The Bible can say things that the Bible doesn’t teach.
Taking a particular verse out of context changes its meaning entirely, and that is as damaging to Christian faith as removing a Scripture entirely.
There are many verses that, if plucked out of their literary or historical context, can make it seem like God is saying something He never said.
I’ll give you an easy example…
“Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.” – 1 Corinthians 14:34
The Bible says women should remain silent in church, but the Bible doesn’t teach that.
Romans 16:7 references a female apostle named Junia. In Acts 18, we meet a couple named Priscilla and Aquila. Throughout Acts, Luke mentions Priscilla first. This is unusual for the time, and many scholars would agree that this indicates Priscilla (the wife) likely had a more prominent role in leading the church that met in their home. It also specifically states that they discipled Apollos, who became a major figure in the early church and possibly authored Hebrews.
In 1 Corinthians 11 (the same letter with the admonition for women to remain silent), Paul talks about women prophesying.
I will refrain here from fully hashing out the scriptural teachings on women in church and ministry (maybe that’s a post for another day). Instead, this post is to highlight some principles that come into play when accurately interpreting a passage of Scripture.
Always read the passage in its context.
In the specific example we’re discussing, take a look at the next verse and see that it references asking their husband questions at home. The fact that Paul immediately addresses asking questions indicates that perhaps there is something else going on that is prompting this admonition. Also, reading the earlier chapters in the letter specifically reference women speaking in church, so that again indicates that this passage has a deeper meaning. You also see that the overarching theme for 1 Corinthians is setting order in the church where things have gotten into some excesses.
It can be incredibly problematic to pick a particular verse out of the context of the passage and assign meaning to it.
Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
When you encounter a Scripture that seems to be a contradiction or against the character of God, we should dig a bit deeper. God is the ultimate author of Scripture, and if we find two things that seemingly contradict each other, that is a strong indication that we aren’t understanding something properly. The guiding principle here is to let Scripture interpret Scripture. If Paul refers to women giving prophecies and to female apostles, there is zero chance Paul then later turns around and says to all women, for all time, to hush.
Search for historical context.
Whenever possible, evaluating Scripture in light of its historical context is critical. The challenge becomes that the historical record is certainly not complete, and it’s possible our understanding is limited.
In this particular situation, there is some evidence that would suggest that the men and women sat on opposite sides of the room, causing the women to shout their questions to their husbands across the room. Given the admonition about questions in the following verse, that seems plausible.
However, what I would most like to point out is that the church in Corinth, the ones who received this letter, would have known EXACTLY what Paul was correcting. They were living it. When a passage seems to suggest something that doesn’t align with the overarching theme of Scripture, we should evaluate whether there might be some historical context we are missing that might make the meaning more plain.
A great resource for those looking to understand the historical context is this fantastic book – Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes. It provides some great insight into some of the overall historical and cultural context for Scripture.
Although not particularly relevant to the passage we’re discussing today, it is also important to pay attention to where the passage exists in the biblical timeline. Whether an event was before or after the covenant with Abraham, before of after the Mosaic law, or before or after the resurrection of Christ can have strong implications in how we understand that passage.
Who was the audience?
It is important to ask yourself who a particular passage was written to as well. The best Bible interpretation asks the question, “What did this passage mean to the original hearer?”. The follow up question to that is sometimes harder to derive, and it would be “What does it then mean to us?”