The Meaning of 2 Timothy 1:15 Explained

2 Timothy 1:15

KJV: This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

YLT: thou hast known this, that they did turn from me -- all those in Asia, of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes;

Darby: Thou knowest this, that all who are in Asia, of whom is Phygellus and Hermogenes, have turned away from me.

ASV: This thou knowest, that all that are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

This  thou knowest,  that  all  they which are in  Asia  be turned away from  me;  of whom  are  Phygellus  and  Hermogenes. 

What does 2 Timothy 1:15 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Christians in Ephesus and in the province of Asia where Ephesus stood had so thoroughly abandoned Paul that he could say all had turned from him. Paul may have meant all the leaders or his former colleagues who had left him by himself in prison in Rome. Probably not all of these people had turned from the gospel; the statement is probably hyperbolic. [1] Timothy was the last to maintain his loyalty to and support of Paul among that group, and he was now feeling temptation to abandon him. Phygelus and Hermogenes" names occur nowhere else in Scripture. They had been strong supporters of the apostle in the past but had eventually turned from him like the rest.
"These verses [2] show that Paul"s current imprisonment was decidedly more severe than the one in Acts 28:23; Acts 28:30-31." [3]

Context Summary

2 Timothy 1:12-18 - "hold The Pattern Of Sound Words"
How striking Paul's reference to the double committal, as if there had been an agreed exchange between his Master and himself! Paul had handed over to Christ as a sacred deposit all that concerned his well-being in time and eternity, and Christ had handed over to him the interests of His Kingdom, which, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he was required to maintain inviolate. It is a mutual exchange of which we all ought to know something. Give all to Christ and Christ becomes all to you. The proportion of your self-giving is the measure of your discovery of what Jesus will be to you.
Some of Paul's former friends shrank from identifying themselves with a suspect-the inmate of the condemned cell. It was no light matter to visit the bearer of a name which the world of that day detested, one who belonged to a sect accused of burning Rome. Demas, 2 Timothy 4:11, and others forsook him, but the good Ephesian, Onesiphorus, set about seeking him through all the prisons of Rome, and was not ashamed of his chain nor content with a single visit. He oft refreshed his friend. Paul sends a grateful message to his family, 2 Timothy 4:19. Perhaps there is here a gentle hint to Timothy. Compare 2 Timothy 1:8 and 2 Timothy 1:16. Never shrink from taking your place beside Christ's prisoners! [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Timothy 1

1  Paul's love to Timothy, and unfeigned confidence in Timothy himself, his mother, and grandmother
6  He is exhorted to stir up the gift of God which was in him;
8  to be steadfast and patient in persecution;
13  and to persist in the form and truth of that doctrine which he had learned of him
15  Phygellus and Hermogenes, and such like, are noted, and Onesiphorus is highly commended

Greek Commentary for 2 Timothy 1:15

Are turned away from me [απεστραπησαν με]
Second aorist passive (still transitive here with με — me) of αποστρεπω — apostrephō for which verb see note on Titus 1:14. For the accusative with these passive deponents see Robertson, Grammar, p. 484. It is not known to what incident Paul refers, whether the refusal of the Christians in the Roman province of Asia to help Paul on his arrest (or in response to an appeal from Rome) or whether the Asian Christians in Rome deserted Paul in the first stage of the trial (2 Timothy 4:16). Two of these Asian deserters are mentioned by name, perhaps for reasons known to Timothy. Nothing else is known of Phygelus and Hermogenes except this shameful item. [source]
In Asia []
Proconsular Asia, known as Asia Propria or simply Asia. It was the Romans province formed out of the kingdom of Pergamus, which was bequeathed to the Romans by Attalus III (b.c. 130), including the Greek cities on the western coast of Asia, and the adjacent islands with Rhodes. It included Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and Phrygia. The division Asia Major and Asia Minor was not adopted until the fourth century a.d. Asia Minor (Anatolia) was bounded by the Euxine, Aegean, and Mediterranean on the north, west, and south; and on the east by the mountains on the west of the upper course of the Euphrates. [source]
Have turned away [ἀπεστράφηνσαν]
Not from the faith, but from Paul. [source]

What do the individual words in 2 Timothy 1:15 mean?

You know this that turned away from me all those in - Asia among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes
Οἶδας τοῦτο ὅτι ἀπεστράφησάν με πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ ὧν ἐστιν Φύγελος καὶ Ἑρμογένης

Οἶδας  You  know 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: οἶδα  
Sense: to see.
τοῦτο  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ἀπεστράφησάν  turned  away  from 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἀποστρέφω  
Sense: to turn away.
με  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
οἱ  those 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
τῇ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἀσίᾳ  Asia 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: Ἀσία  
Sense: Asia proper or proconsular Asia embracing Mysia, Lydia, Phrygia, and Caria, corresponding closely to Turkey today.
ὧν  among  whom 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
Φύγελος  Phygelus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Φύγελος  
Sense: a Christian who was with Paul and deserted him.
Ἑρμογένης  Hermogenes 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἑρμογένης  
Sense: a certain Christian mentioned in 2 Ti.