Paul names Hymenaeus and Alexander as examples of people who rejected faith and a good conscience and “made shipwreck” of their faith. He says he handed them over to Satan so they may learn not to blaspheme. See 1 Timothy 1:19–20.
In 1 Timothy 1:18–20, Paul restates his instruction to Timothy as a personal charge, grounded in earlier words spoken over him. Timothy is to fight a “good” struggle by keeping trust and a clean inner sense of right and wrong. Paul warns that some have thrown those things away and have wrecked their beliefs. This passage closes the letter’s opening movement where Paul contrasts healthy teaching with distracting speculation (1:3–11) and then points to God’s mercy shown in Paul’s own story (1:12–17).
Paul speaks to Timothy in close, family-like terms (“my child”) and presents his instructions as a renewed, personal assignment (explicit in verse 18). The charge is not framed as a vague concern but as a contested task that requires endurance (“wage the good warfare,” verse 18).
A common mistake is to treat this as trivia. Names, places, numbers, and sequence details often carry memory, covenant identity, or narrative movement in the biblical story.
Start with 1 Timothy 1:19-20, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
19holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust away made a shipwreck concerning the faith;
20of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.