Second Epistle to Timothy

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Fragment from the Codex Freerianus (5th century AD); the lower part shows text from 2 Timothy 1:10–12.

The Second Epistle to Timothy[a] is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.[3] Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary,[3] it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle Paul wrote before his death. The original language is Koine Greek.

While the Pastorals are attributed to Paul, they differ from his other letters. Since the early 19th century, scholars have increasingly viewed them as the work of an unknown follower of Paul's teachings.[4][5] This perspective arises from the fact that the Pastorals do not focus on Paul's typical themes, such as believers' unity with Christ,[3] and they present a church hierarchy that is more organized and defined than what existed during Paul's lifetime.[5]

Nonetheless, a number of scholars still defend the traditional authorship of 2 Timothy.[4][6][7]

  1. ^ ESV Pew Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 2018. p. 995. ISBN 978-1-4335-6343-0. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Bible Book Abbreviations". Logos Bible Software. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c May, Herbert G.; Metzger, Bruce M. (1977), The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, pp. 1440, 1446–49.
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Luke Timothy (2001). The First and Second Letters to Timothy. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-13988-8.
  5. ^ a b Harris, Stephen L. (1985), "The Pastoral Epistles", Understanding the Bible, Palo Alto: Mayfield, pp. 340–45
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference MurphoCon356 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Wright, N. T. (2018-02-27). Paul: A Biography. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-219827-3.


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