The Second Letter to Timothy

The Second Letter to Timothy is a deeply personal and pastoral New Testament epistle written by the Apostle Paul during his final imprisonment in Rome, shortly…

The authorship and date of this letter, as one of the Pastoral Epistles, are discussed in the Introduction to the First Letter to Timothy. The tone here is more personal than in First Timothy, for this letter addresses Timothy in vivid terms (2 Tm 1:6–14; 2 Tm 2:1–13) and depicts Paul’s courage and hope in the face of discouragements late in the course of his apostolic ministry (2 Tm 1:15–18; 2 Tm 3:10–17; 2 Tm 4:9–18). Indeed, the letter takes on the character of a final exhortation and testament from Paul to the younger Timothy (2 Tm 4:1–8). Paul is portrayed as a prisoner (2 Tm 1:8, 16; 2 T…