Texts in Conversation
The Wisdom of Solomon portrays God as merciful to all and detesting nothing he has made, an early expression of divine love for the whole human race. Titus echoes that universal language as the appearing of God’s grace for all people.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 11:23
Deuterocanon
22 Because the whole world before you is like a speck that tips the scales, and like a drop of morning dew that falls on the ground. 23 But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook people's sins, so that they may repent. 24 For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have made, for you would not have made anything if you had hated it. 25 How would anything have endured if you had not willed it? Or how would anything not called forth by you have been preserved? 26 You spare all things, for they are yours, O Lord, you who love the living.
Titus 2:11
New Testament
10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, in order to bring credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything. 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Search:
Notes and References
... χρηστότης, “goodness, kindness, uprightness, generosity” (BAGD 886; Knight, Faithful Sayings, 86), can mean human kindness (2 Corinthians 6:6; Galatians 5:22; Colossians 3:12), but more often the word refers to the goodness of God toward people (Romans 2:4; 9:23 variant; 11:22; Ephesians 2:7), especially in the secular literature (K. Weiss, TDNT 9:489–91). It therefore forms a natural association with φιλανθρωπία, “philanthropy,” which maintains its etymological meaning, a “love for people” (compare Acts 28:2; cognate in Acts 27:3; compare U. Luck, TDNT 9:111–12; Quinn, 214–15). Spicq shows how the word was used in Hellenistic thought of the love shown to people by the gods or kings. ... When God is the subject, it speaks of his love for people in general. ... ἐπιφαίνειν, “to appear,” is always used in the New Testament of Jesus’ appearing (compare Titus 2:11), so Paul probably sees Jesus as the embodiment of God the Father’s goodness and philanthropy. ...
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.