2 Timothy 4:12

Τυχικὸν δέ, κ. τ. λ.: The δέ does not involve a comparison of Tychicus with Mark, as both εὔχρηστοι (so Ell.); but rather distinguishes the cause of Tychicus' absence from that of the others. Demas had forsaken the apostle; and Crescens and Titus had gone, perhaps on their own initiative; Tychicus had been sent away by St. Paul himself. For Tychicus, see Acts 20:4; Ephesians 6:21-22; Colossians 4:7-8; Titus 3:12; and the art. in Hastings' D. B.

εἰς Ἔφσον : If the emphasis in the clause lies on ἀπέστειλα, as has been just suggested, the difficulty of harmonising εἰς Ἔφεσον with the common belief that Timothy was himself in chief authority in the Church at Ephesus is somewhat mitigated. St. Paul had mentioned the places to which Demas, etc., had gone; and even on the supposition that St. Paul knew that Tychicus was with Timothy, he could not say, “I sent away Tychicus” without completing the sentence by adding the destination. This explanation must be adopted, if we suppose with Ell. that Tychicus was the bearer of First Timothy. If he were the bearer of Second Timothy, ἀπέστειλα can be plausibly explained as the epistolary aorist. On the other hand, there is no reason why we should assume that Timothy was at Ephesus at this time. Other local references, e.g., 2 Timothy 1:15; 2 Timothy 1:18, and 2 Timothy 4:13 are quite consistent with a belief that he was not actually in that city. Perhaps “Do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5) is an indication that he was itinerating.