The Silence of Women in the Church

by Steve Atkerson
Correctly applying 1 Cor 14:33b-35 is a challenge, regardless of whether one is involved with the house church movement or the traditional church. The NIV translates this passage as follows: As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Before attempting to explain what this passage means, we first need to make some general, preliminary observations about the text. First, whatever Paul meant, he intended it for all congregations everywhere. Some have attempted to side-step the entire passage by relegating its application to a uniquely Corinthian problem. Since it was written only to that particular church, they argue, we need not concern ourselves with applying it to today's church. The error of this type of reasoning is evident from the words of Paul himself. In 1 Cor 1:1-3 Paul makes it clear that this letter is to all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The plot is further thickened by the reference in 14:33b to all the congregations of the saints and by the word churches (plural) in 14:34. Paul is appealing to the universal practice of the church as a whole.

Second, whatever this passage means, it is not just Paul's opinion, nor dare we ignore it. Others have wiggled out of dealing with this passage by dismissing it as simply Paul's opinion and therefore ignorable. Anticipating the unpopularity of his opinion about the role of women in the church, Paul added, if anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command (14:37). Then he warned, if he ignores this, he himself will be ignored (14:38).

Third, Paul's core command is that women remain silent (14:34) in church meetings. The word silent is from sigao and means the absence of all noise, whether made by speaking or by anything else (BAGD). Sigao is also used twice prior to 14:34, in 14:28 and 14:30. Tongue speakers should keep quiet if there is no interpreter present, and prophets should stop if a revelation comes to someone else (sigao is used in each instance); no sound was to be made by either under certain circumstances.

Fourth, it is important to observe that the context surrounding this passage concerns order in the church meeting (14:40). The over-arching rule is that only one person at a time should address the congregation. Speaking is to be one at a time (14:27) and in turn (14:31). Thus, whatever this passage means, it concerns a woman's silence with respect to being the only one speaking to the assembly. It would not therefore apply to congregational singing, corporate responses, private conversations, or fellowship during the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:17-35).

Within our fellowship, two views prevail as to the exact meaning of Paul's words in this passage. The first is the unconditional silence view, which understands Paul to be teaching that there is never a time when a woman should address the plenary meeting. The second is the conditional silence view, which holds that a woman may indeed speak to the church except under the condition that a prophecy is being verbally judged. According to this view a woman must be silent only with respect to judging prophecy.

In support of unconditional silence it should be observed that 14:26 invites everyone of the brothers (not sisters) to participate. In 14:29 rules are laid down for the prophets (masculine), not prophetesses (feminine). The reference to women prophesying in 1 Cor 11:3-16 is harmonized with 14:33b-35 by noting that nowhere does the text state that 11:3-16 has a meeting of the church in view. The prayer and prophecy of 11:3-16 is evidently to go on at a time or location other than in the assembly (as in Lk 2:21-38 and Acts 21:7-11). The word churches (11:16) is taken to refer not to church meetings, but to the totality of Christians living in various geographic locations. Just as none of the churches condoned adultery (which obviously would not be committed in the actual assembly), neither did they have a custom such as making women wear a garment on their heads when praying or prophesying (see article on head coverings in this issue).

Further, notice the seeming absoluteness of 1 Cor 14:33b-35. As has already been shown, the Greek behind silent (sigao genuinely means mute. This is in contrast to another word Paul could have used (hesuchia), which means silent in the sense of tranquil, calm, or settled down, but not mute (see 2 Ths 3:12 and 1 Tim 2:2, 11-12).

Moreover, as if to anticipate that someone might misunderstand his words, Paul added, they are not allowed to speak (14:34). He did not write speak in tongues nor speak a prophecy nor speak a judgment nor speak a teaching. No qualifier was added. The women were not to speak anything. In fact, they were not even to ask a question in church (14:35), because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

An examination of first-century cultural norms would also suggest that Paul intended unconditional silence for women. First, in Jewish synagogues women were not allowed to speak publicly. Also, the Greek biographer, Plutarch, wrote that the voice of modest women ought to be kept from the public, and that they should feel as much shame over being heard as over being stripped (Reinecker, Linguistic Key, 438). Throughout the pagan world, women were generally regarded as inferior to men (Guthrie, NT Theology, 774). Thus, if Paul had intended for women to be allowed to speak in church, would he then not have had to write extensively to convince his readers of such an abnormal practice? However, no such arguments can be found in the New Testament. Instead, there is the command for silence; a command not based on the culture of Paul's day, but upon the universal practice of all the churches and the Hebrew Scriptures (the law, v 34). Paul certainly did assert the equality of the sexes in Ga 3:28 (in contrast with first-century culture), but he still maintained the subordination of women to men (1 Cor 14:34, 1 Tim 2:11-13).

One difficulty with the conditional silence view can be seen in the church discipline process of Matt 18:15-20. In one of the last steps of the correction process, the church is to be told of the sin of the unrepentant brother. With the unconditional silence scenario, no sister could ever be among those who tell it to the whole church, nor serve as one of the witnesses. If the person being charged with the offense happens to be female, she would not be permitted to speak in defense of herself. This would seem to be an awkward way to handle such a serious matter.

Another problem with the unconditional silence view concerns Paul's intent in writing this passage. Exactly what is accomplished by complete silence on the part of women? There seems to be no substantive basis behind a command for unconditional silence. Suppose an informal prayer meeting were held in my home (as in 1 Cor 11:2-16) and nineteen of twenty members attend. Since it is not intended to be an official 1 Cor 14 type of meeting, the women presumably could participate verbally. However, if those same people were to come to my home where a 1 Cor 14 meeting is intended, then, according to the unconditional silence view, those same women could not pray aloud. But what is the fundamental difference between the two meetings that would allow women to speak in one case but force women to remain silent in the other case? The number of people who are in attendance has not changed. The setting has not changed (it's in the home in either case).

Those in favor of the conditional silence view tend to regard 1 Cor 11:2-16 as occurring in a church meeting. This is because the instructions immediately following this passage, 11:17-34 (concerning the Lord's Supper), clearly do deal with the church meeting proper. Thus, in 11:2 the Corinthians are praised for what they did rightly in their meetings, and in 11:7 they are chided for what they did wrongly in their meetings. The seeming contradiction that is thus created between 1 Cor 11:2-16 (women allowed to speak) and 14:33b-35 (women forbidden to speak) is resolved by understanding the silence in 14:33b-35 to be conditional. Women may speak if their statements are in submission (14:34). If, however, their utterances would entail passing judgment upon prophecies spoken in the meeting, then under this condition the women must be silent.

Specifically, 14:33b-35 is taken to apply to the judging of various prophecies mentioned in 14:29-33a. In 14:29a, Paul commands that two or three prophets should speak; he then regulated this prophecy in 14:30-33a. In 14:29b, Paul ordered that the given prophecies be carefully judged; he then regulated this judgment in 14:30b-35. Thus, just as tongue speakers are to be silent under certain circumstances (14:28 i.e., with regard to speaking in tongues only, and only when there is no interpreter present), and just as the prophets are to be silent under certain circumstances (14:30 i.e., with regard to prophecy only, and only when another prophet receives a revelation), so women are to remain silent under certain circumstances (14:33b-35 i.e., with regard to judging of prophecies only). This interpretation, unlike the unconditional silence view, give substance to the reason behind the command. For women to judge prophecy in the church would be to assume an authoritative posture and, hence, would be to violate the requirement to be in submission found elsewhere in the Scriptures (cf. 1 Tim 2:11-13 and Paul's allusion to the law in 1 Cor 14:34). (Notice how Paul contrasts the speaking of women in this passage to submission [14:34], indicating that this silence is in regard to exercising authority). Accordingly, women are not allowed to quiz, question, or interrogate the prophets as to their orthodoxy. To do so would place them in a position of authority over the prophets. Instead, they should ask their men at home, after the meeting, as to why certain prophecies went unchallenged (14:35).

A third intriguing way to interpret 1 Cor 14:33b-35 is to take the prohibition as an overall appeal for submission, rather than simply an appeal not to judge prophecies. Women may speak to the church as long as they are in submission (14:34) to male leadership. If, however, any potential statements might infringe upon the men's role (judging prophecy, leading the meeting, teaching), then the woman must be silent. This third position sees a close parallel between this passage and 1 Tim 2:11-14.

Given the difficulties of correctly applying 1 Cor 14:33b-35, we must be careful to respect those who hold to applications which differ from our position. Whatever position one eventually takes on this issue, we must not simply stick our heads in the sand and pretend this passage does not exist. As Paul himself wrote, If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored (14:38).