Have problems understanding what this means? You are not alone. Bible Scholars have grappled specific sections of 1 Timothy, too. What they have studied helps us understand what is going on. Although the entirety of the letter is in context, this study will focus these sections of chapter 2: 1. Women shall learn in silence. 2. Women shall be saved through child bearing. First, some background:

1 Timothy is a pastoral letter addressing a congregation of both Greek and Jew followers of Christ, in Ephesus (probably AD 62-64.). The letter wishes to address the following: lack of proper etiquette in communal worship, instruction on moral household codes, and problems caused by false teachers.

Communal Worship: The differentiation made between comportment of men and women in the midst of worship is attributed to the need for moral household codes. These codes help avoid conduct leading to misrepresentation of the Gospel to the skeptical, secular society.

It is commonly held by scholars that the rules placed on women in these passages are specified to the particular congregation. This means that they are not regarded as universal guidelines but rather as those needed in special circumstances such as this one.

Household Codes: Household codes are mentioned in many Pauline writings to order a peaceful family unit that overflows into and takes on an adjusted form in the larger gathering of believers. (I.e., submission to one another, being servant hearted, loving as did Christ.)

False Teachers: The following ingredients act together, attracting a firm reprimand from Paul: 1. Women who are insufficiently educated and easily swayed. 2. False teachers who want prestigious positions and money (ch. 4). The passage indicates that the false teachers are selling a mix of glorified Jewish doctrine, Greek myths, and Christ’s Gospel (1:3, 4). Apparent from the letter’s several emphatic addresses to women is the assumption that women are their captive audience. For whatever reason they listen, the deal is women are voicing the false doctrine or broaching related questions to the congregation. If women are ordered to learn in silence this eradicates the problem.

The false teaching is placing high value on Jewish genealogy. The old Jewish laws for worship and family order are easily venerated with disregard for their reinterpretation in Jesus Christ. With that in mind, Paul addresses the believers with the same venerated language of the old covenant they have adopted from false teachers. Using genealogical terms, Paul compares men and women in the Ephesian congregation to the succession of Adam to Eve and Eve’s sin and weakness. The believers incorrectly assume detachment from the consequences of Adam’s and Eve’s sin through whatever means of human effort the false teachers suggest. For women it is the idea that they must endure Eve’s remedial actions (i.e., pain in childbirth). The problem compounds. False teachers also teach that to marry is wrong (ch. 4). This potentially propels women into sexual immorality, believing that marrying is wrong but that childbearing saves them.

The correction Paul offers for this false teaching is drawn also from the comparison with Eve. The passage indicates that when a woman trusts her value and salvation to Christ, she can enjoy the fullness of being a created woman, like Eve. Motherhood and Marriage are applauded creations of God, enhanced and made full, within Godly boundaries.