1st Timothy Chapter 5 verse 18 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 18. - When he for that, A.V.; hire for reward, A.V. Thou shall not muzzle, etc. This passage, kern Deuteronomy 25, which is quoted and commented upon, in the same souse as here, in 1 Corinthians 9:9, shows distinctly that reward was to go with labor. The ox was not to be hindered from eating some portion of the grain which he was treading out. The preacher of the gospel was to live of the gospel. The laborer is worthy of his hire (ἄξιος ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὑτοῦ). In Matthew 10:10 the words are the same as here, except that τῆς τροφῆς (his meat) is substituted for τοῦ μισθοῦ. But in Luke 10:7 the words are identical with those here used, even to the omission (in the R.T.) of the verb ἔστιν. The conclusion is inevitable that the writer of this Epistle was acquainted with and quoted from St. Luke's Gospel; and further, that he deemed it, or at least the saying of the Lord Jesus recorded, in it, to be of equal authority with "ἡ γραφή," the Scripture. If this Epistle was written by St. Paul after his first imprisonment at Rome, we may feel tolerably certain that he was acquainted with the Gospel or St. Luke, so that there is no improbability in his quoting from it. His reference to another saying of the Lord Jesus in Acts 20:35 gives additional probability to it. The passage in 2 Timothy 4:18 seems also to be a direct reference to the Lord's Prayer, as contained in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke. St. Paul does not directly call the words ἡ γραφή, only treats them as of equal authority, which, if they were the words of Christ, of course they were.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(18) For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.--The quotation is from Deuteronomy 25:4.The idea in the Apostle's mind, when he quoted the words of Moses, was: If, in the well-known and loved law of Israel, there was a special reminder to God's people that the very animals that laboured for them were not to be prevented from enjoying the fruits of their labours, surely men who with zeal and earnestness devoted themselves as God's servants to their fellows, should be treated with all liberality, and even dignified with especial respect and honour.And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.--It is possible, though hardly likely, that St. Paul, quoting here a well-known saying of the Lord (see St. Luke 10:7), combines a quotation from a Gospel with a quotation from the Book of Deuteronomy, introducing both with the words "For the Scripture saith"--Scripture (graphe) being always applied by St. Paul to the writings of the Old Testament. It is best and safest to understand these words as simply quoted by St. Paul, as one of the well-remembered precious declarations of the Lord Jesus.