Discovery Box1 Timothy 3:2-3 
Context3:2 The overseer 1 then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, 2 temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, 3:3 not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money.
1 Timothy 3:7
Context3:7 And he must be well thought of by 3 those outside the faith, 4 so that he may not fall into disgrace and be caught by the devil’s trap. 5
1 tn Or “bishop.”
sn Although some see the article with overseer as indicating a single leader at the top of the ecclesiastical structure (thus taking the article as monadic), this is hardly necessary. It is naturally taken generically (referring to the class of leaders known as overseers) and, in fact, finds precedent in 2:11-12 (“a woman,” “a man”), 2:15 (“she”). Paul almost casually changes between singular and plural in both chapters.
2 tn Or “a man married only once,” “devoted solely to his wife” (see 1 Tim 3:12; 5:9; Titus 1:6). The meaning of this phrase is disputed. It is frequently understood to refer to the marital status of the church leader, excluding from leadership those who are (1) unmarried, (2) polygamous, (3) divorced, or (4) remarried after being widowed. A different interpretation is reflected in the NEB’s translation “faithful to his one wife.”
3 tn Or “have a good reputation with”; Grk “have a good testimony from.”
4 tn Grk “the ones outside.”
5 tn Or “be trapped like the devil was”; Grk “fall into the trap of the devil.” The parallel in 2 Tim 2:26 supports the rendering given in the text.
