Bible Commentaries

The promise of life; of eternal life and salvation.

From my forefathers; as his forefathers had done. The God whom he was serving was the same God that the patriarchs had worshipped in ancient times.

Of thy tears; referring, perhaps, to the occasion when he bade farewell to the elders at Ephesus, as narrated Acts 20:37,38, where Timothy, it in not improbable, had taken leave of him.

Eunice. She was a Jewess, as is stated Acts 16:1.

Stir up the gift of God; be diligent and active in the exercise of the gift, that is, the office of the ministry.--The putting on of my hands. His ordination to the work of the ministry was stated, in 1 Timothy 4:14, to be by the presbytery, that is, the elders. But the ceremony of laying on of hands was often performed in token of any special consecration, as well as in cases of original induction to the ministerial office. For an example, see Acts 13:2,3. So Paul appears to have consecrated Timothy for the particular work to which he called him.

The spirit of fear; meaning, perhaps, fear of difficulty or danger, by which they might be deterred from activity and faithfulness in their work.

Not according to; not in consequence of.--Given us; designed for us, appropriated to us.

Hath abolished death; hath taken away its power and sting.

These things; the hardships of his imprisonment.

Of sound words; of sound doctrine.

That good thing; the sacred trust of the ministry.

The house; the family. It would seem that this family resided in Ephesus, as a salutation is sent to the members of it at the close of the Epistle, (2 Timothy 4:19,) and there Onesiphorus had himself shown Paul kindness. (2 Timothy 1:16.) He had, however, now been at Rome. From the message being only to his family, it would seem that Onesiphorus was still absent from Ephesus, or dead.