2 Timothy 4:12

Tychicus The accent of the word shews it to be formed from the noun for -chance"; as with us a common surname is Chance.

Tychicus, a native of proconsular Asia (Acts 20:4), went with St Paul on the third missionary journey to Jerusalem, perhaps as a delegate from his own Church; was with him towards the close of the first imprisonment at Rome (Colossians 4:7); after the release was again with him on the way to Nicopolis (Titus 3:12); and now just before his death is sent to Ephesus. From St Paul's reference to him in Colossians 4:7 as his -beloved brother and faithful minister" we see the naturalness of his going on with the Apostle and St Luke to Rome.

have I sent Rightly, if we take the tense (as is most probable) to be the epistolary aorist. Instances of this in St Paul are 2 Corinthians 8:18; 2 Corinthians 8:22; 2 Corinthians 9:3; Galatians 6:11; Ephesians 6:22; Colossians 4:8; Philippians 2:25; Philippians 2:28; Philemon 1:11. St Paul then is sending Tychicus with this letter to take Timothy's place at Ephesus; he had therefore finally decided to send Artemas, not Tychicus, to Crete when he wanted to have Titus with him, Titus 3:12. See Introduction, pp. 43, 44.