Frank

Susanna, after reading your comments in 285, 287, and 289, I am so impressed, I am definitely going to get a copy of your book asap! Moreover, I don’t think I can add much more to this discussion on 1 Cor. 11:3 and its parallel in Eph. 5:23, than to quote Dr. John Trull, Prof. of Christian Ethics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary:

In the seven passages in the New Testament where Paul uses kephale, the contexts of five of them (Col. 1:18; 2:10; 2:19; Eph. 1:20-23; 4:15) clearly point to this common meaning of “source.” The concept that “head” connotes a hierarchy with men in a role of authority over women rests largely on two passages: 1 Cor. 11:3 and Eph. 5:23. When we recognize the main meaning of kephale is “source,” it becomes clear that Paul is not establishing a chain of command–he is establishing origins. Rather than a “ruler” over the wife, the husband is the “source” or “beginning” of woman (made from the side of Adam), even as God is the “origin” of Christ (1 Cor. 11:3). “If you think ‘head’ means ‘chief’ or ‘boss,'” declared Chrysostom, “you skew the godhead!” (Cf. “Is the Head of the Household Home?” Christian Ethics Today. 1995, p. 44)

And of course, that was the main thrust of my discussion on the Trinity and 1 Cor. 11:3, although I wanted to tackle the Trinitarian issue first, before dealing with the man-woman relationship, on which I think everyone else has done a fine job.

However, in my studies, I did find some Greek scholars who argued that in Paul’s time, kephale was a “living metaphor,” and depending how it was used or functioned in certain contexts, might have the sense of “authority over.” But these same scholars firmly argue that in 1 Corinthians 11 and Ephesians 5 kephale cannot bear the meaning of “authority over.” I assume you would know this, Susanna and Cheryl, from your own studies. I only bring it up in case Mark would try to use this information, if he is aware of it, as an “ace in the hole,” as it were, in arguing his viewpoint.