Thank you for making my point for me. Greek generically uses the word huios (son) just as Hebrew used ben (son) - oftentimes to refer to either male offspring or a mixture of male and female. That illlustrates my point- male is the default gender in Greek.
it is normally son- context will determine if it means something else.
I have come to the realization here that you are chasing academic and minor grammatic points to tryto defend your position!
But Paul was not writing with obscurity or with semantics to His disciples Timothy or Titus. He was writing clearly and openly on instructions for appointing church officials. He used common normal grammar and wrote in the common normal way.
1 Timothy 3
King James Version
3 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
these are not grammatic exercies for Paul but simple instructions He is giving to His subordinates.
IN todays English The above would read ( and writing without what you say is the idiom)
"If someone desires the office of a pastor, they desire a good thing! Now a pastor must be faithful to his wife!
That is it.
I have shown you and agreed with you that Greek ios very nuanced and under certain conditions a word can have an alternate reading (and in the case of aner is a quaternary definition and only under plural conditions)
We can argue all the nuances of greek and how in certain cases holds a meaning beyong what is the normal, common and most understood meaning. but it is up to you to show that this passage meets those conditions or rules or nuance or whate er in light of grammar and Pauls other instructions on women in the church and deacons.
So let us leave this rabbit trail and stick to the issue!
Or a woman who is faithful to her husband. (if married.)
so just prove that in this passage and in this case aner which is normally and exclusively translated man in the singular can mean woman and gyne which ALWAYS means woman ( especially married woman) can mean husband.
Just prove it! For 1 Tim. 3:1 No more potentials or possibles or the rare times a word can be used outside of its normal understood meaning!
Which is an idiom for marital faithfulness, and in no way limits the ministry to men only.
Now you are arguing what all your "experts" have not said!
Admittedly, the Louw and Nida Lexicon is predominantly used by academics, Bible translators, educated clergy, and others who know how to read Greek. Which explains why you had never heard of it. That does not detract in the least from its prominence, respectability, or accuracy.
Well my teacher who holds a THD, double masters in Hebrew and Greek and bachelors in Biblical Archeology is vaguely familiar with it and gives it a "meh". It is okay He said. I trust him far more than you. He only reads the NT in Greek now!
The biggest Christian Book Distributor in America has it on sale, and said it sells very few copies annually. So it is not very prominent with teh largest book seller.
Oh, so now you want to take it very literally again, huh? In that case Jesus couldn't be a bishop because he wasn't married. Do you see your foolishness?
Well you started that foolishness, so I am just replying to it!
but now I am asking you to demonstrate that 1 Tim. 3 is a passage that requires aner can mean both men and women and gyne can both mean men and women. No more grammar and experts and opinions 2,000 years removed from the writing.
show why we should take this to mean both sexes in both cases!
