The First and Second Letters to Timothy (The Anchor Yale Bible | AYB)

by Luke Timothy Johnson

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 2008

Overview

The letters of Paul to Timothy, one of his favorite delegates, often make for difficult reading in today’s world. They contain much that makes modern readers uncomfortable, and much that is controversial, including pronouncements on the place of women in the church and on homosexuality, as well as polemics against the so-called “false teachers.” They have also been of a source of questions within the scholarly community, where the prevailing opinion since the nineteenth century is that someone else wrote the letters and signed Paul’s name in order to give them greater authority.

Using the best of modern and ancient scholarship, Luke Timothy Johnson provides clear, accessible commentary that will help lay readers navigate the letters and better understand their place within the context of Paul’s teachings.

Logos Bible Software gives you the tools you need to use this volume effectively and efficiently. With your digital library, you can search for verses, find Scripture references and citations instantly, and perform word studies. Along with your English translations, all Scripture passages are linked to Greek and Hebrew texts. What’s more, hovering over a Scripture reference will instantly display your verse! The advanced tools in your digital library free you to dig deeper into one of the most important contributions to biblical scholarship in the past century!

Key Features

• Offers original translations, including alternative translations, annotations, and variants
• Provides verse-by-verse commentary on the text
• Presents the reader with historical background, including analysis of authorship and dating
• Features an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary literature

Contents

• First Timothy: Translation, Notes, and Comments
  • The Greeting (1:1–2)
  • The Opening Commission (1:3–11)
  • Thanks for Empowering Mercy (1:12–17)
  • The Charge Repeated (1:18–20)
  • Instructions on Prayer (2:1–7)
  • Gender Roles in Worship (2:8–15)
  • Qualifications of the Supervisor (3:1–7)
  • Behavior in the Household of God (3:8–16)
  • Opposition to Healthy Teaching (4:1–7a)
  • Modeling Healthy Teaching (4:7b–16)
  • Crisis in the Care of Widows (5:1–16)
  • More Community Directives (5:17–6:2a)
  • Cravings for Wealth (6:2b–10)
  • Closing Commission (6:11–21)
• Second Timothy: Translation, Notes, and Comments
  • Greeting (1:1–2)
  • Thanksgiving (1:3–5)
  • Paul as a Model of Patient Suffering (1:6–14)
  • The Example Set by Onesiphorus (1:15–18)
  • More Examples for Imitation (2:1–7)
  • Jesus as Exemplar (2:8–13)
  • The Delegate as Proven Workman (2:14–21)
  • The Character of the Lord’s Servant (2:22–3:9)
  • The Living Tradition (3:10–17)
  • Final Exhortation (4:1–8)
  • Paul’s Network of Communication (4:9–22)

Top Highlights

“I have translated the phrase as ‘faithful attention to God’s way of ordering things.’” (Page 149)

“Paul has receded to the status of a legendary hero who serves mainly to legitimate this new form of Christianity. His voice is reduced to an echo; his startling insights have become the ‘deposit of faith’ for future generations. Paul’s eschatological urgency has been reduced to a matter of ‘good citizenship.’” (Page 80)

“The order of creation as expressed in the biblical account is used to support the ordering of the social unit of the family.” (Page 201)

“This verse carries over three elements: that a woman should learn (manthanetō), that she should do so ‘quietly’ (en hēsychia, note hēsychios in 2:2), and that she should do so in ‘complete subordination’ (en pasę̄ hypotagę̄). There can be no softening of hypotagē, which suggests not simply an attitude, but a structural placement of one person below another (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 3.66.3; 2 Cor 9:13; Gal 2:5).” (Pages 200–201)

“In this composition, there is no radical discontinuity between the will of God and the structures of society. The structures of the oikos (household) and the ekklēsia (church) are not only continuous with each other, but both are parts of the dispensation of God in the world. Timothy’s work to stabilize and secure such structures is therefore to be in service of the oikonomia theou and itself an expression of pistis (faith).” (Page 149)

Product Details

• Title: The First and Second Letters to Timothy
• Author: Luke Timothy Johnson
• Series: Anchor Yale Bible (AYB)
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 512

About Luke Timothy Johnson

New Testament scholar and early Christianity historian, Luke Timothy Johnson (1943–), is the Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Professor Johnson earned his BA in Philosophy from Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, an MDiv in Theology from Saint Meinrad School of Theology, an MA in Religious Studies from Indiana University, and his PhD in New Testament Studies from Yale University. A former Benedictine monk, Johnson has taught at Yale Divinity School and Indiana University. He is the author of more than 20 books, has published a large number of scholarly and popular articles, anthologies, book reviews, and other academic papers, and lectures and received several awards for excellence in teaching. He often lectures at universities and seminaries worldwide, where he is widely perceived as the leading conservative scholar on the debates surrounding the Jesus Seminar, taking stances against its view of Jesus.