TheFirst Epistle to Timothy[a] is one of three letters in theNew Testament of theBible often grouped together as thepastoral epistles, along withSecond Timothy andTitus. The letter, traditionally attributed to theApostle Paul, consists mainly of counsels to his younger colleague and delegateTimothy regarding his ministry inEphesus (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 theApostle 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 withSecond Timothy andTitus, 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 hiscanonical 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 isPolycarp, 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] ScholarsRobert Grant,I. Howard Marshall, andHans von Campenhausen believe that Polycarp was the actual author of First Timothy, which would date its composition toc. 140.[4]
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 termGnosis ("knowledge") itself occurs in1 Timothy 6:20. If the parallels between 1 Timothy andPolycarp's epistle are understood as a literary dependence by the latter on the former, as is generally accepted,[19] this would constitute aterminus ante quem (cut-off date) of 50–65 AD. Likewise, there are a series of verbal agreements betweenIgnatius 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 (writingc. 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 onOxyrhynchus Papyrus 5259, designated P133, in 2017. It comes from a leaf of a codex which is dated to the 3rd century (330–360).[21][22][23] Other early manuscripts containing some or all of the text of this book are:
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.[25] The list of lawbreakers includes the Greek wordἀρσενοκοίτης, which is sometimestranslated to mean "homosexual men"[26] although there is some debate on the topic.
The epistle details the roles of men and women in its second chapter, particularly the verse1 Timothy 2:12. In theNIV translation this verse reads:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.[27]
The epistle justifies this by saying thatAdam was formed beforeEve, and that Eve was tricked by theserpent.[28]
Leaders of the church are to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of respect, avoiding overindulgence in wine and managing their affairs well.[29] Timothy is advised to avoid false teachings and focus on the truth.[30]
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.[31]
Slaves should respect their masters, especially if their masters are believers.[32] People should avoid envy and avoid the temptation to focus on becoming rich because "thelove of money is the root of all kinds of evil."[33]
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.[34]
Extract from 1 Timothy 3:16 in the 4th-centuryCodex Sinaiticus: "Beyond all question, themystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated..."St Patrick's Church, Ballymena, Northern Ireland:stained glass window depicting aChurch Lads' Brigade member and Jesus, with "Fight the Good Fight" (1 Tim 6:12) quoted in the round window at top.
1 Timothy 2:12 has been the source of considerable controversy concerning gender equality. Certain Christian churches such as theEastern Orthodox Church andRoman Catholic Church use it as a justification to reject theordination of women.[35][36] Some theologians have interpreted it to mean that all women should be subordinate to all men, and others to mean women should not teach, pray, or speak in public.
^The book is sometimes called theFirst Letter of Paul to Timothy, or simply1 Timothy.[1] It is most commonly abbreviated as "1 Tim."[2]
^Ignatius'Letter to the Magnesians chapter 11, shares the phrase "Jesus, who is our hope" with 1 Timothy 1:1. Ignatius'Letter to Polycarp chapter 3 shares the phrase "teach strange doctrines" with 1 Timothy 1:3 as a description of theological opponents. Ignatius'Letter to the Ephesians chapter 14 has the phrase "faith and love toward Christ Jesus," which parallels "faith and love which are in Christ Jesus" from 1 Timothy 1:14. This same passage of Ignatius goes on to say "the end is love," which parallels 1 Timothy 1:5, "The end of our instruction is love."
^Drury, C.,73. The Pastoral Epistles, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), [The Oxford Bible Commentary], p. 1220
^abGrant, Robert M. (1963). "Chapter 14: The Non-Pauline Epistles".A Historical Introduction to the New Testament. Harper and Row.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.
^Ehrman, Bart (2003).The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. Oxford University Press. p. 393.ISBN0-19-515462-2.[W]hen we come to the Pastoral epistles, there is greater scholarly unanimity. These three letters are widely regarded by scholars as non-Pauline.
^Collins, Raymond F. (2004).1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: A Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 4.ISBN0-664-22247-1.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.
^Aune, David E., ed. (2010).The Blackwell Companion to the New Testament. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 9.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).
^Harris, Stephen L. (2002).The New Testament: A Student's Introduction (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. p. 366.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.
^Marshall, I. H.; Towner, P. H. (1999).The Pastoral Epistles. T&T Clark. p. 3.ISBN0-567-08661-5.
^abHolmes, MW, "Polycarp's 'Letter to the Philippians' and the Writings that later formed the NT", in Gregory & Tuckett (2005),The Reception of the NT in the Apostolic Fathers OUP, p. 226ISBN978-0-19-926782-8
^Stott, John (1996).The Message of 1 Timothy and Titus. Leicester: IVP. p. 23.
^Marxsen, W. (1968).Introduction to the New Testament. ET. p. 207.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.
^abBerding, K. (1999). "Polycarp of Smyrna's View of the Authorship of 1 and 2 Timothy".Vigiliae Christianae.53 (4):349–60.doi:10.2307/1584486.JSTOR1584486.
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