68 stanley e. porter
of elders), he is leaving/has left titus in Crete (titus 1:5).8 although most
take the verbal lexeme to indicate Paul’s presence with titus, this is not
required; it may simply indicate that he has left him there to accomplish
his appointed task.9 the letter does indicate that there is at least a suf-
ficient presence of churches so that elders need to be appointed in each
city. Paul indicates that he is heading towards nicopolis, where he intends
to winter (titus 3:12). in 2 timothy, Paul indicates that he is a prisoner
(2 tim 1:8, 16; 4:6, 16). he also recognizes that, though deserted by others,
he wishes mercy on the household of onesiphorous, because many times
he has refreshed him and is (or was) not ashamed of his chains. however,
it is not necessarily clear that these acts refer to the same imprisonment,
as Paul says that, having been in rome, onesiphorous eagerly sought and
found him and, as timothy knows, he served him in various ways in ephe-
sus (2 tim 1:15–18).10 Paul’s reference to those in asia leaving him may
also indicate that this letter was written to timothy in asia (2 tim 1:15).
in 2 tim 3:10–11, Paul says that timothy followed closely (or paid atten-
tion to, possibly attended to) his teaching, etc., which occurred in anti-
och, iconium, and lystra—but not that he was necessarily present for
these events. second timothy 4:6–8 is typically taken as referring to Paul’s
imminent death. this is rightly disputed, as the verb translated “poured
out” (σπένδομαι) may not necessarily imply death, and the word translated
“death” (ἀναλύσις) may simply mean release, thus helping to make sense
of 2 tim 4:9–21 as indicating further ministry.11 finally, 2 tim 4:16 refers to
8 the verb is ἀπέλιπον, which on the basis of cotextual indicators may be variously
interpreted—as present referring, as past referring, or as an example of a so-called episto-
lary aorist. i do not believe that it is a necessity—despite many scholars to the contrary—
that Paul was the founder of the church or churches in Crete, only that there were churches
in Crete to which titus was sent.
9 most commentators seem to reject the idea that the verb can mean leaving one in
charge of a task, but a few commentators and scholars seem to take this position. see, e.g.,
luke timothy Johnson, The Writings of the New Testament: An Interpretation (Philadelphia:
fortress, 1986), 382–83, and other discussion below.
10 this verse has proven even more problematic than is indicated here, and will be
further discussed below.
11 see michael Prior, Paul the Letter-Writer and the Second Letter to Timothy (Jsntsup
23; sheffield: Jsot Press, 1989), 91–112. his explanation has met with serious resistance,
although the arguments marshaled as the cure for his analysis are often worse than the dis-
ease. see Jerome murphy-o’Connor, Paul: A Critical Life (oxford: oxford university Press,
1997), 368, who appeals to the use of the perfect tense-forms in vv. 6–7 and claims that
they are backward looking with an emphatic sense of completion—he misses entirely the
sense of the stative aspect—and i. howard marshall, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary
on the Pastoral Epistles (iCC; edinburgh: t&t Clark, 1999), 806, who is apparently confused
over the use of the present tense-form and the perfect tense-form in v. 6, so that he uses