2 Timothy and Titus. Aída Besançon Spencer
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peace, and faith (Eph 6:11, 14–16). He is called “that ancient serpent,” “the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev 12:9).
The devil’s character is implied by aspects of the Letter to Titus. The devil would encourage wildness, disobedience, attack, self-pleasure, anger (cf. Eph 4:26–27), drinking, fighting, shameful gain, opposition, deception, lying, evil, idleness, false teachings, envy, hate, and lawlessness.144 In contrast, Paul encourages faith, truth, godliness, eternal life, grace, peace, salvation, goodness, wisdom, righteousness, holiness, self-control, honor, love, and perseverance (1:1–4, 8; 2:2–3). Thus, when Paul calls for women elders not to slander, he is calling for them not to act in a diabolical way.145 The verb diaballō highlights one aspect of the devil’s character—lying about another person, thereby breaking the ninth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exod 20:16; NRSV). Slander, from a biblical perspective, is a larger concept, referring to deception and lying that promotes the devil’s kingdom, which would affect the implementation of many of the Ten Commandments, including having gods before the Lord, promoting murder (of character at least), and, as well, bearing false witness (Exod 20:3, 13, 16).
The Pastoral Letters use a couple of synonyms that relate to drinking: nēphalios (Titus 2:2; 1 Tim 3:2, 11) and paroinos (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). In Titus, the male elders are encouraged to be “sober” (nēphalios), while female elders are encouraged not to be enslaved to much wine (Titus 2:3).146
Instead of wasting their time being drunk, the female elders are to teach (2:3). Didaskalos is the same root word used in 1 Tim 2:12. The difference is that in Crete the women are encouraged to teach what is good (kalodidaskalos), whereas the women at Ephesus were forbidden from teaching what is bad.147 The elder/overseer was to love what is good (philagathos, 1:8). The next step would be to teach what is good (2:3).
What is the purpose of teaching what is good? Paul answers with two adverbial clauses, one stresses the positive (in order that they exhort the young (females) to be loving their husbands, loving their children, wise, pure, working at home, good, being subject to their own husbands) and the second avoids the negative (in order that God’s word not be blasphemed) (2:4–5). The first purpose of the teaching is to help the younger women become wise. Exhort (sōphronizō) literally is to cause one to become wise or to recall or bring people to their senses.148 At first glance, for the young women to be exhorted to love their husbands and children seems to apply to a domestic role limited to the female sex. However, the male elders also are encouraged to be “healthy” “in love” (2:2). In contrast to Crete, where the wives are challenged to love their husbands (2:4), in Ephesians 5, the husbands are challenged to love their wives (Eph 5:25, 28, 33). The situation of women varied among the differing ancient cultures. Cretan marriage was a public, state-controlled ceremony, involving those who belonged to the same age-grade and same social class.149 However, the wives usually did not join the husbands’ homes until later when the young women had learned how to manage household affairs.150 Most marriages were arranged. For example, in Xenophon’s Oeconomics, the husband says to the wife, “I took you and your parents gave you to me” to obtain “the best partner of home and children” (Oec. 7.11). Thus, love for one’s husband had to be learned. Paul places responsibility for the training on the female elders. Neither Titus nor the husbands teach the women (cf. Xenophon, Oec. 7.8–9), nor the mothers, as we might expect. Paul wanted Christian models for the younger women.
A Christian’s responsibility to one’s family is very important. One’s spouse and children are one’s closest neighbor (“Love your neighbor as yourself,” Matt 22:39). Similarly, elders are to be a “one-woman man, having faithful children, not in accusation of wildness or disobedience” (Titus 1:6; and 1 Tim 3:2, 4–5).151 Love is the greatest motivator both for the one loving and the one being loved.
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