Timotheus (Hastings' Dictionary)

1. A leader of the Ammonites w ho was defeated in many battles by Judas Maccaljieus ( 1 Mac 5'"'- »"f , 2 Mac S* 9= lO-"'"). According to 2 Mac 10" he was .slain at the capture of Gazara by the forces of Jud.as. For the un- chronolo^ical setting of the narrative in 2 Mac. see vol. iii. [). 191''. 2. The AV form of the name Timothy everywhere in NT except 2 Co 1', 1 Ti V', 2 Ti 1-', Phileni 1, He 13^. TIMOTHY (Ti/i(59<os), St. Paul's young and trusted companion, was a native of Lystr.a, or possibly of Derbe (Ac IG' 20'', where see Blass) ; the son of a Greek father and of a mother who was a Jewess at least by religion (2 Ti 1') and ])rolial)ly also by birth. The son of a mixed marriage, he rccoivea a name which was fairly commim in Greek (1 Mao S""', 2 Mac 8""), but which by its significance would be acceptable to a religious .Jewess ; he was trained b}' his mother in the OT Scriptures (2 Ti 3'°), but was not circumcised. When St. I'aul reached Lystra on his Eirst Missionary .Journey, the young Timothy accepted Christ i.iiiity, being converted by St. Paul (1 Co 4'''-"), and piuliably was a witness of his suflerings at this time (2 Ti S'"- ", cf. Ac 14, ). By the time of the Second Missionary Journey he was a disciple well known to the Christians both in Lystra and in Iconium : the mention of his mother first, the descrii>tion of her in some MSS of the Western text as ' a widow,' and perhaps the use of vwfipxei (Ac 16^), make it probable that his fatlier was already dead. St. Paul was attracted l)y Timothy, and wislied to have him as a travel -com pun ion to take the place of John Mark, if not of Barnabas. If we 768 TIMOTHY TIMOTHY, FIRST EPISTLE TO may refer to this occasion the lang^iage of 1 Ti 1" 4', 2 Ti 1°, St. Paul was not left unaided in this decision. Prophetic utterances, perhaps those of Silas, who was himself a prophet (Ac 15''^), led Paul ♦o him : the local presbyters laid their hands upon him (cf. Ac 13') ; Paul joined in the formal setting ajiart of ' his son ' for the task ; he himself wit- nessed a noble confession in their presence (1 Ti 6'") ; and thus received a formal ministry (2 Ti 4', Ac 19, ), perhaps with the title of 'evangelist' (2 Ti 4'), but in 1 Th 2» he is loosely classed with Paul and Silas as an 'apostle.' In one respect Timothy was not fitted for the task : St. Paul's jilan was to preach hrst to the Jews, and they Mould be otl'endcd by the presence of one who was half-Jew by birth and yet never circumcised, so St. Paul took him and perhaps with his own hand circumcised him (cf. Hort, Judaistic Christianity, ]ip. 84-87 ; The Christian Ea-lesia, pp. 178-188 ; and, as against the historical character of this incident, Holtzmann, Die Pastoral-Bricfe, pp. 67- 78). Timothy now became a loyal companion, slaving for St. Paul as a son for a father (Ph 2-'^) ; he took an active part in preaching at Thes- salonica (1 Th 1. 2 passim) ; accompanied Paul to Eeroea, and stayed there when St. Paul was obliged to withdraw to Athens, but at the apostle's request followed him speedily thither. Thence he was despatched at once on an important mission to strengthen the Tliessalonians who were suft'ering under persecution, and on returning with his report found St. Paul already removed to Corinth. His presence and the news he brought gave St. Paul new life, for Timothy joined him in preaching Jesus Christ the Son of Ood (2 Co 1") : he was associated with Paul and Silvanus in both letters to the Thessalonians, and was perhaps the scribe in each case, though there is not sutiicient ground for accepting Spitta's theory [zur Gesch. des Vr- christenthums, i. p. 110) that 2 Thess. was his composition. After this time he is not men- tioned again until we find him with Paul at Ephesus on the Third Missionary Journey (Ac ly, ) ; he may have been with him all the time, or may have stayed at Ephesus, a stay which would have rjualified him for liis later work there. On this occasion he was sent again on a mission — this time with Erastus and apparently other brethren (1 Co 16") to Macedonia and thence to Corinth (1 Co 4"). The mission took place shortly before the writ ing of 1 Cor. (4") ; its purpose was to remind the Corinthians of St. Paul's ' ways in Christ ' ; St. Paul was anxious about the result ; he was afraid that Timothy would be timid, and that others might set him at nought, and he bespoke a kindly reception for him (1 Co IG'"- "). The ettect of his mission was not successful ; he brought back news which caused Paul great anxiety and neces- sitated a mission of Titus ; it is ])ossihle that a personal attack was made on Timothy, and that he is 6 dSiK-qdelt of 2 Co 7" in whose interests Paul had demanded sharp punishment on the offender (see Paul, vol. iii. p. 711''). However this may be, he followed Paul to Macedonia, wis associated with him there in the writing of 2 Cor., and was with him in Corinth as an active worker (6 avfepyi^ fiov) who sends greeting to the Christians at Home (Ko 16^', if this chapter belongs to this date). When Paul started on his last journey to Jerusalem, Timothy was one of his party, and «as with him at Troas (Ac 20''- ') ; but he is not mentioned again in the Acts, though he probably completed the journey to Jerusalem. He must also have joined Paul in his imprisonment at Rome, as he is associ- ated with him in writing Col. (1'), Philemon (v.'), and Philippians (1'); and St. Paul contemplates sending him on a mission to the Philippian Church (01S, J4) Of t^ijjg no more is heard ; but on the sup- position of the genuineness of the Pastoral Epistles, Paul when released joined Timothy in the East, and while on a journey to Macedonia left him in charge of the Church of Ephesus (1 Ti 1'). His task was to be the representative of the absent apostle, who was hoping to return shortly ; he was to check false teaching, to order public worship, to regulate the requisite qualifications for the ministry, and to exercise discipline over all orders in the Church. It may be that for this task he was formally set apart by laying on of hands both of the apostle and of the presbyters (1 Ti P' 4", 2 Ti 1, but see above). As the apostle might be delaj'ed from returning, he wrote 1 Timotliy to lay stress on the points of primary importance and to strengthen and embolden Timothy. Not long thereafter Paul was arrested a second time and carried to Rome ; thence he wrote 2 Timothy, begging Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel, but to come with Mark to help him in his im- prisonment, and, before he leaves, to secure the transmission of true teaching by ordaining trust- worthy ministers. It may liave been on this visit to Rome that Timothy was himself arrested on the occasion on which the writer of the Ep. to the Hebrews mentions his release (He IS'-"). Of Tiinoth>'8 subsequent history little can be said with cer- tainty. He ma?/ be [but this is very unlikely] the 'angel' of the Church of Ephesus addressed in Rev 2i-7 ; he may be one of the sources from which St. Luke gained information for the composition of the Acta, though there is no ground for regard- ing him as the author of the book or of the ' We ' sections (see Zahn, Einleituiig, ii. p. 424). Church tradition regarded him as having continued bishop of Ephesus until his death (Contt. Apostol. vii. 40 ; Euseb. iii. 46), as having been martyred in a popular tumult when he tried to dissuade the people from taking part in the violent and coarse orgies of the jucrayiiyiet (a festival of which there is no mention elsewhere), and his bones are said to have been transferred to Constantinople by Con- st.antiu9 (Polycrates and .Simeon Metaphrastes quoted in the .4 rta Sanctorum, iii. pp. 176-183, Meiueon, ad Jan. 22 ; Lipsiiis, Die Apocrt/pken Aposteigeich, ii. 2, 372-400). Though Titus is a stronger man and more able to deal with crises, yet Paul's love and alt'ection goes out more lavishly to the younger Timothy, niiose character is clearly marked. He is ati'ec- tionate to tears (2 Ti 1^), delicate and often ill (1 Ti 5^), timid (1 Co 16'"), shrinking from a proper assertion of his own authority (1 Ti 4'''), needing to be warned against youthful lusts (2 Ti 2, ), to be encouraged to face shame for Christ's sake (2 Ti 1). Vet he has been Paul's loyal follower and imitator from the first (2 Ti 3'") ; he is his ' genuine' son (1 Ti 1-), his loved son (2 Ti P), his son loved and faithful in the Lord (1 Co 4") ; of one mind with himself (Ph 2), ' working the Lord's work as I do' (1 Co 16""); 'my fellow-worker' (Ro 16=') ; 'our brother and God's minister' (1 Th 3-) ; ' the slave of Jesus Christ' (Ph 1'), who ' seeks the things of Jesus Christ ' {ib. 2»). Timothv's death is commemorated in theOreek and Armenian Churches on Jan. 22, in the Coptic Church on Jan. 23, in the Latin and Maronite Churches on Jan. 24, though the earlier Latin calendars place it on Sept. 27, perhaps as following the day of the conmiemoration of St. John, who w-is thought of a« his predecessor in the see of Ephesus (Lipsius, I.e. p. 392 ; Nilles, KcUendarium Manuale utriuxque EccUsi(B, Innsbruck i89t ). W. Lock.