From: Theresa J List, Dcs (fcvandvi@juno.com)
Date: Fri Jun 27 1997 - 14:30:58 EDT
<snip>
>1Cor 14:34 hAI GUNAIKES EN TAIS EKKLHSIAIS SIGATWSAN...
>
>Is he asking them to pay attention to what is going on instead of
>talking to
>each other? In other words, is this asking them to not chatter and
>whisper
>during church? Could SIGATWSAN be interpreted as meaning "maintain a
>worshipful silence" rather than "do not teach, preach, or prophecy"?
>The
>noun SIGH, related to SIGAW, seems to have this kind of meaning in
>many
>contexts. I don't have the materials to look up all the references to
>SIGH
>in BAGD, but a number of them seem to have this sense of worshipful
>silence,
>and the articles he refers to for more information on this word
>include
>something on Pseudo-Dyonisius, something called "De Philosophorum
>Graecorum
>Silentio Mystico", and "Das hl. Schweigen".
>
>Hmmmm...if we are to allow two or at most three people to prophesy,
>and two
>or at most three people to speak in tongues, perhaps Paul is
>envisioning a
>service which is largely held in silence, something like what the
>Quakers or
>the Plymouth Brethren have today? Note that if a prophet is speaking
>and
>another prophet starts prophesying, the first should SIGATW. That
>doesn't
>mean that a prophet is not allowed to speak to the congregation.
>Perhaps it
>means, in this context, to enter into a worshipful silence.
>
>I'm speculating here, of course.
>
>If this were the case, then EI DE TI MAQEIN QELOUSIN (if anyone wants
>to
>know anything) might refer to women asking their husbands what this or
>that
>means, and verse 36 could be taken in the context of creating an
>atmosphere
>where the word can be spoken and received without distraction. "Was it
>from
>you that the Word of God went out?" If not, then let there be silence
>so the
>person who is speaking can be heard. "Or has it come to you only"? If
>not,
>then give the others some silence so that they can absorb what has
>just been
>said.
>
>Does this accurately reflect the Greek and the context?
>
>Jonathan
>
>***************************************************************************
>Jonathan Robie jwrobie@mindspring.com
>http://www.mindspring.com/~jwrobie
>POET Software, 3207 Gibson Road, Durham, N.C., 27703
>http://www.poet.com
>***************************************************************************
Well, this interpretation never really made sense to me, because he
didn't command the ANQRWPOI to be silent, but the women. Males could
chatter away? Or do we wax insulting with our translations and say that
chatter is inherent to women and not to men (NOT to imply that you mean
that, just to show what seems to me to be the natural underlying
assumption of that rendition).
Theresa List
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