Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
Let the elders that rule well - Elder is probably here the name of an ecclesiastical officer, similar to what we now term presbyter. See on I Timothy 5:1 (note). Dr. Macknight has remarked that, "in the first age, the name , elder, was given to all who exercised any sacred office in the Church, as is plain from Acts 20:28, where the persons are called , bishops, who, Acts 20:17, were called , elders. The same thing appears from Titus 1:5, where those are called elders who, Titus 1:7, are named bishops; and from I Timothy 4:14, where, collectively, all who held sacred offices in Lystra are called , the presbytery or eldership, and are said to have concurred with St. Paul in setting Timothy apart to the ministry."
Double honor - . Almost every critic of note allows that here signifies reward, stipend, wages. Let him have a double or a larger salary who rules well; and why? Because in the discharge of his office he must be at expense, in proportion to his diligence, in visiting and relieving the sick, in lodging and providing for strangers; in a word, in his being given to hospitality, which was required of every bishop or presbyter.
Especially they who labor in the word and doctrine - Those who not only preach publicly, but instruct privately, catechize, etc. Some think this refers to distinct ecclesiastical orders; but these technical distinctions were, in my opinion, a work of later times.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing 1 Timothy 5:17:
Leviticus 27:34
Matthew 15:4
Acts 28:10
1 Timothy 5:1
1 Peter 5:1
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