Women and Bible Translations
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Paul in Conflict with the Veil An Alternative Interpretation of 1Corinthians 11:2-16 by Thomas Schirrmacher Foreword by Hans-Georg Wünch VTR Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufnahme Ein Titeldatensatz für diese Publikation ist bei der Deutschen Bibliothek erhältlich. ISBN 3-933372-46-1 © by Thomas Schirrmacher and Verlag für Theologie und Religionswissenschaft Gogolstr. 33, 90475 Nürnberg, http://www.vtr-online.de Stock Number: 860.246 Translation: Cambron Teupe Translated from the fifth German edition 2002 Cover Illustration: VTR Layout: VTR Printed by: Satz- und Digitaldruckzentrum Hammerbrücke / Auerbach Dedication “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2Co 3:18) “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” (1Co 11:11-12) To Christine Living and discussing with my counterpart, daily strengthen my conviction that the life-long marriage of two human beings, created by God to be essentially different, is a divine covenant and the climax of Creation. Just as for the Church, education, the economy and the State, its significance for my personal well being has no match. Contents FOREWORD (HANS-GEORG WÜNCH) ..........................................................7 My Thanks.....................................................................................................9 Preface to the First German Edition.............................................................10 Preface to the First English Edition .............................................................11 How to Read this Book................................................................................12 1. FOR THE READER IN A HURRY: THE ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF 1CORINTHIANS 11:2-16 IN 13 THESES......................................................13 1.1 The Thesis of this Book ...................................................................... 13 1.2 An Alternative Translation of 1Corinthians 11:2-16 ...................... 13 1.3 An Alternative Interpretation of 1Corinthians 11:2-16.................. 16 Proposition 1................................................................................................16 Proposition 2................................................................................................16 Proposition 3................................................................................................17 Proposition 4................................................................................................17 Proposition 5................................................................................................17 Proposition 6................................................................................................17 Proposition 7................................................................................................18 Proposition 8................................................................................................18 Proposition 9................................................................................................18 Proposition 10..............................................................................................19 Proposition 11..............................................................................................19 Proposition 12..............................................................................................19 Proposition 13..............................................................................................19 Summary (Repetition of 1.1) .......................................................................20 2. THE MOST DIFFICULT TEXT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?...........................21 2.1 Between Misogyny and Egalitarianism ............................................ 21 Do Uncovered Women Hinder Revival?.....................................................21 The Difference Between Man and Woman .................................................21 Women and Bible Translations....................................................................22 2.2 Interpretation Without End?............................................................. 31 Problem After Problem................................................................................31 A Bouquet of Interpretations .......................................................................33 Is it just a Question of Long Hair?...............................................................35 3. THE ALTERNATIVE VIEW IN DETAIL ....................................................... 38 3.1 The Alternative Interpretation is Nothing New ...............................38 3.2 Argumentation for the 13 Propositions.............................................41 Proposition 1............................................................................................... 41 Proposition 2............................................................................................... 41 Proposition 3............................................................................................... 41 Excursus: The Jewish Custom of Veiling Women ..................................... 47 Proposition 4............................................................................................... 51 Proposition 5............................................................................................... 52 Proposition 6............................................................................................... 53 Proposition 7............................................................................................... 59 Proposition 8............................................................................................... 66 Proposition 9............................................................................................... 72 Proposition 10............................................................................................. 74 Proposition 11............................................................................................. 78 Proposition 12............................................................................................. 78 Proposition 13............................................................................................. 78 4. QUOTATIONS AND IRONY IN 1CORINTHIANS ........................................... 80 4.1 The Emergence of the Corinthian Church.......................................80 4.2 Paul in Cross-fire ................................................................................82 Example: For and Against Paul (1Co 1-4).................................................. 83 Example: Church Discipline (1Co 5-6) ...................................................... 83 Example: Marital Love (1Co 6-7)............................................................... 84 Example: Meat Offered to Idols (1Co 8-10)............................................... 84 Example: The Gifts of the Spirit (1Co 12-14) ............................................ 87 4.3 Paul’s Corinthian Opponents ............................................................88 4.4 Quotations and Irony in 1Corinthians..............................................94 1Corinthians 7............................................................................................. 94 1Corinthians 6:12-13 .................................................................................. 97 1Corinthians 8-10........................................................................................ 98 1Corinthians 14:34-35 .............................................................................. 100 5. FURTHER TEXTS ON WOMAN’S DRESS AND PRAYER AND HER SUBMISSION TO HER HUSBAND ..................................................... 109 1Timothy 2:9-10 and 1Peter 3:3-4 ............................................................ 109 1Timothy 2:8-10 ....................................................................................... 111 1Timothy 2:11-15 ..................................................................................... 111 Submission .....................................................................................................117 7 Foreword While studying at the Free School of Theology in Basel, Dr. Schirrmacher and I were confronted with a seemingly insoluble problem. On the one hand, as Bible-believing Christians, we consider Scripture to be the infallible Word of God and reject the idea that the validity of its statements depends on cul- ture. On the other hand, we treat 1Co 11:2-16 (the issue of headcoverings for women) as if this particular command of the Apostle Paul were no longer binding due to cultural changes. “With what justification,” we asked our- selves, “do we declare some Scriptural statements to have been valid only in Bible times, and others to be binding for all cultures and times?” I find it es- sential to interpret the Bible according to a uniform hermeneutic system1 rather than according to one’s own preferences and tastes. An article in the magazine “Licht und Leben”2 brought us a little further. We discussed the issue, sometimes all trough the night, to discover whether the text of 1 Co 11 might include citations which Paul had quoted from a pre- vious Corinthian letter in order to contradict them. We used the “veil issue” as a test case. I am now more convinced than