As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus
- It is clear from this, that Paul and
Timothy had been laboring together at Ephesus, and
the language accords with the supposition that Paul
had been compelled to leave before he had completed
what he had designed to do there.
~Barnes Notes
When I went into Macedonia - Having been driven away
by the excitement caused by Demetrius and his
fellow-craftsmen; Acts 20:1.
~Barnes Notes
Acts 20:1
reads...
And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto
him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed
for to go into Macedonia.
The next commentary is the Adam Clarke:
I besought thee - The
apostle had seen that a bad seed had been sown in
the Church; and, as he was obliged to go then into
Macedonia, he wished Timothy, on whose prudence,
piety, and soundness in the faith he could depend,
to stay behind and prevent the spreading of a
doctrine that would have been pernicious [causing
great harm; deadly] to the people’s
souls. I have already supposed that this epistle was
written after Paul had been delivered from his first
imprisonment at Rome, about the end of the year 64,
or the beginning of 65. When, therefore, the apostle
came from Rome into Asia, he no doubt visited
Ephesus, where, ten years before, he had planted a
Christian Church, and, as he had not time to tarry
then, he left Timothy to correct abuses. ~
Adam Clarke Commentary
That thou mightest charge some
- The word charge here - παραγγειλης parangeilēs -
seems to mean more than is commonly implied by the
word as used by us. If it had been a single
direction or command, it might have been given by
Paul himself before he left, but it seems rather to
refer to that continuous instruction which would
convince these various errorists and lead them to
inculcate only the true doctrine. As they may have
been numerous - as they may have embraced various
forms of error, and as they might have had plausible
grounds for their belief, this was evidently a work
requiring time, and hence Timothy was left to effect
this at leisure. It would seem that the wrath which
had been excited against Paul had not affected
Timothy, but that he was permitted to remain and
labor without molestation. It is not certainly known
who these teachers were, but they appear to have
been of Jewish origin, and to have inculcated the
special sentiments of the Jews respecting the law.
~Barnes Notes
Now the Adam Clarke...
That thou mightest charge some
- He does not name any persons; the Judaizing
teachers are generally supposed to be those
intended; and the term τισι, some, certain persons,
which he uses, is expressive of high disapprobation
[moral disapproval;
condemnation], and at the same time of
delicacy: they were not apostles, nor apostolic men;
but they were undoubtedly members of the Church at
Ephesus, and might yet be reclaimed.
That they teach no other
doctrine - That is, no other doctrine than
that taught by the apostles. The Greek word here
used is not found in the classic writers, and does
not elsewhere occur in the New Testament, except in
1Timothy 6:3 of this Epistle, where it is rendered
“teach otherwise.” We may learn here what was the
design for which Timothy was left at Ephesus.
1 Timothy 6:3
reads...
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to
wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to
godliness;
It was for a temporary purpose, and not
as a permanent arrangement. It was to correct
certain errors prevailing there which Paul would
have been able himself soon to correct if he had
been suffered to remain. Paul expected soon to
return to him again, and then they would proceed
unitedly with their work; 1Timothy 4:13; 1Timothy
3:15. ~Barnes Notes
1 Timothy 4:13
reads...
Till I come, give attendance to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine.
1 Timothy 3:15
reads...
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest
know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the
house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.
Now from the John Gill commentary...
that thou mightest charge
some, that they teach no other doctrine-
than the doctrine of Christ and his apostles; than
what had been preached by the apostle at Ephesus,
and the saints there had received; than what was
agreeably to the Scriptures of truth, and was
according to godliness; for all other doctrines must
be divers and strange ones: nor would he have them
teach in another way, in new words, but hold fast
the form of sound words; for new words often produce
new doctrines: the apostle perhaps by other doctrine
chiefly respects the doctrine of justification by
the works of the law. It seems as if there were some
teachers in this place the apostle was suspicious
of, or he had heard that they began to innovate in
the doctrine of faith; wherefore he desires Timothy
to continue a while, in order to be a check on these
persons, and to charge them not to introduce any new
doctrine; for it was only "some", and not all that
taught there, he was so to charge. Some refer this
to hearers; and render, the words, "that they follow
no other doctrine"; but it seems best to understand
it of teachers; the Syriac and Arabic versions
render the words as we do.
~ John Gill
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