Skeuo as Wife

in
1st Thessalonians 4:4

by
Andrew D. Sargent

1
 Skeuoas wife in 1st Thessalonians 4:4
The debate over the meaning of skeuo vessel as it is used by Paul in I Thess. 4:4 has
continued since the early Fathers.1 In 4:1-8, Paul emphasizes Christian living with a call to
sexual purity as both an expression of one’s knowledge of God, and a loving attitude toward his
brother. Paul says, Tou'to gavr e*stin qevlhma tou' qeou',... ei*devnai e@kaston u&mw'n toV e&autou'
skeu'o" kta'sqai e*n a&giasmw'/ kaiV timh'/, For this is the will of God... to know, each of you, to
possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. One interpretation says that skeuo
references a man’s body or sex organs. Hence, a man should control himself and not act like a
pagan. A second interpretation says that skeuo references a man’s wife as the only proper
avenue for sexual expression. The evidence for both is strong, but it is the purpose of this study
to demonstrate the superiority of skeuo as wife, by considering Hellenistic, Old Testament,
Rabbinic, and New Testament occurrences of skeuo and its synonym aggeion and by
examining the immediate phrase context of skeuo in I Thess. 4:4.

Skeuoliterally refers to the “stuff” of a person or place which is used to accomplish

one’s duties.2 It is found in the Hellenistic world in reference to everything from household
utensils, to jugs or drinking cups of any make, a farmer’s tools, a caravan’s luggage, a warrior’s
weapons, a ship’s tackle or even its anchor. In a temple, it may reference furnishings or sacred
vessels.3 It was not uncommon to use skeuo to describe figurative “stuff” as well. Thus, the

1
Augustine and Tertullian. For wife see Ernest Best, The First and Second Epistles to the
Thessalonians in Black’s New Testament Commentary, gen. ed. Henry Chadwick (1972;
rpt. Peabody: Hendrikson Publishers, 1986), p.161. For body see F. F. Bruce, Word Biblical
Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, gen. eds. David Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, N.T.
ed. Ralph Martin (Waco: Word Biblical Publishers, 1982), p. 83.
2
W. L. Lane, Vessel vol. 3 in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 4
vols., gen. ed. Colin Brown, trans. with add. & rev. from the German Theologisches
Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament, eds. Lothar Coenen, Erich Beyreuther, and Hans
Bietenhard (1978; rpt. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), pp. 912-913.
3
Christian Maurer, “skeuo” vol. VII in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, X vols.,
eds. Gerhard Kittle, and Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids:
Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1971), pp. 358-359.

1
term speaks of a man as another’s tool, or even of a man’s genitalia as a sex tool.4 In later
periods, a man’s body is spoken of as a vessel for the soul.5

In the LXX, the term skeuo frequently translates the Hebrew term yl!K+ which has a
remarkable similarity to it in its general “stuff” nature.6 Of keenest interest are the possible
figurative parallels from the Old Testament which Paul may have constructed.7 In Is. 29:16 and
Jer. 18:1-11, man is like a vessel on the potter’s wheel. God creates man in keeping with His
purposes. In Is. 45:9, Cyrus is a created vessel, accomplishing God’s designs for Israel.8 Of
course, yl!K+ is translated by more terms than skeuo most of which are more precise
interpretations such as weapon, axe, cup, letter, musical instrument, or even a shepherd’s
satchel. There is, however, another, more relevant, term for yl!K,= which shares the general vessel
nature of skeuo Aggeion is used in every context one might find skeuo. It is also found in
one context where skeuo is not found, one which may correspond with I Thess. 4:4. In the
LXX of Prov. 5:15, amid a poetic warning against the harlot, the “son” is encouraged toward his
own wife. A wife is called an aggeion vessel in whose love a man is increased.

4
Maurer, p. 359.
5
Maurer, p. 359.
6
John Oswalt, “ylK” vol. 1 in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2 vols., eds. R. Laird
Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), pp.
982-983. [K. M.] Beyse, ”ylK” vol. VII in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament,
VIII vols., eds. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, Heinz-Josef Fabry, trans. David
E. Green (Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1995), pp. 169-175.
7
The figurative uses of vessel which play upon non-functional aspects are of little benefit in the
present discussion. Hence, Psalm 30:13 and Jeremiah 22:28 which compare man with a
broken vessel do not help because the image is to worthlessness, not to legitimate vessel
functions. So also with the value assessments in Lamentations 4:2 which mourns the sons of
Zion who were like gold, but have become like earthen vessels, and Hosea 8:8 which simply
emphasizes the worthlessness of Israel.
8
There is a controversial text in I Samuel 21:6 (5) in which some have suggested that David calls
the genitals of his warriors “sanctified vessels” in response to the Priest’s concern about
giving Holy Bread to ceremonially unclean men. The text critical, translation, and
interpretation issues involved in understanding this passage, however, force its dismissal for
the present discussion. For, it would be unwise to use a more obscure passage as an
interpretive key for a less obscure passage.

2
 The Rabbinic presentation of man as a vessel is enlarged from the Old Testament. It
includes seeing a man as a creature, and as a tool of God, as previously noted, but also speaks of
man as the devil’s tool, and of the body as a vessel for the soul, an idea borrowed from the
Greeks.9 The Apocalypse of Moses records Satan’s request for the serpent to be his vessel to
destroy man.10 The Testament of Naphtali says that those who fail to do well will be inhabited
by the devil and become his instrument.11 The author of 4th Ezra describes death as the
separation of one from his mortal vessel.12 Philo, who favors aggeion, declares that the ark is
the vessel into which the soul takes refuge from the flood, i.e. the body.13 He also plainly says
that the mind is contained in the body like a vessel.14 The Talmud records a royal insult against a
profound, but ugly, Rabbi in which he is called glorious wisdom in a repulsive vessel. The Rabbi
demands that the complaint be taken up with God who formed him.15

The notion of a woman as a vessel, an instrument for sexual use, is also expanded within
Rabbinic literature. In a Talmudic account of Vashti’s banishment, Xerxes, attempting to settle a
debate over the best genus of women, declares the vessel that I use is from... Kasdim. Would you
like to see her?16 It also records a widow’s snub of a marriage proposal with the insult, “How
can a vessel which has been used for what is holy be used for what is profane?”17 Maurer

9
Maurer, pp. 360-362.
10
Maurer, p. 360.
11
H. C. Kee, Testament of Naphtali 8:6 in Testament s of the Twelve Patriarchs vol. 1 in The
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments, 2 vols., ed. James
Charlseworth, trans. H. C. Kee (New York: Doubleday, 1983), p. 814.
12
B. M. Metzger, The Fourth Book of Ezra 7:88 vol. 1 in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha:
Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments, 2 vols., ed. James Charlesworth, trans. B. M. Metzger
(New York: Doubleday, 1983), p. 540.
13
Philo “That the Worse is Wont to Attack the Better”, 170 in The Works of Philo: Complete
and Unabridged - New Updated Version, trans. C. D. Yonge (1993; rpt. Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1995), p. 130.
13
Philo ”On The Migration of Abraham”, 193 14, p. 272.
15
Babylonian Talmud Taanit 20b.
16
Babylonian Talmud Megilla 12b.
17
Babylonian Talmud Baba Mezia 84b. The proverbial overtones do not destroy the sexual
connotations of the statement.

3
suggests that to use a vessel is a euphemism for sex, written in Aramaic as yl!K= vm^v.* 18 This idea
becomes even more significant by its connection with another Rabbinic euphemism for sex. In
Deut. 21:13, it says,     and after such you may enter into
her and possess her and she will become your wife. Deut. 24:1says,   When
a man takes a wife and possesses her. The sexual nature of lu^B* is even more clearly seen in Is.
62:5 by its parallel. It says,  when a choice young man possesses a virgin and
then  and a bridegroom rejoices because of (over) the bride. lu^B* is frequently
translated in the LXX by sunoikew cohabit, live with, and commonly emphasises sexual aspects
of marriage. The nature of the phrase in such contexts causes lu^B* to more specifically represent
sexual intercourse in or out of marriage in later Rabbinic literature.19

The New Testament, as a whole, does nothing surprising with skeuo. In Acts 9:15, the
Lord describes Saul of Tarsus as a chosen vessel, a selected tool, to bring the Gospel to the
Gentiles. Paul, himself, uses skeuo figuratively three times apart from I Thess. 4:4, all of
which focus on vessel as man. Rom. 9:21-23 looks at the sovereign hand of God creating or else
using men for good or ill purposes. 2 Tim. 2:20-21 focuses on the choices of men as to whether
they will be instruments for good or ill.20 2 Cor. 4:7 contemplates the contrast between the glory
of the Gospel and the weakness of the vessels (i.e. instruments) entrusted to deliver it -- men.
The last employment of the vessel image is in I Pet. 3:7. A man’s wife is called the weaker
vessel. If Peter means no more by this than that the wife is the weaker person, then this does not
provide a parallel for possess his own vessel with a sexual focus.21 If, however, Peter’s statement
is built upon 1Thess., then one might take this passage as a possible parallel.22

18
Maurer, p. 361.
19
Marcus Jastrow, “lub” vol. 1 in Dictionary of Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, Midrashic
Literature and Targumim, 2 vols., (New York: Title Publishing Company, 1943), p. 182.
In fact, the Aramaic term lu@oB actually refers to an adulterous lover.
20
Neither of these has a hint of the dualistic picture created in some Rabbinic literature.
21
Charles Bigg, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude,
(Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1901) 155.
22
Maurer, p. 367. Note the language links – a man is to sunoikounte kata gnwsin live with
according to knowledge.

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 Within the context of I Thess. 4:4, the controling verb ktaomai I possess is helpful in
tipping the scales toward interpreting skeuo as wife. The term ktaomai itself is found three
times in reference to aquiring a wife. It is found in Xenophon Symp. 2, 10, and Sirach 36:24
which both use the actual combination ktaomai/gunaika and in Ruth 4:10 which says,
kevkthmai e*mautw'/ ei*" gunai'ka I have acquired for myself for a wife. This draws evidence from
Hellenistic sources, Old Testament sources, and Rabbinic sources. It should also be noted that
ktaomai is one of the terms used to translate lu^B.* In contrast, there is no known reference to
ktaomia in the context of possessing one’s body, nor of self-control in general.

In the end, there is no clear Jewish example of skeuo for the sexual organs of man, and
the image of the vessel for man/body is usually limited to man as a creature, or man as an
instrument of either God or the devil. It is never found within the context of self-control. This is
not to say that skeuo as wife is without problems. The suggested language link with ktasqai
skeuo through hva lub and its connections with yl!K= vm^v* has Paul seemingly creating a new
phrase ad hoc, and the lengths to which one goes in order to create these links may seem
excessive to some. The strengths of this position, however, mainly that there is a significant
language link, one which fits well with the controlling verb, and one which is evidenced in three
different Greek contexts, and that one can easily attach this idea with a specific Old Testament
passage, Prov. 5:15, favor this interpretation.

5
 Bibliography

Best, Ernest. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians in Black’s New Testament
Commentary. Gen. Ed. Henry Chadwick. 1972; Rpt. Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers,
1986.

Beyse, [K. M.] “ylK”, Vol. VII in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. VIII Vols. Eds.
Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, Heinz-Josef Fabry. Trans. David E. Green.
Grand Rapids: Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1995.

Bruce, F. F. Word Biblical Commentary: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Gen. Eds. David Hubbard, and
Glen W. Barker. N.T. Ed. Ralph Martin. Waco: Word Biblical Publishers, 1982.

Gingrich, F. Wilbur, and Frederick W. Danker (revised & augmented by). A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 2nd Ed. From
Walter Bauer’s Fifth Ed., 1958. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Hatch, Edwin, and Henry A. Redpath. A Concordance to The Septuagint and the Other Greek
Versions of the Old Testament (Including Apocryphal Books). 3 Vols. Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1983.

Hostetter, Edwin C. “ylK”, Vol. 2 in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology &
Exegesis. 5 Vols. Gen. Ed. Willem A. Van Gemeren. Grand Rapids: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1997.

Jastrow, Marcus “lub”, Vol. 1 in Dictionary of Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, Midrashic Literature
and Targumim. 2 Vols. New York: Title Publishing Company, 1943.

Kee, H. C. Testament of Naphtali 8:6 in Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. Vol. 1 in The Old
Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments. 2 Vols. Ed. James
Charlesworth. Trans. H. C. Kee. New York: Doubleday, 1983.

Lane, W. L. Vessel, Vol. 3 in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. 4
Vols. Gen. Ed. Colin Brown. Trans. with add. & rev. from the German Theologisches
Begriffslexikon Zum Neuen Testament. Eds. Lothar Coenen, Erich Beyreuther, and Hans
Bietenhard. 1978; Rpt. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986.

Maurer, Christian. “skeuo”, Vol. VII in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. X Vols.
Eds. Gerhard Kittle, and Gerhard Friedrich. Trans. Geoffrey Bromiley. Grand Rapids:
Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1971.

Metzger, B. M. The Fourth Book of Ezra 7:88, Vol. 1 in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha:
Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments. 2 Vols. Ed. James Charlesworth. Trans. B. M.
Metzger. New York: Doubleday, 1983.

6
Oswalt, John. “ylK”, Vol. 1 in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. 2 Vols. Eds. R.
Laird, Gleason L. Archer, and Bruce K. Waltke. Chicago: Moody Press, 1980.

Philo. “On the Migration of Abraham”, 193 in The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged
- New Updated Version. Trans. C. D. Yonge. 1993; Rpt. Peabody: Hendrickson
Publishers Inc., 1995.

Philo. “That the Worse is Wont to Attack the Better”, 170 in The Works of Philo: Complete and
Unabridged - New Updated Version. Trans. C. D. Yonge. 1993; Rpt. Peabody:
Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1995.