Paul S. Jeon, Lecturer in NT at Reformed Theological Seminary and senior pastor at NewCity Church in Vienna, VA, has reviewed the recently published Pastorals commentary by Christopher Hutson. The review is exclusive to this blog and may be accessed here.
Michael Theobald is a German academic who published rather extensively on the Pastorals in his later career. To my knowledge, however, all of his work on the letters is in German (save for the just-published entry on Titus in The Paulist Bible Commentary), and so English-speaking students of the Pastorals may not be as familiar with his scholarship.
The single monograph Theobald produced on the Pastorals was published in 2016: Israel-Vergessenheit in den Pastoralbriefen: Ein neuer Vorschlag zu ihrer historisch-theologischen Verortung im 2. Jahrhundert. n. Chr. unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Ignatius-Briefe [Forgetting Israel in the Pastoral Letters: A New Proposal for Their Historical-Theological Location in the 2nd Century A.D. with Special Consideration of the Ignatius Letters]. In this work, he examines the origination of the Pastorals through the lens of the topic of Israel. He is particularly concerned to compare the engagement with Israel in Romans (another book in which he specializes) over against what he finds to be a lack of engagement with Israel in the Pastorals. He ends up dating the letters to c. 140 AD.
Jonathan Lookadoo has served English-speaking students of the Pastorals well by reviewing Theobald’s monograph for RBL, and has graciously agreed to upload the review to Academia, allowing general access. In his review, he notes Theobald’s valuable highlighting of connections between Romans and the Pastorals, and appreciates the case Theobald makes for reading Titus as the first of the Pastorals. Lookadoo notes, “Those who argue for authentically Pauline Pastoral Epistles or for another first-century date will likely take issue with some of Theobald’s arguments, but this does not take away from the value of his study. “
Use this link to read the entire review.
Over at the Logos Academic Blog, Nijay Gupta has been posting a series titled “Best Commentaries on Paul.” In his latest installation, he discusses what he finds to be the best modern technical (*Johnson, Marshall, Towner), semi-technical (*Dunn, Kelly, Spencer, Wall/Steele), and non-technical (*Fee, Oden, Towner) commentaries on the Pastorals, adding Trebilco’s Asia Bible Commentary contribution on 1 Timothy as a “hidden gem.”
For SBL members, RBL still has copies of Bray, Yarbrough, van Nes, and Joshua for review (see previous post for volume details).
In Journal of Theological Studies 70.2 (2019), Markus Vinzent reviews Harry Maier’s Picturing Paul in Empire: Imperial Image, Text and Persuasion in Colossians, Ephesians and the Pastoral Epistles.
In Churchman 133.3 (2019), John Percival reviews Jonathan I. Griffiths, Preaching in the New Testament: An Exegetical and Biblical-Theological Study, which has a chapter devoted to 2 Timothy 3-4.
James Prothro provides a brief review of Yarbrough, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, in Religious Studies Review 45.2 (2019): 213-14.
In Bulletin for Biblical Research 29.1 (2019): 110-13, Roy Ciampa reviews Jermo van Nes, Pauline Language and the Pastoral Epistles. (pdf)
Here are the Pastorals-related items I noted in the latest edition of New Testament Abstracts (63.2 [2019]). As with the last volume of NTA, the letters are quite well represented.
(789) Janusz Wilk, “Charakterystyka Tymoteusza w 1 Tes 3,2 (The Character of Timothy in 1Thess 3,2).” Collectanea Theologica [Warsaw] 84.3 (2014): 19–30.
(790) Johannes Beutler, “Diakoninnen, Presbyter und Episkopen: Kirchliche Ämter in den Pastoralbriefen.” Stimmen der Zeit 237.1 (2019): 3–12.
(791) Paul Himes, “The Use of the Aorist Imperative in the Pastoral Epistles.” Filologia Neotestamentaria 23.43 (2010): 73‒92. [Yes, “2010” is correct!]
(792) Annette B. Huizenga, “God’s Household Management: 1 Timothy 1:4.” The Bible Today 57.3 (2019): 157–64.
(793) Marjorie J. Cooper, “Analysis and Conclusions regarding 1 Timothy 2:9–3:1a.” Presbyterion 45.1 (2019): 96–107.
(794) Timothy D. Foster, “1 Timothy 2:13–15 as Analogy.” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 7.1–2 (2017): 53–67.
(795) Frank F. Judd, “Ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου in 1 Timothy 6:13 and Ante-Nicene Christian Literature.” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 8.1–2 (2018): 62–80.
(796) Koskenniemi, Erkki. “The Famous Liar and the Apostolic Truth.” Filologia Neotestamentaria 24.44 (2011): 59‒69. [Yes, “2011” is correct!]
(pp. 363-64) Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul. Edited by Scot McKnight and Greg Mamula. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018. This volume contains a chapter of interest by Kristen Bennett Marble and Jared Willemin: “Addressing False Teaching and Heresy: Paul as Guardian of the Gospel—1-2 Timothy and Titus” (pp. 145–71).
(p. 365) Paul and Scripture. Edited by Stanley E. Porter and Christopher D. Land. Pauline Studies 10. Leiden: Brill, 2019. Included in this volume is a chapter by Arland J. Hultgren, “The Pastoral Epistles and the Scriptures of Israel” (pp. 372‒90).
(pp. 370-71) Ursula Ulrike Kaiser, Die Rede von “Wiedergeburt” im Neuen Testament: Ein metapherntheoretisch orientierter Neuansatz nach 100 Jahren Forschungsgeschichte.Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 413. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018. The volume contains significant discussions of Titus 3:5 vis-a-vis its use of παλιγγενεσία.
(pp. 373-74) “Make Disciples of All Nations”: The Appeal and Authority of Christian Faith in Hellenistic-Roman Times. Edited by Loren T. Stuckenbruck, Beth Langstaff, and Michael Tilly. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/482. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019. This volume contains one of the latest offerings of Korinna Zamfir: “Eusebeia, Sōtēria and Civic Loyalty in the Pastoral Epistles” (pp. 121‒42).
(p. 382) Susan F. Hylen, Women in the New Testament World. Essentials of Biblical Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. Hylen engages 1 Timothy at a number of places in the volume; in the volume’s Scripture index, there are more passages from 1 Timothy than from any other book.
(p. 388) Veronika Niederhofer, Konversion in den Paulus- und Theklaakten: Eine narrative Form der Paulusrezeption. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/459. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017. This volume contains a brief section on “Die Acta Pauli und die Pastoralbriefe,” pp. 25–27.
Available to review:
Students of the Pastorals who are members of SBL may be interested in four volumes on the letters currently available for review at RBL:
Published reviews:
Andreas J. Köstenberger’s Commentary on 1‒2 Timothy & Titus (Biblical Theology for Christian Proclamation; Nashville, TN: Holman, 2017) has been reviewed by Michael Scott Robertson at RBL (SBL member access only).
Larry J. Perkins, The Pastoral Letters: A Handbook on the Greek Text (BHGNT; Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017), has been reviewed by Paul Foster in ExpTim 130.9 (2019): 426.
Dillon Thornton’s Hostility in the House of God: An Investigation of the Opponents in 1 and 2 Timothy (BBRSup 15; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2016) has been reviewed by Craig D. Saunders, Religious Studies Review 45.1 (2019), 78.
Jermo van Nes’s Pauline Language and the Pastoral Epistles: A Study of Linguistic Variation in the Corpus Paulinum (Linguistic Biblical Studies 16; Leiden: Brill, 2018) has garnered a couple of reviews:
Robert Yarbrough, The Letters to Timothy and Titus (PNTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018), has been reviewed by M. Sydney Park, Presbyterion 45.1 (2019): 172-73.
Each year, the Journal for the Study of the New Testament puts out an issue giving recently-published books in categories related to NT studies. The Pastoral Epistles are a distinct category in the issue each year, and usually garner two or three entries. This year, JSNT highlighted three volumes, each with two-paragraph annotations:
Külling, Heinz. Mann und Frau, Eltern und Kindern als Bewohner ihres Hauses in den Pastoralbriefen. Zurich: Theologischer Verlag Zurich, 2017. (annotation by Peter Oakes)
Perkins, Larry J. The Pastoral Letters: A Handbook on the Greek Text. Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2017. (annotation by Tom de Bruin)
Van Nes, Jermo. Pauline Language and the Pastoral Epistles: A Study of Linguistic Variation in the Corpus Paulinum. Linguistic Biblical Studies 16. Leiden: Brill, 2018. (annotation by Dirk Jongkind)
Volumes of collections of essays which are entirely about the Pastorals (in whole or in part) are not common. Until a year or so ago, I was only aware of six:
Bieringer, Reimund, ed. 2 Timothy and Titus Reconsidered / Der 2. Timotheus- und der Titusbrief in neuem Licht. Colloquium Oecumenicum Paulinum 20. Leuven: Peeters, 2018.
de Virgilio, Giuseppe, ed. Il deposito della fede: Timoteo e Tito. Supplementi alla Rivista Biblica 34. Bologna: Dehoniane, 1998.
Donfried, Karl Paul, ed. 1 Timothy Reconsidered. Colloquium Oecumenicum Paulinum 18. Leuven: Peeters, 2008.
Köstenberger, Andreas J. and Terry L. Wilder, eds. Entrusted with the Gospel: Paul’s Theology in the Pastoral Epistles. Nashville: B&H, 2010.
Köstenberger, Andreas J. and Thomas R. Schreiner, eds. Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15. 3rd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.
Weidemann, Hans-Ulrich, and Wilfried Eisele, eds. Ein Meisterschüler: Titus und sein Brief. Michael Theobald zum 60. Gerburtstag. Stuttgarter Bibelstudien 214. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2008.
I was pleased to discover another, a privately printed volume of scholarly presentations from an academic conference on the Pastorals held in Thessaloniki in 2003: Ἡ πνευματική παρακαταθήκη τοῦ Ἀποστόλου Παύλου. Ποιμαντικές Ἐπιστολές [The Spiritual Depository of Paul the Apostle: Pastoral Epistles]. Εἰσηγήσεις ΙΑ´ Συνάξεως Ὀρθοδόξων Βιβλικῶν Θεολόγων: Λευκάδα 25–28 Σεπτεμβρίου 2003 (Thessaloniki: privately published, 2004). A couple of the essays are in English, but most are in Modern Greek (though a number of those have English-language summaries included). The essays are all written by authors who are Orthodox, though not all of them are self-consciously treating the letters from that perspective.
My profound thanks goes to Christos Karakolis, without whose help I would not have been able to obtain this work. Christos is a professor of New Testament at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and has an essay included in the volume. He graciously provided me a copy of the volume, and assisted with the English translation of the table of contents.
I provide below a list of the essays included in the volume, most of which are well-nigh impossible to obtain through standard channels. Though it would be inappropriate for me to post the entire volume online, researchers in the Pastorals may obtain specific essays on a personal basis for research purposes; email me at chuckbumgardner at gmail.com with your request.
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Agouridis, Savvas (Σαββας Αγουριδης). “Η φύση της αίρεσης που καταπολεμούν οι ποιμαντικές επιστολές [The nature of the sect fought by the Pastoral Epistles].” Pages 31–40.
Atmatzidis, Charalampos (Ατματζιδης, Χαραλαμπος). “Οι ηθικές προτροπές για τον πλούτο και τους πλουσίους στο Α’ Τιμ. 6 και η Καινοδιαθηκική ηθική [The ethical exhortations regarding wealth and the wealthy in 1 Tim. 6 and the ethics of the New Testament].” Pages 41–84. [English-language summary on p. 84]
Vassiliadis, Petros (Βασιλειαδης, Πετρος). “Μετανεωτερικότητα, σταυρική θεολογία και οι συνέπειές τους για τις ποιμαντικές επιστολές [Postmodernity, theologia crucis, and their consequences for the Pastoral Epistles].” Pages 85–100. [English-language summary on pp. 99-100]
Galanis, Ioannis (Γαλανης, Ιωαννης). “Η χρήση των ποιμαντικών επιστολών στα έργα των εκκλησιαστικών συγγραφέων της ανατολικής εκκλησίας [The use of the Pastoral Epistles in the works of ecclesiastical writers in the Eastern Church].” Pages 101–12.
Galitis, Georgios A. (Γαλιτης, Γεωργιος). “Οι ποιμαντικές επιστολές στη σύγχρονη έρευνα [The Pastoral Epistles in modern research].” Pages 113–30.
Despotis, Sotirios (Δεσποτης, Σωτηριος). “Η Χριστολογία των Ποιμαντικών Επιστολών [The Christology of the Pastoral Epistles].” Pages 131–50. [English-language summary on pp. 148–49]
Doikos, Damianos (Δοϊκος, Δαμιανος). “‘Χήρας τίμα τάς όντως χήρας’ (Α’Τιμ.5,3-16).” Pages 151–62.
Ioannidis, Thomas (Ιωαννιδης, Θωμας). “Οι ύστεροι καιροί και οι έσχατες ημέρες στις Α’ και Β’ προς Τιμόθεον επιστολές [The end of all times and the last days in the First and Second Epistles to Timothy].” Pages 163–92. [English-language summary on pp. 189–91]
Karavidopoulos, Johannes (Καραβιδοπουλος, Ιωαννης). “Η σωτηριολογία των ποιμαντικών επιστολώ [The soteriology of the Pastoral Epistles].” Pages 193–204. [English-language summary on p. 203]
Karakolis, Christos (Καρακολης, Χρηστος). “‘Λέγοντες την ανάστασιν ήδη γεγονέναι’ (Β΄ Τιμ. 2,18): Ερμηνευτική, συγκριτική και θεολογική θεώρηση μιας εσχατολογικής παρεκτροπής [‘Saying that the resurrection has already happened’ (2 Timothy 2:18): Exegetical, comparative and theological view of an eschatological deviation].” Pages 205–24.
Kirov, Dimitar Popmarinov. “Godlessness according to 2 Timothy 3.1–9 and Ps. 13(14). Some biblical and theological attitudes in the light of the situation in a postcommunist country.” Pages 225–40. [Greek-language summary on pp. 238–40]
Koltsiou-Nikita, Anna (Κόλτσιου-Νικήτα, Άννα). “To ‘κάτοπτρον επισκόπου’ στις ποιμαντικές επιστολές και το γραμματειακό του πλαίσιο [The ‘mirror of the bishop’ in the Pastoral Epistles and its literary context].” Pages 241–64. [German-language summary on p. 264]
Mihoc, Vasile. “The Mission in the Pastoral Letters.” Pages 265–86. [Greek-language summary on pp. 284–85]
Nikolakopoulos, Constantine (Νικολακοπουλος, Κωνσταντινος). “Επόψεις της ‘Παυλείου’ ρητορικής στις δυο προς Τιμόθεον επιστολές [Aspects of ‘Pauline’ rhetoric in the two letters to Timothy].” Pages 287–304
Papademetriou, Kyriakoula (Παπαδημητριου, Κυρiακουλα). “Η σημασιολογία της λ. υγιαίνω στις ποιμαντικές επιστολές [The semantics of the word υγιαίνω in the Pastoral Epistles].” Pages 305–34. [English-language summary on p. 333]
Paparnakis, Athanasios (Παπαρνακης, Αθανασιος). “‘’Από βρέφους τά ιερά γράμματα οίδας’ (Β’ Τιμ. 3,15). Η θρησκευτική αγωγή του παιδιού στον ιουδαϊσμ [‘From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings’ (2 Tim 3:15). Religious education of children in Judaism].” Pages 335–60. [English-language summary on p. 360]
Sakkos, Stergios N. (Σακκος, Στεργιος Ν.). “Ενα εκκλησιαστικο αξιωμα για τη γυναικα (Α’ Τιμ. 5,3–16) [An ecclesiastical office for women (1 Tim 5:3–16)].” Pages 361–85.
Among the many literary accomplishments of Bruce Winter, onetime warden of Tyndale House and presently professor emeritus at Queensland Theological College, is his engagement of the connection between the Pastorals and their Greco-Roman cultural context. Published works in this regard include:
“The ‘New’ Roman Wife and 1 Timothy 2:9–15: The Search for a Sitz im Leben.” Tyndale Bulletin 51.2 (2000): 285–94.
“Providentia for the Widows of 1 Timothy 5.3–16.” Tyndale Bulletin 39 (1988): 83–99.
Roman Wives, Roman Widows: The Appearance of New Women and the Pauline Communities. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. [esp. pp. 97–169 on 1 Tim 2:9–15; 5:11–15; Titus 2:3–5]
“You Were What You Wore in Roman Law: Deciphering the Dress Codes of 1 Timothy 2:9–15.” SBL Forum, n.p. Online.
In Roman Wives, Roman Widows (see, e.g., this review for a general summary), Winter sets forth his understanding of the “new woman” in the Greco-Roman context of the NT, making application to Pauline passages such as 1 Tim 2:9-15 and 1 Tim 5:3-16. As a matter of definition, “The ‘new’ wife or widow in the late Roman Republic and early Empire was the one whose social life was reported to have been pursued at the expense of family responsibilities that included the complex running of households” (5). Winter lays out literary evidence from “(a) the views of contemporary writers covering the late Republic and the early second century A.D.; (b) those of the poets and playwrights; (c) and the legal moves of Augustus where he specifically legislates against this new phenomenon in the late Republican period and the early Empire” (22). He finds that this evidence supports “new mores” of the time which had implications for the social roles of women and “in some cases, endorsed [the ‘new woman’s] illicit sexual liaisons with younger, single men” (3). The “new woman” was characterized by provocative clothing and a loose lifestyle, in contrast with properly modest wives and widows.
Winter’s work has been widely engaged. It plays a significant role, for instance, in Towner’s NICNT commentary on the Pastorals. It has not been, however, uncontroversial. To that end, I point our readership to a just-published, and rather severe, critique: Annette Merz, “‘New’ Woman? Bruce W. Winters These und ihre Rezeption in der exegetischen Diskussion kritisch beleuchtet [Bruce W. Winter’s thesis and its reception in the exegetical discussion critically examined],” in Frauen im antiken Judentum und frühen Christentum (ed. Jörg Frey and Nicole Rupschus; WUNT 2/489; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019), 209-34. Merz has posted a teaser on Academia, providing her faculty email address (a.b.merz@pthu.nl) for readers to obtain a copy of the entire essay.
In her lengthy discussion, Merz contends that Winter reads the ancient evidence too uncritically; appropriates modern historians too selectively and feminist scholarship too rarely; and unduly expands a limited phenomenon of antiquity beyond historically verifiable chronological and geographical bounds. She considers his overall thesis “dubious” (“dubiose,” p. 231), indeed, an “evangelical research-myth” (“ein evangelikaler Forschungsmythos,” p. 234).
My purpose in noting Winter’s and Merz’s work here is not to evaluate either, but simply to highlight the discussion. If students of the Pastorals are leaning heavily on Winter’s work in some particular project or if Winter’s thesis undergirds their understanding of the letters to any great extent, they will at least want to be aware of Merz’s substantial critique.
Van Neste reviews van Nes. In the current issue of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Ray Van Neste provides a 1000-word evaluation of the recent and important Jermo van Nes, Pauline Language and the Pastoral Epistles: A Study of Linguistic Variation in the Corpus Paulinum. Linguistic Biblical Studies 16. Leiden: Brill, 2018. [Brill description; N.B.! The very valuable appendices — over 250 pages worth of data — are open access through the Brill page: “Hapax Legomena in the Corpus Paulinum“; “Lexical Richness in the Corpus Paulinum“; “Missing Indeclinables in the Corpus Paulinum“; “Interclausal Relations in the Corpus Paulinum“; “Structure Irregularities in the Corpus Paulinum.” Not to mention van Nes’s extensive bibliography.]
“It would be difficult to overstate the significance of this contribution to the study of the Pastoral Epistles.”
Read the entire review here.
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