Frank

Hello, everyone. I have read through this post and the comments made on it, at least twice, first to make sure I correctly the arguments and counter-arguments, and then to decide what are appropri ate comments for those points on which, like Cheryl, I have done some extensive research and writing and which are of concern to me in this discussion: the Trinity, the Prophetic Gift and Ministries in the NT Church, and the Order of Creation Restored by Christ and the Spirit in the Church. Though, I promise, gengwall, to do my best not to lead us down unnecessary bunny trails, which I dislike as well. And if I should misunderstand anyone else’s previous comments, please feel free to correct me. Now, to start my part of our on-going discussion on 1 Cor. 11:2-16, I begin with the following quote from Dr. John Trull, Prof. of Christian Ethics at New Orleans Baptist Seminary, regarding the use of kephale in both this passage and Eph. 5:21-33:

The second important but difficult word is “head” (kephale): “For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is head of the church, the body of which he is Savior” (5:23). Significant exegetical studies on the meaning of this word in the Greek language have raised questions about the uncritical equation of “head” with “authority.” After examining the claim that kephale was used in ancient Greek texts to mean “ruler or person of superior authority or rank,” several scholars have concluded, “There is no instance in profance Greek literature where a ruler or a hierarchy is referred to as ‘head’ such as ‘Alexander was the head of the Greek armies.'” Lexicographers also give no evidence of such a meaning.
The best illustration of the reluctance of the Greek language to render “head” as “authority” is in the Septuagint (LXX). In the 180 instances where the Hebrew word ro’sh (“leader, chief, authority”) appears, the normal Greek word used is archon (“ruler, commander”). In only seventeen places did the translators use kephale–five of those have variant readings, and another four involve a head-tail metaphor, which leaves only eight instances out of 180 times the LXX translators chose kephale for ro’sh. If “head” (kephale) did not normally mean “authority over” in Greek, what did it mean? The common Greek meaning of the word is “source, source of life, source of origin, exalted originator and completer.” In English we sometimes use “head” in this way when we refer to the head (source) of a river. 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 House at Home?,” CHRISTIAN ETHICS TODAY, Issue 9, Vol. 13, No.1, Feb 1997).

On the basis of this quote and several comments already, I will make the following observation:
1. It is the consensus of the biblical scholars and lexicographers, except Wayne Grudem and company, that it is an “uncritical” examination of the secular and religious documents available to us, including the Greek New Testament, that would lead one to assert kephale as a metaphor can either normally mean, nor only mean, “authority over.” As someone who has studied and translated several NT books and done commentary on them (i.e., 2 Peter, Jude and 1 John) in most cases, the decision on how to translate and exegete Gk words is not based simply on the basis of the semantic range listed in one or more lexicons (helpful as that may be to a point), but how they are actually used by the author and how they actually function in the context in which they are found. And here I think Cheryl and gengwall would agree with me.
2. Now some recent work done by NT scholars and lexicographers indicates that an additional meaning for kephale, when used as a military term, is “leader of.” But it is not used as a description of a far off commander who dictates orders to troops in the field. Rather, it speaks of the leader who willing and selflessly goes before the troops, neither demanding or expecting of them what he is not willing to do himself. For those who have served in the military like myself, we recognize that kephale, used in this sense, is referring to the “pointman,” usually the officer or sargent who, at great risk to himself, goes before and scouts all the dangers and opportunities ahead of them, then calls the troops forward to carry out the day’s mission.
3. And these same scholars and lexicographers, after examing all the evidence afresh, argue that kephale is “a living metaphor,” and though its semantic range may run from “Source” to “Leader,” how it actually is used and functions within a given context determines its primary meaning.

Well, I would like to say some more on this. But it is now 12:15 pm, and I need to eat some before I run on some necessary errands. So hopefully I will get back with you in the next day or two. Ciao!