Don't date someone who doesn't get this :)

Peter should have started his admonition to husbands (and to Bible translators) in 1 Peter 3:7 this way: HUSBANDS, I'M ABOUT TO USE A METAPHOR. He uses the phrase "weaker vessel" to refer to a woman in a marriage relationship. This phrase has caused so much confusion and hurt!!

A vessel is a piece of pottery. A woman is not pottery. So Peter is employing the literary device known as metaphor in order to tell us something of the interaction of men and women, and how a woman is to be treated. 

The word that is translated "weak" is translated other places in the Bible as "sick" or "helpless." I've never really seen a helpless or sick pitcher or vase. Maybe that's why translators chose the word "weak." Even that's a stretch. Maybe that's why most versions also drop the metaphor altogether and say "weaker partner," or "someone weaker." I realize that Koine Greek differs from Attic Greek, but doesn't it make sense to look outside biblical literature for other possibilities when the alternative is to stretch the meaning this far and to risk gross misunderstanding of womanhood and male/female interaction?

When Aristophanes and other classical authors use this word, it gets translated as "fragile" or, more often "delicate." I've seen delicate pottery. I'm thinking of a porcelain jar. A skilled potter can use porcelain to create a piece that is paper thin - a paradox: the result is delicate but it attests to the inherent strength of the material. Porcelain is glazed or decorated to display its lightness and translucency, and to hint at whatever precious thing it may contain. It is honored and handled differently than a more crude earthenware jug that carries water or grain. 

Though most feminists would still hate this, here's my paraphrase of 1 Peter 1-7: Wives, you are precious, subtle and strong. You hold infinite worth. Don't send mixed signals about Whose you are or who you're with. Present externally whatever matches internally. God sees who you are and hears what you need. Allow your husband to transport you physically, spiritually and emotionally - trusting he will hold you and care for you in a sensitive way. Husbands, if you don't, God won't hear you!!