Category: Books (Page 7 of 14)

Recent Work on the Pastoral Epistles

December 6, 2017 /

I am aware of four books related to the Pastorals that have just come out, and thought it would be useful to mention them here.

First is the new volume on the PE in the Baylor Handbook series. The series as a whole has been very well done so I look forward to seeing this PE volume by Larry Perkins.

 

 

Second, is this new edition of Aquinas’s commentaries on the PE, Michael G Sirilla, The Ideal Bishop: Aquinas’s Commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. 2017).

I have only glanced at it so far. Here is the table of contents:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. Introduction
  2. The Theology of the Episcopacy in the Writings
  3. St. Thomas’s Lectures on the Pastoral Epistles
  4. Lectures on 1 Timothy: Ut gubernet populum
  5. Lectures on 2 Timothy: Ut pro populo subdito patiatur
  6. Lectures on Titus: Ut malos coerceat
  7. Conclusion

 

This will be fascinating in terms of the history of interpretation.

Third, Baylor has also published a new monograph on the Pastorals, Civilized Piety: The Rhetoric of Pietas in the Pastoral Epistles and the Roman Empire by T. Christopher Hoklotubbe. Here is the table of contents for this book:

Introduction: The Politics of Piety in the Pastoral Epistles

  1. Piety in Caesar’s House
  2. Piety in God’s House
  3. Honoring Piety in the City
  4. Honoring Piety in the Ekklēsia
  5. The Mystery of Philosophical Piety
  6. The Mystery of Pastoral Piety

Conclusion: A Pious and Civilized Christian in the Roman Empire

 

Fourth, the Pastorals are dealt within this interesting new book, Paul as Pastor, edited by Brian S. Rosner, Andrew S. Malone, and Trevor J. Burke (New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. 2018). The PE are dealt with by Bob Yarbrough in chapter 11 (which can be viewed at Amazon)

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. The Household Setting of Paul’s Pastoral Practice and its Biblical and Jewish Roots — Brian S. Rosner, Ridley College, Australia
    2. Paul as Pastor in Acts: Modelling and Teaching Perseverance in the Faith – Alan J. Thompson, Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Australia
    3. Paul as Pastor in Romans: Theological Foundations – Colin G. Kruse, Melbourne School of Theology, Australia
    4. Paul’s Pastoral Sensitivity in 1 Corinthians – Matthew R. Malcolm, Trinity Theological College, Australia
    5. Paul as Pastor in 2 Corinthians – Paul W. Barnett, Macquarie University, Australia
    6. Pastoring with a Big Stick: Paul as Pastor in Galatians – Michael F. Bird, Ridley College, Australia and John Anthony Dunne, St. Andrew’s University, UK
    7. Paul and Pastors in Ephesians: The Pastor as Teacher – Peter Orr, Moore Theological College, Australia
    8. Paul and Pastors in Philippians: When Staff teams Disagree – Sarah Harris, Carey Baptist College, New Zealand
    9. Paul as Pastor in Colossians? – Andrew S. Malone, Ridley College, Australia
    10. Mother, Father, Infant, Orphan, Brother: Paul’s Variegated Pastoral Strategy Towards His Thessalonian Church-Family – Trevor J. Burke, Cambridge Theological Federation, UK
    11. Paul as Working Pastor: Exposing an Open Ethical Secret – Robert W. Yarbrough, Covenant Theological Seminary, USA
    12. The Pastoral Offices in the Pastoral Epistles and the Church of England’s First Ordinal – Tim Patrick, Bible College SA, Australia
    13. Augustine of Hippo on Paul as Pastor – Andrew M. Bain, Queensland Theological College, Australia
    14. ‘He Followed Paul’ Whitefield’s Voice: Heroic, Apostolic, Prophetic – Rhys S. Bezzant, Ridley College, Australia

 

Lastly, I have also just received a copy of a recent article, “The Rhetorical Strategy of 1 Timothy,” by Tim O’Donnell published in Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 79:3 (July 2017): 455-475. I look forward to reading this soon.

 

These are encouraging signs for work on these important letters.

3rd edition of Women in the Church

November 21, 2017 /

In 2016 a third edition of Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 edited by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner was published. Although Baker published the first two editions, this version is published by Crossway. Scott Baldwin’s chapter on αὐθεντέω has been replaced with a chapter by Al Wolters on the same word. Dorothy Patterson’s chapter has been replaced by a roundtable discussion.

The chapter summaries below are taken from the introduction, with permission from Crossway.

The team of contributors, all leading experts in their respective fields, scrutinize in the following pages the various aspects of a responsible interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:9–15: the historical background of first-century Ephesus; the meaning of the word αὐθεντεῖν; the Greek syntax of v. 12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man”; the exegesis of 1 Timothy 2:9–15; the cultural context for applying the passage; matters of Bible translation; and vigorous, spirited interaction on the implications of the reading offered here for women’s roles in the life of the church today.

In chapter 1, S. M. Baugh discusses the first-century background. For more than a century, excavators have been digging in the city of Ephesus, and in the course of that time, archaeologists and ancient historians have unearthed, examined, and evaluated a very large amount of original source material, which makes a fairly intimate knowledge of the city and its inhabitants possible. Unfortunately, this material is not always easily accessible, and misunderstandings sometimes continue for people who look for accurate explanations of the Ephesian background to interpret texts such as 1 Timothy. Hence, while the earlier forms of this essay provided much technical information, this version has been revised to make the subject matter clearer to the nonspecialist. The overall goal is to draw an accurate, brief portrait of the institutions of Ephesus as they relate specifically to the interpretation of 1 Timothy 2 and illumine its message.

In chapter 2, Al Wolters examines the meaning of the verb αὐθεντέω, which occurs in 1 Timothy 2:12 and is commonly translated “have authority.” His main point is that the verb here does not have a pejorative meaning (as in “domineer”) or an ingressive meaning (as in “assume authority”), although in recent decades a number of scholars, versions, and lexica have ascribed these connotations to it. An exhaustive survey of all known occurrences of the verb in ancient and medieval Greek shows that actual usage does not support these lexicographical innovations. While the translation “assume authority” (or the like) is sometimes justified, this is the case only where an ingressive aorist is used, not in other tense forms of the verb, such as the present tense in this passage.

In chapter 3, I examine the essential syntax of what is probably the most contentious section of 1 Timothy 2:9–15: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man” (v. 12 ESV). In particular, based on syntactic parallels in both Scripture and ancient Greco-Roman literature, I argue that the two activities joined by the conjunction οὐδέ in 1 Timothy 2:12 (teaching and exercising authority over men) must be, in Paul’s consideration, either both positive or both negative. Paul’s positive view of διδάσκω (teaching) as an activity thus points to his positive view of αὐθεντέω ἀνδρός (exercising authority over a man) as an activity, over against interpreters who have assigned to αὐθεντέω ἀνδρός a negative meaning. In addition, I argue that the two activities of teaching and exercising authority, while related, ought not to be merged into a single idea that is more restrictive than either one is separately (e.g., “seizing authority to teach a man”), an interpretation that some scholars have strenuously advanced in recent years.

In chapter 4, Thomas Schreiner sets forth an interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:9–15. While not every contributor would agree with everything argued for in this essay—especially the interpretations offered for 1 Timothy 2:14–15—the interpretation proposed draws upon the conclusions reached in other chapters of this book (especially Baugh, Wolters, and Köstenberger) and interacts extensively with existing scholarship.

In chapter 5, Robert Yarbrough deals with the hermeneutics of this passage and what the interpretation means for church practice. He denies that this passage asserts the abolition, prevention, or curtailment of women’s leadership in church or society, or women’s exclusion from all teaching and ministry in any capacity whatsoever. Rather, this chapter explores the meaning of the biblical precedent and precept of men’s primary leadership responsibility as pastoral teachers and overseers (cf. Paul’s “teach” and “exercise authority” in 1 Tim. 2:12) in God’s household, the church.

In chapter 6, Denny Burk investigates the claim, advanced by Linda Belleville, that a nonpejorative rendering of αὐθεντεῖν is an innovation of English Bibles produced in the twentieth century. He also examines the shift in translation of αὐθεντεῖν from “have authority” in the NIV 1984 and TNIV 2002 to the ingressive “assume authority” in the TNIV 2005 and NIV 2011. Is the NIV translators’ explanation for the new rendering compelling? Or is it potentially misleading in light of Philip Payne’s pejorative understanding of “assume authority,” which the findings of Al Wolters and Andreas Kӧstenberger in the present volume contravene?

Chapter 7 is devoted to the application of the teaching of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 to women’s and men’s roles in the church today. To this end, we gathered a virtual roundtable of several women and men with a proven track record of speaking out intelligently and knowledgeably on this issue. While diverse in background, these women and men concur in their essential interpretation of the passage as laid out in the present volume. At the same time, while the original meaning of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 is firm, the significance of Paul’s teaching in this passage is multifaceted. The various participants in the roundtable provide a series of perceptive observations on the text and its application as women and men strive to apply the teaching of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 to their lives today.

 

Taken from Women in the Church: An Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15 by by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner, © 1995, 2005, 2016, pp. 21-23. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org.

Review of a Recent Monograph Epistolography & the PE

November 20, 2017 /

Chuck Bumgardner has pointed out a helpful review (in English) of a recent monograph on the Pastorals which we listed in a previous post on recent dissertations on the Pastorals.

Korinna Zamfir has reviewed for RBL this monograph:

Luttenberger, Joram. Prophetenmantel oder Bücherfutteral? Die persönlichen Notizen in den Pastoralbriefen im Licht antiker Epistolographie und literarischer Pseudepigraphie. Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 40. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2012.

Her review will at least familiarize the English-language PE student with Luttenberger’s work.

Korinna Zamfir, review of Joram Luttenberger, Prophetenmantel oder Bücherfutteral? Die persönlichen Notizen in den Pastoralbriefen im Licht antiker Epistolographie und literarischer Pseudepigraphie, Review of Biblical Literature (2016).

The link will take you to a page with a brief abstract of the book, but for the full review you have to log in with SBL membership information since  RBL reviews are only publicly available to SBL members.

Pastoral Epistles Publications in 2016

August 22, 2017 /

Chuck Bumgardner has once again done us the wonderful service of compiling a list of publications from the year (2016). This is an excellent resource for anyone trying to stay abreast of scholarship on the Pastorals. If you know of an item that should be added to the list please let us know by sending us an email at pastoralepistles at gmail dot com.

 

Aageson, James. “Paul and the Next Generations of the Church.” Pages 111-30 in Windows on Early Christianity: Uncommon Stories, Striking Images, Critical Perspectives. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016.

Adewuya, J. A. Holiness in the Letters of Paul: The Necessary Response to the Gospel. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016. [Note chap. 10, “Holiness in the Pastoral Epistles,” pp. 148–58]

Barcley, W. B. “Introduction to the Pastoral Epistles,” “1 Timothy,” “2 Timothy,” and “Titus.” Pages 349–400 in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized. Edited by Michael J. Kruger. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.

Bénétreau, S. “Projets apostoliques: selon 2 Timothée 3.10, une sujétion, pour Timothée, aux projets de Paul? Spécificité de liberté chrétienne.” Théologie évangélique [Vaux-sur-Seine] 15.2 (2016): 16-28.

Brannan, Rick. Lexical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy. Appian Way, 2016.

________. Second Timothy: Notes on Grammar, Syntax, and Structure. Appian Way, 2016.

Brueggemann, W. Money and Possessions. Interpretation Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016. (note chap. 13: “The Pastoral Epistles: Order in the Household,” pp. 239–47)

Bumgardner, Charles J. “Kinship, Christian Kinship, and the Letters to Timothy and Titus.” Southeastern Theological Review 7.2 (2016): 3–18.

________. “Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus: A Literature Review (2009–2015).” Southeastern Theological Review 7.2 (2016): 77–116.

Butticaz, S. “The Construction of Apostolic Memories in the Light of Two New Testament Pseudepigrapha (2 Tm and 2 Pt).” Annali di storia dell’esegesi 33.2 (2016): 341–63.

Carter, C. L. “Leading down the Via Negativa: I Timothy as a Test Case for an Apophatic Theology of Leadership.” Journal of Asian Evangelical Theology 20.1 (2016): 61–85.

Carter, W. God in the New Testament. Core Biblical Studies. Nashville: Abingdon, 2016. [note chap. 13: “The Household of God and Its Male Guardians (1 Tim 3:1–15; 2 Tim 2:14–26),” pp. 139–150]

Cholvy, B. “‘Vivre dans le temps présent avec réserve, justice et piété’ (Tt), peut-il être désirable?” Recherches de Science Religieuse 104.4 (2016): 533-50.

Couser, Greg A. “Divergent, Insurgent or Allegiant? 1 Timothy 5:1–2 and the Nature of God’s Household.” Southeastern Theological Review 7.2 (2016): 19–34.

________. “‘How Firm a Foundation’: The Ecclesiology of 2 Tim 2:19–21.” Bibliotheca Sacra 173 (2016): 460–75.

Cuvillier, E. “Les collaborateurs dans la communication paulinienne: l’exemple de Timothée.” Protestantesimo 71:1–3 (2016): 61–70.

Davey, Wesley T. “Sight in the Tempest: Suffering as Participation with Christ in the Pauline Corpus.” Ph.D. diss., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2016. [note “The Place of SPC [suffering as participation with Christ] in 2 Timothy 2:1–13,” pp. 214-33]

Davis, P. A., Jr. Translating 2 Timothy Clause by Clause: An Exegetical Guide. EBooks for Translating the New Testament. Leesburg, IN: Cyber-Center for Biblical Studies, 2016.

DeFranza, Megan K. “Journeying from the Bible to Christian Ethics in Search of Common Ground.” Pages 69–101 in Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church. Edited by Preston Sprinkle. Counterpoints: Bible & Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. [note “Corinthians and Timothy—Their Background in Leviticus, Genesis, and Judges,” pp. 72–81]

Dickson, J. P. “‘Teaching’ as Traditioning in 1 Timothy 2:12: An Historical Observation.” Pages 109-19 in The Gender Conversation: Evangelical Perspectives on Gender, Scripture, and the Christian Life. Edited by E. Murphy and D. Starling. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2016 [Responses by Lyn Kidson, pp. 120-21; and Hefin Jones, pp. 122-24]

Downs, David J., and W. Rogan. “‘Let us teach ourselves first to follow the commandment of the Lord’ (Pol. Phil. 4.1): An Additional Note on ‘the Commandment’ as Almsgiving.” New Testament Studies 62.4 (2016): 628–36.

Dragutinović, P. “Ταῦτα πάσχω (2Tim 1,12): Wer verfolgt wen in den Pastoralbriefen?“ Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 92.3 (2016): 469–86.

Edwards, B. G. “Honor True Widows: 1 Timothy 5:3–16 with Implications for the Church’s Social Responsibilities.” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 21 (2016): 87–105.

Elliott, J. H. “The Pastorals and a Weberian Perspective on Ecclesial Authority and Leadership.” Pages 131–57 in Exploring Biblical Kinship: Festschrift in Honor of John J. Pilch. Edited by J. C. Campbell and P. J. Hartin. Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 55. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2016.

Foster, T. D. “1 Timothy 2:8–15 and Gender Wars at Ephesus.” Priscilla Papers 30.3 (2016): 1–10.

Georgia, A. T. “‘Unless he competes professionally’: Agonism and Cultural Production among Christians and Jews in the Roman World.” PhD diss., Fordham University, 2016.

Ghisalberti, G. “The Christology of Shame and the Re-evaluations of Hellenic Ideas in 1 and 2 Timothy.” Heythrop Journal 57.4 (2016): 625–37.

Gourgues, Michel. “Jesus’s Testimony before Pilate in 1 Timothy 6:13.” Journal of Biblical Literature 135.3 (2016): 639–48.

Hartenstein, Judith.“Weibliche Askese und christliche Identität im 2. Jh. n. Chr.” Pages 213-26 in Dem Körper eingeschrieben: Verkörperung zwischen Leiberleben und kulturellem Sinn. Edited by Matthias Jung, Michaela Bauks, and Andreas Ackerman. Studien zur Interdisziplinären Anthropologie. Wiesbaden: Springer, 2016. (Abstract: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-658-10474-0_12)

Herzer, Jens. “‘Gefäße zur Ehre und zur Unehre’ (2 Tim 2,20): Metaphorische Sprache und Ethik in den Pastoralbriefen – eine Skizze.” Pages 49–70 in Metapher—Narratio—Mimesis—Doxologie: Begründungsformen frühchristlicher und antiker Ethik. Edited by U. Volp, F. W. Horn, and R. Zimmerman. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics 7. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016.

________. “Tradition und Bekenntnis. Die Theologie des Paulus im Spiegel ihrer Rezeption im Ersten Timotheusbrief.” Pages 247–72 in Petrus und Paulus: Geschichte—Theologie—Rezeption. Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte 48. Edited by H. Omerzu and E. D. Schmidt. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2016.

Hoklotubbe, T. C. “Great Is the Mystery of Piety: Contested Claims to Piety in Plutarch, Philo, and 1 Timothy.” Pages 155–66 in Religious Competition in the Greco-Roman World. Edited by N. P. Desrosiers and L. C. Vuong. SBL Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplement Series 10. Atlanta: SBL, 2016.

Hübner, Jamin. “Revisiting the Clarity of Scripture in 1 Timothy 2:12.” Journal of the Evangelical Society 59 (2016): 99-117.

Huizenga, A. B. 1-2 Timothy, Titus. Wisdom Commentary. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016.

Jones, H. “Women, Teaching, and Authority: A Case for Understanding the Nature of Congregational Oversight as Underlying 1 Timothy 2:11-12.” Pages 143-54 in The Gender Conversation: Evangelical Perspectives on Gender, Scripture, and the Christian Life. Edited by E. Murphy and D. Starling. Macquarie Park, Australia / Eugene, OR: Morling / Wipf & Stock, 2016 [Responses by John Dickson, pp. 155-56; and Lyn Kidson, pp. 157-59]

Klein, H. “Paulus als Verkündiger, Apostel und Lehrer in den Pastoralbriefen.” Sacra Scripta 12 (2014): 43-63. Reprint, pages 325–43 in Entwicklungslinien im Corpus Paulinum und weitere Studien zu Paulustexten. Edited by T. Nicklas. Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 265. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016.

Köstenberger, Andreas J. and Thomas R. Schreiner, eds. Women in the Church: An Analysis and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9–15.  3rd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.

Krause, Deborah, “Construing and Containing an Imperial Paul: Rhetoric and the Politics of Representation in the Pastoral Epistles.” Pages 203–20 in An Introduction to Empire in the New Testament. Edited by A.Winn. SBL Resources for Biblical Study 84. Atlanta: SBL, 2016.

Kruger, Michael J. “First Timothy 5:18 and Early Canon Consciousness: Reconsidering a Problematic Text.” Pages 680–700 in The Language and Literature of the New Testament: Essays in Honor of Stanley E. Porter’s 60th Birthday. Edited by Lois Fuller Dow, Craig A. Evans, and Andrew W. Pitts. Biblical Interpretation Series 150. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Lappenga, B. J. Paul’s Language of Ζῆλος: Monosemy and the Rhetoric of Identity and Practice. Bibilical Interpretation Series 137. Leiden: Brill, 2016. (Titus 2:14 discussed on pp. 205–8)

Long, T. G. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2016.

Marcheselli-Casale, C. “Commentario Lettere Pastorali a Timoteo e a Tito.” In Le lettere di san Paolo. Edited by A. Biancalani and B. Rossi. Rome: Città Nuova, 2016.

Massey, P. T. “Women, Talking and Silence: 1 Corinthians 11.5 and 14.34–35 in the Light of Greco-Roman Culture.” Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism 12 (2016): 127–60. [aside form the obvious implications work that work in 1 Cor 14.34-35 has for 1 Tim 2:9-15, this article briefly engages περίεργοι in 1 Tim 5:13, pp. 134–36]

McKay, J. M., Jr. Translating Titus Clause by Clause: An Exegetical Guide. EBooks for Translating the New Testament. Leesburg, IN: Cyber-Center for Biblical Studies, 2016.

Menéndez-Antuña, Luis. “Cuerpos ambiguos: Un estudio comparativo del status antropológico y político de las mujeres en las Cartas Pastorales y los Hechos Apócrifos de Pablo y Tecla.” ‘Ilu: Revista de ciencias de las religiones 21 (2016): 93–113.

Nihinlola, E. “Saved through Childbearing: An African Feminist Interpretation and Theology.” Evangelical Review of Theology 40.4 (2016): 314–26.

Obielosi, D. C. “Inspiration and Inerrancy of the Bible: An Exegetical Interpretation of 1Tim 3,16.” Journal of Religion and Human Relations 8.1 (2016): 1–19.

Ong, Hughson T. “Is There a Heresy in the Pastorals? A Sociolinguistic Analysis of 1 and 2 Timothy via the Ethnography of Communication Theory.” Pages 119-38 in Paul and Gnosis. Edited by S. E. Porter and D. I. Yoon. Pauline Studies 9. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Opatrný, D. “Theologically Significant Textual Variants in the Pastoral Epistles.” Pages 229–39 in The Process of Authority: The Dynamics of Transmission and Reception of Canonical Texts. Edited by J. Dušek and J. Roskovec. Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies 27. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2016.

Pervo, Richard I. The Pastorals and Polycarp: Titus, 1–2 Timothy, and Polycarp to the Philippians. Scholars Bible 5. Salem, OR: Polebridge, 2016.

Pietersen, Lloyd K. “Artemis, Demons, Mammon and Satan: The Construal of Evil in 1 Timothy.” In Evil in Second Temple Judaism and Early Chrisitanity. Edited by C. Keith and L. Stuckenbruck. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/417. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016.

Pitts, Andrew W., and J. D. Tyra. “Exploring Linguistic Variation in an Ancient Greek Single-Author Corpus: A Register Design Analysis of Josephus and Pauline Pseudonymity.” Pages 257–83 in The Language and Literature of the New Testament: Essays in Honor of Stanley E. Porter’s 60th Birthday. Edited by L. K. Fuller Dow, C. A. Evans, and A. W. Pitts. Biblical Interpretation Series 50. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Smith, Craig A. 2 Timothy. Readings: A New Biblical Commentary. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2016.

Stiekes, Gregory J. “The Fall of Eve in Paul.” Ph.D. diss., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2016. [note specific treatment of 1 Tim. 2:13–14 on pp. 49–56, 184–97]

________. “Paul’s Family of God: What Familial Language in the Pastorals Can and Cannot Tell Us about the Church.” Southeastern Theological Review 7.2 (2016): 35–56.

Swinson, L. Timothy. “Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος: An Alternative Analysis.” Southeastern Theological Review 7.2 (2016): 57–76.

Theobald, M. “Alt und Neu. Innovative Begriffsbildungen in den Pastoralbriefen als Indiz ihres pseudepigraphen Charakters.” Pages 357-380 in Der jüdische Messias Jesus und sein jüdischer Apostel Paulus. Edited by A. D. Baum, D. Häußer and E. L. Rehfeld. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/425. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 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. Stuttgarter Bibelstudien 229. Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2016.

Thiessen, J. (with R. Fuchs). Die umstrittenen Paulusbriefe—Abschriften und Fälschungen? Intertextuelle, literarkritische und theologische Studien. Studien zu Theologie und Bibel 19. Wien: LIT, 2016. [note “Die ‘Pastoralbriefe’ — Fälschungen eines Paulusschülers?,” pp. 231–404]

Thornton, Dillon. Hostility in the House of God: An Investigation of the Opponents in 1 and 2 Timothy. Bulletin for Biblical Research Supplement 15. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2016.

________.“‘Saying What They Should Not Say’: Reassessing the Gravity of the Problem of the Younger Widows (1 Tim 5:11–15).” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 59.1 (2016): 119-29.

Urban, D. V. “Allusion to 1 Timothy 5:17 in John Milton’s Paradise Lost 9.332.” Notes & Queries 63.1 (2016): 59.

Van Nes, Jermo. “On the Origin of the Pastorals’ Authenticity Criticism: A ‘New’ Perspective.” New Testament Studies 62.2 (2016): 315-20.

Vollenweider, S. “‘Einer ist der Mittler‘ (1 Tim 2,5): Mittleraussagen der neutestamentlichen Briefliteratur in ihren frühjüdischen und hellenistischen Kontexten.“ Pages 209–28 in Vermittelte Gegenwart: Konzeptionen der Gottespräsenz von der Zeit des Zweiten Tempels bis Anfang des 2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. Edited by A. Taschl-Erber and I. Fischer. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 367. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016.

Weidemann, Hans-Ulrich. “Die Pastoralbriefe,” Theologische Rundschau 81.4 (2016): 353-403.

Westfall, Cynthia L. Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2016. [note chap. 9, “1 Timothy 2:11–15”]

Zamfir, Korinna. “Üdvösség a házasság vagy a szüzesség útján? A pasztorális levelek és a Tekla-cselekedetek vitája [Salvation Through Marriage or Virginity? The Debate of the Acts of Thecla with the Pastoral Epistles].” Pages 127–43 in “Kincseiből régit és újat”: Ünnepi kötet Gaál Endre 70. születésnapjára. Edited by F. TAMÁS. Esztergom: Esztergomi Hittudományi Főiskola, 2016.

Zamfir, Korinna, and J. Verheyden. “Reference-Text-Oriented Allusions.“ Pages 242–53 in Exploring Intertextuality: Diverse Strategies for New Testament Interpretation of Texts. Edited by B. J. Oropeza and S. Moyise. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016.

New Commentary from Doug Wilson

August 3, 2017 /

The oft provocative author, Douglas Wilson, has a new commentary on the Pastoral Epistles which will release soon. While I don’t always agree with Wilson (with whom do I always agree?!) I appreciate his writing, wit and straightforwardness. I am looking forward to seeing this book. I don’t understand the widows in 1 Timothy 5 as an “office” (though many do), so I am intrigued to see how he fleshes out his comment here in the video.

 

Pillar of the Truth Book Blurb from Canon Press on Vimeo.

New Edition of Calvin’s Sermons on 1 Timothy

February 29, 2016 /

Calvin sermons coverI have finally published the new edition of Calvin’s sermons on 1 Timothy which Brian Denker and I worked on for so long. Due to its size (330,000+ words) the digital format seemed a good way to go, so it is published through Amazon for Kindle. The cost is only $2.99 for all 54 sermons.

These sermons reveal Calvin’s pastoral heart, his evangelistic fervor, and his devotion to the word of God. I have posted my introduction and a sample sermon for free so you can get a feel for the book.

I have pasted in below the commendations for the book which I have received. Howard Marshall has enthusiastically responded to my email saying he wanted to write a commendation, but sadly he passed away before being able to write it. Howard commented on how Andrew Walls read from these sermons (directly from the French original) at one of the early InterVarsity meetings he attended as a student.

I hope these sermons can encourage, challenge, and bless others as they have me.

“In this new edition of Calvin’s sermons on the Pastoral Epistles we meet the Reformer at his liveliest and most compelling. The subject matter lends itself to practical application, and here we see Calvin at the height of his pastoral powers. This new edition brings the original to life for our generation and we must hope that it will be widely read and used by preachers everywhere.”

  • Gerald Bray, Research Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

“So many think of John Calvin as a theologian, as one who lived separate from the people writing theological books in splendid isolation. But Calvin was a pastor who was involved in the rough and tumble of everyday life. Above all else, he was a preacher, one who proclaimed the word of God to the people of God. We see in these sermons the heart of a preacher as he exhorts and instructs his congregation. Calvin’s theology was not abstract to him; it was meant to be believed and lived out in the home and in the market place. In these sermons on 1 Timothy we see Calvin the pastor at work as he proclaims God’s word for the church of Jesus Christ. Read and be instructed, challenged, encouraged, convicted, and changed.”

  • Tom Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Professor of Biblical Theology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Ray Van Neste has done English readers a great service by making John Calvin’s sermons on 1 Timothy readily accessible. The 1579 English translation is simply too intimidating for many modern readers to tackle leaving the theological and pastoral wisdom of the reformer in these sermons virtually locked away. This edition is completely retyped using modern words and phrases to maintain the original English meaning. Where serious questions remained these then were checked against the original French in which the sermons first appeared. A helpful introduction which includes a suggested approach to reading the sermons makes this work all the more valuable. Those who know Calvin only as a theologian will discover in these sermons that he was a first and foremost a tender, compassionate and evangelist pastor. I hope this book gains a wide reading.”

  • Tom Ascol, Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, FL

“Today’s preachers have much to gain by reading and studying sermons from past masters of the pulpit. Unfortunately, some great preachers of the past are relatively inaccessible because of differences of language. Thus, Ray Van Neste and Brian Denker have done us a great service by editing and updating the 1579 English edition of Calvin’s Sermons on 1 Timothy, making them accessible to 21st century readers. In these 54 sermons, Calvin is revealed not to be the austere theologian of modern caricatures, but a loving, caring pastor who wanted his people to understand the truth of God’s Word. This significant collection will be of interest not only to students of Calvin but to any reader interested in better understanding Paul’s inspired first letter to his protégé Timothy.”

  •   Michael Duduit, Executive Editor, Preaching magazine, and Dean of the College of Christian Studies & Clamp Divinity School, Anderson University, Anderson, SC

 

Second Timothy: Notes on Grammar, Syntax, & Structure

February 26, 2016 /

Rick Brannan has written a new book, Second Timothy: Notes on Grammar, Syntax, & Structure, which is soon to be published with Appian Way Press. The book provides a block-style outline and translation, treats major structures in the text, and comments on grammatical and syntactical issues phrase by phrase through the letter.

I have had an opportunity to see the manuscript and found it useful. Here is the blurb I have written for it:

“This is a fascinating study as Brannan comments on grammatical and syntactical relationships throughout 2 Timothy with comments on the implications for flow of thought and meaning. I am not aware of anything quite like this available anywhere else. This will be a great resource for anyone working through the Greek text of 2 Timothy.”

You can find information about the book and a couple of sample portions here.

Wansbrough on the Pastoral Epistles

February 23, 2016 /

By Chuck Bumgardner

wansbrough intro ntHenry Wansbrough, a Roman Catholic biblical scholar, is notable for his work as the general editor of the New Jerusalem Bible (1985). Having published over twenty books throughout his scholarly career, he has now produced Introducing the New Testament (London: Bloomsbury, 2015). In roughly 400 pages, Wansbrough covers the NT in five sections: Preliminaries, Gospels and Acts, Paul’s Life and Letters, Catholic/Universal Epistles, and the Book of Revelation. Wansbrough’s scholarly acumen clearly underlies his work, but the volume seems to be aimed toward a lay or college level; there are frequent sidebars, but no footnotes/endnotes. My purpose here is to summarize Wansbrough’s work on the PE in this recent volume.

Wansbrough’s discussion of the three PE under “Paul’s Life and Letters” spans a mere eight pages, and is organized into three sections: authorship, situation, and order in the community. His discussion of authorship does not explicitly stake out his position, but he seems to agree with the scholarly majority which doubts Pauline authorship, though 2 Timothy may perhaps “stem from Paul” (303). If authentic, the PE could only fit Paul’s ministry after Acts, and must reflect Paul as a “broken,” “fearful” “old man,” “unable any longer to think through his magnificent old doctrinal formations” (304). Wansbrough connects the testamentary character of 2 Timothy with “the genre of farewell speech of a great leader” and such examples as The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and provides a brief comparison of 2 Timothy with Paul’s farewell speech to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20. Regarding challenges to authenticity, Wansbrough highlights the “elementary advice” which Paul provides to Timothy and Titus, and the non-mention of “so many distinctive Pauline interests” (305).

The situation of the PE is characterized by false teaching, which Wansbrough uses all three letters to describe (not distinguishing between that in Ephesus and that in Crete). The “myths and genealogies” might involve pagan myths, Jewish haggadoth, or proto-Gnostic demiurges. In the end, little can be known about the false teaching. On the other hand, various hints point to what the writer considers “sound doctrine”; this usually involves “salvation and the way to salvation” (306), and is often contained in trustworthy sayings. The letters must be read against the background of mystery religions and/or the imperial cult, where the Emperor was “Savior” and “Lord,” and language of “epiphany” was used.

As to order in the community, Wansbrough finds the PE to enjoin conventional Hellenistic morality, “the virtues of public and private life stressed by Greek and Roman contemporary writers on morals, centered on moderation and restraint, piety and godliness” (308). In 1 Timothy 2, “institutional morality is re-affirmed, in that a woman should not have authority over a man,” which must be understood “against the background of the position of women in the societies of the time” (308); in a related sidebar, Wansbrough does not make the typical appeal to Gal 3:28 against 1 Timothy 2:9-15, but instead highlights 1 Cor 11:11-12 in this role. There is an “incipient institutionalization” in the PE, and Wansbrough discusses in turn overseers, widows (who are enrolled for alms; nothing is specified about an office), elders (Wansbrough distinguishes episkopoi from presbyteroi), and deacons (“no argument for or against the ordination of women to the diaconate in the early Church can be based” on 1 Tim 3:11) (310).

In sum, Wansbrough has set forth a fairly standard critical take on the PE. His “further reading” list, oddly, gives only a single volume: Frances Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters.

Powell on the Pastoral Epistles

January 28, 2016 /

By Chuck Bumgardner

Mark Allan Powell is the Robert and Phyllis Leatherman Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary (Columbus, OH), having taught New Testament at TLS since 1987. A prolific author, Powell has crafted his Introduction to the New Testament (Baker, 2009) (INT) as a college textbook. This work is atypical in that it “urges engagement of ideas but does not attempt to resolve disputes,” with its goal being “engagement, not indoctrination” (11), and so Powell tries not to tip his hand as to his own position on various issues. Also of note, his INT also includes over 75 pieces of Christian artwork scattered throughout the book. Powell, to my knowledge, has not published anything specifically on the Pastoral Epistles; his published works major more on the Gospels and Acts. Strikingly, a book that he edited with David R. Bauer, Who Do You Say that I Am? Essays on Christology (WJK 1999), walks through the New Testament via various essays (including the Christology of . . . Matthew, Mark, Luke-Acts, Johannine Writings, Pauline Epistles, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, Jude/2 Peter, Revelation) but does not include the christological contribution of the Pastoral Epistles in the chapter by M. L. Soards on “Christology of the Pauline Epistles”—and only in passing in two other places in the volume.

In INT, after a brief introduction to the PE which (in keeping with his overarching methodology) leaves the question of authorship open, Powell provides a very brief overview of each of the three epistles. Addressing historical background, he presents standard possibilities of the PE being (1) authentically written (1a) during or (1b) just after the events of Acts, (2) pseudonymously written in their entirety shortly after Paul’s death, (3) pseudonymous expansions of embedded authentic Pauline notes, or (4) an authentic 2 Timothy providing the template for pseudonymous 1 Timothy and Titus. Several sidebars liven up the chapter: biographical sketches of Timothy and Titus, a chart of proposed historical situations for the PE, a brief list of reasons scholars reject the authenticity of the PE, the office of widows (Powell doesn’t mention the possibility that the widows of 1 Tim 5 don’t actually occupy a formal church office), concern for social respectability in the PE, the meaning of “the husband of one wife”

The major themes Powell finds in the letters include church government, false teaching and sound doctrine, women and ministry, and suffering and shame. In the end, he understands the PE to have been written to engage two threats to the church, external persecution and internal heresy. Powell finds the purpose of the letters to be the preservation of the Pauline tradition and appropriate conduct in the church. His own view seems to be that the PE come “from a difficult but necessary stage in the development of the Christian religion: the church is becoming more institutionalized and more authoritarian in an effort to forestall revision of the faith for which Paul was willing to suffer and die” (413). A brief “further reading” list concludes the chapter.

Material supplemental to the chapter is found online at the companion website www.introducingNT.com (freely available to the public). This material on the main PE page refers to Powell in the third person and doesn’t seem to have been written by him. The site provides discussion prompts, pedagogical suggestions (the notion of widows as occupying a specific church office is brought into question), and PDFs of the sidebars included in the chapter. In addition are other PDFs of sidebar-like discussions that were not included in the chapter: authorship (with arguments for and against pseudepigraphy and a helpful bibliography of works categorized by view on authorship), church leaders in the NT (including both “deacons” and “widows” as “church leaders”), the nature of the false teaching (doesn’t distinguish between that in the epistles to Timothy and that in the epistle to Titus), polemic in the PE (doesn’t seem to treat polemic in the PE as merely stock), genre of the PE, distinctive vocabulary in the PE, the PE in the Revised Common Lectionary, women and ministry in the PE (the PE teach that “there is an office in the church for aged widows”; “some women may also serve as deacons”; “women should not be permitted to teach or to have authority over men . . . they are . . . more easily deceived than men”) with brief bibliography; and an expanded English-language bibliography with 78 entries in nine categories: overview (including less technical commentaries), critical commentaries, authorship, linguistic distinctiveness, parenetic character, church government, women and ministry, household codes, other studies. Although INT was published in 2009, the online bibliography has works as late as 2010. The bibliography is a bit uneven, but excellent overall.

Powell has chosen to include representations of three pieces of artwork as part of the chapter on the PE. First is “Window of St. Timothy with the martyr’s palm, removed from Neuwiller Abbey, studio of Lorin de Chartres (12th c.),” although Powell opines that Timothy is holding a “rod or bat”, not a martyr’s palm (a cudgel was traditionally the instrument of Timothy’s death); unfortunately, the image available to Powell presents the title in the window (S.TIMOTHEUS.MARTYR) backwards. Second is a 17th-c. Melkite icon, “The Council of Nicaea I,” depicting church leaders flanking Constantine; the use of this painting reflects a later understanding of a “bishop” than a Pauline reading of the PE permits. Third is German realist Wilhelm Leibl’s best-known work, “Three Women in Church” (1882); Powell connects the quiet demeanor of these women with that enjoined in the PE. I was slightly disappointed that Rembrandt’s “Timothy and His Grandmother” wasn’t chosen for inclusion, but then, I’m particularly partial to Rembrandt.

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