“The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.”
The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. — The phrase exousia epi tō idiō sōmati (authority over one's own body) paradoxically establishes rights by means of their mutual cession. Neither spouse retains unilateral bodily autonomy; instead, both give authority to the other. This mutual dispossession and mutual claim reflects an covenantal exchange deeper than contractual marriage. The chiastic parallelism underscores the symmetry: what applies to wife applies equally to husband.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 7:4
“Let the husband pay the wife the honor due to her: in like manner the wife the husband.” Now what is the meaning of “the due honor? The wife has not power over her own body;” but is both the slave and the mistress of the husband. And if you decline the service which is due, you have offended God. But if you wish to withdraw yourself, it must be with the husband's permission, though it be but a for short time. For this is why he calls the matter a debt, to show that no one…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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