ἀνέγκλητος : See notes on 1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Timothy 3:10.

μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἀνήρ : See on 1 Timothy 3:2.

τέκνα πιστά : It must be supposed that a Christian father who has unbelieving children is himself a recent convert, or a very careless Christian. The fact that St. Paul did not think it necessary to warn Timothy that such men were not eligible for the presbyterate is a proof that Christianity was at this time more firmly established in Ephesus than in Crete.

μὴ ἐν κατηγορίᾳ ἀσωτίας ἤ ἀνυπότακτα : It is significant that the moral requirements of the pastor's children are more mildly expressed in 1 Timothy 3:4-5; 1 Timothy 3:12. There it is the father's power to keep order in his own house that is emphasised; here the submission of the children to discipline and restraint.

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Old Testament