1 Timothy 1:2

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uberdwayne
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1 Timothy 1:2

Post by uberdwayne »

1 Tim 1:2 wrote:Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ ἐν πίστει·
decided to read through 1 Timothy, and came across this interesting little tidbit.

If we take πίστει as definite (nouns can be definite without the article if they are objects of prepositions.), ἐν makes it a dative of sphere, that is, "Timothy, genuine child in the faith." Then Paul here would be making a declaration that little Timmy is within the group of the elect. Now, if we take ἐν as an "instrumental" marker, we would have something like "Timothy, genuine child by faith. That is, seeing faith as the tool which made him a genuine child.

Which way would you go? Both of these seem like they could represent the grammar and context. Is there another nuance it could be?

τι νομιζετε;
μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ

C. S. Bartholomew
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Re: 1 Timothy 1:2

Post by C. S. Bartholomew »

The question of election isn't addressed in this text. I would read it as a metaphor of location, in other words a dative functioning as a locative case. It answers the question: In what sense is Timothy a child of Paul?
C. Stirling Bartholomew

uberdwayne
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Re: 1 Timothy 1:2

Post by uberdwayne »

C. S. Bartholomew wrote:The question of election isn't addressed in this text. I would read it as a metaphor of location, in other words a dative functioning as a locative case. It answers the question: In what sense is Timothy a child of Paul?
Thanks for your response :)

I can see that, especially given the relationship between Timothy and Paul.

so then a question of what could have been.. there wouldn't be much difference in meaning between "Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ ἐν πίστει·" and "Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ πίστει·"? Would you say that the use of ἐν is completely redundant?
μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ

C. S. Bartholomew
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Re: 1 Timothy 1:2

Post by C. S. Bartholomew »

uberdwayne wrote: I can see that, especially given the relationship between Timothy and Paul.

so then a question of what could have been.. there wouldn't be much difference in meaning between "Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ ἐν πίστει·" and "Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ πίστει·"? Would you say that the use of ἐν is completely redundant?
Not at all. I suggest studying the following and see what you come up with.
1Cor. 16:13 Γρηγορεῖτε, στήκετε ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἀνδρίζεσθε, κραταιοῦσθε.

2Cor. 13:5 Ἑαυτοὺς πειράζετε εἰ ἐστὲ ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἑαυτοὺς δοκιμάζετε· ἢ οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκετε ἑαυτοὺς ὅτι Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν; εἰ μήτι ἀδόκιμοί ἐστε.

Gal. 2:20 ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός· ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με καὶ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.

1Tim. 1:2 Τιμοθέῳ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ ἐν πίστει, χάρις ἔλεος εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν.

1Tim. 1:4 μηδὲ προσέχειν μύθοις καὶ γενεαλογίαις ἀπεράντοις, αἵτινες ἐκζητήσεις παρέχουσιν μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ τὴν ἐν πίστει.

1Tim. 2:7 εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγὼ κῆρυξ καὶ ἀπόστολος, ἀλήθειαν λέγω οὐ ψεύδομαι, διδάσκαλος ἐθνῶν ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.

1Tim. 2:15 σωθήσεται δὲ διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας, ἐὰν μείνωσιν ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁγιασμῷ μετὰ σωφροσύνης·

1Tim. 3:13 οἱ γὰρ καλῶς διακονήσαντες βαθμὸν ἑαυτοῖς καλὸν περιποιοῦνται καὶ πολλὴν παρρησίαν ἐν πίστει τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

1Tim. 4:12 Μηδείς σου τῆς νεότητος καταφρονείτω, ἀλλὰ τύπος γίνου τῶν πιστῶν ἐν λόγῳ, ἐν ἀναστροφῇ, ἐν ἀγάπῃ, ἐν πίστει, ἐν ἁγνείᾳ.

2Tim. 1:13 Ὑποτύπωσιν ἔχε ὑγιαινόντων λόγων ὧν παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἤκουσας ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·

Titus 1:13 ἡ μαρτυρία αὕτη ἐστὶν ἀληθής. δι᾿ ἣν αἰτίαν ἔλεγχε αὐτοὺς ἀποτόμως, ἵνα ὑγιαίνωσιν ἐν τῇ πίστει,

Titus 3:15 Ἀσπάζονταί σε οἱ μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ πάντες. ἄσπασαι τοὺς φιλοῦντας ἡμᾶς ἐν πίστει. Ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν.
C. Stirling Bartholomew

uberdwayne
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Re: 1 Timothy 1:2

Post by uberdwayne »

Great! Thanks for the list, I will go through these one by one and see what comes out of it. Thanks for the direction.
μείζων ἐστὶν ὁ ἐν ὑμῖν ἢ ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ

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