Timothy to Hebrews - The Preterist Archive

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First Timothy V. 3. IIT
contaiiiing instructions either as to their provision from the church,
or their appointment as deaconesses. Others again understand vers.
3—16 as treating of widows in one and the same respect, and that m
vers. 3-8, as well as in ver. 9, seq., rules are laid down with reference
to the support which they are to receive from the church.
Others again understand vers. 3-8 of the chm'ch provision, but ver.
9, seq., of the appointment of deaconesses. And these differences
assume many shades in the interpretation of the particular parts.
As representatives of the first view we name here only Schleiermacher,
Bottger, and Matthies, the two former of whom agree also in
understanding ver. 9, seq., of the appointment of widows as deaconesses,
while Matthies understands the passage primarily of their
support.
Planck, Baumgarten, and Neander represent the second
view, which is the one more commonly taken ; while Mack has contended
for the third. I confess that I myself was formerly inclined
to the second view, that vers. 3-16 treat of the support which the
widows are to receive from the church ; but a renewed investigation
has led me to substantially the view given by De Wette, and which
he prefaces by saying, that he thinks he has, by means of it, made
clear the interpretation of this difficult passage. So also Leo,
Exc. ii. But chiefly does Mosheim deserve here to be gratefully
mentioned, who has already given substantially the same explanation,
and has so conclusively proved it that we cannot but wonder
that it should ever have been rejected. The points from which the
differences proceed are the interpretation of ver. 4 and ver. 9, XVP^
KaraXeyiodcx), etc.
Ver. 3.
Xrjpag riiia, rag ovrcog XVP^?- The apostle in these
words passes to a new and special relation of life, while in vers, 1
and 2 he was dealing with the differences of age and sex—only,
however, in the case of the napaKaXelv ; accordingly, here also, he
does not give rules of life embracing the whole conduct. With
the mention of the xripac comes immediately into view the special
relation in which Timothy has to do with them—their need of support,
comp. Acts vi. 1. We must not, however, conclude from vers.
1 and 2, with Schleiermacher and others following him, that because
there the conduct of Timothy towards different persons is
spoken of, here also nfidv in reference to the widows can only be
understood of his conduct in general, as consisting in the shewing
of that respect wliich is due to them. For, on the one hand, ni]
imnX., with that which is opposed to it -napaKaXei—cannot be said
to denote Timothy's conduct in general, and on the other, the mention
of the XVP^'- carries with it the special relation in which he
stands towards them. The writer also in vers. 17, 19, 20, 22, and,
finally, ver. 23, as well as here, passes suddenly to what is new.
Chiefly, however, it is apparent from ver. 4 (comp. below), with