1 Timothy 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior ²  and of Christ Jesus our hope,

Isaiah 45:21

45:21 Tell me! Present the evidence! ³ 

Let them consult with one another!

Who predicted this in the past?

Who announced it beforehand?

Was it not I, the Lord?

I have no peer, there is no God but me,

a God who vindicates and delivers; ⁴ 

there is none but me.

Luke 1:47

1:47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice ⁵  in God my Savior,

Luke 1:2

1:2 like the accounts ⁶  passed on ⁷  to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word ⁸  from the beginning. ⁹ 

Luke 1:9

1:9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, ¹⁰  to enter ¹¹  the holy place ¹²  of the Lord and burn incense.

[1:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ² sn God our Savior. Use of the title “Savior” for God the Father is characteristic of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. It occurs six times in these letters, but only twice elsewhere in the NT. However, it occurs commonly in the OT, especially in Isaiah. It emphasizes the Father as the initiator and source of salvation.

[45:21]  ³ tn Heb “Declare! Bring near!”; NASB “Declare and set forth your case.” See 41:21.

[45:21]  ⁴ tn Or “a righteous God and deliverer”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “a righteous God and a Savior.”

[1:47]  ⁵ tn Or “rejoices.” The translation renders this aorist, which stands in contrast to the previous line’s present tense, as ingressive, which highlights Mary’s joyous reaction to the announcement. A comprehensive aorist is also possible here.

[1:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “even as”; this compares the recorded tradition of 1:1 with the original eyewitness tradition of 1:2.

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Or “delivered.”

[1:2]  ⁸ sn The phrase eyewitnesses and servants of the word refers to a single group of people who faithfully passed on the accounts about Jesus. The language about delivery (passed on) points to accounts faithfully passed on to the early church.

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “like the accounts those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word passed on to us.” The location of “in the beginning” in the Greek shows that the tradition is rooted in those who were with Jesus from the start.

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “according to the custom of the priesthood it fell to him by lot.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged in the translation to make it clear that the prepositional phrase κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς ἱερατείας (kata to eqo" th" Jierateia", “according to the custom of the priesthood”) modifies the phrase “it fell to him by lot” rather than the preceding clause.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn This is an aorist participle and is temporally related to the offering of incense, not to when the lot fell.

[1:9]  ¹² tn Or “temple.” Such sacrifices, which included the burning of incense, would have occurred in the holy place according to the Mishnah (m. Tamid 1.2; 3.1; 5-7). A priest would have given this sacrifice, which was offered for the nation, once in one’s career. It would be offered either at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m., since it was made twice a day.