Why did Paul tell the women to watch their language and behavior in the Corinthian church?
Paul instructed women to guard their speech and conduct because Corinth was steeped in gross immorality, including temple priestesses practicing prostitution. Any brazen, talkative behavior resembling those prostitutes would give the world a wrong impression of the church and violate the call for decency and order.
Les explains that Paul’s instruction had a specific reason, not the anti-feminist charge his critics brought. Corinth was a wicked city marked by gross immorality, and the temple on the bluff sent a thousand priestesses into the streets nightly practicing prostitution. The little church faced this daily. So Paul laid upon the congregation: do nothing that smacks of being like one of those prostitutes. He told the ladies to watch their languages, speaking, and behavior, because anything that smacked of those brazen, talkative prostitutes would give the world the wrong impression. This fits the earlier command that everything be done decently and in order.
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
More Questions
Why did Paul tell women to keep silent in the churches in 1 Corinthians 14:34?
Paul told the women to keep silence in the churches because Corinth was a wicked city full of temple prostitution, and he did not want believers to do anything that smacked of being like those brazen, talkative prostitutes, which would give the world the wrong impression.
What did Paul tell the congregation in Corinth not to do?
Paul instructed the congregation of believers not to do anything that would smack of being like those prostitutes.