Texts in Conversation
1 Timothy uses language similar to Ecclesiastes when teaching that loving money leads to worry and loss. Ecclesiastes calls wealth fleeting and empty, and 1 Timothy echoes this, describing the desire for wealth as a path to destruction.
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Ecclesiastes 5:13
Hebrew Bible
10 The one who loves money will never be satisfied with money; he who loves wealth will never be satisfied with his income. This also is futile. 11 When someone’s prosperity increases, those who consume it also increase; so what does its owner gain, except that he gets to see it with his eyes? 12 The sleep of the laborer is pleasant—whether he eats little or much—but the wealth of the rich will not allow him to sleep. 13 Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen: Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery. 14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him. 15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came, and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.
1 Timothy 6:10
New Testament
8 But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that. 9 Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains. 11 But you, as a person dedicated to God, keep away from all that. Instead pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness.
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Notes and References
"... In 1 Timothy 6, Paul emphasizes the transient nature of material possessions, drawing on themes found in Job 1:21, Ecclesiastes 5:15, and Luke 12:16-21 to stress that we enter and leave the world with nothing. This highlights a theology of stewardship rather than ownership, asserting that material things are temporary and should not be the focus of life. The Greek phrase οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰσηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι δυνάμεθα is translated to express this truth clearly: we brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out. ..."
Oyeniyi, O.D.
An Exegetical Analysis of Contentment and Detachment in 1 Timothy 6:6-10: Implications for Addressing Materialism in Contemporary Nigerian Society
(pp. 11-29) Biblical Studies Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2025
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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