Titus 1:5

ἀπέλιπον. So א*D2*; cp. 2 Timothy 4:20. WH prefer ἀπέλειπον with ACGI. The rec. text has κατέλιπον with אcD2cEK. κατέλειπον is the reading of LP. See exegetical note, and on ch. Titus 3:13.

ἐπιδιορθώσῃ. This, the rec. reading, is supported by אCD2bEbIKLP; AD2*EG* have ἐπιδιορθώσῃς, which probably arose from assimilation to καταστήσῃς.

5. THE DUTIES OF TITUS IN REFERENCE TO THE APPOINTMENT OF πρεσβύτεροι

5. τούτου χάριν, for this cause, sc. the reason introduced by ἴνα. He reminds Titus of what he had previously explained to him.

ἀπέλιπόν σε. See the crit. note; the aorist seems to give better sense than the imperfect. καταλείπειν is used much oftener in the N.T. than ἀπολείπειν, and may have got into the text as more familiar to scribes; if there is any difference in meaning, καταλείπειν is the stronger verb of the two and indicates a more permanent ‘leaving behind.’

ἐν Κρήτῃ. This cannot have been on the occasion mentioned Acts 27:7 ff., which is the only visit of St Paul to Crete of which we have any account; we refer this visit therefore (see Introd. p. xxxii.) to the period of liberty between the Apostle’s two imprisonments at Rome.

ἵνα τὰ λείποντα ἐπιδιορθώση, that thou thyself shouldest further (ἐπί = insuper) set in order the things that are defective; i.e. as Bengel paraphrases “quae ego per temporis brevitatem non potui expedire.” ἐπιδιορθοῦν does not occur again in the Greek Bible; the use of the middle voice here (the true reading, see crit. note) perhaps implies that the needful corrections are to be made by Titus himself, and not through the agency of others.

καὶ καταστήσῃς κατὰ πόλιν πρεσβυτέρους, and appoint presbyters in every city. So it was said of Paul and Barnabas χειροτονήσαντες δὲ αὐτοῖς κατʼ ἐκκλησίαν πρεσβυτέρους (Acts 14:23); Clement uses the verb καθιστάναι in a similar context: κατὰ χώρας οὖν καὶ πόλεις κηρύσσοντες καθίστανον τὰς�, δοκιμάσαντες τῷ πνεύματι, εἰς ἐπισκόπους καὶ διακόνους τῶν μελλόντων πιστεύειν (§ 42). For the use of κατὰ cp. Luke 8:1; Acts 15:21; Acts 20:23. The injunction does not, of course, imply that there is to be only one presbyter in each city, but simply provides for the due establishment and organisation of the presbyterate in the Christian communities. In this work Titus is to take the initiative in Crete; it is his duty.

ὠς ἐγώ σοι διεταξάμην, as I gave thee charge, ὡς including the mode of selection of presbyters as well as the duty of establishing them in every city.