2. Occasion and date of the Epistles.— In Athens Paul was joined by Silas and Timothy, who cau.sed him grave anxiety by their tidings of fresh perse- cutions sufl'ered bj- the Thessalonian Church (1 Th 3'°). More than once Paul planned a return to The.ssalonica, but the way was barred. What particular obstacle is meant by the Oriental phrase if^Kotpev -ii/ias 0 Saroras (2'*) is uncertain. Perhaps it was the unrescinded prohibition of the Thessa- lonian politarchs (Kamsa}', St. Paul the Traveller, p. 231). Whatever its nature, it diil not affect Timothy, and accordingly Paul and Silas (cf. iri/j.- ^paixtv, 3') .sent him in their stead to learn the state of the Church's affairs, and to strengthen the persecuted Christians. Left alone in Athens, after
• Zahn, following in v. I* the reading of the MSS IILP « c'iri TTiv BaXaatrav, suggests that Paul travelled overland to Athena (Introd. to Ike AT, Eng. tr., 3 vols., Edinburgh, lt)09, vol. i. p. 214).
570 THESSALONIAKS, EPISTLES TO
THESSALONIANS, EPISTLES TO
a sojourn in that city of not more than fonr or five weeKs Paul went on to Coiintli, wlieie Silas and Tiniotliy fouml liijn on their return from Mace- donia* (Ac IS'^). Timothy's rei)ort, supi)lemented perliaps by a letter from the Thessalonians, was on the wliole extremely satisfactory (see Exp, 5th Ber. viii. [1898] 161 fl'. for an attempt to reconstruct the supposed letter). The constancy of the Thessa- lonians under persecution not only had proved them worthy of their 'election,' but had also caused their example to be held up for imitation to all believers throughout Macedonia and Achaia (1 Th J2-10 35-8) Yet they were beset hj' dangers. Adver- saries of the apostles had misrepresented their motives in preaching at Thessalonica, possibly making capital out of their secret departure from the city (•2^^-, where the words irXdv??, aKadapala, 56\os, Ko\aKela, ir\co»'e^/a, ^tjtovvt€^ 56^av seem to echo actual charges brought against the writers). If the Thessalonian Christians were once brought to distrust their teachers, it seemed probable that persecution would soon drive them back to heathenism.
Furthermore, difficulties existed within the Christian community. Heathen social life and the impurity tolerated by public opinion still had attractions for some (4''') ; some were inclined to abandon useful employment for a life of idleness (4"), while others showed a spirit of disorder and contempt for those in authority (5'^""). Misunder- standings had arisen as to the use of peculiar spiritual gifts (5"- ™). Some Christians who had lost friends by death were anxious to know what part these should have in the Parousia.
Harnack (* Das Problem des zweiten Thessalonicherbriefs,* in SEA W, 1910) thinks that Timothj' also reported a serious cleavage between Jewish and Gentile converts ; hence the insistence on * all the brethren,* e.g. 1 Th 312 615. 26.
To remove these difficulties, the two apostles and Timothy wrote the joint Epistle, 1 Thessalonians. It was the only possible substitute for a personal visit, and every paragraph bears witness to the warmth of personal aliection existing between teachers and pupils. Who bore this letter to its destination, and whether he returned immediately to Paul, we do not know. By some means, how- ever, the Apostle learned that fresh trouble had arisen at Thessalonica. Persecution still continued and was still bravely endured (2 Th I'') ; but a new source of anxiety had arisen from a spreading belief in the imminence of the Parousia. 1 Tliess. had spoken not of the time, but only of the sudden- ness of the Lord's coming, yet one phrase at least (T||ji£ts ol fcj;'Tfs (ctX., 4'^) seemed to give colour to the idea that it was to be expected \\ithin the life- time of the existing generation. This notion was fostered by men who claimed the autliority not only of the apostolic letter, but also of their own personal gift of prophecy (2 Th 2^). Wild excite- ment followed, and men began entirely to neglect the duties of daily life (3")-
To end this disorder, the three teachers wrote a second letter. Its main point lies in the section 2'"''', which supplements tlie eschatological teach- ing of 1 Thess., by dwelling on the number of tilings which must happen before the victorious coming of the Lord, and so removing all ground for the belief that it is near at hand.
This account of the order of writing of the two Epistles is generally accepted by those who admit their genuineness. Harnack, however, suggests that they were written at or about the same time, 1 Thess. to the Gentile, 2 Thess. to the Jewish section of the community t (' Das Problem des zweiten Thessa- lonicherbriets,' in SBA W, 1910).
* Soon after Timothy's departure from Athens, Silas seems to have been sent on a similar errand to another Macedonian Church (Ac 185), perhaps to Pbilippi (Ph 415).
t This theory of the destination of 2 Thess. is based chiefly on the essentially Jewish complexion of the Epistle, especially 21-12,
The actual date assigned to the Epistles depends upon the particular system of Pauline chronology adopted. liuth, if genuine, were written during Paul's stay at Corintli at the end of his second missionary journey (Ac 18" ; see Klii iv. 5U37), and must in any case have been composed between A.D. 47 and 53 (see Mollatt, Historical NT', pp. 121-137). The interval between them would be at most a few weeks.