By Elizabeth Prata
The author challenges the claim that Titus 2 limits older women to teaching homemaking. Examining context and the Greek term “teacher of good,” the piece asserts that Paul calls women to transmit sound doctrine and practical holiness, intertwining orthodoxy and orthopraxy in intergenerational discipleship, not merely domestic skills.
Lori Alexander, AKA The Transformed Wife, AKA @godlywomanhood, and others, believe that Titus 2 elder women may teach the younger ONLY homemaking skills.
I mention her name specifically because she-
–has a huge following who believe her every word,
–is confident in her error and relentlessly promotes it,
–which has a sad result of disenfranchising women from their God-given duty.
There are many people who teach this, including a lot of men (who, not coincidentally, follow Lori Alexander on one of her many social media platforms.)
Is it true? When I first read her claim a couple of years ago, I wondered about that. On the surface it looked like it could be right. But the biblical examples of Anna, Miriam, Lois/Eunice, and Euodia and Syntyche who labored alongside Paul for the cause of the Gospel, (Philippians 4:3), showed something different. So what did I do? I went to the Bible and researched. Let’s unpack this biblically.
Here is the specific set of verses by which they come to their conclusion:
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (Titus 2:3-5).
You see the word ‘likewise’, which means Paul’s teaching was presented prior to the start of this verse. Paul’s teaching continues and the demographic aimed at in this set of verses is now older women. The men were urged to teach sound doctrine, (Titus 2:2), and “likewise” now we have the women’s set of admonitions. The verse cautions older women in their behavior and then calls them to a duty: teaching what is good. The verse goes on with illustrating the result of this teaching what is good: loving their husbands and so on.
Lori Alexander and others claim that the teaching that is good ARE the housekeeping skills.
In looking up the meaning behind the Greek word “good” in verse 3, I found the following explanation in the Lexicon. As with all Bible interpretation, we must look at the context. There is MORE to the context of Titus 2:3-5 than is in these immediate verses.
If you select one verse out of context, you will be led into the wrong conclusions. See this old Bible joke:
A man was really struggling so he decides to open a Bible to random page and drop his finger on a verse and do whatever it says.
The verse his finger landed on was Matthew 27:5 “then Judas hanged himself”
The man thought “that’s not right, let me try again” and does the same thing, this time landing on Luke 10:37 “Jesus told him ‘go and do likewise'”
Again the man thought it wasn’t right and so he did it one last time and landed on John 13:37 “Whatever you are about to do, do it quickly”.
Context matters!
The following explains the Titus 2 verse 3 ‘teach what is good’ context very well.
Topical Lexicon: Definition and Context
Strong’s Greek 2567 denotes “a teacher of what is good,” applied by the apostle Paul exclusively to mature Christian women. The phrase occurs once, in Titus 2:3, where it stands amid pastoral instructions aimed at stabilizing fledgling congregations on Crete through orderly, inter-generational discipleship.
OK, so that is the basis, it explains why Paul is urging elder women to teach…something. It’s the ‘something’ that we are attempting to interpret.
Titus 2 links life and teaching. The “good” being taught flows from “sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1), underscoring that orthopraxy guards orthodoxy within the home.
We don’t bond in fledgling relationships over how well we clean a sink. We bond over how well we know and love Jesus. This is orthodoxy. The orthopraxy (living out the values learned through orthodoxy) leads to good actions, and these actions are done because we love Jesus. So we are back to orthodoxy. We have to know who this Jesus IS that we love. One ties into the other. You cannot or should not separate orthodoxy and orthopraxy, nor is it separated in the context of this verse.
Topical Lexicon again: Scripture assigns pedagogical [teaching] responsibilities to both genders in ways that honor design and maintain order (compare 2 Timothy 2:2; Ephesians 6:4). Strong’s 2567 highlights a sphere where feminine wisdom uniquely equips the church.
• Proverbs 31:26—“She opens her mouth with wisdom…” anticipates Titus 2:3 by pairing godly speech with seasoned character.
• 2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15—Lois and Eunice illustrate multi-generational instruction, modeling the “teacher of good” before Paul names the role. Conclusion
Strong’s 2567 captures a Spirit-empowered office within the household of faith, where seasoned daughters of Sarah transmit doctrinal fidelity and practical holiness. By obeying this apostolic charge, local churches secure generational continuity, display counter-cultural virtue, and magnify “the word of God” that “may not be maligned” (Titus 2:5).
Source: exploration of “teacher of good” kalodidaskalos in Titus 2:3. https://biblehub.com/greek/2567.htm
If you are familiar with the testimony of John Bunyan’s conversion, there were 4 women whose husbands were at work, children at school, beds made and dishes done, these women took a brief rest in the sun at their doorway and spoke of ‘another world’ – God’s kingdom, Jesus, and grace, capturing the young Bunyan’s attention. Even unintentional conversations can convert, and the women themselves were edified as they shared their knowledge of Jesus and spoke of their faith. Source John Bunyan And the Poor Women of Bedford
You see? Doctrinal fidelity and practical holiness are intertwined. Women who receive good instruction from their husbands and their elders should turn around and share that wisdom with the younger women AND demonstrate the result of their biblically gained wisdom, good works.
Crete’s reputation for moral laxity (Titus 1:12) threatened church witness. By commissioning elder women as “teachers of good,” Paul established a counter-culture within households. In Greek-Roman society, respectable matrons often mentored younger women in domestic skills; Paul consecrates that custom for gospel purposes.
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