ABSTRACT An Analysis of the View of Men and Women in the Epistles of Apostle Paul Hwang, Young Ja Department of New Testament Theology Graduate School, Chongshin University The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Apostle Paul’s viewpoints on m... ABSTRACT An Analysis of the View of Men and Women in the Epistles of Apostle Paul Hwang, Young Ja Department of New Testament Theology Graduate School, Chongshin University The purpose of this thesis is to analyze Apostle Paul’s viewpoints on men and women in three of his 13 epistles in the New Testament, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Timothy. Applying the Greek-Grammar to each text, I found that "οὐκ ἔνι Ἰουδαῖος οὐδὲ Ἕλλην, οὐκ ἔνι δοῦλος οὐδὲ ἐλεύθερος, οὐκ ἔνι ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ·" in Galatians 3:28 shows equal status between a man and a woman, which is the same wording as in the Septuaginta(Genesis 1:27; 2:23) on the 6th day of the First Week of the Creation before the Fall. Also, Adam's First Song toward Eve presented the implication of equal standing between the two genders. From the meaning of the verses above (Gal 3:28, Gen 1:27; 2:23), I have inferred that Paul's standpoint on men and women finds its origin in the Creation Event. The phrase of "ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ" connotes how humans are the Image and Likeness of God (Gen.1:27; 2:23). Thus, as the Trinity is homogeneous, so are human beings, both men and women. After the Fall, however, their status took a drastic turn. Having turned 180 degrees, now, even though the woman has a desire for her husband, he will rule over her (Gen. 3:16). Nevertheless, God planned to recover this turning-over, to settle down to the foremost status established on the 6th day of week of the Creation through the belief in the seed of a woman (Gen. 3:15). In the letter to Galatians, the eigh barriers placed between the Jews and the Greeks, slaves and free men, and men and women in general had been abolished, each distinguished pair unites into one through Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:28). This is the evidence of the fulfillment of God's plan (Gen 3:15), to become new-creature-recovery-process through Him: "The old things have started to pass away and new things have come(2 Cor. 5:17)." Upon the result of grammatical analyzation into all the related verses in three Epistles, we have reached the conclusion of the status of equality between the two genders has been presented since the Christ Event. But so far, one serious hermeneutic problem has been appearing during the procedure of grammatical application for the texts. Some of the famous scholars had interpreted 'an active-voice text(1 Cor. 11:10)' as 'a passive-voice text', which changed the meaning of the text to a totally contradicting condition. One example of these typical hermeneutic errors is found in 1 Corinthians 11:10 as the following: 1. διὰ τοῦτο ὀφείλει ἡ γυνὴ ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς διὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους (1 Cor 11:10). Most of the translators have mistakenly interpreted “ἐξουσία(authority)” into ‘a passive-voice’ rather than ‘an active-voice’. To explicate, although the text means that the woman should find the origin(ἡ κεφαλὴ) of her ἐξουσία in man, most had understood the text as if the woman is under the authority of a man or/and her husband. Thus, in practice in daily life, they enforced a custom of taking 'a veil' up as an external symbol equivalent to the 'a passive-voice ἐξουσία of woman'. Thus, the 'veil = head-covering' presents for the symbol of woman's status, which means she is under a man’s or her husband’s authority instead of being on her own authority. NASB quotes, "Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head," and NIV quotes that "For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head"; meanwhile, the verse is translated into Korean(KBS) as "그러므로 여자는 천사들로 말미암아 권세 아래에 있는 표를 그 머리 위에 둘지니라." The readings of the three versions are slightly different; even so, they each have adapted the wrong grammatical interpretation of the passage. As a result, each translation totally distorts the intended meanings to its readers. To solve these problems or confusions and bring forth a valid interpretation, three limitations should be imposed on the process of interpretation. First, one consistent application of word-meaning/definition to a grammatical view is necessary. Second, despite the interpretation difficulties in determining the background for 'διὰ τοῦτο' and 'διὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους', the time context for verse 10 is to be limited to the Sixth day of the First Creation (Gen. 2:7-24). This second limit seems to be the most preferred selection for the interpretation for two phrases. Third, the time context of verses 11-12 is defined from the day after the Fall (Gen. 4:1) that began from the child begetting and childbearing of Adam and Eve and will last to the day of Lord's Parousia. Out of these three restrictions, the consistency in proper grammatical rule of 'the same meaning and function theory for the same word' has to be applied and practiced for the verses 9-12 (διὰ; πλὴν). This is a crucial point to be maintained and to be kept through whole interpretation process of these four verses. For example, 'πλὴν(adversative conjunction)', which is at the beginning of verses 11-12, is the most important factor that should not be missed in its function by any interpreters. It is the keyword for determining and deciding on the correct meaning as well as supporting the ἐξουσία and the κεφαλὴ in verses 3 and 10. If the function of antithesis/contrast of 'πλὴν' were overlooked in verse 11, the interpretation that many interpreters have already done would not come to our consideration and we also would grasp ἐξουσία as a passive voice, thus, understand the verse that a woman should be placed under the authority of a man or any third person, and thus the 'veiling'; hence, κεφαλὴ would so naturally be interpreted as the anatomical head of a woman. However, when we take notice and make good use of the grammatical function of 'πλὴν' that is equipped as a steerage between verses 3-10 and 11-12, the ἐξουσία and the κεφαλὴ could be rightly interpreted, respectively, as 'woman's authority' and 'the man, as a source of woman' as active voices. By interpreting the text grammatically in a consistent manner, the significance of the justification of the authority and the respect between men and women has been analysed and proved rightly. Further, it is proved that the source of the authority of men and women had been flowing from God's ultimate authority(verse 12), which is actually the utmost important theory. This interpretation connotes a different perspective compared to how it was interpreted to the current day. Conclusively, through the interpretation of this paragraph, by showing that the man is the source of the woman, therefore it is justifiable for men to have authority and receive respect from women; yet, in the same way, it is justifiable (ὀφείλει) for women to have authority and receive respect from men due to the fact that the Creator made a woman 'because of man' as his ezer or helper (Gen.2:18) and as the man's glory (Gen. 2:23; 1 Cor. 11:7). So far, scholars have constantly overlooked the most important theme of 'God's Authority' which is given clearly in verse 12. Based on this verse, both men and women shall acknowledge each other and share the respect and authority through the ultimate source of their being and authority of God through Christ(ἐν κυρίῳ). 2. διδάσκειν δὲ γυναικὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέπω οὐδὲ αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός, ἀλλ᾽ εἶναι ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ (1 Ti. 2:12). With this text, especially based on the Greek grammatical tool of οὐκ...οὐδὲ, the scholars are divided into two main groups. Their opinions diverge on the whether Paul instructed two prohibitions or one to the Ephesian Church. While Koesternberger is an advocate for two, Payne is for one; Koesternberger perceives διδάσκειν and αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός as two separate prohibitions, and Payne only regards διδάσκειν as the prohibition. The matter of deciding upon 'one' or 'two' prohibitions is crucial in the fact that it affects interpretation of the whole verse, presenting two different meanings, and as a result influences the understanding of women's deeds. Moreover, it would have impact on the interpretation of the passages like 1 Timothy 2:13-14 especially on how one discerns why the Greek grammatical tools like γὰρ and καὶ were used. If we hold that there are two prohibitions, it would mean that a woman is not allowed to teach a man or show any authority to man; however, this interpretation is a result of following a wrong Greek grammatical procedure for the οὐκ...οὐδὲ phrase. When we do decode this phrase properly, the διδάσκειν ...οὐδὲ αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός part would be merged into one prohibition of διδάσκειν since οὐδὲ fuctions to conjoin αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός with διδάσκειν; thus, 'the διδάσκειν of a woman' would connote an attitude that a woman is the origin/creator/founder of man(αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός). In other words, a woman is not permitted to teach a man with an improper attitude towards him, trying to seize the authority of the Creator, thinking herself as the creator of men or/and mankind. On the other hand, a woman is aloowed to teach anyone with a right attitude, that of decency, dignity and quietness. The interpretation above could help the procedure of interpreting the subsequent verses 13 and 14. And along with this new interpretation of verse 12, the historical background of Ephesus of Paul’s contemporary time could clarify the meaning of these two verses; in Ephesus, the Artemeses and Gnositics claimed that a woman was made before man, and that it was Adam who was deceived. Women with this belief in those days used to claim that they existed prior to men, and claimed their rights to be authoritative towards them. Paul wrote the verses 13 and 14 in order to correct their wrong attitudes towards others/men. 3. σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας, ἐὰν μείνωσιν ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ μετὰ σωφροσύνης (1 Ti. 2:15). For the first half of the verse (σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας), there are two interpretations: "But women (woman) will be preserved through the bearing of children (NASB)" and "But women (woman) will be saved through childbearing (NIV)". Due to the differences each interpretation is concentrating on, scholars are divided into two groups; while the prior focuses on the physical deliverance, the latter focuses on the spiritual salvation. If we pay attention to the circumstances of Ephesus' cults like that of Gnosticism, or Artemis, 'the physical deliverance from any danger occurring during the process of giving birth to child' would be the right understanding for the word σωθήσεται; on the other hand, if we pay attention to the woman's sin mentioned in verse 14, 'the spiritual salvation' would be right meaning of the word. Futhermore, since Paul's wording for physical deliverance is ῥύομαι instead of σώσει(2 Ti 4:18), we come to a conclusion that σωθήσεται (1 Ti. 2:15) means 'the spiritual salvation through the childbearing'. Another reason σωθήσεται represents spiritual salvation is because the word group of σῴζω in Pauline corpus conveys the sense of spiritual salvation; and since σωθήσεται is in future tense, passive voice, and singular form of the verb σῴζω, it is highly expected that this sense is also displayed in 1 Tim 2:15 as well, particularly in the light of its contrast to the Fall, Eve's sin in verse 14. In verses 13 and 14, the closest and grammatically most natural subject of "she will be saved" is "the woman, Eve". The shift from "Eve" to "the woman: she" adds to the natural association of Eve as the representative of women in general. This confirms that Paul continued to have the Genesis account in his mind while he was writing 1 Tim 2:15. Immediately following the statement of the woman's deception in Gen 3:13 is the curse on the serpent. This curse predicts that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head(Gen 3:15), a passage called the protevangelium, the Bible's first prediction of the promised seed that will overcome Satan and the effects of the Fall. This prediction is the only reference to salvation in Gen 3:13-16, from which Paul is citing, and it is depicted in Genesis as the solution to the Fall that was first caused by the woman's deception. The natural implication, then, is that the salvation from the Fall to which Paul appeals in 1 Tim 2:15 is the spiritual salvation through a seed of a woman, the seed of the woman identified in Genesis 3:15b. In the phrase of 'σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας,' the word 'ἡ τεκνογονία (the child-birth)' is written with an article ἡ, thus, pointing to the one previously mentioned in Gen 3:15b. Ἡ τεκνογονία is in genitive, expressing "her seed"; this fits the virgin birth of Jesus Christ perfectly. He is witnessed by the Bible as follows: "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men- the testimony given in its proper time (1 Tim 2:3-6). ，韩语论文范文，韩语论文网站 |
