[Continuing the topic of family headship, as shown in the Bible.]
Priscilla and other New Testament women
There are only two examples of New Testament married couples,
whose life together is described at all. One of these is Mary and Joseph, but
there’s not much about their interaction together. God did reveal some things
to Joseph, namely that he should not reject Mary (Matthew 1:19-24), that they
should go to Egypt (Matthew 2:13), and that they should return (Matthew
2:19-23), and he acted on those promptings, and was spiritual leader in those
cases. Mary may have been the spiritual leader when she reprimanded Jesus:
Luke 2:43b the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph
and his mother didn’t know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company, they
went a day’s journey, and they looked for him among their relatives and
acquaintances. 45 When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem,
looking for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in
the middle of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.
47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When
they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have
you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for
you.”
But perhaps she was just more vocal.
Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned seven times in the Bible,
always as a couple. Here are most of those, from Acts 18:
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to
Corinth. 2 He found a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, who
had recently come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had
commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he
practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were
tent makers.
11 He lived there a year and six months, teaching the word
of God among them. . . .
18a Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his
leave of the brothers, [text note – may be translated “brothers and sisters”]
and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved
his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. 19 He came to Ephesus, and he left
them there; but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the
Jews.
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race,
an eloquent man, came to Ephesus. He was mighty in the Scriptures. 25 This man
had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he
spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, although he knew only
the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they
took him aside, and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Verse 19 uses “Priscilla and Aquila,” rather than “them” in
some versions. There are three other references, in Romans 16:3, 1 Corinthians
16:19, and 2 Timothy 4:19, all of them greetings to the couple. 1 Corinthians
16:19 does not mention the couple by name in all translations.
If there is significance to the order given, the order puts
Priscilla first more often that her husband, in all of the versions that I have
checked. Perhaps the most critical verse is Acts 18:26. That is usually, but
not always, translated so that Priscilla is named first, indicating that she
may have been more important in instructing Apollos spiritually than Aquila
was.
Another bit of evidence about spiritual headship in Acts is
the matter of Lydia.
Acts 16: 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city
by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down,
and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 A certain woman named Lydia, a
seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us;
whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
15 When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you
have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay.” So
she persuaded us.
Lydia was a businesswoman. Acts 16 reads as if she gave
spiritual (and probably other) leadership to her household. However, this case
may not be relevant, as there is no mention of a husband. She may have been
single, widowed, or perhaps divorced. We don’t know. But at least she did
exercise some spiritual leadership. Dorcas is also a woman who showed some
spiritual leadership, but there is no mention of a household or a husband. (Acts
9.)
In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul refers to Timothy’s mother and
grandmother, as having been spiritual influences on Timothy. But it is not
clear what their marital status was, or if Timothy’s father was a believer.
The above is an excerpt from my recently published e-book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, which may be obtained free of charge, or purchased from Amazon for $0.99, which is the lowest price Amazon lets an author set. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, public domain.
The previous post in this series is here. The next post, God willing, will consider the same topic.
Thanks for reading!
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