13. Since the woman was created as a helper to her husband, the bearer of children, and a “keeper at home,” the God-ordained and proper sphere of dominion for a wife is the household and that which is connected with the home, although her domestic calling, as a representative of and helper to her husband, may well involve activity in the marketplace and larger community. (Gen. 2:18ff.; Prov. 31:10-31; Tit. 2:4-5)
Gen. 2:18 – And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Helper does not imply a domestic calling. God is called a helper (ezer in Hebrew) in the Bible 16 times, and women twice. That does not imply God should stay at home or be under authority. It means He has the strength and authority to provide what is needed. One of the places where that same Hebrew word is used to refer to neither God nor Eve is this: Isa 30:5 … a people useless to them, who will bring neither help nor advantage, but only shame and disgrace
If you read that whole passage, you will see this nation is not too weak to do domestic tasks, but unable to give the protection asked for, useless as a political ally. This, too, prove helper does not imply domestic servitude.
Pro 31:10-31 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life… She is like the merchants' ships; she brings her food from afar… She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard…She girds her loins with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good… She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy… She makes fine linen, and sells it; and delivers girdles unto the merchant…(Excerpt)
This text probably show her domestic calling could involve activity in the marketplace. And oh boy, was she active in the market place! Instead of staying at home with her children, this strong woman(:17 and :25) brings in food from afar. To bring in things from afar, she need to go afar. She buys a field and plants a vineyard. Now, a vineyard is not a cottage industry. To oversee a vineyard, you need to leave home and go to the vineyard. Who looks after her children when she is gone? Probably the servant girls in :15. She is evidently not always at home, and the majority of activities in this passage are not centred on husband or children. Yet, she “watches over the affairs of her household.” It is clear from this passage that it is not important to stay at home to be deemed as watching over your household.
In fact, this whole passage (strong, trustworthy to spouse, brings spouse good, hard-working, food-providing, skilled entrepeneur, family has what they need, helps the poor, spouse is respected by others, no worries about the future, speaks with wisdom, watches over the household, and is respected by family) brings to mind qualities that as much define a good man!
Tit. 2:4-5 – then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
These are qualities which young women should be taught, but this tenet started with “women were created to be …” and this text does not. By comparison, Tit. 2:6 – the very next verse - say young men should be encouraged to be self-controlled. Is self-controlled the main (or only) thing young men were created to be? Do women have to avoid self-control, because it is a man’s role?
The motive here for loving the husband and children, guarding the home and living submitted to her husband, is "so that no one will malign the word of God", or in other translations: “that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Who blasphemes? If Paul meant the wife who don’t do these things blaspheme, he would probably have worded it differently. The more likely answer is that the unbelievers around them said: “Look at those Cretan Christians! They can’t even love their husbands and children!” and went on to blaspheme. (The Cretans, whose preacher Titus this letter was addressed to, had a bad reputation, see Titus 1:12)
Which believing women, in our world, cause blasphemy by their way of treating husband, home and children?
The average working Christian mother today is regarded by the world as one who love her children and manage her house adequately. She don’t cause unbelievers to blaspheme God.
The quiverfull women and their ideas on children, submission and the woman’s place, on the other hand, certainly cause unbelievers to blaspheme the word as misogynist, unjust and unethical. Ask anyone who is involved with apologetics (defending the Christian faith) in America: Unbelievers often tell them the Bible is anti-woman, and societal ethics have improved on those Bronze Age ideas.
In my opinion, the Bible principle of doing all this (loving spouse and children, submitting, and keeping the home) in such a manner that the word may not be blasphemed, is precisely why those who preach hyper-submission or stay at home womanhood should stop doing so. These attitudes cause the world to blaspheme the gospel.
13a) Since the woman was created as a helper to her husband,
The woman – singular – was Eve. She was created as helper to Adam, but does that mean that all women since are made to be helpers to their husbands? Or to be helpers to all men? Or that all humans since the second one were made to be helpers to other humans? This verse has often been understood that wives are supposed to help husbands, and it make sense to me. However, it is not in the text itself. And since ezer means strong help, not a servant’s help, it cannot limit her to the man’s home.
b) the bearer of children,
I believe this (in general terms - not that every specific female should bear children) for logical reasons. But for this to be “Biblical”, we need scripture for it. TBP has no scripture to defend this.
c) and a “keeper at home,”
The text don’t say she was created to be a keeper at home, any more than the next verse say young men are created to be self-controlled. It just happens to be one of the tasks assigned to women.
d) the God-ordained and proper sphere of dominion for a wife is the household and that which is connected with the home,
Since neither a), b) or c) stands up to Biblical scrutiny, this conclusion from them doesn’t have to be answered.
(Did you notice the subtle shift in the meaning of dominion? In tenet 12 “men are called to public spheres of dominion beyond the home, their dominion begins within the home.” Men’s dominion is used as places where they could rule. It encompass the public and the home, nothing is excluded. In this tenet, women’s dominion is the place where women are limited to, a place where she does not rule, but her husband. Except for the lack of Biblical support, the wording of this is simply dishonest.)
e) although her domestic calling,
Titus 2:4-5 does give her a domestic calling. But not all Bible readers agree on what that calling is. The Greek from which we get “keeper at home” is a combination of the word for home, and the word for guard. It may be that she is told here to protect (physically or spiritually?) her household. Whatever this means, other texts show (see “what other Christians believe) that a woman’s calling is not only domestic.
f) as a representative of and helper to her husband,
This is not proven from the text
g) may well involve activity in the marketplace and larger community.
Her calling could certainly involve activity elsewhere. That is clearly proven from Proverbs 31.
Other ways Christians understand this:
Other Christians note that Paul talks of several women as his fellow gospel workers, and thus admit women certainly have more than just a domestic calling.
Jesus said Mary, who sat with his disciples learning, chose something better that Martha, who chose housekeeping. (Luke 10:38-42) When a woman said:”Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you”, He answered that hearing the word and obeying is more important than that. (Luke 11:27-28) He apparently did not agree that housekeeping or child rearing is the proper and God-ordained sphere for women.
In short, it is Biblical for Christians to have a much wider view of women’s “proper and God-ordained spheres.” More here.
Summing it up
How reliable is this tenet? I will use a color code:
The color code:
This is defended biblically, but another view could also be defended biblically
This is a partial truth. (The other part of the truth, that together make it Biblical, will be added in brackets.)
This is a partial truth. (The other part of the truth, that together make it Biblical, will be added in brackets.)
13. Since the woman was created as a helper to her husband, the bearer of children, and a “keeper at home,” the God-ordained and proper sphere of dominion for a wife is the household and that which is connected with the home, although her domestic (and non-domestic) calling, as a representative of and helper to her husband, may well involve activity in the marketplace and larger community.
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