NOT!
Each of you should know how to
possess your [own] vessels[1] in
purity and honor
That
every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and
honour
that each of you should learn to control your own body [alt] Or learn to live with your own wife; or learn to acquire a wife] in a way that is holy and honorable
that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor
that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor
Etc., and so forth, and on and on and on, world without end....
Come on, guys, purity is good. So what's the problem?
[1] This verse is an example of how
extensively misogyny and gender-biased-English-translation-theology has been
integrated into English Bible translations, and through these, into the very
warp and woof of Christian thought and life.
1 Thessalonians 4:4, is written in
gender neutral terms and should be translated as such. Yet, with few exceptions, in virtually every Bible,
the verse appears to be speaking to men only, by saying,
“Every one of you possess his
own vessel…”
The word (in verse four), almost universally translated as “his,”
is a gender neutral word. It should always be translated as “your,” [in this verse] because the
verse is speaking to both women and men—to all
Christians, equally, regardless of sex.
God has no double-standard when it comes
to sexual purity and morality, but apparently, Bible translators and commentators
do. And they have generally misapplied this verse, misleading God’s people to generally
understand that it speaks to men only. This misunderstanding has, in turn,
caused much consternation among men, who, apparently have been so stymied by the
plain sense of the words, “Each of you possess your vessels in purity…,” that they have gone to ridiculous lengths
to interpret it in a way that men could not only live with, but also have a
possible excuse when they fail to obey it.
No interpretation of any verse in
the New Testament, illustrates the low esteem in which women have traditionally
been held, nor the lengths to which Bible translators and commentators have
been willing to go in order to objectify women, nor the depths to which men
have been willing to sink in order to excuse immoral behavior.
Despite it being a well known fact,
that having a wife is no deterrent to a man hell-bent on immorality, respected and honored commentators suggest that 1
Thessalonians 4:4, speaks to a need for men to “procure” wives, so that the wives may “contribute” to the “usefulness” of husbands and “satisfy,” their sexual passions.
Though
the context of 1 Thessalonians 4:4, clearly speaks to all Christians—including
women—instructing all Believers to possess the vessels of their bodies in holiness and purity, lexicons do not reflect this. No more than a surface
perusal of popular resources, brings the shocking revelation that men
simply refuse to take the admonition for what it clearly is, and can only see
see it through the lens of a double-sided moral standard.
In expanded and more
explanative terms, 1 Thessalonians 4;4 clearly says: “Without excuse, control yourself! Do not let lust and porneia rule you.
Whether you married or not, whether you are a woman or a man, keep yourselves
pure!”
Yet despite the simplicity and self explanatory nature of this verse
[verified within context of the entire passage], there appears to have been
such a desperation among [the all-male body] of commentators and most Bible
translators concerning such an admonition, that they obviously began casting
about in their minds how this could actually be accomplished in a way they could live with, and they seem to have
come to an early consensus.
It is a sad fact, almost universally acknowledged, that historically
men have been held to lower standards of morality and accountability
than women. And a mere surface perusal of
respected and much used Bible lexicons and commentaries on 1 Thessalonians 4:4, illustrates how perfectly this double-standard has been accepted as the norm.
Probably the most popular is the Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance, where James Strong spells out the androcentric bent
of both himself and his peers, when he defines the word, skeuos (G4632 which can refer to a vessel or, metaphorically, a body).
He makes the unusual claim, the
word, vessel, can also be translated as wife?!
Strong's G4632, reads as follows: …“a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus (literally or
figuratively [specially, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband].”
With one stroke of his pen, James
Strong, one of Christianity’s most respected scholars, reduced
women to little more than objects, whose
only purpose for existence, is to contribute to the usefulness of men. H. H. Halley, thought
highly enough of Strong’s alternative definition, that he alluded to it in his
own publication, Halley’s Bible Handbook.
Can things get any worse?
Yes.
When we look at the word “possess,” as used in verse
four [G2932], the lexicon suggests that the words “possess your vessels,” could
alternatively read “Marry a wife.”
Another alternative given for the the entire verse, reads: “to procure
for himself his own vessel (i. e. for the satisfaction of the sexual
passion;”
Why, has no one challenged
these hateful and evil interpretations until now? This writer challenges them
and refutes them, and calls them out as being from the evil one, from the seed
of the serpent who is perpetually at enmity with the seed of the woman.
Men of
God, stand up. Speak out. Reject doctrines that give men “a pass” on immorality,
and allows for blame to be shifted for this reason or that reason, and reduces your God-given
equal counterparts to mere objects created for your “use’’ and sexual “satisfaction.”
Reject this destructive paradigm and publicly renounce it.
Women of God, stand up.
Speak out. You are not objects to be used. 1 Thessalonians 4:4, is not speaking
of marriage, but even within the context of marriage, you were not created to
satisfy lust and porneia.
As far as usefulness goes, with the help of the holy Spirit,
both men and women are capable enough of finding ways to be useful to God, on their
own, without reducing the status of their equal counterparts to that of mere servants.
.
Do the alternative interpretations of 1 Thessalonians 4:4 make you angry? They
should. And it is a righteous anger indeed.
People of God, stand up. Speak out!
The above is an excerpt from
the Hungry Hearts Online Bible Commentary HHBC
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