First Epistle to the Thessalonians
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The First Epistle to the Thessalonians
Background and audience
Thessalonica is a city on the Thermaic Gulf, which at the time of Paul was within the Roman Empire. Paul visited Thessalonica and preached to the local population, winning converts who became a Christian community.[5] There is debate as to whether or not Paul's converts were originally Jewish. The Acts of the Apostles describes Paul preaching in a Jewish synagogue and persuading people who were already Jewish that Jesus was the Messiah,[6] but in 1 Thessalonians itself Paul says that the converts had turned from idols, suggesting that they were not Jewish before Paul arrived.[5][7]
Most New Testament scholars believe Paul wrote this letter from
Oldest surviving manuscripts
The original manuscript of this letter is lost, as are over a century of copies. The text of the surviving manuscripts varies. The oldest surviving manuscripts that contain some or all of this book include:
- Papyrus 46 (c. AD 200)
- Papyrus 65 (3rd century)
- Codex Vaticanus (325–350)
- Codex Sinaiticus (330–360)
- Codex Alexandrinus (400–440)
- Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (c. 450)
- Codex Freerianus (c. 450)
- Codex Claromontanus (c. 550)
Composition
Date
It is widely agreed that 1 Thessalonians is one of the first books of the New Testament to be written, and the earliest extant Christian text.[5] A majority of modern New Testament scholars date 1 Thessalonians to 49–51 AD,[11] during Paul's 18-month stay in Corinth coinciding with his second missionary journey.[12] A minority of scholars who do not recognize the historicity of Acts date it in the early 40s AD. The Delphi Inscription dates Gallio's proconsulship of Achaia to 51-52 AD, and Acts 18:12-17 mentions Gallio, toward the end of Paul's stay in Corinth.
1 Thessalonians does not focus on
Authenticity
The majority of New Testament scholars hold 1 Thessalonians to be authentic, although a number of scholars in the mid-19th century contested its authenticity, most notably Clement Schrader and F.C. Baur.[13] 1 Thessalonians matches other accepted Pauline letters, both in style and in content, and its authorship is also affirmed by 2 Thessalonians.[14]
Integrity
The authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 has been disputed by some.[15] The following arguments are made against its authenticity based on its content:
- It is perceived to be theologically incompatible with Paul's other epistles: elsewhere Paul attributed Jesus's death to the "rulers of this age"[16] rather than to the Jews, and elsewhere Paul writes that the Jews have not been abandoned by God, for "all Israel will be saved".[17] According to 1 Thes 1:10, the wrath of God is still to come; it is not something that has already shown itself.[18]
- There were no extensive historical persecutions of Christians by Jews in Palestine prior to the first Jewish war.[19]
- The use of the concept of imitation in 1 Thes. 2.14 is singular.
- The destruction of Jerusalem.[20]
- The syntax of these verses deviates from that of the surrounding context.[21]
Various scholars have since defended the authenticity of these passages.[22]
It is also sometimes suggested that
Contents
Outline
- Salutation and thanksgiving[28]
- Past interactions with the church[29]
- Regarding Timothy's visit[30]
- Specific issues within the church[31]
- Closing salutation[36]
Text
Paul, speaking for himself, Silas, and Timothy, gives thanks for the news about their faith and love; he reminds them of the kind of life he had lived while he was with them. Paul stresses how honorably he conducted himself, reminding them that he had worked to earn his keep, taking great pains not to burden anyone. He did this, he says, even though he could have used his status as an apostle to impose upon them.
Paul goes on to explain that the
See also
Notes
References
- ISBN 978-1-4335-6343-0. Archivedfrom the original on June 3, 2021.
- ^ "Bible Book Abbreviations". Logos Bible Software. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ Anchor Bible, 1997. pp. 456–66.
- ISBN 978-1-49341313-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-875500-5.
- ^ Acts 17:1–9
- ^ 1 Thessalonians 1:9
- ^ Ernest Best 1972, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians (New York: Harper & Row), p. 7
- ^ Acts 18:5; 1 Thes. 3:6
- ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Thessalonians, Epistles to the". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.
- ISBN 978-1433502415.
- ^ Acts 18:1–18
- ^ Best, Thessalonians, pp. 22–29.
- ^ "The only possible reference to a previous missive is in 2:15…" Raymond E. Brown 1997, An Introduction to the New Testament, Anchor Bible, p. 590.
- ^ Abraham J. Malherbe, “Hellenistic Moralists and the New Testament”, in; Aufstieg und Nieder- gang der Römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung, eds. H. Temporini y W. Haase (Berlin and New York: W. de Gruyter, 1992), 2:290.
- ^ 1 Corinthians 2:8
- ^ Rom 11:26
- ^ CollegeVille Bible Commentary, p. 1155
- ^ Pearson, p. 88
- ^ Birger A. Pearson 1971, "1 Thessalonians 2:13–16 A Deutero Pauline Interpolation", Harvard Theological Review, 64, pp. 79–94
- ^ Schmidt, D. 1983, "I Thess 2:13–16: Linguistic Evidence for an Interpolation," JBL 102: 269–79.
- ISBN 978-1-4934-3215-8.
- ^ G. Friedrich, "1. Thessalonicher 5,1–11, der apologetische Einschub eines Spaeteren," ZTK 70 (1973) 289.
- ^ Schmithals, W. 1972, Paul and the Gnostics Transl. by J. Steely (Nashville: Abingdon Press), 123–218
- ^ K. G. Eckart 1961, "Der zweite echte Brief des Apostels Paulus an die Thessalonicher," ZThK, 30–44
- ^ Theologie und Literarkritik im 1. Thessalonicherbrief
- ^ The Later Stratum in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Authority in Paul and Peter: The Identification of a Pastoral Stratum in the Pauline Corpus and 1 Peter.
- ^ 1 Thes. 1:1–10
- ^ 1 Thes. 2:1–20
- ^ 1 Thes. 3:1–13
- ^ 1 Thes. 4:1–5:25
- ^ 1 Thes. 4:1–12
- ^ 1 Thes. 4:13–18
- ^ 1 Thes. 5:1–11
- ^ 1 Thes. 5:12–25
- ^ 1 Thes. 5:26–28
- ^ 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
External links
- English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
- Multiple bible versions at Bible Gateway (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)
- Epistles to the Thessalonians entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia
- Online Bible at GospelHall.org
- Thessalonians public domain audiobook at LibriVox Various versions