In a previous post, I provided an exegesis countering the claim that 2 Tim 3:16-17 teaches the formal sufficiency of the Bible, per the Protestant doctrine of
sola scriptura. One of my arguments is that the term translated in v.16 as “useful” or “profitable”
is a weak word, and had Paul wished to convey the sense of formal sufficiency of "Scripture," he had a number of other, more potent, terms to use (as they say, “the Greeks
had a word for everything”).
In the
3-volume Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, eds. Horst Balz and
Gerhard Schneider (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1993), the following
definition of the term (ωφελιμος) is offered, which highlights how weak the term is in comparison to the
force many Protestant apologists read into it (taken from 3:511-12)
ωφελιμος ophelimos useful, advantageous.
This noun occurs 4 times in the NT, all in parenetic
contexts in the Pastorals. According to 1 Tim 4:8 (bis) “bodily training is useful
only for some things, while godliness is of value in every way” (πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὠφέλιμος . . .προς παντα ωφελιμος) . . .The context suggests
that the idea of “training, physical fitness” is to be appropriated for the
realm of piety, alluding to the ascetic goals of the adversaries in vv. 1ff . .
. 2 Tim 3:16: πασα γραφη . . . και ωφελιμος προς διδασκαλιαν . . .”useful/profitable
for teaching . . .” Titus 3:8: “good deeds” (καλα εργα) are expected of Church
members, since they are καλα και ςφελιμα τοις ανθρωποις, “good and profitable for people.”