Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament

by Sandra L. Glahn

Some Christians think Paul's reference to "saved through childbearing" in 1 Timothy 2:15 means that women are slated primarily for delivering and raising children. Alternate readings, however, sometimes fail to build on the best historical and textual evidence. Sandra Glahn thinks that we have misunderstood Paul by misunderstanding the context to which he wrote. A key to reading and applying 1 Timothy, Glahn argues, lies in getting to know a mysterious figure who haunts the the goddess Artemis. Based on groundbreaking research and new data about Artemis of the Ephesians, Nobody's Mother demonstrates how better background information supports faithful interpretation. Combining spiritual autobiography with scholarly exploration, Glahn takes readers on a journey to ancient Ephesus and across early church history. Unveiling the cult of Artemis and how early Christians related to it can give us a clearer sense of the type of radical, countercultural fellowship the New Testament writers intended Christ's church to be. This book is for those who want to avoid sacrificing a high view of Scripture while working to reconcile conflicting models of God's view of women. Through the unexpected channel of Paul's advice to Timothy―and the surprising help of an ancient Greek myth― Nobody's Mother lays a biblical foundation for men and women serving side by side in the church.

Genres: Theology, Religion, History, Nonfiction, Christian, Biblical Studies, Christianity

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2023

About the author

Dr. Sandra Glahn is a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. She is the author or co-author of more than twenty books, including the Coffee Cup Bible Study series. Her forthcoming work, Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament, is slated for an October 2023 release.

Reviews

[Amber Thiessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever heard the statement, "motherhood is a woman's greatest calling"? If so, I'm sorry.
Mothering IS a wonderful blessing, a privilege I'm undeserving of and a role in which I often fall short. However, as Christians, our greatest calling is to be a disciple of Christ. Full stop. How we live as wives and mothers is part of our discipleship, but it's not the ultimate goal.

Some of our misconceptions about womanhood are passed on to us from teachings we've heard on 1 Timothy, about women learning in quietness (2:11) and being saved through childbirth (2:15). Here's where the research in this book sheds light on the cultural context of ancient Ephesus, particularly of the cult of Artemis. (Remember, Acts 19?)

I'm not someone who can analyze the validity of her research, but what I can tell you is there is a robust amount of information about who the goddess Artemis was and was not. We learn that Artemis was not a goddess of fertility, but of virginity and celibacy, and she acted as a midwife to deliver women through their labor and delivery, either in a painless death or to preserving life.

The author's purpose in her research was to understand if Paul was addressing a local situation in 1 Timothy—as he's done in some of his other letters—when he talks about childbearing, and second, if he intended for women who have a teaching gift are limited to using it as mothers.

The last chapter of her book breaks down 1 Timothy 2, but it's all the richer for having understood the historical pieces in the previous chapters, even though it reads a bit scholarly. Honestly, what brought tears to my eyes was the beauty with which Paul writes to Timothy to show that Christ Jesus is the truest Saviour and a better deliverer; that when Artemis is esteemed as a light bearer, God lives in unapproachable light (6:16), though the cult prevails upon their mystery, the mystery of godliness is greater (3:16). The Gentile believers were coming out of this cult and needed to be reminded of the supremacy of Christ.

If you are interested in the cultural context of the New Testament church or if you're wrestling with 1 Tim 2, I think this would be very worth your time and effort! It was for me.

Quick Stats
# of pages: 200
Level of Difficulty: - Moderate-Academic

A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

[Abigail Hartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book intrigued me, focusing as it does on a notoriously ambiguous verse ("but she shall be saved through childbearing") through the lens of the particular context into which Paul was writing, that of the city of Ephesus. Given the author's set up, I expected the whole book to have more of an autobiographical feel than it did. I also thought a larger proportion would be devoted to exegeting the passage in I Timothy. Instead, once Glahn establishes her own backstory and credentials, the book shifts into a systematic study of the evidence for and about the cult of Artemis of the Ephesians in the days of the early church. Only one chapter, the last one, is devoted to bringing that information to bear on understanding I Timothy and Paul's comments regarding women in the church.

That said, the historical information on Artemis' cult was very helpful. I'd never realized that "Artemis of the Ephesians" was a particular, and extremely popular, persona of the goddess Artemis/Diana, and I certainly never knew there was a connection between the foundation story of Ephesus and the Amazons. Likewise, the evidence for Artemis as an especially celibate goddess with celibate followers and yet, concurrently, as a specialist in midwifery was completely new to me. If I'd thought about it for any length of time, I suspect I would have assumed she was a fertility goddess -- despite knowing vaguely about her story: h/t D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths -- and that temple prostitution was A Thing in her cult. After Glahn's discussion of the textual and epigraphic evidence, I find her conclusion that Artemis of the Ephesians' cult was highly focused on independent, virginal/celibate women and that Artemis was a specialist in midwifery highly convincing. From that starting point, the argument that Paul is riffing off a local proverb -- "she shall be saved through the childbearing" -- and turning it to the advantage of the gospel strikes me as a sound one. At the very least, it is endlessly more sound than any theory that treats mothers as holier than non-mothers or that insists that women are saved in a different manner than men (!).

Because Glahn devotes so little time to exegesis, though, I'm not as convinced by her treatment of the I Timothy pericope, particularly her discussion of women teaching and/or having/usurping authority over men. I'm not saying she is wrong; rather, I don't think she adequately deals with Paul's appeal to the creation model of Adam and Eve in her brief discussion, and I think the "Paul was just responding to a local issue in Ephesus" was not as tightly argued on this point as it was for the childbearing verse. I haven't come to a firm conclusion on this topic myself, so I'm not dismissing her position out of hand. I just didn't come away thinking, "Wow, that makes a lot of sense and I think she nailed it."

This is a pretty short book, and a tad wooden in its progression; I think I'd have liked a slightly different organization, with perhaps less time spent walking through each source and more time spent explicating I Timothy in its larger Pauline and biblical context. I also listened to the audio, and the reader had some idiosyncrasies that got to me (e.g. pronouncing 'prophesy' as 'prophecy' throughout the book!). Still, I found it a thought-provoking book and felt like the Artemis context is highly beneficial to unpacking I Timothy. It's absolutely not the final word, but I think it adds a helpful piece to the conversation.

[Carmen Imes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating exploration of New Testament backgrounds. Glahn's book will advance conversations on what Paul meant in his letters to Timothy.

[Persis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've read 1st Timothy, you're familiar with the verse -
She will be saved through child bearing." But what does it mean? Does it mean that a woman's worth and acceptance to God is proportional to her fertility? Is it a condemnation of single or infertile women or those who don't have the requisite number of children? Or is Paul addressing a specific situation in the Ephesian church?

Based on copious primary sources and close examination of Paul's letters, this book posits that it indeed was a cultural situation related to the cult of Artemis, the patron goddess of Ephesus. Artemis was a perpetual virgin and associated with midwifery. Thus, women in that culture would have prayed to Artemis to deliver them safely through the very real danger of giving birth or that the goddess would grant them a painless death. Paul was then writing a corrective to these new converts that One greater than Artemis would see them safely through whether in life or death. Even the names Paul uses for God and Christ in his letters to the Ephesian church and to Timothy were deliberate in taking the titles given to Artemis and using them for the true God and Savior.

My takeaways:
Too often we forget that the people of the New Testament were real people who inhabited a specific time and place with unique cultural concerns. They weren't generic human beings who existed so we would have proof texts for our modern-day issues. e.g. If Paul was writing to Timothy and Titus who were pastoring churches in communities that worshipped virgin deities, his statements regarding women were not to convince them to adopt a future ideal from a country that didn't even exist back then.

We don't know church history. Scripture may be silent because the author didn't need to write what people would already know. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to learn the context and not assume they were just like us. (see my example above.) Very often, the context can be only learned through historical documents of the time. Scholarship in other fields can aid our understanding of the Bible.

Paul didn't assume the churches he was writing to were monolithic. While Corinth and Ephesus would share the panoply of gods, that worship manifested itself very differently, and Paul's letters reflected that.

I really enjoyed this book (audio version and referencing the print copy). The historical sources were fascinating. But most of all, I was encouraged with Paul's heart for the women converts in Ephesus. He didn't discount their fears about childbirth. He pointed them to Christ and encouraged Timothy to do the same. These believers weren't less important because they were women. If they mattered to Jesus, they mattered to Paul. And their context helps us better understand the Bible and God's heart for all of his children.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The purpose of Glahn’s research, meticulously delineated in this book, is to understand the culture of first-century Ephesus, specifically with regard to the cult of Artemis, in order to illuminate the true meaning of this controversial and puzzling passage in Paul’s letter to Timothy:

“So I want the men [or husbands] to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute. Likewise, the women [or wives] are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control. Their adornment must not be with braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothing, but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess reverence for God. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. But I am allowing a woman [or wife] neither to teach nor exercise [usurp? Have autonomous?| authority over a man [or husband]. She must remain quiet. For Adam was formed first and then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, because she was fully deceived, fell into transgression. But "she will be saved through [the] childbearing," if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. This is a faithful saying. (1 Tim 2:8-3:1, author's translation)”

At the time of Paul’s writing, the city of Ephesus was home to the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Glahn painstakingly recounts the mythological stories of Artemis, as well as what can be learned about her cult from other literary and historical sources, and archaeological findings, such as inscriptions, art, and architecture. Some of these details become repetitive, but they serve a larger purpose.

Glahn conclusively demonstrates that previous claims that Artemis was worshipped as some sort of fertility goddess are clearly mistaken. Instead, she was viewed as a hunter who refused sexual relations (yet was not anti-male), but was believed to have the power to ensure a safe delivery to a woman in labor, or at least provide a painless death. Thus she was an eternal virgin who also provided widwife services.

Once this understanding of Artemis is established (which constitutes 3/4 of the book) she turns her attention to the passage in question. This is where things get interesting.

First of all, she points out how Paul refers to Artemis obliquely in his letter without actually using her name. First throne, queen, lord, savior, god, manifest were all terms that would be viewed as direct challenges to the authority of the local goddess.

She then contends that the phrase “she will be saved through [the] childbearing" is most likely a local proverb that Paul uses to further his point, and 3:1 is then referring to the previous verse rather then following verse.

“How interesting that Paul brings up deliverance through childbirth in a context where false teaching is likely coming from the cult of the goddess of midwifery-especially because he is bringing up a creation story to counter beliefs in a city that prides itself in its goddess's birth. Eve's consequence was pain in childbearing. Artemis was thought to deliver painlessly or euthanize women in childbirth. But Jesus is better. He will save through childbearing those who continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control.”

“Paul was likely addressing a local problem, and his doing so has often been universalized. Indeed, the author's corrective does have universal implications, but this is not one of them: that women are inferior as teachers because of their vulnerability to corruption and should thus never publicly teach men but instead were made to marry, raise children, and limit their teachings to those in the home.”

Glahn also explains that Paul’s admonishments about pearls and fancy clothing are issues of social class:

“And the females—what does Paul want from them? A certain kind of adornment. He is suggesting that the men (or husbands) were adorned with anger and disputing. The females, on the other hand, were adorned with emblems of their wealth.
“Unfortunately, the idea that first-century pagans were obsessed with sex, especially as part of worship, has led scholars to see references to sex in texts where probably little to none was intended. The reference to modesty in 1 Tim 2:9 is one such place. Paul would have objected to sexually provocative apparel. But in this text in calling for modest dress, it appears he has social class in mind.”
[…]
“To maintain such a style meant a woman belonged to the ruling or upper class, with the accompanying benefits of power and rank. Braids, pearls, and elaborate clothes reflected rank as much as wealth (compare Rev 18:16-17). Flaunting rank was not modest.”

Overall, I found this study to be very well done and a valuable corrective to previous misapplications of this confusing passage.

[Gina Dalfonzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really impressive work of scholarship. It was much more detailed and comprehensive than I expected -- Glahn takes a DEEP dive into all the descriptions and attributes of Artemis -- but from those details we learn so much, especially when she applies that picture of Artemis to Paul's letter to the Ephesians. It was a truly helpful and enlightening book for any Christian who's ever puzzled over those strange passages in the letter, and -- despite feeling a little bogged down now and then in Artemis lore -- I enjoyed reading it. I'd love to read more books that take this kind of approach; I hope Glahn plans to do more! Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[E.M. Welcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Glahn has meticulously researched the cult of Artemis going back to the source material telling the story of Artemis of the Ephesians. Glahn reviews the interpretive history surrounding Ephesus and 1st Timothy, and compares these interpretations to the archeology concerning religious practice in Ephesus. Dr. Glahn also provides fascinating theories on translation of the Scriptures (which your lexicon will back up), as well as formatting of modern English translations of the Bible which could altar interpretations long taken for granted.

Reading this book is a good use of your time.

[Kat Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, excellent, excellent. Informative and well-written, and only took me 8 months to read on and off between seminary, job changes, and life being life. 🤪 If this topic piques your interest, let me send you a (much briefer) article she wrote summarizing her research on this topic! But if you’re ready for a deep, heady dive into the Artemis cult in Ephesus at the time of Paul and what it tells us about the cultural context of the book of 1 Timothy and how it affects our interpretation of key passages about women, it is well worth your time and attention!

[Erin Straza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of Nobody’s Mother, and the premise intrigued me, as it addressed a passage of scripture that had always read odd to me. I started reading to see if I wanted to read it—and I didn’t stop. I’m glad I invested time in this book!

Glahn’s work here is academic, yet still accessible and interesting to a general audience. If Greek mythology is of interest, this book will satisfy, with the bulk of the writing focused on Artemis and her influence in story, sculptures, architecture, and society. Glahn’s research and analysis is impressive and thorough. In the final chapter, Glahn pulls all the threads together for what this means for Paul’s instruction for women in his letter 1 Timothy.

After reading Nobody’s Mother, I felt a sigh of relief: finally, Paul’s instruction makes sense, now that it is understood within the cultural context. I would be greatly interested in further application and correction within the church; Glahn’s work provides the foundation for others to build upon.

[Natalie Herr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this was incredibly fascinating. The author takes on the challenge of examining the cultural significance of the cult of Artemis in Ephesus to Paul’s writings in the NT with fresh eyes (which might sound boring at first? But stick with me). She presents a wide variety of scholarly evidence to suggest that Artemis of Ephesus was not a fertility goddess as many have suggested, but a virgin goddess of midwifery/savior of women in childbirth - which has huge implications for understanding context in Paul’s letters. She then uses the historical evidence to interpret that old tricky passage in 1 Timothy concerning women teaching and the phrase “she will be saved through childbearing.”

As a woman in the church who has been deeply challenged/confused/etc by the passage in question and wondered at my own place in the church as a Bible teacher, I am grateful for the scholarly attention and myriad of sources provided for review. It is one part personal story (the intro), a few parts scholarly exploration and one part exegesis. Highly recommend if you’re into this kind of stuff- I finished it in just a day or two.

[Ben Makuh]

When you hear "1 Timothy 2," that either evokes nothing in you, or it raises strong feelings about how to interpret an incredibly confusing passage with regard to women and their role in the Church. If you're in the first category, don't buy this book. Even if you're in the latter category... honestly I have a hard time knowing exactly who this book is aimed towards. On the one hand, the subtitle is actually pretty accurate to what the book is: "Nobody's Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament." This is a book mostly concerned with Artemis, not any intramural theological debates that come to mind when you think of 1 Timothy 2.

On the other hand, I took the marketing material (the graphic design and the description) to be aimed at a lay Christian audience. Consider the lede of its description: "Some Christians think Paul's reference to 'saved through childbearing' in 1 Timothy 2:15 means that women are slated primarily for delivering and raising children. Alternate readings, however, sometimes fail to build on the best historical and textual evidence." I understood that to mean that the book was going to take the gleanings of current scholarship about the ancient city of Ephesus and its cult of Artemis and then mostly read 1 Timothy 2:15 through that lens. That's kind of true, I guess, but fully two-thirds of the book is a focused survey of current Artemis scholarship and what can be known about her from various sources and artifacts. There is a somewhat cursory final chapter that applies all this scholarship to how 1 Timothy 2, and particularly 2:15, is read, but it is more an afterthought than what the book's description might lead you to believe.

The giveaway that this is aimed at a more technical audience is that basically every blurb for it is written by an academic or at least individuals who tend toward the academic. And once you have that in mind, the reality is that it's really not a bad book! It's short, concise, and to the point, namely that Artemis was very likely not a fertility goddess as many have imagined. Indeed, the best scholarship suggests that she's a virgin, and that her temple was most likely not filled with salacious indecency as some have supposed. The takeaway, then, is that rather than being some kind of mother goddess, she's instead the opposite: nobody's mother. Think of her as a kind of divine midwife to whom women would be inclined to pray for deliverance from their potential deaths in childbirth.

The contention in the book is that when Paul says women will be "saved through childbearing," he's not capital-S Salvation to eternal life, but rather that praying to Artemis is not what will save her from death in the delivery room. Any woman facing her own (possibly imminent) death might be strongly tempted to go back to praying to Artemis "just in case," but Paul is instead urging them to stay the course and "continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control" (2:15b, ESV).

Though I'm not in a position to evaluate the veracity of her research and scholarship, I can say that I think the book is interesting and worth reading for pastors who believe either that 2:15 teaches women must get married and bear children in order to be saved, or that it means something more theologically abstract like that Eve would eventually receive her salvation through her distant offspring, Jesus. You can evaluate the merits of Glahn's argument for yourself, but I at least find it to be thought-provoking, plausible, and straightforward.

DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of a fair, unbiased review.

[Rebekah Sturgill · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there were helpful things in this book, I found it spent far too much time simply listing historical proofs of points already fully made and not enough time digging into what makes that important. The last chapter, which connects all these points, did so in such a disjointed way that I was left feeling like I had to figure it out for myself, which felt strange after the belaboring of historical data that made up well over half the book up until that point. It is clear this idea is important to Glahn but this book didn't seem to communicate that well to a general audience.

[Ella Edelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a book that takes a scholarly and archeological deep dive into the Ancient Greek goddess Artemis and her significance in the world of the early Church, I did not expect to fly through it like I did nor read the last page with tears in my eyes, but that is exactly how it went. Framing the project of this book within her personal story of infertility, Glahn presents a deeply compelling, rigorous and earnest interpretation of Paul’s commendation in I Timothy that the woman will be “saved through childbearing.” She doesn’t pull punches or side-step difficult-to-interpret passages, but maintains a high view of Scripture as she honestly and painstakingly reexamines long-misunderstood verses. A mind-boggling amount of research went into this book, and it shows on every page. Such an incredible work of scholarship, and a true gift to the Church.

[Mariah Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like a research paper. The author was unable to have children. Being a Christian, she struggled with what Paul, in scripture, and her western contemporaries, had to say about childbirth and women. If she couldn’t have children, was she not saved? How did that explain nuns? Etc. So she dived down a rabbit hole of literature references, primary sources (from Paul’s time), grammar, and Koine Greek to put Ephesus in context. What she presents here is a thorough study of Artimus (the fertility goddess) and her worshippers (including Amazons) and how Paul’s language in Ephesians would have called out the followers of Artimus and called Christians of the early church to live a life set apart because Christ was enough. What Paul references for class distinctions and to call out Artimus’ influence in Ephesus, wording he uses, has become something that both the feminist movement and the western church (surprise) misinterpreted.

Definitely a book that could ruffle some feathers, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. She pulls from the writing of Homer (The Iliad), Plutarch (hey, I know that guy!), Strabo (him, too!), and more. This book is probably best read with your Bible open next to it as you follow her references.

[Shane Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 reads: 02

Rating: 4 stars.

Compelling. More thoughts forthcoming.

[Angela Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could share this book with 13 year old me. As a kid, I had so many questions about Pauline passages on women. When I asked my dad about these texts, he always taught me that context and genre matter. What Paul’s audience understood as the plain meaning of the text isn’t always obvious to us. In “Nobody’s Mother,” Dr. Glahn (a prof at Dallas Seminary) provides extensive historical cultural context for the passages that most confused me. Her scholarship builds a careful and compelling case that helps me to see these texts in alignment with the canon of scripture (where the gospel IS good news for women) rather than as strange outliers to that message.

[Kim Shay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra Glahn delves into research on the cult of Artemis of Ephesus to determine what Paul means when he talks about women "being saved" in childbirth. In her research, she contradicts the popularly held notion that Artemis was associated with sex and cult prostitution. In fact, she goes to great lengths to reveal that Artemis was associated with midwifery and virginity. Artemis was the goddess women prayed to for a safe delivery of their children. Glahn posits that the apostle Paul in using that phrase is referring to a local saying that his listeners would understood, not what has been typically taught in conservative churches.

I'm sure there are critics who would find ways to argue with Glahn. That's fair. However, there simply is no way to be 100% certain about why Paul wrote any of his letters. There is no way to determine anything in the ancient world with the kind of accuracy that many believe. We have to look at the possibilities and make a decision as to which we believe is right.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of information! Glahn delves into Artemis, who she was, what she stood for, and what people believed she could do for them. In the last section, she looks at 1 Timothy 2 (especially v 15) to determine what Paul meant in the ancient context when prohibiting women from teaching and promising them salvation through childbearing. The book is densely packed and a little dry at times, but very valuable to the church. If you've ever wondered over these difficult verses, I recommend this book.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because I preordered this book, I received an advanced copy to read and provide an honest review.

Dr. Sandra Glahn has done a masterful job researching Artemis of the Ephesians for the background of her book. If you are not familiar with Greek mythology, you may be a bit overwhelmed (as I was) in some chapters. But hang in there - the background info builds toward her conclusion regarding women teaching in the church and women “saved through childbirth.”

I gleaned a lot of info that I previously did not know about Ephesus, Artemis and a better understanding of the culture of the people reading the original Pauline letter. I found that much of what I had been taught (and in turn taught to Bible study groups) was incorrect.

Dr. Glahn’s book is not long, but is packed with information - plenty of Scriptural references as well as historical references. I enjoyed the book, though it will take more than one read to really absorb all the research to the point where I could somewhat explain it. It was challenging for me, but still very accessible if you have been a student (lay student) of the Bible.

[Drake Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an intriguing book that challenges the perspective that Artemis was a fertility goddess. Many have promoted such a viewpoint. Sandra Glahn provides a convincing argument from literary sources, epigraphic sources, and architecture and art that Artemis was not a fertility goddess. She then applies this to the understanding of women found in 1 Timothy.

The book reads easily and provides a compelling argument. It will be appreciated by those interested in ancient history and also biblical studies.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

this takes an academic approach to addressing a difficult passage in Ephesians, providing helpful historical context and how this context provides a framework for interpretation. I will be reading this again.

[Galina Krasskova · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may have been written for Christians but it is a beautiful homage to Artemis as well, and very useful for those venerating Her today. I recommend it to polytheists today with the caveat that the main argument of the book involves a reading of 1 Timothy, and Artemis is a means whereby that analysis of context and close reading is accomplished. There is some very lovely philology in the book. Quite nicely done.

[Anthony Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the introduction, the author shares her personal journey of struggle with childlessness as well as both a giftedness and desire to teach. These are set alongside the author's desire for 'traditional' role of women. The resulting conflict lead to further investigation of the Bible's teaching about women and, eventually and after much hesitation, a decision to get graduate degrees and teach the bible.

Chapter 1 investigates the teaching of the luminaries of the historical church, from Chrysostom to the Reformers, which assert a prohibition against women in leadership and teaching roles based on an ontological defect; women are considered somehow less than men and even a less-than-complete image bearer of God. On this point she notes that modern proponents of this traditional understanding of women in ministry often prefer the label 'complementation' rather than traditionalist in an effort to distance themselves from this defective view of women and assert the ontological equality of men and women.

Next Glahn examines reports of what women actually did in the ancient church wherein she finds evidence as far back as the first counsel of Nicaea. I expect some would take issue with some of this purported evidence, but I'll leave that to others to sort out). Granting these  accounts of women in leadership and teaching roles in the early church, then raises the question, What has changed? Among a litany of causes, she highlights the theological shift away from the priesthood of all believers toward an ecclesiology patterned after the Old Testament. This led to an increasing clergy/lay divide as well as raised questions of blood and uncleanliness as the eucharist came to be associated with the former Temple sacrifice. The chapter concludes with a host of reasons why a new study of this issue is warranted.

Chapter 2 provides a brief history of Ephesus along with a review of the biblical accounts of Paul's time in Ephesus in Acts 19. From this a basic outline of the demographic and religious context of first century Ephesus is made clear. Glahn then reviews the influence of the popular view of Artemis as a fertility or mother goddess as the background to Paul's words in 1 Timothy 2.12-ff., using Richard Clark Kroeger and Catherine Clark Kroeger's I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking I Timothy 2:11-15 in Light of Ancient Evidence as a particularly salient foil. According to these authors, the fertility goddess Artemis, along with the city's ancient connection to the (according to the authors) man-hating Amazons provided the city with a female-dominant society. Paul's letter to Timothy, then is intended--in part--to counter this male-female reversal. To counter and discredit this interpretation of Artemis, Glahn provides the response of the many reputable scholars which have criticized this perspective on the basis of the dubious Amazon connection, the lack of historical evidence for Artemis as a fertility goddess, and the late dates for the sources used by the Koroegers.

However, while she agrees with those scholars who reject Artemis as a fertility or mother goddess, she counters their perspective on the Amazons with additional evidence relevant to the first century. She notes carvings in Ephesus which in fact depict the Amazon women in connection to the city's origins and which date to the time of Hadrian or within 100 years of Paul's writing. This, along with archaeological findings in the mid-1990's have helped shift the Amazons from the realm of myth to a real potential influence in first century Ephesus.

Chapters 3-5 assess the relevant literary, epigraphic, and architectural sources which contribute to a more complete understanding of the relevance of Artemis and Amazons in first century Ephesus. The evidence and Glahn’s analysis is important and compelling. Get the book and see for yourself!

*SPOILERS*

In chapter 6, Glahn begins her case for the Artemis cult background of 1 Timothy by reviewing the use of titles found in documentary and epigraphic evidence related to the Artemis cult which are paralleled in 1 Timothy (queen/king, saviour, lord, and god). She rightly highlights the unique use of the σωτήρ word group in 1 Timothy and Titus in particular (Crete had some possible connection to the Artemis cult; see p. 118n2). It is unusual, she notes, for so many titles to pile up in the first chapters of Paul's letters and for each of these terms to appear together. This observation is correct. From this she deduces that Paul was likely signaling to his readers his concern for the influence of the Artemis cult upon the church. However, here she may prove too much; this combination of terms is not found in Paul's epistle specifically addressed to the Ephesians (Glahn supports traditional Pauline authorship and cites with approval Immendörfer, who argues for the authenticity of the traditional addressee; Ephesians and Artemis: The Cult of the Great Goddess of Ephesus as the Epistle's Context).  Moreover, a strong case can be (has been) made for each of these terms addressing tension with other Roman cults, not least the imperial cult. I find this terminological argument unconvincing.

Next, she rehearses the evidence for magical rites in Ephesus and finds allusions to these in the text of 1 Timothy. She references the research of Lloyd K. Pietersen advocating the translation of φλύαροι καὶ περίεργοι as “those who talk non- sense” and busybodies as “those who practice magic” (see “Women as Gossips and Busybodies? Another look at 1 Timothy 5:13,” Lexington Theological Quarterly 41, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 19-35). Importantly for Glahn’s wider point, this interpretation also supports the view that women were actively involved in teaching in the Ephesian church. This is reinforced by the use of a form of περίεργος in Acts 19.20-27 and 2 Timothy 3.6-9. Further reference to the Artemis cult is suggested by the use of στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας in 1 Tim 3.15, which the author sees as an allusion to the Artemis temple and statue. This and several other proposed allusions are, in my opinion, somewhat tenuous but may form part of a cumulative body of evidence.

Glahn situates the command concerning women's clothing (1 Timothy 2.9) in relation to the adornment of the Artemis statue as revealed by archaeological findings discussed in chapter 5. This, coupled with the predilection for celibacy influenced by the Artemis cult and which is addressed throughout 1 Timothy, suggest the issue of women's clothing is focused on clothing as primarily a symbol of social class rather than a matter of sexual attraction. The association of Artemis with celibacy may also explain the focus on marriage, childbirth, and the need to so carefully care for and categorize unmarried women in 1 Timothy.

Ephesus, like much of the ancient world, connected religious practice, benefaction, and wealth. Glahn suggests that such an association may lie behind the prohibition against women teachers in 1 Timothy 2.11. If the church in Ephesus was supported by women benefactors (as was Jesus' ministry and Paul, to some extent) then having such influential women teach could open the door to undue influence and the potential for false teaching. It is noteworthy in this regard that both elders and deacons are instructed to be free from the love of money and that the love of money is identified as the root of all  evil.

Glahn joins those who argue the word-pair ἀνήρ and γυνή in 2.8-15 should be read as 'husbands and wives' rather than 'men and women'. First, she suggests, when the two appear together as here, "they almost always mean married people (p.122-134).” Needless to say, this assessment is open to critique. More convincingly, she notes that the reference to childbearing in 2.15 is certainly a reference to married women. By translating these references as husbands and wives, she contends, several elements of the passage cohere more naturally.

First, men/husbands are told to pray without arguing and dispute, suggesting that something in the context of communal prayers was arising anger among them. Second, women/wives are consequently (ὡσαύτως) instructed to be mindful of their clothing, which, as noted above, was likely related to signaling social class rather than sexuality. First century Roman wives were afforded a grater degree of autonomy than unmarried women and Paul's command makes most sense if addressed to those with more agency to determine their apparel, namely wives. Additionally, Roman wives were “not to intervene (intercede) in public settings nor come between two parties, and an imperial ban already existed from the time of Augustus on women intervening on behalf of their husbands in the context of legal argument,” (Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities, 93).

From this, Glahn asserts, it may be surmised that Paul's instruction for women to listen rather than teach is aimed husband-wife interaction and preserving the reputation of the church. Further, quietness ἡσυχία (2.11,12) is also used in Paul's desire for the whole church to live peaceful and quiet lives (2.2) which is, itself, specifically reference to governing authorities. 

Turning to the present imperative verb (vs 12) and the difficult switch to singular γυνή in verses 11-12, Glahn suggests these indicate Paul's giving a personal, contextual command rather than a global command from the Lord, similar to 1 Corinthians 7.25. It is hard to criticize this suggestion, even if such a difficult grammatical problem would have benefited from more discussion. The author has cleared the way for understanding the singular γυνή as a turn from talking about husbands and wives generally to addressing those specific wives which were behaving in this way. The argument is thin at this point, but worthy of further consideration and refinement.

Regarding the difficult word αὐθεντέω, Glahn makes two points. Citing Jamin Hübner, she first highlights a negative nuance of the word found outside the New Testament ranging from domination to murder (Jamin Hübner, “Revisiting αὐθεντέω in 1 Timothy 2.12: What Do the Extant Data Really Show?,” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 5, no. 1 (Summer 2015): 41-70). She then connects this to the Ephesian origin myth and the Amazons who, while not male-hating, were proudly independent of men. Such independence is in contrast with the apostle's teaching on the interdependence of men and women in Christ (1 Corinthians 11.11-12). Paul's command, then, prohibits wives (or women) from promoting autonomy from their husbands (men). She also seems to promote a view of διδάσκειν . . . οὐδὲ αὐθεντεῖν as hendiadys, following, for example, Linda Belleville (Linda L. Belleville, “Teaching and Usurping Authority,” in Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy, 217). However, she is a bit ambiguous and noncommittal on this point.

Glahn next turns to verses verses 13-14 and Paul's words about Adam's creation and Eve's deception. This, she suggests, is not an argument against women's leadership from created order and much less a statement of the ontological inferiority of women, but rather a reinforcement of the importance of male-female interdependence. These truths from Genesis, she says, are intended to counter the Artemis myth. Whereas Ephesian Artemis was born first, for Paul Jesus is the firstborn of creation and in the Genesis creation story man was created first. Glahn writes, "the man is first in a male-female pairing—and he was not even the one deceived (p143)." It is difficult to know what to make of this last point, that Adam was not deceived. She makes no connection here to the Artemis myth. And, in versions of the myth where deception plays a role, it is Artemis who is deceived by Apollo, resulting in the death of Orion (Aratus, Phaenomena 634ff; Eratosthenes, Catasterisms 32; Hyginus, Fabulae 195; etc.). This conforms to, rather than contrasts with, the biblical creation story and seems to undermine her point. Unfortunately, the author does not enter into greater detail here, although additional argumentation could surely help her case.

Regarding verse 15, Glahn first shows, that σωθήσεται, in the context of the pauline letters, refers to salvation from sin. She also dismisses the notion that Paul intended by this verse to insist that all women must give birth to be saved. This second observation however, according to the author, must mean that σωθήσεται has a meaning other than salvation from sin and instead points to a local issue relating to the role of Artemis. Such a local connection is surely where the preceding analysis of Artemis as a goddess of midwifery rather than motherhood has been pointing. She notes the switch from singular to plural verbs (σωθήσεται; μείνωσιν) which, she suggests, indicates Paul's use of a local saying. By this reading, Paul echoes the supposed Ephesian saying "she will be saved through childbirth" but rather than by petitions and appeasement of Artemis, this deliverance/salvation will come from faith and good deeds. Thus she concludes, "Paul was assuring his protégé that believing Ephesian women did not need the goddess of midwifery. Rather, a woman who converted from worshiping Artemis to following Jesus would be saved (delivered) safely—assuming that she lived for Christ (p155)" Finally, Glanh views the metacomment, "this is a faithful saying" as a conclusion of this discussion, rather than opening the following discussion about church leaders.

Ultimately, I find the climax of Glahn’s argument underdeveloped. While she has done a wonderful job of highlighting the role of women in the early church and correcting false views of Ephesian Artemis in the first century in chapters 1-5, her application of these findings to 1 Tim 2.11-15 falls short. In addition to the shortcomings mentioned in the review above, she does not address the intertextual echoes of the Genesis creation and curse story or how they may have influenced the switch of person from singular to plural. The issue of reading men/husbands/women/wives has been argued many times over in the literature, most of which is neglected by the author who does not add anything to the previous discussion. As a result, her own case for reading for husbands/wives is insufficient. Moreover, potential alternative applications of the Artemis myth as detailed by the author to 1 Timothy 2.11-15 are not addressed. Most importantly, the evidence offered for own reading of σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας as a local Ephesian phrase (in itself a promising suggestion) is tragically sparse.

Nonetheless, there is much to praise. Glahn’s presentation of the evidence for her interpretation of first century Artemis and the Amazons is very well done. Her connection of the general vocabulary and tenor of various aspects of the Artemis myth with 1 Timothy is enticing. The treatment of ἡσυχία in connection with Roman law and good citizenship is appealing and in keeping with other recent research ( for example, Thomas Hoklotubbe, Civilized Piety: The Rhetoric of Pietas in the Pastoral Epistles and the Roman Empire). Her treatment of αὐθεντέω is likewise impressive and suggestive for further study. I recommend the book and am glad to have read it as a reminder of the complexity of the role of men and women in the church, an important corrective to popular views of the Artemis cult and its relevance to first century Ephesus, and a somewhat weak but provocative case for a new understanding of 1 Timothy 2.11-15.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful!

Of course, on topics like these, one could always wish for even more details or more thorough implications into other topics, but Glahn has laid a very careful basis for establishing what Artemis was perceived as and what worship looked like in the first century. She then applies it to first Timothy, a couple spots in Titus, and even 1 Thessalonians. In the last chapter, she even paints a hypothetical scenario in how all this could play out in a church setting that I thought was very clarifying. I think her work goes a long way towards demonstrating how social settings and beliefs played into Paul’s letters and what that might mean for overall interpretation. I sincerely hope that she continues to build up on this work and/or someone else picks up the torch and carries it farther.

[Macy Provance · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I went to the library last week, I picked this book up because I noticed it on the highlight shelf of new books. After reading the back cover, I decided it seemed like an interesting and timely book to read. Needless to say I had no background knowledge of Glahn nor heard any reviews/reccs prior to reading.

The topic of women and the church is obviously a super essential conversation for followers of Christ and for those who operate in ministerial roles. I personally have really wrestled with honoring God and keeping a high regard of scripture while navigating a culture that often appears to devalue and discourage women from leading in ministerial roles. If I was commanded to participate in the great commission and also have access to the same Holy Spirit that gives authority to those who’s believe in Christ, why would there be a limitation on where and how I serve the Lord?

In this book Glahn analyzes the historical, cultural, and literary context in which Paul wrote 1 Timothy 2. This very much is a scholarly text, reading to me like a senior thesis. In the first two thirds to three fourths of the book, Glahn analyzes the role of the goddess Artemis as pertains to the early church in Ephesus. While this is very valuable, she really doesn’t break the key scripture —which I assumed would be the focus of the text— down, until the last chapter. Overall I felt reading this text brought me closer to understanding Paul’s message to the church in Ephesus and how it pertains to Christians today.

While I learned a lot from this text, here are some highlights. This reading on the role of Artemis contradicted some teaching I had commonly heard which held that Paul was telling the women to be silent and not allowing them to have authority because of a culture of cult prostitution of those following Artemis. We see in this text that Artemis was actually a goddess of virginity and modesty. Another key take away for me was that the idea of women leaders in the church did not originate with modern day evangelical feminist movements, but has been around sense the days of the early church; female leaders maintained roles of leadership in house churches.

To conclude, this book is an encouragement to me to continue to study and analyze scripture so that I can receive and understand the fullness of Christ’s message to His Church. It is also a challenge to value the teachings of respected teachers while also leaving space for other faithful interpretations.

[Jake Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and well-researched study of the greek goddess, Artemis, the impact her following had on the city of Ephesus in the first century, and the effect this information has on studies of 1 Timothy 2. Glahn disproves the notion that the Artemis cult was associated with fertility and prostitution. Instead, Artemis was the goddess of midwifery and her most devoted followers, many of whom were women, remained unmarried. She was nobody's mother.

After a detailed study of Artemis, both generally and in the context of first century Ephesus, Glahn shows how an accurate grasp of Artemis and the city of Ephesus illuminates our understanding of 1 Timothy 2, specifically verse 15, where Paul writes that women will be "saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense" (1 Tim. 2:15b). Glahn makes a compelling case that "she will be saved through childbearing" is likely a quote from those associated with the Artemis cult that is then used by Paul to make a point about following Jesus the Messiah. To place your faith Jesus in the first century was to give up allegiance to goddesses like Artemis. This change in identity brought with it not just the risk of social and familial alienation, but also the forfeiting of protection by Artemis in childbirth, a tumultuous and extremely dangerous event in the first century. Paul is writing to assure former followers of Artemis that Jesus, the one true God and Savior, is able to protect his people in a way Artemis can not.

The most helpful message of the book, in my opinion, is the need to take seriously the context in which letters like 1 Timothy are written. I feel as though this is often underdeveloped and overlooked, especially by complementarians who believe the commands in 1 Timothy 2:8-15 are timeless principles for church polity rather than instructions contextualized for specific audiences that are not intended to be standard for all of church history.

This is sure to be an important book in the conversation about understandings of 1 Timothy 2 and women's ministry in the church.

[Jared Greer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glahn helpfully corrects the Kroegers’ flawed argument that Artemis was a mothering fertility goddess; but nevertheless demonstrates that the Artemis cult *is* almost undoubtedly a relevant contextual backdrop for Paul’s first letter to Timothy. She makes a powerful case that draws extensively from Scripture, literature, epigraphs, architecture, and art.

Glahn’s interpretation of 1 Tim. 2:8-15 offers a good deal of explanatory power—particularly v. 15, where she provides a resolution to both the odd salvific significance of childbearing and the changing pronominal forms (she>they). Nevertheless, some will undoubtedly remain unconvinced of all her conclusions (including myself). While I largely agree with Glahn’s overall theology, I tend to disagree with her particular interpretation of verse 15. It makes more sense to me that the salvation of verse 15 is soteriological in nature, not physiological. I’ve always preferred Alan Padgett’s interpretation of the verse, in which he argues that Paul is employing a kind of midrashic hermeneutic in order to speak typologically about the situation in Ephesus. Glahn’s interpretation relies too heavily upon conjecture; and it would be far better substantiated if she could provide evidence of the existence of the mysterious folk adage she assumes Paul is repurposing in verse 15.

Be that as it may, it’s certainly possible that Paul is intentionally repurposing and recontextualizing the pagan parlance of ancient Ephesus for rhetorical effect. I’ve always been agnostic about the Artemis backdrop in 1 Timothy 2; it’s virtually impossible to have any kind of certainty about the precise context and occasion for such a complicated and ambiguous text. Nevertheless, Glahn gets me pretty close to convinced that Artemis is at least partially in view. With her extensive scholarship in mind, it becomes quite easy to identify (more than) a few plausible textual links between 1 Timothy and the Ephesian Artemis mythology.

It should be noted that neither an egalitarian view nor a complementarian view hinges upon whether or not Artemis is in view in 1 Tim. 2. A common caricature of the egalitarian position is that it relies upon the backdrop of the Artemis cult; but that is simply not true. Nevertheless, if Glahn’s view is correct, the logic of 1 Tim. 2:8-15 may be a bit more penetrable.

[Meredith Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

(5/5 stars) This book came around at just the right time! I was doing a study on 1 Timothy with a small group and found myself getting frustrated that the historical context of Paul writing to Timothy in Ephesus was being ignored. Why would Paul in 1 Timothy tell Timothy that young widows should remarry when in his letter to the Corinthian church he says it is good for them to stay single? What does Paul mean when he says that "women shall be saved through childbearing," and what implications does it have for women who choose to remain single or who can't bear children? Why does Paul call back to the Genesis story?

Glahn's work helps the reader understand the Ephesus to which Paul was writing - one enthralled by magic (Acts 19) and the cult of Artemis. It is through this historical lens that Glahn encourages us to read 1 Timothy 2 (especially verses 13-15, which are often contentious and misunderstood). Glahn shows that though Paul never directly names other gods, his language directly calls out the cult of Artemis of the time, showing that Jesus is better than Artemis. Glahn states,

"In the same way that kryptonite evokes thoughts of Superman without uttering his name, Paul could refer to Jesus as the/our Savior in Ephesus and listeners would know he was exalting Christ over the local deity...[Paul] adopts local Artemis terminology and redefines it in relation to Christ so that the cultic terms are used to criticize the cult."

Glahn's work is clearly academic and very well researched, drawing on all available historical sources (epigraphs, architecture, sculptures, literature, etc.) to shine light on and provide context to a passage which has always seemed out of sync with Paul's teachings elsewhere in Scripture. I would certainly recommend the read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This book is out now!

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful for offering a fairly detailed look at Artemis of the Ephesians. Glahn makes a compelling case for Artemis' identity as a celibate goddess who played an important midwifery role for women. I was already fairly familiar with the Artemis of ancient Greece, who is always shown as prizing virginity, so I was surprised that anyone would have argued she was a fertility goddess. Glahn soundly does away with that theory and also shows how Artemis can both be celibate and yet associated with childbirth. All that said, this book was helpful for framing 1 Tim., and I do think that it just makes the most sense that Paul's "saved through childbearing" statement must be a direct answer to the cult of Artemis and somehow related to physical deliverance (even if not a guaranteed promise). I didn't find Glahn's final chapter (where she pulled everything together to argue for her interpretation of the entire 1 Tim. 2 section) to be particularly strong, but I'm certainly all the way with her on one main point: you cannot ignore Artemis when interpreting 1 Tim., and that changes things!

[Aaron Carlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't sure where this book was headed, but I can pleasantly say it was informative in more ways than I thought. She starts the book with her own journey of having certain verses taken out of context (even to the point where someone said that securing salvation comes to women by having babies). The middle of the book meanders in reinforcing her background to where she will ultimately land.

What is great about books is that you don't have to agree with every bit of them to find them enjoyable and informative. This is one such book. I think there might be stretches and leaps in the Amazon connections (I won't spoil it by telling you about it because either you know what I am talking about or you don't really care), but getting past the middle section brings the book home.