Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 11:12
For as the woman [is] of the man, even so [is] the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
12. For as the woman is of the man ] i.e. by creation (Gen 2:22),
even so is the man also by the woman ] By birth.
but all things of God ] We are not to dwell too much on the intermediate links in the chain of causation, but to remember that all human beings exist by God’s ordinance, and that therefore each has his own rights as well as duties, which cannot be neglected without injury to the Divine order of this world.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
As the woman is of the man – In the original creation, she was formed from the man.
So is the man also by the woman – Is born of the woman, or descended from her. The sexes are dependent on each other, and should therefore cultivate an indissoluble union.
But all things of God – All things were created and arranged by him. This expression seems designed to suppress any spirit of complaint or dissatisfaction with this arrangement; to make the woman contented in her subordinate station, and to make the man humble by the consideration that it is all owing to the appointment of God. The woman should therefore be contented, and the man should not assume any improper superiority, since the whole arrangement and appointment is of God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. For as the woman is of the man] For as the woman was first formed out of the side of man, man has ever since been formed out of the womb of the woman; but they, as all other created things, are of God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The man hath a priority to the woman, being first created, and a superiority over her upon that account, she being made for him, not he for her, this is indeed the mans advantage; but on the other side, since the creation of the first man, all men are by the woman, who conceives them in her womb, suckles them at her breasts, is concerned in their education while children, and dandled upon her knees; the man therefore hath no reason to despise and too much to trample upon the woman: and all these things are of God, by the wise ordering and disposing of God; so as neither hath the man, by reason of his prerogative, in being first created, and the end for which the woman was created, any cause to insult and triumph over the woman; neither hath the woman any cause, by reason of her prerogative, that the man is by her, any cause to triumph over the man; but both of them ought to look upon themselves as having their prerogatives from God, and in the use of them to behave themselves according to the will of God, behaving themselves in their respective stations as it is the will of God they should behave themselves, the woman being subject to the man, and testifying such subjection by all the signs of it, and the man carrying himself towards the woman as he who is the image and glory of God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. As the woman was formed outof (from) the man, even so is man born by means of woman;but all things (including both man and woman) are from God astheir source (Rom 11:36; 2Co 5:18).They depend mutually each on the other, and both on him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For as the woman is of the man,…. Originally; so Eve was of Adam, made out of one of his ribs:
even so is the man also by the woman; now man is born of a woman, he is conceived of one, and brought into the world by one. This is the way in which mankind is propagated, the species preserved, continued, and increased; and therefore there is no reason why the woman should be despised, or the man should be lifted up with himself above her, since they are so dependent upon, and so useful to each other:
but all things of God. The Arabic version reads it, “all creatures are of God”; which is true, but not the truth of these words, which are to be restrained to the subject of the discourse; as that both the man and the woman are of God; they are made by him, and after his image and likeness; that the man is the glory of God, and the woman the glory of the man; the authority of the man over the woman, and the subjection of the woman to the man, are of God, and according to his constitution and appointment; as also that the woman should be of the man, and for his sake, and that the man should be by the woman, and neither should be without the other: these are not things of human constitution, but are settled by the wise counsel of God, and therefore to be cheerfully submitted to, as the best order of things.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Of ()
–by (). Ever since the first creation man has come into existence by means of ( with genitive) the woman. The glory and dignity of motherhood. Cf. The Fine Art of Motherhood by Ella Broadus Robertson.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “For as the woman is of the man.” (hosper gar he guna ek tou andros) “For just as the woman is of the man,” in order of coming out of, from him. The begettal of all since Eve have the sperm of life from man, as Adam, the first man had life from God.
2) “Even so is the man also by the woman.” (houtos kai ho aner dia tes gunaikos) “Thus even the man exists through the instrumentality of the woman.” She is the instrument, channel, or stream through which human procreation flows. While man is the initial cause, woman is the instrumental cause of man’s being.
3) “But all things of God.” (ta de panta ek tou theou) But man is the relative initial cause of life only, for God is the absolute source or cause of all life, as relates to origin, sustenance, and continuity. Act 17:28.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. As the woman is of the man If this is one of the reasons, why the man has superiority — that the woman was taken out of him, there will be, in like manner, this motive to friendly connection — that the male sex cannot maintain and preserve itself without the aid of women. For this remains a settled point — that it is not good for man to be alone (Gen 2:18.) This statement of Paul may, it is true, be viewed as referring to propagation, because human beings are propagated not by men alone, but by men and women; but I understand it as meaning this also — that the woman is a needful help to the man, inasmuch as a solitary life is not expedient for man. This decree of God exhorts us to cultivate mutual intercourse.
But all things of God God is the Source of both sexes, and hence both of them ought with humility to accept and maintain the condition which the Lord has assigned to them. Let the man exercise his authority with moderation, and not insult over the woman who has been given him as his partner. Let the woman be satisfied with her state of subjection, and not take it amiss that she is made inferior to the more distinguished sex. Otherwise they will both of them throw off the yoke of God, who has not without good reason appointed this distinction of ranks. Farther, when it is said that the man and the woman, when they are wanting in their duty to each other, are rebels against the authority of God, the statement is a more serious one than if Paul had said, that they do injury to one another.
Doth not even nature itself He again sets forth nature as the mistress of decorum, and what was at that time in common use by universal consent and custom — even among the Greeks — he speaks of as being natural, for it was not always reckoned a disgrace for men to have long hair. (638) Historical records bear, that in all countries in ancient times, that is, in the first ages, men wore long hair. Hence also the poets, in speaking of the ancients, are accustomed to apply to them the common epithet of unshorn (639) It was not until a late period that barbers began to be employed at Rome — about the time of Africanus the elder. And at the time when Paul wrote these things, the practice of having the hair shorn had not yet come into use in the provinces of Gaul or in Germany. Nay more, it would have been reckoned an unseemly thing for men, no less than for women, to be shorn or shaven; but as in Greece it was reckoned all unbecoming thing for a man to allow his hair to grow long, so that those who did so were remarked as effeminate, he reckons as nature a custom that had come to be confirmed. (640)
(638) It is remarked by President Edwards, that “the emphasis used, αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις, nature itself, shows that the Apostle does not mean custom, but nature in the proper sense. It is true it was long custom that made having the head covered a token of subjection, and a feminine habit or appearance, as it is custom that makes any outward action or word a sign or signification of anything; but nature itself, nature in its proper sense, teaches that it is a shame for a man to appear with the established signs of the female sex. Nature itself shows it to be a shame for a father to bow down or kneel to his own child or servant, because bowing down is, by custom, an established token of subjection and submission.” Edwards on Original Sin, part 2, chapter 3, section 3. — Ed
(639) Instances of this occur in Ovid, Fast. 2. 30, and in Hor., Od. 2, 15, 11. Gaul, to the north of the Alps, was called Gallia comata, from the inhabitants wearing their hair long Homer applies to the Greeks in his time the epithet of καρηκομόωντες — long-haired Hom. Il., 2. 11. — Ed
(640) “ I1 appelle Nature ceste coustume desia confermee par vn long temps et vsage commun;” — “He gives the appellation of Nature to this custom, already confirmed by length of time and common use.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) For as the woman is of the man.An appeal to the original act of creation proves the truth of the previous statement of the interdependence of the sexes. If already (1Co. 11:7) the fact of womans having been taken out of man was used as an argument to prove her subordination, there is now coupled with that fact of the origin of woman that other fact of the perpetual birth of man from woman, to show that there is a mutual relation. The first woman was made out of man; therefore woman is dependent on man. Every man has been born of a woman; therefore man is not independent of woman. In the Greek the word rendered of represents a finite actthe word rendered by a continued process.
But all things of God.Thus, as usual, St. Paul completes the thought by tracing all up to God. The mediate processes of their origin may differ, but the source of their being is commonthey, and all beings, and all things, and the sequence of all things come of God. (See 1Co. 8:6; Rom. 11:36; 2Co. 5:18.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Of, rather, from the man By derivation from his side, according to Genesis.
By the woman By natural birth.
But all things of God By whom the sexes and their relations have been constituted.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Co 11:12 . For, were this not the case, the Christian system would be clearly at variance with the divine arrangement in nature . This against Rckert, who accuses 1Co 11:12 of lending no probative support to 1Co 11:11 .
.] sc [1791] , namely, in respect of origination at first . Comp 1Co 11:8 .
.] in respect of origination now . denotes the direct origination in the way known to all his readers from the history of woman’s creation in Gen 2:21 f.; again the mediate origin by birth, all men being , Mat 11:11 ; Gal 4:4 . Paul might have repeated the in the second clause also (Mat 1:16 ; Gal 4:4 ), but he wished to mark the difference between the first and the continued creation. And in order to bring out the sacred character of the moral obligation involved in this genetic relation of mutual dependence, he adds: . : now all this , that we have been treating of (“vir, mulier et alterius utrius mutua ab altero dependentia,” Bengel), is from God , proceeding from and ordered by Him. As regards this , comp 2Co 5:18 ; 1Co 8:6 ; Rom 11:36 .
[1791] c. scilicet .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
Ver. 12. But all things of God ] God consulted not with man to make him happy, saith one. As he was ignorant while himself was made, so he did not know while a second self was made out of him. Both that the comfort might be greater than was expected; as also that he might not upbraid his wife with any great dependence or obligation, he neither willing the work, nor suffering any pain to have it done.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12. ] And in this, the Christian life accords with the original ordinance of God . For (proof of 1Co 11:11 ) as the woman is (was taken, Gen 2:21 f.) out of the man, so the man is (is born, in the propagation of the human race) by means of the woman; but all things (both man and woman and all things else: a general maxim, see 2Co 5:18 ) are of (as their source, thus uniting in one great head both sexes and all creation) God . They are dependent on one another, but both on HIM: the Christian life therefore, which unites them in Christ, is agreeable to God’s ordinance.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
by = through. App-104. 1Co 11:1.
all things. Compare 1Co 8:6. 2Co 5:18. Eph 3:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12.] And in this, the Christian life accords with the original ordinance of God. For (proof of 1Co 11:11) as the woman is (was taken, Gen 2:21 f.) out of the man, so the man is (is born, in the propagation of the human race) by means of the woman; but all things (both man and woman and all things else: a general maxim, see 2Co 5:18) are of (as their source,-thus uniting in one great head both sexes and all creation) God. They are dependent on one another, but both on HIM: the Christian life therefore, which unites them in Christ, is agreeable to Gods ordinance.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 11:12. ) Only here, and at 1Co 11:10, the articles are added. In 1Co 11:10, the force of the relative is at 1Co 11:9, and in 1Co 11:12 at 1Co 11:11.–, from [of]-by) The particles differ; presently afterwards is also said of God.-, all things) the man, the woman, and the mutual dependence of either upon the other.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 11:12
1Co 11:12
For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman;-Since the woman was taken from the man, she is of him, yet man is born, or comes into the world through the woman. That man had the priority in time and position, yet no man can be born without woman. They mutually depend for existence upon each other. So the two constitute but one real self-propagating being.
but all things are of God.-The twain are one, and both are of God, and live, move, and have their being in him. [This expression seems designed to suppress any spirit of complaint or dissatisfaction with this arrangement; to make the woman contented in her subordinate station, and to make the man humble by the consideration that it is all owing to the appointment of God. The woman should therefore be contented and the man should not assume any important superiority since the whole arrangement is of God.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
but: 1Co 8:6, Pro 16:4, Rom 11:36, Heb 1:2, Heb 1:3
Reciprocal: Act 5:14 – multitudes
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 11:12. For as the woman is of (out of) the man, so also is the man by (through) the womanin his birth; but all things are of God.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
1Co 11:12-19.
The idea of the whole passage is this: The denial of the resurrection of the dead draws with it that of Christ’s resurrection, and thereby gives the lie to the apostolic testimony and to the whole of Christianity.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God. [Lest any man should be inflated with pride by the statement in 1Co 11:7; fancying that there was some degree of proportion between the exaltation of God over man and of man over woman, Paul adds these words to show that men and women are mutually dependent, and hence nearly equals, but that God, as Creator, is exalted over all. The idea of proportion, therefore, is utterly misleading. To the two reasons already given for the covering of a woman’s and the uncovering of a man’s head, Paul adds two more.]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Even though God created Eve from Adam, now every male comes from a female. This fact illustrates male female interdependence and balances Paul’s emphasis in 1Co 11:11. Together 1Co 11:11-12 form a chiasm structurally. Husbands and wives have equal worth. Still God originates both of them, and both are subordinate to Him.
The apostle’s emphasis in this section was on the authority that a woman has in her own right by virtue of creation. She must not leave her divinely appointed place in creation by seeking to function exactly as a man in church worship. Furthermore she should express her submission to this aspect of God’s will in a culturally approved way. At the same time she must maintain a healthy appreciation for the opposite sex, as should the men.