The Meaning of Authenteō

[Resource Manager]

 

The Meaning of Authenteō

 

Considerable debate has raged over the last twenty years over the meaning of a single Greek word in Paul‘s first epistle to Timothy, and its application to the role of women in the church.

1 Timothy 2:

 

12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. She must remain quiet.¹

The Greek word in question, here translated 'exercise authority', is authenteō (used by Paul in the present infinitive active form authentein). The precise meaning of this word in this particular context is of importance in understanding exactly what Paul was forbidding women to do.

The difficulty involved in understanding the word is complicated by two factors. The first is that the lexical history of this word is long and complex. Walter Liefeld (an egalitarian writer), describes briefly the word‘s problematically broad semantic range:

A perplexing issue for all is the meaning of authentein. Over the course of its history this verb and its associated noun have had a wide semantic range, including some bizarre meanings, such as committing suicide, murdering one‘s parents, and being sexually aggressive. Some studies have been marred by a selective and improper use of the evidence.²The issue is compounded by the fact that this word is found only once in the New Testament, and is not common in immediately proximate Greek literature. Nevertheless, English Bible translations over the years have been generally in agreement when rendering the word.
                                                   

English Bible Translations of authentō
Version	Translation
KJV	12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.3
RSV	12 I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent.4
GNB	12 I do not allow them to teach or to have authority over men; they must keep quiet.5
NIV	12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.6
CEV	12 They should be silent and not be allowed to teach or to tell men what to do.7
NASB	12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.8
NLT	12 I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly.9
NET	12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. She must remain quiet.10

 

Given the substantial agreement among these representative translations (from archaic to modern, formal equivalence to paraphrase), the average Bible student would wonder why such a disagreement exists over this word within the scholarly world.
 

-------
¹ Biblical Studies Press. (2005; 2005). The NET Bible First Edition (Noteless); (1 Ti 2:11-12)
² Walter Liefeld, Women And The Nature Of Ministry, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (30:51), 1987. The Evangelical Theological Society.
³ The Holy Bible : King James Version. (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.; Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), 1 Ti 2:12.
⁴ The Revised Standard Version (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1971), 1 Ti 2:12.
⁵ The Holy Bible : The Good News Translation (2nd ed.; New York: American Bible Society, 1992), 1 Ti 2:12.
⁶ The Holy Bible : New International Version (electronic ed.; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984), 1 Ti 2:11-12.
⁷ The Contemporary English Version : With Apocrypha. (electronic ed.; Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995), 1 Ti 2:12.
⁸ New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 1 Ti 2:12.
⁹ Holy Bible : New Living Translation. ("Text edition"--Spine.;, 2nd ed.; Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), 1 Ti 2:12.; the alternative rendering usurp authority‘ is provided in a footnote
¹⁰ Biblical Studies Press. (2005; 2005). The NET Bible First Edition (Noteless); (1 Ti 2:11-12)

 

[Resource Manager]

In fact, the meaning of the word was not seriously disputed until 1979, when Catherine Kroeger (then a university classics student), asserted the meaning 'to engage in fertility practices'.¹¹ Although the claim was rejected by the scholarly consensus, debate over the meaning of the word had been opened, and Christians affirming an egalitarian view of the role of women in the church continued to contest the meaning of the word authenteō.¹²

 

Reference to a concordance, Bible dictionary, or lexicon is a standard method of determining word meaning. On this subject readers should note the importance of the following modern professional lexicons, as lexical tools used commonly in our community (such as Thayer‘s, Strong‘s, Young‘s, and Vine‘s), are little respected by modern scholarship, and are considered inadequate for serious study and commentary on contested word meanings.

 

Modern Professional Lexicons
Abbreviation	Lexicon
ANLEX13	Friberg, Friberg, & Miller. (2000). Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament. Baker Books.
BDAG14	Arndt, Danker, & Bauer. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature. (3rd ed.). University of Chicago Press.
EDNT	Balz & Schneider. (1990-c1993). Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament. Translation of: Exegetisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testamen. T&T Clark.
GES	Lust, Eynikel, & Hauspie. (2003). A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint. (electronic rev. ed.). Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society).
Lampe	Lampe Lampe, Geoffrey. (1961-1968). A Patristic Greek Lexicon. Clarendon Press.
Louw/Nida	Louw & Nida. (1989). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains. (2nd ed.). United Bible Societies.
LSJ915	Liddell, Scott, & Jones. (2007). A Greek-English Lexicon. (electronic ed., 9th rev. ed. with supplement.)
Newman	Newman. (1993). Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament. Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft (German Bible Society), United Bible Societies.
Spicq	Spicq. (1994). Ernst. (trans.). (ed.). Theological Lexicon of the New Testament. Hendrickson.
Swanson	Swanson. (2001). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament. (2nd ed.). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
TDNT	Kittel, Bromiley, & Friedrich. (1964-c1976). Theological dictionary of the New Testament. (electronic ed.). Wm. B. Eedrmans.
Zodhiates	Zodhiates. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. (electronic ed.). AMG Publishers.

 

Differing in scope, depth, and presentation, these are the standard professional Greek lexicons recognized and used in the scholarly literature and represent the lexical scholarly consensus.16

 

-------

¹¹ Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Commission on Theology and Church Relations, AUTHENTEIN: A Summary, pages 3-4 (2005)

¹² During the past two decades at least 15 studies examining in some detail the lexical data have appeared, mainly among evangelical scholars holding opposing positions on the role of women in the church (commonly referred to as a debate of complementarians vs egalitarians)‘, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Commission on Theology and Church Relations AUTHENTEIN: A Summary, page 3 (2005)

¹³ This lexicon only indexes words appearing in the LXX

¹⁴ This lexicon focuses specifically on Biblical usage of Greek words, but includes extensive references to extra-Biblical usage

¹⁵ This lexicon mainly indexes words appearing in the non-Biblical Greek literature, between approximately 600 BC and 600 AD

¹⁶ The scholarly consensus is the general collective agreement of professionals in a given field, but it is not synonymous with 'unanimity'; it refers to a view which has consistently been examined and is agreed on as accurate by the overwhelming majority of qualified professionals in the field (views outside the scholarly consensus are always minority views, and are almost invariably dismissed by professionals as suspect at best, unworthy of notice at worst)

[Resource Manager]

Those of the preceding lexicons which include authenteō are broadly in agreement with regard to its historical lexical range.

 

Lexicon Definitions of authentō
Lexicon	Definition1493
ANLEX	'αὐθενтέω strictly, of one who acts on his own authority; hence have control over, domineer, lord it over (1T 2.12).'17
BDAG	'αὐθενтέω (s. αὐθένтης; Philod., Rhet. II p. 133, 14 Sudh.; Jo. Lydus, Mag. 3, 42; Moeris p. 54; cp. Phryn. 120 Lob.; Hesychius; Thom. Mag. p. 18, 8; schol. in Aeschyl., Eum. 42; BGU 1208, 38 [27 b.c.]; s. Lampe s.v.) to assume a stance of independent authority, give orders to, dictate to w. gen. of pers. (Ptolem., Apotel. 3, 14, 10 Boll-B.; Cat. Cod. Astr. VIII/1 p. 177, 7; B-D-F §177) ἀνδρός, w. διδάσκειν, 1 Ti 2:12 (practically = ‘tell a man what to do’ [Jerusalem Bible]; Mich. Glykas [XII a.d.] 270, 10 αἱ γυσναῖκες αὐθενтοῦδι т. ἀνδρῶν. According to Diod S 1, 27, 2 there was a well-documented law in Egypt: κυριεύειν тὴν γυναῖκα тἀνδρός, cp. Soph., OC 337–41; GKnight III, NTS 30, ‘84, 143–57; LWilshire, ibid. 34, ‘88, 120–34).—DELG s.v. αὐθένтης. M-M.'18
EDNT	'αὐθενтέω authenteō rule (vb.)* 1 Tim 2:12: women should not rule over men (gen.). cf. G. W. Knight, ―Αὐθενтέω in Reference to Women in 1 Tim. 2,12," NTS 30 (1984) 143-57.'19
GELS20	'αὐθένтης,-ου+ N1M 0-0-0-0-1=1 Wis 12,6 Murderer Cf. LARCHER 1985, 710'21
Louw/Nida	'37.21 αὐθενтέω: to control in a domineering manner—'to control, to domineer.' γυναικὶ οὐκ ἐттιтρέттω … αὐθενтεῖν ἀνδρός 'I do not allow women … to dominate men' 1 Tm 2.12. 'To control in a domineering manner' is often expressed idiomatically, for example, 'to shout orders at,' 'to act like a chief toward,' or 'to bark at.'22
LSJ923	'authent-eô , A. to have full power or authority over, tinos I Ep.Ti.2.12; pros tina BGU1208.37 (i B. C.): c. inf., Lyd.Mag.3.42. 2. commit a murder, Sch.A.Eu.42.'24
Newman	'αὐθεντέω domineer, have authority over.‘25
Swanson	'883 αὐθενтέω (authenteō): vb.; ≡ Str 831—LN 37.21 control, have authority over (1Ti 2:12+).'26
Zodhiates	'831. αὐθενтέω authentéō; contracted authentό; fut. authentésō, from authéntēs (n.f.), murderer, absolute master, which is from autós (846), himself, and éntea (n.f.) arms, armor. A self–appointed killer with one’s own hand, one acting by his own authority or power. Governing a gen., to use or exercise authority or power over as an autocrat, to domineer (1 Tim. 2:12). See anér (435, XI, C), husband. Syn.: exousiázō (1850), to exercise the right and power to rule; katexousiázō (2715), to exercise full authority over; kurieúō (2961), to lord it over, rule over as lord, and the more intens. katakurieúō (2634), to lord it over completely; basileúō (936), to rule, reign; hēgemoneúō (2230), to act as the ruler, to govern. Ant.: hupēretéō (5256), to serve, be a subordinate; douleúō (1398), to be a slave to, to serve; diakonéō (1247), to be an attendant, to minister.'27

 

-------

¹⁷ Friberg, Friberg, & Miller 'Analytical lexicon of the Greek New Testament‘, volume 4, page 81 (2000)

¹⁸ Arndt, Danker, & Bauer, 'A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature‘, page 150 (3rd ed., 2000)

¹⁹ Balz & Schneider, 'Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament. Translation of: Exegetisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testamen‘, volume 1, page 178 (1990-c1993)

²⁰ Readers will note that the definition here is very short, and contains only one sense, as this word is only used once in the LXX and only with this meaning; this usage was obsolete by the 1st century AD

²¹ Lust, Eynikel, & Hauspie, 'A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (electronic rev. ed. 2003)

²² Louw & Nida, 'Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains‘, volume 1, page 473 (2nd ed. 1989)

²³ The reference 'BGU1208.37 (i B. C.)‘ cited as an example of the use of the word with the meaning 'to have full power or authority over' (which is cited as the meaning of the word in 1 Timothy 2:12), refers to line 37 of papyrus 1208 in volume 4 of the Aegyptische Urkunden aus den Königlichen (later Staatlichen) Museen zu Berlin, Griechische Urkunden (abbreviated as BGU), a collection of paypri; the papyrus is dated to 27/26BC, from Herakleopolite in Egypt, and the relevant line reads in Greek 'kai emou authentêkotos pros auton peripoiêsai Kalatutei‘, speaking of a man who 'exercised authority‘ over another to have him pay a ferryman

²⁴ Liddell, Scott, & Jones, 'A Greek-English Lexicon‘ (electronic ed., 9th ed. with supplement, 2007)

²⁵ Newman, 'Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament‘, page 28 (1993)

²⁶ Swanson, 'Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament)‘, DBLG 883 (2nd ed. 2001)

²⁷ Zodhiates, 'The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament‘, G831 (electronic ed., 2000)

[Resource Manager]

It will be noted that 30 years of dispute over the meaning of authenteō has had little to no effect on the scholarly consensus. Within the lexical community there is no controversy over the lexical range of this word, and none of the standard lexicons have accepted the novel definitions suggested by egalitarians such as Catherine Kroeger. Nevertheless, the debate over its precise meaning in 1 Timothy 2:12 has resulted in a refinement of scholarly understanding of the word and its usage in Greek literature.

 

The following table lists the key studies of authenteō which have been undertaken over the last 30 years. Such studies typically involve comprehensive searches of the largest available databases of Greek literature, Thesaurus Linguae Graecae,²⁸ and the Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri.²⁹ These databases enable researchers to study the word in context, as it is used in a wide range of documents over a long period of time.

 

Key Studies of authenteō
Author	Conclusion
Catherine Kroeger (1979)	'In 1979 Catherine Kroeger, a classics student at the University of Minnesota, published an article in which she argued that authenteō is an erotic term best translated "to engage in fertility practices," the implication being that in 1 Timothy 2 Paul is countering specific heretical aberrations in ancient Ephesus and hence not laying down a principle applicable for all time.'30
George Knight III (1984)	'Knight, who has made a thorough study of all the occurrences of αὐθεντέω in extant Greek literature, confirms the rendering "have authority" as the natural meaning. George W. Knight III, "ἈΥΘΕΝΤΕΩ in Reference to Women in 1 Timothy 2:12," New Testament Studies 30 (January 1984): 143-57.'31
Leland Wilshire (1988)	'A recent study by Leland Wilshire seeks to modify some of Knight’s conclusions based on the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae computer project at the University of California at Irvine. The research, however, in no way contradicts the basic theme of Knight’s work that αὐθεντέω means "exercise authority," not "domineer" in 2 Timothy 2:12. See especially the last paragraph of Wilshire‘s article on page 131, the last full paragraph on page 130, and Wilshire‘s recognition throughout most of the article of the importance of the papyri, which seems to butress Knight’s position, and the basic consistency of the early church fathers on understanding αὐθενηἐω as "exercise authority." (Leland Edward Wilshire, "The TLG Computer and Further Reference to ΑΥΘΕΝΤΕΩ in 1 Timothy 2:12," New Testament Studies 34 [1988]: 120-34).‘ 32
Catherine & Richard Kroeger (1992)	'Recently Kroeger and Kroeger have done significant research into the nature and background of ancient Ephesus and have suggested an alternative interpretation to 1 Tim 2:11-15. While they have provided significant background data, their suggestion that the phrase "to have authority" (authentein, authentein) should be rendered "to represent herself as originator of man" is, to say the least, far-fetched and has gained little support.'33

 

-------

²⁸ A very large database of Greek literature from approximately 850 BC to 1500 AD; it is online at http://www.tlg.uci.edu/ (though public access is granted only to a small selection of the texts)

²⁹ A database of around 500 Greek papyri; it is online at http://papyri.info/

³⁰ Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Commission on Theology and Church Relations, AUTHENTEIN: A Summary, pages 3-4 (2005)

³¹ House, A Biblical View of Women in the Ministry Part 3: The Speaking of Women and the Prohibition of the Law, Bibliotheca Sacra (145.315), 1988

³² Ibid, page 315

³³ Moss, 'NIV Commentary: 1, 2 Timothy & Titus', page 60 (1995); Moss is a complementarian, but his conclusion is well supported by egalitarians who have rejected the Kroeger‘s definition, as well as receiving support from the standard lexicon definitions

[Resource Manager]

Key Studies of authenteō
Author	Conclusion
Andrew Perriman (1993)	'While it would be hazardous to speculate on the exact course of the term‘s semantic evolution, this sense of 'acting authoritatively‘ must at least be considered as an available and significant nuance alongside those of 'perpetrating a crime‘ and 'having authority‘. In fact, to introduce the idea of 'authority‘ into the definition at all may be misleading if it is taken to mean a derived or ordained authority: it is 'authorship‘, not 'authority‘, that is at the heart of the meaning of αὐθενтέω.‘34
H Scott Baldwin (1995)35	'H. Scott Baldwin then presents a study of the word αὐθενтέω, arguing that it involves the concept of authority and that in 1 Timothy 2:12 it may mean "control," "dominate," "assume authority over," or perhaps "flout the authority of." He rules out several other possibilities after an exhaustive, computer-assisted study of ancient sources, most of which are reproduced with context and translation in an appendix. It is difficult to imagine a more thorough study.'36
Albert Wolters (2000)	'With respect to the meaning of αυθεντεω in 1 Tim. 2.12, my investigation leads to two further conclusions. First, the verb αυθεντεω should not be interpreted in the light of αυθεντης ‘murderer’, or the muddled definitions of it given in the Atticistic lexica. Instead, it should be understood, like all the other Hellenistic derivatives of αυθεντης, in the light of the meaning which that word had in the living Greek of the day, namely 'master‘. Secondly, there seems to be no basis for the claim that αυθεντεω in 1 Tim. 2.12 has a pejorative connotation, as in ‘usurp authority’ or ‘domineer’. Although it is possible to identify isolated cases of a pejorative use for both αυθεντεω and αυθεντια, these are not found before the fourth century AD.135 Overwhelmingly, the authority to which αυθεντης 'master‘ and all its derivatives refer is a positive or neutral concept.‘37

 

Attention has been particularly focused on two early papyri using the word authenteō:³⁸

 

'I [Trypho] considered that Antilochos having thrown out the goods and subcontracted to his advantage counting with that termination of purchase and this not having altered the dispute in any particular. So

exercising my authority

on him (the man who hired the boat) that he pay fully to Calatytis the boatman to his fare in the hour, to which he [Antilochos?] yielded.‘

³⁹

 

'Of Protogenos and Isidoros being bookkeepers of Leonides and being in charge of the memorandum and written-testimony of the clerk Leonides. Through the not-yet transmitted-items books done is at the risk of those bookkeepers

having authority

and he was in charge of his own portion, through-he himself Leonides being-present of one of those

having authority

bookkeepers.‘

⁴⁰

 

These two papyri are significant not only because they are proximate to Paul‘s own usage of authenteō, but because they both use authenteō with a sense which is in agreement with the recent studies by Baldwin and Wolters. The Tebtunis papyrus in particular indicates a usage which cannot mean 'usurp authority‘ or 'domineer‘, nor can it have any negative connotation (bookkeepers are supposed to have authority over their accounts, and it makes no sense to speak of them 'dominating‘ accounting records).

-------

³⁴ Perriman, What Eve did, What Women shouldn’t do, Tyndale Bulletin (44.1.137), 1993

³⁵ Köstenberger, Schreiner, and Baldwin, eds., Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15, (1995)

³⁶ Pyne, Review of Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9–15, Bibliotheca Sacra (154.122), 1997

³⁷ Wolters, A Semantic Study of αυθεντης and its Derivatives, Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (11.1.54), 2006; originally published in Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism (1.145-175), 2000

³⁸ Translation by brother Steven Cox

³⁹ Papyrus BGU 1208 (c.27 BC)

⁴⁰ Papyrus Tebtunis 15 (c.100AD)

[Resource Manager]

The lexical data was later supplemented by a large scale contextual study of the passage by Andreas Köstenbereger in 1995,41 which argued that the syntactical construction ouk didaskein oude authentein ('not teach nor have/exercise authority‘), requires that both didaskein and authentein have a positive sense. Köstenbereger examined fifty two examples of the same ouk... oude ('not... nor‘), construction in the New Testament, as well as forty eight extra-biblical examples covering the third century BC to the third century AD.42 His conclusion was that the syntactical construction has two patterns. Either both activities referred to must be positive (the first pattern), or both activities must be negative (the second pattern):

 

'The forty-eight syntactical parallels to 1 Tim 2:12 in extrabiblical literature (as well as the one exact parallel in the NT, Acts 21:21) identified in this study all feature the construction "negated fi-nite verb + infinitive + oude + infinitive" and in every instance yield the pattern positive/positive or negative/negative. This yields the conclusion that 1 Tim 2:12 is to be rendered either: "I do not permit a woman to teach [error] or to usurp a man‘s authority" or: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have (or exercise) authority over a man,"

the latter being preferred owing to the positive connotation of didaskein elsewhere in the Pastorals

.'

⁴³

 

'Some examples of pattern 1 are Matthew 6:28 (they neither labor nor spin); Matthew 13:13 (they neither hear nor understand, but both hearing and understanding are viewed as desirable activities); Luke 12:24 (they neither sow nor harvest); or Acts 4:18 (neither speak nor teach). These activities are all viewed positively in their contexts. Examples of pattern 2, where both activities are viewed negatively, are Matthew 6:20 (neither break in nor steal); John 14:27 (neither be troubled nor afraid); Philippians 2:16 (neither run in vain nor labor in vein), and Hebrews 13:5 (neither leave nor forsake).

⁴⁴

 

Köstenbereger concluded that teaching has a positive meaning in such passages as 1 Timothy 4:11; 6:2, and 2 Timothy 2:2.⁴⁵ The force of the ouk... oude construction would therefore mean that authenteo likewise has a positive meaning, and does not refer to domineering but the positive exercise of authority.

 

Reception of Köstenbereger‘s study by the scholarly community was overwhelmingly positive. The majority of both complementarian and egalitarian scholars agreed, many considering that the contextual meaning of authenteo in 1 Timothy 2:12 has been conclusively decided by Köstenbereger. The following endorsements of Köstenbereger‘s conclusion are taken from prominent egalitarian scholars:

 

"Peter O‘Brien, in a review published in Australia,

concurred with the findings of this study

,18 as did Helge Stadelmann in an extensive review that appeared in the German Jahrbuch für evangelikale Theologie.19

Both reviewers accepted the results of the present study as valid

.‘

⁴⁶

 

'Another egalitarian, Craig Keener, in a review that appeared in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, says that while (in his view) the principle is not clear in all instances cited in the present study, "the pattern seems to hold in general, and this is what matters most." Keener concurs that the contention of the present essay is

"probably correct that ‘have authority’ should be read as coordinate with ‘teach’ rather than as subordinate

('teach in a domineering way‘)."'

⁴⁷

-------

⁴¹ Women in the Church: An Analysis and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15, (1995)

⁴² Grudem, Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth, page 315 (2004)

⁴³ Köstenberger, “Teaching and Usurping Authority: I Timothy 2:11-15” (Ch 12) by Linda L. Belleville, Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (10.1.44-45), 1995

⁴⁴ Grudem, Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth, page 315 (2004)

⁴⁵ Ibid, page 315

⁴⁶ Köstenberger, “Teaching and Usurping Authority: I Timothy 2:11-15” (Ch 12) by Linda L. Belleville, Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (10.1.47), 1995

⁴⁷ Ibid, page 47

[Resource Manager]

'Following my identification of the pattern as from specific to general, Mounce concludes that "

Paul does not want women to be in positions of authority in the church; teaching is one way in which authority is exercised in the church

."‘

⁴⁸

 

Köstenbereger notes other egalitarians who agree with his syntactical analysis. Kevin Giles 'finds himself in essential agreement with the present syntactical analysis of 1 Tim 2:12‘,⁴⁹ Craig Blomberg is quoted as saying 'Decisively supporting the more positive sense of assuming appropriate authority is Andreas Köstenberger‘s study‘,⁵⁰ Esther Ng 'continues, "However, since a negative connotation of didaskein is unlikely in this verse (see below), the neutral meaning for authentein (to have authority over) seems to fit the oude construction better."‘,⁵¹ and Judith Hartenstein notes that 'Köstenberger shows through a syntactical study that 1 Tim 2:12 forbids women to teach and to have authority over men, not only to abuse authority‘.⁵²

 

Thirty years have passed since the first egalitarian challenge to the meaning of authenteō. Throughout that time considerable lexical study of the word has been undertaken, and scholarly understanding of the word has been refined. However, the consensus over its lexical range has not been overturned. None of the standard lexicons have adopted the new meanings suggested by egalitarians. Meanings in the lexicons attributed to Paul‘s usage in 1 Timothy 2:12 include either a negative sense of domineering⁵³ or a more positive sense of exercising authority‘, ⁵⁴ though the most recent studies incorporating textual evidence not previously available to some of these lexicons (such as the studies of Baldwin and Wolter), substantiate the more positive sense. Significantly, Kostenberger‘s syntactical study has received wide acceptance from both complementarian and egalitarian scholars, substantiating the case for a positive sense of authenteō in 1 Timothy 2:12, whilst the egalitarian interpretation of authenteō as having a negative sense such as 'domineer‘, has been rejected by the majority of egalitarian and complementarian scholars. Standard modern Bible translations typically continue to render the word in its positive sense of having or exercising authority, which remains the most attested meaning in context.

 

-------

⁴⁸ Ibid, page 48

⁴⁹ Ibid, pages 48-49

⁵⁰ Ibid, page 49

⁵¹ Ibid, page 49

⁵² Ibid, page 49

⁵³ ANLEX, Louw/Nida, Zodhiates

⁵⁴ BDAG, EDNT, LSJ

 

The meaning of authenteo_E-Journal1.pdf