2:1-3:16πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, 3:15. Regulations for the Church, as regards (a) public worship, the proper objects of prayer (2:1-7), and the position to be occupied by men and women (2:8-15); (b) qualifications for the officers: the bishop (3:1-7), deacons (3:8-10, 12, 13), deaconesses (11).

2:1-7. Paraphrase. I come to special regulations to guide you in your true work, and I want to urge first of all that Christians should realize the universality of the message of the gospel. For this, prayers and thanksgivings are to be made in public worship for all mankind, and primarily for rulers and all in any position of authority, that so we may be able to live a quiet life undisturbed by war and persecution, in a religious and serious spirit. Such prayer is true prayer and well-pleasing to God who has already saved us, but wishes all men to be saved too, and to reach a full knowledge of truth.

For there is one and one only God, one and one only who stands between God and men, He who shares human nature, Christ Jesus, and He gave Himself in life and death for all mankind, so bearing witness to God’s great Love in God’s own time; and it was to carry on that message that I myself was chosen as a herald, as a commissioned Apostle—yes, whatever my opponent may say, that is true: He did commission me—whose one task is to train Gentiles in the spirit of faith and in truth.

The keyword of this section, as of the Epistle to the Romans, is universality, πᾶς (ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων . . . πάντων τῶν ἐν ὑπεροῇ . . . πάντας ἀνθρώπους . . . ὑπὲρ πάντων). The emphasis on it may be due to Gnostic tendencies to exclusiveness, laying undue stress on knowledge, and distinguishing between πνευματικοί and ψυχικοί (cf. 6:20, Judges 1:19), but vv. 5-7 suggest that it is rather due to Jewish exclusiveness. St. Paul would naturally be anxious that the Christian Church should not fail, as the Jews had done, in recognizing the universality of its mission.

1. οὖν marks the return from a digression to the main subject, but perhaps suggesting a logical connexion. “Since, then, our one object is to produce love (1:5), and to carry the message of salvation to all sinners (1:15), there must be prayer for all men.” Chrysostom has some excellent remarks upon the power of intercession to break down the barriers of prejudice.

πρῶτον πάντων] Because worship gives the note which action has to take up.

δεήσεις, προσεύχάς, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχ., cf. Php 4:6 τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ δεήσει μετὰ εὐχ. τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν γνωριζέσθω. For attempts to distinguish the three words, cf. Origen, περὶ εὐχῆς, 14; Augustine, Ep. 50 (who refers them to distinct parts of the Liturgy), Bengel, and Bernard. Probably δεήσεις, emphasizes the sense of need, προσευχαί the approach to God, ἐντεύξεις (= αἰτήματα, Php 4:6) the actual petition, but the distinction was not meant to be emphasized: the triad is a favourite feature in St. Paul’s style. The connexion with 8-15 and the effect of this passage on the Liturgies makes it clear that the primary reference is to public worship, ἐν τῇ λατρείᾳ τῇ καθημερίνῃ, Chrys.

ἐντεύξεις] Here and 4:5 only in N.T., also in 2 Mac 4:8, and cf. 3 Mac 6:40 ἐντυχίαν ἐποιήσαντο—from ἐντυγχάνειν, “to chance upon,” then “to have an audience with a king,” to have the good fortune to be admitted to an audience, so to present a petition; cf. Wisd 8:21 ἐνέτυχον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἐδεήθην αὐτοῦ. ἔντευξις, a formal petition, especially to a king; so frequently in Josephus, Diodorus, and the Papyri (Deissmann, B.S., pp. 121, 146). The thought of the King of the ages, 1:17, may still be in the writer’s mind.

εὐχαριστίας] not in the technical usage = “Eucharists,” “thanksgivings in offerings”; cf. Lightfoot on Clem. Rom. 1:41, and the careful examination of the use of the word by Dr. Swete (J. Th. St. iii. p. 161) and Dr. Hort (ib., p. 594); but “thanksgiving in words,” thought of as part of common worship, cf. 1 Corinthians 14:16. It will include gratitude for the past kindnesses of those for whom we pray (ὑπὲρ τῶν προϋπηργμένων ἀγαθῶν, Theodoret), for God’s past mercies to them (Chrys. quoting Matthew 5:45); but more widely—for what they are, God’s creatures, the object of His love, whom He wishes to be saved. Chrysostom says finely, ὥσπερ κοινός τις ἐστὶ πατὴρ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης ὁ ἱερέυς· πάντων τοίνυν ἀξίον αὐτὸν κήδεσθαι, καθάπερ, καὶ ὁ θεὸς, ᾦ ἱερᾶται.

ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀθρώπων.] There is no one for whom the Christian Church has not to pray; no one for whose creation it has not to thank God! Even for God’s enemies its duty is “et quod facti sunt diligere et quod faciunt increpare: mores pravorum premere, vitæ prodesse” (Gregory, Reg. Past. iii. c. 22).

2. ὑπὲρ βασιλέων] not “for the emperor” (as in 1 P 2:17 τὸν βασιλέα τιμᾶτε), but “for emperors,” the rule being meant to be universal and lasting; cf. Tert. Apol. 30, “pro omnibus imperatoribus”; or perhaps “for kings,” including local kings under the Empire; cf. Mark 13:9 ἐπὶ ἡγεμόνων καὶ βασιλέων. The duty is emphasized perhaps because of the Jewish tendency to rise against the Empire (“Judæos assidue tumultuantes,” Suet. Cl. 25), which might pass over into the Christian Church under a misapprehension of Christian liberty (cf. 6:1, 2, 1 P 2:16), and under the stress of persecution and growing suspicion (Tac. Ann. xv.44); but apart from this it would be natural to St. Paul with his pride in the Empire and its citizenship, Rom_13.

Compare Jeremiah’s advice to the Jews in Babylon, προσεύξασθε περὶ αὐτῶν πρὸς κύριον, ὅτι ἐν εἰρήνῃ αὐτῆς εἰρήνη ὑμῶν, 29:7 and Bar 1:11, 12 προσεύξασθε περὶ τῆς ζωῆς Ναβουχοδονόσορ, Ezra 6:10, Ezra 6:1 Mac 7:33. The later Jews prayed “for the peace of the kingdom, since but for fear thereof we had swallowed up each his neighbour alive,” Pirke Aboth, iii. 2, and prayed for the emperor in their synagogues (Philo, ad Flaccum, p. 524), and offered sacrifices twice a day in Jerusalem for the emperor and people of Rome; but this was stopped with the outbreak of the last Roman war, Jos. B.J. ii.10 and 17; cf. Abrahams, Studies in Pharisaism, § 8.

For a similar command, probably based on this, cf. Polyc. Ep. 12 (ubi v. Lightfoot); and for the substance of the prayer, Clem. Rom. 1.61, οἷς δός, κύριε, ὑγιείαν, εἰρήνην, ὁμόνοιαν, εὐστάθειαν, εἰς τὸ διέπειν αὐτοὺς τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ δεδομένην αὐτοῖς ἡγεμονίαν ἀπροσκόπως . . . σὺ, κύριε, διεύθυνον τὴν βουλὴν αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ καλὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον ἐνώπιόν σου, ὅπως διέποντες ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ πραΰτητι εὐσεβῶς τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ αὐτοῖς δεδομένην ἐξουσίαν ἵλεώ σου τυγχάνωσιν: Tert. Apol. c. 30, “Vitam illis prolixam, imperium securum, domum tutam, exercitus fortes, senatum fidelem, populum probum, orbem quietum”; ib. c. 39, “Oramus pro imperatoribus, pro ministeriis eorum ac potestatibus, pro statu sæculi, pro rerum quiete, pro mora finis.” For the effect of this passage on the Liturgies, cf. the “Clementine” Liturgy, παρακαλοῦμεν σε, κύριε, ὕπερ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ καὶ παντὸς τοῦ στρατοπέδου, ἵνα εἰρηνεύωνται τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὅπως ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ καὶ ὁμονοίᾳ διάγοντες . . . δοξάζωμεν σε (Brightman, Lit. E. and W. i. p. 21), the Liturgy of St. James (ib. p. 55), the Coptic Liturgy (ib. p. 168), the Prayer for “the whole state of Christ’s Church” in the English Prayer Book.

ἐν ὑπερόχῃ. (“in sublimitate,” Vulg.; “in sublimi loco,” Ambrosiaster): here and 1 Corinthians 2:1 only in N.T., but cf. Romans 13:1 ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις: 1 P 2:13 βασιλεῖ ὡς ὑπερέχοντι: 2 Malachi 3:11.

ἵνα κ.τ.λ.] gives the result of the prayer. Pray for good government, for that will secure you a quiet life. Perhaps also (so Holtzmann) dependent on ποιεῖσθαι, giving the result of the fact that they pray. Pray for the government, that the heathen may recognize your loyalty and you be left in peace. Cf. Tertullian, Apol. 39, and Seneca (Ep. Mor. 73), who defends philosophers from the charge of disloyalty to rulers, “e contrario nulli adversus eos gratiores sunt: nec immerito: nullis enim plus præstant quam quibus frui tranquillo otio licet.”

ἤρεμον. (here only in N.T.), ἡσύχιον 1 P 3:4 only, but cf. ἡσυχάζειν, 1 Thessalonians 4:11; μετὰ ἡσυχίας, 2 Thessalonians 3:12, a retired and quiet life (cf. M.M s.v.), undisturbed by war or persecution from outside; free from such tumults as that at Ephesus had been Acts 19:23.

ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ σεμνότητι] an interesting Hellenic counterpart to the Hebraic ἐν ὁσιότητι καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ of Luke 1:75.

εὐσεβεία] (“pietate,” Vulg.) godliness; the true reverence towards God which comes from knowledge; characteristic of Past. Epp. here and 3:16, 4:7, 8, 6:3, 5, 6, 11, 2 Timothy 3:5, Titus 1:1, but also in Acts and 2 P, and common in LXX and classical literature; cf. Bernard and Trench, Syn. s.v. It may include a true respect and reverence for human superiors (cf. 5:4), and perhaps does so here.

σεμνότητι. (“castitate,” Vulg.; “sobrietate,” Thdt.; “honestate,” Calvin), dignity, gravity, seriousness, the demeanour of the εὐσεβνής towards men (cf. Tert. Præscr. 43, “ubi metus in Deum, ibi gravitas honesta”): “a grace and dignity not lent him from earth, but which he owes to that higher citizenship which is also his: being one who inspires not respect only, but reverence and worship,” Trench, N.T. Syn. s.v.; cf. ἱεροπρεπεῖς, Titus 2:3 note; Clem. Alex. Strom. vii. 35, σεμνὸς διὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐπιστροφήν.

3. τοῦτο] “Such prayer for all mankind,” or “such a life” (so Pelagius, von Soden): either will help on God’s purpose and help to save men. Cf. Euseb. H.E. iv. 7, who speaks of the Church as τὸ σεμυνὸν καὶ εἰλικρινὲς καὶ ἐλευθέριον τό τε σῶφρον καὶ καθαρὸν τῆς ἐνθέου πολιτείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας εἰς ἅπαν γένος Ἑλλήνων τε καὶ βαρβάρων ἀποστίλβουσα.

καλόν] Cf. additional note, p. 22. Here it may be joined closely with ἀπόδεκτον, “good in God’s sight,” or perhaps its reference is manward. This will win men and please God. Cf. 2 Corinthians 8:21; Clem. Romans 1:7, καλὸν καὶ προσδεκτὸν ἐνώπιον τοῦ ποίησαντος ἡμᾶς.

4. πάντας] With slight antithesis to ἡμῶν: he who has saved us, 3 including the chief of sinners (1:15), wills to save all, cf. 4:10, Wisd 16:7 διὰ σέ τὸν πάντων σωτῆρα. There is no limitation, such as Tertullian, “eorum quos adoptavit” (de Or. 4); Augustine, “omnes prædestinati, quia omne genus hominum in eis est” (de corr. et gr. 44). His will to save is as wide as His will to create and to protect, “omnes vult salvari quia et omnes tuetur” (Thd.-Mops. ad loc., with Swete’s note); cf. Ezekiel 18:23, Wisd 1:13-16, Romans 5:18, and Epict. iii. 24, 2, θεοῦ ὃς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἐπὶ τὸ εὐδαιμονεῖν, ἐπὶ τὸ εὐσταθεῖν ἐποίησεν. But Bengel’s non coguntur and Ambros. si et ipsi velint add the necessary limitation to the working of God’s will; cf. Herm. Sim. viii. 1; Hooker, Eccl. Pol v. 49.

ἐπίγνωσιν] Favourite word with St.Paul(10 times; see Armitage Robinson on Eph., detached note); elsewhere Heb. (1), 2 P (4)

ἐπίγν. ἀληθείας] Past. Epp. only 2 Timothy 2:25, 2 Timothy 3:7, Titus 1:1, but ἐπιγ τῆς ἀληθ., Hebrews 10:26. It has become a technical term for the intellectual acceptance of Christianity; cf. μεταναστὰς εἰς ἀληθείαν of the proselyte to Judaism, Philo, de Spec. Leg. 4:178 (Dibelius), κανόνας εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας of philosophy, Epict. 11. xx. 21 (M.M. s.v.).

5-7. 5-6 expand σωθῆναι, 7 expands εἰς ἐπίγν. ἀληθ. ἐλθεῖν.

5. εἷς.] Correlative to πάντας One, and therefore with a will for all mankind, for Gentile as well as Jew; cf. Romans 3:29, Romans 3:30 ἢ Ἰουδαίων ὁ θεὸς μόνον; οὐχὶ καὶ ἐθνῶν; ναὶ καὶ ἐθνῶν, εἴπερ εἷς ὁ θεός, Ephesians 3:4-6 and Isaiah 45:20-23. There may also be an implied antithesis “one and not many” (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

εἷς καὶ μεσίτης] one mediator able to represent both God and man entirely (cf. Iren. iv. 20, “hominibus ostendens Deum, Deo autem exhibens hominem”), again with an implied antithesis, one and not more: not Moses any longer (Galatians 3:19; Philo, de Vita Mosis, ii. 166, οἷα μεσίτης καὶ διαλλακτὴς . . . τὰς ὑπὲρ οῦ ἔθνους ἱκεσίας καὶ λιτὰς ἐποιεῖτο), not any Jewish High Priest (Hebrews 8:6, Hebrews 8:9, 15, Hebrews 8:12:24), nor any angel (Colossians 2:18, Hebrews 2:16; Test. XII. Patr., Dan, c. 6, ἐγγίζετε τῷ θεῷ καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῷ παραιτουμένῳ ὑμᾶς· ὅτι οὗτος ἐστι μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐπὶ τῆς εἰτήνης Ἰσραήλ: Philo, Bible. Antiq. xxxii. 14), nor any being in the mysteries intermediate between God and the creation, like Mithras (Cumont, Les mysteres de Mithra3, pp. 129, 139), nor any Gnostic æon intermediate between God and the world. Philo had regarded the Word of God as occupying such an intermediate position; cf. Quis rerum div. hær. 42, where He is described as ἱκέτης τοῦ θνητοῦ and πρεσβευτὴς τοῦ ἡγεμόνος πρὸς τὸ ὑπήκοον. Christ Jesus has embodied this function in a human life.

ἄνθρωπος] The Divine side is assumed: the human only mentioned, as he is thinking of the gift given in the human life, a true man, no angel, no mere phantom appearance, but one living a human historic life, a “second Adam,” “The Son of man.” There is much to be said for Lachmann’s punctuation, putting the comma after ἄνθρωπος. For there is one only God, one only man too, representative of God and man, viz. Christ Jesus.

6. ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτόν] prob. a reminiscence of the Lord’s own saying, Mark 10:45 δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν: cf. Titus 2:14 note.

ἀντίλυτρον Here only in N.T.: in Psalm 48:9 it is an alternative rendering for τὴν τιμὴν τῆς λυτρωσέως (Field, Hexapla), a vicarious ransom: for the form, cf. ἀντιμισθία, Romans 1:27, 2 Corinthians 6:13; for the thought, Titus 2:14 note, and cf. Eleazar’s prayer that the sacrifice of his own life may save his nation, καθάρσιον αὐτῶν ποίησον τὸ ἐμὸν αἷμα καὶ ἀντίψυχον αὐτῶν λάβε τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν, 4 Mac 6:29. These verses 5, 6 may be quoted from some formula (Dibelius), cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6, but they spring naturally out of the context.

τὸ μαρτύριον] acc. in apposition to the preceding statement, cf. Romans 12:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:5: the great truth revealed in God’s own time. But by whom? It may include the whole chain of witnesses. (a) The law and the prophets pointing to it, cf. Romans 3:21 μαρτυρουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, and 1 P 1:11. (b) The witness of the Lord Himself in His Life (cf. 6:13 and John 18:37 ἵνα μαρτυρήσω τῇ ἀληθείᾳ and 1 P 1:11. “Sanctae vitæ dedit exemplum,” Pelagius), His passion (μαρτύριον τὸ πάθος, Chrys.), and resurrection (“tempore quo resurrexit,” Thd.). (c) The witness which the writer and all future teachers have to give, cf. 1 Corinthians 1:6, 2 Thessalonians 1:10. (“This is the fact to which we are to bear our testimony, as opportunities present themselves,” Twentieth Century N.T. “The outlook is to the future of the Church,” Bernard. This suits the context, ordering prayers for all men that so the message of salvation may reach to all: and this will need time. But Titus 1:3 makes any reference to the future doubtful.

καιροῖς ἰδίοις, cf. Titus 1:3 note.

7. εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην] 2 Timothy 1:11, and supra, 1:13 note.

κήρυξ] The word was associated not only with the games (1 Corinthians 9:27) but also with the Eleusinian mysteries; cf. τοῦ Ἐλευσινίου ἱεροῦ κῆρυξ, Philostratus, Vit. Soph. ii. 33, and other instances, ap. M.M. s.v.

ἀληθ. λέγω] Romans 9:1, 2 Corinthians 11:31, Galatians 1:20. The language of one whose authority and whose truthfulness have been attacked in the past, and who is still face to face with opposition.

ἐν πίστει. (cf. 1:2) καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.] The sphere and the subjects in which he teaches; corresponding to the two purposes of God in 4, faith in salvation and knowledge of Him. It may include his own loyalty (1:12) and truthfulness (cf. ἀληθείαν λέγω) (so Wohlenberg); but only by implication.

8-15. Paraphrase. The second point which I wish to stress is the spirit and order of public prayer. Men when they pray to God must lay aside all personal ill-will and irritation; women must dress quietly, for they are engaged in a sacred task, and their true adorning is that of good works, not of costly jewels and dress. The women should listen to the teaching quietly and submissively: I do not allow a woman to be herself a teacher, nor to dictate to men; and that for two reasons. The order of creation suggests man’s taking the lead, first Adam, then Eve. The history of the Fall suggests women’s weakness: it was not Adam but Eve who was deceived and so fell. Yet God’s will to save all men extends to her:

“A child from woman’s seed to spring

Shall saving to all women bring.”

That is a true saying; but to be saved they must continue faithful, loving, holy, and self-controlled.

The whole section refers primarily only to public prayer (though it appeals at times to principles that have a wider application); this is clear (a) from its position between 1-8 and 3:1-13. (b) From the analogy of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 which were apparently in the writer’s mind. (c) From its influence on subsequent Church orders; cf. Canon. Hippol. §§ 81-88, “mulier libera ne veniat veste variegata in ecclesiam ... neve omnino loquantur in ecclesia quia est domus Dei.” Test. Dom. Nostri, ii. 4; Const. Apost. iii. 6; cf. Clem. Alex. Pæd. iii. 11, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἄκτεον τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα ἐστολισμένους κοσμίως.

(d) Perhaps from the analogy of heathen priestesses; cf. 10 note.

The purpose of the section is twofold. (a) Primarily, to secure a right spirit and character in those who pray, both men and women; cf. 8, 9, 10, 15. (b) To check a freedom which women were claiming to teach at the meeting. Nothing is mentioned about women prophesying, which was always exceptional, and the writer is laying down general rules. It is less clear whether any rule is laid down as to leading the prayers. This is not stated, and the language is consistent (1) with the theory that there was no leader, but that all prayed in silence until the Spirit moved some one, man or woman, to pray aloud (cf. Ramsay, Exp., Sept. 1909): (2) with the theory that the ἐπίσκοπος acted as leader, the rest joining in with the Amen (1 Corinthians 14:16). This is more consistent with 1, 2 supra, and 3:1-7.

8. βούλομαι. (cf. 5:14, Titus 3:8, Php 1:12) οὖν parallel to 1, but perhaps suggesting a slight connexion with the last paragraph. The thought of God’s universal salvation is still in his mind, σωθῆναι, 4; σωθήσεται, 15, and the ideal of the true Christian life; Cf. 2 with 9-11.

ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ] “Wherever you meet for public worship”; or more probably the writer means the rule to be universal for all churches under his influence, παντί being an echo of πάντας (4), πάντων (6); cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 7:17, 1 Corinthians 14:33 ὡς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων. There is possibly a reminiscence of Malachi 1:11 ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ θυμίαμα προσάγεται . . . καὶ θυσία καθαρά· διότι μέγα τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν τοῖς ἒθνεσιν, which was a favourite quotation in 2nd-century writers, as pointing to the universal offering of the Eucharist; cf. Justin, Dial. 41 and 117; Iren. iv. 17; so Didache, c. 14, where it is given as a reason why no one who has a quarrel with another should join in the Eucharistic sacrifice.

ἐπαίροντας χεῖρας] Standing to pray, as was customary with pagans and Jews alike, and common with the early Christians; cf. Dict. Chr. Antiq., s.v. Oranti. For Greek and Roman illustrations, cf. Wetstein, Wohlenberg, and Deissmann, L.A.E., p. 421.

ὁσίους χεῖρας] Combines the idea of moral purity (“quae sanctis operibus ministraverint,” Origen on Rom_6; cf. Job 16:17 ἄδικον δὲ οὐδὲν ἦν ἐν χερσί μου, εὐχὴ δέ μου καθαρά: Psalm 24:4, Isaiah 1:15, Isaiah 1:16, Jam 4:8; Clem. Romans 1:29, ἐν ὁσιότητι ψυχῆς ἁγνὰς καὶ ἀμιάντους χεῖρας αἴροντες) with that of consecration, hands like those of consecrated priests, performing the tasks of holy priesthood (1 P 2:9). It is partly explained by χωρὶς ὀργῆς καὶ διαλογ. They must have the consecration of Christian Love, if they are to pray aright. Cf. Tert. Apol. 30, “manibus expansis quia innocuis”; De Orat. 14, “manus expandimus, de dominica passione modulati,” in imitation of the Cross. It is difficult to imagine after Our Lord’s teaching that Christians had taken over the Jewish practice of ceremonial ablutions. So Ramsay, ubi s., but cf. Hippol. Canon, § 241, “Christianus lavet manus omni tempore quo orat.”

χωρὶς ὀργῆς (cf. Matthew 5:23-25, Matthew 5:6:14, Matthew 5:15), καὶ διαλογισμοῦ, probably “disputing” (“disceptatione,” Vulg.); cf. Php 2:14 χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν: Mark 7:21 οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοί, evil thoughts against one’s neighbour, the chief of the things which really pollute. Did. 14, πᾶς ἔχων τὴν ἀμφιβολίαν μετὰ τοῦ ἑταίρου αὐτοῦ μὴ συνελθέτω ὑμῖν, ἕως διαλλαγῶσιν. Tertull. De Or. 11. 12, Thd. and Thdt. interpret it as “doubt,” “hesitation” (cf. Mark 11:23, Jam 1:6, Herm. Mand. ix. 1); with right feeling to man and God, with love and faith (cf. 15 and 1:14); but the idea of doubt is alien to the context, which emphasizes man’s relation to his fellow-men.

8-15. This section deals only with the dress and conduct of women at the meetings; but compare the general relation of husband to wife in 1 P 3:1-8, which appears to be influenced by the passage; cf. also Cyprian, De Hab. Virg., where an a fortiori argument is drawn from this passage to the ordinary dress of virgins, and Tertull. De cultu Fem., where it is used as an argument for the ordinary dress of all Christian women, who may have to face martyrdom at any moment. Compare also the contrast between Virtue, κεκοσμημέην τὸ μὲν σῶμα καθαρότητι, τὰ δὲ ὄμματα αἰδοῖ, τὸ δὲ σχῆμα σωφροσύνῃ, ἐσθήτι δὲ λευκῇ, and Vice, κεκαλλωπισμένην τὸ μὲν χρῶμα . . . ἐσθῆτα δʼ ἐξ ἧς ἂν μάλιστα ἡ ὥρα διαλάμποι, in the story of Prodicus, Xen. Mem. ii. 1.

9. ὡσαύτως] Perhaps carries on to women all that has been said about men (Chrys., Ramsay), but not necessarily (cf. 3:8, 11, Titus 2:3, Titus 2:6), and it does not affect the construction, which is βούλομαι κοσμεῖν.

καταστολῇ Possibly “demeanour,” “deportment” (Ambros., Dibelius, M.M. s.v.); but as this is expressed in μετὰ . . . σωφροσύνης, more probably “dress,” which is implied by the contrast μὴ . . . πολυτελεῖ cf. Isaiah 61:3; Clem. Alex. Pæd. iii. 11, quoted above.

αἰδοῦς] “That shamefastness which shrinks from overpassing the limits of womanly reserve and modesty”; καὶ σωφρ., “that habitual inner self-government with its constant rein on all the passions and desires which would hinder temptation from arising, or at all events arising in such strength as should overbear the checks and barriers which αἰδώς opposed to it.” Trench, Syn. s.v.; cf. Tert. de C. Fem. ii. 8, “ubi Deus, ibi pudicitia, ibi gravitas, adjutrix et socia ejus.” For its meaning as applied to different ages and sexes, cf. additional note, p. 148.

πολυτελεῖ] Cf. 1 P 3:4, which seems suggested by this place.

10. ἐπαγγ. (cf. 6:21, Wisd 2:12): θεοσεβείαν. (“promittentes castitatem,” O.L.; “pietatem,” Vulg. Ambros.; “professing godliness,” R.V., A.V.; but better, “promittentibus Deum colere,” Thd., “that professe the worshippynge of God,” Tyndale), refers to their action in coming to the Church’s worship. There is perhaps a comparison with heathen priestesses; cf. ὁσίους χεῖρας, 8; ἱεροπρεπεῖς, Titus 2:8, and an inscription describing the dress of the ἱεραὶ γυναῖκες in the mysteries, μὴ ἐχέτω μηδεμία χρυσία . . . μηδὲ τὰς τρίχας ἀναπεπλεγμένας. Dittenberg, Syll. ii.2 653 (quoted by Dibelius); cf. Tert. de C. F. ii. 12, “sacerdotes pudicitiæ.”

διʼ ἔργων ἀγαθῶν] “Etiam sine sermone,” Bengel: prob. with κοσμεῖν, Cf. Titus 2:10, Clem. Rom. 1:33, ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς . . . ἐκοσμήθησαν, not with ἐπαγγελλομέναις: cf. Tert. de C. F. ii. 13, for a rhetorical expansion of this passage, and Hipp. Canons 82-87, “Neque enim to quae pretiosorum lapidum et margaritarum ornamentis superbis tam pulchra es ut illa quæ sola natura et bonitate splendet.”

11-15. Still dealing directly with conduct at the meetings; but the word ὑποταγή suggests a reference to the whole relation of wife to husband, cf. Ephesians 5:23. The language is coloured throughout by Gen_2 and 3: ἐπλάσθη = ἔπλασεν, Genesis 2:7; ἠπατήθη = ἠπάτησε 3:18; τεκνογονία = τέξεις τέκνα, 3:16.

11. ἐν πάσῃ ὑποταγῇ] “Submission to constituted authority, i.e. the officials and regulations of the Church,” Ramsay, though πάσῃ suggests also “their husbands.”

12. αὐθεντεῖν The earliest known use of the word, common in late Greek (from αὐθ-έντης, a self-actor, an independent actor, so in vulgar Greek= δεσπότης (cf. Rutherford, The New Phrynichus, § 96; Nägeli, p. 49; Moulton and Milligan, s.v.), “to lord it over,” “to dictate to,” the antithesis of αὐτός σου κυριεύσει Genesis 3:16.

13. ἐξαπατηθεῖσα: so 2 Corinthians 11:8 ἐξηπάτησεν, though the LXX has ἠπάτησεν.

14. Cf. 2 Corinthians 11:3; and for the Jewish tradition that Eve was tempted by the serpent to infidelity, cf. Thackeray, The Relation of St. Paul to Contemporary Jewish Thought, pp. 50-57; for the Jewish attitude to women, Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, i. 5 note; and for the connexion of Eve with transgression and death, Ecclus 25:24 ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἀρχὴ ἁμαρτίας καὶ διʼ αὐτὴν ἀποθνήσκομεν πάντες.

γεγόνεν—passed into and has remained in the position of transgressor.

σωθησέται] taking up σωθῆναι, 4 ἁμαρτωλοὺς σῶσαι, 1:15; shall be spiritually saved.

διὰ τῆς (“that of Genesis 3:16, ” or more technically “the great”) τεκνογονίας. Two interpretations seem possible. (a) “By bearing children,” by that child-bearing which was once a thing of sorrow but now has become a source of salvation; not by spiritual activities at the meetings, but by motherhood and the quiet duties of home (cf. 5:14); including perhaps (so Chrys.) the rearing of children (cf. 5:10 εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησεν, and Hippol. Canon 82, “Neve det infantes quos peperit nutricibus sed ipsa sola eos nutriat … neve administrationem familiæ negligat”), and all maternal instincts, which become the saving of a woman from self and draw out her soul both to others and to God; cf. Ramsay, Expositor, 1909, pp. 339-47. If so, there may be an implied protest against those who depreciated marriage, 4:3.

(b) By the great child-bearing, by that which has produced the Saviour, the child-bearing of Mary, which has undone the work of Eve. This use of the article is very common in the Past. Epp.; cf. τὸ μυστήριον, ἡ πίστις, ἡ διδασκαλία (p. xvi): for the thought, cf. Ign. ad Eph. 19, ἔλαθεν τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἡ παρθενία Μαρίας καὶ ὁ τοκετὸς αὐτῆς, ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ θάνατος τοῦ κυρίου, Iren. Hær. v. 19, “si ea inobedierat Deo, sed hæc suasa est obedire Deo, uti Virginis Eva virgo Maria fieret advocata, et quemadmodum adstrictum est morti genus humanum per virginem, salvetur per virginem”: cf. ibid. 3:22; Prædic. Apostolica, c. 33; Justin, Dial. c. 100; Tert. de Carne, xli. c. 17: cf. the stress on ἄνθρωπος, sup.5, and Galatians 4:4 γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός.

(b) is probably right. It was given by some anonymous commentator (Cramer, Catena, vii. 22), and has been revived by Ellicott, von Soden, and Wohlenberg. Indirectly it reflects a glory upon all child-bearing, which has become the channel of the Salvation of the world.

The nominative to σωθήσεται is perhaps Εὖα (cf. Irenæus, u.s.), or ἡ γύνη; Eve as the representative of women.

15. ἐὰν μείνωσιν] Who? not “the children” (Chrys., Jerome), which is too far from the context, but γυναῖκες from 9, 10; or possibly “husband and wife,” suggested by 12-14; cf. 1 P 3:7 συγκληρονόμοι χάριτος ζώης.

πίστει καὶ ἀγ.] The essential Christian virtues, cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:13; but possibly πίστει suggests marital fidelity; cf. τοὺς ἐν γάμῳ διαφύλαξον ἐν πίστει, Brightman, Lit. E. and W., p. 26. ἁγ. μετὰ σωφρ. the right relation between husband and wife, cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:7, and a rhetorical amplification of the section in Clem. Hom. xii. 16-18, 21, ὁ σώφρονα γυναῖκα ἔχειν θέλων καὶ αὐτὸς σωφρονεῖ.

πιστὸς ὁ λόγος] Cf. Titus 3:8 note; and for the variant ἀνθρώπινος, Introd., p. xxxvi. The words perhaps refer to the preceding statement (so Chrys., Holtzmann, W. H., Hillard), as the other faithful sayings deal with salvation. If so, it is still uncertain how much of that sentence is included in the quotation; probably only σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας. I would suggest that the previous words, Ἀδὰμ γὰρ . . . γέγονε, are a quotation from some Jewish Apocrypha, scornful of women (this would make the perfect tense γέγονε more natural), which is answered by quoting a well-known Christian saying about the effect of the Incarnation on women.

But most editors connect the words with the following paragraph.

J. Th. St. The Journal of Theological Studies, London, 1910-

M.M. The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, by J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, 1914-

Bible. Antiq. The Biblical Antiquities (of Philo), ed. M. R. James, S.P.C.K., 1917.

Const. Apost. Constitutiones Apostolorum, ed. P. A. de Lagarde, 1862.

Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, by A. Deissmann, Eng. transln., 1910.

R.V. Revised Version of the English Bible.

A.V. Authorized Version of the English Bible.

Nägeli Das Wortschatz des Apostel’s Paulus, von T. Nägeli, 1905.

Clem. Hom. Clementis Romani Homiliæ, ed. Dressel, 1853.