Paul, 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, Page 1 of 7 Lecture 265.1 Introduction. 2 Timothy 1:1-5 Introductory Remarks: Biblical Order The biblical order does not necessarily reflect the chronological order of writing. Letters attributed to Paul are arranged in the NT in the following order 1) Letters to Churches; longest first - shortest last (Romans - 2 Thessalonians) 2) Letters to Individuals; longest first - shortest last (1 Timothy - Philemon) Introductory Remarks on Authenticity 2 “Authentic” means “written by Paul.” It has nothing to do with whether the letter is “inspired” or “true.” Of all 3 Pastorals, 2 Timothy has the highest likelihood of being genuine. Nothing in 2 Timothy presupposes the existence of 1 Timothy or Titus. Unlike 1 Timothy and Titus, it is possible to reconcile 2 Timothy with the information in Acts.3 It is entirely possible that 2 Timothy was written before either one of them. 4 Serious Possibilities 4 1) All three Pastorals are by Paul. The order is: Titus, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy. Written ca. 65-67 during a “second imprisonment” not mentioned in Acts. [I misspoke in the Lecture Representative Scholars: many Evangelicals I said “Romans!”] 2) 2 Timothy is by Paul. Written ca. 64, at the end of Paul’s prolonged imprisonment mentioned in Acts. Titus and 1 Timothy were written by a disciple, using 2 Timothy as a model. They were written toward the end of the first century. The author created a fictitious “second career.” Representative Scholar: Jerome Murphy O’Connor (Catholic priest, Dominican, Ecole Biblique, Jerusalem) 3) All three Pastorals are pseudonymous (not written by Paul). 2 Timothy was written shortly after Paul’s death by someone who knew him well. Titus & 1 Timothy written toward end of 1st century, using 2 Timothy as a model. Representative Scholar: Raymond Brown considers this opinion the most likely. 4) All three Pastorals are pseudonymous (not written by Paul). All three Pastorals were written by the same author near the end of the first century Representative scholars: Raymond Collins (Catholic), James D. G. Dunn (Protestant). This is the majority opinion. 1 Lectures are numbered consecutively. Although this is this week's first lecture, its number reflects its place in the total sequence. 2 Raymond E. Brown, “Pastoral Letter: The Second to Timothy,” An Introduction to the New Testament, Anchor Bible Reference Library (Doubleday, 1997), 672-673. Other sources for this lecture include (alphabetically, by last name): Raymond F. Collins, I & II Timothy and Titus: A Commentary, The NT Library (Westminster John Knox, 2002) 175-218; James D. G. Dunn, “The First and Second Letters to Timothy and the Letter to Titus,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, (Abingdon, 2000) vol. XI, pp. 832-839; Annette Bourland Huizenga, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Wisdom Commentary (Liturgical Press, 2016) vol. 53, pp. 97-105; Christopher R. Hutson, First and Second Timothy and Titus, Paideia: Commentaries on the NT (Baker Academic, 2019) 157-181. 3 My brain is not “wired” to do this type of comparative analysis. On the GRE, this is the section where the problems involve which vegetables grow in which row in a garden, if corn cannot be beside carrots; or which of 5 parking spots Mr. Jones is in: if Mr. X is in slot A, Mr. Y is in slot E, etc. The first time I took the test, I scored 25 percentile. That means that 75 percent of college-educated people do better on this sort of thing than I do! So for the details on combining 2 Timothy with Acts, see Brown (my previous note). 4 Ibid. 674-675. Paul, 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, Page 2 of 7 A Fifth Opinion, not mentioned by Brown in his list. We could also call it option “4b.” All three Pastorals are pseudonymous (not written by Paul). They were written by the same author in the second century Representative Scholar: Huizenga (Wisdom Commentary) Remarks. If Brown is correct (# 3, above) 2 Timothy would be the first of the Pastorals to have been written. However, once people began to think of 1 Timothy and Titus as written by Paul, and because 2 Timothy considers Paul’s death imminent, throughout most of Christian history, 2 Timothy has been considered to be written after 1 Timothy and Titus. Farewell Discourse. This is a narrative of a final speech given before the death of a famous person. Brown notes several characteristics of this literary form that have influenced 2 Timothy.5 The speaker sorrowfully announces his imminent departure. He utters words of reassurance to those who will be left behind. He recalls his own situation and events from his past life. He foresees coming dangers. He encourages fidelity, and promises a reward to those who are faithful. Biblical Examples Jacob Blessing his children, Genesis 48-49. Moses The Book of Deuteronomy, especially chapters 29-32 David 1 Kings 2:1-9 Judas Maccabee 1 Macc 2:49-69 Jesus Luke 22:21-38 (Last Supper, 17 verses) John 13-17 (Last Supper, 5 full chapters, mostly speech). In addition to these biblical examples, Collins gives other extra-biblical examples from approximately NT times.6 Chapter 1 Divisions by Collins. He divides the chapter 1 into fairly “bite-size” sections. I will use these as a basis for my lectures. Opening 1-2 This lecture Thanksgiving 3-5 This lecture 1st of several Exhortations 6-14 Next Lecture A Personal Note 15-18 Next Lecture Translation of the Opening. 1 Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus Sender through the will of God according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, 2 to Timothy, Recipient beloved son: grace, mercy, peace Greeting from God, Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord. 5 Other commentators give more details. Brown’s presentation is simple, and covers the main points. 6 Collins, II Timothy, 182. Collins (page 186) also notes that a characteristic of this literary genre (whether the work under consideration is biblical or extra-biblical) is that the words are not those of the purported speaker. Rather, they are words that a later author, with the guidance of 20-20 hindsight of later events, considers to have been appropriate for the beloved famous person to have uttered. This literary genre is one of the reasons Collins argues that Paul did not write these words. Collins argument, however, would not preclude Brown’s hypothesis that 2 Timothy was written in Paul’s name very shortly after Paul’s death. Paul, 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, Page 3 of 7 The Opening contains 3 Traditional Elements of Hellenistic letters: Sender, Recipient, Greetings. E.g. Marcus to Julius: Greeting! (literally: Rejoice!)7 The Pastor takes each of these, and expands them with Christian content -- as Paul himself had done! Paul’s apostleship means his authority comes “through the will of God.” The goal of such apostleship is to serve God’s promise of life, which is available through Christ Jesus. The recipient, Timothy, is described as “beloved son.” The Greeting In place of the secular greeting, “rejoice,” Paul’s genuine letters usually had “grace and peace.” “Grace” (charis) is probably a word-play on the usual “Rejoice” (chaire). “Peace” is a Greek adaptation of the Hebrew shalom. To this regular Pauline duo, the Pastor adds “mercy,” eleos, which often renders the Hebrew chesed, “covenant love.” This word, variously translated, calls to mind all of God’s concrete saving actions. It is part of the refrain of Psalm 136, where it is translated: mercy, steadfast love, faithful love, loyal love.8 To all of the saving deeds of the OT recounted in this psalm, Christians add God’s saving acts in Jesus Christ. Stylistic Note [no need to include in lecture] The only other letter that uses “mercy” in a greeting is 1 Timothy 1:2. This is a stylistic peculiarity of the Pastoral Epistles, and an argument that they were not written by Paul. Recall Brown’s theory that this letter -- 2 Timothy -- was written very soon after the death of Paul and served as a model for 1 Timothy and Titus, written decades later. Formal Introduction of Paul seems inconsistent with a “personal” letter. It is almost as if Paul is introducing himself to a stranger who does not know him, rather than a beloved friend! Does the “Paul” expect “Timothy” to read the letter before his church, to confirm his own authority? Hutson’s solution: It is a “literary” letter aimed at any future “Timothy.”9 “Mercy” appears in the greeting of no other Pauline letter -- except 1 Tim 1:2 This is an example of a stylistic trait that marks the Pastorals as a “group.” They are distinct from other Pauline literature. Thanksgiving, Translation of the Greek 3 I have thanks for God, (Paul usually says “I give thanks.” Most translations do not show the difference.) whom I serve from [the tradition of?] my ancestors (most translators make the translation clearer than the original) with a clear conscience, as I ceaselessly have a remembrance of you in my prayers night and day (Jewish time-keeping. Day begins at evening! “And there was evening, and … morning”) 4 desiring to see you remembering your tears 7 This is the same Hellenistic greeting that Luke portrays the Angel Gabriel extending to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:28). The Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible translate the word literally, “rejoice.” Most translations give a dynamic equivalent, such as “hail!” or “greetings!” 8 “Mercy” (KJV, Douay, NABRE); “steadfast love” (RSV, NRSV, Tanakh); “faithful love” (Common English Bible); “love” (Jerusalem Bible, NAB); “faithful love” (New Jerusalem Bible). 9 Hutson, Second Timothy, 162-163.