Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · In the Text · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
Lois is one of the great unsung figures of the NT — Timothy's MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER, praised by Paul as the first link in a three-generation chain of faith: "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also" (2 Tim 1:5). The chain runs: LOIS → EUNICE (her daughter, Timothy's mother) → TIMOTHY (her grandson). Paul also describes Timothy's upbringing: "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 3:15) — and we know from Acts 16:1 that Timothy's father was a Greek (probably not a believer), so the faith was carried THROUGH THE MOTHERS in his family: grandmother and mother taught him the Scriptures from a child. Lois is the model of the believing GRANDMOTHER whose faith persists through her own daughter and grandchildren. Modern Christian grandmothers in the same role have biblical warrant: their faith may be the first link in chains of conversion they will not live to see completed. Paul's specific naming of Lois — "thy grandmother Lois" — preserved her dignity in the canon when she would otherwise be only "Timothy's grandmother." The Spirit named her; let no one demean a Christian grandmother's role.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Timothy's maternal grandmother; the first link in a three-generation chain of "unfeigned faith" (2 Tim 1:5) carried through mothers when Timothy's father was an unbelieving Greek.
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LOIS, proper noun. Greek Lōis (G3090) — uncertain Greek origin, possibly "more desirable."
Timothy's maternal grandmother, mother of Eunice. Praised by Paul in 2 Tim 1:5 as the first link in a three-generation chain of "unfeigned faith." Timothy's father was a Greek (Acts 16:1).
📖 Key Scripture
2 Timothy 1:5 — "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also."
2 Timothy 3:14-15 — "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
Acts 16:1 — "Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek."
Proverbs 17:6 — "Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Lois is corrupted when modern grandmotherhood is treated as a secondary or optional role in Christian formation, rather than received as the first-link, generation-shaping calling that 2 Tim 1:5 specifically honors.
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Grandmother-marginalization. Modern American culture often treats grandmothers as nice-to-have but not essential — the cookies-and-Christmas-card relative. The biblical pattern is far weightier. Lois began the chain of faith that produced Timothy, one of Paul's most significant proteges and a co-author of multiple NT epistles. Without Lois the faith line might have broken (Timothy's Greek father wasn't passing on the faith). Grandmother-faith may be the first link of generations of conversion the grandmother will never live to see completed.
Faith-via-fathers exclusivism. Some patriarchal readings emphasize fathers' role in religious instruction so exclusively that they miss the canonical pattern: when fathers are missing, unbelieving, or absent, MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS bear the formation. Timothy's father was a Greek; his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice taught him the Scriptures from childhood. This pattern is honored, not condemned, by Paul. Christian mothers and grandmothers in homes where the husband-father is absent or unbelieving have apostolic warrant for taking up the formation role themselves.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek Lōis (G3090) — uncertain Greek origin; Timothy's maternal grandmother; first link in three-generation chain of faith (2 Tim 1:5).
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Greek Lōis (G3090) — uncertain origin, possibly "more desirable" or "better"
Timothy's maternal grandmother; mother of Eunice; grandmother of Timothy
Praised by Paul: "unfeigned faith...which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois" (2 Tim 1:5)
First link in a three-generation chain: Lois → Eunice → Timothy; faith carried through mothers when father was an unbelieving Greek
Usage
"Unfeigned faith dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois — Paul named the woman whose faith began the chain."
"From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures — Timothy was taught by grandmother and mother because his father was a Greek."
"Christian grandmothers are the first link in faith-chains they may not live to see completed."
📖 In the Text
Chapters of the reading Bible where this entry is linked.