4 - Commentary on Titus

Summary

This letter is written from a city in western Greece, Nicopolis (3:12). Its opening, with its customary anticipation of themes in the body of the letter as well as its Pauline-type greeting, varies somewhat in substance from the other PEs. In this greeting the Apostle¹ identifies himself as a servant of God as well as an apostle (1 Tim 1:1; 2 Tim 1:1). In each of the three PEs the identification of the author is followed by a kata prepositional phrase (1 Tim 1:1: “by the command”; 2 Tim 1:1 “for the sake of the promise”), though the NRSV translates 2 Timothy’s with “for the sake of” as it does for Titus 1:1 (for the sake of). This prepositional phrase provides the standard by which the mission God gave to the Apostle is measured, that is by faith and knowledge. Yet another prepositional phrase appears in the hope (1:2), which is then restated in 1:3 before he gets to the address and the greeting (1:4).