Tag Archives: 1 Timothy 2

1 Timothy 2.8: what are we to pray for, first of all?

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; [1 Timothy 2:8, ESV]

Βούλομαι οὖν προσεύχεσθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ἐπαίροντας ὁσίους χεῖρας χωρὶς ὀργῆς καὶ διαλογισμοῦ. [Nestle-Aland 28th ed.]

In 1 Timothy 2 verse 8, Paul instructs the men of Ephesus to pray, but he does not tell them what to pray for. The little Greek word οὖν, however, gives us the clue we need. In classical Greek, it was a particle of ‘retrospective reference’, which is to say that it recalled attention to something which has been said previously. By New Testament times, it could signify inference from what had been said previously, but it was also used to indicate continuation, or the resumption of the main theme.

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1 Timothy 2.8: the call to men to pray

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. [1 Timothy 2:8, NASB]

Βούλομαι οὖν προσεύχεσθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ ἐπαίροντας ὁσίους χεῖρας χωρὶς ὀργῆς καὶ διαλογισμοῦ. [Nestle-Aland 28th ed.]

Paul calls the Christian men of Ephesus to prayer. The Greek word ἄνδρας used in this verse is the accusative plural of ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός, whose primary meaning according to BDAG (the leading New Testament Greek lexicon) is ‘an adult human male’, that is, ‘a man’ or ‘a husband’:

In verse 1, where Paul urged prayer to be made for all people:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [ESV]

Παρακαλῶ οὖν πρῶτον πάντων ποιεῖσθαι δεήσεις προσευχὰς ἐντεύξεις εὐχαριστίας ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων,

the ‘people’ is standing for ἀνθρώπων, the genitive plural of ἄνθρωπος, whose primary meaning is given by BDAG as ‘a person of either sex’, that is, ‘a human being’:

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