Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
” The ambiguity here derives from the fact that the Greek word gynē can mean woman or wife. The general meaning “women” would seem to be out of place in this context, but women servants in a nontechnical sense is perhaps not out of the question. The two major alternatives in interpretation are “wives of the deacons” (and perhaps of the bishops too) or “women deacons.” Deacons were primarily male, but provision could have been made for female deacons here. The structure of the chapter might favor this: “Now a bishop must be …” (3:2); “Deacons likewise must be …” (3:8); “Women likewise must be …” (3:11). The seeming interruption of qualifications for deacons might not be that at all, for the matters that follow (vss. 12-13) are not specific qualities but have to do with family relationships and the general principle that good service has its rewards. On the other hand, gynē would be expected to mean “wife” when used in context with men without other specification. The requirements stated for women would not seem to pertain to any particular duties (yet the four items closely parallel the first three and fifth items in the qualifications of deacons), and the work of deacons (and bishops), who are here required to be married men, would certainly require that their wives have certain characteristics.