Barnes New Testament Notes

Verse 10. For the love of money is the root of all evil. That is, of all kinds of evil. This is evidently not to be understood as literally true, for there are evils which cannot be traced to the love of money -- the evils growing out of ambition, and intemperance, and debasing lusts, and of the hatred of God and of goodness. The expression here is evidently a popular saying -- " all sorts of evils grow out of the love of money." Similar expressions often occur in the classic writers. See Wetstein, in loc., and numerous examples quoted by Pricaeus. Of the truth of this, no one can doubt. No small part of the crimes of the world can be traced to the love of gold. But it deserves to be remarked here, that the apostle does not say that "money is the root of all evil," or that it is an evil at all. It is the 'love' of it which is the source of evil.

Which while some coveted after. That is, some who were professing Christians. The apostle is, doubtless, referring to persons whose history was known to Timothy, and warning him, and teaching him to warn others, by their example.

They have erred from the faith. Marg., been seduced. The Greek is, they have been led astray from; that is, they have been so deceived, as to depart from the faith. The notion of deception or delusion is in the word, and the sense is, that, deceived by the promises held out by the prospect of wealth, they have apostatized from the faith. It is not implied of necessity that they were ever real Christians. They have been led off from truth and duty, and from all the hopes and joys which religion would have imparted.

And have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. With such sorrows as remorse, and painful reflections on their folly, and the apprehension of future wrath. Too late they see that they have thrown away the hopes of religion for that which is at best unworthy the pursuit of an immortal mind; which leads them on to a life of wickedness; which fails of imparting what it promised when its pursuit is successful; and which, in the great majority of instances, disappoints its votaries in respect to its attainment. The word rendered "pierced themselves through" -- periepeiran -- occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and is a word whose force and emphasis cannot be well expressed in a translation. It is from peirw, and is made more emphatic by the addition of the preposition peri. The word peirw, peiro, means, properly, to pierce through from one end to another, and is applied to meat that is pierced through by the spit when it is to be roasted (Passow;) then it means, to pierce through and through. The addition of the preposition (peri) to the word, conveys the idea of doing this all round; of piercing everywhere. It was not a single thrust which was made, but they are gashed all round with penetrating wounds. Such is the effect on those who cast off religion for the sake of gold. None can avoid these consequences who do this. Every man is in the hands of a holy and just God, and sooner or later he must feel the effects of his sin and folly.

{b} "love of money" Ex 23:8 {1} "erred" "been seduced"