by Once I found myself asking, “Is it possible to do something the Bible says you should not do and not sin?” What prompted this thought was after a friend and I interacted with an elderly pastor whose theology was flawed. He, however, was headstrong that his beliefs were right despite his disadvantage of not owning tools like a good Bible dictionary. If he had one, perhaps the thought of wondering whether it was ok to rebuke him, my elder, wouldn’t have crossed my mind.
See I was familiar with 1 Timothy 5:1 which says, “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren” (1 Timothy 5:1) but I felt I needed to dig into what the Bible means when it says “rebuke not an elder”.
I found the Bible records situations where there was need for correction, rebuke, training or teaching for godliness. Apollos, who is described as “a learned man with a thorough knowledge of Scripture” (Acts 18:24), was called aside by Priscilla and Aquila who taught him about the way of God more adequately. We are not told whether Apollos was older or younger than this ministry couple. We only know Apollos didn’t need training on how to speak but a better understanding of God’s way. Acts 24:27-28 says the fruit of this interaction proved to be of great benefit to the church, especially in Achaia as Apollos “refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debates”. Using the Scriptures, Apollos explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.
Paul records his rebuke of Peter in Galatians 2:11-14. According to his account, when Peter first arrived in Antioch, he ate with the Gentile believers, “But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.” Peter’s snobbish actions influenced other Jewish believers, even Barnabas to do the same. Paul’s fidelity to the truth of the gospel made him look past Peter’s seniority in the apostolic order leading to him rebuking his elder.
The Bible also gives examples of nature and demons being rebuked by Jesus (Mark 4:39, Matthew 17:18), actions which spoke of his divine authority. His divine authority, which cannot be usurped, is why when the archangel Michael was fighting with the devil over Moses’ body said, “The Lord rebuke you” so that he did not blaspheme (Jude 1:9)
And speaking to the church in Laodicea, Jesus said he rebukes and disciples those he loves (Revelation 3:19). There are even people Christians are expected to rebuke — “rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception… because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain” Titus 1:10-11.
So I went and looked at how different English Bibles translated 1 Timothy 5:1.
“Don’t correct an older man. Encourage him, as you would your own father. Treat younger men as you would your own brother, ” 1 Timothy 5:1 CEV
“Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers,” 1 Timothy 5:1 ESV
“Don’t rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, ” 1 Timothy 5:1 CSBA
“Don’t be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers” 1 Timothy 5:1 MSG
Seeing the same word translated differently made me check what the underlying Greek word was. I found it is ἐπιπλήξῃς (epiplesso). This word translated as rebuke in 1 Timothy 5:1 is only used once in the Textus Receptus (TR) and Society of Biblical Literature Greek (SBLG). It is a different word from επετιμησεν (epitimao) which is used 29 times in the TR and SBLG and it also means rebuke. We can, therefore, infer that we can rebuke an elder (epitimao) when fidelity to the truth of the gospel is at hand but we shouldn’t do it harshly (epiplesso) but with encouragement.
Among the Swahili is the saying loosely translated “If you have washed your hands, you can sit with the elders.” Like Priscilla and Aquila, or Paul, we can teach the truth to those who outrank us or the elderly with gentleness and respect. Another word that sometimes sparks debates online is σωφροσυνης (sōphrosunē). Paul uses it twice in 1 Timothy 2:8-15. The first time the word sōphrosunē appears in 1 Timothy 2 is in verse 9 where it is translated as “propriety” in the NIV or “self control” in the NET. Sōphrosunē is the word Paul used when he was before Festus in Acts 26:25 and Festus had told him much study had made him go mad but Paul said, “I am not insane, most excellent Festus.” … What I am saying is true and reasonable (sōphrosunē) NIV).
So in 1 Timothy 2:9 Paul is saying women should be clear minded. Some versions only translate it as modest and but don’t include their translation reasons as footnotes. The NET Bible in its full notes translation edition says the word it translates as self control also means clear minded. The meaning communicated in the Greek sōphrosunē is that women should move from muddled thinking to clear thinking. They should leave their old ways of viewing things and be reasonable or sober minded. It seems there were prominent women in Ephesus (the church Timothy was to lead) who needed to think clearly as they wanted to usurp the authority of the male leadership and Paul challenges them here to learn (vs 11) and in vs 15 to continue in faith, love and sōphrosunē that is be clear thinking.
And what should we make of the ‘I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. ‘ (1 Timothy 2:12NIV)? Bible translators vote when a word about to be translated has multiple meanings. In 1 Timothy 2:12 the word αυθεντειν (authenteo) can have either a positive or a negative meaning. For example: “Exercise authority”,(ESV) gives a positive meaning, “Assume authority”(NIV) gives a negative meaning. “To control”(CEB), gives a negative meaning. “Ttlo lord it over” TLB, gives a negative meaning. My Lunyore Bible gives a negative meaning too. If I was to give a literal translation of it, it says “don’t jump over authority”, which is to “usurp authority”. Therefore, whatever Paul was forbidding the women to do in Ephesus, even men should not do it. But you can’t make such distinctions without a good Bible dictionary. You’ll be caught up in denominational bias or recycling continuum of cliches.
A Bible Dictionary will, therefore, help you thrive in your time with God. Whether you are reading large chunks of the Bible or you are reading through the Bible in a year or slowly studying a chapter of the Bible in a day, a Bible dictionary will help you get clarity of a Bible passage from the words used.
Bible Dictionaries often have multiple entries of people, places and words used in the Bible. There are a variety of Bible dictionaries, some limiting themselves to particular Bible translations while others have the original languages in addition to the Bible texts. For a free Bible dictionary check out stepbible.org.
