Inasmuch, however, as the instructions to Tim othy and Titus are gathered largely around these two points of organization and false teaching, it is evident that should the development of the errors of the Church life show itself to be be yond what was possible in the Apostolic age, these letters which portray them—or at least those portions of the letters which contain their description—must themselves come under strong suspicion of being by a later hand than Paul's. At the same time it is generally recognized that, in proportion as the Church organization is seen to involve on the part of Timothy and Titus a representative and not an independent position, exercised over a large region of country, necessitating a more or less itinerant mission work, and this only for a temporary and not a permanent period, it shows an early rather than a later stage of Church life, which is confirmed by the fact that this organization involves in the instruction given to the officers qualifications in the line of moral rather than functional re quirements and in the offices themselves the un developed presbyterial rather than the developed monarchical form, while the teaching function is carried on in this parish fashion rather than in any strictly official way. Further, in proportion as the teaching shows an uninatured and un schismatic form and is characterized by ele ments which are distinctively Jewish, it does not belong to the later full-fledged system of the Gnostics. The period of Church life and thought which these Epistles portray may he thus not only within the Apostolic age, but even within the period of Paul's possible lifetime, in spite of the fact that it lies beyond what is specifical ly disclosed to us in the New Testament writ ings.
Just how early this period may be, and whether or not it is within Paul's life, is the present problem before the critical investigation of these documents. It is clear, however, that should the results reached by a fair-minded study of the problem favor a possible origin from Paul, these writings would themselves stand as records of a later period of activity on the Apostle's part than that narrated in the Book of Acts and his acknowledged Epistles, and thus be indicative of a release from his first ha prisonment and of a second imprisonment- at Rome. In any case it is apparent that the bear
ing of the external evidence for o• against a second imprisonment, as well as in favor of or op posed to the genuineness of the Epistles them selves, must be in the direction of a positive or negative support of the results obtained rather than in the direction of determining the results to be obtained.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Con mentarics: Soden. in Bibliography. Con mentarics: Soden. in Hand-Commentar zoom, Neucn Testament (Frei burg, 1891) ; Liddon, Explanatory Analysis of First Timothy (London, 1897) ; SteIlhorn sloh, 1899) : Weiss, in 31cyer-Kommentar ubcr das Yew. Testament ((ttingen, 1902). In troductions: Weiss (Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1886), lloltzmann (Freiburg, 1892), Godet (Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1894). Salmon (London. 1894), Zahn (Leipzig, 1900), Bacon (New York, 1900), ...Moffatt, The Historical :Ven, Testament 1901), Jtilieher (Leipzig, 1901). Discussions: Raney, Die sogennanten Pa&toral briefc des Apostcls Paulus (Stuttgart, 1835) ; Holtzmann, Die Pastaralbricfc (Leipzig, 1880) ; Lightfoot, in Biblical Essays (London, 1893) ; Clemen, Die Ei-nheitlichkeit der Paulinischen. Bricfe (Gottingen, 1894) : The History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age (New York, 1896) ; Harnack, Gcschiehte der altchristlichen Litteratur (Leip zig, 1897) ; Steinmetz, Die zweite romisc•he fangenschaft des Apostels Paulus 1897) ; Hort, The Christian. Eccic.sia• (London, 1898) ; Falconer, From Apostle to Priest (Edin burgh. 1900) ; Frey, Die :'recite romische Ociangcnschaft und das Todesjahr des A poste's Paulus (Leipzig, 1900) ; Bowen, The Dates of the Pastoral Letters (London, 1900) ; llarnack, Die A usbrritang des Christent 141118 (Eng. trans., London, 1903) ; Dobschiitz, Die ehen Gemeinden (Eng. trans., ib., 1903) ; Wernle, Die Anfiinge unsercr Religion (Eng. trans., ib., 1903) ; Spitta, Znr Gcschichte and Litteratnr des Urchristentums (Gottingen. 1893-1901).