Bible Commentaries
1 Timothy 2

Verse 1

1 Timothy 2:1 . παρακαλῶ οὖν : This is resumptive of, and a further development of the παραγγελία of 1 Timothy 1:18 . See reff. St. Paul here at last begins the subject matter of the letter. The object of παρακαλῶ is not expressed; it is the Church, through Timothy.

πρῶτον πάντων is to be connected with παρακαλῶ : The most important point in my exhortation concerns the universal scope of public prayer . The A.V. connects πρῶτ . πάντ . with ποιεῖσθαι , as though the framing of a liturgy were in question.

ποιεῖσθαι is mid. The mid. of ποιεῖν is not of frequent occurrence in N.T.; it is found chiefly in Luke and Paul. For the actual expression δεήσεις ποιεῖσται , see reff., and Winer-Moulton, Grammar , p. 320, note, and Deissmann, Bible Studies , trans, p. 250.

There is of course a distinction in meaning between δεήσεις , προσευχάς , ἐντεύξεις , supplications (in special crises) prayers, petitions ; that is to say, they cannot be used interchangeably on every occasion; but here the nuances of meaning are not present to St. Paul’s mind: his object in the enumeration is simply to cover every possible variety of public prayer. This is proved conclusively by the addition εὐχαριστίας , which of course could not be, in any natural sense, for all men. But every kind of prayer must be accompanied by thanksgiving, Philippians 4:6 , Colossians 4:2 . On ἔντευξις , see Moulton and Milligan, Expositor , vii., vii. 284, and Deissmann, Bible Studies , trans. p. 121. The retention of thanksgivings in the reference to this verse in the opening of the Anglican prayer For the whole state of Christ’s Church is scarcely justified by referring it to God’s triumphs of grace in the lives of the faithful departed. Less unnatural is the explanation of Chrysostom, that “we must give thanks to God for the good that befalls others”.

προσευχή and δέησις (in this order) are combined, Ephesians 6:18 , Philippians 4:6 ; and in chap. 1 Timothy 5:5 in the same order as here.

ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων : The blessed effects of intercessory prayer on those who pray and on those for whom prayer is made is urged with special reference to the circumstances of the early Church by Polycarp, Phil . 12; Tert. Apol . § 30; ad Scapulam , § 2; Justin Martyr, Apol . i. 17; Dial . 35. “No one can feel hatred towards those for whom he prays.… Nothing is so apt to draw men under teaching, as to love and be loved” (Chrys.).

Verses 1-7

1 Timothy 2:1-7 . In the first place, let me remind you that the Church’s public prayers must be made expressly for all men, from the Emperor downwards. This care for all becomes those who know that they are children of a Father who wishes the best for all His children. He is one and the same to all, and the salvation He has provided in the Atonement is available for all. My own work among the Gentiles is one instance of God’s fetching home again His banished ones.

Verse 2

1 Timothy 2:2 . ὑπὲρ βασιλέων : Prayer for all men must be given intensity and directness by analysis into prayer for each and every sort and condition of men. St. Paul begins such an analytical enumeration with kings and all that are in high place ; but he does not proceed with it. This 1 Timothy 2:2 is in fact an explanatory parenthesis, exemplifying how the prayer “for all men” is to begin. The plural kings has occasioned some difficulty; since in St. Paul’s time, Timothy and the Ephesian Church were concerned with one king only, the Emperor. Consequently those who deny the Pauline authorship of the Pastorals suppose that the writer here betrays his consciousness of the associated emperors under the Antonines. But, in the first place, he would have written τῶν βασιλέων : and again, the sentiment was intended as a perfectly general one, applicable to all lands. St. Paul knew of kingdoms outside the Roman empire to which, no doubt, he was sure the Gospel would spread; and even within the Roman empire there were honorary βασιλεῖς whose characters could seriously affect those about them. The plural is similarly used in Matthew 10:18 and parallels.

On the duty of prayer for kings see Jeremiah 29:7 , Ezra 6:10 , Bar 1:11 , 1Ma 7:33 , Romans 13:1 , Titus 3:1 , 1 Peter 2:13 .

Such prayer was a prominent feature in the Christian liturgy from the earliest times to which we can trace it ( e.g. , Clem. Rom. ad Cor . i. 61). It is specially noted in the Apologies as a proof of the loyalty of Christians to the Government, e.g. , Justin Martyr, Apol . i. 17; Tert. Apol . 30, 31, 39; Athenagoras, Legatio , p. 39. Origen, Cont. Cels . viii. 12.

ἐν ὑπεροχῇ : in high place (R.V.). The noun occurs in an abstract sense, καθʼ ὑπεροχὴν λόγου ἢ σοφίας , 1 Corinthians 2:1 ; but the verb is found in this association: Romans 13:1 , ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις ; 1 Peter 2:13 , βασιλεῖ ὡς ὑπερέχοντι . The actual phrase τῶν ἐν ὑπεροχῇ ὄντων is found in an inscription at Pergamum “after 133 B.C.” (Deissmann, Bible Studies , trans. p. 255).

ἵνα ἤρεμον : This expresses not the reason why prayer was to be made for kings, but the purport of the prayer itself. Cf. Tert. Apol . 39, “Oramus etiam pro imperatoribus, pro ministeriis eorum ac potestatibus, pro statu seculi, pro rerum quiete”. So Clem. Rom. ad Cor . i. 60, δὸς ὁμόνοιαν καὶ εἰρήνην ἡμῖν … [ ὥστε σώζεσθαι ἡμᾶς ] ὑπηκόους γινομένους … τοῖς ἄρχουσιν καὶ ἡγουμένοις ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς , and esp. § 61. Von Soden connects ἵνα , κ . τ . λ . with παρακαλῶ .

ἤρεμος and ἡσύχιος , tranquil and quiet (R.V.), perhaps refer to inward and outward peace respectively. See Bengel, on 1 Peter 3:4 . ἡσυχία also has an external reference where it occurs in N.T., Acts 22:2 , 2Th 3:12 , 1 Timothy 2:11-12 . ἠρεμέω is found in a papyrus of ii. A.D. cited by Moulton and Milligan, Expositor , vii., vii. 471.

διάγω is used in the sense of passing one’s life , absolutely, without βίον expressed, in Titus 3:3 .

ἐν πάσῃ εὐσεβείᾳ κ . σεμνότητι : with as much piety and earnestness or seriousness as is possible . This clause, as Chrys. points out, qualifies the prayer for a tranquil and quiet life. εὐσέβεια and σεμνότης , piety and seriousness , belong to the vocabulary of the Pastoral Epistles, though εὐσ . occurs elsewhere; see reff. In the Pastorals εὐσέβεια is almost a technical term for the Christian religion as expressed in daily life . It is used with a more general application, religious conduct , in 1 Timothy 6:11 and in 2 Peter. It and its cognates were “familiar terms in the religious language of the Imperial period” (Deissmann, Bible Studies , trans. p. 364). σεμνότης is rather gravitas , as Vulg. renders it in Titus 2:7 , than castitas (Vulg. here and 1 Timothy 3:4 ) just as σεμνός is a wider term than pudicus as Vulg. always renders it (Philippians 4:8 ; 1 Timothy 3:8 ; 1 Timothy 3:11 ; Titus 2:2 ). The A.V. honesty is an older English equivalent for seemliness . σεμνός and σεμνότης connote gravity which compels genuine respect.

Verse 3

1 Timothy 2:3 . τοῦτο : i.e. , prayer for all men.

καλόν : not to be joined with ἐνώπιον , but taken by itself, as in reff. See note on 1 Timothy 1:18 . ἀπόδεκτον ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ occurs again, 1 Timothy 5:4 . Prayer for all men approves itself to the natural conscience, and it is also in accordance with the revealed will of God .

θεοῦ is almost epexegetical of σωτῆρος ἡμῶν . Our Saviour , if it stood alone, might mean Christ; but it is God the Father that is the originating cause of salvation. See note on 1 Timothy 1:1 .

Verse 4

1 Timothy 2:4 . “The grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men” (Titus 2:11 ) as was foreshadowed in the O.T.; e.g . Psalms 67:2 , “Thy saving health among all nations”. God is, so far as His inclination or will is concerned, “the Saviour of all men,” but actually, so far as we can affirm with certainty, “of them that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10 ). These He saved , ἔσωσεν (2 Timothy 1:9 ; Titus 3:5 ), i.e., placed in a state of being saved . But here St. Paul does not say θέλει σῶσαι , but θέλει σωθῆναι ; for by His own limitation of His powers, so far as they are perceived by us, the salvation of men does not depend on God alone. It depends on the exercise of the free will of each individual in the acceptance or rejection of salvation (so Wiesinger, quoted by Alf.; and, as Bengel notes on ἐλθεῖν , non coguntur ), as well as on the cooperation of those who pray for all men; and, by so doing, generate a spiritual atmosphere in which the designs of God may grow.

It is also to be observed that since salvation means a state of being saved , there is no difficulty in the knowledge of the truth following it in the sentence, as though it were a consequence rather than a precedent condition. This is indeed the order indicated in the Last Commission: “baptising them … teaching them” (Matthew 28:19-20 ). So that there is no need to suppose with Ell., that καὶ εἰς … ἐλθεῖν was “suggested by … the enunciation of the great truth which is contained in the following verse”.

εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν : This whole phrase recurs in 2 Timothy 3:7 . For ἐπίγνωσις ἀληθείας see reff. In Hebrews 10:26 both words have the article. It has been shown by Dean Armitage Robinson ( Ephesians , p. 248 sqq .) that ἐπίγνωσις is not maior exactiorque cognitio ; but, as distinguished from γνῶσις “which is the wider word and expresses ‘knowledge’ in the fullest sense, ἐπίγνωσις is knowledge directed towards a particular object, perceiving, discerning, recognising”. Cf. 2Ma 9:11 , ἤρξατο … εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἔρχεσθαι . ἀληθεία occurs fourteen times in the Pastorals; and often with a special Christian reference, like ὅδος and εὐσέβεια . See e.g . in addition to this place, 1 Timothy 3:15 ; 1 Timothy 4:3 ; 1 Timothy 6:5 , 2 Timothy 2:15 ; 2 Timothy 2:18 ; 2 Timothy 3:8 ; 2 Timothy 4:4 , Titus 1:14 . It is a term that belongs to the Johannine theology as well as to the Pauline.

Verse 5

1 Timothy 2:5 . This emphatic statement as to the unity of the Godhead is suggested by the singular σωτῆρος just preceding. The εἷς neither affirms nor denies anything as to the complexity of the nature of the Godhead; it has no bearing on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity; it simply is intended to emphasise the uniqueness of the relations of God to man. The use of one , with this intention, is well illustrated by Ephesians 4:4-6 , ἓν σῶμα , κ . τ . λ . The current thought of the time was conscious of many σωτῆρες . In contrast to these, St. Paul emphasises the uniqueness of the σωτήρ and θεός worshipped by Christians. The contrast is exactly parallel to that in 1 Corinthians 8:6 , εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοί , καὶ κύριοι πολλοί · ἀλλʼ ἡμῖν εἶς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ … καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησ . Χρ . The question as to the mutual relations of the Persons of the Godhead had not arisen among Christians, and was not present to the writer’s mind. Indeed if it had been we could not regard the epistle as a portion of revealed theology. Revealed theology is unconscious. The prima facie distinction here drawn between εἷς θεός and εἷς μεσίτης would have been impossible in a sub-apostolic orthodox writer.

Again, the oneness of God has a bearing on the practical question of man’s salvation. It is possible for all men to be saved, because over them there are not many Gods that can exercise possibly conflicting will-power towards them, but one only. See also Romans 3:30 . One Godhead stands over against one humanity; and the Infinite and the finite can enter into relations one with the other, since they are linked by a μεσίτης who is both God and man. It is noteworthy that μεσίτης θεοῦ κ . ἀνθρώπων is applied to the archangel Michael in The Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs , Daniel 6:2 .

ἄνθρωπος explains how Christ Jesus could be a mediator. He can only be an adequate mediator whose sympathy with, and understanding of, both parties is cognisable by, and patent to, both. Now, although God’s love for man is boundless, yet without the revelation of it by Christ it would not be certainly patent to man; not to add that one of two contending parties cannot be the mediator of the differences (Galatians 3:20 ). See also Romans 5:15 . Again, we must note that ἄνθρωπος ( himself man , R.V., not the man , A.V.) in this emphatic position suggests that the verity of our Lord’s manhood was in danger of being ignored or forgotten.

Verse 6

1 Timothy 2:6 . ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτόν : The Evangelists record our Lord’s own declarations that His death was a spontaneous and voluntary sacrifice on His part, Matthew 20:28 = Mark 10:45 , δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν . Cf. John 10:18 ; and St. Paul affirms it, Galatians 1:4 , τοῦ δόντος έαυτὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ; Titus 2:14 , ὃς ἔδωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κ . τ . λ . ( παραδίδωμι is used in Galatians 2:20 , Ephesians 5:2 ; Ephesians 5:25 ). We may note that this statement necessarily implies not only the pre-existence of our Lord, but also His co-operation in the eternal counsels and purpose of the Father as regards the salvation of man.

Alford is probably right in saying that δοῦναι ἑαυτόν , as St. Paul expresses it, suggests more than δοῦναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ . The latter might naturally be limited to the sacrifice of His death; the former connotes the sacrifice of His lifetime, the whole of the humiliation and self-emptying of the Incarnation. The soundness of this exegesis is not impaired by the probability that τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ may be nothing more than a Semitic periphrasis for ἑαυτόν . See J. H. Moulton, Grammar , vol. i. p. 87, who compares Mark 8:36 , ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ , with Luke 9:25 , ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἀπολέσας ἢ ζημιωθείς .

ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων : If we are to see any special force in the ἀντί , we may say that it expresses that the λύτρον is equivalent in value to the thing procured by means of it. But perhaps St. Paul’s use of the word, if he did not coin it, is due to his desire to reaffirm our Lord’s well-known declaration in the most emphatic way possible. λύτρον ἀντὶ merely implies an exchange; ἀντίλυτρον ὑπέρ implies that the exchange is decidedly a benefit to those on whose behalf it is made. As far as the suggestion of vicariousness is concerned, there does not seem to be much difference between the two phrases.

τὸ μαρτύριον , as Ellicott says, “is an accusative in apposition to the preceding sentence,” or rather clause, ὁ δοὺς … πάντων . So R.V. Bengel compares ἔνδειγμα , 2 Thessalonians 1:5 ; cf. also Romans 12:1 . The great act of self-sacrifice is timeless; but as historically apprehended by us, the testimony concerning it must be made during a particular and suitable period of history, i.e. , from the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostolic company (Acts 1:8 ) until the Second Coming (2 Thessalonians 1:10 ). The temporal mission of the Son of God took place “when the fulness of the time came” (Galatians 4:4 ); it was an οἰκονομία τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν καιρῶν (Ephesians 1:10 ). The testimony is of course borne by God (1 John 5:9-11 ), but He uses human agency, the preachers of the Gospel.

καιροῖς ἰδίοις : See reff. The analogy of Galatians 6:9 , καιρῷ γὰρ ἰδίῳ θερίσομεν , suggests that we should render it always in due season . The plural expresses the fact that the bearing of testimony extends over many seasons; but each man reaps his own harvest only once. In any case, the seasons relate both to the Witness and that whereof He is a witness: “ his own times” and “ its own times” (R.V.).

The dative is that “of the time wherein the action takes place,” Ell., who compares Romans 16:25 , χρόνοις αἰωνίοις σεσιγημένου .

Verse 7

1 Timothy 2:7 . εἰς ὃ : scil. τὸ μαρτύριον , or τὸ εὐαγγέλιον , as in the parallel passage, 2 Timothy 1:11 .

The phrase εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγὼ κῆρυξ κ . ἀπόστολος [ καὶ ] διδάσκαλος is repeated in 2 Timothy 1:11 , as ἀλήθειαν … ψεύδομαι occurs again Romans 9:1 ; but there we have the significant addition [ λέγω ] ἐν Χριστῷ . For similar asseverations of the writer’s truthfulness see Romans 1:9 , 2 Corinthians 11:10 ; 2 Corinthians 12:19 , Galatians 1:20 .

There is nothing derogatory from the apostle in supposing that the personal struggle in which he had been for years engaged with those who opposed his gospel made him always feel on the defensive, and that his self-vindication came to be expressed in stereotyped phrases which rose to his mind whenever the subject came before him, even in a letter to a loyal disciple.

κῆρυξ is used in the N.T. of a preacher here, and twice elsewhere; see reff. But κήρυγμα and κηρύσσω are constantly used of Christian preaching. Cf. esp. Romans 10:15 , πῶς δὲ κηρύξωσιν ἐὰν μὴ ἀποσταλῶσιν ; Bengel takes it in the sense of ambassador; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:20 .

διδάσκαλος : διδάσκαλοι , in the technical Christian sense, are mentioned in Acts 13:1 , 1 Corinthians 12:28-29 , Ephesians 4:11 . Here and in 2 Timothy 1:11 the term is used in a general signification. St. Paul does use διδάσκειν of his own ministerial functions: 1 Corinthians 4:17 , Col 1:28 , 2 Thessalonians 2:15 .

ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ : It is best to take both these words in connexion with διδάσκαλος , and objectively, in the faith and the truth (see on ch. 1 Timothy 1:2 ). It is no objection to this view that the article is not expressed; the anarthrousness of common Christian terms is a feature of these epistles. Others, with Chrys., take both terms subjectively, faithfully and truly . Ellicott “refers πίστις to the subjective faith of the apostle, ἀλήθ . to the objective truth of the doctrine he delivered”. This does not yield a natural sense.

Harnack notes that the collocation of ἀπόστολος , διδάσκαλος is peculiar to the Pastorals and Hermas ( Sim . ix. 15, 16, 25; Vis . iii. 5, “The apostles and bishops and teachers and deacons”). Harnack opines that “Hermas passed over the prophets because he reckoned himself one of them”. But the opinion of Lietzmann, which he quotes, seems sounder: Hermas “conceives this προφητεύειν as a private activity which God’s equipment renders possible, but which lacks any official character” ( Mission and Expansion of Christianity , trans. vol. i. p. 340).

Verse 8

1 Timothy 2:8 . βούλομαι οὖν : οὖν is resumptive of the general topic of public worship from which the writer has digressed in 1 Timothy 2:3-7 . βούλομαι οὖν is found again in 1 Timothy 5:14 . In both places, βούλομαι has the force of a practical direction issued after deliberation. See also reff. On the contrary, θέλω δέ is used only in reference to abstract subjects. See Rom 16:19 , 1 Corinthians 7:7 ; 1 Corinthians 7:32 ; 1Co 11:3 ; 1 Corinthians 14:5 . προσεύχεσθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας : that the men should conduct public worship . Perhaps Bengel is right in understanding 1 Peter 3:7 in the same sense. See reff. for προσεύχεσθαι in this special signification. τοὺς ἄνδρας : the men of the community as opposed to the women, 1 Timothy 2:9 (R.V.). There is no specific restriction of the conduct of worship to a clergy.

ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ : to be connected with what precedes: the directions are to apply to every Church without exception; no allowance is to be made for conditions peculiar to any locality; as it is expressed in 1 Corinthians 14:33-34 , ὡς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων , αἱ γυναῖκες ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις σιγάτωσαν . The words do not mean in any place , as though fixed places for worship were a matter of indifference; neither is there any allusion, as Chrys. explain it, to the abolition by Christ of the restriction of worship to one place, Jerusalem, as in John 4:21 . ἐπαίροντας ὁσίους χεῖρας : This is not directly intended to enjoin a particular gesture appropriate to prayer, but merely avoids the repetition of προσεύχεσθαι . To uplift the hands in prayer was customary: 1 Kings 8:22 , Psalms 28:2 etc., Isaiah 1:15 , Clem. Rom. ad Cor . i. 29. The men that are to have the conduct of the public worship of the Church must be upright men who have clean hands, hands that are holy (Job 17:9 ; Job 23:0 (24):4; James 4:8 ). For ὅσιος as an adj. of two terminations, compare Luke 2:13 , Revelation 4:3 . See Winer-Moulton, Grammar , p. 80.

χωρὶς ὀργῆς καὶ διαλογισμοῦ : This indicates the two conditions necessary to effectual prayer: freedom from irritation towards our fellow-men (Matthew 6:14-15 , Mark 11:25 ), and confidence towards God (James 1:6 ; Luke 12:29 ). διαλογισμός has the sense of doubt in Romans 14:1 . This sense (A.V. doubting ) is that given to the term here by Chrysostom ( ἀμφιβολία ) and Theodoret ( πιστεύων ὅτι λήψῃ ). The rendering disputing (R.V.) disceptatio (Vulg.) merely enlarges the notion conveyed in ὀργή . The reff. to ὀργή are places where it is spoken of as a human affection.

Verses 8-15

1 Timothy 2:8 to 1 Timothy 3:1 a . The ministers of public prayer must be the men of the congregation, not the women. A woman’s positive duty is to make herself conspicuous by good works, not by personal display. Her place in relation to man is one of subordination. This is one of the lessons of the inspired narratives of the Creation and of the Fall. Nevertheless this does not affect her eternal position. Salvation is the goal alike of man and woman. They both attain supreme blessedness in the working out of the primal penalty imposed on Adam and Eve.

Verse 9

1 Timothy 2:9 . Having assigned to the men the prominent duties of the Church, St. Paul proceeds to render impossible any misconception of his views on this subject by forbidding women to teach in public. But he begins by emphasising what is their characteristic and proper glory, the beauty of personality which results from active beneficence.

The essential parts of the sentence are ὡσαύτως γυναῖκας … κοσμεῖν ἑαυτάς … διʼ ἔργων ἀγαθῶν . Both προσεύχεσθαι and κοσμεῖν ἑσυτάς depend on βούλομαι , as does ὡσαύτως , which introduces another regulation laid down by the apostle. In the Christian Society, it was St. Paul’s deliberate wish that the men should conduct public worship, and that the women should adorn the Society and themselves by good works. This verse has no reference to the demeanour of women while in Church. It is inconsistent with the whole context to supply προσεύχεσθαι after γυναῖκας .

The connexion of ἐν καταστολῇ σωφροσύνης has been disputed. Ellicott takes it as “a kind of adjectival predication to be appended to γυναῖκας ,” stating what is the normal condition of women, who are to superadd the adornment of good works. But it is more natural to connect it directly with κοσμεῖν , with which ἐν πλέγμασιν , κ . τ . λ . is also connected as well as διʼ ἔργων ἀγαθῶν ; the change of preposition being due to the distinction between the means employed for adornment and the resultant expression of it. The effect of the practice of good works is seen in an orderly appearance , etc.

ὡσαύτως is a word of frequent occurrence in the Pastorals. See reff. Except in 1 Timothy 5:25 , it is used as a connecting link between items in a series of regulations. The use of it in Romans 8:26 , 1 Corinthians 11:25 is different.

καταστολή , as Ellicott says, “conveys the idea of external appearance as principally exhibited in dress”. It is “ deportment , as exhibited externally, whether in look manner or dress”. The commentators cite in illustration Josephus, Bell. Jud . ii. 8, 4, where the καταστολὴ κ . σχῆμα σώματος of the Essenes is described in detail. The Latin habitus is a good rendering, if we do not restrict that term to dress, as the Vulg. here, habitu ornato , seems to do. But ordinato ( [262] ) hits the meaning better.

[262] Cod. Frisingensis

κόσμιος is applied to the episcopus in 1 Timothy 3:2 . It means orderly , as opposed to disorderliness in appearance. κοσμίως (see apparat. crit .) would be a ἅπαξ λεγ . both in Old and New Testament. μετὰ αἰδοῦς : with shamefastness and self-control or discreetness : the inward characteristic, and the external indication or evidence of it.

For σωφροσύνη , see Trench, Synonyms, N.T . The cognate words σωφρονίζειν , Titus 2:4 ; σωφρονισμός , 2 Timothy 1:7 ; σωφρόνως , Titus 2:12 ; σώφρων , 1 Timothy 3:2 , Titus 1:8 ; Titus 2:2 ; Titus 2:5 , are in N.T. peculiar to the Pastoral Epistles; but σωφρο νεῖν , Titus 2:6 , is found also in Mark, Luke, Rom., 2 Cor. and 1 Pet. See Dean Bernard’s note here.

ἐν πλέγμασιν , κ . τ . λ .: The parallel in 1 Peter 3:3 , ὁ ἔξωθεν ἐμπλοκῆς τριχῶν καὶ περιθέσεως χρυσίων , ἢ ἐνδύσεως ἱματίων κόσμος , is only a parallel. The two passages are quite independent. The vanities of dress of men and women is common topic.

Verse 10

1 Timothy 2:10 . ἀλλʼ ὃ πρέπει : It has been assumed above that διʼ ἔργων ἀγαθῶν is to be connected with κοσμεῖν . In this case ὃ πρέπει θεοσέβειαν is a parenthetical clause in apposition to the sentence. It is, however, possible, though not so natural, to connect διʼ ἔργων ἀγαθῶν with ἐπαγγ . θεοσ . So Vulg., promittentes pietatem per bona opera . Then ὃ would mean καθʼ ὃ , or ἐν τούτῳ ὅ (Math.), and the whole clause, ἀλλʼ ὃ ἀγαθῶν , would be an awkward periphrasis for, and repetition of, ἐν καταστολῇ σωφροσύνης .

ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι usually means to promise as in Titus 1:2 ; but here and in 1 Timothy 6:21 to profess .

θεοσέβεια : ἅπ . λεγ ., but the adj. θεοσεβής occurs John 9:31 .

διά is instrumental, as in 1 Timothy 4:5 , 2 Timothy 1:6 ; 2 Timothy 1:10 ; 2 Timothy 1:14 ; 2Ti 3:15 ; 2 Timothy 4:17 , Titus 3:5-6 , not of accompanying circumstances, as in 1 Timothy 2:15 ; 1 Timothy 4:14 , 2 Timothy 2:2 .

ἔργων ἀγαθῶν : see note on chap. 1 Timothy 3:1 .

Verse 11

1 Timothy 2:11 sqq . With these directions compare those in 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 .

ἐν πάσῃ ὑποταγῇ : with complete subjection [to their husbands]. Cf. Titus 2:5 .

Verse 12

1 Timothy 2:12 . διδάσκειν : This refers of course only to public teaching, or to a wife’s teaching her husband. In Titus 2:3 St. Paul indicates the natural sphere for woman’s teaching. In 1 Cor. women are forbidden λαλεῖν in the Church. The choice of terms is appropriate in each case.

αὐθεντεῖν ἀνδρός : dominari in virum, to have dominion over (R.V.). “The adj. αὐθεντικός is very well established in the vernacular. See Nägeli, p. 49 … the Atticist warns his pupil to use αὐτοδικεῖν because αὐθεντεῖν was vulgar ( κοινότερον ) … αὐθέντης is properly one who acts on his own authority, hence in this context an autocrat” (Moulton and Milligan, Expositor , vii., vi. 374).

ἀλλʼ εἶναι : dependent on some such verb as βούλομαι implied, as opposed to οὐκ ἐπιτρέπω .

Verse 13

1 Timothy 2:13 . It would not be fair to say that St. Paul’s judgment about the relative functions of men and women in the church depended on his belief as to the historicity of the Biblical story of the Creation. He certainly uses this account in support of his conclusions; yet supposing the literal truth of the early chapters of Genesis, it would be possible to draw quite other inferences from it. The first specimen produced of a series is not always the most perfect. The point in which Adam’s superiority over Eve comes out in the narrative of the Fall is his greater strength of intellect; therefore men are better fitted for the work of public instruction. “The woman taught once, and ruined all” (Chrys.). Eve’s reasoning faculty was at once overcome by the allegation of jealousy felt by God, an allegation plausible to a nature swayed by emotion rather than by reflection. The Tempter’s statement seemed to be supported by the appearance of the fruit, as it was rendered attractive by hopes of vanity to be gratified. Adam’s better judgment was overcome by personal influence (Genesis 3:17 , “Thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife”); he was not deceived. But the intellectual superior who sins against light may be morally inferior to him who stumbles in the dusk.

Ἀδὰμ πρῶτος ἐπλάσθη : The elder should rule. A more profound statement of this fact is found in 1 Corinthians 11:9 , οὐκ ἐκτίσθη ἀνὴρ διὰ τὴν γυναῖκα , ἀλλὰ γυνὴ διὰ τὸν ἄνδρα .

πλάσσειν is the term used in Genesis 2:7 and expresses the notion of God as a potter, Romans 9:20 . ( am here has figuratus .)

Verse 14

1 Timothy 2:14 . ἡ δὲ γυνή : St. Paul says ἡ γυνή rather than Εὕα , emphasing the sex rather than the individual, because he desires to gives the incident its general application, especially in view of what follows. So Chrys.

ἐξαπατηθεῖσα : It is doubtful if we are entitled to render this, as Ell. does, being completely deceived . In 2 Corinthians 11:3 St. Paul says ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν Εὕαν , where there is no reason why he should not have used the simple verb. St. Paul uses the compound verb in five other places, the simple verb only once (see reff.). So that the simplest account that we can give of his variation here, and in 2 Corinthians 11:3 , from the ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέν με of Genesis 3:13 , is that the compound verb came naturally to his mind.

ἐν παραβάσει γέγονεν : Inasmuch as παράβασις is used of Adam’s transgression in Romans 5:14 , it may be asked, What is the force of St. Paul’s apparent restriction here of the phrase to Eve? Might it not be said of Adam as well, that he ἐν παραβ . γέγονεν ? To which St. Paul would perhaps have replied that he meant that it was woman who first transgressed, in consequence of having been deceived. ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ἀρχὴ ἁμαρτίας , καὶ διʼ αὐτὴν ἀποθνήσκομεν πάντες . Sir 25:24 . This notion of coming into a state of sin at a definite point of time is well expressed by γέγονεν . For γίνεσθαι ἐν cf. ἡ διακονία … ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ (2 Corinthians 3:7 ); ἐν λόγῳ κολακίας ἐγενήθημεν (1 Thessalonians 2:5 ).

Verse 15

1 Timothy 2:15 . σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας : The penalty for transgression, so far as woman is concerned, was expressed in the words, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16 ). But just as in the case of man, the world being as it is, the sentence has proved a blessing, so it is in the case of woman. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” expresses man’s necessity, duty, privilege, dignity. If the necessity of work be “a stumbling-block,” man can “make it a stepping-stone” (Browning, The Ring and the Book, The Pope , 413), Nay, it is the only stepping-stone available to him. If St. Paul’s argument had led him to emphasise the man’s part in the first transgression, he might have said, “He shall be saved in his toil,” his overcoming the obstacles of nature.

So St. Paul, taking the common-sense view that childbearing, rather than public teaching or the direction of affairs, is woman’s primary function duty, privilege and dignity, reminds Timothy and his readers that there was another aspect of the story in Genesis besides that of woman’s taking the initiative in transgression: the pains of childbirth were her sentence, yet in undergoing these she finds her salvation. She shall be saved in her childbearing (R.V. m. nearly). That is her normal and natural duty; and in the discharge of our normal and natural duties we all, men and women alike, as far as our individual efforts can contribute to it, “work out our own salvation”.

This explanation gives an adequate force to σωθήσεται , and preserves the natural and obvious meaning of τεκνογονία , and gives its force to τῆς . διά here has hardly an instrumental force (as Vulg. per filiorum generationem ); it is rather the διά of accompanying circumstances, as in 1 Corinthians 3:15 . σωθήσεται … διὰ πυρός . It remains to note three other explanations:

(1) She shall be “preserved in the great danger of child-birth”.

(2) Women shall be saved if they bring up their children well, as if τεκνογονία = τεκνοτροφία . So Chrys.

(3) She shall be saved by means of the Childbearing “of Mary, which gave to the world the Author of our Salvation” (Liddon). “The peculiar function of her sex (from its relation to her Saviour) shall be the medium of her salvation” (Ellicott). The R.V., saved through the childbearing , is possibly patient of this interpretation. No doubt it was the privilege of woman alone to be the medium of the Incarnation. This miraculous fact justifies us perhaps in pressing the language of Genesis 3:15 , “thy seed,” and in finding an allusion (though this is uncertain) in Galatians 4:4 , γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός ; but woman cannot be said to be saved by means of a historic privilege, even with the added qualification, “if they continue,” etc. See Luke 11:27-28 , “Blessed is the womb that bare thee.… Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God,” etc.

ἐὰν μείνωσιν : This use of μένειν with ἐν and an abstract noun is chiefly Johannine, as the reff. show.

The subject of μείνωσιν is usually taken to be γυναῖκες ; but inasmuch as St. Paul has been speaking of women in the marriage relation, it seems better to understand the plural of the woman and her husband. Compare 1 Corinthians 7:36 where γαμείτωσαν refers to the παρθένος and her betrothed, whose existence is implied in the question of her marriage. If this view be accepted, then πίστις , ἀγάπη , and ἁγιασμός refer respectively to the duties of the man and wife to God, to society, and to each other: faith towards God, love to the community, and sanctification in their marital relations. See chap. 1 Timothy 4:12 where these three virtues are again combined. See 1 Timothy 2:9 for σωφροσύνη .