Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TITUS

(Gk. Títos)

1. Titus Manius, one of two Roman envoys sent to the Jews following the defeat of Lysias in 165 b.c.e., to bear the notice of Roman consent to the agreement worked out by Maccabeus with Lysias and King Antiochus with regard to the restoration of the Jewish temple and noninterference with Jewish custom (2 Macc. 11:34).

2. A coworker and emissary of Paul. For Paul’s important second visit to the Jerusalem church, seeking validation of his mission to the Gentiles, he took Barnabas and Titus as companions (Gal. 2:1). Titus’ role was to prove especially significant, as he (an uncircumcised Gentile) was not compelled by the Jerusalem leaders to be circumcised as a requirement of his conversion to Christianity (Gal. 2:3). Thus, Paul’s mission “to the uncircumcised” was respected as a legitimate counterpart to Peter’s mission “to the circumcised” (Gal. 2:7-9).

Titus’ subsequent role as Paul’s coworker and trusted emissary is revealed most clearly in the correspondence with the Corinthian church. Because Titus’ name does not appear in 1 Corinthians, it is assumed that he did not enter into this work until some time after the events of that letter, perhaps only as relations between Paul and the Christians at Corinth began to deteriorate further. His name does, however, appear in both 2 Cor. 1–9 and 10–13, thought by most scholars to represent two distinct letters. Titus seems to have been valued by Paul as a skillful mediator in his dealings with that fractious community. It appears that Titus was either the bearer of the “tearful letter” (2 Cor. 2:4) sent by Paul to the Corinthians, or that he arrived shortly thereafter and was instrumental in bringing about the repentance of the community with regard to their chastisement of a member and their respect for Paul. Paul describes his distress and anxiety as he awaited news of the Corinthians from Titus, who did not rejoin him as soon as Paul had hoped (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:6). From Paul’s description of Titus’ report, we may gather that Titus was skilled not only in bringing about the desired change of heart among the Corinthians, but also in conveying that change convincingly to Paul (2 Cor. 7:7).

Paul himself stresses the stature of Titus as his emissary, assuring the Corinthians that Titus has in his heart “the same eagerness for you that I myself have” (2 Cor. 8:16), and that he is Paul’s “partner and coworker” (v. 23) in service to them. In fact, Titus’ exemplary behavior among the Corinthians is a part of Paul’s defense of his own conduct among them (2 Cor. 12:18). In addition, Paul largely entrusts to Titus the gathering of the collection for Jerusalem among the Corinthians, a significant part of the ongoing validation of Paul’s mission in the eyes of the Jerusalem church (2 Cor. 8:6).

It is a testimony to Titus’ continuing reputation as a trusted coworker of Paul that a letter should bear his name as recipient. The letter situates Titus in Crete, where he has been left by Paul to establish order in the churches there (Titus 1:5), and it is assumed that the instructions contained in the letter were intended to carry on the traditions of Paul into the lives of a new generation of churches. Given such evidence for Titus’ reputation, it is remarkable that he is not mentioned in the book of Acts, although perhaps this omission is evidence of lingering controversy surrounding the issues of circumcision and the collection for Jerusalem.

See Pastoral Epistles.

Bibliography. C. K. Barrett, “Titus,” in Neotestamentica et Semitica, ed. E. E. Ellis and M. Wilcox (Edinburgh, 1969), 1-14; F. F. Bruce, The Pauline Circle (Grand Rapids, 1985); M. M. Mitchell, “New Testament Envoys in the Context of Greco-Roman Diplomatic and Epistolary Conventions: The Example of Timothy and Titus,” JBL 111 (1992): 641-62; W. D. Walker, “The Timothy-Titus Problem Reconsidered,” ExpTim 92 (1980-81): 231-35.

Jane S. Lancaster

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

TITUS

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)