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In 1 Timothy, Paul says:
1 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
Does the “she” refer to Eve, or all women? And does the “they” refer to the same object as the “she”?
The New International Version seems to think that it applies to all women:
1 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
But a natural reading of this doesn’t seem to agree with most Scripture, including:
Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
How should 1 Timothy 2:15 be interpreted?
Varnel Watson
Here we go Randy Buchanan What does NLT say on this one
Dr. Gary Sweeten
It means “Kept safely through childbearing.” Genesis says that pain will accompany birth and Timothy says it will not end in death.
John-Mark Neal Hales
I believe it is a sort of “societal salvation” and that a wife’s greatest contribution to the kingdom of God is to bear and rear godly, god-fearing children
Brian Roden
Check out this Influence Podcast interview with Dr. Waldemar Waldemar Kowalski. He gives a very good answer related to the cultic practices at the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, where Timothy was leading when Paul wrote to him.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/influence-magazine-podcast/id1025266295?mt=2#
Varnel Watson
Give us the scoop Brian Roden no sound and enough time to hear
Brian Roden
It’s been months since I listened to it, so I’ll try to just give a summary of what I recall (I googled, but couldn’t find any articles by Dr. Kowalski about this online).
In Ephesus, it was the custom for a pregnant woman to offer a sacrifice at the temple of Artemis in order to ward off harm that might come to her and her baby during childbirth (many women died during labor in the ancient world). If you didn’t make the sacrifice, Artemis might get angry and kill you during labor. Paul was making this statement to reassure the Ephesian believers that Christ would protect the women through the childbirth process, and they didn’t need to fear an angry false deity, because Christ was stronger than the demonic power behind Artemis.
That’s the jist of what I recall. Take time to listen to the whole episode when you have a chance.
Varnel Watson
So was he basically talking about the woman being safe during child birth ? There is 100 episodes – not sure where to start
Brian Roden
Sorry, I thought the link I copied/pasted was directly to that episode. It’s episode 72.
Varnel Watson
Henry Alford notices that being saved “through” something does not have to mean being saved “by” it, but may mean being saved through it as through a danger. He also notices that Paul does combine the two words (“being saved” and “through”) this way in 1 Corinthians 3:15. “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
Could “She will be saved through childbearing,” mean “She will be saved, not by means of, but through (that is, in spite of) the engulfing pains of childbirth”?
Christopher Noel Boggess
Both childbearing faith and holyness
Christopher Noel Boggess
We must read this verse in entirely
Varnel Watson
its a really short verse not to read in entirety