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[This is part of a running series on translating Second Timothy. See the introductory post for more information — RB]

Phrasing/Translation: 2Ti 1.6-7

⁶ Διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν ἀναμιμνῄσκω σε ἀναζωπυρεῖν τὸ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ,
⁶ For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God,
   ὅ ἐστιν ἐν σοὶ
   which is in you
       διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν μου.
       through the laying on of my hands.

⁷ οὐ γὰρ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ θεὸς
⁷ For God has not given us
   πνεῦμα δειλίας
   a spirit of cowardice
ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως
but of power
   καὶ ἀγάπης
   and love
    καὶ σωφρονισμοῦ.
   and self-discipline.

Comments

[Note: whether all comments will be formatted like this, of this nature, or of similar depth is unknown. I'm just writing about what I see at the time. — RB]

Verse 6

Διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν] points back to the previous section.

ὅ ἐστιν ἐν σοὶ] a relative clause. The antecedent is "the gift of God", this further defines the "gift of God".

διὰ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως τῶν χειρῶν μου] a prepositional phrase, functioning adverbially to provide further circumstance to the primary verb (ἐστιν) of the clause. Thus the prepositional phrase describes how the gift of God came to be in/with Timothy: through the agency of Paul's "laying on of hands". On "laying on of hands", see also 1Ti 4.14.

Verse 7

γὰρ] Indicates this clause offers support or strengthens the current argument (preceding discourse). Cf. Runge Discourse Grammar. Paul is offering support (strengthening his argument) for his reminder of verse 6, for Timothy to "rekindle his gift".

γὰρ .. ἀλλὰ .. ] Statements using ἀλλὰ involve the contrasting of two options, with the emphasized or more important (more salient) option in the second place, following ἀλλὰ.* The second option corrects or replaces the first option. In this instance, Paul uses the strawman of the spirit God didn't give ("a spirit of cowardice") to contrast the spirit God did give: one of power, love and self-discipline. This is what Paul wants Timothy to hear: The "spirit" that both he and Timothy have is one of power, love and self-discipline; it is not one of cowardice. This sets up where Paul next goes in verse 8.

* I've written extensively on the discourse function of ἀλλὰ, see particularly this paper for background, definitions and conclusions.

Posted by Rick Brannan