Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
generally uninformed interpreter would imagine Asia in the modern context, China,
Japan, et al. when in fact, in Pauls day, Asia referred to the modern day location of
Turkey and surrounding areas. Also important to understand in the geography and setting
of the book, is Pauls location in Rome. With this knowledge, many of Pauls examples
and illustrations have a fuller sense of importance and bring personalization to his epistle.
Paul talks about many locations towards the end of 2 Timothy. From verse 9 of
chapter 4 all the way to the end, 7 marked locations are spoken about. These are
important because it first gives us a picture of how broad a range of space and people
Paul ministered to, as well as secondly, allowing us to see how far removed from his
friends he is, now that chains in Rome have a hold on him.
All of these factors play a large part in the interpretation and even basic reading
and understanding of every part of 2 Timothy. For example, Paul gives several directions
to Timothy towards the end of his letter. By studying, we can find out that when Paul
asks for his cloak from Troas, there are huge implications tagged on that (2 Tim 4:13). It
is unclear first what the term cloak is ever talking about. Some interpreters take it to be a
greatcoat and Paul desired it because of the cold weather coming. It should be noted that
winter is coming and Paul entreats Timothy to come to him before that happens. We can
understand why, by studying the difficulty of traveling by sea during this tormentous
time, as well as the indication that Paul is not sure how long he has left. Returning to the
cloak, another idea is that a cloak, which occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, is a
bag or case for books to be kept in.
Having all these various historical and cultural aspects in mind, we in our modern
day reading and interpreting of the text are able to have a more full picture of exactly
how Timothy, the recipient would have read and understood Pauls letter.