It's a letter addressing a specific context so you have to try to infer what that context is. We know he couldn't have meant women cannot speak in the church at all since women could prophesy according to Paul and he laid out rules for that church in doing so.
A clue is the statement, if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home. This has been taken to mean that they were asking their husbands questions and generally talking too much in church, and Paul is saying, hey, be quiet and not disruptive. Some go as far as to believe that women sat on one side of the room and men on the other and so they were having to be somewhat loud to communicate with their husbands. On this part, I have no idea really, but I think it's clear something disruptive and disorderly to a degree was going on, and that the problem was with the women.
The other thing to note is the reference to the Law involves women being created after man to be man's help-meet. Paul is saying that the way you conduct church must preserve the headship of the man in the family is how I read it. Others read it women cannot teach.
A big problem, imo, with the women cannot teach interpretation is that women, like Deborah, in the Law were not so much "under obedience" and also Paul mentions there is neither male, nor female in Christ and women preachers and apostles.
I think the solution here is to once again consider the context. Perhaps they were following more of a synagogue approach from that era or a format where men could ask questions or interject. Paul's letters though they establish leaders are generally less leader/priest/pastor dominated than today's churches. There is more of an equality because he says any of you may share a revelation or doctrine, a hymn, etc,.....seems a bit more free-flowing.
However, it may have appeared unseemly to allow women in that soceity the same freedom as men as it could seem to place women, who share an equality spiritually, an equality in the family, which Paul elsewhere insists the man is the head of the wife. Paul and the New Testament unequivocally make men the heads of their families. However, I disagree with many that argue women cannot teach or preach or occupy leadership roles.
Edited by randman, : No reason given.
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