1 Timothy 3:2

A bishop] RV 'the bishop,' RM 'overseer.' Some think (see General Intro.) that the terms 'bishop' and 'elder' are used interchangeably in these Epistles, as they seem to have been at an earlier date (Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1). Others, however, think that, at the close of the apostolic age, to which these Epistles belong, the term 'bishop' was coming into use in the sense of a chief ruler of the Church, or presiding elder, and that that is the meaning here. In favour of the latter view it is urged that 'bishop' in these Epistles occurs only in the singular, and always with the definite article ('the bishop': see RV Titus 1:7), whereas 'elder' is found in the plural, and where it occurs in the singular has no article (1 Timothy 5:1; 1 Timothy 5:17; 1 Timothy 5:19; Titus 1:5). The question, however, requires to be handled with caution, owing to the limited and imperfect knowledge we have of the development of Church organisation in the first century.

The husband of one wife] lit. 'a man of one woman.' Four meanings have been attached to the words: (a) The presbyter is not to be a Christianised Jew, who, in accordance with the Law of Moses, had previously taken two wives. (b) He is not to take a second wife after the death of the first. (c) He is not to marry again while his divorced wife lives, (d) He is to be faithful to his wife, 'a man of one woman,' and 'keep himself only unto her so long as they both should live,' whether it were a first wife or a second wife. The last is probably the right exposition, as set forth by Theodore of Mopsuestia and Theodoret. In any case the presbyter or bishop is contemplated as a married man. Given to hospitality] This injunction was most necessary for the sake of travellers when inns in the modern sense did not exist: see 3 John 1:5.