General Editor
Philip W. Comfort
D. Litt. et Phil., University of South Africa;
Tyndale House Publishers; Coastal Carolina University.
Consulting Editor, Old Testament
Tremper Longman III
PhD, Yale University; Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College.
Consulting Editor, New Testament
Grant Osborne
PhD, University of Aberdeen; Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
Associate Editors
Jason Driesbach
MA, Biblical Exegesis and Linguistics, Dallas Theological Seminary; Tyndale House Publishers.
Mark R. Norton
MA, Theological Studies, Wheaton Graduate School; Tyndale House Publishers.
James A. Swanson
MSM, Multnomah Biblical Seminary; MTh, University of South Africa; Tyndale House Publishers.
Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Volume 17
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1 Timothy copyright 2009 by Linda Belleville. All rights reserved.
2 Timothy and Tituscopyright 2009 by Jon C. Laansma. All rights reserved.
Hebrews copyright 2009 by J. Ramsey Michaels. All rights reserved.
Designed by Luke Daab and Timothy R. Botts.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cornerstone biblical commentary.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISB-13 978-0-8423-8345-5 (hc : alk. paper)
ISBN-10 0-8423-8345-X (hc : alk. paper)
1. BibleCommentaries. I. Belleville, Linda. II. Laansma, Jon C. III. Michaels, J. Ramsey.
Build: 2018-01-12 18:26:57 EPUB 3.0.1
HOW TO NAVIGATE THE CORNERSTONE BIBLICAL COMMENTARY
Each section of the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary includes the NLT text for the sections passage, a set of notes commenting on specific verses, and a commentary on the passage as a whole. The [Commentary] link in the Bible text heading will take you to the commentary for that passage. In the commentary heading, the [Text] link will take you back to the Bible text. In the Bible text, a linked verse number will take you to the note that starts with that verse. The verse reference at the beginning of the note will take you back to the starting verse in the Bible text for that note. In the Bible text, an asterisk in square brackets ([*]) will take you to an NLT footnote. The verse reference at the beginning of the footnote will take you back to the footnote callout in the Bible text. Sometimes the verse reference at the start of a commentary note will take you to an NLT footnote. The reference in square brackets after the verse reference at the start of the footnote will take you back to the commentary note.
CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME 17
1 Timothy: Linda Belleville
BM, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester;
MA, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School;
PhD, University of St. Michaels College, University of Toronto;
Professor of New Testament at Bethel College in Mishawaka, Indiana.
2 Timothy, Titus: Jon C. Laansma
BRE, Grand Rapids Baptist College;
MDiv, Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary;
PhD, University of Aberdeen;
Associate Professor of Ancient Languages and New Testament at Wheaton College.
Hebrews: J. Ramsey Michaels
AB, Princeton University;
BD, Grace Theological Seminary;
ThM, Westminster Theological Seminary;
ThD, Harvard University;
Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.
GENERAL EDITORS PREFACE
The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary is based on the second edition of the New Living Translation (2015). Nearly 100 scholars from various church backgrounds and from several countries (United States, Canada, England, and Australia) participated in the creation of the NLT. Many of these same scholars are contributors to this commentary series. All the commentators, whether participants in the NLT or not, believe that the Bible is Gods inspired word and have a desire to make Gods word clear and accessible to his people.
This Bible commentary is the natural extension of our vision for the New Living Translation, which we believe is both exegetically accurate and idiomatically powerful. The NLT attempts to communicate Gods inspired word in a lucid English translation of the original languages so that English readers can understand and appreciate the thought of the original writers. In the same way, the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary aims at helping teachers, pastors, students, and laypeople understand every thought contained in the Bible. As such, the commentary focuses first on the words of Scripture, then on the theological truths of Scriptureinasmuch as the words express the truths.
The commentary itself has been structured in such a way as to help readers get at the meaning of Scripture, passage by passage, through the entire Bible. Each Bible book is prefaced by a substantial book introduction that gives general historical background important for understanding. Then the reader is taken through the Bible text, passage by passage, starting with the New Living Translation text printed in full. This is followed by a section called Notes, wherein the commentator helps the reader understand the Hebrew or Greek behind the English of the NLT, interacts with other scholars on important interpretive issues, and points the reader to significant textual and contextual matters. The Notes are followed by the Commentary, wherein each scholar presents a lucid interpretation of the passage, giving special attention to context and major theological themes.
The commentators represent a wide spectrum of theological positions within the evangelical community. We believe this is good because it reflects the rich variety in Christs church. All the commentators uphold the authority of Gods word and believe it is essential to heed the old adage: Wholly apply yourself to the Scriptures and apply them wholly to you. May this commentary help you know the truths of Scripture, and may this knowledge help you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord (2 Pet 1:2, NLT).
P HILIP W. C OMFORT
G ENERAL E DITOR
ABBREVIATIONS
GENERAL ABBREVIATIONS
b. Babylonian Gemara
bar. baraita
c. circa, around, approximately
cf. confer, compare
ch, chs chapter, chapters
contra in contrast to
DSS Dead Sea Scrolls
ed. edition, editor
e.g. exempli gratia, for example
et al. et alii, and others
fem. feminine
ff following (verses, pages)
fl. flourished
Gr. Greek
Heb. Hebrew
ibid. ibidem, in the same place
i.e. id est, that is