Revising The Biblical Decree On Womanhood

Bible translations, women's role in the church No Comments

The English Standard Version is now being used by many who may not be aware of some of the significant changes that have been made in that translation.  One such change is found in Genesis 3:16.  The ESV reads, “To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”  In Genesis 3, God expels the first two human beings from the Garden of Eden.  Eve succumbed to temptation and sinned against God by eating of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:17).  Then, she gave some of the fruit to her husband and he did it.  In doing so, Adam sinned against God.  God punishes Eve for her transgression.  In the KJV, Genesis 3:16 states, “Thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee.”
The ESV vs. the KJV
The ESV appears to suggest that women naturally oppose their husband’s desires.  Could this explain the battle of the sexes?  One reader responded that it sounds like wives are responsible for marital conflict (Bible Review Journal, vol. 4, no. 1, Spring, 2017, p. 27).  The ESV seems to teach that women oppose their husband’s desires, but that they (their husbands) will overrule them.  The KJV teaches that God by divine precept subjugated the woman to the man in the marriage relationship because of her being deceived and usurping his authority.  Adam was addressed by God regarding the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:17) before Eve was created.  In all likelihood, she learned of the forbidden fruit from her husband.  When she succumbed to the temptation of Satan, she disobeyed God and disregarded the words of her husband.
Why the Translation Difference?
The translation difference hinges on a single Hebrew preposition: ‘el.  Virtually no other major translation takes this word to mean “contrary to,” as the ESV does.  The translation is false and misleading.
Two Problems Resulting From This Change
The first problem to consider is the destruction of the link between Gen. 3:16 and Eph. 5:23-24.  The subjugation of the woman to her husband in the marriage is divinely ordained by God.  It is a God-given decree that is tied to the fall of the woman.  If the subjugation of the woman to the man in marriage is not divinely decreed, then the cultural argument made by egalitarians is strengthened.  In Eph. 5:23-24, the ESV states that the husband is the head of the wife and that she is to be in submission to her husband.  However, verse 21 is already being used by egalitarians to show that the submission is mutual and equal.  While this is a misinterpretation of verse 21, it still is problematic.  The destruction of the link between Eph. 5:23-24 and Gen. 3:16 will further complicate the interpretation of both passages.
A second problem is the destruction of the link between Gen. 3:16 and I Tim. 2:12-14 subordinating women to men in the worship assembly of the New Testament church.  In I Tim. 2:13-14, the Holy Spirit through Paul makes it clear that a woman is not permitted to teach nor (in any other way) to usurp authority over the man.  He bases his argument on two important things:  (1)  Adam was created before Eve (the created order) and (2) Eve was deceived by Satan not Adam (the order and circumstances of the fall).  God by divine decree subjugated the woman to the man in marriage.  This cannot be reversed in the worship assembly (I Cor. 14:34-35).  For these reasons we do not have women preachers, women serving as elders or deacons, or women taking part in the public worship assemblies.  The ESV accommodates the egalitarians who argue for a cultural interpretation of I Tim. 2:12-14 and consequently permit a wider role for women in the church.
This translation change by the ESV translators simply demonstrates how a small change (the meaning of one preposition) can have a profound impact on the interpretation of God’s Word and the doctrines and practices of the New Testament church.

Kissing Judases

age of the earth, creation, theistic evolution No Comments

The last week of Jesus’ life leading up to the crucifixion was trying. The hatred of His enemies was at a near peak.  The hatred had turned into a plot or conspiracy to kill Him. One of His own twelve apostles was involved in the conspiracy. The evil in Judas’ heart did not need anything to provoke it.  Judas was a thief (John 12:6).  As iniquity abounds, the love of  many waxes cold (Matt. 26:12).  Eventually, love dies and hatred takes over.  Judas conspires to kill Jesus who is the Personification of love.
In The Garden of Gethsemane
Jesus seeks solitude in the Garden of Gethsemane so He can pray to God.  When moments are dark and bleak, where can we go but to the Lord?  Jesus’ disciples are not able to stay awake and watch. Human flesh fails while, at the same time, only God supplies what is needful. Jesus prays for “this cup” to pass from Him (the cup of suffering).  However, the future was left up to God as Jesus committed Himself to Him that judges righteously.  Jesus prays three times.  After the third time, the soldiers, chief priests, and Judas arrive in the Garden to arrest Him.
The Betrayal
Judas recognizes and acknowledges Jesus. Then, he identifies Jesus with a kiss.  Normally, a kiss is a sign of friendship and affection. On this occasion, it becomes a sign of treachery and betrayal. Jesus is betrayed by one who He considered to be a friend and fellow laborer in the great work of God.  The kiss is an act of hypocrisy.  Judas honored Jesus with his lips, but his heart was far from Him.
The Application
Os Guinness in Impossible People, p. 72 states, “Just so today, Christian advocates of homosexual and lesbian revisionism believe in themselves and in the sexual revolution rather than the gospel.  They therefore twist the Scriptures to make reality fit their desires rather than making their desires fit the truths of Scripture. In Soren Kierkegaard’s stinging term, they are “kissing Judases” who betray Jesus with an interpretation.”  Peter warned against twisting or wresting the Scriptures (II Pet. 3:16).  “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” The word wrest means to distort and so pervert what God has said. The idea is that of stretching something beyond its proportions.  This is not innocent.  This is a salvation issue, i.e. “unto their own destruction.”  Guinness applies the act of betrayal of Jesus by Judas to those who betray the Lord through twisting the Scriptures to make them mean that homosexuality is not a sin.  Another example of twisting Scripture is given by Nobie Stone in Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space where Stone advocates an old earth view by changing the meaning of Scripture permitting the Gap Theory or Day-Age Theory or Progressive Creation Theory.  (see Genesis 1 and Lessons From Space, p. 69 –Published by the Warren Christian Apologetics Center).  Stone states, “First, concerning the wording in Genesis Chapter One, it says nothing about a 24-hr day.”  While the exact words “24-hr day” do not occur in the context of Genesis 1, the obvious meaning of the Hebrew word yom which is translated “day” when describing the “days” of creation refers to a 24-hr day for two reasons.  First, the use of an ordinal number before day (first day, second day, third day, etc.) limits the meaning of the Hebrew word yom to a 24-hr day.  Second, the phrase, “evening and morning” indicates a 24-hr period.  There are strong contextual elements that show that the “day” is a 24-hr period and not an indefinite period of time that could cover billions of years. Another consideration is that this understanding of the “days” of creation harmonizes with the plain statement given by Moses in Exodus 20:11, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  Stone betrays Jesus with an interpretation.