XVI.

(1) A certain disciple was there, named Timotheus.--We read with a special interest the first mention of the name of one who was afterwards so dear to the Apostle, his "true son in the faith" (1Timothy 1:2). On his probable conversion on St. Paul's first mission in Lystra, see Notes on Acts 14:6; Acts 14:19. We have to think of him as still young; probably, as his youth is spoken of some twelve years later in 1Timothy 4:12, not more than eighteen or twenty; but in the six years that had passed since St. Paul's departure he had been conspicuous for his devotion and "unfeigned faith." He had been trained to know the sacred Books of Israel from his childhood (2Timothy 3:15); and the fact that he had obtained a good report from the brethren at Iconium as well as Lystra shows that he had been already employed in carrying on intercourse between the two churches. The way in which St. Paul writes to him, and of him, implies a constitution naturally not strong, and, in after life, weakened by a rigorous asceticism (1Timothy 5:23), emotional even to tears (2Timothy 1:4), naturally shrinking from hardships and responsibilities, yet facing them in the strength of Christ (1Corinthians 16:10). The name Timotheus was not uncommon. It is found in 2 Maccabees 12:21-24, as belonging to a general defeated by Judas Maccabeus, and appears in early Christian inscriptions in the Vatican Museum. Its meaning ("one who honours God") made it a suitable name for the child of a proselyte.

The son of a certain woman.--Literally, of a certain woman, a faithful (or believing) Jewess. The adjective is the same as that used by Lydia of herself in Acts 16:15. 2Timothy 1:4, tells us that her name was Eunike, and her mother's Lois. They were both devout, and had trained the child in the Law (2Timothy 3:15); and this makes it probable that the father was a proselyte of the gate. He naturally thought it sufficient that his child should grow up under the same religious conditions as himself, and they had either thought so, or had yielded to his will.

His father was a Greek.--Literally, of a Greek father. The adjective is used, as in the New Testament generally, to express the fact that he was a heathen. (See Notes on Acts 11:20; Mark 7:26.) It seems, on the whole, probable that he was still living.

Verse 1. - And he came also for then came he, A.V. and T.R.; to Lystra for Lystra, A.V.; Timothy for Timotheus, A.V.; of a Jewess for of a certain woman which was a Jewess, A.V. and T.R.; which for and, A.V. For Derbe and Lystra, see Acts 14. and notes. This time St. Paul visited Derbe first, whereas before he came from Lystra to Derbe (Acts 14:6, 8, 21). Was there; viz. at Lystra (see 2 Timothy 3:11). A certain disciple; i.e. a Christian (Acts 11:26). From St. Paul's speaking of Timothy as "my own sou in the faith" (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2), and from his special mention of Timothy's mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5), it is probable that both mother and son were converted by St. Paul at his first visit to Lystra, some years before (Acts 14:7). Timothy. It is a Greek name, meaning "one who honors God" (formed, like Timoleon, Timolaus, Timocrates, etc.). It was a not uncommon name, and occurs repeatedly in the Books of the Maccabees (1 Macc. 5:6; 2 Macc. 8:30, etc.). Another form is Timesitheos. Timothy is uniformly spoken of by St. Paul in terms of eulogy and warm affection (see, besides the passages above quoted, Romans 16:21; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 16:10; Philippians 2:19-22; and the general tone of the Epistles to Timothy). A Jewess; viz. Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5), also a Greek name (equivalent to Victoria), though borne by a Jewess. A Greek; i.e. a Gentile (see Hark 7:26; Acts 14:1; Acts 17:4; Acts 19:10; Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9; 1 Corinthians 10:32, etc.; Colossians 3:11). Had his father been a proselyte, it would probably have been said that he was (Bengel).

16:1-5 Well may the church look for much service from youthful ministers who set out in the same spirit as Timothy. But when men will submit in nothing, and oblige in nothing, the first elements of the Christian temper seem to be wanting; and there is great reason to believe that the doctrines and precepts of the gospel will not be successfully taught. The design of the decree being to set aside the ceremonial law, and its carnal ordinances, believers were confirmed in the Christian faith, because it set up a spiritual way of serving God, as suited to the nature both of God and man. Thus the church increased in numbers daily.Then came he to Derbe and Lystra,.... Which were cities of Lycaonia, Acts 14:6 after Paul had gone through Syria and Cilicia; in the last of these places, he had been stoned, and yet goes thither again; none of these things moved him from the preaching of the Gospel, and from the care of the churches, such zeal, courage, and intrepidity was he possessed of:

and behold a certain disciple was there: a converted person, a believer in Christ, one that had learned to know and deny himself, and understood the way of salvation by Christ, and was a follower of him; whether the apostle was an instrument of his conversion, when he was before in these parts, is not certain, though probable, since he often calls him his son; nor is it so evident whether he was at Derbe or at Lystra, though the latter seems most likely, since a report was given of him by the brethren there, and at Iconium, when no mention is made of Derbe, in the following verse:

named Timotheus; or Timothy, the same person to whom afterwards the apostle wrote two epistles: it is a name much used among the Greeks, and his father was a Greek; one of this name, who was an historian among the Greeks, is frequently mentioned by Laertius (r); and there was another of this name, the son of Conon, an Athenian general (s); and another that was a captain or general of Antiochus,

"Afterward he passed over to the children of Ammon, where he found a mighty power, and much people, with Timotheus their captain.'' (1 Maccabees 5:6)

"Now Timotheus, whom the Jews had overcome before, when he had gathered a great multitude of foreign forces, and horses out of Asia not a few, came as though he would take Jewry by force of arms.'' (2 Maccabees 10:24)

the name signifies one that honoured God, or was honoured by God; both were true in this disciple of Christ:

the son of a certain woman which was a Jewess, and believed; his mother was a Jewish woman, but a believer in Christ, her name was Eunice, 2 Timothy 1:5

but his father was a Greek; a Gentile, an uncircumcised one, and so he seems to have remained, by his sons not being circumcised.

(r) De Vit. Philosoph. l. 3. in Vit. Platon. & l. 4. Vit. Speusippi, & l. 5. Vit. Aristotel. (s) Aelian. Hist. Var. l. 2. c. 10, 18. & l. 3. c. 16, 47.