Sometimes, I am guilty of reading along on the "wrong side" of an interlinear for my morning Bible reading. I will read the Hebrew or Greek interlinear column instead of the English translation column.
When I do this, I invariably stumble across something interesting and enlightening that is not usually evident on the English translation side. This happened with 2 Corinthians 2:11 and Ephesians 3:1-2.
Lest over [hypo G5259] [1] [us]
Satan should gain advantage for we are not ignorant of his devices --2 Corinthians 2:11
[1] The primary preposition, hypo (G5259), is both untranslated and
mistranslated in this verse (depending on which translation one reads). The reason for this
is that the context of verse 11, demands it be translated as “over,” and this
contradicts religious tradition that teaches the Greek word hypo must always mean some form of “beneath/under,” as is claimed in the case of Ephesians 5:21-22, where a better rendering is for wives and husbands be arrayed/aligned with one another as the Ekklesia is aligned with Christ.
When the word hypo doesn't align with tradition, some other, innocuous,
word is used in its place to deflect from the obvious. Words such as: such, as, by, of, with, for, etc., are used to hide the fact that hypo does not always mean under.
Defining this word honestly, demands that
centuries-old traditions regarding gender roles be re-considered in light of
even one verse obviously using the word, hypo,
as meaning “over” instead of under, inferior, or beneath, and 2 Corinthians 2:11,
is that one verse.
Moving on to Ephesians 3:1-2
For this cause I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ *over you of the nations [*hyper (hypo
word) [1]
Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 13:7]
If you
have heard of the home-distribution [2] of
the grace of God which is given to me for you Matthew 15:36 [example of home-distribution]
[1] Historical, traditionally male dominated, scholarship
finds itself full of contradictions when the hypo
words will not “come-to-heel” in biblical usage [by consistently defining
themselves (contextually) as “to be arrayed under].” This causes a
kerfuffle when it is pointed out that verses like 2 Corinthians 2:11 encourage
Christians to be on the alert and not allow Satan to gain an advantage over
[hypo] them.
Linguistically, the Greek word, hypo (pronounced hupo),
is a primary preposition. Prepositions denote direction, movement: (forward, backward), time, position (with, over, under), etc.. The problem for
traditional-role-religionist-scholars, is that the word hypo is used
in 2 Corinthians 2:11 concerning Satan’s possible advantage over believers.
Translators do some hermeneutical bungee-jumping in order to avoid using the word “over”
in this verse (2 Corinthians 2:11)—not because the word is used in reference to Satan gaining
advantage over Christians but rather because it contradicts the hard and fast
definition that has been historically assigned to the word in order to permanently position women under
men, as it is traditionally but incorrectly defined in Ephesians 5:22. Paul’s usage of
the word in 2 Corinthians 2:11, produces a gender-role crisis, for the
complementarian (male-headship) paradigm, that cannot be overcome or reasoned away. It is time to assign the biblical definition to the primary preposition, hypo.
These examples prove that even respected scholars must be carefully fact-checked, as
bias does creep in to lexicons and concordances through preconceived notions of the experts. 2 Corinthians 2:11 is a
perfect example this, in that the Greek word “hypo,” in biblical usage,
does not necessarily carry a connotation of being “arrayed under.” Most
of the time it has the gentler more Christlike slant of aligning with or preferring one another
before ourselves, and doing unto others as we would have others do unto us. Other times, it can mean a
destructive advantage has been gained over….
[2] Paul was dispensing/parceling out
Grace, not administrating it. Huge difference. The word usually translated as dispensation or
administration in this verse, is not a verb (action word) but rather a noun (person,
place, or thing). In this case it is a person. **Oikonomia, is a
compound word meaning home-distributor. Oiko means “home,” and nomia
means to parcel out and the one who “parcels out or distributes, is female.”
Paul was male, so why was the feminine oikonomia, used instead of the masculine, as would be expected? Note that in this instance, it is the Gospel of Grace that is being parcelled out. It is significant that
the Holy Spirit led the apostle to choose the feminine form of the compound
word, oikonomia, when a man, writing of himself, would have naturally chosen to use the masculine form of the word (oikonomos), especially
when writing of something so important and that had traditionally (with some exception) belonged to the masculine domain—that
of handling and dispensing the Word of God.
The apostle Paul was
dispensing the Grace of God through inspired and authoritative preaching and teaching. And because of the word oikonomia, we know that
not only men but women, as well, are chosen to distribute the Grace of God through
inspired and authoritative preaching and teaching.
**When researching this
verse, I found yet another instance of James Strong allowing his male-headship prejudice to
influence his scholarship. Disciples should understand that all scholarship—though it should be
objective—has its bent or bias. Strong incorrectly claims the word oikonomia
(feminine noun) is derived from the word oikonomos (male noun), which it is
not. Oikonomos is simply the
equal and opposite masculine form of oikonomia. Both compound words are derived separately and independently in their own right from
the words oikos, which means home, and nomos, which means to parcel out.
This verse highlights something
else, and that is the fact that the Gospel is not supposed to be institutionalized
but is rather organic and home-based (oikos means home), with leadership (those who parcel-out/dispense the Grace) based on love, respect,
and example—not gender or hierarchy.
When Paul uses the term “over you,” it is always in the
sense of leadership example—not military-like hierarchy.
In reading along the "wrong side" of my interlinear, I started out studying the "Dispensation of Grace," then was Divinely side-tracked when I stumbled into an entirely new insight on a subject that was not on today's agenda--at least not on my agenda. But I believe the Spirit of the Living God had other plans.
Reading on the "wrong side" of an interlinear is an amazing way to gain new and fresh perspectives on what the scriptures teach. I encourage everyone to try it.
Woman this is WAR! Gender Slavery
and the Evangelical Caste System, refutes complementarianism [also called
complementarity], which teaches that all men and women are born into a caste
system that follows them from the moment they exit the womb throughout all
eternity. Men are alleged to be born into the leadership caste and women into
the “follower” caste.
Complementarian
doctrine suppresses the autonomy of adult Christian women and has been
embraced, with few exceptions, by virtually every Christian
denomination...despite unmistakable parallels between complementarian dogma
[and the adverse effects of the paradigm on men, women, and children] and that
of institutionalized slavery in previous centuries [caveat: lots of Black
History, in this book, up through the Civil Rights Movement].
Woman
this is War! quotes well-known evangelical pastors who compare Christian marriage to a war of dominance between wives and husbands, a war they claim
that husbands must win.
Gender-biased-English-translation-theology, along with male-centered
Bible commentary and translation practices, are used in forbidding women to
preach, pastor, or serve as elders and deacons in most churches. This hinders
the work of the gospel. In most churches where women are not forbidden to
preach, they are told to submit to their husbands at home.
Gender-biased-English-translation-theology has interfered with understanding
the scriptures, pitted men and women against each other, and eroded the
happiness of women and men.
The
book provides rare insights into Christian initiatives in the movements for
women’s autonomy that have been excluded from Christian literature. They bring
a new perspective, along with freedom and hope for both men and women. The
doctrine of female submission to male headship in the church and home, is
refuted by the scriptures which support equality between women and men. Woman
this is WAR! is a treasure-trove of information on gender equality from biblical
and historical perspectives.
Buy the book HERE
Woman this is WAR! Gender Slavery
and the Evangelical Caste System
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