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About this book

1 Timothy

About this book
Chapter 2

1 First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people,⁠ 2 even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, 4 since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human,⁠ 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle—I am telling the truth; I am not lying—and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 So I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.⁠ 9 Likewise the women are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control. Their adornment must not be with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothing,⁠ 10 but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. 11 A woman must learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. She must remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first and then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, because she was fully deceived, fell into transgression.⁠ 15 But she will be delivered through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self-control.

Texts in conversation

Compare Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 13:8 and 1 Timothy 2:14

Classical · New Testament

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Summary

1 Timothy and Pseudo-Philo present an interpretation of Genesis where Eve carries significant blame for humanity’s disobedience. This tradition is found in many Jewish texts but was not universally understood or agreed on.

Passages

Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 13:8

Classical
8 When he gave him commandment concerning the year of the life of Noah, he said to him, “These are the years that I ordained after the weeks in which I visited the city of men, when I showed them the place of birth and said, ‘This is the place of which I taught the first man, saying, “If you do not transgress what I commanded you, all things will be subject to you.”’ But he transgressed my ways and was persuaded by his wife, and she was deceived by the serpent. And then death was ordained for the generations of men.”
1–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities

1 Timothy 2:14

New Testament
12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. She must remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first and then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, because she was fully deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But she will be delivered through childbearing, if she continues in faith and love and holiness with self-control.
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Timothy

References

"... “From a woman is the beginning of sin, and because of her we all die” (Sirach 25:24). This, in the context of Jesus Sirach, even though a singular statement, might be the first witness of manifold stories that blame Eve as the (only) originator of sin. In the first-century C.E., Pseudo-Philo adds, the first “man transgressed my ways and was persuaded by his wife; and she was deceived by the serpent. And then death was ordained for the generations of men.” And in the second century, 1 Timothy declares, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Tim 2:14). It would be easy to increase the number of examples in post-biblical Jewish and Christian traditions blaming the first woman for her transgression. Yet, some countertraditions exist as well. The Apocalypse of Adam, a text from the Nag Hammadi library that likely originated in some Jewish quarters, narrates Adam’s teaching to his son Seth ..."
Angela Standhartinger, “Manuscript and Gender: Eve’s Testament in GLAE/Apoc. Mos. 15–30 and LLAE 45–60,” JSP 31.3 (2022): 215–246.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 13:8 and 1 Timothy 2:14

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