Someone recently sent me an excerpt from a book by a Messianic Jew regarding whether or not women should keep silence in the churches, as 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 suggests. In that excerpt, the author stated that Paul's reference to the law there cannot apply to Genesis 3:16.
This article will address this question specifically and provide a brief explanation of what Paul means when he says women must "keep silent in the churches."
Does Genesis 3:16 apply to I Corinthians 14:34-35?
First, let me quote the text:
34, Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.
35, And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church
Women silent in the church?
Before I get into the relevance of Genesis 3:16, let me first say a word about the meaning of I Corinthians 14:34-35 for women speaking in the church.
According to the whole of chapter 14, the Corinthians had complete chaos in their public meetings. Everybody was talking over everybody and no one was learning anything (both in prophesying and speaking in tongues; for the difference between prophesying and the office of a profit, see this article here). For Paul to comment as he did in 34-35, the women must have been a big part of this confusion.
When he addresses the women here, he is saying that, as women are under the authority of their husbands, they should not be talking over men (either their husbands or other men) when matters of doctrine are discussed.
Since he specifically mentions they are to be "submissive," the women must have been challenging the men or somehow attempting to correct them. Since this violates God's will that women submit to men, Paul commanded that it cease.
Because the issue is submission, he is not preventing women from asking questions or having a discussion about doctrine with men. He is saying that, if a woman disagrees or finds herself wanting to challenge a man in these situations, she is to stop talking and discuss the matter later with her husband.
Genesis 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35
When Paul says that women "are to be submissive, as the law also says," many believe he is referring to Genesis 3:16, where, in pronouncing the curse upon the woman, God indicates the man's authority: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
The excerpt from the Messianic Jew book (mentioned earlier) took issue with this connection[1]:
Where in the Torah or the Old Testament/Tanakh does it say: “For it has not been permitted for them to speak; but let them be in subjection?” I can’t find it anywhere in the Old Testament. In fact, scholars for centuries have searched for the scripture that Paul might have been referring to and still have not found it either.
People will often quote Genesis 3:16.... [But] there is no mention in Genesis 3:16 about women keeping silent.
Points to consider
"Keep silent" must be understood in context. It has to do with submission, not with the uttering of individual words. This is why Paul in that same text speaks of them being "submissive." The equivalent would be for me to tell my son to be quiet if he begins to argue with me in a way that dishonors my authority as his father. By doing this, I do not mean he can never speak again in any context. I only mean that, in the sense that he is attempting to usurp my authority, he needs to stop speaking. (This does not imply that women are children relative to men. It is simply a way to illustrate the point on submission.)
Genesis 3:16 states that the husband will rule over his wife, which is a direct statement about submission. The words used in this text mean the man will have authority over his wife ("he shall rule over you"), but she will want to rise up and rule him (your desire shall be for your husband). The only other place in the Old Testament where this type of wording appears is in the very next chapter of Genesis where God talks to Cain about sin: "If you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it" (4:7b).
Here, sin is desiring to rule the man. It wants to control and dominate him. But in God's design, the man must strive to control his sin. How does this inform Genesis 3:16? It shows that, due to the fall, the woman will want to dominate her husband, even though God has given him authority in their relationship. This will be an inner struggle she has naturally, but she will have to fight that urge and submit to him anyway. This directly addresses Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians 14, where he is telling the woman to be in subjection to her husband by not taking issue with his comments (or any other man's) in public. The argumentative actions of the Corinthian women flowed directly from their desire to rule their husbands as described in Genesis 3:16, so Paul corrected it by referring to the principle found in Genesis.
Paul refers to Genesis 3 again in 1 Timothy 2 when instructing Timothy on women's roles in the church. In 1 Timothy 2:12-14, he says, "And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression."
This is the same portion of the law he was referring to in 1 Corinthians 14. Here, he ties the woman's submission to 1) her order in creation and 2) her role in the fall, both of which are discussed in Genesis 3.
Notice he uses the word "silence" again and connects it, not to verbal soundlessness, but submission to authority. He then gives the two reasons women are required to submit: the created order and Eve's actions in the fall. (For more on the role of men and women as related to the created order, see the video "Men & Women Roles Based on the Genesis 2 Creation Account."
Conclusions
Paul's comments about silence in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 have to do with submission to authority, not the number of words women can speak in the church. Furthermore, Genesis 3:16 is completely consistent with his commands there, as they deal directly with submission to authority. In other places in his writings, like 1 Timothy 2:12-14, Paul is consistent in tying female submission to Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:16, therefore, applies directly to 1 Corinthians 14:34-35.
References
Torah for Women, "Should women keep silent?" http://www.torahforwomen.com/should-women-keep-silent-book.html