1. Biblical Studies
  2. New Testament Commentaries
  3. 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus
The First and Second Letters to Timothy
The First and Second Letters to Timothy
Technical
Roman Catholic
Critical

The First and Second Letters to Timothy

in Anchor Yale Bible

by Luke Timothy Johnson

4.76 Rank Score: 6.5 from 10 reviews, 8 featured collections, and 5 user libraries
WorldCat Google Amazon CBD Logos Bible Software Accordance Olive Tree
Pages 512
Publisher Yale University Press
Published 2001
ISBN-13 9780300139884
The letters of Paul to Timothy, one of his favorite delegates, often make for difficult reading in today's world. They contain much that make modern readers uncomfortable, and much that is controversial, including pronouncements on the place of women in the Church and on homosexuality, as well as polemics against the so-called "false teachers." They have also been of a source of questions within the scholarly community, where the prevailing opinion since the nineteenth century is that someone else wrote the letters and signed Paul's name in order to give them greater authority.

Using the best of modern and ancient scholarship, Luke Timothy Johnson provides clear, accessible commentary that will help lay readers navigate the letters and better understand their place within the context Paul's teachings. Johnson's conclusion that they were indeed written by Paul himself ensures that this volume, like the other Anchor Bible Commentaries, will attract the attention of theologians and other scholars.
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Nijay K. Gupta Nijay K. Gupta October 11, 2019
In this technical study of 1-2 Timothy (Titus is not included in his volume), Johnson offers one of the most extensive arguments in favor of Pauline authorship of these texts. The commentary itself presents Johnson’s thoughtful exegetical discussion of the text, which is historical-critical in general, but also attentive to important theological questions. [Full Review]
G Ware G Ware March 6, 2015
Johnson has enough clout to buck against norm. In this one he takes a few less popular positions. Nevertheless, it is an impeccable piece of scholarship.
Phillip J. Long Phillip J. Long July 3, 2012
Johnson is one of the more prolific New Testament scholars, and his Anchor Bible volume on the letters to Timothy is one of the best of the series. He spends about fifty pages on the authorship of the Pastorals, fairly describing and assessing the “conventional approach.” He offers five problems which this consensus view rarely discusses, and finally settles on the view that these letters are genuinely Pauline. He knows that authenticity cannot be demonstrated, but he sees these letters are representing Paul’s own thinking even if they are written through a delegate of some kind. As with all the Anchor commentaries, the body of the commentary includes a fresh translation followed by phrase-by-phrase notes, all Greek is transliterated. After the notes, Johnson provides a comment section which deals with the overall themes of the section, usually including the special contribution of the section to a kind of “pastoral epistles theology.” Johnson does not include Titus in this volume. The Anchor Bible series has a separate volume for Titus, Jerome D. Quinn, The Letter to Titus (AB; New Your: Doubleday, 1990). Quinn, who died before finishing this commentary, includes an introduction on all three pastoral letters. (Ben Witherington calls Quinn’s commentary the “only real standout” commentary on Titus. He may be right, since there are precious few commentaries on Titus alone!) [Full Review]
Scot McKnight Scot McKnight August 2, 2009
[Full Review]
John Glynn John Glynn September 20, 2008
Unnatributed-d Unnatributed-d May 26, 2008
D. A. Carson D. A. Carson May 26, 2008