Analisis Penundukan Diri Seorang Istri kepada Suami dalam Efesus 5:21-24 [An Analysis of a Wife’s Submission to Her Husband according to Ephesians 5:21–24]

Abstract

This study analyzes the meaning of a wife’s submission in Ephesians 5:21–24 and its implications for husband–wife life. The research problems are the limited hermeneutical understanding of the concept of “submission” within the frame of verse 21, which yields domestic practices that deviate from Paul’s theological intent, and the tension between textual demands and modern socio-cultural dynamics that create opportunities for abuse of authority. The study aims to explain the lexical-grammatical meaning of the Greek term hupotassō and to formulate just, Christ-centered pastoral applications. The method employed is qualitative library research with a hermeneutic-exegetical approach, including historical-cultural analysis, lexico-grammatical study of Koine Greek, and synchronic exegesis of the Ephesians 5:21–33 pericope, supported by critical texts, lexica, and major commentaries. The thesis asserts that a wife’s submission in Ephesians is not cultural subordination, but a voluntary relational response rooted in love and obedience to Christ. Findings show that hupotassō denotes an ongoing function-positional practice and that husbandly authority must be enacted as sacrificial servant-leadership that preserves the wife’s dignity. The conclusion recommends family-formation models emphasizing mutual submission, servant leadership, theological empowerment for wives, protective mechanisms, and further cross-cultural empirical study.