This sample covers 1Ti 5.17-19.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. (1Ti 5.17-19, ESV)

I'm almost hesitant to post this as my thoughts on this section are far from resolved. I'm most confused by the concept of "double honor". Does it involve monetary compenasation?

Also, what really was the structure of the church at this point? How do overseers (ἐπίσκοπος) and elders (πρεσβύτερος) relate to each other? Are all overseers elders, but not all elders overseers?

You'll see that I have many notes to myself in the footnotes, and I discuss sorts of things that I don't typically discuss in these studies. This is just me working through issues on paper, much of it will likely be cut in future revisions that are more "word study" focused.

Please see my overview post for further details on what this is all about.

Comments via email or through the commenting system here are appreciated.

Thanks!

This sample covers 1Ti 5.9-10 and 1Ti 5.11-16:

Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander. For some have already strayed after Satan. If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be burdened, so that it may care for those who are really widows. (1Ti 5.9-16, ESV)

This is actually covered as two parts (vv. 9-10 and vv. 11-16) of a larger section (vv. 3-16).

Please see my overview post for further details on what this is all about.

Comments via email or through the commenting system here are appreciated.

Thanks!

Suzanne McCarthy has blogged a mighty fine series of bloggin' at the Better Bibles Blog on the Greek word ὀρθοτομέω in 2Ti 2.15. Her posts are rounded up at Orthotomeo: reflections.

This is a tough word because it is an NT hapax legomenon. Most folks know this from the KJV translation:

15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2Ti 2.15, KJV).

Here's how the ESV translatates it:

15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2Ti 2.15, ESV)

Suzanne's point is that there is likely something beyond a strictly literal translation going on here. She does a great job examining all sorts of classical Greek literature (using primarily online resources) to examine how ὀρθοτομέω and similar concepts are used. It's worth checking out.

FWIW, here's my translation of 2Ti 2.15:

15 Take pains to present yourself approved of God, an unashamed worker, guiding the word of truth along a straight path.

This sample covers 1Ti 5.3-8:

Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1Ti 5.3-8, ESV)

This is actually covered as two parts (v. 3 and vv. 4-8) of a larger section (vv. 3-16).

Please see my overview post for further details on what this is all about.

Comments via email or through the commenting system here are appreciated.

Thanks!

I've had a version of my Lexical Notes on the Pastoral Epistles up on my personal web site for awhile. These are the result of my working through the text of the Pastoral Epistles, stopping at each noun, verb and adjective; see the above link for further details.

I've recently munged a version of the HTML for the Libronix Personal Book Builder, to build it as a resource that users of Logos Bible Software can use this within the LDLS if they'd like. Those who have the "Personal Book Builder Reader Key" installed (details here) should be able to grab and use the resource. At least I think that's the case; if you have the key and have problems, please send me an email so I can look into it.

Please note that I did this work in 2003-2004 and haven't revisited it (to edit, anyway) since. There are parts of it I'd likely change. These parts largely have to do with my translation and in some areas of the short notes that are included.

NOTE: This Personal Book Builder resource will only work with LDLS 3.0 RC4 or higher.

Download: Lexical Notes in the Pastoral Epistles

Steps

• Download the file LexicalNotes.zip to your hard drive.
• Unzip the file.
• Make sure to save the .lbxoeb file in a path that the LDLS knows about. This is likely \Program Files\Libronix DLS\Resources.
• Start the LDLS and allow it to discover the new resource.
• Access the resource from My Library. Type in "Lexical" and see what happens.

Navigation can be by verse (type a verse in the reference box) or open the TOC pane on the left and navigate that way.

This sample covers 1Ti 5.1-2:

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father. Treat younger men like brothers, older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity. (1Ti 5.1-2, ESV)

Please see my overview post for further details on what this is all about.

Comments via email or through the commenting system here are appreciated.

Thanks!

As some out there know, I've been writing as I've been working my way through the Pastoral Epistles. I've recently finished a first draft of notes on 1Ti 5. When I finish a chapter, I've been in the habit of inviting friends to my house to critique on I've written. We usually meet every other week. The meeting consists of dinner, which I make, of course! After achieving satiety, we stay sittin' 'round the table and dig into the text for the evening. It is a very fun time.

This time through, I thought it might be nice to allow others to offer feedback on what I've written. So I'd like to make each session's text available as a PDF file on this web site for y'all to download and review. If you'd like to offer feedback, then please do so! You can email, you can write a word doc or something else and send it to me (I prefer PDF; word docs may contain nasty viruses), or even just leave some comments on this site.

I should say a bit about what I'm writing. It isn't commentary, per se. I've settled into a long-term examination of the Pastorals, and I'm convinced it will take multiple passes through the text at several levels. This is my third pass; at current rate I anticipate it will take a few more years to finish.

My first pass was to do a translation. It took two months, as I recall. I'm not altogether happy with it, and plan on updating it at some future point; it is online.

My second pass was just to work through definitions of all verbs, nouns and adjectives in the Pastorals (this is online as well), that took about 10 months, as I recall.

My third and present pass is at the level of word studies. I realize some think that there is much danger in word studies, but when done responsibly they are a necessary part of exegeting a text. I'm interested in the meaning of words in context, not of words as unattached things or abstract concepts devoid of context. My method has been to examine similar usage in like contexts in the NT, the LXX, and other literature (Apostolic Fathers, Josephus, Philo, Pseudeipgrapha, etc.); commenting on the other similar usages for insight to the specific instance in the Pastorals. This pass feels at times like a commentary, but is really intended to examine words and phrases in current, specific context as a necessary precursor to the next pass-thru. The next pass (in a few years) will likely involve more commentary-like examination though it will be at a sentence/paragraph/discourse level.

So I hope to, every other week for the next 10 weeks (so, five posts), be posting a PDF sample of my examination of a chunk of chapter 5. This first chunk will be over 1Ti 5.1-2. The first chunk will be posted shortly. Please note these chunks reflect a rough draft, complete with occasional notes to myself in the footnotes, so go easy on me.

Again, I'm doing this primarily for a wider range of feedback. So if you read it and have thoughts (positive or negative, I can take it) please do email and let me know what you think.

In 1Ti 3.14-15, we have:

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.

The Greek in the NA/UBS text of this phrase is στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας; the key words being στῦλος (pillar) and ἑδραίωμα (buttress).

Eusebius uses this same phrase in Hist. Eccl. Book V, 1.17:

But the whole wrath of the populace, and governor, and soldiers was aroused exceedingly against Sanctus, the deacon from Vienne, and Maturus, a late convert, yet a noble combatant, and against Attalus, a native of Pergamos where he had always been a pillar and foundation, and Blandina, through whom Christ showed that things which appear mean and obscure and despicable to men are with God of great glory, through love toward him manifested in power, and not boasting in appearance.

The underlying Greek of Eusebius is στῦλον καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῶν ἐταῦθα ἀεὶ γεγονότα, again using στῦλος and ἑδραίωμα. I retrieved this citation from The Genuineness and Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles by J.D. James, published in 1907 (on p. 6). The Eusebius citation is from the Letter of the Churches of Vienne and Lyons which, according to James, dates to 180.

James offers several other citations/allusions/common phrases between the Pastoral Epistles and other somewhat contemporary literature; I may detail some of them here as I work through them. Some are interesting (like this one), others are not too exciting.

In the past I mentioned a book called The Christian Ecclesia by Fenton John Anthony Hort. It deals with the idea of church as described by use of the word ἐκκλησία.

I've recently become aware that Hort's book is available online from the ever-helpful CCEL.

If you're studying the Pastoral Epistles, particularly chapter 3 (see 1Ti 3.5 and 1Ti 3.15) then you need to consult The Christian Ecclesia.

While you're there, make sure to take a peek at the other stuff from Hort that the CCEL have digitised and placed online.

Suzanne McCarthy has a post on the topic of 1Ti 2.13-15 over at the Better Bibles Blog. Check it out. It's a tough verse and I don't know that we'll ever know exactly what was intended.

This short article by T.C. Skeat examines 2Ti 4.13:

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. (2Ti 4.13, ESV)

Skeat offers the suggestion that perhaps μάλιστα, here translated above all, should be instead translated as namely. He writes:

My own suggestion is that μάλιστα in this passage, instead of differentiating the βιβλία from the μεμβράναι, in fact equates them, at least to the extent of defining or particularizing the general term βιβλία, and that an idiomatic English translation would be 'the books — I mean the parchment notebooks'. (Skeat, 174).

Skeat's suggestion has other implications, notably in 1Ti 4.10, which in the ESV reads:

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1Ti 4.10, ESV)

Skeat discusses this instance of μάλιστα as well:

On my hypothesis this should be rendered 'God, who gives salvation to all men — that is to say, to all who believe in Him'. This in fact gives better sense, since although God is the potential Saviour of all, He can only be the Saviour of those who accept him. (Skeat, 174-175).

As much as my Calvinist leanings like this because it makes this text much easier to deal with, there are problems with Skeat's approach. Vern Poythress provides a critical review of Skeat's postulation in a later edition of JTS.

Both articles are worth reading, particularly when dealing with 1Ti 4.10.

2 Timothy 4.13 reads:

When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. (2Ti 4.13, RSV)

The phrase and above all is from the Greek word μάλιστα, typically translated as especially. The word μάλιστα is used elsewhere in the Pastoral Epistles, perhaps most prominently in 1Ti 4.10:

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. (1Ti 4.10, RSV)

In 1979, T.C. Skeat published an article in the Journal of Theological Studies that proposed a new sense of μάλιστα; that of that is or namely. This has potential soteriological consequences in the translation of 1Ti 4.10. Skeat's suggestion has made its way into commentaries and articles having to do with these verses.

In 2002, Vern Poythress published a response to Skeat's article, in JTS, titled The Meaning of μάλιστα in 2Ti 4.13 and Related Verses.

I was looking into 1Ti 4.14 this morning, and ran across Poly 6.1, both of which use the word ἀμελέω for neglect.

I blogged a bit about it over on my personal blog but wanted to at least record a link here since it is about the Pastoral Epistles.

None of the essays in New Testament Greek and Exegesis directly concern the Pastoral Epistles, but at least one of the essays may be helpful in a specific area. One image used twice in the Pastoral Epistles is that of the "snare of the devil" (παγίδα τοῦ διαβόλου .

The essay in question is Finding the Devil in the Details: Onomastic Exegesis and the Naming of Evil in the World of the New Testament by Douglas L. Penney. In discussing how adjectives describing things at times end up becoming names (particularly in the realm of angels and demons), Penney discusses Ps 91.3-6, which mentions "the snare of the fowler". Penny refers to Akkadian magical texts that discuss "net-demons":

The phrase "snare of the fowler," although admittedly cumberson in the Hebrew poetry, nevertheless reflects a well-attested Mesopotamian belief in net demons. (p. 48)

After about a page of this discussion, Penny continues:

The words, phrases, and images employed in the magical literature are very long-lived. In spite of the dearth of Semitic magical texts from the Roman period and especially from Second Temple Palestine, many words, phrases, and motifs appear in Aramaic magical texts from the Islamic period almost unchanged from their antecedents in the Akkadian texts. This longevity points to a continuous surviving tradition of magical texts in spite of the paucity of archaeological finds. The concept of nets and net demons also follows this pattern. Later Aramaic and Greek magical texts continue this tradition, speaking of nets as demonic weapons. The same concept lies behind the NT metaphor "snare of the devil." [cf. 1Ti 3.7; 2Ti 2.26] The invisible demonic nets may cause physical or intellectual stumbling. Even in relatively recent times the net as a metaphor for the devil's tool or agent continues. (pp. 49-50)

I was reading Parsons/Culy on Ac 7.27 this morning and came across the word ἀπώσατο. I knew I'd looked into this word before, but couldn't remember where until I saw the cross-reference to 1Ti 1.19. The whole context is below:

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1Ti 1.18-20, ESV, emphasis mine)

I'd looked into the use of ἀπωθέω when I was working on this verse. At that time, I'd noted that ἀπωθέω is used in a similar sense in Ro 11.1-2:

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? (Ro 11.1-2, ESV, emphasis mine.)

And I even went to Ac 7.39 and noted similarities:

Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, (Ac 7.39, ESV, emphasis mine).

The "him" in the above verse is Moses. I don't know why I didn't notice this before, but Ac 7.27 uses ἀπωθέω with Moses as the object of the "pushing aside" too:

But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? (Ac 7.27, ESV, emphasis mine)

Here one of the two Israelites who were fighting "thrust aside" Moses. In reading Parsons/Culy this morning, they note that this instance is typically assumed to be a physical "pushing aside". BDAG lists this usage as a literal, physical meaning. But Parsons/Culy are not convinced and think that this usage may be metaphorical as well.

I'd not noticed that the same sort of language (the "thrusting aside" of Moses) was used by the same speaker (Stephen) in the same context (his speech prior to his martyrdom).

The word ἀπωθέω also occurs in the Epistle to Diognetus (EpDiog 9.2:

And when our iniquity had been fully accomplished, and it had been made perfectly manifest that punishment and death were expected as its recompense, and the season came which God had ordained, when henceforth He should manifest His goodness and power (O the exceeding great kindness and love of God), He hated us not, neither rejected us, nor bore us malice, but was long-suffering and patient, and in pity for us took upon Himself our sins, and Himself parted with His own Son as a ransom for us, the holy for the lawless, the guileless for the evil, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. (EpDiog 9.2, Lightfoot, emphasis mine)

Now, the questions:

• Does the usage of ἀπωθέω in Acts (occuring 6x in the NT, including Ac 13.46 which I've not quoted here) have any influence on how we understand the use of ἀπωθέω in 1Ti 1.19?

• If the Acts instances have no bearing (or little bearing) on our understanding of the usage of ἀπωθέω in First Timothy, then why are the instances in Acts translated (at least in the ESV) in the way they are? ("thrust aside" in Acts vs. "rejected" everywhere else).

• Is the difference in English translation due to the context of a direct speech, where Stephen is trying to prove a point and thus ἀπωθέω is translated with more strength/emphasis? If so, then why is Ac 13.46 translated the same way, yet it is outside of Stephen's speech? Is it again due to the mysterious catch-all "emphasis"? If so ... why doesn't the context of casting Alexander and Hymenaeus over to Satan provide enough contextual "emphasis" to translate ἀπωθέω as "thrust aside" in 1Ti 1.19?

I know I don't have comments enabled. If you send me email (see sidebar for address) or post comments on your own blog with responses/thoughts, I'll post a follow-up to this post with links to blogs or reproductions of email comments (provided you grant permission).

Over on B-Greek, a question was asked about the phrase translated "seen of angels" (ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις) in 1Ti 3.16.

Stephen Lo Vullo's response (which expanded on Carl Conrad's initial response) was most instructive. The primary point of Mr. Lo Vullo's response is:

Jesus, of course, had been seen on many, many occasions by Cephas, his apostles, and others. But it is the special post-resurrection appearances that are here in view. I think it is the post-resurrection Christ who is also in view in 1Ti 3.16, and that BDAG is correct in saying that the appearance in 1Ti 3.16 is of "the triumphant Christ ... to the angelic powers." Of course the angels had seen Christ since their creation, but he certainly hadn't appeared to them in his resurrection glory until after his actual resurrection. The point in 1Ti 3.16, I think, is that angels, such important and glorious beings (see 1Ti 5.21), were witnesses of the resurrection. This fact lends authority to the gospel, just as the mention of angels in 1Ti 5.21 lends authority to Paul's charge.

When I was recently examining this verse for my own project on the Pastorals, I came to much the same conclusion though I didn't examine all of the evidence that Mr. Lo Vullo does in his B-Greek post. The primary NT cross-reference I dealt with was Lu 24.33-34. Mr. Lo Vullo points us to examine 1Co 15, primarily 1Co 15.5-8. I'll have to re-examine that in light of his comments.

I'm working through 1Ti 3.15. The word in question is ἑδραίωμα. This is a hapax legomenon; BDAG doesn't have much beyond the basics. That is, it doesn't tell me anything beyond what is obvious.

But at the end of the BDAG article is the ever-frequent "M-M. TW." which refers the reader, of course, to Moulton & Milligan as well as TDNT. Since I use BDAG (and TDNT) electronically in Logos Bible Software, I head to TDNT first (simple keylink directed to TDNT from the BDAG article headword — neat little trick, saves some time). This article (the last few lines) is somewhat helpful.

So I move on to Moulton & Milligan. This is in print, so I start flipping pages. I end up on pp. 180-181. Here there is a reference to Hort, Christian Ecclesia, p. 174 with very brief mention of the Latin term firmamentum.

I happen to own Christian Ecclesia, so I grab it and go to page 174. Here's the paragraph speaking about the phrase " ... which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth":

There are few passages of the New Testament in which the reckless disregard of the presence or absence of the article has made wilder havoc of the sense than this. To speak of either an Ecclesia or the Ecclesia, as being the pillar of the truth, is to represent the truth as a building, standing in the air supported on a single column. Again there is no clear evidence that the rare word ἑδραίωμα ever means 'ground' = "foundation." It is rather, in accordance with the almost universal Latin rendering firmamentum, a "stay" or "bulwark".

The point: If I would've been content to sit with BDAG's entry (or even BDAG and TDNT), it would've been awhile before I got to the reference in Hort's book (if ever). But checking references, even if only the ones available at hand, provided further information that helps in understanding what's going on. And that is the goal, isn't it? So why aren't we more diligent about looking up references when we're researching things?

OK, perhaps I should say "me" or "I" instead of "we" there, but you get the picture.

I've been interested in the distribution of semantic domains (among content-bearing words) in the Pastoral Epistles for awhile. When I was making my so-called "lexical notes", I assigned a Louw-Nida domain/article number to each instance of each verb, noun, and adjective.

I finally got around to writing code to count the instances of each domain per section. The section is the section as defined by the NA27 printed text. Here's an example from First Timothy §1 (1Ti 1.1-2):

• Domain 93, Names of Persons and Places: 8 occurrences
• Domain 12, Supernatural Beings and Powers: 4 occurrences
• Domain 25, Attitudes and Emotions: 2 occurrences

I provide numbers for everything with two or more occurrences in a given section. Please note that I have not double-checked my Louw-Nida domain assignment and I know there are a few mistakes in there. But the general trends should properly relate what's going on in each section.

I'm playing around with semantic domains in the Pastoral Epistles, using data I compiled last year. As I was working through the text at the word level, I classified every noun, verb and adjective with a Louw-Nida Domain/article number. Right now, I'm simply using the domain information. I may experiment with subdomains at a later date.

These numbers are raw and my domain/article assignment has not been verified. I know there are some errors in there, but they should be minimal. These are only total occurrences for all three books. I plan to later break it down by pericope to get an idea of what domains are concentrated in particular pericopies. Still, the data is interesting.

• Domain 33 (Communication) occurs 224 times
• Domain 88 (Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior) occurs 152 times
• Domain 93 (Names of Persons and Places) occurs 125 times
• Domain 25 (Attitudes and Emotions) occurs 100 times
• Domain 31 (Hold a View, Believe, Trust) occurs 95 times
• Domain 13 (Be, Become, Exist, Happen) occurs 94 times
• Domain 12 (Supernatural Beings and Powers) occurs 88 times
• Domain 59 (Quantity) occurs 72 times

I expected domain 33 to be at the top of the list. Domains 25, 31 and particularly domain 59 were surpises to me. 31 makes sense, but I didn't know it would end up that popular, comparatively.

(Note: Thanks to Matthew Brook O'Donnell for his suggestions and prodding to dig around in this area)

John Lee's A History of New Testament Lexicography surveys the development of New Testament lexicography. Lee's survey includes case studies on several words.

One of the words is οἰκονομία, which occurs in 1Ti 1.3-4. Lee discusses this on pp. 305-310 of his book.

Lee calls into question Bauer's sense of training in his definition of οἰκονομία, working through some citations to show that Bauer's examples may not merit this conclusion.

Folks —

I've put together a sample draft of my comments on 1Ti 3.1-7. The PDF file is approx. 325kb. It includes a partial Table of Contents and also an in-process introduction that still needs a lot of work. There are approx. 30 pages of comments and 15 pages of introduction.

The PDF file is here.

The title of the whole ball o' wax is still in flux; for now it is Lexical Studies in the Pastoral Epistles. That could very easily change.

I'm posting this because I really want to know what folks think. Please feel free to send feedback via email to pe | pastoralepistles | com, or comment on the thread I've reserved for comments over at my personal blog.

Thanks in advance.

Between August 2003 and May 2004 I worked my way through all of the nouns, adjectives and verbs in the Pastoral Epistles.

I wrote a little program to help me keep track of my notes on each word, and reference words back to their first occurrence (in the Pastorals) as that is where the primary notes for the word are located. My examination of each word consisted of summarizing the BDAG entry very briefly (typically looking at the extended definitions and glosses). I also examined LSJ and added notes where I thought relevant. A third field included my own thoughts on the instance in question. Finally, I also ascribed a Louw-Nida domain and article number to the instance of the word.

This data should be used with caution, I have not proofread it at all. There are things in there that I know are wrong. There are other areas where I have since changed my mind and would write differently. I do not plan on updating this data any time soon, but I am using it (and modifying, and rewriting, and expanding it) as I work through the text again in the process of writing more coherently on the topic. Samples from this work will be posted for evaluation on this website at a later date.

I offer the Vocabulary Notes here in case they are useful for some. Here is a sample from 1Ti 4.7, word #8: γύμναζε:

• 4.7 Word #8: γύμναζε (LN 88.88)
• BDAG: BDAG glosses as ‘to train’, ‘undergo discipline’.
• LSJ: LSJ, of course, begins with the classical sense of the word: ‘train naked’, ‘train in gymnastic exercise’. Originally γυμνάζω had to do with training the body. As time progressed, γυμνάζω began to be used of ‘training’ or ‘practice’ in general.

• Comment: The proper translation here is train. Note that while γυμνάζω applied to both physical and mental training at this point, the original connotation of "gymnastic" training would not be lost. Indeed, that is the very reason why the word is so appropriate — it conjures up images of hard physical training so that one knows he must enter into similarly rigorous training of the mind and body for godliness.

This book is a compilation of a series of lectures prepared by F.J.A. Hort. It was published posthumously. The book is about the notion of the Christian church as described in the New Testament.

As 1Ti 3.5 and 1Ti 3.15 use the word ἐκκλησία, this is important material to cover. Indeed, a few commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles reference this work by Hort in the discussion of "church" (Mounce's WBC volume, Fee's NIBC volume and probably others).

The Pastoral Epistles themselves are specifically discussed in chapter 11, from pp. 171-188. Other sections of the book deal with portions of the Pastoral Epistles as well.

Below is Hort's opening paragraph from the first lecture:

The subject on which I propose to lecture this term is The early conceptions and early history of the Christian Ecclesia. The reason why I have chosen the term Ecclesia is simply to avoid ambiguity. The English term church, now the most familiar representative of ecclesia to mostof us, carries with it associations derived from the institutions and doctrines of later times, and thus cannot at present without a constant mental effort be made to convey the full and exact force which originally belonged to ecclesia. There would moreover be a second ambiguity in the phrase the early history of the Christian Church arising out of the vague comprehensiveness with which the phrase 'History of the Church' is conventionally employed.

This is a set of data that I created while working through the text of the Pastoral Epistles that I'm still not sure how to best implement.

This concordance is not exhaustive and only treats adjectives, nouns, and verbs as classed by James Swanson's Swanson's New Testament Greek Morphology, UBS4 Edition, copyright 2003 by James A. Swanson. All other parts of speech are not included in this concordance.

While working through each noun, verb, and adjective in the text I categorized them according to semantic domain. This concordance, then, lists the words in their Louw-Nida order with Bible references so one can see where different domains occur. The links are all enabled for the Libronix Digital Library System (the LDLS).

Köstenberger and his fellow-contributors have put together a solid resource on a tough passage. This is a series of essays examining this difficult-to-interpret passage (1Ti 2.9-15) from a number of different angles.

One essay is on Ephesus and its background, and the degree to which worship of the goddess Diana may have allowed women to play a larger role in the Ephesian society.

H. Scott Baldwin has an excellent essay on the known usages of the word αὐθεντέω from 1Ti 2.12. He discusses everything he can get his hands on and ends up with a solid lexical study of this word and what it can and cannot mean in certain contexts.

Köstenberger follows Baldwin's essay, discussing syntactical issues of 1Ti 2.12 and comparing the syntax with similar spots in the New Testament and other classical literature in an effort to determine the proper way to handle the text.

There is also a survey of other modern literature that interprets these verses and works through them in light of the essays of Baldwin, Köstenberger and others.

There are other essays too — these are simply the ones I remember (I borrowed the book from a friend). If you are looking at this question in 1Ti 2.9-15, then Köstenberger's book is worth looking into.