You need to go back and look at 1 Corinthians more closely. Paul made a point about women having a head covering (because of the pagan practices of the day in Corinth) when she was praying or PROPHESYING in the meetings of the church. There is a lot of disagreement about the meaning of the head coverings, but not the basic issue of women prophesying just like the men (
1 Corinthians 11:4-5).
At this point, some assert that the men and women must have met separately and this is an example of women teaching women. But if you go to one of the favorite proof texts,
1 Corinthians 14:34-35, you will see that men and women were in the same meetings.
How do we reconcile the two passages from Paul in the same letter, just three chapters apart? We recognize that context requires us to translate the word γυναῖκες as "wives" instead of "women," a natural and appropriate translation. Therefore the two verses should read:
The wives are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is improper for a wife to speak in church...
Now why would Paul place this restriction on wives since women were speaking as shown in
1 Corinthians 11:4-5? Because this instruction occurs in the context of the church hearing a speaker and then the congregation "passing judgment" (see verse 29). Paul wants to avoid a wife quizzing the husband in front of the congregation that might lead to marital strife, but instead showing deference in front of the congregation and then talking to him about it in the privacy of their own home.
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