(3.) The position of Paul as suffering (i, 12), in bonds (ii, 9), expectiuL' "the time of his depaiture" (iv, G), forsaken 1)V almost all (ver. 16)— not quite decisive, but tending to B" rather llnin A. The langujige of the epistles belouildug to the liist imprisonmeu: iniply, it is true, bonds (Phil, i, 13. ICi; Epli. iii, 1 ; vi, 20), biu in all of them llie apostle is surrounded bv inanv friends, and is hopeful and conlident of release (Phil, i, 2.5 ; Philem. 22).
(4.) The mention of Onesiphorus, and of services ren- dered by him both at Rome and fiphesus (i, 16-lS)— not decisive again, but the tone is rallier that of a man look- in<.; back ou a past period of his life, and the order of the names sn^'^csls the lhou>;ht ofthe ministrations at Ephe- sus being subsequent to those at Rome, Possibly, too, the nieniion ofthe household," instead of Onesiphorus himself, may imply liis death in the interval. This, there- toic, lends lo H ra'iher than A.
(.5.) 'I'he al)andv)nment of Paul by Demas (iv, 10)— strong- ly in favor of B. Demas was with the aposile when the epistles to the Colossians (iv, 14) and Philemon (24) were written. 2 Tim. must iheiefore, in all probability, liave been written afier tlieni ; but if we place it any- where in the tiist imprisonment, we are all but compelled, by the mention of Mark, for whose coming the apostle asks in 2 Tim, iv, 11, and who is with him in Col, iv, 10, to place it at .-in earlier age. The above qualifying words ("all but") might have been omitted but for the fact that it has been su!^<;esied that Demas, having forsaken Paul, repented and returned (Lardner, vi, 368).
(6.) The presence of Luke (iv, 11) agrees well enough with A (Col. iv, 14), but is perfectly conipatil)le with U.
(7.) The request that Timothy would bring Mark (iv. 11) seems at llrst, compared as aliove with t'oi. iv, 14, to sup- port A, but, in connection with tlie nienliou of Demas, tends decidedly to B.
(8.) Mention of Tychicus as sent to Ephesns (iv, 12) appears, as connected with Eph. vi. 21, 22; Col. iv, 7, iu favor of A, yet, as Tychicus was continually employed on special missions of this kind, may just as well til in with B.
(9.) Tlie request that Timothy would brina: the cloak and books h-l't at Troas (iv, 13). On the assumpti(m of A, the last visit of Paul to Troas would have been at least four or five ye.irs before, duriiii; which there would prob- ably have been opporlnnities euontrh for his re^aiuin<r what he had left. In that case, loo, the circtiinstauces of
the journey present no trace ofthe haste and suddenness which the request more than half implies. On the whole, then, this must be reckoned as in favor of B.
(1(1.) "Alexander tlie coppersmith did me much evil," "j;reatly withstood our words" (iv, 14, 15). The part taken by a Jew of this name iu the uproar of .Acts xix, and the" natural conneclioii ofthe x^'^'^t"* "'''h the arti- sans repiesented by Demetrius, suggest a reference to that event as somethinir recent, and so far supiioit A. On the other hand, the name Alexander was too common to make us certain as lo the identity ; and ifit were llie same, the hypothesis of a later date only requii-es us lo assume whatwas probable enough, a renewed hostility.
(11.) The abaiidonmenl ofthe aposile in his tirst defence (uTTo-Xoriu), aud his deliverance '•from the mouth ofthe liim" (iv, 16, 17) tits iu as a possible contiiiLieucy with either hypothesis, but, like the mention of Demas in (5), must belong, at any rale, lo a time much later than any of the other epistles written from Home.
(12.) " Erastus abode at Corinth, but Trophimns I left at Miletus sick" (iv, 20) — languav'e, as iu ('.)), implying a comparntively recent visit to both places. If, however, the letter were written during the first imprisonment, then Trophiiniis had not been left at Miletus, but had gone on with Paul to Jerusalem (Acts xxi, 29), and the niention of Erastus as remaining at Corinth would have been superfluous lo one who had left that city at the same lime as tlie apostle (ibid, xx, 4). The conjecture that the "leaving" referred to took place durinj; the voyage of Acts xxvii is purely arbitrary, aud at variance with ver. 5 and 6 of that chapter.
(13.) "Hasten to come before winter." Assuiniiit; A, the presence of Timothy in Phil, i, 1; Col. i, 1; Pliilem. 1 inii;;ht be regarded as the consequence of this ; but then, as shown iu (.5) and (6), there are almost insuperable difli- cnliies in supposing this epistle to have been written be- fore tho.se three.
(14.) The salutations from Eubuliis, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia. Without laying mucn stress on this, it niny be said that the ahseiiceOf these names from all the epistles which, according to A, belong lo the same period, would bedifHcult lo explain. B leaves it open to conjecture that they were converts of more recent date. They are men- tioned, too, as knowing Timothy, and this imiilies, as at le.ist probable, that he had already been at Rome, and that this letter to him was consequently later than those to the Philippians and Colossians.