3:1—4:8. —Further appeal to Timothy for boldness and loyalty, based on the thought of the last days and of the Final Judgment.

Remember, times will grow more difficult (1): professing Christians will prefer self and pleasure to God (2-5): false teachers will oppose the truth; their hearers will be at the mercy of each caprice and each novelty: they will have a temporary success (6-9, 4:3. 4). But I trust you to face persecution and to remain loyal to my teaching, for you have my example to guide you (10-14): you have Holy Scripture to fit you for your task (15-17): the thought of the Judgment and the coming Kingdom both to awe and to encourage you (4:1-5), and my approaching death will throw all the responsibility upon you (6-8).

In this paragraph there is still the contrast between empty talk and real work, cf. 3:5, 7, 17 πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν, 4:5 ἔργον: but more markedly that between the source of the teaching—the Apostolic teaching, 3:10, 4:3, and Holy Scripture, 3:15, as opposed to myths, 4:4: that between the character of the teacher, loyalty to tradition, 3:14 μένε, as opposed to love of novelty, 3:13, 4:3: that between the result, in the one case, wisdom and salvation, 3:15, in the other, failure to lay hold of the truth, 3:7, and folly, 3:9.

Paraphrase. But things are not yet at their worst: we have been warned that, as the last days approach, there will be moments very difficult to face. Men’s affections will be set not on God, but on self, on money, and on pleasure. This will make them braggarts about what they have, overbearing to those who have not, quick to rail both at God and man, disobedient to parents, with no sense of gratitude to any, no respect for divine things or for human affection, implacable when offended, ready to speak evil of others, with no control over their own passions, no human tenderness, no love for what is good or for those who are good, quite ready to betray their brethren, reckless in speech and action, conceited and puffed up. They will have all the externals of religion, but have long set at defiance its power over their lives. These, too, you must avoid. For it is from a society like this that arise those teachers who creep into private houses and take captive silly women, whose consciences are burdened with past sins, who are at the mercy of caprices of every kind, and so, though always pretending to learn, yet have no power of coming to any knowledge of truth. Yet, though these are their only followers, these men—just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses—oppose the truth, men whose intellect is completely debased, who can stand no test as to their faith. But they will not be able to get far; for their utter folly will be quite clear to every one, exactly as that of Jannes and Jambres was shown to be. But you I can trust, for you heartily became my follower; you listened to my teaching, imitated my manner of life; my aims became your aims, my faith your faith, my forbearance, my love, my endurance passed on to you; you know all my persecutions and sufferings; what sufferings befell me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra; what persecutions I bore up against: yes, and the Psalmist’s words came true, “out of them all the Lord delivered me.” Aye, and all who are minded to live a religious life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And malicious men will grow more malicious, impostors will get worse and worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves. But I appeal to you—stand firm in those truths that you first learned and in which your past life confirmed you, knowing who your teachers were, knowing, too, that from your cradle you have been taught religious teaching from Scriptures which have it in them, if you have true faith in Christ Jesus, to give you the true wisdom which leads to salvation. All Scripture is inspired by God, and therefore is useful for all your task—for teaching truth, for conviction of sin and refuting of false doctrine, for correction of faults, for discipline of character in the right way. It was given to make every one of God’s men fit for his task, for it can fit him completely for every good work.

1. γίνωσκε] not exactly “know,” as if the writer were communicating a new piece of knowledge, but “recognize,” “realize” the fulfilment of what you have heard; cf. Eur. Alc. 418, γίγνωσκε δὲ ὡς πᾶσιν ἡμῖν κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται. ὅτι . . . χαλεποί, a semiquotation of some eschatological prediction (cf. I 4:1), of the woes that would precede the παρουσία: cf. Mark 13:19, Matthew 24:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:2 ὅτι ἐνέστηκεν ἡ ἡμέρα, 2 P 3:3, Judges 1:18. This implies that the last days are already present and Timothy has to face them 5.

ἐν ἐσχ. ἡμέραις] the days preceding the παρουσία, based on Isaiah 2:2 ἐν ταῖς ἐσχ. ἡμ., Acts 2:17. The omission of the article perhaps emphasizes the quality of those days “in days which are last and therefore worst”; cf. ἐσχάτη ὥρα, 1 John 2:18; ἐν καίρῳ ἐσχάτῳ, 1 P 1:5 (ubi v. Hort). Ign. Eph. 11, ἔσχατοι καιροί: cf. also Genesis 49:1 of Jacob in anticipation of his death, συνάχθητε ἵνα ἀναγγείλω ὑμῖν τί ἀπαντήσει ὑμῖν ἐπʼ ἐσχ. τῶν ἡμέρων, which suggests little more than “hereafter.”

χαλεποί] hard for teachers, for the servant of the Lord to keep the spirit of 2:24-26; cf. Ephesians 5:16 ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσι.

2-5. This list is probably also based on some previous Apocalyptic (cf. Test. XII. Patr., Iss. 6, γιγνώσκετε οὖν, τέκνα μου, ὅτι ἐν ἐσχάτοις καιροῖς καταλείψουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν τὴν ἁπλότητα καὶ κολληθήσονται τῇ ἀπληστίᾳ κ.τ.λ.—Assumption Mos. c. 7, Matthew 24:12); perhaps also with a reminiscence of Ro i. ii (cf. 5 with Romans 2:20 ἔχοντα τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς γνώσεως), as though Christian morality was in danger of falling back to the level of heathenism and Judaism. Here, however, there is no stress on individual immorality as in Rom_1: the main thought is that the love of self will lead to neglect of the duty to others and to God, nay more, to active wrong-doing to them.

φίλαυτοι . . . φιλόθεοι stand in sharp antithesis: φιλάργυροι and φιλήδονοι are subdivisions of φίλαυτοι. The true centre of life is changed. Self has taken the place of God, so all sense of the duty to others, whether man or God, disappears. The rest are mainly ranged in pairs: Chrysostom, perhaps fancifully, assumes them to form a climax, each leading to the next after it. φίλαυτος was already a term of reproach in Greek Ethics (cf. Arist. Eth. Nic. ix. 8 for an interesting discussion of the problem in what sense it is a vice), and is placed by Philo in antithesis to the love of God, de Spec. Legg., p. 264 M, ὑπὸ φιλαυτίας ἐκλαθόμενοι τοῦ πρὸς ἀληθείαν ὄντος θεοῦ (Wetstein).

φιλάργυροι] suggested by the chief danger at Ephesus, cf. I 6:10. There, it was the root of all evil; here, it is itself traced back to a root deeper down in human nature, the love of self.

ἀλαζόνες (cf. Romans 1:30, Jam 4:16, 1 John 2:16, “elati,” Vulg.; “insolentes,” Ambros.; gloriosi,” Beza), ὑπερήφανοι (Luke 1:51, Jam 4:6, Jam 4:1 P 5:5), βλάσφημοι, all mainly faults of speech, braggadocio about self, boasting of one’s own gifts or pretending to those we have not (cf. Arist. Eth. N. iv. 7, Rhet. ii. 6 ; Theophr. Char. xxiii.); scornful arrogance in thought and word towards man and God (Theophr. Char. xxiv.); outspoken abuse and evil speaking, both manward and Godward; cf. Trench, Syn. § xxix. ἀλαζονεία and ὑπερηφανία are combined in Clem. Romans 1:16, Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἦλθεν ἐν κόμπῳ ἀλαζονείας οὐδὲ ὑπερηφανίας . . . ἀλλὰ ταπεινοφρῶν, and the spirit of the two underlies the Pharisee’s prayer, Luke 18:11, Luke 18:12.

γονεῦσιν ἀπειθεῖς] Romans 1:30; cf. I 1:9, Titus 1:6, Ephesians 6:1.

ἀχάριστοι] both to men and God; cf. Romans 1:21, Ecclus 17:28. 29, and contrast Ephesians 5:20 εὐχαριστοῦντες πάντοτε ὑπὲρ πάντων.

ἀνόσιοι] 1 Timothy 1:9 “scelesti,” Vulg.; “impii,” Ambros.

ἄστοργοι] Romans 1:31; cf. 1 Timothy 5:8 “sine affectione,” Vulg.; “sine dilectione,” Ambros.

ἄσπονδοι] “implacable when offended”; cf. Trench, Syn. § lii. : but it may also include the thought “untrue to σπονδαί already made,” “faithless to their pledged word”; cf. ἀσυνθέτους, Romans 1:31; “sine pace,” Vulg.; “sine fide,” Ambros.

διάβολοι] cf. 1 Timothy 3:11, Titus 2:3; it may include the two thoughts “slanderers” and “setters at variance,” promoting quarrels in the hope that they may gain from them.

ἀνήμεροι] cf. κακὰ θηρία, Titus 1:12; ὡς τὰ ἄλογα ζῶα Judges 1:10.

ἀφιλάγαθοι] no lovers of what is good (“sine benignitate,” Vulg.), or, of those that are good (“bonorum inimici,” Ambros.), cf. Titus 1:8 note; cf. ἀφιλόκαλος (Plut. Qu. Conv. v. I), and the interesting contrast between Antoninus and his father in Pap Oxyr. i. 33, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἦν φιλόσοφος, τὸ δεύτερον ἀφιλάργυρος, τὸ τρίτον φιλαγάθοσʼ σοι τούτων τὰ ἐνάντια ἔνκειται, τυραννία, ἀφιλαγαθία, ἀπαιδία (Qy. = ἀπαιδευσία).

προδόται] Cf. Matthew 24:10 καὶ ἀλλήλους παραδώσουσι, and Clem. Romans 1:5 for the part which jealousy played in the Neronian persecution.

προπετεῖς] hasty, reckless, either in speech (cf. Suidas, ἡ ἀχαλίνωτος γλῶσσα) or in action; cf. Acts 19:36.

τετυφωμένοι] I 3:6 note, 6:4.

φιλήδονοι] corresponds at the end to φιλάργυροι at the beginning, both expressions of φιλαυτοι and pointing the contrast to φιλόθεοι: Bengel’s comment is “Epicureorum epitheton,” but Epicurus held that the φιλήδονοι must be φιλόκαλοι καὶ φιλοδίκαιοι: cf. Cic. ad Fam. xv. 19. For the contrast, cf. Philo, de agric. c. 19, φιλήδονον καὶ φιλοπαθῆ μᾶλλον ἢ φιλάρετον καὶ φιλόθεον (Wetstein) cf. Php 3:19 ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία.

5. μόρφωσιν] “speciem pietatis,” Vulg.; “formam,” Ambros.; “deformationem,” Cypr.: having all externals of religion, or, perhaps, a power of showing such externals. This may include (a) having a correct creed; cf. Romans 2:20 ἔχοντα τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς γνώσεως καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐν τῷ νόμῳ: (b) a form of worship and external expressions of religion, “in habitu vel doctrina,” Pelag.; cf. Philo, de plant. c. 17, εἰσί τινες τῶν ἐπιμορφαζόντων εὐσέβειαν (Wetstein).

καὶ τούτους] those too as well as the controversialists of 2:23-26.

6. ἐνδύνοντες] cf. Judges 1:4 παρεισέδυσαν; cf. Iren. i. 13. 3 of the Valentinian Marcus, μάλιστα περὶ γυναῖκας ἀσχολεῖται: ib. 6, ἐξαπατῶντες γυναικάρια πολλὰ διέφθειραν.

αἰχμαλωτίζοντες] the Hellenistic form for the Attic αἰχμαλωτεύειν, Nägeli, p. 28; Rutherford, New Phrynichus, ccccvii.

σεσωρευμένα] heaped up, overladen; cf. 4:3, Barnab. 4. 6, ἐπισωρεύοντας ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν. They have become caricatures of true womanhood. ἀγόμενα; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:2 and contrast Romans 8:14, Galatians 5:18. ποικίλαις of many kinds, including sensual desires (cf. Iren. l.c.), but also the desire for novelties (cf. 4:3), for the name of learned women, “mentis et carnis” (Bengel).

7. μανθάνοντα] cf. I 5:13, where there is a similar oxymoron ἀργαὶ μανθάνουσι. εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθ. 2:25. A change of heart might still enable them to know: they would then regain the power which true piety gives, cf. δυνάμενα with τὴν δύναμιν 5; cf. Hermas, Sim. 9. 22, θέλοντες πάντα γινώσκειν καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως γινώσκουσι.

8. Ἰαννῆς καὶ Ἰαμβρῆς] (or possibly Μαμβρῆς, which is found in the Western texts and in the Talmud). An ad hominem illustration. They are fond of their Jewish myths and genealogies: well, the nearest analogy to themselves to be found there is that of magicians whose folly was exposed. ὃν πρόπον may perhaps imply similarity of method, that these teachers used magic arts like the Egyptian magicians; cf. γόητες 13 and Acts 19:19. The reference is to Exodus 7:11, Exodus 9:11. The names are not found in O.T., Philo, or Josephus, but in slightly different forms in late Jewish Targums, one perhaps as early as the first Christian century (Schechter, Documents of Jewish Sectaries, i. p. 5); in heathen writers (Pliny, Hist. Nat. xxx. 1. 11; Apuleius, Apol. c. xc.), and in several Christian Apocryphal writings, e.g. Evang. Nicodemi, c. 5). Origen twice (ad Mat 27:9Mat 27:9 Matthew 27:23:37) refers to an Apocryphal book with the title “Jannes et Mambres.” The names are apparently Semitic, perhaps meaning “the rebel” and “the opponent” (so Thackeray, The Relation of St. Paul to Contemporary Jewish Thought, pp. 216-21). For fuller details, cf. Schürer, H.J.P. (Eng. tr.) ii. 3. 149, Wetstein, Holtzmann, Dibelius, and W.-H. Notes on Select Readings, ad loc.

ἀδόκιμοι] contrast 2:15 and cf. Titus 1:16. τὴν πίστιν, probably subjective, as parallel to τὸν νοῦν; cf. Add. Note, p. 20.

9. ἐπὶ πλεῖον] “farther”: or, perhaps (not pressing the comparative, cf. 1:18 note), “very far.”

10. Cf. 1:5, 6. There, the appeal was to his start in life; here, to his start in the Christian life.

παρηκολούθησας is capable of different shades of meaning, to follow in mind, to understand; cf. Epict. i. 9; Marc. Aurel. iii. 1, iv. 9, vii. 4: to imitate; to accompany: here it changes as St. Paul mentions his teaching, his Christian virtues, the events of his life. For the list, cf. 2 Corinthians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 11:23.

τῇ διδασκ. τῇ ἀγωγῇ, τῇ προθέσει] possibly all in an active sense—my teaching of you, my training of you (cf. Plutarch, περὶ παίδων ἀγωγῆς), my suggestion of tasks for you to perform, cf. Plat. Rep. 413 C, προθεμένοις ἔργα: Crito, 51 E, προτιθέντων ἡμῶν . . . ἃ ἂν κελεύωμεν (v. Expositor, Nov. 1919); but could προθέσει be so used without an explanatory genitive? If not, we must translate—my doctrine (I 4:6), my manner of life (cf. Esther 2:20, Esther 2:2 Mac 4:16; Pap. Tebt. i. 24:57 μοχθηρὰν ἀγωγήν, M.M. s.v.; Nägeli, p. 34), my own purpose (cf. Acts 11:23, Acts 11:27:13, Acts 11:2 Mac 9:27 παρακολουθοῦντα τῇ ἐμῇ προαιρέσει).

τῇ ὑπομονῇ] cf. Clem. Romans 1:5 of Paul, ὑπομονῆς γενόμενος μέγιστος ὑπογραμμός. “Vivam nobis boni doctoris imaginem depingit nempe qui non oratione modo formet ac instituat suos discipulos sed pectus quoque suum quodammodo illis aperiat ut intelligant ex animo ipsum docere quæ docet” (Calvin).

11. οἷά μοι ἐγένετο] St. Paul enumerates the first only of a long train of persecutions, 2 Corinthians 11:30-33. Timothy was not his companion in these; but he doubtless heard of them and followed St. Paul in spite of them. On account of this difficulty Wohlenberg separates this verse from 10, and treats it as an exclamation. Oh, what I suffered! what persecutions I endured from the first—yet the Lord delivered me!

ἐκ πάντων κ.τ.λ.] cf. 4:18. There is here perhaps a conscious reminiscence of Psalm 33:18 and 20.

ἐκέκραξαν οἱ δίκαιοι καὶ ὁ Κύριος εἰσήκουσεν αὐτῶν

καὶ ἐκ πασῶν τῶν θλίψεων αὐτῶν ἐρύσατο αὐτούς

. . . . . . .

πολλαὶ αἱ θλύψεις τῶν δικαίων

καὶ ἐκ πασῶν αὐτῶν ῥύσεται αὐτούς.

12. Cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:4 μέλλομεν θλίβεσθαι, Acts 14:22 διὰ πολλῶν θλίψεων δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ—words which Timothy probably heard when spoken (Hillard). Probably in each case there is a reminiscence of Matthew 5:10, Matthew 5:11 or some similar saying of the Lord: Prochorus (Acta Joh., p. 83) quotes the words of Acts 14:22 as a saying of the Lord; cf. Resch, Agrapha, pp. l00, 148, 278; Paulinismus und die Logia, p. 452. Pelagius makes the testing comment: “Timendum ergo nobis est ne non pie vivamus, qui nihil patimur propter Deum.”

13 πονηροί] “mali,” Vulg.; “nequam,” Ambros.; but better “maligni,” Bengel. The thought is more of malignant harmfulness, willing to persecute, than of moral evil; cf. 4:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:2, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Matthew 6:13.

γόητες] “seductores,” Vulg.; impostors, as often in Hellenistic Greek (cf. Wetstein): so γοητεία, “crafty guile,” 2 Mac 12:24; but it may also imply the use of magical arts; cf. 8 and 15 notes.

προκόψουσιν] not of external influence as in 9, but of internal downgrade development as in 2:16 q.u.

πλανώμενοι] probably passive: deceived by ὁ πονηρός, Matthew 6:13, or by other teachers, the phrase being almost proverbial; cf. Philo, de migratione Abraham, c. 15 (cf. the Egyptian magicians), ἀπατᾶν δοκοῦντες ἀπατῶνται: Ovid, Met. xiv. 81, “deceptaque decipit omnes”; Aug. Confess. vii. 2, “deceptos illos et deceptores” (v. Wetstein, Dibelius, for these and other illustrations); cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

14. σὺ δέ] returning to the appeal of 10 and to the thought of 2:16.

μένε] “remain loyal to,” “permane,” Vulg.; “persevera,” Ambros.; cf. Acts 14:22 ἐμμένειν τῇ πίστει, John 8:31 ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μου ἐστέ: perhaps also with a slight antithesis to προκόψουσι “remain stationary”; cf. 2 John 1:9 πᾶς ὁ πρόαγων καὶ μὴ μένων ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ.

ἐπιστώθης] “wert assured of,” “confirmed in by experience”; cf. Clem. Rom. 1:42, παραγγελίας λαβόντες . . . καὶ πιστωθέντες ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ μετὰ πληροφορίας πνεύματος ἁγίου. Contrast Psalm 77:8 and 37 οὐδὲ ἐπιστώθησαν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ αὐτοῦ.

τίνων] will include both the Apostle (10) and the home teachers (1:5), and, perhaps, the many witnesses of 2:2. For the reading, cf. Introd., p. xxxvii.

15. ἀπὸ βρέφους] The Jewish parent’s duty was to teach his child the Law when in his fifth year; cf. Philo, Leg. ad Caium, p. 562, c. 16, δεδιδαγμένους ἐξ αὐτῶν τρόπον τινὰ σπαργάνων ὑπὸ γονέων; cf. Joseph. c. Apion. I. 12; Susanna 3, 4 Mac 18:9.

ἱερὰ γράμματα] The reference is doubtless to the O.T. (cf. Test. XII. Patr., Levi xiii. 2, infra); but he does not use the full phrase, “the Holy Scriptures,” τὰ ἱερὰ γράμματα (common in Josephus), or τὰς ἱερὰς γραφάς, but ἱερὰ γρ. (a) Because he is laying stress on Timothy’s knowledge, and uses a technical phrase of education—“religious teaching,” “sacred letters”; cf. John 7:15 πῶς οὗτος γράμματα οἶδε, μὴ μεμαθηκώς: Isaiah 29:11 ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπισταμένῳ γράμματα: Test. XII. Patr., Levi xiii. 2, διδάξατε δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν γράμματα ἵνα ἔχωσιν σύνεσιν . . . ἀναγινώσκοντες ἀδιαλείπτως τὸν νόμον. For instances from the papyri, cf. M.M. s.vv. γράμμα and ἀγράμματος.

(b) Possibly also he wishes to hint at an antithesis both to the unwritten myths and genealogies of the false teachers and to the Ἐφέσια γράμματα, the sacred books and charms of the magicians at Ephesus, Acts 19:19 (Encycl. B. ii. col. 1304). Your text-books were Scriptures, not tradition; they were ἱερά, not βέβηλα.

σοφίσαι] a contrast to ἄνοια (9) and πλανώμενοι (13), with perhaps a reminiscence of Psalm 18:8 ἡ μαρτυρία Κυρίου πιστή, σοφίζουσα νήπια (cf. ἀπὸ βρέφους)

εἰς σωτηρίαν] “tuam et aliorum,” Bengel; cf. I. 4:16.

διὰ πίστεως] if combined with faith, not otherwise; cf. John 5:39-47.

16. πᾶσα γραφή] all Scripture, everything which has become recognized as authoritative Scripture; cf. 2 P 1:20 πᾶσα προφητεία γραφῆς. Wohlenberg would include any Christian writings which had become so recognized by this time, cf. I 5:18 note; but this is scarcely consistent with 15, γραφή defining more exactly the γράμματα in which Timothy had been trained from childhood.

θεόπνευστος] inspired by God, “divinitus inspirata,” Vulg.; but perhaps also, “with its breath given it by God,” so “conveying inspiration,” Scripture being personified, cf. δυνάμενα 15, Hebrews 4:12; so Bengel, “Non solum dum scripta est Deo spirante per scriptores; sed etiam dum legitur Deo spirante per scripturam et scriptura ipsa spirante”; cf. also Cremer, Wörterbuch, s.v. Here it is, perhaps, an attribute, “all inspired Scripture is also useful,” but also is not needed in this case; better—a predicate —“All Scripture is inspired by God (contrast ἐντολαῖς ἀνθρώπων, Titus 1:14), and therefore useful” (ὠφέλιμος—contrast ἀνωφελεῖς Titus 3:9). For the Jewish and Christian conceptions of Inspiration, cf. Westcott, Study of the Gospels (Introduction); Ep. Hebrews (Appendix); Sanday, Bampton Lectures, esp. Lecture II.; Armitage Robinson, Some Thoughts on Inspiration. This is no complete definition of the purposes of Holy Scripture, and cannot be quoted as ruling out other purposes; a different purpose, to give men hope, is ascribed to it in Romans 15:4. Here stress is only laid on such as affect the teacher’s task in face of misleading teaching; cf. I 1:8-10. It should be compared with God’s method, as described in Ecclus 18:13, 14 ἐλέγχων καὶ παιδεύων καὶ διδάσκων καὶ ἐπιστρέφων ὡς ποιμὴν τὸ ποίμνιον αὐτοῦ (Bengel), and with the value attributed by Epictetus to the Greek mysteries, οὕτως ὠφέλιμα γίνεται τὰ μυστήρια . . . ὅτι ἐπὶ παιδείᾳ καὶ ἐπανορθώσει τοῦ βίου κατεστάθη πάντα ταῦτα ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν, iii. 21. 15 (Wetstein).

πρὸς διδασκαλίαν] for teaching, “ad docendum,” Vulg., rather than “ad doctrinam,” Ambros.; cf. 2:24 διδακτικόν.

ἐλεγμόν] refutation of false teaching, cf. Titus 1:9, Titus 1:13, and rebuke of sin, I 5:20, Titus 2:15; cf. Ephesians 5:13, John 16:8.

ἐπανόρθωσιν] correction, recovery, setting upright on their moral feet; cf. Epict. l.c. and Enchir. 51, 5, τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν ποιῆσαι τὴν σεαυτοῦ (Wohlenberg); and for illustrations from the papyri, v. M.M. s.v.

παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικ.] the final training in an active Christian life; cf. Titus 2:11-14 παιδεύουσα ἡμᾶς κ.τ.λ.

17. ἄρτιος] here only in N.T., fit for his task; cf. 2:21 εὔχρηστον τῷ δεσπότῃ, εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἡτοιμασμένον.

ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος] Is this the teacher fitted for his task by the study of Holy Scripture? or the pupil fitted for his task by the teacher’s training? The context favours the former, cf. I 6:11; but the analogy of 2:21, I 5:10, Titus 3:1, makes the wider reference more probable, by which every Christian is thought of as “a man of God.” The thought of Luke 6:40 κατηρτισμένος δὲ πᾶς ἔσται ὡς ὁ διδάσκαλος αὐτοῦ, supplies a link between the two applications.

ἐξηρτισμένος] cf. κατηρτισμένος, Luke 6:40, of the pupil trained by the teacher, and πρὸς τὸν κατατισμὸν τῶν ἁγίων εἰς ἔργον διακονίας, Ephesians 4:12, of the training of the Saints by the Ministry for their work of service.

Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, by Archbishop Trench, 8th edition, 1876.

Nägeli Das Wortschatz des Apostel’s Paulus, von T. Nägeli, 1905.

Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the time of Jesus Christ, Eng. tr. 1890.

W.-H The New Testament in Greek, with Introduction and Appendix, by Westcott and Hort, Cambridge, 1881.

Pap. Tebt. The Tebtunis Papyri, ed. Grenfell, Hunt, and Smyly, London, 1902-1907.

M.M. The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, by J. H. Moulton and G. Milligan, 1914-