Secular Greek literature contemporary with New Testament epistles overwhelmingly demonstrates identifiable qualities of ethical virtue as primarily applied to men. Stemming from various philosophical schools developed for the moral education of Greco-Roman males, demonstrable character qualities such as modesty, self-control, self-restraint, quietness, and the like served to publicly distinguish such men as honorable and garner esteem toward their reputations. This paper seeks to highlight the anomalous application of such identifying virtues directly to women as observed in the Pastoral Epistles, using 1 Timothy 2 as a specific case study. This paper will identify the nature of standard virtues listed in Classic literature and the significance of their public employment both for the individual and established groups. This paper will then demonstrate the significance and function of these qualities specifically for and within the Christian communities of the first-century Greco-Roman context. Embodiment of observable virtues signified to the noble and/or piteous identity of such established groups as philosophers, priests, and other recognized religious figures. The exercise of virtue, especially in the public sphere, was an intrinsic aspect of the persona of such groups and their individual members. This paper will assert and explore the notion that as an unsanctioned group, early churches such as the Ephesian congregation of 1 Timothy, adopted and further modified the public persona of these societally esteemed groups for their own distinct purposes. Like unsanctioned Hippocratic physicians, for instance, who “borrowed” the virtuous persona of philosophers to aid their mission of practicing sound medicine, so early Christians did similar as an effective means of sharing the gospel (cf. 1 Tim 2:1–6). This paper will give concentrated attention to the inclusion of women as both equal and integral members of the New Testament church, and their distinct role in its mission as outlined in 1 Tim 2. This paper will also establish the continued relevance of the application of this early missional strategy and the 1 Tim 2 injunctions for the modern church.