Kinship and Leadership in 1 Timothy

A Study of Filial Framework and Model for Christian Communities in Asia Minor

Bibliographic Data

ID4961982
AuthorsDaniel K Darko (Gordon College, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume14
Issue2
Pages169
Publication date2023-01-29
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel14020169
OpenAlexW4318475626
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

This essay examines the kinship framework and lexemes in the directives for leadership in 1 Timothy, aiming to curb the influence of false teachers and to bolster internal cohesion in the communities. It explores the author's appeal to household conduct, natural and fictive kinship, and group dynamics couched in filial parlance vis-à-vis the undisputed Pauline letters. The study sheds light on the authorial framework, and suggests that the notion of a departure from 'love-patriarchalism' or egalitarian Paul developing later into hierarchical kinship framework in 1 Timothy may be misleading. It becomes apparent that the letter's kinship lexemes are consistent with what we find in the undisputed letters. Thus, the pseudonymous author, an associate of Paul, does not appeal to or use kinship lexemes any differently from the undisputed letters or elsewhere in Greco-Roman discourse. This does not establish Pauline authorship, but suggest that the notion that the kinship lexemes reflect an elevated hierarchical institutional development in a post-Pauline era, that is uncharacteristic of Paul in the authorship debate, may need to be reconsidered if not revised

Appeal · Fictive kinship · Genealogy · Kinship · Political science · Sociology · Anthropology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Development, Ethics, and Society · History · Law

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access