Category: Books (Page 2 of 14)

Majtán, La crescita nella responsabilità di Timoteo

A remarkable-looking contribution that had escaped my notice until now:

L’ubomír Majtán. La crescita nella responsabilità di Timoteo. Storicità ed esemplarità di Timoteo [The growth in Timothy’s responsibility. The historicity and exemplarity of Timothy]. Rome: Angelicum University Press, 2021.

I knew of a few earlier articles produced by Majtán in Slovak and Italian, which had been noted in New Testament Abstracts:

  • “Timotej—Pavlov delegát v komunitách: Osoba delegáta v Pavlov‎‎ých listoch vo svelte grécko-rimskej korešpondencie a rabínskej halachickej literatúry” [“Timothy—Paul’s Agent in the Communities: The Status of Agent in the Pauline Epistles in the View of Greco-Roman Diplomatic Correspondence and Rabbinic Halachic Literature”]. Studia Biblica Slovaca (Bratislava) 11.1 (2019): 42–56. [Slovak]
  • “Timotej a charizma v 1Tim 4,14 Ratifikácia alebo transfer pri vkladaní rúk starších? [Timothy and Charisma in 1 Tim 4:14: A Recognition or a Transfer through the Laying on of Hands by the Elders?]” Studia Biblica Slovaca (Bratislava) 11.2 (2019): 103–19. [Slovak]
  • “Motívy obriezky Timoteja v Sk 16,1–5: Historický, etnický, a náboženský aspekt obriezky Timoteja v Skutkoch apoštolov a teologická interpretácia z pohl’adu spoločenstva prvotnej Cirkvi [Motives of Circumcision of Timothy in Acts 16:1–5: Historical, Ethnical and Religious Aspects of the Circumcision of Timothy in the Acts of the Apostles and the Theological Interpretation from the Perspective of the Early Church Community].” Studia Biblica Slovaca (Bratislava) 13.1 (2021): 74–94. [Slovak]
  • “È vero che Timoteo sostituisce Paolo a Tessalonica in 1 Ts 3,1–10? // Ali drži, da Timotej nadomesti Pavla v Tesalonikah v 1 Tes 3,1–10? // Is It True that Timothy Substitutes [for] Paul in Thessalonica in 1 Thess 3,1–10?” Bogoslovni vestnik 81.1 (2021): 47–56. [Italian]

These seem to have been preparatory for Majtán’s monograph, which I presume is a published doctoral thesis. Timothy is significant enough a figure in the New Testament that there have been numerous treatments of him in the scholarly literature, both as standalone essays and in broader treatments of Paul’s coworkers (in addition, of course, to commentary discussion). Here is a sampling of those treatments:

  • Franz X. Pölzl, Die Mitarbeiter des Weltapostels Paulus (Regensburg: G. J. Manz, 1911), 136–70.
  • William E. Hull, “The Man—Timothy,” RevExp 56 (1959): 355–66.
  • Pedro Gutiérrez, La paternité spirituelle selon saint Paul, EBib (Paris: Gabalda, 1968), 225–31 (“Fils, Disciples, Successeurs (Timothée et Tite)”).
  • E. E. Ellis, “Paul and His Co-Workers,” NTS 17 (1970–71): 437–52.
  • Wolf-Hennig Ollrog, Paulus und seine Mitarbeiter: Untersuchungen zu Theorie und Praxis der paulinischen Mission, WMANT 50 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1979), 20–23.
  • Udo Borse, “Timotheus und Titus, Abgesandte Pauli im dienst des Evangeliums,” in Der Diakon: Wiederentdeckung und Erneuerung seines Dienstes, ed. Josef G. Plöger and Hermann J. Weber (Freiburg: Herder, 1980), 27–43 (although his aim is to show that Timothy and Titus were actually the same person, he provides along the way an excellent summary of the biblical data).
  • F. F. Bruce, The Pauline Circle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985), 29–34.
  • John Gillman, “Timothy,” ABD 6:558–60 (1992).
  • Margaret M. Mitchell, “New Testament Envoys in the Context of Greco-Roman Diplomatic and Epistolary Conventions: The Example of Timothy and Titus,” JBL 111.4 (1992): 641–62.
  • Christopher R. Hutson, “Was Timothy Timid? On the Rhetoric of Fearlessness (1 Corinthians 16:10–11) and Cowardice (2 Timothy 1:7),” BR 42 (1997): 58–73.
  • Giancarlo Biguzzi, “L’autore delle Lettere Pastorali e Timoteo,” in Il deposito della fede: Timoteo e Tito, ed. Giuseppe de Virgilio, RivBSup 34 (Bologna: Dehoniane, 1998), 81–112.
  • Bruce Malina, Timothy: Paul’s Closest Associate (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2008), though note Mark Batluck, “Paul, Timothy, and Pauline Individualism: A Response to Bruce Malina,” in Paul and His Social Relations, ed. Stanley E. Porter and Christopher D. Land, PSt 7 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 35-56.
  • Yann Redalié, “Timothée, le disciple à l’ombre de Paul,” LumVie 59 (2010): 21–31.
  • Hermann von Lips, Timotheus und Titus: Unterwegs für Paulus, 2nd ed., Biblische Gestalten 19 (Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2010).
  • Bernhard Mutschler, “Silas/Silvanus und Timotheus als Mitarbeiter des Paulus: Eine Spurensuche in der Apostelgeschichte und im 1. Thessalonicherbrief,” Der 1. Thessalonicherbrief und die frühe Völkermission  des Paulus, ed. Ulrich Mell and Michael Tilly, WUNT 479 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022), 179–227.

I have not yet obtained Majtán’s monograph, but its 361-page length suggests that anyone seeking to produce a serious treatment of Timothy in the future will need to take account of it. Here is the volume’s summary in English translation (original Italian):

  • “Timothy is one of Paul’s most faithful and important collaborators. After being added to the missionary team in Acts 16:1-5, he never ceases to accompany Paul in the important stages of his apostolic work. He is mentioned in later chapters of the Acts of the Apostles as witnessing the entrance of Gentiles into the church. Taking note of the various difficulties in which the Christian communities live, Paul sends him entrusting him with the responsibility of resolving the difficult situation, the problems that arise in the Christian communities or at least to send the Apostle’s recommendations. In the balance of the following years, we can see the growth of his responsibility, so much so that Timothy, day after day, receives authority, prominence and an important role within the communities. Thus, in various moments of his life, Timothy grows in his responsibility and according to the Pastoral Letters he becomes the successor of the Apostle.” [Google Translate]

Following are the contents of the volume. Notice that though the Pastorals are mentioned only briefly in the above summary, two entire chapters consisting of 115 pages discuss Timothy in the context of 1 and 2 Timothy.

Zimmermann and Manomi, “Ready for Every Good Work” (Titus 3:1)

A 2019 specialist conference on “Ethics in Titus” was held in Mainz (presentations and abstracts), We posted earlier about the forthcoming publication of its proceedings, which were made available from Mohr Siebeck in late 2022:

Ruben Zimmermann and Dogara Ishaya Manomi, eds. “Ready for Every Good Work” (Titus 3:1): Implicit Ethics in the Letter to Titus. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 484. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik/ Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics 13. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022.

The conference and collection of essays represents a veritable “who’s who” in Pastorals scholarship; I know of nothing comparable in recent years. More detailed information about the volume is available at Mohr Siebeck, and we have provided the contents of the volume below.

Kay and Moxon, A Pentecostal Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles

The second volume in a new commentary series, Pentecostal New Testament Commentaries, is out, and it addresses the Pastorals:

William K. Kay and John R. L. Moxon. A Pentecostal Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles. Pentecostal New Testament Commentaries. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022.

As one might expect, the commentary gives “special attention to the typical interests and questions of Pentecostal and charismatic readers” (introduction). The Pastorals are accepted as authentically Pauline. “The view taken by this commentary is that the special character and concerns of these texts are already present in some measure for other NT writers and that they can be explained by (a) a clear second-generation, future-facing orientation, (b) one or more amanuenses or assistants, and (c) a decision to use new, more specifically Hellenistic religious language” (introduction).

The introduction notes that “in terms of the great questions facing us today about church planting, mission, leadership and ‘next generation’ church, these epistles could count as amongst the most significant and exciting of the New Testament.”

The authors specify several reasons to attend to the Pastorals, especially for those in the volume’s target audience:
(1) “The epistles tell us about some of the important ‘second phase’ activities that were needed in early mission work.”
(2) “The epistles help us to realize how the early church organized its ministry in practical terms.”
(3) “Third … is the issue of how one even enters a ministry. If 1 Corinthians were our sole guide, we might imagine this happened by a self-evident spiritual gift or anointing. It perhaps comes as a surprise therefore when in the PE, Paul speaks of ‘aspiring’ to a ministry role (1 Tim 3:1), of the ‘testing’ of candidates (1 Tim 3:10), and a fact often missed, that ministry always occurred in teams (cf. 1 Tim 4:14). The PE certainly know about gifts, prophecy, and discerning spirits (1 Tim 4:1, 14), yet procedures and structures clearly appear alongside them. Equally disarming, of course, is the idea of a disciplinary process (run by the congregation?) that could, we assume, lead to the removal of an elder (1 Tim 5:19), contrary to the oft-cited Ps 105:15.”
(4) “Another eye-catching emphasis in the PE is the theme of holiness…. Whilst imagined in some Pentecostal contexts to be the more or less inevitable consequence of receiving the Spirit, the emphasis in the PE lies on training, formation, safeguarding and accountability.”

Waters, Women, Salvation, and Childbearing

Kenneth L. Waters, Sr., is Professor of New Testament and Associate Dean of Personnel, Contracts, and Undergraduate Studies in the School of Theology of Azusa Pacific University. Those who have sought to probe the depths of the extensive literature on 1 Timothy 2:15 have encountered the two related essays that Waters has produced on this crux interpretum:

“Saved Through Childbearing: Virtues as Children in 1 Timothy 2:11–15.” Journal of Biblical Literature 123.4 (2004): 703–35.
“Revisiting Virtues as Children: 1 Timothy 2:15 as Centerpiece for an Egalitarian Soteriology.” Lexington Theological Quarterly 42 (2007): 37–49.

Waters has now incorporated these two essays into a new, book-length treatment of the debated 1 Timothy 2:11–15:

Women, Salvation, and Childbearing: The Mystery of 1 Timothy 2:11–15. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2022.

The book also includes a four-page appendix: “Exploring Further: Teknogonía in Classical Literature” (111–14).

The Pastorals in WUNT

Recently, the Pastorals seem to be having an outsized presence in Mohr Siebeck’s Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament series. The following are recently published and forthcoming volumes in WUNT 1 and and WUNT 2 which each focus solely on one or more of the Pastorals. Authorship/editorship is widespread: Australia (Kidson), Germany (Herzer, Zimmermann), Nigeria (Manomi), Switzerland (Bulundwe), USA (Langford).

Lyn Kidson, Persuading Shipwrecked Men: Rhetorical Strategies in 1 Timothy (WUNT 2/526; 2020) (RBL review) (JETS) (ABR) (JSNT)
Dogara Ishaya Manomi, Virtue Ethics in the Letter to Titus: An Interdisciplinary Study (WUNT 2/560; 2021)
Jens Herzer, Die Pastoralbriefe und das Vermächtnis des Paulus: Studien zu den Briefen an Timotheus und Titus (WUNT 476; 2022)
Ruben Zimmermann and Dogara Ishaya Manomi, eds. “Ready for Every Good Work” (Titus 3:1): Implicit Ethics in the Letter to Titus (WUNT 484; 2022)
Andrew M. Langford, Diagnosing Deviance: Pathology and Polemic in the Pastoral Epistles (WUNT 2/ ; 2022 est.)
Kampotela Luc Bulundwe, 2 Timothée dans le corpus paulinien. Analyse mémorielle (WUNT 2/ ; 2022 or 2023)

To be sure, plenty of single essays on one or more of the Pastorals have appeared in edited WUNT collections. However, before the recent spate of volumes just noted, only the following WUNT volumes (to my knowledge) focused solely on one or more of the Pastorals (or, for Trebilco and Smith, were monographs with a very significant Pastorals component):

Ulrike Wagener, Die Ordnung des “Hauses Gottes.” Der Ort von Frauen in der Ekklesiologie und Ethik des Pastoralbriefe (WUNT 2/65; 1994)
Andrew Y. Lau, Manifest in Flesh: The Epiphany Christology of the Pastoral Epistles (WUNT 2/86; 1996)
Hanna Stettler, Die Christologie der Pastoralbriefe (WUNT 2/105; 1998)
Paul R. Trebilco, The Early Christians in Ephesus from Paul to Ignatius (WUNT 166; 2004)
Bernhard Mutschler, Glaube in den Pastoralbriefen: Pistis als Mitte christlicher Existenz (WUNT 256; 2010)
Claire Smith, Pauline Communities as “Scholastic Communities”: A Study of the Vocabulary of “Teaching” in 1 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus (WUNT 2/335; 2012)

The first batch of volumes above has six WUNT volumes on the Pastorals being published in around four years (2020–2023). The earlier batch of volumes, another half-dozen, spans nearly two decades (1994–2012).

Annual Bibliographies on the Pastorals

For some few years now, we have been producing annual bibliographies for researchers in the Letters to Timothy and Titus. These bibliographies are meant to help students of these letters keep up with the secondary literature, and give some idea of research trends. We compile this list each year by contacting academic publishers and Pastorals scholars who have published previously on the letters. Our thanks to all who contributed!

Our annual bibliography of recent publications on the Letters to Timothy and Titus covers contributions from all of 2021 and early 2022. Over 170 items long and international in scope, the list contains monographs, journal articles, and commentaries, as well as lists of conference presentations and dissertations on the letters. It is available for viewing and downloading here.

Our annual bibliography of forthcoming publications on the Letters to Timothy and Titus is wide-ranging and academically oriented, containing over 60 forthcoming works on the Pastoral Epistles, including essays, monographs, and commentaries. In some cases, authors have provided a brief synopsis of their work. This bibliography is available for viewing and downloading here.

Genade, “Life in the Pastoral Epistles”

Aldred A. Genade, “Life in the Pauline Letters (3): Life in the Pastoral Epistles.” Pages 109–27 in Biblical Theology of Life in the New Testament. Edited by Francois P. Viljoen and Albert J. Coetsee. Reformed Theology in Africa Series 6. Cape Town: AOSIS, 2021.

Aldred Genade has contributed a chapter on the Pastorals to a volume presenting a NT theology of life. The volume is open-source and is available in full here.

Genade’s other contributions to Pastorals literature include:

Aldred A. Genade. “The Letter to Titus in Recent Scholarship: A Critical Overview.” Currents in Biblical Research 9.1 (2010): 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476993X09360726

________. Persuading the Cretans: A Text-Generated Persuasion Analysis of the Letter to Titus. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2011.

________. “Titus 3:3 as selfvilifikasie: ‘n Retoriese opsie [Titus 3:3 as Self-vilification: A Rhetorical Option].” Verbum et Ecclesia 31 (2010), article 346. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v31i1.346

The Pastorals in New Testament Abstracts 65.3

The following entries in New Testament Abstracts 65.3 may be of interest to researchers in the Pastorals.

1002. Philippe Van den Heede. “La participation à la mort du Christ par le baptême (Rm 6,3–11): Une conception pré-paulinienne (Rm 6,8; 2 Tm 2,11).” Revue Biblique 128.1 (2021): 99–115. (notice)

1035. Raymond F. Collins. “Paul in the Pastoral Epistles: A Life Well Lived.” The Bible Today 59.5 (2021): 308–15.

1036. Mary Ann Getty. “Elders and Widows.” The Bible Today 59.5 (2021): 301–7.

1037. Romeo Popa. “Ethic als Vermittlung zwischen Generationen in den Pastoralbriefen.” Sacra Scripta 18.1 (2020): 70–96.

1038. Mary Schieferstein. “Formation, Deception, and Childbearing: Reading 1 Timothy 2:13–3:1a in Light of Genesis 2–4.” Presbyterion 47.1 (2021): 112–20.

1039. Edward Mazich. “Lois and Eunice: Faith of Our Mothers.” The Bible Today 59.4 (2021): 242–48.

1040. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe. “Civilized Christ-Followers among Barbaric Cretans and Superstitious Judeans: Negotiating Ethnic Hierarchies in Titus 1:10–14.” Journal of Biblical Literature 140.2 (2021): 369–90. (notice)

1068. Michael Theobald. “Kirche im Neuen Testament.” Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche 117.4 (2020): 377–402. [note Pastorals on pp. 406–7]

(p. 437) Abraham M. Antony and Jose Varickasseril, eds. An Affable Pastor: A Commemorative Volume in Honour of Archbishop Dominic Jala SDB. Shillong, India: Vendrame Institute Publications, 2020. [note the article by Abraham M. Antony on the credentials of the episkopos in 1 Tim 3:1–7 in the context of the Pastoral Epistles]

(p. 438) Benjamin H. Dunning, ed. The Oxford Handbook of New Testament, Gender, and Sexuality. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. [note Jorunn Økland, “Pauline Letters,” pp. 315–32, with the Pastorals discussed on pp. 325–26]

(p. 444) Robert W. Wall. Studies in Canonical Criticism: Reading the New Testament as Scripture. Library of New Testament Studies 615. London: T&T Clark, 2020. [note “Reading the Pauline Pastorals in Canonical Context,” pp. 93–126, which is excerpted from Wall and Steele, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus]

(p. 454) Martin Wright. The Dividing Wall: Ephesians and the Integrity of the Corpus Paulinum. Library of New Testament Studies 646. London: T&T Clark, 2021.

(p. 455) Jaime Clark-Soles. Women in the Bible. Interpretation Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2020. [note chap. 10, “The Muting of Paul and His Female Coworkers: Women in the Deutero-Pauline Epistles,” pp. 281–306]

(p. 457) E. Elizabeth Johnson. Ecclesiology in the New Testament. Core Biblical Studies. Nashville: Abingdon, 2020.

(p. 457) Dorothy A. Lee. The Ministry of Women in the New Testament: Reclaiming the Biblical Vision. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021. [*Note the treatments of 1 Tim 2:11–15; 3:2–12 in chap. 6, “Paul’s Letters: Key Texts”]

(p. 458) William A. Simmons. The Holy Spirit in the New Testament: A Pentecostal Guide. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2021. [note chap. 13: “The Holy Spirit in the Pastoral Epistles: The Spirit of Power, Love and Self-Control,” 161–72]

(p. 467) Karl-Heinrich Ostmeyer and Adrian Wypadlo, eds. Das Ziel vor Augen: Sport und Wittkampf im Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament 226. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2020. [note Thomas Söding, “Der Sport des Apostels: Die Dialektik von Kampf und Seig auf dem Weg von Phil 3 zu 2 Tim 4,” pp. 81–100]

Porter, Pastoral Epistles, forthcoming 2022

I’ve known of Stan Porter’s forthcoming commentary on the Pastorals, but noticed it “officially” in Baker’s academic catalog today. Here’s the webpage. Per Baker, hardcover will be available in August 2022, e-book in November. Amazon, though, says Kindle version will be available 8/16/22 and hardcover 11/15/22.

Publisher’s blurb:

“New Testament scholar Stanley Porter offers a comprehensive commentary on the Pastoral Epistles that features rigorous biblical scholarship and emphasizes Greek language and linguistics.

“This book breaks new ground in its interpretation of the Pastoral Epistles by focusing on the Greek text and utilizing a linguistically informed exegetical method that draws on various elements in contemporary language study. Porter pays attention to the overall argument of each book while also delving into the semantics and lexicogrammar to tease out the textual meaning. Attentive to the history of scholarship on these three controversial works, the commentary addresses the major exegetical issues that arise in numerous highly disputed passages and offers innovative answers to traditional exegetical problems. Professors, students, and scholars of the New Testament will value this substantive work.”

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