Journal of Early Christian Studies

While the title suggests a focus exclusively on the Acts of Thecla (ATh), this book is equally about the interpretation of 1 Timothy. In part, this volume represents yet another response to the 1980s scholarship of Virginia Burrus, Stevan Davies, and Dennis MacDonald. The primary point of critique, however, is not the problems associated with retrieving historical women from rhetorical texts, but rather what Hylen takes to be the error of reading the ATh and the Pastoral Epistles as representing "two distinct and conflicting viewpoints on the roles of women in the church" (3). Hylen argues 1) that the ATh and 1 Timothy have far more in common in their attitudes toward women than is typically recognized; and 2) that even their contradictory views do not necessarily correspond to two distinct groups of early Christians. In other words, rather than seeing these texts as two diverging streams of Pauline thought, Hylen reads them as largely compatible examples of [End Page 479] the ways in which issues concerning women's modesty and leadership "cut across and through various groups instead of forming boundaries between them" (115).

In Chapter One, Hylen describes the status quaestionis on the relationship between ATh and 1 Timothy and the attitude of both toward women. Hylen draws on the work of Saba Mahmood, Kathryn Tanner, and others to question the notion that ancient Mediterranean culture was an "internally consistent whole," as well as the notion that women's only avenue to agency was through resistance to their culture's dominant norms. Instead, Hylen looks for women's agency that is "shaped by and embedded within social relationships" (12). In Chapter Two, Hylen surveys Greco-Roman sources representing the contemporary ideals and expectations with respect to women, along with evidence of how women actually acted within society. She pays special attention to the question of how marriage affected a woman's ability to act independently. Unsurprisingly, Hylen finds that women were "broadly expected to be modest, industrious, and loyal to their families" (19). Hylen notes that female modesty in literary sources generally includes an emphasis on restrained speech, but this is often paired with praiseworthy public action—thus these seemingly contradictory attitudes could go together. On marital status, Hylen argues—counter to much scholarship—that marriage and childbearing may well have provided women more opportunities for asserting agency and influence than remaining unmarried.

In Chapters Three and Four, Hylen provides analyses of 1 Timothy and the ATh against the background provided in Chapter Two. Hylen argues against previous interpreters who have understood 1 Timothy as "a work that seeks to restrict the leadership of women," noting that this perspective assumes that "1) the letter points to celibate groups of women as opponents; 2) the letter presents a consistent set of norms for women's behavior that were strictly enforced; and 3) marriage restricts women's freedom" (70). Hylen rejects the notion that the letter must address a single group of opponents and finds in 1 Timothy an inconsistency—familiar from Greco-Roman sources—whereby women are called upon to be modest (and thus restrained in speech), yet are also depicted as playing leadership roles in the community (according to Hylen's reading of 1 Timothy 3.11–13). Furthermore, Hylen argues that if marriage, as she argued in Chapter Two, is "an avenue toward leadership for women, not a simple roadblock" (69), then it is possible that "the author [of 1 Timothy] validates the most common path for women to accrue honor and social status: they should marry, bear children, and manage their households" (69).

In Chapter Four, Hylen makes two arguments. The first is that the ATh in fact "affirms common societal norms for women's behavior" (73). The second argument, that the ATh "does not necessarily represent a rejection of marriage" (73), is both less familiar and more interesting. Here, Hylen points to Onesiphorus as a positive example of...