Cheryl Schatz

Holly,
The last thing you asked is:

Also, why do you think the use of the word “authentein” is used exclusively in this husband/wife relationship concerning false teaching and not used in other portions of Scripture where false teaching is also being addressed? Surely a false teacher in any situation would be practicing spiritual “authentein” over their listeners and would require the same sinister term for this type of authority that Paul used in 1 Tim 2.

I think it has to do with the tightness of the relationship. Also “authentein” is a very unusual word and would not work well with books written for the average Christian congregation. But in 1 Timothy Paul is writing to his close companion who was on an apostolic mission representing Paul at his request. It was a personal letter written from one friend to another with both of them understanding what kind of problems were in the church. The term was an appropriate “personal” term knowing that Timothy would understand him and the message Paul was trying to get across to Timothy. But if this extremely seldom-used word would have appeared in a letter written to the first century Christian congregation, it likely would have caused more confusion than understanding. Therefore its use would only be appropriate to one who had understanding of Paul’s communication.

I hope this helps!