There is no hint in 1 Timothy that Paul is in prison. In other letters, where Paul is in prison, he says so or alludes to it multiple times, so this fact alone tends to date 1 Timothy prior to Paul’s imprisonment in Caesarea in 57 A.D. Paul says he urged Timothy to stay at Ephesus while he went to Macedonia (1 Timothy 1:3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia…). These are events from Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 20:1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia.). This provides the reason for the letter, instructing Timothy in how to manage the church in Paul’s absence. Timothy is still quite young (1 Timothy 4:11-15 …Let no man despise thy youth…). Timothy would have needed this letter toward the beginning of his time in Ephesus, not years later, so it is best to assume that Paul wrote it very shortly after his departure. Since Paul spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 20:31 …remember, that by the space of three years…) and his departure was toward the end of his third missionary journey, the best date for 1 Timothy would be around 56 or early 57 A.D.
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