1 Corinthians 11:12

1Co 11:12. Ἡ γυνὴ ἐκ τοῦ) 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.—ἐκ—διὰ, from [of]—by) The particles differ; presently afterwards ἐκ is also said of God.—πάντα, all things) the man, the woman, and the mutual dependence of either upon the other.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 Rückert, who accuses 1Co_11:12 of lending no probative support to 1Co_11:11.

ἡ γυνὴ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρ.] sc[1791] ἐστι, namely, in respect of origination at first. Comp 1Co_11:8.

Ὁ ἈΝῊΡ ΔΙᾺ Τῆς ΓΥΝ.] in respect of origination now. Ἐκ denotes the direct origination in the way known to all his readers from the history of womans creation in Gen_2:21 f.; ΔΙΆ again the mediate origin by birth, all men being ΓΕΝΝΗΤΟῚ ΓΥΝΑΙΚῶΝ, Mat_11:11; Gal_4:4. Paul might have repeated the ἘΚ 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: ΤᾺ ΔῈ ΠΆΝΤΑ ἘΚ Τ. ΘΕΟῦ: 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 ἐκ, comp 2Co_5:18; 1Co_8:6; Rom_11:36.

[1791] c. scilicet.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

Vv. 12. The for indicates that the relative equality of the two sexes in Christ was already prefigured, so to speak, by a fact belonging to the order of natural life. So it was that the for of 1Co 11:7 served to give a reason for the wife’s moral subordination by a fact drawn from the inferior domain. If, so far as creation goes, the woman is of the man,—this is the proof of her dependence (1Co 11:8),—on the other hand, as to the conservation of the race, the man is of the woman, and this decisive fact in the life of humanity, restores equality to a certain extent between the two sexes. The natural order makes woman not only man’s spouse, but also his mother; therewith all is said. We see here with what wisdom the apostle could apply to the domain of spiritual life, not only the scriptural types, but also the hieroglyphics of nature. And thus are explained to us the last words of the verse: “And all things are of God.” He is the Author of nature as well as of grace, and He has laid in the first the outlines, so to speak, of the Divine thoughts, which he realizes perfectly in the second.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_11:12

For as the woman (is) of the man, even so (is) the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

The one is not without the other, for as the woman was originally formed out of the man, so the man is born of the woman. This is a proof, not of the admitted equality of the sexes in the kingdom of God, but of their mutual dependence in the kingdom of nature. It therefore confirms the interpretation given of the preceding verse. But all things are of God; these subordinate relations of one creature to another are merged, as it were, in the supreme causality of God. It matters little whether the man was of the woman or the woman of the man, as both alike are of God; just as he before said, it matters little whether a man were a Jew or Gentile, bond or free, since all are alike before God.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

As the woman was formed out of (from) the man, even so is man born by means of woman; but all things (including both man and woman) are from God as their source (Rom 11:36; Co2 5:18). They depend mutually each on the other, and both on him.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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 (Genesis 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. 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 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.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(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 woman’s 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 act—the 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 common—they, 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.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Judge in yourselves,.... The apostle having gone through a variety of reasoning and arguments, showing the superiority of the man to the woman, by which he would prove, that the one should be covered, and the other uncovered, returns to his subject again, and appeals to the common sense and understanding of the Corinthians, and makes them themselves judges of the matter; suggesting that the thing was so clear, and he so certain of what he had advanced being right, that he leaves it with them, not doubting but that they would, upon a little reflection within themselves, join with him in this point:

is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? in you judgment you can never think so, however pleasing and gratifying such a sight may be, to the lust of the flesh, and to the lust of the eye; he does not mention prophesying, only instances in praying; but it is to be understood of one, as of another; and his meaning is, that it is an uncomely thing in a woman to appear in public service with her head uncovered, whether it be in joining in the public prayers, or in singing of psalms, or in hearing the word expounded; and though the apostle does not put the case of the man's praying to God, or prophesying in his name with his head covered, yet his sense is the same of that, as of the woman's.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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 man’s 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.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

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.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the woman; that is, "born of a woman". (Job_14:1) But all things of God. And all things also "through him and to him," made by him, and tending to him as their end. (Rom_11:5-6)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And as the woman was at first taken out of the man, so also the man is now, in the ordinary course of nature, by the woman; but all things are of God - The man, the woman, and their dependence on each other.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

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.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. For as the woman is of the man, etc. As she was created for man so man is born of woman. There is an equipoise. These relations are all “of God.”

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

12. ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρός, i.e. by creation and generation (Gen 2:22).

διὰ τῆς γυναικός. By birth.

ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ. We are not to dwell too much on the intermediate links in the chain of causation, but to remember that all human beings come from God and exist by His 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.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12.] And in this, the Christian life accords with the original ordinance of God. For (proof of ver. 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.

12-14.] On the abuse of Spiritual Gifts: especially prophesying, and speaking with tongues. The second particular requiring correction in their assemblies, see ch. 11:18, note. Chrys. well says: τοῦτο ἅπαν τὸ χωρίον σφόδρα ἐστὶν ἀσαφές· τὴν δὲ ἀσάφειαν ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ἄγνοιά τε καὶ ἔλλειψις ποιεῖ τῶν τότε μὲν συμβαινόντων, νῦν δὲ οὐ γινομένων. Hom. xxix. p. 257.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. This mutual dependence of the sexes is shown by the fact that, although originally woman sprang from man, yet ever since then it is through woman that man comes into existence: if he is her initial cause (ἐκ), she is his instrumental cause (διά c. gen). But (another reason why man must not be contemptuous) the whole universe—man and woman and their whole environment—owes its origin to God. Cf. 15:27; Eph 5:23; and see Basil, De Spiritu, v. 12, xviii. 46.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.