1:4a
In 1:4a, Paul was explaining the specific false doctrines that he had referred to in 1:3d.
devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “devote to” means “pay close attention to.” The false teachers were paying close attention to myths and endless genealogies. They were continually thinking about them and teaching people about them. (Some commentators understand myths and endless genealogies as a hendiadys; that is, the two nouns compose one unit of meaning. The phrase would then mean that false teachers were teaching myths that they based on endless genealogies. For example, Lock, page 8, says that the two words should “be taken closely together, muthoi being defined by genealogiai, legendary stories about genealogies.” Stott, page 44, agrees.)
myths: A myth is a story that has been made up and passed down from one generation to another. It may be based on something that happened in the past. Or it might be something made up to teach people why they should follow certain customs. But it is not true like history. See also 2 Timothy 4:4 and Titus 1:14.
endless genealogies: A “genealogy” is a list of the names of ancestors in a family history. It shows how people are related to each other. Paul did not explain what genealogies he meant here (Some commentators think that the false teachers in Crete studied the Jewish genealogies in the OT and tried to find secret meaning in them. Other commentators think that the false teachers studied long lists of names of angels and other supernatural beings that they thought could help them reach God.), but it was probably something connected to religion, and something that people studied and argued about. (Some people do not think that Paul was referring to lists of ancestors when he said genealogies. They say that he was talking about different spirits, or angels, that stood between men and God. The idea that there were different levels of spirits, or angels, between men and God is a part of Gnosticism. But Paul was probably not talking about this here. Stott, page 45, comments: “There are two main problems with this reconstruction [that Paul was talking about Gnosticism]. The first is that Paul was not predicting the future phenomenon of developed second-century Gnosticism, but was describing a reality with which Timothy had to deal in his own day, in which Gnosticism had only begun to develop. Secondly, there is no evidence that the Gnostics ever referred to the aeons as ‘genealogies’…. All we can say in conclusion is that Paul’s references suggest a false teaching which combined Jewish and Gnostic elements, either ‘a Gnosticizing Judaism’ or ‘Judaizing forms of Gnosticism.’”) (Knight, pages 73–74, drawing on Spicq, mentions that this kind of teaching is found in rabbinic Haggadah, Philo’s writings, the pseudo-Philonic The Biblical Antiquities of Philo (shortly after AD 70), in The Book of Jubilees (135–195 BC), and in the Qumran writings (cf. 1QS 3:13–15). Stott, page 44, says, “The author of The Biblical Antiquities supplements the biblical narrative ‘by means of his fabulous genealogies’, which occupy chapters 1, 2, 4 and 8. Similarly The Book of Jubilees supplies us with the names of all the children of Adam and Eve, of Enoch’s family, of Noah’s predecessors and descendants, and of the seventy people who went down into Egypt. It may be, then, that it is to this kind of fanciful literature that Paul is referring when he writes of law, myths and genealogies.”) See also Titus 3:9.
endless: The genealogies that the false teachers taught were very long and complicated. That is the reason that Paul called the genealogies endless. This is an example of hyperbole or exaggeration.
1:4b
which: The relative pronoun which refers grammatically to the “endless genealogies” (1:4a). However Paul probably intended to refer both to the myths and to the genealogies. Try to make this clear in your translation.
promote: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as promote means “cause” or “bring about.” You could also say “lead to,” “produce,” or “result in.”
speculation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as speculation is only found in Christian writings. A similar word occurs in 6:4b; 2 Timothy 2:23; and Titus 3:9. Scholars understand the word here in two ways:
(1) It means “controversies” or “arguments.” These teachers spent a lot of time talking about “myths and endless genealogies.” This caused other people to discuss them and argue about them. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:
Such things only cause arguments.
(Contemporary English Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), Good News Translation, New Century Version)
(2) It means “speculations” or “questions.” People were listening to what the false teachers were teaching. When they heard these things, they began to wonder about things that were unimportant. For example, God’s Word says:
These myths and genealogies raise a lot of questions
(Berean Standard Bible, God’s Word, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004 Revision), King James Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Paul was telling Timothy that false teaching caused arguments.
1:4c
rather than: In 1:4b Paul said what the myths and genealogies did promote (that is, speculation and controversies; see 1:4b). Here, in 1:4c, he told Timothy what they did not promote. They did not promote God’s work.
the stewardship of God’s work: Scholars interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as God’s work in three ways:
(1) It refers to the work that God had given believers to do. By teaching wrongly, the false teachers were not working for God in the way that he wanted them to work for him. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:
They don’t help anyone to do God’s work
(Berean Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, New International Version (2011 Revision), New Century Version)
(2) It refers to God’s plan to save people and change them so that they will behave as God wants them to behave. For example, the Revised English Bible says:
and do not further God’s plan for us
(Revised English Bible, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word)
(3) It refers to training or instruction. For example, the Revised Standard Version says:
rather than the divine training
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). God’s work refers to work that is done for God or work that God has given people to do.
1:4d
by faith: There are two different ways to interpret the Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as by faith:
(1) A person can only do God’s work when he himself has faith in God. The New Century Version probably follows this interpretation when it says:
God’s work…is done in faith.
(New Century Version, Contemporary English Version)
(2) A person can only do God’s work when he helps other people have faith in God. For example, the New Living Translation (2004 Revision) translates this verse part as:
They [myths and genealogies]… don’t help people live a life of faith in God.
Most translations do not say who was to have faith, and it is recommended that you do not either. But if you must be specific, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). God’s work can only be done by people who have faith. That is, only those who trust in him can do his work.
General Comment on 1:3–4
In some languages it may be more natural to combine these verses and change the order of some of the information. In 1:3b Paul told Timothy to stay in Ephesus. In 1:3c–d Paul told Timothy the purpose for that command. He wanted Timothy to tell certain men to stop teaching wrong things. In 1:4 he gave more details about this.
In some languages it may be necessary to mention some of the information about the false teachers before you translate Paul’s command. This will help people understand the reason that Paul wanted Timothy to tell them not to teach wrong doctrines. Here is one way to combine these verses and reorder the parts:
4aAs you know, Timothy, there are some people in Ephesus who teach what is wrong. They continually teach untrue stories which they base on long lists of ancestors. 3aRemember when I was ready to go to Macedonia? 3bAt that time I asked you to remain in Ephesus 3cand to tell those people 3dnot to teach like that. 4bWhen they teach such things, people argue about them. 4cThe result is that those teachers are not doing the work God gave them, 4dwhich they can only do by trusting God.
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.