Sárospataki Füzetek 19. (2015)

2015 / 4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Enghy Sándor: Ézsaiás és Jeruzsálem. Jeruzsálem jelene és jövője az Úr szava és az Úr napja tükrében (Ézs 2-4)

TANULMÁNYOK

Introduction

van Houwelingen, Rob

MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INSTRUCTION ABOUT WOMEN IN 1 TIMOTHY 2:12-15

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” Many Christians of the 21st century feel rather uncomfortable with the instruction about women from 1 Timothy 2. On the basis of his particular passage many church leadership positions have been reserved for men. But how should it be handled?1

First, I will make some remarks about the meaning of this passage. As the starting-point for my interpretation, I follow the text of 1 T imothy as it can be found in the corpuspau- linum, including its self-attestation as a letter of the apostle Paul. In regard to the vulnerable male/female relationship within the Christian congregation, he refers back to the beginning of mankind: the creation, the fall and the redemption of the first human couple, Adam and Eve. The Genesis narrative tells a story of human weakness. In short: Eve was created after Adam; the woman let herself be fooled by Satan and therefore fell into transgression. She, however, would find salvation in her motherhood.

After that, I will discuss the significance of this passage for today. It is hermeneutically important to be aware of some key differences between our present context and that of the

’ This paper contains material from: Van Houwelingen, Rob: Power, Powerlessness and Authorised Power in 1 Timothy 2:8-15, in Power in the New Testament (eds.) Villiers, Pieter G.R. de & Merz, Annette, Leuven, Peeters, 2015) [forthcoming]; Van Houwelingen, P.H.R.: Timoteüs en Titus. Pastorale instructiebrieven (Commentaar op het Nieuwe Testament, Kämpen, Kok, second printing 2012).The hermeneutical triangles with accompanying notes in Part 2 of this paper were presented at various occasions. Cf the debate with Gerhard Visscher in chapter 7 of Viss- CHER, Gerhard H. & Te Velde, Mees (eds.), Correctly Handling the Word of Truth, Reformed Hermeneutics Today (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2014), 142-170.

2015 - 4 Sárospataki Füzetek 19. évfolyam 59