Cloak appears only here in the whole New Testament. It is possible that what is meant here is a cloth for wrapping the written materials mentioned in the latter part of the verse; it is more likely, however, that this refers to a heavy outer garment consisting of a woolen cloth with a hole in the middle for the head to pass through. Such a garment would be very useful, especially during winter. Some languages will express cloak as “long outer garment” rather than a “coat,” which in most cases was worn under this outer garment.

Carpus is mentioned nowhere else in the New Testament. We are, however, informed in this verse that he was in Troas, a seaport on the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor (now the west coast of Turkey; see the map, page 6|fig:Map_Paul-12.jpg). There is no information regarding the occasion that led Paul to leave behind this cloak with Carpus. Troas is between Ephesus and Rome; going through Troas is not the shortest route, although travelers often took that route. Since Timothy was expected to pass by Troas, he is perhaps expected to travel by land across Greece and only take the boat from Dalmatia to Italy.

It is not clear whether the written materials that Paul refers to were also left with Carpus or were with Timothy. The books (Greek biblia) most probably refer to scrolls, although we are not told what they contained or why Timothy needed to take them along. A scroll was a document or book made of sheets of paper called “papyrus,” or else of animal skins that were sewn together in one long strip. Then they were rolled up like a tube and usually tied or sometimes sealed. It may be impossible in some languages to use the equivalent of a scroll; something like “a written document” may be adequate, or even “something that is written upon.” Perhaps one can translate “a rolled up paper document (or, book),” with a footnote describing a scroll in more detail. A picture would also be helpful. As to the parchments, the word is found nowhere else in the New Testament. Some suggest that these are specific types of scrolls, that is, scrolls made of sheepskin, as contrasted to the scrolls that are made of other material (so Good News Translation “especially those made of parchment,” or Contemporary English Version “especially the ones made of leather”). It is possible, however, that these parchments are different from the scrolls (so New English Bible “above all my notebooks”). Another possibility suggested is that what Paul wants to say here is “the books—I mean by that the parchment notebooks”; this would mean that the books and the parchments refer to the same thing. This last suggestion is quite attractive but is not reflected in any translation consulted for this Handbook. In the main, the first of these three options seems to be preferable.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• When you come, bring the long outer garment which I left at Troas with Carpus. Also, please bring the rolled up books, and especially the ones made from animal skins.

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 .