Kephale (New Testament)


kephalē appears some 75 times in the Greek New Testament. It is of considerable interest today because of differences of biblical interpretation between Christian egalitarians and Complementarians as to the intent of the New Testament concerning roles of authority assigned biblically to husbands and wives. A prime example appears in where all Christians are told:
and the following three verses say:

Complementarians">Complementarianism">Complementarians

Complementarians translate "head " in the above verses as meaning “presupposed authority", “superior rank", “leader", signifying the servant leadership role a husband has with his wife.
Their argument for this translation is founded in evidence in wider Greek literature. Wayne Grudem, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, reports that in his research of 2336 ancient Greek artifacts, over 50 instances kephalē are translated to mean having presupposed authority. He writes that none of those instances are translated to 'source', thus refuting the egalitarians' claim. Grudem also notes a personal letter in 1997 from P.G.W. Glare, then the editor of the Liddell, Scott, Jones and McKenzie Greek-English lexicon , stating that the entry for kephalē is unsatisfactory and that the translation of 'source' does not exist.

Christian egalitarians">Christian egalitarianism">Christian egalitarians

Christian egalitarians propose two possible treatments of the Apostle Paul's use of kephalē:
Paul's counsel to the husbands in New Testament passages that describe husbands as being kephalē made potentially greater demands on the husbands. Paul told them to "love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.... Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself".