Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 66:1 (Mar 2023)
Article: Eve As Savior Of Humanity? From The Genesis Narrative To Paul’s Comments On Childbearing In 1 Timothy 2:15
Author: R. Gregory Jenks

JETS 66:2 (March 2023) p. 133

Eve As Savior Of Humanity? From The Genesis Narrative To Paul’s Comments On Childbearing In 1 Timothy 2:15

R. Gregory Jenks*

^* R. Gregory Jenks is a college professor and the founder of ReachItaly, a ministry emphasizing evangelism, theological education, discipleship, and support of Italian churches. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: As the concluding text to one of the more controversial Pauline teachings about women in the church community, 1 Timothy 2:15 carries a host of grammatical, semantic, and cultural questions that tax the most motivated and careful exegete. It is rendered distinctly troublesome by the change in number in the verbs and debates about their referent(s), the meaning of “salvation,” and Paul’s choice of desired attributes. I examine Paul’s use of the figure of Eve by looking first at the Genesis passage, where I consider her role as Adam’s helper, her fall, her curse, and her recovery as keys to interpret her mention in 1 Timothy 2. I offer a surprising solution: Adam, not Eve, is saved through childbirth; that is, humanity is saved from extinction through the woman’s role of mother with the condition that the couple, that is, men and women in the church, maintain the godly attributes listed.

Key words: Eve, Adam, women’s roles, childbearing, the fall, curse, procreation, redemption, virtues

While the figure of Eve as the primal woman has made an indelible impression in Western thought, the biblical record is surprisingly limited in its mention of her influence.1 Certainly, the first woman holds prominence in relationship to creation and humanity’s fall from innocence in the Garden of Eden, but after the first few chapters of Genesis she is not mentioned again in the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul will later mention her as the first woman, but only twice. His first mention is found in 2 Corinthians 11:1–4, where he draws a comparison between the Corinthian church and Eve: as the serpent deceived Eve, so the Corinthian church might be led astray from pure devotion to Christ.2 My attention here will be on his second mention of Eve in 1 Timothy 2:9–15, where Paul uses Eve as an illustration explaining why women must not teach or exert authority over a man, with the accompanying

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explanation that Adam was formed first and Eve, not he, was deceived, leading to sin.