Greek (WH): συνεπέμψαμεν δὲ μετ' αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀδελφὸν οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ διὰ πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν
NET: "And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in spreading the gospel."
Who was the unnamed brother (τὸν ἀδελφὸν) accompanying Titus (see verses 16-17)? No doctrinal point seems to turn on knowing his identity, but the question routinely has preoccupied scholars. Compare also 2 Cor. 8:22.
Ellicott warns us that we can do no more than conjecture this brother's identity, but going along with the patristics, he indicates it might have been Luke.
Barnes reflects the same uncertainty as Ellicott, but he suggests Luke as Titus's companion while giving the reminder that this conclusion is far from certain. On the other hand, the Cambridge Bible states that the brother might have been Luke, Trophimus or Tychicus.
I'm not sure who the anonymous brother was, but I lean toward Timothy because of his role as one of Paul's συνεργοί.
See https://www.jstor.org/stable/43727044?seq=1
Whoever the brother was he is already well known thru out the congregations, by 55 c.e. the time of the writings to the Corinthian congregation. It appears that it could be anyone of the companions of Paul, I was thinking that it could be Apollos, from chapter 3 of the previous letter. He did make a big impression on everyone thru out the congregations because of his speaking ability.
ReplyDeleteAnd Paul would likely not mention his name because of the possible influence on the Corinthians. Still I know it is mere conjecture.
Thanks, Philip. You made a good suggestion and reminded us of when the letter was probably written. Yes, it is conjecture at best, but it's interesting that the original audience knew who Paul meant. On the other hand, this part of Paul's letter recalls places in the Bible where certain people remained anonymous primarily for Jehovah's glory.
ReplyDelete