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1 Timothy 2:11-12 has been variously understood. One view I recently heard is that it teaches women to be silent not only in church, as is the case in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, but also in secular matters. After making several contextual arguments for women not to teach with authority, this article concludes:
If we can see I Tim 2:11-12 forbids a woman from teaching a class of men when the topic is the Bible, then we ought to be able to see the non-spiritual parallel: I Tim 2:11-12 also forbids a woman from teaching a class including men when the topic is secular (like a college mathematics class). …
Many decades ago the Biblical view presented in this message was accepted by most every Christian. The woman’s liberation movement squelched it. But the Bible hasn’t changed. I close with this point … If verses 9-10 (dressing modestly) applies at the university and in the workplace, why wouldn’t the very next two verses apply there also?
This has caused me to wonder how 1 Timothy 2 was understood historically. Has the context of 1 Timothy 2:11-12 historically been understood as referring to the church, or would it apply, as this article contends, in all settings, sacred or secular?
Note: My question does not pertain to how people in modern times have interpreted the passage; neither is it necessarily about what "silence" means. Rather, I am asking whether, historically, the context of 1 Timothy 2:11-12 was understood as being about the church in particular.