Hebrews 13:23

Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.

There are two areas of ambiguity in this verse. "Know ye" could mean "Ye already know" or "Please do know"; and "set at liberty" could mean either that Timothy had been released from prison, or that he had been freed of an assignment, or completed a task. Scholarly opinion is in general disagreement, as there are technical difficulties in whatever construction is chosen in each case. If it is thought, for example that Timothy was released from prison, there is the absence of any definite knowledge that he was ever in prison. If it means, on the other hand, that he was released from a task, there is also only conjecture to support it. Such problems are of little concern, the central thought being perfectly clear, namely, that Timothy, having been freed from whatever impediment had previously hindered him, was expected by the author, who fervently hoped that his arrival would be in time to enable both of them together to travel for a personal visit with the recipients of this epistle.

The bearing of this verse on the question of authorship was discussed in the introduction; and here it remains to say only that, of all the persons whose names have come down to us through the ages from that distant time of the apostles, none of them was any more likely than Paul to have had authority to speak for Timothy on so important a matter as a projected trip to Jerusalem.