Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Timothy 5:23
Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
23. Drink no longer water ] The form of the verb and its tense require the fuller rendering of R.V., Be no longer a drinker of water. The connexion seems to be; ‘you have, I know, among other means of training and disciplining yourself in “purity,” been a water-drinker; but have the courage of a sanctified common sense; this is not the only way, nor even for you the right way, to your end; if your stomach is out of order and your health much enfeebled, take a little wine as medicine, not as indulgence.’
thine often infirmities ] ‘Infirmities’ was a stronger word formerly than now: the Greek word is frequently rendered ‘sickness,’ cf. Joh 11:3-4, ‘He whom thou lovest is sick,’ ‘this sickness is not unto death,’ ‘Lazarus is dead.’ Two observations may be made on this verse with regard to the question, (1) of temperance, (2) of authorship.
(1) According to the principles of the Church of England Temperance Society the resolution of total abstinence is taken (as it was by Timothy) by those who see in it a discipline in Christian life, or a help in Christian love, and is expressly guarded by the reservation ‘except under medical advice;’ and the question whether wine and other alcoholic drinks are generally useful in illness is one quite open among C.E.T.S. total abstainers, as among doctors. On a point of medical science St Paul’s lay experience will not be claimed as a final settlement.
(2) The verse is so casually introduced that, as Dr Farrar remarks, ‘though we see at once how it may have occurred to St Paul’s thoughts since otherwise the former rule might have led to a self-denial still more rigid (Rom 14:2), and even injurious to health it is far too natural and spontaneous, too entirely disconnected from all that precedes and follows it, to have occurred to any imitator. An imitator, if capable of introducing the natural play of thought to which the precept “keep thyself pure” is due, would have been far more likely to add and especially in an Epistle which so scrupulously forbids indulgence in wine to all Church officials “and, in order to promote this purity, take as little wine as possible, or avoid it altogether.” ’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Drink no longer water – There has been much difficulty felt in regard to the connection which this advice has with what precedes and what follows. Many have considered the difficulty to be so great that they have supposed that this verse has been displaced, and that it should be introduced in some other connection. The true connection, and the reason for the introduction of the counsel here, seems to me to be this: Paul appears to have been suddenly impressed with the thought – a thought which is very likely to come over a man who is writing on the duties of the ministry – of the arduous nature of the ministerial office. He was giving counsels in regard to an office which required a great amount of labor, care, and anxiety. The labors enjoined were such as to demand all the time; the care and anxiety incident to such a charge would be very likely to prostrate the frame, and to injure the health. Then he remembered that Timothy was yet but a youth; he recalled his feebleness of constitution and his frequent attacks of illness; he recollected the very abstemious habits which he had prescribed for himself, and, in this connection, he urges him to a careful regard for his health, and prescribes the use of a small quantity of wine, mingled with his water, as a suitable medicine in his case. Thus considered, this direction is as worthy to be given by an inspired teacher as it is to counsel a man to pay a proper regard to his health, and not needlessly to throw away his life; compare Mat 10:23. The phrase, drink no longer water, is equivalent to, drink not water only; see numerous instances in Wetstein. The Greek word here used does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament.
But use a little wine – Mingled with the water – the common method of drinking wine in the East; see Robinsons Bibliotheca Sacra, 1:512, 513.
For thy stomachs sake – It was not for the pleasure to be derived from the use of wine, or because it would produce hilarity or excitement, but solely because it was regarded as necessary for the promotion of health; that is, as a medicine.
And thine often infirmities – astheneias – Weaknesses or sicknesses. The word would include all infirmities of body, but seems to refer here to some attacks of sickness to which Timothy was liable, or to some feebleness of constitution; but beyond this we have no information in regard to the nature of his maladies. In view of this passage, and as a further explanation of it, we may make the following remarks:
(1) The use of wine, and of all intoxicating drinks, was solemnly forbidden to the priests under the Mosaic law, when engaged in the performance of their sacred duties; Lev 10:9-10. The same was the case among the Egyptian priests. Clarke; compare notes on 1Ti 3:3. It is not improbable that the same thing would be regarded as proper among those who ministered in holy things under the Christian dispensation. The natural feeling would be, and not improperly, that a Christian minister should not be less holy than a Jewish priest, and especially when it is remembered that the reason of the Jewish law remained the same – that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and clean and unclean.
(2) It is evident from this passage that Timothy usually drank water only, or that, in modern language, he was a tee-totaller. He was, evidently, not in the habit of drinking wine, or he could not have been exhorted to do it.
(3) He must have been a remarkably temperate youth to have required the authority of an apostle to induce him to drink even a little wine; see Doddridge. There are few young men so temperate as to require such an authority to induce them to do it.
(4) The exhortation extended only to a very moderate use of wine. It was not to drink it freely; it was not to drink it at the tables of the rich and the great, or in the social circle; it was not even to drink it by itself; it was to use a little, mingled with water – for this was the usual method; see Athaeneus, Deipno. lib. 9: x. 100:7.
(5) It was not as a common drink, but the exhortation or command extends only to its use as a medicine. All the use which can be legitimately made of this injunction – whatever conclusion may be drawn from other precepts – is, that it is proper to use a small quantity of wine for medicinal purposes.
(6) There are many ministers of the gospel, now, alas! to whom under no circumstances could an apostle apply this exhortation – Drink no longer water only. They would ask, with surprise, what he meant? whether he intended it in irony, and for banter – for they need no apostolic command to drink wine. Or if he should address to them the exhortation, use a little wine, they could regard it only as a reproof for their usual habit of drinking much. To many, the exhortation would be appropriate, if they ought to use wine at all, only because they are in the habit of using so much that it would be proper to restrain them to a much smaller quantity.
(7) This whole passage is one of great value to the cause of temperance. Timothy was undoubtedly in the habit of abstaining wholly from the use of wine. Paul knew this, and he did not reprove him for it. He manifestly favored the general habit, and only asked him to depart in some small degree from it, in order that he might restore and preserve his health. So far, and no further, is it right to apply this language in regard to the use of wine; and the minister who should follow this injunction would be in no danger of disgracing his sacred profession by the debasing and demoralizing sin of intemperance.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Ti 5:23
Drink no longer water.
Timothy charged to take care of his health
I. The first thought presented is, that a living and deep piety, a Christian activity, extended as far as can be imagined, should neither extinguish in us a certain interest in the things of the earth, nor abate the force of the natural and legitimate ties which unite us to parents and friends. St. Paul is certainly a proof of it. What faith was firmer and more ardent than his! A man who said (and what he said he felt): It is no longer I who live, but Christ that liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal 2:20). A man who affirmed that he had a desire to depart, and be with Christ; which was far better (Php 1:23). Well! it is that apostle who, in the midst of a life so filled up, in spite of so many engagements and perplexities of every kind, preserves that freedom of mind necessary to remember the physical infirmities of one of his disciples; it is he who, in a letter of such grave contents and of so serious a tone, in which he discourses on the duties of the evangelical ministry, and where he imparts to him his own personal experiences, finds time, place, and means of reminding him to take care of his health, which, perhaps, he neglected. Does not that attention, so fraternal and so delicate on the part of the apostle, serve to put in the clearest light this truth, which, nevertheless, issues with sufficient clearness from the general contents of the gospel, that a purely contemplative religious life is rather an abuse than the fruit of true Christianity; that faith has by no means the effect of filling our heads with frothy and mystic ideas which are not applicable to every-day life, and that if it elevates us above the world, it is in order to help us over its troubles and free us from its miseries, but not to make us strangers to the various relations which we have to sustain, nor to the duties which we have to practise here? And to speak only of the ties of blood and of friendship, or of those still sweeter and more powerful ones, of Christian brotherhood, does not St. Paul, when exhorting his disciple not to enslave himself to a plan of abstinence which might have become fatal to him, teach us that if we are sincere disciples of the Saviour, His love, which lives in our hearts, should perfect us in that respect and render us capable of sympathizing more and more with the necessities of our suffering and afflicted friends, of understanding their position, of giving us just ideas of their perplexities, of taking part in their burdens. There are Christians who are pre-occupied with the concerns of heaven, to the extent of forgetting a part of the duties which they have to fulfil on this earth, as parents, as friends, as citizens. In their religious rigour the human element is blotted out, rather than freed from the impure alloy of evil.
II. If St. Paul, exhorting his disciple Timothy not to impose unnecessary abstinence upon himself, and to take care of his health, presents to us the model of that tender, vigilant, and delicate character which is fully allied with the highest degree of the religious life. Timothy, who on his part seems to have placed himself in the position of needing that lesson–teaches us, by his example, that a lively concern for the interests of our souls ought not to make us neglect the care of our bodies. This would prove, so to speak, by the way that the most pious and sincere men are subject to fall by excess of zeal into exaggerations, which the Word of God is far from approving of; and it ought to make us feel the necessity of enlightening ourselves more and more on the will of God as regards us, by always joining intelligence with piety, the understanding of Divine things with fervour, or, to speak with the apostle St. Peter, by adding to faith, knowledge (2Pe 1:5), lest we should give way to whims and take peculiar paths from which it would be difficult later on to return. No doubt it is better, in the act, to go astray after the manner of Timothy, than to sin after the example of men of the world; and it is beyond all dispute that he who impairs his health through the effect of long and persevering labours, undertaken with the view of advancing the Saviours kingdom, and on account of having listened to nothing but the inspirations of a zeal which knew no limit, and which yielded to no obstacle, is, without comparison, infinitely less culpable before God than the carnal man who, on account of having altogether given way to his senses and slackened the bridle of his passions, has ruined his strength and destroyed his body. But, viewed in connection with God, the body is the work of the Creator, and, although degraded by sin, it still bears certain marks of Divine origin. Estimated with relation to our soul, it serves as its organ; it is intended to be the instrument of its desires, the executor of its volitions. Considered in connection with our fellow-men, it has been given us to be a means of communication with them, and in general with the objects and beings which compose the visible world in which we are placed. Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful, in order to your furtherance and joy of faith (Php 1:24-25). And it was that conviction which led him to save himself for the work of God and for the salvation of the Church. Let us live for heaven, but let us never forget the task which we have to fulfil on earth.
III. Yet, you will have observed, that whilst putting Timothy on his guard against the dangers of an overstrained abstinence, and recommending him not to deprive himself of a natural drink which God has created for the benefit of man, the apostle gives us in passing a lesson of temperance; for instead of simply recommending his disciple to have recourse to the use of wine as a cordial and as a remedy, he takes the precaution of saying to him, use a little wine. Unquestionably that restriction was scarcely necessary as regards Timothy, since there is no appearance of his having ever abused the liberty which his teacher gave him; but can we doubt that if St. Paul had expressed himself in a manner more general and without employing that moderation of language, libertines would have hastened to seize upon his words, to confirm themselves in their irregularities? Sobriety, indeed, is, however, at all times obedience to a law established by God Himself in creation, and for the benefit and interest of the man who accepts it and who submits to it. God has so ordered things in the world where He has placed us, that the moderate use of the good things which He dispenses to us brings with it blessing; whilst the abuse of the same enjoyments has for its consequence a curse. It is the same with all the gifts of the Creator–intemperance turns them into poisons, the want of sobriety transforms them into means of destruction. Too much sleep, for example, weakens the body; too much pleasure enervates it; too much rest benumbs it; too much food thickens the burnouts; too much drink agitates and consumes it. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober (1Th 5:6). Sober in our sufferings as well as in our joys; in our sadness as well as in our pleasures; sober in rest, sober in activity; sober when watching, sober in sleep; sober in body, sober in mind.
IV. In fine, the advice addressed by Paul to Timothy to drink no longer only water, but to use a little wine on account of his frequent indispositions, gives occasion to a last question which might appear idle at first sight, but which is certainly not so when viewed in its practical consequences; and that question is this: How is it that St. Paul, who had received from Christ the gift of working miracles, does not apply that gift in order to heal his disciple? Would it have cost him much, who, in the town of Lystra, restored to an impotent man the free use of his limbs, formerly paralyzed–him who chased from a poor young woman at Philippi the lying spirit with which she had been possessed for a long time–him who at Troas had only to bend over the body of a young man fallen from the third story of a house into the street, in order to call him back into life; would it have cost him, I say, much to deliver Timothy from a malady slight in itself, although serious enough to have brought him into a state of weakness? To these various questions we believe that we can answer, that it does not appear that the apostles could work miracles every time that they wished; that they were in that respect directed from on high, and that in this particular case it is probable that Paul, after having consulted the Lord by prayer, was turned aside from the idea of freeing Timothy from his physical infirmities by means of a miraculous cure, or, at least, that he did not feel free to do it. Miracles are for those who do not believe, to predispose them to faith; but for those who already believe, of what necessity could they be? Timothy, converted to Jesus Christ and a minister of the gospel, had then no need of the manifestation of the power of Jesus Christ in his body, because he felt that same power work in the regeneration of his soul. But what was more necessary than a miracle for him, more profitable than a supernatural cure, was affliction; and that is, without doubt, the reason why the apostle, taught in that respect by his own experience, did not wish to heal him suddenly, although he employed all the counsels of a wise friendship to bring him over gradually and by natural ways to a state of health which he could wish for him, but which he did not believe himself authorized to procure for him instantaneously. Is there any school so good as that of trial? We have seen that we should not voluntarily and by our own fault create trials for ourselves; we should be satisfied with those which the Lord sends us. But if, on the one hand, it would be culpable to plunge into, or to complain in, afflictions of which we ourselves are the manufacturers, we must not, on the other hand, harden ourselves under the hand of the Saviour when it lies heavy upon us. (J. Grandpierre, D. D.)
Pauls advice to Timothy
I. The speaker, who is undoubtedly the apostle Paul. We have not only to notice his friendship and regard for his son Timothy, but we may learn that it is the duty, and should be the practice, of the ministers of Jesus Christ, to attend to the state of the health of their people. It may be observed, that the apostle recommended the ordinary means; we never find a miracle wrought where common and usual means would answer the purpose. The apostle John could not heal his friend Gaius, and therefore prays heartily for him. Nor could Paul heal Trophimus, and therefore left him sick at Miletus. This proves that the apostles power of working miracles, or performing cures, was confined and limited; and it was wise and kind in Providence in confining the prerogative in His own hand, as some, no doubt, would have neglected the use of ordinary means; and in some instances the apostles might have employed their power on improper occasions.
II. The person addressed. Timothy, the pious descendant of a pious mother Eunice, and grandmother Lois. But Timothy, with all his piety, has imperfections; and this furnishes us with the idea, that good men are liable to indispositions. It has been often observed, that the last step of a virtue and the first of a vice are nearly contiguous. Frugality is commendable, but how likely is it to lead to covetousness, which is a vice. This should teach us to avoid extremes, as extremes in all cases are dangerous. From Timothy, the person spoken to, we learn that good and useful men are subject to many infirmities. Besides the many instances left us on record in the Scriptures, we may notice those of more modern ones. That great advocate for reformation, Dr. Owen, the pious and heavenly-minded Richard Baxter, the seraphic James Hervey, and the sweet singer in British Israel, Dr. Watts, not forgetting that laborious preacher George Whitfield, are all instances of the truth of this observation, and could all say many years before their death, The graves are ready for us.
III. The import of the advice given. Take a little wine for thy stomachs sake, etc., which furnishes two observations, namely–
1. That it is the duty of Christians to use means, and to take care to restore and preserve the state of their health. Instances may be referred to where this advice, if it had been observed, would have prevented many a fatal sickness. The benefit and blessing of health may be considered in the humble walks of life; in the poor labourer, the support of whose family depends on his labour, and whose labour depends on his health. It may be considered among the higher ranks of life. What is the benefit or enjoyment of a well-spread table, of a well-furnished mansion, of extensive possessions without health? But health is of importance in a religious view.
2. We may observe, that the Christian is not forbid the use and enjoyment of any created good. (W. Jay.)
Bodily infirmities
I. We believe that the sacred Scriptures would be found far more edify ing and consoling than they are at present by many experienced to be, if we were to endeavour to realize to ourselves the personal habits and circumstances of the saints and martyrs whose acts form the groundwork of the inspired volume. Nay, inasmuch as the life of most men is private and domestic, we may think that it would be most advantageous if we possessed a narrative of the secret life of Christ. In the contemplation of St. Timothy harassed with a sick body, and of St. Paul plying his trade of tent-making, in order to obtain daily bread, and probably to provide the funds for future apostolic journeys, we have a lesson of infinite value. We are all, more or less, accustomed to find excuses for our religious deficiencies in the accidents of our state and condition. But every individual has his own excuse, the trade of one occupies his time; the ill health of another prevents his going about doing good; the poverty of a third incapacitates him. As with the laity so with the clergy, we have each our own plea for not doing all that we might, for labouring less than we know in our hearts it is our bounden duty to do. And a very marked rebuke to all such is the contemplation of the old saints and apostles, as we now present them. They had their own private lets and hindrances, draw backs to their utility, impediments to their efficiency; yet what a work was theirs! To be the reformers and restorers of the world, the regenerators of the universe; to bring about the overthrow of idolatry, and the recognition of the one true God. Timothy was overwhelmed with often infirmities. And yet these were the men who changed the religion of the world! Oh, noble triumph of the spirit over matter! Oh, glorious victory of Divine grace! What excuse have we for our carelessness and remissness, our sluggishness and indolence? What hindrances have we, which they had not tenfold? Are we poor, and therefore seemingly unable to help others? St. Paul worked at tent-making. Are we delicately nurtured and weak in health? Timothy was a man of many infirmities. Are we slow of speech, and unused to address our brethren? St. Pauls utterance was indistinct.
II. What we have hitherto endeavoured to set before you has been simply this, that the first disciples of Christ had to contend not only with extraordinary but ordinary difficulties. Sickness and infirmity was their portion, even as it is ours: yet they did their work; they did not make their personal weaknesses or their poverty any excuse for spiritual idleness. The lesson is easy. If they, in the face not merely of a hostile world, but in spite of all sorts of personal drawbacks, fought so long and well the fight of faith, how utterly inexcusable are we in making our private engagements, or want of means or health, pleas for remaining idle. Yea, this is the account we have to give you of Timothy, as implied in the text. Wonderfully met in him, health and disease, strength and infirmity. Called to severe labour in the vineyard of his Lord, with the charge of an entire Church upon him, how needful we think must it have been that his frame should be strong, and his health firm. Nevertheless, when God sent him sickness, he desired not to be rid of it. (Bp. Woodford.)
Wine and health
Dr. B. N. Richardson, of London, the noted physician, says he was recently able to convey a considerable amount of conviction to an intelligent scholar by a simple experiment. The scholar was singing the praises of the ruddy bumper, and saying he could not get through the day without it, when Dr. Richardson said to him, Will you be good enough to feel my pulse as I stand here? He did so. I said, Count it carefully. What does it say? Your pulse says seventy-four. I then sat down in a chair, and asked him to count it again. He did so, and said, Your pulse has gone down to seventy. I then lay down on the lounge, and said, Will you take it again? He replied, Why, it is only sixty-four! What an extraordinary thing! I then said, When you lie down at night, that is the way nature gives your heart rest. You know nothing about it, but that beating organ is resting to that extent; and if you reckon it up it is a great deal of rest, because in lying down the heart is doing ten strokes less a minute. Multiply that by sixty, it is six hundred; multiply it by eight hours, and within a fraction it is five thousand strokes different, and as the heart is throwing six ounces of blood at every stroke, it makes a difference of thirty thousand ounces of lifting during the night. When I lie down at night without any alcohol that is the rest my heart gets. But when you take your wine or grog you do not allow that rest, for the influence of alcohol is to increase the number of strokes, and instead of getting this rest you put on something like fifteen thousand extra strokes, and the result is that you rise up very seedy, and unfit for the next days work till you have taken a little more of the ruddy bumper, which you say is the soul of man below. (Naval Brigade News.)
Health a duty
Health underlies all there is of a man. I think a man ill-bodied cannot think healthily. It would surprise people to see how many things which have shaken the world with controversy, and burdened it with error, bad their origin in indigestion. Health is a duty. If a man would carry his mind aright, and have it work with power, let him seek to be healthy. (H. W. Beecher.)
Christians should not encourage wine drinking
Some say, You must not force your principles on other people. I am a teetotaler myself; I would not touch alcohol, but then I will put it on my table for other people. They say you must not take the liberty of people away. A man that preached the gospel told me that some time ago. He said that some men had to drink it as a medicine, and that was the reason he placed it on his table. I said to him, Then why dont you put a dish of pills on the table as well? We have heard enough about it as a medicine, and it will be a grand day for England when you just sweep the stuff out of the island–the whole of it right out from your tables. Dare to be singular! (D. L. Moody.)
Asceticism
I. A Christian is called upon to care for his physical health. The body is not to be despised or neglected. It is the temple of the Holy Ghost, to be thought of, and dealt with, reverently. Disordered nerves and deranged functions have much to do with gloomy views of God and hopeless views of men. For the sake, therefore, of ones moral and religious life, all that can be done to keep the body and brain in healthy condition and exercise, should be done religiously.
II. A Christian is bound to control animal appetite. (A. Rowland, LL. B.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine] The whole of this verse seems, to several learned critics and divines, strangely inserted in this place; it might have been, according to them, a note which the apostle inserted in the margin of his letter, on recollecting the precarious state of Timothy’s health, and his great abstemiousness and self-denial. I believe the verse to be in its proper place; and, for reasons which I shall adduce, not less necessary than the directions which precede and follow it. But it may be necessary to inquire a little into the reasons of the advice itself. The priests under the Mosaic law, while performing sacred rites, were forbidden to drink wine: Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever through your generations; Le 10:9; Eze 44:21. It was the same with the Egyptian priests. It was forbidden also among the Romans, and particularly to women and young persons. PLATO, De Legibus, lib. ii., edit. Bip., vol. viii., page 86, speaks thus: ‘ , , – , , – , , . . . “Shall we not ordain by law, in the first place, that boys shall not, on any account, taste wine till they are eighteen years old? In the next place, we should inform them that wine is to be used moderately till they are thirty years old. But when they have attained the fortieth year, then they may attend feasts; for Bacchus has bestowed wine upon men as a remedy against the austerity of old age, , ‘ , , , , that through this we might acquire a second youth, forget sorrow, and the manners of the mind be rendered softer, as iron is softened by the action of the fire.” But wine, according to the assertions of some, was given to men as a punishment, that they might be rendered insane: ‘ , , page 100. “But we have now said that it is, on the contrary, medicine; and was given that the soul might acquire modesty, and the body health and vigour.”
From Athenaeus we learn that the Greeks often mingled their wine with water; sometimes one part of wine to two of water; three parts of water to one of wine; and at other times three parts of water to two of wine. See his Deipnosophistae, lib. ix. “Among the Locrians, if any one was found to have drunk unmixed wine, unless prescribed by a physician, he was punished with death; the laws of Zaleucus so requiring. And among the Romans, no servant, nor free woman, , nor youths of quality, drank any wine till they were thirty years of age.” Deipnosoph., lib. x. c. 7, p. 429. And it was a maxim among all, that continued water-drinking injured the stomach. Thus Libanius, Epist. 1578. “Our stomach is weakened by continual water-drinking.”
From 1Ti 4:12, we learn that Timothy was a young man; but as among the Greeks and Roman the state of youth or adolescence was extended to thirty years, and no respectable young men were permitted to drink wine before that time; allowing that Timothy was about twenty when Paul had him circumcised, which was, according to Calmet, in the year of our Lord 51, and that this epistle was written about A. D. 64 or 65, then Timothy must have been about thirty-five when he received this epistle; and as that was on the borders of adolescence, and as the Scripture generally calls that youth that is not old age, Timothy might be treated as a young man by St. Paul, as in the above text, and might still feel himself under the custom of his country relative to drinking wine, (for his father was a Greek, Ac 16:1,) and, through the influence of his Christian profession, still continue to abstain from wine, drinking water only; which must have been very prejudicial to him, his weak state of health considered, the delicacy of his stomach, and the excess of his ecclesiastical labours.
As Timothy’s life was of great consequence to the Church of God at Ephesus, it was not unworthy of the Spirit of God to give the direction in the text, and to mingle it immediately with what some have called more solemn and important advice.
1. It was necessary that the work should be done in the Church at Ephesus which the apostle appointed to Timothy.
2. There was no person at Ephesus fit to do this work but Timothy.
3. Timothy could not continue to do it if he followed his present mode of abstemiousness.
4. It was necessary, therefore, that he should receive direction from Divine authority relative to the preservation of his life, and consequently the continuation of his usefulness, as it is not likely that a minor authority would have weighed with him.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Drink no longer water; not wholly, as many did in those countries, and Timothy probably did, not because he was not able to buy wine, but religiously, as a piece of discipline to keep under the flesh.
But use a little wine; but mix some wine with the water.
For thy stomachs sake; to help thy digestion.
And thine often infirmities; in regard of thy weakness and frequent infirmities.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. no longeras a habit. Thisinjunction to drink wine occasionally is a modification of thepreceding “keep thyself pure.” The presbyter and deaconwere enjoined to be “not given to wine” (1Ti 3:3;1Ti 3:8). Timothy seems to havehad a tendency to undue ascetical strictness on this point (compareNote, see on 1Ti 4:8;compare the Nazarene vow, Nu6:1-4; John the Baptist, Luk 1:15;Luk 1:14). Paul thereforemodifies the preceding words, “keep thyself pure,”virtually saying, “Not that I mean to enjoin that kind of puritywhich consists in asceticism, nay, be no longer a water-drinker,“that is, no longer drink only water, but use a little wine,as much as is needed for thy health. So ELLICOTTand WIESINGER. ALFORDthus: Timothy was of a feeble frame (see on 1Co16:10, 11), and prone to timidity in his duties as overseer wherevigorous action was needed; hence Paul exhorts him to take all propermeans to raise his bodily condition above these infirmities. Godhereby commands believers to use all due means for preserving health,and condemns by anticipation the human traditions which among varioussects have denied the use of wine to the faithful.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Drink no longer water,…. Though it was commendable in him to keep under his body, as the apostle did, by abstemious living, and not pamper the flesh and encourage the lusts of it, and so preserve purity and chastity; yet it was proper that he should take care of his health, that it was not impaired by too much severity, and so he be incapable of doing the work of the Lord. And it seems by this, that his long and only use of water for his drink had been prejudicial to his health: wherefore the following advice was judged proper:
but use a little wine; some, by “a little wine”, understand not the quantity, but the quality of the wine; a thin, small, weak wine, or wine mixed with water; and so the Ethiopic version renders the words, “drink no more simple water”, (or water only,) “but mix a little wine”; though rather the quantity is intended, and which is mentioned. Not as though there was any danger of Timothy’s running into an excess of drinking; but for the sake of others, lest they should abuse such a direction, to indulge themselves in an excessive way; and chiefly to prevent the scoffs of profane persons; who otherwise would have insinuated that the apostle indulged intemperance and excess: whereas this advice to the use of wine, was not for pleasure, and for the satisfying of the flesh, but for health,
for thy stomach’s sake; to help digestion, and to remove the disorders which might attend it: the Ethiopic version renders it, “for the pain of the liver”, and “for thy perpetual disease”; which last might be a pain in his head, arising from the disorder of his stomach: the last clause we render,
and thine often infirmities; or weaknesses of body, occasioned by hard studies, frequent ministrations, and indefatigable pains and labours he endured in spreading the Gospel of Christ.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Be no longer a drinker of water ( ). Present active imperative (prohibition) of , old verb (from , water drinker, , ), here only in N.T. Not complete asceticism, but only the need of some wine urged in Timothy’s peculiar physical condition (a sort of medical prescription for this case).
But use a little wine ( ). Present middle imperative of with instrumental case. The emphasis is on (a little).
For thy stomach’s sake ( ). Old word from (mouth). In Homer throat, opening of the stomach (Aristotle), stomach in Plutarch. Here only in N.T. Our word “stomach.”
Thine often infirmities ( ). is old word, dense, frequent. In N.T. only here, Luke 5:33; Acts 24:26. = weaknesses, lack of strength (Ro 8:26). Timothy was clearly a semi-invalid.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Drink no longer water [ ] . The verb N. T. o. o LXX Rend. be no longer a drinker of water. Timothy is not enjoined to abstain from water, but is bidden not to be a water – drinker, entirely abstaining from wine. The kindred noun uJdropothv is used by Greek comic writers to denote a mean – spirited person. See Aristoph. Knights, 319.
But use a little wine [ ] . The reverse antithesis appears in Hdt 1:171, of the Persians : oujk oinw diacreontai ajll’ uJdropoteousi they do not indulge in wine but are water – drinkers. Comp. Plato, Repub. 561 C, tote men mequwn – auqiv de uJdropotwn sometimes he is drunk – then he is for total – abstinence. With a little wine comp. much wine, ch. 3 8; Tit 2:3.
For thy stomach ‘s sake [ ] . Stomacov N. T. o. o LXX The appearance at this point of this dietetic prescription, if it is nothing more, is sufficiently startling; which has led to some question whether the verse may not have been misplaced. If it belongs here, it can be explained only as a continuation of the thought in ver. 22, to the effect that Timothy is to keep himself pure by not giving aid and comfort to the ascetics, and imperilling his own health by adopting their rules of abstinence. Observe that oinov here, as everywhere else, means wine, fermented and capable of intoxicating, and not a sweet syrup made by boiling down grape – juice, and styled by certain modern reformers “unfermented wine.” Such a concoction would have tended rather to aggravate than to relieve Timothy’s stomachic or other infirmities.
Thine often infirmities [ ] . This use of often as an adjective appears in earlier English. So Chaucer : “Ofte sythes” or “tymes ofte,” many times. Shakespeare : “In which my often rumination wraps me in a most humorous sadness” (As you like it, 4 1 19). And Ben Jonson :
“The jolly wassal walks the often round.” The Forest, 3
Even Tennyson :
“Wrench’d or broken limb – an often chance In those brain – stunning shocks and tourney – falls.” Gareth and Lynette.
Puknov often, very common in Class. Originally, close, compact, comp. Lat. frequens. In this sense 3 Macc. 4 10, tw puknw sanidwmati the close planking of a ship ‘s deck. In N. T., except here, always adverbial, pukna or puknoteron often or oftener, Luk 5:33; Act 24:26. Asqeneia weakness, infirmity, only here in Pastorals. In the physical sense, as here, Luk 5:15; Luk 8:2; Joh 5:5; Gal 4:13. In the ethic sense, Rom 6:19; Rom 8:26.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Drink no longer water” (meketi hudropotei) “Drink no longer water only.” Much of the year water in the Middle East is still contaminated so badly that to drink it causes serious stomach problems. It is this problem that Timothy faced.
2) “But use a little wine” (alla oino oligo chro) “But use or take a little (limited amount) of wine.” This instruction, to meet a medical, health need, was provided for in the ordinate charge “not given to or inclined to wine,” 1Ti 3:3; 1Ti 4:4.
3) “For thy stomach’s sake” (dia ton stomachon) “On account of thy stomach (problem),” not merely to prop up morale or courage. Both wine and strong drink are to be avoided by Christians except for medical purposes or as death approaches, Pro 31:6-7.
4) “And thine often infirmities.” (kai tas puknas sou astheneias) “And the frequent or recurring weaknesses you have.” This is a medical remedy prescribed for a specific physical ailment of Timothy’s stomach, by inspiration of the apostle Paul, not an open-end package to just anyone for taking intoxicating alcohol arbitrarily.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23 No longer drink water There are some who conjecture that this sentence, which breaks off the train of thought, was not written by Paul. But we see that Paul was not so anxious about keeping up the close connection of a discourse, and that it was very customary with him to intermingle a variety of statements without any arrangement. Besides, it is possible that what had been formerly written in the margin of the Epistle afterwards found its way into this passage through the mistake of the transcribers. Yet there is no necessity for giving ourselves much trouble on that point, if we consider Paul’s custom, which I have mentioned, of sometimes mingling various subjects.
What is said amounts to this, that Timothy should accustom himself to drink a little wine, for the sake of preserving his health; for he does not absolutely forbid him to “drink water,” but to use it as his ordinary beverage; and that is the meaning of the Greek word ὑδροποτεῖν
But why does he not simply advise him to drink wine? For when he adds, a little, he appears to guard against intemperance, which there was no reason to dread in Timothy. I reply, this was rather expressed, in order to meet the slanders of wicked men, who would otherwise have been ready to mock at his advice, on this or some such pretext: “What sort of philosophy is this, which encourages to drink wine? Is that the road by which we rise to heaven?” In order to meet jeers of this kind, he declares that he provides only for a case of necessity; and at the same time he recommends moderation.
Now it is evident that Timothy was not only frugal, but even austere, in his mode of living; so much so as even not to take care of his health; and it is certain that this was done, neither through ambition nor through superstition. Hence we infer, that not only was he very far from indulging in luxury and superfluities, but that, in order that he might be better prepared for doing the work of the Lord, he retrenched a portion even of his ordinary food; for it was not by natural disposition, but through a desire of temperance, that he was abstemious.
How few are there at the present day, who need to be forbidden the use of water; or rather how many are there that need to be limited to drink wine soberly! It is also evident how necessary it is for us, even when we are desirous to act right, to ask from the Lord the spirit of prudence, that he may teach us moderation. Timothy was, indeed, upright in his aims; but, because he is reproved by the Spirit of God, we learn that excess of severity of living was faulty in him. At the same time a general rule is laid down, that, while we ought to be temperate in eating and drinking, every person should attend to his own health, not for the sake of prolonging life, but that, as long as he lives, he may serve God, and be of use to his neighbors.
And if excessive abstinence is blamed, when it brings on or promotes diseases, how much more should superstition be avoided? What judgment shall we form as to the obstinacy of the Carthusians, (114) who would sooner have died than taste the smallest morsel of flesh in extreme necessity? And if those who live sparingly and soberly are commanded not to injure their health by excessive parsimony, no slight punishment awaits the intemperate, who, by cramming their belly, waste their strength. Such persons need not only to be advised, but to be kept back from their fodder like brute beasts.
(114) “In the year 1084, was instituted the famous order of the Carthusians, so called from Chartreux, a dismal and wild spot of ground near Grenoble in Dauphine, surrounded with barren mountains and craggy rocks. The founder of this monastic society, which surpassed all the rest in the extravagant austerity of their manners and discipline, was Bruno, a native of Cologne, and canon of the cathedral of Rheims in France. This zealous ecclesiastic, who had neither power to reform, nor patience to bear, the dissolute manners of his Archbishop Manasse, retired from his church, with six of his companions and, having obtained the permission of Hugh, bishop of Grenoble, fixed his residence in the miserable desert already mentioned. He adopted at first the rule of St. Benedict, to which he added a considerable number of severe and rigorous precepts. His successors, however, went still farther, and imposed upon the Carthusians new laws, much more intolerable than those of their founder, — laws which inculcated the highest degrees of austerity that the most gloomy imagination could invent.” Mosheim’s Eccl. Hist
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomachs sake and thine often infirmities.Those who argue that this Epistle was the artificial composition of an age subsequent to St. Pauls, and was written in great measure to support the hierarchical development, which, they say, showed itself only in the century after St. Pauls death, have no little difficulty in accounting for the presence of such a command as this. It can, in fact, only be explained on the supposition that the letter was, in truth, written by St. Paul to Timothy in all freedom and in all love: by the older and more experienced, to the younger and comparatively untried man: by the master to the pupil: by an old and trusted friend, accustomed to speak his whole mind, to one his inferior in years, in rank, in knowledge. No ecclesiastical forger of the second or third century would have dreamed, or, had he dreamed, would have dared to weave into the complicated tapestry of such an Epistle such a charge as Drink no longer water, but use a little wineconsidering thine often infirmities.
The reminder was, no doubt, suggested by St. Pauls own words, with which he closed his solemn direction respecting Timothys dealings with the accused presbyters, and the care to be used in the laying on of hands: Keep thyself pure. That Timothy possessedas did his master Paula feeble body, is clear from the words thine often infirmities. He was, above all things, considering his great position in that growing church, to remember to keep himself pure, but not on that account to observe ascetical abstinence, and so to weaken uselessly the frail, perishable, perhaps ever dying body, in which he must work that great work committed to him in the masters church. Abstinence from wine was a well-known characteristic feature of the Essene and other Jewish ascetic sects. We know there was frequent intercommunion between Alexandria and Ephesus (see Act. 18:24); and it has even been conjectured that Apollos, who taught publicly at Ephesus, was himself a famous Essene teacher. The practice of these grave and ascetic Jews, many of whom became Christians, no doubt affected not a little the habits and tone of thought of the Ephesian congregations. Hence the necessity of St. Pauls warning against allowing the bodily power to be weakened through abstinence and extreme asceticism.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. There is no connexion in language between this and the previous verse, but we may imagine one in Paul’s mind. He bids Timothy keep himself pure, and then there arises the image in his mind of the actually pure character of Timothy; his persistent abstinence, for instance, from wine, which is, indeed, injuring his health and so is overdone.
Drink no water Rather, Be no longer a water drinker, that is, exclusively. From these words it is clear that, 1. Timothy was totally abstinent from all that could intoxicate; 2. It took an apostle’s authority to induce him to cease abstinence; and, 3. St. Paul authorized the use of alcohol only as medicine.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Do not be a drinker of water any longer, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.’
What appears here to be an abrupt change of subject is in fact probably the use of a vivid illustration comparable to that concerning the ox and the threshingfloor (1Ti 5:18), which he also did not feel that he needed to explain. (We might see Paul as saying, ‘Think about it. Do you really think that God is too concerned about the yips?’, in the same way as he said a similar thing about God not being over-concerned about oxen (1Co 9:9). It is not to say that God is not concerned about the oxen or the yips. It is because there are some things that are even more important). So he is saying, ‘remember your own experience with the water at Ephesus and recognise that you need also to drink of God-given wine when you make your decisions’. Both would be familiar with how Jesus had turned water into wine (Joh 2:1-10), indicating the new age of the Spirit.
So just as he had to learn to use discernment when drinking the impure Ephesian water, and to mix it with wine so as to prevent its harmful and unpleasant effects, so should he by the Spirit have regard to the impurities within men and cater for them in the best ways possible (which was why younger widows should be prevented from being ‘enrolled’). He may thus well be saying, in a way that he knew that Timothy would understand, ‘be careful what you are doing when you appoint people to God’s service, lest you finish up with the equivalent of a pain in your gut’. Or to put it another way, don’t just ‘drink water’ in an unthinking way when you make appointments, take steps to ensure that the worst will not happen by ‘drinking wine’ and only appointing worthy men. (It is hardly likely that the elders at Ephesus would not have already given similar advice to Timothy about the use of wine when they saw that he was suffering from the effects of the drinking water. Perhaps, however, he had asked Paul’s advice about it in which case Paul now gives it while also using it as a vivid illustration).
This is not to deny that Timothy might genuinely have had irritable bowel syndrome. But it is to suggest that Paul, in reminding him of the remedy for it in this case, humorously uses it to get over his main point. Discernment must be used, both in drinking water and in appointing people to the service of God, and that discernment comes through the Spirit. For at the back of the illustration may well have been what would be the well known story of Jesus turning water into wine (Joh 2:1-10), indicating the coming of the new age of the Spirit, combined with Isa 55:1-3, ‘come to the waters, — buy wine and milk without money and without price’, which essentially pointed to the same.
The quality of the water is why wine is drunk in so many countries, not only as a pleasure, but out of necessity. It is because the water is almost undrinkable. It would have been much worse in Paul’s day, although stomach’s would have been more used to it. Ephesian water, however, appears to have been worse than most. But this suggestion that it is also intended to be an illustration is backed up by the examples that follow, for which the illustration is very apt.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Ti 5:23. Drink no longer water One cannot forbear reflecting here, how very temperate Timothy must have been, to need an advice of this kind, which amounts to no more than mingling a little wine with his water: and what is said of his many infirmities, compared with the apostle’s exhortation to him to be instant in preaching the word, may certainly teach us, that every weakness of constitution is not to be acquiesced in, as an excuse for not going on with the ministry; though, doubtless, great allowances are to be made for bodilyinfirmities; and life itself may often depend upon seasonable interruptions of public labour. The 24th and 25th verses contain reasons for being cautious in ordination, mentioned 1Ti 5:22.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Ti 5:23 . . . .] Of course the apostle does not mean to forbid Timothy to drink water at all, but only urges him not to avoid wine altogether. does not exactly mean “drink water,” but: “ be a water-drinker ,” and is only used of a man who makes water his special and exclusive drink; see Winer, p. 464 [E. T. p. 624]. The reason of Timothy’s abstinence from wine is not that he, after the fashion of the Essenes, regarded its enjoyment as something not permitted to him, nor that he subjected himself to an asceticism wrong in nature (Wiesinger); but that, in his zeal for moderation (which is a part of the ), and in order to set an example against excess, he avoided wine, whereby, however, he might appear to favour a false asceticism (so, too, van Oosterzee). If this be kept in view, we cannot overlook the connection of the verse with what precedes. De Wette rightly remarks (following Estius, Grotius, and others) that this exhortation contains a limitation of the previous exhortation, and at the same time a contrast to exaggerated asceticism. As a reason for Timothy’s enjoying some wine, Paul adduces his sickliness. It does not, however, follow, as Matthies thinks, that the apostle made this exhortation only out of concern for Timothy’s health. Had that been the case, we cannot but hold, with Schleiermacher, that the apostle here descends to particulars which strangely interrupt the train of thought, since 1Ti 5:24 is clearly attached again to 1Ti 5:22 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
Ver. 23. Drink no longer water ] Timothy, living among the luxurious Ephesians, was so abstemious that the apostle is fain to prescribe him physic. Hypocrites will be chaste only in the mountains where are no women, and sober in Scythia where are no vines; but Lot was chaste in the midst of Sodom, and Anacharsis temperate among the debauched Athenians. The faithful in the world are like a pearl in a puddle; they lose nothing of their virtue, though amidst the vicious; like heavenly salamanders, they remain unscorched in the fire; like fishes, they retain their freshness in the salt waters.
But use a little wine ] Modice, hoc est medice, pro remedio parcius, non pro deliciis redundantius, saith Ambrose; who also somewhere relateth of one Theotimus (a good name but a bad man) that he was so far from taking St Paul’s advice, that having a disease upon his body, and told by the physicians that unless he drank less wine he was like to lose his eyes, Vale lumen amicum, ” Farewell, sweet eyesight,” said he, choosing rather to lose his sight than his sin; so will many their souls; being like affected to their base lusts, as the panther is said to be to man’s dung, which it exceedingly desireth and maketh after.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ti 5:23 . : An adequate explanation of this seemingly irrelevant direction is that since there is a certain degree of ambiguity in , St. Paul thought it necessary to guard against any possible misunderstanding of Keep thyself pure : “I do not mean you to practice a rigid asceticism; on the contrary, I think that you are likely to injure your health by your complete abstinence from wine; so, be no longer a water-drinker , etc.” So Hort, who thinks that this is “not merely a sanitary but quite as much a moral precept” ( Judaistic Christianity , p. 144). This explanation is preferable to that of Paley who regards this as an example of “the negligence of real correspondence when a man writes as he remembers: when he puts down an article that occurs the moment it occurs, lest he should afterwards forget it” ( Horae Paulinae ). Similarly Calvin suggested that was a marginal note by St. Paul himself. Alford’s view has not much to commend it, viz. , that Timothy’s weakness of character was connected with his constant ill health, and that St. Paul hoped to brace his deputy’s will by a tonic.
For this position of cf. Mar 9:25 ; Mar 11:14 , Luk 8:49 , Joh 5:14 ; Joh 8:11 , Rom 14:13 , Eph 4:28 ; and see note on chap. 1Ti 4:14 .
: Wetstein’s happy quotation from Libanius, Epist . 1578 must not be omitted: .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Ti 5:23
23No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
1Ti 5:23 “No longer drink water exclusively” This seems to be a parenthetical comment to Timothy (NET Bible, p. 2182, #14). This is a present active imperative with a m particle, which usually means to stop an act in process. Paul is imploring Timothy to change his normal daily activity. The command “keep yourself pure” in 1Ti 5:22 is not affected by wine drinking! Be careful of denominational traditions that often go beyond Scripture!
Timothy was apparently totally abstaining from wine. Paul mentions that wine in small amounts should not be a problem for a church leader. We must remember that the early Mediterranean world drank wine daily. This could mean (1) add a little fermented wine to purify your water or (2) drink a little wine from time to time when your stomach acts up. Wine is not the problem; fallen mankind’s misuse and abuse are the problems. The Bible rails against drunkenness (cf. Pro 23:29-35; Isa 5:11; Isa 5:22; Isa 28:1-8), but does not teach total abstinence (cf. 1Ti 3:3; 1Ti 3:8). In our day and society total abstinence must be related to the spiritual concepts found in Rom 14:1 to Rom 15:13; 1 Corinthians 8 and 1Co 10:23-33). However, believers must resist all forms of asceticism (cf. Col 2:20-23)! See Special Topic: Attitudes Toward Alcohol and Alcoholism at 1Ti 3:3.
“for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” Are these two different descriptive phrases or are they referring to one problem? Does this verse imply Timothy was a physically weak person? Timothy’s work was challenging and difficult. If he was also physically weak, it makes him all the more a wonderful role model and noble person.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Drink. . . water. Greek. hudropoteo. Only here.
no longer. Greek. meketi.
for . . . sake. App-104. 1Ti 5:2.
stomach’s. Greek. stomachos. Only here.
often = frequent. Greek. puknos. See Luk 5:33.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
1Ti 5:23. , thyself) The antithesis is, other mens. Timothy is admonished, in passing, how he should regulate his own conduct, while he is engaged in regulating the conduct of others; and this parenthesis very elegantly imitates the delay that ought to be allowed to intervene in such matters.-, no longer) A safe admonition, always keeping in view the precept, keep thyself pure.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Ti 5:23
Be no longer a drinker of water,-Paul now gives Timothy some personal directions. Timothy refrained from the use of wine and strong drink. This should be a significant lesson to us. That was an age of wine drinking, yet Timothy refrained from its use even when sick, as a matter of Christian purity, and a good example to others.
but use a little wine for thy stomachs sake and thine often infirmities.-He tells him not to go to an extreme in refusing wine as a medicine. Drink no longer water alone, but for the sake of his stomach, which doubtless was weak, and for his often infirmities, use a little wine. Many have quoted this instruction of Paul to justify the use of wine as a beverage. It does no such thing, but the reverse. Timothy, a model and true Christian, a young man trained from childhood in the knowledge of the Scriptures, refuses to use wine at all, even in sickness. Paul tells him to use a little wine for his illness. He encourages its use for no other purpose. Paul laid down the principles that ought to govern all Christians: Wherefore, if meat causeth my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I cause not my brother to stumble. (1Co 8:13.) And again: It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth. (Rom 14:21.)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
1Ti 3:3, 1Ti 4:4, Lev 10:9-11, Psa 104:15, Pro 31:4-7, Eze 44:21, Eph 5:18, Tit 1:7, Tit 2:3
Reciprocal: Num 6:3 – General Pro 31:6 – strong Amo 6:6 – wine in bowls Act 27:34 – for this
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ti 5:23. Travelers through the territory of Ephesus testify to the unwholesomeness of drinking water available there. And this verse directly mentions that Timothy had oft-recurring infirmities, involving a condition of his stomach. It is generally known that wine is a good tonic in ailments of the stomach, satisfying both to the demands of thirst, and soothing to the delicate tissues of this digestive organ. But the amount of wine necessary for such medical and nourishing purposes would not meet the craving of one who wished to drink it as a beverage. Hence Paul tells him to use a little wine, on the same principle he requires elders and deacons to be “not given to much wine” (chapter 3:3, 8; Tit 1:7). Some commentators think this verse is misplaced as to its appearance in the epistle here, since it seems to be an abrupt change of subject. But the evangelist was working under difficult and trying tasks, and it was especially necessary, therefore, for him to take the best care of his body and conserve his strength for the responsibility.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Ti 5:23. Drink no longer water. The interpretation thus given of the previous counsel seems to me to afford the only natural and tenable answer to the question why a matter apparently so irrelevant is thus abruptly introduced. All experience shows that it is the weakened bloodless brain that can least control its thoughts, and is most open to the assaults of impure imaginations. One who was necessarily brought face to face with the danger, or who needed promptness and decision to guard against it, would find it his wisdom to keep body and brain in a state of healthy equilibrium; and St. Paul, with whom all bodily discipline was a means and not an end, saw (not improbably under St. Lukes guidance) that what Timothy needed for that equilibrium was a moderate use of the stimulant which he had hitherto (possibly following St. Pauls example) denied himself. The special reason given, for thy stomachs sake, savours of the medical adviser, and as if it were added lest the disciple should draw a wrong inference from the previous words and plunge into more rigorous austerities. So an Abernethy might have said, in his rough way, of a like case, If be must deal with such things, dont let him go into the filth on an empty stomach.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Note here, 1. There is a lawful use of wine to support nature, not to clog it; to cure infirmities, not to cause them: drink it Timothy might medically, and no doubt for cheerfulness and alacrity, that the body might be more fit and expedite for duty: Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake.
Note, 2. That our meat and drink should be fitted for the preservation of health, rather than for the gratification of our appetite; the former is Christian duty, the latter is brutish sensuality.
Note, 3. That the apostles, who had the gift of healing, could not make use of it when and upon whom they pleased; no, not upon themselves, but must help their own infirmities, in and by the use of ordinary means. Thus Timothy here, drink no longer water alone, but use a little wine with it for thy stomach’s sake, and thine often infirmities thence proceeding.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Further Instructions Concerning Proper Christian Conduct There can be no doubt that Timothy refrained from drinking any wine, because of what the apostle wrote to him in 1Ti 5:23 . Paul urged him not to go to the extreme of refusing wine as a medicine when he was sick. Apparently, in an effort to keep himself pure, as Paul enjoined, Timothy had drunk water only (R.S.V.). However, Paul permitted the use of wine as a medicine for stomach trouble.
Some men’s sins are quite evident because they openly participate in them. Others sin quietly so that it is very hard to ascertain the type of character they really have. Similarly, the good works of some men are seen by all around them. When one does involve himself in wickedness, even secretively, it will be seen in time ( 1Ti 5:24-25 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Verse 23
By this direction, which stands in striking contrast with the ascetic doctrines which Paul had condemned, (1 Timothy 4:3,) he shows that no religious end is answered by suffering any bodily discomfort or pain which can be avoided; but that Christianity seeks to promote the welfare and happiness of man in all respects,–in small things as well as in great, at present as well as for the future, and in respect to the comfort of the body as well as to the prosperity of the soul.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1Ti 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
What can we learn about Paul’s gift of healing in this verse? (In Acts Paul healed people and in Ephesus they carried handkerchiefs that he had touched out into other areas and people were healed. Act 19:11-12)
Evidently the gift of healing that Paul had in Ephesus earlier was no longer operational when he was writing to Timothy. This is one of the best indicators that the gift of healing is not for today as some believe.
Not only could Paul not heal Timothy, he could not heal himself (thorn in the flesh) nor could he heal Tromphius. (2Ti 4:20 Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick).
This seems to be a parenthetical verse stuck in to give advice to Timothy. However it may not be – we will consider this in a moment.
Wine was used for medicinal purposes in Paul’s day.
Today we spell relief R O L A I D S!
There is no need for me to take wine for my stomachs sake, indeed it would be very inappropriate to do so in our day when there are medicines that will do better.
It crossed my mind when going over this passage, that Paul may have been addressing a problem in Timothy’s life. I would never be dogmatic, but since the previous verse mentions sin, and the following verses are concerned with sin, that this verse might also relate to wrongdoing on Timothy’s part.
Since we all know the water was not good in those days – in fact still isn’t in much of that area of the world. Thus, the common drink for liquid was wine. Now, for Paul to tell Timothy to no longer drink water but to drink wine, makes me wonder if Timothy was being abstinent about drinking wine to gain liquid for his body’s need.
As I read some commentaries, I found that this was the thought others have seen in the passage.
There is another truth to be gleaned from this text other than what we have seen. Paul suggests an alternative to drinking dirty water – thus there is a valid point: Take care of your health. If there is an alternative that is healthier then it is not wrong to take it as long as Scripture doesn’t forbid it and gain better health.
Mat 10:23 backs up this thought. “But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.” It isn’t wrong to leave a dangerous situation for a safer situation.
III. YOU – CHOOSE CAREFULLY
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
5:23 {19} Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
(19) The sixth rule: let the elders have consideration for their health, in their diet.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul may have realized that the process of elder discipline that he imposed on Timothy would have been hard on him physically as well as emotionally. According to this verse Timothy suffered from frequent illness. Consequently the apostle prescribed a little wine for medicinal purposes. Since Paul’s instruction was for medicinal purposes, this verse contributes nothing to either side of the debate over the use of wine as a beverage.
"The words imply that Timothy was a total abstainer from wine." [Note: Hiebert, First Timothy, p. 105.]
"We must remember that wine was one of the chief remedial agents of those times in which the science of medicine was in its infancy among Greek physicians." [Note: Wuest, p. 88.]
This verse is a personal parenthesis in the flow of Paul’s argument about sinning elders.