§ 15 Final Greetings ( 2 Tim. 4:19–22 )
§15 Final Greetings (2 Tim. 4:19–22)
As with Titus, but unlike 1 Timothy (see disc. on 1 Tim. 6:21), Paul concludes this letter with personal greetings, both for friends in Ephesus and to Timothy from some Roman believers. Such greetings are typical both of the Hellenistic letter and of the Apostle Paul (cf. 1 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, Colossians, Philippians, Philemon). Although no one of these is formally like the others, all the elements of this one are found in some form elsewhere.
There are five parts to this closing: greetings for certain people (cf. Rom. 16:3–15; Col. 4:15); personal news of friends (cf. Col. 4:13); a final request (cf. Rom. 16:17–19; 2 Cor. 13:11; Col. 4:16); greetings from specific persons (cf. Rom. 16:21–23; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:10–14); and a final benediction (cf. all the letters).
4:19 / Greetings to individuals are rare in Paul’s letters. It is never done to churches where he is known to all. But in this case he makes two notable exceptions.
The instruction to greet to his old friends Priscilla and Aquila is something of a surprise—not that Paul would greet them, but that they are back in Ephesus. Paul first met them in Corinth, where they had gone from Rome after the edict of Claudius (Acts 18:1–3). They then accompanied Paul to Ephesus, where they remained for some time (Acts 18:18–26; in 1 Cor. 16:19 a church meets in their house). A little later they are apparently in Rome, where again they have a house-church (Rom. 16:3–4); and now we find them again in Ephesus. Aquila himself was a Jew from Pontus; we may assume Priscilla was a Jew. In four of six mentions of their names, she is mentioned first, which is so highly unusual in antiquity that we may also assume that hers was a significant role in their ministry. They were such dear friends, who had worked with Paul through so many years, that he cannot refrain from greeting them.
He also sends special personal greetings to the household of Onesiphorus. Mentioning only the family means at least that Onesiphorus was not with them. If our interpretation of 1:16–18 is correct, that Onesiphorus has died, then this extraordinary personal greeting also makes a great deal of sense.
4:20 / This interruption of the greetings with personal news of friends also comes as a surprise—all the more so if this is pseudepigraphy! We simply cannot know the reasons for it, unless it was triggered in some way by the mention of his friends in verse 19 or by the sudden remembrance that not all the co-workers Timothy knew to be with him had been mentioned in verses 10–12.
The note about Erastus is especially puzzling. Since he stayed in Corinth, was this (less likely) the city official (“director of public works”) of that name mentioned in Romans 16:23, whose inscription can still be seen among the ruins of Old Corinth? Or was this (more likely) the “helper” (diakoneō) whom he sent with Timothy from Ephesus to Macedonia some years earlier (Acts 19:22)? And did Paul leave him in Corinth as they passed through the city? Or was he already in Corinth, and Timothy expected him to have joined Paul, but instead he had stayed in Corinth? We simply don’t know. So also with Trophimus. Did Paul get as close as Miletus in trying to return to Ephesus (cf. 1 Tim. 3:14–15)? If so, is it possible that word about Trophimus had not reached Timothy? Or is that the wrong question, and should we look from Paul’s perspective alone, who was making sure Timothy knew about Trophimus in the nearby city? In any case, he had to leave him sick in Miletus—one of those rare personal touches we get quite in passing as to the tenuousness of this early ministry. How little we really know of the day-in, day-out affairs of these people’s lives (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–27)!
4:21 / The slight excursion about Erastus and Trophimus appears to trigger another reminder from verses 9–15. Do your best to get here before winter—not only because he would need his cloak (v. 13), but because the Mediterranean was closed to shipping from November to March. This probably suggests that the letter was written in late spring or early summer, and if Timothy was to get there during that year, he would need to set right out.
Finally he sends greetings from some friends, Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers and sisters. Since three of these names are Latin, one may assume that these are local Roman believers. Are they leaders, as is most likely? Or are they merely acquaintances of Timothy’s from his former visit to Rome? Most likely it is both: At least they are known to Timothy; because he would also have known so many others, they are most likely also leaders. It is therefore of interest that a woman is named among them.
The only one of the four of whom there is further substantial information is Linus, who is mentioned as the “bishop” of Rome in tradition as early as Irenaeus (Against Heresies 3.3). There is no reason to doubt what for Irenaeus is bedrock fact.
4:22 / Finally, there is a benediction and grace, common to all the letters. This one is in two parts. First, there is a word for Timothy personally: The Lord be with your spirit (cf. Gal. 6:18; Philem. 25; Phil. 4:23). This is an expanded form of “the Lord be with you,” your spirit in this case representing the whole person. Secondly, and interestingly, he has a word for the church: Grace be with you all. Thus, even though the whole letter is a very personal word to Timothy, in much of it there is an obvious concern for the Ephesian church as well; and since he sends greetings to others besides Timothy, he therefore includes them all in the final grace.
It is altogether fitting that the very last words from Paul should be a benediction, a desire for God’s grace to be with all his people.
For examples of these kinds of greetings from the Hellenistic letters, see F. X. J. Exler (The Form of the Ancient Greek Letter), pp. 69–77 and 111–13. The Pauline closings have been formally analyzed by W. G. Doty, Letters in Primitive Christianity, pp. 39–42, and H. Gamble, The Textual History of the Letter to the Romans, SD 42 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), pp. 56–83.
4:21 / For a full presentation of the difficulties of travel on the Mediterranean in winter, see F. Brandel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II (New York: Harper & Row, 1966), pp. 248–56.