neither to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God's stewardship, which is in faith--
In particular, these teachers seem to have been emphasizing extra-biblical stories that had become part of the traditions of Judaism that grew out of the genealogies of the Old Testament (cf. 1 Timothy 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14; Titus 3:9). "Myths" and "endless genealogies" evidently describe two aspects of one aberration rather than two separate problems. Certain myths about what Jesus did are an example of this ear-tickling entertainment, though these specific myths were not the subject of these false teachers. One of these was that when Jesus was a child he formed a bird out of clay, blew on it, it came to life and flew away. This myth appears in the Koran, which was written several centuries after this epistle.