Did Paul call Timothy "my own son in the faith" or "a true child in the faith"?

Question

In the KJV, 1 Timothy 1:2 says:

Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith...

In the English translation in The Interlinear Bible (called "King James II Version") (TIB), however, it says:

to Timothy, a true child in the faith...

That's what the English words below the Greek text say as well. The word translated "a true" in TIB and "my own" in KJV is γνησίω (Strong's G1103).

In Strong's Greek dictionary, it says:

G1103 γνήσιος gnēsios from the same as G1077; legitimate (of birth), i.e. genuine:— own, sincerity, true.

Which translation is correct? A literal translation would seem to be "my legitimate son in the faith," but that would only make sense if Paul was Timothy's biological father.

Answer 1

In fact, both are correct when one understands the underlying meaning of the pertinent word, γνήσιος (gnésios), which means, according to BDAG:

1. one who is considered a valid member of a family, legitimate, true, eg, Pil 4:3, 1 Tim 1:2, Tit 1:4.

Understood this way, such a "child" of a father is one he "knows" about, that is his true, genuine and legitimate child. That is, not a child of an accident or illicit relationship of his wife. Thus, such a child is described as "my own son" (as distinct from the son of another man).

Thus, both the following versions have the correct translation:

• NIV, NLT, ESV, BSB, BLB, NKJV, NASB, CSB, ASV, GNT, NHEB, WEB: "true"
• KJV, KJ2000B, WBT: "own"
• ISV, LSV, NET, YLT: "genuine"
• LET: "legitimate"

Versions which are questionable at this point:

• NRSV: "loyal"
• DRB: "beloved"