The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 84

!11,a thP .am<' epPciel ~cnse (compAr,, cl.,,,,d,. 2 and smouldering, but must be stirred up Into ( '.nr, xi. 2; eh, v, 22; TituB ii, /i; I Pet. iii, 2). a flame. The lesson here and in 2 Tim. i. 6 Ver. 13,-Rred fnr atumda11ce, A.V,; teach- seems to be that we must look hMk to our •'ng for dnclrii,e, A,V. Till I oome (oh. iii. ordination, llnd to the spiritual gmce given 14; i. 3), Reading (.-fi a.va')'v,.,',,m), The in it, ns things not e1ha11sted. The grace public reading of the Scriptures (the Lessons, is there, bnt it must not be lightly thought >U! we should say). This we know was the of,. Which was given thee by prophecy, practice in the synagogue (Luke iv, 16, etc.; Tins seems to be explained by Aots xiii, Act.a xiii, 27; xv, 21; 2 Cor, iii, 15). We 1-:~, where D11,rnab11e and Sliul were sepa- .ee the beginning of reading the New Testa- rated for their work by the laying on of ment in the Christian assemblies in Eph. iii. the hands apparently of the prophets and 4; and Col, iv, 16; a11d ge11emlly in the fact of teachers, at thl' express comtullnd of the Holy Epistles being addressed by the apostles to Ghost, speaking doubtless by the mouth of Chnrc!,cs, The a.va-yv,.,',,r.-71,, the reader, one of the prophets, Timothy, it appears, lector, was a regular order in the thir,l and was designated for his work by a like com- fourth centuries (Bingham, vol. i, p ~ SS). mand of the Holy Ghost, speoki11g by one of The office is being revived in our day. Ex- the Church prophets, and received his com- hortation ( ry ,rapa1eAf,,r«); see Acts iv. 36, mission by a like " laying on of hands" by where Barnabas's name is interpreted as the elders of the Church. If St, Paul refers, meaning "Son of exhortation" (RV.), and as he appears to do, to tho same occasion in xiii, 15; comp, Rom. xii. 7 (where, as here, 2 Tim. i. 6, then it appears that he laid hie -rrapax>..71,ra and o,oa,r1ea>..ia are coupled to- hands on Timothy, together with the pres- gether) ; l Thess, ii. 3, etc, Teaching (o,6a- byters, as ie done by the bishop in the ordi- <Tt<aAia); almost always rendered "doctrine" nation of priests, The presbytery ( .-oii wp•,r- in the A.V, But here, where the act of /3unplou). The word is borrowed from the teaching (like the act of reading, the act of Jewish nomenclature(see Luke xxii. 6; Act.a e:xlwrting, in the two preceding clauses) is xxii. 5), In a slightly different sense for iut,mded, " teaching" is perhaps the best "the office of a presbyter," SUB., v. 50 (Cod. word according to our modem W11Lge. As Alex.). regards the difference between o,6a,r,ca>..la Ver. 15.-Be diligent in for medftaf,e upon, and wapd.1e>.,71,ris, the former would express A.V.; progreu for profiting, A.V.; be mani- "doctrinal teaching,'' whether of dogma or fest unto for appear to, A,V. Be diligent, of precept, the latter entreaties to believe the etc. (TavTa µ.•>..fra). Give all your atten- one and practise the otl,er (see Acts xi, tion and care and study to these things. :.!3 and xiv. 22 for good examples of wapd.- It is just the contrary to µ,-1, a.µ,,>..E< in ver. ,c>.,71,r,s). 14. The verb µ,,>...Tdw, besides this pas- Ver. 14.-Tb.e gift (xrip,,rµ,a). The verb sage, occura in its classical sense of " pre- xapi(oµ,a, means "to give anything freely," meditating" or " getting up a speech,'' in gratuitously, of mere good will, without any Mark xiii, I 1 (where, however, the reading is payment or return (Luke vii. 42; Acts xxvii, dou.btful), and again in Acts iv, 25, in the 24; Rom, viii. :~2; 1 Cor. ii. 12, etc.). Hence sense of "premeditating" certain actions, xap«rµ,a came to be especially e.pplied to the A kindred UBe in cl11ssical Greek is " to gift.a of the Holy Spirit, which are pre- practise " or " exercise " an art, as rhetoric, eminently "free gifts" (see Act.a viii 20). dancing, shooting with a bow, and the like, lt is so applied in Rom. i. 11 ; xii 6; I Cor. It iB very common in the L~X., in the sense i. 7; xii. 4, 9, 28, il0, 31; I Pet. iv. 10. Here, of" meditating," practising in the thoughts. then, BJl in the similar pe,sse.ge, 2 Tim. i. 6, Give thyself wholly to them ( iv ToVT01s f,r81); the ''gift" spoken of is the specie.I grace literally, be in these things; i.e. be wholly given by the Holy Ghost to those who are and always occupied with them, The simi- separated for "the oftice and work of e. priest lar phrases in Greek and Latin cle,ssics are in the Church of God by the imposition of 'Ev Tov-ro,s 6 Ka,,rap ~" (Plutarch); "Omnis in hands" (Orderiug of Priests), TLiB gift St. hoe som" (Hor., 'Ep.,' i. 1. l): "Nesoio Paul Lids him not neglect(µ,¾, aµ.,>...,), The quid meditans nugarum, et totus in illia" word contains the idea of conte1uptuons (Hor., •Sat.,'i, 9, 2); and in the LXX., 'Ev q,&/3q, neglect-neglect as of an unimportant thing. Kuplou /,r8, &>..71v T71v ~µ,•pav (Prov. xxiii. 17), Iu Matt. xxii, 5 the persons invited to the Thy progress ( ~ 1rpo1eo-rrt, ). Progress, advance, fea,;t made light of it, and went away to or growth, is the idea of 1rpo,co-rrf,, It is used other thiugs which they cared more about. twice in Phil. i. 12, 25, A good example of In Heb, ii 1l, Tf/A<Kau.-71, cl.1«>..f,,ravTES ,rwT'I/· its use in classical Greek is that in Polyb,, pia,, and viii, 9. imply a contemptuous disre- iii. 4, A~(71,r,s 1eal ,rpo,co1171 T-1,s PCdµ,alwv ovva• gard, So here'fimothy is reminded that in his ,rTEla,. The use of the verb ,rpo,cmw for "to ordination he received 11, great xd.p,,rµ,a,, and advance,'' " make progress," is still more that be mUBt value it duly, and use it dili- comwoo (Luke ii. 52; Rom. xiii. 12; Gal. i, gently, Ii WWit not be let lie slumbering 14: 2 Tim. ii. 16; iii, 9, 14). It ill used <lH. IV, 1-16,] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 73