[B-Greek] 1 TIm 3:11 gunaikas

Blue Meeksbay bluemeeksbay at yahoo.com
Mon May 2 20:58:43 EDT 2011


1 TIMOTHY 3:10-11 KAI hOUTOI DE DOKIMAZESQWSAN PRWTON, EITA DIAKONEITWSAN 
ANEGKLHTOI ONTES.  GUNAIKAS hWSAUTWS SEMNAS, MH DIABOLOUS, NHFALIOUS, PISTAS EN 
PASIN.
 
And let them be proved first, then let them minister, being above reproach. In 
the same way, let their wives minister, being serious, not accusatory, but 
temperate, faithful in all things.  

 
 
I say tomatoe, you say tomato.  Iver said tomatoe, Barry said tomato.
 
I wonder, even though GUNAIKAS  is in the accusative case and not in the 
nominative case (as one would expect, if one looks at the way I am suggesting), 
is there any way hWSAUTWS  could be construed with DIAKONEITWSAN rather than DEI 
and EINAI?  Or if it is still construed with DEI and EINAI could it still, at 
the same time, still loosely be construed with DIAKONEITWSAN so that it might be 
understood as follows –
 
And let them be proved first, then let them minister, being above reproach. In 
the same way, it is neccessary that their wives be serious, [serving], not as 
slanderers, but as ones temperate, faithful in all things.  

 
In this way, the wives of deacons would be encouraged to serve with their 
husbands, especially as the duties of their husbands, might bring them into 
situations where the service of women would be more appropriate.   For example, 
such things as assisting women who are going to be baptized, or ministering to 
women in labour, or, perhaps, helping younger women with their families.
 
Because of this, the wives of deacons became known as deaconesses. Granted, they 
never seemed to hold an official title in the GNT as did their husbands, 
nevertheless because they assisted their husbands in their duties they held a 
semi-official title of deaconesses (cf. Rom 16:1).
 
 
Blue Harris


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