Cheryl Schatz

@gengwall #140,

You said:

The confusing point is the final use of the plural “they” in vs. 15. Those who believe that the passage is about all women and their conduct in the congregation see “they” as confirmation that the passage has been talking about women all along. But that makes jibberish out of the use of “a woman” and “the woman” and “she” that have preceeded “they”. Logically, “they” has only two possibilities: the entire congregation (who should continue in faith love and holiness to benefit the fallen woman and aid her restoration) or the small set of people intimately involved in the problem – the woman and her husband.

This sounds very logical. The problem that I see in having “they” refer to the entire congregation is that it has to refer back to the original noun. Where is the “congregation” listed where “they” can be referred back to? Paul talks about women dressing a certain way and men praying a certain way, but nothing about the congregation as a whole. And then we would have to pass by the very first logical “they” which is “a man” and “a woman” from verse 12. I think that the natural way is to take the very first “they” category that fits the bill and use it.

I originally was inclined to believe the former but now have more confidence that it is the latter after discussing this for over a year now on this blog. But either way, what is absolutely clear is that “the woman” of vss. 14 and 15 is the very same woman in vss. 11 and 12. Logically and gramatically that is the only conclusion that the text supports.

I am so happy that we were able to “reason from the Scriptures” together on this blog. I think that you have paid close attention to the reasons why things don’t fit and you thought carefully on this issue. You are an example of a good Berean and I am so very happy that you are one who comes here and dialogs with gentleness and respect!