1-2 Timothy, Titus

145 Titus 2 Staying in Your Place What, exactly, is Titus supposed to teach? Who is he supposed to teach it to? And how should he go about the task of teaching ? Turning away from the sharp criticisms of the opponents at the end of Titus 1, the letter’s next chapter begins to answer these questions very directly. Commentators often read Titus 2 through the lens of the stereotypes propagated in Titus 1:10-16 by adopting the author’s prejudices about Jews and Cretans so that all the instructions in Titus 2 are understood as descriptions of and remedies for the actual behavior of people in the assemblies on Crete. As just one example, Philip H. Towner believes that the churches there “are being urged to sink healthy roots deep into the uncertain Cretan soil and to shake loose the cultural elements that have attached to the Christian message, and they are to be as salt and light in this wild frontier.”1 I have already disagreed with this perspective on the letter to Titus, stating that the strident polemics of the author’s arguments make it difficult to discern the real and complex social-historical situation of the believers on Crete. When he takes up such troubling views on 1. Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006), 717; my italics. 146 1–2 Timothy, Titus ethnicity and then advises people to avoid particularly objectionable vices, we cannot trust his portrayal to be accurate, whether he is describing Titus, the opposition, or any of the ordinary folks. In fact, our suspicions may only increase as we consider the author’s depictions of younger and older, men and women, and enslaved persons. In Titus 2:1, the author abruptly shifts his attention away from the opponents toward Titus, giving a short and clear command: “teach!” The “you” in this verse is Σύ, a singular form in Greek. The content of Titus’ instruction must match up with what is called “sound doctrine” (2:1), but the teachings that follow in the rest of the chapter are not really the sort of topics that most modern Christians would consider to be “doctrine.” The author does not insert any creedal sayings or Scripture verses, such as we read in 1 Tim 2:5-6. Instead, Titus must teach the believers about right actions, especially in fulfilling their household roles and in proper moral behavior. good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited . 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, gravity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be censured ; then any opponent will be put to shame, having nothing evil to say of us. 1 But as for you, teach what is consistent with sound doctrine. 2 Tell the older men to be temperate, serious, prudent, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. 3 Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children , 5 to be self-controlled, chaste, Titus 2:1-8 TRANSLATION MATTERS: “SOUND DOCTRINE” The Greek word-family translated as “sound” and “to be sound” appears nine times in the Pastoral Letters and, remarkably, three times in this chapter alone. No other New Testament author uses these terms. Both the adjective and the verb begin with the syllable ὑγι- which comes into the English words “hygiene” and “hygienic.” Alternative translations are “healthy/to be in good health” and can be used for either physical or metaphorical health. The Greek word is occasionally translated as “right” (TEV, NLT), which stresses the author’s belief that his version of Pauline teaching is the correct one. In the Pastorals, there is always an object being described as “sound” or “healthy”: “doctrine/teaching” (διδασκαλία; 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 1:13; 4:3; Titus [3.17.6.75] Project MUSE (2024-04-27 06:18 GMT) Titus 2 147 The Pastorals’ emphasis on “sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1) or “healthy teaching” echoes the ideas of ancient philosophers who present themselves as physicians of the soul and their instructions as good “medicine.” The philosophical movements of Roman times had a different...