Does the Bible say Women Should Be Silent?

1 Timothy 2:11-15 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹¹ Women should learn quietly and submissively. ¹² I do not let women teach men or have authority over them.^[a] Let them listen quietly. ¹³ For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. ¹⁵ But women will be saved through childbearing,^[b] assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

Woah, woah, woah. Women have to be quiet? You’re blaming the fall of mankind on women? Women will be saved by having lots of babies? And saved from what? Fire and brimstone? A lightning strike? Boils and plagues? The ire of misogynist pigs?

On first glance, this passage seems to go against every fiber of a modern woman’s being. But don’t get lost in translation; context here is key.

In Greco-Roman time, women played active leadership roles in mystery religions (1), which were gaining in popularity at the same time Christianity was getting started. Considering sex orgies and drunken debauchery were the main events of these cults, Paul knows that if women speak publicly for any religion they might be judged improperly. That Paul actually encourages Christian women to learn at all is a drastic departure from his scholarly religious contemporaries, who generally would not permit teaching women.

We also need to realize that Paul speaks to the Ephesians much differently than other churches he was instructing at the time. For instance, in the epistle Philippians, he lovingly praises the church of Philippi and encourages them to continue in their obedience. The Ephesians were a rowdier bunch, and sometimes needed a good scolding. His letter to Timothy is addressing this specific group of women and men. The atmosphere was not a tranquil one in the Ephesian church. These women had a history of being led astray by false teaching.

Paul allowed women in Corinth to pray and prophesy in church, with certain restrictions (See 1 Corinthians 11:2-16), which indicates that the prohibition in 1 Tim. 2:12 should not be taken as a universally permanent rule. Some Bible verses are specific instructions to specific people and are temporary cultural policies (i.e. 1 Tim. 2:9), not meant to be blanket prohibitions for everyone. God used women in important roles throughout the Bible, including leadership positions. Take for example Deborah, who was appointed as a judge and prophet over Israel (Judges 4-5).

Also worth noting, the women were not the first rebuked for their actions. The Ephesian men were warned in 1 Tim. 2:8 to abstain from praying while quarreling and angry. Church meetings for the Ephesians were chaotic and the opposite of a calm learning environment. After instructing the men on how they can contribute to a more peaceful church atmosphere, he moves on to instruct the women to do the same in 1 Tim. 2:11.

The Greek word Paul used here, hēsychia is sometimes translated as “silence”, like in the King James Version, but Strong’s Greek Dictionary defines the word as “peacefulness” “tranquil” or “quietness.” The word does not carry the meaning speechlessness, but of an atmosphere of God-produced calm. When Paul means speechlessness or silence, he uses the word“sigaó” (See Acts 12:17, Acts 15:12-13, 1 Cor. 14:30). The reason he wanted them to listen quietly during church rather than lead is because there were more educated leaders of the Ephesian church. Imagine what church would be like if every Tom, Dick and Mary interjected throughout the church service, “Well, Pastor, I think that…” It would be extremely disruptive, would it not? Paul is instructing the women to learn quietly and submissively, because that is the reason why they are at church.

Paul goes on and gives Eve as a specific example to illustrate the dangers posed when uninformed women take the lead. My eighth grade Bible teacher used to say that man actually made the first mistake. Since Adam was created first, he should have known that animals could not talk. When Eve came to him with a story about a serpent telling her what to do, Adam should have been skeptical and led Eve to do the right thing instead of agreeing to sin against God. Eve was created later, so she should have listened to Adam because she was less educated on God’s rules. When she took the lead without knowing all the facts, she sinned and led Adam to sin. Paul explains that since Eve was deceived first, she brought sin into the world.

Now every time a woman gives birth she gives birth to a sinner. However, Mary brought Jesus, the Savior into the world, and that is how we are literally saved by childbirth. As individuals, we are saved by faith, just like men, but a woman was responsible for bringing Christ into the world. Paul is making an important distinction between women and men here. He is indicating that a woman doesn’t need to assume a man’s role to be saved. We are different, and it is a wonderful thing! But he doesn’t stop there. Sure children are great, but ultimately Paul punctuates the sentence with his call for women to “continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.” At the end of the day, our character is what matters most.

(1) Flower, Harriet. The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic