There are one or two objections to the later date suggested for I Timothy which it

will be wise to face.

We do not know the age of Timothy when he first joined the apostle, but somewhere

about 17 or 18 years of age is generally considered approximate. The date of Acts 16:

must be somewhere about A.D.50. If we therefore place I Timothy at A.D.64,

Timothy would be about 32 years of age. Judging by modern standards we should not

look upon Timothy as a youth, but judging according to the standard of Aulus Gellius,

lib. 10: c.28, where he cites Servius Tullius, Paul was well within bounds. The Roman's

divisions of man's age were as follows:--

Not only, therefore, was Timothy still a youth, but Paul could say of himself, "such an

one as Paul the aged".

Further, when one considers the great responsibility of the high and difficult office to

which Timothy had been called, involving the ordination of bishops and deacons, and the

many duties that a growing church and a fast growing apostasy bring with them, a man of

32 years would, even to-day, be considered very young for the post. No serious objection

to the later date of I Timothy can be found here.

Paul said to the elders at Ephesus:--

It is objected, that if I Timothy had been written after this statement Paul could not

have expressed the hope of revisiting Ephesus. We know upon other occasions the

apostle had to revise his plans. He hoped to visit Spain, but we are not certain that he

ever did so. II Cor. 1: 15-24 shows his attitude in these things. He would rather be found

changing his plans than running counter to the will of the Lord. We believe however that

the apostle had no intention of revisiting Ephesus. He had devoted a long time to the

church at Ephesus, and in writing to the saints at Colosse he speaks of those whose face