Eunice (Timothy's mother)
Mother of Faith
Eunice was a Jewish woman who came to faith in Christ and became the mother of Timothy, Paul's close coworker. She is known for her sincere faith which she passed on to her son, and together with her mother Lois, she laid the foundation for Timothy's knowledge of the Holy Scriptures from childhood.
Family
Key events
Timothy's background mentioned
Paul meets Timothy in Lystra and notes that his mother was a believing Jew, while his father was a Greek.
1Paul came also to Derbe and then to Lystra. And there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek.
Κατήντησεν δὲ ⸀καὶ εἰς Δέρβην καὶ ⸀εἰς Λύστραν. καὶ ἰδοὺ μαθητής τις ἦν ἐκεῖ ὀνόματι Τιμόθεος, υἱὸς ⸀γυναικὸς Ἰουδαίας πιστῆς, πατρὸς δὲ Ἕλληνος,
2The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him,
ὃς ἐμαρτυρεῖτο ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Λύστροις καὶ Ἰκονίῳ ἀδελφῶν·
3and Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. So he circumcised him because of the Jews in that region, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.
τοῦτον ἠθέλησεν ὁ Παῦλος σὺν αὐτῷ ἐξελθεῖν, καὶ λαβὼν περιέτεμεν αὐτὸν διὰ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις, ᾔδεισαν γὰρ ἅπαντες ⸂ὅτι Ἕλλην ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ⸃ ὑπῆρχεν.
The Sincere Faith
Paul reminds Timothy of the sincere faith that first lived in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, and which now also lives in him.
5I am reminded of your sincere faith, which lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it lives in you as well.
ὑπόμνησιν ⸀λαβὼν τῆς ἐν σοὶ ἀνυποκρίτου πίστεως, ἥτις ἐνῴκησεν πρῶτον ἐν τῇ μάμμῃ σου Λωΐδι καὶ τῇ μητρί σου Εὐνίκῃ, πέπεισμαι δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἐν σοί.
Training in the Scriptures
Eunice and Lois taught Timothy the Holy Scriptures from childhood, laying the foundation for his ministry.
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it,
σὺ δὲ μένε ἐν οἷς ἔμαθες καὶ ἐπιστώθης, εἰδὼς παρὰ ⸀τίνων ἔμαθες,
15and how from infancy you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ βρέφους ⸀ἱερὰ γράμματα οἶδας, τὰ δυνάμενά σε σοφίσαι εἰς σωτηρίαν διὰ πίστεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·