6:20-21 Final Exhortation
1 Timothy
INTRODUCTION
Authorship. Among all the letters attributed to Paul in the *New Testament, it is the authorship of the *Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus) that is the most disputed, although they were widely viewed as Pauline in the early *church. The style is noticeably different from the usual style of Paul’s earlier letters: a heavier use of traditional materials (sayings from prior Christian tradition, e.g., the “trustworthy statements” marked by 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2 Tim 2:1; Tit 3:8), various literary forms that Paul rarely employs in his earlier letters (e.g., lists of qualifications), significant differences in vocabulary, and so on. Although these differences alone would not necessitate different authors, they have led many good scholars to suggest either that Paul is not their author or (more often favored by many conservative scholars) that he allowed a *scribe or amanuensis considerable freedom in drafting the letter. (It is common knowledge that Paul, like most people, depended on scribes for much of his letter writing—Rom 16:22.) Some have compared the style of the Pastoral Epistles with that of Luke-Acts and concluded either that Luke was the author or that he was the scribe of these letters (cf. 2 Tim 4:11). Especially in 2 Timothy, where the nature of Paul’s detention may not have permitted him the materials to write his own letters, an amanuensis (scribe) spending time with Paul, remembering Paul’s words and transcribing them in his own terms would make sense. Others suggest that these letters were compiled based on oral memory of Paul’s instructions or letters to Timothy and Titus. In any case, all agree that one may speak of “Paul” and his *disciples within the letters’ *narrative world. Most individual details of vocabulary and style have some parallels in Paul’s earlier letters, although their cumulative effect is different.
*Pseudepigraphic letters (letters falsely ascribed to a great teacher of the past) were a common literary or pedagogic device but were rarely written close to the author’s lifetime. Pseudepigraphic epistles and forgeries rarely exhibit the number of personal allusions that appear in 2 Timothy. If 1 Timothy and Titus are “official letters” (cf. comment on 1 Tim 1:2) meant to bolster their respective recipients’ authority among their congregations, then the fact that they are more formal than 2 Timothy is understandable. Apart from the special literary forms in 1 Timothy and Titus, these letters may exhibit fewer persuasive *rhetorical devices than Paul’s earlier argumentation to churches, perhaps because they are more personal and institutional than directly theological. (Some language similar to that of popular philosophers and moralists remains.)
Situation. Various features sometimes used to argue lateness, such as church offices and the heresy addressed (some scholars read it as second-century *Gnosticism), generally fit as well or better in the circumstances of Paul’s time (see comments on specific passages; the heresy need not be Gnostic). Certainly church offices are far less developed than in the early second-century letters of Ignatius. In 1 Timothy, false teachers advocating *asceticism (4:3) based on the *law (1:7) are undermining the work of Paul and his companions in Ephesus (1:3). (Although Ephesus was in Asia Minor, it was culturally more Greek than Anatolian by this period; its particularly Greek culture is presupposed in the following treatment of the background.) Central to Paul’s solution to this problem is the appointment of church leaders especially qualified to address the heresies spreading in the church. Paul employs the sorts of stereotypical language normally used to address such situations in his day (e.g., by philosophers against sophists or pseudophilosophers).
Date. On the premise of Pauline authorship, the Pastorals were written toward the end of his life, about A.D. 62–64. This would mean that Paul was released from his detention described in Acts 28:30-31 and completed the journeys presupposed in the Pastoral Epistles, as suggested also by early Christian tradition. Some who date these letters later than Paul date them late enough to allow for the reuse of Paul’s name pseudonymously, sometimes as late as the mid-second century (although the Muratorian Canon assumes them to be Pauline not long after that date). Others suggest that the material is Pauline but was organized into its current form more quickly after Paul’s death.
Commentaries. Among technical commentaries that provide much background are Benjamin Fiore, The Pastoral Epistles SP 12 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2007); Luke Timothy Johnson, The First and Second Letters to Timothy, AB 35A (New York: Doubleday, 2001); I. Howard Marshall with Philip H. Towner, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, ICC (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1999); William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2000); Jerome D. Quinn and William C. Wacker, The First and Second Letters to Timothy (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000); and Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006). Very valuable commentaries on a more popular level include Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, NIBC (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988); Jouette M. Bassler, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, ANTC (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996); J. N. D. Kelly, A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, HNTC (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981); Luke Timothy Johnson, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus (Atlanta: John Knox, 1987); and George T. Montague, First and Second Timothy, Titus, CCSS (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008). I provided some of my primary sources on 1 Timothy 2 in Craig S. Keener, Paul, Women and Wives (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1992), pp. 101-32; for 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and chapter 5 in Craig S. Keener, . . . And Marries Another: Divorce and Remarriage in the Teaching of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1991), pp. 83-103. On the social location of the Pastorals, see also David C. Verner, The Household of God: The Social World of the Pastoral Epistles, SBLDS 71 (Chico, CA: Scholars, 1983).
1:1-2
Introduction
1:1. Letters customarily began with the name of the author. Many gods were described as “*saviors” in antiquity, but the *Old Testament and Jewish literature reserved this title for the God of Israel (cf. Phil 3:20; Is 43:11; Hos 13:4).
1:2. The next elements of a letter were the name(s) of the addressee(s) and the greeting (cf., e.g., Rom 1:7). Educated persons in antiquity often addressed a letter to a specific person, but intended for that letter to be published or to be an open letter to a group. Paul publicly supports Timothy’s authority through this letter. (*Patrons often sent letters of recommendation on behalf of their *clients, or political dependents. Timothy’s letter, however, could be publicly read in the house-church gatherings, reinforcing Timothy’s apostolic authorization.) Some suggest that “true child” (NASB) echoes legal terminology for a legitimate heir.
1:3-11
Scripture Twisters
1:3. Timothy stayed in Ephesus while Paul traveled northward through Troas (2 Tim 4:13) and across into Macedonia. Paul here reminds the readers (1 Tim 1:2) that he authorized Timothy to act on his authority.
1:4. *Plato and most other philosophers rejected or reinterpreted the “myths” that they believed misrepresented the gods, although some believed that myths could be used to illustrate truths. *Philo, *Josephus and other Jews argued that their Scriptures contained no myths; but extrabiblical elaborations of biblical accounts were common, and Paul probably has them in view here (cf. Tit 1:14). “Genealogies” might refer to expansions of biblical genealogies, as in some Jewish works from this period, or perhaps false postbiblical attributions of ancestry. The phrase “myths and genealogies” had been used pejoratively from Plato on.
1:5. Greek literature also praises a “good conscience”; the *Old Testament extols a “pure heart” (Ps 24:4; 73:1, 13).
1:6. Both Judaism and most philosophers condemned empty, worthless talk, including arguments about words and the verbal skills of wordy *rhetoricians unconcerned with truth. Some groups of philosophers from Protagoras on emphasized verbal quibbling more than seeking truth, regarding the latter as inaccessible; but most philosophers criticized these agnostics. Many professional speakers also valued important speeches above subtle disputes over trivialities, although training in public speaking included extemporaneous speeches on randomly assigned topics.
1:7. Although segments of Palestinian Judaism had or were developing standards for accredited teachers of the *law, there was nothing legally to keep anyone from claiming to be a teacher of the Bible, any more than there is in many Christian circles today. Jesus often had conflicts even with those who were publicly recognized as teachers of the law.
1:8-9. Philosophers believed that wise people did not need laws, because their wise behavior itself modeled the moral truth on which laws were based. For Paul, this ideal was true for Christians; laws were necessary only to restrain those who were inclined to sin. Like many ancient authors, he includes a “vice list” to catalog the sorts of sins he means (1:9-10). Most of these were obvious as sins to ancient readers: for instance, killers of fathers and mothers were considered the most evil of sinners and executed in horrible ways under Roman law (sewn into a bag with animals, including a snake, and drowned).
1:10. On “homosexuals” (NASB; or “men who sleep with men” see comment on 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. “Kidnappers” (NASB, GNT) were “slave traders” (NIV, NRSV; this was the purpose for which people were kidnapped—cf. Ex 21:16; Deut 24:7); Paul’s remark directly assaults the vicious slave trade of his day. Many kidnappers sought children to make them male and female slave prostitutes, though infants were available without cost, abandoned on trash heaps by (sometimes destitute) parents. Perjury was a special form of lying that involved the violation of a divine oath, thus showing disrespect to the deity. *Stoics and others described reasonable teaching as “sound” (healthy, wholesome).
1:11. Only the “faithful” (1:12) were to be entrusted with money, given tasks as messengers and so forth.
1:12-17
A Blasphemer’s Conversion
Having condemned the false teachers (1:4-11), Paul nevertheless does not want to portray them as beyond hope; although blasphemers were to be excluded from *church fellowship (1:20), Paul himself had been a blasphemer yet was subsequently converted.
1:12. Paul’s letters to churches usually open with a thanksgiving for his readers (so also 2 Tim 1:3); these were common in ancient letters. Paul similarly praises God here (concluding in 1:17). This is not, however, Paul’s regular epistolary thanksgiving, which would have normally occurred after the introduction (1:1-2). Some suggest that he sticks mainly to official business because this is an official letter meant to authorize Timothy.
1:13-15. Jewish texts condemn blasphemers to hell (*Gehenna). Although ignorance did not absolve one of guilt in Judaism, it did decrease one’s guilt; in Jewish texts, this was even true of the *Gentiles, who had some, but only very limited, knowledge about God.
1:16. Both Jewish and Greco-Roman teachers used examples to make their points. Sometimes they used themselves as examples, and occasionally (though rarely) described negative aspects of their past (e.g., Rabbi *Akiba on his conversion to love of the *law; many philosophers despised their past before their conversion to philosophy).
1:17. In praising a deity, Greeks and sometimes Jews would list his or her titles and attributes. Jewish texts unanimously affirm everything Paul says about God in this verse; that God was the “only” God was the view of Judaism. Most people believed in all gods equally, so the Jewish and Christian view could sound intolerant to outsiders. “Amen” concluded prayers and praises in the *synagogues, indicating the assent of the other hearers. In context (1:16), this description might refer to Jesus, but this is not clear.
1:18-20
Removing a Blasphemer
1:18. Philosophers and moralists used battle imagery to describe their labor on behalf of truth. Claims of prophecies were a rare (and in some circles marginalized) phenomenon in Judaism but were apparently common in early Christianity; prophecies to Timothy at his ordination (4:14) would thus be very meaningful.
1:19. Philosophers also used the image of shipwrecks; Christians needed to be good spiritual sailors as well as good soldiers (1:18).
1:20. Early Jewish sources (including the *Dead Sea Scrolls) attest a range of levels of excommunication, including full exclusion from the community (for extended periods or even permanently; here, apparently until *repentance). Some contend that official synagogue excommunication included a curse or execration against the person being banned from the community; it could be viewed as equivalent to capital punishment under the *Old Testament *law. By handing these blasphemers over to *Satan, Paul is simply acknowledging the sphere they had already chosen to enter (5:15). Paul’s purpose here is restorative, however, “so that they might be taught not to blaspheme” (NASB), as God had taught Paul (1:13). See comment on 1 Corinthians 5:5. On Hymenaeus’s views (Hymenaeus is not a common name, so it is no doubt the same one), see comment on 2 Timothy 2:17-18.
2:1-7
Public Prayers for All
2:1-4. The Romans permitted subject peoples to worship their own gods, but they had to show their loyalty to Rome by also worshiping the goddess Roma and the spirit of the emperor. Because Jewish people worshiped one God to the exclusion of all others, Rome allowed them to pray and sacrifice for the emperor’s health without praying and sacrificing to him. Prayers were offered for him regularly in the *synagogues, showing the loyalty of these Jewish institutions to the Roman state. When the *Zealots decided to throw off the Roman yoke “for God,” however, they abolished the sacrifices in the temple. This act in A.D. 66 constituted a virtual declaration of war against Rome, several years after Paul wrote this letter. Christian public prayers for the emperor and provincial and local officials showed Christians as good citizens of the society in which they lived (Jer 29:7). Paul’s motive is more than keeping peace (1 Tim 2:2); it is also to proclaim the *gospel (2:3-4). A “ransom” could be a price for others’ freedom (Ex 30:12; Num 3:12; Mk 10:45).
2:5-7. Both Christ’s mission and Paul’s mission testified to God’s purpose, his wish to save all (2:4). In Judaism, wisdom, the *law or, in a lesser sense, Moses was thought to have mediated divine revelation, but it was ultimately effective only for Israel, not for the *Gentiles. Most Gentiles believed in many intermediaries for the gods, just as they believed in many gods.
2:8-15
Proper Demeanor for Public Worship
The passage addresses women (2:9-15) in considerably more detail than men (2:8) here, perhaps because women are erring more severely in this congregation. Their culturally inappropriate behavior can bring reproach against the gospel (something Christians could ill afford, 5:14).
2:8. Apparently men were bringing their dissensions (1:6) into public worship. Hands were normally lifted or outstretched for both praise and supplication in the *Old Testament, Judaism, the ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world. *Diaspora Jews usually washed their hands before prayer, so “pure [or holy] hands” became a natural image for genuine worship (cf. also Ps 24:4).
2:9. Whereas many men in the Christian community were apparently quarreling (2:8), many women appear to have been violating a different matter of propriety in public prayer: seeking to attract attention by their appearance. Most Jewish teachers allowed wives to adorn themselves for their husbands, but both Jewish and Greco-Roman moralists ridiculed women who decked themselves out to turn other men’s eyes. This was a common theme in ancient moralist literature: Jewish writings warn especially of the sexual temptation involved in such adornments; Greco-Roman writers also condemn wealthy women who show off their costly array. Hair was sometimes braided with gold, which Paul might have in view here (among the wealthy); men were especially attracted by women’s decorated hair. Like most other writers who condemned such gaudiness, Paul should be understood as attacking excess, not as ruling against all adornment.
2:10. Greco-Roman moralists often stressed that it was inward adornment rather than outward adornment that would please a good husband; Paul concurs. See also 1 Peter 3:3-4.
2:11. The proper way for any novice to learn was submissively and “quietly” (a closely related Greek term appears in 2:2 for all believers). Although exceptions were made for elite women (for example, *Philo praised the empress as “almost male” in her intellectual capacity; Embassy to Gaius 320), and some intellectuals praised the ability of women (or particular women) to learn, most men considered intellectual activity a predominantly male exercise. Women were less likely to be literate than men (sometimes estimated at ten percent as often as men of the same social class), were trained in philosophy far less often than men, were trained in *rhetoric almost never, and, more importantly here, in Judaism were far less likely to be educated in the *law. Boys were raised to recite the Torah; girls were not, although they could listen in synagogues and remember what they heard at home. Given the bias against instructing women in the law, it is Paul’s advocacy of their learning the law, not his recognition that they started as novices and so had to learn quietly, that was more countercultural. (Women did occasionally attend rabbinic lectures, but the vast majority of *rabbis would never accept them as *disciples, and *Hellenistically oriented Jews like *Josephus and Philo were even more biased against them than the rabbis were. There is evidence for a few women filling higher roles in some Diaspora synagogues, in local cultures where women had higher social positions, but the same evidence shows that even there prominent women in synagogues were the rare exception rather than the rule.)
2:12. Although some women had opportunities to learn, women became teachers only extremely rarely; in all of antiquity, only a tiny proportion of respected sages (such as Aspasia, Sosipatra and Hypatia) were women who could also teach men. (In Jewish circles, Beruriah, second-century wife of Rabbi Meir, was instructed in the law, but she was a rare exception.) Many accused those they believed to be false teachers of targeting women because they were more vulnerable. Given women’s usual lack of training in the Scriptures (see comment on 2:11), the error spreading in the Ephesian *churches through ignorant teachers (1:4-7), and the false teachers’ exploitation of these women’s lack of knowledge to spread their errors (5:13; 2 Tim 3:6), the prohibition here fits the situation (the prohibition in fact appears in the only set of letters that specifically reveal that false teachers were targeting women; though cf. comment below). His short-range solution is that these women should not teach; his long-range solution is “let them learn” (2:11). Many believe that the situation might be different after the women had been instructed (2:11; cf. Rom 16:1-4, 7; Phil 4:2-3).
2:13. The argument from the order of creation is the same argument Paul used to support women wearing head coverings (1 Cor 11:7-12). Some writers take the argument here as universal, for all circumstances, even though most OT scholars do not view that as the most natural reading of the Genesis text to which he alludes (Gen 2:18 in Hebrew suggests a complementary partner, and Genesis repeatedly shows that God sometimes blessed the younger over the older). Other writers take Paul’s statement here only as an ad hoc comparison (see comment on 2:14), as most writers take his same argument for head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11. Paul sometimes applies Scripture in an ad hoc manner (see, e.g., comment on Gal 3:16), although he more often employs it universally (see, e.g., Rom 5:12-21).
2:14. Paul refers to the account of Eve’s fall as it is told in Genesis 3, although some later Jewish stories increased Eve’s guilt or deception considerably beyond that account (perhaps sometimes thinking of the Greek story of Pandora). That he compares the unlearned women of the Ephesian *church with Eve is clear; his earlier letters also compare the whole church of Corinth, both men and women, with Eve (2 Cor 11:3), the Corinthian church with Israel (1 Cor 10:1-22) and his opponents in Galatia with Ishmael (Gal 4:24-25). That he would apply this illustration to all women in all times, as some have thought, is more debated. Some argue that if Paul compared all women with Eve, he would be implying that all women are more easily deceived than men (at least if he were excluding all women from teaching; indeed, the local false teachers themselves were men—1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 2:17). (Empirically, assuming female deceivability is problematic; from years of teaching biblical interpretation to hundreds of students of both genders, even the author of this commentary can testify that, at least today, gender does not affect performance scores in biblical interpretation courses.) Similarly, his illustration in 2 Corinthians 11:3, comparing Eve’s deception to the entire church, might lose its force if Eve necessarily represents all women here. Scholars thus continue to debate the point of Paul’s analogy.
2:15. Some scholars argue that “saved” is meant theologically: Christian women will have *eternal life if they live godly lives, which includes following cultural propriety for the sake of the gospel’s witness. Alternatively, Paul could mean “saved” or “delivered” in a different sense—the sense it was usually given when related to childbearing. Women normally prayed to particular gods to “save” them, which meant bringing them safely through childbirth. (The curse on Eve came to be associated with death in childbirth in some parts of Judaism, so Paul might be qualifying his comparison in 2:13-14. In this case, he would be noting that Christian women are not daughters of Eve in every sense, thus implying that his illustration in 2:13-14 should not be pressed beyond the service for which he employed it.)
3:1-7
Qualifications for Overseers
Lists of qualifications for offices appear in both Jewish and *Gentile sources; lists of virtues appropriate to such offices are even more common. These lists were applied both to political or military offices and religious ones (e.g., judges in Jewish sources). Exceptions were not stated in general lists of qualifications but might be made for particular qualifications in extenuating circumstances. The term translated “overseer” (NIV, NASB) or “bishop” (KJV, NRSV) was elsewhere in use in the ancient world for leaders, and Paul uses it synonymously with “elders” (Tit 1:5, 7), a leadership title used in *synagogues and with a long history in Israel.
3:1. Many moralists urged any worthy men to become statesmen. Certain officials in the Greek world, in both cities and associations, were naturally called “overseers.” The *Dead Sea Scrolls also use the Hebrew equivalent of the term for an office of leadership at *Qumran; here it might be equivalent to the synagogue leaders responsible for the synagogue service, although probably in less formal house *churches. This office is identified with that of elders in the *Pastoral Epistles (Tit 1:5, 7), a situation that had changed by the early second century (Ignatius, Letter to the Trallians 3) but that still obtained in Paul’s day (Phil 1:1; cf. Acts 20:17, 28).
3:2-3. The office of overseer was open to all, but some qualifications needed to be observed, especially in view of the errors circulating in Ephesus. The qualification of being “above reproach” frames the other qualifications (3:2, 7); this was an ancient way of emphasizing that the qualifications focused on this issue. Political leaders were also expected to be “above reproach,” but a persecuted minority sect needed to protect itself against public slander even more than politicians did.
Polygamy was not practiced in the Roman world outside Palestine (hence is not likely the point here), though illegal bigamy and certainly adultery were. “Husband of one wife” no doubt means a faithful husband and probably presupposes marriage. If it expresses a preference for marriage, it might be helpful in standing against the false teachers who opposed marriage (4:3), although this preference might not apply to all situations (cf. comment on 1 Cor 7:8.) “Husband of one wife” (NASB) refers to one’s current marital status and behavior (cf. NIV: “faithful to his wife”; see fuller comment on 5:9); validly divorced people who remarried were considered married to one spouse, the second one, not to two spouses.
“Hospitality” included taking in trustworthy travelers as guests. Welcoming strangers and visitors was a universal virtue, but because inns in antiquity usually functioned also as brothels, Jewish people in the *Diaspora were especially willing to take in fellow Jewish travelers, as long as the travelers bore letters of recommendation certifying their trustworthiness. Ideally, eating together at table was supposed to form a permanent bond of friendship.
3:4-5. Politicians were often evaluated by how well their children obeyed them; it had long been accepted that the family was a microcosm of society and that a leader first needed to demonstrate his leadership skills in the home. Men in Paul’s day exercised a great deal of authority over their wives and children, especially over children still living in the home. That children’s behavior reflected on their parents was a commonplace of ancient wisdom (for society’s view, see also the public shame reflected in Lev 21:9; Prov 19:13; 27:11; but contrast Ezek 18:9-20 for God’s view when normal means of discipline failed). This factor may have been especially important for leaders of churches meeting in their own homes; but again, it assumes a premise of generally patriarchal ancient culture (where properly disciplined children usually obeyed) not directly, completely applicable to all societies.
3:6-7. Ancient leadership ideology required leaders to be tested in lower offices, to demonstrate their skills before being promoted; the church in Ephesus had now existed for over a decade, hence the Ephesians could insist on more seasoned leaders than some other churches could (the requirement is missing in Titus). The ever-present danger of false accusation required leaders to do everything in their power to avoid scandal; a solid reputation was helpful for church leaders, as it was for public officials.
3:8-13
Qualifications for Deacons
Lists of qualifications were common in antiquity; see the introduction to 3:1-7.
3:8. *New Testament texts use the term translated “deacon” in several ways. It usually means a servant-minister, generally a minister of the word, like Paul. But sometimes it is an office distinguished from “overseers” (Phil 1:1), possibly similar to the office of the chazan in the synagogue. This synagogue attendant was responsible for the synagogue building, so an analogous role could have been filled by the owner of the home in which a house synagogue or church met. Unlike elders (3:2), this sort of “deacon” may have fulfilled an administrative function without as much public teaching.
3:9. The qualification that the “deacon” keep “hold of the deep truths of the faith” (NIV; see, literally, “mystery”) is all the more critical given the prevalence of severe error in the Ephesian church (1:3-7).
3:10. A common feature of ancient political life was that leaders (or new members of groups) were often tested in lower offices before being promoted to higher ones; see comment on 3:6-7. On being “beyond reproach” (NASB), see comment on 3:2.
3:11. Scholars debate whether “women” here refers to deaconesses or to male deacons’ wives, although even the Roman government was aware of Christian deaconesses (apparently female deacons) by A.D. 112 (Pliny, Epistles 10.96.8, as usually understood). Thus Paul either requires upright behavior on the part of church officials’ wives (in ancient society, men were often ridiculed for their wives’ behavior) or explains some different requirements for women deacons. Gossip was especially associated with and probably (given social expectations and association of wives with neighborhoods) more often practiced by women than by men in the ancient world (cf. 5:13).
3:12-13. On “husband of one wife” see comment on 3:2-3; on “managers of their children” (NASB), see comment on 3:4-5.
3:14-16
Purpose of Church Administration
3:14. Letters sometimes announced one’s coming and often communicated a fond desire to see the recipient in person.
3:15. The church, which met in homes, was modeled on the household, just as pagan political theorists compared the household to society in general (3:4-5). Paul’s prior admonitions to Timothy, especially in 3:1-13, thus serve a function analogous to the household codes of many ancient writers: providing a specific framework of wisdom for administrating the family unit and society. “Pillars” were used to uphold structures, and support for the truth was needed given its challenge by false teachers (1:3-7). (A prominent and important member of a community was often called a “pillar,” so the image here may emphasize the church’s strength and indispensability.)
3:16. Here Paul gives the standard of faith his readers were to uphold in the form of a creed or hymn (which Timothy probably already knows). If “taken up in glory” refers to Jesus’ return (cf. Dan 7:13-14) rather than to his ascension, then the lines are in chronological order; but not all scholars think this proposal likely (cf. the same term in Mk 16:19; Acts 1:2, 11, 22). “Justified” or “vindicated” in the *Spirit refers to the *resurrection, God’s acquittal after the human judicial condemnation of the cross.
4:1-5
Errors of the False Teachers
4:1. Ancient Judaism associated the *Spirit especially with *prophecy (speaking under divine inspiration), and Paul here either essentially prophesies or reports an earlier prophecy. (“The Spirit says” is equivalent to the *Old Testament formula “Thus says the Lord.”) As a prophet himself, Paul refutes false or errant prophets (cf. 1 Cor 14:37).
Some Jewish groups (including the *Qumran community) predicted widespread apostasy in the end time, influenced by evil spirits. “Later times” probably refers to the “last days,” which by the Old Testament definition were normally understood as inaugurated by Israel’s *repentance and deliverance (e.g., Is 2:1; but cf. Dan 2:28; 10:14); in the *New Testament these days have begun (e.g., Acts 2:17) because the *Messiah has already come.
4:2. The “branding iron” was especially used on livestock (but apparently at least theoretically could be used also to identify some criminals); the “searing” may thus mean that the consciences of these apostates have become the property of evil spirits.
4:3. *Asceticism was on the rise in Greco-Roman paganism, and although most teachers (both Jewish and *Gentile) advocated marriage, the value of celibacy was becoming more popular (especially among Gentiles, but some *Essenes also seem to have practiced it). “Abstaining from foods” probably refers to Jewish food laws (see comment on Rom 14:1-4).
4:4-5. Jewish people always praised God before their meal; the normal blessing included praise for the God who “created” the fruit of the vine. Another blessing, possibly standardized in the early second century, was used after meals and included the statement “God is good and does good.” This Jewish custom was an appropriate way to show gratitude to God for his provisions. The food was in a sense sanctified by the word of God (Gen 1:30-31) as well as by such prayer; there was thus no need to abstain from it. Faith rather than something intrinsic to the food made the latter pure (Tit 1:15; cf. Mk 7:19; Rom 14:14).
4:6-16
The Importance of Sound Teaching
4:6-11. Paul alludes to the sort of physical training undertaken especially by athletes and others in the Greek gymnasia, where men stripped naked for exercises (v. 7). This image would have been familiar to his Greek readers, because the gymnasium was the center of civic life in Hellenized towns. The image of physical training was extremely common in the illustrations of Greco-Roman moralists and philosophers. Like them, Paul speaks of moral, intellectual and spiritual discipline rather than physical training, although he apparently does accept the physical value of exercise (and undoubtedly experienced plenty of his own during his travels). Jewish teachers especially praised study of the *law, which was profitable “both in this world and in the world to come.” Paul emphasizes the same point about spiritual discipline (v. 8).
Men sometimes ridiculed older women (e.g., Menander, Dyskolos 580-83), sometimes as idle (cf. Pliny, Epistles 7.24.5) or chatterers (Philostratus, Lives of the Sophists 1.25.541). Philosophers and others commonly demeaned the tales of old women as fit only for children, and they mocked irrational views as those suited only to old women (cf. *Seneca, Epistle to Lucilius 94.2; Philostratus, Life of Apollonius 5.14; *Joseph and Asenath 4:10). (For example, in *Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1.20.55, an *Epicurean mocks a *Stoic’s view of fate as a belief fit only for ignorant old women.) This perspective also presupposes the illiteracy of most older women in antiquity (even those who had learned to read in youth would usually have had little subsequent practice at it). Paul simply uses the current figure of speech (v. 7; but cf. 5:2).
4:12. “Elders” were highly respected in Greek gymnasia and exercised a ruling function in *synagogues and *churches, as they had in communities in the *Old Testament. Because Timothy joined Paul before A.D. 50 (Acts 16:1-3; men entered adulthood around puberty, so Timothy may have been in his midteens) and (on the letter’s Pauline dating) Paul is writing in the early sixties, Timothy is at least in his late twenties and could well be in his early or mid-thirties; this term for “youth” (KJV) could apply up to the age of forty, although it usually applied especially to someone under twenty-nine. (It may involve youth comparative to elders here.) Despite the valuing of youthful vigor, many regarded youth (albeit especially adolescence) as less responsible, more violent, sexually uncontrolled and impetuous. Those who were not elders were often considered inappropriate for leadership positions (cf. 1 Sam 17:33), and many offices became available only at age thirty; even in Jewish tradition many others became available only at age forty. Some stories about the appointment of young men were made up later to extol prodigies (e.g., postbiblical stories about Daniel, Solomon or several *rabbis), but others were the boasts of young achievers (such as Cicero); Timothy’s appointment was thus a rare privilege in his culture. Even though Timothy is younger than the elders he is advising, he is to take the role of the mature leader and act as an example for the community. Teachers normally asked *disciples to imitate them, and in so doing took the role of father figures.
4:13. As in the synagogue (both in Palestine and in the *Diaspora), public reading of Scripture was central to the service (e.g., *Josephus, Against Apion 2.175; Jewish Antiquities 16.43; Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaicarum 2:332-35, §1404); although the practice of specified readings may have been only beginning to develop, the reading from the Law was probably generally accompanied by one from the Prophets. The reading was then expounded (exhortation and teaching) by means of a homily on the text that had been read. (For reading and then exposition in the synagogues, see *Philo, That Every Good Person Is Free 81-82, esp. 82; Special Laws 2.62; Life of Moses 2.215-16; Dreams 2.127; cf. already Neh 8:8. This Jewish practice would be intelligible in a Greco-Roman context; in Greco-Roman schools, children translated texts from classical Greek into vernacular Greek, then expounded them in response to questions and answers.) By the mid-second century apostolic writings (later officially recognized as the *New Testament) were being read alongside the Old Testament in church services. “Until I come” authorizes Timothy: his exposition of Scripture would function as the best available equivalent of Paul’s apostolic presence.
4:14. Oracular utterances had long been used to attest the divine rights of kings and other officials, and Paul’s mentioning of prophecies about Timothy’s gift (probably teaching, 4:13) at his ordination could help quiet the opposition (see comment on 1:18). The approval of the “presbytery” (KJV, NASB) or “body of elders” (NIV) also could silence criticisms about his youth (4:12). (On elders as leaders, see comment on Acts 14:23. The elders here may be those appointed by Paul in Lystra; cf. Acts 14:21-23; 16:2-3.) Mature Jewish teachers ordained other Jewish teachers through laying hands on them; this practice served as official accreditation.
4:15-16. “Progress” (v. 15) was the standard philosophical way to describe a *disciple’s advancement in moral philosophy and was naturally applied to advancement in Jewish (Gal 1:14) and Christian (Phil 1:25) truth as well. It is clear that Timothy’s attention to his teaching is critical: his teaching would affect the salvation of his hearers (v. 16; cf. 2 Tim 3:15); the prevalence of error (4:1-3) reinforced the importance of this demand.
5:1-2
Honoring Elders
Given the preceding context (4:14), “older man” here may refer specifically to an “elder” (the same Greek word); the use of kinship terms for officers in the *church accords with the description of God’s household in terms of a family (3:4-5, 15). In this case, 5:3-16 would refer to female elders, a special office of older widows devoted to prayer, just as 5:17-25 applies to male elders. Interestingly, prominent individuals in *Diaspora *synagogues were often called “fathers” or “mothers” of synagogues. It is also possible that 5:1-2 is a more general statement, of which widows and elders as church leaders represent specialized examples. In either case, Timothy must address those older than he is (4:12).
Respecting elders was a standard feature of ancient wisdom and social custom, just as respecting one’s parents was; treating elders as if they were one’s parents, and peers as one’s brothers or sisters, was also considered praiseworthy behavior.
Developing the admonitions of Proverbs, Judaism heavily emphasized expressing concern for one’s neighbor by offering and accepting correction (see both *rabbis and *Dead Sea Scrolls). But it also emphasized the necessity of private as opposed to public rebuke unless all attempts at private settlement failed.
5:3-16
Honoring True Widows
Here Paul may refer to widows in general, but he probably refers to an order of widows who served the church, as in second-century Christianity. (Commentators disagree on this point.)
We should keep in mind that Paul addresses the values of ancient society for the sake of the church’s witness (5:7, 14; 6:1), not implying that all societies should share those values (which would, for example, look down on older women who had never married—5:10).
5:3. Honoring elders was important; “honor” here includes financial support (5:4, 16-18). By “widows indeed” (KJV, NASB) or “real widows” Paul means not simply those bereaved of husbands but those both committed to the church’s ministry of prayer (5:5) and experiencing the stereotypical *Old Testament plight of widows: destitution (5:4).
5:4. Adult children or other close relatives were expected to care for destitute widows, who had no opportunity to earn wages (and relatively little potential income by other means, e.g., selling produce from their garden) in ancient society. It was believed that one owed this care to one’s parents for their support during youth; Paul agrees. Judaism even understood this support as part of the commandment to honor one’s parents (see comment on Mk 7:9-13). (Under Roman law, a father could discard a newborn child; the child was not regarded as a person and member of the household until the father agreed to raise and support the child. This way of thinking probably contributed to children’s recognition of responsibility to parents. Early Jews and Christians, however, unanimously opposed abortion, infanticide and throwing out babies, seeing personhood as a gift of God, not of parents.) Caring for aged parents was a matter not only of custom but of law, and was common even in Western society until recent times.
5:5. The Jewish ideal for older widows, who received support from family or distributors of charity but whose only contribution to society was prayer (no small contribution), was that they be women of prayer (cf. Lk 2:37). (This is probably unrelated to the Roman image of Vestal Virgins’ prayers supporting Rome, although that image shows the ease with which the idea could have been grasped even in pagan culture.)
5:6. Here Paul probably refers to some sort of sexual immorality, perhaps becoming a mistress or indulging in lust. (Once remarried—5:11—a woman would not be considered a widow.)
5:7. The Greco-Roman world as a whole was happy to find cause for scandals in minority and foreign religions, and libeled especially any sexual irregularities. Being “above reproach” (NASB, NRSV; also in 5:14; see comment on 3:2) is crucial for the spread of the *gospel (6:1). Although conflicting ideals about widows’ remarriage existed in antiquity (see comment on 5:9, 14), all would view negatively a Christian’s committing immorality or violating a vow of celibacy (cf. comment on 5:11-12).
5:8. Even pagans believed in supporting destitute widows who were relatives; it was believed that one owed support to one’s aged parents (cf. comment on 5:4).
5:9. The expression “put on the list” was often used of official registrations (e.g., for troops). In some Jewish traditions, “sixty” was the figure for the beginning of old age (see comment on Lk 1:7; age for elders in Mishnah Avot 5:21). Some scholars think that the “wife of one man” may allude to the ancient ideal of remaining faithful to one’s former husband after his death by not remarrying; but the more popular ideal in this period was remarrying quickly (cf. 1 Tim 5:14). Another use of a related term is more likely: many husbands praised wives who had been “one-man wives,” meaning faithful and good wives (so, e.g., NIV: “faithful to her husband”). In view of 3:2, 12 (there was no ancient ideal that husbands not remarry) and 5:14, Paul must simply mean “faithful and good wives.”
5:10. Ancient writers (especially Aristophanes; see comment on 4:7) sometimes ridiculed older women, though they sometimes respected them (see comment on 5:2). Paul’s qualifications here are to ensure that those “on the roll” are above reproach; the popular ideal standards for women of any age included rearing or having reared children (see comment on 5:14). Providing water for washing of feet was a sign of hospitality in antiquity; the actual acts of washing someone’s feet indicated the humble posture of a servant or a subordinate (cf. 1 Sam 25:41 and comment on Jn 13:3-8).
5:11-12. Groups expected members to be faithful to their commitments. For example, *Pharisees became upset with those who reneged on their Pharisaic vows (Tosefta Demai 2:9), and the *Essenes were even more angered by those leaving their way of life (1QS 7.22-25 in the Dead Sea Scrolls); the importance that such sects attached to committed membership was reflected in the testing of candidates before their admission into full fellowship. Public departure from a commitment to the order of widows could bring about scandal; the “condemnation” (NASB, NRSV) is that of outsiders, as in 3:6-7.
5:13. Here Paul’s language reflects a popular perception of uneducated women’s behavior (cf. also 3:11); because of cultural expectations and probably limited education (which Paul seeks to remedy in 2:11), idle gossip commonly characterized women’s daily lives, and even moreso stereotypes about them. Jewish and Greco-Roman texts alike condemn gossiping or babbling women, including widows. The *Essenes were so sensitive about their reputation that an Essene who slandered their community would be banished (1QS 7.16-17 in the Dead Sea Scrolls). The language here depicts women spreading false ideas; the false teachers (cf. 1 Tim 1:6-7) may have targeted widows (cf. 2 Tim 3:6) because (1) women were usually less educated and (2) widows were the women who most often owned their own homes, useful for meeting places for new congregations.
5:14. Since the time of Augustus over half a century before, the rapid remarriage of widows became a Roman social ideal; it was also the ideal maintained by Jewish teachers.
The popular standards for a young woman, stressed in writings of philosophers and moralists, were chastity, modesty, quietness, submission and obedience to her husband, and devotion to domestic duties, including the rearing of young children. In contrast to the ideal wife of Proverbs 31, the ideal wife of Greek society was socially retiring and restricted herself mainly to the domestic sphere, the only place where she had authority. (Ephesus was in Asia Minor, but was originally a Greek *colony there, and Greek culture had pervaded the urban east by this period in any case.) “Keep house” (NASB) is better translated “manage their homes” (NIV); although subordinate to her husband, the Greek wife otherwise “ruled” her home. Although the division was less strict in practice, people generally treated public as the male sphere and private, or domestic space, as more often the female sphere. Paul here upholds some societal values for the sake of the gospel’s witness (avoiding “reproach”).
5:15. “Turning aside” (KJV, NASB) is used in the Dead Sea Scrolls for apostasy; see comment on 1:20 regarding *Satan.
5:16. Some women were well-to-do enough to become benefactors and *patrons; they had social dependents, which could include blood relatives, slaves, *freedpersons or others willing to be her *clients. By requiring well-endowed Christians to fulfill their responsibilities to family members, Paul hopes to stretch the church budget to help those who really had no other means of support.
5:17-25
Treating Church Elders Respectfully
5:17. “Honor” sometimes included payment, and this is the case here (5:18). “Double pay” (so GNT here) was sometimes given to worthy soldiers and is probably in view here. Because elders who did not have large property holdings would otherwise be at least partly dependent on working children, Paul advocates supporting them well (this support does not imply making them wealthy, of course).
5:18. Paul argues his case both from the *Old Testament (Deut 25:4) and from the sayings of Jesus (cf. Lk 10:7). Citations from authoritative or classical texts were used to prove one’s point not only in Jewish but also in other Greco-Roman literature.
5:19. Greek culture also recognized the value of witnesses for legal decisions, but the testimony of two or three was one of the most crucial requirements of Jewish *law (based on Deut 17:6; 19:15). For Paul, it is the other side of being “above reproach” (3:2): accusations must be properly examined and not uncritically accepted.
5:20. Judaism strongly emphasized reproof and correction; public reproof was to be a final resort only if private attempts had failed (see comment on 5:1-2).
5:21. Calling witnesses to an exhortation as Paul does here made it far more authoritative; Paul chooses the ultimate witnesses for such a charge. The angels are “*elect” or “chosen” (NASB) as opposed to fallen angels. The ancient world—especially the Old Testament and Judaism (which did not automatically favor upper classes in disputes, as Roman law did)—stressed that judges must be fair.
5:22. Jewish teachers would “lay their hands” (cf. NASB) on their *disciples to “ordain” (NRSV) them (see comment on 4:14), and that is what Paul has in view here: ordaining an elder who had not first been tested (see comment on 3:10) made one responsible for his subsequent exposure if he turned out to be ungodly. Keeping oneself “pure” (literally) “from sin” was a *Stoic virtue as well as a Jewish one.
5:23. Most people drank wine with their meals (albeit about two parts water to one part wine, and not distilled to a higher than natural degree of fermentation). Timothy has been abstaining (apart from, we may assume, the Lord’s Supper), perhaps to avoid the criticism of those influenced by the false teachers (4:3; some *ascetics abstained from wine); Paul tells him to go back to using it. Wine was often helpful in settling stomachs and preventing dysentery (it could be used to disinfect water). Some restorative diets recommended water (e.g., Fronto, Ad Antoninum Pium 8), others wine; medicines could be delivered with either.
5:24-25. The sins that were secret or in the heart made evaluation (5:22) difficult, as many ancient writers acknowledged.
6:1-2
Advice to Slaves
In keeping with exhortations dealing with households (3:15), Paul naturally includes advice to slaves (household slaves were considered part of the household). This advice was important because a movement that the Romans thought might incite slave discontent would immediately be labeled subversive and subjected to outright persecution; Paul wants the slaves who are Christian, as well as free Christians, to engage in a culturally relevant and intelligent witness. When Paul says that masters “benefit” from their slaves (v. 2), he employs a term especially used of wealthy benefactors who bestowed gifts on social inferiors. Thus Paul, like the philosopher *Seneca, possibly portrays the slaves as persons free in God’s sight who can choose to bestow a gift on their masters by serving them freely.
6:3-10
The Error of Materialism
Those spreading error were using the *gospel to accumulate wealth; Paul says that food and clothing should be enough for a Christian (6:8), who should seek no more than his or her basic needs (cf. Mt 6:25). This greed was one reason that Paul had to prohibit materialistic persons from *church office explicitly (3:3, 8). Some pagan philosophers also used their philosophy for personal gain, and this behavior drew the hostility and criticism of outsiders.
6:3. “Sound” can mean “healthy”; Greek and Roman writers often used medical imagery to describe the spiritual state of people’s souls or beliefs, though the figurative use was so common that the metaphor may be a dead one. Perhaps Paul refers here to Jesus’ teachings (cf. Mt 6:19-34).
6:4. Pseudointellectuals liked to quibble about detailed nuances of words rather than deal with crucial issues; see comment on 1:6.
6:5. Jewish people often recognized wealth as a sign of God’s blessing, and many teachers taught that those who served God would become more prosperous. This teaching was, however, meant as a general principle, as in Proverbs: one who works harder earns more. But these teachers also recognized that wealth could be used for good or evil, and many warned of the dangers of wealth, or even linked piety to poverty. A similar ambiguity is found among Greco-Roman philosophers: many said that wealth was acceptable if put to good use, but others (most obviously the *Cynics) thought that it should be rejected altogether as burdensome. The philosophers did not, however, normally see wealth as a reward for doing good. It is not clear whether Paul’s opponents preach that godliness is a means of gain or simply use religion as a means of gain.
6:6. Moralists sometimes used “gain” figuratively in a contrast to material wealth. Judaism often viewed present wealth as paltry compared with the true wealth of the world to come, which really mattered. One of the most common doctrines of philosophers and those influenced by them was contentment; people should be self-sufficient, recognizing that they need nothing other than what Nature has given them.
6:7. Here Paul cites a moral commonplace, phrased similarly by *Cicero; it is also attested in the *Old Testament (Job 1:21), *Diaspora Jewish literature and other Greco-Roman writers.
6:8. Ancient literature usually recognized “food and clothing” as the basic needs, which even Cynics and the poorest of peasants required (Cynics and most peasants had only one cloak each). On “contentment,” see comment on 6:6 and Philippians 4:11.
6:9. Different cultures understand material “wealth” differently. For example, middle-class North Americans understand “rich” much differently from the way Paul’s first readers would have; in the widespread poverty of the ancient Mediterranean, most people would have viewed the lifestyle of middle-class North Americans as “rich.” Like many writers of his day, Paul addresses those seeking to accumulate wealth (cf. Prov 28:20) rather than those who had already become wealthy through inheritance or industry (6:17).
6:10. Paul cites here a widely used ancient proverb about loving money being the source of various evils (e.g., *Theon, Progymnasmata 3.91-92; *Sibylline Oracles 3.235). The idea was even more common than the saying, but the saying itself circulated among philosophers and those who respected them.
6:11-16
Fleeing the Evil Lifestyle
In contrast to the greedy preachers (6:3-10), Timothy is to seek righteousness.
6:11. Moralists often exhorted readers to “flee” from vices. Ancient Hittites used the expression “man of God” to describe religious figures, and the *Old Testament used it for men commissioned by God to function as his spokespersons. Its fairly rare occurrences in subsequent Jewish literature (e.g., Life of Adam and Eve 41:2; 51:2; 2 Enoch 7:4; cf. *Letter of Aristeas 140) are probably dependent on the Old Testament usage, as is Paul’s use here. (Some later Jewish sources, such as the *Targum, sometimes change “man of God” to “prophet.”)
6:12. Greco-Roman moralists often described moral struggles in terms of warfare, as did Jewish texts influenced by them (e.g., *4 Maccabees, where it refers to martyrdom). The image in the Greek here is not that of a war, however, but another image the moralists equally exploited in a figurative manner: the wrestling match or athletic contest.
6:13. A charge with gods as witnesses (as also in 5:21) was considered especially binding.
6:14. “Without stain or reproach” (NASB) was a natural image for virtual perfection, for example in the requirements for pure sacrifices to God as unblemished (e.g., Lev 1:3, 10; 3:1, 6; 4:3, 23, 32) or reports of “undamaged” merchandise and so forth. On “without reproach,” see comment on 3:2. “Appearing” was sometimes used in Greek religion for manifestations of gods, but it would be a natural Jewish description in Greek for the revelation of God at the end time.
6:15. Jewish literature repeatedly described God as king. Especially in the East, rulers who claimed to be supreme kings, such as the Babylonian or the Parthian king, called themselves “king of kings and lord of lords.” Greek writers like Dio Chrysostom occasionally applied the title to Zeus; Judaism quite often applied it to God, and Christians applied it to Jesus (cf. Rev 19:16).
6:16. “The Immortal” was a common title for God in *Hellenistic Judaism (borrowed from a Greek term for their own gods, which Jews and Christians recognized as an inappropriate epithet for them; thus Paul adds “who alone”). Jewish texts often mentioned the glory of light around God’s throne; kings’ great authority made them unapproachable for common people. The Old Testament declared that no one could see God’s full glory and live (Ex 33:20), and later Judaism amplified this recognition (although some Jewish mystics, expanding the visions of the throne in Ezek 1 and Is 6, claimed to have penetrated the splendor around the throne and seen something of God).
6:17-19
Instructions for Those Who Are Rich
In 6:3-10 Paul condemned those who were seeking wealth, but in 6:17-19 he addresses those who are already wealthy. For Paul, wealth and property are not sinful in themselves, provided that one is not seeking them. Wealth can be used for good or for evil, for selfish or for beneficent causes; Paul says that Christians must use it for good.
6:17-18. The very wealthy usually derived their income from landowning; they rented out the land to tenant farmers or residents, or derived profits from crops grown on the land. A socially inferior but nonetheless wealthy class of merchants also arose, especially of ship owners. Wealth could be gotten by a variety of means, not all of them immoral.
The issue was not whether one had wealth but whether one used it for oneself or for others. This was the usual view in Judaism, which stressed charity, and a view held by many philosophers. Paul does not reject the world, as did the *Cynics, in some ways the *Essenes, or (in the most extreme sense) later *Gnostics; with Judaism, he affirms that creation itself is good (4:4-5). But he also recognizes that material wealth is transitory. Still more important, people matter more than possessions, and in a world of unending human need, possessions were ultimately worthless compared with more important things one could do with one’s resources.
6:19. Jewish texts sometimes spoke of storing up treasures in heaven; see comment on Matthew 6:20-21.
6:20-21
Final Exhortation
“Entrusted” is the language of keeping a deposit; those with whom money was deposited were under sacred obligation to keep it secure or increase it, and this principle applied also to teaching (to which the image was extended by other ancient writers as well). Some scholars have seen the “false knowledge” here as a reference to *Gnosticism (which could indicate a date for the *Pastoral Epistles later than Paul), but this interpretation is unnecessary; many philosophers made claims to “knowledge” which other philosophers considered false.