Bible Commentaries
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
2 Timothy 1
1. For the form of the salutation see the note on 1 Timothy 1:1. διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ is St Paul’s usual formula (cp. 1 and 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1); he never forgets that he is a σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς.
κατʼ ἐπαγγελίαν ζωῆς, according to the promise of life &c., expressing the aim and purpose of his apostleship; cp. Titus 1:1. For the expression ἐπαγγελία ζωῆς see on 1 Timothy 4:8. The life of which godliness has the promise is a life ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ; the gift of the Incarnation to man is a life no longer lived in isolated individuality, but ‘in Christ,’ enriched with the powers and the graces of the Risen Life of Christ.
2. ἀγαπητῷ τέκνῳ. It is γνησίῳ τέκνῳ in 1 Timothy 1:2 and Titus 1:4; but the change in phrase is hardly to be counted significant. In 1 Corinthians 4:17 Timothy is described as τέκνον ἀγαπητόν μου.
Χάρις, ἔλεος, εἰρήνη. see on 1 Timothy 1:2.
3. χάριν ἔχω. see on 1 Timothy 1:12.
The construction is not quite clear, but it seems best to take ὑπόμνησιν λαβών of 2 Timothy 1:5 as giving the cause of the Apostle’s thankfulness, the intermediate phrases beginning ὡς ἀδιάλειπτον expressing the circumstances under which it is displayed. The parallel phrases in Romans 1:9; Ephesians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 1:4 confirm this view.
ἀπὸ προγόνων, from my forefathers, perhaps said here with a hint at the difference in Timothy’s case, whose paternal ancestors were heathen (cp. 2 Timothy 1:5). The thought, however, of his religious ancestry is referred to elsewhere by St Paul; cp. Acts 24:14, κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἣν λέγουσιν αἵρεσιν οὕτως λατρεύω τῷ πατρῴῳ θεῷ, and Acts 22:3.
ἐν καθαρᾷ συνειδήσει. Cp. Acts 23:1, ἐγὼ πάσῃ συνειδήσει ἀγαθῇ πεπολίτευμαι τῷ θεῷ, and note on 1 Timothy 1:5.
ὡς ἀδιάλειπτον κ.τ.λ., as unceasing is the remembrance which I make of you in my prayers. The nearest parallel is Romans 1:10, ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι πάντοτε ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν μου, but the expression (see above) is a favourite one with St Paul (cp. 1 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:6). It has, indeed, been pointed out512 that some such phrase was frequently used in Greek letters of the Hellenistic period; e.g. in a letter dated 172 B.C. (Pap. Lond. XLII.) we find καὶ οἱ ἑν οἴκῳ πάντες σου διαπαντὸς μνεὶαν ποιούμενοι. St Paul adopted the customary phraseology of intimate correspondence and charged it with a deep Christian meaning.
νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας. This probably goes with ἐπιποθῶν (as R.V.) rather than with what precedes (as A.V.). Cp. however 1 Timothy 5:5 and see the note there.
4. ἐπιποθῶν σε ἰδεῖν, desiring to see thee, here the natural longing of personal affection. Cp. Romans 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 3:6.
μεμνημένος σου τῶν δακρύων, remembering thy tears, probably those shed at the last parting of the two friends. Cp. Acts 20:37.
ἵνα χαρᾶς πληρωθῶ, the desired consequence of the preceding σε ἰδεῖν.
5. ὑπόμνησιν λαβών, having been put in remembrance, lit., having received a ‘reminder.’ ὑπόμνησις (only again in 2 Maccabees 6:17; 2 Peter 1:13; 2 Peter 3:1; but cp. ὑπομιμνήσκειν, 2 Timothy 2:14; Titus 3:1) is an act of the memory prompted from without; and thus Bengel’s suggestion, that there is here an allusion to some news of Timothy which had recently reached St Paul whether by messenger or by letter, is not improbable.
τῆς ἐν σοὶ ἀνυποκρίτου πίστεως, of the unfeigned faith that is in thee. For ἐν σοί instead of σου cp. Romans 1:12, διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀλλήλοις πίστεως; for ἀνυπόκριτος see on 1 Timothy 1:5.
ἥτις. see on 1 Timothy 1:4.
πρῶτον ἐν τῇ μάμμῃ κ.τ.λ. πρῶτον simply means ‘before it dwelt in you.’ It is likely (though not explicitly stated) that Lois was Eunice’s mother. The latter is described in Acts 16:1 as a believing Jewish woman, and as this was on St Paul’s second visit to Lystra it has been supposed that she accepted the gospel on the Apostle’s first visit to that place. After the word Ἰουδαίας (Acts 16:1) one cursive MS. [25] adds χήρας, and this is confirmed by two or three Latin authorities; the tradition that Eunice was a widow at the time of Timothy’s circumcision (although thus slenderly attested) is interesting and falls in with the omission of any mention of Timothy’s father in St Paul’s letters. It also gives a new significance to the injunctions in 1 Timothy 5:4. But, however this may have been, the faith of both Lois and Eunice is here commended, and it was evidently to their pious care that Timothy owed his instruction in the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). Whether Lois was a Christian or only a faithful Jewess we cannot tell. The word ͅμάμμη, ‘grandmother,’ only occurs again in the Greek Bible at 4 Maccabees 16:9; the more correct Attic form being τήθη.
πέπεισμαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἐν σοί, and [not only so, but] I am persuaded [that it dwells] in thee also. We are not to press the adversative force of δέ, as if it meant ‘but, notwithstanding all appearances’; it simply connects the clause with what has gone before.
6. διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν, for the which cause, sc. on account of the unfeigned faith inherited and possessed by Timothy, of which the Apostle has just been reminded. The phrase διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν does not occur in St Paul outside the Pastorals (2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 1:13 : cp. Hebrews 2:11).
ἀναμιμνήσκω σε, I put you in remembrance. It has been supposed by some that here and throughout the Epistle we have allusions to weakness and timidity on the part of Timothy which had come to St Paul’s knowledge; but the evidence does not seem sufficient to establish anything more than a very natural anxiety on the part of the older man lest the younger one should faint under his heavy burden. Paul does not here tell Timothy of any new gift; he reminds him of that which was already his, and which Timothy knew to be his. See Introd. p. xliii.
ἁναζωπυρεῖν κ.τ.λ., that you kindle into a flame the grace of God &c. The Divine χάρισμα is a fire which may be extinguished through neglect; cp. 1 Thessalonians 5:19, τὸ πνεῦμα μὴ σβέννυτε (of the despising of prophesyings). The verb ἁναζωπυρεῖν does not occur again in N.T., but it is found twice in LXX. (Genesis 45:27; 1 Maccabees 13:7, being used intransitively in both cases) and was a common Greek word. Cp. Clem. Rom. 27; Ignat. Ephesians 1.
τὸ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν κ.τ.λ., the gift of God which is in thee through the laying on of my hands. Cp. carefully 1 Timothy 4:14 and the note thereon. The χάρισμα is not an ordinary gift of God’s grace, such as every Christian may seek and obtain according to his need; but is the special grace received by Timothy to fit him for his ministerial functions.
7. οὐ γὰρ ἔδωκεν κ.τ.λ. For God did not give us, i.e. [not all Christians but] you and me, Paul and Timothy, when we were set apart for His service by prayer and the imposition of hands.
πνεῦμα δειλίας, the spirit of cowardice. The word δειλία does not occur again in the N.T., but it is common in the LXX. as in all Greek. πνεῦμα does not stand for the natural human temper, but (as generally in St Paul; cp. Romans 8:15; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Ephesians 1:17) for the human spirit supernaturally affected by the Divine. Of the gifts of the Holy Spirit cowardice is not one; a Christian man, a Christian minister, has no right to be a coward, for God has given him the spirit of power. Cp. Isaiah 11:2.
ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ, but of power and love and discipline. These three graces are specially named, as specially needed for one in Timothy’s circumstances; power to fulfil his arduous tasks, love to suffer gladly all opposition—being ready to believe that for the most part it springs from ignorance—discipline, to correct and warn the wayward and careless. Cp. for δύναμις, Romans 15:13, ἐν δυνάμει πνεύματος ἁγίου; and again, St Paul’s own preaching was ἐν ἀποδείξει πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως (1 Corinthians 2:4). For ἀγάπη cp. Romans 15:30 &c. σωφρονισμός is a ἅπ. λεγ. in the Greek Bible, but σωφροσύνη and its cognates are favourite words in the Pastorals; see on 1 Timothy 2:9.
8. μὴ οὖν ἐπαισχυνθῇς. The exhortation is consequent on the assertion of the gift of the Spirit in 2 Timothy 1:7; as Bengel has it “victo timore, fugit pudor malus.”
τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ‘about our Lord’; cp. τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ (1 Corinthians 1:6). see on 1 Timothy 1:14 for the title.
τὸν δέσμιον αὐτοῦ. Cp. Ephesians 3:1 and Philemon 1:9 : ‘whom He has bound.’ This is not merely a suggestion to Timothy to hasten to Rome; but a general exhortation to courage in upholding St Paul’s teaching.
συνκακοπάθησον, ‘bravely endure your share of suffering’ in company with St Paul and all the martyrs of Christ. The word is only found in the Greek Bible here and at 2 Timothy 2:3.
τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ, dat. commodi, ‘for the Gospel’s sake.’
κατὰ δύναμιν θεοῦ. To be taken with συνκακοπάθησον, ‘according to the power which God gives.’ It seems better to refer back to the δύναμις of 2 Timothy 1:7 (cp. 2 Corinthians 6:7) rather than forward to the power of God displayed in the process of salvation of 2 Timothy 1:9.
9. ἡμᾶς. Primarily in reference to Paul and Timothy, but true generally.
σώσαντος. For the act of σωτηρία as applied to God, see on 1 Timothy 1:1.
καὶ καλέσαντος κλήσει ἁγία. This calling or vocation is always ascribed by Paul to God the Father; cp. Romans 11:29; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Galatians 1:6 and especially Romans 8:28, τοῖς κατὰ πρόθεσιν κλητοῖς οὖσιν.
οὐ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν. Cp. Titus 3:5; a distinctively Pauline idea, and important here as balancing the emphasis laid on good works in the Pastorals. see on 1 Timothy 2:10.
ἰδίαν, emphatic, as marking the freedom of the Divine purpose.
ἐν Χρ. Ἰη., in, [not ‘through’], His person.
πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων. See Romans 16:25 and Titus 1:2. The grace of Christ, Incarnate, Crucified, Risen, is part of the eternal purpose of God for man, and since time does not limit the Deity, that which is unfalteringly purposed is described as actually given.
10. φανερωθεῖσαν. See note on 1 Timothy 3:16, and cp. Romans 16:25; Colossians 1:26.
ἐπιφάνεια. This word is used here, not as in 1 Timothy 6:14 of the Second Advent (where see note), but of the whole ‘Epiphany’ of Christ in the world. Cp. Titus 3:4.
τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Χρ. Ἰη. Cp. Philippians 3:20. See critical note for the order Χρ. Ἰη.
τὸν θάνατον. Observe the article; while ζωή and ἀφθαρσία are anarthrous, θάνατον is preceded by τόν, sc. ‘that death which we all know and dread.’ It, i.e. physical death, has been made of none effect, for its sharpness is sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), and that has been conquered in the sorrows of the Passion. Cp. Hebrews 2:14 and Romans 5:12-21.
φωτίσαντος, brought to light. Cp. 1 Corinthians 4:5, ὂς καὶ φωτίσει τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους. φωτίζειν is, strictly, to illuminate, e.g. John 1:9, ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον κ.τ.λ.; and this is its proper meaning here. In prae-Christian times men had reached after life and incorruption; the doctrine of a future life was not first preached by the Apostles of Christ. But that doctrine was illuminated, brought into clear light, for the first time, διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου. Yet, exegetically necessary as it is to emphasise this distinction, it is not of much practical importance. As Paley says with his usual sober sense: “It is idle to say that a future state had been discovered already:—it had been discovered, as the Copernican system was, it was one guess among many. He alone discovers who proves” (Moral and Political Philosophy, 2 Timothy 1:9 sub fin.). It can hardly be maintained that the doctrine of a future life is demonstrable on grounds of natural religion alone.
διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου. To be connected with φωτίσαντος. By means of the Gospel, life and immortality are brought into full light, for it is through the Gospel that we learn where to seek, and to find, them.
11. εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγώ, for which, sc. for the proclamation of which Gospel, I was appointed. Cp. 1 Timothy 1:12 and esp. 1 Timothy 2:7 where the same three offices are named. See critical note.
12. διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν. see on 2 Timothy 1:6.
καὶ ταῦτα πάσχω, I suffer even these things, sc. bonds and prison.
ᾧ πεπίστευκα, whom I have believed, the perfect tense marking the continued πίοτις. With the construction cp. John 13:18, ἐγὼ οἶδα τίνας ἐξελεξάμην.
τὴν παραθήκην μου. The word is peculiar in the N.T. to the Pastorals (see also 1 Timothy 6:20), and occurs in the LXX. only in Leviticus 6:2; Leviticus 6:4; 2 Maccabees 3:10; 2 Maccabees 3:15, the last of which passages presents a parallel to that before us. There were in the treasury at Jerusalem ‘deposits’ of widows and orphans, and the priests pray that God may keep them safe (διαφυλάξαι) from the spoiler for those who had deposited them. In 1 Timothy 6:20 and 2 Timothy 1:14 παραθήκη plainly means the doctrine delivered to Timothy to preach; and hence it appears that here τὴν παρ. μου = the doctrine delivered to Paul by God. The Apostle is a prisoner and has no prospect of living much longer, and he expresses his confidence that God will keep safe his doctrine against that day, i.e. the day of the final account. Many other meanings for παραθήκη have been suggested, as ‘soul,’ ‘salvation,’ ‘apostolic office’ &c.; but the force of the parallels must be preserved. The connexion with the next verse is also maintained fully by understanding παραθήκη here of the doctrine entrusted to Paul. He knows that he can do little more for the preservation and propagation of the faith; he commends it accordingly to God; and then he solemnly bids Timothy, his spiritual son and successor, to hold fast as a pattern the sound words which he has taught him, to guard the good deposit.
13. ὑποτύπωσιν. See note on 1 Timothy 1:16 for the meaning of this word.
ὑγιαινόντων λόγων, of sound words; see the note on 1 Timothy 1:10.
The usual rendering of this verse Hold the pattern of sound words which thou hast heard &c. is not free from difficulty. [1] The emphatic word is ὑποτύπωσιν as its position in the sentence shews, [2] it is used without an article and so seems to have a predicative force, [3] the verb is ἔχε, not κάτεχε; i.e. hold, not ‘hold fast’ (as in 1 Corinthians 11:2; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). But the difficulty of translating Hold, as a pattern of sound words, even those which thou hast heard from me is that we must then suppose ὧν to stand for οὔς governed by ἔχε (see crit. note). On the whole, therefore, we prefer the ordinary rendering.
ἑν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἐν Χρ. Ἰησοῦ. The connexion is again uncertain. (a) It seems weak to take this clause with ἤκουσας. (b) It is better to take it with ἔχε, faith and love forming, as it were, the atmosphere in which the ‘sound words’ are to be preserved; but the order of the words in the sentence does not favour this. Thus (c) it has been urged that a period should be placed at ἤκουσας and that ἑν πίστει καὶ ἀγ. κ.τ.λ. are to be taken adverbially with what follows, viz. ‘In faith and love guard the good deposit.’ But this seems to deprive τὴν καλὴν παραθήκην of the emphasis which its place at the beginning of an injunction gives it. On the whole (b) seems best, and the meaning of the whole sentence is: ‘Hold as a pattern of sound words, in faith and love, what you heard from me’; cp. 2 Timothy 2:2.
ἐν Χρ. Ἰησοῦ. He is the source and spring of both faith and love; cp. 1 Timothy 3:13.
14. τὴν καλὴν παραθήκην φύλαξον. See the note on 1 Timothy 6:20; and for καλήν, a characteristic adjective of the Pastorals, see on 1 Timothy 1:8. Cp. Philo Quod det potiori insid. 19 παραδοῦναι … ἐπιστήμης καλὴν παρακαταθήκην φύλακι πιστῇ.
διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος ἐν ἡμῖν, through the Holy Spirit who dwelleth in us, sc. in all Christians, but especially in you and me, Paul and Timothy, to whom grace for ministry has been given. Cp. for the phrase as applied to all Christians, Romans 8:11.
15. οἶδας. Note the difference between οἶδας here, signifying general, hearsay, knowledge, which was all that Timothy could have had of St Paul’s condition at Rome, and γινώσκεις in 2 Timothy 1:18, the personal knowledge that he had of the ministrations of Onesiphorus at Ephesus.
ἀπεστράφησάν με πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, all who are in Asia repudiated me. Asia is, as generally in the N.T. (see Acts 16:6), the Roman province of that name, embracing the Western parts of what is now called Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was the metropolis. πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ can hardly mean anything but all who are now in Asia. Certain Christians (apparently from that province) had been in Rome while St Paul was in bonds but had turned away from him; they had now returned home, and were probably known to Timothy. Two, Phygelus and Hermogenes, are singled out for mention by name, why—we cannot tell; possibly because they were inhabitants of Ephesus and so would come more directly under Timothy’s notice. We know nothing further of them; Hermogenes is introduced in company with Demas in the opening sentences of the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, where he is described as ὁ χαλκεύς and as ‘full of hypocrisy,’ but such legends are rather to be considered as growing out of the notices in the Pastoral Epistles than as having independent tradition behind them.
16. δῴη ἔλεος. This phrase only occurs here in the N.T.; we have ποιεῖν ἔλεος elsewhere (Luke 1:72; Luke 10:37; James 2:13). δῴη is the incorrect, late, form for δοίη.
ὁ κύριος, sc. Christ, as appears from 2 Timothy 1:8 and also from v.18.
τῷ Ὀνησιφόρου οἴκῳ, to the household of Onesiphorus. Onesiphorus also figures (see above 2 Timothy 1:15) in the Acts of Paul and Thecla, where he is represented as a householder of Iconium who shewed hospitality to St Paul on his first missionary journey, his wife’s name being given as Lectra (see crit. note on 2 Timothy 4:19 below). A martyr called Onesiphorus seems to have suffered at Parium in Mysia between the years 102 and 114 A.D.513, but there is no ground for identifying him with the friend who shewed kindness to St Paul. See further below on 2 Timothy 1:18.
ὅτι πολλάκις με ἀνέψυξεν, for he oft refreshed me, no doubt with the consolations of his staunch friendship, as well as by bodily relief. ἀναψύχειν does not occur again in the N.T., but cp. ἀνάψυξις (Acts 3:20).
καὶ τὴν ἅλυσίν μου οὐκ ἐπαισχύνθη, and was not ashamed of my chain. St Paul spoke of himself during his first captivity at Rome as being ἐν ἁλύσει (Ephesians 6:20). It is possible that we have here an allusion to the chain by which, according to the prison rules of the time, he was bound to his guard; but it would not be safe to press the singular, so as to insist on this. Onesiphorus was not ashamed of Paul’s bonds, his state of durance; this sufficiently brings out the point. Others turned away from the poor prisoner, whether through fear of a like fate at Nero’s hands, or through the dislike which many people have to associate with the unfortunate more intimately than is necessary; not so Onesiphorus.
17. ἀλλὰ γενόμενος ἐν Ῥώμῃ, but when he had arrived in Rome. Cp. Acts 13:5.
σπουδαίως ἐζήτησέν με καὶ εὗρεν, he diligently sought me out and found me. It was probably no easy task to find one obscure prisoner, among the large numbers in bonds at Rome for various offences.
18. δῴη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κ.τ.λ., may the Lord, sc. Christ, grant him to find mercy from the Lord, sc. God the Father, in that day, sc. the Day of Judgement. The repetition ὁ κύριος … παρὰ κυρίου is a little awkward, but probably the phrase δῴη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος was a common introductory formula, so that the addition παρὰ κυρίου would not occur to the writer as strange. As the first κύριος seems to refer to Christ (see 2 Timothy 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:16 above), it is best to take the second κυρίου as referring to God the Father, to whom the function of judgement is given more than once by St Paul (Romans 2:5; Romans 2:16 &c.; but cp. John 5:22).
The question has been much debated whether Onesiphorus was alive or dead at the time of writing, a question which in the absence of fuller information about him it is impossible to answer with certainty. It may be observed, however, that there is no a priori difficulty in the way of supposing St Paul to have prayed for him, if he were already dead. Prayer for the dead was admissible among the Jews at the date of the composition of the Second Book of the Maccabees (cir. 100 B.C.), as 2 Maccabees 12:44-45 establishes beyond question. And that the practice was observed by Christians in the second century becomes apparent as soon as we arrive at a period of which we have adequate knowledge. “Let every friend who observeth this pray for me” are the closing words of the epitaph on the tomb of Abercius, Bp of Hierapolis (160 A.D.)514, and they are typical of a large number of sepulchral Christian inscriptions in the Catacombs and elsewhere515. It cannot be supposed impossible or even improbable that St Paul should have shared in the practice, which the Christian Church seems to have taken over from Judaism. But proof positive we have not got here. Certainly in ch. 2 Timothy 4:19 the household of Onesiphorus is saluted without mention of Onesiphorus himself. But this only proves that he was not at Ephesus at the time of writing (it seems a most improbable conjecture that he was actually then at Rome). To speak of a man’s οἷκος without specific mention of himself does not necessarily prove that he is dead (cp. 1 Corinthians 1:16). A better argument may be based on a comparison of 2 Timothy 1:16; 2 Timothy 1:18. In 2 Timothy 1:16 St Paul prays for the household of Onesiphorus, whereas in 2 Timothy 1:18 he repeats the same prayer on behalf of the man himself, with the significant addition ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, which can mean nothing else than the Day of Judgement (see 2 Timothy 1:12 and 2 Timothy 4:8). This addition seems to betray a feeling that prayer for him in this life, such as has already been made for his οἷκος, would be out of place. On the whole then it seems probable that Onesiphorus was dead when St Paul prayed on his behalf, δώῃ αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κ.τ.λ.516
καὶ ὅσα ἐν Ἐφέσῳ διηκόνησεν. Onesiphorus had plainly, from this, been a Church worker at Ephesus, where his family continued to reside (2 Timothy 4:19).
βέλτιον σὺ γινώσκεις, thou knowest, of thine own personal knowledge, very well. βέλτιον is not to be taken as better than I could tell you; the comparative is used (as often) as equivalent to a weak superlative.
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