Lois

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(Gr. Λωίς)

The word Lois is of Greek origin, related to λῴων and λῴστος, ‘pleasant,’ ‘desirable.’ Lois was a Christian believer of Lystra and the grandmother of Timothy. Her name is mentioned in  2 Timothy 1:5 along with Eunice ( q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] ), the mother of Timothy. Probably Lois was a Jewess and the mother of Eunice, who in  Acts 16:1 is described as a believing Jewess who had married a Greek. It is, however, not impossible that Lois may have been the mother-in-law of Eunice and a Gentile, in which case we must assume that she had married a Jew. This theory would account for the fact that both Lois and Eunice are Greek names, and also for the description of Eunice as a Jewess. But it was not uncommon for Hellenistic Jews to bear purely Gentile names, and the supposition that Lois was the mother of Eunice is on the whole more probable.

The Apostle refers to her ‘unfeigned faith,’ by which he no doubt means that Lois had accepted Christian faith, and not merely that she cherished the ancient faith of Israel. As we find Eunice described as a ‘Jewess who believed’ on the occasion of St. Paul’s second visit to Lystra, probably both she and Lois were converted on the Apostle’s first visit to the town. Timothy’s knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures to which the Apostle refers ( 2 Timothy 3:15) was probably due not only to his mother but also to Lois, whom we may regard as a faithful Jewish matron attached to the ancient hopes of Judaism, and who, influenced by her knowledge of the Scriptures, readily accepted St. Paul’s message on his first visit to Lystra.

W. F. Boyd.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Mother of Eunice, Timothy's mother ( 2 Timothy 1:5). The Greek names mark Greek origin, though she was a Jewess in religion and the father a Greek, i.e. pagan; Lystra was her home. The family pedigree of "indwelling faith" began first with Lois, the farthest back of Timothy's progenitors whom Paul knew. She and Eunice were probably converted at Paul's first visit to Lystra ( Acts 14:6-7). The belief of the mother and grandmother alone is implied in 2 Timothy 1, in undesigned harmony with Acts 16, not of the father; a mark of genuineness. One godly parent may counteract the bad influence of the ungodly, and win the child to Christ ( 1 Corinthians 7:14;  2 Timothy 3:15).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Lo'is. (Agreeable). The grandmother of Timothy, and doubtless, the mother of his mother, Eunice.  2 Timothy 1:5. It seems likely that Lois had resided long at Lystra; and almost certain that from her, as well as from Eunice, Timothy obtained his intimate knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures.  2 Timothy 3:15. (A.D. before 64).

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

LOIS. The grandmother of Timothy (  2 Timothy 1:5 ), and probably the mother of Eunice, Timothy’s mother. The name is Greek. The family lived at Lystra (  Acts 16:1 ), where St. Paul first made their acquaintance. Lois was a devout Jewess by conviction, who instructed her family diligently in the Holy Scriptures.

Morley Stevenson.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A pious Jewess, whose "unfeigned faith" Paul traces in her daughter Eunice, and her grandson Timothy,  2 Timothy 1:5 .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Grandmother of Timothy, whose unfeigned faith Paul calls to remembrance.  2 Timothy 1:5 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 2 Timothy 1:5

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 2 Timothy 1:5

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

lō´is ( Λωῖς , Lōı̄́s (  2 Timothy 1:5 )): The grandmother of Timothy, and evidently the mother of Eunice, Timothy's mother. The family lived at Lystra ( Acts 16:1 ). It was on the occasion of Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 14) that Eunice and Timothy were converted to Christ, and it was, in all likelihood, on the same occasion that Lois also became a Christian. Paul speaks of the unfeigned faith that there was in Timothy, and he adds that this faith dwelt at the first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice. This is the only passage where Lois is mentioned; but by comparing  2 Timothy 1:5 with   2 Timothy 3:15 (the King James Version), where Paul refers to Timothy's having "from a child known the holy scriptures," it would appear that Lois was associated with Eunice, both in a reverent faith in God and in the careful instruction in the Old Testament which was given to Timothy. See Eunice; Timothy .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Λωϊ v Σ , perh. Agreeable), the grandmother of Timothy, not by the side of his father, who was a Greek, but by that of his mother. Hence the Syriac has "thy mother's mother." She is commended by the apostle Paul for her faith ( 2 Timothy 1:5); for, although she might not have known that the Christ had come, and that Jesus of Nazareth was he, she yet believed in the Messiah to come, and died in that faith. Ante A.D. 64. (See Timothy).

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Lois, the grandmother of Timothy, not by the side of his father, who was a Greek, but by that of his mother. Hence the Syriac has 'thy mother's mother.' She is commended by St. Paul for her faith for although she might not have known that the Christ was come, and that Jesus of Nazareth was He, she yet believed in the Messiah to come, and died in that faith.