How Should We Identify the Teachers in 2 Tim. 2:2? Michael Bird
Posted in New Testament by Michael Bird on December 6th, 2010Question: How should we identify the teachers Paul has in mind in 2 Timothy 2:2?
Here we come to the gender wars. The ESV’s translation of pistois anthrōpois as “faithful men” is entirely possible and appropriate given the lexical meaning and gender of anthropos, and it corresponds with the largely patriarchal perspective in the Pastoral Epistles (e.g., 1 Tim 2:11-14). However, I would point out that in the Pastoral Epistles women can still have a teaching ministry to other women, and as such, female teachers will themselves need to be taught in order to do that (Titus 2:3-4). What is more, the Pauline churches had female prophets, and prophecy has a didactic character (e.g., Acts 2:17; 13:1; 21:9; 1 Cor 11:5). Women appear to have had involvement in missionary works as seen in the ministries of Priscilla with Aquila (Acts 18:26) and Junia with Andronicus (Rom 16:7). Let’s not forget that Paul sent the deaconess/servant Phoebe to deliver his letter to the Romans, and she would have been the first port of call for any questions about the letter (Rom 16:1-2).
That women have a part in the didactic life of the church is incontestable, and I would maintain that, with certain restrictions, it can definitely take place in the company of men. While it is grammatically correct to translate pistois anthrōpois as “faithful men,” there are contextual factors in the Pastoral Epistles and elsewhere that lend support to a translation of “faithful people” (e.g., CEB). So I have no problem with the translation “entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (TNIV). Sadly, translation of this verse will be a shibboleth in the complementarian vs. egalitarian debate.
Michael Bird formerly lectured in New Testament at the Highland Theological College (UHI Millennium Institute) in Scotland and is currently lecturer in theology and New Testament at Crossway College in Brisbane, Australia. He is also an honorary research associate at the University of Queensland. He is the translator of 1 Esdras in the Common English Bible.
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