1 Timothy Background

 Pastoral Epistles:

1 Timothy

2nd Timothy

Titus

sometimes Philemon


"They are generally discussed as a group (sometimes with the addition of the Epistle to Philemon) and are given the title pastoral because they are addressed to individuals with pastoral oversight of churches and discuss issues of Christian living, doctrine and leadership" -Wikipedia

A more satisfactory solution is to assume that the Pastorals do not fit within the Book of Acts at all, but rather describe a period after the end of Acts. The Book of Acts ends with Paul in jail in Rome (a.d. 61-62). Surely if Paul was executed at the end of his imprisonment, Luke would have mentioned it. On the other hand, it is entirely credible that Paul could have been released (a.d. 62), perhaps for lack of evidence, and left free for another period of ministry. According to this supposition (which is all it can ever be), Paul traveled widely from a.d. 62 to 67 and was eventually recaptured, tried, and executed in Rome in 67. During this period of travel he would have written 1 Timothy and Titus, and during his final imprisonment, 2 Timothy. If this scenario is correct then one ought not expect the Pastorals to fit into the chronology of Acts, which ends with his first Roman imprisonment, and the historical arguments against the Pastorals’ authenticity lose their force.-bkc

Furthermore such studies completely overlook the fact that different subject matter, different experiences, advancing age, changes in environment and companions, different recipients and purposes - all these and more affect a writer’s vocabulary.-bkc


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