PastoralEpistles.com

A few days ago I blogged about NT 0259 (P. Berlin 3065) which covers 1Ti 1.4-5, 6-7. Today I'll blog a bit about NT 0262 (P. Berlin 13977). According to Peter Head (contra Elliott) these fragments are parchments, not papyrus. I don't have the experience to tell the difference, but I trust Dr. Head's judgment on such matters.

First, an image of NT 0262. According to Treu, this is a 7th century MS. The below is a digital photo of a plate in Kurt Treu, “Neue neutestamentliche Fragmente der Berliner Papyrussammlung”, Archiv für Papyrusforschung 18, 1966.

NT 0262 (P. Berlin 13977), 1Ti 1.15-16

Next, Treu's transcription of 0262 (P. Berlin 13977). Note the unique orthography. Actually, it's pretty wacky and is heavily phoneticised.

NT 0262 (P. Berlin 13977), 1Ti 1.15-16. Transcription by K. Treu

Treu also provides a normalisation of the transcription. Below is a table that compares the transcription with the normalisation. Treu's normalisation matches the NA27 letter-for-letter. The bold areas in the left column note major orthographical deviations (i.e., big-time mis-spellings).

NT 0262 (P. Berlin 13977), 1Ti 1.15-16; transcription and normalisation

πιστος or ανθροπινος?

The phrase πιστος ο λογος is formulaic in the Pastorals. It occurs 5x (in NA/UBS) though instances in 1Ti 1.15 and 3.1 are debated; some witnesses have ανθροπινος ο λογος in 1Ti 1.15 and/or 3.1. Thus the reading of 0262 (P. Berlin 13977) may shed some light on the problem.

Treu’s reconstruction of the first word in 0262 (P. Berlin 13977) aligns with NA27. Elliott, not even mentioning the earliest and best MSS that support πιστος, reads ανθροπινος here and in 1Ti 3.1. Lock, in his 1924 ICC volume on the Pastorals, also reads ανθροπινος in 1Ti 1.15 and 3.1.* Tasker, in the Greek text of the New English Bible, reads πιστος in 1Ti 1.15 but ανθροπινος in 1Ti 3.1.** Lock and Elliott treat the two readings (1Ti 1.15 and 3.1) together though the evidence for each reading is not the same. Textual evidence for the variant in 1.15 is scant and only reflected in a handful of Latin witnesses; evidence for the variant in 3.1 is marginally better with only one Greek witness (the original hand of D) and a smattering of Latin witnesses.

0262 (P. Berlin 13977) does not testify to the whole word, but based on Treu’s reconstruction, it witnesses πιστος. The hand is not a well-practiced hand, and it is difficult to discern the –τος of πιστος. Help comes in the first line of column II, where προτος is witnessed. Comparing the –τος in both instances, one can make out the –τος at the start of column I. The strokes can be confirmed again by comparing with Χριστος in column I line 3. Unfortunately, the papyrus contains no –νος sequence (ανθροπι-νος) to compare against for complete verification.

Thus all indications are that 0262 (P. Berlin 13977) supports the commonly-accepted reading of πιστος ο λογος in 1Ti 1.15.

* Lock, W. (1924). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Pastoral epistles (I & II Timothy and Titus) (xxxvi). Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

** R.G.V. Tasker. New English Bible Greek Text.

Posted by Rick Brannan

I blogged a little while back about papyri with content from First Timothy. I've found some time to poke around the articles. Jim West has graciously agreed to help me by translating the relevant sections from German into English; when that material is available I'll post it on the blog as well.

But I simply couldn't wait any longer and had to do some blogging about this. So here is P3605 from Kurt Treu's article:

Kurt Treu, “Neue neutestamentliche Fragmente der Berliner Papyrussammlung”, Archiv für Papyrusforschung 18, 1966. p. 36.

This papyrus fragment is from the 6th or 7th century. Below I've typed Treu's transcription and have presented it as an image to preserve formatting, etc.

Perhaps the most interesting reading in the papyri is οικονομιαν in line 2. P3605 supports the NA27 reading, against J.K. Elliott who here follows the reading of D’s first hand and Irenaeus, οικοδομην.* Elliott rejects οικονομιαν, contending that it came about as a replacement for οικοδομην. He bases his judgment on the list of atticisms found in Phrynichus** which contains οικοδομη (οικοδομημα) as objectionable. Thus, reasons Elliott, scribes replaced οικοδομην with the less objectionable (and fitting NT/PE style) οικονομιαν (cf. Tt 1.7 and also Col 1.25; Eph 1.10, 3.2; 1Co 9.17).

But Elliott’s reasoning—reject the word because it is on a list of atticisms—is as arbitrary as rejecting a reading because it is the longer reading or because it is not the most difficult reading. These are guidelines that come about as a result of witnessed trends, not hard-and-fast rules. The whole picture must be examined, and the quality and witness of MSS supporting οικονομιαν (Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and several other uncials: FGKLPH) must also contribute to the decision. P3605 supports that already overwhelming evidence.

I've been working through all variants I can find for this section of text (largely from Treu's article, Elliott's work in the Pastorals, NA27 and Tischendorf) and will have a PDF with discussions like on these variants available for download at some future point.

Also, in the hopefully not-too-distant future I'll blog about one more reading in P13977 (1Ti 1.15-16) and provide a transcription of that papyri as well.

* Elliott, J.K. The Greek Text of the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. (Studies and Documents 26). Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1968. p. 19.

** For Phrynichus’ list, see Chrys C. Caragounis, The Development of Greek and the New Testament: Morphology, Syntax, Phonology and Textual Transmission. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. pp. 125-137.

Posted by Rick Brannan

I previously mentioned I'd located a copy of the following:

Title: ARCHIV FÜR PAPYRUSFORSCHUNG und verwandte Gebiete. Begründet v. U. Wilcken. Band 18.
Description: Hrsg. v. Fr. Zucker. Leipzig, Teubner, 1966. Gr.-8vo. 2 Bl., 122 S., 1 Bl., 6 Tafeln. OKart. (unaufgeschnitten). (OP 0006) Enthält u.a.: E. Wipszycka: Das Textilhandwerk und der Staat im römischen Ägypten.- K. Treu: Neue neutestamentliche Fragmente der Berliner Papyrussammlung.- R. Koerner: Eine griechisch-christliche Grabinschrift aus Nubien.- Ders.: Eine Weihinschrift aus der Zeit Ptolemaios V. sowie ein ausführliches Urkundenrefarat des Herausgebers.

This was originally mentioned in J.K. Elliott's text-critical work on the Pastorals; Luke Timothy Johnson further mentions it in a footnote, though he also mentions he was unable to find a copy. Thanks to the magic of the internet, I was able to locate a copy and my curiosity got the best of me.

Today's mail brought the journal from a bookseller in Germany. Treu's article publishes a number of NT papyri, some of which are in Aland's Kurzgefaßte Liste, others of which aren't (at least as of 1966, the journal publication date).

Two of these papyri -- neither on Aland's list -- witness First Timothy.

• P3605: 1Ti 1.4-7. From Fayyum area. 6/7th century
• P13977: 1Ti 1.15-16. ca. 7th century

An unexpected surpise -- there's even a plate with an image of P13977. The image quality isn't great, but it's better than nothing. There are transcriptions along with brief apparatus and discussion in Treu's article.

There is nothing earth-shattering in these papyri, though the orthography in P13977 is crazy -- like some ancient version of "hooked on phonics". I'll blog in the future on each of them; no real time to do so right now. I'll see what I can squeeze in over the next while.

Update (2007-05-21): I sent an email to Peter Head (Evangelical Textual Criticism) to refer him to subsequent posts on this material and hopefully get a little more information. He kindly responds:

Just a note that P. Berlin 3605 is NT 0259 and P. Berlin 13977 is 0262. So they are both in Aland, KL (the 1994 edition anyway), but are obviously on parchment, not papyrus (despite their location in the Papyrussammlung!).

Thanks, Dr. Head!

Posted by Rick Brannan

[This post is part of a series on The Pastoral Epistles in the Apostolic Fathers. RWB]

Ign. Eph. 2.1; Ign. Smyrn. 10.2 || 2Ti 1.16

(1) Περὶ δὲ τοῦ συνδούλου μου Βούρρου, τοῦ κατὰ θεὸν διακόνου ὑμῶν ἐν πᾶσιν εὐλογημένου, εὔχομαι παραμεῖναι αὐτὸν εἰς τιμὴν ὑμῶν καὶ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου· καὶ Κρόκος δέ, ὁ θεοῦ ἄξιος καὶ ὑμῶν, ὃν ἐξεμπλάριον τῆς ἀφʼ ὑμῶν ἀγάπης ἀπέλαβον, κατὰ πάντα με ἀνέπαυσεν· ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀναψύξαι, ἅμα Ὀνησίμῳ καὶ Βούρρῳ καὶ Εὔπλῳ και Φρόντωνι, διʼ ὧν πάντας ὑμᾶς κατὰ ἀγάπην εἶδον. (Ign. Eph. 2.1)
(1) Now concerning my fellow servant Burrhus, who is by God’s will your deacon, blessed in every respect, I pray that he might remain with me both for your honor and the bishop’s. And Crocus also, who is worthy of God and of you, whom I received as a living example of your love, has refreshed me in every way; may the Father of Jesus Christ likewise refresh him, together with Onesimus, Burrhus, Euplus, and Fronto, in whom I saw all of you with respect to love. (Ign. Eph. 2.1)
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (138, 139). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

(2) ἀντίψυχον ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμά μου, καὶ τὰ δεσμά μου, ἃ οὐχ ὑπερηφανήσατε οὐδὲ ἐπῃσχύνθητε. οὐδὲ ὑμᾶς ἐπαισχυνθήσεται ἡ τελεία ἐλπίς, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός. (Ign. Smyrn. 10.2)
(2) May my spirit be a ransom on your behalf, and my bonds as well, which you did not despise, nor were you ashamed of them. Nor will the perfect hope, Jesus Christ, be ashamed of you. (Ign. Smyrn. 10.2)
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (190, 191). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

16 δῴη ἔλεος ὁ κύριος τῷ Ὀνησιφόρου οἴκῳ, ὅτι πολλάκις με ἀνέψυξεν καὶ τὴν ἅλυσίν μου οὐκ ἐπαισχύνθη, (2Ti 1.16, NA27)
16 The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, because many times he refreshed me and he was not afraid of my chains,  (2Ti 1.16, my own translation)

About these passages, the Oxford committe only notes: "These two passages seem to be reminiscences of the same context in 2 Timothy." (p. 72). The apparent similarity has to do with the occurrence of two concepts, that of being "refreshed" (ἀναψύχω) and that of being "ashamed/afraid" (ἐπαισχύνομαι).

In this case, the similarity is lexical; relying on co-occurrence of words. But the ties are thin; two otherwise unrelated passages in two separate letters pointing back to one passage in 2 Timothy? Each case must be argued separately unless there is a reason to combine them. No reason for combination is evident.

The first lexical similarity, then, is that of ἀναψύχω. 2Ti 1.16 is the only NT occurrence of the word (though BDAG reports a variant uses the word in Ro 15.32). Similarly, Ignatius is the only source of the word in the Apostolic Fathers, though he uses it twice (also in Ign. Trall. 12.2). But use of a seemingly rare word cannot establish dependence; the word is also used at least seven times in the LXX (Ex 23.12; Jdg 15.19; 1Sa 16.23; 2Sa 16.14; Ps 38.14; 2Ma 4.46; 13.11) and also occurs in Josephus.

But the similarity isn't only lexical, it is also contextual. In Ign. Eph. 2.1, Ignatius is acknowledging that while in custody he has been "refreshed" by Crocus. The situation is very similar to that of 2Ti 1.16, where Onesiphorus "refreshed" Paul during his time in prison. Thus the similarity here has to do with use of a relatively rare word (ἀναψύχω) in a relatively similar context ("refreshing" the author of a letter while in prison/custody). The tie seems tentative but plausible, though one wishes for more prison letters from alternate sources to see if similar language is used to describe visits of friends.

The second lexical similarity is that of ἐπαισχύνομαι. This word, however, is not an NT hapax. It occurs 3x in 2Ti 1 and a handful of times elsewhere in the New Testament. It also appears in the Shepherd of Hermas. But again, there is other reason to consider these passages as similar outside of sharing an instance of a word. In 2Ti 1.16, Onesiphorus is "not ashamed" of Paul's "chains". In Ign. Smyrn. 10.2, the Smyrnaeans are commended for not being ashamed of Ignatius' "bonds". So, not only is the verb the same, there is similarity in the object of the verb and in the negation of the verb: not being ashamed of the [letter-writer's] status as prisoner.

Again, it would be helpful to be able to examine other contemporary letters with similar settings; where the letter-writer is in custody or prison, and understand how the letter-writer refers to those who visit him. Are these standard ways of saying these things, or are Paul's sentiments relatively unique and thus Ignatius' similar sentiments an echo of Paul?

My conclusion? Ignatius shows probable influence from 2Ti 1.16 in these two passages, but a larger study of contemporary prison letters (which I'm not planning on doing) may provide light on whether or not these are standard forms or uniquely Pauline.

Next up: Ign. Poly. 6.2 || 2Ti 2.4

Also notable in Ign. Smyrn. 10.2 is similarity with Mk 8.38 (and || Lk 9.26). Compare these passages (here only in English):

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mk 8.38)

May my spirit be a ransom on your behalf, and my bonds as well, which you did not despise, nor were you ashamed of them. Nor will the perfect hope, Jesus Christ, be ashamed of you. (Ign. Smyrn. 10.2) 

Posted by Rick Brannan

You may remember me blogging about what I called "the mystery papyrus" earlier. J.K. Elliott cites it once; it supposedly contains witness to 1Ti 1.3-5 and 15-16.

My curiosity got the best of me. I did some research and have located and ordered a copy of the edition that contains Kurt Treu's article:

Title: ARCHIV FÜR PAPYRUSFORSCHUNG und verwandte Gebiete. Begründet v. U. Wilcken. Band 18.
Description: Hrsg. v. Fr. Zucker. Leipzig, Teubner, 1966. Gr.-8vo. 2 Bl., 122 S., 1 Bl., 6 Tafeln. OKart. (unaufgeschnitten). (OP 0006) Enthält u.a.: E. Wipszycka: Das Textilhandwerk und der Staat im römischen Ägypten.- K. Treu: Neue neutestamentliche Fragmente der Berliner Papyrussammlung.- R. Koerner: Eine griechisch-christliche Grabinschrift aus Nubien.- Ders.: Eine Weihinschrift aus der Zeit Ptolemaios V. sowie ein ausführliches Urkundenrefarat des Herausgebers.

I'm hoping I can fight through the German to get to the good stuff. I'll report when I know more (the book is on its way from Germany). And I'll certainly post a transcription of the papyrus, assuming Treu's article has that information in such form.

Posted by Rick Brannan

[This post is part of a series on The Pastoral Epistles in the Apostolic Fathers. RWB]

Ign. Smyrn. 4.2 || 1Ti 1.12 (cf. 2Ti 2.1; 4.17)

(2) εἰ γὰρ τὸ δοκεῖν ταῦτα ἐπράχθη ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν, κἀγὼ τὸ δοκεῖν δέδεμαι. τί δὲ καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἔκδοτον δέδωκα τῷ θανάτῳ, πρὸς πῦρ, πρὸς μάχαιραν, πρὸς θηρία; ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐγγὺς μαχαίρας, ἐγγὺς θεοῦ· μεταξὺ θηρίων, μεταξὺ θεοῦ· μόνον ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, εἰς τὸ συμπαθεῖν αὐτῷ. πάντα ὑπομένω, αὐτοῦ με ἐνδυναμοῦντος τοῦ τελείου ἀνθρώπου. (Ign. Smyrn. 4.2)
(2) For if these things were done by our Lord in appearance only, then I am in chains in appearance only. Why, moreover, have I surrendered myself to death, to fire, to sword, to beasts? But in any case, “near the sword” means “near to God” “with the beasts” means “with God.” Only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ, that I may suffer together with him! I endure everything because he himself, who is perfect man, empowers me.
 (Ign. Smyrn. 4.2)
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (186, 187). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

12 Χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ὅτι πιστόν με ἡγήσατο θέμενος εἰς διακονίαν (1Ti 1.12, NA27)
12 I am thankful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He considered me faithful, appointing me into His service. (1Ti 1.12, my own translation)

1 Σὺ οὖν, τέκνον μου, ἐνδυναμοῦ ἐν τῇ χάριτι τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, (2Ti 2.1, NA27)
1 And so you, my child, be empowered in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, (2Ti 2.1, my own translation)

17 ὁ δὲ κύριός μοι παρέστη καὶ ἐνεδυνάμωσέν με, ἵνα διʼ ἐμοῦ τὸ κήρυγμα πληροφορηθῇ καὶ ἀκούσωσιν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, καὶ ἐρρύσθην ἐκ στόματος λέοντος. (2Ti 4.17, NA27)
17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the preaching might be fully presented and all the nations might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. (2Ti 4.17, my own translation)

The common idea here is that of Christ as the source of strength/power for the believer. The similarity is lexical with the point of contact being participle forms of the word ἐνδυναμόω. And, as the additional citations of 2Ti 2.1 (an imperative) and 4.17 (again a participle) show, the idea is one that is found in the Pastorals.

However, the idea of being strengthened by Christ is essentially Pauline. The more likely point of contact for Ignatius in this instance is Php 4.13:

13 πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με. (Php 4.13, NA27)
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Php 4.13, ESV)

Compared to:

πάντα ὑπομένω, αὐτοῦ με ἐνδυναμοῦντος τοῦ τελείου ἀνθρώπου. (Ign. Smyrn. 4.2, end)
I endure everything because he himself, who is perfect man, empowers me. (Ign. Smyrn. 4.2, end)

The larger contexts are roughly the same (Ignatius on his way to martyrdom, Paul in prison) and the sentiments are the same (whatever comes, it can be borne because Christ is the source of strength). The same sentiment is present in 1 & 2 Timothy; and Paul is even in prison again in 2 Timothy.

So Pauline influence here doesn't seem to be a stretch, particularly since Paul is the primary source using ἐνδυναμόω. Paul uses the term 6 times: Ro 4.20; Eph 6.10; Php 4.13; 1Ti 1.12; 2Ti 2.1; 4.17. The only other NT instance is from Luke, in Ac 9.22 -- where he uses the term to describe how Paul "increased all the more in strength".

But I don't think influence can be narrowed to First Timothy. The examples in Php 4.13 and also Eph 6.10 ("Be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might", right before the passage on the armor of God) may have more influence. If one passage must be selected as inspiration for Ignatius, then Php 4.13 is likely it as it has the idea of enduring/doing all things (πάντα) because Christ empowers (ἐνδυναμόω).

Next up: Ign. Eph. 2.1; Ign. Smyrn. 10.2 || 2Ti 1.16

Posted by Rick Brannan

[This post is part of a series on The Pastoral Epistles in the Apostolic Fathers. RWB]

Ign. Rom. 9.2 || 1Ti 1.13

(2) ἐγὼ δὲ αἰσχύνομαι ἐξ αὐτῶν λέγεσθαι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄξιός εἰμι, ὢν ἔσχατος αὐτῶν καὶ ἔκτρωμα· ἀλλʼ ἠλέημαί τις εἶναι, ἐὰν θεοῦ ἐπιτύχω.
(2) But I myself am ashamed to be counted among them, for I am not worthy, since I am the very last of them and an abnormality. But I have been granted the mercy to be someone, if I reach God.
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (174, 175). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

13 τὸ πρότερον ὄντα βλάσφημον καὶ διώκτην καὶ ὑβριστήν, ἀλλὰ ἠλεήθην, ὅτι ἀγνοῶν ἐποίησα ἐν ἀπιστίᾳ· (1Ti 1.13, NA27)
13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent, insolent man. But I was shown mercy, because I acted unknowingly in unbelief. (1Ti 1.13, my own translation)

The contact in this instance is slight. A relatively common word (ελεεω, 24x in NT, 16x in AF)* in common syntactic context. The syntactic context is the contrasting use of ἀλλὰ. In both situations, "but I was shown/granted mercy" i used to explain the previous statement.

In Ign. Rom., the previous statement has to do with Ignatius' unworthiness of Christ. In what is perhaps a bit of faux humility, Ignatius pleads that he is not worthy to be counted among the church in Syria because he is an 'abnormality'. This actually has more similarity with another area of Paul's writing (particularly in the use of ἔκτρωμα, an NT hapax that only occurs here in the AF), 1Co 15.8-10 where Paul uses the same word in the same sort of argument. After establishing his unworthiness, Ignatius proceeds to contrast his unworthiness with the statement that, in spite of his unworthiness, he has been given mercy.

This basic idea is very similar to what is happening in First Timothy. Paul establishes his unworthiness to be a servant of Christ by appealing to his former life, where he was a self-described blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent and insolent man. In Paul's eyes these are disqualifications for the service of Christ. But, says Paul, he was provided mercy. The contrasting use of the provision of mercy in spite of professed unworthiness is what echoes back to First Timothy.

Based on the similar contexts and usage (these two instances are the only instances in NT and AF of κατα + ελεεω), it seems as if Ignatius betrays knowledge of this area of First Timothy (and also First Corinthians) in his argumentation. This is not a loose quotation or even really an allusion. It does, however, seem feasible that Ignatius is making loose references to a few different Pauline thoughts in this one statement.

Next up: Ign. Smyrn. 4.2 || 1Ti 1.12

*The NT is approximately 2.5-3x the size of the AF corpus, so we can see that ελεεω is actually more common in the AF corpus if one compares frequency (24/138019 in NT, 16/~55000 in AF). Ignatius uses the word 6x in his letters, but three of those instances are in prologues (Rom, Phld, Smyrn).

Posted by Rick Brannan

[This post is part of a series on The Pastoral Epistles in the Apostolic Fathers. RWB]

Ign. Poly 4.3 || 1Ti 6.2

(3) δούλους καὶ δούλας μὴ ὑπερηφάνει· ἀλλὰ μηδὲ αὐτοὶ φυσιούσθωσαν, ἀλλʼ εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ πλέον δουλευέτωσαν, ἵνα κρείττονος ἐλευθερίας ἀπὸ θεοῦ τύχωσιν. μὴ ἐράτωσαν ἀπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ ἐλευθεροῦσθαι, ἵνα μὴ δοῦλοι εὑρεθῶσιν ἐπιθυμίας. (Ign. Poly. 4.3)
(3) Do not treat slaves, whether male or female, contemptuously, but neither let them become conceited; instead, let them serve all the more faithfully to the glory of God, that they may obtain from God a better freedom. They should not have a strong desire to be set free at the church’s expense, lest they be found to be slaves of lust. (Ign. Poly. 4.3)
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (196, 197). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

2 οἱ δὲ πιστοὺς ἔχοντες δεσπότας μὴ καταφρονείτωσαν, ὅτι ἀδελφοί εἰσιν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον δουλευέτωσαν, ὅτι πιστοί εἰσιν καὶ ἀγαπητοὶ οἱ τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἀντιλαμβανόμενοι. Ταῦτα δίδασκε καὶ παρακάλει. (1Ti 6.2, NA27)
2 But those having believers as masters must not be disrespectful because they are brothers, rather they must serve more, because the ones who benefit from their good work are believers and beloved. Command and teach these things. (1Ti 6.2, my own translation)

In both passages, the attitude of believing slaves toward their masters is dealt with. Slaves must serve their masters respectfully (that is, not conceitedly) to bring glory to God.

Contact in this passage is primarily topical, though some lexical similarity is present:

• Ign. Poly. ἀλλὰ μηδὲ αὐτοὶ φυσιούσθωσαν // neither let them become conceited ==> 1Ti μὴ καταφρονείτωσαν // must not be disrespectful

Here the contact is topical. The warning to the slave is essentially the same; Ignatius urges Polycarp that slaves should not become conceited. That is, slaves are to not consider their equality in Christ to adversely affect their relationship with their masters. They are still in a relationship of submission to their master, to subvert that would be to subvert the station they are in. Paul urges Timothy in much the same way; slaves who are believers (and therefore equal in Christ's eyes with their believing masters) are not to suddenly disrespect their masters because they are brothers in Christ. In both cases the underlying sentiment is similar though the words used to describe the sentiment are different.

• Ign. Poly. ἀλλʼ ... πλέον δουλευέτωσαν // let them serve all the more faithfully ==> 1Ti ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον δουλευέτωσαν // rather they must serve more.

Here the contact is both syntactic and lexical. Both clauses use the conjunction ἀλλὰ to provide a logical contrast with what precedes. Instead of being disrespectful, Ignatius writes, slaves are to serve even more faithfully. Equality in Christ is no reason to serve less and to disrespect one's master; it is instead a powerful argument to serve one's master even better than before. In both Ign. Poly. and 1Ti, the verb is δουλεύω occurring in the present active imperative 3d plural δουλευέτωσαν. Both texts make the same contrast with roughly the same language.

However, one aspect that may argue against Ignatius' alluding to First Timothy is the context of the passage. In Ign. Poly., the text is directed to the masters of the slaves. But First Timothy is directed to the slaves themselves.

One further interesting item in this context, however, is Ignatius' displayed knowledge of the book of Ephesians in his next sentences. In Ign. Poly. 5.1, we find:

Flee from wicked practices; better yet, preach sermons about them. Tell my sisters to love the Lord and to be content with their husbands physically and spiritually. In the same way command my brothers in the name of Jesus Christ to love their wives, as the Lord loves the church.
Holmes, M. W. (1999). The Apostolic Fathers : Greek texts and English translations (Updated ed.) (197). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.

This language mirrors that of Eph 5.25, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church". In some way, Ignatius had knowledge of Ephesians.* This knowledge is displayed in close proximity to our passage which has affinity with First Timothy.

Based on the lexical and syntactic similarity of the contrasting phrase and the somewhat radical idea that slaves should serve their masters more as a result of being brothers in order to properly honor and glorify God, I think it possible that Ignatius displays knowledge of this passage in First Timothy.

Next up: Ign. Rom. 9.2 || 1Ti 1.13

* Understandably knowledge of Ephesians does not prove knowledge of any of the Pastoral Epistles. But there are several possible points of contact between Ignatius' writings and Paul's epistles (9+ pages of links in the Oxford Committee's work). Logic dictates that they can't all be chance, coincidence, or based on some Q-like earlier common source material.

Posted by Rick Brannan