What does "Scripture" refer to in 2 Timothy 3?

Question

This is in follow-up to this Q & A

Paul wrote the following passage in 2 Timothy 3:

14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Is Scripture a reference to the Hebrew Bible only?

Answer 1

The evidence strongly suggests that when New Testament authors refer to scripture, or say "it is written", they are referring to pre-Christian Jewish sacred writings and not what is now the New Testament. The one possible exception is the author of 2 Peter.

(I hesitate to say "Hebrew Bible" for three reasons. First, most of them use the Septuagint translation into Greek, not the Hebrew originals. Second, it is not clear that they would include all of Ketuvim, since that canon was not settled yet. Third, some of them, e.g. Jude, may have included writings like Enoch or other apocrypha.)

The main evidence is that when New Testament writers use the word scripture together with a quotation, the source of that quotation is invariably to pre-Christian Jewish sacred writings, and not to Christian writings. Furthermore, the earliest extant reference to writings from the New Testament as "scripture" is the gnostic Basilides in roughly 130 CE. Every reference prior to 130 is to pre-Christian Jewish sacred writings. Since all, or almost all, of the New Testament books were written well before then, it is unlikely that any of them use the word "scripture" to include Christian writings.

The one caveat, is that most critical scholars think that 2 Peter was written very late (after 120 CE). It is certainly possible then that the author of 2 Peter could be including the writings of Paul or the gospels as scripture as Basilides and Marcion held in the 130s and 140s. Nonetheless, the phrasing in 2 Peter is confusing, and we have no clear proto-Orthodox references to the New Testament as "scripture" until the late 2nd century. So I don't think the evidence is totally clear in either direction.

(Note that the restriction of the word "scripture" to pre-Christian writings does not necessarily imply that these authors thought that the gospels or the writings of Paul weren't inspired, only that they didn't use the word "scripture." For example, Justin Martyr has a very high opinion of the gospels, but doesn't use the word "scripture" for them.)

Answer 2

"But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them"

refers in part to the "new revelation" Paul shared with Timothy, his son in the faith, so no, the OT (Tanakh) was not the only Scripture in Paul's day, and the word Scripture(s) in 2 Timothy 3:16 is not a reference to only the OT scriptures. In fact, the Apostle Peter referred to Paul's letters as Scripture:

". . . just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:17).

Yes, the OT was important in Tim's training in the faith, since "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19:10), from Genesis to Chronicles (the OT's first and last books, according to Hebrew order of the books), and every book in between.

The new revelation Paul received from his conversion onward was also the word of the Lord, and I'm sure Paul shared it with Tim on many occasions and in many ways (via both walk and talk). I guess you could say the words of the apostles, of whom Paul was one, were the New Covenant's version of "the word of the LORD" in the same sense the words of the prophets of old were the word of the Lord and were often prefaced over and over again with "Thus saith the LORD."

In fact, in the nascent church throughout the Near Middle East and beyond, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit was prophecy (Acts 19:6; 21:9; 1 Corinthians 12:10; 14:5; Ephesians 4:11; Romans 12:6; 1 Peter 4:11).

While the revelation of God is now complete, as to the written word, and there is therefore no more new revelation today which can be shoe-horned into the completed canon of Scripture, Holy-Spirit-gifted men and women today can, however, speak prophetically in the sense they can speak forth the word of the Lord to each generation in powerfully convicting ways. In fact, the message of repentance can be quite prophetic in nature today, though not in the predictive sense concerning, for example, the day and date of Jesus' return. Many "prophets" have learned this lesson the hard way, even in recent months!

Is the Lord's return imminent? Yes. All we can say with any authority, however, is that it is more imminent today than it was in Paul's day!

Answer 3

[This was prepared to answer Nihil Sine Deo’s question here https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/98632/which-are-all-the-scriptures-paul-had-in-mind. But that is closed]

Answer

Scripture, in 2 Timothy chapter 3, refers to both Old Testament and New Testament writings.

Explanation

Moses knew very well that what he got as revelation from God was only partial. Hence he wrote:

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut 29:29).

Moses knew that some of God’s secrets were to be revealed later. Hence he said:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deut 18:15).

Apostle John agrees and says:

“For the law was given through Moses (OT); grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (NT)” (John 1:17).

Moses, as a member of the Levi tribe, was a Jew who said, “to us and to our children”.

So, what? Apostle Paul says:

“the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God (both OT and NT)” (Rom 3:2).

Jesus Christ agrees:

“for salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

Old Testament as Scripture

The Old Testament is broadly divided into 3 parts:

Torah = Law;

Nebiyim = the Prophets; and

Khitubim = Writings.

This is known as “TaNaKh”; an acronym of the first three letters.

[In the “Writings” section, Psalms is the first book to appear in order. So sometimes “Writings” is also called as “Psalms”]

Jesus Himself acknowledges this tripartite division of the OT:

“And He said to them, These are the Words which I spoke to you yet being with you, that all the things must be fulfilled having been written in the (1) Law of Moses, and the (2) Prophets, and the (3) Psalms, concerning Me” (Luke 24:44).

Flavius Josephus, an almost contemporary of Jesus Christ has acknowledged the tripartite division of the OT in 22 books (or scrolls):

“We have but twenty-two [books] containing the history of all time, books that are justly believed in; and of these, five are the books of Moses, which comprise the law and earliest traditions from the creation of mankind down to his death. From the death of Moses to the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Persia, the successor of Xerxes, the prophets who succeeded Moses wrote the history of the events that occurred in their own time, in thirteen books. The remaining four documents comprise hymns to God and practical precepts to men (William Whiston, trans., Flavius Josephus against Apion, Vol. I, in Josephus, Complete Works, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1960, p. 8)

[https://blogs.blueletterbible.org/blb/2012/05/29/josephus-historical-evidence-of-the-old-testament-canon/]

Prophets Knew of More Revelation to Come

Just as Moses knew that another Prophet was to come and reveal more of the secrets of God, Isaiah also knew this and wrote about it:

“Bind up the Testimony, seal the Law among My disciples” (Isa 8:16).

What is the Testimony?:-

A similar verse is found in Revelation which defines the Law and the Testimony:

“And the dragon was enraged over the woman, and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those keeping the commandments of God (OT), and having the testimony of Jesus Christ (NT)” (Rev 12:17).

_Who are “My disciples”?:-

First of all, it is Yahweh who says “My disciples”. So, who are His disciples?

Very surprisingly, the disciples are the Apostles of Jesus Christ!!

Evidence?

The Scripture was to be bound up and sealed (completed) by the disciples of Yahweh.

Who was this Yahweh? Let us see.

“Sanctify Jehovah of Hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear; and let Him be your dread. And He shall be for a sanctuary, and for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling to the two houses of Israel; for a trap and for a snare to the ones living in Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken. Bind up the Testimony, seal the Law among My disciples” (Isaiah 8:13-16).

Both Peter and Paul quoting Isaiah’s prophecy, identify who this Yahweh of Hosts is:

“But to disobeying ones, He (Jesus) is the "Stone which those building rejected; this One became the Head of the Corner, and a Stone-of-stumbling, and a Rock-of-offense" to the ones stumbling, being disobedient to the Word, to which they were also appointed” (1 Pet 2:7-8).

“For they stumbled at the Stone-of-stumbling, as it has been written, "Behold, I place in" "Zion a Stone-of-stumbling," "and a Rock-of-offense," "and everyone believing on Him will not be shamed” (Rom 9:32-33).

Yes, both Peter and Paul identified the Yahweh of Hosts as Jesus Christ. This is undeniable!

New Testament as Scripture

So, it was Jesus’ disciples who were predestinated to complete and bind up the Scripture. Thus, bind up and seal the Scripture (both OT/Law and NT/Testimony of Jesus) was to be done by the disciples of Jesus.

Peter and Paul Knew This

Both Peter and Paul knew that they were to complete the Scripture, the Oracles of God. So, the NT part of the Oracles of God was also written by Jews, as written in Romans 3:2.

Peter identifies Paul’s epistles as Scripture:

“as also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the unlearned and unsettled pervert, as also they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Pet 3:16).

“Rest of the Scripture” means clearly that Peter considers Paul’s writings as Scripture.

Paul identifies Luke’s gospel as Scripture:

“For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox treading out grain," and, “the laborer is worthy of his pay” (1 Tim 5:18).

Here Paul considers Deuteronomy 25:4 and Luke 10:7 (laborer’s pay) on an equal footing.

This clearly shows that Paul considered Luke as Scripture!

Peter Arranges New Testament

“I think it only right for me to stir up your memory of these matters as long as I am still alive. I know that I shall soon put off this mortal body, as our Lord Jesus Christ plainly told me. I will do my best, then, to provide a way for you to remember these matters at all times after my death” (2 Pet 1:13-15; GNB).

Peter, knowing that he, as a disciple of the Lord of Hosts, was to “seal the OT” and “bind up the NT” says that he will make sure that the true Christians will have always “a way” to remember the true faith.

Paul Compiles the New Testament

“Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he can help me in the work. When you come, bring my coat that I left in Troas with Carpus; bring the books (OT) too, and especially the ones made of parchment (the New Testament writings)” (2 Tim 4:11, 13).

There is an “urgency” in this command to Timothy. Luke is already with Paul. He asks Timothy to get Mark and bring him with Timothy to finish the work.

(It is significant that both Luke and Mark, as the Gospel writers, are together with Paul just before his death to assist him in the work!)

Second epistle of Timothy is Paul’s last epistle. He says he is about to be “poured out” (verse 6), that is, about to be martyred. So, as another disciple of the Lord of Hosts, he urgently needs to compile the NT. He already knows that Peter has edited the NT books. Now he wants to finish the final editing together with Mark and Luke and entrust the same to Timothy (may be to be handed over to Apostle John later) before his death.

What Coat

The Greek word for “coat” is “phelones”. Adam Clarke commentary:

“Τον φελονην is by several translated bag or portmanteau; and it is most likely that it was something of this kind, in which he might carry his clothes, books, and travelling necessaries.”

I thank Ray Butterworth for giving me the invaluable information regarding the Peshitta Bible in Syriac (an ancient translation) which translates the “coat/cloak” as a bookcase:

“When you come, bring the bookcase and the books that I left in Troas with Qarpus, especially the parchment scrolls” (emphasis mine).

(as provided by Ray Butterworth in his answer Are verses like 2 Timothy 4:13 of exegetical and hermeneutic significance?)

Yes, Paul was not worried about his cloths at his last breath. He was concerned about the bag with the OT books and the NT parchments he left with Carpus at Troas.

The “books” are definitely the OT books. What about the parchments or “membrana”. The parchments were made of sheep skin and were very expensive in those days. These were used only for very important documents.

In the first century the New Testament writings were made on parchments. These are the documents he meant by parchments. He made the final editing of the NT together with Luke and Mark after Peter had finished his part. Both the OT and NT were entrusted to Timothy for sacred use and to be handed over to the last apostle, John.

Paul knew about the Isaiah prophecy of the completion of OT and NT among the disciples of Jesus Christ.

He, as part of the disciples of the Lord, knew he was writing the Scripture. Hence he charges:

“I charge you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the holy brothers” (1 Thess 5:27).

“And when this letter is read before you, cause that it be read also in the Laodicean assembly, and that you also read the one of Laodicea” (Col 4:16).

“But if anyone does not obey our Word through the letter, mark that one, and do not associate with him, that he be shamed” (2 Thess 3:14).

Conclusion

So, the Scripture referred in 2 Timothy 3 is both the Old Testament and New Testament writings.