Deposit

dē̇ -poz´it ( παραθήκη , parathḗkē , 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 1:12 , 2 Timothy 1:14 the Revised Version, margin, paraphrased in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) into "that which is committed" (see COMMEND )): The noun was used in the classical Greek, just as its English equivalents, for "that which is placed with another for safe keeping," a charge committed to another's hands, consisting often of money or property; compare Exodus 22:7; Leviticus 6:2 . This practice was common in days when there were no banks. (1) In 1 Timothy 6:20; also 2 Timothy 1:14 , the reference is to a deposit which God makes with man, and for which man is to give a reckoning. The context shows that this deposit is the Christian faith, "the pattern of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13 ), that which is contrasted with the "oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20 ). "Keep the talent of the Christian faith safe and undiminished" (Vincentius Lirenensis). (2) In 2 Timothy 1:12 , the deposit is one which man makes with God. The key to the meaning of this expression is found probably in Psalm 31:5 : "Into thy hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me," i.e. "All that I am, with all my interests, have been entrusted to Thy safe keeping, and, therefore, I have no anxieties with respect to the future. The day of reckoning, 'that day,' will show how faithful are the hands that hold this trust."