Difference between revisions of "Timothy"

<p> First mentioned (&nbsp;Acts 16:1) as dwelling in Lystra (not Derbe, &nbsp;Acts 20:4; compare &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:11). His mother was Eunice, a [[Jewess]] (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5); his father a Greek, i.e. a Gentile; he died probably in Timothy's early years, as he is not mentioned later. Timothy is called "a disciple," so that his conversion must have been before the time of &nbsp;Acts 16:1, through Paul (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:2, "my own son in the faith") probably at the apostle's former visit to Lystra (&nbsp;Acts 14:6), when also we may conjecture his Scripture-loving mother [[Eunice]] and grandmother [[Lois]] were converted from [[Judaism]] to [[Christianity]] (&nbsp;2 Timothy 3:14-15; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5): "faith made its "dwelling" (enookesen; &nbsp;John 14:23) first in Lois and Eunice," then in Timothy also through their influence. </p> <p> The elders ordained in Lystra and [[Iconium]] (&nbsp;Acts 14:21-23; &nbsp;Acts 16:2) thenceforth superintended him (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:14); their good report and that of the brethren, as also his origin, partly Jewish partly Gentile, marked him out as especially suited to assist Paul in missionary work, labouring as the apostle did in each place, firstly among the [[Jews]] then among the Gentiles. The joint testimony to his character of the brethren of Lystra and Iconium implies that already he was employed as "messenger of the churches," an office which constituted his subsequent life work (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 8:23). To obviate Jewish prejudices (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:20) in regard to one of half [[Israelite]] parentage, Paul first circumcised him, "for they knew all that his father was a Greek." This was not inconsistent with the [[Jerusalem]] decree which was the Gentiles' charter of liberty in Christ (Acts 15); contrast the case of Titus, a [[Gentile]] on both sides, and therefore not circumcised (&nbsp;Galatians 2:3). </p> <p> Timothy accompanied Paul in his [[Macedonian]] tour; but he and Silas stayed behind in Berea, when the apostle went forward to Athens. Afterward, he went on to [[Athens]] and was immediately sent back (&nbsp;Acts 17:15; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 3:1) by Paul to visit the [[Thessalonian]] church; he brought his report to Paul at [[Corinth]] (&nbsp;1 Thessalonians 3:2; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 3:6; &nbsp;Acts 18:1; &nbsp;Acts 18:5). (See THESSALONIANS, [[First]] EPISTLE.) Hence both the epistles to the Thessalonians written at Corinth contain his name with that of Paul in the address. During Paul's long stay at [[Ephesus]] Timothy "ministered to him" (&nbsp;Acts 19:22), and was sent before him to [[Macedonia]] and to Corinth "to bring the Corinthians into remembrance of the apostle's ways in Christ" (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 4:17; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:10). </p> <p> His name accompanies Paul's in the heading of &nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:1, showing that he was with the apostle when he wrote it from Macedonia (compare &nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:11); he was also with Paul the following winter at Corinth, when Paul wrote from thence his epistle to the Romans, and sends greetings with the apostle's to them (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:21). On Paul's return to Asia through Macedonia he went forward and waited for the apostle at [[Troas]] (&nbsp;Acts 20:3-5). At Rome Timothy was with Paul during his imprisonment, when the apostle wrote his epistles to the Colossians (&nbsp;Colossians 1:1), Philemon (&nbsp;Philemon 1:1), and Philippians (&nbsp;Philippians 1:1). He was imprisoned with Paul (as was Aristarchus: &nbsp;Colossians 4:10) and set free, probably soon after Paul's liberation (&nbsp;Hebrews 13:23). Paul was then still in Italy (&nbsp;Hebrews 13:24) waiting for Timothy to join him so as to start for Jerusalem. They were together at Ephesus, after his departing eastward from Italy (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:3). </p> <p> Paul left Timothy there to superintend the church temporarily as the apostle's locum tenens or vicar apostolic (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:3), while he himself went to Macedonia and Philippi, instead of sending Timothy as he had intended (&nbsp;Philippians 2:19; &nbsp;Philippians 2:23-24). The office at Ephesus and [[Crete]] (&nbsp;Titus 1:5) became permanent on the removal of the apostles by death; "angel" (&nbsp;Revelation 1:20) was the transition stage between "apostle" and our "bishop." The last notice of Timothy is Paul's request (&nbsp;2 Timothy 4:13; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:21) that he should "do his diligence to come before winter" and should "bring the cloak" left with [[Carpus]] at Troas, which in the winter Paul would so much need in his dungeon: about A.D. 67 (Alford). [[Eusebius]] (Ecclesiastes Hist. iii. 43) makes him first bishop of Ephesus, if so John's residence and death must have been later. Nicephorus (Ecclesiastes Hist. iii. 11) reports that he was clubbed to death at Diana's feast, for having denounced its licentiousness. </p> <p> Possibly (Calmet) Timothy was "the angel of the church at Ephesus" (Revelation 2). The praise and the censure agree with Timothy's character, as it appears in Acts and the epistles. The temptation of such an ardent yet soft temperament would be to "leave his first love." Christ's promise of the tree of life to him that overcometh (&nbsp;Revelation 2:5; &nbsp;Revelation 2:7) accords with &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:4-6. Paul, influenced by his own inclination (&nbsp;Acts 16:3) and the prophets' intimations respecting him (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:18; &nbsp;1 Timothy 4:14; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:6; compare Paul's own ease, &nbsp;Acts 13:1), with his own hands, accompanied with the presbytery's laying on of hands, ordained him "evangelist" (&nbsp;2 Timothy 4:5). His self-denying character is shown by his leaving home at once to accompany Paul, and his submitting to circumcision for the gospel's sake; also by his abstemiousness (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:23) notwithstanding bodily "infirmities," so that Paul had to urge him to "use a little wine for his stomach's sake." </p> <p> Timothy betrayed undue diffidence and want of boldness in his delicate position as a "youth" having to deal with seniors (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:12), with transgressors (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:20-21) of whom some were persons to whom he might be tempted to show "partiality." Therefore he needed Paul's monition that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:7). His timidity is glanced at in Paul's charge to the Corinthians (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:10-11), "if I come, see that he may be with you without fear, let no man, despise him." His training under females, his constitutional infirmity, susceptible soft temperament, amativeness, and sensitiveness even to "tears" (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:4, probably at parting from Paul at Ephesus, where Paul had to "beseech" him to stay: &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:3), required such charges as "endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (&nbsp;2 Timothy 2:3-18; &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:22), "flee youthful lusts," (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:2) "the younger entreat as sisters, with all purity." </p> <p> Paul bears testimony to his disinterested and sympathizing affection for both his spiritual father, the apostle, and those to whom he was sent to minister; with him Christian love was become "natural," not forced, nor "with dissimulation" (&nbsp;Philippians 2:19-23): "I trust to send Timothy shortly ... for I have no man like-minded who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own not the things which are Jesus Christ's; but ye know the proof of him, that as a son with the father he hath served with me in the gospel." Among his friends who send greetings to him were the Roman noble, Pudens, the British princess Claudia, and the bishop of Rome, Linus. (See [[Pudens]] ; CLAUDIA; LINUS.) Timothy "professed a good profession before many witnesses" at his baptism and his ordination, whether generally or as overseer at Ephesus (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:18; &nbsp;1 Timothy 4:14; &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:12; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:6). </p> <p> Less probably, Smith's Bible Dictionary states that it was at the time of his Roman imprisonment with Paul, just before Paul's liberation (&nbsp;Hebrews 13:23), on the ground that Timothy's "profession" is put into juxtaposition with Christ Jesus' "good confession before Pilate." But the argument is "fight the good fight of faith." seeing that "thou art called" to it, "and hast professed a good profession" (the same Greek, "confession." (homologia ) at thy baptism and ordination; carry out thy profession, as in the sight of Christ who attested the truth at the cost of His life "before or under" (epi ) Pilate. Christ's part was with His vicarious sacrifice to attest the good confession, i.e. Christianity; Timothy's to "confess" it and "fight the good fight of faith," and "keep the (gospel) commandment" (&nbsp;John 13:34; &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:5; &nbsp;Titus 2:12; &nbsp;2 Peter 2:21; &nbsp;2 Peter 3:2). </p>

<p> A disciple of Paul. He was of Derbe or Lystra, both cities of Lycaonia, &nbsp;Acts 16:1 &nbsp; 14:6 . His father was a Greek, but his mother a Jewess, &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5 &nbsp; 3:15 . The instructions and prayers of his pious mother and grandmother, and the preaching of Paul during his first visit to Lystra, A. D. 48, resulted in the conversion of Timothy and his introduction to the ministry which he so adorned. He had witnessed the sufferings of Paul, and loved him as his father in Christ, &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:2 &nbsp; 2 Timothy 3:10,11 . </p> <p> When the apostle returned to Lystra, about A. D. 51, the brethren spoke highly of the merit and good disposition of Timothy; and the apostle determined to take him along with him, for which purpose he circumcised him at Lystra, &nbsp;Acts 16:3 . Timothy applied himself to labor in the gospel, and did Paul very important services through the whole course of his preaching. Paul calls him not only his dearly beloved son, but also his brother, the companion of his labors, and a man of God; observing that none was more united with him in heart and mind than Timothy, &nbsp;Romans 16:21 &nbsp; 1 Corinthians 4:17 &nbsp; 2:1 &nbsp; Colossians 1:1 &nbsp; 1 Timothy 1:2,18 . Indeed, he was selected by Paul as his chosen companion in his journeys, shared for a time his imprisonment at Rome, &nbsp;Hebrews 13:23 , and was afterwards left by him at Ephesus, to continue and perfect the work which Paul had begun in that city, &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:3 &nbsp; 3:14 . He appears to have possessed in a very high degree the confidence and affection of Paul, and is therefore often mentioned by him in terms of warm commendation, &nbsp;Acts 16:1 &nbsp; 17:14,15 &nbsp; 18:5 &nbsp; 19:22 &nbsp; 20:4 &nbsp; 2 Timothy 3:10 &nbsp; 4:5 . </p> <p> EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. The first of these Paul seems to have written subsequently to his first imprisonment at Rome, and while he was in Macedonia, having left Timothy at Ephesus, &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:2 , A. D. 64. The second appears to have been addressed to Timothy in northwestern Asia Minor, during Paul's second imprisonment and in anticipation of martyrdom, A. D. 67. This dying charge of the faithful apostle to his beloved son in the gospel, the latest fruit of his love for him and for the church, we study with deep emotions. Both epistles are most valuable and instructive documents for the direction and admonition of every Christian, and more especially of ministers of the gospel. With the epistle to Titus, they form the three "pastoral epistles," as they are called. </p>

<p> [[Timothy]] (''Tĭm'O-Thy'' ), ''Honoring God.'' Called also '''Timotheus,''' A. V. An evangelist and helper of Paul. His father was a Greek and a heathen; his mother, Eunice, was a Jewess, and a woman of piety, as was also his grandmother, Lois, &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5, and by them he was early taught in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:15. Paul selected him as an assistant in his labors, and, to avoid the cavils of the Jews, had him circumcised. &nbsp;1 Corinthians 9:20. He was left in charge of the church at Ephesus. &nbsp;1 Timothy 4:12. A post-apostolic tradition makes him bishop of Ephesus. </p> <p> Epistles of Paul to. These, with that to Titus, are commonly called the Pastoral Epistles, because they give directions about church work. First Timothy is supposed to have been written about the year 65, and contains special instructions respecting the qualifications and the duties of officers and other persons in the church. The second epistle was written a year or two later and while Paul was in constant expectation of martyrdom. &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:6-8. </p>

<p> (Τιμόθεος '','' i.e. [[Timotheus]] [q.v.], as the name is given in the A. V. &nbsp;Acts 16:1; &nbsp;Acts 17:14-15; &nbsp;Acts 18:5; &nbsp;Acts 19:22; &nbsp;Acts 20:4; &nbsp;Romans 16:21; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 4:17; &nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:10; &nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:19; &nbsp;Philippians 1:1; &nbsp;Philippians 2:19; &nbsp;Colossians 1:1; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 1:1; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 3:2; &nbsp;1 Thessalonians 3:6; &nbsp;2 Thessalonians 1:1), one of the most interesting of Paul's converts of whom we have an account in the New Test. Fortunately we have tolerably copious details of his history and relations in the frequent references to him in that apostle's letters to the various churches, as well as in those addressed to him personally. </p> <p> '''1.''' ''His Early Life. —'' The disciple thus named was the son of one of those mixed marriages which, though condemned by stricter Jewish opinion, and placing their offspring on all but the lowest step in the Jewish scale of precedence, were yet not uncommon in the later periods of Jewish history. The children of these marriages were known as ''Manmerim'' ("bastards"), and stood just above the Nethinim. This was, however, ''Caeteris Paribus.'' ‘ A bastard who was a wise student of the law was, in theory, above an ignorant high-priest (Gem. Hieros. Horayoth, fol. 84, in Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. in &nbsp;Matthew 23:14); and the education of Timothy (&nbsp;2 Timothy 3:15) may therefore have helped to overcome the prejudice, which the Jews would naturally have against: him on this ground. The mother was a Jewess, but the father's name is unknown; he was a Greek, i.e. a. Gentile, by descent (&nbsp;Acts 16:1; &nbsp;Acts 16:3). If in any sense a. proselyte, the fact that the issue of the marriage did not receive the sign of the covenant would render it. probable that he belonged to the class of half-converts, the so-called [[Proselytes]] of the Gate, not those of Righteousness, if such a class as the former existed. (See [[Proselyte]]). </p> <p> The absence of any personal allusion to the father in the Acts or Epistles suggests the inference that he must have died or disappeared during his son's infancy. The care of the boy thus devolved upon his mother, Eunice, and her mother, Lois, who are both mentioned as sincere believers (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5). Under their training his education was emphatically Jewish. "From a child" he learned (probably in the Sept. version) to "know the Holy Scriptures" daily. The language of the Acts leaves it uncertain whether Lystra or Derbe was the residence of the devout family. The latter has been inferred, but without much likelihood, from a possible construction of &nbsp;Acts 20:4, the former from &nbsp;Acts 16:1-2 (see Neander, Pflanz. und Leit. 1, 288; Alford and Huther, ad loc.). In either case the absence of any indication of the existence of a synagogue makes this devout consistency more noticeable. We may think here, as at Philippi, of the few devout women going forth to their daily worship at some river-side; oratory (Conybeare, and Howson, 1, 211). The reading παρὰ τίνων in &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:14, adopted by Lachmann and Tischendorf, indicates that it was from them as well as from the apostle that the young disciple received his first impression of Christian truth. It would be, natural that a character thus fashioned should retain throughout something of a feminine piety. A constitution far from robust (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:23), a morbid shrinking from opposition and responsibility (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:12-16; &nbsp;1 Timothy 5:20-21; &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:11-14; &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:1-7), a sensitiveness even to tears (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:4), a tendency to an ascetic rigor which he had not strength to bear (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:23), united, as it often is, with a temperament exposed to some risk (see the elaborate dissertation ''De Νεωτερικαῖς Ε᾿Πιθυμίαις'' '', By'' Bosius, in Hase, ''Thesaurus,'' vol. 2) from "youthful lusts" (&nbsp;2 Timothy 2:22) and the softer emotions (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:2) these we may well think of as characterizing the youth as they afterwards characterized the man. </p> <p> '''2.''' ''His [[Conversion]] And Ordination. —'' The arrival of Paul and Barnabas in [[Lycaonia]] (&nbsp;Acts 14:6) brought the message of glad tidings to Timothy and his mother, and they received it with "unfeigned faith" (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5). A.D. 44. If at Lystra, as seems probable from &nbsp;2 Timothy 3:11, he may have witnessed the half-completed sacrifice, the half-finished martyrdom of Paul (&nbsp;Acts 14:19). The preaching of the apostle on his return from his short circuit prepared him for a life of suffering (&nbsp;Acts 14:22). From that time his life and education must have been under the direct superintendence of the body of elders (&nbsp;Acts 14:23). During the interval of three years between the apostle's first and second journeys, the youth had greatly matured. His zeal, probably his asceticism, became known both at Lystra and Iconium. The mention of the two churches as united in testifying to his character (&nbsp;Acts 16:2) leads us to believe that the early work was prophetic, of the later, that he had already been employed in what was afterwards to be the great labor-of his life, as "the messenger of the churches," and that it was his tried fitness for that office which determined Paul's choice. Those who had the deepest insight into character and spoke with a prophetic utterance pointed to him (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:18; &nbsp;1 Timothy 4:14), as others had pointed before to Paul and Barnabas (&nbsp;Acts 13:2), as specially fit for the missionary work in which the apostle was engaged. Personal feeling led Paul to the same conclusion (16, 3), and he was solemnly set apart (the whole assembly of the elders laying their hands on him, as did the apostle himself) to do the work, and possibly to bear the title, of evangelist (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:14; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:6; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:5). Iconium has been suggested by Conybeare and Howson (1, 289) as the probable scene of the ordination. </p> <p> A great obstacle, however, presented itself. Timothy, though inheriting, as it were, from the nobler side (Wettstein, ad loc.), and therefore reckoned as one jf the seed of Abraham, had been allowed to grow up to the age of manhood without the sign of circumcision, and in this point he might seem to be disclaiming the Jewish blood that was in him and choosing to take up his position as a heathen. Had that been his real position, it would have been utterly inconsistent with Paul's principle of action to urge on him the necessity of circumcision (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 7:18; &nbsp;Galatians 2:3; &nbsp;Galatians 5:2). As it was, his condition was that of a negligent, almost of an apostate, Israelite; and, though circumcision was nothing, and uncircumcision was nothing, it was a serious question whether the scandal of such a position should be allowed to frustrate all his efforts as an evangelist. The fact that no offence seems to have been felt hitherto is explained by the predominance of the Gentile element in the churches of Lycaonia (&nbsp;Acts 14:27). But his wider work would bring him into contact with the Jews, who had already shown themselves so ready to attack, and then the scandal would come out. They might tolerate a heathen, as such, in the synagogue or the church, but an uncircumcised Israelite would be to them a horror and a portent. With a special view to their feelings, making no sacrifice of principle, the apostle, who had refused to permit the circumcision of Titus, "took and circumcised" Timothy (16:3); and then, as conscious of no inconsistency, went on his was distributing the decrees of the council of Jerusalem, the great charter of the freedom of the Gentiles (&nbsp;Acts 14:4), </p> <p> [[Henceforth]] Timothy was one of his most constant: companions. Not since he parted from Barnabas had he found one whose heart so answered to his own. If Barnabas had been as the brother and friend of early days, he had now found one whom he could claim as his own by a spiritual parentage (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:2). He calls him "son Timothy" (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:18); "my own son in the faith" (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:2); "my beloved son" (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 4:17); "my workfellow" (&nbsp;Romans 16:21); "my brother" (which is probably the sense [[Of]] Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφός in &nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:1). </p> <p> '''3.''' ''His Evangelistic Labors And Journeys. —'' [[Continuing]] his second missionary tour, Paul now took Timothy with him, and, accompanied by Silvanus, and probably Luke also, journeyed at length to Philippi (&nbsp;Acts 16:12), where the young evangelist became conspicuous at once for his filial devotion and his zeal (&nbsp;Philippians 2:22). His name does not appear in the account of Paul's work at Thessalonica, and it is possible that he remained some time at Philippi, and then acted as the messenger by whom the members of that Church sent what they were able to give for the apostle's wants (&nbsp;Acts 4:15). He appears, however, at Beroea, and remains there when Paul and Silas are obliged to leave (&nbsp;Acts 17:14), going on afterwards to join his master in [[Greece]] (&nbsp;1 Thessalonians 3:2)''.'' Meanwhile he is sent back to Thessalonica (ibid.) an having special gifts for comforting and teaching. ‘ He returns from Thessalonica, not to Athens, but to Corinth, and his name appears united with Paul's in the opening words of both the letters written from that city to the Thessalonians (&nbsp;1 Thessalonians 1:1; &nbsp;2 Thessalonians 1:1). ‘ Dr. Wordsworth infers from &nbsp;2 Corinthians 9:11 and &nbsp;Acts 18:5 that; Timothy brought contributions to the support of the-apostle from the Macedonian churches, and thus released him from his continuous labor as a tent-maker. Here, also, he was apparently active as an evangelist (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:19), and on him, probably, with some exceptions, devolved the duty of baptizing the ''New'' converts. (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 1:14). </p> <p> Of the next four or five years of his life we have no record, and can infer nothing beyond a continuance of his active service as Paul's companion. When we again meet with him, it is as being sent on in. advance while the apostle was contemplating the long journey which was to include Macedonia, Achaia, Jerusalem, and Rome (&nbsp;Acts 19:22). A.D. 54. He was sent to "bring" the churches "into remembrance of the ways" of the apostle (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 4:17). We trace in the words of the "father" an anxious desire to guard the son from the perils which, to his eager but sensitive temperament, would be most trying (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:10). His route would take him through the churches which he had been instrumental in founding, and this would give him scope for exercising the gifts which were afterwards to be displayed in a still more responsible office. It is probable, from the, passages already referred to, that, after accomplishing the special work assigned to him, he returned by the same route and met Paul according to a previous arrangement (&nbsp;1 Corinthians 16:11), and was thus with him when the second epistle was written to the Church of Corinth (&nbsp;2 Corinthians 1:1). He returns with the apostle to that city, and joins in messages of greeting to the disciples whom he had known personally at Corinth and who had since found their way to Rome (&nbsp;Romans 16:21). </p> <p> He forms one of the company of friends who go with Paul to Philippi and then sail by themselves, waiting for his arrival by a different ship (&nbsp;Acts 20:3-6). Whether he continued his journey to, Jerusalem, and what became of him during Paul's imprisonment at Caesarea, are points on which we must remain uncertain. The language of Paul's address ''To'' the elders of Ephesus (&nbsp;Acts 20:17-35) renders it unlikely that he was then left there with authority. The absence of his name from ch. 27 in like manner leads to the conclusion that he did not share in the perilous voyage to Italy. He must have joined him, however, apparently, soon after his arrival in Rome, and was with him when the epistles to the Philippians, to the Colossians, and to Philemon were written (&nbsp;Philippians 1:1; &nbsp;Philippians 2:19; &nbsp;Colossians 1:1; &nbsp;Philemon 1:1). All the indications of this period point to incessant missionary activity. As before, so now, he is to precede the personal coming of the apostle, inspecting, advising, reporting (&nbsp;Philippians 2:19-23), caring especially for the Macedonian churches as no one else could care. The special messages of greeting sent to him at a later date (&nbsp;2 Timothy 4:21) show that at Rome also, as elsewhere, he had gained the warm affection of those among whom he ministered. Among those most eager to be thus remembered to him we find, according to a fairly supported hypothesis, the names of a Roman noble, Pudens (q.v.), of a future bishop of Rome, [[Linus]] (q.v.), and of the daughter of a British king, [[Claudia]] (Williams, Claudia and Pudens; Conybeare and Howson, 2, 501; Alford, Excursus" ‘ in Greek Test. 3, 104). It is interesting to think of the young evangelist as having been the instrument by which one who was surrounded by the fathomless impurity of the Roman world was called to a higher life, and the names which would otherwise have appeared only in the foul epigrams of [[Martial]] (1, 32; 4:13; 5, 48; 11:53)-raised to a perpetual honor in the salutations of an apostolic epistle. An article (They of Caesar's Household) in Journ. of Class. and [[Sacred]] Philology, No. 10 questions this hypothesis, on the ground that the epigrams are later than the epistles, and that they connect the name of Pudens with heathen customs and vices. On the other hand, it may be urged that-the bantering tone of the epigrams forbids us to take them as evidences of character. Pudens tells Martial that he does not "like his poems." "Oh, that is because you read too many at a time" (29). He begs him to correct their blemishes. "You want an autograph copy, then, do you?" (7, 11). The slave En or Eucolpos (the name is possibly a willful distortion of Eubulus) does what might be the fulfillment of a Christian vow (&nbsp;Acts 18:18), and this is the occasion of the suggestion which seems most damnatory (Martial, 5, 48). With this there mingles, however, as in 4:13; 6:58, the language of a more real esteem than is common in Martial (comp. some good remarks in Galloway, A Clergyman's Holidays, p. 35-49). </p> <p> To the close of this period of Timothy's life we may probably refer the imprisonment of &nbsp;Hebrews 13:23, and the trial at which he "witnessed the good confession" not unworthy to be likened to that of the Great [[Confessor]] before [[Pilate]] (&nbsp;1 Timothy 6:13). Assuming the genuineness and the later date of the two epistles addressed to him (see below), we are able to put together a few notices as to his later life. It follows from &nbsp;1 Timothy 1:3 that he and his master, after the release of the latter from his imprisonment, revisited the proconsular Asia; that the apostle then continued his journey to Macedonia, while the disciple remained, half reluctantly, even weeping at the separation (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:4), at Ephesus, to check, if possible, the outgrowth of heresy and licentiousness which had sprung up there. The time during which he was thus to exercise authority as the delegate of an apostle — a vicar apostolic rather than a bishop — was of uncertain duration (&nbsp;1 Timothy 3:14). The position in which he found himself might well make him anxious. He had to rule presbyters, most of whom were older than himself (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:12), to assign to each a stipend in proportion to his work (&nbsp;1 Timothy 5:17), to receive and decide on charges that might be brought against them (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:19-20), to regulate the almsgiving and the sisterhoods of, the Church (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:3-10), to ordain presbyters and deacons (&nbsp;1 Timothy 3:1-13). There was the risk of being entangled in the disputes, prejudices, covetousness, sensuality, of a great city. There was the risk of injuring health and strength by an overstrained asceticism (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:4; &nbsp;1 Timothy 5:23). Leaders of rival sects were there Hymenaeus, Philetus, Alexander-to oppose and thwart him (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:20; &nbsp;2 Timothy 2:17; &nbsp;2 Timothy 4:14-15). The name of his beloved teacher was no longer honored as it had been; the strong affection of former days had vanished and "Paul the aged" had become unpopular, the object of suspicion and dislike (comp. &nbsp;Acts 20:37; &nbsp;2 Timothy 1:15). Only in the narrowed circle of the faithful few-Aquila, Priscilla, Mark, and others-who were still with him was he likely to find sympathy or support (1 Timothy 4:19). We cannot wonder that the apostle, knowing these trials, and, with his marvelous power of bearing another's burdens, making them his own, should be full of anxiety and fear for his disciple's steadfastness; that admonitions, appeals, warnings, should follow each other in rapid and vehement succession (&nbsp;1 Timothy 1:18; &nbsp;1 Timothy 3:15; &nbsp;1 Timothy 4:14; &nbsp;1 Timothy 5:21; &nbsp;1 Timothy 6:11). In the second epistle to him this deep personal feeling utters itself yet more fully. The friendship of twenty years was drawing to a close, and all memories connected with it throng upon the mind of the old man, now ready to be offered: the blameless youth (&nbsp;2 Timothy 3:15), the holy household (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:5), the solemn ordination (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:6), the tears at parting (&nbsp;2 Timothy 1:4). The last recorded words of the apostle express the earnest hope, repeated yet more earnestly, that he might see him once again (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:9). Timothy is to come before winter, to bring with him the cloak for which in that winter there would be need (&nbsp;1 Timothy 4:13). We may hazard the conjecture that he reached him in time, and that the last hours of the teacher were soothed by the presence of the disciple whom he loved so truly. Some writers have even seen in &nbsp;Hebrews 13:23 an indication that he shared Paul's imprisonment, and was released from it by the death of [[Nero]] (Conybeare and Howson, 2, 502; Neander, ''Pfanz. Und Leit. 1,'' 552). Beyond this all is apocryphal and uncertain. </p> <p> '''4.''' ''Legendary Notices. —'' Timothy continued, according to the old traditions, to act as bishop of Ephesus (Euseb. ''Hist. Ecclesiastes 3, 4, 2'' ; ''Const. Apost.'' 7:46; see Lange, ''De Timothy Episcopo Ephes.'' [Lips. 1755]), and died a martyr's death under Domitian or Nerva (Niceph. ''Hist. Ecclesiastes 3, 11'' ; Photius, Cod. 254). The great festival of [[Artemis]] (the καταγώγιον of that goddess) led him to protest against the license and frenzy which accompanied it. The mob were roused to fury, and put him to deathwith clubs (comp. [[Polycrates]] and [[Simeon]] Metaphr. in Henschen's ''Acta Sanctorum,'' Jan. 24). Some later critics-Schleiermacher, Mayerhoff-have seen in him the author of the whole or part of the Acts (Olshausen, [[Commentary]] 2, 612). </p> <p> A somewhat startling theory as to the intervening period of his life has found favor with Calmet (s.v. "Timothee"), Tillemont (2, 147), and others. If he continued, according to the received tradition, to be bishop of Ephesus, then he, and no other, must have been the "angel" of that Church to whom the message of &nbsp;Revelation 2:1-7 was addressed. It may be urged, as in some degree confirming this view, that both the praise and the blame of that message are such as harmonize with the impressions as to the character of Timothy derived from the Acts and the Epistles. The refusal to acknowledge the self-styled apostles, the abhorrence of the deeds of the Nicolaitans, the unwearied labor, all this belongs to "the man of God" of the Pastoral Epistles. Nor is the fault less characteristic. The strong language of Paul's entreaty would lead us to expect that the temptation of such a man would be to fall away from the glow of his "first love," the zeal of his first faith. The promise of the Lord of the churches is in substance the same as that implied in the language of the apostle (2 Timothy 2, 4-6). This conjecture, it should be added, has been passed over unnoticed by most of the recent commentators on the [[Apocalypse]] (comp. Alford and Wordsworth, ad loc.). [[Trench]] (Seven Churches of Asia, p. 64) contrasts the "angel" of Revelation 2 with Timothy as an "earlier angel" who, with the generation to which he be longed, had passed away when the Apocalypse was written. It must be remembered, however, that, at the time of Paul's death, Timothy was still" young," probably not more than thirty-five; that he might, therefore, well be living, even on the assumption of the later date of the Apocalypse, and that the traditions (valeant quantum) place his death after that date. Bengel admits this, but urges the ‘ objection that he was not the bishop of any single diocese, but the superintendent of many churches. This, however, may in its turn be traversed by the answer that the death of Paul may have made a great difference in the work of one who had hitherto been employed in traveling as his representative. The special charge committed to him in the Pastoral Epistles might not unnaturally give fixity to a life which had previously been wandering. </p> <p> An additional fact connected with the name of Timothy is that two of the treatises of the Pseudo-Dionysius the [[Areopagite]] are addressed to him (De Hierarch. Cael. 1, 1; comp. Le Norry, Dissert. c. 9 and Halloix, Quaest. 4 in Migne's edition). </p> <p> '''5.''' ''Literature. —'' In addition to the works above cited, see Klaufing, [[De]] Timothy Μαρτυρ. (Vitemb. 1713); Seelen, ''De Tint. Confessore'' (Lubec. 1733); Hausdorf, De Ordinatione Timothy (Vitemb. 1754); Witsius, Miscell. Sacr. 2, 438; also his Exercit. Acad. p. 316 sq.; Mosheim, Einleit. in den 1. Br. an Tims. (Hamb. 1754), p. 4 sq.; Bertholdt, Einleit. 6:349 sq.; Heydenreich, Lebenl d. Timotheus, in Tzschirner's Memorab. VIII, 2, 19-76; Evans, Script. Biog. vol. 1; Lewin, St. Paul (see Index); Plumptre, Bible Educator (see Index); and especially Howson, Companions of St. Paul (Lond. 1871), ch. 12. (See Paul). </p>