The expression I am reminded is literally “taking remembrance” or “receiving remembrance.” The word for “remembrance” occurs only three times in the New Testament: here and twice in 2 Peter. The verb form means primarily “to recall,” “to cause oneself to remember,” “to think again about something,” “to refresh one’s memory.” In some languages it will be helpful to say “I also remember.”

For sincere faith see 1 Tim 1.5.

The word for dwelt occurs only twice in the Pastoral Letters, here and in 1.14. Literally the verb can be translated “be at home,” which defines the depth and extent to which faith has become a vital and integral part of their lives. It may be difficult in some languages to retain the figure here of faith dwelling in someone, in which case other figures need to be substituted; for example, “implanted” or “living.” It may even be necessary to remove the figure and translate the meaning directly; for example, “Your trust in Christ is as genuine as that of your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice.” In some languages it is more natural to mention the mother before mentioning the grandmother; this in fact is what Contemporary English Version has done: “I also remember the genuine faith of your mother Eunice. Your grandmother Lois had the same sort of faith, and I am sure that you have it as well.”

For first see 1 Tim 2.1. The word is used here to indicate chronology and not value or importance. It is possible to understand from this verse that in a chronological sense Timothy’s grandmother was the first one in their family to believe in Jesus Christ. It is more likely, however, that this verse follows the usual way of listing family members, which is from the oldest to the youngest.

Both Eunice and Lois are mentioned only here in the New Testament. The word for grandmother likewise occurs only here in the whole New Testament. In some languages there is a distinction between a grandmother on the father’s side and a grandmother on the mother’s side. This verse does not explicitly say which kind of grandmother Lois is, but the mention of Eunice as Timothy’s mother seems to imply that Lois is Eunice’s mother and therefore would be a grandmother on the mother’s side. The book of Acts informs us that Timothy’s father was a Greek and his mother was a Jew (Acts 16.1). This means then that Eunice was also Jewish, since she was the mother of a Jewish woman. This also explains why Eunice was able to teach the Scriptures to Timothy from his childhood (2 Tim 3.14): she herself had a good teacher in her own mother Lois. Lois and Eunice are Greek names and may be strange names for Jewish women, but at that time Jewish people were often given non-Hebrew names.

I am sure translates the perfect passive of a verb that has the primary meaning of “to convince or persuade someone about something,” but in the present context it means “to be certain,” “to be confidently sure.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• I remember how you believe truly in Christ, just as your grandmother Lois and your mother also believed before you did. I am sure that you still believe like this.

Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1995. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .