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  • From: "John Dickson" <dicksonj AT bigpond.net.au>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: 1 Timothy 5:18
  • Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2002 16:19:49 +1000


Michael Abernathy writes:
> 1 Timothy 5:18 quotes a saying found in Luke 10:7 referring
> to it as "scripture."
> 1. In your opinion is the author of 1 Timothy referring to Luke, to
another
> written source, or to an oral tradition?
> If you believe he refers to an oral tradition, does the elevation of oral
> tradtion to the status of "scripture" have anything to do with Christology
> (Christ is God. Therefore, whatever he said, is the word of God.)?

Michael,
There are a number of uncertainties. First, does the saying in Luke 10:7
originally stem from Jesus or from a well known proverb in some
authoritative Jewish writing? Some scholars have argued that the saying in
Luke does have the air of the proverbial about it. Hence, both Jesus and the
writer of 1 Timothy would be referring to another 'scriptural' saying.
Secondly, let's assume v.18b is a dominical saying coined by Jesus himself,
does the KAI in the sentence mean that what follows is governed by LEGEI GAR
hH GRAFH at the beginning of the sentence? Perhaps. But it is also possible
that, having quoted Scripture (Deut 25:4) to commend his point, the writer
seeks to confirm his use of the text by referring to a well known dominical
saying: "The Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle the ox;' and (as Jesus himself
said) 'A worker is worthy of his reward.'
Sections of the Mishnah appear to operate in an analogous fashion:
Scriptural citation followed immediately by an authoritative quotation.
Consider Megillah 3.3E-G:
"And 'they do not make it [a destroyed synagogue] into a public shortcut.'
For it is written, 'I will bring your sanctuaries to desolation (Lev.
26:31); and 'they remain sanctified even when they are desolated;' and 'if
grass grew up in it, one should not cut it, because of grief'."
I suspect that dominical sayings carried the same weight (psychologically,
if not theologically) in Christian circles as Old Testament citations, but
it is unlikely they were regarded as 'Scripture'.
Noteworthy, of course, is the fact that a line of argumentation similar to
that found in 1 Tim 5:18 is visible in 1 Cor 9:7-14. There, both Deut 25:4
and a 'saying of the Lord' are cited in support of the contention that
workers deserve to receive provisions. As with 1 Tim 5:18, the dominical
tradition appears second (as the climax?). Most scholars regard 1 Cor 9:14
as containing a reference to Luke 10:7/Matt 10:10 but it is interesting, is
it not, that Paul feels no need in 1 Cor 9 to quote the saying? Instead, he
merely refers to its content. Was the saying that well known?
Anyway, in all this, I am saying that 1 Tim 5:18 does not, in my opinion,
offer a secure case for the contention that the writer understood Luke 10:7
as Scripture.
Kind regards,
John Dickson
Department of Ancient History
Macquarie University
Sydney, Australia
John Dickson
Sydney, Australia
http://www.users.bigpond.com/jdickson/






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