Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Timothy 1:17

μόνῳ θεῷ. So א*AD2*G and nearly all versions. אcD2bcKLP and the Peshito add σοφῷ after μόνῳ; but this (the reading of rec. text) is probably a corruption introduced from Romans 16:27. See Jude 1:25 for a similar variation.

17. We have here a characteristic breaking out into a doxology. A complete list of the Apostolic doxologies has been drawn out by Dr Westcott (Additional Note on Hebrews 13:21)[517], and will repay careful study. In the three doxologies of the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:16, and 2 Timothy 4:18) we may perhaps observe a greater tendency to dwell on the absolute Eternity, Power, Unity of the Godhead, than in the expressions of thanksgiving in the earlier letters; but the main features are the same in all. In only one instance, 1 Peter 4:11, is the verb expressed, ᾧ ἐστὶν ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος; and it seems probable that in every instance ἐστίν rather than ἔστω should be understood. So the verb in the doxology at the end of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:13) is in the indicative mood. A doxology is not a prayer or an aspiration; it is a reverent and thankful statement of the Divine glory.

[517] See also Chase, Lord’s Prayer in the Early Church, p. 168 ff.

τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων. This exact phrase occurs elsewhere in the Greek Bible only in Tob 13:6; Tob 13:10, and in Revelation 15:3 (where the received text has τῶν ἁγίων); but it naturally flows from the language of Psalms 145:13, ἡ βασιλεία σου βασιλεία πάντων τῶν αἰώνων. Cp. Exodus 15:18 (where Philo read βασιλεύων τῶν αἰώνων, De Mundo, 7), Sir 36:19, and Bk of Enoch ix. 4, where one of the texts has βασιλεὐς τῶν αἰώνων. See also Book of Jubilees, xxv. 15; xxxi. 13. The corresponding expression οἱ βασιλεῖαι τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, which occurs in Ignatius (Romans 6), brings the meaning out well. There is no reference to the aeons of Gnostic heresy; αἰών in the singular means an ‘age,’ a certain limit of time, and so ὁ αἰὼν οὖτος is ‘this present age.’ But in the plural, when we sum up these ‘ages’ or ‘world periods,’ we arrive at the idea of eternity; and ‘the King who rules over the ages’ is ‘the King eternal.’ So too εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα = ‘to the end of this present age’; but εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας = ‘for ever.’

ἀφθάρτῳ�. All three adjectives qualify θεῷ, not the preceding βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων. ἄφθαρτος θεός is a combination only found again in Romans 1:23; but ἄφθαρτος is a regular epithet of Deity in Philo (e.g. Quod deus immut. 6). For ἀόρατος we may compare Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:15, and Hebrews 11:27. With both expressions cp. ὁ μόνος ἔχων� … δν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς� of 1 Timothy 6:16.

μὁνῳ θεῷ. Bengel calls this a ‘magnifica lectio’ (see critical note). Cp. John 17:3, τὸν μόνον�, Romans 16:27 and ch. 1 Timothy 6:15. Compare also Philo’s μἁ τὸν� (Leg. All. ii. 17) and ἡ θεοῦ μόνου θεραπεία (De Prof. 7).

τιμἠ καὶ δόξα. This combination in a doxology occurs again only in Revelation 5:13. Cp. Revelation 4:9 and Romans 2:7; Romans 2:10.

εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν. Perhaps this phrase implies that the form of doxology in this verse had become stereotyped by liturgical use. At all events this is a common ending. See Hebrews 13:21; 1 Peter 4:11; 1 Peter 5:11; Revelation 7:12 : cp. Psalms passim.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Timothy 1:17

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