1 Timothy 1:20

20 of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 1:20 Meaning and Commentary

1 Timothy 1:20

Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander
The former of these is mentioned in ( 2 Timothy 2:17 2 Timothy 2:18 ) and that part of faith he made shipwreck of, or erred in, was the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, whereby the faith of some nominal believers was overthrown; and this was attended with the putting away of a good conscience, he seemingly before had; for his profane and vain babblings increased to more ungodliness: the latter seems to be the same with Alexander the coppersmith, who did the apostle much evil, ( 2 Timothy 4:14 ) and it may be is the same with him who was at Ephesus when the apostle was, there, ( Acts 19:33 Acts 19:34 ) and where he might be now with Hymenaeus, with whom he might agree in his erroneous opinions, and therefore are particularly mentioned, Ephesus being the place where Timothy now was. It seems by their names that they were both Greeks; Alexander is a known name among the Greeks, since the times of Alexander the great, and even became common among the Jews; (See Gill on Acts 4:6), and Hymenaeus was a name among the Grecians, from Hymen, the Heathen god of marriage: one of this name is mentioned among those said to be raised from the dead by Aesculapius ^F17; there was also a bishop of Jerusalem of this name ^F18.

Whom I have delivered to Satan;
not by excommunication, which is the act of a church, and not of a single person; but by an apostolical power he had of delivering the bodies of men into the hands of Satan, by him to be tortured and afflicted, in order to bring them to a sense of their sins, and as a chastisement and correction for them, and a token of God's displeasure at them; (See Gill on 1 Corinthians 5:5).

That they may learn not to blaspheme;
or "that being chastised", corrected, or disciplined, "they might not blaspheme", as they had before done; either by words, contradicting, reviling, and scoffing at the doctrine of the resurrection; or by their unbecoming lives and conversations, giving themselves great liberty in sinning, supposing there was no truth in that doctrine; whereby they not only blasphemed the Christian religion themselves, but caused it to be evil spoken of by others.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Apollodorus de Orig. Deor. l. 3. p. 172.
F18 Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 7. c. 14. 30.

1 Timothy 1:20 In-Context

18 This charge I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may wage the good warfare;

19 holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith;

20 of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.