I've been working through the first chapter of First Timothy. Here are some thoughts on the phrase “Stewardship from God” in 1Ti 1.4. The bold text represents the text of the ESV. If you have any criticism/feedback for me, please send it along via email (address on sidebar to right) or drop me a note in the comment section below.

What should the Ephesian believers be focusing on instead of the speculations caused by their focus on endless myths and genealogies? Fairly simply, writes Paul, the stewardship from God that is by faith.

The concept of stewardship from God is an interesting one. The Greek phrase is οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ (oikonomian Theou), the interesting word being οἰκονομία (oikonomia). One lexicon (BDAG) notes that one of the senses of οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is “training in the way of salvation”. It then recommends this exact phrase be translated “divine training”. The NET Bible translates this phrase as “God’s redemptive plan”. These meanings are plausible but somewhat removed from the general meaning of οἰκονομία (oikonomia), which is the work or output of an οἰκονόμος (oikonomos). How is this seeming disparity reconciled?

An οἰκονόμος (oikonomos) is a household manager, one who allocates the resources of the household according to the owner’s wishes and ensures that all is done that needs to be done to ensure the smooth running of the household. The οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is that work or plan. The sense of stewardship (the οἰκονόμος (oikonomos), after all, is a steward of the owner of the household) is based on this. The phrase οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ (oikonomian Theou), then, refers to the stewardship of God’s own house. It refers to the plan by which the house runs; the “economy” of God’s house, so to speak. This is where the ideas of “training in the way of salvation”, “divine training” and “God’s redemptive plan” come from.

The word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) is used in the parable of the dishonest steward as recorded in Luke 16:

And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ (Lu 16.2-4, emphasis mine)

In these three verses, the word οἰκονομία (oikonomia) occurs three times. In each instance above, οἰκονομία (oikonomia) refers to the task of the manager. The manager's task is to ensure the proper management of his master's resources, to be a good steward of that with which he has been entrusted.

Further understanding of οἰκονομία (oikonomia) comes from examining its usage in the Letter to Diognetus. Speaking of Christians, the author of this letter writes “ … nor have they been entrusted with the stewardship of mere human mysteries.” (EpDiog 7.1) While the object of stewardship in this example is different than in 1Ti 1.4, the general syntax of the phrase is the same – with οἰκονομία (oikonomia) in the accusative and the surrounding nouns in the genitive case. Note Meecham’s discussion of the word:

The word οἰκονομία extends its meaning from ‘management of a household’ to management or provision in general (cf. EpDiog 7.1). It came to be used of the various operations of the divine will, particularly of God’s ‘dispensation’ effected in Christ for the salvation of men.

This stewardship from God is further qualified as being that which is by faith. God’s plan operates on the basis of faith. In other words, faith is the currency that is used in the economy of God.

Ok, there you go. It's a little rough around the edges. Go easy on me ...

Awhile back, I was reading C.H. Dodd's The Interpretation of the Fourth Gospel (found an edition at a used bookstore in town, so I picked it up) and was ruing the fact that I didn't have an English translation of the Corpus Hermiticum handy so I could get familiar with it. Dodd frequently cites and incorporates material from this early gnostic source; though Dodd cites the Greek. It's all a bit over my head, but it is interesting to attempt to work through nonetheless.

Anyway, I just happened across an English translation of The Corpus Hermeticum at the Gnostic Society Library. Of course Dodd was working with the Greek (an edition he wasn't too fond of, but used nonetheless). So now, if I ever really want to, I can read Poimandres and see what's got Dodd all aflutter.

Finally, an economist who can put things in terms most folks understand. The blog Agoraphilia (kudos to Marginal Revolution for the pointer) uses real-life examples to explain economic analysis. You've gotta look for the gems — hey, it's a blog — but there are some insightful posts there. A few are mentioned below:

The post on Relationship Cycles is a good example. Economics is, when you break it down, the study of the allocation of resources. Economics, practiced properly, offers insight to the efficient allocation of resources. So it makes sense that one might gain some insight in social practices (note I said “insight” and nothing about rules or consistency across cultures/people) by applying economic analysis.

Another post on the Optimal Haircut was good, though it doesn't really apply to me. When it comes to hair, I value utility more than appearance, so I simply get out the clippers and chop 'er nice and short. No comb or brush necessary.

I have the same philosophy when it comes to lawn maintenence: Whatever grows, keep it short.

(That reminds me ... it's been raining, I need to mow the lawn ... )

I'm a bibliophile. I admit it. I love old used books — particularly NT commentaries and Greek New Testaments from the late 1800's/early 1900's.

So when I come across news stories about used book sales on the internet (thanks Marginal Revolution!) they are must-reads. The bottom line is, if you are into used books and you somehow don't know about AbeBooks.com, you need to learn about it.

When I'm looking for an older book, the first place I go is AbeBooks. And I go there a lot.

My favorite used book story (well, that happened to me) involves AbeBooks. I was looking for a copy of Meecham's Epistle to Diognetus, which is pretty much the critical edition. It was published in, I think, 1949 by Manchester University Press and was difficult to locate. But AbeBooks had it. The problem was, it was in Johannesburg, South Africa, and would cost a fortune to ship with any speed. Or it would take months to arrive on the slow-boat.

However, I had a second option. The company I work for (Logos) owns a small company in Johannesburg that does work for us. And, as it turns out, I was scheduled for a trip to Johannesburg within the month to consult in hiring a few new people, and do some staff training. So, through the magic of AbeBooks, I was able to confirm that the book I wanted was in Jo'burg, confirm the address, confirm store hours, and (with the graciousness of my host, Jannie) arrange a short excursion to the bookstore in Johannesburg to fetch the book.

Little did I know what I was asking. Apparently the bookstore — a massive multi-story edifice stuffed to the gills with books — was in downtown Jo'burg, just bordering the Central Business Distict (CBD). The CBD is the area that the local Afrikaaners tend to avoid for their own safety. It can be, apparently, a hostile place, especially when it is dark, if you don't look like you belong there.

But we were heading there on a Saturday morning (10:00 am), so Jannie thought it would be ok, as long as we weren't there for hours. So we hopped in his car and headed downtown. I was on edge, this was the very action — going to downtown Jo'burg — that everyone had warned me about since I'd arrived.

We made it to the shop and parked outside on the street. Everything was cool. The trip was uneventful. I got my book, plus another (Kirsopp Lake on the early Pauline Epistles!) and we were out of the store within 45 minutes. They had some tremendous rare stuff in a back room down in the basement, hundreds of years old, just sitting there for anyone to grab and examine. Stuff you couldn't think about touching in stateside bookstores.

It was cool. It would've been more cool if I'd felt secure about staying there for hours; but I did get the book I was looking for. Thanks AbeBooks!

Last week, I wrote an entry about the NA27/NET Diglot that I've recently purchased. Actually ... it's a birthday present (thanks Mom & Dad!), but anyway, I've been using it.

I hadn't paid much attention to the cross-references in my UBS3, and I hadn't had the opportunity to examine the NA27 cross-references until now. My Greek isn't good enough to sight-read, so it didn't do much good to look up the reference only to fumble through it and have to look it up in English to see if I was right. I'm getting better — my vocab has improved, but I still fumble tenses/moods as well as pronouns. The process is slow, but I'll keep pluggin' along.

Anyway, with the diglot, the cross references in NA27 are actually useful. And they're good. I'm getting better at picking up the German abbreviations (though for some reason I still think '1K' is the abbrev. for 1 Chronicles, though it is really for 1 Corinthians). I'm also picking up the symbols (bang, pipe, and mid-dot).

Here's an example: I was working through 1Ti 1.12, which says “I thank him who has given me strength ... ”. The first cross-reference is to Php 4.13, which is stellar. But this is also common; I'd guess many translations would have these references in reciprocal relationship (nice alliteration, huh?).

But the second half of 1Ti 1.12, “ ... appointing me to his service”, is where it really begins to shine. The reference? To Ac 9.15: “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”

That's a stellar cross-reference if I've ever seen one. I checked my old NKJV New Geneva Study Bible (published by Thomas Nelson). Surprisingly, neither cross-reference was listed. Not even the Php 4.13 reference. It just had some references in First Corinthians listed. I also checked my old NASB (Lockman Foundation), it had both references.

I hadn't even considered using the NA27 cross-reference apparatus before; and now (at least for the time being) I'm using it frequently when working through a verse. Very handy; a benefit I hadn't even considered.

Once again, a post about the Pastoral Epistles. I'm sure you're used to it by now.

I posted an introduction awhile back. That intro was more for myself — it isn't anything I'd ever think about formally publishing — but I thought I'd share it anyway. It was more about thinking on paper to give myself something to be accountable to. As I've thought about it and talked with other folks, I think I've arrived at a basic methodology to use to guide my study (writing) through the Pastoral Epistles.

There are four potential angles to make comments from; the order here is significant:

• Immediate Context: Does the current author (e.g. Paul) use a similar word, phrase, or concept. This is multi-leveled; I'd guess I'd want to look to immediate context first (current book), then look to see if other Pastorals use it, then look outside yet again to other Paulines.
• Larger Context: What about other NT writers? Do they use the term or phrase? Does it jive with PE usage?
• Whole Bible: What about LXX/OT? And how does that compare with the others?
• Contemporary Writers: What about other writers, like the Apostolic Fathers, Josephus, and Philo?

I don't want to do something like this everywhere with every word or phrase; or always work through every point at every spot where I choose to embark on an extended discussion. But where the term/phrase/concept is "important", "exegetically significant", or "infrequently used" (or any combo, as deemed by me) then the above could be used to guide the discussion on the term/phrase/concept.

My primary interest is in the last bit, Contemporary Writers. Thus I'll probably use examples from there more frequently than other authors would. But that's my prerogative; I'm the author. :)

In addition to working at the word/phrase/pericope level, sometimes there are other concepts to work with, like:

• Chronology/Biography: An example is 1Ti 1.3. Where would Paul have been leaving from as he proceeded to Macedonia?
• Cultural References: Are cultural references are appropriate? (e.g. emperor worship?) This will not be used frequently.

Later on, I may get into other things, but this is a long ways off, if at all. I don't view it as essential, but I do view it as interesting. I have a lot of work to do to get to this point.

• Textual Variants: During a second or third pass, I'd like to provide some information on interesting variants; typically stuff in Metzger's Textual Commentary or perhaps Westcott & Hort's Intro volume. Some of this will be done in the first pass; but it won't be comprehensive or systematic in any way.
• Early Versions: This is a bit of a pipe dream, but at some point I think it would be fun to look at the early versions (Syriac, Coptic, and perhaps others if suitable helper resources can be located) and see how significant the variants are.

So, whaddya think? Have I bitten off too much? Will I ever be able to pull it off?

Every now and then — I know it's hard to believe — but even folks at Logos have streaks of unproductivity; myself included.

My colleague Eli Evans and I had an ... er ... unproductive discussion via chat this morning. He was feeling rather un-funky, and I felt it was my duty to re-funkify him. Mr. Evans has done the world the favor of recording this discussion for posterity and publishing it to his blog.

If you happen to use RealRhapsody,** Eli has provided the extra bonus of links to various (and I mean various) tunes used in the re-funkification process — and his own attempts to de-funkify me! He has also included a playlist that you can use in your own re-funkification efforts. Please use this list responsibly; the funk you save may be your own.

We're not like this all the time. Really.

** Eli and I both subscribe to Real Rhapsody, as do a few other folks here at Logos. If you have broadband the library is adequate and the price reasonable.

In 1Ti 1.18-19, I've come across two figurative phrases used by Paul (assuming Pauline authorship) that are also found in the works of Philo.

I posted on one of these a few days ago, in 1Ti 1.18: “wage the good warfare” or “fight the good fight”. Here's the excerpt from Philo:

And he is thought worthy of grace, for having fought the good fight in behalf of virtue he never ceases from warring till he sees the pleasures overthrown and baulked of their object.(Philo, Alleg.Int. III. 14)

Tonight, I came across 1Ti 1.19: “... made shipwreck of their faith.” Here's an example of Philo using very similar nautical terminology in a figurative manner; though Philo carries the illustration much further than Paul:

At all events Jacob does not speak to Joseph more than the sacred scripture speaks to every one who is vigorous in his body, and who is seen to be immersed amid abundant treasures, and riches, and superfluities, and to be overcome by none of them, when he says, “For still thou livest,” uttering a most marvellous sentiment, and one which is quite beyond the daily life of us who, if we have fallen in with ever so slight a breeze which bears us towards the good fortune, immediately set all sail and became greatly elated, and being full of great and high spirits, hurry forward with all our speed to the indulgence of our passions, and never will check our unbridled and immoderately excited desires until we run ashore and are wrecked as to the whole vessel of our souls. (Philo, Mut.Nom. 215)

I don't think there's anything special here; common metaphors (warfare and nautical/maritime terminology) should be seen in different documents from the same general era. But I still think it's interesting to realize that Paul (again, assuming Pauline authorship) and Philo used similar language.

I also think it is interesting that Paul used a metaphor (shipwreck) that he'd personally experienced (cf. 2Co 11.25).

Are there any lists of common metaphors such as these (e.g., “fight the good fight”, “make shipwreck”) found in classical documents that you know about? If so, drop a comment below or send an email to textgeek@gmail.com to let me know about it.

Thanks!