Appendix 2 A
Another suggestion
There are other
ways of harmonising chapters 11 and 14 without invoking special assemblies. We will consider another possibility.
Some take the
position that Paul is discussing praying and prophesying by women in the public
mixed assembly which is authorised and which does not violate the command in 1
Cor 14:34, 35. We have seen that
Brother Deaver asserts that “the Christian woman could not exercise her gifts
of prayer and prophesy in the regular public worship assembly, for such would
assume the very authority which she was forbidden to exercise.” In similar vein Roland argues that “the women
had to break silence in order to prophecy.” He argues:
“I could
rationalise the women's role of prayer by saying that they could obey the
command while being led in prayer by a man or praying silently, and thus
conform to I Corinthians 14:34. However, a woman could not prophesy in
silence.”
Roland is correct
that Christian sisters "could obey the command while being led in prayer
by a man or praying silently." Obviously it is proper for women to pray in
the assembly as Hannah did: "She spoke in her heart; only her lips moved,
but her voice was not heard" (1 Sam 1:13). In both the miraculous era and
the non-miraculous era Christian women along with Christian men are authorized
to pray in the assembly, and the “Amen” at the conclusion of a prayer signifies
participation and agreement (1 Cor 14:16). Christian women are forbidden to
lead in prayer, but they are commanded to pray.
But what of
prophesy? Some argue that it was indeed possible for Christian women to
prophesy in the public mixed assembly without violating the headship principle
in the same way that it is possible for Christian women to teach in the public
mixed assembly today without violating this principle. Let’s say a word about
this approach.
Authorised teaching and speaking
Each time the
church assembles to sing "psalms, hymns and spiritual songs," all
members, including women, engage in reciprocal “teaching and
admonishing" with divine approval (Col 3:16). The woman
who engages in reciprocal teaching by way of “psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs," as part of an assembly led by a male song leader, does not violate
Paul's command. Yes she is indeed “teaching” (Col 3:16) in the mixed
public assembly but she is not leading the assembly. It is one thing to address
the assembly as Paul did in Acts 20:7 when he "began talking to... (the
assembly) and …prolonged his message until midnight" and another thing to
engage in reciprocal teaching as part of an assembly by singing psalms hymns
and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). Both
involve teaching, but while the woman is forbidden to engage in the former in
the public mixed assembly she is commanded to engage in the latter.
Consider too 1
Cor 14:34 and Eph 5:19. In 1 Cor 14:34 Paul tells us that women are not to “speak”
(λαλέω) in the
churches (assemblies – see our Women and
the Public Assembly). However in Eph 5:19 Christians are commanded to sing.
Most agree that women are permitted to sing and most agree that Paul is
authorizing them to do so in the public mixed assembly. According to Paul
singing involves “speaking (same word) to one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs” (Eph 5:19). So just as there is a form of teaching which is
authorized and a form of teaching which is forbidden, so too there is a
form of speaking which is authorized and a form of speaking which is
forbidden. They are differentiated by the fact that some teaching and speaking
in the public assembly involves exercising authority over the assembly while
some teaching and speaking does not.
Inspired singing
When we turn to
1st Corinthians 14 we find Paul regulating the use of gifts in the assembly and emphasising the need for intelligible communication. In
the course of giving these instructions about inspired utterances he says
"I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the
understanding" (v 15). James D. G.
Dunn is surely correct that "Paul in this context seems to be thinking
solely of inspired utterance" (Jesus and the Spirit p. 238). He describes the singing as "a kind of
charismatic hymnody" (ibid) and as "inspired hymnody" (p. 245).
The following is useful:
“In 1Co 14:1–25
Paul discussed “spiritual things” (πνευμάτικα,
v. 1Co 14:1"), that is, things given by the Holy Spirit. Whether prayer or
singing, tongues or prophecy, the assumption is that the Holy Spirit
was giving the utterance. Thus when Paul summarized his expectations in 1Co
14:26–40, he presupposed that what someone had to contribute (v. 1Co 14:26)
should be an utterance from the Spirit. All the speaking in 1Co 14:1-33
is of this nature (cf. 1Pe 4:10-11)” (Does 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 Refer to
Women Praying and Prophesying in Church? Harold R. Holmyard III Bibliotheca Sacra 154:616 Oct 1997 [emphasis
mine]).
Gifted women
could not have functioned as song leaders in the public assembly (vv 33, 34; 1 Tim 2:11ff) but perhaps in 1 Cor 11:5 Paul is
regulating the conduct of prophetically gifted sisters who were exercising
their gift under the direction of a male song leader, just as Christian women
today "teach" and "speak" in song under the direction of a
male song leader (Col 3:16; Eph 5:19). The views of George Gillespie, a member
of the Westminster Assembly are representative of many influential religious
figures of his day and their successors:
"As for the
veils wherewith the Apostle would have women covered whilst they were praying
(that is, in their hearts following the public and common prayer), or
prophesying (that is, singing, I Sam. x. 10; 1
Chron. xxv. 1), they are worthy to be covered with shame as with a garment who allege this example for sacred significant ceremonies of
human institution” (Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies, p
116)
Commenting upon
1 Cor 11:5 the 18th century scholar James MacKnight also cites 1 Chron 25
adding that “many by the women‘s praying and prophesying understand their
joining in the prayers and praises as a
part of the congregation” (p 170). This is correct. For example in his
discussion of 1 Cor 11:4 Gill says that “singing of psalms … is sometimes
expressed by prophesying.” He explains:
“(S)o in 1Sam 10:5 ‘thou shalt meet a company of prophets
coming down from the high place, with a psaltery, and a tabret,
and a pipe, and a harp before them, and they shall prophesy.’ The Targum
renders it thus, ואנון משבחין, ‘and they shall
sing praise’; upon which Kimchi observes, that it is
as if it was said, their prophecy shall be שירות,
"songs" and praises to God, spoken by the Holy Ghost. So in 1Sam 19:23
it is said of Saul, that he ‘went on and prophesied’. The Targum is, he went
on, ומשבח, ‘and praised’.
And again, ‘he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied’ … Once more, in
1Chron 25:1 it is said of Asaph, and others, that they ‘should prophesy with
harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals’; which Kimchi
explains of Asaph's singing vocally, and of
his sons playing upon musical instruments” (emphasis mine).
A similar
observation is made in an interesting article in Westminster Theological
Dictionary:
“Among those
appointed to temple service, some were to prophesy, expressing themselves in
the form of music (1 Chr 16:4–6; 25:1–6). The
heads of the three families of Levitical singers are
all titled ‘seer’ (Heman, 1 Chr
25:5; Asaph, 2 Chr 29:30; Jeduthun, 2 Chr 35:15). One might conclude that all these singers
were technically ‘prophets’ or at least ‘sons of a prophet’…
Twenty-four of
these inspired oracles were canonized in the Book of Psalms … At the time of
Samuel, prophecy and music were sometimes blended together (1 Sam 10:5).
Both Moses and Miriam spoke prophetically (Num 12:2),
and Exodus 15 records an early occasion of their prophecy with music (Exod 15:20–21)…” (Diversity of OT Prophetic Phenomena and NT Prophecy John W.
Hilber WTJ 56:2 Fall 1994 [emphasis mine]).
Moreover "Prophetic
titles and roles are consistently attributed to the chief temple musicians and
singers” (2 Chron 35:15; cf 25:1; and Psalms 39, 62,
and 77 titles)" (Michael Bushell, The Songs of Zion p. 60). He
continues:
“Asaph, for
example, one of David's principle musicians (1 Chron 6:39; 15:17; 16:5ff; 2
Chron 5:12) appointed by him over the service of song and by Solomon in
the Temple service, is also called a 'seer' and placed alongside David as far
as authority in Temple music is concerned (2 Chron 29:30). Nor
ought we to miss the significance of the fact that some 12 Old Testamenmt Psalms (50, 73 – 83) are attributed to Asaph,
thus confirming his role as a writer of inspired song. Jeduthun,
another chief temple singer, is also called a 'seer'” (ibid).
According to
Keil and Delitzsch in 1 Chronicles 25;1-3 “prophetare,
(prophecy) is used … in its wider signification of the singing (emphasis
mine) and playing to the praise of God performed in the power of the Divine
Spirit” (emphasis mine). Under nâbâ’ Strong
has: “A primitive root; to prophesy, that is, speak (or sing [emphasis
mine]) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse): - prophesy (-ing) make self a prophet.” In his Bible Dictionary, William Smith
quotes Locke to the effect that prophecy includes “singing by the
dictate of the spirit.” Under “sing/song” (shîyr
/ shîyrâh) Theological Wordbook of The
Old Testament has:
“It is to the
Psalter that one turns for insight into the prevalence of singing in the
Israelite cult. Phrases such as ‘sing praises to the Lord’ or ‘I will sing unto
the Lord occur over thirty five times in the body of individual Psalms.”
Perhaps one of the first song
recorded in scripture is an example of antiphonal singing involving men and
women guided by direct inspiration. In Ex 15:1 we are told that “Moses and the
sons of Israel sang this song to the LORD.” Later John refers to this
composition as “the song of Moses the servant of God” (Rev 15:3). A few verses
later we are told that Miriam “the prophetess” (v 20) “took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with
timbrels and with dancing.” In v 21 we read that Miriam “answered them”
(v 21), perhaps meaning that she led the women in an antiphonal response to
Moses and the men.
Conclusion
There is general
agreement among scholars that Paul’s instructions concerning the head covering
(11:2-16) the memorial feast (11:17-34) and the regulation of spiritual gifts
(12:1 – 14:40) are a response to problems which have arisen in connection with
the Lord’s Supper assembly. The main objection to this position is that it
cannot be harmonised with Paul’s instructions concerning women in 14:34, 35.
This is not the case. We cannot be sure of the problem at Corinth which
required correction.
Perhaps Paul has
heard that Christian sisters are leading the assembly and is writing to correct
this situation. We cannot be sure that this is the case. However since 1 Cor
11:5 contains no explicit or implicit condonation,
there is no conflict with 1 Cor 14:34, 35 (See Context)
Another view
(above) is that Paul is discussing authorised praying and prophesying by
Christian sisters. In the case of prophesying this would involve using the gift
under the direction of a male leader.
Certainty is
beyond us. We cannot know for sure why Paul needed to issue these instructions.
Perhaps there are better explanations than those suggested above. What we need
to keep in mind is that it is possible to harmonise 1 Cor 11 and 14 without
invoking a special assembly of women or suchlike.