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1 TIMOTHY 5

5:1-2

How was Timothy to treat older people?

[5:1, 5:2]

Paul told Timothy to respect older men and women in the same way he would respect a father or mother. Paul wrote Timothy not to “scold” an older man. That is, Timothy was not to speak harshly or disrespect an older man.

See: Leviticus 19:32

How was Timothy to treat younger people?

[5;1, 5:2]

Paul told Timothy to treat younger people in the same way he treated his own brothers and sister. Particularly, Paul told Timothy to encourage younger women with all “purity.” That is, Timothy was to honor and to protect younger women. Also, Timothy was treat younger women with moral purity. That is, he was not to commit sexual immorality, by thinking or doing the wrong things.

Advice to Translator: in English, a person cannot do sexual immorality, they “commit” sexual immorality.

See: Sexual Immorality

5:3-16

What was a “real widow”?

[5:3]

Any woman whose husband died was a “widow.” However, Paul was writing about a widow who did not have anyone to care for her and not a widow whose family was able to help her (see: 5:16). The church was to help only widows who had no one and nothing to help them.

See: Deuteronomy 10:18, 14:29, 24:17-22; Isaiah 1:17; James 1:27

See: Church

Advice to Translators: Since every woman who has lost a husband is a widow, the translator needs to make a way to say that this is a “widow who is in need of someone to care for her.”

Why did Paul write that families need to care for a widowed mother or grandmother?

[5:4]

Paul wrote that children and grandchildren need to “honor” the widows in their family. Also, they needed to she had food and a place to live. If Christians cared for widows in their family, this was “pleasing to God”.

Advice to translators: A woman whose husband died was “widowed.”

Why did Paul write, “puts her certain hope in God”?

[5:5]

Paul wrote that a widow “puts her certain hope in God.” Some scholars think Paul wrote about a widow who placed her trust in God’s promises. She trusted God, not only for the promise to live with him in heaven forever, but also that God would help her during her life. Other scholars think Paul described a widow as someone who completely depended on God for her needs. For these reasons, a real widow prayed constantly for God to give her what she needed.

See: 1 Timothy 4:10; Isaiah 40:31; Romans 5:5

Why did Paul write, “dead, even though she is still alive”?

[5:6]

Paul wrote about certain widows as women who lived simply for their own “pleasure.” That is, they had a lot of money and did what they thought would make them happy. He said they were “dead, even though they were still alive.” That is, though they had life physically, they did not have spiritual life. That is, they did not worship God or depend on Him for their needs.

See: Ephesians 2:3; James 5:5;

See: Die (Death); Spirit (Spiritual); Born Again (New Life, Regeneration)

Why did Paul write, “denied the faith”?

[5:8]

Paul wrote that people “denied the faith.” Scholars think Paul wrote to “deny” the faith to write about people that said they believed in Jesus but they did not do the things that honor God.

See: Faith (Believe in)

What did the word, “enrolled” mean?

[5:9]

The word “enrolled”(καταλέγω/g2639) was used to talk about making someone a part of a group. Scholars think two different things about why widows were enrolled in the church.

Some scholars think the church made a list of widows (and perhaps also some women who never married). These women did special things for the church.
Other scholars think that the list was simply the widows the church supported. These women did not do anything special for the church.

See: Church

Why did Paul write “wife of one husband”?

[5:9]

Paul wrote “wife of one husband.” This can also be written “a husband of one wife” (see: 3:2), “a woman of one man” or “of one husband.” Some scholars think Paul wrote about a woman who married only once. Other scholars think Paul wrote about women who remained faithful to their husbands during their marriage.

How did a widow wash the feet of the saints?

[5:10]

In the ancient world, people washed the feet of people who came to their home. This honored the people who came to their home. Usually, slaves or women did this (see: Genesis 18:4; 1 Samuel 25:41; John 13:4- 12). Some scholars think Paul wrote about a woman who washed other Christian’s feet. Other scholars think this was a metaphor. They think it was a woman who served other Christians in a humble way.

See: Metaphor

Why did Paul write not to enroll younger widows on the list?

[5:11]

Paul wrote not to put the names of younger widows on the lits. Some scholars think Paul did not want to help younger widows for a long time. However, they think Paul did want to help younger widows in some way. Fewer scholars think Paul wrote not to give younger widows any help from the church.

Why did Paul write for widows to “revoke their first commitment”?

[5:12]

Paul wrote for widows to “revoke their first commitment.” To “revoke” was used to talk about someone not doing the things they said they would do. “Commitment”(πίστις/g4102) can also be translated as “faith.” Scholars do not agree on why Paul wrote these words.

Some scholars think that a widow dishonored her dead husband if she wanted to marry another man.
Some scholars think that she had made a “commitment” to the church to remain single so she could serve the church more, but then later did not do this.
Some scholars think that she had taken a “vow” of to not have sex again or get married again. Then, she could serve the church greatly.
Some scholars think that she no longer served Jesus because she married a man who did not believe in Jesus. In ancient times, a man could decide what god or gods his family worshipped.

See: Church; Vow

What was a “busybody”?

[5:13]

A “busybody” was a person who wanted to know things about other people. These were things they did not need to know about these other people (see: 2 Thessalonians 3:11). This was a sin. It hurt the church.

See: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

See: Sin; Church

Why did Paul write, “some have already turned aside to Satan”?

[5:15]

Someone “turned aside”(ἐκτρέπω/g1624) by no longer doing the things that honored God. Satan always tried to get Christians to do the things he wanted them to do (see: 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:26).

Some scholars think Paul wrote about widows who lived in a way that dishonors God or married someone who did not believe in Jesus.
Others scholars think some widows were doing things with magic.
Other scholars think some widows began to do the things demons wanted them to do (see: 4:1)

See: Genesis 3:1, 13; Acts 5:3; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

See: Satan (The Devil); Demon

5:17-25

What was an elder?

[5:17]

See: 3:1-7

See: Elder

Why did Paul write, “you shall not muzzle an ox”?

[5:18]

Paul said the same things as Deuteronomy 25:4. On a farm, an ox walked around in a circle to crush grain. It was allowed to eat some of that grain. Paul wrote that an ox is fed with the grain on which he works. Therefore, it is also right to give the elders of the church things so they can live because they serve other Christians in a special way (see: 1 Corinthians 9:7-11).

See: Church; Grain (Grain Offering); Elder

Where did someone write, “The laborer is worthy of his wages”?

[5:18]

See: Matthew 10:10; Luke 10:7

Why did Paul write about “two or three witnesses”?

[5:19]

Paul said the same thing as Deuteronomy 19:15. This verse spoke about evil things such as murder. In order to punish a person, at least two or three people needed to see the person who did the evil thing. In the same way, saying that an elder sinned is a serious thing. It must be seen by people who have seen the sin.

See: Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1

See: Elder; Sin

Who were the “chosen angels”?

[5:21]

Paul wrote about the “chosen angels.” Some scholars think the “chosen angels” were those angels God made to care for the church. They think Paul wrote about God, Jesus, and the angels so they would know that the command Paul gave Timothy was serious. Other scholars think Paul wrote about certain angels who are near God in heaven.

See: Revelation 4-5

See: Angel; Elect (Election); Church; Heaven

What did Paul write to Timothy to “keep these commands without partiality”?

[5:21]

Paul wrote Timothy not to give “partiality’ when judging something. That is, when he judged something for the elders. Paul wrote Timothy to treat every elder in the same way. In the same way, Timothy was not to favor a certain elder for any reason.

Advice to translators: Timothy helped the elders to know what to do when they did not know what to do. This is how he judged something.

See: Galatians 2:6; James 2:1-13

See: Elder

Why did Paul warn Timothy not to lay hands on anyone too “hastily”?

[5:22] When the church made someone a new leader, the current elders laid their hands on them and prayed with them. Paul wanted Timothy to know for sure whether or not someone needed to be a leader before he made them into one. He did not need to make people into leaders too quickly.

See: 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:6

See: Elder; Laying on of Hands

[5:22]

Paul wanted Timothy to know that Timothy would be guilty if he made someone a leader in the church too quickly. That is, if he made someone a leader that did not need to be one. Perhaps Paul wrote about a leader who continues to sin.

See: Sin

Why did Paul write Timothy to “take a little wine”?

[5:23]

Paul told Timothy to “take a little wine.” Paul was not writing Timothy to stop drink water. Instead, he wrote him not to drink only water. Paul wrote Timothy to “take a little wine” as well as to drink water. Some scholars think Paul wrote this to Timothy because Timothy had an illnesses. Some people thought this could make someone feel better when they were ill. Other scholars think Paul wrote this to Timothy to because sometimes the water was not good to drink where Timothy was.

What were sins that went before a person “into judgment”?

[5:24]

Paul wrote about sins that went before a person “into judgment.” Some of the people they thought could be church leaders had sinned in a certain way. They sinned in a way where everyone knew they sinned. Because everyone knew about their sins, Timothy and the other leaders judged that they could not serve in this way. However, Paul wrote that there were people who sinned secretly. These sins were sometimes found out at a later time. Therefore, Timothy had to be careful when he chose new leaders for the church.

See: Psalm 90:8; Jeremiah 16:17