Introduction

In order to properly understand the epistles that Paul wrote to his young confidant Timothy, a background study of Timothy the person must take place. This is the purpose of this document.

The strategy will be to first examine all the verses and surrounding context in which the word Timothy (actually, the Greek lexeme Τιμόθεος) occur. Any information that can be pulled from the context will be.

Τιμόθεος occurs 24 times in 20 verses.[1] Three of these verses occur in the Pastoral Epistles and will not be discussed here. The remaining 17 verses and some surrounding context will be examined below. First, the occurrences from Acts will be examined. Then the occurrences in the epistles outside of epistolary greetings will be examined. Lastly, the epistolary greetings will be examined.

New Testament Occurrences

First, the mentions of Timothy in Acts will be discussed. After that, mentions in the epistles (outside of epistolary greetings) will be discussed. Finally, the occurrences of Timothy in epistolary greetings will be discussed.

The text used is Crossway’s English Standard Version.

Acts

Acts 16.1

“Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. ” (Acts 16:1-5, ESV)

What can we draw from this?

First, we see that Timothy was from Lystra.[2] We see that he was already a “disciple” (Greek: μαθητής), most likely due to his mother’s influence. We also see that his father was a “Greek” (Ἕλληνος), which could be either “one who participates in Greek culture, but not necessarily an ethnic Greek,”^[3] or perhaps a Gentile. We see that other believers in the area knew of Timothy and thought highly of him.[4] Paul thought highly enough of Timothy that he wanted Timothy to accompany him on his journey. Timothy, however, as the son of a Greek (see above), had not been circumcised. So Paul circumcised Timothy.

The purpose and outcome of the travels of Paul and Timothy are made plain in verses four and five. The purpose was to make known the decisions of doctrine that had been reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. The result of this message was the growth in numbers and faith of the churches that Paul and Timothy had stopped at.

The narrative of Paul’s journey from this point seems to include Timothy as “they” and “we” (from which we infer Luke’s presence) are used frequently.

Acts 17.14

“Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.” (Acts 17:14-15, ESV)

From Acts 16:1-17:14, Timothy travels with Paul. Was Timothy with Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:20-24)? Was Timothy at the Philippian jailer’s house (Acts 16:34)? It is a stretch to assume so as this is not explicitly stated and the names of Paul and Silas are. However, Timothy must have been in the area.

After these goings-on, Paul journeys to Athens leaving Silas and Timothy in Berea. Upon Paul’s arrival in Athens, he sends for Silas and Timothy. In the meantime, Paul makes his way to Corinth, where Silas and Timothy meet up with him.

Acts 18.5

“When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.” (Acts 18:5, ESV)

Not much to report here, apart from the fact that Silas and Timothy arrived together. I wonder what it was like to road-trip with Silas?

Acts 19.22

“Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. ” (Acts 19:21-22, ESV)

The time frame of this passage is that of Paul’s third missionary journey.

The “these events” referred to in v. 21 is the incident concerning the exorcisms performed by the sons of Sceva, who were eventually assaulted and humiliated by demons they had no authority (these guys were Jewish, not Christian) to cast out. The power of the name of Jesus was a testimony, and the people of Ephesus took note of Paul, who truly had power in the name of Jesus Christ. After these events (which Timothy and Erastus must have been present for) Paul sent Timothy and Erastus into Macedonia.

I find it interesting that this event took place in Ephesus, a city which Timothy would come to spend much more time in over the years.

Acts 20.4

“After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus from Berea, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days. ” (Acts 20:1-6, ESV)

Much ground is covered in these verses. It is best to consult a map of Paul’s third missionary journey to work out the route. Timothy and others joined up with Paul at Troas.

This means that Timothy was in the room the night when Paul talked … and talked … and talked, and Eutychus (not mentioned in the above list) fell asleep and fell from the window of the third-story room, to his death, only to be raised from the dead by Paul through the power of the Holy Spirit. Timothy was a witness to this miracle and surely many others performed by the apostle Paul.

Timothy is apparently with Paul for much of the rest of the journey, accompanying him to Jerusalem (Acts 21) and in the meetings with James (the brother of Jesus). Thus, Timothy was a direct eyewitness of a large part of Paul’s ministry.

Epistles

Romans 16.21

“Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.” (Romans 16:21, ESV)

From this mention of Timothy in the closing of Romans, we can deduce that Timothy was with Paul (or in close contact with Paul) when Romans was written. Regarding the date and location of the composition of Romans, William Hendriksen writes, “The date for his entire third missionary journey was therefore probably 53/54–57/58, and the date for the composition of the epistle to the Romans, just before his departure from Corinth, was probably 57 or 58.”^[5]

1 Corinthians 4.17

“I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” (1 Corinthians 4:14-21, ESV)

Again, it would be helpful to have a date of composition for 1 Corinthians. Thankfully, Simon Kistemaker has examined the subject thoroughly and concluded “ … we can confidently date Paul’s first visit to Corinth from 50 to 52 and infer that he wrote I Corinthians within three years after his departure from Corinth.”^[6] In this time frame, Paul had sent Timothy to the Corinthians to serve not simply as an example, but essentially as Paul’s proxy: “to remind you [Corinthians] of my [Paul’s] ways in Christ, as I [Paul] teach them everywhere in every church.”

This speaks volumes to the degree of maturity that Timothy had in the early to mid 50’s. Realizing this, keep in mind that Paul reminded Timothy to not let anyone look down on him due to his youth … in a letter composed between 63-67 ad, perhaps 10 years after Timothy served as Paul’s proxy in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 16.10

“When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. ” (1 Corinthians 16:10-11, ESV)

The ESV provides the translation, “When Timothy comes” but this is perhaps better translated “If Timothy comes” based on the conjunction Ἐὰν. This is a of a third-class conditional phrase, with ἔλθῃ in the subjunctive. Some commentators on 1 Corinthians quickly point out that this construction means that Timothy may have not gone to Corinth (UBS Handbook, Interpretation) but others assume Timothy did (MacArthur). I think Kistemaker probably treads the proper ground here:

… because Paul’s first epistle does not say that Timothy returned with a report of his visit to the Corinthians, we infer that this letter arrived in Corinth before Timothy’s visit. By the time Paul wrote his second letter, Timothy had returned (II Cor. 1:1). We conclude that Paul sent him only once to Corinth (4:17; 16:10) and that he is now unsure about the exact time of Timothy’s arrival.^[7]

The conclusion is that 1Co 4.17 and 1Co 16.10 refer to the same visit of Timothy. Paul was unaware when Timothy would arrive, hence the uncertainty expressed in the conditional clause in 1Co 16.10.

Philippians 2.19

“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.” (Philippians 2:19-24, ESV)

What can we learn from this excerpt?

First, at this point in time, Paul plans to send Timothy to the Philippians “soon”. Paul obviously wants to know more about what is going on in Philippi, and looks forward to a report from Timothy. Thus we see that Paul has, at least in this instance, assigned Timothy to be a sort of reporter. He is to go to the Philippians to send Paul’s greetings, and also to return to Paul to report on the progress of the Philippians.

Second, we see that Paul genuinely values the work and person of Timothy. “I have no one like him” Paul says, as well as noting “Timothy’s proven worth”.

1 Thessalonians 3.2

“Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain.” (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5, ESV)

First Thessalonians is routinely dated before Philippians. Thus, the mission of Timothy to the Thessalonians with a message from Paul and to report back to Paul of the status of the Thessalonians occurred before his similar mission to the Philippians.

This passage is also interesting in that Timothy is described as “our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ.” His purpose, we see, is to “establish and exhort” the Thessalonians in their faith.

From this and also from the mention concerning the Philippians, we can deduce that Timothy was well-qualified for his mission to Ephesus, to deal with the problems in the church, and to make sure that the gospel of Jesus as preached by Paul was being properly practiced.

Hebrews 13.23

“I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.” (Hebrews 13:22-25, ESV)

There is nothing to prevent us from thinking that the Timothy mentioned here is our subject; but similarly there is nothing to spur us toward that conclusion.

We simply can’t know if this is our subject. It is certainly plausible, however. Though we have no direct record of Timothy in prison, we know that his mentor, Paul, spent much time in prison due to preaching the Gospel.

I’d like to think that this was Timothy. Timothy is referred to as “our brother” a few times in epistolary greetings and in other places. But there is, alas, no way to really know.

Epistolary Greetings

Epistles have a rather formulaic salutation section. Typically, they state the name of the sender, followed by the name of the recipient, then some short words (or word) of greetings. Typical of personal letters in the era would be something akin to “Apollonius, to Xanthias. Greetings.” Paul kept this same basic formula, but extended it a bit, particularly the section of greeting and blessing to the recipient. Also, Paul tended to like to describe both the sender(s) and recipient(s).

Each epistolary greeting outside of the PE includes Timothy in the sender portion of the greeting. Thus, Timothy can, with some justification, be seen as one of the senders of these letters. However, this is not to be construed as Timothy whispering suggestions into Paul’s ear. In some cases, perhaps, Timothy was the one who delivered the letter. In other cases, perhaps Paul knew that Timothy would be visiting the recipients later, and wanted to make sure they knew that Timothy came under his apostolic authority.

2 Corinthians 1.1

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:1-2, ESV)

So, the question: Why is Timothy mentioned in the epistolary greeting? Some think it is because Timothy was the carrier of the letter, others say that Timothy shared responsibility in the writing of the letter, and others have different reasons, summed up R.P. Martin in WBC on 2 Corinthians, below:

On the contrary, it is more probable that Timothy is mentioned in the letter’s prescript because he needed Paul’s endorsement of all he had sought to do as he undertook an intermediate mission between the visits of Acts 18:3 and 20:4. In that interim we may postulate (on the basis of Acts 19:22) a visit made by Timothy subsequent to the sending of 1 Corinthians. Paul may well have dispatched him to report on the Corinthian crisis, inferred from 1 Cor 4:17–21, where v 17 is an example of an epistolary aorist, “I am sending to you Timothy.” See too 1 Cor 16:10 for Timothy’s errand.^[8]

Martin seems to think that Timothy is mentioned because he needs some sort of mark of Pauline authority in his dealings with the Corinthians. In Martin’s chronology, Timothy must still be in Corinth when the second letter arrived, thus giving Timothy’s authority to act as Paul’s proxy (see 1Co 4.17) that much more credibility.

Philippians 1.1

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,” (Philippians 1:1-3, ESV)

We see Paul mention later in Philippians that he is sending Timothy to the Philippians. Lightfoot discusses this mention of Timothy:

The intercourse between Timotheus and the Philippian Church had been constant and intimate. He had assisted the Apostle in its first foundation (Acts 16:1, 13, and 17:14). He had visited Philippi twice at least during the third missionary journey (Acts 19:22, comp. 2 Cor. 1:1; and Acts 20:3, 4, comp. Rom. 16:21). He was there not improbably more than once during the captivity at Cæsarea, when the Apostle himself was prevented from seeing them. And now again he was on the eve of another visit, having been chosen for this purpose, as one whose solicitude for the Philippians had become a second nature (γνησίως μεριμνήσει 2:20). In like manner his name is associated with St Paul in the letters to the other great church of Macedonia (1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:1).

But beyond the association of his name in the salutation, Timotheus takes no part in the letter. St Paul starts with the singular (ver. 3) which he maintains throughout; and having occasion to mention Timotheus speaks of him in the third person, 2:19.^[9]

So, says Lightfoot, the letter, though it mentions Timothy in the sender portion of the greeting, is all Paul, all the time. So why mention Timothy?

We can only guess as no explicit rationale is given. But it could very well have to do with Paul’s sending of Timothy to the Philippians, as mentioned in Php 2.19. It is, however, somewhat interesting to see that the same description “bondservants of Christ Jesus” is given to both Paul and Timothy here.

Colossians 1.1

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (Colossians 1:1-2, ESV)

Here, Timothy is described (as he often is) as “our brother”. Lightfoot seems to think that the term “our brother” may be a title, of sorts, applied to Timothy:

As some designation seemed to be required, and as Timothy could not be called an Apostle (see Galatians, p. 96, note 2), this, as the simplest title, would naturally suggest itself.^[10]

The phrase “our brother” is used to describe Timothy in 2Co 1.1; 1Th 3.2; Phm 1.1; Heb 13.23.

It is interesting that Timothy is not mentioned through the rest of the epistle. He must’ve been known to the saints and Colossae, though, otherwise his mention makes no sense whatsoever.

1 Thessalonians 1.1

“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.” (1 Thessalonians 1:1, ESV)

We know that Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveled together based on the travelogues in Acts. We can deduce that some time was spent in Thessalonica. In addition, many New Testament chronologies list the Thessalonian epistles as some of the earliest. Guthrie, in his New Testament Introduction, dates them in 49 while others date them in the early 50s. Contrast this with dating (same sources) of First and Second Timothy anywhere from 63 to 67. With 10-15 years between the epistles themselves, this means that Timothy put on a lot of miles in his days on the road with Paul. It also means that, however young he was when he received the letter we call First Timothy, he was 10-15 years older than he was when he was mentioned in the prologue to the first epistle to the Thessalonians.

Timothy is mentioned later in the epistle, see comment above on 1Th 3.2.

2 Thessalonians 1.1

“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:1-2, ESV)

As Timothy (along with Silas) was mentioned in the greeting of First Thessalonians, it is no surprise to see him mentioned in the greeting of Second Thessalonians. This is the only time he is mentioned in the epistle, however. Not much more can be deduced from this mention.

Philemon 1

“Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philemon 1-3, ESV)

Again, this is the only mention of Timothy in the epistle. Not much can be drawn from it beyond surmising that Timothy is known to Philemon.

 

A Map Tracing Timothy’s Steps

This is taken from the Logos Deluxe Map Set.[11]

1. Timothy converted at Lystra, c. A.D. 46 (Paul’s First Tour; cf. Acts 16:1–3).

2. Timothy ordained, c. A.D. 49; accompanies Paul on Second Tour (Acts 16:1–3; Paul’s Second Missionary Tour, c. A.D. 49 to 52).

3. Timothy remains at Beroea as Paul flees to Athens; rejoins Paul at Athens; is sent to Thessalonica and rejoins Paul at Corinth (Acts 17:14–15; 18:1, 5; 1 Thess. 3:1–6).

4. Timothy assists at Ephesus on Paul’s Third Tour, c. A.D. 54–56; is sent to Corinth via Macedonia (Acts 19:22; 1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10; Paul’s Third Missionary Tour, The Environs of Ephesus).

5. Timothy rejoins Paul at Philippi and returns with him to Corinth, c. A.D. 57 (Acts 20:4; 2 Cor 1:1)

6. Timothy accompanies Paul on his final journey to Jerusalem, c. A.D. 58 (Acts 20:4).

7. Timothy ministers to Paul during first imprisonment at Rome, c. A.D. 61–63; possibly dispatched to Philippi and there rejoined by Paul after his release (Phil. 1:1, 26; 2:19, 24)

8. Timothy with Paul at Ephesus again; left at Ephesus as Paul labors elsewhere; recieves First Epistle, c. A.D. 64 (1 Tim. 1:3).

9. During second imprisonment Paul writes Second Epistle to Timothy, summons him to Rome, c. A.D. 66 (2 Tim. 4:9).

10. Paul executed at Rome, c. A.D. 67.