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There is an INSANE amount of debate over the meaning of just the first part of 1 Tim 2:12. 1 Timothy 2:12 "I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man" "I do not permit" Debate 1: Is it expressing personal opinion and not apostolic ruling? Debate 2: Is it only effective within Paul's sphere? And what then is Paul's sphere? Debate 3: Is it time limited such as "I do not permit for now" Debate 4: It is regarding the Ephesian situation Timothy is in or is it Paul's general practice in all locations? "a woman" Debate 1: Is this about a specific woman or women in general? Debate 2: Is it about wives in their marriage relationships or women in a church context? Debate 3: Is this about specific KINDS of women? If so, is it uneducated women, immodest women, or women who do something else in particular? "to teach" Debate 1: Is this about false teaching or just teaching? Debate 2: Can "to teach" (didaskein) carry a negative connotation here based on an analysis of the term's use in Paul and the rest of the NT? "or" Debate 1: How does this word join "teach" and "authority"? Does it mean "or" or does it mean "so as to" or "in such a way so as to"? Debate 2: Is it indicating two activities or one activity? And how do the two words inform the boundaries of application? Debate 3: Does this word in it's context join to positive words, two negative words, or is it open to some combination? (Yeah, there's a huge debate on that) "to exercise authority" Debate 1: What is the ancient Greek meaning of the noun that this word originally comes from? And what is the correct retelling of it's development over time leading to the 1st century usage of this verb? Does the "murder" connotation connect in some way to Paul's use? Debate 2: What is the etymology of the term? Debate 3: How did the Greek speaking fathers understand and use this word? There's a particularly interesting debate over Chrysostom on this. Debate 4: Does it carry an ingressive meaning such as "assume" or "usurp" Debate 5: How did ancient translations handle this word. (This is an involved and branching discussion of many languages) Debate 6: Can it be proven that pretty much every usage of this verb in time near the apostle Paul shows a pejorative meaning? Debate 7: How are the numerous cognates of the term used in time around and before Paul's use and do they inform us of a usage history that predates Paul's? "over a man" Debate 1: Is this referring to a specific man known to Timothy or men more generally? Debate 2: Should it be translated "husband" instead? And is this a familial or church context? Some very expansive debates I have summarized briefly. Some less central ones I have left out. And this is just one section of one verse in a passage that is full of other related debates. I've been told, and I agree, that 1 Tim 2:12 the most debated verse, in the most debated passage, on the most debated question of evangelical scholarship today. I'll be covering all of this and a lot more when I finally finish my prep and record a painfully long video on how 1 Timothy 2 weighs in on the topic of women in ministry. I know its been taking me forever to get this done and I still have quite a few hours of prep to go. But I intend to cover all these debates and they are quite involved. What I can say is that, while the debates are confusing and complicated, the final result is not.