2 Timothy 1:6 - Exposition

For the which cause for wherefore, A.V.; through the laying for by the putting, A.V. For which cause ( δι ἣν αἰτίαν ) ; so 2 Timothy 1:12 and Titus 1:13 , but nowhere else in St. Paul's Epistles, though common elsewhere. The clause seems to depend upon the words immediately preceding, "I am persuaded in thee also; for which cause," etc. Stir up ( ἀναζωπυρεῖν ) ; here only in the New Testament, but found in the LXX . of Genesis 45:27 and I Ma Genesis 13:7 , in an intransitive sense, "to revive." In both passages it is contrasted with a previous state of despondency ( Genesis 45:26 ) or fear (1Ma Genesis 13:2 ). We must, therefore, conclude that St. Paul knew Timothy to be cast down and depressed by his own imprisonment and imminent danger, and therefore exhorted him to revive 'the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind," which was given him at his ordination. The metaphor is taken from kindling slumbering ashes into a flame by the bellows, and the force of ἀνα is to show that the embers had gone down from a previous state of candescence or frame—"to rekindle, light up again." It is a favourite metaphor in classical Greek. The gift of God ( τὸ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ ); as 1 Timothy 4:14 (where see note). The laying on of my hands, together with those of the presbytery ( 1 Timothy 4:14 ; comp. Acts 13:2 , Acts 13:3 ). The laying on of hands was also the medium through which the Holy Ghost was given in Confirmation ( Acts 8:17 ), and in healing ( Mark 16:18 ; comp. Numbers 27:18 , Numbers 27:23 ).