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For more great commentaries on 1 Timothy, be sure to check:
Commentaries on the Epistles, Commentaries on the Whole New Testament
& Whole Bible Commentaries
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Order of Contents 22+
The Best Commentaries 3
Commentaries 15
Early Church 3
Medieval Church 1
1 Tim. 4
Bible Characters in 2
Authenticity of 1
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The Best Commentaries on 1 Timothy
Reformer
Calvin, John – Sermons on the Epistles of St. Paul to Timothy and Titus Buy
*** “Quite a different work from Calvin’s Commentaries.” – Spurgeon
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1600’s
Dickson, David – An Expositon of all St. Paul’s Epistles together with an explanation of those other epistles of the apostles St. James, Peter, John & Jude, wherein the sense of every chapter and verse is analytically unfolded and the text enlightened (Romans-Jude) Buy 1659
Dickson was a prominent Scottish covenanter.
*** – ‘Dickson is a writer after our own heart. For preachers he is a great ally. There is nothing brilliant or profound; but everything is clear and well arranged, and the unction runs down like the oil from Aaron’s head. In this volume the observations are brief.’
Note that the Banner of Truth reprint contains Dickson’s commentary on less books than the original.
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Intermediate
Fairbairn, Patrick – The Pastoral Epistles 1874
*** “What with a good translation, full defense of the Apostolic authorship of the Epistles, fruitful comments, and profitable dissertations, this volume is about as complete a guide to the smaller epistles as one could desire.” – Spurgeon
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Commentaries on 1 Timothy
Reformer
Luther, Martin – Works, vol. 28: 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 15, Lectures on 1 Timothy Buy
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Simple, Practical & Devotional
Bickersteth, Edward – Exposition on the Epistles of John and Jude, and of Paul to Timothy 1853
** – “Notes taken by his children of Mr. Bickersteth’s expositions at family prayer. Simple, devout, soundly evangelical, and, we must add, superficial and commonplace.” – Spurgeon
Rowland, Alfred – Paul’s Ideal Church and People: a Popular Commentary on the First Epistle to Timothy 1893 312 pp. This was reprinted by Klock & Klock
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Intermediate
1800’s
Kelly, J.N.D. – A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles Buy Reprinted by Baker in the Thornapple Commentary series
Kelly (1909–1997), the noted early Church historian was an Oxford scholar. He has a few liberal tendencies.
“Able defense of the Pauline authorship. Presents a vivid picture of first-century church life. Thorough.” – Cyril J. Barber
Lilley, J.P. – The Pastoral Epistles, a New Translation, with Introduction, Commentary, and Appendix 1901 in Handbooks for Bible Classes, ed. Dods & Whyte
Patterson, Alexander – Commentary on Timothy and Titus 1848
** “Notes of discourses with much in them. Hints may be gleaned here in abundance by students who open their eyes.” – Spurgeon
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1900’s
Hendriksen, William – The Pastoral Epistles Buy
“Firmly establishes the credibility of the Pauline authorship of the epistles, ably refutes the critical theories of men like P.N. Harrison, and provides a satisfying exposition of the text.” – Cyril J. Barber
Guthrie, Donald – The Pastoral Epistles in the Mind of Paul Buy 1955 a Tyndale New Testament Lecture
Hiebert, David E. – 1 Timothy Buy in Everyman’s Bible Commentary
Hiebert was premillennial.
“A balanced exposition, true to the original text and fully abreast of the most recent scholarship.” – Cyril J. Barber
Kent, Homer – The Pastoral Epistles Buy
“A work of quality and reliability. Admirably bridges the gap between a laborious, technical treatment and a superficial, popular one.” – Cyril J. Barber
Clark, Gordon – The Pastoral Epistles Buy
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Advanced
1800’s
Liddon, Henry P. – Explanatory Analysis of St. Paul’s First Epistle to Timothy Buy 1897 112 pp. reprinted by Klock & Klock
This is something of an Annotated outline of the book.
Liddon (1829–1890) was an Oxford scholar, a promoter of the Tractarian movement (High-Church Anglicanism) and was known for his work on the Divinity of Christ. He also has an ‘Explanatory Analysis’ on Romans.
“A valuable treatment based upon a grammatical analysis of the Greek text.” – Cyril J. Barber
Wiesinger, Lic. August – Biblical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Philippians, to Titus and the First to Timothy; in continuation of the work of Olshausen 1857
Olshausen was a liberal.
** “Many mistake this for Olshausen’s. It is of the critical and grammatical school, and bristles all over with the names of the German band. We prefer the Puritanic gold to the German silver which is now in fashion.” – Spurgeon
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1900’s
Bernard, John Henry – The Pastoral Epistles in The Cambridge Greek New Testament, with Introduction and Notes 1922
“Provides helpful exegetical studies on all three epistles. Thorough.” – Cyril J. Barber
Simpson, Edmund K. – The Pastoral Epistles, the Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary Buy 1954 Tyndale Press
“Ably defends the Pauline authorship, carefully examines the external and internal which bears on the authenticity of these letters, draws on an extensive knowledge of classical literature, and expounds the text in a scholarly, satisfying way.” – Cyril J. Barber
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The Early Church on 1 Timothy
Compilation
ed. Gorday, Peter – Ancient Christian Commentary: Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon Buy
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Individual Fathers
Ambrosiaster – Commentaries on Galatians-Philemon Buy
Chrysostom – Homilies on 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
** ‘Enough of solid truth and brilliant utterance will be found here to justify this father’s title of ‘Golden Mouth’; but still all is not gold which fell from his lips, and to modern readers Chrysostom is not so instructive as he was to his own age [A.D. 349-407].’ – Spurgeon
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The Medieval Church
Aquinas, Thomas – Commentary on 1 Timothy
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1 Tim. 4
Du Moulin, Pierre – The Prophecy in 1 Tim. 4:1-4 1613
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Bible Characters in 1 Timothy
Whyte, Alexander – Bible Characters d. 1921
Timothy as a Child
Timothy as a Young Minister
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The Authenticity of 1 Timothy
Lilley, J.P. – ‘The Theory of Composite Authorship’ 1901 5 pp. in the Appendix to The Pastoral Epistles, a New Translation, with Introduction, Commentary and Appendix
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