[B-Greek] 1 Timothy 2:12
WFWarren at aol.com
WFWarren at aol.com
Mon Jun 21 07:42:00 EDT 2004
In a message dated 6/21/04 12:54:32 AM, yet_yeta at yahoo.com writes:
> In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul uses, DIDASKEIN (present infinitive) instead of
> DIDAXAI (aorist infinitive). What effect does this have on the meaning of the
> text. Is it correct, from the above observation, to suggest that Paul did not
> allow women to be teachers, yet he may have allowed them to engage in the act
> of teaching.
>
> Oetla Simankane
> Greek student
> Avondale College
>
>
Oetla, I'm answering you off-list (with a copy to Carlton and Carl in case
they deem this worthy of the list) because you seem to be asking as much about
interpretation as Greek grammar. What some commentators have read into the
present tense here is that certain women were already teaching in the setting and
so Paul is addressing a present problem in the church, not simply a potential
problem. (See Gordon Fee for the view that the problem is already present
via certain women who have abused their positions) This would take the present
tense to indicate that they are not "to keep on teaching" rather than "start
teaching." On the other hand, that is a lot to hang on the tense here without
considering further information derived or assumed/conjectured from the
supposed background of the letter, time of writing, other information in the letter,
etc. In other words, the tense by itself isn't sufficient to carry this
load. That's why I would suggest that this is an exegetical question more than a
grammar question. Also, this text has been discussed before on the list and so
you may want to search the archives for prior posts related to this passage.
paz,
Bill Warren
Director of the Center for New Testament Textual Studies
Landrum P. Leavell, II, Professor of New Testament and Greek
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
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