Just when 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 could become the first passage in the Pauline collection to be assigned interpolation status by the common consent of Pauline scholars, certain feminist scholars have resisted this assignment as an apologetic strategem against the feminist critique of biblical religion. More recent developments either connect the passage with 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 as part of Pastoral-type editing, or read it as a citation of what Paul's opponents were saying to refute them. By contrast, in reconstructing the part of women in early Christian communities, Fiorenza assumes the Pauline origin of the material, arguing that Paul did not intend to limit the charismatic freedom of all women, but blaming him for introducing a patriarchalizing trend into the church. The present article prefers to recognize the full negative implications of the passage, and its close relation to the Pastoral epistles. If taken as an interpolation, its context in 1 Corinthians 14 emerges as a clue to the kind of egalitarian, charismatic community it opposes.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bilezikian, Gilbert1985Beyond Sex Roles. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.
2.
Brooten, Bernadette L.1982Women Leaders in the Ancient Synagogue. Brown Judaic Studies36. Chico, CA: Scholars Press.
3.
1985 "Early Christian Women and their Cultural Context: Issues of Method in Historical Reconstruction," Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship, A. Y. Collins, ed. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 65-91.
4.
Clark, Elizabeth and Richardson, Herbert1977Women and Religion: A Feminist Source Book. New York: Harper & Row.
5.
Cope, Lamar1978"1 Cor 11:2-16: One Step Further,"Journal of Biblical Literature97:435-436.
6.
Daly, Mary1968/75 The Church and the Second Sex. New York: Harper & Row.
7.
1973Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women's Liberation . Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
8.
de Beauvoir, Simone1952The Second Sex. H. M. Parshley, trans. New York: Knopf.
9.
Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schüssler1976 "Interpreting Patriarchal Tradition," The Liberating Word, L. M. Russell, ed. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press . Pp. 39-61.
10.
1978 "Women in the Pre-Pauline and Pauline Churches," Union Seminary Quarterly Review33:153-166.
11.
1979a " 'You Are Not to be Called Father': Early Christian History in a Feminist Perspective," Cross Currents29:301-323.
12.
1979 b "Word, Spirit, and Power: Women in Early Christian Communities ," Women of the Spirit, R. R. Ruether, E. McLaughlin, eds. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 29-70.
13.
1983In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York, NY: Crossroads.
14.
1985 "The Will to Choose or Reject: Continuing Our Critical Work ," Feminist Interpretation of the Bible, L. M. Russell, ed. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 125-136.
15.
1987 "Rhetorical Situation and Historical Reconstruction in 1 Corinthians," New Testament Studies33:386-403.
16.
Jewett, Robert1978 "The Redaction of 1 Corinthians and the Trajectory of the Pauline School," Journal of the American Academy of Religion44 Supplement B:389-444.
17.
Love, Stuart L.1987 "Women's Role in Certain Second Testament Passages: A Macrosociological View," Biblical Theology Bulletin17:50-63.
18.
MacDonald, Dennis R.1983The Legend and the Apostle: The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster .
19.
Morton, Nelle1985The Journey Is Home. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
20.
Munro, Winsome1971/2 "Col III.18-IV.1 and Eph. V.21-VI.9: Evidence of a Late Literary Stratum?" New Testament Studies18: 448-457.
21.
1972"Patriarchy and Charismatic Community in 'Paul',"Women and Religion: Papers of the Working Group on Women and Religion 1972-3 . J. Plaskow and J. Romero, eds. Missoula, MT: American Academy of Religion/Scholars Press , 1972, p. 74.
22.
1975 "In Search of our Foremothers through the Scriptures," Wellspring 3, Church Women United, Kutztown, PA : Kutztown Publishing Co.
23.
1983Authority in Paul and Peter: The Identification of a Pastoral Stratum in the Pauline Corpus and 1 Peter. NTSMS 45. Cambridge , England: Cambridge University Press.
24.
Odell-Scott, David W.1983 "Let the Women Speak in Church: An Egalitarian Interpretation of 1 Cor 14:33b-36," Biblical Theology Bulletin13:90-93.
25.
Pagels, Elaine H.1974 "Paul and Women: A Response to Recent Discussion ," Journal of the American Academy of Religion42:538-549.
26.
Parvey, Constance F.1974 "The Theology and Leadership of Women in the New Testament ," Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions, R. R. Ruether, ed. New York: NY: Simon and Schuster, 1974, 117-149.
27.
Scroggs, Robin1972a "Paul: Chauvinist or Liberationist?" Christian Century89:307-309.
28.
1972b "Paul and the Eschatological Woman," Journal of the American Academy of Religion40:283-303.
29.
1974 "Paul and the Eschatological Woman: Revisited," Journal of the American Academy of Religion42: 532-537.
30.
Scanzoni, Letha and Hardesty, Nancy1974All We're Meant To Be: A Biblical Approach to Women's Liberation . Waco, TX: Word Books .
31.
Shoemaker, Thomas P.1987 "Unveiling of Equality: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16," Biblical Theology Bulletin17:60-63.
32.
Tetlow, Elizabeth M.1980Women in the Ministry in the New Testament. New York, NY: Paulist Press.
33.
Talbert, C.H.1985 "Paul's Understanding of the Holy Spirit," Perspectives on the New Testament: Essays in Honor of Frank Stagg . C. H. Talbert, ed. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press.
34.
Tolbert, Mary Ann1983 "Defining the Problem: The Bible and Feminist Hermeneutics ," Semeia28:113-126.
35.
Trible, Phyllis1984Texts of Terror. Philadelphia , PA: Fortress.
36.
Trompf, G.W.1980 "On Attitudes Toward Women in Paul and Paulist Literature: 1 Corinthians 11: 3-16 and Its Context," Catholic Biblical Quarterly42:196-215.
37.
Walker, William O.1975"1 Corinthians 11:2-16 and Paul's View Regarding Women,"Journal of Biblical Literature94: 94-110.
38.
1983 "The Theology of Women's Place and the Paulist Tradition ," Semeia28:101-112.
