw," 994.
146 See Rom 9:27, 10:9, 10:13, 11:26; 1 Cor 7:16, and 7:16.
147 This usage is somewhat debated as some see it as a reference to physical safety and deliverance. The reference to the heavenly kingdom in connection with the verb, however, seems to point to a distinct spiritual usage.
148 JRuvomai is used in 2 Tim 3:11 to refer to the Lord's work in delivering Paul from persecutions, in 2 Tim 4:17 connoting Paul's deliverance from the lion's mouth, and in 2 Tim 4:18 of deliverance from evil.
149 1 Tim 4:16 NET (New English Translation).
150 Schneider and Brown, "Salvation, Savior," 214-15.
151 Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), 357.
152 Ibid., 356.
153 Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., rev. and ed. Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 223, hereafter BDAG; and A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1934), 580.
154 M. J. Harris, "Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament," in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, vol. 3, ed. Colin Brown (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1978), 1181.
155 C. F. D. Moule, An Idiom book of New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: University Press, 1939), 55.
156 Herbert Weir Smyth, Greek Grammar, revised by Gordon M. Messing (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1956), 374.
157 BDAG, 223.
158 Ibid., 223-4.
159 Albrecht Oepke, "diav," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2, ed. Gerhard Kittel, trans. and ed. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), 65.
160 Ibid., 66.
161 Nigel Turner, Syntax, vol. 3, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, ed. James Hope Moulton (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1963), 267, understands diav as indicating manner in 1 Tim 2:15.
162 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 161.
163 Oepke, "diav," 66.
164 BDAG, 224.
165 Harris, "Prepositions and Theology," 1183. BDAG understands attendant circumstance as the most likely force in 1 Tim 2:15 (p 225).
166 Harris, "Prepositions and Theology," 1183; Oepke, "diav," 66; and Maximilian Zerwick, Biblical Greek Illustrated by Examples, translated by Joseph Smith, 4th ed. (Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1963), 37-8. See Romans 2:27.
167 BDAG, 224. Moule, Idiom Book, 55-7, and Oepke, "diav," 66-7, both understand the use of diav in 1 Tim 2:15 as instrumental.
168 Harris, "Prepositions and Theology," 1182.
169 BDAG, 225.
170 Oepke, "diav," 66-7.
171 Zerwick, Biblical Greek, 37; and BDAG, 225.
172 Oepke, "diav," 67.
173 F. Blass and A. Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans. and rev. Robert Funk (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1961), 119; Turner, Syntax, 3:267; and BDAG, 225.
174 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 434.
175 Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter, Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, ed. Eldon Jay Epp (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996), 240.
176 A similar construction appears in 1 Pet 3:20 with a synonym of sw/vzw: "Eight persons were saved through water" (ojktwV yucaiV dieswvqhsan di' u{dato"). This construction seems to refer to the physical deliverance of Noah's family through the flood as noted by I. Howard Marshall, 1 Peter, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, ed. Grant R. Osborne (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1991), 129, and thus the preposition would be functioning spatially or temporally.
177 Achtemeier, 1 Peter, 267.
178 D. Edmond Hiebert, 1 Peter (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 250.
179 Ernest Best, 1 Peter, New Century Bible Commentary, ed. Ronald E. Clements and Matthew Black (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982), 148; and Marshall, 1 Peter, 131.
180 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 434.
181 Archibald Robertson and Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians, The International Critical Commentary, ed. Samuel Rolles Driver, Alfred Plummer, and Charles Augustus Briggs (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1914), 65.
182 Ibid.
183 Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Greek Testament Commentary, ed. I. Howard Marshall and Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), 315.
184 Robertson and Plummer, First Corinthians, 65.
185 Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), 144.
186 Hans Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, trans. James W. Leitch, Hermeneia—A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, ed. George W. MacRae (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975), 77.
187 Ibid.
188 Aristotle, History of Animals, Books VII-X, trans. and ed. D. M. Balme, The Loeb Classical Library, ed. G. P. Goold (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991), 415. The first sentence of book seven is translated "With regard to man's development, both initially within the female and subsequently until old age, the attributes due to his proper nature are as follows."
189 Ibid., 424-5.
190 BDAG, 994-5.
191 The related noun teknivon describing a little child is popular in John's writings, but is not found in Paul.
192 BDAG, 994; and James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and other Non-literary Sources (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1930), 628.
193 BDAG, 995; and Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, 629.
194 BDAG, 994; and Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, 628.
195 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 247.
196 Ibid.
197 Following the flow chart in Wallace, Greek Grammar, 231 leads to these areas.
198 Wallace, Greek Grammar, 696.
199 Ibid.
200 See Wallace, Greek Grammar, 682-4 for description of cause/effect conditional semantics.
201 Stanley E. Porter, "What Does it Mean to be 'Saved by Childbirth' (1 Timothy 2.15)?" Journal for the Study of the New Testament 49 (1993): 91.
202 Newport J. D. White, The First and Second Epistles to Timothy and the Epistle to Titus, Expositor's Greek New Testament (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1910), 110.
203 J. L. Houlden, The Pastoral Epistles: I and II Timothy, Titus, TPI New Testament Commentaries, ed. Howard Clark Kee and Dennis Nineham (London: SCM Press, 1989), 72-3.
204 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 92.
205 Ibid.
206 C. K. Barrett, The Pastoral Epistles, The New Clarendon Bible, ed. H. F. D. Sparks (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1963), 56.
207 William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, ed. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, no. 46 (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2000), 147.
208 Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, ed. R. V. G. Tasker (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), 78.
209 Joh. Ed. Huther, Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, trans. by David Hunter (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, n.d.), 133.
210 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, 143.
211 Guthrie, Pastoral Epistles, 79.
212 J. N. D. Kelly, A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, Black's New Testament Commentaries, ed. Henry Chadwick (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1963), 69.
213 Porter, "What Does it Mean," 99.
214 Andrew J. Kstenberger, "Ascertaining Women's God-Ordained Roles: An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:15," Bulletin for Biblical Research 7 (1997): 117.
Grammar and lexical studies rarely hold the final word in translating and interpreting texts, and 1 Tim 2:15 is no exception. As all good seminary students know, context is everything in interpretation! The following sections briefly address the literary and theological context of 1 Tim 2:15. First, the occasion and purpose of this communication from Paul is considered including a section on the false teachings at Ephesus. Second, important theological themes of the Pastorals in general and 1 Timothy in particular, are explored. The third section reviews Paul's specific teachings regarding women found in three passages in 1 Timothy, including the immediate context of 2:15. The final concluding section serves the purpose of drawing significant conclusions from each of these areas which may aid in the understanding of 1 Tim 2:15.
What prompted Paul to write a letter to his associate Timothy? What is the main purpose of the letter and how does that relate to the basic themes and message of 1 Timothy? Are there any clues in the letter as to the nature of the false teachings Timothy was facing? The following paragraphs examine these issues.
An understanding of the occasion for the writing of 1 Timothy helps to illuminate its message. Paul had left Timothy in charge at Ephesus while he himself went on to Macedonia, writing the first epistle to Timothy in part to supplement his oral instructions to his younger associate.215 Timothy was not a bishop/pastor of the Ephesian church but functioned as a temporary representative of Paul in his apostolic capacity.216 The Pastoral Epistles in general are addressed to individuals (Timothy and Titus) and thus seem to be personal letters, but the content of their teaching reveals them to be official communications meant to be heard by entire congregations. The plural benediction (1 Tim 6:21b, uJmw'n) reveals that 1 Timothy was to be "overheard" by believers associated with the named recipient.217 This served the purpose of both encouraging Timothy in his work while also authorizing him before the church as the apostolic representative.218
The central concern and primary purpose of 1 Timothy is to provide instructions for confronting and combating false teachings/teachers and for restoring the stability in the church disrupted by these teachings.219 First Timothy 1:3 expresses this purpose: "As I urged you when I was leaving for Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus to instruct certain people not to spread false teachings." This overall purpose drives many of the themes in the book such as Paul's socially conservative agenda (including a focus on the correct ordering of the community and living a pious life) and his emphasis on sound teaching and strong, solid leadership.220 The underlying spirit of all of these ideas, however, is Paul's evangelistic mind and the concept that the true teaching of the gospel coupled with an exemplary lifestyle has, as its ultimate goal, the leading of others to salvation.
Towner proposes, "Most of Paul's statements in the Pastorals and the manner in which he makes them are governed by the presence of heresy in the churches."221 It follows then, that comprehending the nature of these heresies would contribute to our understanding of many of the statements found within the Pastorals, including 1 Tim 2:15. This is, of course, not as simple as it may seem. Though all three Pastoral Epistles speak to some type of opposition to the faith, the rather vague references make it difficult, if not impossible, to give exact identification to this heresy.222 Thus one must glean from the epistles themselves what information is available. For example, 2 Tim 2:18 indicates there is some misunderstanding about the resurrection and that false teachings are circulating that the resurrection has already occurred.223 The effect of this teaching seems to be the idea that some type of spiritual "fullness" is completely available in the present.224 The false teachings also involve ascetic tendencies including the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from certain foods (1 Tim 4:3). An interest in myths and genealogies play a part in the unrest (1 Tim 1:4, 4:7; Tit 1:14, 3:9) and the results include petty disputes and arguments (1 Tim 6:4-5; 2 Tim 2:14, 3:9). The teaching seems to be causing some type of unrest among the women of the community (1 Tim 2:9-15, 5:15) and possibly among slaves also (1 Tim 6:1-2) as well as disputes and anger among the men (1 Tim 2:8). The false teachers themselves desire to be teachers of the law (1 Tim 1:7) yet are only promoting the "chatter" and "absurdities" of false knowledge (1 Tim 6:20).
Though the picture is sparse, the danger of these teachings is evident from the harsh language used to describe and denounce it.225 They are teachings "fit only for the godless and gullible" (1 Tim 4:7), the product of "the hypocrisy of liars" (1 Tim 4:2), characterized by "empty discussion" (1 Tim 1:6), and produced by one who is "conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes" (1 Tim 6:4-5). Though a complete and definitive list of the heresies may never be available, Paul's language and attitude certainly demonstrate the seriousness with which he took these affronts to the message and its dissemination.
The three major themes in the Pastoral Epistles are faith, salvation, and good works,226 all of which appear in 1 Tim 2:15. The following paragraphs consider the special concerns of the Pastorals regarding these three themes and the relation between the three.
The frequency of pivsti" (33 occurrences) and pistov" (17 occurrences) alone reveals the prominent role the theme of faith holds in the Pastorals. The three epistles, however, give evidence of a flexibility for these terms. Often the term, "faith," is creedal and objective representing the doctrinal content of the gospel which must be preserved in the face of false teachings (this understanding is frequently expressed by the noun with the article or when paralleled with "truth").227 However, Paul also uses the term with its more standard sense of "trust" and as an adjective referring to fidelity.228 The progression between these three meanings for faith is quite logical. The faithful have faith in something and thus the term "the faith" becomes the embodiment of that which describes one's faith.229
Several components in the Pastorals confirm Paul's traditional teachings on salvation: faith alone, and not any type of work, places one in the position of acceptance by and friendship with God. First, all but one of the active forms of swv/zw have God or Christ as the subject, and only God and Jesus are assigned the title, Savior. Salvation is clearly the work of the Triune God. Second, several explicit statements deny any idea of works-based salvation and confirm salvation as the merciful gift of God. In 1 Tim 1:14, Paul credits the grace of the Lord for bringing him faith and love, and 2 Tim 1:9 declares that the God who saved us did so by his own purpose and grace and not because of any human works. Titus 3:5 is equally forceful: "He saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit."
The present reality of salvation along with its unfinished nature is a special concern in the Pastoral Epistles.230 Because of this, there is a strong sense of human responsibility and obedience throughout the book. Yet at the same time, this emphasis is balanced by a soteriology rooted in the tradition of salvation by grace as discussed above.231 In the Pastoral Epistles, good works never merit salvation, but are always a consequence of it.232 A salvation that is accomplished by Christ, yet at the same time unfinished, is a result of the believer's present existence between the two advents of Christ.233 Paul describes the present age as evil and mortal, and because of this believers are to look for Christ's return for the completion of salvation.234 Paul uses epiphany language to refer to the first advent of Christ as well as his second return, depicting salvation as related to both of these events and therefore a past, present, and future reality. In the present, believers have obligations to holy living, for repentance from sinful behavior coupled with the call to a holy life are a part of God's salvific plan.235
The previous section reveals that good works are not described in the Pastorals as meriting salvation, but as a necessary consequence of salvation.236 The strong emphasis on good works in the Pastorals calls all believers to be ready to perform such works (1 Tim 2:10, 5:10, 6:18; 2 Tim 2:5, 3:17; Tit 3:1,14). It is salvation by grace which makes these good works possible for the believer,237 in contrast to the opponents of the faith and false teachers who are worthless for good deeds (Tit 1:16).238 The outcome of the gospel is a change in behavior and thus good practice is an expected reality of the truly converted.239 The underlying tone of these teachings on good works is the church's continuing mission to spread the gospel: good deeds lead others to Christ (1 Tim 3:7, 5:14, 6:1).240
As a group, women are the special concern of Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy in three separate contexts. First is the immediate context of the verse at hand, 1 Tim 2:9-15, concerning their dress and issues of learning and teaching. Second, the behavior of women connected to leadership positions in the church is the subject of 3:11. Third is the most lengthy of the contexts focused on women: the discussion of widows in 5:3-16. These passages will be examined in the following paragraphs and significant insights they may give to the interpretation of 2:15 will be explored.
Interpreting 1 Tim 2:9-15 is an ominous task and can hardly be accomplished quickly or lightly. This passage has been at the center of the debate concerning the role of women in the ministry of the church for several decades and still divides evangelical Christianity today. A full discussion of the views and implications of this passage could and has produced complete theses, dissertations, and books. The discussion here, then, must certainly be limited to what elements in this passage may contribute to an understanding of its final verse rather than a detailed discussion of its interpretation and application for today.
Verses 9-10 set the tone for this passage by describing a woman's ideal wardrobe and conduct as suitable, modest, proper, and respectful. Good works are mentioned explicitly in verse 10 as the best adornment for the woman who is concerned with honoring God. The controversial verses 11-12 address the issues of learning and teaching. A woman's attitude in learning should be characterized by a quiet and submissive demeanor and the areas of authority and teaching men are to be avoided. The level of difficulty, and therefore controversy, seems to rise with the verse number, for the interpretation of verses 13-14 is a challenge. These verses take the reader back to the Garden and the creation/fall stories, focusing on Eve's deception and possibly alluding to the curses and promise following the fall. The message of verse 15 concludes this section on women with a reappearance of the idea of a suitable, self-controlled lifestyle for Christian women.
In 1 Tim 3:11 Paul is speaking of the behavior of a group of women whose identification is debated. He is either referring to the wives of the deacons mentioned in the previous verses or women who actually serve as deacons. For our purposes here, this debate will be saved for another day and the insights these words have regarding 1 Tim 2:15 will be the focus. Differences abound between the two contexts. 1 Tim 2:15 speaks to women in general while 3:11 speaks to a certain group of women connected, either directly or through their husbands, to church leadership. Thus in 3:11 qualifications for leadership is in view and in 2:15 there seems to be more basic spiritual connotations in the forefront. The conduct expected of women in these two verses, however, is quite similar. Faith and faithfulness are common themes in both as is the concept of self-control.
The discussion of widows in 5:3-16 also shares common themes with 2:15 which may contribute to understanding the latter. The first paragraph (5:3-8) concerns which widows should receive the respect and financial support of the church. With strong language, Paul teaches that family members should care for their own, and thus only widows with no other hope should receive help from the church. The widow whose hope is in God and who continues in prayer rather than seeking pleasure is one who is above reproach (5:5-7). The second paragraph gives further requirements for widows. Similar to deacons and elders, a widow on the list for aid should have been the wife of one husband. Verse 10 follows with a focus on the good works which should have characterized her life, among these are raising children. Younger widows seem to have been causing disturbances (5:11-13), thus rather than receiving financial support from the church, Paul wants them to marry and be about the business of managing a household and caring for their children (5:14). The specific purpose for this command is that they not give Satan the chance to harm the witness of the church in the community through inappropriate behavior.
In the Pastorals and especially in 1 Timothy, Paul addresses the conduct and behavior of women in a manner and length unprecedented in his other epistles. These passages suggest that there were serious issues regarding the women at Ephesus. Whether from cultural pressures or from the influence of the false teachers, the women in the community at Ephesus were straying from the truth and behaving in such a manner as to hinder the gospel rather than promote it. In addition to the modesty and self-control of women, the role of wife and mother seems to be of significant interest to Paul in these letters, suggesting these roles were being neglected and/or avoided by the women possibly because of the deceptive false teachings circulating in the church. Paul attempts to correct this aberrant behavior with correctives for unacceptable behavior and praise and honor for women who have faithfully fulfilled these duties. First Timothy 2:15 seems to provide some corrective teaching for these behaviors by connecting childbirth with the more lofty spiritual ideas of salvation and faithfulness.
The meaning of 1 Tim 2:15 is clarified somewhat by identifying the purpose of the letter: combating false teaching and thus restoring the order and preserving the witness of the church in the community. The unacceptable behavior of some of the younger widows in the church and the circulating idea that marriage was something to avoid suggest that 2:15 could be a statement related to confronting such ideas and practices. The suggestion in 1 Tim 2:15 could be shaped by a contrary view espoused by the false teachers that women were to be saved by devotion to Christ expressed in a celibate rejection of traditional roles.241 By connecting a life committed to nurturing one's children with salvation, Paul is affirming the choice of marriage and motherhood as an acceptable lifestyle which leads to glorification rather than one to avoid in order to enhance one's spiritual life.
The theological themes of the Pastorals also contribute to a deeper understanding of the message of 1 Tim 2:15. The concern in the Pastorals to express the integral connection between good works and salvation, while strongly affirming that salvation is based on God's grace alone, helps explain the correlations made in 2:15. Women will be saved if they abide in the faith and truth of the gospel yet this salvation is also linked to the good works of holiness, self-control, and childbearing. A faithful and holy life is the outcome of true faith; the cause and effect are inseparable from one another.
This idea of motherhood as an acceptable and proper lifestyle in which a woman may experience the present realities of salvation is seen in other instructions regarding women in 1 Timothy. The raising of children is a good deed which gives evidence of a widow's faith and thus helps qualify her for honor and financial support from the church. Younger widows are encouraged to marry and have children so as to combat the subtle attempts of Satan to nullify the work of the church. Motherhood, it seems, is an appropriate and honorable work with spiritual benefits for the woman who undertakes it, either as a strong evidence of her faith, or as a lifestyle which enhances her witness to unbelievers and buffets Satan's work.
215 Everett F. Harrison, Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964), 328.
216 Henry Clarence Thiessen, Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1955), 262.
217 I. Howard Marshall, The Pastoral Epistles, The International Critical Commentary, ed. J. A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1999), 12.
218 Werner Georg Kümmel, Introduction to the New Testament, trans. Howard Clark Kee (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1973), 367; and Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Good News Commentaries, ed. W. Ward Gasque (San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1984), xxiii.
219 Philip H. Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, ed. Grant R. Osborne (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 22; and John B. Polhill, Paul and His Letters (Nashville: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1999), 407.
220 Polhill, Paul & His Letters, 407; and Kümmel, Introduction, 386.
221 Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, 26.
222 Harrison, Introduction, 328.
223 "They have strayed from the truth by saying that the resurrection has already occurred and they are undermining some people's faith." 2 Tim 2:19 (NET).
224 Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, 23.
225 Ibid., 25.
226 William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Word Biblical Commentary, ed. Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, no. 46 (Nashville: T. Nelson, 2000), cxxx.
227 Ibid., cxxx-cxxxi.
228 Ibid., cxxxi.
229 Ibid., cxxxii.
230 Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, 28.
231 Marshall, Pastoral Epistles, 102.
232 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, cxxxii.
233 Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, 29.
234 Ibid., 28. See 1 Tim 4:1 and 2 Tim 3:1.
235 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, cxxxiii.
236 Ibid., cxxxii.
237 Frances Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters, New Testament Theology, ed. James D. G. Dunn (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 28-9.
238 Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, cxxxiii.
239 Young, Theology of the Pastoral Letters, 30-31.
240 Towner, 1-2 Timothy & Titus, 29.
241 Young, Theology of the Pastoral Letters, 36.
The message of 1 Tim 2:15 is certainly strange and foreign to the 21st century mind. Any interpretation of this portion of Scripture must wrestle with the theological, contextual, syntactical, and lexical difficulties embedded within these few words. Yet even with this realization, the interpreter seems to be left with a dilemma. On the one hand, the temptation to allegorize and theologize is tremendous when dealing with such a difficult text. But on the other hand, to focus only on the grammatical and lexical issues and to limit the understanding of every word and construction to its most common, usual sense appears to make childbearing a prerequisite for the salvation of women. The tension is high and so are the stakes— especially if you are a childless woman, as I am! The best interpretation will recognize this tension, and will therefore not only present the most probable explanation for the words and grammar of the verse in its context, but will also attempt to provide an explanation for the awkwardness and ambiguity of this infamous verse.
The following paragraphs of this chapter present certain conclusions about the meaning of 1 Tim 2:15 based on the study of the previous chapters and sections. First is a general conclusion as to the proper approach to 1 Tim 2:15, second is the choice of the most probable explanation for the verse with a summary of support from chapters four and five, and third is a discussion of "runner-up" interpretations which could certainly be considered possible, even if not chosen as most probable by the present author.
The present study on the details of 1 Tim 2:15 leads to certain conclusions, the first of which was evident in the introduction and is recognized by most scholars: dogmatism must be left at the door when interpreting this verse. There is a reason that so many differing proposals have been made for this verse: it is simply difficult to unpack. We are far removed from the historical context and know little of the situation to which Paul is writing, the paragraph surrounding 2:15 has been the subject of much debate in recent decades with several competing interpretations existing among evangelicalism (and thus emotions surrounding the passage are high), the individual words which comprise 2:15 are difficult to define, and the grammar poses problems of its own. Though such circumstances cause one to proceed with caution and with grace, one must yet continue to proceed in search of an adequate explanation for 1 Tim 2:15; the inspiration, authority, and usefulness of all Scripture demands that such a search must never cease.
With this first most basic and general conclusion in mind, the present study leads to a second conclusion regarding the most probable explanation of 1 Tim 2:15. From the list of interpretations examined in chapters two and three, a form of the perseverance view stands out as the best candidate for explaining the message of 1 Tim 2:15. A woman will experience the full reality of her final and ultimate glorification by means of her present good works in the realm of motherhood. It is her continuance in the faith through which she was justified, however, which is the true basis of a woman's final salvation.
This proposed explanation for 1 Tim 2:15 fits well with the theology expressed in the Pastoral Epistles (chapter 5): believers are justified on the basis of God's grace alone, yet good works—the natural outcome and the present reality of that salvation—are not wholly disconnected from the future experience of salvation. For women in this context, the specific good work of raising and nurturing children is a proper and effective means by which their consecration to the Lord and sanctification may be accomplished. This explanation also fits well with what is known of the historical situation and the false teachings which prompted the writing of 1 Timothy. First Timothy 2:15 combats portions of the circulating false doctrine in affirming marriage and motherhood as not only roles that are acceptable for believing women, but as roles which actually enhance a woman's spiritual life rather than hinder it in any way. In addition, 1 Tim 2:15 combats some of the inappropriate behaviors that were a result of the false teachings by encouraging modesty and self-control. The message of 1 Tim 2:15, then, is in accordance with the message to women throughout 1 Timothy, in which the responsibilities of motherhood are seen as a good work which expresses the present reality of a woman's salvation, plays a part in her sanctification, and at the same time, serves to safeguard her from falling away from the faith and towards the paths of Satan and the false teachers.
The lexical and syntactical analysis (chapter four) adds further support for some form of the perseverance interpretation of 1 Tim 2:15 as the most probable explanation. The understanding of swqhvsetai proposed by this interpretation is consistent with Paul's use of this verb, both in limiting it to spiritual salvation as opposed to physical deliverance and in using it to refer to many aspects of salvation including the reference here to final, eschatological salvation. As discussed above, this use of sw/vzw is also consistent with the special emphasis of the Pastorals in linking the believer's present responsibility to good practice with both past justification and eschatological glorification. The instrumental use of diav in 1 Tim 2:15 matches its use elsewhere when found in connection with sw/vzw, both when written by Paul and other New Testament authors. The metonymical use of teknogoniva", in which its literal meaning of childbirth represents the responsibilities and duties of motherhood as a whole, is supported by a similar use for the verb form in 1 Tim 5:14.
The awkwardness of the message of 1 Tim 2:15 does not disappear with the perseverance interpretation, but an explanation does surface. With this verse, Paul is combating and confronting the false teachings and the results of those false teachings with the truth (as he is throughout the Pastorals); thus the statement is a bit confusing as are many such statements of which only one end of a conversation is available. A careful examination of the context and lexical/syntactical issues reveals this statement to conform to both Pauline theology and the purpose of 1 Timothy. Such an examination also suggests that while Paul is responding to false teachings, we need not insist he is recasting such teachings or quoting a proverbial statement in order to understand the message of the verse.
Finally, the perseverance interpretation of 1 Tim 2:15 resonates with the experiences of many women whose daily lives are spent knee-deep in the duties and responsibilities of motherhood. As many of these have testified, the responsibilities of motherhood bring a depth to the spiritual life of a woman that no other duty brings. The task of nurturing and caring for the life God has graciously given is a sanctifying process that deepens both the desire to live a godly life and the necessary dependence upon God for the power to lead such a life.
If the perseverance interpretation is the most likely explanation for 1 Tim 2:15 in light of the research presented in this thesis, one other view must be mentioned alongside as a possible explanation based upon a quite similar understanding of the preposition: the attendant circumstance interpretation. The attendant circumstance understanding of the preposition in 1 Tim 2:15 results in only a slight change to the message of the verse. Instead of picturing motherhood as the means through which a woman will reach the full reality of future salvation, it is simply a realm or circumstance which accompanies the process. Motherhood is understood more as the realm of this sanctifying work rather than the means through which it actually occurs. Thus this view is certainly possible, but remains in the "runner-up" position because of the consistency of the instrumental use of diav with sw/vzw in the New Testament.242
The words of 1 Tim 2:15 are confusing and often troubling to the modern-day audience. We do not choose this verse for our daily devotions and sometimes we wish it were not a part of the canon of Scripture at all. An overview of interpretations of this verse reveals many varied positions, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, which may tend to frustrate and discourage the would-be exegete. One thing, however, seems to be confirmed by most, if not all, of these commentators: the firm belief that this verse is NOT saying that women may be saved only if they experience childbirth. Men and women are saved by grace alone, not by any work. Thus, with this settled we must struggle with what the verse IS saying, how the grammar and words are functioning, and how it fits with the theology and theme of the entire letter. The present thesis concludes that the best explanation of 1 Tim 2:15 comes from the perseverance interpretation: A woman will experience the full reality of her final and ultimate glorification by means of her present good works in the realm of motherhood. It is her continuance in the faith through which she was justified, however, which is the true basis of a woman's final salvation.
As the preceding chapters and sections have revealed, difficult passages such as 1 Tim 2:15 are the reason we have such phrases as "the hermeneutic of frustration." We must grapple with the possibility that we may only know with unhindered certainty what this verse does NOT say and may never have the ability to dogmatically proclaim what it absolutely does say. However, this does not excuse us from exploring the options involved in such a text, for as we analyze the grammar, study the context, and discuss and debate the issues in community we can only come closer to a clearer understanding of this and other such passages and thus a clearer understanding of our gracious God and our responsibilities to him.
242 Because of its place as a sub-type of the attendant circumstance use of the preposition, the concessional interpretation may be considered in the "second runner-up" position as a possible explanation.
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