One Bible verse that is mistranslated and misused to put pressure on wives to “submit” to the sexual demands of their husbands is found in 1 Corinthians 7:4. In the English Standard Version of the Bible, the first part of this verse reads as follows: “For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.”
To begin, men who use this verse to pressure their wives for sex often stop short of reading the next sentence: “Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does” (1 Corinthians 7:4). Whatever the apostle Paul is writing about in both parts of this verse is mutual. He is not talking about something women are exclusively commanded to do.
He is talking about something that both husbands and wives are permitted to do in the context of marriage. They are allowed to enjoy sexual union with one another, as a consummation of their marriage vows.
The word translated “have authority over” in this passage is “exousiasei.” In ancient Greek literature, this word was frequently used to indicate that a person had “license” or “permission” to “indulge” in some activity:
- Philip of Macedon “indulged” (exousias) in a feast.i
- Athens was renowned for permitting “freedom” (exousia) of speech.ii
- Uncivilized lands granted men “license” (exousias) to indulge their passions under any circumstances.iii
- A fertility god named Apis had “a greater abundance of such indulgences (exousiazei) [i.e. ‘the pleasure of food and sex’] than many monarchs.”iv
- An account that seems to diverge from known facts is attributed to “poetic license” (exousian).v
In these examples, from the 4th century BC, through the New Testament period to the 2nd century AD, ancient Greek writers used some form of exousiazei in reference to “freedom” or “license” to “indulge.” Aristotle’s example of the fertility god’s “indulgences” uses the exact same word as Paul, in the same tense, mood and voice.
In 1st Corinthians 7, Paul is addressing those in the church who were teaching an ascetic philosophy. They considered sexual union, even within marriage, to be sinful. They taught complete abstinence from sexual intimacy, to the point of encouraging Christians to dissolve their marriages.vi Paul quotes one of their principles in 1 Corinthians 7:1: “It is good for a man not to touch a woman,” and then proceeds to correct it. He explains that husbands and wives should remain married, and that they “have permission” to enjoy sexual intimacy with one another. They do not “have license” to indulge themselves however they wish; but they do “have license” to enjoy sex within marriage. If a couple wished to abstain from sexual relations for the purpose of prayer, Paul advised that they do this on a temporary basis, by mutual consent. Neither the husband nor the wife is granted “authority” to demand sex from his or her spouse.
Though the word “exousia” did refer to authority in some contexts, when used in the context of expressing one’s passions, it frequently meant having “license” or “permission” to engage in a certain activity–in this case, sexual union within marriage. Paul’s instructions in 1st Corinthians 7:4 could be paraphrased in the following manner:
A wife does not have license to do whatever she wants sexually–she may not engage in sexual immorality. Similarly, a husband does not have license to do whatever he wants sexually–he may not engage in sexual immorality. Both the wife and the husband, however, do have license to enjoy sexual union with one another, within the context of their marriage.
In a Christian marriage there should be no sexual demands. Each person is to voluntarily assume a disposition of love and humility towards the other. Each person can state what they would like sexually, and what they are comfortable and uncomfortable with. The couple can then come up with ways to share intimacy that they are both comfortable with. A husband who loves his wife as he loves himself will not pressure her for sex, or expect her to engage in any behavior that makes her feel uncomfortable.
References
i Aeschines. Aeschines with an English translation by Charles Darwin Adams, Ph.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1919, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0002%3Aspeech%3D3%3Asection%3D130.
ii Plato. Platonis Opera, ed. John Burnet. Oxford University Press. 1903, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0177%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D461e.
iii Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1939, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0074%3Aspeech%3D23%3Asection%3D57.
iv Aristotle. Aristotle’s Eudemian Ethics, ed. F. Susemihl. Leipzig: Teubner. 1884, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0049%3Abook%3D1%3Asection%3D1216a.
v Strabo. ed. A. Meineke, Geographica. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0197%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D17.
vi “‘It is good for a man not to touch a woman’ may be a quotation taken by Paul directly from the Corinthians’ letter to him. That Paul radically qualifies this statement in verses 2-5, while at the same time shifting from its male-only perspective to a mutual perspective including both men and women seems to confirm this. All of this suggests the strong possibility that the statement was a slogan or motto (ESV, HCSB, MOFFATT, NAB, NET, NRSV, REB, TNIV; Collings, 252-53; Fee, 275-76; Garland, 248-51; Thiselton, 498-500; c.f. the slogan/rebuttal tactic in 6:12, 13, 18) of an ascetic wing of the Corinthians church who not only advocated that married couples should abstain from sexual relations (as implied by vv. 2-5) but who also suggested that marriage was sin (c.f. vv. 28, 36, 39) and that existing marriage should be dissolved (vv. 10-16, 39; Fee 268-71, 275-77; Hays 113-16). Bock, D. ed., (2006) The Bible Knowledge Word Study: Acts-Ephesians, Colorado Springs, Colorado: Victor, p. 253.
This article is taken from “Addressing Domestic Violence in the Church,” by Helga and Bob Edwards.
Addressing Domestic Violence in the Church 