Scholars are divided on reading the teachings on riches in 1 Tim. Evidence that has been largely overlooked in NT scholarship, Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus, suggests that the topic be revisited. Ephesiaca is a story about a rich Ephesian couple. This text brings to life what is known from ancient sources about the social setting and cultural rules of the rich in Ephesus and adds derails to enhance our knowledge of life and society. Recent scholarship has dated Ephesiaca to the mid-first century CE. If the Acts narrative is reliable, this locates the story in broadly the same timeframe as the ministry of Paul in Ephesus. Interestingly. the story contains some of the same general themes and rare terms found in the teachings on riches in I Tim. My argument does not focus on locating specific dates for I Tim or Ephesiaca. but rather, my aim is to analyze these two texts alongside each other and extant ancient sources. My dissertation begins by introducing Ephesiaca and the socio-rhetorical methodology used to explore it alongside other evidence and I Tim. The methodology has five parts: social and cultural texture, inner texture, intertexture. ideological texture, and sacred texture. The first texture is helpful for locating a Sitz im Leben of the rich in Ephesus, the social and cultural context that preceded the texts of I Tim and Ephesiaca. The four remai ni ng textu res are employed to scrutinize five passages: I Tim 2:9- \ 0; 3:1- 13; 6: 1-13; 6:2b- IO; and 6: 17- 19. The findings of this study reveal a fresh perspective on these texts. The teachings on riches in 1 Tim appear to call followers of Jesus to handle riches in a counter-cultural manner that is consistent with the trajectory of other NT teachings when read in light of ancient sources and Ephesiaca by Xenophon of Ephesus.

This dissertation investigates the practices of reward, discipline, and installation of leaders in the church as portrayed in 1 Timothy 5: 17-22. The text itself is examined, finding that well-governing congregational leaders were to be honoured for their labour and provided with tangible support, that leaders were to be protected from unsubstantiated accusations, that a leader whose misconduct was established was to be disciplined publicly, and that care was to be taken to put only worthy persons into positions of leadership. These practices are compared to those seen in the disputed and undisputed Pauline texts, the remainder of the New Testament, and the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, establishing significant similarities as well as differences, some of these reflecting the development from itinerant to resident leaders in the churches. The practices of cognate groups such as synagogues, the Essenes, and voluntary associations, seen in Jewish and Greco-Roman literature and inscriptions of the contemporary period (ending with the Apostolic Fathers), are investigated for similarities and differences. The study finds that, although there are some similarities to Jewish practices, these groups substantially differed from the instructions of 1 Timothy 5: 17-22 in their practices of reward, discipline and installation of leaders. In the Gracco- Roman context, in particular, leaders in these cognate groups were essentially immune from accusations made by group members and any resulting discipline. Similarly, the idea that leaders were to receive financial support from those below them was foreign to normal practice in these groups and was deemed not 'honourable'. The conclusion reached is that these congregational practices regarding leaders, while conceptually quite similar to principles given regarding itinerant Christian workers in the undisputed Paulines, are quite distinct from practices employed in the cultural milieu of the Pastoral Epistles. Some of these differences appear problematic, given the Pastoral Epistles' concerns about maintaining a good reputation among outsiders and not hindering the spread of the gospel.