In reading those manuscripts of 1 Corinthians 14:35b that have the verb, some contain punctuation after the verb estin. Two have a comma (GA 62, 1162), six have a period (GA 1003, 1840, 1739, 1763, 1780, 2180), three have a semicolon (GA 1642, 1798, 1886), and one has a large space (GA1853). For instance, GA1739 has the reading aischron gar esti. gunaiki lalein en ekklēsia (αἰσχρὸν γάρ ἐστι. γυναικὶ λαλεῖν ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ). The period after the verb esti indicates the scribe was saying the text meant, “It is shameful. Speaking to a woman in the Church.” The other eleven manuscripts make the exact inference.

Dirk Jongkind is a textual critic and Academic Vice Principal at Tyndale House. In a podcast, he explained that Greek manuscripts used punctuation to note where the speaker should pause (at varying lengths) to emphasize different thoughts.¹

For instance, GA105 reads aischron gar estin gunaiki. en ekklēsia lalein (αἰσχρὸν γάρ ἐστιν γυναικὶ. ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ λαλεῖν), which would be translated as “It is shameful for a woman. Speaking in the congregation.”