Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
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The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
Scholars who support its authenticity view it as having been written around 51–52 AD, shortly after the First Epistle.[4][5] Those who see it as a later composition assign a date of around 80–115 AD.[6]
The original text was written in Koine Greek.
Composition
The authenticity of this epistle is still in widespread dispute. As Professor Ernest Best, New Testament scholar, explains the problem:
[I]f we only possessed Second Thessalonians few scholars would doubt that Paul wrote it; but when Second Thessalonians is put alongside First Thessalonians then doubts appear. There is a great dissimilarity between the two; this is not only one of words, small phrases and concepts but extends to the total structure of the two letters which is in addition different from what is taken to be the standard Pauline form. At the same time the second letter is alleged to be less intimate and personal in tone than the first, and in some of its teaching, particularly in relation to eschatology, to conflict with the first.
— Ernest Best, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians[7]: 37
The structures of the two letters (to which Best refers) include opening greetings (
The second, balancing, letter section (2:13–3:16c) also comprises two halves: 2:13–3:5 (with pieces: A 2:13–14, B 2:15–17, B' 3:1–5) and 3:6–16c (with pieces: A 3:6–9, B 3:10–12, B' 3:13-16c). Of the twelve pieces in 2 Thessalonians, seven begin with 'brother' introductions. Of the eighteen pieces in 1 Thessalonians, fourteen begin with 'brother' introductions. In both letters, the sections balance in size and focus, and in many details. In 2 Thessalonians, in 2:5 and 3:10, for example, there is a structural balance of the use of "when I was with you..." and "when we were with you...".[8]
Support for authenticity
One piece of evidence for the authenticity of the epistle is that it was included in Marcion's canon and the Muratorian fragment. It was also mentioned by name by Irenaeus, and quoted by Ignatius, Justin, and Polycarp.[9]: 593
G. Milligan argued that a church which possessed an authentic letter of Paul would be unlikely to accept a fake addressed to them.[10]: vi, ix, 448 This argument was similarly supported by Colin Nicholl, who has put forward a substantial argument for the authenticity of Second Thessalonians.[11][12] He points out that "the pseudonymous view is [...] more vulnerable than most of its advocates conceded. [...] The lack of consensus regarding a date and destination [...] reflects a dilemma for this position: on the one hand, the date needs to be early enough for the letter to have been accepted as Pauline [...] [on] the other hand, the date and destination need to be such that the author could be confident that no contemporary of 1 Thessalonians [...] could have exposed 2 Thessalonians as a [...] forgery."[11]: 5–6
Another scholar who argues for the authenticity of this letter is Jerome Murphy-O'Connor. Admitting that there are stylistic problems between 2 Thessalonians and 1 Thessalonians, he argues that part of the problem is due to the composite nature of 2 Thessalonians. Murphy-O'Connor, along with many others scholars, argues that the current text of 2 Thessalonians is the product of merging two or more authentic letters of Paul. Once the text of this interpolated letter is removed and the two letters compared, Murphy-O'Connor asserts that this objection is "drastically weakened", and concludes, "The arguments against the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians are so weak that it is preferable to accept the traditional ascription of the letter to Paul."[13]: 111
Those who believe Paul was the author of 2 Thessalonians also note how Paul drew attention to the authenticity of the letter by signing it himself: "I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter."
Other scholars who hold to authenticity include Gregory Beale,[18] Gene L. Green,[19] Ivor H Jones,[20] Leon Morris,[21] Ben Witherington III,[22] Paul Foster,[23] and Kretzmann.[24] According to Leon Moris in 1986, the majority of current scholars at that time still held to Paul's authorship of 2 Thessalonians.[25]
Opposition to authenticity
At least as early as 1798, when Johann Ernst Christian Schmidt published his opinion, Paul's authorship of this epistle was questioned.[26] More recent challenges to this traditional belief came from scholars such as William Wrede in 1903[27] and Alfred Loisy in 1933,[28] who challenged the traditional view of the authorship.
Regarding Nicholl's argument for authenticity, on the one hand, it is worth noting that at least some forged Pauline letters were written well after a date modern scholars might deem early enough for the letter to be considered Pauline, such as the Third Epistle to the Corinthians, estimated to have been written around 160-170 CE; forgers were not forced to write close in time to the writers they imitated. On the other hand, it is not clear that a forger would need to ensure his writing was not contemporaneous with 1 Thessalonians if he was not actually writing the letter to Thessalonica; furthermore, if Nicholls is correct in believing 2 Thessalonians to be authentic, then Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 provides evidence that forgeries in his name already existed in his own lifetime, discrediting his argument that forgers would take care to write far enough apart in time to ensure contemporaries could not denounce the forgery.
In his book Forged, New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman puts forward some of the most common arguments against the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians. For example, he argues that the views concerning the Second Coming of Christ expressed in 2 Thessalonians differ so strikingly from those found in 1 Thessalonians that they cannot be written by the same author.[29]
Several modern scholars agree with Ehrman that 2 Thessalonians was not written by Paul but by an associate or disciple after his death. Scholars include
Background
If this letter is authentic, then it might have been written soon after Paul's first letter to this community—or possibly years later. Brown notes that Paul "most likely visited Thessalonica several times in his journeys to Macedonia". However, if the letter is not authentic, Brown notes that "in some ways interpretation becomes more complex."
Content
The traditional view is that the second epistle to the Thessalonians was probably written from
Biblical commentator and pastor John Macarthur writes, "The emphasis is on how to maintain a church with an effective testimony in proper response to sound eschatology and obedience to the truth."[39]
Paul opens the letter praising this church for their faithfulness and perseverance in the face of persecution:
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater; therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure
— 2 Thessalonians, 1:3–5 NASB[40]
The letter contains a whole chapter regarding the second advent of Christ, among other themes and instructions.
From the inference of 2:1–2, the Thessalonians were faced with a false teaching, saying that Christ had already returned. This error is corrected in chapter 2 (2:1–12),
In 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul instructs his readers to "[h]old fast to the traditions (
The letter continues by encouraging the Thessalonian church to stand firm in their faith, and to "keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us [...] do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother" (2 Thessalonians 3:6–7, 14–15).[50]
Paul ends this letter by saying, "I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all" (2 Thessalonians 3:17–18). Macarthur writes, "Paul added an identifying signature (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18) so his readers could be sure he was truly the author."[51]
A passage from this book reading "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat", (3:10),[52] was later adapted by Vladimir Lenin as an adage of the Soviet Union: "he who does not work, neither shall he eat".[53]
Surviving early manuscripts
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this book are:
- Papyrus 30 (3rd century)
- Codex Vaticanus (325–350)
- Codex Sinaiticus (330–360)
- Codex Alexandrinus (400–440)
- Codex Freerianus (~450; partial)
- Codex Claromontanus (~550)
See also
- Textual variants in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
- Authorship of the Pauline epistles
- Thessaloniki
- Silas
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-1-4335-6343-0. Archivedfrom the original on 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Bible Book Abbreviations". Logos Bible Software. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-40510825-6.
- ISBN 1-57593-907-X(economy ed., black)
- ^ Earl D. Radmacher (Th.D.), Ronald B. Allen (Th.D.), H. Wayne House (Th.D., J.D.). "NKJV Study Bible (2nd ed.)" p. 1903.
- ISBN 978-1-134-86748-6.
- ^ Best, Ernest (1972). The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. New York: Harper and Row.
- ^ ISBN 0-9513661-4-9.
- ^ Guthrie, Donald (1990). New Testament Introduction. Hazell Books.
- ^ Milligan, G. (1908). Saint Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-83142-0.
- ^ "All Thessalonians scholars will need to engage with the arguments of this contribution to the study of the letters." Oakes, P, Review of Nicholl in Journal for the Study of the New Testament 2005; 27; pp. 113–14
- ^ Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (1996). Paul: A critical life. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 3:17; see similar indications in 1 Corinthians 16:21; Galatians 6:11; and Colossians 4:18. NETBible
- ^ Metzger, Bruce M (2003). The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, & Content (3rd ed.). Nashville: Abingdon.
- ^ a b Keith, Chris (2008). 'In My Own Hand': Grapho-Literacy and the Apostle Paul. Biblica.
- ^ Translation of the letter taken from The Fathers of the Church: St. Cyprian Letters 1-81, Catholic University of America Press 1964, p24
- ISBN 0-85111-686-8
- ISBN 0-85111-781-3
- ISBN 0-7162-0595-5
- ISBN 0-8028-2168-5
- ISBN 0-8028-2836-1
- ^ Foster, P 2012, Who Wrote 2 Thessalonians: A Fresh Look at an Old Problem, Journal for the Study of the New Testament , vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 150-175. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X12462654
- ^ Popular Commentary
- ^ Moris, Leon (1986). Concordia NIV Study Bible. ed. Hoerber, Robert G. St. Lous: Concordia Publishing House, p.1840.
- ^ Best, Thessalonians, p. 50
- ^ William Wreded, Die Echtheit des zweiten Thessalonicherbriefes untersucht (The Authenticity of the Second Letter to the Thessalonians investigated), Leipzig 1903
- ^ Alfred Loisy, The Birth of the Christian Religion, University Books, New York 1962, pp. 20–21 (originally published as La Naissance du Christianisme, 1933)
- ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6.
- ^ Beverly Roberts Gaventa, First and Second Thessalonians, Westminster John Knox Press, 1998, p. 93
- ^ Vincent M. Smiles, First Thessalonians, Philippians, Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, Liturgical Press, 2005, p. 53
- ^ Udo Schnelle, translated by M. Eugene Boring, The History and Theology of the New Testament Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), pp. 315–25
- ^ M. Eugene Boring, Fred B. Craddock, The People's New Testament Commentary, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004 p. 652
- ^ Joseph Francis Kelly, An Introduction to the New Testament for Catholics, Liturgical Press, 2006 p. 32
- ^ Norman Perrin, The New Testament: An Introduction: Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History, (Harcourt College Publishers, 1974)
- ^ Raymond Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), pp. 594–96
- ^ Brown, Introduction, p. 595
- ^ See the discussion on this chapter in Best, Thessalonians, pp. 273–310
- ^ Macarthur, John (2009). The MacArthur Bible Commentary (Kindle ed.). Smyrna, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson. Kindle Location 59337.
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 1:3–5
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 2:6–7
- ^ a b Rombs (2010), p. 8
- ^ ISBN 9781444390148.
- ^ Rombs (2010), p. 27
- ^ Rombs (2010), p. 28
- ISBN 9781620328354.
- ISBN 9780830817498.
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 3:6–7; 2 Thessalonians 3:14–15
- ^ Macarthur (Kindle Locations 59568–59569)
- ^ 2 Thessalonians 3:10
- ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons. {{cite encyclopedia}}
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- Buttrick, George Arthur; Bowie, Walter Russell; Scherer, Paul; Knox, John; Bailey Harmon, Nolan; Terrien, Samuel, eds. (1955), The Interpreter's Bible, vol. 11th, Nashville: Parthenon Press
- Brown, Raymond; Collins, Raymond; Murphy, Roland, eds. (1990), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
- Clarke, Adam (1831), The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, vol. 2nd, New York: Methodist Episcopal Church
- Rombs, Ronnie J.; Hwang, Alexander Y., eds. (2010), Tradition and the Rule of Faith in the Early Church, Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press
External links
Online translations of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians:
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org
- 2 Thessalonians public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions
Exegetical Papers on Second Thessalonians:
- Exegesises of II Thessalonians by various authors; maintained by the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Library.