That strange passage about childbearing and being saved...

landmark scholarship on Artemis of Ephesus

Whenever I read about a difficult passage in one of the Apostle Paul’s letters being debated by scholars, I think of the rather ironic line in 2 Peter 3:16 about Paul writing some things that are “hard to understand” and shout “Amen to that!” Possibly the hardest to understand is the passage in 1 Timothy 2:15, which reads,

“But she will be saved through [the] childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control.”

In isolation, it is jarring. But it is even more uncomfortable in context (v.8-16), because Paul is giving instructions to his Ephesian audience about a number of matters. Just prior to this line, Paul instructs that men need to pray with their hands raised, women ought not dress with braided hair, gold, or pearls; women should not exercise some kind of authority (the Greek word for which is hotly debated by scholars) over men, and then Paul reminds his audience that Adam was formed first, then Eve.

Yikes. If a reader is being honest, one cannot help but wonder how this series of issues are related. Women cannot do something because… of the sequence of who was formed first in the creation narrative?!?! Furthermore, then what does childbearing have to do with any of that, and why on earth would childbearing be salvific for women?

Having spent well over two decades as a curious Bible reader, and the last thirteen as one who has believed in the mutual and egalitarian cooperation between men and women in the home, society, and church, I eagerly jump ahead to this passage in every commentary on 1 Timothy I can find, to see how the author addresses this passage. I have to say that Sandra Glahn has published the definitive work shedding light on this mysterious passage in Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament. This book answers the questions about what was going on in Ephesus and what Paul was addressing.

Egalitarian readings of 1 Timothy 2 have rightly focused on the cultural context in Ephesus, and how prominent the worship and business of Artemis was there (see Acts 19 and the riot that was generated when the apostles disrupted commerce and worship at the temple to Artemis in Ephesus). But in the past, some of the scholarship has been clumsy in suggesting that Artemis was a fertility goddess. I bought into the narratives based on the respectability of the scholars making these assertions, but as it turns out, fertility goddess is not quite on target, according to Dr. Glahn. And we’ll see in a moment that the distinction makes a difference in understanding why Paul wrote verse 16 as he did.

I recall from maybe 5th grade units on Greek mythology that we were taught Artemis was a goddess of hunting, the twin sister of Apollo, and daughter of Zeus. I had the fleeting thought over the years that I was unable to recall any references to Artemis having any children, or as a goddess helping anyone else get pregnant. In actual fact, Artemis had nothing to do with fertility. Glahn does a masterful job of walking readers through the ancient evidence of Artemis’ identity, particularly in Ephesus at the time, because local lore of a goddess like Artemis might vary in the ancient world from city to city.

The end result of this journey through history is that we find Artemis of Ephesus occupied a unique niche, and had a particular influence on her cult following. Artemis was indeed a huntress, but also a goddess of celibacy, and for those who happened to get pregnant, Artemis was a midwife goddess of sorts. So part of the problem was that the Ephesian church was full of celibate women who were of the mindset that marriage should be forbidden (see 1 Tim. 4:3). But Ephesians also appealed to Artemis as a midwife protector for one of two outcomes: either to endure childbirth as safely and painlessly as possible, or kill the woman painlessly if the woman was not going to survive the childbearing process (a very common problem in the ancient world).

And to align the Ephesian context even more with the text, the primacy of the goddess was rooted, in part, in the fact that Artemis was born first, prior to her brother Apollo. By mentioning the order of Adam and Eve’s formation, Paul was correcting the mythology affecting young believers leaving behind Artemis worship.

Now, for a moment, let’s set aside the debates about how this impacts the women and church/home authority questions, and think through the message Paul was giving to women in the ancient world who had gotten pregnant and were tempted to return to the temple of Artemis and appeal to this nonexistent god to keep them safe through the childbearing process (note my choice of words and compare to the text of 1 Tim. 2:15). Here is Glahn on p.143,

“Eve’s consequence was pain in childbearing. Artemis was thought to deliver painlessly or euthanize women in childbirth. But Jesus is better. He will save through childbearing those who continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control.”

Artemis won’t be the one to keep you safe. Jesus is better. And yes, in the original language, the same word sozo that we use for “save” in the salvation sense was also used for saving in the sense of keeping safe, restoring health, or preserving (James 5:15 would be one example).

This is a message that will preach! You might be in a precarious spot and in need of comfort, guidance, or a familiar old escape. You might be tempted to go back to Artemis, or alcohol, or a group of friends who are a bad influence, or social media, or anything else. But Jesus is better than any false idol. Don’t go back.

Glahn also addresses how the Ephesian context makes sense of the verses prior to v. 15, so definitely don’t stop your inquiry here. There is so much more, and I would suggest that the book is readable to general audiences in the pews, not just theology students and scholars. Pick up Nobody’s Mother and keep it in your library for the when the inevitable questions arise about these topics.