Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Critical Commentary NT - 2 Timothy 1:1 - 1:99
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
1:1, 2. Address and Greeting.—Paul to Timothy, his well-loved son, these: Paul writing with authority as one who has received his commission from Christ Jesus, through no choice of his own but by the will of God, who chose him because He had promised life to the world, the life which was realized in Christ Jesus, and who needed men to tell of that promise. I pray God the Father and Christ Jesus Our Lord to give you grace for your work, help in your difficulties, peace in your heart.
As in I, the address is partly official and authoritative, as he wants to strengthen Timothy’s authority (ἀότλς partly personal and affectionate; and this second element is stronger than in I (κτ ἐαγ ζῆ, as contrasted with κτ ἐιαὴ θο, ἀαηῷwith γηί τκῳ
δὰθλ θο] so 1Co_1:1, 2Co_1:1, Col_1:1, Eph_1:1; cf. Gal_1:4.
κτ ἐαγζῆ] qualifying ἀότλς cf. I 1:1, Gal_3:29; it gives the standard by which God chose him and to which his Apostleship must be true; cf. 10, 11 εςὃἐέη . . . ἀότλς It is expanded in Tit_1:2 ἐʼἐπδ ζῆ αωίυἣ ἐηγίαοὁἀεδςθὸ πὸχόω αωίν It is naturally emphasized by a writer who is face to face with death and is going to exhort Timothy to face it too (2:11-13); but the thought is not only of life beyond the grave, but of a life which begins here and persists through death; cf. 10 and I 4:8.
ἀαηῷ] cf. 1Co_4:17, Php_2:20-22. The latter passage, combined with 1:15, 4:11, 16 infra, perhaps suggests that the thought is not only “loved,” but loved as an only son is loved; the only son on whom I can rely, Hom. Oba_1:2Oba_1:2. 365, μῦο ἐνἀαηό.
2. Cf. I 1:2 notes.
3-2:13. Thanksgiving to God for Timothy’s past life, and appeal for renewed efforts, for courage to face danger, and for loyal adherence to the apostolic teaching.
3-5. Thanksgiving—called out by (a) the writer’s own feelings and memory (3, 4), and (b) by some recent reminder of Timothy’s faith (5).
Paraphrase. My first word must be to thank God—that God whom my forefathers worshipped and whom I worship with a pure conscience—a thanksgiving which springs up in my heart whenever I make mention of you, as I never fail to do night and morning in my prayers; for I have a yearning to see you once more, as I remember the tears you shed at our parting: if you could only come, my happiness would be complete. And now I have a special ground of thankfulness in the recent reminder of the sincerity of your faith—a faith which you too have inherited, for it dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, aye, and I have had many and many a proof that it dwells equally in you.
This section has striking verbal resemblance with Rom_1:8-12 (cf. also 1Th_1:2, 1Th_1:3, 1Th_1:3:6); but there is no reason to suspect deliberate imitation by a writer copying St. Paul (so Holtzmann), as the thought is common in literary correspondence of the time; cf. J. A. Robinson on Eph., Additional Note “On some current Epistolary Phrases.”
3. χρνἔω] I 1:12 note. ᾧλτεωἀὸποόω] cf. Act_22:14 ὁθὸ τνπτρνἡῶ: 24:14 λτεωτ πτῴ θῷPhp_3:4-6.
ἐ κθρ σνι.] cf. I 1:5. This was true of him even while a Jew; cf. Act_23:1. The sense of the real continuity of the Christian with the Jewish faith is constant in St. Paul; cf. Gal_3 passim, 6:16, Eph_1:1-11, Rom_11:13-24.
As in I 1:3 the construction is not clear: for what does he thank God? probably for Timothy’s life and loyalty. ὡ …ἔω is almost equivalent to “when,” “as often as,” but adds the thought of the correspondence of the thankfulness with the thought of Timothy, χρνἔωὡ ἔωμεα: to think of thee is to thank God for thee; to think more is to thank more; to think every day is to thank every day.
νκὸ κὶἡέα] either with prec. “in my evening and morning prayers,” cf. I 5:5; or with seq. “all night and day longing to see you,” cf. 1Th_3:10. The balance of the sentence supports the latter construction.
4. τνδκύν] cf. Act_20:37, though this can scarcely be an allusion to that scene. “Lacrimæflos cordis” (Bengel).
πηωῶ] perhaps to be joined closely with following: “that I may be filled with joy by the receipt of the reminder which your coming would give” (so R.V. margin, W.-H); or ὑόν λβνis loosely constructed with χρνἔω “I thank God on the recent receipt of a reminder of your faith.” This implies that he had lately heard news about Timothy, cf. Col_1:4, or perhaps had received an affectionate letter from him.
5. ὑόνσν] properly of an external reminder, cf. 2 P 1:13, 3:1 and ὑοίνσε 2:14; but a comparison of Mar_14:72 ἀενσηὁΠτο τ ῥμ with Luk_22:61 ὑενσηὁΠτο τὺῥμτςmakes it doubtful whether the difference can be pressed in Hellenistic Greek; cf. Clem. Hom. i. 1, σννγρμιλγσὸ . . . πρ θντυπκὰ πιύεο ὑονσι: Marc. Aurel. vii. 27, x. 34.
ἥι (not ἥ gives partly the reason for ἀυορτυπ sincere, for it was inherited as well as personal. Timothy, like the writer (3), has a family religion behind him; cf. the appeal of Virtue to the young Heracles, ἐὼἥωπό σ εδῖ τὺ γνήατςσ κὶτνφσντνσνἐ τ πιεᾳκτμθῦα Xen. Mem. ii. 1; cf: I 2:8-15 note, p. 31. This does not necessarily imply that Lois and Eunice had become Christians, though it is probable. The language might have been used by St. Paul of religious Jewesses who had trained the young Timothy in the Jewish expectations of a Messiah, cf. 3:15.
ππιμι] cf. 12, Rom_8:38, Rom_14:14, Rom_15:14. ἐῴηε “implies steady and persistent faith,” Hillard. It was always at home in their hearts; cf. 14.
6-2:13. Appeal to Timothy for greater effort, for courage to face danger and difficulty, and for loyalty to the Apostle’s doctrine. The appeal is based upon the reality of God’s power to strengthen him (7-10), the example of the Apostle (11, 12, 2:9, 10), and of Onesiphorus (15-18), the memory of the Risen Christ (2:8), and the sense that the doctrine is a sacred trust (13, 14, 2:1, 2). The key-notes of the section are δνμς 8. δντς12, ἐδνμῦ2:1), ἐασύεθι(8, 12, 16), πρθκ (12, 14, 2:2), σγαοαεν(8, 2:3, 9), πσι (loyalty to a loyal Master, 1:5, 12, 13, 2:2, 11, 13). There are many points of kinship in phrase and thought with the earlier letters, cf. Rom_1:16, Rom_1:8:15, 1Co_15:55, Eph_2:5-9, but none suggest conscious adaptation. The writer is perhaps feeling his way towards the request that Timothy will come to him at once to Rome. For that he will need courage, and he must leave faithful men in charge of his work at Ephesus.
6-14. Paraphrase. Feeling this confidence, I write to remind you to stir into full life that gift of God which is within you, which was given by the laying of my hands upon your head. For the gift which God gave us was no spirit of cowardice, but a spirit of strength combined with a spirit of love for others and of self-discipline. So then, as you have that spirit, do not be ashamed of the witness which we have to bear about Our Lord, do not be ashamed of me because the preaching of Him has led me to imprisonment; nay, be ready to share my sufferings in the cause of the Gospel: you have not to rely on your own strength, but on the strength of God Himself—of the very God who saved us and called us into His kingdom by a holy call to holiness, and that not in virtue of our own efforts, but in virtue of a purpose entirely His own, of a gift freely given—given indeed to us as embodied in Christ Jesus before time began, though only shown in these latter days by the bright light which radiated from the appearance of our Saviour Christ Jesus on earth, when He destroyed the power of the dread tyrant death and brought to clear view the full meaning of life, aye of immortal life, through the good tidings which I was appointed to proclaim, to carry with authority throughout the world and to teach its truths. It is because I have done this that I am a prisoner now, that I endure these fetters; but I am not ashamed of them, for I know Him whom I have trusted, and I feel confident that He has strength to guard safely all that I have entrusted to His keeping till that great day to which we Christians look forward. Take then as your pattern of sound doctrine the pattern of the doctrine which I taught you, hold it firmly in a spirit of faith and of that true love which is only found in union with Christ Jesus. It is a trust put into our hands for safe keeping; it is the most precious of all trusts; guard it then with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts.
6. δʼἣ ατα] Cf. 12, Tit_1:13 note. ἀαωυεν (“resuscites,” Vulg.; “recrees,” Ambros.), properly “to stir up smouldering embers into a living flame,” “to keep at white heat” (Parry) (“O joy that in our embers Is something that doth live”); there may be a conscious reference to the thought of the Spirit as fire, cf. Act_2:3, Mat_25:8, 1Th_5:19; cf. Seneca, Ep. 94, “Honestarum rerum semina animi nostri gerunt quæadmonitione excitantur: non aliter quam scintilla flatu levi adjuta ignem suum explicat” (Wetstein); but the use in the LXX (2 K 8:1, 5 to bring to life a dead child, Gen_45:27, Gen_45:1 Mac 13:7 “to revive” (intrans.)), makes it very doubtful whether the metaphor was consciously present in Hellenistic Greek; cf. Ign. ad Eph. c. 1, ἀαωυήατςἐ αμτ θο. Chrys. paraphrases happily πρηίςἔπηο ατ, χρςεφούη·σῆιγναω.
τ χρσα] cf. I 4:14. δὰτςἐιέες] cf. I 4:14 note. The time referred to is probably the same as there, the ordination for his present work at Ephesus: the context there suggesting a reference to the presbyters, the personal appeal here suggesting a reference to his own act alone. But the allusion here to Timothy’s home training (5), and the character of the gift conferred (7), leave it possible that the reference is to Paul’s first choice of Timothy to be his minister (Act_16:2; so Hort, Christian Ecclesia, p. 184), or even to his confirmation at the time of his conversion, Act_14:7 (so Bp. Chase, Confirmation in the Apostolic Age, pp. 35-40). On the other hand, the whole context of the epistle implies an appeal to one in an ordained and authoritative position.
7. ἡῖ] “to you and me,” “to us his ministers”; the statement is true of all Christians, cf. I. 2:15, but in a special degree of ministers, and the context (ἔωε taking up τ χρσα and cf. 13, 14) points to that limitation here; cf. Rom_8:15 ο γρἐάεεπεμ δυεα πλνεςφβνἀλ πεμ υοείς
διίς] cf. 1Co_16:10 ἐνἔθ Τμθο βέεεἵαἀόω γντιπὸ ὑᾶ, and compare Mar_4:40 τ διο ἐτ; οπ ἔεεπσι; Joh_14:27.
δνμω (“virtutis,” Vulg.), cf. 8, 12, 2:1 and Rom_1:16 ο γρἐασύοα τ εαγλο·δνμςγρθο ἐτν In writing from Rome as well as to Rome he dwells upon power as the essential characteristic of the Gospel, a power which is to prove stronger than the Empire of power; cf. also 1Co_4:19, 1Co_4:20.
κὶἀάη] which drives out fear, 1Jn_4:18, and gives the impulse to go to the aid of others in their hour of need.
σφοιμῦ (here only in N.T.), the power to make σφω; whether to discipline others (cf. Tit_2:4-6), or to discipline oneself, to keep oneself in hand, free from all excitement or hesitation; it is “the sanity of saintliness,” cf. Bp. Paget, Studies in the Christian Character, pp. 64-67. The context probably limits the reference here to self-discipline (“sobrietatis, ” Vulg.; “sanæ, ” Tert. Scorp. 13); cf. 2:22. ἀάηand σφοιμςcontrol the exercise of δνμς The Christian minister must be strong, efficient, courageous, but never forget personal tenderness for others (cf. 1Co_4:20, 1Co_4:21 ἐ δνμι. . . ἐ ἀαῇ or control of his own temper.
8. τ μρύιν] The witness to a crucified Messiah, “to Jews a stumblingblock, to Gentiles foolishness,” 1Co_1:23.
τῦκρο ἡῶ] perhaps with conscious contrast to the Emperor, “hunc opponit Cæ quem sui sic appellabant” (Bengel); cf. Tit_2:13 note.
τνδσινατῦ] cf. Eph_3:1, Php_1:12 sqq. which show the strain which St. Paul’s imprisonment laid upon his converts.
σγαοάηο] here only in N.T. and not found in earlier writers: probably coined by St. Paul, who frequently coins compounds of σνout of his deep sense of the close “withness” of Christians with each other and with Christ. The main thought here is “suffer with me on behalf of the Gospel”; cf. 2:3, 9, 3:10 (“collabora in Evangelio,” Ambros.), rather than “suffer with the Gospel” (“collabora Evangelio,” Vulg.), which may also be included; cf. 1Co_13:6 ἡἀάη. . . σγαριτ ἀηεᾳ
9. Every word emphasizes the power which has been given to Christians 7: a power which has done what man could not do of himself, which has acted out of love for man, which has destroyed his chief enemy and given him life, which therefore calls for some return and gives strength to face suffering and death; cf. Tit_1:3, Tit_3:5, Rom_8:28-30, Rom_8:9:11, Rom_8:16:25, Rom_8:26, Eph_2:7-9 (some of which may have been in the writer’s mind), and Ep. Barn. c. 5, §6, which may be based on this passage, ατςδ ἵακτρήῃτνθντν. . . ὅιἐ σρὶἔε ατνφνρθνι ὑέενν
κήε ἁί] mainly “with a calling to be holy,” cf. κηοςἁίι, Rom_1:7, 1Co_1:2, 1Th_4:7 ἐάεε ἡᾶ ἐ ἁισῷ but with the further thought of God’s holiness which we have to imitate, cf. 1 P 1:15, 16: “quætota ex Deo est et nos totos Deo vindicat” (Bengel).
πόει] Rom_8:28, Rom_9:11, ubi v. S.-H.
τνδθῖα …πὸχόω αωίν The grace of God is embodied in Christ Jesus: we only gain it through union with Him, and it was given to Him by God long before we were born. The reference may be either to the gift to mankind contained in the promise of the victory of the seed of the woman, Gen_3:15: this would be supported by the allusion to Gen in I 2:14 and by the use of πὸχ·αω. in Tit_1:2; or to the gift to mankind contained in the pre-existent Christ before the world was created, as even then He was the recipient of the Divine life of Sonship of which man was to partake: it was given to us in our ideal. Cf. Eph_1:4 κθςἐεέαοἡᾶ ἐ ατ πὸκτβλςκσο. The other reminiscences of the Ephesian letter in the verse makes this the more probable view. Pelagius draws a human analogy, “Nam homines solent filiis parare præ priusquam nascantur.”
πὸχόω αωίν] cf. Tit_1:2 note; “ante tempora sœ, ” Vulg. Ambros.; “œ, ” Aug. Thd.
10. ἐιαεα (“illuminationem,” Vulg.) here only of the Incarnation; but cf. Tit_2:11 note, 3:4 ἐεάη Here the two thoughts of the divine intervention of a saviour in the hour of need and of the dawning of a new light, cf. φνρθῖα . . . φτσνο (“illustria verba,” Bengel) and Luk_1:79 ἐιᾶα τῖ ἐ σόε κθμνι, are combined.
κτρήατς … Explanatory of σσνο 9, which has just been taken up by στρς
τνθντν] That tyrant death (cf. ἐαίεσν Rom_5:14) whose presence caused constant fear and took the sense of freedom out of life (cf. Heb_2:14 ὅο φβ θντυδὰπνὸ τῦζνἔοο ἦα δυεα), that death which the writer has learnt and Timothy must learn to face.
φτσνο] “illuminavit,” Vulg. This was done (a) by His teaching of the nature of eternal life, consisting in a knowledge of God and beginning here on earth; it is interesting to compare the language of Epictetus (1. iv. 31) about Chrysippus: τ τνἀήεα ερνικὶφτσνικὶεςπνα ἀθώοςἐεεκνι ο τνπρ τ ζν ἀλ τνπὸ τ ε ζν (b) but above all by the fact of the Resurrection, cf. 2:8, 1Co_15:51-56, Act_2:27. There was hope of immortality in the world before, but the Resurrection had converted it into a certainty and shown from beyond the grave the continuity of life there with life here; cf. Driver, Sermons on the O.T., Sermon 4; Mozley, Essays, ii. pp. 170-75. “The Gospel first gave to a future world clearness and distinctness, shape and outline; the Gospel first made it a positive district and region on which the spiritual eye reposes, and which stretches out on the other side the grave with the same solidity and extension with which the present world does on this side of it. A future life was not an image before the Gospel: the Gospel made it an image. It brought it out of its implicit form, and from its lower residence within the bosom of the great fundamental doctrine of true religion, into a separate and conspicuous position as a truth. This was a bringing to light, and a species of birth, compared with which the previous state of the doctrine was a hidden and an embryo state.”
ζὴ κὶἀθρίν] a climax, life, aye, unchangeable life; contrast ὄερνκὶἀώεα, I 6:9.
11. Cf. 1Ti_2:7.
12. ἀλ οκἐασ.] cf. 8 and Rom_1:16.
ᾧππσεκ] not “whom I have believed,” as in Tit_3:8 ο ππσεκτςθῷ but rather “whom I have trusted,” “to whom I have entrusted my deposit”; cf. 2 Mac 3:22 τ ππσεμν τῖ ππσεκσ σαδαυάσι. It anticipates the accusative τνπρθκν
τνπρθκνμυ] that which I have deposited with Him. (v. Additional Note, p. 90): all my precious things which I have put under His care. He does not define or limit; it will include his teaching (1Co_3:12-15), his apostolic work, his converts (Act_20:32 πρτθμιὑᾶ τ θῷ his life which has been already in God’s keeping and which will remain safe there even through death (cf. Luk_23:46, Luk_23:1 P 4:19). The last is perhaps the primary thought, suggested by ζὴ κὶἀθρίν10.
ἐενντνἡέα] 1:18, 4:8; cf. 2Th_1:10; here only in St. Paul, who generally adds some explanatory genitive, ἡέατῦκρο ἡῶ, ἸσῦΧιτῦ ἀουρσω. The day is now so present to his mind that it needs no defining.
13. ὑούωι (“formam habe,” Vulg.; “formationem, ” Thd.; “exemplum, ” Jerome) here and I 1:16 (where see note) only in N.T.; cf. τπνδδχς Rom_6:17. ὑιι. λγν, 1Ti_1:10 note.
ὑούωι ἔε.] “hold fast as form of teaching”; cf. I 3:9 ἔοτςτ μσήιντςπσεςἐ κθρ σνιήε; inf. 2:2. Parry would translate “hold forth in your life: let your own character represent to the world wholesome teaching.” This is very parallel to I 4:12 τπςγνυτνπσῶ . . . ἐ ἀάῃ ἐ πσε: but it strains the meaning of ἔεand scarcely arises out of the context.
ὧ πρ ἐο ἤοσς] ὧ is probably a loose attraction for οςor possibly ἅ(cf. 2:2), “hold as outline of sound teachings those teachings which you heard from me.” Hort regards ὧ as a primitive corruption of ὅ after λγν “hold as pattern of sound doctrines that doctrine which you heard from me.” W.-H. ii. p. 135.
14. τνκ πρθκν] cf. τςκ δδσαίς 1Ti_4:6. The thought of his own deposit with God 12 suggests that deposit which Christ has left with him, a far more precious and ideal thing; cf. Philo, Quod det potiori, 19, ἐιτμςκλνπρκτθκν
δὰΠ. Ἁίυ] cf. Rom_8:11. This is true of all Christians, but the thought here is, probably, still that of the special gift to ministers for their work 6, 7.
τῦἐοκῦτς] perhaps consciously recalling ἥι ἐῴηε5.
15-18. Examples of warning and encouragement.
Paraphrase. I appeal to yourself: you know instances both of cowardice and of courage: you know that all those in Asia turned away from me, of whom Phygelus and Hermogenes are the chief. On the other hand, may the Lord be merciful to the family of Onesiphorus, for many a time did he refresh me, every visit of his like a breath of fresh air; and he was not ashamed of my fetters, nay, when in Rome on a visit he took great pains to enquire where I was imprisoned and he found me: the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in the last great day. Yes, and all the many services which he rendered in Ephesus you have yourself the best means of knowing.
For similar warning, cf. I 1:19, 20, at the same point in the letter; but here the stress is on the encouragement of Onesiphorus which is described at much fuller length, and accompanied with prayer for him.
ἀετάηα] The occasion is unknown. It might refer to doctrinal apostasy (cf. 13, 14), but more probably to some failure to help Paul himself (μ, cf. Mat_5:42): as it is introduced mainly as a foil to the personal kindness of Onesiphorus, cf. 4:10 Δμςμ ἐκτλπν Possibly all the Asiatic Christians who were in Rome at the time, cf. 4:16, failed to support him at his trial and had now returned to Asia (cf. οδςand ἐ τ Ἀί): or all the Christians in Asia at the time when he was arrested there failed to help him or come with him to Rome.
ὧ ἐτ] cf. 2:18, I 1:20. φγλς not mentioned elsewhere. Ἑμγνς is mentioned in the Acts of Paul and Thecla (c. 1) with Demas, both being described as ὑορσω γμνε, Onesiphorus (c. 2), as welcoming Paul to his house at Iconium.
16. ἀέυε] “refrigeravit,” Vulg.; cf. ἀάυι, Act_3:19; κτψχι, Luk_16:24. This would include personal intercourse, cf. 1Co_16:17, 1Co_16:18, and gifts to relieve the hardships of his imprisonment, cf. Php_4:14-17; but, though it includes his visit at Rome, it need not be confined to that time. Cf. Ign. Eph. c. 2, Κόο . . . κτ πναμ ἀέασν ὡ κὶατνὁπτρἸσῦΧιτῦἀαύα.
ἅυι] Eph_6:20, Act_28:20. ἐῃχνη, recalling 8, 12.
17. γνμνςἐ] after arriving in Rome, cf. Act_13:5. ἐήηεseems to imply a change from the freedom of the first imprisonment, Act_28:30.
18. δη] A late form of the optative, cf. 2Th_3:16; W.-H. ii. p. 168. ὁκρο, the Lord Christ; cf. 2, 8, 16. πρ κρο, possibly also “from Christ” as the Jdg_4:8; or “from the Father,” a stereotyped phrase for mercy at the day of judgment. ἐ ἐεν τ ἡέᾳ cf. 12. ἔθ πλο ἐέυ χεαἡῖ, Chrys. Yes, but the Lord will say to Onesiphorus, ἐ φλκ ἤη κὶἦθςπό μ.
The context implies that Onesiphorus was separated from his family, probably that he was dead; cf. τ . . . οκ (16 and 4:19), ἐ ἐεν τ ἡέᾳ18, and so would provide a sanction for prayer for the departed. This, in this simple form, is a natural instinct; it was practised by some later Jews, cf. 2 Mac 12:43-45, and is found in early Christian epitaphs and in the liturgies; cf. Plummer, ad loc.; Gayford, The Future State, c. 4. Wohlenberg quotes the Acts of Paul and Thecla, §28, which is a prayer that a heathen may be transferred after death to the abode of the righteous.
ερ …ερῖ] It may be fanciful to imagine a conscious play on the words “invenit me in tanta frequentia: inveniat misericordiam in illa panegyri” (Bengel); but Paul was fond of such playful allusions and we can imagine him thinking of the meaning of Onesiphorus, “the help-bringer”; cf. Phm_1:11.
δηόηε] cf. 4:12. It is not defined here, and may include services rendered to Paul himself and to the whole church at Ephesus.
βλιν] Perhaps “better than I,” but the comparative sense cannot be pressed; cf. Moulton, Gr. N. T., pp. 78 and 236; M.M. s.v.; Act_10:28 (D) βλινἐίτσε 1 T 3:14 τχο (?), Joh_13:27.
Additional Note to Chapter I.
Πρθκ.
πρθκ (in Classical Greek more commonly πρκτθκ) always implies the situation of one who has to take a long journey and who deposits his money and other valuables with a friend, trusting him to restore it on his return; cf. Tob 1:14 ἐοεόη εςτνΜδίνκὶπρθμνΓβήῳἀγρο τλναδκ. The πρθκ is always that of the depositor: the duty of the friend is φλσενand ἀοιόα. From the earliest days this duty was protected by law; cf. Hå § 122-126. “If a man shall give silver, gold, or anything whatsoever, all whatever he shall give he shall show to witnesses and fix bonds and give on deposit”; and exact regulations were laid down fixing the penalty in the case of loss or damage; cf. Exo_22:7-13, Lev_6:2-7. The striking story of Glaucus, who was condemned by the Pythian oracle for even wishing to retain such a deposit, shows the importance attached to faithfulness in this duty (Herod. vi. 86; Juv. xiii. 199-208), and it was one of the first duties impressed on Christians, who bound themselves on each Sunday “ne fidem fallerent, ne depositum appellati abnegarent,” Pliny, Ep. 96. Among the Jews in Maccabean times the place of the friend was taken by the Temple treasuries, which took charge of such deposits and of the money of those who had no natural guardians; cf. 2 Mac 3:10-40 πρκτθκςχρντ κὶὀφνν10 τὺ ππσεκτς12 τ ππσεμν τῖ ππσεκσνσαδαυάσι 22.
In the N.T. the substantive is only used in the Pastoral Epistles: it comes naturally from one who is preparing for his last long journey, but the verb occurs elsewhere, and the word was used metaphorically in many applications. (a) Of the body of truth which Christ deposits with the Apostle and the Apostle with Timothy, cf. 1 T 1:18 πρτθμι 6:20 τνπρθκν 2 T 1:14, and which Timothy has to hand on to others when he takes his journey to Rome, 2 T 2:2 πρθυ This use may have been suggested by the parable of the Pounds, Luk_19:12. (b) Of our true self which the Creator has handed over to us to keep safe, cf. Epict. ii. 8, 21, ο μννσ κτσεαε ἀλ κὶσὶμν ἐίτυε κὶπρκτθτ . . . πρδδκ σισατν so Philo, Quis hœ, p. 491, τῦʼἔανςἐτ τῦσοδίυ τνἱρνἣ ἔαεπρκτθκνψχς ασήες λγυ. . . κθρςκὶἀόω μ ἑυῷ μν δ τ ππσεκτ φλξνο (Wetstein), and Hermas, Mand. 3, ο ψεόεο . . . γννα ἀοτρτὶτῦΚρο, μ πρδδνε ατ τνπρκτθκνἣ ἔαο. ἒαο γρπρ ατῦπεμ ἄεσο: ibid. Sim. ix. 32, “Reddite ei spiritum integrum sicut accepistis.” (c) Of good works deposited with God in heaven: a very common Jewish thought, 4 Esdr 8:33 “justi quibus sunt opera multa reposita apud te”; Apoc. Bar 1413 “justi sine timore ab hoc domicilio proficiscuntur quia habent apud to vim operum custoditam in thesauris” (Wohlenberg); cf. 1 T 6:19; Ign. ad Polyc. 6, τ δπστ ὑῶ τ ἔγ ὑῶ, and cf. Abrahams, Studies in Pharisaism and the Gospels, p. 148. (d) Of persons entrusted to the care of others, Clem. Alex. Quis dives salv., c. 42, τνπρκτθκνἀόο ἡῖ ἣ ἐώτ κὶὁστρσιπρκτθμθ: Act_20:32 πρτθμιὑᾶ τ θῷ(this is said of the elders at Ephesus); Chrys. p. 597 C, μγλνπρκτθκνἔοε τ πίι. (e) Of our life deposited with God at death, Luk_23:46 εςχῖά συπρτθμιτ πεμ μυ 1 P 4:19 ο πσοτςκτ τ θλμ τῦθο πσῷκίτ πρτθσωα τςψχςατν The life which at first was God’s deposit with us becomes our deposit with God.
R.V. Revised Version of the English Bible.
W.-H The New Testament in Greek, with Introduction and Appendix, by Westcott and Hort, Cambridge, 1881.
Clem. Hom. Clementis Romani Homiliæ, ed. Dressel, 1853.
S.-H. The Epistle to the Romans, by Sanday and Headlam, in the I.C.C.
M.M. The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, by J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, 1914-
Lock, W. (1924). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Pastoral epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus) (82). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.