Sex, Scribes, and Scriptures : Engendering the Texts of the New Testament

Abstract

Textual alterations in some of the manuscripts of the New Testament conform to the prevailing socio-cultural milieus from which these manuscripts emerged. Interestingly, a number of these alterations intimate preference for the “stronger sex”, and almost always to the detriment of the “weaker sex”. Using text-critical lenses, this article identifies some passages that may be considered as gender-related alterations in the manuscript tradition, that have preoccupied the exegetical attention of many Bible scholars and theologians for centuries. The varying interpretations that emerged out of this on-going interpretive exercise have undeniably influenced the very fabric of many Churches’ dogma and praxis with regard to the role of women in ministry and leadership. This paper will attempt to offer alternative appreciation of the evidences pertaining to these textual conundra. In offering this renewed text-critical appreciation, this paper will also appeal to the contributions of new fields of studies, particularly the field of scribal studies, in relation to the ancient socio-anthropological contexts, which might have influenced the form and content of the transmitted passages dealt with in this article. Finally, a reflection on its challenges for the contemporary Asian Church is submitted.