The statement in the subscription appearing in sev- eral ]\ISS. and versions that it was written "from Alb- ens" is a superficial inference from 1 Thess. iii, 1, to which no weight should be attached, as is clear from the epistle itself. (1.) In i, 7, 8 Paul says that the Thessalonians had become " ensamples to all that be- lieve in Macedonia and Achaia : for from you [saj's he] sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Mac- edonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad." Now, for such an ex- tensive diffusion of the fame of the Thessalonian Chris- tians and of the Gospel by them, a much longer period of time must have elapsed than is allowed by the sup- position that Paul wrote this epistle while at Athens; and, besides, his reference particularly' to Achaia seems prompted by the circumstance of his being, at the time he wrote, in Achaia, of which Corinth was the chief city. (2.) His language in iii, 1,2 favors the opinion that it was not from Athens, but after he had left Ath- ens, that he wrote this epistle; it is hardly the turn which one living at Athens at the time would have given his words. (3.) Is it likely that during the short time Paul was in Athens before writing this epis- tle (supposing him to have written it there) he should have "over and again" purposed to revisit the Thessa- lonians, but have been hindered? And yet such pur- poses he had entertained before writing this epistle, as we learn from ii, 18; and this greatly favors the later date. (4.) Before Paul wrote this epistle, Timothy had come to him from Thessalonica with good tidings con- cerning the faith and charity f)f the Christians there (iii, 6). But had Timothy followed Paul to Athens from Bercca, what tidings could he have brouglit the apostle from Thessalonica except such hearsay reports as would inform the apostle of nothing he did not already know? From these considerations it follows that this ejjistle
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TIIESSALONIANS
was not written from Athens. It must, however, have lieen written very soon after his arrival at Corinth; for at the time of his writing Timothy had just arrived from Thessahwica {dpri tX^ovroc; 'J't^to^soii, iii, <>), and Paul had not been long in Corinth before Timothy and Silas joined him there (Acts xvii, 1-5).
Michaelis contends for a later date, but his argum'^nts are destitute of weight. Before Paul could learn that the fame of the Thessalonian Church liad spread through Achaia and far beyond, it was not necessary, as Slichae- lis supposes, that he should have made several exten- sive journeys from Corinth; for as that city, from its mercantile importance, was the resort of persons from all parts of the commercial world, the apostle had abun- dant means of gathering this information even during a brief residence there. As little is it necessary to re- sort to the supposition that when Paul says that over and again Satan had hindered him from fulfilling his intention of visiting Thessalonica he must refer to ship- wrecks or some such misfortunes (as Michaelis sug- gests) ; for Satan has many ways of hindering men from such purposes besides accidents in travelling. The views of critics who have assigned to this epistle a later date than the second missionary journey are stated and refuted in the Introduction of Koch (p. 23, etc.) and of Llinemann (§ 3).
III. Relation to Other Epistles.— The epistles to the Thessalonians then (for the second followed the first after no long interval) are the earliest of Paul's writ- ings— perhaps the earliest written records of Christian- ity. They belong to that period which Paul elsewhere styles "the beginning of the Gospel" (Phil, iv, 15). They present the disciples in the tirst flush of love and devotion, yearning for the day of deliverance, and strain- ing their eyes to catch the first glimpse of their Lord descending amidst the clouds of heaven, till in their feverish anxiety they forget the sober business of life absorbed in this one engrossing thought. It will be re- membered that a period of about five years intervenes before the second group of epistles — those to the Corin- thians, Galatians, and Romans — were written, and about twice that period to the date of the epistles of the Ro- man captivity. It is interesting, therefore, to compare the Thessalonian epistles with the later letters and to note the points of difference. These differences are mainly fourfold.
1. In the general style of these earlier letters there is greater simplicity and less exuberance of language. The brevity of the opening salutation is an instance of this. " Paul ... to the Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, grace and peace to you" (1 Thess. i, 1 ; comp, 2 Thess. i, 1). The closing benediction is correspondingly brief: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you" (I Thess. v, 28; comp. 2 Thess. iii, 18). And throughout the ejiistles there is much more evenness of style; words are not ac- cumulated in the same wa}'', the syntax is less involved, parentheses are not so frequent, the turns of thought and feeling are less sudden and abrupt, and, altogether, there is less intensity and variety than we find in Paul's later epistles.