Are Women Really The Weaker Vessel

Are Women really the
Weaker Vessel?

I Peter 3:6-7 has been used throughout history to teach male authority and female subservience in marriage and
society. After all, did not Peter refer to the wife as the "weaker vessel?" And did he not admonish wives to follow the example of Sarah who obeyed her husband
and called him lord?"

Based on this same notion that the woman is handicapped by a weaker emotional, physical and mental constitution, I have
heard modern charismatic preachers tells women that God placed them under the authority of men for their good and safety.

A Weaker Status in the Culture
However, a more careful examination of this passage will reveal that Peter is not referring to a weaker frame
or constitution of the woman, but to a weaker status in the culture of the day.
A closer look will also reveal that
Peter is not affirming a male hierarchy in marriage but is calling for mutual respect and partnership.
"Weaker vessel" in this passage is not referring to an
intellectual or emotional weakness as has been often argued, but to the woman's weakened position in first
century Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures.

This is borne out by the fact that the word "weaker" in this passage
is translated from a cognate form of the Greek word asthenei , which means to be powerless and without strength.
It is not limited to someone who is of
a weaker essence or frame, but can refer someone, such as a prisoner, whom society has deprived of freedom and opportunity.

This larger meaning is borne
out by Thayer's Greek English
Lexicon, which includes the meaning of the word as "one who abstains from the use of his strength" and
"one who has no occasion to prove his strength."
Peter is thus referring to a cultural weakness wherein the wife/woman is marginalized and not given the
opportunities to fully express her gifts and abilities.
In fact, in first century Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, women were often treated like slaves and children and
considered the possession of their husbands. That this is the meaning Peter has in mind is confirmed by the
instruction he gives to husbands in the latter part of the verse.

Husbands are to Revere & Honor their Wives.
Since the wife is, culturally speaking, the "weaker vessel," Peter instructs the husband to give special
"honor" to her. The word "honor" that Peter tells husbands to give their wives uses is a translation of the
Greek word timē that Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon defines as "to honor, revere, venerate," and as
"the honor of one who outranks others."

Peter is here telling the husbands to treat their wives the very
opposite of how the pagan culture treats their wives. Whereas the wives are treated as property and children
in pagan homes, Peter tells the Christian husbands to treat their wives with the honor and respect they would
show a boss or supervisor at work. They are to minister the opposite spirit.

What did Sarah Really Call Abraham?
At this point someone will surely ask, "But what about the fact that Peter tells the wives to follow the example
of Sarah who obeyed Abraham and called him "lord?"
First of all, the New Testament translators have tried to alert us of the diminished authoritarian content of this
word by translating it in all lower case letters ,
i.e., "lord."
In the Old Testament there are three different ways in
which the translators utilize this word; (1) LORD (all
caps), (2) Lord (1 letter cap) and (3) lord (all lower
case). "LORD" is the translation of the personal and
covenant name of God—YAHWEH--and is never used of anyone but God. It is the name that Third
Commandment says is not to be taken in vain, i.e., is
not to be used in a light, empty or frivolous manner.
"Lord" is the translation of the Hebrew
word adonai when it is used in ascribing respect and honor toward God. When adonai is used as an
expression of respect or honor between human beings it
is translated as "lord," and carries a meaning such as "sir" or "ma'am."

Indeed, the word that was used by Sarah in Genesis 18:12 was the Hebrew adonai , which is why it is translated with all lower case letter as "lord." The use
of adonai was a common way of expressing honor and respect to another person in Biblical times, without
implications of subordination.

For example, Aaron called
Moses adonai (Numbers 12:11); Jacob called
Esau adonai (Genesis 32:40); David called Saul adonai (I
Samuel 24:8); and Hazael, who became king of Syria,
called Elisha adonai (II Kings 8:12). In all these cases it is translated in all lower case letters—"lord"—because in
such cases it does not indicate nor imply the superiority on the part of the one being addressed nor the inferiority on the one who is speaking.