2 Timothy and Titus (New Covenant Commentary | NCCS)

by Aída Besançon Spencer

Publisher:

Cascade Books

, 2014

Overview

In this eagerly anticipated sequel to Aída Spencer’s commentary on 1 Timothy, Spencer unveils the socio-cultural backdrop behind Paul’s pastoral teaching in Titus and 2 Timothy. Investigating the reasons behind some of Paul’s explicit warnings and directives, Spencer provides commentary easily usable by pastors, teachers, and moral theologians. As timely as it is informed, this commentary on Paul’s more concise letters will see much use in the interpretation of Paul’s letters for the twenty-first century church.

Key Features

• Very accessible and usable for Christians in any vocation
• Extensive notes and citations from classical Greek texts and trusted journals, reference works, and commentaries
• Concise and deep in its contribution to Paul in his historical context

Contents

Top Highlights

“In this context, Paul’s main message to Timothy is not to be ashamed of his imprisonment, but rather to ‘share in suffering’ (2:3; 4:5).” (Page 75)

“In Greco-Roman times, Jewish elders had authority in religious and civic matters” (Page 11)

“What Paul did not require is instructive. Paul did not require that the elders be Jewish, or circumcised, as the circumcision party might have required. Paul did not require that the elders be aristocrats, as the Minoans might have required.²⁶ Paul did not require that the elders be free citizens, as the Romans or Greeks required.²⁷ Paul did not require that the elders be wealthy, men of leisure, as the rabbis required (m. Meg. 1:3; 4:3). There is no mention of ethnic or class or political or economic status. The term elder probably implied a certain age. Some early rabbis said thirty was the age for authority, sixty was the age to be an elder (m. ’Abot 5:21). Sixty was also the age for a widow to enter the church’s order of prayer (1 Tim 5:9).” (Pages 12–13)

“Paul’s overall purpose in 2 Timothy is to encourage Timothy to join in suffering with him for the gospel which he learned, unlike others who have abandoned Paul.” (Page 77)

“Minoan Crete had a predominance of female deities, including the Snake Goddess, protector of the household.” (Page 3)

Praise for the Print Edition

By explaining lexical, grammatical, historical, and theological matters, and by focusing consistently on canonical connections and pastoral application, Aida Spencer has written a lucid commentary that will prove helpful for general readers, students, and pastors alike.

—Eckhard J. Schnabel, associate editor of Bulletin of Biblical Research

This volume completes Spencer's valuable commentary on the Pastoral Epistles. Concise and readable, it also provides in-depth analysis of the flow of each letter, and serious word studies sensitive to both biblical and Greco-Roman usage. . . . This volume is especially sensitive to the gender-oriented instructions concerning leadership and conduct in Titus and 2 Timothy. Highly recommended.

—John R. Kohlenberger III, editor of The NIV Greek and English New Testament

Aida Spencer's rich exposition of Paul's last letters is a welcome companion to her work on the first of the Pastoral letters, 1 Timothy. The commentary beguiles as it combines brevity and economy of expression with rich and deep insight into the meaning of Paul's message to the pastors he sent to Crete and Ephesus. As always, Spencer carefully attends to the world of the author and his recipients, framing his message within the cultural matrix of the Greco-Roman world. At the same time, she helps pastor, teacher, and student bridge the gap between the message then and now. Listen and relish as you hear the timbre of the apostolic voice afresh and anew.

—Gene L. Green, author of The Letters to the Thessalonians

Product Details

• Title: 2 Timothy and Titus: A New Covenant Commentary
• Author: Aída Besançon Spencer
• Series: New Covenant Commentary Series
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2016
• Pages: 184
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Titus › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. 2 Timothy › Commentaries
• ISBNs: 9781625642530, 9781498217040, 9781630871932, 1625642539, 1498217044, 1630871931
• Resource ID: LLS:NEWCOVCOMM76TI2
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-12-11T20:38:49Z

About Aída Besançon Spencer

Aída Besançon Spencer, (Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; M.Div., Princeton Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has served as a community organizer, Protestant campus minister, adjunct professor at New York Theological Seminary, academic dean for the Alpha-Omega Community Theological School and pastor of organization of Pilgrim Church. She has spoken at churches, conferences and classes on different biblical, theological and experiential aspects of marriage. Spencer is an ordained Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and is the author of Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry, Paul's Literary Style: A Stylistic and Historical Comparison of II Corinthians 11:16-12:13, Romans 8: 9-39, and Philippians 3:2-4:13, 2 Corinthians, Daily Bible Commentary and coeditor of The Latino Heritage Bible.