Some of my notes from many years ago on First Peter 3:7
First Peter 3:1-7
In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct. Let your beauty not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes— but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so. Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.
Abstract
The admonishment to wives in this opening section of chapter three deals with a wife’s inner feminine disposition. In verse seven, the translation “weaker partner” fails to capture the nuance of ASQEN-. “Weaker” would reference a physical feature of the wives, a meaning not at all intended in this section directed toward the “inner person.” The correct translation should be the “more vulnerable” partner. And this ‘vulnerability’ corresponds to their inner disposition, not their physical strength. More specifically, wives are the more vulnerable partner based on their inner femininity which in accordance with God’s creative purpose is one of the most admirable characteristics they (and women in general) possess. Possessing this vulnerability, women are by nature more inclined to become vulnerable, intimate, and trusting in a marriage relationship. Being designed as the more vulnerable, it may very well be the reason Satan approached Eve in the Garden of Eden, sensing her vulnerability as a weakness, not realizing it is one of her greatest strengths.
Rather than being described as “weaker,” wives are presented in their godly glory in the opening section of chapter three.
Although addressed to wives, some of these admonishings by Peter are of such a nature as to make them applicable to women in general.
This opening admonishing to wives appeals to their feminine qualities.
In the first part of chapter 3, Peter describes wives from the standpoint of their INNER beauty and spirit, but he does so by beginning with an external feature.
Their “adornment” (shows the transfer from external to internal) was in their submissive disposition. In fact, Peter seems to be using the external features of wives as a reflection of their inner selves.
Continuing Peter’s contrasts (from the external to the internal), one would expect the characteristic of the wives as being “weaker” to point toward something with their physical strength.
If there is any sense in which “weaker” (note this word is in parentheses) describes the wives’ physical strength (external), it does so only as a point of contrast to her inner disposition. Just as Peter uses external features or characteristics of the wives to go into her soul, so does the use of “weaker” point to their souls. But how is a soul “weaker”?
Weaker, as the preceding context indicates, points to a feminine quality. So, the question is further reduced to, “How is the wives’ femininity to be understood as ‘weaker’?
My suggestion is that the “weaker” sense Peter has in mind can better be understood as “more vulnerable.”
The relation between weaker and vulnerable seems too obvious to point out, but perhaps a few extra-biblical usages of this term will shed more light on what Peter was saying.
The weaker vessel/partner
weaker
vessel
II. to s. = the body, as the vessel of the soul, a metaph. clearly expressed in 2 Ep.Cor.4.7, echomen de ton thêsauron touton en ostrakinois skeuesin, cf. 1 Ep.Thess.4.4, 1 Ep.Pet. 3.7.
The vessel refers to the physical body, as made from the earth, but its function is to house and express the soul.
partner: where does this come from?
1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.
This brief article attempts to make yet another contribution to our understanding of Peter’s obscure reference to wives as “weaker” partners. Remarkably, most seem to take Peter here to be referring to the fact that husbands can lift bigger rocks than wives. Most commentaries you check will identify this weaker state as related primarily to her physical body. But one wonders why husbands are to show honor to their wives based on the fact that they are physically stronger.
As Covey would have us do, I’d like to begin with the end in mind. What I will seek to demonstrate is the comparative of ASQENIA should be translated “more vulnerable.” And this vulnerability is related to the female’s femininity. One of the most attractive aspects of the female is here femininity. And the sense in which she is more vulnerable is those feminine qualities that the male finds alluring, and because of this vulnerability, the man seeks to complement her by his protection of her. This vulnerability, like that of an innocent child, is not a flaw, but an admirable quality.
Actually, Peter indicates here that due to their being “weaker,” husbands should hold their wives in honor. A brief look at some of the earlier, extra-biblical uses of the Greek word asqenhV may shed light on this somewhat elusive term Peter uses.
The resultant state of being “weak” is very often that of being made “vulnerable.” I think there is a natural affinity between being weak and vulnerable in the physical sense, at least within society.
They are the weaker of society. (neutral)
A defeated city is thereby made weaker. (become vulnerable to further attacks)
A child is said to be weaker. (more vulnerable)
When used of physical weakness, even then, the implication is that due to their physical weakness, they now become vulnerable.
Ancient
Xenophon, Cyropaedia
[30] And by making his own self-control an example, he disposed all to practice that virtue more diligently. For when the weaker (more vulnerable) members of society see that one who is in a position where he may indulge himself to excess is still under self-control, they naturally strive all the more not to be found guilty of any excessive indulgence.
(X.Cyr.8.1.30)
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War (1.141.2,3)
[2] As to the war and the resources of either party, a detailed comparison will not show you the inferiority of Athens (their vulnerability). [3] Personally engaged in the cultivation of their land, without funds either private or public, the Peloponnesians are also without experience in long wars across sea, from the strict limit which poverty imposes on their attacks upon each other
Antiphon, Speeches
I am not surprised that the defendant, who has committed so outrageous a crime, should speak as he has acted; just as I pardon you, who are desirous of discovering the facts exactly, for tolerating such utterances from his lips as deserve to be greeted with derision. Thus, he admits that he gave the man the blows which caused his death; yet he not only denies that he himself is the dead man's murderer, but asserts, alive and well though he is, that we, who are seeking vengeance for the victim, are his own murderers. And I wish to show that the remainder of his defense is of a similar character. [2] To begin with, he said that even if the man did die as a result of the blows, he did not kill him: because it is the aggressor who is to blame for what happens: it is he whom the law condemns; and the aggressor was the dead man. First, let me tell you that young men are more likely to be the aggressors and make a drunken assault than old. The young are incited by their natural arrogance their full vigor, and the unaccustomed effects of wine to give free play to anger: whereas old men are sobered by their experience of drunken excesses, by the weakness (vulnerability) of age, and by their fear of the strength of the young.
(Antiph. 4.3.2)
Herodotus, The Histories
CXXXV. This was Gobryas' advice, and at nightfall Darius followed it. He left the men who were worn out, and those whose loss mattered least to him, there in the camp, and all the asses, too, tethered. [2] His reasons for leaving the asses, and the infirm among his soldiers, were the following: the asses, so that they would bray; the men, who were left because of their infirmity (vulnerability), he pretended were to guard the camp while he attacked the Scythians with the fit part of his army. [3] Giving this order to those who were left behind, and lighting campfires, Darius made all haste to reach the Ister. When the asses found themselves deserted by the multitude, they brayed the louder for it; and the Scythians heard them and assumed that the Persians were in the place. (Hdt. 4.135)
New Testament uses
The default sense is not physical weakness, though it can and does mean that.
Matt. 26.41 spirit is willing but flesh is weak/vulnerable (It has no defense)
Rom. 5.5 while we were still helpless (not weak in physical strength, but vulnerable)
1 Cor. 8:7 But this knowledge is not shared by all. And some, by being accustomed to idols in former times, eat this food as an idol sacrifice, and their conscience, because it is weak/vulnerable, is defiled.
1 Cor. 8.10
1 Cor. 9.22 not physical weakness
Gal. 4.9 weak and beggarly elements of the world that enslaved us
1 Thess. 5. 14 comfort the discouraged, help the weak (those who are vulnerable)
James 5 sick become vulnerable
First Peter 3:1-7
In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct. Let your beauty not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes— but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so. Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.
Abstract
The admonishment to wives in this opening section of chapter three deals with a wife’s inner feminine disposition. In verse seven, the translation “weaker partner” fails to capture the nuance of ASQEN-. “Weaker” would reference a physical feature of the wives, a meaning not at all intended in this section directed toward the “inner person.” The correct translation should be the “more vulnerable” partner. And this ‘vulnerability’ corresponds to their inner disposition, not their physical strength. More specifically, wives are the more vulnerable partner based on their inner femininity which in accordance with God’s creative purpose is one of the most admirable characteristics they (and women in general) possess. Possessing this vulnerability, women are by nature more inclined to become vulnerable, intimate, and trusting in a marriage relationship. Being designed as the more vulnerable, it may very well be the reason Satan approached Eve in the Garden of Eden, sensing her vulnerability as a weakness, not realizing it is one of her greatest strengths.
Rather than being described as “weaker,” wives are presented in their godly glory in the opening section of chapter three.
Although addressed to wives, some of these admonishings by Peter are of such a nature as to make them applicable to women in general.
This opening admonishing to wives appeals to their feminine qualities.
In the first part of chapter 3, Peter describes wives from the standpoint of their INNER beauty and spirit, but he does so by beginning with an external feature.
Their “adornment” (shows the transfer from external to internal) was in their submissive disposition. In fact, Peter seems to be using the external features of wives as a reflection of their inner selves.
Continuing Peter’s contrasts (from the external to the internal), one would expect the characteristic of the wives as being “weaker” to point toward something with their physical strength.
If there is any sense in which “weaker” (note this word is in parentheses) describes the wives’ physical strength (external), it does so only as a point of contrast to her inner disposition. Just as Peter uses external features or characteristics of the wives to go into her soul, so does the use of “weaker” point to their souls. But how is a soul “weaker”?
Weaker, as the preceding context indicates, points to a feminine quality. So, the question is further reduced to, “How is the wives’ femininity to be understood as ‘weaker’?
My suggestion is that the “weaker” sense Peter has in mind can better be understood as “more vulnerable.”
The relation between weaker and vulnerable seems too obvious to point out, but perhaps a few extra-biblical usages of this term will shed more light on what Peter was saying.
The weaker vessel/partner
weaker
vessel
II. to s. = the body, as the vessel of the soul, a metaph. clearly expressed in 2 Ep.Cor.4.7, echomen de ton thêsauron touton en ostrakinois skeuesin, cf. 1 Ep.Thess.4.4, 1 Ep.Pet. 3.7.
The vessel refers to the physical body, as made from the earth, but its function is to house and express the soul.
partner: where does this come from?
1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.
This brief article attempts to make yet another contribution to our understanding of Peter’s obscure reference to wives as “weaker” partners. Remarkably, most seem to take Peter here to be referring to the fact that husbands can lift bigger rocks than wives. Most commentaries you check will identify this weaker state as related primarily to her physical body. But one wonders why husbands are to show honor to their wives based on the fact that they are physically stronger.
As Covey would have us do, I’d like to begin with the end in mind. What I will seek to demonstrate is the comparative of ASQENIA should be translated “more vulnerable.” And this vulnerability is related to the female’s femininity. One of the most attractive aspects of the female is here femininity. And the sense in which she is more vulnerable is those feminine qualities that the male finds alluring, and because of this vulnerability, the man seeks to complement her by his protection of her. This vulnerability, like that of an innocent child, is not a flaw, but an admirable quality.
Actually, Peter indicates here that due to their being “weaker,” husbands should hold their wives in honor. A brief look at some of the earlier, extra-biblical uses of the Greek word asqenhV may shed light on this somewhat elusive term Peter uses.
The resultant state of being “weak” is very often that of being made “vulnerable.” I think there is a natural affinity between being weak and vulnerable in the physical sense, at least within society.
They are the weaker of society. (neutral)
A defeated city is thereby made weaker. (become vulnerable to further attacks)
A child is said to be weaker. (more vulnerable)
When used of physical weakness, even then, the implication is that due to their physical weakness, they now become vulnerable.
Ancient
Xenophon, Cyropaedia
[30] And by making his own self-control an example, he disposed all to practice that virtue more diligently. For when the weaker (more vulnerable) members of society see that one who is in a position where he may indulge himself to excess is still under self-control, they naturally strive all the more not to be found guilty of any excessive indulgence.
(X.Cyr.8.1.30)
Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War (1.141.2,3)
[2] As to the war and the resources of either party, a detailed comparison will not show you the inferiority of Athens (their vulnerability). [3] Personally engaged in the cultivation of their land, without funds either private or public, the Peloponnesians are also without experience in long wars across sea, from the strict limit which poverty imposes on their attacks upon each other
Antiphon, Speeches
I am not surprised that the defendant, who has committed so outrageous a crime, should speak as he has acted; just as I pardon you, who are desirous of discovering the facts exactly, for tolerating such utterances from his lips as deserve to be greeted with derision. Thus, he admits that he gave the man the blows which caused his death; yet he not only denies that he himself is the dead man's murderer, but asserts, alive and well though he is, that we, who are seeking vengeance for the victim, are his own murderers. And I wish to show that the remainder of his defense is of a similar character. [2] To begin with, he said that even if the man did die as a result of the blows, he did not kill him: because it is the aggressor who is to blame for what happens: it is he whom the law condemns; and the aggressor was the dead man. First, let me tell you that young men are more likely to be the aggressors and make a drunken assault than old. The young are incited by their natural arrogance their full vigor, and the unaccustomed effects of wine to give free play to anger: whereas old men are sobered by their experience of drunken excesses, by the weakness (vulnerability) of age, and by their fear of the strength of the young.
(Antiph. 4.3.2)
Herodotus, The Histories
CXXXV. This was Gobryas' advice, and at nightfall Darius followed it. He left the men who were worn out, and those whose loss mattered least to him, there in the camp, and all the asses, too, tethered. [2] His reasons for leaving the asses, and the infirm among his soldiers, were the following: the asses, so that they would bray; the men, who were left because of their infirmity (vulnerability), he pretended were to guard the camp while he attacked the Scythians with the fit part of his army. [3] Giving this order to those who were left behind, and lighting campfires, Darius made all haste to reach the Ister. When the asses found themselves deserted by the multitude, they brayed the louder for it; and the Scythians heard them and assumed that the Persians were in the place. (Hdt. 4.135)
New Testament uses
The default sense is not physical weakness, though it can and does mean that.
Matt. 26.41 spirit is willing but flesh is weak/vulnerable (It has no defense)
Rom. 5.5 while we were still helpless (not weak in physical strength, but vulnerable)
1 Cor. 8:7 But this knowledge is not shared by all. And some, by being accustomed to idols in former times, eat this food as an idol sacrifice, and their conscience, because it is weak/vulnerable, is defiled.
1 Cor. 8.10
1 Cor. 9.22 not physical weakness
Gal. 4.9 weak and beggarly elements of the world that enslaved us
1 Thess. 5. 14 comfort the discouraged, help the weak (those who are vulnerable)
James 5 sick become vulnerable
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