"I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." --1 Timothy 2:12 KJV   
  
This passage troubles those who desire greater leadership roles for women in ministry but who also want to remain loyal to Scripture. Did Paul forbid a woman to exercise her leadership and teaching gifts, or was he dealing with a particular error in the church?   
  
According to I Suffer Not a Woman, Paul was reacting to a specific problem that was sweeping churches: a myth, taught mostly by women, which later became a foundation for gnosticism. This book offers an in-depth look at the Greek text of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in the context of the Pastoral Epistles and in its historical context. By illuminating the first-century culture of Ephesus, the Kroegers shed light on the ancient world thought patterns Paul faced and offer a responsible alternative understanding of this much debated passage.

__Richard Clark Kroeger__ is a retired pastor and college professor. __Catherine Clark Kroeger__ is founder and president emerita of Christians for Biblical Equality and is an adjunct professor of classical and ministry studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The Kroegers founded the Institute for Lay Training.

Solid scriptural and archaeological evidence refutes the traditional interpretation used to bar women from leadership.

Kroeger, Richard Clark ;Kroeger, Catherine Clark

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Abbreviations

Preface

Introduction: Problems with a Traditional Interpretation

Part 1: Approaching the Text in Its Context

1. Approaching the Bible with Faith

2. The Pastoral Epistles: Who Wrote Them and Why

3. Destination: Ephesus

4. Identifying the Problem: Evidence from the Pastorals

5. An Examination of 1 Timothy 1:3–2:11

Part 2: The Prohibition (1 Tim. 2:12)

6. A Closer Look at Our Target Verse

7. That Strange Greek Verb Authentein

8. Is Another Translation Possible?

9. The Feminine as Primal Source

Part 3: The Prohibition’s Rationale (1 Tim. 2:13–15)

10. Condemnation or Refutation? (2:13–14)

11. How an Important Bible Story Was Turned Upside Down

12. New Stories for Old

13. Of Jewish and Gnostic Heroines

14. The Great Goddesses and Eve

15. The Veneration of the Serpent and Eve

16. Considerations of Childbearing (2:15)

Epilogue

Appendices

1. Could Authentein Mean Murder?

2. A Lesson in Greek Grammar

3. Sex Reversal and Female Dominance

4. Sex and Death in Ancient Novels

5. The Curse Tablets of Cnidus

6. Gnostic Use of Sex

7. Alternate Versions of the Creation Story

Endnotes

Index of Authors and Subjects

Index of Scripture, Apocrypha, and Pseudepigrapha

Back Cover

Presents scriptural and archaeological evidence which refutes the traditional interpretation used to bar women from leadership.

"I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." --1 Timothy 2:12 KJV This passage troubles those who desire greater leadership roles for women in ministry but who also want to remain loyal to Scripture. Did Paul forbid a woman to exercise her leadership and teaching gifts, or was he dealing with a particular error in the church? According to I Suffer Not a Woman, Paul was reacting to a specific problem that was sweeping churches: a myth, taught mostly by women, which later became a foundation for gnosticism. This book offers an in-depth look at the Greek text of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in the context of the Pastoral Epistles and in its historical context. By illuminating the first-century culture of Ephesus, the Kroegers shed light on the ancient world thought patterns Paul faced and offer a responsible alternative understanding of this much debated passage. I Suffer Not a Woman is well documented yet easily accessible. Illustrations and photographs provide a fascinating look at the ancient world. It was previously published by Baker in 1992.

Richard Clark Kroeger is a retired pastor and college professor. Catherine Clark Kroeger is founder and president emerita of Christians for Biblical Equality and is an adjunct professor of classical and ministry studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The Kroegers founded the Institute for Lay Training.

I Suffer Not a Woman [eBook]

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I Suffer Not a Woman [eBook]

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Solid scriptural and archaeological evidence refutes the traditional interpretation used to bar women from leadership.

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