Epistle to Titus
Encyclopedia
The Epistle of Paul to Titus, usually referred to simply as Titus, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles
(with 1 Timothy
and 2 Timothy
), traditionally attributed to Saint Paul
, and is part of the New Testament
. It is addressed to Titus and describes the requirements and duties of elders and bishop
s.
to have be written by the same author (i.e. Paul). Titus has a very close affinity with 1 Timothy
, sharing similar phrases and expressions and similar subject matter. While these epistles are traditionally attributed to Paul of Tarsus
, there are a few scholars who consider them pseudepigraphical. Generally, and historically, however, it is accepted by Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Christians as the work of Paul. Upon recently completing a journey to Crete and the establishment of new churches there, he wrote to instruct the church leaders (i.e., Titus). In order to see that these churches were properly established (as was Paul's typical pattern, see Acts 14:21–23), Paul left Titus in Crete. The existence of false teachers (Titus 1:10–16) amid the fledgling churches heightens the intensity of the situation.
, with which it has many affinities."
Scholars who believe Paul wrote Titus such as Donald Guthrie
date its composition from the circumstance that it was written after Paul's visit to Crete
(Titus 1:5). That visit could not be the one referred to in the Book of Acts 27:7, when Paul was on his voyage to Rome as a prisoner, and where he continued a prisoner for two years. Thus traditional exegesis
supposes that after his release Paul sailed from Rome into Asia, passing Crete by the way, and that there he left Titus
"to set in order the things that were wanting." Thence he would have gone to Ephesus
, where he left Timothy, and from Ephesus to Macedonia
, where he wrote the First Epistle to Timothy, and thence, according to the superscription of this epistle, to Nicopolis
in Epirus
, from which place he wrote to Titus, about 66 or 67.
However, works written under a false name would have been very problematic since the early church clearly excluded from the apostolic canon any works they thought to be pseudonymous. While critics point to the common practice of pseudonymous writing in the ancient world, they usually fail to point out that this practice, though common in the culture, was not common in personal letters, and was categorically rejected by the early church (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2; 3:17; also Muratorian Canon 64–67; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.12.3). Tertullian (c. a.d. 160–225) wrote that when it was discovered that a church elder had composed a pseudonymous work, The Acts of Paul (which included a purported Pauline letter, 3 Corinthians), the offending elder “was removed from his office” (On Baptism 17). Accepting as Scripture letters that lie about their origin is also a significant ethical problem. Thus, there is a good basis for affirming the straightforward and traditional claim that the Epistle to Titus was authentically written by Paul.
are regarded by a few scholars as being pseudepigraphical
. On the basis of the language and content of the pastoral epistles, these scholars today doubt that they were written by Paul, and believe that they were written after his death. This, however, is not a reflection of the early Church. Critics, examining the text, claim its vocabulary and literary style, in those of which are overwhelmingly deemed as his authentic letters, fail to fit the life situation of Paul in the epistles into Paul's reconstructed biography, and identify principles of the emerged Christian church rather than those of the apostolic generation.
Those scholars, who consider the Epistle to Titus to be pseudepigraphical, date the epistle from the 80s up to the end of the 2nd century. Generally, like 2 Timothy, the Epistle to Titus is seen as Paul's final instructions to early church leaders.
. According to the World English Bible
translation, Titus 1:12-13 reads (in part) "One of them, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.' This testimony is true." The statement by a member of a group that all members are liars is now a famous logic problem. He leaves the character judgment of the people on Crete up to their own prophet.
“1. From Saul, slave of God and emissary of Jesus the anointed, for the sake of the faith of God's chosen, and their knowledge of the truth which is in accordance with the fear of Heaven”
“7. Does not, in accordance with his stewardship of the house God, the administrator need to be a man who has no flaw in him, who is not perverse, not bad tempered, not given to wine, not a
brawler, not a pursuer of ill-gotten gain?
8. Rather” [he should be] “hospitable, a lover of the good, settled in his opinion, wise, holy, self controlled,”
“9. and a grasper of the faithful word according to our doctrine, for the encouragement of sound
moral instruction, and also to rebuke the opposition.
10. For there are many, particularly from the circumcised, who urge vain and misleading words
upon listeners,
11. and who ought to shut their mouths. They destroy whole families teaching their flawed
words, and this for base profit.
12. One of their own prophets said:
'Cretans are always liars; they are evil beasts and slothful gluttons.'”
“15. All is pure to the pure, but to the defiled, and to those who do not believe, nothing is pure because both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”
“16. They declare that they know God, but in their deeds deny him, they are loathsome and unruly, and do not succeed in anything.”
Chapter Two
“1. And speak the word that is fitting to our sound doctrine,
2. that the elders (aged men) be sober, serious, restrained, and sound in faith, in love, and in patience.”
"3. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the younger women..."
"4...teach the younger women to be sober, to love their husbnds, to love their children,"
"5. to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their husbands..."
"6. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded"
“9. It is for slaves to submit to their masters in everything; to satisfy their wants and not to be refractory.
10. Do not pilfer; rather show full faithfulness, so that everything will increase the glory of the law of the God our savior.”
“11. Thus the mercy of God will appear to the salvation of all men,
12. to guide us in departing from the evil and passions of the world, so that we can live in this world in chastity and in righteousness and in piety,
13. in expectation of the realization of the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our savior Jesus the anointed …”
It should also be noted that the Greek text for "our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ" follows the Granville Sharp Rule (also known as the GSR which has never been debunked. The construction in Greek is as follows:
“When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case, if the article ho, or any of its cases, precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle ...”
There has been many attempts over the last 200 years to dislodge the GSR, yet the GSR stands vindicated after all the dust settles.
Chapter Three
“1-2. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”
“3. Once we too were lacking in knowledge, rebellious, wrong, slaves to all kinds of passions
and cravings, wasting our time in malice and envy, hateful,” [Στςγητοι, stugetoi] “and each hating his brother.”
“8. The word is trustworthy, and I want you stand upon its authority so that the believers in God turn their heart to engage in good works.”
“9… refrain from investigations of foolish questions, from research into the histories of the
genealogies, and from quarreling and disputes about the Law; there is no value in them; they are
pointless.”
“12. When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.”
Exegetical papers on Titus:
Pastoral epistles
The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy the Second Epistle to Timothy , and the Epistle to Titus. They are presented as letters from Paul of Tarsus...
(with 1 Timothy
First Epistle to Timothy
The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles, the others being Second Timothy and Titus...
and 2 Timothy
Second Epistle to Timothy
The Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as Second Timothy and often written 2 Timothy, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament...
), traditionally attributed to Saint Paul
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, and is part of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. It is addressed to Titus and describes the requirements and duties of elders and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s.
Recipient
Not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, Titus was noted in Galatians (cf. Gal. 2:1, 3) where Paul writes of journeying to Jerusalem with Barnabas, accompanied by Titus. He was then dispatched to Corinth, Greece, where he successfully reconciled the Christian community there with Paul, its founder. Titus was later left on the island of Crete to help organize the Church, although he soon went to Dalmatia, Croatia. According to Eusebius of Caesarea in the Ecclesiastical History, he served as the first bishop of Crete. He was buried in Cortyna (Gortyna), Crete; his head was later translated to Venice during the invasion of Crete by the Saracens in 832 and was enshrined in St. Mark’s, Venice, Italy.Composition
Scholars are not unanimous about the authenticity of the pastoral epistles. It is predominantly considered to be one of the Pastoral epistlesPastoral epistles
The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy the Second Epistle to Timothy , and the Epistle to Titus. They are presented as letters from Paul of Tarsus...
to have be written by the same author (i.e. Paul). Titus has a very close affinity with 1 Timothy
First Epistle to Timothy
The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles, the others being Second Timothy and Titus...
, sharing similar phrases and expressions and similar subject matter. While these epistles are traditionally attributed to Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
, there are a few scholars who consider them pseudepigraphical. Generally, and historically, however, it is accepted by Catholic, Orthodox, and Evangelical Christians as the work of Paul. Upon recently completing a journey to Crete and the establishment of new churches there, he wrote to instruct the church leaders (i.e., Titus). In order to see that these churches were properly established (as was Paul's typical pattern, see Acts 14:21–23), Paul left Titus in Crete. The existence of false teachers (Titus 1:10–16) amid the fledgling churches heightens the intensity of the situation.
Pauline Authenticity
The author of Titus identifies himself as "Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ." According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, "Paul's Authorship was undisputed in antiquity, and was probably written about the same time as the First Epistle to TimothyFirst Epistle to Timothy
The First Epistle of Paul to Timothy, usually referred to simply as First Timothy and often written 1 Timothy, is one of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often grouped together as the Pastoral Epistles, the others being Second Timothy and Titus...
, with which it has many affinities."
Scholars who believe Paul wrote Titus such as Donald Guthrie
Donald Guthrie
Donald Guthrie was a British New Testament scholar. Guthrie was a graduate of the University of London . From 1949 until his retirement in 1982 Guthrie was lecturer in New Testament studies at London Bible College , and from 1978 until 1982 he served as vice-principal of the college.Guthrie wrote...
date its composition from the circumstance that it was written after Paul's visit to Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
(Titus 1:5). That visit could not be the one referred to in the Book of Acts 27:7, when Paul was on his voyage to Rome as a prisoner, and where he continued a prisoner for two years. Thus traditional exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
supposes that after his release Paul sailed from Rome into Asia, passing Crete by the way, and that there he left Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
"to set in order the things that were wanting." Thence he would have gone to Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
, where he left Timothy, and from Ephesus to Macedonia
Macedonia (Roman province)
The Roman province of Macedonia was officially established in 146 BC, after the Roman general Quintus Caecilius Metellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon, the last Ancient King of Macedon in 148 BC, and after the four client republics established by Rome in the region were dissolved...
, where he wrote the First Epistle to Timothy, and thence, according to the superscription of this epistle, to Nicopolis
Nicopolis
Nicopolis — or Actia Nicopolis — was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. It was later the capital of Epirus Vetus...
in Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, from which place he wrote to Titus, about 66 or 67.
However, works written under a false name would have been very problematic since the early church clearly excluded from the apostolic canon any works they thought to be pseudonymous. While critics point to the common practice of pseudonymous writing in the ancient world, they usually fail to point out that this practice, though common in the culture, was not common in personal letters, and was categorically rejected by the early church (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2; 3:17; also Muratorian Canon 64–67; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 6.12.3). Tertullian (c. a.d. 160–225) wrote that when it was discovered that a church elder had composed a pseudonymous work, The Acts of Paul (which included a purported Pauline letter, 3 Corinthians), the offending elder “was removed from his office” (On Baptism 17). Accepting as Scripture letters that lie about their origin is also a significant ethical problem. Thus, there is a good basis for affirming the straightforward and traditional claim that the Epistle to Titus was authentically written by Paul.
Opposed to Pauline Authenticity
The Pastoral epistlesPastoral epistles
The three pastoral epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy the Second Epistle to Timothy , and the Epistle to Titus. They are presented as letters from Paul of Tarsus...
are regarded by a few scholars as being pseudepigraphical
Pseudepigraphy
Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past." The word "pseudepigrapha" is the plural of "pseudepigraphon" ; the Anglicized forms...
. On the basis of the language and content of the pastoral epistles, these scholars today doubt that they were written by Paul, and believe that they were written after his death. This, however, is not a reflection of the early Church. Critics, examining the text, claim its vocabulary and literary style, in those of which are overwhelmingly deemed as his authentic letters, fail to fit the life situation of Paul in the epistles into Paul's reconstructed biography, and identify principles of the emerged Christian church rather than those of the apostolic generation.
Those scholars, who consider the Epistle to Titus to be pseudepigraphical, date the epistle from the 80s up to the end of the 2nd century. Generally, like 2 Timothy, the Epistle to Titus is seen as Paul's final instructions to early church leaders.
Epimenides
One of the secular peculiarities of the Epistle to Titus is the inclusion of text which has become known as the Epimenides paradoxEpimenides paradox
The Epimenides paradox is a problem in logic. It is named after the Cretan philosopher Epimenides of Knossos , There is no single statement of the problem; a typical variation is given in the book Gödel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas Hofstadter:...
. According to the World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translation, Titus 1:12-13 reads (in part) "One of them, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, and idle gluttons.' This testimony is true." The statement by a member of a group that all members are liars is now a famous logic problem. He leaves the character judgment of the people on Crete up to their own prophet.
Summary Exegesis and Commentary
Chapter One“1. From Saul, slave of God and emissary of Jesus the anointed, for the sake of the faith of God's chosen, and their knowledge of the truth which is in accordance with the fear of Heaven”
- “The exact meaning of the prepositional phrases is perplexing... the obscurity is due to… the fact that vss. 1-3 are composed of a series of phrases in liturgical form - compact, condensed, intent – symbols whose first intent is to work on emotion rather than describe or clarify an idea.” TIB 1955 XI p. 523
- “Knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness is circumlocution for 'Christianity.'” TIB 1955 XI p. 524
“7. Does not, in accordance with his stewardship of the house God, the administrator need to be a man who has no flaw in him, who is not perverse, not bad tempered, not given to wine, not a
brawler, not a pursuer of ill-gotten gain?
8. Rather” [he should be] “hospitable, a lover of the good, settled in his opinion, wise, holy, self controlled,”
- “moderate, just, devoted, self-controlled: A version of the four cardinal virtues of Greco-Roman antiquity. The candidate must be a fully virtuous man.” TNJBC 1990 p. 894
- “A lover of hospitality] υιλοξενον” [filoxenon] “; a lover of strangers… Instead of υιλοξενον, one MS. has υιλοπτεσον”[filoptekhon] “, a lover of the poor.” A.C. 1831 VI p. 617
- “The two virtues master of himself (σωυπων” [sofron] “)and self-controlled (εγκπατηρ” [egkrates]"), more Greek than Jewish, are closely related to each other in Stoic thought. Self control has small place in biblical religion because the Christian life is determined by God's command, and self-control loses its high position, asceticism being cut off as a method of meriting salvation (Gerhard Kittel … 1935)…” TIB 1955 XI p. 528
“9. and a grasper of the faithful word according to our doctrine, for the encouragement of sound
moral instruction, and also to rebuke the opposition.
10. For there are many, particularly from the circumcised, who urge vain and misleading words
upon listeners,
11. and who ought to shut their mouths. They destroy whole families teaching their flawed
words, and this for base profit.
12. One of their own prophets said:
'Cretans are always liars; they are evil beasts and slothful gluttons.'”
- “This … singularly indiscreet quotation … over reaches itself to defame all Cretans … although unnamed, the prophet is probably Epimenides of Cnossos, a half-mythical sixth century Greek, variously described as poet, prophet (Aristotle Rhetoric III. 17. 10) … religious reformer to whom the Cretans offered sacrifices (Diogenes Laertius Lives of Eminent Philosophers I. 11), one of the seven sages (Plutarch Solon XII), and the reputed author of a body of literature extant in the first century…
- “Epimenides, it appears, called the Cretans liars because they claimed to have the tomb of Zeus among them, whereas his devotees said he was not dead but alive and risen. ...
- “In a real letter addressed to Cretans the quotation would be singularly untactful. And in any case, the elders Titus would appoint would have to be Cretan elders… Unless the Cretan destination of the letter is entirely fanciful and unreal, and was conceived by the writer in order to blacken the names of his opponents by smearing them with the reputed Cretan depravity, we should have to suppose either that Titus was strictly a private letter to a non-Cretan named Titus, or that the writer was strangely insensitive to the insult he was inflicting on the Cretan brethren by the use of so devastating a quotation.” TIB 1955 XI pp. 530 – 531
“15. All is pure to the pure, but to the defiled, and to those who do not believe, nothing is pure because both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”
- “To the pure all things are pure has the ring of a proverb. Even if its identical form is not found elsewhere in the N.T. (nor indeed outside; but see Philo On the Special Laws III. 208-9; Seneca Epistle XCVIII. 3), yet the idea is proverbially used as a warrant for engaging in practices traditionally regarded as taboo. Jesus was believed to have given expression to the idea in Mark 7:14-15 (cited by Paul in Rom. 14;14) and Luke 11:41, thereby asserting that purity is of the heart, releasing men in principle from the error of thinking that religious purity can be attained by correct performance of specified ritual or by careful avoidance of practices declared (ritually)unclean, and releasing them in fact from the necessity of observing those precepts in Judaism, whether written or unwritten, which were to be interpreted as ceremonial rather than moral. In the present passage the writer brandishes the familiar saying in his own defense to justify Christian practice of marriage and enjoyment of foods (see I Tim. 4:3; 5:23): to the spiritually pure all (an overstatement) things are (ritually) pure. The reason why to the corrupt and unbelieving [with special reference to the false teachers] nothing [an overstatement] is pure, not even marriage, or foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe(I Tim. 4:3), is that their very minds and consciences are corrupted, i.e. the impurity is in their souls, not in the created world. Since their souls are totally depraved, they think the world is. The heart of the verse is that purity is a matter of the mind and conscience, not an attribute of things.” TIB 1955 XI p. 532
“16. They declare that they know God, but in their deeds deny him, they are loathsome and unruly, and do not succeed in anything.”
- “He who does not refer every thing to eternity, is never likely to live either well or happily in time.” A.C. 1831 VI p. 619
Chapter Two
“1. And speak the word that is fitting to our sound doctrine,
2. that the elders (aged men) be sober, serious, restrained, and sound in faith, in love, and in patience.”
- “As is typical of the Pastorals, the morality here urged is in no sense specifically Christian, but is a good account of conventional behavior as approved in any patriarchal society anywhere. It is a civil not a heroic morality…” TIB 1955 XI p. 533
"3. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the younger women..."
- Titus chapter 2 makes specific addressses related to aged men, aged women, younger women, young men and servants (v.9-10). As such, it is a commonly referenced text for teaching on roles and relationships.
"4...teach the younger women to be sober, to love their husbnds, to love their children,"
"5. to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their husbands..."
"6. Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded"
“9. It is for slaves to submit to their masters in everything; to satisfy their wants and not to be refractory.
10. Do not pilfer; rather show full faithfulness, so that everything will increase the glory of the law of the God our savior.”
- “The mention of a stereotypical slave vice like pilfering and the failure to list the duties of masters suggest a lurking bias in favor of the slaveholders.” TNJBC 1990 p. 895 The relationship of employees to their supervisors and employers has also been taught from this section on servants. Commendation to the good and faithful servant is also taught by Jesus Christ in the Parable of the TalentsParable of the TalentsThe Parable of the talents or minas, , is one of the well known parables of Jesus. It appears in two of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. The differences between Matthew and the Luke are substantial, and the two parables may not be derived from the same source...
(Matthew 25:21,23)
“11. Thus the mercy of God will appear to the salvation of all men,
12. to guide us in departing from the evil and passions of the world, so that we can live in this world in chastity and in righteousness and in piety,
13. in expectation of the realization of the blessed hope and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our savior Jesus the anointed …”
- “The Pastorals view Christ as subordinate to God yet accord him, as a past and also yet-to-come manifestation of God, the same titles as God. Here he receives the very name of God.” TNJBC 1990 p. 895
- “The Greek of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ is ambiguous and therefore capable of being interpreted as referring to two persons rather than one. It is preferable, however, to suppose with most commentators, ancient as well as modern, that both epithets refer to Jesus, even though nowhere else in the N.T. is Jesus spoken of as our great God. This is the natural construction in Greek of two nouns following one article ('the'). Also the language here is obviously framed in reaction to that of the emperor cult and of the mystery religions Ptolemy I was named 'savior and god'; Antiochus and Julius Caesar 'god manifest'; Osiris, 'lord and savior,' In common usage the compound epithet meant one deity, not two. It should therefore not be surprising that a late Christian writer should speak of Jesus in the same two fold fashion, claiming for him the divine titles which others ascribed to their gods. Furthermore, functions ascribed to Yahweh in the O.T., viz., to redeem us … and to purify for himself a people of his own, are ascribed to Jesus (vs.14). Identity of function prompts identity in name. Also, while Jewish apocalyptic speaks now of the appearing of God, now of the Messiah, the two are never thought of as appearing simultaneously. Such a double appearance would be unthinkable. And in the N.T. it is always the appearing of Christ which is expected, not of God…” TIB 1955 XI pp. 539-540
It should also be noted that the Greek text for "our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ" follows the Granville Sharp Rule (also known as the GSR which has never been debunked. The construction in Greek is as follows:
“When the copulative kai connects two nouns of the same case, if the article ho, or any of its cases, precedes the first of the said nouns or participles, and is not repeated before the second noun or participle, the latter always relates to the same person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle ...”
There has been many attempts over the last 200 years to dislodge the GSR, yet the GSR stands vindicated after all the dust settles.
Chapter Three
“1-2. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”
- They must be not only obedient subjects (passively) but must be ready to initiate every good work (actively).
“3. Once we too were lacking in knowledge, rebellious, wrong, slaves to all kinds of passions
and cravings, wasting our time in malice and envy, hateful,” [Στςγητοι, stugetoi] “and each hating his brother.”
- “hateful as hell. The word comes from Στςξ, Styx, the infernal river… he who ... violated [an]oath was expelled from the assembly of the gods,” [to the other side of the river Styx] “and was deprived of his nectar and ambrosia for a year” A.C. 1831 VI p. 624
“8. The word is trustworthy, and I want you stand upon its authority so that the believers in God turn their heart to engage in good works.”
- “When he is most himself” [the author] “thinks of religion in terms of an obedience to the received pattern of faith issuing in good deeds. The function of doctrine is to undergird the practical moral life.” TIB 1955 XI p. 547
“9… refrain from investigations of foolish questions, from research into the histories of the
genealogies, and from quarreling and disputes about the Law; there is no value in them; they are
pointless.”
- “As the church sought to ground its unity in a creed, the problem of heresy and discipline became increasingly troublesome.” TIB 1955 XI p. 548
- “Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies] In these the Jews particularly delighted; they abounded in the most frivolous questions; and, as they had little piety themselves, they were solicitous to show that they had descended from godly ancestors….
- “Of their frivolous questions, and the answers given to them, by the wisest and most reputable of their rabbins, the following is a specimen:
-
- “Rabbi Hillel was asked, Why have the Babylonians round heads? To which he answered, This is a difficult question, but I will tell the reason: Their heads are round because they have but little wit. ...
-
- Q. Why have the Africans broad feet? –
- A. Because they inhabit a marshy country…
- But ridiculous and trifling as these are, they are little in comparison to those solemnly proposed, and most gravely answered, by those who are called the Schoolmen. Here is a specimen, which I leave the reader to translate:-
-
- Utrum essent excrementa in Paradiso? Utrum sancti resurgent cum intestinis? Utrum si deipara fuisset vir, potuisset esse naturalis parens Christi?
- These, with many thousands of others, of equal use to religion and common sense, may be found in their writings. See the Summa of Thom. Aquinas, passim. Might not the Spirit have these religious triflers in view, rather than the less ridiculous Jews?” A.C. 1831 VI p. 626
- “There is not one … subscription… of any authority; and some of them are plainly ridiculous…see a treatise by old Mr. Prynne, intituled, The unbishoping of Timothy and Titus, 4to. Lond. 1636 and 1660, where, among many crooked things, there are some just observations.” A.C. 1831 VI p. 627
“12. When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.”
- This is Paul's exit plan for Titus from Crete. Titus had received direction from Paul to complete a work in Crete. (Titus 1:5). However, upon the arrival of Artemas or Tychicus, Paul was directing Titus to leave Crete and join him at NicopolisNicopolisNicopolis — or Actia Nicopolis — was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium the previous year. It was later the capital of Epirus Vetus...
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See also
- Textual variants in the Epistle to Titus
- Authorship of the Pauline epistlesAuthorship of the Pauline epistlesThe Pauline epistles are the fourteen books in the New Testament traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle, although many dispute the anonymous Epistle to the Hebrews as being a Pauline epistle....
- Faithful sayingFaithful sayingThe faithful sayings are sayings in the pastoral epistles of the New Testament. There are five saying with this label, and the Greek phrase is the same in all instances, although the KJV uses a different word in 1 Timothy 3:1. George W...
External links
Online translations of the Epistle to Titus:Exegetical papers on Titus: