The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Timothy — Section 58

with t.>n thousand followera, and so there i~ "Tho ~ord, wh~ sklod by me at my trio.I, wu no trial. Paul, like hie Lord and Mn.st-Or, will contrnuo to he my Se.viour. Ho will of whom it ie written, "All hie disciples for- deliver me from every evil doeign of mrne sook him anrl fled." had no one to &te.nd enemies, e.nd from all the wiles and asse.ults with him in llie hour of need. of the devil, in short, from the whole power Ver. 17.-But for not,cithstanding, A.V.; of evil, and will bring me 1afe into his own by for with, A.V.; through for by, A.V.; kingdom of light e.nd righteousness." There musage for pre=l,ing, A.V.; iwoclai~ for is n. strong contrast, ae Bengel pithily ob- knoum, A.V. Stood by me (l"'l -.a.pfo·..-11); sol\'es, between "the evil work" and "his RS in Aote :uvii. 23 ; Rom. xvi 2 (where see hee.venly kingdom." A triumphant me.rtyr- also the use of -rporr..-,fr«, a helper). napl- dom is as true a delivemnoe as esoape from cr-ra.µ.a, mee.us simply to st.and by the side of a death. Corupe.re our Lord's promise," There person-to be present. But, like 7ra.pa-ylvoµ,a.,. shall not an hair of your head perish" it aequires the meaning of standing by for (Luke ui. 18 compared with ver. 16). St. the purpose of helping. The contrast be- Paul's confidence simply is that the Lord tween the timid faithless friends who failed would, in his own good time and way, transfer him like " deooitful brook (Job vi. 15), and him from this present evil world, and from the faithfuln888 of the Lord who wae a very the powers of darkness, into his eternal present Help in trouble, iB very striking. kingdom of light and right.eousness. Strengthened me (lv•5uvciµ.,,,,d µ.,); see l Ver. 19.-Howefor howehold,A.V. Pri80a Tim. i. 12, note, and Acts vi 8. The mes11a.ge and Aquila. Prisoa is elsewhere al ways called (rf,pu-yµ.a.). The A.V. preaching is far better. Priscilla (Acts :i:viii. 2, 18, 26; Rom. :i:vi. St. Paul means that gospel which he wae 3; I Cor. :i:vi. 19). A similar variation of commissioned to preach, and which he did nnmes is seen in Drusa and Drwilla, Livia preach openly in full court when he wae on and Livella, eto. She is named before her hil! trial (see ver. 15, note). Kight be tnlly husband, as here in Acts :i:viii.18; Rom. :i:vi. proclaimed (,rJ..11pacpop11Br,); see eh. iv. 5, note; 3. The mention of them here is in favour and comp. Rom. :i:v. i'9. All the Gentiles of Timothy being at Ephesus at this time, might hear (comp. Phil. i 12-14). The ae Ephesus is one of the places where they brave, unselfish spirit of the apostle thinking were wont to sojourn (Acta xviii. 19, 26). more of the proclamation of the gospel than The honse (as in A.V. eh. i. 16) of 0neai- of hiB own life, is truly admirable. I was phorns (see eh. i. 16, 18, note). This repeti- delivered ont of the mouth of the lion. tion of the" house of Onesiphoru"" is almost Surely there can be no loubt that, ae Bengel conclusive as to the recent death of Onesi- says, thi.o iB a quotation from Ps. nii. 20, 21. phorus himself. The verb ,pt,6crB11v, "I was delivered," comes Ver. 20.-1 left for have I left, A.V.; from the twentieth verse, " Deli'llef' my soul Mi/.etua for Miletum, A.V. Erastns abode at from the sword," and the phrase, l 1t trr6µ,a...-os Corinth. We learn from Rom. xvi. 3 that J..,ov..-o,, iB found 'llef'batim in ver. 21. The Erastus was the chamberlain of Corinth, apostle means his deliverance from thee:i:ecu- which accounts for his abiding there. He tioner's sword. In the nerl ve111e we :find both was one of St. Paul's oompanions in bis the words p6crna., and cr~cr«, and the whole missionary journey, and we learn from Acts tone of the psalm breathes the same spirit xix. 22 that he was sent by St. Paul with as the saying, "The Lord stood by me." Timothy into Macedonia just before the great Dean Alford's suggestion that the lion here riot at Ephesus. The mention of him here iB Sate.n, as in l Pet. v. 8, and the danger clearly indicates tlmt St. Paul had gone which the apostle escaped was not dee.th, from Troae, where he left his cloke, to which ht di<l not fear, bnt betraying the Corinth on his way to Bome. Trophimus iB gospel under the f Par of dee.th, iB ingenious, :first mentioned in Acts x:i:. 4, where we learn but rather far-fetched, though not impos- that he wae an Asiatic, and more definitely sible. It me.y possibly have been part of in Acts :i::i:i. 29, that he was an Ephesian. what was in St. Paul's mind. He had travelled with St. Paul's party from Ver. 18.-TJu, Lord for and the Lord, A.V. Macedonia to 'fro&,!, and thence to Miletue and T.B.; unll for ahall, A.V.; ,a"e for and Jerusalem, where we lose sight of him pre,ene, A.V.; the glor11 for glory, A.V. till we find him again in this passagejoul'Dey'- Deliver me . . . save me (1188 preceding ing towards Rome with St. Paul and others, note). The language here iB also very like but stopped at Miletus by sickness. MiletuB, the.t of tLe Lord"s Prayer: 'Pvu,u -f/µ,as ciro not Mi/.etwm, iB the correot form. TOU ,rov11pou· O'OU -ya.p EO''l'OV -f/ /Ja.u,J..,/a . . . 1tal Ver. 21.-Baluteth for grecteth, A.V. Do -f) 3&Ea., .1• .-our alwva.s. 'Aµ,fw (Matt. vi. 13). thy diligenoe (u..-o66auov); see ver. 9 a.nd eh. Every evil work. Alford goes altogether ii. 15, note. Before winter; lest, when winter astray in his remarks on this pe.ssage. In- storms come, it be impossible to do so. St 1,t,rpreted by the Lord's Prayer, and by its Paul's longing to have Timothy with him is own internal evidenoe, the meaning clearly apparent throughout. Eubulu; mentio11ed llR, IV, 1-22.~ THE SECOND El'IS'l'LE TO TIMOTHY. 63