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NASB | 1 Timothy 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 3:2 Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, |
Bible Question: In giving the qualifications of a elder/deacon or overseer, Paul says to both Timothy and Titus that they should be a "husband of but one wife". What is the significance of the but in these scriptures? |
Bible Answer: It means he must be married. There is no word "but" in the Greek, and most English versions that have the word indicate so by having the word in italics. The word "one" here is not a numeral, but rather an adjective. Consider verse 1 Timothy 5:9. "having been the wife of one man" Here the word is the word "one" is the Greek word "heis", which is of course the appropriate numeral Paul chooses to use. After all a woman who marries another while her first husband yet lives is an adulteress. The word for "one" in 1 Timothy 3:2 is the word "mia". One doesn't have to use the word "one" as a numeral as I have done with the first word in this sentence. Thats what we see with one in this context. Consider that "mia" is also translated into the following words: "first", "a certain", and "the other" Any thats my answer...years late... But it means he needs to be married. God Bless, Robert |