Survey of the Letters of Paul:  1 Timothy 2:13

1 Timothy 2:13
For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Let us begin the second half of 1st Timothy 2 with a reading from the Barclay Commentary.

"The second part of this passage deals with the place of women in the church. It cannot be read out of its historical context, for it springs entirely from the situation in which it was written "It was written against a Jewish background. No nation ever gave a bigger place to women in the home and in family matters than the Jews did; but officially the position of a woman was very low.

"It was written against a Greek background. The Greek background made things doubly difficult, as the place of women in Greek religion was low. Further, in Greek society there were women whose whole life consisted in elaborate dressing and braiding of the hair.

"In any event, there is much on the other side. In the Genesis story, it was the woman who was created second and who fell to the seduction of the serpent tempter; but it was Mary of Nazareth who bore and who trained the child Jesus; it was Mary of Magdala who was first to see the risen Lord; it was four woman who of all the disciples stood by the stake. Priscilla with her husband Aquila was a valued teacher in the early church, a teacher who led Apollos to a knowledge of the truth (Acts 18:26). Euodia [o'dia] and Synthche [syn'ca thee], in spite of their quarrel, were women who laboured in the gospel (Philippians 4:2-3). Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters who were prophetesses (Acts 21:9). The older women were to teach [the young women] (Titus 2:3-4). Paul held Lois and Eunice in the highest honor (2 Timothy 1:5), and there are many women's names held in honor in Romans 16.

"All the things in this chapter [1 Timothy 2] are mere temporary regulations to meet a given situation. If we want Paul's permanent view on this matter, we get it in Galatians 3:28:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. ~ Barclay's Commentary

It is important here that we understand that none of this verse or lesson is about putting women down or making them second class to men.  Points to keep in mind:

1] We are talking about public worship.
2] We are discussing the living metaphor of men and women and Christ and the church.
3] We are talking about the procedure and conduct of services before God which set themselves apart from the worship of pagan idols elsewhere on the earth.
4] that the phrase “keep silent in church” has a specific and narrow meaning that speaks to a woman’s attempt to teach or usurp authority over the man.  It is not stating that a woman was to be absolutely silent from the time she arrived at church services to the time she departed.

Now to the commentaries:

For Adam was first formed - Immediately by God, out of the dust of the earth; and the breath of life was breathed into him, and he became a living soul; thus wonderfully and fearfully was he made; after this he was put into the garden of Eden, to dress it, and all creatures were brought to him, to give them names; and still an help meet or a companion was not found for him. All this while Eve was not as yet formed, but after this,

then Eve - She was formed out of him, was made out of one of his ribs; and was formed for him, for his use, service, help and comfort; and here lies the strength of the apostle's reason, why the woman should be in subjection to the man; not so much because he was made before her; for so were the beasts of the field before Adam; and yet this gave them no superiority to him; but because she was made out of him, and made for him, see 1 Corinthians11:8. So that the woman's subjection to the man is according to the laws of nature and creation; and was antecedent to [sin]; and would have been, if that had never been; though that brought her into a lower, and meaner, and more depressed estate; which the apostle next mentions. The words may be rendered, "the first Adam", or "Adam the first was formed, and then Eve". See 1 Corinthians 15:45. ~John Gill

Quoted verses:
1 Corinthians 11:8-9
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

1 Corinthians 15:45
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Here is the commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:45
 
the first man Adam was made a living soul - in the Hebrew text it is, man, or Adam, became, or was made a living soul; that is, as the apostle says, "the first man Adam": he calls him, as the Jews (a) frequently do, "the first man"; he was the first man that was made, and the first parent of mankind, and the head and representative of all his posterity, and so the first in time, causality and dignity; whose name was Adam, so called by God in the day he was created, because he was formed "from the ground, or earth"; when God breathed life into the earthly mass, or lump; and being animated with a rational soul, it became an animal body, or a living creature; and so the apostle proves, from the first man that was upon earth, that there is a natural, or animal body; a body animated by a soul, and which was supported by eating and drinking, by sleep and rest; and was capable of dying, and should die, in case of sin; and which was the state of it in its first creation, whilst in innocence, and before the fall; and this is all he meant to prove by this Scripture; for what follows is not mentioned as therein written, or elsewhere, but as the apostle's own assertion: ~John Gill

Now to the Barnes's Notes and back to verse 13 of 1 Timothy 2

For Adam was first formed, then Eve - The apostle, in this verse, and the following, gives reasons why a woman should occupy a subordinate situation, and not usurp authority. The first is, that she was second in the act of creation, or was made subsequent to man. The reason here assigned cannot be understood to be merely that of priority of existence - for then it would give every old person authority over a younger one; but it must refer to the circumstances of the case as detailed in the history of the creation; Genesis 1–2. Man was made as the lord of this lower creation and placed in the garden, and then the woman was made of a rib taken from his side, and given to him, not as a lord, but as a companion. All the circumstances combine to show the subordinate nature of her rank, and to prove that she was not designed to exert authority over the man; compare notes on 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 [which we discussed above]. ~Barnes Notes

Finally the Adam Clark commentary

For Adam was first formed, then Eve - And by this very act God designed that he should have the pre-eminence. God fitted man, by the robust construction of his body, to live a public life, to contend with difficulties, and to be capable of great exertions. The structure of woman’s body plainly proves that she was never designed for those exertions required in public life. ~Adam Clark

And as we often do, let us finish with related verses from the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge:

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Genesis 2:22
And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

1 Corinthians 11:8-9
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

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