Authentein: The meaning of a Key Word from I Timothy 2:12
Like many of you, I have been following, with great interest, the recent egalitarian-complementarian discussion (debate?) between Catherine Rybicki and Luke Copeland. In reading their articles and listening to their live discussion, a particularly important word has stood out to me that I would like to attempt to address: αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”)1. This word is found in one place only in the Bible, I Timothy 2:12, and is therefore known as a hapax legomena (a word only occurring once in the New Testament).
Hapax legomena are important words in our study of Scripture. Why? Simply because they only occur once. If a word occurred 100 times we could look at its many uses and then determine clear meanings. On occasion, a hapax legomena is clear due to its immediate context. But sometimes the nuance (the subtle implications of a particular word in context) are lost because we do not have enough instances of that word within the Bible. We must, then, look to other literature from outside of the Bible to aid us in properly understanding that word.
This is true in the case of αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”). And the result is that our translations carry different nuances. Let’s look at a few representative examples:
KJV: to usurp authority [This seems to indicate taking authority belonging to someone else.]
NIV: to assume authority [This seems to indicate taking authority belonging to someone else.]
ESV: to exercise authority [This seems to indicate a general practice of authority.]
CSB: to have authority [This seems to indicate a general possession of authority.]
The differences are slight, but they are important. The first two examples focus on usurping authority, while the second two examples focus on the possession or exercise of authority. But the implications move farther apart when we look at the uses of this word by the complementarian and egalitarian positions. Here are the statements made so far on Advent Christian Voices: (Please see the linked posts for the full context of each quotation.)
Catherine Rybicki: “This word when appearing prior to and contemporary with the first century, often had negative overtones such as “domineer,” “usurp,” or even “murder” or “perpetrate a crime.” Only during the later patristic period (between the 6th and 8th centuries) where the meaning “to exercise authority” came to be the primary use of the term. ”
Luke Copeland: “The first and most important observation we must make is that Paul clearly and plainly forbids women from teaching or exercising authority over men in the Church.”
Lou Going: “The word carries no inherent negative notion of grasping or usurping authority or exercising it in a harsh manner. What Paul is forbidding is that a woman assume authority in the church in a leadership/teaching capacity.”
Seeing the distinctions within this discussion, and with both Ms. Rybicki and Rev. Going citing academic references for their position, I set out to discern what exactly is going on with this little word. Let’s take a look at what I have found:
Lexical (dictionary) entries2:
LSJ3: “1. to have full power or authority over . . . 2. commit a murder”
LSJ is a 19th century lexicon that was updated through the early 20th century. In academic terms it is considered “dated,” yet still very useful due to its deep and broad interaction with both Classical and Koine Greek. It is important to notice the two distinct meanings given: the first indicating the possession of power and/or authority, and the second an act of murder.
Moulton-Milligan4: This lexical entry does not have an easily quotable statement, so I will instead paraphrase the conclusion. According to this lexicon, the verb αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”) refers to authority as of a master, either one’s own authority as the master, or the authority that is representative of a greater master.
BAGD5: “have authority, domineer over someone”
Although this is not the most up-to-date edition of this lexicon, the contrast to the newer version (provided next) is notable. In this edition the range of meaning is fairly broad, indicating both authority in general, but also the negative connotation that comes with “domineer.”
BDAG6: “to assume a stance of independent authority, to give orders to, to dictate to”
This is the current edition of Walter Bauer’s esteemed Greek lexicon that was thoroughly edited by Frederick Danker. Significantly for our discussion, this edition has a tendency to move towards more inclusive language (this is not a judgment, but an observation, and it is noticeable in entries like “πατερ, father”). I consider it to be rather significant that while the editor is seeking to be somewhat inclusive, he has revised the entry which we are considering to no longer include “domineer over someone.” The negative connotation is not present in the current entry.
In addition to looking at what the lexicons themselves conclude, I have attempted to view as many of the primary sources listed in the lexicons as possible, and then I did a separate search for other Greek writings that use the word under consideration at the Perseus Digital Library. All together, I surveyed about four dozen sources from the 6th Century BC to the 6th Century AD. Here are my conclusions:
I was unable to find any clear reference of αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”) meaning “to murder.” However, the corresponding noun was used to refer to murderers, or to those who were the originators/overseers/doers of some form of grievous sin7. In many of those instances, the individual referred to as “murderer” or “originator” had a significant degree of authority in the sin he had committed. But the verb (the word we are focused on) and the noun are two distinct words, and their meanings are not identical. The connotations of one ought not to be considered the connotations of the other.
The primary use of αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”) that I was able to find was the idea of “having and exercising full authority and power over others.”8
There does not, from my research, appear to be a clear indication of “usurping” or “domineering” inherent within the sense of this Greek verb. Rather, the negative connotation is found (perhaps) with the corresponding noun.
My conclusion, then, is that αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”) generally refers to “having and exercising full authority and power over others.” What this means for our broader discussion is that I Timothy 2:12 is not talking about a harsh authority, or even about an authority presumptuously taken upon oneself, based upon αὐθεντειν (authentein, “exercise authority”). And therefore, if such an argument is to be made, it ought to be made on contextual grounds instead. If I am correct in this, then I Timothy 2:12 is referencing the holding of, and practice of, spiritual authority within the church.
1For simplicity and clarity for the widest audience I will use this form of the verb throughout my article. The proper lexical form is, however, αὐθεντεω.
2Two important, recent lexicons are absent from this list: Brill and Cambridge. Their absence is due only to the fact that I do not have easy access to them. If someone else does, I would be interested to have any further insight available from them.
3Liddel-Scott-Jones, 9th edition, with additional dates and formatting from Tyndale House. Accessed at stepbible.org August 18, 2021.
4The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament Illustrated front he Papyri and Other Non-Literary Sources, 1930, p. 91.
5A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2nd Edition, 1979, p.121.
6A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, 2001, p.150.
7“Sin” here is being used to summarize both Christian and secular contexts.
8This was particularly evident in Claudius Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos 3.13.