Considerations in the Interpretation of the Meaning of mias gunaikos andra
(and Grammatical Variants) in I Timothy 3:2, 12 & Titus 1:6

Dr. Vern Peterman

"In this article Vern Peterman wrestles with that controversial phrase "one woman man" as is found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and offers a hermeneutically sound approach to unlocking Paul's intended meaning. This is an important contemporary issue in conservative evangelical churches. In fact it has been pointed out that in the erroneous doctrinal position of some churches and denominations, a man can murder his neighbor--go to prison--get saved--come out and go to seminary, and become a pastor with a great salvation testimony. But if he was ever divorced, he is entirely disqualified from the ministry."

1 Tim 4:12: ...show yourself an example of those who believe.
Titus 2:7: ...in all things show yourself to be an example...
1 Peter 5:3: ...but proving to be examples to the flock.

Is not denial of otherwise qualified elders on the basis of their divorce status a denial of the sufficiency of Christ's grace, love, faith, and perfect patience with Paul (I Timothy 1:14-16)? Is it not Paul, the very author of every occurrence of mias gunaikos andra in the New Testament (I Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6) the greatest recipient of our Lord's very own grace, mercy, love, and patience - more so than any otherwise qualified divorced candidate for elder?

Hypothetical Interpretive options for mias gunaikos andra:

An elder (or deacon) must be married
An elder (or deacon) cannot be married to more than one wife at a time
An elder (or deacon) cannot be one who is divorced
An elder’s (or deacon’s) spouse cannot be one who is a divorcee
An elder (or deacon) cannot remarry while his wife is alive
An elder (or deacon) cannot remarry even in the event of the death of his spouse
An elder (or deacon) must be of a character such that he is a one-woman kind of man

Contextual considerations:

Every verb in these contexts is in present tense, having the meaning, “right now continuing to be…“ (present infinitive).
None of the other requirements for elders and deacons (besides mias gunaikos andra) can be shown to be based upon consideration of the past history of the candidate.
The phrase mias gunaikos andra is in the context of positive statements of requirements for elders and deacons (e.g.,“must be hospitable”). Negative statements are also given as well in each context (e.g., “must not be pugnacious”). This implies a positive characteristic is intended, and not a negative characteristic.

Grammatical considerations:

The phrase mias gunaikos andra is capable of various interpretations by immediate grammatical structure alone, which means that textual, historical, and cultural (including legal) context are the factors which provide the meaning of the phrase among those variations allowed by strict word meaning and grammar.
“The two nouns [for ‘woman’ and ‘man’] are without the definite article, which construction emphasizes character or nature.” – Wuest
“Sometimes with a noun which the context proves to be definite, the article is not used. This places stress upon the qualitative aspect of the noun rather than its mere identity. An object of thought may be conceived of from two points of view: as to identity or quality. To convey the first point of view, the Greek uses the article; for the second, the anarthrous construction is used.” – Dana & Mantey
The qualitative force of a noun is “best brought out in anarthrous nouns.” – Robertson
“…when the article is not used, the thing emphasized is quality of character.” - Summers
“Husband of one wife”, “one-woman man” – Rogers & Rogers
“It is necessary for him right now to be a one-wife man” – Couch
“a one-woman husband” – Zodhiates
“a one-woman sort of man” - Wuest
“the overseer must be completely faithful to his wife.” – Earle
The grammatical and word choices in Koine Greek were available to Paul to specify that an elder or deacon must not be a divorcee or remarried, as he demonstrated elsewhere (I Corinthians 7:11,12). Koine Greek also easily permitted specific statement of past conditions or events. Paul did not use that language in the qualifications for elders and deacons.
I Timothy 5:9 uses the same construction, reversing the order (“the wife of one man”). Given that younger widows are urged to remarry (in keeping with requirements and encouragements of Roman law – see “Legal Considerations” below), it is not likely to disallow remarried widows from support, but instead to point to character.

Historical considerations:

Because of the military conquests of Alexander the Great over 3½ centuries earlier, the language and culture of the areas where Paul had sent Timothy and Titus (i.e, Ephesus, and Crete, respectively) was substantially Greek, with local variations in dialect (e.g., Acts 2:11).
Because of the more recent military conquest of these same areas by the Romans, the legal background of I Timothy and Titus was Roman. Augustus Caesar had been influential in bringing about laws impacting marriage, divorce, remarriage, polygamy, and other matters of home and family life. Taxes were higher for unmarried men and women.
Paul’s 1^st visit to Ephesus is recorded in Acts 18:21-23, toward the end of his 2^nd missionary journey, which took place (according to the chronology in the Ryrie Study Bible) in about 52 AD. Paul returned to Ephesus in his 3^rd missionary journey, spending 3 years there, from about 56-58 AD. He met with the elders from Ephesus in Miletus, as recorded in Acts 20, after his stay in Ephesus. Paul wrote the book of Ephesians while under house arrest in about 61 AD, and wrote I Timothy in about the 63 to 66 AD timeframe. The Ephesian elders whom Paul addressed in Acts 20 had therefore likely been believers, brought out of the pagan culture, for about six years or less. By the time Paul wrote I Timothy in the 63 to 66 AD timeframe, elder candidates would have been believers for no more than 11 to 14 years. Since Paul had already established elders in Ephesus, his directive was to recognize additional or replacement elders, and apparently the same with deacons.
Crete, being one of the places mentioned in Acts 2:11 on the day of Pentecost, would have had some Christian influence by as early as 30 AD (Ryrie chronology), though depth of teaching and ongoing apostolic influence may well have been an issue. Crete is not otherwise mentioned in Scripture until about 59-60 AD, as recorded in Acts 27. Titus is not mentioned in the book of Acts, but is mentioned in Galatians (2:1,3). Paul would have written to direct Titus to establish elders in Crete in about the 63 to 66 AD timeframe. That would allow for a few in Crete to have been believers for possibly as much as 30 to 33 years. But the fact that Titus was to make initial appointments of elders, and deacons are not mentioned, would indicate that church development was not as advanced as it was in places like Ephesus and Philippi (see Philippians 1:1).
Because the timeframe for the requirements for elders would mean that an elder was not young (per the meaning of “elder”), not a new believer (I Timothy 3:6), adolescent at about 14 years, and would have been married typically in his late teens, most any elder candidate in Ephesus would have had at least several years of living a sexually promiscuous lifestyle under the pagan idolatrous, licentious culture before being a Christian.

Elder candidate at 35 years or older

- Believer for 11 years

- Adolescent at 14 years

- Pagan sexual lifestyle for 10 years and very likely more

Cultural considerations:

There were multiple categories of prostitutes in Greek culture. Men who came as guests to the home of another were offered prostitutes as typical extensions of hospitality, regardless of marital status. Ephesus and many larger cities with temples had a system of temple prostitutes (heirodouloi). Men, married or otherwise, also commonly availed themselves of street and brothel (pornai) prostitutes, theatrical performance prostitutes (auletrides), “high class” prostitutes (hetaera), live-in concubines, and freely made use of their slave girls as well.
The temple of Artemis was the center of a sexual cult. Prostitutes and pornography were a staple fare offered to thousands of pilgrims and tourists who passed through the city’s streets. In the midst of all this drug sorcery, witchcraft and occultic arts (Acts 19:19), and disease-ridden orgies, the atmosphere of Ephesus was thick with paganism.
Because of economic factors and growing opinion against polygamy, polygamy was virtually unknown even among the Jews in the areas to which Paul had sent Timothy and Titus (i.e., Ephesus and Crete). In practice, polygamy was found only among wealthier Jews in Israel, and then only rarely.
Wives were taken by men to bear and raise children, and while monogamy in the strict marital sense was the norm, being sexually exclusive to the wife was not by any means the norm in the cultures of Ephesus and Crete. Men in these cultures were expected to avail themselves of the various sexual options outside of marriage, as stated above (1^st & 2nd bullets), and by every record they did so. The many extramarital and premarital relationships which men had with women were not considered or legally defined as adulterous in these cultures, as long as one was not cohabiting with another’s legally married wife.
The Latin-speaking world, at the time of the writing of I Timothy and Titus, had a term univira, which meant “one man woman”. This term is found in oration records and funeral notices of the time, noting the highly valued (but relatively rare) woman who had been faithful to one man her whole life. The corresponding Latin term for men, however, is not found in any oratory nor funeral records, since it was neither valued nor expected in the culture.
Crete had long been known for its treachery and deceit, with those practicing such treachery and deceit being held as heroes within the common culture. Paul remarked and gave directions to Titus about dealing with the negative aspects of the character of the Cretan culture (Titus 1:10-14).
Timothy and Titus had each spent time with Paul in cultures very similar to the Ephesian and Cretan cultures to which they were sent, with Titus likely seeing more differences from the other cultures in which he had been, and having spent less time in that specific culture.

Legal considerations:

Greek marriage contracts were written with the expectation that the marriage would end in divorce rather than death, supplying the conditions for dealing with the divorce in the marriage contract.
Divorce was relatively easy to accomplish, but with possible legal complications arising out of conditions for return of the dowry. Either party could opt out of a marriage, and the divorce was typically “no-fault” in the Greek context. There were some differences between Greek and Jewish marriages and divorces, and Jews entered into marriage contracts under both Greek and Jewish marriage arrangements.
Divorce documents often, but not always, reaffirmed the already known legal right of the man and woman in the divorce to marry whomever one wished. This is true of both Greek and Jewish documents of the time.
As instituted by Augustus Caesar in 18 BC, every woman of child-bearing age who became divorced was required to be remarried within 18 months. Exceptions were granted to those who had 3 or more children.
By Roman law, the right to inherit property through a will was denied unmarried men over 25 and under 60, and unmarried women over 20 and under 50.
Polygamy was not legal in the Roman Empire, except as permitted among the Jews (see also the 3rd bullet under “Cultural considerations”).

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