1 Timothy 1:8–11

TABLE 6.2: 1 Timothy 1:9–10a and the Ten Commandments

“For the lawless and disobedient”: A “lawless” person is one who violates God’s moral standards. A “disobedient” person is one who refuses to submit to God’s authority. Together these may be construed as a violation of the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3).

“For the ungodly and sinners”: The combination of these two terms appears elsewhere in Scripture (cf. Ps. 1:1, 5; Rom. 5:6, 8). The term translated “ungodly” can describe “idolatrous behavior.”³ Taken together, therefore, these terms may be read as general terms for transgression against the second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” (Ex. 20:4).

“For the unholy and profane”: Perhaps the “unholy” are those who do not “hallow” God’s name. And so the third commandment is aimed at them: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Ex. 20:7). The “profane” may refer to those whose lives are marked by worldliness and commonness, those who do not know how to keep the fourth commandment to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8).

“Those who strike their fathers and mothers”: The two Greek terms behind this phrase appear only here in the NT. The standard lexicon of NT Greek defines these terms as referring to those who murder their father and those who murder their mother (BDAG, s.v. πατρολῴας and μητρολῴας). But Paul’s use of the terms here may be connected to Exodus 21:15, which suggests that patricide and matricide are not in view. Rather, the terms refer to those who “smite” their parents.⁴ In any case, these transgressors violate the fifth commandment, which requires one to “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex. 20:12).

“Murderers”: Even though Paul could have used the more common term for “murderers” (phoneusin), here he uses the less common “man-killers” (androphonois, which appears only here and in 2 Macc. 9:28 in all of the LXX and NT). The use of “man-killers” could be stylistic⁵ or may be an intentional delineation of the meaning of the sixth commandment.⁶ In either case, the term refers to someone who violates the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder” (Ex. 20:13).

1:10 “The sexually immoral” and “men who practice homosexuality” both fall under the broad category of sinful sexual behavior, which is addressed in the seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14).

“The sexually immoral” translates the Greek term pornos, “one who practices sexual immorality, fornicator” (BDAG, italics original). In Pauline usage, sexual immorality (porneia) is defined as “unlawful sexual intercourse” (BDAG). Paul defines “unlawful” by the norms of the Mosaic law, which forbids premarital sex, adultery, homosexual relations, incest, bestiality, and more (Lev. 18:6–23). In short, “sexual immorality” is any sexual activity that takes place outside the covenant of marriage. Anyone who engages in sexual activity outside that covenant would be considered a pornos, and the next phrase specifies one type of “sexually immoral” person.

“Men who practice homosexuality”: This phrase translates a single Greek word, arsenokoitais. It is very difficult to render this Greek term with a single English equivalent. The term appears nowhere else in Greek literature before Paul’s use of it in 1 Corinthians 6:9 (its only other appearance in the NT). Some scholars have argued that the term refers not to homosexual sex per se but to exploitative same-sex relations such as pederasty or male prostitution. This point of view is unlikely for a couple of reasons.

First, the word is a compound of arsēn (“male”) and koitē (“bed”), and the literal sense would be “one who beds a male.” The “male” part of this compound is not a term that refers to young boys or male prostitutes only; it is a term for male human beings in general. Going to bed with a “male,” therefore, would include all same-sex sexual activity and would not be limited to exploitative forms such as pederasty. This interpretation is based on the etymology of the term, which is what scholars often resort to when there are no previous uses of a term with which to compare it. Of course, etymology alone does not always tell the whole story of a word’s meaning. In this case, however, the word’s connection to the OT confirms what its etymology implies.

Second, even though Paul has coined a term for same-sex sexual immorality, he most likely derives this term from the Greek version of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13:

“And you shall not lie in bed (koitēn) with a male (arsenos) as with a woman, for it is an abomination.” (Lev. 18:22 AT)

“And whoever lies with a male (arsenos) in bed (koitēn) as with a woman, both of them have done an abomination; let them die, they are guilty.” (Lev. 20:13 AT)

It is not difficult to see how Paul’s term arsenokoitais appears to be a combination of the underlined terms from Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. This observation is supported by the fact that Paul alludes to Leviticus 18 in defining incest in 1 Corinthians 5, and that he again draws from Leviticus 18 in his use of arsenokoitēs in 1 Corinthians 6:9. Both Leviticus and subsequent Jewish tradition forbid all same-sex sexual activity, not merely that which is exploitative. Paul is confirming that the sexual norms of Leviticus 18 still define sexual norms for Christians. And that means that it is against the law of Christ to engage in same-sex sexual activity.

The only question that remains is how to translate arsenokoitais in 1 Timothy 1:10. The NASB and the CSB render it as “homosexuals,” but this is misleading. The term “homosexual” implies notions of identity and orientation that are not specifically included in arsenokoitais. The ESV and other modern translations are correct to clarify the focus on behavior: “men who practice homosexuality” (ESV); “those practicing homosexuality” (NIV); “people . . . who practice homosexuality” (NLT); “people who have intercourse with the same sex” (CEB). Still, the ESV’s rendering is best because it brings out the fact that male homosexual activity is in view here.

“Enslavers”: The term translated “enslavers” (andrapodistais) appears only once in biblical Greek. This term is also a compound, bringing together the terms “man” (anēr) and “bind/tie feet” (podizō). The term refers to someone who forcibly and coercively binds/ties the feet of men. An etymological rendering might be “man-binder.” The King James Version comes close to this rendering with “menstealers.” In actual usage, however, the term refers specifically to someone involved in slave trading, “one who acquires pers. for use by others, slave-dealer, kidnapper” (BDAG, s.v. ἀνδραποδιστής, italics original). The term reflects the fact that kidnapping and slave trading were closely related in the first century. This is why many translations render the term as either “kidnapper” (e.g., CSB, NASB, NET) or a variation on “slave trader” (e.g., NIV, NLT, NRSV). The ESV’s rendering brings together both ideas with “enslavers.” In any case, an “enslaver” violates the eighth command, which forbids taking something that is not one’s own: “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15). Since kidnapping could lead to slavery, there may also be an allusion to the tenth commandment, which forbids coveting a neighbor’s “male servant or female servant” (Ex. 20:17).

“Liars, perjurers”: “Liars” are those who intentionally deceive others with their words. “Perjurers” are those who lie under oath. Both kinds of persons obviously violate the ninth commandment, which declares, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16).

The law applies not only to the aforementioned sinners but also to those who practice “whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.” The word translated “sound” refers to that which brings “health and life” (cf. 1 Tim. 1:10 ESV mg.). In other words, there is a kind of teaching that brings life and health to people, and there is a kind of teaching that does not. The proper use of the law will highlight by contrast that which makes people spiritually sick. Paul will define “sound doctrine” as that which is consistent with the gospel and the apostles’ teaching (v. 11). Anything that contradicts the gospel as preached by the apostles would by definition be unsound. It is important that Paul ends the list with this catch-all statement. There is much more to God’s moral demands than what has been enumerated in the preceding list. The tenth commandment functions in a similar way at the end of the Ten Commandments: it shows that it is not merely the doing of sin that is the problem. The desiring of sin is equally a problem. Thus the demands of God’s moral law are much more expansive than one might imagine by focusing myopically on a list of commands. Such lists are crucial, but there is more. This is what the tenth commandment indicates, and Paul’s final phrase does the same.

1:11 As mentioned previously, verse 11 defines “sound” teaching as that which conforms to the “gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” Sound teaching is, therefore, the apostolic deposit of faith. The heart of that faith is the truth that Jesus Christ was crucified to pay for his people’s sins and was raised to give them eternal life. The kind of teaching that brings life and health is that which is in accord with this message.