Timothy was born in Lystra of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. He was reared in the Jewish faith and was taught the Scriptures by his mother and grandmother from early childhood (2 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 1:5). Paul discovered him at Lystra (Acts 16:1-3). At this point in Paul's second missionary journey Timothy joined Paul and shared in his labors throughout the rest of his life.

Timothy was with Paul in his first imprisonment at Rome (Col. 1:1; Philemon 1). After Paul's release he evidently traveled with Paul as far as Ephesus and was left there to administer to the needs of the Church. While there, he received these two epistles from Paul that bear his name. Although Timothy is referred to as a young men, he is probably about 30 years old at the time he receives this epistle.

First Timothy was written after the events recorded in Acts took place. Following Paul's two year imprisonment at Rome mentioned in the last chapter of Acts it is believed that Paul was set free and enjoyed liberty for two or three years before being reimprisoned and finally executed about 66 or 67 AD. Paul's two letters to Timothy, along with his letter to Titus, are referred to the Pastoral Epistles due to the focus on church leadership.

Multimedia Teachings
by Dennis McCallum

Multimedia Teachings
by Jim Leffel

Background of Timothy

New Testament Teachings