To the church of the Thessalonians. This form of address appears in 1st and 2d Corinthians, Galatians, 2d Thessalonians. The other letters are addressed to “the saints,” “the brethren,” “the saints and faithful brethren.” The use of the genitive of the national name is peculiar.
Cu. I] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 11
Comp. 1: Cor. i. 22; 2 Cor. i, 1; Gal. i. 2; Philip. i.1; Col. i. 2.
The church (éxxkrAnola). From é« out, and xareiv to call or summon. Originally with a secular meaning, an assembly of citizens regularly summoned. So Acts xix. 89. LXX uses it for the congregation of Israel, either as con- vened for a definite purpose (1 Kings viii. 65; Deut. iv. 10; xviii. 16), or as a community (2 Chr. i. 3,5; xxiii. 3; Neh. viii. 17). The verbs éxxAnovdfew and é&exxrAnordlev to sum- mon formally, which do not occur in N. T., are found in LXX with cuvaywyny gathering, Nadv people, and mpecBv- tépous elders. Zuvaywy? is constantly used in LXX of the children of Israel as a body (Ex. xii. 6, 19,47; Lev. iv. 18, etc.), and is the more common word in N. T. for a Jewish as distinguished from a Christian assembly ; sometimes with the addition of the Jews (Acts xili.5; xiv. 1; xvii. 1). It is once used of a Christian assembly (Jas. ii. 2). "Eruovy- ayoy? gathering together, occurs 2 Th. ii. 1; Heb. x. 25. The Ebionites retained cvvaywy7 in preference to ék«Anola. The LXX translators found two Hebrew words for “assem- bly” or “congregation,” syy and 5bmp, and rendered the former by cvvaywy) in the great majority of instances. *ExxAnoia does not appear as the rendering of mw. They were not as consistent in rendering 57p, since they used both cuvaywyy and éxxAnoia, though the latter was the more frequent: see Lev. iv. 18; Deut. v. 22, etc. The A. V. renders both words by “congregation” and “assembly ” indiscriminately. "Exxdnola is only once used in N. T. of a Jewish congregation, Acts vii. 38; yet there are cases where there is an apparent attempt to guard its distinctively Christian sense against being confounded with the uncon- verted Jewish communities. Hence the addition év Xpucr@ in Christ, Gal. i. 22; év 0e@ ratpl kai xupiv "Incod Xpiote in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Th. i. 1; comp. 2 Th. i. 1. In both Hebrew and N. T. usage, éx«An- ota implies a community based on a special religious idea, and established in a special way. In N. T. it is also used in
12 WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. [Cu L
a narrower sense, of a single church, or of a church confined to a single place. So Rom. xvi. 5, etc.
In God the Father, etc. Const. with the church, and comp. 2 Th.i. 1. The phrase “the church in God” is pecul- iar to the Thessalonian Epistles. Elsewhere “of God” (1 Cor..x. 82; xi. 16, 22; xv. 9, etc.); “of the saints” C1 Cor. xiv. 83). Lightfoot suggests that the word é«xrn- cia can scarcely have been stamped with so definite a Christian meaning in the minds of these recent and early converts as to render the addition “in God the Father,” etc., superfluous.
Grace to you and peace (yadpis tpiv Kal eipyjvn). In Romans, Ist and 2d Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Phi- lippians, the salutation is, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Colossians omits the last five words of this: 2 Thessalonians omits our before Father. On the union of the Greek and Jewish forms of salutation, see on 1 Cor. i. 8.
2. We give thanks (edyapiotoduev). According to Paal’s habit, a thanksgiving follows the salutation, commonly with the verb evyapioreiv, as here; but in 2d Corinthians and Ephes- ians, evAoynTos oO Oeds blessed be God. The thanksgiving is omitted only in Galatians. The verb edyapioteiv occurs only in later Greek, and there but rarely. In LXX only in Apocr. See Judith viii. 25; 2 Mace. i. 11; x. 7; 8 Macc. vii. 16. In the N. T. Epistles, P°. Originally to do a good turn; hence, to return a favour. The meaning to give thanks is late. The kindred noun edyapiortia giving of thanks, is found often in Paul. As a designation of the Lord’s Supper (Hucharist) it is not found in the N. T. Perhaps the earliest instance of its use in that sense is in Ignatius. See Philad. iv.; Smyrn. vi., viii. ; Eph. xiii. Comp. Just. Mart. Apol. i., 64, 65.