2 Timothy 1:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Timothy 1:18
The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the s…
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is…
1 Timothy 1:3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
1 Kings 17:20 And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
Psalms 130:3-4 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Matthew 25:34-40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation…
Luke 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
Luke 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Timothy 1:15–end
Having (Ti2 1:13, Ti2 1:14) exhorted Timothy to hold fast,
I. He mentions the apostasy of many from the doctrine of Christ, Ti2 1:15. It seems, in the best and purest ages of the church, there were those that had embraced the Christian faith, and yet afterwards revolted from it, nay, there were many such. He does not say that they had turned away from the doctrine of Christ (though it should seem they had) but they had turned away from him, they had turned their backs upon him, and disowned him in the time of his distress. And should we wonder at it, when many turned their backs on a much better than Paul? I mean the Lord Jesus Christ, Joh 6:66.
II. He mentions the constancy of one that adhe…
grant unto him--as well as "unto his house" (Ti2 1:16).
the Lord--who rewards a kindness done to His disciples as if done to Himself (Mat 25:45).
of--from the Lord; "the Lord" is emphatically put instead of "from Himself," for solemnity and emphasis (Th2 3:5).
in how many things--"how many acts of ministry he rendered."
unto me--omitted in the oldest manuscripts, so that the "ministered" may include services rendered to others as well as to Paul.
very well--rather as Greek, "Thou knowest better" (than I can tell thee, seeing that thou art more of a regular resident at Ephesus).
Next: 2 Timothy Chapter 2
Adam Clarke on 2 Timothy 1:18
The Lord grant - that he may find mercy of the Lord - Some think that this is a prayer to God the Father to communicate grace to him, that he might find mercy in the great day at the hand of Jesus Christ the Judge. It is probably only a Hebraism for, God grant that he may here be so saved by Divine grace, that in the great day he may receive the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. See a similar form of expression, Gen 9:16; Gen 19:24; Exo 24:1, Exo 24:2.
It is impossible to read this chapter over without feeling deeply interested for this most noble and amiable of men. To what trials did God expose him! His life was a life of perils and tribulations, his labors were superabunda…
Ye have done well in receiving Philo, and Gaius, and Agathopus, who, being the servants of Christ, have followed me for the sake of God, and who greatly bless the Lord in your behalf, because ye have in every way refreshed them. None of those things which ye have done to them shall be passed by without being reckoned unto you. "The Lord grant" to you "that ye may find mercy of the Lord in that day!" May my spirit be for you, and my bonds, which ye have not despised or been ashamed of. Wherefore, neither shall Jesus Christ, our perfect hope, be ashamed of you.
" Similarly, concerning Onesiphorus, does he also write to Timothy: "The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy in that day; " unto which day and time he charges Timothy himself "to keep what had been committed to his care, without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ: which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords," speaking of (Him as) God It is to these same times that Peter in the Acts refers, when he says: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets.
Salute Cassian, my host, and his most serious-minded partner in life, and their very dear children, to whom may "God grant that they find mercy of the Lord in that day," on account of their ministrations to us, whom also I commend to thee in Christ. Salute by name all the faithful in Christ that are at Laodicea. Do not neglect those at Tarsus, but look after them steadily, confirming them in the Gospel. I salute in the Lord, Maris the bishop of Neapolis, near Anazarbus. Salute thou also Mary my daughter, distinguished both for gravity and erudition, as also "the Church which is in her house." May my soul be in place of hers: she is the very pattern of pious women. May the Father of Christ, by His only-begotten Son, preserve thee in good health, and of high repute in all things, to a very old age, for the benefit of the Church of God! Farewell in the Lord, and pray thou that I may be perfected.
Dictionary and topics
Day — The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32). It was originally divided into three parts (Ps. 55:17). “The heat of the day” (1 Sam. 11:11; Neh. 7:3) was at our nine o’clock, and “the…
Ephesus — The capital of proconsular Asia, which was the western part of Asia Minor. It was colonized principally from Athens. In the time of the Romans it bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis…
Onesiphorus — Bringing profit, an Ephesian Christian who showed great kindness to Paul at Rome. He served him in many things, and had oft refreshed him. Paul expresses a warm interest in him and his household (2…
Beneficence · .Onesiphorus — .Onesiphorus
Ephesus · Onesiphorus lives at — Onesiphorus lives at
Kindness · .Onesiphorus to Paul — .Onesiphorus to Paul
Love To Man · Exemplified: Onesiphorus — Exemplified: Onesiphorus
Mercy Of God, The · Should be: Sought for others — Should be: Sought for others
Prisons · Places used as: Prisoner’s own house, where he was kept bound to a soldier — Places used as: Prisoner’s own house, where he was kept bound to a soldier
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on 2 Timothy 1:18
The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day;.... In return for his diligent seeking till he found the apostle. By "mercy", he means the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life; or that crown of righteousness and everlasting glory and happiness, which will be a grant from the Lord, or a free gift through Jesus Christ; the effect of pure grace and mercy, and not of merit. The apostle does not propose to requite him himself; he knew it was out of his power; but he had an interest in the Lord, and at the throne of grace; and he makes use of that in his favour, and prays the Lord that he might find mercy of him: and the meaning is either, that he prayed to God,…
13. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
13. Formam habe sanorum sermonum, quos a me audisti in fide et caritate, in Christo Iesu.
14. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
14. Eregium depositum custodi per Spiritum Sanctum, qui inhabitat in nobis.
15. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
15. Nosti hoc, quod aversati me fuerint omnes, qui sunt in Asia, quorum sunt Phygelus et Hermogenes.
16. The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of…
Using the examples of others, both negative and positive, Paul continues urging Timothy to be faithful and to come to Rome without fear.
1:15 everyone . . . has deserted me: The desertion took place either in Rome or in the province of Asia when Paul was arrested. Paul might have seen this as another way his life followed the pattern of Christ’s (see Matt 26:31, 56). • Phygelus and Hermogenes are otherwise unknown. The context (2 Tim 1:11-14) might imply that they were church leaders who sided with Paul’s opponents.
