RE: HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE

From: drmills@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Date: Fri Oct 13 1995 - 16:12:56 EDT


I have not followed this thread very well, but the "one man woman" phrase
in 1 Tim 5.9 surely helps some. Was polyandry very common in the Greek
world? If not, then the phrase must have something besides polyandry in
view. Likewise, "one woman man" may have something besides polygamy in
view. In 1 Tim 5.9, the woman is a widow and so is not remarried. 1 Tim
 3, on the other hand, does not imply that the bishop is a widower though
it certainly does not forbid it.

===========================
David R. Mills
drmills@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Applied English Center
University of Kansas

On Thu, 12 Oct 1995 perry.stepp@chrysalis.org wrote:

>
> Re. 1 Ti 3.2:
>
> J. N. D. Kelly notes that the text emphasizes the "one" (MIAS GUNAIKOC ANDRA),
> which in his opinion lessens the likelihood of a reference to polygamy,
> adultery. Thus Paul (?) seems to be talking about remarriage.
>
> Kelly says: "there is abundant evidence, from both literature and funerary
> inscriptions, pagan and Jewish, that to remain unmarried after the death of
> one's spouse or after divorce was considered meritorious, while to marry again
> was taken as a sign of self-indulgence" (p. 75 of *A Commentary on the Pastoral
> Epistles*). Of course, he doesn't provide the cross-references for this
> material, so I'm not sure where to find it.
>
> Grace and peace,
>
> Perry L. Stepp, Baylor University
>
>
>



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