According to 1 Corinthians 14:34-36, are women to be silent in church?

January 28th 2020 | 103128 views 

1 Corinthians 14:34–35 is an often-misunderstood passage:

The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.

At first glance, this sounds like a universal command for women never to speak in church. But the context of this chapter shows something very different. The church at Corinth was in a very disorderly condition. The entire chapter is about chaotic worship services, with people interrupting and talking over each other and speaking in tongues without an interpreter. Their meetings were often confused and unprofitable. The Apostle Paul is providing some very necessary regulations so that all things might be done “properly and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). 

The issue was disruption, not gender. Paul had already affirmed women speaking in church. Earlier in the same letter, Paul gave instructions for women praying and prophesying in the assembly (1 Corinthians 11:5), so can’t be commanding absolute silence here.

Paul uses the same word for “silence” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #4601 siga?) when correcting men in the same chapter. 

Paul tells three groups to “be silent” (siga?):

1. Those speaking in tongues without an interpreter (verse 28).
2. Those prophesying who were talking over each other (verse 30).
3. Women who were contributing to the disorder (verse 34).

In all three cases, “silence” meant: stop interrupting, stop contributing to the confusion, listen instead of speaking out of turn. Paul called for order. This was situational, addressing a specific problem of disorder in Corinth’s worship services. It was not a universal command for women to be silent.

What were the women doing? Most scholars agree on one of two possibilities:

• asking disruptive questions during the service
• challenging prophetic messages in a way that added to the chaos

Paul’s solution was simple: Let the service be orderly. Save the questions for home.

In summary, 1 Corinthians 14 is not addressing eldership, teaching office, church governance or creation order. It is addressing disorderly worship, and Paul applies the same standard to everyone: If your contribution disrupts the service, be silent.

Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1032: “Is the Bible Behind the Times on #MeToo?”
Biblical perspective on the treatment of women in light of #meto
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

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