Annotations for Titus
Annotations for Titus
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servant of God. A positive title; see note on . elect. Jewish people recognized themselves as chosen (based on Scripture, e.g., ; ; ); Paul regularly applies this to believers in Jesus (e.g., ).
hope of eternal life. The promised resurrection of the righteous would inaugurate eternal life, the life of the coming world (; further developed in early Jewish sources). God, who does not lie. In Greek myths, deities lied (newly-born Hermes even killed a man for failing to cover for Hermes’ theft), but even Greek philosophers rejected such notions. Scripture (; ) and Jewish tradition recognized that the true God could not lie.
To Titus. See note on . my true son. A teacher would often consider a close disciple to be like a son. Grace and peace. For letter greetings, see note on .
put in order what was left unfinished. It was difficult to appoint elders immediately after people’s conversion, but now Paul urges the appointing of local leaders among believers in each community. Indigenous leadership was important; it was both efficient for multiplication and more readily able to connect with local culture, issues and people. elders. See note on ; early Christians borrowed conventional leadership structures that had already proven useful. in every town. As elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean world, in Crete different towns vied with each other for honor.
blameless. See “above reproach” in note on . faithful to his wife. See note on . whose children believe. See note on . wild and disobedient. Youths were considered adults in their mid-teens, and people often applied the Greek term translated “wild” to young men; fathers retained authority over even adult sons (see note on ), though in practice this authority lessened once sons left home.
overseer. Here, this term is used interchangeably with “elder” in v. (as in , ); see note on . Both were leadership terms in antiquity. manages God’s household. Well-to-do households often were managed by an educated slave or freedperson accountable to the owner of the house. Greeks also often compared civic or other large-scale management with smaller-scale household management. drunkenness. Common in antiquity, and Crete was known for this activity; Scripture treats it as folly (e.g., ; ; ).
hospitable. Included helping travelers, see note on .
meaningless talk. See note on . deception. The local Jewish communities may have been susceptible to being deceived (see also v. ); other sources reveal that a charlatan was able to take advantage of the large Jewish community in Crete shortly before this period (Josephus, Antiquities 17.327; Wars 2.103).
disrupting whole households. Some false teachers were disrupting conventional household relationships and consequently also bringing the good news into disrepute (, ); for the sensitivity of such matters and its bearing on public views of the gospel, see note on . If these false teachers are like some others in this period, they may also have ascetic views of marriage (), which most people would also view as dishonorable. for the sake of dishonest gain. People often charged sages with greed; outsiders also viewed that as a common characteristic of Cretans.
Outsiders had negative stereotypes of Cretans, some of which Cretans also acknowledged as typical vices among them. Cretans are always liars. One of the stereotypes was that Cretans were often deceptive; in support of this view, outsiders cited, e.g., their claim to possess not only the birthplace but also the tomb of Zeus. Although the attribution may be incorrect, Paul would know that the saying cited here was often attributed to the sixth-century BC Cretan thinker Epimenides (cf. ). The attribution was so common that logicians played with it: if Cretans are always liars, then Epimenides was lying, but if he was lying about this, then the saying was untrue and Epimenides need not be lying. evil brutes, lazy gluttons. Thinkers called unreasoning people brutes (cf. ); gluttons were associated with the base pursuit of pleasure (cf. note on ).
Jewish myths. Without changing Scripture itself, Jewish people elaborated many stories about Biblical characters with post-Biblical legends and novels, sometimes also seeking hidden clues to help them amplify or explain Biblical narratives. Those who reapplied Biblical laws for their own era often expanded them with hypothetical rulings and interpretations; Pharisees used these traditions as authoritative guides for interpreting Biblical law. Paul accepts the authority of Scripture but not that of the post-Biblical traditions about it.
To the pure, all things are pure. Whereas Scripture (cf. v. ) specified which foods were pure (), Paul’s interest is the true spiritual purity to which such laws merely pointed (cf. ; see note on ).
They claim to know God. Those who truly know God are in covenant relationship with him (; ; ) and must show it by their actions ().
The books of the Apocrypha are as follows:
• Tobit: Set during the Assyrian exile, Tobit is a historically implausible yet charming narrative about a pious Jew. Tobit, taken into exile in Nineveh, goes blind as a result of sparrow droppings falling into his eyes. He dispatches his son Tobias to Media to retrieve a stash of money, providing a guide, Azariah, who turns out to be the angel Raphael. Raphael instructs Tobias to catch a large fish and to preserve its liver, heart and gall because of their magical powers. The two encounter a lovely Jewess, Sarah, whose seven grooms have died on their respective wedding nights because of the demon Asmodeus. Raphael instructs Tobias in how to thwart Asmodeus through ritual magic. Tobias then marries Sarah, retrieves the money, returns to Nineveh, and heals Tobit with the fish gall.
• Judith: This nonhistorical tale describes how a pious Jewish woman effects deliverance for her people. Written during the latter part of the second century BC, it was unaccountably set in the days of “Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians” (Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon).
• Sirach/Ecclesiasticus: This book is fundamentally a collection of hymns, prayers and instructions upholding traditional Jewish piety and wisdom. Written in approximately 180 BC, it includes some justly celebrated passages, such as its catalog of heroes of the faith (Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1–49:16).
• Wisdom of Solomon: Perhaps written in the first century BC and somewhat influenced by Greek philosophy, this work exhorts the reader to pursue wisdom and right behavior.
• Baruch: Although purported to have been authored by Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, the book was probably written long after Baruch’s day. Drawing upon diverse parts of the Old Testament, it contains prayers, hymns and a passage that praises wisdom and claims it to be the special possession of Israel (Barveh 3:9–4:4).
• First and Second Maccabees: These historical texts recount the persecution inflicted upon the Jews by Antiochus IV and the desecration of the temple that ignited the Maccabean revolt. First Maccabees was probably written around 100 BC, while its counterpart may actually have come from a somewhat earlier date. Although the books are propagandistic in nature, they are a vital source for the history and religion of this period.
• First Esdras: Written around 100 BC, this is a loose retelling of Biblical history from Josiah’s celebration of the Passover to Ezra’s reforms. One part not copied from canonical Scripture is 1 Esdras 3:1–5:6, which records how a young Jewish man at the court of Darius solves a riddle about the strongest thing in the world (women are the strongest, but love conquers all). This Jewish man turns out to be Zerubbabel ().
• Second Esdras: This book is a composite of three writings, the latest of which may have been penned as recently as the third century AD. Apocalyptic in nature, it includes a reaction to the AD 70 destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans. The central portion of the book (2 Esdras 3:1–14:48), dated to about AD 100, is a fictitious series of visions supposedly given by the angel Uriel to Ezra and dealing with such issues as the justice of God. A Christian appendix (2 Esdras 15:1–16:78) was added during the third century AD.
• Epistle of Jeremiah: Loosely based on , this short, pseudonymous essay denounces the folly of idolatry. The writing most likely came from the third century BC or later.
• Prayer of Manasseh: A pseudonymous, penitential prayer beseeching God to cancel Israel’s exile, this book claims to be the prayer of Manasseh mentioned in ; it comes in fact from the second or third century BC. The writing draws upon a number of Biblical texts, especially .
• Additions to Esther: This includes six supplements to Esther, adding pious language and motifs in an evident attempt to make up for the fact that the canonical book never mentions God.
• Additions to Daniel: These supplements to Daniel include the Prayer of Azariah, the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon (or Serpent). The dates of composition are unknown. ◆
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Polytheistic culture was often tolerant of diverse religious views, but many cultures were nevertheless suspicious of foreign cults, especially those they thought undermined traditional household order (see the note on ). Household relationships affected outsiders’ perceptions of the movement (, , ). Members of minority faiths sometimes used household codes (see again the note on ) to show their allegiance to the social order. Such codes belonged to the wider subject of household management, which included even relations with authorities ().
older men. Those who acted in the dignified ways Paul lists were respected. sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Following appropriate Greek rules of speaking and writing, Paul saves for the end of his descriptors the term (“sound”) that will have additional modifiers.
older women. Ancient humor often stereotyped and made fun of older women, especially for their alleged gossip and foolish talk (here, being “slanderers”; see note on ). (In more traditional Greek society women talked mainly with other women; on most women’s limited education, see the article “
they can urge the younger women. Older women, especially mothers, had long sought to instruct their daughters in the ways of life. This included instruction in how to be a good mother and how to please a good husband. Most younger women were married; they could marry as young as puberty, although marriage in the mid- to late teens was more common. to love their husbands and children. Most ancient writers of the subject (normally male) wanted wives to love their husbands and nurture their children; many tomb inscriptions report these characteristics as a woman’s crowning virtues.
self-controlled. When moral teachers urged women to be self-controlled, they normally included sexual modesty in this command. to be busy at home. Greek culture expected wives to be busy at home. The highest traditional Greek ideal included avoiding being in public, where they could have contact with unrelated men, though this ideal was not always possible in practice. subject to their husbands. At least in the ideal, men expected wives to be meek and to obey everything their husbands commanded. so that no one will malign the word of God. Paul’s concern is that the gospel not be maligned (cf. vv. ; see note on vv. ).
set them an example. A teacher’s example was recognized as important.
Slaveholders often stereotyped slaves in general as lazy, apt to argue with their masters and liable to steal when they could. (Lower-level slaves, after all, did not always have incentives to perform efficiently.) Given the prejudices and potential persecution that Jesus’ followers already faced, they needed to counter stereotypes. See the articles “
offers salvation to all people. Some Jewish people expected salvation only for their own people; others allowed that a small minority of righteous Gentiles would be saved. Paul urges believers to live in a way that commends the gospel (vv. , , ) so that more will be saved.
live self-controlled, upright and godly lives. Philosophers often warned against passions and praised being self-controlled and upright (two of the four cardinal Greek virtues). in this present age. Many Jewish thinkers contrasted the present age, under the dominion of evil (cf. ), with the glorious age to come. They expected the coming of the Messiah and the resurrection to inaugurate the coming age (cf. v. ).
appearing of . . . Jesus Christ. Greeks spoke of the appearing of deities in various ways, but Jewish people spoke of glorious appearings of the true God (2 Maccabees 2:21; 3:24), especially his appearing to inaugurate the future era (cf. ). great God and Savior. Diaspora Jews often called their God the great God; he was also the chief Savior (e.g., ; ). Some Jewish thinkers personified Wisdom or sometimes even exalted angels as somewhat divine, but none would have called a human being “our great God and Savior,” as Paul apparently does here with Jesus.
to redeem . . . a people that are his very own. God had “redeemed” his people, i.e., freed them from their slavery () (i.e., freed them from slavery in Egypt) to make them “a people that are his very own,” which can also be translated “a special people.” Paul evokes texts such as ; ; , where the Greek translation of the OT uses these same words for “treasured possession.” eager. Also the Greek term for “zealous”; might contrast with the growing zeal of some nationalistic Jews who wished to revolt against Rome (the unrest spread to other Jewish communities), but it probably simply retains its usual, broader sense.
These, then, are the things you should teach. Writers and speakers sometimes summarized their preceding exhortation.
Apocrypha
Epistle of Jeremiah (317 BC)
Tobit (250–175 BC)
Baruch (200 BC–AD 70)
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) (190 BC)
Additions of Esther (180–145 BC)
Judith (175–110 BC)
Song of the Three Young Men (Children) (167–163 BC)
1 Esdras (c. 150 BC)
Bel and the Dragon (150–100 BC)
Prayer of Manasseh (150–50 BC)
Wisdom of Solomon (150 BC–AD 40)
1 Maccabees (103–63 BC)
2 Maccabees (c. 100 BC)
Susanna (c. 100 BC?)
2 Esdras (AD 70–135)
Pseudepigrapha
Enoch (200–63 BC)
Letter of Aristeas (170–130 BC)
Book of Jubilees (150–100 BC)
Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs (c. 130 BC)
3 Maccabees (1st c. BC)
4 Maccabees (?)
Sibylline Oracles (c. 80 BC–AD 130)
Psalms of Solomon (c. 40 BC)
Life of Adam and Eve (1st c. AD)
Lives of the Prophets (1st c. AD)
Assumption of Moses (AD 1–30)
2 Baruch (AD 70–100)
Martydom and Ascension of Isaiah (2nd c. AD)
Apostolic Fathers
1 Clement (AD 95–96)
Ignatius (AD 110–117)
The Didache (AD 100–130?)
Shepherd of Hermas (AD 100–140)
Epistle of Barnabas (c. AD 132)
Polycarp (before 155)
Taken from Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament by H. Wayne House. Copyright © 1987 by Zondervan.
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be subject to rulers and authorities. See note on . Increasing nationalistic sentiment in Judea had made some prone to revolt (cf. “eager” in note on ); a revolt would break out in AD 66 and lead to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70. Paul, however, wants to avoid any association of the young and still-fragile Christian movement with sedition.
enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. Many philosophers complained that humanity was enslaved in this way; they argued that reason alone could deliver one from such enslavement, but Paul speaks instead of rebirth (v. ).
love. The Greek term is not the usual one; the term praised a person’s benevolent and virtuous interest in humanity.
not because of righteous things we had done. Cf. . washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. God had promised to cleanse his people when he would put his Spirit in them and give them new hearts to obey his commands (). The image of washing remained natural for conversion; some Jewish teachers allowed that Gentiles could experience rebirth into Judaism through conversion, which included immersion in water. (Some Gentiles also envisioned rebirth in various ways, but not associated with the Holy Spirit.)
whom he poured out on us. The Spirit being poured out echoes the prophets (e.g., ; ; ), and especially (fitting also the Greek version) .
heirs . . . of eternal life. Jewish people often used this expression. eternal life. The life of the coming age.
avoid foolish controversies. See note on . genealogies. See note on .
Jewish ethics emphasized offering correction appropriately: first privately, then with others, and finally, if necessary, before the assembly. have nothing to do with them. The strictest level of discipline in a Jewish community was an offender’s expulsion; see note on .
Artemas or Tychicus. Because Paul later sent Tychicus from Rome to Timothy (), it was probably Artemas whom he sent to Titus. (The name Artemas derives from the name of the Greek goddess Artemis, popular in Ephesus. By this period, however, in the Diaspora even Jewish names often used the “Artem-” root; cf. the Jewish believer “Apollos” in v. , named for the Greek god Apollo, Artemis’s brother.) Nicopolis. Near the sea and only roughly a century old, it was on the Greek side of the Adriatic coast, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Italy. Apparently wishing to return to Rome, Paul is going to leave Asia, cross Macedonia and wait in Nicopolis for Titus, who is to come up from Crete after receiving Paul’s message. Sea travel was not possible during winter (see note on ), so Paul would wait there. Titus later walked northward to minister in Dalmatia (), where some work had probably been initiated before (, referring to the same region).
Letter writers sometimes commended the letter’s bearer. help. Paul invited the ancient virtue of hospitality, which would include providing for the rest of their voyage (see note on ). Since they are leaving Paul and passing through Crete, where Titus is, they might be returning to Alexandria (Apollos’s home city) or possibly traveling to Cyrene. (From Nicopolis, an intended visit to Greece or Rome would not have taken them to Crete.) Zenas. The name was used by both Gentiles and Diaspora Jews. lawyer. Most cases in Gentile courts were argued by orators (cf. , where “lawyer” translates a term for “public speaker”); a true lawyer, or law expert, was a jurist, which was far less common. Every other Biblical use of the present Greek term, however, refers to expertise in the Jewish law, including in this context (v. ). Apollos. An Alexandrian Jew learned in Scripture and gifted in speaking (); he was also an associate of Paul ().
Greet those who love us in the faith. Writers often appended greetings at the end of a letter.