The charge that the false teachers 'suppose that godliness is a means of gain' anticipates the chapter's critique of money-driven religion and resonates with wisdom's warning against wearing oneself out to be rich. A faint forward link to the avarice motif developed in vv.9-10.

Don’t weary yourself to be rich. In your wisdom, show restraint. Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.


'We brought nothing into the world, and we certainly can't carry anything out' closely renders Job's confession, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there.' The shared logic of human poverty at birth and at death grounds the call to contentment and is the primary scriptural source for v.7.

He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”


'As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor.' Qoheleth's meditation on the impossibility of carrying wealth out of life is a direct conceptual parallel to v.7 and reinforces the Job allusion. The pairing forms the wisdom backbone of the contentment teaching.

As he came out of his mother’s womb, naked shall he go again as he came, and shall take nothing for his labor, which he may carry away in his hand.


'For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him.' The psalm's reflection that the rich take nothing in death directly parallels the claim that we 'can't carry anything out.' A strong supporting witness to the same death-and-dispossession tradition.

For when he dies he shall carry nothing away. His glory shall not descend after him.


Ben Sira warns against relying on wealth and saying 'I have enough,' urging the reader not to follow heart and strength after riches. The deuterocanonical wisdom on the futility of trusting possessions undergirds the contentment ethic of vv.6-8 and the warnings of vv.9-10.

Set not your heart upon your goods; And say not, They are sufficient for me. Follow not your own mind and your strength, To walk in the desires of your heart; And say not, Who will have dominion over me? For the Lord will surely take vengeance on you. Say not, I sinned, and what happened to me? For the Lord is longsuffering. Concerning atonement, be not without fear, To add sin upon sins: And say not, His compassion is great; He will be pacified for the […]


Agur's prayer, 'feed me with the food that is needful for me,' seeking neither poverty nor riches, supplies the ideal of sufficiency behind 'having food and clothing, we will be content.' The wisdom request for daily necessities is the closest sapiential parallel to v.8.

Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me; lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.


Jacob's vow asks God for 'bread to eat and clothing to wear,' the same minimal pairing of food and clothing that defines contentment in v.8. The verbal pairing may stand behind Paul's formula, though it is a common biblical idiom of basic provision.

Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,


The wilderness lesson that God provided manna and that clothing did not wear out teaches dependence on God for daily food and covering. This forms a faint background to the food-and-clothing sufficiency that the believer is to rest content in.

He humbled you, and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth. Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years.


'He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house.' The maxim that avarice brings ruin upon the grasping person directly underwrites 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil' and the picture of those who 'pierced themselves through with many sorrows.' A core wisdom source for v.10.

He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, but he who hates bribes will live.


'Many have sinned for the sake of profit, and he who seeks to multiply gain will turn his eye away.' Ben Sira's aphorism that the pursuit of money is itself a cause of sin is the closest known parallel to 'the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.' Strong deuterocanonical antecedent for v.10.

Many have sinned for a thing indifferent; And he that seeks to multiply gain will turn his eye away.


'He who loves gold will not be justified... Gold has been a stumbling block to many, and their destruction has met them face to face. It is a snare to those who are devoted to it.' The imagery of gold as a snare causing ruin parallels both the 'snare' of v.9 and the 'root of evil' of v.10. A remarkably close sapiential model.

He that loves gold shall not be justified; And he that follows destruction shall himself have his fill of it. Many have been given over to ruin for the sake of gold; And their perdition meets them face to face. It is a stumbling block to those who sacrifice to it; And every fool shall be taken therewith.


'He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he who loves abundance with increase.' Qoheleth's insight into the insatiability of money-love directly parallels the diagnosis of those 'determined to be rich' and 'the love of money.' A direct wisdom witness to the avarice critique.

He who loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase: this also is vanity.


'Don't weary yourself to be rich... riches certainly sprout wings.' The warning against straining to be wealthy maps onto 'those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare.' The fleeting, ensnaring character of riches grounds vv.9-10.


'A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn't know that poverty waits for him.' The proverb that the avaricious rush toward wealth only to meet ruin parallels the trajectory of those who 'fall into... ruin and destruction.' Supporting wisdom source.

A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn’t know that poverty waits for him.


'So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.' Wisdom's claim that greed is self-destructive, ambushing the very ones who seek it, parallels those who in greed 'pierced themselves through with many sorrows.' A self-harm motif resonant with v.10.

but these lay wait for their own blood. They lurk secretly for their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.


'If you pursue, you will not overtake... and you will not escape by fleeing.' Ben Sira's counsel against frenetic pursuit of gain resonates with those 'determined to be rich' who fall into a snare. A faint deuterocanonical parallel.

My son, be not busy about many matters: For if you meddle much, you will not be unpunished; And if you pursue, you will not overtake; And you will not escape by fleeing.


The address 'man of God' is the standard Hebrew Bible title for a prophet or authorized servant of God, applied to Moses ('the man of God') and frequently to figures like Elijah and Elisha. Timothy is cast in this prophetic-leadership lineage, charged to embody covenant virtue.

This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.


Samuel is repeatedly called 'the man of God,' establishing the title as a designation for a trusted seer who speaks for the Lord. The Pastoral epithet for Timothy draws on this same OT usage of the authorized divine spokesman.

He said to him, “See now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go.”


'He who follows after righteousness and kindness finds life, righteousness, and honor.' The exhortation to 'follow after righteousness... and gentleness' and so 'lay hold of eternal life' resonates with wisdom's promise that pursuing righteousness leads to life. A thematic virtue-pursuit parallel.


'You give life to all of them' praises the one God who made and sustains all things. The charge before 'God, who gives life to all things' (v.13) echoes this confession of the Creator as life-giver to the whole creation. A direct conceptual parallel to the life-giving formula.

You are Yahweh, even you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their army, the earth and all things that are on it, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all. The army of heaven worships you.


'I kill and I make alive... there is no god with me.' God's exclusive prerogative over life and death undergirds 'God, who gives life to all things' and the doxology's stress that he 'alone has immortality.' Supports both the life-giver and sole-sovereign motifs of vv.13-16.

“See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.


'For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods and Lord of lords.' The doxology's title 'King of kings, and Lord of lords' (v.15) directly takes up this Deuteronomic confession of God's supremacy over all powers. The clearest verbal source for the title.

For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t respect persons, nor takes reward.


'Give thanks to the God of gods... to the Lord of lords.' The liturgical pairing of these superlatives reinforces the 'Lord of lords' title of v.15 and its hymnic, doxological setting. A strong secondary witness alongside Deuteronomy 10:17.

Give thanks to the God of gods; for his loving kindness endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords; for his loving kindness endures forever:


Nebuchadnezzar confesses Daniel's God as 'God of gods, and Lord of kings.' The royal-supremacy formula praising the God who is over all kings parallels 'King of kings, and Lord of lords.' Reflects the apocalyptic vocabulary of divine kingship behind v.15.

The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.


'You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.' The doxology's 'whom no man has seen, nor can see' (v.16) directly echoes God's word to Moses on the impossibility of beholding the divine face. A primary scriptural source for the invisibility motif.

He said, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live.”


God is 'covered with light as with a garment.' 'Dwelling in unapproachable light' (v.16) draws on this hymnic image of God clothed in light. The closest scriptural antecedent for the light-dwelling description.

He covers himself with light as with a garment. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.


The glory of the Lord appeared 'like a devouring fire' on the mountain, inaccessible to the people. The unapproachable, blazing presence informs the 'unapproachable light' in which God dwells. A faint Sinai-theophany resonance.

The appearance of Yahweh’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.


'For with you is the spring of life. In your light we will see light.' The association of God with life and with light loosely supports the doxology's coupling of the life-giver (v.13) with the God of unapproachable light (v.16). A thematic resonance rather than a citation.

For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light.


'Yahweh will be your everlasting light.' The eschatological depiction of God as light may faintly inform the doxology's 'unapproachable light.' A distant resonance secondary to Psalm 104:2.

The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light to you: but Yahweh will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory.


'If riches increase, don't set your heart on them.' The charge that the rich not 'have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches' closely matches the psalm's warning against fixing the heart on growing wealth. A primary source for v.17.

Don’t trust in oppression. Don’t become vain in robbery. If riches increase, don’t set your heart on them.


'He who trusts in his riches will fall.' The contrast between trusting riches and the alternative directly parallels the command not to hope in 'the uncertainty of riches' but on the living God. A core wisdom antecedent for v.17.

He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf.


Riches 'certainly sprout wings, like an eagle they fly toward the sky.' The fleeting, unreliable nature of wealth grounds the phrase 'the uncertainty of riches.' A vivid wisdom image of money's instability.

Why do you set your eyes on that which is not? For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.


'Don't let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he... knows me.' The redirection of the wealthy from boasting in riches to glorying in God parallels the charge that the rich not be haughty but hope on the living God. A strong source for the structure of v.17.

Thus says Yahweh, Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, don’t let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows me, that I am Yahweh who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says Yahweh.


'Beware lest you say... My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth.' The warning against pride in self-made riches and the reminder that God is the giver parallels the charge against the haughty rich and the God 'who richly provides us with everything.'

and lest you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth.” But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day.


'He who has pity on the poor lends to Yahweh; he will reward him.' The exhortation that the rich 'be rich in good works, ready to distribute,' 'laying up in store... a good foundation against the time to come' echoes the wisdom principle that generosity to the needy is treasure stored with God. Grounds the storing-up imagery of v.19.


'Give alms from your possessions... you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity.' Tobit's almsgiving counsel that charity stores up a treasure for the day of need is a remarkably close parallel to 'laying up in store... a good foundation against the time to come' (v.19). A strong deuterocanonical source.

Give alms from your possessions. When you give alms, don’t let your eye be envious. Don’t turn away your face from any poor man, and the face of God won’t be turned away from you. As your possessions are, give alms of it according to your abundance. If you have little, don’t be afraid to give alms according to that little; for you lay up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity; because alms-giving delivers from death, and doesn’t allow […]


'Lay up your treasure according to the commandments... and it will profit you more than gold. Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from all affliction.' Ben Sira's image of almsgiving as treasure that delivers in the future directly parallels the rich laying up a good foundation against the time to come. Close sapiential antecedent for v.19.

Bestow your treasure according to the commandments of the Most High; And it shall profit you more than gold. Shut up alms in your store-chambers; And it shall deliver you out of all affliction:


Agur's prayer against riches that lead one to deny God and against poverty that leads to theft frames wealth as spiritually perilous. This wisdom ambivalence about riches faintly supports the warning that the rich not be haughty nor trust their wealth.

Remove far from me falsehood and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me; lest I be full, deny you, and say, ‘Who is Yahweh?’ or lest I be poor, and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.


'Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.' The command 'guard that which is committed to you' draws on the wisdom ideal of vigilant safekeeping of what is precious. A thematic resonance with the keeping/guarding motif.


'Stay away from a foolish man, for you won't find knowledge on his lips.' The injunction to turn away from 'the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge falsely so called' resonates with wisdom's warning to avoid the fool's pseudo-knowledge. A faint sapiential parallel to the rejection of false gnosis.

Stay away from a foolish man, for you won’t find knowledge on his lips.


Paul styles his apostleship as serving 'the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus.' The Deuteronomic covenant blessing frames clinging to the LORD as the source of 'life and length of days,' an OT matrix for the promise-of-life language Paul Christologizes here.

to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days; that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.


The 'promise' according to which Paul is sent recalls the patriarchal covenant promise to Abraham and his seed; Pauline 'promise' theology consistently roots in this Genesis covenant. Faint here, marked contested.

I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.


The greeting 'Grace, mercy, and peace' echoes the Aaronic priestly blessing, where the LORD is asked to 'be gracious' and to 'give peace.' The triad of grace and peace in Paul's salutations draws on this benedictory form.

Yahweh make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. Yahweh lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’


Serving God 'as my forefathers did' with a 'pure conscience' presents Paul's gospel as continuous with ancestral Jewish piety; 2 Maccabees praises the high priest Onias as a man of upright conscience and ancestral devotion. Deuterocanonical conscience language is faint background.

And the vision of that dream was this: He saw Onias, him that was high priest, a noble and good man, reverend in bearing, yet gentle in manner and well-spoken, and exercised from a child in all points of virtue, with outstretched hands invoking blessings on the whole body of the Jews:


The 'pure conscience' with which Paul serves echoes the OT ideal of the 'pure heart and clean hands' required to stand before God. The psalm's purity-of-heart standard underlies the conscience language transposed into Pauline interiority.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.


The plea for a 'clean heart' and right spirit parallels Paul's claim to serve God with a pure conscience; the conscience motif develops the OT clean-heart ideal. Faint, marked contested.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.


Paul's 'unceasing memory' and remembering 'night and day' draws on the OT idiom of a fragrant memorial / remembrance before God; Genesis introduces the 'pleasing aroma' the LORD remembers. The remembrance language is faint.

Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike every living thing, as I have done.


The 'sincere faith' that lived first in grandmother Lois and mother Eunice and now in Timothy enacts the Shema's command to bind covenant faith on the heart and teach it diligently to children across generations. The intergenerational transmission of faith is the Deuteronomic catechetical ideal.

You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.


The chain of faith from grandmother to mother to son mirrors the psalm's mandate that fathers teach the next generation so that children yet unborn would set their hope in God. Timothy's inherited 'sincere faith' embodies this generational handing-down.

For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a teaching in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born; who should arise and tell their children, that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments,


The faith received specifically through grandmother and mother recalls the wisdom tradition's appeal to heed 'your mother's teaching.' The maternal pedagogy motif faintly underlies the naming of Lois and Eunice.

My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching:


Stirring up 'the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands' recalls Moses commissioning Joshua by the laying on of hands so that he was filled with the spirit of wisdom. The ordination-by-imposition-of-hands motif is rooted in this Mosaic succession.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight. You shall give authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may obey. He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before Yahweh. At his word they shall go out, and at his […]


Joshua was 'full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him,' the precise pattern Paul invokes: a spiritual gift conferred through imposition of hands by the predecessor. Strongly parallels Timothy's reception of the charisma.

Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands on him. The children of Israel listened to him, and did as Yahweh commanded Moses.


The Spirit God gives, 'of power, love, and self-control' rather than fear, recalls the messianic endowment of the Spirit of wisdom, counsel, and might resting on the shoot of Jesse. The enumerated Spirit-qualities echo Isaiah's catalog of the Spirit's gifts.

The Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh.


'God didn't give us a spirit of fear' answers the LORD's charge to Joshua, 'be strong and courageous; do not be afraid,' precisely as Timothy steps into a Joshua-like succession of leadership. The not-fearing-but-strong commission undergirds the whole exhortation.

Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed: for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”


The 'spirit of power' contrasted with fear echoes 'not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit'; the divine Spirit as the true source of effective strength. Faint conceptual link, marked contested.

Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.


'Don't be afraid, for I am with you... I will strengthen you' parallels Paul's denial that God gives a spirit of fear and his assertion of a spirit of power. Isaiah's salvation-oracle formula of fearlessness-through-divine-strength stands behind the verse.

Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.


'Don't be ashamed of the testimony' draws on the Servant's resolve: 'I have set my face like a flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.' The vindication-of-the-unashamed-witness motif shapes Paul's appeal to Timothy to embrace suffering without shame.

For the Lord Yahweh will help me; therefore I have not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be disappointed.


'I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and will not be put to shame' directly anticipates Paul's call not to be ashamed of the testimony and of his chains. The unashamed public confession before rulers is the psalmist's posture.

I will also speak of your statutes before kings, and will not be disappointed.


'He who believes will not be put to shame' is a recurrent Pauline shame-text; here it faintly informs the unashamed-testimony theme even without citation. Marked contested.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. He who believes shall not act hastily.


God 'saved us and called us... not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace' restates the Deuteronomic logic of election: the LORD set his love on Israel not because of their numbers or merit but because he loved them and kept his oath. Election by sheer gracious purpose is the OT root.

Yahweh didn’t set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples: but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.


Christ 'who abolished death' echoes the eschatological promise that the LORD 'will swallow up death forever.' The abolition-of-death motif is the climactic Isaianic hope now realized in the Savior's appearing.

He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it.


Christ 'brought life and immortality to light' resonates with Wisdom's claim that God created humanity for incorruption, in the image of his own eternity. The deuterocanonical immortality/incorruption vocabulary directly underlies Paul's athanasia language.

Because God created man for incorruption, And made him an image of his own proper being;


The hope that 'the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God' and their 'hope is full of immortality' parallels the life-and-immortality brought to light through the gospel. Wisdom's immortality theology is the closest Second-Temple antecedent.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torment will touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died; And their departure was accounted to be their hurt, And their journeying away from us to be their ruin: But they are in peace. For even if in the sight of men they be punished, Their hope is full of immortality;


'I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death' provides an OT oracle of death's defeat behind Christ's abolishing of death. Faint, overlapping with Isaiah 25:8.

I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.


The disclosure of 'life and immortality' resonates with Daniel's resurrection hope of awaking to everlasting life. The apocalyptic immortality promise is a faint backdrop to the gospel's bringing of imperishable life to light.

Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.


Paul's appointment as 'a teacher of the Gentiles' enacts the Servant's commission to be 'a light to the nations,' that salvation might reach the ends of the earth. His Gentile herald-role fulfills Isaiah's light-to-the-nations mandate.

yes, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give you for a light to the nations, that you may be my salvation to the end of the earth.”


'Yet I am not ashamed' in the midst of suffering reprises the Servant's flint-faced confidence that he will not be put to shame. The Servant's unashamed endurance models Paul's own.


'I know whom I have believed, and... he is able to guard that which I have committed to him' echoes 'Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me.' The committing/entrusting of oneself to the faithful God parallels the psalmist's deposit. Marked contested.

Into your hand I commend my spirit. You redeem me, Yahweh, God of truth.


'In God I trust; I will not be afraid' parallels Paul's confident 'I know whom I have believed' and lack of shame. Faint trust-formula resonance.

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?


Holding 'the pattern of sound words' and guarding 'that good thing committed to you' draws on the Deuteronomic charge to add nothing and take nothing from the commanded word but to keep it. The deposit-of-teaching motif reflects covenant-word preservation.

You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.


'Guard' the good deposit through the Spirit echoes the command to lay up God's words in heart and soul, binding and teaching them. The entrusted-treasure-of-the-word imagery is rooted in Deuteronomy's commands to keep and transmit the torah.

Therefore you shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul. You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them your children, talking of them, when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.


'Take hold of instruction; do not let go; keep her, for she is your life' closely parallels 'hold the pattern of sound words' and 'guard' the deposit. The wisdom command to grip and guard saving instruction undergirds Paul's exhortation.

Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life.


Receiving words and 'treasuring up' commandments parallels the entrusted good deposit to be guarded. Faint wisdom-deposit link, marked contested.

My son, if you will receive my words, and store up my commandments within you;


'All who are in Asia turned away from me' echoes the lament of abandonment by close associates, as the psalmist's familiar friend turns against him. The desertion-by-companions motif colors Paul's account, marked contested.

Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me.


Paul's prayer that the Lord 'grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus' for kindness shown echoes Naomi's blessing that the LORD deal kindly with those who showed kindness (chesed) to the living and the dead. The reciprocal-kindness-blessing formula is the OT antecedent.

Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house: Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead, and with me.


'May the LORD reward you well for what you have done' parallels Paul's wish that the Lord repay Onesiphorus's refreshing kindness with mercy. The petition-for-divine-recompense-of-mercy is faintly present.

For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me this day.


Asking that Onesiphorus 'find mercy from the Lord in that day' invokes the Judge of all the earth doing right at the eschatological judgment. The day-of-the-LORD judgment frame behind 'that day' is rooted in OT theophany. Marked contested.

Be it far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”


Onesiphorus 'often refreshed me' and the prayer for his reward echoes 'whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.' The one-who-refreshes-will-be-refreshed proverb closely matches the language and logic of Paul's blessing.

The liberal soul shall be made fat. He who waters shall be watered also himself.


'Let your kindness extend to all the living, and do not withhold kindness even from the dead' resonates with Paul's prayer of mercy for the absent (possibly deceased) Onesiphorus and his household. Deuterocanonical kindness-to-the-departed ethic faintly informs the petition.

A gift has grace in the sight of every man living; And for a dead man keep not back grace.


Entrusting the deposit to 'faithful men' who can teach others recalls the OT ideal of the trustworthy servant, paradigmatically Moses who is 'faithful in all my house.' The transmission-by-faithful-stewards motif underlies Paul's chain of witnesses.

My servant Moses is not so. He is faithful in all my house.


The soldier who must not be 'entangled in the affairs of life' so he can please his commander echoes the holy-war muster law, which exempts the man who has built a house, planted a vineyard, or betrothed a wife so that the army on campaign is undistracted. The single-minded enlisted soldier is the shared image.

The officers shall speak to the people, saying, “What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit. What man is there who has pledged to be married a wife, and has not taken her? […]


The 'farmers who labor must be first to get a share of the crops' draws on the Torah principle that the one who plants the vineyard rightly enjoys its fruit. The labor-then-reward logic runs through the soldier/athlete/farmer triad.

What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit.


'He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit' is the closest sapiential parallel to the laboring farmer who earns the first share. Paul applies the proverb's reward-for-tending logic to gospel ministry.

Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit. He who looks after his master shall be honored.


The right of the agricultural laborer to a share of the produce echoes the ox-treading-grain principle Paul elsewhere applies to ministry support. Faint but thematically continuous with the farmer image.

You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the grain.


'Jesus Christ... of the seed of David' invokes the Davidic covenant promise that God will raise up David's offspring and establish his kingdom forever. Paul reads the resurrection as the fulfillment of the dynastic promise of an everlasting seed.

When your days are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.


The Davidic-seed Christology resonates with the shoot from the stump of Jesse, the messianic branch of David's line. Combined with v.10's root of Jesse, it grounds the title in prophetic messianism.

A shoot will come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit.


The 'root of Jesse' standing as a banner to which the nations rally undergirds the risen seed of David proclaimed in Paul's gospel for the chosen ones. Reinforces the Davidic-messiah background.

It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.


'The fruit of your body I will set on your throne' restates the sworn promise of a Davidic heir behind 'of the seed of David.' A liturgical witness to the covenant Paul presupposes.

Yahweh has sworn to David in truth. He will not turn from it: “I will set the fruit of your body on your throne.


'If we are faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny himself' echoes the Song of Moses' confession of God as the faithful Rock, without iniquity, just and upright. Divine constancy despite human failure is the shared theology.

The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he.


'He cannot deny himself' restates Balaam's oracle that God is not a man that he should lie, nor change his mind; what he has said he will do. The immutability of God's own word grounds the faithful saying.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?


Paul's endurance 'for the chosen ones' sake' picks up Isaiah's promise that God's chosen/elect will inherit and possess. The remnant-election vocabulary colors the eschatological 'salvation with eternal glory.'

I will bring a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.


'But God's word isn't chained' faintly echoes the promise that the word going out from God's mouth will not return empty but accomplishes its purpose. The irrepressible, effective word is the common motif against Paul's chains.

so shall my word be that goes out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing I sent it to do.


'The Lord knows those who are his' quotes Moses' answer to Korah's rebellion, when the Lord makes known who is his and who is holy. Paul stamps this as the first half of the seal on God's firm foundation amid the disruption of false teachers (Hymenaeus, Philetus) — a deliberate Korah typology of schism within the covenant community.

He said to Korah and to all his company, “In the morning, Yahweh will show who are his, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near to him. Even him whom he shall choose, he will cause to come near to him.


'Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness' draws directly on Moses' command to depart from the tents of the wicked men (Korah, Dathan, Abiram) lest one be swept away in their sins. The Korah scene supplies both halves of the v.19 double seal: God knows his own, and the faithful must separate from the rebels.

He spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be consumed in all their sins!”


'Everyone who names the name of the Lord' echoes Isaiah's confession that only your name we acknowledge/invoke, contrasting the true God with other lords who ruled. Supplies the naming-the-Name half of the citation alongside the Korah command.

Yahweh our God, other lords besides you have had dominion over us, but by you only will we make mention of your name.


'Depart from unrighteousness' resonates with the exodus-from-Babylon summons, 'Depart, depart, touch no unclean thing... be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.' The separation-and-purity demand (and the vessel imagery picked up in vv.20-21) makes this a strong secondary source for the seal.

Depart, depart, go out from there, touch no unclean thing! Go out of the midst of her! Cleanse yourselves, you who bear the vessels of Yahweh.


'Depart from unrighteousness/iniquity' parallels Elihu's word that God commands them to return from iniquity. A sapiential analogue to the moral-separation clause.

He also opens their ears to instruction, and commands that they return from iniquity.


'Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity' supplies a Psalter idiom of separation from the wicked that the v.19 seal recasts as an imperative on those who name the Name. Faint and one of several possible backgrounds.

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping.


The potter who from the same clay molds both vessels for clean uses and their opposites, deciding the use of each, is the closest antecedent to the great house with vessels for honor and dishonor. Strong deuterocanonical parallel for the honorable/dishonorable distinction.

For a potter, kneading soft earth, Laboriously mouldeth each several vessel for our service: Nay, out of the same clay does he fashion Both the vessels that minister to clean uses, and those of a contrary sort, All in like manner; But what shall be the use of each vessel of either sort, The craftsman himself is the judge.


The potter reworking the clay 'as it seemed good to him,' with God's sovereign right over the house of Israel like clay in the potter's hand, underlies the vessels-for-honor-or-dishonor image and the call to be made fit for the master's use.

The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he was making a work on the wheels. When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, House of Israel, can’t I do with you as […]


'Shall the thing made say of its maker, He did not make me?' frames the made vessel's subordination to its fashioner, the conceptual ground for a vessel cleansing itself for honorable use under the master.

You turn things upside down! Should the potter be thought to be like clay; that the thing made should say about him who made it, “He didn’t make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding?”


'Woe to him who strives with his Maker... shall the clay say to the potter, What are you making?' reinforces the potter-and-clay sovereignty motif behind the honor/dishonor vessels. Pairs with 29:16 as the prophetic clay backdrop.

Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or your work, ‘He has no hands?’


As clay is in the potter's hand to mold as he pleases, so humanity is in the hand of the Maker who appoints some for honor and some for dishonor — verbal and conceptual proximity to vessels for honor and dishonor in a household.

And all men are from the ground, And Adam was created of earth. In the abundance of his knowledge the Lord distinguished them, And made their ways various: Some of them he blessed and exalted, And some of them he hallowed and brought near to himself: Some of them he cursed and brought low, And overthrew them from their place. As the clay of the potter in his hand, All his ways are according to his good pleasure; So men are in the hand of him that made […]


Belshazzar's praise of gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone supplies the closest OT catalogue of vessel materials (here gold, silver, wood, clay). The list of materials, not the theology, is the link.

Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of God’s house which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. They drank wine, and […]


The purity rules distinguishing vessels of wood and clay and requiring cleansing or breaking faintly inform 'if anyone purges himself... he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified.' The clean-vessel cultic background colors the sanctification language.

On whatever any of them falls when they are dead, it shall be unclean; whether it is any vessel of wood, or clothing, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it is, with which any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it will be clean. Every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, all that is in it shall be unclean, and you shall break it.


Calling on the Lord 'out of a pure heart' echoes the ascent liturgy's requirement of clean hands and a pure heart to stand in God's holy place. The pure-heart qualification for approaching God is the shared demand.

He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully.


'Those who call on the Lord' draws on the promise that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved, the OT formula for the worshipping covenant people. Paul restricts it to those who call from a pure heart.

It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.


'Pursue righteousness... and peace' echoes the wisdom imperative to depart from evil, do good, and seek peace and pursue it. The verb 'pursue' applied to peace is a notable verbal contact.

Depart from evil, and do good. seek peace, and pursue it.


'Pursue righteousness' resonates with Isaiah's address to those who pursue righteousness and seek the Lord. A secondary prophetic backdrop to the chain of virtues to pursue.

“Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek Yahweh: look to the rock you were cut from, and to the hold of the pit you were dug from.


'The Lord's servant must not quarrel but be gentle... patient' echoes the Servant of the Lord who will not cry out or lift up his voice in the street and will not break a bruised reed. The non-contentious, gentle servant typology shapes the ideal teacher.

“Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights— I have put my Spirit on him. He will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout, nor raise his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.


'Flee youthful lusts' faintly recalls the verdict that the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. The youth-as-locus-of-sinful-impulse motif lies behind the warning.

Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake because the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike every living thing, as I have done.


Recovering 'out of the devil's snare' having been 'taken captive' echoes deliverance from the snare of the fowler. The trap-and-rescue imagery supplies the OT coloring for the diabolical snare.

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.


God's giving 'repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth' parallels the affirmation that God judges gradually and gives room/opportunity for repentance. A deuterocanonical analogue to the divine grant of repentance.

But judging them by little and little you gave them a place of repentance, Not being ignorant that their nature by birth was evil, and their wickedness inborn, And that their manner of thought would in no wise ever be changed,


The catalog of human depravity in the 'last days' draws on the antediluvian corruption tradition, where the wickedness of mankind was great and every imagination of the heart was only evil continually. The eschatological intensification of vice echoes the primeval flood-generation's total moral collapse.

Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil.


The earth corrupted and filled with violence before the flood furnishes a scriptural type for the moral degeneration of the last days. 'Corrupted in mind' (v. 8) verbally recalls the corruption motif of the Genesis flood narrative.

The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and saw that it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.


'Disobedient to parents' inverts the fifth commandment to honor father and mother. The vice catalog functions in part as a reversal of the Decalogue, listing the breaking of commands as a sign of last-days lawlessness.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.


The portrait of the proud, boastful, God-denying wicked who oppress and prosper resembles the psalmist's description of the arrogant oppressor who says God has forgotten. The cluster of pride, greed, and contempt for the holy parallels this lament's indictment.

In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught in the schemes that they devise. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh. The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God. His ways are prosperous at all times. He is haughty, and your laws are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them. He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken. For generations […]


The wicked who has no fear of God, flatters himself, and devises mischief parallels the impostors who hold a form of godliness while denying its power. The self-deceiving, God-ignoring wickedness matches the vice list's portrait.

An oracle is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: “There is no fear of God before his eyes.” For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.


'Holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power' echoes the prophetic indictment of those who honor God with their lips while their heart is far from him, whose worship is merely a commandment of men. The hollow, powerless piety is the prophets' charge against false religion.

The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;

And the Lord has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.


Jannes and Jambres who 'opposed Moses' are the unnamed Egyptian magicians who matched Aaron's signs with their secret arts before Pharaoh. The names derive from Jewish tradition (Targums, CD, the lost book of Jannes and Jambres); the canonical referent is the Exodus contest of the magicians.

Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.


The magicians of Egypt did the same with their enchantments, opposing Moses by replicating the plague of blood and hardening Pharaoh's resistance to the truth. This is part of the Exodus magician cycle that Paul invokes by the names Jannes and Jambres.

The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.


The magicians brought up frogs with their enchantments, again imitating the sign and resisting Moses. This continues the contest tradition Paul compresses into the named opposition of Jannes and Jambres.

The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.


The magicians could not produce the gnats and confessed 'This is the finger of God'; their failure marks the limit of their power. 'Their folly will be evident to all' (v. 9) alludes to this public exposure of the magicians' impotence before God's true work.

The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God:” and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.


The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, the climactic public defeat of those who opposed him. This caps the magician tradition behind Jannes and Jambres, whose 'folly became evident.'

The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians, and on all the Egyptians.


Paul names the two Egyptian magicians from a developed extrabiblical tradition (the pseudepigraphal book of Jannes and Jambres, the Damascus Document, and the Targums) rather than from the bare Exodus text. The pseudepigraphal source supplies the names absent from the canonical narrative.

[source text not in the World English Bible]


The picture of those who 'creep into houses and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts' faintly recalls the seduction tradition; some see a generalized echo of household predation. The connection is thematic and contested.

He left all that he had in Joseph’s hand. He didn’t concern himself with anything, except for the food which he ate. Joseph was well-built and handsome. After these things, his master’s wife set her eyes on Joseph; and she said, “Lie with me.” But he refused, and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, my master doesn’t know what is with me in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand. He isn’t greater in this house than I, neither has he kept […]


'The Lord delivered me out of them all' closely echoes the psalm's 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.' The verbal correspondence of the righteous sufferer rescued from all troubles is strong.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.


The trust that God delivers those who cry to him, who were not put to shame, parallels Paul's testimony of rescue from persecution. The righteous-sufferer-vindicated pattern resonates faintly.

Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them. They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.


The end-time deceivers who 'grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived' and the refining persecution of those who know God resemble Daniel's apocalyptic scenario of flatterers, deceit, and the testing of the wise in the latter days. The eschatological framing of persecution and deception aligns.

Such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and take action. Those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves to them with flatteries. Some of those who are wise shall fall, to refine […]


The 'holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation' echoes 'the law of the LORD is perfect... making wise the simple.' The conviction that God's word imparts saving wisdom is rooted in this psalm's praise of Torah.

Yahweh’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. Yahweh’s testimony is sure, making wise the simple.


The commandments that make the psalmist 'wiser than my enemies' and give more understanding than teachers stand behind the claim that Scripture makes one wise. The lifelong formation in the word echoes this Torah-wisdom motif.

Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts.


The charge to keep, teach, and not forget the statutes which are the people's wisdom, passing them to children, undergirds 'from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures.' The intergenerational transmission of God's law as wisdom is the Deuteronomic pattern.

Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Yahweh my God commanded me, that you should do so in the midst of the land where you go in to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who shall hear all these statutes, and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” For what great nation is there, that has a god so near to them, as Yahweh our God […]


The command to teach God's words diligently to children from earliest years grounds Timothy's knowing the sacred writings 'from infancy.' The household catechesis of Scripture reflects the Shema's instruction.

These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.


'All Scripture is God-breathed' (theopneustos) evokes the creative breath of God that animated the man, who became a living being when God breathed into him. Scripture's life-giving divine breath parallels the breath of life at creation.

Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.


'Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD' stands behind the conviction that the God-breathed word sustains and equips life. Scripture as the word from God's mouth animating the believer reflects this manna lesson.

He humbled you, and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but man lives by every word that proceeds out of Yahweh’s mouth.


'By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth' offers a creation-by-divine-breath background for 'God-breathed' Scripture. The pairing of word and breath of God's mouth resonates with theopneustos.

By Yahweh’s word, the heavens were made; all their army by the breath of his mouth.


God's good Spirit given to instruct his people, and the law taught for their instruction, parallels Scripture's profit 'for teaching... for instruction in righteousness.' The motif of the inspired word teaching the people of God resonates faintly.

You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and didn’t withhold your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.


The precepts of the LORD that are right, the commandment pure enlightening the eyes, and the word more to be desired than gold, by which the servant is warned, parallel Scripture's profit for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. The functional benefits of God's word match closely.

Yahweh’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever. Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward.


The charge to meditate on the book of the law to do all written in it, so as to be prosperous and successful, parallels Scripture equipping the man of God 'for every good work.' The word-formed competence for faithful action resonates.

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.


Ben Sira's identification of the law of Moses with wisdom that fills people with understanding and instruction offers a deuterocanonical analogue to Scripture making one wise for salvation. The Torah-as-wisdom theme parallels Paul's claim.

All these things are the book of the covenant of the Most High God, Even the law which Moses commanded us for a heritage to the assemblies of Jacob. It is he that makes wisdom abundant, as Pishon, And as Tigris in the days of new fruits; That makes understanding full as Euphrates, And as Jordan in the days of harvest; That makes instruction to shine forth as the light, As Gihon in the days of vintage. The first man knew her not perfectly; And in like […]


The reference to the God who 'inspired him with an active soul and breathed into him a living spirit' connects the breath of God with life and knowledge, a deuterocanonical background for the God-breathed (theopneustos) word. The divine inbreathing motif resonates faintly.

Because he was ignorant of him that moulded him, And of him that inspired into him an active soul, And breathed into him a vital spirit.


The solemn charge invokes God and Christ as the one 'who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing.' The motif of the LORD coming to 'judge the earth' is a refrain of the enthronement psalms, supplying the eschatological-judgment frame Paul adapts to Christ's appearing.

before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.


Joel's vision of the LORD seated to judge all the nations gathered in the valley of decision lies behind the forensic image of universal judgment of 'the living and the dead.' The Day-of-the-LORD assize is the conceptual reservoir for the charge given before the coming Judge.

“Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.


The portrait of people who 'will not listen to the sound doctrine' but want teachers 'after their own lusts' and 'turn away their ears from the truth' closely mirrors Isaiah's rebellious people who tell seers, 'Prophesy not to us right things, speak unto us smooth things.' The refusal of true instruction in favor of pleasing words is the same indictment.

For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children who will not hear Yahweh’s law; who tell the seers, “Don’t see!” and to the prophets, “Don’t prophesy to us right things. Tell us pleasant things. Prophesy deceits. Get out of the way. Turn aside from the path. Cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”


Jeremiah's lament that 'the prophets prophesy falsely... and my people love to have it so' parallels the hearers who heap up teachers to suit their own desires. The collusion between corrupt teachers and a people who prefer to be flattered underlies Paul's warning about itching ears.

The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority; and my people love to have it so. What will you do in the end of it?


Micah pictures a people who would welcome a lying prophet who preaches of wine and strong drink as 'the prophet of this people.' The image of an audience that selects teachers appealing to its appetites resonates with the itching-ears congregation gathering pleasing instructors.

If a man walking in a spirit of falsehood lies: “I will prophesy to you of wine and of strong drink”; he would be the prophet of this people.


Ahab's preference for prophets who tell him good rather than Micaiah who tells the truth typifies the pattern Paul names: hearers turning from truth toward voices that gratify them. A faint Old Testament instance of choosing flattering teachers over sound doctrine.

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.” Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t let the king say so.”


Paul says 'I am already being offered' (poured out as a drink offering), drawing on the sacrificial libation prescribed in the Mosaic cult. The image of life poured out like the wine offering at the altar gives his coming death a cultic, sacrificial coloring.

In this way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of the offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. It shall be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering, and its drink offering.


The 'crown of righteousness' which the righteous Judge will award echoes Wisdom's promise that the righteous 'shall receive a glorious kingdom and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand.' The eschatological reward of a crown from God's hand to the righteous is shared imagery.

Therefore will they receive the crown of royal dignity And the diadem of beauty from the Lord’s hand; Because with his right hand will he cover them, And with his arm will he shield them.


The title 'the righteous judge' who will give the crown 'on that day' reuses the enthronement-psalm refrain that the LORD comes to judge the world in righteousness. The forensic epithet is colored by the Old Testament confession of God as righteous judge of all.


The laying-up of a crown for the faithful may faintly recall the crowns set in the temple of the LORD as a memorial in Zechariah. The notion of a crown stored and later bestowed offers a remote Old Testament background to the crown reserved for Paul.

Yes, take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of Armies, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build Yahweh’s temple; even he shall build Yahweh’s temple; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace […]


The note that Demas deserted, 'having loved this present world,' may faintly draw on the psalmist's contrast between those who love vanity and the upright who walk in integrity. The framing of misplaced love for the world against faithfulness has a sapiential-psalmic ring, though no specific text is quoted.

I have not sat with deceitful men, neither will I go in with hypocrites.


'The Lord will repay him according to his works' reproduces the psalm's confession that God 'renders to every man according to his work.' Paul applies the principle of just recompense to Alexander, leaving vengeance to God rather than himself.

Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness, for you reward every man according to his work.


Proverbs asks whether God who weighs the heart will not 'render to every man according to his works,' the same recompense formula Paul invokes against Alexander the coppersmith. The wisdom maxim of divine repayment by deeds underwrites Paul's restraint.

If you say, “Behold, we didn’t know this”; doesn’t he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn’t he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?


David's word that 'the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness' parallels Paul committing Alexander's recompense to God. A narrative instance of deferring vengeance to the LORD's just repayment.

I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness.”


'I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion' draws directly on the psalmist's cry, 'Save me from the lion's mouth.' Paul casts his rescue at the first defense in the language of the suffering righteous one delivered from the predatory lion.

Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, from the horns of the wild oxen, you have answered me.


Deliverance 'out of the mouth of the lion' evokes Daniel, whose God 'sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths' so the beasts did not hurt him. The archetype of the faithful servant rescued from the lions stands behind Paul's testimony of standing firm and being delivered.

My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; because as before him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, have I done no hurt.


Mattathias's catalogue of the faithful recalls that 'Daniel for his innocency was delivered from the mouth of the lions,' the very phrase echoed in Paul's rescue. The deuterocanonical retelling shows the lions'-mouth deliverance already proverbial for divine rescue of the righteous.

Daniel for his innocency was delivered from the mouth of lions.


The plea lest the enemy 'tear my soul like a lion' contributes to the stock image of the lion as deadly adversary from which the righteous is delivered. A supporting psalmic source for the lion-of-the-mouth rescue motif.

lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.


'The Lord stood by me and strengthened me' resonates with the psalm's assurance that the LORD 'shall stand at the right hand of the poor' to save him. The image of God standing beside the abandoned righteous one as defender underlies Paul's account of his lonely first defense.

For he will stand at the right hand of the needy, to save him from those who judge his soul.


The Lord standing by Paul amid mortal danger faintly recalls the fourth figure standing with the three in the furnace, a deliverance narrative paired with Daniel's lions. The motif of divine presence rescuing the faithful from death rounds out the Danielic background.

He answered, Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.


The promise that the Lord 'will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me' echoes the psalm of protection, where God delivers from the snare and preserves the one who trusts him. The confidence of comprehensive deliverance and preservation has a psalmic protective texture.

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.


The closing benediction 'The Lord be with your spirit' echoes the Old Testament greeting formula 'The LORD be with you,' as exchanged by Boaz and his reapers. The liturgical wish of the LORD's presence frames Paul's farewell.

Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “Yahweh be with you.” They answered him, “Yahweh bless you.”


The clause that God 'can't lie' (1:2) draws on Balaam's oracle that 'God is not a man, that he should lie.' The divine veracity grounds the promise of eternal life made 'before time began.' Shared vocabulary and theology of God's unbreakable word make this the primary background.

God is not a man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good?


Samuel's declaration that 'the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent' reinforces the same axiom of divine truthfulness behind 'God, who can't lie.' Often paired with Numbers 23:19 as a doublet on the immutability of God's word.

Also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.”


God's oath 'I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David' supplies a covenantal instance of the same axiom undergirding a promise 'before time began.' Faint and contested, offered as a thematic parallel rather than verbal source.

Once have I sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.


Jethro's counsel to select 'able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness' to lead supplies the OT template of vetted, blameless leaders appointed over the people. Titus's charge to appoint elders who are above reproach and not greedy echoes this qualification list.

Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.


Moses' instruction to take 'wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes' to be made heads parallels the appointment of recognized, reputable elders 'in every city.' The figural pattern of qualified communal leadership stands behind the overseer requirements.

Take wise men of understanding and well known according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”


The command to appoint judges and officers 'in all your gates' who shun a bribe and dishonest gain echoes both the city-by-city appointing of elders and the 'not greedy for dishonest gain' qualification. Faint and contested as a direct source.

You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous. You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live, and inherit the land which Yahweh your God gives […]


The priestly requirement that one who draws near be 'without blemish' offers an OT background to the demand that the overseer be 'blameless.' Contested, since the moral 'above reproach' of Titus differs from Levitical physical wholeness; logged as a faint figural resonance.

“Say to Aaron, ‘None of your seed throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatever man he is that has a defect, he shall not draw near: a blind man, or a lame, or he who has a flat nose, or any deformity, or a man who has an injured foot, or an injured hand, or hunchbacked, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or an itching disease, or scabs, or who has damaged testicles. No man of the seed […]


The wisdom warning that rulers should not be 'given to wine' lest they pervert justice resonates with the overseer being 'not given to wine.' Faint and contested verbal echo within the leadership-qualification cluster.

It is not for kings, Lemuel; it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.


Isaiah's indictment of shepherds who are 'greedy dogs… they all look to their own way, every one for his gain' stands behind the deceivers who teach 'for dishonest gain's sake.' The portrait of mercenary false leaders is a stock prophetic type Titus applies to the Cretan teachers.

Yes, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds who can’t understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter.


Micah condemns leaders who 'teach for hire' and prophets who 'divine for money,' the same fusion of teaching and shameful gain leveled at the deceivers in 1:11. The prophetic critique of religious profiteering is the conceptual source.

Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, “Isn’t Yahweh in the midst of us? No disaster will come on us.”


Micah's prophets who 'make my people err' for food reinforce the picture of deceivers leading whole houses astray for gain. Logged as a supporting faint parallel within the greedy-false-prophet cluster.

Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, “Peace!” and whoever doesn’t provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:


Ezekiel's princes 'like wolves… to get dishonest gain' parallel those teaching for dishonest gain and overthrowing households. A faint reinforcing prophetic echo of rapacious leadership.

Her princes in its midst are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain.


Jeremiah's charge that 'every one is given to covetousness… from the prophet even to the priest every one deals falsely' echoes the deceivers who teach for gain. Faint and contested, offered as a parallel within the same prophetic topos.

“For from their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.


The maxim 'to the pure, all things are pure' (1:15) presupposes the creation verdict that God saw all that he had made 'and behold, it was very good.' The goodness of all created things grounds Paul's rejection of the ascetic/ritual purity demands of the teachers.

God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.


Haggai's priestly ruling that one defiled by a corpse renders what he touches unclean, applied to 'this people… so is every work of their hands,' lies behind 'to those who are defiled… nothing is pure' and 'their mind and conscience are defiled.' Contagion of defilement is reversed/transposed onto inward corruption.

Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean by reason of a dead body touch any of these, will it be unclean?” The priests answered, “It will be unclean.” Then Haggai answered, “‘So is this people, and so is this nation before me,’ says Yahweh; ‘and so is every work of their hands. That which they offer there is unclean.


The generation 'pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness' parallels those who profess purity yet are inwardly defiled in mind and conscience. A pointed wisdom echo on self-deceived impurity.

There is a generation that is pure in their own eyes, yet are not washed from their filthiness.


Isaiah's people who 'draw near with their mouth… but have removed their heart far from me,' teaching 'the commandment of men,' stands behind both 'commandments of men who turn away from the truth' (1:14) and 'they profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him' (1:16). Lip-profession contradicted by life is the shared indictment.

The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;


God's complaint that the wicked are 'near in their mouth, and far from their reins' parallels professing to know God while denying him by works. A faint contested echo overlapping with Isaiah 29:13.

You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they produce fruit: you are near in their mouth, and far from their heart.


The clean/unclean food distinctions of the holiness code form the implicit ritual background that 'to the pure all things are pure' relativizes. Contested as a direct source rather than a conceptual foil for the purity dispute.

For I am Yahweh your God. Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy: neither shall you defile yourselves with any kind of creeping thing that moves on the earth. For I am Yahweh who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. “‘This is the law of the animal, and of the bird, and of every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth, to make […]


The portrait of the older and younger women — reverent, loving their households, 'workers at home,' kind and industrious — draws on the ideal of the worthy woman whose works praise her. The household-management language coheres with the Septuagintal woman of Proverbs 31. Thematic volume and availability are strong even without verbal quotation.

Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband trusts in her. He shall have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works eagerly with her hands. She is like the merchant ships. She brings her bread from afar. She rises also while it is yet night, gives food to her household, and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field, and buys it. […]


'Workers at home' (v.5) recalls the worthy woman who 'looks well to the ways of her household.' A faint domestic-management echo within the broader Proverbs 31 frame.

She looks well to the ways of her household, and doesn’t eat the bread of idleness.


Older women 'not enslaved to much wine' (v.3) echoes the wisdom warning against intoxication, where wine is unfit for those who must judge and govern. Reinforced by Proverbs 23:20-21. Contested as generic moral commonplace.

It is not for kings, Lemuel; it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes to say, ‘Where is strong drink?’ lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish; and wine to the bitter in soul: Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.


'That God's word may not be blasphemed' (v.5; cf. the name not reviled) reworks Isaiah's lament that 'my name continually all the day is blasphemed' among the nations because of Israel. Paul transfers the prophetic concern about Gentiles reviling God's name to the conduct of believers in the household.

“Now therefore, what do I do here,” says Yahweh, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says Yahweh, “and my name continually all the day is blasphemed.


The motif that God's people may cause his name to be profaned/blasphemed among the nations underlies v.5 and v.10 ('that they may adorn the doctrine of God'). Ezekiel pairs the profaning of the name with God's resolve to vindicate his holy name, the same logic of witness Paul applies.

When they came to the nations, where they went, they profaned my holy name; in that men said of them, These are the people of Yahweh, and are gone out of his land. But I had respect for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations, where they went. Therefore tell the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I don’t do this for your sake, house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations, where […]


The instruction that wives be 'in subjection to their own husbands' (v.5) may faintly echo the post-fall ordering of marriage. Contested, since the household-code material is more directly Hellenistic-Jewish ethical convention than a Genesis citation.

To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bear children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”


'The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men' (v.11) and the 'appearing of the glory' (v.13) draw on the revelation of the LORD's glory which 'all flesh shall see together.' The universal scope of salvation/glory revealed is Isaianic.

Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”


Salvation 'to all men' (v.11) echoes the bared arm of the LORD by which 'all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.' A faint universal-salvation echo supporting v.11.

Yahweh has made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.


Grace 'instructing/training us' (paideuō, v.12) to renounce ungodliness invokes the divine discipline tradition: the LORD chastens/instructs the one he loves as a father his son. The pedagogical grace of Titus is framed in this wisdom-discipline idiom.

My son, don’t despise Yahweh’s discipline, neither be weary of his reproof: for whom Yahweh loves, he reproves; even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights.

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loves, he rebukes, and scourges every son whom he receives.


The training/disciplining work of grace (v.12) echoes 'as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.' Reinforces the paideia background alongside Proverbs 3.

You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God disciplines you.


'The appearing of the glory of our great God' (v.13) draws on the glory of the LORD that rises and is seen upon his people while darkness covers the earth. An eschatological epiphany-of-glory source.

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory is risen on you. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you.


'The LORD shall appear in his glory' undergirds the 'blessed hope and appearing of the glory' (v.13). The verb of divine appearing in glory matches the epiphany expectation.

For Yahweh has built up Zion. He has appeared in his glory.


The sudden coming of the Lord to his temple, and the question 'who shall abide the day of his appearing,' resonates with the awaited appearing in glory (v.13) and the purifying purpose of v.14. Contested, faint volume.

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies. “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap;


'Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity' (v.14) closely tracks 'he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.' The pairing of redemption with deliverance from all iniquity/lawlessness is a near-verbal dependence.

He will redeem Israel from all their sins.


'Purify for himself a people for his own possession' (v.14) draws on 'you shall be my treasured possession (peculiar people) above all peoples.' The covenant election of a treasured people is reapplied to the church redeemed by Christ.

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;


'A people for his own possession' (v.14) echoes Israel as 'a holy people unto the LORD, a peculiar people unto himself, above all peoples.' Part of the Deuteronomic treasured-people cluster behind v.14.

For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God. Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.


Restates the election of Israel as a 'peculiar people' / treasured possession, directly informing the 'people for his own possession' language of v.14.

For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.


'The LORD has avouched you this day to be a peculiar people unto himself' supplies the covenant-possession formula reused in v.14, here tied to keeping his commandments (cf. 'zealous for good works').

Yahweh has declared this day that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments.


'Purify for himself a people' (v.14) echoes 'I will cleanse them... so they shall be my people, and I will be their God.' The cleansing-to-be-a-people motif of the new covenant underlies the purifying purpose of redemption.

neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.


The promise to sprinkle clean water and cleanse from all uncleanness reinforces the 'purify a people' language of v.14 within the same Ezekielian new-covenant cleansing complex. Faint, secondary to 37:23.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.


'They shall be mine, my treasured possession (peculiar treasure)' on the day God acts supports the 'people for his own possession' of v.14, joining the treasured-people motif to an eschatological day, fitting the appearing of v.13.

They shall be mine,” says Yahweh of Armies, “my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.


'Zealous for good works' (v.14) may evoke Phinehas, who 'was zealous for his God,' the paradigm of covenant zeal rewarded with an everlasting covenant. Contested, since Paul's 'zeal for good works' may be generic rather than a Phinehas allusion.

“Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I didn’t consume the children of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. It shall be to him, and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of […]


'Redeem us' (lytroō, v.14) echoes the exodus redemption language: the LORD 'redeemed you from the house of bondage.' A faint redemption-vocabulary echo behind v.14, reinforced by Exodus 6:6.

but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.


'Exhort and reprove with all authority; let no man despise you' (v.15) faintly recalls the prophetic commissioning, where the young prophet is told not to fear, for God will be with him. A contested echo of prophetic emboldening, since the charge fits general pastoral exhortation.

But Yahweh said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am a child;’ for to whoever I shall send you, you shall go, and whatever I shall command you, you shall speak. Don’t be afraid because of them; for I am with you to deliver you,” says Yahweh.


The charge to fear the LORD and the king, and not to join with the rebellious, stands behind Paul's instruction to be subject to rulers and authorities. The wisdom tradition links reverence for God with submission to civic authority, the same dual loyalty Titus urges.

My son, fear Yahweh and the king. Don’t join those who are rebellious:


Qoheleth counsels keeping the king's command, framed by an oath before God, mirroring the obedience to rulers Titus enjoins. The Septuagint vocabulary of obeying royal authority overlaps conceptually with subjection to those in power.

I say, “Keep the king’s command!” because of the oath to God.


Jeremiah's letter tells the exiles to seek the welfare of the city and pray for it, the model of constructive subjection to a pagan order. Titus' call to be ready for every good work toward all extends this exilic posture of civic good toward the surrounding society.

Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you shall have peace.


Wisdom literature counsels prudent, peaceable deference to those who hold power. The disposition of gentleness and avoidance of contention toward rulers echoes the sapiential ideal of pacifying authority.

The king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will pacify it.


A soft answer turns away wrath underlies the exhortation to speak evil of no one and to be gentle, showing all humility. The sapiential ethic of gentle, non-contentious speech is the backdrop for these virtues.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.


The confession that we were once deceived recalls the primal pattern of being led astray, the serpent's deception of Eve. The catalogue of human bondage to lust and malice traces back to the Edenic fall as the origin of disordered desire.

Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”


All we like sheep have gone astray, each to his own way, lies behind the description of being deceived and serving various lusts. The motif of straying and being saved not by works but by mercy resonates with the Servant who bears wandering humanity.

All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.


The Wisdom vice-list portrays idolaters living in malice, envy, deceit, and disordered passions, the same cluster Titus uses for the unredeemed past. Both texts diagnose pre-conversion humanity as enslaved to corrupt desire and mutual hatred born of false worship.

Afterward it was not enough for them to go astray as touching the knowledge of God; But also, while they live in sore conflict through ignorance of him. That multitude of evils they call peace. For either slaughtering children in solemn rites, or celebrating secret mysteries, Or holding frantic revels of strange ordinances, No longer do they guard either life or purity of marriage, But one brings upon another either death by treachery, or anguish by […]


The new-covenant promise to sprinkle clean water for cleansing and to put a new spirit within stands directly behind the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. The pairing of water-cleansing with Spirit-renewal is the structural template of Titus' soteriology.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, and do them.


The promise that God will pour out his Spirit on all flesh underlies the statement that he poured out the Spirit on us richly. The verb of outpouring is the prophetic signature for the eschatological gift of the Spirit appropriated here.

“It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.


God's pledge that I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel reinforces the outpouring language of verse 6. The prophetic image of lavish Spirit-effusion grounds Paul's emphasis on the Spirit poured out richly.

neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh.


I will pour water on the thirsty and my Spirit on your offspring fuses water and Spirit exactly as Titus fuses the washing with the renewing of the Holy Spirit. The double pouring of water and Spirit is the prophetic matrix for the regenerating bath.

For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring:


Purge me and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow voices the cleansing-by-washing that Titus names the washing of regeneration. The penitential plea for inward purity prefigures the saving bath grounded in mercy, not works.

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.


Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me supplies the language of renewal by the Spirit. The Davidic prayer joins cleansing and inward renewing precisely as Titus joins washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.


I will put my Spirit in you and you shall live undergirds the link between Spirit-indwelling and the hope of eternal life in verse 7. The vivifying gift of the Spirit that raises the dead nation prefigures regeneration unto life.

I will put my Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and you shall know that I, Yahweh, have spoken it and performed it, says Yahweh.


The ritual sprinkling of the water of purification to cleanse defilement informs the cultic background of the washing of regeneration. The Mosaic lustration provides the ceremonial idiom later spiritualized into the saving bath.

“For the unclean, they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin offering; and running water shall be poured into a vessel. A clean person shall take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, and on him who touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave. The clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day. On the seventh day, he shall […]


The recital of the LORD's lovingkindnesses and the multitude of his mercies frames God's saving action as kindness and love, echoed in the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind. Salvation is grounded in covenant mercy rather than desert.

I will make mention of the loving kindnesses of Yahweh and the praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.


The self-revelation of the LORD as merciful, gracious, and abounding in steadfast love stands behind the appearance of the kindness and love of God who saves according to his mercy. The grace-formula of Sinai is the theological ground for salvation not by works.

Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, “Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,


With the LORD is steadfast love and plenteous redemption colors the claim that salvation rests on mercy and issues in justification by grace. The psalm's hope in abundant redemption parallels the hope of eternal life made the believer's inheritance.

Israel, hope in Yahweh, for with Yahweh there is loving kindness. With him is abundant redemption.


The promise that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved follows the Spirit-outpouring oracle and undergirds the language of being saved according to mercy. The Joel context links Spirit and salvation as Titus does.

It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.


The beginning of strife is like releasing water, so abandon a quarrel before it breaks out, undergirds the command to shun strife and disputes and to avoid the factious man. Wisdom counsels disengaging from contention before it spreads, as Titus instructs.

The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.