Have you ever read a verse in the Bible and didn’t understand it? You look at it in bewilderment, shrug your shoulders and then move on. There is a passage in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 that was like that. Its says,
“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.”
Wow, what a doozy. I can feel the controversy just reading that verse. But here is where context is very necessary. It’s important to remember that the majority of the books in the New Testament were letters to specific people that address specific concerns, problems, and questions that pertained to the group the letter was written to.
In the book The Fatherhood Principle, Myles Munroe explains the context of this verse which proves very beneficial in understanding the meaning behind what was stated. Here is a quick blurb from his book:
“It is important to understand the full context of this Scripture in order to appreciate the true value and impact of Paul’s admonition.
In the church meetings at Corinth, there were many problems. This was because some of the people who converted to the Christian faith came from prostitution and pagan practices. Some of the services were at risk of becoming wild or uncontrollable if those new converts reverted to their old pagan practices. Furthermore, in the synagogues, men and women were separated. The men would sit in the main area while the women would sit behind them or in a balcony. In this setting, many women would call out to their husbands questions about what the rabbi was teaching.
First, Paul was saying that God wants order and decency in the church. Second, it was not culturally appropriate for a woman to speak in public. And third, Paul knew that when the wife went home, she could then ask her husband to answer her questions about what had been taught.”
Seeing the context behind this passage helps clear up the confusion that the lack of context brings. One, there was a cultural part to women not speaking in public and two, some women were speaking in the middle of a service and therefore disrupting it. This passage does not devalue women it actually speaks to the role of a husband being a teacher to his family.
Context my good peoples, it matters.