1 Timothy is part of three letters in the New Testament of the Bible often referred to as the Pastoral Epistles. The author is most commonly attributed to the apostle Paul (born 5-15 CE [“Saul”]), who counsels his younger colleague Timothy about his ministry and church organization in Ephesus.

 

Paul’s original letters no longer physically exist to our knowledge. The oldest surviving version of the epistles in existence is contained in Codex Alexandrinus, a manuscript copied in Greek in the fifth century CE (Trobisch).

 

Most churches, pastors, and priests believe that the apostle Paul is the author of these epistles; indeed, the letters are addressed from a “Paul.” However, in recent centuries his authorship has been questioned to the point that a number of scholars now agree that the apostle Paul could not have been the author of the Pastoral Epistles. Stephen L. Harris, author of The New Testament: A Student’s Introduction, explains that the word choices, historical context, and other evidence shows the letters were written far after Paul’s time:

 

In the opinion of most scholars, the case against Paul's connection with the pastorals is overwhelming. Besides the fact that they do not appear in early lists of Paul's canonical works, the pastorals seem to reflect conditions that prevailed long after Paul's day, perhaps as late as the first half of the second century CE. Lacking Paul's characteristic ideas about faith and the Spirit, they are also un-Pauline in their flat style and different vocabulary (containing 306 words not found in Paul's unquestioned letters). Furthermore, the pastorals assume a church organization far more developed than that current in the apostle's time.

 

There is further evidence that supports the notion that the Pastoral Epistles were not written during Paul’s lifetime. The epistles were excluded from the orthodox bishop Marcion’s scripture canon in 140 CE. The reason for the exclusion of the epistles is unknown, but one hypothesis is that they were not written until after Marcion’s time (Stott). Marcion was a devout follower of Paul the Apostle, and believed him to be the “true” apostle of Jesus Christ (Knox), so it does not make sense for him to have overlooked these letters.

 

The time of 1 Timothy’s writing is generally attributed to the late 1st century or the first half of the 2nd century CE, but there is much uncertainty surrounding even this dating (Kirby). At the least, it was most likely written before the 3rd century CE. People who attribute the authorship of 1 Timothy to the apostle Paul claim that it was most likely written in 58-59 CE, after Paul’s stay in Ephesus, or after his imprisonment in Rome around 63-64 CE (“Introduction”).

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Ultimately, the purpose of 1 Timothy was to guide the church leaders of the author’s time period on how to handle their organizations. Paul was advising Timothy on how to lead his congregation and uphold his authority. These letters give some context to the history behind churches and congregations, as well as church leadership, in ancient Biblical times.