1 Corinthians 14:34–35

Context

1 Corinthians 14 addresses the orderly use of tongues and prophecy in public worship. Paul instructs that one who speaks in tongues should keep silent if there is no interpreter (v. 28), and that one who prophesies should likewise keep silent if a revelation comes to another (v. 30). Verses 34–35 fall within this line of thought. However, 1 Corinthians 11:5 presupposes that women pray and prophesy in public worship. This tension is the starting point for interpretation.

Interpretations

• As a universal norm: Denominations that do not ordain women, such as the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin), along with a number of conservative scholars, cite this passage together with 1 Timothy 2:12 and hold that offices involving authoritative teaching and governance in the church have been entrusted to men. Many who hold this view, however, maintain that the passage does not forbid all speech but is limited to the evaluation of prophecy or to public teaching.
• As an instruction for a local problem: Denominations and scholars that ordain women regard the passage as an instruction addressing a specific situation in the Corinthian church, in which women were disrupting order by asking questions during worship. The words of verse 35, "if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home," are offered in support.
• As a quotation of the Corinthians' own words: Some hold that verses 34–35 are not Paul's own words but a quotation of a claim made by some in the Corinthian church, which Paul then refutes in verse 36; this is a minority view.

Debates and Issues

In some Western manuscripts, verses 34–35 are placed after verse 40. For this reason, some scholars hold that the passage was originally a marginal gloss that later entered the text, while others regard it as Paul's writing, noting that the passage is present in all manuscripts. This debate is treated in greater detail in the article Ordination of women.

In the Korean Church

Korean Presbyterian denominations take differing positions on the ordination of women, and denominations such as the Korean Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap), and the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church ordain women as pastors. This passage has been invoked anew whenever the ordination of women has been debated at denominational general assemblies.

Related Passages

• 1 Corinthians 11:5
• 1 Timothy 2:11–12
• Acts 2:17–18
• Acts 21:9