I’ve been reflecting again on 2 Tim 3:16-17, outside the context of arguments over inspiration, infallibility, authority and all the other stuff for which the verse is mainly used as a text-bomb. I can see arguments for the NRSV translation that all this is “so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” Indeed, I would agree that that is the ultimate aim of the teaching ministry being affirmed in these verses.
However, I’m not convinced that this gender-inclusive interpretation is actually right, and I think this is one of those cases where ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) needs to be translated “man” because “the man of God” (ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος and similar phrases) has become almost a technical term. Here are some examples:
- Moses (Deut 33:1)
- An anonymous prophet (1 Sam 2:27)
- Samuel (1 Sam 9:6)
- Shemaiah (1 Kgs 12:22)
- An anonymous prophet (1 Kgs 13)
- Elijah (1 Kgs 17:18 and everywhere afterwards)
- Elisha (2 Kgs 4:7 and everywhere afterwards)
The only other use of the phrase in the NT is also in the pastorals when Paul addresses Timothy (within the world of the text at least) as “You, man of God” (Σὺ δέ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε θεοῦ – 1 Tim 6:11).
All this suggests to me that the context is that of scripture as the preacher’s toolkit, making the teacher proficient for their teaching role, rather than the Christian proficient in a holy life. Scripture and the teaching office may be linked more closely here than instinctively Protestant exegesis has tended to notice.
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