Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - 2 Timothy 4:12 - 4:12

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - 2 Timothy 4:12 - 4:12


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12. Τυχικὸν δὲ ἀπέστειλα εἰς Ἔφεσον. Tychicus (an Ἀσιανός, Act 20:4) comes before us several times as a trusted emissary of St Paul. Towards the close of Paul’s third missionary journey he preceded Paul to Troas (Act 20:4). We hear of him again as the bearer of the letters to Colossae (Col 4:7-8, where he is described as ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς διάκονος καὶ σύνδουλος ἐν Κυρίῳ) and to “the Ephesians” (Eph 6:21), which were written during St Paul’s first captivity at Rome. In Tit 3:12 the possibility of his being sent by Paul to Crete is mentioned. And now we learn that among St Paul’s last official acts was the sending Tychicus to Ephesus, probably either as the bearer of this second Ep. to Timothy (for ἀπέστειλα may well be an epistolary aorist; cp. Col 4:8), or to take Timothy’s place during his projected visit to Rome to cheer the Apostle’s last days. Either motive for this mission of Tychicus is plausible; neither is certain. But even if both be excluded, there is nothing in the remark ‘I sent Tychicus to Ephesus’ which can fairly require the inference that Timothy was not at Ephesus at the time of writing. St Paul is explaining how it was that of all his intimate friends only Luke is with him, and among others he mentions that Tychicus has gone to Ephesus, an observation not at all inconsistent (though some have found it so) with the fact that the letter is being sent to Timothy at Ephesus.