Wednesday, June 22, 2011

NIV 2011 and 1 Tim. 2:12

In the debate about the NIV there is no question that adelphoi means "brothers and sisters" as a primary meaning of the word. It was the word to describe Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy. There is no question that the Greek pronoun tis is gender neutral.

But the reason why the NIV 2011 has a resolution against it is as follows,
One cannot underestimate the importance of 1 Timothy 2:12 in the intra-evangelical debate over gender roles and women in ministry. There is a reason why countless articles and even an entire book have been written on the interpretation of this single verse. In many ways, this verse is the most disputed text in the debate.
The verse in question in the NIV 2011 is -
I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;[a] she must be quiet.
Here it is in the KJV -

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

And here it is in the Calvin Bible.

But I suffer not the woman to teach, nor to assume authority over the man, but to be silent.

So it turns out that the NIV 2011 has a resolution against it because of the way in which it is similar to the King James Bible and the Calvin Bible.

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