Beginning

Footnotes

1. 2 Timothy 1:1 Paul begins his Letter with a salutation that is similar to the one found in 1 Timothy, adding to it the words “whose promise of life is fulfilled in Christ Jesus.” He calls Timothy his “beloved child,” and the actual greeting is the same as that of 1 Timothy, showing that everything we have comes to us from God through Christ. As in most of his Letters (the exceptions are Gal, 1 Tim, and Tit), Paul then follows his salutation with a section thanking God for the recipients of the Letter. He focuses on his relationship with Timothy and his confidence in Timothy’s faith.
2. 2 Timothy 1:4 Your tears: those shed by Timothy when Paul was leaving Ephesus (see 1 Tim 1:3).
3. 2 Timothy 1:5 According to Acts 16:1, Timothy’s mother (Eunice) was a Jewish Christian while his father was a Greek and apparently an unbeliever. Here we learn that his grandmother (Lois) was also a Christian.
4. 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul warns that self-interest and discouragement must not get the best of the apostle’s ardor and determination. Rather, he must rely upon the graces that were given him when he received the ministry and was gripped by the Spirit at his missionary sending forth (see 1 Tim 4:14). He must once again place himself at the service of the Gospel, which is the announcement of the coming of Christ and the salvation that he gives. There is no missionary life without spiritual renewal.

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   The last seven verses go on to give examples of men of God who have endured: Paul and Onesiphorus.

5. 2 Timothy 1:6 Laying on of . . . hands: see note on 1 Tim 4:14.
6. 2 Timothy 1:9 Paul insists that redemption from sin and the call to holiness are freely given to human beings in accord with God’s plan (see Eph 1:4).
7. 2 Timothy 1:10 Appearance: the reference here is to the Incarnation.
8. 2 Timothy 1:11 Teacher: most manuscripts read: “teacher of the nations,” which scholars regard as a gloss based on 1 Tim 2:7.
9. 2 Timothy 1:12 That Day: the day of judgment and crowning. What he has entrusted to me: i.e., the deposit of faith (see 1 Tim 6:20). Another possible translation is: “what I have entrusted to him,” i.e., the fruits of his ministry.
10. 2 Timothy 1:15 Paul is deeply disappointed that he has been deserted by Christians from Asia, including two upon whom he was counting—Phygelus and Hermogenes. Some scholars believe that Phygelus was the leader of lapsed Christians in Rome (see Phil 1:15f).
11. 2 Timothy 1:16 Onesiphorus: a helper of Paul—probably during his first Roman imprisonment (see v. 8)—whose household was in Ephesus and who is not mentioned elsewhere (see 2 Tim 4:19).
12. 2 Timothy 1:18 Lord . . . Lord: the first “Lord” doubtless refers to Christ and the second to the Father.
13. 2 Timothy 2:1 The author then goes on to enumerate eight exemplars that a man of God can follow in some way: Paul (vv. 1-2), a soldier (vv. 3-4), an athlete (v. 5), a farmer (vv. 6-7), Jesus (vv. 8-13), a worker (vv. 14-19), a vessel (vv. 20-23), and a servant (vv. 24-26).
14. 2 Timothy 2:1 The apostolate requires a person’s complete commitment. He bears and transmits the message entrusted by God to the Christian community.
15. 2 Timothy 2:8 Another heading for this section would read “Be a memorial of Jesus Christ,” i.e., be a person whose whole being and action recalls the Resurrection of Christ and renders it present to those he meets, while announcing to them that its fullness will take place at the time of the Lord’s return. This is the finest picture one could give of the life of Paul.
    Verses 11b-13 are probably from a baptismal hymn; to be baptized meant that one should live out, throughout one’s days, the mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection (see Rom 6:8; 1 Cor 15:31; Gal 6:14; Phil 3:10; Col 3:3-5).
16. 2 Timothy 2:14 In the portrait of a true missionary, a certain number of virtues must be present: honesty, respect for and acceptance of everyone, courage in persecution, truthfulness without alteration, and rejection of faddish witticisms. The author once more condemns the errors being propagated in the region of Ephesus; they have the look not of a new religion but of a feverish and babbling emotionalism. The Greek mind had difficulty in accepting the resurrection of the body (see Acts 17:32; 1 Cor 15:22), and some avoid the problem by saying that the resurrection has already taken place at Baptism but that it is solely a case of a spiritual resurrection.
    They forget above all that the faith is founded on the word of God, which provides the initiative and that believers have merely to respond. It is the quality of their faith that classifies believers in the Church, not the abundance of their opinions. Yet leaders must be very kind and not condemn any of the members of the community.
17. 2 Timothy 2:14 Before God: many manuscripts read: “before the Lord.”
18. 2 Timothy 2:17 Hymenaeus: see 1 Tim 1:20. His punishment has not helped him.
19. 2 Timothy 2:19 Foundation . . . sealed: the foundations of buildings in antiquity were sealed and adorned with inscriptions. As inscriptions Paul uses Scripture texts that complement one another: Num 16:5 (God cares for those he loves) and Num 16:26; Isa 26:13; 52:11 (these must lead upright lives).
20. 2 Timothy 2:22 Those who call on the Lord: i.e., Christians (see Acts 19:14ff; Rom 10:12f).
21. 2 Timothy 3:1 For the last times, Jesus had already announced somber perspectives: false messiahs would be preached to mislead people into doctrines of perversion (see Mt 24:4-5, 24). For his part, Paul, too, has evoked this revival of evil for the end of history (see 2 Thes 2:3-12; see also 1 Jn 2:18-24; 4:3; 2 Jn 7). Undoubtedly, magicians practiced their wiles at Ephesus; in fact, according to Jewish legend, Jannes and Jambres were leading sorcerers who opposed Moses before Pharaoh (see Ex 7:8ff). Like Paul, everyone who announces the Gospel must accept persecution (see Mt 5:10-11; 10:22; Jn 15:19-20; Acts 13:1—14:28). It is a call for strength and firmness.
    The important thing for the envoy of God and the Church is to remain faithful to the word of God as reported in Scripture. He is assured of finding therein nourishment for his faith and help for his ministry. This text is often referred to as bearing witness to the inspiration of Scripture.
22. 2 Timothy 3:5 Godliness: i.e., true religion (see 1 Tim 4:7).
23. 2 Timothy 3:11 Lystra was Timothy’s native place; for the persecutions, see Acts 13:50; 14:5-19.
24. 2 Timothy 3:14 From whom you have learned it: Timothy had been instructed by his Jewish grandmother and mother (see 1 Tim 1:5).
25. 2 Timothy 3:16 The verse gives clear witness to the inspiration of Scripture. The Jews of that day believed in the inspiration of the three parts of the Old Testament. However, they ascribed the highest type of inspiration to the Pentateuch or Five Books attributed to Moses (also known as the “Torah” or Law), a lower type to the Prophets, and an even lower one to the Writings.
    The sacred writers of the New Testament cited the Old Testament about 350 times in such a way as to show that Christians shared the belief of the Jews in the divine origin of the sacred books. In addition, the New Testament speaks of inspiration in the Old Testament Scriptures explicitly here and in 2 Pet 1:19-21, and of the New Testament writings implicitly in 2 Pet 3:14-16.
    In the Constitution on Divine Revelation, Vatican II says: “Holy Mother Church, relying on the belief of the apostles, holds that the Books of both the Old and the New Testament in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their Author” (no. 11).
    However, this does not mean that God used the sacred author as a secretary to whom he dictated. Nor did he simply reveal to the human author the contents of the Book and the way in which this should be expressed. Rather, the human author is a living instrument endowed with reason who under the divine impulse brings his faculties and powers into play in such a way that all can easily gather from the Book produced by his work his distinctive genius and his individual characteristics and features. In other words, the sacred author, like every author, makes use of all his faculties—intellect, imagination, and will—to consign to writing whatever God wanted written, and no more.
    By virtue of the divine condescension, things are presented to us in the Bible in a manner that is in common use among human beings. For as the substantial Word of God made himself like human beings in all things except sin (see Heb 4:15), so God’s words, spoken by human tongues, have taken on all the qualities of human language except error.
26. 2 Timothy 4:1 Apostles, missionaries, and pastors are first of all men of the Gospel and evangelization. The project that animates their existence is to awaken human beings to the true worship of the living God. This is a much more pressing task when a swarm of vain ideas sows confusion. Such a time has come, says Paul.
27. 2 Timothy 4:1 Living and the dead: Christ will return to judge both the living and the dead (see Mt 25:31; Jn 5:26-29; 1 Thes 4:15-17). This was doubtless an early teaching (see Acts 10:42; 1 Pet 4:5), and it became part of the Creed.
28. 2 Timothy 4:5 At the end of this verse, the Vulgate adds the words “Be sober.”
29. 2 Timothy 4:6 In these last moments Paul affirms that his blood is about to be shed as a sacrifice to God (it was Jewish practice to pour oil or wine on a burnt offering: see Ex 29:40; Phil 2:17). He then uses images from sports to express his certainty of having remained steadfast in the faith. Although his fate had recently been a sad one and he was abandoned and betrayed, his gaze remains fixed on the Lord to announce the Gospel of salvation to the very end and to enter into his Kingdom.
30. 2 Timothy 4:8 Crown: probably a reference taken from the laurel wreath that was customarily placed on the head of a winning athlete or a victorious soldier (see 2 Tim 2:5; 1 Cor 9:25).
31. 2 Timothy 4:10 Demas had been with Paul during the latter’s first imprisonment in Rome (see Col 4:14; Philem 24). Crescens is mentioned only here in the New Testament. Galatia here means Gaul, according to the terminology used at that time by writers of Greek. Dalmatia is equivalent to present-day Albania and part of the former Yugoslavia; it is also called Illyricum in the New Testament (see Rom 15:19).
32. 2 Timothy 4:11 Luke: the “beloved physician,” mentioned in Col 4:14 and Philem 24, who accompanied Paul throughout much of his Second and Third Missionary Journeys (see note on Acts 16:9-15). Mark: the same person who had left Paul and Barnabas in the midst of the First Missionary Journey (see Acts 13:13). Paul’s refusal to take him along on the Second Missionary Journey caused Barnabas to separate himself from the Apostle and take Mark with him on a mission to Cyprus (see Acts 15:36-41). However, Mark later proved himself to Paul and was present with him during the first Roman imprisonment (see Col 4:10; Philem 24).
33. 2 Timothy 4:12 Tychicus: a fellow worker of Paul (see Acts 20:3-5; Eph 6:21; Col 4:7).
34. 2 Timothy 4:13 Cloak: probably a long-sleeved traveling garment that Paul could use to keep warm during his imprisonment. Carpus: possibly the Apostle’s host at Troas, but nothing is known for certain about him. Scrolls: undoubtedly some type of printed documents. Parchments: perhaps leather scrolls of Old Testament Books.
35. 2 Timothy 4:14 Alexander the coppersmith: this seems to be the same Alexander mentioned in 1 Tim 1:20; he may have testified against Paul in court. The Lord will repay: citation from Pss 28:4; 62:13; and Prov 24:12.
36. 2 Timothy 4:17 The Lord stood at my side: Paul’s ultimate strength lay in his total dependence on the One who commissioned him (see 2 Cor 12:9-10; Phil 4:11-13).
37. 2 Timothy 4:18 It is noteworthy that this doxology is centered on Christ the Savior and Redeemer (see Rom 16:25; Gal 1:5).
38. 2 Timothy 4:19 This conclusion gives a series of short requests, instructions, and greetings.
39. 2 Timothy 4:19 Prisca and Aquila: Prisca (see Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19) is the diminutive form of Priscilla (see Acts 16:2, 18f, 26). She and her husband Aquila were Jewish Christians who had met Paul on his first visit to Corinth during the Second Missionary Journey. They had come to Corinth from Rome, and like Paul they were tentmakers (see Acts 16:2f). Later they went with Paul to Ephesus (see Acts 18:18f), where their house became a Christian meeting place for several years before they returned to Rome (Rom 16:3f; 1 Cor 16:19). They had now gone back to Ephesus (see 1 Tim 1:3). Onesiphorus: see note on 2 Tim 1:16.
40. 2 Timothy 4:20 Erastus: see note on Rom 16:23. Trophimus: a Christian from Ephesus (see Acts 21:29), who accompanied Paul to Jerusalem (see Acts 20:4) and was thought by the Jews to have entered the temple, thus leading to the riot that resulted in Paul’s arrest (see Acts 21:29ff) and first imprisonment at Rome. Miletus: a seaport on the coast of Asia Minor about 50 miles from Ephesus.
41. 2 Timothy 4:21 Nothing is known for certain about Eubulus and Pudens. There is a western tradition that Linus was the successor of Peter as Bishop of Rome, and that Claudia was his mother.
42. 2 Timothy 4:22 Some manuscripts add the words “Jesus Christ” after “Lord” and “Amen” at the end of the verse. The first “you” in the Greek (translated as “your”) is singular, indicating that the Letter was addressed to Timothy alone; the second is plural (“all of you”), indicating that it was intended to be read aloud to the community.