#tychicus

“As soon as I send either Artemas or Tychicus to you, come immediately and meet me in Nicopolis. I’ve decided to spend the winter there.” (Titus 3:12, MSB) Understanding the Scene Paul had arranged for either Artemas or Tychicus to be sent to Titus—a signal that Titus should immediately leave and meet Paul in Nicopolis for the winter. But what strikes deeper is Paul’s confidence in these two…

Col. 4:7-8. All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; This passage is the beginning of Paul’s final farewell to the churches of Colosse. His greetings and salutations in all of his epistles are personal and…

21 Ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ κατʼ ἐμέ, τί πράσσω, πάντα γνωρίσει ὑμῖν Τυχικὸς ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς διάκονος ἐν κυρίῳ, 22 ὃν ἔπεμψα πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ἵνα γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν.

23 Εἰρήνη τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς καὶ ἀγάπη μετὰ πίστεως ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. 24 ἡ χάρις μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἀγαπώντων τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν ἀφθαρσίᾳ.

My translation:

21 In order that you also might know the things concerning me, what I am doing, all these things Tychicus will make known to you, the loved brother and faithful servant in the lord, 22 who I sent to you unto this very reason, that you might know the things about us and he might encourage your hearts.

23 Peace be to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility.

Notes:

Verse 21

The purpose clause introduced by Ἵνα is dependent on the main verb γνωρίσει later in the sentence.

εἰδῆτε (from οἶδα) is subjunctive after ἵνα. It is technically a perfect, but with this verb it is translated as an English present (οἶδα does not occur as present or aorist in the NT).

EGGNT says καὶ ὑμεῖς, “you also”, may be a hint that Ephesians was delivered (by Tychicus) along with other letters (e.g. Colossians, Philemon).

τὰ is substantival with κατʼ ἐμέ (“the things concerning me”); NASB, NET: “about my circumstances”; ESV, NRSV, NIV: “how I am”.

πράσσω, “I behave”, “I accomplish”, here is, “do” or “be”. τί πράσσω, “what I am doing” (NIV, ESV, NRSV), “how I am doing” (NASB, NET), is in apposition to τὰ κατʼ ἐμέ. ICC says, ‘“how I do,” not “what I am doing”’.

πάντα is substantival; its antecedent is τὰ κατʼ ἐμέ, τί πράσσω.

The main verb in verses 21-11 is the future γνωρίσει (from γνωρίζω); the subject is Τυχικὸς.

ὁ... ἀδελφὸς καὶ... διάκονος is in apposition to Τυχικὸς. It is an example of the Granville Sharp rule, two non-personal singular nouns united by a single article refer to a single individual. EGGNT notes that because of this rule, the prepositional phrase ἐν κυρίῳ modifies both ἀδελφὸς and διάκονος.

Verse 22

The antecedent of the masculine accusative ὃν is Τυχικὸς.

ἔπεμψα (from πέμπω) is an epistolary aorist, meaning that the past-tense is intended to be relative to the time of the audience reading, not from the time of Paul writing.

εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, literally “unto this same”, is “for this very purpose” (most translations).

The purpose clause introduced by ἵνα restates the one in the previous verse, but then expands upon it with παρακαλέω.

γνῶτε (from γινώσκω) is subjunctive after ἵνα. The aorist tense refers to the one-time report of Tychicus upon his arrival.

τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν, “the things about us”, is parallel with τὰ κατʼ ἐμέ, but now is expanded to the 1st person plural.

This verse is unusual, in that the New Testament rarely features a switch of subjects (from the 2P subject of γνῶτε to the 3S subject of παρακαλέσῃ) in the same clause, without the use of a participle or relative pronoun.

παρακαλέω here is, “encourage” (most translations), “comfort” (NASB).

EGGNT says that καρδία is synecdoche for the whole person; but I rather think that the whole person is not encouraged, but the καρδία as the seat of courage to ancient thought.

Verse 23

There is no main verb in this verse (or the next); EGGNT says that εἴη is implied (“May peace be to the brothers”).

ICC notes that Paul's benedictions are usually in the second person, not third, adding weight to the theory that this was written as a circular letter.

Εἰρήνη... καὶ ἀγάπη μετὰ πίστεως (“Peace and love with faith”) is the subject of εἴη. EGGNT says ἀγάπη μετὰ πίστεως implies close association between love and faith. ICC says, ‘πίστις is presupposed, therefore it is not ἀγάπη καὶ πίστις’.

Verse 24

εἴη is again assumed in this verse (“May grace be with...”).

πάντων τῶν ἀγαπώντων is substantival (“all those who love”); the present tense indicates ongoing love. τὸν κύριον is the direct object of ἀγαπώντων.

Colossians 4:7

7 Tychicus, a beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts, 9 with Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will make known to you all things which are happening here.

  The Bible Knowledge…

Notes on Colossians 4.7 - #Bible #Tychicus #servants

As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information, Col 4.7 NASB.

Today’s MOST Bible verseis Col 4.7. Most Bible versions prefer translating the Greek word διάκονος as “minister” rather than its general sense, “servant.” Why is that? (A few, mostly off-versions, translate it as “deacon.”) Are they tainted by a…

MOST: Paul describes Tychicus

Meditate on this verse:

As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information, Colossians 4.7 NASB.

Offer this prayer:

Heavenly Father, make me worthy of such fine descriptions as Paul made about Tychicus. Help me to dedicate myself to the saints. Lead me to work alongside dedicated laborers in the Kingdom. Hold me…

Roman Catholic Proper 23 Revised Common Lectionary Proper 18

Complementary Hebrew Scripture Torah Lesson: Deuteronomy 7:12-26

If you heed these ordinances¹, by diligently observing them, the Lord your God will maintain with you the covenant loyalty that he swore to your ancestors; he will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock, in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you. You shall be the most blessed of peoples, with neither sterility nor barrenness among you or your livestock. The Lord will turn away from you every illness; all the dread diseases of Egypt that you experienced, he will not inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. You shall devour all the peoples that the Lord your God is giving over to you, showing them no pity; you shall not serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

If you say to yourself, “These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?” do not be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the pestilence against them, until even the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed. Have no dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to make a quick end of them, otherwise the wild animals would become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will give them over to you, and throw them into great panic, until they are destroyed. He will hand their kings over to you and you shall blot out their name from under heaven; no one will be able to stand against you, until you have destroyed them. The images of their gods you shall burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, because you could be ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. Do not bring an abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You must utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.

¹The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21)

Semi-continuous Hebrew Scripture from the Latter Prophets: Jeremiah 16:14—17:4

Therefore, the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, “As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of Egypt,” but “As the Lord lives who brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the lands where he had driven them.” For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their ancestors.

I am now sending for many fishermen, says the Lord, and they shall catch them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my presence, nor is their iniquity concealed from my sight. And I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.

O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: Our ancestors have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can mortals make for themselves gods? Such are no gods!

“Therefore I am surely going to teach them, this time I am going to teach them my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.”

The sin of Judah is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts, and on the horns of their altars, while their children remember their altars and their sacred poles, beside every green tree, and on the high hills, on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your sin throughout all your territory. By your own act you shall lose the heritage that I gave you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.

Complementary Psalm 1

Happy are those  who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread,  or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord,  and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees  planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season,  and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,  but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,  nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,  but the way of the wicked will perish.

Semi-continuous Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up;  you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down,  and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue,  O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before,  and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;  it is so high that I cannot attain it.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;  you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,  intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days  that were formed for me,  when none of them as yet existed. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!  How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand;  I come to the end—I am still with you.

New Testament Epistle Lesson: Colossians 4:7-17

Tychicus will tell you all the news about me; he is a beloved brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts; he is coming with Onesimus, the faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, as does Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him. And Jesus who is called Justus greets you. These are the only ones of the circumcision among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you. He is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured in everything that God wills. For I testify for him that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea. And say to Archippus, “See that you complete the task that you have received in the Lord.”

Year C Ordinary 23, Catholic Proper 23, RCL Proper 18: Friday