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The First Epistle to Timothy[a] is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the pastoral epistles, along with Second Timothy and Titus. The letter, traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, consists mainly of counsels to his younger colleague and delegate Timothy regarding his ministry in Ephesus (1:3). These counsels include instructions on the organization of the Church and the responsibilities resting on certain groups of leaders therein as well as exhortations to faithfulness in maintaining the truth amid surrounding errors.
Most modern scholars consider the pastoral epistles to have been written after Paul's death, although "a small and declining number of scholars still argue for Pauline authorship".[3]
The authorship of First Timothy was traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul, although in pre-Nicene Christianity this attribution was open to dispute.[4] He is named as the author of the letter in the text (1:1). Nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholarship questioned the authenticity of the letter, with many scholars suggesting that First Timothy, along with Second Timothy and Titus, are not the work of Paul, but of an unidentified Christian writing some time in the late-first to mid-second centuries.[5] Most scholars now affirm this view.[6][7]
As evidence for this perspective, they put forward that the pastoral epistles contain 306 words that Paul does not use in his unquestioned letters, that their style of writing is different from that of his unquestioned letters, that they reflect conditions and a church organization not current in Paul's day, and that they do not appear in early lists of his canonical works.[8] Modern scholars who support Pauline authorship nevertheless stress their importance regarding the question of authenticity: I. H. Marshall and P. H. Towner wrote that "the key witness is Polycarp, where there is a high probability that 1 and 2 Tim were known to him".[9] Similarly M. W. Holmes argued that it is "virtually certain or highly probable" that Polycarp used 1 and 2 Timothy.[10] Scholars Robert Grant, I. Howard Marshall, and Hans von Campenhausen believe that Polycarp was the actual author of First Timothy, which would date its composition to c. 140.[4]
Marcion, an orthodox bishop later excommunicated for heresy, formed an early canon of scripture c. 140 around the Gospel of Luke and ten of the canonical Pauline epistles excluding 1–2 Timothy and Titus. The reasons for these exclusions are unknown, and so speculation abounds, including the hypotheses that they were not written until after Marcion's time, or that he knew of them, but regarded them as inauthentic. Proponents of Pauline authorship argue that he had theological grounds for rejecting the pastorals, namely their teaching about the goodness of creation (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1 ff.).[11] The question remains whether Marcion knew these three letters and rejected them as Tertullian says, since in 1 Timothy 6:20 "false opposing arguments" are referred to, with the word for "opposing arguments" being "antithesis", the name of Marcion's work, and so a subtle hint of Marcion's heresy. However, the structure of the Church presupposed is less developed than the one Ignatius of Antioch (who wrote c. 110) presupposes, as well as the fact that not only is "antithesis" itself a Greek word which simply means "opposing arguments" but as it has been noted, the attack on the heretics is not central to the three letters.[12]
Late in the 2nd century there are a number of quotations from all three pastoral epistles in Irenaeus' work Against Heresies.[13] Irenaeus also makes explicit mention of Timothy in his book and ascribes it as being written by Paul[14] The Muratorian Canon (c. 170–180) lists the books of the New Testament and ascribes all three pastoral epistles to Paul.[15] Eusebius (c. 330) calls it, along with the other thirteen canonical Pauline epistles, "undisputed".[16] Exceptions to this positive witness include Tatian,[17] as well as the gnostic Basilides.[18] Possible earlier allusions are found in the letters from Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (c. 95), Ignatius to the Ephesians (c. 110) and Polycarp to the Philippians (c. 130),[10][19] although it is difficult to determine the nature of any such literary relationships.
Modern scholars generally place its composition some time in the late 1st century or first half of the 2nd century AD, with a wide margin of uncertainty. The term Gnosis ("knowledge") itself occurs in 1 Timothy 6:20. If the parallels between 1 Timothy and Polycarp's epistle are understood as a literary dependence by the latter on the former, as is generally accepted,[19] this would constitute a terminus ante quem (cut-off date) of 130–155 AD. Likewise, there are a series of verbal agreements between Ignatius and 1 Timothy which cluster around a 14 verse section in 1 Timothy 1.[b] If these parallels between Ignatius and 1 Timothy represent a literary dependence by Ignatius, this would move the date of 1 Timothy even earlier. However, Irenaeus (writing c. 180 AD) is the earliest author to clearly and unequivocally describe the letter to Timothy and attribute it to Paul.[20]
The earliest known writing of 1 Timothy has been found on Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 5259, designated P133, in 2017. It comes from a leaf of a codex which is dated to the 3rd century.[21]
The epistle opens by stating that it was written by Paul, to Timothy. Paul reminds Timothy that he has asked Timothy to stay in Ephesus and prevent false teaching of the law by others. Paul says that law is to be applied to sinners like rebels, murderers, and the sexually immoral.[22] The list of lawbreakers includes the Greek word ἀρσενοκοίτης, which is sometimes translated to mean "homosexual men"[23] although there is some debate on the topic.
The epistle details the roles of men and women in its second chapter, particularly the verse 1 Timothy 2:12. In the NIV translation this verse reads:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.[24]
The epistle justifies this by saying that Adam was formed before Eve, and that Eve was tricked by the serpent.[25]
Leaders of the church are to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of respect, avoiding overindulgence in wine and managing their affairs well.[26] Timothy is advised to avoid false teachings and focus on the truth.[27]
The author discusses a list of widows to be supported by the church, setting restrictions on the types of women to help: only old widows who never remarry and who prioritize their family are to receive help. Widows younger than sixty have sensual desires that may cause them to remarry.[28]
Slaves should respect their masters, especially if their masters are believers.[29] People should avoid envy and avoid the temptation to focus on becoming rich because "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."[30]
In closing, Timothy is told he should continue to "fight the good fight of the faith" by helping others to be virtuous and by running his church well.[31]
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Several composers, including Johann Sebastian Bach, set a line from the epistle as a Christmas cantata, including Stölzel's Kündlich groß ist das gottselige Geheimnis beginning with 1 Timothy 3:16.
The Pastorals have certainly been regarded as Paul's since the latter half of the second century, for they were so used by Theophilus of Antioch and Irenaeus of Lyons and are to be found in the Muratorian list. Before that time they were open to criticism.
[W]hen we come to the Pastoral epistles, there is greater scholarly unanimity. These three letters are widely regarded by scholars as non-Pauline.
By the end of the twentieth century New Testament scholarship was virtually unanimous in affirming that the Pastoral Epistles were written some time after Paul's death. [...] As always some scholars dissent from the consensus view.
While seven of the letters attributed to Paul are almost universally accepted as authentic (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon), four are just as widely judged to be pseudepigraphal, i.e., written by unknown authors under Paul's name: Ephesians and the Pastorals (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus).
In the opinion of most scholars, the case against Paul's connection with the pastorals is overwhelming. Besides the fact that they do not appear in early lists of Paul's canonical works, the pastorals seem to reflect conditions that prevailed long after Paul's day, perhaps as late as the first half of the second century C.E. Lacking Paul's characteristic ideas about faith and the Spirit, they are also un-Pauline in their flat style and different vocabulary (containing 306 words not found in Paul's unquestioned letters). Furthermore, the pastorals assume a church organization far more developed than that current in the apostle's time.
Can we find, nevertheless, in the light of the contents of the letters, a common key to the understanding of all three? One common factor is to be found in the attack upon heretics, but this does not really stand in the forefront of any of the letters. I Tim. and Tit. are concerned rather with codified 'rules' or 'rules' required to be codified, for the ministry among other things. 2 Tim. also deals with the ministry, not in the sense of laying down rules, but rather that Timothy in fulfilling his ministry should follow the example of Paul.
1 Timothy public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versionsFirst Epistle to Timothy | ||
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