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2019 Publications on the Letters to Timothy and Titus

May 26, 2020 /

Each year, we provide a list of scholarly publications from the previous year on the Pastorals. We’re a bit later than usual this year, but on the bright side, the list is therefore somewhat more complete! We’ve included several 2020 publications in the list as well, though only those which have already been published, and not those which are yet forthcoming.

Over 100 items long, the list casts its net rather broadly, and one of the aims of the exercise is to highlight research on the Pastorals in languages which are not typically engaged in English-language scholarship.

You can access the list by clicking here.

The Pastorals in NTA 63.3

May 21, 2020 /

A bit belatedly, here are the Pastorals-related items I noted in New Testament Abstracts (63.3 [2019]). Quite a few pertinent items!

(1187) Majtán, L’ubomír. “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]

(1243) Köstenberger, Andreas J. “An Investigation of the Mission Motif in the Letters to Timothy and Titus with Implications for Pauline Authorship.” Bulletin for Biblical Research 29.1 (2019): 49–64.

(1244) Belleville, Linda L. “Lexical Fallacies in Rendering αὐθεντεῖν in 1 Timothy 2:12: BDAG in Light of Greek Literary and Nonliterary Usage.” Bulletin for Biblical Research 29.3 (2019): 317–41.

(1245) Hylen, Susan E. “Women διάκονοι and Gendered Norms of Leadership.” Journal of Biblical Literature 138.3 (2019): 687–702.

(1246) Sommer, Michael, and Elisabeth Hernitscheck. “Ideen, stereotypen und klischees: Ein kulturgeschichtlich-diskursiver zugang zu witwen in 1 Tim 5.” Revue Biblique 125.4 (2018): 576–97.

(1247) Couser, Gregory A. “The Believer’s Judgment in 2 Timothy, Part 1.” Bibliotheca Sacra 176.703 (2019): 312–26.

(1291) Naselli, Andrew David. “What the New Testament Teaches about Divorce and Remarriage.” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 24 (2019): 3–44. [note “1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6 (also 1 Timothy 3:12),” pp. 37–44]

(1406) Decousu, Laurence. “L’origine de l’imposition des mains épiclétique comme tradition dans les liturgies des ordinations et du baptême.” Questions Liturgiques [Leuven] 99.2–3 (2018–2019): 81–194.

(p. 513) Lambrecht, Jan. In Search of Meaning III: More Notes on the New Testament (2018–2019). Beau Bassin, Mauritius: Scholars’ Press, 2019. (note “49. Grammar and Logic in 2 Timothy 2,11–13 (2018),” pp. 383–88)

(p. 514) Landry, David T., with John W. Martens. Inquiry into the New Testament: Ancient Context to Contemporary Significance. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2019. [Note chapter on Deutero-Pauline and Pastorals]

(p. 514) Merkle, Benjamin L. Exegetical Gems from Biblical Greek: A Refreshing Guide to Grammar and Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019. [note treatments of 1 Tim 3:6; Titus 2:13; 1 Tim 6:10]

(p. 529) Davey, Wesley T. Suffering as Participation with Christ in the Pauline Corpus. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2019. [note “The Place of SPC [suffering as participation with Christ] in 2 Timothy 2:1–13”]

(p. 536) Romanello, Stefano. Paolo: La vita, le lettere, il pensiero teologico. Milan: Edizioni San Paolo, 2018.

(p. 539) Murray, Timothy J. Restricted Generosity in the New Testament. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/480. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018. [note chap. 8: “Restricted Generosity in 1 Timothy 5.3–16,” pp. 196¬¬–222, as well as pertinent discussion of “oikos language” in chapter 6]

(p. 548) Karaman, Elif Hilal. Ephesian Women in Greco-Roman and Early Christian Perspective. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/474. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018. [discussion on widows in 1 Tim, pp. 119–23; women and teaching, pp. 157–68]

(pp. 548–49) Koet, Bart J., Edwina Murphy, and Esko Ryökäs, eds. Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2/479. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018. [note Lauri Thurén, “Divine Headhunting? The Function of the Qualifications of Deacons in 1 Tim 3:8–13,” pp. 117–30]

(p. 558‒59) Wright, Brian J. Communal Reading in the Time of Jesus: A Window into Early Christian Reading Practices. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017. (note pp. 173‒82 on the PE, and the implications the broader work has for 1 Tim 4:13)

(p. 559) Zeichmann, Christopher B. The Roman Army and the New Testament. Lanham, MD: Lexington / London: Fortress Academic, 2018. (note section on the Pastorals, pp. 120–22, which highlights “Soldiers of Christ—1 Tim 1:18; 2 Tim 2:3–4”)

JSPL 9.1-2 (2019): “Special Issue: The Pastoral Epistles”

May 18, 2020 /

The most recent issue of Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters contains presentations on the Pastorals from a specialist conference held in Leuven in November 2018. The theme of the conference was “The Pastoral Epistles: Common Themes, Individual Compositions?” (program).

The JSPL issue contains an editor’s introduction, and another introduction to the special issue. An opening essay by Jermo van Nes sets the stage, followed by four sets of essays and responses, and “concluding reflections” by editor Stanley Porter. You can view the contents here, and I’ve compiled the abstracts here.

Interview with Gerald Bray

April 3, 2020 /

Over at his blog, Psephizo, Ian Paul has a nice interview with Gerald Bray about his recent commentary on the Pastorals in the new International Theological Commentary series. I found the interview informative. Bray helpfully explains his understanding of and approach to theological interpretation and speaks to key lessons from the Pastoral Epistles for the church today.

Solevåg, “Perspectives from Disability Studies in the Pastoral Epistles”

February 12, 2020 /

In a new Brill volume, Anna Rebecca Solevåg has produced a chapter that examines children in the Pastorals from the perspectives of intersectionality and disability studies. Because of its focus on the Pastorals, we are highlighting it here as an addition to the scholarly literature on the letters.

Solevåg, Anna Rebecca. “Perspectives from Disability Studies in the Pastoral Epistles.” Pages 177–95 in Children and Methods: Listening To and Learning From Children in the Biblical World. Edited by Kristine Henriksen Garroway and John W. Martens. Brill’s Series in Jewish Studies 67. Leiden: Brill, 2020.

Abstract: “The article introduces intersectionality and disability studies as tools for the study of children in the Bible, and applies these tools to a reading of the Pastoral Epistles. The framework of intersectionality shows that the place(s) of children in a society must be seen in relation to other identity categories, such as race, class, gender, etc. Hierarchical relations should be studied in their complexity and also their particularity. The concept of kyriarchy is useful for studying the particularities of intersectional identity in the New Testament, as is the method of “asking the other question.” Concerning disability studies, three insights are introduced that overlap with theoretical reflections from childhood studies. The first concerns questions of agency and voice, the second points to the fluctuality of identity categories, and the third is about metaphorical uses of identity categories.

“The chapter then applies these tools to the Pastorals. In these letters, children are never addressed directly. Nevertheless, they are the object of instructions, and the recipients are framed as metaphorical children. The chapter argues that this approach on the one hand reveals structures of power and silences in the text, and on the other supports the childist quest for children’s active role through a creative imagination of the lived experiences and blurred boundaries of everyday life.”

Couser, “The Believer’s Judgment in 2 Timothy”

February 7, 2020 /

Greg Couser has produced a two-part article of interest for students of the Pastorals:

Couser, Gregory A. “The Believer’s Judgment in 2 Timothy, Part 1.” Bibliotheca Sacra 176.703 (2019): 312–26.

________. “The Believer’s Judgment in 2 Timothy, Part 2.” Bibliotheca Sacra 176.704 (2019): 444–58.

Abstract: Paul’s discussion with Timothy in 2 Tim makes multiple references to the eschatological assize (1:12, 15-18; 2:11, 15; 4:1-5, 8, 14, 18).   Along with the frequency of Paul’s references, its importance is emphasized by the central role it plays in motivating and shaping Timothy’s response to the dynamics of the Ephesian situation.   This suggests that the letter has the potential to offer significant insights on Paul’s understanding of the nature of the believer’s future judgment and, thus, on his understanding of the nature of the Christian life in the present.  My investigation attempts to set out the prominent contemporary options on the significance of the believer’s judgment for Paul and then work through the passages in 2 Tim in order to eventually compare and contrast Paul’s extensive treatment of the topic here with the contemporary scholarly options.  In the end, we hope to demonstrate that Paul clearly intimates that the believer’s judgment has more complexity and texture than merely confirming their status as a believer and clearing their way for a full enjoyment of the full consummation of their salvation.  Paul also expects to be recompensed by the Lord in a manner corresponding to his service to him. Paul confidently looks forward to standing before God unashamed having kept his charge (4:17).  However, the potential to maximize one’s faithfulness to Christ as Paul also leaves space for standing before the judge with shame at not doing so, something clearly implied by 2:15.  There is certainly some impact on the believer’s experience of their final salvation in the consummated Kingdom that arises from the character of their service in this life.  There seems to be something to lose should Timothy not fulfill his service to Christ, even as there is something to gain.

Soon-to-come 2019 Publications and 2020 Forthcoming Lists

December 31, 2019 /

Have you published something in a scholarly venue that engages the Pastoral Epistles in some significant manner? Or do you have such a publication forthcoming? We are compiling our 2019 list of scholarly publications on the Letters to Timothy and Titus (here’s last year’s), to be posted in about a month, and we’d love to hear from you if you have something that should be included. The list is up to 56 items, and we’re doubtless still missing some!

As well, if you have produced (or will be producing) a scholarly publication engaging the Pastorals due for publication in 2020, we’d love to hear from you as well as we compile our “forthcoming” list for 2020 (here’s last year’s).

In either case, you can email me at chuckbumgardner (at) gmail.com with information about your academic Pastorals-related publications.

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