As we embark on a detailed discussion of texts in the Pauline epistles that reveal something about women and their roles, it is crucial to underline the fact that we are dealing with letters, not gospels or documents such as the Acts of the Apostles. Several facts must be borne in mind about the nature and purpose of letters before we proceed with our exegesis.

The letters of Paul are, for the most part, occasional in nature, written to meet certain needs or to answer certain questions. Second, we must recognize that since almost all these letters were written in response to a communication from those Paul is addressing (or from Paul's assistants), they represent only a portion of a larger dialogue, are not complete in themselves, and often require us to reconstruct the questions being raised or the pleas being urged that prompted his letters of reply. There are gains and losses in dealing with letters instead of other NT literature. On the one hand, Paul's letters reveal in a more direct manner the views of their author on certain subjects than do the Gospels or Acts. This means that we can concentrate on Paul's views of women and their roles to a degree that is not possible when dealing with the documents of the Gospel writers.