[B-Greek] OIKOUROS in Titus 2:5

Harold Holmyard hholmyard3 at earthlink.net
Mon Jan 28 15:34:48 EST 2008


Hi, Norm,
> Hi, I’m new at this post.
>
> I have a question for you folks, I really need your expertise. I’m  
> suppose to have an important meeting shortly in regards to Titus 2.5  
> the women should be “busy at home’οἰκουρός (OIKOUROS).
>
> Some say it means that the woman should stay at home, keep the  
> children and not have an outside job. Is that a semantic anachronism,  
> or does it really mean that. Is it a modern concept put in an ancient  
> word, or was the word used in that sense?
>   


HH: OIKOUROS is a variant reading found in the Textus Receptus; it is 
not even mentioned as a variant in the UBS 4th edition text, which has 
OIKOURGOS. OIKOUROS does mean "staying at home" or "domestic," according 
to BAGD. LSJ  gives the sense as "watching or keeping the house," in 
terms of a watchdog. They also say it can mean "keeping at home." It can 
refer to the "mistress of the house, housekeeper." It is used in praise 
of a good wife. It can be used contemptuously of a man as a 
"stay-at-home," as opposed to one who goes out to war.

I tend to favor the UBS reading, which refers to a "worker at home," 
because it is more in line with Israelite culture, where it was 
permissible for Israelite women to work outside the home. They could 
sell things:

Prov. 31:24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the 
merchants with sashes.

A woman could be a judge over Israel, like Deborah. Being a worker at 
home (OIKOURGOS) does not exclude activities outside the home. There was 
a woman queen, like Athaliah, women prophetesses involved in 
governmental affairs, like Huldah:

2Chr. 34:22  Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him went to speak 
to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, 
the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in 
the Second District.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard

> Regards,
> Norm.
>
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