The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 110

written by St. Paul Rft~r his first imprison, bc~n well r_em~rke<l that the solemnity of ment Rt Rome, we may feel tolernbly cer- tl11s clrn_rge rnd1catcs.. the temptation which tain that he W&B acquainted with the \here might be to 'I 1mothy to shrink from Gospel of St. Luke, •o that there ia no reproving men of weight and influence- i111probability in his quoting from it. His " rulers" in the congregation, and "elders" relerence to another saying of the Lord both in age and by office, young aa he him- ,lesw; in Acte xx. 35 gives additional prob- self was (eh. iv. 12). Perhaps he had in ability to it. The passage in 2 Tim. iv. 18 view some particular CR.Be in the Ephesian ,eems also to be a direct reference to the Church. Charge (8,aµ.apnlpoµ.a,; not 1ra.p• Lord's Prayer. ns contained in the Gospels of a-y-y.i>,x..,, as eh. vi. 13); rather, I adjure tliee. St. lllnttl,ew nnd St. Luke. St. Paul does The strict sense of 8,aµ.apTopoµ.a, is "I ooll not directly call the worus;, -ypa~~, 01,ly heaven and earth to witness the truth of treats them a8 of eqnal authority, which, if what I am saying; " and then, by a very thev were the words of Christ, of course slight metonymy, "I declare a thing," or the;, were. " I a~k a thing," "as in the presence of \'er. 1 9 . - ~ at; the mouth of for but those witnesses who. are either named or h,.fore, A.V. An elder; here cle11-rly a understood." Hrre the witnesses are named: presbyter, as the context proves. Receive God, and Christ J~sus, and the elect nngels. (1rapab,xou); give ear to, entertain; as in In 2 Tim. ii. Hit is "the Lord;" in 2 Tim. Acts xxii. 18, "They will not recei-oe thy iv. l God and Jesus Christ, as also in eh. vi. testimony.'' At the mouth of, etc. There 13. In the passages where the word hns is a reference to the law in Numb. xxxv. the force of "testifying" (Luke xvi. 18; 30; Deut. xix. 15, and elsewhere (to which Acts ii. 40; x. 42; xviii. 5 ; l Thess. iv. 6, our Lord also refers, John viii. 17), and St. etc.), no witnesses are named, but great Paul applies the principle of the law to solemnity and earnestne~s are impli,·d. The Timoth~'s dealings 'lrith presbyters who eleot angels. This is the ouly passage might be accused of not "ruling well." where it is predicated of the angels that He WR.8 not to encourage delatores, secret they e.re elect. But as there is repeR ted accusers and defamers, but if any one had a mention in Holy Scripture of the fallen charge to me.ke against a ruler, it was to be angels (Matt. xxv. 41 ; l Cor. vi. 3; 2 Pet. done in the presence of witnesses (brl with a ii. 4; Jude 6; Rev. xii. 7, 9), the obvioua genitive). A doubt arises wi,.-ther "the wit- interpretation is that St. Paul, in this solemn nesses" here spoken of were to be witnesses adjuration, added the epithet to indicate ahle to support the accusation, or merely more distinctly the" holy a11gels," as they witnesses in whose presence the accusation are frequt-ntly described (l\latt. xxv. 31 ; must be made. The juxtaposition of the Luke ix. 26, eto.), or "the angels of God" legal terms 1<aT.,,-yop,a and e,rl /LfLPT6pa,11 or "of heaven" (Matt. xxii. 30; xxiv. 36; farnurs the ■trict meaning of µ.apT6pow, Luke xii. 8, 9; John i. 51). Possibly the witnesses able to support the «aT71-yopla. mention of Satan in ver. 15, or some of the And, therefore. the dirt'ct10n to Timothy is, rising Gnostic opinions about angels (Col. "Suffer no man to accuse a presbyter uuless ii. 18), may have suggested the epithet. he i.e accompanied by two or three witnesses The reason for the nnusual addition of" the who are ready t.o hack up the accusation." angels" is more difficult to o.dduce with Tl,e italic the mouth of, in the R.V., is not certainty. But perhaps 2 Tim. iv. l gives nt'C€18sary or indeed j usti.fied. There is no us the clue, where the apostle shows that ellipsis of <TTOµ,a,Tos. 'E1rl ~,Jo fj Tptwv in appealing to Jesus Christ he has a special /LfLPT"P"'"• " before two or three witnesses,'' eye to the great and final judgment. Now, is good classical Greek. in the descriptions of the last judgment, Ver. 20.-Reprove for rebuli:e, A. V.; fo the the angels are constantly spoken of as eight of for before, A. V. ; the rest for others, accompanying our Lord (Matt. xvi. 27; xxv. A.V.; be in fear for fear, A,V. Reprove; 3 I ; Mark viii. 48 ; Luke ix. 26 ; xii. 8, 9; l>,,-yx•, not ,,,mx.-1,[p,, as in vt:r. I (see 2 Thess. i. 7, etc.). If St. Paul, therefore, Matt. xviii. 15). There, the fault being a had in his mind the great judgment-day private one, the reproof is to be admi11is- when he thus invoked the names of God tered in private. l:lut in the case of the and of Christ, he would very naturally also sinning presbyter, which is that here in- make mention of the elect angels. And so tended, Timotl, y is t.o reprove the offender Bi,;hop Bull, quoted in the' Speaker's Com- "before all,'' that others also may fear, and mentary.' Without prejudioe (xwpls '"Po• may be deterred by tl,eir fear from commit- 1<plµ.aTos); here <•nly in the New Testament, ting a like offence. and not found in the LXX. or classical Ver. 21.-In the Bight of for before, A.V.; Greek, though the verb 1rpo«p,vu, occurs in Chri•t Jea,u for the Lord JetJ,u Chriet, A. V. both. Although the English word "pre- aud T.R. ; prejudice for preferriug one before judice" see1.ns at first sight an apt rendering aaulher, A.. V. I ah&rge thee, etc. It has of rpJitp'I"', it doea not really give the aellll8 Off. V. 1-26.] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 101