Four Generations - Part 2

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Messiah Yeshua. And the things you have heard me say among many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Tim. 2:1-2).

I previously blogged about the trans-generational aspect of this verse. Now I want to look at it from another angle, one that’s equally important in passing it on through “four generations.”  

The translation I’m using here is a bit different from the one I used last time. In that post I used a translation of a certain phrase that isn’t exactly right. The idea that Shaul taught Timothy “in the presence of many witnesses,” which I used last time, sounds as if a bunch of people were standing by and watching the scene.  Now, does this make sense?

The Greek word δια which can mean “in the presence of” is better translated here as “among” many witnesses. “Among” is a perfectly normal translation of δια and the picture—Timothy among a number of people who could report to others what Shaul said to all of them—makes more sense. Especially when we see what follows.

Timothy was supposed to entrust these words to “reliable people (plural) who would be qualified to teach others (plural) also.” In other words, just as Shaul taught many, Timothy among them, Timothy was supposed to pass it on to others (not just one disciple), who would teach others, etc.

This reminds me of a passage in the midrash collection Song of Songs Rabbah. Compiled in Tiberias in the sixth century C.E., it has a lot to say about the importance of Torah being spoken and learned in community. This is taken from Song of Songs Rabbah 1.1.10—

Rabbi Yudan said, “. . . everyone who speaks words of Torah in public (ברבים, lit., “among many”) merits that the Holy Spirit rest on him.

Rabbi Yudan expresses the strong rabbinic emphasis on the open declaration of the words of Torah rather than private or, especially, secretive communication. This doesn’t mean that there’s no place for words of Torah to be spoken between individuals. I hope not, since I do that on a regular basis. But it does mean that the primary place of Torah teaching and learning is with others.

The heart of the matter is that there is a particular power in passing on words of Torah, which include the words of the Brit Hadashah, to many. And to pass them on with the intent that those who hear will pass them on to others, etc. Shaul isn't writing about four generations of individuals but four generations of learners, plural.  

Words of Torah cry out to be taught and learned in public, in communities, in groups and small groups—wherever those who teach and learn can gather.