As already noted, the sudden mention of bishop here, and in the singular, is rather strange. This has led some scholars to the conclusion that in the Pastoral Letters the offices of “bishop” and “elder” are one and the same. The singular form, together with the definite article, is explained as focusing on the function of the “elder” as bishop (literally “overseer”), that is, to have oversight of the church. For further discussion of bishop see 1 Tim 3.1.

Another suggested explanation for the mention of bishop here is that Paul has taken a traditional list of qualifications for bishops and has applied it to elders. But in the process of adapting the list, he had left in the term bishop in one place, perhaps inadvertently, but more probably because he intended it to be understood as defining the function of the “elder” and not as a term for a church official.

All of this demonstrates the difficulty of determining the meaning of these terms and of resolving the problem of the organization of the early church as represented in the Pastoral Letters. We are not told, for instance, how many elders there are, and whether all the elders are bishops, or whether among the elders one is designated bishop, and so on. These are matters that are very important in our attempt to have a better understanding of the polity of the early church, but we have to admit that there are very few definitive answers.

At any rate, we should not think that in the present passage Paul is starting all over again to enumerate the qualifications of the elders, nor are we to think that the ensuing qualifications apply only to bishops and not to elders.

Steward translates a term that is used of someone who is responsible for managing or administering something, as, for instance, a household or an estate (compare Luke 12.42; 16.1-8), but here a congregation or a church, which is God’s household. Another way to express this first sentence is “Church leaders are managers of (or, are in charge of) God’s work.”

For blameless see 1 Tim 3.10. The repetition here is not because of the mention of the bishop but because of the mention of steward. So one may translate “and so should be without fault (or, have a good reputation).”

What follows is a list of eleven qualities, five stated negatively in terms of vices to be avoided, and six stated positively in terms of virtues to be demonstrated.

Arrogant and quick-tempered are mentioned first, since they logically belong together. Arrogant can mean “stubborn,” “headstrong,” “self-willed,” “obstinate,” and is a fitting description of people who always want to have their own way regardless of the consequences, and are contemptuous or look down on others (see also 2 Tim 3.2). Quick-tempered, on the other hand, describes a person who gets angry easily. The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

Drunkard and violent are also related to each other. See 1 Tim 3.3 for further comments on these two terms.

The last vice, greedy for gain, stands alone. This comes from a term that describes a person who is shamelessly, or perhaps better, shamefully greedy, particularly in business dealings; hence Revised English Bible “money-grubber,” “dishonest in business” (Contemporary English Version), “involved in any shady finance” (Translator’s New Testament). See further on 1 Tim 3.8.

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