“As I counseled you when I was leaving Macedonia, stay on in Ephesus, so that you may order certain people who are teaching a different doctrine to stop. Have them stop devoting their attention to myths and never-ending genealogies; these divert people to speculating instead of doing God’s work, which requires trust. The purpose of this order is to promote love from a clean heart, from a good conscience and from sincere trust. Some, by aiming amiss, have wandered off into fruitless discussion. They want to be teachers of Torah, but they understand neither their own words nor the matters about which they make such emphatic pronouncements” (1 Tim. 1:3-7; CJB).

 

In this 11th episode to our Paul and Hebrew Roots Series, we pick up where we left off last week and prepare for a full-blown study of 1 Timothy 2:9-15. But before we can fully unravel the mysteries of this controversial passage, we must first gain an understanding of why Paul wrote this controversial passage in the first place. And what we’ll find out in this installment of The Messianic Torah Observer is that 1 Timothy was in a sense Paul’s war strategy against Gnosticism.

 

This is content you likely won’t find anywhere anywhere else; so you don’t want to miss this discussion.

 

Shalom and welcome.

This is “First Timothy—Paul’s War [Strategy] Against Gnosticism—Part-11 of the Paul and Hebrew Roots Series.”

 

Last episode to this series, part-10, I introduced you to our controversial focus passage of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 . In that post I attempted to shed some light upon some of the many historic, religious, grammatical, and cultural difficulties associated with it. And those difficulties are unfortunately experienced both within and without our faith community.

 Gnosticism is a modern name for a variety of ancient religious ideas and systems originating in Hellenistic Judaism and the Jewish-Christian milieu in the first and second centuries A.D. (Wikipedia).

 

 Preparing For Study of our Focus Passage of 1 Timothy 2:9-15

In anticipation of really getting into the nuts and bolts of 1 Timothy 2:9-15, we first have to do some preparatory groundwork. 

Of course, our ultimate goal in examining 1 Timothy 2:9-15 is to gain as accurate an understanding of the passage as we possibly can. Additionally, we we also look to correct as many popular misinterpretations, misrepresentations and false-teachings which have, as you know, spawned hellacious misogynistic doctrines throughout Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, and certain elements of the Messianic Community. Combined, these have contributed in one form or another to effectively silencing women of faith by denying them the ability to do that which they’ve been called by the Holy Spirit to do.

 Areas of Study in Preparation for our Study of 1 Timothy 2:9-15

So today I’m going to cover just two-major areas in preparation for our next episode, part-12, where we’ll actually break down and closely examine our focus passage. Those two-areas will be:

(A) Gaining a basic understanding of Ephesus—her socio-cultural-religious existence at the time Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy.

(B) We’ll conduct a modest survey of 1 Timothy so as to lay a contextual foundation upon which we may build an accurate understanding of our focus passage.

 A. Understanding the Ancient City of Ephesus 

The City

Ephesus was a port-city that was once considered the most important Greek city and the most important trading center in the Mediterranean region (reference:  https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/ephesus).

It has been described as a thriving city where men and women enjoyed equal opportunities.

It is surmised by certain scholars that Ephesus was home to some 250,000 people. She was a planned city of Greek architecture, possessing advanced public amenities such as an extensive sewage system and aqueducts. Fountains adorned her streets and public squares and convenient public baths and toilets were accessible to the populace.

For all intents and purposes, Ephesus was an affluent city. Many of the Ephesian homes were large in terms of square-footage. These possessed luxurious appointments and were richly decorated with art throughout.

 The Socio-Politico Environment of Ephesus

Roman Ephesus was known as a leading political and intellectual center. She boasted an impressive library and a school of philosophy ( https://www.ancient.eu/ephesos/).

(This is important information to keep in the back of your head, because the Ephesian love for intellectual pursuits played a pivotal role in the overarching problems that  plagued the Ephesian Assemblies. 

Because of heavy silt deposits, the coastline has shifted 3-miles out from where it was in Paul’s day.

 Biblical Perspective of Ephesus

From a biblical historic perspective, the Apostle John and Mariam (Y’shua’s mother) visited the city. Legend has it that Mariam spent her last years in Ephesus with John and her house and John’s tomb can still be visited there in Ephesus today. 

The Religio-Economic State of Ephesus 

The production of Artemis statutes was a major source of revenue for the city.

This fun fact is supported by Luke’s account of the great riot that erupted in Ephesus proper over Paul’s perceived threat to the city’s Artemis statute making trade (Acts 19). 

Recall, if you will, a Demetrius: a well-to-do Ephesian silversmith, who made his wealth crafting silver statutes of Artemis (aka Diana) which his company no doubt peddled, not only to the citizens of Ephesus, but also the 1,000’s of pilgrims who visited the Temple of Artemis each year. Luke records how Demetrius incited the city’s statute makers to riot over the perceived threat Paul and his evangelistic work in the city posed to their lucrative trade. 

Fortunately, only a couple of Paul’s disciples were ruffed up and no one was seriously harmed; the uprising fizzled out. Paul quickly departed the city, leaving behind a few members of his evangelistic team to continue the work he’d begun.

The Temple of Artemis 

Regarding the Temple of Artemis Antipater of Sidon—an ancient Greek poet of the 2nd century BC–wrote: 

“I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple of Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade.”

The Temple of Artemis was located in the city of Ephesus which is present day Turkey. It was built sometime around 323 BC. The structure was primarily of marble construction, measuring some 425 ft. in length. It was said to have consisted of some 126 giant marble columns. Interestingly, the Ephesus Temple or Shrine of Artemis is said to have been 4-times the size of the Greek Parthenon. 

It was destroyed in 262 AD by the Goths. Unfortunately, there’s little left—archaeologically speaking—of the structure today. Regardless the lack of physical evidence to its former grandness, the Temple of Artemis earned a coveted spot as one of the “7-Wonders of the Ancient World.”

Who Was Artemis? 

According to ancient Greek mythology, Artemis was the daughter of Leto and Zeus and the twin sister of Apollo. She has been referred to as the goddess of the wilderness; of the hunt; of wild animals; and of fertility. Additionally, she has been described as the helper of midwives for she was the goddess of birth—that is the goddess of life (reference:   https://www.ephesus.us/ephesus/mythology_of_artemis.htm).

An interesting fact to the Artemis myth and cult is that Artemis is said to have asked her father, Zeus, to grant her eternal virginity—which apparently he did. Now, can you see any potential link of the concept of perpetual virginity and Catholicism’s portrayal of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as possessing perpetual virginity? Truly, as you can clearly see, there’s nothing new under the sun as they used to say.

Another thing I need for you to keep in the back of your noggin in preparation for our upcoming exploration of 1 Timothy 2:9-15, is all the stuff that is tied to the worship of Artemis. For we’re going to touch upon concepts of a “mother-goddess” who was essentially over all life. And it would not be too much of a stretch to link the Artemis cult (aka Diana) and the worship of Artemis to some of the false teachers and teachings that were plaguing the Ephesian Assemblies. 

Continuing: Although seen by some as a goddess of healing, conversely, she was also thought to be responsible for the spread of diseases such as leprosy, rabies and gout.

Interestingly, Artemis was considered a secondary deity throughout much of first-century AD Roman Empire. But to the Greeks of Asia Minor (ie., Modern Day Turkey), she was the prominent deity. The main attribute given to Artemis was that of fertility for which she was identified alongside Cybele as the mother goddess of eastern lands. 

Touching somewhat back onto our earlier discussion of Demetrius—the Ephesian silversmith recorded in Acts 19–who incited a riot among the city’s statute makers over Paul’s work in their city, the cult statutes of Artemis in Ephesus differed greatly from those of mainland Greece. The statutes of her in mainland Greece depicted her as a huntress with her bow and arrows. However, those of her in Ephesus depicted her in the eastern style, standing erect with numerous breast-like appendages adorning her torso (although some scholars reject that the appendages are breasts, but more likely sacrificed bull-testicles). See the image above.

Historical Setting of 1 Timothy 

Contrary to churchianity’s popular portrayal of the Church in Ephesus being some massive brick and mortar edifice housing hundreds of gentile Christians attending Sunday worship services each week, the so-called church of Ephesus at the time Paul consisted of “many house churches” that had become corrupted by false teaching” (Eddie Hyatt—Paul-Women-Church; pg. 91).

Who Was Timothy? 

Timothy is first mentioned in Acts 16:1-3. He is described here as a talmid (ie., a disciple), the son of a believing Jewish woman who had come to trust in Mashiyach and a Greek father. He was well respected among the brethren of Lystra and Iconium. And it seems that Paul was quickly drawn to him—personally and spiritually—thus adopting him as his spiritual son and a trust member of his evangelistic team.

We find recorded in Acts 16:3 that in order for Timothy not to be despised by any potential Jewish converts the ministry would come in contact with, Paul circumcised Timothy. 

We later learn from Paul’s own words, the names of the two individuals who most shaped Timothy’s young spiritual life: Lois, Timothy’s grandmother; and Eunice, Timothy’s mother (2 Tim. 1:5). 

Additionally, we can gather from various Pauline references that Timothy was timid; in need of self-confidence and boldness (1 Cor. 16:10; 1 Tim. 4:12; 2 Tim. 1:7). 

Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, the last of the Greek ecclesiastical historians, who lived about 1320 C.E., records that Timothy suffered martyrdom under Roman Emperor Nerva. Tradition asserts that Timothy was bludgeoned to death by an angered, Artemis-worshiping mob who reacted violently to his protests against the mob’s pagan behavior (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Timothy). 

There’s been a lot of debate as to the length of Timothy’s overseeing of the Ephesian Assemblies. At the very least, it is widely accepted that Timothy served 9-months as the Ephesian Assembly’s general overseer. It’s quite conceivable that Timothy’s service in Ephesus ran beyond the 9-months, but the biblical record fails to definitively innumerate otherwise. 

The fact that Paul addresses the workings of various so-called church offices in 1 Timothy is indicative that all the pertinent offices of the so-called church were already well established and in operation. The problem was, it appears, that those established offices needed some fine-tuning by Timothy. It’s quite possible those offices had fallen into disrepair or were in poor operation and Paul needed to ensure that the right people were placed into and given the opportunity to serve in those key positions. 

So the churchianity-based convention that Timothy was sent to establish church organization or structure from scratch in Ephesus is not accurate.

 B. A Brief Survey of 1 Timothy

 The Nature of the Letter Paul Wrote to Timothy 

It should be abundantly clear at the start that 1 Timothy was written by Paul and was (1) written to a specific person (ie., Timothy) who happened to be very close to Paul; and (2) it was written in response to a specific situation within the “beloved congregation” (John Temple Bristow-What Paul Said About Women; pg. 69). 

The fact that the letter was of a personal nature, addressed to someone Paul dearly loved, the situation on the ground, so to speak, needed not be fully fleshed out in the letter. In this case, Timothy was quite aware of the situation on the ground in Ephesus. So it wasn’t necessary for Paul to elaborate on such commonly held knowledge. Recall that we touched upon this in the previous episode—part 10.

 Background on 1 Timothy 

The early assemblies of Messiah accepted 1 and 2 Timothy, along with Titus as being genuine (ie., canonical)–written of course by Paul.

The 2nd-century Peshita-Syriac canon as well as Muratori’s “Fragment on the Canon of Scripture” (ie., the earliest list of the books to form our present day canon, composed in the 2nd century C.E.) included these letters. As well as the so-called Patristic Church Fathers all acknowledged the genuineness of these letters. 

The Jewish Connection to Gnosticism in Ephesus

Interestingly, and as we’ve discussed in modest detail so far in this series, ascetic Judaism seems to be at ground zero as it relates to the formation of heresies in the assemblies. We’ve come to accept these Judaistic heresies as an early form of Gnosticism or pre- or proto-Gnosticism.

I was at first taken aback by this understanding—that certain elements of first-century Judaism would have been behind some of the Gnostic infiltration of the Ephesian Assemblies. However, when one considers a great many of the early Gnostic stories coming out of first-century Asia, as well as the history of Ephesus that included a wide Jewish participation in magic and the pervasiveness of Jewish folklore (ie., tales) in Ephesus—as recorded in Acts 19, Judaism’s contribution to early Gnosticism simply cannot be overlooked. 

In many ways this whole Jewish basis for a lot of what we’ve come to understand as early-Gnosticism in the Ephesian Assemblies can still be seen in many sects of Judaism today. I will tell you, I’ve come to find that more than a few respected Jewish scholars and rabbis vociferously reject the veracity (ie., the Truth) of many of the stories contained in Torah and the Tanakh. These offer instead idealistic principles and alternative accounts of the stories and Truths of the bible. And this was made very evident to me as I watched Timothy Mahoney’s “Pattern of Evidence” movies where the filmmaker interviewed several, highly regarded Jewish scholars and rabbis, who without apology stated that the Exodus story was a fabrication of some fanciful Jewish writers back in Babylonian Exile days. 

When asked to explain what these stories meant to them, given that they saw them as fabrications, these Jewish experts came up with off-the-wall, contrived ideologies that seemed more humanistic in nature than God-given revelation. 

Y’shua’s Perspective on Jewish-Gnosticism

Y’shua called out such individuals in His Revelation to the Apostle John regarding the many tribulations and impoverished nature of the Assembly at Smyrna:

“I know your affliction and poverty, yet you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9; HCSB). 

And again these were identified by Y’shua to John when He addressed the Assembly of Philadelphia: 

“Take note! I will make those from the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying–note this–I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you” (Rev. 3:9; HCSB).

 Origins-Reasons-Purpose When Studying Paul

And this is the type of stuff we must keep in the back of minds when we are studying the writings and teachings of Paul: origins; reasons; purpose. Can you imagine how Paul must have felt having to contend with the opposing works and teachings of his fellow Jews (granted Jews by birth only) who had taken the Faith he once held so dear, and made it to be nothing short of a shipwreck (1 Tim. 1:19). And here in 1 Timothy Paul gives us at least two-clues that Jewish-based Gnosticism was at the heart of the false teachings ongoing in Ephesus at the time he drafted his letter to Timothy: 

1 Timothy 1:7–“They (ie., the false teachers) want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on” (HCSB). 

 

1 Timothy 4:3–“They (ie., the Jewish-based Gnostics) forbid marriage and demand abstinence from foods that God created to be received with gratitude by those who believe and know the Truth” (HCSB).

 Crete-Another Ground Zero For Jewish Gnosticism

And this same stuff was happening in Crete. For we find clearly laid out by Paul in his letter to the Cretan assembly leader and Paul’s frequent companion, Titus, that certain Jews were behind much of the Gnostic heresies plaguing the Assembly of Crete: 

Titus 1:10-14-“For there are also many rebellious people, full of empty talk and deception, especially those from Judaism. It is necessary to silence (ie.; epistomizo; that is to bridle or stop up the mouth)  them; they overthrow whole households by teaching what they shouldn’t, in order to get money dishonestly (and we certainly see that this was occurring in Ephesus as well). One of their very own prophets said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons (thus the dubious title given to certain vulgar individuals in our somewhat modern vernacular as Cretans). This testimony is true. So, rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the Faith and may not pay attention to Jewish myths and the commands of men who reject the Truth“ (HCSB).

 

Titus 3:9–“But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights about the Torah, because they are worthless and futile” (CJB).

 Sorting Out the Differences Between the Judaizers and Jewish Gnostics

My point here is not to come against Judaism. For the vast majority of orthodox Jews in Paul’s day, especially Palestinian Jews (ie., Israeli-Jerusalem-based Jews) kept a great deal of the Hebrew Faith. The problem with first-century Palestinian Judaism was that the people were being influenced and ultimately misled in many areas of their lives by rabbinic and proto-Talmudic teachings, designed, according to the Pharisees, to place a so-called “fence” or “hedge” around Torah so as to prevent violations of Torah. And this has of course carried on through today where the Talmud holds more of a preeminent place in orthodox, rabbinic Jewish life, than Torah. Add to this reality the whole Kabala paradigm that is infused in a great many areas of the religion today and viola: You have a form of Gnosticism disguised as Judaism.

 However, the form of Judaism that Paul and Timothy were confronting in Ephesus was NOT that of the “Judaizers,” as described by Paul in his letter to the Galatians in 2:4. That form of Judaism, of course, vigorously sought to require members of the Body of Messiah to convert to Judaism before they could be accepted into the Body and assemblies of Mashiyach (ie., Messiah). However, over time, as documented throughout the apostolic records, we can see a gradual movement away from the religiosity that defined the Judaism that Y’shua personally had to contend with, over to the mystical and eastern esoteric form that is somewhat similar to what we’ve come to identify as kabala today.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary on the Whole Bible referred to this gradual transformation that Judaism took as an “immoral practice that accompanied false doctrine (cf. 2 Tim. 2:18; 1 Cor. 15:12, 32, 33)…a descent from legality to superstition, and from superstition to godlessness” (Commentary on the Whole Bible; pg. 1349). So by the time we get to 1 Timothy, which many scholars believed was sometime in the mid-50’s AD, the movement leading to Jewish, proto-Gnosticism had somewhat matured. And certain members of the assemblies in Ephesus and Crete had fallen sway to its influence, and accepted it as a replacement for the True Faith once delivered.

 Ephesus’ Form of Gnosticism

I want you to bear in mind dear friend that the Gnosticism that Timothy is being tasked by Paul to confront is not the mature Gnosticism that we find in the Nag Hammadi scrolls (Egyptian) and the Gnosticism that the so-called Church Fathers argued against in their writings. The Jewish Gnosticism we’re seeing evidence of here is again more of an early form of that Gnosticism.

 Survey of 1 Timothy 

There’s a lot more to be said about the impact that the Artemis cult, Jewish-Gnosticism and other Greek socio-cultural influences had on the Faith in Ephesus. But we’ll speak more to these influences in part-12 when we drill down on 1 Timothy 2:9-15. 

For the remainder of this installment, however, we’re going to conduct a survey of 1 Timothy for the purpose of establishing context so that in part-12 we can jump right into accurately interpreting our focus passage. 

Chapter 1 

Verse 3—”Remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine.” We are not privy to what the false doctrine actually consisted of, but we are given a number of clues throughout this and the other two-Pauline pastoral letters. 

Verse 4—”Or pay attention to myths  (aka fables) and endless genealogies which promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan which operates by faith.” The myths seem to be legendary tales that formed the basis of the false teachings that were challenging the sanctity of both the Ephesian and Cretan assemblies (1 Tim. 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Tit. 1:14). It seems pretty evident from the studies I’ve conducted on this verse that these myths and genealogies formed the basis of Jewish Gnosticism which ties so nicely into verses 6 and 7 where Paul states that many of these individuals desire to be Torah teachers but have departed from orthodoxy  and are teaching things that are just not even close to Truth. Regarding “endless genealogies, Paul was obviously addressing a common practice of people debating over certain stories tied to genealogies. I know today, there is an immense interest in both Christian and Messianic circles regarding Shem and his descendants as well as the validity of Israeli Jews today who claim to be descendants of Abraham, but are alleged by some to be frauds and impostors and Khazarians and the like. And all this does is create division and contention within the assemblies. 

Verse 5—”The goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.”  

Verse 6, 7–Some, desiring to be Torah teachers, have departed from orthodoxy, and they do not understand even that which they are teaching. 

Verse 8–Torah is good as long as it is properly handled. 

Verse 9-11-Torah was not meant for a righteous person, but for the lawless and rebellious–and Paul provides a large list of offenses. 

Verses 12-17-Paul provides Timothy his personal testimony of which He testifies to the mercy and grace of YHVH in his life. 

Verses 18-19-Paul is piggy-backing on a prophecy that was pronounced upon Timothy sometime prior to the writing of this letter. We aren’t privy to when and where, but Paul clearly wants Timothy to know that he is the best man for the job of cleaning up Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3-7). And of course this goes back to that which Paul mentioned to Timothy regarding his upbringing and how his scriptural knowledge and understanding was the basis of his spiritual strength. Those prophecies spoken over Timothy appear to have taken place at his ordination (1 Tim. 4:14). It no doubt had something to do with the great work that would come about through Timothy’s ministry. And as long as Timothy holds firmly to the Faith, he would be successful in the fight. 

Verse 20–Paul mentions Hymenaeus and Alexander who made a shipwreck of their faith through their overt, unapologetic mishandling of the Word of God. As a result, Paul hands the two over to hasatan for discipline so they learn not to blaspheme anymore. 

Chapter 2 

Verses 1-8–Paul entreats Ephesus to enter into a time of prayer, supplication, intercessions and thanksgiving on behalf of everyday people, kings, magistrates, such that all dwell in tranquility with one another and reverence Elohim with purity. The goal is to have all people converted to the knowledge of the truth of the One True God-Elohim and His mediator Y’shua the Mashiyach. And Paul’s sincerest desire was for the people of Yah to pray everywhere, lifting their hands up to YHVH in purity as opposed to wrath and disputation. So Paul’s very first suggestion for getting the assemblies back to some semblance of order is to instill a mindset and practice of universal, public prayer among members of the assembly. And we must take full note that Paul does not limit this admonishment to males; but to every member of the assemblies. 

Verses 9-15–Our focus passage which we will examine in detail in part-12 of this series. 

Chapter 3 

The KJV, ASV, DRA, NAB and others use the title of bishop (episkope) in verse 1, while other translations use a variety of titles including: supervisor; congregation leader; overseer; exercise oversight and elder. I believe the use of bishop here, given our modern perceptions of what a bishop is, is somewhat misleading. The better translation of “episkope” seems to be “overseer.” Paul is obviously responding to a concern or issue related to individuals who aspired to such a leadership office. The fact that he has to put a positive spin on the office of overseer is suggestive that others within the assemblies took issue with not only the office of overseer, but any who would aspire to such an office. 

Chapter 4 

Verses 1-6–Paul receives prophetic word that in latter times many would fall away from Faith, enticed and drawn to deceiving/seducing spirits and demonic teachings (4:1). Here, as in other times during his ministry, Paul receives instruction and teaching from the Holy Spirit (cf. Joh. 16:13; Act. 13:2). And it seems clear that the emergence of these false and seducing doctrines/teachings of demons had already manifested in Ephesus by the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy. Many scholars, and I agree with these, believe much of the false teaching that Paul was combating in Ephesus was a nascent Gnostic movement (ie., Jewish-Gnosticism; proto-Gnosticism) that would really start to come to its own in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. And this proto-Gnosticism twisted the Truth of Scripture to such a degree that people in the assemblies didn’t know whether they were coming or going: it was a no-no to marry over here; you couldn’t eat meat over there; and the like. 

Those that hold to 1 Timothy being a church organization manual would have us believe that Paul was simply putting together the organizational structure of the “church” when he wrote this letter. But let us not forget that the so-called “church” structure had already been in place at the time Paul wrote his letter to Timothy. Paul was not introducing anything new to Timothy nor to the assemblies. Instead, Paul was trying to restore order to the assemblies that had by the handy works of the false teachers begun to cause the Faith to become “shipwrecked.” 

The other thing to keep in mind when we read these latter-day prophesies of Paul and the other apostles is that the apostles all believed that the end was imminent in their day. And my guess is that Paul, in hearing about the many terrible things that were transpiring in the Corinthian, Ephesian and Cretan assemblies, felt that the prophesies rendered unto him by the Spirit regarding the end times were imminently coming to fruition.

Another elephant in our spiritual room that should raise eyebrows is the reality of Paul having to certify the obvious understanding that marriage was still a valid  institution. Yet it seems pretty obvious that certain sects were teaching against marriage, which is eerily similar to certain Gnostic teachings that prohibited marriage, and as we progress further along in this series we will find that these groups even forbid the bearing of children (in at least one writing requiring abortions of those in their sect who happened to become pregnant). We know that later on as Catholicism replaced the True Faith once delivered, Catholic Priests were prohibited from marrying and of course having children. This stands in stark contrast to what we know of the Levitical Priesthood in which the priests were encouraged to marry and raise a family. But we know that hasatan’s aim is always to destroy the family unit. And the best way to do that, of course, is to forbid marriage and childbearing in the first place. 

Verses-7-11–Paul directs Timothy to not involve himself with the myths/tales disseminated by old women. Instead, Timothy’s focus would be that of righteousness and to keep his eyes on the prize. Righteousness, according to Paul, is profitable in every aspect of a disciple’s life. And this Truth remains just as faithful as it was in Paul’s day. This will of course remain so even going in to the world tomorrow. 

Verses 12-16–Paul writes specifically to Timothy’s personal and spiritual skills. 

Paul first encourages Timothy to not allow concerns of his youth get in the way of his work. Generally, respect in ministry tends to smile more favorably upon the aged as opposed to the youth. 

Interestingly, Luke records that a contingent of elders (ie., overseers) from the Ephesian Assemblies traveled to Troas upon being summoned there by Paul. These individuals—these overseers or elders—would certainly have been senior—senior in age—to Timothy. And I can’t but help wonder if there may have been a degree of animosity towards Timothy being so much these elders’ junior. Add this to Timothy being an outsider in terms of a non-resident of Ephesus, it would not be surprising to me if these gentlemen weren’t a bit put off by Timothy being installed as the General Overseer to the Ephesian assemblies. Yet Paul counsels Timothy not to concern himself with age when discharging his duties (1 Tim. 4:12). 

The natural tendency is to trust age over youth when it comes to things of Faith, simply because wisdom is believed to be bestowed more abundantly upon the aged over that of the young. And indeed, I believe there’s something to be said about that. But Paul aptly points out to Timothy that his situation is a little different than the normal disparity that tends to exist between youth and the aged. He was special. Prophecies were spoken over him by the elders of the Faith. Hands were laid upon him by elders of the Faith. And Paul encouraged Timothy to not be intimidated by concerns of youth when confronting his task, but to meditate on the things related to his call; give himself fully to his call; persevere despite resistance and opposition. And the end result would be a crown of life for himself and those who would follow his example, lead and teachings. 

Chapter 5 

In this chapter Paul expounds upon the duties of members of the Body and Assemblies and how the Assembly proper is supposed to deal or administrate the various classes of individuals–the mature men and women of the assembly; the youth; the widows; the preaching/teaching elder (who should receive compensation for their work in the assemblies). Paul personally instructs Timothy to not be preoccupied with anything other than that which he is tasked; that he not favor one person over another; be not quick to lay hands on people; and keep himself pure. Essentially the very same qualities that would be required of a Levitical Priest, but elevated even higher under the Melchizedekian Priesthood. Paul also encourages Timothy, who we learned earlier in the letter was not all that excited about the job that was set before him, to self-medicate his intestinal issues and other “unspecified infirmities” with a little wine. 

Chapter 6 

Verses 1-2–Here Paul encourages slaves and slave owners to respect one another and both to live according to their call as disciples of Mashiyach. Now, many who view this passage from a 21st century western mindset may be somewhat put off by Paul not using his apostolic office to condemn the practice of slavery. We in the 21st century west, of course, view slavery as a hideous crime against humanity. And given the innate evil and deprave nature of man, slavery has been used over the centuries to mistreat and destroy human dignity and free will. However, Father in His Torah recognized the reality of slavery in the human experience and He sought out in His Word to ensure that human dignity would be spared and even uplifted and that love would be shared between both slave and slave owner. Paul continues this Torah-based understanding and reality in these 2-verses by having Timothy remind the Ephesian Assembly members who are either slaves or slave owners to be Torah observant in their dealings with one another. 

Verses 3-Then Paul returns to the issue of false teachings and false teachers, citing that any who would oppose (or teach doctrines that are contrary to) the foundational Words of Y’shua Mashiyach AND the Doctrine of the Fear of Elohim (which in the KJV is simply, the doctrine of godliness), he or she “exalts himself/herself while knowing nothing. These purveyors of false doctrine create within the Body of Mashiyach envy, contention, railings and ungodly suspicions. Paul counsels a few times throughout this writing that Timothy avoid engaging in such pointless debates. The people who make it their primary purpose in life to teach that which is not the Truth of Torah or that of the teachings of Y’shua Mashiyach, more times than not make those teachings and doctrines about themselves. And when these are challenged about their selfish false teachings and doctrines in relation to what the bible actually has to say on the matter at hand, it turns out that they know absolutely nothing about the Truth of the Word (vs. 4). 

In verse 3 Paul addresses those who would oppose “The foundational Words of Y’shua Mashiyach” which is easily understood and is of course recorded in the Gospel records. But Paul also writes about a “Doctrine of the Fear of Elohim.” What is Paul talking about here? 

According to AENT author, Andrew Gabriel Roth, “The Doctrine of the Fear of Elohim” is: “a Spirit of YHVH; it is a vital spiritual quality for Life in Mashiyach. The fear of YHVH is a personal guide.” 

The Aramaic term for fear is “yirah,” which: fear/awesome;terrifying. Sadly, churchianity has taken it upon herself to alter the understanding of this crucial term and made it into a simple reference to piety, love; reverence and respect. But as we should do with most New Testament spiritual concepts, we must filter it through a Hebraic perspective if we are to receive an accurate understanding of what Paul is trying to convey to Timothy. 

Torah commands the following: 

“Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which YHVH your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it; that thou mightest fear (yare/yirah) YHVH thy God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged” (Deu. 6:1,2; ASV). 

In Deuteronomy 6:13 Moshe instructs: 

“Thou shalt fear (yirah/yare) Jehovah thy God; and Him shalt thou serve, and shalt swear by His Name” (6:13; 10:20; 31:12, 13; ASV). 

And why must we yirah/yare YHVH? We must yirah/yare YHVH for our perpetual good; such that we continue to thrive/live/be well (Deu. 6:24). Moshe rhetorically asked the congregation in the wilderness what was required of them by their Elohim. And Moshe answered with: 

“Elohim requires…but to fear YHVH thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve YHVH thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deu. 10:12; ASV). 

Concerning the administration of the Tithe, Moshe taught that it is instituted so that we “mayest learn to fear YHVH our God always” (Deu. 14:23; ASV). 

Oh how we’ve lost that understanding today. We’re taught to simply revere and respect YHVH. We are hardly ever taught to yirah/yare YHVH. As Andrew Roth so astutely noted: ” man’s religious theology and tradition has made void the Fear of YHVH” (AENT; pg. 632). And somehow, some way, some of the false teachings in Ephesus which Timothy was tasked with opposing was obviously leading people away from a “fear of YHVH.” And when people turn away or are led away from a true “yirah/yare” of YHVH, they end up developing instead “a fear of man, materialism, relativism and all forms of idols, including their religious leaders” (AENT; Roth; pg. 632). 

Thus it is not difficult at all to see why Paul was so concerned about the spiritual well being of Ephesus. For Gnosticism had the terrible potential, if not challenged and tossed out of the assemblies by the proper spiritual authorities, of steering her members towards these other types of fear. 

Thus those that oppose the “foundational Words of our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach” and the doctrine of the “Fear of Elohim,” Paul writes, “exalts himself while he knows nothing.” Could Paul be writing about a specific individual? I contend that it is indeed conceivable. For Paul goes on to note that beyond exalting himself/themselves (ie.; he is puffed up or conceited) while existing in utter ignorance to the Truth, such an individual (or this particular individual) has as the NAB translates: “a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes, which lead to envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, and destitute of the Truth” (1 Tim. 6:4,5). And of course, as we see so well played out in many sectors of churchianity today, “these think that godliness is a way to make money” (1 Tim. 6:5b; CEB). And I’m talking about the Joel Olsteens; the Kenneth Copelands; the T.D. Jakes; the Creflo Dollars who teach a Torah-less, godless Gospel for tremendous financial gain. 

Instead, Paul counsels Timothy to avoid such individuals. Instead, being content with “Godliness” is of the greatest gain to the man and woman of YHVH (6:6). In fact, Paul counseled that money should be the least of Timothy’s concerns. Materially, food and clothing were to be the only things that should matter to the true assembly overseer. The pursuit of money, as is the focus of some in our Faith, is the root of all evils. Timothy was again admonished to follow after righteousness and the fruits of the Spirit. 

Interestingly, at the latter part of the letter, Paul admonishes the rich to not put their trust in their riches. Instead, the rich, Paul advises, should confide in the living Elohim who gives us all things abundantly and that they…be rich in well-doings; and be ready to give and to communicate…laying up a good foundation for that which is future…” (vss. 17-19; AENT). 

And Paul closes his letter by directing Timothy: 

“…be careful of that which is committed to you; and shun vain words and the oppositions of false science (ie., contradictory claims of so-called ‘knowledge;” or Gnosticism): for they who profess it have strayed from the Faith” (AENT). Yet again, Paul re-certifies the true purpose and intent of his letter to Timothy.

In Closing 

Let us not be fooled: what Timothy was facing under the guidance of Paul was nothing short of a full-on-assault against the Body of Mashiyach in Ephesus by the forces of evil. Yet churchianity would marginalize this reality and downplay the role that hasatan and the powers of evil were inflicting upon the assemblies of Mashiyach. What was truly at stake here in Ephesus was the very souls of the Ephesian Assembly members. 

It was the Apostle Paul himself who educated us in the realities of spiritual warfare; that our struggle for holiness, sanctity, peace, truth and righteousness is not really against the Hymenaeus’ and Alexanders of the Body. The true struggle is against “rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness; against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm” (Eph. 6:12; CJB). 

Indeed, First Timothy serves as a case against false teachings and the need to guard ourselves against anything that exalts itself against Torah and the teachings of Y’shua Messiah. 

So I have to ask you: If the premise of 1 Timothy was to combat the false teachers and their heretical teachings, what are the chances that our focus passage of 2:9-15 is about prohibiting women (some say assigning roles to women) from public speaking and from congregational leadership? I’ll just leave that question with you. 

In part-12, we’ll finally tear apart 1 Timothy 2:9-15 and learn what Paul was actually saying to Timothy. You don’t want to miss it. Until then, have a blessed week—Shavu’tov—Shabbat Shalom—be awesomely blessed and in His eternal will. In the Name of our Master Y’shua haMashiyach, take care. 

Faithfully, Rod.