Paul's mention of women in the Corinthian church and to Timothy in Ephesus (
1 Timothy 2:9-15) was because those cities were known for having fertility goddesses and female dominated societies. Unlike the Jewish culture at that time Paul was not misogynistic. For example Phoebe was a woman for whom Paul had great respect (
Romans 16:1-2). Phoebe is designated as a
diakonos indicating that she was a "minister" from the church in Cenchrea who had been sent by that church to Rome on a special assignment. Paul recognizes her as such by using the same word for her that he uses for himself, for Barnabas and for Apollos (
Galatians 3:28).
"Women are given honor in the New Covenant far beyond any works of literature from the ancient period. So, for us to take this in a literal way, or to apply it universally, as though it applied to every assembly for worship would be to interpret it in a way inconsistent with the rest of Scripture. Secondly, God’s Word is never self-contradictory. If women are to always remain silent in the assembly, how do we explain the fact that in chapter 11, verse 5, women are mentioned right along with men in the context of the proper way of praying and prophesying."
(commentary by Rabbi Glenn Harris, Shema Yisrael)
NIV 1984 translation of
1 Corinthians 14:33-34 (also similar to: AMP, CSB, CEV, ESV, LEB, RSV)
33b As in all the congregations of the saints, 34 women should remain silent in the churches.
(As one sentence implying all women should remain silent
in all congregations of the saints)
NIV 2011 translation of
1 Corinthians 14:33-34 (also similar to: CLV, KJV, NASB, NLT, TPT, YLT)
33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.
(referring to the spiritual gifts
in all congregations of the saints)
Many NIV readers previous to the newer NIV 2011 translation preferred the previous translation (e.g. 1984). However with these verses, I believe Paul would prefer the newer NIV 2011 translation over that of the previous NIV translation. The newer NIV 2011 is similar to the CLV, KJV and NASB ... not so with the earlier NIV translation (e.g. 1984) before the newer NIV 2011.