Hapax Legomena

Hapax Legomena refers to words that occur only once within a context, either in the written record of an entire language (Hapax Absolute) or in the works of an author, or in a single text. New Testament Hapax Legomena are words found only in that body of work.

It is said in one source that there are 168 of these

 

1 Timothy has 82 such words

2 Timothy has 53 such words

Titus has 33 such words

 

This is above average for Paul's letters and sometimes great but questionable claims are made on the basis of these facts.

Another source goes for

1 Timothy 65,
2 Timothy 46
Titus 27

Another source quoted elsewhere on this blog says
Yet of the 306 words not in Paul's letters, 175 are hapax legomena (only found once in the NT).

Of the 175 hapax legomena, 1 Timothy has 96, 2 Timothy 60 and Titus 43.

Some 75 occur only in 1 Timothy, 48 only in 2 Timothy and 30 only in Titus (Total 153).

Relatively few hapax legomena occur in more than one book: 9 in 1 and 2 Timothy, 10 in 1 Timothy and Titus, 1 in 2 Timothy and Titus. Only two appear in all three.

NT References to Timothy and Titus

NT References to Timothy

• Acts 16:1
• Acts 17:14-15
• Acts 18:5
• Acts 19:22
• Acts 20:4
• Romans 16:21
• 1 Corinthians 4:17
• 2 Corinthians 1:1, 19
• Philippians 1:1
• Philippians 2:19
• Colossians 1:1
• 1 Thessalonians 1:1
• 1 Thessalonians 3:2-6
• 2 Thessalonians 1:1
• 1 Timothy 1:2-18
• 1 Timothy 6:20
• 2 Timothy 1:2
• Philemon 1:1
• Hebrews 13:23

NT References to Titus

• 2 Corinthians 2:13
• 2 Corinthians 7:6-14
• 2 Corinthians 8:6-23
• 2 Corinthians 12:18
• Galatians 2:1-3
• 2 Timothy 4:10
• Titus 1:4

1 Timothy 6:18 Certain Wealth

1 Timothy 6:18 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Timothy is here told to speak to those who are rich in this present world or age and to warn them against two sins that such people are particularly prone to - arrogance and putting their hope in their wealth. Such an attitude is both wrong and foolish. Wealth is so uncertain. Hence his pointed rich in this present world. Rather, such people must be urged to put their hope in God. He is the very opposite of uncertain wealth. He richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. By putting things this way Paul avoids unhelpful negativity and places all the emphasis on God's rich provision and our enjoyment of him. Pastors in the west are constantly dealing with those who are rich. It is our duty to warn against the arrogance that often comes with riches and against trusting in this world's riches. Positively we must urge all to put their hope in God, pointing out that he is the one who richly provides us with everything and that he does that for our enjoyment.

1 Timothy 6:6 Contented Godliness

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Verse 6 of 1 Timothy 6 contains a great aphorism, whether created by Paul or a saying of the time. The core saying is that godliness or piety is great gain. What a blessing true piety is. Paul qualifies godliness, however, by talking about godliness with contentment or self-satisfaction. The contrast is with godliness as a means to financial gain, mentioned in the previous verse. It is those with corrupted minds who think that godliness brings financial reward. It does bring a reward, be in no doubt but not a financial one. Too many today are trying to promote a so-called godliness that actually encourages discontentedness. This a recipe for disaster. Faithful preachers will promote rather the sort of godliness that increases rather than decreases contentedness. These are the sorts of things that faithful ministers should teach and insist on (see verse 2). Anything else is contrary to the sound instruction of Jesus Christ and godly teaching. Only the conceited who understand nothing  would think otherwise.

Place Names

Some 10 place names appear in the pastorals, four areas and six cities.
These are

1. Macedonia (1 Tim 1:3)
2. Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3, 2 Tim 1:18, 4:12)
3. Thessalonica, Galatia and Dalmatia (2 Tim 4:10)
4. Troas (2 Tim 4:13)
5. Corinth and Miletus (2 Tim 4:20)
6. Crete (Tit 1:5, 16)
7. Nicopolis (Tit 3:12)

2 Timothy 4.9, 10 Team Ministry

2 Timothy 4:9, 10 Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

One of the big ideas about pastoral ministry in recent years has been team ministry. The truth is that most pastors have had to work as part of a team. That is certainly how Paul worked and how he thought of himself. In the closing chapter of  2 Timothy he mentions several co-workers. In verses 9 and 10 five are mentioned, two of them being Gospel writers. Their mention highlights four ways in which fellow team workers may be a help (or a hindrance). There are deserters, disappointments turned good, those who move on and those who stay. Demas, of course, was a disappointment. Back in Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24 all appears to be well and Paul says nothing untoward about him. But by this time, love for the world has led Demas to desert Paul and to go to Thessalonica on his own initiative. There is no reason to believe he was ever restored. What a sobering fact. In the case of Mark the story is much happier in that there was a time when for good reason Paul thought him unreliable and a disappointment but he can now write Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. We should not be too quick to write people off. In between these two we learn about Crescens and Titus, one having gone to Galatia and the other to Dalmatia, where they were no doubt very much needed, although Paul would clearly have loved to have had them with him. The sadness and relief in the phrase Only Luke is with me is palpable. One man ministry is neither desirable nor truly possible. The team will often encourage but there will be disappointments along the way as well.

1 Timothy 3:13 Good service

1 Timothy 3:13  Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

In 1 Timothy 3:8-13 Paul talks about deacons and the required qualifications. At the conclusion of these he adds (verse 13) that Those who have served well gain two things - an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. There are two obvious advantages in serving as a deacon then, and by extension serving the church in any capacity. First, there is the excellent standing it gives. The idea seems to be that of a firm place to stand. Secondly, there is great assurance, boldness or confidence. As we serve the Lord we grow in assurance then  - more firm, more confident. This is not the chief aim of appointing someone as a deacon or in some other capacity of service but as we do the work so assurance will increase. Assurance, of course, has many sources but getting on with doing the work in hand for God's glory is an unspectacular but important source not to be overlooked. This assurance will not come merely from having a title - deacon or minister or whatever. It will only come if a person does the work.