Deborah…Unless There’s A Dude (Part 3)
In our last two articles, we have looked at the texts of 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 alongside a number of passages which seem to celebrate and permit women leading, teaching and speaking in church.
Knowing that God does not compromise His standards when He is out of other options, we concluded that “Deborah…Unless There’s A Dude” is not consistent with the character and nature of God.
After looking into the context of 1 Corinthians 14 and working through the meaning of that text, we’re now wading into the most difficult text to reconcile with the broader body of Scripture: 1 Timothy 2.
“Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”
— (New American Standard Bible, 1995, 1 Tim. 2: 9-15)
There is so much in this passage! We have to get clear on what this passage is commanding and what it is prohibiting, on what women can do and what women can’t do according to this text.
There are five keys to unlocking this passage.
The first key, which is the cultural context of Ephesus, is enough for this article.
Every letter in the Bible is written to those in a specific cultural context and knowing that context is critical to understand the text correctly. 1 Timothy is written to those in Asia Minor and specifically those in the city of Ephesus.
Knowing a little about Ephesus can help us a lot when it comes to this passage.
Ephesus was the homebase for the Greek goddess Artemis and the place where her cult was the strongest. When we hear of cult followings today, we think of a fringe group in society, but the cult of Artemis was anything but that.
One historian writes about it,
“There was no other Greco-Roman metropolis in the Empire whose ‘body, soul and spirit’ could so belong to a particular deity as did Ephesus to her patron goddess Artemis. (1)”
— (Oster, 1990, p. 1728)
Worship of Artemis was interwoven into the Ephesian society in every way.
The following are some examples of how prevalent it was.
First, Artemis’ temple was in Ephesus. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. We’re talking 425 feet long, 225 feet wide, 127 columns that were each 60 feet tall (2). (Mark, 2009) It was larger than the Athenian Parthenon (3) (Mark, 2009), which means it was huge.
Second, it served as a bank in the community (4). (Smyrell , 2017) You could make deposits and the priests were entrusted with protecting them. You could also take out loans.
Third, there are coins of Roman Emperor Claudius on one side with Artemis and Ephesus on the reverse (5). (Savitale, 2022) It’s not everyday an emperor wants his coin to have a city and her temple on it when the city is 1241 miles away.
Fourth, Ephesus took a whole month off a year to celebrate Artemis (6). (Dept. of Classics and Ancient History, 2015)
In short, Ephesus was known for being the city of Artemis. Ephesus and Artemies are inextricably linked.
The people believed that the image of her originally found there was dropped down from heaven (7) (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Acts 19:35), and that she was actually born there (8).
Don’t forget that in Acts 19, the people of the city paraded into the theater and shouted for two hours straight, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
Have you ever shouted for two hours straight about the greatness of our God? Yet, they did that for her, and they were ready to riot because of the disrespect perceived through the accusations of Christians.
Knowing Artemis is a big deal is somewhat helpful, but knowing who she was in Greek mythology is what makes this first key clear.
Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo, the daughter of Zeus of Leto (9). (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Dept. of Classics and Ancient History, 2022)
According to Greek legend, she was born first, and helped with the birth of her brother, which was said to be a traumatic experience (10). (Tolentino, 2022)
She became the goddess who defied female stereotypes and expectations in every way. She refused to marry and refused to have children (11). (Smyth, 2021) She was a strong and powerful and independent goddess known as a hunter, usually depicted like an Amazon woman with her bow and arrow (12). (Atsma, 2017)
Here is what one non-christian writer wrote about her and her contrast specifically to Pauline theology in Ephesians:
“Artemis chose to remain a virgin in part of experiencing her mother’s suffering during birth of her brother Apollo is stated to have led her to never want to have her own children.
She developed an aversion to marriage, became a protector of women giving birth. She wished to stay a virgin goddess because her attention would be distracted by love and marriage.
She wanted a bow and arrow, and hunting clothes. Rather than traditional dresses and feminine clothes. . . .
Her character indicates a woman who knew what she wanted and dealt harshly with anyone who stood in her way. Artemis is always portrayed as an independent and strong woman. . . .
For centuries Artemis has served as a role model for female independence. The only man Artemis had romantic feelings for was Orion. After his death she never loved another man.
It does not speak of a promiscuous goddess, but a strong woman who experienced true love, but [was not] dependent on the love of a man.
The high value Artemis placed on virginity should be seen not only as the absence of sexual relations, but rather as the completeness of her female identity. She did not need a man. She could be complete without male companionship.
The pagan followers of Artemis in Ephesus had a strong independent goddess as their role model and patron . . . if we were to take elements from artemis and her cult as a matrix for an alternative relationship between husband and wife and their relationship within the chrisitan community and christ we can combine and reorganize these elements into a new code. First, Instead of being submissive to each other, husband and wife will be equal partners.” (13) (Nortje-Meyer, 2016, pp. 53-70)
Interesting that a non-Christian writer would make that conclusion 2,000 years later don’t you think?
Additionally, there is something else that we can’t afford to miss as it relates to Artemis, and that is the connection between Artemis and the Amazons.
The Ephesians believed the Amazons founded Ephesus and that Artemis was their protector.
Quoting one scholar Walcot:
“The amazons are . . .a type of predatory women or domina.
They are everything a woman ought not to be, and they define the norm and the acceptable by setting that norm on its head.
They illustrate the...consequence of women usurping what is properly man’s role, and emphasize man’s fear of any attempt at such a usurpation. . . .
They challenged and defied women’s function as a wife and mother first by rejecting the institution of marriage and preferring to mate with neighboring men just once a year. And second, by inverting the practice by which daughters rather than sons were exposed on birth, for they reputed to bring up the girls they conceived, but to kill or mutilate the boys….” (14) (Walcot, 1984)
Here is a depiction of the Greeks fighting the Amazons from 350 BC:
All this is out-there and distant to us, but it is the origin story of Ephesus itself, founded by Amazons and the birthplace and homebase of Artemis herself.
All to say, there is a lot in the water in Ephesus, as it relates to a power struggle between women and men.
And while what was true of the Artemis cult would not have been replicated throughout the entire society, there is no doubt that those values and ideologies were shaping and influencing the culture and life dynamics too.
Given all this, it’s no surprise we get Ephesians Chapter 5 as the clearest articulation of the role of husbands and wives in relationship to each other.
Why?
Because it was very needed there.
In every way, the religion of the day was rejecting the concept of submission.
And on top of this, Ephesus is not isolated. It was a major player socially, economically and in the spread of the Christian faith. It was the hub of all the spokes for the church planting work in Asia Minor. Paul spent two whole years there, and we read in Acts 19:10: This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (New American Standard Bible, 1995. Acts 19:10)
Ephesus became such an epicenter of Christianity, Christian history records the Apostle John (and possibly Mary, Jesus' mother) relocating there for a period of time (15). Four centuries later the council of Ephesus was held there, as a major worldwide ecumenical council.
Ephesus’ significance and impact and influence went far, far beyond Ephesus.
In many ways, it was becoming an Antioch of the West, which means that whatever was happening in the household of faith there was going to be replicated in other places. It was essential to get that DNA right, before it replicated, so the message could be unhindered in every place it went.
All of that context is critical as the first key.
In summary, the Ephesian context was a unique context with a unique emphasis on women (warrior women), and we find a very unique word used to describe what women were not permitted to do.
What is that unique word? Be sure to read the next article, Deborah…Unless There’s A Dude (Part 4).
1 Oster, R. E. (1990). Ephesus as a religious center under the Principate, I: Paganism before constantine. Walter De Gruyter.
2 Mark, J. J. (2009, September 2). The Seven Wonders. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Seven_Wonders/
3 Mark, J. J. (2009, September 2). The Seven Wonders. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Seven_Wonders/
4 Smyrell , G. (2017, April 22). Ephesus in the First Century. Bible Study Resources. Retrieved November 21, 2021, from http://resources.takingground.org.uk/ephesus-in-the-first-century/
5 Savitale. (2022, August 11). Claudius and the Temple of Artemis . Coin Talk. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.cointalk.com/threads/claudius-and-the-temple-of-artemis.398785/
6 Dept of Classics and Ancient History. (2015, April 30). Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Classics and Ancient History. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/classics/intranets/students/modules/greekreligion/database/clumak/
7 Acts 19:35: After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven?” (NASB, 1995, Acts 19:35)
8 Cartwright, M. (2018, July 26). Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.worldhistory.org/Temple_of_Artemis_at_Ephesus/
9 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2022, August 31). Artemis. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Artemis-Greek-goddess
10 Tolentino, C. (2022, April 4). Artemis: Greek Goddess of the Hunt. History Cooperative. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://historycooperative.org/artemis-greek-goddess-of-the-hunt/
11 Smyth, K. (2021, January 15). Artemis: Wonder Woman of the Ancient World. Classical Wisdom Weekly. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://classicalwisdom.com/mythology/artemis-wonder-woman-of-the-ancient-world/
12 Atsma, A. J. (2017). Artemis - Greek goddess of hunting & wild animals. Theoi Greek Mythology. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Artemis.html
13 Nortjé-Meyer, Lilly (S. J.), and Alta Vrey. “Artemis as Matrix for a New Interpretation of the Household Codes in Ephesians 5:22–6:9.” Neotestamentica 50, no. 1 (2016): 53–70. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26417468.
14 Walcot, P. (1984). Greek Attitudes Towards Women: The Mythological Evidence. Greece and Rome, 31(1), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1017/s001738350002787x
15 Irenaeus writes in Against Heresies, "...The church of Ephesus, founded by Paul, with John continuing with them until the times of Trajan."
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