ST PAUL'S
EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
LONDON BOMBAY CALCUTTA.
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO
ATLANTA SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO
ST PAUL'S
EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
THE GREEK TEXT
WITH
INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
GEOEGE MILLIGAN, D.D.
MINISTER OF CAPUTH, PERTHSHIRE
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
OF
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
1 908
Ae 6 6eoc THC eipHNHC AP^CAI YMAC oAoreAelc,
YM(X)N TO HN6YMA KA^I H ^YX^ KAI T ^ C03MA
AMCMHTOOC N TH HApOYCIA TOY KYplOY HM03N 'IHCOY XplCTOf
THpH6ei'H. nicTOc 6 K&AooN Y'MAC, dc KA'I noincei.
I-
*
TO
MY MOTHER
GOC AN TpO(j)6c 0AATTH TA 6AYTHC T6KNA.
192625
TTANTA
npoc6Yxec0e . . . FNA d Ao'roc TOY Kypi'oy Tpe')(H
OF THE
UNIVERSITY
CF
PREFACE.
THE Epistles to the Thessalonians can hardly be said to
have received at the hands of English scholars the
attention they deserve, in view not only of their own intrinsic
interest, but of the place which they occupy in the Sacred
Canon. They are generally believed to be the earliest of
St Paul's extant Epistles, and, if so, are, in all probability,
the oldest Christian documents of importance that have come
down to us. Certainly no other of the Pauline writings give
us a clearer idea of the character of the Apostle's missionary
preaching, or present a more living picture of the surroundings
of the primitive Christian Church. A detailed study of their
contents is essential, therefore, to a proper understanding of
the Apostolic Age, and forms the best introduction to the
more developed interpretation of Christian thought, which we
are accustomed to describe as Paulinism.
This must be made the excuse for the length at which
certain subjects bearing on St Paul's language and teaching as
a whole are dealt with in the Introduction, and also for the
numerous references to recent literature dealing with these
points, which will be found especially in the foot-notes. Writing
as I have had to do far from a Library, the difficulty I have
experienced in keeping abreast of the advances of modern
scholarship has led me to believe that those similarly situated
may be glad to be directed to the sources where they are most
likely to find help.
The Text adopted for the Commentary is the Greek Text
of Westcott and Hort which, through the kind permission of
viii PREFACE
Messrs Macmillan and Co., has been reproduced here exactly as
it stands in the latest authoritative revision. Full note has,
however, been taken of all variants of importance, and for the
convenience of students a brief summary has been given of the
Authorities for the Text in Introduction vn.
In Introduction viii. there will be found a selected list of
the more important Commentaries on the Epistles, and of
various Monographs dealing with special points raised by them.
My obligations to these are undoubtedly greater than I have
been able to acknowledge ; but I have not thought it advisable
to overload my Notes by discussing or quoting the views of
others, except where this seemed to be really demanded. An
exception has been made in the case of the rich and terse
comments of the patristic writers, and such later expositors as
Calvin and Bengel : and the Latin translations of Beza, Estius,
and others have been freely cited, wherever they threw light
on the exact meaning of the original.
In addition, moreover, to the ordinary sources of help, there
are two which have been so largely used in the following work
that they may be specially mentioned.
The publication within recent years of large collections of
Inscriptions and Papyri has now made possible a thorough
re-study of the Pauline language in the light of contemporary
documents. Upon the general questions that are thereby
raised, such as the disappearance of much that used to be
known as ' Biblical Greek,' and the existence or non-existence
of 'Semitisms' in the Greek New Testament, this is not the
place to enter : they will be found fully stated in the writings
of such experts as Professors Deissmann and Thumb, and
Dr J. H. Moulton, and, from a more conservative point of view,
of the lamented Dr Friedrich Blass. All that we are meanwhile
concerned with is the light thrown upon St Paul's letters by
the constant occurrence in them of words and phrases, which
are now proved to have formed part of the common stock of
the Apostle's own time, even when it is equally clear that their
meaning has been deepened and enriched in his hands, partly
through the influence of the Greek Old Testament, and partly
through the power of his own Christian consciousness.
Much work has still to be done before the full extent of the
PKEFACE ix
new lexical discoveries can be properly estimated ; but the
citations in the following pages may at least serve to draw
increased attention to the richness of the field that is being
gradually opened up before the New Testament student. A full
list of the collections made use of with the names of their
distinguished editors will be found in Index III. I (a) and (6).
In the second place, as regards St Paul's thought, or, more
exactly, the form in which his thought often clothes itself, we
are again enabled to judge how largely he was a man of his
own time, through the convenient editions of later Jewish
literature, which we owe to the labours of the contributors
to Kautzsch's Apokryphen and Pseudepigraphen of the Old
Testament in Germany, and of Dr R. H. Charles in England.
There may be a tendency perhaps in certain quarters to over-
estimate this dependence, and to lose sight of the far more
significant extent to which the Apostle was influenced by the
canonical books of the Greek Old Testament. At the same
time, more particularly in writings so largely eschatological in
their character as our two Epistles, it is a constant source of
interest to trace the parallels that exist between them and
contemporary apocalyptic literature. A list of citations, with
the titles of the editions that have been used, is given in
Index in. 2.
In a work which has ventured to intrude upon so much
new and debateable ground, I can hardly hope not to have
fallen into many errors both of judgment and of fact, and that
these are not more numerous is due only to the generous help
of many well-known scholars. I desire to thank in particular
my friends Dr J. H. Moulton of Didsbury College, Manchester,
and Mr J. H. A. Hart of St John's College, Cambridge, who,
amidst their own engrossing duties, have found time to read
the proofs, and have favoured me with many valuable criticisms
and suggestions, and Dr A. Souter of Mansfield College, Oxford,
who has ungrudgingly placed at my disposal his knowledge and
experience, more particularly in connexion with the textual and
critical portions of the work. Nor can I forget the unfailing
courtesy and attention of the officials of the Cambridge
University Press, and the skill of their compositors and
readers.
x PREFACE
It is not easy to part with the work, which has been
an almost constant companion for a number of years : and I
never was more conscious of its shortcomings than now, on the
eve of publication. I can only hope that, in spite of these, it
may awaken in others a little of the interest it has been to
myself, and may prove a small contribution to the better
understanding of Epistles which let us so fully into the heart
of the great Apostle, and whose message, notwithstanding the
strange forms in which it is sometimes cast, is still fraught
with such deep significance for the Church of to-day.
G. M.
CAPUTH MANSE,
PERTHSHIRE.
January, 1908.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION.
I. The City of Thessalonica xxi
II. St Paul and the Thessalonian Church . . . . xxvi
III. General Character and Contents of the Epistles . . xli
IV. Language, Style, and Literary Affinities. . . . lii
V. Doctrine Ixiii
VI. Authenticity and Integrity Ixxii
VII. Authorities for the Text xciii
VIII. Commentaries cii
TEXT AND NOTES.
Analysis of i Thessalonians 2
Text and Notes of i Thessalonians . 3
Analysis of 2 Thessalonians 84
Text and Notes of 2 Thessalonians 85
ADDITIONAL NOTES.
A. St Paul as a Letter- Writer 121
B. Did St Paul use the Epistolary Plural? . . . .131
C. The Thessalonian Friends of St Paul 133
D. The Divine Names in the Epistles 135
E. On the history of evayye'Xioi/, euayyeXib/ia< . . . .141
F. Ilapawria. 'E7ri<ama. 'ATro/caXvi/as 1 . . . . .145
G. On ara/crea) and its cognates 152
H. On the meanings of narex^ 155
I. The Biblical Doctrine of Antichrist 158
J. The history of the interpretation of 2 Thess. ii. 112 . 166
xii CONTENTS
INDEXES.
I. Subjects . , . 177
II. Authors . . 179
III. References 183
1. Inscriptions and Papyri 183
(a) Inscriptions 183
(6) Papyri 184
2. Judaistic Writings 188
IV. Greek Words 191
ABBREVIATIONS.
THE following list of abbreviations applies for the most part
to lexical and grammatical works, and to periodical publications;
but the full titles of a few other books have been added for
convenience of reference, especially where it seemed of im-
portance to specify the exact editions made use of.
For abbreviations in connexion with Authorities for the
Text and Commentators, see Introduction vn. and vm. The
abbreviations for the Inscriptions and the Papyri are explained
in Index in. I (a) and (6), and for Judaistic writings in
Index in. 2.
A sufficiently full title to identify other books quoted is
given as a rule on the occasion of their first mention : see the
references under Index n. Authors.
It may be added that the quotations from the LXX. follow
throughout the text of the smaller Cambridge Septuagint The
Old Testament in Greek edited by H. B. Swete, 3 vols.,
Cambridge, 1887 1894, and the quotations from the N.T. The
New Testament in the original Greek revised by B. F. Westcott
and F. J. A. Hort, vol. i. Text, London, 1898.
The Concordance of Hatch and Redpath has been used for
the Greek O.T., and that of Moulton and Geden for the N.T.
By I. i. i is to be understood I Thess. i. I, and by II. i. I,
2 Thess. i. I.
Abbott Joh. Gr. = Johannine Grammar, by Edwin A. Abbott.
London, 1906.
Am. J. of Th. = The American Journal of Theology. Chicago, 1897 .
Anz Subsidia = Subsidia ad cognoscendum Graecorum sermonem
vulgarem e Pentateuchi versione Alexandrina repetita, by H.
Anz. Halle, 1894.
xiv ABBREVIATIONS
Archiv = Archiv fur Papyrusforschung, ed. U. Wilcken. Leipzig,
1901 .
Aristeas = Aristeae ad Philocratem Epistula, ed. P. Wendland.
Leipzig, 1900.
B.C.H. = Bulletin de correspondence hellenique. Paris and Athens,
1877.
B.D.B. = A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, by
Drs Brown, Driver, and Briggs. Oxford, 1906.
Blass = Grammar of New Testament Greek, by F. Blass. Eng. Tr.
by H. St John Thackeray. 2nd Edit. London, 1905.
Bousset, W. = Die Religion des Judentums im neutestamentlicJien
Zeitalter. 2nd Edit, enlarged and re-arranged. Berlin, 1906.
Burton = Syntax of the Moods and Tenses of New Testament Greek,
by E. D. Burton. 2nd Edit. Edinburgh, 1894.
Buttmann = A Grammar of the New Testament Greek, by A. Butt-
mann. Eng. Tr. by J. H. Thayer. Andover, 1873.
C.G.T. Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges.
Conybeare Selections = Selections from the Septuagint (with a Gram-
mar of Septuagint Greek) by F. C. Conybeare and St George
Stock. Boston, 1906.
C.R. = The Classical Review. London, 1887 .
Cremer = Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, by
H. Cremer. Eng. Tr. by W. Urwick. 4th Edit. Edinburgh,
1895.
Cronert = Memoria Graeca Herculanensis, by G. Cronert. Leipzig,
1903.
Dalman Worte = Die Worte Jesu, by G. Dalman. Leipzig, 1898.
Eng. Tr. by D. M. Kay. Edinburgh, 1902.
Deissmann BS. = Bible Studies by G. A. Deissmann. Eng. edit, by
A. Grieve. Edinburgh, 1901.
Deissmann Hellenisierung Die Hellenisierung des Semitischen
Monotheismus, by G. A. Deissmann. Leipzig, 1903.
Deissmann in Christo = Die neutestamentliche formel " in Christo
Jesu," by G. A. Deissmann. Marburg, 1892.
Deissmann New Light on the N. T. New Light on the New Testa-
ment from Records of the Graeco-Roman Period, by G. A.
Deissmann, tr. by L. R. M. Strachan. Edinburgh, 1907.
ABBREVIATIONS xv
Dieterich Untersuchungen = Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der
griechischen Sprache, von der hellenistischen Zeit bis zum 10.
Jahrh. n. Chr., by K. Dieterich. Leipzig, 1898 (Byzantinisches
Archiv, Heft i.).
Encyc. Bibl. = Encyclopaedia Biblica, edited by T. K. Cheyne and
J. S. Black. 4 vols. London, 1899 1903.
E.G.T. = The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson
Nicoll. Vols. i. iii. London, 1897 1903.
Exp.The Expositor. London, 1875 Cited by series, volume,
and page.
Exp. T. = The Expository Times. Edinburgh, 1889 .
Field Notes = Notes on the Translation of the New Testament (being
Otium Norvicense iii.), by F. Field. Cambridge, 1899.
Gildersleeve Syntax = Syntax of Classical Greek, by B. L. Gilder-
sleeve and C. W. E. Miller. Pt. i. New York, 1900.
Gradenwitz Einfiihrung = Einfiihrung in die Papyruskunde, by
O. Gradenwitz. Heft i. Leipzig, 1900.
Grimm-Thayer = A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament,
being Grimm's Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti, tr, and enlarged
by J. H. Thayer. 2nd Edit. Edinburgh, 1890.
Hastings' D.B. = Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings.
5 vols. Edinburgh, 1898 1904.
Hatch Essays = Essays in Biblical Greek, by Edwin Hatch. Oxford,
1889.
Hatzidakis = Einleitung in die Neugriechische Grammatik, by G. N".
Hatzidakis. Leipzig, 1892.
Hauck RE. 3 = Herzog's Realencyclopddie, 3rd Edit, by A. Hauck.
Leipzig, 1896 .
Hermann Vig. = Vigerus de Idiotismis, ed. G. Hermannus. Leipzig,
1802.
Herwerden = Lexicon Graecum suppletorium et dialecticum, by
H. van Herwerden. Lugd. Batav., 1902. Appendix, 1904.
Nova addenda in Melanges Nicole (Geneva, 1905) pp. 241
260.
Hesychius = Hesychii Alexandrini Lexicon, ed. M. Schmidt. Jena,.
1867.
Jannaris = An Historical Greek Grammar, by A. N. Jannaris.
London, 1897.
M. THESS. b
xvi ABBREVIATIONS
Jelf = A Grammar of the Greek Language, by W. E. Jelf. 3rd Edit.
London, 1861.
J.H.S. = The Journal of Hellenic Studies. London, 1880 .
J.Q.R. -The Jewish Quarterly Review. London, 1889 .
J.T.S. = The Journal of Theological Studies. London, 1900 .
Kennedy Sources = Sources of New Testament Greek, by H. A. A.
Kennedy. Edinburgh, 1895.
Kennedy Last Things = St Paul's Conceptions of the Last Things,
by H. A. A. Kennedy. London, 1904.
Kiihner 3 = Ausfuhrliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, by
R. Kiihner. Elementar- und Formenlehre, ed. F. Blass. 2 vols.
Hanover, 1890, 1892. Satzlehre, ed. B. Gerth. 2 vols. 1898,
1904.
Kuhring = De Praepositionum Graecarum in Chartis Aegyptiis Usu,
by G. Kuhring. Bonn, 1906.
Lob. Phryn. = Phrynichi Ecloga, ed. C. A. Lobeck. Leipzig, 1820.
LS. = A Greek-English Lexicon, by H. G. Liddell and R. Scott.
6th Edit. Oxford, 1869.
Mayser = Grammatik der Griechischen Papyri aus der Ptolemderzeit,
by E. Mayser. Leipzig, 1906.
Meisterhans = Grammatik der attischen Inschriften, by K. Meister-
hans. 3rd Edit, by E. Schwyzer. Berlin, 1900.
Mel. Nic. = Melanges Nicole. (A collection of studies in classical
philology and in archaeology dedicated to Prof. J. Nicole).
Geneva, 1905.
Moeris = Moeridis Lexicon Atticum, ed. J. Pierson. Lugd. Batav.
1759-
Moulton Prolegg. = A Grammar of New Testament Greek, by J. H.
Moulton. Vol. i. Prolegomena. 2nd Edit. Edinburgh, 1906.
Nageli = Der Wortschatz des Apostels Paulus, by Th. Nageli. Gottin-
gen, 1905. See p. Iv n. 2 .
Norden Kunstprosa = Die antike Kunstprosa vom vi. Jahrhundert v.
Chr. bis in die Zeit der Renaissance, by E. Norden. 2 vols.
Leipzig, 1898. See p. Ivii n. 5 .
Ramsay C. and B. = The Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia, by W. M.
Ramsay. Vol. i. in two parts. Oxford, 1895 97.
ABBREVIATIONS xvii
Reitzenstein Poimandres = Poimandres : Studien zur Griechisch-
Agyptischen und Friihchristlichen Literatur, by R. Reitzenstein.
Leipzig, 1904.
Roberts-Gardner = An Introduction to Greek Epigraphy. Part II.
The Inscriptions of Attica. Edited by E. S. Roberts and E. A.
Gardner. Cambridge, 1905.
Rutherford N.P. = The New Phrynichus, by W. G. Rutherford.
London, 1881.
Schmid Attic. = Der Atticismus in seinen Hauptvertretern von Diony-
si^ls von Halikarnass bis auf den zweiten Philostratus, by W.
Schmid. 4 vols and Register. Stuttgart, 1887 97.
Schiirer 3 Geschichte des Jildischen Volkes im Zeitalter Jesu Christi,
by E. Schiirer. 3rd and 4th Edit. Leipzig, 1901 02. Eng.
Tr. of the 2nd Edit. Edinburgh, 1890 91.
SH. = A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to
the Romans, by "W. Sanday and A. C. Headlam. 5th Edit.
Edinburgh, 1902.
SK. = Studien und Kritiken. Gotha, 1828 .
Soph. Lex. = Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods, by
E. A. Sophocles. Memorial edition. New York, 1887.
Stephanus Thesaurus = Thesaurus Graecae Linguae, by H. Stephanus.
8 vols. and Glossary and Index. London, 1816 26.
Suicer Thesaurus Thesaurus Ecclesiasticus e Patribus Graecis, by
J. C. Suicer. Amsterdam, 1682.
Suidas = Suidae Lexicon, ed. I. Bekker. Berlin, 1854.
Thieme = Die Inschriften von Magnesia am Mdander und das Neue
Testament, by G. Thieme. Gottingen, 1906.
Thumb Hellen. Die Griechische Sprache im Zeitalter des Hellenismus,
by A. Thumb. Strassburg, 1901.
Trench Syn. = Synonyms of the New Testament, by R. C. Trench.
New Edition. London, 1901.
Yiteau - fitude sur le grec du Nouveau Testament, by J. Yiteau.
Yol. i. Le Verbe: Syntaxe des Prepositions; Yol. ii. Sujet,
Complement et Attribut. Paris, 1893 96.
Yolz Jild. Eschat. Jiidische Eschatologie von Daniel bis Akiba,
by P. Yolz. Tubingen, 1903.
Yotaw = The Use of the Infinitive in Biblical Greek, by C. W. Yotaw.
Chicago, 1896.
b2
xviii ABBREVIATIONS
Weber Jiid. Theologie = Jiidische Theologie aiif Grund des Talmud
und verwandter Schriften, being the 2nd Edition by F. Delitzsch
and G. Schnedermann of F. Weber's System der altsynagogalen
paldstinischen Theologie or Die Lekren des Talmud. Leipzig,
1897.
WH. or WH. 2 = The New Testament in the original Greek, by B. F.
Westcott and F. J. A. Hort. Vol. i. Text ; vol. ii. Introduction
and Appendix containing Notes on Select Readings &c. Revised
Editions. London, 1898 and 1896.
Wilcken Ostr. = Griechische Ostraka by U. Wilcken. 2 vols. Leipzig,
1899.
Witk. Epp. = Epistulae Privatae Graecae, ed. S. Witkowski. Leipzig,
1906. See p. 129.
WM. = A Treatise on the Grammar of New Testament Greek, by
G. B. Winer, tr. and enlarged by W. F. Moulton. 8th Eng.
Edit. Edinburgh, 1877.
WSchm. = Grammatik des neutestamentlichen Sprachidioms, by
G. B. Winer. 8th Edit, newly revised by P. W. Schmiedel
(in progress). Gottingen, 1894 .
Zahn Einl. = Einleitung in das Neue Testament. Vol. i. 2nd Edit.
Leipzig, 1900; vol. ii. ist Edit. 1899.
Z.N.T.W. = Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft.
Giessen, 1900 .
INTKODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
I,
THE CITY OF THESSALONICA 1 .
77 Tracrrys Trep
Antipater of Thessalonica
(time of Augustus).
Thessalonica was built close to the site of the ancient Tne Foun-
town of Therma or Therme, so named from the hot mineral Thessa-
springs which still exist in the vicinity, and at the head of the lomca -
Gulf called after it the Thermaic Gulf 2 . Accounts differ as to
the origin of the new city, but, according to the most probable
story, it was founded by Cassander, the son-in-law of Philip of
Macedon, about the year 315 B.C. and was called by him
Thessalonica in honour of his wife, the step-sister of Alex-
ander the Great 3 . Its earliest inhabitants were drawn not
1 The principal authority for the et Bayet Memoire sur une Mission au
history of Thessalonica is Tafel's His- Mont Athos (Paris, ! 1876). See also
toria Thessalonicae (Tubing., 1835), Lightfoot Biblical Essays p. 253 ff.,
afterwards prefixed as Prolegomena to and the artt. 'Thessalonica' in the
his elaborate monograph De Thessa- EncycL Bibl. and in Hastings' D.B.
lonica ejusque agro. Dissertatio geo- The present appearance and condition
graphica (Berol., 1839). Accounts of of the town are graphically described
the geography and antiquities of the by G. F. Abbott in The Tale of a Tour
^region are to be found in Cousinery in Macedonia (1903).
Voyage dans la Macedoine i. p. 23 ff. 2 Herod, vii. 121 6^77 5 rr} tv r$
(Paris, 1831), Leake Travels in North- Qepfnaly /c6X7r^ olmifttvy, dir' fs ital 6
ern Greece in. p. 235 ff. (1835), Heuzey /c6\7roj oSros r^v ^TrwwfjLi^v %ei.
et Daumet Mission Archeologiqne de 3 Strabo 330 77 irpbrepov 8^17 -
Macedoine (Paris, 1876), and Duchesne KaAetro. KT^JJ-O. 5' taTiv Ka<r<rdvdpov,
xxii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
only from Therme, but from several of the neighbouring cities
on the shores of the Gulf 1 , and there is ample evidence that it
soon rose to be a place of very considerable importance. Tt
owed this in large measure to the natural advantages of its
situation, commanding, as it did, on the landward side the
rich plain of the Strymon, on which there also converged the
three plains, watered respectively by the Axias, the Lydias, and
the Haliacmon, and being furnished towards the sea with a
good natural harbour.
When, accordingly, in 1 68 B.C. Macedonia was conquered
by the Romans, and divided into four districts, Thessalonica,
'celeberrima urbs,' was made the capital of Macedonia Secunda 12 .
And when, a few years later, 146 B.C., the different districts
were united into a single province, it became virtually the
capital of the whole.
Thessa- Under Roman rule the prosperity of the city continued to
under advance rapidly. Its situation on the great Via JSgnatia 3 ,
Koman about mid way between Dyrrachium on the Adriatic and the
river Hebrus in Thrace, brought it into such direct contact
with the stream of traffic that was continually passing along
that busy highway between Rome and her Eastern depend-
encies, that Cicero can speak of its inhabitants as placed in
the lap of the Empire 4 '; and it was here that he himself sought
refuge in the quaestor's house during his exile 5 .
On the outbreak of the First Civil War (49 B.C.), Thessa-
lonica was the head-quarters of the Pompeian party 6 , but
during the Second was found on the side of Octavius and
Antonius 7 , and, when their cause triumphed, was declared by
way of reward a free city 8 . The consequence was that, unlike
6s tiri T$ 6v6fj.aTi rrjs eavrov yvvcuicbs, imperil nostri ' (de prov. Consul. 2).
iraidbs 5 3>i\iinrov TOV ' A/j-vvrlov, 5 Pro Plane. 41.
The new title (under the 6 Dion Cass. xli. 18.
form QeTToXovlicr)) is first found in 7 Plut. Brut. 46, Appian Bell. Civ.
Polyb. xxiii. 4. 4, u. 2 &c. Other iv. 118.
accounts of the foundation of the city 8 ' Thessalonica liberae condicionis '
will be found in Tafel p. v. (Plin. N. H. iv. 17). Coins have been*
1 Strabo I.e., Plin. N.H. iv. 17. discovered with the inscription Qetra-a-
2 Liv. xlv. 29, 30. \OVLKCUV cXevdepias (-ptct), which
3 See Tafel Via militaris Eoman- probably refers to this fact (Tafel
orum Egnatia (Tubing. 1842). p. xxviii f.).
4 ' Thessalonicenses positi in gremio
THE CITY OF THESSALONICA xxiii
its neighbour Philippi, which was a Roman colony, Thessa-
lonica remained an essentially Greek city, having the right to
summon its own assembly 1 , and being ruled by its own magis-
trates, who, according to the account in Acts, were known by
the somewhat unusual title of politarchs 2 . This fact, formerly
urged against St Luke's accuracy, has in recent years been
triumphantly vindicated by the discovery of various inscriptions
in which it reappears 3 .
Other proofs of the flourishing state of Thessalonica are at the
afforded by Strabo who, writing about a quarter of a century onSf 1 "
before St Paul's visit, describes it as the most populous of the Christian
Macedonian cities of his time, a description that is confirmed a
century later by Lucian 4 .
Of St Paul's connexion with Thessalonica, and the circum-
stances attending the introduction of Christianity into it, we
shall have occasion to speak later. Meanwhile it may be well
to summarize briefly the story of the city's fortunes down to
the present time.
About the middle of the third century it was erected into a in the
colony, and, according to Duchesne, it probably received about fourth^
the same time the title of metropolis of Macedonia 5 . Before centuries,
1 Ac. xvii. 5 rbv 57j,aoi> (cf. xix. 30, that the number of politarchs in
33, of Ephesus). As throwing further Thessalonica in N.T. times was either
light on the political constitution of five or six, and further that the office
Thessalonica, an interesting inscrip- was by no means confined to Thessa-
tion, belonging to 143 A.D., may be lonica, as is sometimes erroneously
recalled, where mention is made not assumed. To Burton's evidence we
only of its politarchs (see below), but can now add the occurrence of the
of the decrees passed VTTO 7-775 KpaTia[T7js title on an Egyptian papyrus-letter
/3ouX]7/s Kai TOV d-fi/mov (Duchesne p. 10). from Oxyrhynchus, belonging to the
2 Ac. xvii. 6. beginning of the first century, where
3 The most important of these, the writer claims that his correspon-
which was found on a Koman Arch dent had made some promise through
(since demolished), is now preserved the 'politarch' Theophilus (P.Oxy.
in the British Museum. It is repro- 745, 4 wsKal vir^xov dtarov iroXeiTdpxov
duced, with a history of the various Qeo<j)i\ov).
transcriptions that have from time to 4 Strabo 323 Geo-o-aXow/cetas, Ma/re-
time appeared, by Prof. E. DeWitt dovtKrjs TroXews, 77 vvv ^dXio-ra r&v &\\wv
Burton in an important art. on 'The etavdpet, Luc. Ann. aur. 46 7r6Xews TWV
Politarchs' in the Amer. Journ. of ev 'M.aKedovig. 7-775 ^6740-7-775 Qeo-<ra\ot>lKrjs.
Thcol. ii. (1898), p. 598 ff. (summarized 5 The title occurs as early as Strabo
in Hastings' D.B. under 'Bulers of the 330 17 5 ^7777)671-0X15 7-775 vvv Ma^eSoi/^as
City'). From this art. it would appear fort, but, in view of the fact that both
xxiv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
the foundation of Constantinople, it seems even to have been
thought of as the possible capital of the world 1 .
Its patron-saint Demetrius was martyred about 304 A.D. 2 ,
and towards the close of the same century (389 A.D.) Thessalonica
again received unhappy prominence through the ruthless mas-
sacre of at least seven thousand of its inhabitants by the order
of the Emperor Theodosius, an act for which he was refused
absolution by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, until, after the lapse
of eight months, he performed the most abject penance,
in the In the following century Theodoret describes Thessalonica
Ages e as ' tne greatest and most populous ' city of the district 3 , and
the place which it gradually acquired in the history of the
Church is shown by the fact that Cameniata in the tenth
century bestows upon it, as its special right, the proud title
of 'the orthodox city 4 / a designation it continued to deserve
throughout the Middle Ages, when, according to its historian
Tafel, it proved itself ' fax quaedam humanitatis . . . fideique
Christianae promotrix 5 .'
Amongst its great names during this period none was more
illustrious than that of Eustathius, who was not only the
foremost scholar of his age, but, as archbishop of Thessalonica
from 1 175 to c. 1 192, proved himself 'a man of political insight,
and a bold and far-seeing reformer 6 .'
Meanwhile the outward fortunes of the city were very varied,
contemporary and later inscriptions censi 3 v 5e TOVTO -rrp&rov /ecu Idialrarov
speak of Thessalonica simply as 7r<5Xis, dieSelKvvro, rb 6p66dooi> ai/Trjv /ecu elvai
Duchesne(p. 14 f.) thinks that Strabo's /eat 6voft&peff0ai xa.1 rotfry /j.a\\ov TJirep
words, if not the gloss of a copyist, TOLS dXXots ffcfurfvcffOai. According to
are best understood figuratively: cf. Tafel (p. xlvi), the name is due to the
Jacobs Anth. Gr. ii. p. 152, no. 428 city's obstinate defence of image- wor-
(time of Augustus) Qe<r<ra\oviKr}, ^T-rjp ship against the iconoclastic Emperors
i] ird<r-r]s...'M.a.Kr]8ovi'r)s. in the eighth and ninth centuries.
1 ' Before the foundation of Constan- Lightfoot (Bibl. Essays p. 268!.) pre-
tinople, Thessalonica is mentioned by fers to connect it with the stalwart
Cedrenus (p. 283), and Sardica by resistance which Thessalonica offered
Zonaras, as the intended capital ' to successive Gothic and Slavonic in-
(Gibbon Decline and Fall c. xvii.). vasions, and to its active efforts for
2 The splendid church erected in his the conversion of the invaders,
honour is now a Turkish mosque. 6 Praef. p. 3.
3 Theodoret H. E. v. 17 QeffffaXovlicq 6 J. E. Sandys Hist, of Class.
irtiXis Iffrl fjifyLcrrj /ecd iroKvavOpuTros. Scholarship 2 p. 421.
4 Cameniata De excidio Thessaloni-
THE CITY OF THESSALONICA xxv
but finally, after being plundered by the Saracens in 904, fall-
ing into the hands of the Normans and Tancred in 1185, and
being placed under the protection of the Venetian Republic in
1422, it was taken by the Turks under Amurath II. in 1430,
and has remained ever since in their possession.
At the present time under the popular name of Saloniki or and at
(Turkish) Selanik 1 , it is the second city in European Turkey, sent time.
and carries on a large and flourishing trade. A recent traveller,
after a careful examination of the statistics on the spot, esti-
mated the number of its inhabitants a few years ago at
1 50,000, of whom he considered that no fewer than 90,000 were
Jews 2 . These Jews are not, however, to be thought of as the
direct descendants of the Jews of St Paul's day, but are
Spanish Jews whose ancestors found refuge here when the Jews
were expelled from Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella. They
still speak a kind of Spanish 'much damaged by wear and tear,
and picturesquely patched up with Turkish and other foreign
elements 3 / and occupy a distinct mahallah or quarter of the city.
Their importance is shown by the fact that they possess about
thirty synagogues, as compared with about an equal number of
Turkish mosques and twelve Christian churches, while a large
part of the trade of the city is in their hands.
The Greek influence on the town, however, notwithstanding
the comparatively small number of Greek inhabitants, is still
predominant, so that ' on the whole, Salonica may be said still
to be what it has been for more than twenty centuries
a centre of Hellenic influence and civilisation 4 .'
1 The old name of Qe<rcra\oviKir) is Turkish statistics two things must be
still used by all Greeks of any educa- kept in mind : first, that the Jews, who
tion. In the heading of letters this is have no political ambitions, endeavour
often abbreviated into Q^itcy. to minimize their numbers in order to
2 Abbott p. 19 f. These figures are avoid taxation; secondly, that the
very considerably higher than the Christians often exaggerate theirs for
usual official returns, but, in a com- political reasons.
munication to the present writer, Mr 3 Abbott p. 20.
Abbott states that in dealing with 4 Ibid. p. 21.
II.
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH.
AVTOV yap av^et co'craA.ovt'/oy rov TLavXov f.\ LV T ^ s v<rej3ei'as
TO ovccvos TT/S e/cAoyiys . . . ei/ avTTj /xaAAov rov rrj<s
0eoyv<oo-ia9 cnropov /caT/?aAe, KOU TroXv^ow a7ro8iSoo-0at TOV T???
7TtCTT(OS KdpTTOV 8te(T7TOi;8a(7e.
Cameniata Z)e excidio Thessalonicensi 3.
' It is this close combination of cosmopolitan Judaism
with cosmopolitan Hellenism which afforded the new religion
its non-local, non-parochial hot-beds, and fitted it (humanly
speaking) for the acceptance of the world.'
J. P. Mahaffy The Silver Age of the Greek World
(1906) p. 317.
i. The I. It was during what is generally known as his Second
Founda- Missionary Journey that St Paul first visited Thessalonica,
the Thes- and founded the Christian Church there. Obliged to leave
Church 1 Philippi, the Apostle along with Silas and, in all probability,
Timothy, turned his face towards the South, and, following
the line of the Great Egnatian Road which here runs through
scenery of great natural beauty 1 , pushed on steadily over the
hundred miles that separated Philippi from Thessalonica 2 .
In the latter busy seaport with its varied population and
strenuous life St Paul would find just such a scene of work
as he most desired. At once along with his companions he
entered on an active mission amongst the Jews of the place,
frequenting the Synagogue on three successive Sabbath days
(eVt o-d/Bpara rpla, Ac. xvii. 2) and reasoning in friendly
intercourse (SteXefaro) with the assembled worshippers 3 .
1 Kenan St Paul (1869) P- T 54 f ' *he Apostle's successive resting-places
2 According to the Antonine Itinerary, for the night. But, as the ordinary
the actual distances were from Philippi rate for travellers on foot did not
to Amphipolis thirty-three miles, from exceed sixteen to twenty Koman miles
Amphipolis to Apollonia thirty miles, a day (Ramsay in Hastings' D.B. \.
and from Apollonia to Thessalonica p. 386), the whole journey probably
thirty-seven miles, and in consequence occupied from five to six days.
it has been conjectured that Amphi- 3 Amongst the inscriptions found at
polis and Apollonia (Ac. xvii. i) formed Thessalonica is a fragment of uncertain
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH xxvn
In doing so, as was natural with such an audience, the
Apostle found a common starting-point in the Jewish Scriptures,
expounding and quoting them to prove (Siavoiycov /cat irapa-
Tideiisvos) that the Christ, for whom the Jews had been taught
to look, ought to suffer and to rise again from the dead, and
then passing on to show that these things were indeed ful-
filled in the historical Jesus whom he had now come to
proclaim (v. 3). Nor was this all, but, to judge from the nature
of the charge afterwards brought against the missionaries
('saying that there is another King, Jesus' v. 7), special stress
would seem to have been laid on the doctrine of the Kingdom
which had played so large a part in the teaching of Jesus
Himself, and above all, as we see clearly from the two Epistles
afterwards addressed to the Thessalonian Church, upon its
speedy and final establishment by the glorious return of its
now exalted and heavenly King.
So far as the Jews were concerned, the immediate effect
of this preaching was small, but, in addition to the 'some' of
them who were persuaded, the historian of the Acts mentions
other two classes who 'consorted' with the Apostles, or more
exactly 'were allotted' to them by Divine favour (Trpocre-
/c\r)pa)6'r)aav), namely, 'of the devout Greeks a great multitude,
and of the chief women not a few' (v. 4). Both these classes
were of Gentile birth 1 . And this in itself prepares us for
the further fact, not referred to in Acts, but amply attested
by the contents of St Paul's own Epistles, that, on the com-
parative failure of this Jewish mission, the Apostles turned
directly to the Gentile inhabitants of the town, and prosecuted
their teaching amongst them with a far larger degree of success
(cf. I. i. 9, ii. I4) 2 .
date, but as late as imperial times, instance it is more natural to think of
which reads x mr~HEBP o-wjcryaryrj them as of Macedonian extraction
E/3p[aW], see J.H.S. xviii. (1898), (cf. Knowling E.G.T. ad loc.). For
p. 333. the important part played by women
1 Dr Hort indeed thinks that the in Macedonia see Lightfoot Philip-
'chief women' were probably the plans* p. 55 f., Eamsay St Paul the
Jewish wives of heathen men of dis- Traveller and the Roman Citizen p.
tinction as in Ac. xiii. 50 (Jud. 227.
Christianity p. 89), but on that oc- 2 The Lukan and Pauline accounts
casion the women were found ranked would be brought into closer harmony
against the Apostles, and in the present if in Ac. xvii. 4 we could adopt Kam-
^ OF THE
UNIVERSITY
xxviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
How long St Paul continued his work amongst the Gentiles
in Thessalonica we can only conjecture, but there are various
particulars that indicate that it may well have extended over
several months. Thus, apart from the two separate occasions
on which he received help from Philippi (Phil. iv. 15 f.), a
fact in itself pointing to a considerable lapse of time, the
Apostle evidently found it worth his while to settle down for a
time to his ordinary trade, and thereby secure the opportunity
not only of instructing his converts as a whole in the main
Christian truths (I. i. 9 f.), but of dealing directly and person-
ally with them (I. ii. 7, 1 1 ; see further p. xlv). There is also
evidence of a certain amount of organization in the newly-
formed community either immediately previous to or after the
missionaries' departure (I. v. 12 ff.). Nor is it without signifi-
cance as showing how widely St Paul had succeeded in making
his presence and influence felt outside the circle of his own
immediate followers that 'the city,' evidently 'all the city'
(A.V.), though there is no warrant for ' all ' in the original,
was set in an uproar by the attack made against him (v. 5).
The primary instigators of this attack were the Jews who,
Paul. moved by jealousy of the success attending St Paul's preaching,
but unable of themselves to thwart it, enlisted on their side
'certain vile fellows of the rabble,' the lazzaroni of the market-
place, who must have been very numerous in such a city as
Thessalonica, and with their aid assaulted the house of Jason,
in which apparently the Apostles were lodging. It had been
their intention to bring them before that assembly of the
people which, in virtue of their libera condicio (see p. xxii n. 8 ),
the Thessalonians were privileged to hold. But means had
been found for the Apostles' escape, and the mob had to
content themselves with wreaking their vengeance on Jason
and certain others of the brethren by bringing them before the
politarchs, or city-magistrates, on the charge of being revolu-
tionaries ' these that have turned the world upside down '
(v. 6) and more particularly of acting ' contrary to the decrees
of Caesar, saying that there is another King, Jesus ' (v. 7).
say's emendation of the text, resulting TroXtf (St Paul p. 235) ; but the reading
from a comparison of A with D, TroXXot is wanting in MS. authority, nor is it
TUV (rej3ofjitvwi> Kal 'EXX^wj/ irXydos required on internal grounds.
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH xxix
The charge was cleverly planned, and in itself clearly betrays
the Jewish prompting which, as we have just seen, underlay
the whole riot, for only Jews thought of the Messiah as King
and could thus have accused the Apostles of proclaiming Jesus
as 'another' King. At the same time no charge was more
likely to arouse the hostility of the Greek magistrates 1 . As in
the case of Pilate, when a similar accusation was laid before
him against the Lord Himself (Lk. xxiii. 2, Jo. xix. 12, 15),
the politarchs would be very sensitive to any appearance of
tolerating treason against the honour of the Emperor, and it
says much for their desire to administer justice impartially that
they contented themselves with requiring that 'security,'
probably in the form of a pecuniary surety or bond, should be
taken from Jason and the others that the peace of the city
should not be further disturbed 2 . Moderate, however, though
this decision was 3 , it made it impossible for St Paul to remain
in Thessalonica without the risk of involving his friends in
serious troubles, and possibly of arousing active official oppo-
sition to his whole work, and accordingly along with Silas he
departed by night for the important city of Beroea 4 , whither he
was followed soon after by Timothy.
2. The missionaries' reception there was even more en- 2. De-
couraging than at Thessalonica. No longer 'some' but 'many' f^rhe
of the Jews believed, and along with them 'of the Greek women salonica.
of honourable estate, and of men, not a few' (v. 12). But the B
work was not long allowed to go on in peace. The bitter
malice of the Thessalonian Jews followed St Paul here, and
so successful were they in again 'stirring up and troubling
the multitudes' that the brethren sent for the Apostle to go
1 'Nee Caesaribus honor' is one of illustrated from the inscriptions, e.g.
the complaints of Tacitus against the O.G.I.S. 484, 50 (ii./A.D.) rb iKav\bv
Jews (Hist. v. 5). And Just. M. Apol. irpb /c/><r]ews \[a]/j.pdi>e<r6cu, 629, 101
i. n (Otto) proves how necessary the (ii./A.D.) o6[ros r]6 Uavbv Xa/A/Sa^rw.
first Christians found it to show that 3 Kamsay describes it as ' the mildest
by 'kingdom ' they understood nothing that was prudent in the circumstances '
'human' (oik els TO vvv rds \7rL8as (St Paul p. 230).
fyonev)- 4 In an inscription discovered at
2 Ac. xvii. 9. The phrase Xa/u/3dvetj> Beroea belonging to ii./A.D., the city
rb iKav6v, which Blass (Acta Aposto- is described as r, a-e^voraTr} fjL-r}Tpoiro\is
lorum p. 187) traces to Latin influence TTJS MaKeSWcts Kal 5ls j/ew/c6/>os B<f/>ota
satisdare, satis accipere, can now be (Rev. d. Etudes grecques xv. p. 142).
xxx THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Athens. 'as far as to the sea,' where, probably at Dium, some of them
embarked along with him for Athens (v. 14 f.).
3. Move- 3. Meanwhile Silas and Timothy remained behind at
Silas and Beroea, perhaps to prosecute the newly started work, possibly
Timothy, also to know when it would be safe for St Paul to return to
Thessalonica, but in any case with instructions to rejoin him as
quickly as possible. If we had only the account in Acts to
guide us, we might imagine that they were not able to ac-
complish this until St Paul reached Corinth (cf. Ac. xviii. 5).
But again the historical narrative requires to be supplemented
by the Apostle's own Epistle. For the mention of the despatch
of Timothy on a special mission to Thessalonica while St Paul
was still at Athens shows us that he at least had previously
rejoined the Apostle there (I. iii. I f.); and if so, it is probable
that Silas had also done the same in accordance with the
urgent message already sent to both (Ac. xvii. 15). And if we
can think of the despatch of Silas himself shortly afterwards on
a similar errand, perhaps to Philippi, with which at the time
St Paul was in communication (Phil. iv. 15), we can under-
stand, in accordance with the definite statements of Ac. xviii. 5,
how on the conclusion of their respective missions the two
messengers 'came down from Macedonia' to St Paul at Corinth,
to which city he had gone on alone from Athens 1 .
Timothy's The report which Timothy brought back from Thessalonica,
from 1 supplemented possibly by a letter from the Thessalonians
Thessa- themselves addressed to St Paul 2 , was evidently in the main
highly satisfactory. The Thessalonians, to judge from the
Epistle afterwards addressed to them, which is our only defi-
nite source of information, had proved themselves worthy
of their 'election' not only in the manner in which they them-
selves had received the Gospel, but in the 'ensample' they
1 Cf. Paley Hor. Paul. c. ix. 4. It phatie KaraXfL^d^ai 'left behind' of
is of course possible that St Paul only I. iii. i, suggesting the immediately
sent instructions from Athens to previous presence of his companions
Timothy and Silas while still at with the writer (see note ad loc.).
Beroea to proceed thence on their 2 For an interesting attempt to re-
respective missions, and consequently construct this letter see Rendel Harris
that it was actually first at Corinth 'A Study in Letter- writing,' Exp. v.
that they rejoined him. But the ex- viii. p. 161 f., and cf. Add. Note A,
planation given above seems more 'St Paul as a Letter- Writer, p. 126.'
natural, especially in view of the em-
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH xxxi
had subsequently set to believers throughout Macedonia and
Achaia (I. i. 4 ff.). At the same time they were exposed to
certain dangers requiring immediate attention if they were
indeed to prove a ' crown of glorying ' at the Parousia of the
Lord Jesus (I. ii. 19).
4. Thus it would appear that no sooner had St Paul and 4- Circum-
his companions left Thessalonica than suspicions had begun to leading
be cast upon the whole course of their Apostolic ministry, with ^^ of
the obvious intention of diverting the Thessalonian believers i Thessa-
from their allegiance. Nowhere are we expressly told who were
the authors of these insinuations. And in consequence many tions
have referred them to the heathen population of Thessalonica 1 against
who would naturally resent bitterly the defection of their fellow- St Paul
countrymen from the old standards of faith and morals. But if
so, it hardly seems likely that their opposition would have taken
this particular form, or, even supposing it had, that it would
have had much effect upon the Christian converts. These last
could not but know that their fellow-countrymen's zeal against
the Apostles was dictated not only by prejudice, but by
ignorance of the facts of the case, and they would hardly allow
themselves to be led astray by those who had never put them-
selves in the way of discovering what was the real character and
teaching of the men they were so eager to traduce.
If, however, the attacks came from a Jewish source, the case by the
would be very different. The Thessalonian Jews would be able
to claim that in virtue of their own past history, and the ants of
Thessa-
' oracles' that had been committed to their fathers, they were in i on ica/
a better position to decide than any newly admitted Gentile
converts could possibly be, what was the true relation of the
Apostles' teaching to the whole course of that Divine revela-
tion, of which it claimed to be the natural and necessary
fulfilment. We must not indeed suppose that their attacks
assumed the definite form which St Paul had afterwards to
face in connexion with his Judaistic opponents in Galatia and
elsewhere. Of this there is as yet no trace in the Epistles
before us 2 . On the other hand we can easily understand how
1 So e.g. Clemen, Paulus (1904) ii. Tr. p. 58 'The new converts were
p. 181 f. threatened, not by a false Gospel, but
2 Jiilicher Introd. to the N. T. Eng. by rabid hatred of any Gospel.'
M. THESS. c
xxxii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
ready the Jewish inhabitants of Thessalonica would be by open
assertion and covert hint to throw discredit on the Apostle's
character and credentials with the object of undermining as
far as possible the effect of his work 3 .
It is this latter consideration indeed, which alone enables
us to understand the large place which St Paul devotes to
this subject in his Epistle. It may seem strange at first sight
that he should have thought it worth while to defend himself
and his companions from attacks coming from a source so
manifestly inspired by unworthy motives. But the Apostle
could not but recognize that much more than his own personal
honour was at stake. The whole future of the Gospel at
Thessalonica would be endangered, if these ' perverse and
wicked men' (II. iii. 2) were allowed to get their way. And
therefore it was that he found it necessary for the Word's sake,
if not for his own, that they should not only be answered, but
repudiated and condemned in the most emphatic manner
(I ii. IS f-)-
Persecu- Nor was this the only point on which Timothy's report
theVhes- cause d St Paul grave concern. The persecution, which the
salonian Apostle had foretold as the lot of Christ's people everywhere,
had evidently fallen in full measure on the young Thessalonian
community (I. iii. 3 ff.). And though as yet there were no
signs of active backsliding, but rather the contrary, St Paul
dreaded that such a state of things might not continue,
and that his converts might suffer themselves to be 'lured
away' (v. 3) from that standing fast in the Lord (v. 8), through
which alone they could hope to obtain full and complete
salvation at the Lord's appearing (v. 13, cf. v. 9). The ex-
hortation of a father therefore (ii. 11) was required, as well
as the tender dealing of a mother (ii. 7), and this all the more
in view of certain other matters of a more directly practical
kind, on which Timothy had evidently represented the Thessa-
lonians as requiring further guidance.
Chris-
tians.
1 Cf. B. Weiss 'The Present Status
of the Inquiry concerning the Genuine-
ness of the Pauline Epistles' in Amer.
Journ. of Theol. i. (1897) p. 332 f.
a paper in which there are many sug-
gestive remarks regarding the Epistles
before us.
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHUECH xxxiii
These concerned in the first place their moral conduct. Their
Christian believers though they were, the Thessalonians had m
not yet learned the completeness of the severance which their
new faith demanded from various habits and practices they had
hitherto been accustomed to regard as ' indifferent,' nor the
necessity of a quiet, orderly continuance in the work and
relationships of their daily life, notwithstanding the speedy
coming of their Lord for which they had been taught to look
(iv. i 12).
And then as regards that coming itself, there were at least and
two points on which the Apostle's previous instruction required dim"* 1
to be supplemented. culties,
In the first place the Thessalonians had to be reassured
on a question which was giving them grave concern, and on
which apparently they had definitely asked St Paul's opinion.
What of those of their number who were falling asleep while
as yet Christ had not come ? Would they in consequence
be shut out from the glory by which His coming would be
attended 1 ? By no means, so the Apostle hastened to comfort
them, in one of the few pictorial representations of the Last
Things that occur in his writings; they would rather be the
first to share in that glory. For not till the ' dead in Christ '
had risen, would the living be caught up along with them
to meet the descending Lord in the air (iv. 13 -18).
In the second place, as regarded the time of that coming,
which to the Thessalonians in their eager love for Christ might
seem to be unaccountably delayed, St Paul recalled what they
ought never to have forgotten, that the Day of the Lord would
come as a surprise, and that in consequence their present duty
was not to be over-anxious on a point regarding which no
certain knowledge was possible, but rather to watch and be
sober, putting on the triple armour of faith and love and
hope a hope grounded on God's gracious purposes towards
them, and on the redemptive work of Christ through which
1 The same problem meets us in dixit ad me : coronae adsimilabo iudi-
4 Ezra v. 41 f. (ed. Bensly) : 'Et dixi: cium meum; sicut non nouissimorum
sed ecce, domine, tu praees his qui in tarditas, sic nee priorum uelocitas.'
fine sunt, et quid facient qui ante iios See further note ad I. iv. 15.
sunt aut nos aut hi qui post nos ? Et
C 2
xxxiv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
alone the fulfilment of these purposes had been rendered
possible (v. i n).
and Nor was this all, but as appears from the closing section
(ntern e ai n of the E P istle > St Paul had evidently also been informed of
discipline, certain difficulties that had arisen in the internal discipline
of the young community, and in consequence seized the oppor-
tunity of reinforcing the authority of those who had been placed
in positions of trust, and of laying down certain general rules of
holy living, by means of which the well-being of the whole
community might be secured, and its members be 'preserved
entire, without blame ' at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
(v. 1223).
The Such then would seem to have been the circumstances
substitute whidi led up to the writing of this Epistle, and the manner
for a in which St Paul met them. Nothing indeed can be clearer
visit. from the Epistle itself than how much the Apostle regretted
having to fall back upon this method of communicating with
his beloved converts. Gladly would he rather have revisited
them in person, and indeed, as he expressly tells them, on two-
occasions he had actually made the attempt, but in vain
'Satan hindered us' (ii. 18). No other course then remained
open for him but to have resort to a letter, a means of
conveying religious truth which he had made peculiarly his
own 1 , and of which he had doubtless frequently availed himself
before in communicating with the Churches he had founded 2 .
Written in It is noteworthy too, how closely on the present occasion
of an*" 3 J St Paul associated Silas and Timothy with himself in the
the mis- writing of the Epistle. For not only do their names occur
sionaries. , , , . , . i ,
along with his own in the Address in accordance with a
favourite and characteristic practice 3 , but the first person plural
1 See further Add. Note A, 'St Paul other hand I. v. 27, II. ii. 15, iii. 17 f.
as a Letter- Writer.' have been taken as implying that the
2 Note the emphatic h navy eTri<rTo\fj habit of sending important Epistles
in II. iii. 17, which naturally implies was new (Weiss Introd. to the N.T.,
more than a single precursor (San- Eng. Tr. i. p. 204; cf. von Sodeu
day Inspiration p. 336), and 'On Hist, of Early Christian Literature
the Probability that many of St Paul's Eng. Tr. p. 27 f.).
Epistles have been lost ' see Jowett 3 Cf. Cic. ad Att. ix. 7 A. Farrar
The Epistles of St Paul to the Thessa- (St Paul i. p. 579) recalls the saying
lonians 2 &c. (1859) * P- *95 ff - On tlae of Origen that the concurrence of Paul
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALON1AN CHURCH xxxv
is maintained throughout both this Epistle and its successor with
a regularity to which we have no subsequent parallel 1 . It will
be well therefore to recognize this fact in our subsequent ex-
position of the Epistle's teaching, and to refer the views there
expressed to all three Apostles, even though St Paul must
be regarded as their primary and principal author.
5. This same consideration helps also to establish what our 5-
previous account of St Paul's movements has made sufficiently f 7 Thef-
clear, that it was at Corinth that the First Epistle to the Thessa- salonians.
lonians was written, for it was there, as we have seen, that
Silas and Timothy rejoined him on the conclusion of their
respective missions, nor, so far at least as we can gather from
the Lukan account, was there any subsequent period in their
history when the three missionaries were together in one place,
and consequently in a position to act as joint-sponsors of the
letter.
With this view the internal evidence of the Epistle itself is
in complete harmony. To place it earlier, as for example at
Athens, in accordance with the 'subscription' in certain MSS.
and followed by the A.V., would hardly leave time for all that
had taken place in the Church at Thessalonica after the
Apostles' departure (ii. 14, iii. I 6), and, above all, for the
influence the Thessalonian believers had been able to exert
on the surrounding district (i. J f., iv. 10). On the other hand,
to place it subsequent to St Paul's departure from Corinth
where he remained a year and a half (Ac. xviii. 1 1 ), is obviously
inconsistent with the freshness that marks his references to
his Thessalonian friends (i. 5, ii. I fF.), and with his express
statement that as yet he had been separated from them only
' for a short season ' (ii. 1 7).
6. If then we are correct in regarding Corinth as the place 6. Date,
of writing of the Epistle, and are prepared further to think of a
comparatively early period in the Apostle's sojourn there, the
exact date will be determined by the view taken of the chrono-
logy of St Paul's life. It is a subject on which authorities
and Silas flashed out the lightning of 1 See further Add. Note B, 'Did
these Epistles (Horn. V. in Jerem. St Paul use the Epistolary Plural?'
588 b).
xxxvi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
widely differ, but the general tendency is to throw the dates
backward rather than forward, and we shall probably not be
far wrong if we place the writing of our Epistle somewhere
about 5051 A.D.
Harnack (Chronol. d. altchr. Litt. (1897) i- P- 2 39 n>1 ) dates
the two Epistles as early as 48 49, and in this he is followed
by McGiffert (art. ' Thessalonians (Epistles to) ' in Encyc.
Bill col. 5037). The 'Chronology of the N.T.' advocated by
Turner in Hastings' D.B., which has met with wide acceptance,
would throw them forward a year (50), while Ramsay (St Paul
p. 254) prefers 51 52, the earlier of these dates being also
supported by St Paul's latest biographer Clemen (see his
Paulus i. p. 398). W. Bruckner (Chronol. p. 193 ff.), while
dating the four chief Epistles as late as 61 62, agrees that,
if i Thessalonians is really the work of St Paul, it must be
carried back to a much earlier period in the Apostle's life,
when his theological system was not yet fully developed ;
cf. Menegoz Le Peche et la Redemption d'apres Saint Paul
(Paris, 1882) p. 4.
i Thessa- On this view too of the date, we are probably justified in
10 robabl regarding i Thessalonians as the earliest of St Paul's extant
the Epistles. It is impossible indeed to ignore the fact that in
extant* recent years this honour has been claimed with increasing per-
Pauline sistency for the Epistle to the Galatians by a very influential
band of scholars. And, if we are prepared to admit the South
Galatian address of that Epistle, there is no doubt that a place
can be found for it previous to the above-mentioned date, and,
further, that this position is favoured by the often striking
coincidences between its language and the incidents of the
First Missionary Journey, and more specially the speech de-
livered by the Apostle at Pisidian Antioch in the course of it 1 .
On 'the other hand, if such resemblances in language and
thought are to be reckoned with, how are we to explain the
fact that in the Thessalonian Epistle, written, according to most
of the supporters of this view, very shortly after Galatians (see
small print below), there is an almost complete absence of any
trace of the distinctive doctrinal positions of that Epistle ?
No doubt the differences in the circumstances under which the
1 The various arguments that bear The Testimony of St Paul to Christ
upon the exact date of Galatians will (1905) p. 28 ff.; see also Moffatt Hist.
be found carefully stated by Knowling N.T. p. 125 f.
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH xxxvii
two Epistles were written, and the particular ends they had in
view, may account for much of this dissimilarity. At the same
time, while not psychologically impossible, it is surely most
unlikely that the same writer and he too a writer of St Paul's
keen emotional nature should show no signs in this (according
to this view) later Epistle of the conflict through which he had
just been passing, and on which he had been led to take up so
strong and decided a position.
If, however, in accordance with the older view, I Thessa-
lonians along with its successor to the same Church can still
be placed first, all is clear. As an example of St Paul's mission-
ary teaching, written before the acuter controversies of his later
years had forced themselves upon him, and made inevitable
the presentment of the old truths in a new way, it stands in
its natural relation to the earlier missionary discourses of
Acts, which in so many respects it resembles, while the Epistle
to the Galatians ranks itself along with the other great
doctrinal Epistles to the Corinthians and the Romans, whether,
with the majority of modern critics, we place it first amongst
these, or, with Bishop Lightfoot, in an intermediate position
between 2 Corinthians and Romans.
Considerable variety of opinion exists among the supporters
of the priority of Galatians as to the exact date to be assigned
to it. Dr Vernon Bartlet (Exp. v. x. p. 263 ff., Apost. Age
p. 84 ff.), reviving a view suggested by Calvin, thinks that it
was written at Antioch on St Paul's way to the Council of
Jerusalem. The same conclusion was arrived at, much about
the same time, on independent grounds by the Romanist
Dr Weber (see his Die Abfassung des Galaterbriefes vor dem
Apostel-Konzil, Ravensburg, 1900, summarized in J.T.S. iii.
(1902) p. 630 ff.), and recently has formed the main thesis of
Mr Douglas Round's Essay The Date, of St Paul's fipistle to the
Galatians (Cambridge, 1906). As a rule, however, a period subse-
quent to the Council of Jerusalem is preferred McGiffert (Hist,
of Christianity in the Apost. Age p. 226 ff.) dating the Epistle
from Antioch before St Paul departed on his Second Missionary
Journey, Clemen (as against his own earlier view, Chronol.
p. ippff.) assigning it rather to the Apostle's stay in Athens
(Paulus i. p. 396 ff, ii. p. 164 ff.), and Zahn (Einl. in d. N.T.
i. p. 139 ff.) and Rendall (Exp. iv. ix. p. 254) carrying it
forward to the beginning of the visit to Corinth in the course
of the same journey. On this last view it can only have
preceded the Thessalonian Epistles by a few weeks, or at most
xxxvm THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
months (cf. Bacon Introd. to the N.T. p. 57 .). The later,
and more widely accepted, dates assigned to Galatians have
no direct bearing upon the point before us, except in so far
as they emphasize that we are there dealing with a wholly
different 'type' of teaching from that which meets us in the
Thessalonian Epistles.
Des- 7. St Paul makes no mention of how his Epistle was sent
to Thessalonica, but at a time when there was no regular
lonians. system of posts except for imperial purposes, it can only have
been by the hand of a personal courier or friend 1 . And it was
perhaps through him on his return that the Apostle received
the news which led to the writing of his second Epistle.
8. Cir- 8. That news was evidently of a somewhat mingled
stances character. On the one hand, there were not wanting traces
leading to o f an exceedingly growing faith and of an abounding love
ing of on the Thessalonians' part (II. i. 3) together with an endurance
un der continued persecution which called forth the Apostle's
warmest praise, and seemed in his eyes a happy augury of his
converts' future bliss at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from
heaven (i. 4 12). But as against this, there were only too
evident signs that the thought of the imminence of that reve-
lation was still exercising a disturbing influence over the
Thessalonians' daily conduct. So far from their excitement
having been allayed by St Paul's first letter, as he hoped it
would have been, the reverse would seem rather to have been
the case, and not only so, but their restlessness had been still
further fomented by certain pneumatic utterances, and even by
carefully reasoned words and a letter, one or all of them shield-
ing themselves under the Apostle's name and authority, to the
effect that the Day of the Lord was not only imminent, but was
actually come (ii. 2).
In these circumstances then, what more natural than that
St Paul should seize the opportunity of once more recalling to
his converts another aspect of his eschatological teaching, of
which he had been in the habit of speaking (\eyov, ii. 5)
while with them, but of which apparently they had lost sight?
Sudden and unexpected though the coming of the Day of the
Lord would be, it would nevertheless be preceded by certain
1 See further Add. Note A, 'St Paul as a Letter- Writer, ' p. 130.
ST PAUL AND THE THESSALONIAN CHURCH xxxix
clearly-defined signs, foremost amongst which was the appear-
ance of the Man of lawlessness, who for the time being was held
in check, but whose revelation was to be looked for as the final
precursor of the end. With the details of this crowning revela-
tion of evil, we are not at present concerned. It is enough
that in the very thought of it St Paul found an additional
argument alike for a continued steadfastness on the part of his
converts (ii. 13 16), and for a quiet and orderly walk, as
contrasted with the disorderliness which certain idlers and
busybodies in their midst were displaying (iii. I 15).
9. More need hardly be said as to the circumstances in 9- p . lace
which this Second Epistle was written, for the general simi- and Date 8
larity between it and its predecessor, to which fuller reference
will have to be made afterwards (see p. Ixxx ff.), shows that in
the main the historical conditions of the Thessalonian Church
were very little altered 1 , and that consequently the Second
Epistle must have been written not many months after the
First. We therefore date it also from Corinth within the
period already specified 50 51 A.D.
The idea first advocated by Grotius (Annot. in N.T. ii. -2 Thessa-
p. yisff.), and adopted by Ewald (Sendschreiben des Paulus ^J ia ^ or
p. 17!), Laurent (NTliche Stud. p. 49 ff.), an d (from his own to z xhes-
standpoint) Baur (Paul, Eng. Tr. ii. p. 336 ff.), that 2 Thessa- salonians.
lonians was written before i Thessalonians can no longer be
said to have any serious supporters. Thus, without attaching
too great weight to such passages as II. ii. 2, 15 which, if not
directly referring to i Thessalonians, are best explained by
its existence, it is excluded by I. ii. 17 iii. 6 which could
hardly have been written by St Paul, if he had previously
addressed a letter to Thessalonica. The whole relationship
indeed of 2 to i Thessalonians is of a secondary character
alike on its literary side, and in the picture presented of the
* developed ' circumstances of the Church, as shown by the
heightened praise (IT. i. 4: I. ii. 14) and blame (II. iii. 6 f . :
I. iv. ii), which these circumstances now called forth.
1 'Wir treffen...Stimmungen, Er- iiber das bisher bekannte Mass hinaus
wartungen, Bestrebungen, Lebens- gehobenen Steigerung.' Klopper Der
formen nach der lobens- wie tadelns- zweite Brief an die Thessalonicher (re-
werthen Seite bin an, in denen wir printed from Theologische Studien und
alten Bekannten wiederbegegnen. Nur Skizzen aus Ostpreussen ii. p. 73 ff.)
Alles, Gutes wie Verkehrtes,...in einer p. 17.
xl THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
10. St 10. Regarding St Paul's subsequent connexion with the
sequent 1 " Thessalonian Church we have no definite information, but it is
connexion hardly possible to doubt that on more than one occasion he was
salonica. a ^le to carry out his ardently cherished desire of revisiting in
person his friends there. Thus he would naturally pass through
the city both coming and going on his Third Missionary Journey
(Ac. xx. I ff.), and if we accept the belief in a renewed period of
active work on the part of the Apostle between a first and
second Roman imprisonment, he would be almost certain to
stop at Thessalonica on the occasion of that journey to Philippi
which he had previously carefully planned in the event of his
again finding himself a free man (Phil. i. 26, ii. 24). Nor,
once more, could Thessalonica fail to be included in his pro-
gramme if he ever paid that last visit to Macedonia, to which
he alludes in his First Epistle to Timothy (i. 3) 1 .
1 See further Add. Note C, ' The Thessalonian Friends of St Paul.'
III.
GENERAL CHARACTER AND CONTENTS
OF THE EPISTLES.
'Jeder einzelne paulinische Brief 1st eine christliche That
und will als solche verstanden sein.'
W. BORNEMANN Die Thessolonicherbriefe p. 256.
I. From what has already been said of the circumstances i. The
under which the Epistles to the Thessalonians were written, a^true
it must be clear that they are in no sense literary documents, letters,
still less theological treatises, but genuine letters intended
to meet passing needs, and with no thought of any wider
audience than those to whom they were originally addressed 1 .
Of all the N.T. Epistles which have come down to us, they
are amongst the most 'personal/ and illustrate to perfection
the 'stenographed conversation' which Renan claims as a
distinctive feature of the Pauline style 2 .
Greatly however as this adds to the living interest of
the Epistles, it is one main source of their difficulties. For,
whether or not they form only part of a correspondence that
was passing between St Paul and the Thessalonian Church
(cf. p. xxx), they so abound in allusions to what the Thessa-
1 On the whole question of Letter toral Letter addressed by a Church
versus Epistle in the case of the to its members, or a minister to his
Pauline literature see especially Deiss- congregation, than to what we under-
mann BS. p. 3 ff ., and on the danger stand by the ' letter ' of ordinary corre-
of carrying the distinction too far cf. spondence.
Lock The Bible and Christian Life 2 Saint Paul (ed. 1869) p. 231 f.,
p. 114 ff., and Kamsay The Letters to 'Le style epistolaire de Paul est le
the Seven Churches (1904) p. 22 ff. plus personnel qu'il y ait jamais eu....
The fact is that the Pauline Epistles On dirait une rapide conversation
require a new category : while letters, stenographiee et reproduite sans cor-
they are distinctively religious letters, rections.'
approaching more nearly to the Pas-
xlii
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
' occa-
sional '
in their
origin,
but filled
with
definite
religious
teaching.
lonians already know, or have been asking, that it is hardly
too much to say, that the more familiar the subjects with which
they deal were to their first readers, the more veiled they are
from us 1 .
It is a complete mistake, however, to suppose that because
our Epistles are thus 'occasional' writings in the strict sense
of the word, they are therefore marked by that poverty of
subject-matter which has sometimes been urged against them.
On the contrary, if, as we shall have occasion to see more fully
again, what we have come to regard as the distinctive doctrines
of Paulinism are awanting, and awanting because the special
circumstances demanding them had not yet arisen, the Epistles
are nevertheless filled with definite religious teaching. Com-
bined with the speeches in Acts, which in so many respects
they recall 2 , they contain the best evidence we possess as to
the general character of St Paul's missionary preaching to
Gentiles 3 .
It is not possible to illustrate this at length here, but
I. i. 9 f. may be referred to as a convenient summary of the
earliest Pauline teaching with its two foci of Monotheism, the
belief in the one living and true God, as distinguished from
1 The student will not regret being
reminded of John Locke's famous
' Essay for the understanding of St
Paul's Epistles, by consulting St Paul
himself,' prefixed to his Paraphrase
and Notes on certain of the Epistles
(London, 1823) : cf. especially p. 4,
' The nature of epistolary writings in
general disposes the writer to pass by
the mentioning of many things, as
well known to him to whom his letter
is addressed, which are necessary to
be laid open to a stranger, to make
him comprehend what is said: and
it not seldom falls out that a well-
penned letter, which is very easy and
intelligible to the receiver, is very
obscure to a stranger, who hardly
knows what to make of it.... Add to
this, that in many places it is manifest
he answers letters sent, and questions
proposed to him, which, if we had,
would much better clear those pas-
sages that relate to them than all the
learned notes of critics and commen-
tators, who in after-times fill us with
their conjectures ; for very often, as to
the matter in hand, they are nothing
else.'
2 Cf. e.g. for linguistic parallels
i Thess. i. 9 with Ac. xiv. 1551 Thess.
i. 10 with Ac. xvii. 3151 Thess. iii. 4
with Ac. xiv. 22 ; i Thess. v. 9 with
Ac. xx. 28 : and for the general simi-
larity of teaching see Sabatier L'Apdtre
Paul (Strassburg, 1870) pp. 85 97,
Eng. Tr. pp. 95111.
3 Prof. B. W. Bacon, while agree-
ing as to the generally ' missionary '
character of the Epistles, points out
that * Paul's attitude in them is that
of confirmer rather than proclaimer of
the Gospel' (The Story of St Paul,
London, 1905, p. 230).
CHARACTER AND CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLES xliii
the vain idols of heathenism, and the Judgment, as heralded
by the Parousia of God's Son from heaven, who had already
proved Himself the only complete Rescuer from the coming
Wrath. In these great truths, proclaimed not argumentatively,
but 'in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance'
(I. i. 5), the missionaries found the most effective means of
reaching the consciences, and satisfying the religious instincts
of their heathen auditors, and so of preparing the way for other
and fuller aspects of Christian doctrine.
The consequence is that while our Epistles do not exhibit
the constructive or dialectic skill of the Epistle to the Romans,
or approach the mystical heights of the Epistle to the Ephesians,
they reveal with marvellous clearness what has well been called
the 'pastoral' instinct of the great Apostle 1 , and present an
unrivalled picture alike of his own missionary character and
aims, and of the nature of the community he is addressing.
2. In none other indeed of his Epistles, unless it be in 2. The
the companion Epistle to a Macedonian Church, the Epistle
to the Philippians, or in the apologia of the Second Epistle present of
to the Corinthians, does the real Paul stand out more clearly i n his
before us in all the charm of his rich and varied personality.
We see his intense affection for his young converts (I. ii. 7 f.,
17 ff., iii. 5 10, II. i. 4), and his desire for their sympathy and
prayers (I. v. 25, II. iii. I f.); his keen sensitiveness as to what
others are saying of him, and the confident assertion of the
purity of his motives (I. ii. I 12); his proud claim of what
is due to him as an Apostle of Christ (I. ii. 6), and his willingness
to forego this right in view of the higher interests of his work
(I. ii. 9, II. iii. 8 f.); his longing desire for the Thessalonians'
progress in spiritual things (I. iii. n ff., II. i. ii f.), and the
fierceness of his indignation against those who were hindering
the cause of Christ (I. ii. 15 f., iv. 6, II. iii. 2): and we notice
how through all St Paul is constrained and ruled by his own
1 Dr Vernon Bartlet (Hastings' D.B. could yet by letter, and so on the
i. p. 730) finds that 'the true cause' spur of occasion, concentrate all his
of all the Pauline Epistles 'lay deep wealth of thought, feeling, and matur-
in the same spirit as breathes in i Th., ing experience upon some particular
the essentially " pastoral" instinct.... religious situation, and sweep away
Of a temper too ardent for the more the difficulty or danger.'
studied forms of writing, St Paul
xliv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
sense of union with his Risen Lord, and dependence on His
authority (I. iv. i f., II. iii. 6, 12).
and in the Very noteworthy too are the tact and the courtesy which
spirl ' the Apostle everywhere displays. So far from being the ' very
disagreeable personage both to himself and others,' whom
Nietzsche so perversely discovers 1 , he shows the most pains-
taking desire to do full justice not only to his fellow-workers
(cf. p. xxxiv f.), but also to his readers. With an intensity
of feeling, that finds difficulty in expressing itself (I. iii. 9),
he gives thanks for all (I. i. 2 f, cf. II. i. 3): all, notwith-
standing the presence of weak and faulty believers amongst
them, are treated as sons of light, and of the day (I. v. 5):
and it is to all, with evident emphasis (cf. I. v. 28), that the
closing greeting of his second and severer Epistle is sent
(II. iii. 1 8) even the man who is showing signs of setting
aside his authority is still a 'brother' (II. iii. 14 f.).
This last form of address, indeed, forms one of the Epistles'
most noticeable features. It is throughout as ' brothers ' that
St Paul regards his readers, and he never starts a new line
of thought without reminding them of the fact, as if to bring
home to them in the clearest manner, that all these questions
concerned both them and him alike 2 .
Hence too, in the appeals which he addresses to them,
St Paul never loses an opportunity of going back upon his
readers' previous knowledge (I. i. 5,ii. i f, 5, 9, n, iii. 3 f., iv. 2,
v. 2, II. ii. 5 f., iii. 7). And when he finds it necessary to
exhort, he almost goes out of his way to show his appreciation
of the zeal the young community has already displayed (I. iv. i,
10, v. u, II. iii. 4).
and And if such is the spirit of St Paul's missionary work, an
oThisrnis e( l ua ^y clear light is thrown upon its methods. Driven from
sionary Philippi, the Apostle might naturally, for a time at any rate,
have turned to some quieter and more obscure spot ; but
instead, in characteristic fashion, he boldly carried forward his
1 Morgenrdtei. 68. 13 f., v. 5, II. i. n f., by which the
2 'A5eX0o/, as an address, occurs missionaries, almost unconsciously,
21 times in our Epistles. Notice too identify themselves with their con-
the subtle change from the 2nd to the verts.
ist pers. plur. in I. iii. 2 f., iv. 6 f.,
CHAKACTER AND CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLES xlv
message to what was, in many ways, the most important city
of the district, in order that from it as a centre the influence of
his message might penetrate into the whole of the surrounding
country 1 .
This is not, however, to say that St Paul at once entered on
an open and active propaganda amongst the varied population
of Thessalonica. To have done so would only have been to
court defeat; and even the preaching in the Synagogue, to
which in the first instance he trusted for arresting attention,
formed only a part, and perhaps the less important part of his
work. That consisted rather in quiet and friendly converse
with all whom his message had reached. And our Epistles
enable us to picture him during those long hours of toil for his
daily support 2 , to which the fear of proving burdensome to
others had driven him, gathering round him little companies of
anxious inquirers, and with the authority of a father, and the
tenderness of a mother, dealing with their individual needs
(I. ii. I I) S .
Hence the closeness of the bonds between St Paul and his
Thessalonian converts : in no forced sense of the phrase they
were literally his ' greater self.' To be parted from them was to
1 The Apostle's preference for 'towns' usage of similar terms elsewhere, e.g.
is in entire accord with the statesman- Asia (Eom. xvi. 5), Achaia (Kom. xv.
like ideal, which from the first he had 26) , Illyricum (Eom. xv. 19).
set before himself, of gradually Chris- 2 On the exact nature of this work
tianizing the Roman Empire : cf. the Epistles throw no light, but it was
Eamsay Pauline and other Studies probably tent-making (cf. Ac. xviii. 3),
(London, 1906) p. 49 ff., Lock St Paul though it would appear that the mate-
the Master-Builder (London, 1899) rial used was not, as is generally
Lect. i. and ii., and for a full account imagined, cloth or felt but leather :
of ' missionary methods in the time of cf. the old designation of Paul as
the Apostles ' with special reference to (T/cirrord/ios (reff. in Suicer Thesaurus
St Paul see Zahn Skizzen aus dem s.v.), and see further Zahn art.' Paulus'
Leben der Alien Kirche 2 (Erlangen, in Hauck RE. 3 xv. p. 70 f.
1898) p. 76 ff. (translated in Exp. vi. 3 Cf. P. Wernle Paulus als Heiden-
vii., viii., and vn. iv.), and Harnack missionar (Freiburg i. B., 1899) p. 22 f.,
Die Mission und Ausbreitung des Chris- E. von Dobschutz Probleme des Aposto-
tentums (Leipzig, 1902), Eng. Tr. by lischenZeitalters (Leipzig, 1904) p. 60.
Moffatt under title The Expansion of The whole of the section on ' The
Christianity (London, 1904). Organization of the Mission' with its
By ' the whole of Macedonia ' (I. iv. graphic description of the Apostolic
i o) we naturally understand the whole 'cure of souls' in WeinePs St Paul
of the Roman province of that name, Eng. Tr. p. 200 ff. is full of interest.
in accordance with St Paul's regular
xlvi
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
The
Ionian
commu-
nity
in the
freshness
of its first
faith,
in its
' short-
comings '
in moral
conduct
and order,
suffer 'bereavement' of the acutest kind (I. ii. 17): to hear
of their continued well-doing was to ' live ' (I. iii. 8) : to see
them again was his ' constant ' and ' very exceeding ' prayer
(I. iii. 10).
Surely there can be no difficulty in recognizing here the
portrait of one who ' though he was Paul, was also a man 1 / and
who, in the fine phrase of another early writer, carried ' music '
with him wherever his influence penetrated 2 .
3. Hardly less striking than the picture of their writer is
the picture of their first readers which our Epistles present a
picture all the more interesting because here alone in the
Pauline writings we are brought face to face with a young
Christian community in all the freshness and bloom of its first
faith. The Thessalonians, who were by nature of a simple and
sturdy type of character 3 , had evidently accepted with peculiar
eagerness the Apostolic message, and even amidst surrounding
persecution had continued to display a characteristic fidelity 4 ,
which was found deserving of all praise (I. i. 6 f., II. i. 4 ff.).
There were however various ' shortcomings ' (vo-rep^ara
I. iii. 10) in their faith which required attention : while it is
characteristic of them in common with all the early Pauline
communities, that not at once had they succeeded in freeing
themselves from some even of the grosser sins of their old pagan
surroundings (I. iv. 3 8) 5 . Nor was this all, but in their very
enthusiasm for their new faith with its bright assurance of
1 Chrys. el Kal IlaOXos rjv a\\' av-
2 Isidore Epp. ii. 124 6 yfjv Kal
6d\a<T<rav pvdfUffas.
s CL Eenan Saint Paul p. 136 ff.
4 Mommsen Hist, of Rome Bk. in.
ch. 8, Eng. Tr. ii. p. 229: 'In stead-
fast resistance to the public enemy
under whatever name, in unshaken
fidelity towards their native country
and their hereditary government, and
in persevering courage amidst the
severest trials, no nation in ancient
history bears so close a resemblance
to the Eoman people as the Macedo-
nians ' (cited by Lightfoot Bibl. Essays
p. 248 n. 5 ).
5 In addition to possessing all the
temptations of a great seaport, Thessa-
lonica was notorious in antiquity as
one of the seats of the Cabiri, or
Cabeiri, mysterious deities, whose
worship was attended with grossly
immoral rites: cf. Firmicus de Err.
Prof. Eelig. c. u, 'Hunc eundem
(Corybantem) Macedonum colit stulta
persuasio. Hie est Cabirus, cui Thes-
salonicenses quondam cruento ore cru-
entis manibus supplicabant' (cited by
Tafel p. xxxiii). Full particulars re-
garding the Cabiri will be found in
Lobeck Aglaopham. iii. ch. 5, p. 1202 ff . :
see also Lightfoot ut s. p. 257 f.
UNIVERSITY
OF
_LIFO_
CHARAClTEirTND CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLES xlvii
(as they believed) an immediate Parousia of the Lord, the
Thessalonian believers were showing a spirit of restlessness and
excitement, which was leading to the neglect of their daily
work and duty, and at the same time making them impatient
of the restraints their leaders were seeking to lay upon
them 1 .
On both points, therefore, we find St Paul addressing to
them words of prudence and moderation, enforcing, on the one
hand, the dignity and consecration of labour (I. iv. 1 1 f., II. iii.
6 if.) 2 , and, on the other, checking the self-assertive spirit, which
threatened to disturb the peace of the whole community
(I. v. 12 i, II. iii. 6).
For it is very noticeable that it is the community as a in its re-
whole which principally bulks in the Apostle's thoughts. Even
though there are already clear traces of a certain class who ship,
were 'to all appearance office-bearers of the Ecclesia,' the
services which they rendered * were not essentially different
from services which members of the Ecclesia, simply as
brethren, were to render each other. They too were to
admonish the disorderly, as also to do the converse work of
encouraging the feeble-minded. They too were to make the
cause of the weak their own, to sustain them, which is at least
1 As showing how these faults, with we remember that in old Greek thought
the still more marked virtues of hospi- labour was never regarded otherwise
tality and brotherly-love, continued to than as a necessity : of. e.g. Aristotle's
prevail in the Macedonian Church contemptuous allusion to ' those who
long after the Apostle's time, Arch- live, as their name denotes, O.TTO T&V
bishop Alexander (Speaker's Comm. on xeip&v ' (Pol. in. iv. 2). According to
the N.T. iii. p. 701) refers to Hieron. Bigg (The Church's Task in the Roman
Comm. in Ep. ad Gal. Lib. ii. cap. ii. Empire p. 72) Dion Chrysostom 'is
opp. torn. vii. 356, ed. Migne : 'Haec the only classical author who speaks
ex parte usque hodie permanere, non with understanding sympathy of the
potest dubitare, qui Achaiam viderit. labouring poor.' For the very different
Macedones in charitate laudantur, et Jewish attitude towards all forms of
hospitalitate ac susceptione fratrum. honest work see F. Delitzsch Judisches
Unde ad eos scribitur i Thess. iv. 9. Handwerkerleben zur Zeit Jesu (trans-
Sed reprehenduntur... (Ibid. TO, n). lated into English as Jewish Artisan
Quod ne quis putet officio magis do- Life in the Time of Christ in the Unit
centis, quam vitio gentis admonitum, Library, 1902), Edersheim Sketches
in secunda ad eosdem inculcat ac of Jewish Social Life c. xi., and cf.
replicat (2 Thess. iii. 1012).' Taylor Sayings of the Jewish Fathers 2
3 This is the more noteworthy when (Cambridge, 1897) pp. 18 f., 141.
M. THESS. d
xlviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
one side, if not more, of the " helpful leadership " of the Elders ;
as well as to show long-suffering towards all 1 .'
in the And if thus we have here only the first beginnings of later
oMte " y Church-organization, so Christian worship comes before us in
worship, its simplest and most comprehensive form. The principal
stress is laid upon such primary religious duties as praise,
prayer, and instruction in which all are invited to take part
(I. v. n). And as the kiss of peace is to be extended to all
the brethren (I. v. 26), it is again upon all that the closing
benediction rests (II. iii. 18).
and in the The very fact too that the Thessalonian believers require
onts* * ^ e warne d against the danger of indiscriminate bounty
Christian (II. iii. io f.) shows that, though themselves drawn principally
era ity. f rom tne p 00rer an( j working classes, they had from the first
risen to a full sense of their obligation in the matter of
Christian giving. And that the same trait continued to dis-
tinguish their later history is proved by the warmth of
St Paul's commendation of the Macedonian Churches who,
'according to their power,... yea and beyond their power,' had
responded to his appeal on behalf of the poor brethren in
Judaea (2 Cor. viii. I ff.).
4 . Absence 4- ^ * s obvious from what has been said regarding the
of plan general character of our Epistles that it is vain to look in them
Epistles, for any definite plan. Their contents are too personal, too
varied, to submit themselves to any such restraint. At the
same time a distinct method and progress of thought is clearly
traceable in them, so far at least as their leading topics are
concerned. And though reference has already been made to
most of these, it may be convenient for the student to have
them briefly presented again in the order in which they occur 2 .
5. General 5- Beginning with a greeting which happily combines the
ofT Thes new watcnwoi> d of ' Grace ' with the old Hebraic salutation of
salonians. ' Peace,' St Paul and his fellow-writers give thanks with striking
1 Hort The Christian Ecclesia p. neighbour notice the first and in the
i26ff. ; cf. Weinel St Paul, Eng. Tr. quotation from i Thessalonians v.
p. 213, 'In the Pauline communities [12 ff.].'
the " oversight " and the " admonish- 2 See also the Analyses prefixed to
ing " were still conceived of as services the two Epistles, pp. 2, 84.
of love which one man rendered to his
CHARACTER AND CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLES xlix
warmth for the spiritual state of their Thessalonian brethren, i- i-
And then, as if conscious that it is useless to say anything 1- 2 ~ 10 -
further until they have set themselves right with their con-
verts, they proceed to refute certain calumnies, which, so
they have been informed, are being circulated against them-
selves.
Their apologia takes, as is natural, the form of an ii. 112.
historical narrative of their ministry at Thessalonica, and is
marked by frequent appeals to their converts' own knowledge
of what its character had been. This has the further advantage ii. 1316.
of giving the Apostles the opportunity of again gratefully
recognizing how readily the Thessalonians on their part have
accepted the Word of God, and with what brave endurance
they have faced the consequent persecution.
Keturning to more personal matters, St Paul affirms his ii. 1720.
own and his companions' great desire to see again those who
have proved such a ' glory ' to them. Only when this was iii. i 10.
clearly proved to be impossible had he consented to allow
Timothy to act as his ambassador. And now that he has
returned with the ' good news ' of the Thessalonians' faith and
love, words fail the missionaries to express their deep sense
of thanksgiving and joy. So far moreover from Timothy's
report leading them to acquiesce in their own enforced absence,
it has rather increased their desire to see their young converts
face to face, and to complete the good -work begun in them.
God alone can secure this. And accordingly it is their con-
stant prayer that He will open up their way of return, and that iii. 1113.
meanwhile the hearts of the tried and afflicted Church may be
stablished in holiness, in view of the approaching Parousia of
the Lord.
A second, and more didactic, portion of the Epistle follows, iv - *
in which the writers proceed to furnish fresh guidance for their
readers in all that pertains to their Christian calling. In
particular they warn them against the immorality, which was iv - 28.
then so marked a feature in Greek city-life, and, while gladly
recognizing their spirit of charity and brotherly-love, they iv. 9 J2.
summon all to diligence in their own work, that thereby they
may preserve an honourable independence, and gain the respect
of their heathen neighbours.
1 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
iv. 1318. Their fears regarding those of their number who meanwhile
are falling on sleep are met with the assurance that, so far from
these being shut out from Christ's glory on His Return, they
v. i ii. will rather be the first to share in it. And then the suddenness
of that Return, of which the Thessalonians have already been so-
fully warned, is made the basis of a practical appeal to watch-
fulness and sobriety.
v. 1222. Various exhortations, still addressed to the community as a
whole, with reference to their attitude to their leaders, and
to their more feeble brethren, follow, along with some general
v. 23, 24. rules of Christian living. Arid the whole is sealed once more
with a characteristic prayer to the God of peace.
v. 2528. Finally, the Epistle is brought to a close with a salutation
and benediction.
6. General 6. The Second Epistle follows on very similar lines. After
structure ,-, i i
of 2 Thes- tne opening address and greeting, the writers again give
salonians. thanks for the Thessalonians' state, dwelling with pride on
their progress, as proved especially by their patient endurance
under persecution. They bid them remember that that persecu-
tion, so far from leading them to think that God had forgotten
them, should rather encourage them to look forward with con-
fidence to the final reward by which their present sufferings
i. 6io. will be crowned. And this, in its turn, leads to a graphic
picture of what will result alike to believers and unbelievers
i. ii, 12. when the Lord appears. A prayer, to which the Apostles are
giving constant expression, that it may be well with the
Thessalonian Church in that Day, is interjected.
The writers then proceed to what is the most distinctive
ii. i^ 2. feature of their second letter. They have learned that their
former teaching regarding the Parousia, supplemented from
other sources for which they disown all responsibility, has been
the unwitting cause of an undue restlessness and excitement on
the Thessalonians' part. Accordingly, while saying nothing to
shake the belief in the suddenness of the Parousia, they remind
their readers of what they had clearly taught them before, that
it will be preceded by certain well-defined signs. Amongst
ii. 312. these the principal place is given to the appearance of the Man
of lawlessness, as the full and crowning manifestation of the
evil already working in their midst. For the present that
CHARACTER AND CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLES li
manifestation is held in check by a restraining power, but
how long this power will last no one can tell.
In any case, they urge, the Thessalonians must stand firm ii. 1315-
and hold fast the traditions they have already been taught, in
humble dependence upon the God, Who alone can give them
unfailing consolation, and strengthen them to do and to say all
that is right.
To the same God let them also pray on the Apostles' iii. 15.
behalf. And meanwhile, in conformity with the example the
Apostles themselves have set them, let them apply themselves iii. 615.
with diligence to their daily work, shunning every disorderly
brother, and at all times and in all ways seeking the ' peace ' iii. 1 6.
which is the peculiar property of ' the Lord of peace/ and which
it is again the writers' prayer that He may bestow upon
them all.
The whole is then confirmed by an autographic salutation iii. 17, 18.
and benediction in St Paul's own handwriting.
IV.
LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND LITERARY AFFINITIES.
OlBe yap 17 (ro<f>LO. TOV /xeyaXov IlavAou Trpos TO SOKOVV
KttT* fovcria.v rots pTjfjLacri Kal T<3 iSt'a) TT^S Siavoias etp/xaJ 7rp<xrap|U,oe6v
ras ran/ prjfiarmv /ji<a<reis, K<XV Trpos aAAas rtvas evvotas 77 crvvijOeia rrjv
TWI/ Xcgcwv <j>cprj.
Gregory of Nyssa 0/?p. Migne n. 1303.
i- -Lan- i. Language.
guage.
General The two Epistles to the Thessalonians contain in all about
character ^ o diff eren t W ords. Of these 27 are aTnzf \ey6fj,eva in the
lary. N. T., and 27 are used by St Paul alone amongst the N. T.
writers. A still larger number (37) are peculiar to the Pauline
writings along with the Gospel and Acts of St Luke, and the
Epistle to the Hebrews.
Passing to the question of meaning, the influence of the
Greek O. T. is unmistakable in the case of a very considerable
number of words. With regard to others, we are led to look
rather to the ordinary colloquial usage of the Apostle's time for
the exact sense he is desirous to convey.
N.T. aira The following is a list of the a7ra Xeyo/xeva referred to. In this
\ey6fj.eva case it will be convenient to take each Epistle separately, and to
i? ^ arrange the words in the order in which thev occur.
Epistles. & mi , ,>/*/ o\ > / 4 / \ /
i Thessa- J Thessalonians : e^x (0 ( l - )t cu/a/xej/eu/* (i. 10), 7rp07rao-xa>
lonians. (ii. 2), KoAoicia (ii. 5), rpo<os* (ii. 7), 6/xetpo/x.at* (ii. 8), <riyx.<vAer?7S
(ii. 14), a.7rop<ai'i'ojuai (ii. 17), aatVo/xat (iii. 3), VTrepjBaLvto* (iv. 6),
^eoSi'Sa/cTO? (iv. 9), TrepiAenrofuu* (iv. 15), KeXcvcr/xa* (iv. 16),
ara/cros* (v. 14), 6Aiyoi/ar)(OS* (v. 14), oXoreX^'s (v. 23), i/opKi'a>
(v. 27).
Of these 17 words, nine, which are distinguished by an asterisk,
are found in the LXX. ; four (icoAajcla, TrpoTracrxw, era/vofuu, airop-
^ai/i^o/xat) are found in good Gk. writers, and a fifth (6AoTeA.?js) in
Plutarch; while eVop/ao> is found in the A text of 2 Esdr. xxiii.
(xiii.) 25 (cf. ei/op/cos, 2 Esdr. xvi. (vi.) 18). There thus remain
LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND LITERARY AFFINITIES liii
only two words which can be regarded as free formations of the
Apostle's own 0eooYSaKTos and crv/x^uXeT^s. The former, framed on
the analogy of ^COKTIO-TOS (2 Mace. vi. 23), probably contains a
reminiscence of Isa. liv. 13 StSaKTo? Oeov. The latter (for class.
^vXeV^s) may be compared with crvvp.aO'ijTr)<s (Jo. xi. 16), crvj'TroAmys
(Eph. ii. 19), and with avfji<j>v\o<s in Aq. Zech. xiii. 7 : see further
Lob. Phryn. p. 471, Rutherford N.P. p. 255 f. for the prevalence
of similar compounds in late Gk.
2 Thessalonians : vTrepavgdvia (i. 3), ewcauxao/xcu* (i. 4), ySay/xa 2 Thessa-
(i. 5), TIVCO* (i. 9)\ tvSogdiofjiai* (i. 10, 12), dra/mos (iii. 6, 11), draKTea) lonians.
(iii. 7), 7reptepyao/>iai* (iii. n), KaAoTroie'w (iii. 13), cn^aoo/xai*
(iii. 14).
Of these 10 words, five are again found in the LXX., three
(dra/cre'to, draKTCK, eVSeiy/m) are found in the ordinary Gk. of the
Apostle's time, /caAoTroie'w is found as a variant in Lev. v. 4, while
V7rpavdv(i> is found several times in late Gk., and is in thorough
harmony with the Pauline love for compounds in vTrep-.
The total number of words, which have not yet been quoted
from any other source than the two Epistles, is thus reduced to
the two words already discussed in connexion with i Thess. 1 , while
the Epistles' 27 a7ra Aeyo/xei/a in the N.T. compare very favourably
with the 41 (4?), which, according to the calculation in Grimm-
Thayer, are to be found in St Paul's other Epistle to a Macedonian
Church, the Epistle to the Philippians 2 .
To the foregoing lists there may be added a number of words Words or
or phrases, occurring in the Epistles, which are used elsewhere in phrases
the N.T. only by St Paul.
ayae/oxrwr;, aytcoo-w*/, aoiaAetTTTtos, apa ovv, etTrep, CKOIKOS, evepyeia, in the
^a7raTaw, eTri/Japew, CTTK^aveta (Pastorals), tvo-xry/xoVajs, OdXw, fjiYj TTCD?, N.T.
yu,i/eta, /xo^^os, oAe$pos, 7ra^O5, 7rptK<^>aAaia, TrAeoveKrew, TrpocVT^yut, Trpo-
Aeyw, o*Tyoj,
Along with these, the following may be noted as occurring only or to
in St Paul and the Lukan writings, or in St Paul and the Ep. st Paul
to the Hebrews, or in all three combined. along with
v / > , / v , , , o/o , <. / ot Luke
aycov, atpeo/xai, at0vtoios, tt/xe/xTrro?, avcupeoo, ai/Ta7rootoco/x,i, a^tow, an( j ^he
aTToSetKi^v/xi, aTrotrTacrt'a, ao-^cxActa, aro:ros, Sta/xaprvpo/xat, e/cSiajKco, Ep. to the
Hebrews.
1 It should be hardly necessary to several words and phrases in
point out that ct7ra evprj^va is a i Thess. which are used elsewhere
fitter designation of such words than by St Paul in the same sense
dVal elpy/jifra, in view of the con- only in the Ep. to the Philippians:
stant reduction in the words hitherto e.g. irptHfravis (ii. 5; Phil. i. 18),
believed to be peculiar to the Gk. 4iri6vfji.ia (in good sense ii. 17; Phil. i.
Bible: see Deissmann ' Hellenistisches 23), /cat a7ra Kal dis (ii. 18 ; Phil. iv.
Griechisch ' in Hauck E.E.' 3 vii. 16), (rrtyavos (metaph. ii. 19 ; Phil. iv.
p. 636. i), Keivdai els (metaph. iii. 3 ; Phil. i.
2 Schmidt (Der erste Thessalonicher- 16), tpwTav (ask, iv. i, v. 12; Phil.
brief p. 82) has drawn attention to iv. 3).
the interesting fact that there are
liv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
, ei/KaKo>, CTT to- way toy 77,
/cara^too/xat, Karapyeeo, Karcv^ww, p.apr'upojtxai,
/ATaoY8co//,i, /j.LfjL-rjr-^<;, vov^erew, TrapayyeAta, Trapp^tria^o/xai, Treptoxrorepajg,
TrArypot^opia, TrpoetTroi/, ore^acr/aa, roiyapow, vo-rep^/xa.
Words From this brief notice of the peculiarities of the Pauline diction
found with as illustrated by our Epistles, we may turn to one or two lists of
meaning worc ^ s which are used in them for the first time in the N.T. in a
special sense. Their history, which is traced more fully in the
Textual or Additional Notes, is of importance as throwing light
upon the main sources of the Apostle's vocabulary.
owing to Amongst these a first place must be given to the words, whose
the in- meaning here is due apparently in the first instance to the sense in
theLxx wn * c h tnev were use d * n tne Greek O.T. (including the Apocrypha),
though in the case of many of them full allowance must also be
made for the fact that they formed part of the ' common ' dialect
of the Apostle's time.
The following are typical examples : d-yaOaxrvvr), dydir-q, ayyeAos,
), ayiaoyxo?, ayto?, a$T<o, avayKrj, dvo/jiia., avoyuto?, aTroK
Avi/as, a7rooTa<ria, ctTrwAeia, 8ia/:?oA.os, Soa, Soaw, SovAevw,
(' gratis '), .0vrj, etScoAov, eipryvr/, tK^i/cos, e/c/cAr/o-ia,
^ao/tat, i/Tpe7ra> (metaph.), e^ov^ei/ew, cvayyeAi^o/xat,
cuo (' bene vivo ' I. iii. 8), fle'Ai^a, ^Aii/^t?, Ppoco/uat, KapSta, /cara^io'dj,
Karev^wco (metaph.), /cav^crts, /cot/xoo/xai (metaph.), oAiyoi/'v^os, o'Ao-
K\rjpo<s, orofJLa, Treipct^co, Trepi/cc^aAat'a, TreptTrarew (metaph.), Trcpurouycris,
TTto-Tts, Trovr/pos, 7rpo(TV)(ifj, o~aAevo> (metaph.), o-c/Jacr/xa, o-reAAo/u-at,
crre^avos (metaph.), o-rrypt^w, virofjiovTi], faxy, x^-P L<s -
or techni- Other expressions which, starting from a technical or quasi-
cal visage technical sense in classical or late Gk., have come to be adopted
in other ag technical terms of the Christian religion are aSeA<os, aTroo-roAo?,
nexions. StaKOvo?, c^epyeia, 7rt<aj/eia, /x,vetav Troteto-^at, /xvo-T^piov, Trapovcria.
Words Finally regard must be had to the large number of words and
illustrated phrases upon which much additional light has been thrown by the
by the discovery of such non-literary records as the Greek inscriptions of
^ on - the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire, and the papyrus-
iS I*"* f Egypt-
of the Evidence of this will be found on practically every page of the
Apostle's following Commentary. Here it must suffice to draw attention
time. t o suc h interesting examples as are afforded by
ayaTnyro's, atwi/tos, a/xe/XTrro?, a/xe/aTmos, aTravrryo-t?, aTroSaWufu,
ape(TKtv (rtvt), ao-Tra^o/xat, ao"7racr/>ios, araKreaj (and its cognates),
OLTOTTO?, 8tK->7, cT8os, v (instrumental), cvbrrtjfu, cvopKt^w, c^ovcria,
7ri^apea>, cpwraw (* rogo '), cuo-x^/xoVco?, eu'xapio-Tcco, Kare^w, Kvpio?,
TrapaSoo-t?, Trapa/caAew, Trpoto-rajaai, (rr/jLtetoo/xat, TVTTOS, vtos ^coi), <^>tAo-
rt/xeo/xai.
General Deductions from mere lists of words are always dangerous,
concl
sion.
and in any case it is obviously impossible to form any definite
conclusions as to the nature and the sources of the Pauline
LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND LITERARY AFFINITIES lv
vocabulary on the evidence of two short Epistles. This much
however is clear that the Apostle had an ample Greek voca-
bulary at his command, and, notwithstanding his Jewish origin
and upbringing, had learned to use Greek as virtually a second
mother-tongue. Not only did he speak freely in Greek, but
apparently he thought in Greek, and was able to adapt to
his own special purposes the words he found in current use 1 .
On the other hand, our Epistles do nothing to confirm
(though they may not disprove) the idea that St Paul had
received a thorough Greek education, ^here are no quotations
in them from ancient Greek authors, and at most two or three
words (such as aTrop^avi^o/jiaL) for which only classical, as
distinguished from late Greek, authority has been produced.
And the general impression which they convey is that for his
* Wortschatz/ or stock of words. St Paul, when not directly
indebted to the Greek O.T., was mainly dependent upon the
living, spoken tongue of his own day, borrowing from time
to time more or less consciously from ethical writers, but other-
wise showing little or no dependence upon the literature of
classical or later times 2 .
1 On St Paul's indebtedness to the first five letters of the alphabet,
Hellenism see especially Canon Hicks' s the writer comes to the conclusion
classical essay ' St Paul and Hellenism ' that for his vocabulary the Apostle
in Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica iv. was mainly indebted not to 'literary
(Oxford, 1896), and E. Curtius's paper theory,' but to 'life' (p. 28). In the
on 'Paulus in Athen' in his Gesam- same way von Dobschiitz (Die urchrist-
melte Abhandlungen ii. p. 527 ff. lichen Gemeinden p. 279) draws atten-
{Berlin, 1894), translated in Exp. tion to the striking manner ('in
vii. iv. p. 436 ff. Cf. also Sir W. M. frappanter Weise') in which the
Ramsay's articles on 'Tarsus' in Exp. special ethical terms of Greek philoso-
vii. i. and ii., and the same writer's phy are wanting in the Pauline writ-
articles on ' St Paul's Philosophy of ings : cf. A. Carr ' The use of pagan
History, 'and 'PaulinismintheGraeco- ethical terms in the N.T.,' Exp. v. ix.
Roman world' in the Contemporary p. 443 ff. It must be kept in view,
Review, Sept. and Oct. 1907. however, that, if more of the Stoic
2 Cf. especially Nageli Der Wort- literature of the period had survived,
scliatz des Apostels Paulus (Gottingen, this conclusion might require to be
1905) where, after a careful examina- considerably modified.
tion of Pauline words, falling under
Ivi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
ii. Style. ii. Style.
The The general style of the Epistles confirms what has just
styte'ofthe been said regarding their vocabulary. There is certainly in
Epistles is them none of the studied rhetorical art or skilfully framed
dialect, with which the Apostle is sometimes credited elsewhere 1 .
St Paul was too much concerned with what he had to say to
be able to think of mere literary devices 2 . And the drawn-out
sentences (I. i. 2 ff., ii. 14 ff., II. i. 6 ff., ii. 8 ff.), the constant
ellipses (I. i. 8, ii. n, iv. 4 ff., 14, II. i. 3, 9, ii. 7, iii. 6), the
manner in which he 'goes off' at a word (I. ii. 14 f., v. 8 f.,
II. i. 10), the inversion of metaphors (I. ii. 7 b , v. 2, 4), not only
bear evidence to the intensity of the writer's feelings at the
time, but are in themselves valuable proofs of 'unstudied
epistolary genuineness 3 .'
and This is very far, however, from saying that either Epistle
shows signs of carelessness, or is wanting in well-ordered
passages which, if not comparable to, at least prepare the way
for the splendid outbursts of some of the later Epistles (cf. e.g.
I. ii. 3 ff., II. iii. I ff). St Paul had evidently that highest gift
of a great writer, the instinctive feeling for the right word, and
1 See, e.g., J. Weiss Beitrage zur authenticity, may be turned into an
Paulinischen Rhetorik (Gottingen, argument in favour of it. St Paul
1897), where certain sections more had evidently not the pen of a ready
particularly of the Epp. to the writer, and when he had once found
Corinthians and Komans are analyzed an expression suited to his purpose
with the view of showing their artistic found it very difficult to vary it. What
and even rhythmical arrangement, more natural than that the words and
and cf. Blass's attempt (Die Rhythmen phrases which, during that anxious
der asianischen und romischen Kunst- time of waiting for the return of
prosa, Leipzig, 1905) to find 'Asianic Timothy, he had been turning over in
rhythm' in Eoman sand other Pauline his mind as the most suitable to
writings, including i Thessalonians. address to his beloved Thessalonians,
2 ' Kunstliteratur ' and ' Paulus- should have remained in his memory,
briefe' are, as Deissmann puts it, and have risen almost unconsciously
'inkommensurable Grossen' (Hellen- to his lips, as he dictated his second
isierung, p. 168 n. 4 ). letter to the same Church so shortly
3 The very closeness indeed of the afterwards ? For a somewhat similar
literary dependence of i Thess. upon argument applied to the relation of
the earlier Epistle, and the consequent Colossians and Ephesians see Dr
stiltedness of style to which this some- Sanday's art. on ' Colossians ' in
times leads (notably in II. i. 3 10), Smith's D.E? i. pt. i, p. 630.
so far from disproving that Epistle's
LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND LITERARY AFFINITIES Ivii
even when writing, as he does here, in his most 'normal' style 1 ,
and with an almost complete absence of the rhetorical figures,
so largely practised in his day 2 , he does not hesitate to avail
himself of the more popular methods of adding point or
emphasis to what he wants to say 3 , by the skilful arrangement
of his words (e.g. I. v. 3, II. ii. 6), by compressed word-pictures
(I. i. 8 e^rj^rjrat, ii. 2 dyoovi,, ii. 17 dTrop^avKrOevres, II. iii. I
rpe^rj), by interpolated questions (I. ii. 19, iii. 6 (?), 9 f.), and
even by plays on words (I. ii. 4, II. iii. 2 f., 1 1 ).
No effort indeed is wanting on the writer's part to bring
home to his readers the extent of his heart-felt gratitude on
their behalf, and his concern for their highest welfare. And
here, as in all the other Pauline writings, we readily recognize
that the arresting charm of the Apostle's style is principally
due to 'the man behind 4 / and that the highest form of all
eloquence, 'the rhetoric of the heart/ is speaking to us 5 .
iii. Literary Affinities. iii. Lite-
rary
What has just been said will prepare us not to expect in
our Epistles any direct affinities with the more distinctly
literary works of St Paul's or of previous times. There are,
however, two sources which have left such an unmistakable
1 See Lightfoot Journ. of Class, and section, and adds pointedly, 'DesPaulus
Sacr. Philol. iii. (1857) p. 302. Stil ist individuell und packend...Kein
2 Of., however, the meiosis in I. ii. Klassiker, kein Hellenist hat so
15, II. iii. 2, 7, the chiasmus in I. v. 6, geschrieben, auch kein Kirchenvater.
and the intentional anakolouthon in Der von seinem Herrn iiberwaltigte
II. ii. 7. hellenistische Jude steht fur sich da.'
a In Dr A. J. Wilson's paper on Cf. also the words of U. von Wilamo-
' Emphasis in the N.T.' in the J.T.S. witz-Moellendorff as cited on p. 121 of
viii. p. 75 ff., some of the finer methods this work.
of expression, beloved by Paul, are 5 There are some good remarks on
well brought out. this point in Norden's great work on
4 Even Heinrici in his well-known Die antike Kunstprosa ii. p. 509 f.,
discussion ' Zum Hellenismus des though in pronouncing the Pauline
Paulus' (in his commentary on Epistles 'unhellenisch,' he falls into
2 Corinthians in Meyer vi. 8 , Gottingen, the fundamental error of treating
1900), while emphasizing the Apostle's them as 'Kunstprosa' instead of in
points of contact with the rhetorical direct connexion with the non-literary
methods of his contemporaries, quotes texts of the time: cf. Deissmann in
with approval the words of Gregory of the Theologische Rundschau v. (1902)
Nyssa prefixed as a heading to this p. 66 ff.
Iviii
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
(i) with
the Greek
O.T.
impress upon the Apostle's language, as well as thought, that
they cannot be passed over here. They are (i) the Greek O.T.,
(2) certain Sayings of Jesus.
(i) We have seen already how dependent St Paul was on
the LXX. for many of his most characteristic words. But his
indebtedness does not stop there. So minute was his acquaint-
ance with its phraseology, so completely had it passed in sucum
et sanguinem, that, though in these alone of all his Epistles there
is no direct quotation from the O.T., there are whole passages
which are little more than a mosaic of O.T. words and ex-
pressions. Two short passages may serve to illustrate this.
as illus-
trated by
i Thess.
The first is St Paul's description of the result of his ministry in
Thessalonica in i Thess. i. 8 TO.
i. 8 d<f> v/xon> yap f^tj
Aoyos TOV Kvpiov.
ib. Iv TTO-VTi T07TO) Yf TTLCTTIS V/XWV
77 Trpos rov Otov t&XijXvOcv.
1. 9 OTTOiaV LO~OOOV
ib. KO.L TTtOS 7TCrTpl//aT 7T/3OS
TOV OfOV 0.7TO TWV etS(oA.<DV.
ib. SovAcveiv 0ea) tfivri /ecu a
Oivu.
l. IO avatiei/eiv TOV VLOV avTOv
K TWI/ ovpavwv.
ib. 'Irycrovi/ TOV pvo/xvov
ib. CK T^S opy^s T^S epx /^^?.
6 Joel iii. (iv.) 14 77^01 cfrj)
lv T-fj KocXdoL T^? BiKrjs. 3 Mace,
iii. 2 V (friyijir) Bvo~/jivr] < ; c^^etTO.
Ps. xviii. (xix.) 5 eis Trao-av Trjv
yfjv i^TjXOev 6 ^^oyyos avTwv.
4 Regn. xix. 27 TT)V eto-oSor o-ov
eyvwv.
Isa. xliv. 22 7rrrpa<r7Ti Trpo?
tie, /cat AvTpwo-o/xat o-e. Jer. iii.
22 7no-Tpd<f>r)T...oovXoi >7'ttt9 eao-
/xe0a o-oi, OTI o-v Kvpio? 6
Jos. iii. 10 iv Tovrcu
on
ei/
TO)
Dan. vi. 26
cart ^eos...^toi/ t? yevcas
Isa. Ixv. 1 6 evXoytjo-ovo-iv yap TOV
6f.ov TOV oX-qQwov.
Isa. lix. 1 1 dvejU.etVa/xv Kpicrw.
Sap. xvi. 8 (TV et 6 pvo/xe/os e/c
iravTOs KaKov. Ps. cxxxix. (cxl.) i
ctTro di/8pos dSt'Kov p{5<rat /xe.
Isa. xiii. 9 tSov yap T^/xepa Kvptov
ep^erat dvtaros $v/xou Kat opyrjs.
and . Our second passage is the great picture of approaching Judg-
2 Thess. men t in 2 Thess. i. 6 10. Here, as generally in the eschatological
passages of the Epistles, the O.T. basis of the whole conception is
even more marked.
LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND LITERARY AFFINITIES lix
i. 6
Trapa eoj
rots 6\L/3ovcnv v/xds
. 7 Ka
avO~tv /xe0'
TOV Kvpiov
VfJUV TOtS
e T
aTT* ovpavov.
i. 7 8 /XT' dyyeXwv oWd/xew?
avTov fv Trvpt <Xoyds.
i. 8 8t8dvTOS eK8tK^o-ti/ Tots /XT)
etSdcrt $eov Kat Tots /XT) V7raKOvovo-tv
cvayyeXtu) TOV Kvpiov TT'/XWV '
croi.
l. 9 otrives OIKT^V Ticroucru/.
^0. a?ro 7rpocra>7rov TOV Kvptov
Kat aV6 TT^S SO^TIS TT;S ta^vos "av-
TOV.
i. IO oTav eX0T7 vBoa(r6rji'ai ev
Tots dytots avTov Kat ^
vat ev TrdViv Tots 7rto-Tvo-ao-tv.
TTJ
Isa. Ixvi. 4 TO.? d/xaprta? dvra-
aurots. i6. 6 <WVT) Kv/MOV
tSoi^Tos avraTroSoirtv rots
ai/Ti/cei/xei/ois. Lam. iii. 64 o.7ro-
Swcreis avror? di/raTToSo/xa, Kvpie,
Kara TO, pya TOJJ/ ^etptov avTcoi/.
Cf. Obad. 15.
Isa. xix. 20 KeKpa^ovTttt 7rpo5
Kvptoi/ 8ia rov? 6\i/3ovra<s avTovs,
Kat aTroo-TeXet CIVTOIS av^pwTrov os
o-wo-et avTOvs, Kptvon/ o-wo-et avTovs.
Ex. iii. 2 (jj<f>0rj 8e avTW ayyeXos
Kvpiov K Trvpt ^>Xoyos. Sir. viii.
IO (13) /XT; e/x7rvpto-^7j5 ev Trvpt
Isa. Ixvi. 15 iSov yap Kvpios o>s
Trvp ^ct, . aTTOoowai ei/ ^v/xa> /c-
8t / /cryo~tv avTov...ei/ <f>Xoyl Trvpos.
Jer. xxv. 12 K8iK-tj(Tw TO Wvos
e/ceivo. Jer. x. 25 CK^COJ/ TOI/
Ovfjiov <rov 7rt ^1/77 TO, /XT} eiSoVa
ore Kat 7ri yeveas at TO ovo/xd
crov OVK eTreKaAeVaj/To.
Prov. xxvii. 1 2 a<f>pove<s 8e eT
4 Mace. x. 15 TOV atwvtoi/ TOV
11. IO CX7TO TTpOO-CUTTOV TOV
Kvptov Kat a7ro TT;S 80^779
TV;? to-^vog avTov (cf. w. 19, 21).
Ps. Ixxxviii. (Ixxxix.) 8 6 0eos
ev8o^a^d/xi/os ev /SovXr) ayuov. Ps.
Ixvii. (Ixviii.) 36 $av/xao-Tos 6 $eos
ci/ Tots ocrtots avTov. Ezek. xxviii.
22 Td8e Xeyet KvptO5...ev8o^ao-^-
cro/xat V o"ot, . . . ev T<3 rroLrjcraL /xe ev
o~ot Kpt/xaTa, Kat a'ytao-^Tfcro/xat ev
o-oi'.
Zeph. i. 7 vXa/?to-^ aVo Trpocr-
COTTOV Kvptov TOV #ov, 8tOTt cyyv?
7^/xepa TOV Kvpiov. Isa. ii. 19 f.
CtTTO TT/S 8d^S T7?S tO-^VOS ttVTOV,
6Vav dvao-Trj Opavfrai TT}V yTyi/. TTJ
ydp >7/xpa
(2) More important still is the relation of the Apostle's (2) with
language in our Epistles to certain Words of the Lord that ofjesus. S
have come down to us in the Gospels. For without taking any
Ix
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
I. ii.^7
V/AIOV.
Mt. xxiii. 3 1 f . vio& o-T
TrXrjpwaoLTe TO /xeTpov TWV
Tro.Tf.pdiv V/JLWV. Of. the Parable
of the Vineyard Mt. xxi. 33 ff.
and parallels.
Mt. xvi. 27 /xe'XXet yap 6 tnos
ev Trj oorj
ctyyeXwi/
note of some of the subtler resemblances that have been
detected here, there still remain sufficient to show that St Paul
must have been well acquainted with the actual words of Jesus,
and in all probability had actually some written collection of
them in his possession 1 .
The following are some of the most obvious examples :
VTJTTLOL ev Lk. xxii. 27 'Eyoj 8e ev /xeVw
V/XGJV et/Xl (DS O OiaKOl'WV.
ii. 1 2 TOV 0eov TOV KaXovvTos Mt. xxii. 3 (the Parable of the
v/xas cis TTJV eavTov /3ao-tXa'av Kat Marriage Feast) Kat aVeo-TetXev
Soav. TOVS SovXovs avTOv KaXO"at TOVS
ii. 14 ff. TWV 'Iov8ata>v, TCOV Kat
TOV Kvpiov aVoKretvavTwv 'Iryo~ovi/
Kat TOVS 7rpo<?7Tas...eis TO avairX^-
pcuo*at avToov Tas a/xapTtas TTCIVTOTC.
ill. 13 ev TTJ Trapovcria. TOV Kvpiov
77/xwv 'Irycrov tteTa TravTwv TOOV dyt'wv
avrov.
iv. 8 6 d$T(3v ov/c av@p(DTrov
t aAAa TOI/
S TO CtyaTTCtV
iv. 1 6 f. avTOS o Kvptos. . .cv o*aX-
Trtyyt 0o9 KCLTafttjcreTaL air ovpavov
, . . 7TtTa >//XtS Ot ^(Uf TS.
yrjo-OfAeOa ev vc^eXats eis
TOV Kvpiov cts ctcpa.
Kttt
1 See especially A. Besch Der
Paulinismus und die Logia Jesu (Text.
u. Unters. N.F. xii.) Leipzig, 1904
a valuable collection of materials, in
(Mk. viii. 38 /XCTO. TWV ayye-
Xwv TWJ/ ay tour, Lk. ix. 26 TOV
TraTpos Kat TWV a'ytW ayyeXwv).
Lk. x. 1 6 d a^T(5r v/xas e/xe
Se /X a^T(OV a^CTCt TOl/
iv. 9 Trept 8e T^
lS $eoSl'SaKTOt O~T
Mt. xxiii. 8 TrafTes 8 v/xets
t eo-T. Cf . Jo. xv. 1 2 aim;
tv 77 evToX>y 77 C/AT; ti/a ayaTraTe
aXXr/Xovs.
Mt. xxiv. 30 f. (Mk. xiii. 26 f.,
Lk. Xxi. 27) Olf/OVTCLL TOV VLOV TOV
x6[JifVOV 7Tt TWV V<^)-
TOV ovpavov... Kat aVoo-TeXet
TOVS cxyye'Xovs avTov /XCTO, o"fxX7rty-
yos /xcyaX^s, Kat 7ricnWovo-iv
TOV? CKXCKTOVS aVTOV KTX. Mt.
xxv. 6 tSov 6 vv/x^tos, Igepxto-Oe
19 CL7Ta.VTr]O~lV.
Mt xxiv. 36 Trept 8e TT^S 7//xepas
Kat
which, however, many of the coinci-
dences suggested seem to be very
precarious.
LANGUAGE, STYLE, AND LITERARY AFFINITIES Ixi
v. 2 T/'/xepa Kvptov (us /cXe7m?s iv Mt. xxiv. 43 (Lk. xii. 39) ct
l/V/CTt OVTWS
avots
v. 3 Tore atc
<TTaTat oXe$pos.
o oiKoSeo-TTOTr;? TTOIO. (frvXaKrj 6
TT^S ep^Tttl.
Lk. xxi. 34 /A?;' 7roT...c'jri(rTJ)
v. 5
TOS CCTTe.
V. 6
yap v/xets vtot
Lk. xvi. 8 TOVS vtovs TOV
Cf. Jo. xii. 36
va vtot
Mt. xxiv. 42 yprjyopLT ovv.
v. 7 ot /x0vo-/co'/xei/ot VVKTOS /xe- Mt. xxiv. 48 f. (Lk. xii. 45)
o Ka/<os 8ovXos...7rtVr? /xeTa TOJJ/
V. I I OtKoSotttT tS TO!' C^tt.
V. 13 tp^VVT V ettVTOtS.
v. 1 8 TOVTO yap ^eX^/xa ^eov.
II. i. 5 ets TO Kara^L(j)Orjrai v'/xas
T^S /?ao"tXctias TOV ^eov.
i. 7 & i"fj aTTo/caXvi^et TOV Kvpiov
'I>ycrov aV ovpavov.
i. 12 OTTCOS evBo^acrOy TO ovo/xa
TOV Kvptov ry/xwv 'Ir;o-ov i/ v/xtv, /cat
i-ets ci/
ii. I
ii. 2 /x^Se
ii. 3 /x^ Tts v/xas
ib. a.7roKaXv<f)6r) 6
T^S dvofj.La<s.
ii. 4 6 aVTi/cei)avos...a)o-Te
<ts TOV vaov TOV ^eov KaOicrai.
ii. 9 f. ov O-Tiv TJ 7rapovo-ta KttT*
vepytav TOV 2aTava ev Trdcrrj Sv-
Kai <rrjfJiLOi<s KOL repao-w /^ev-
feat ev Troia-y aVa-n? a'SiKtas
TOt? a7ToXXv/XVOl9.
ii. 1 1 evepyciav TrXav^? cis TO
< 7rto'Tvo"at avrov? TCO ij/evSei.
iii. 3 6 Kvptos, os...^>vXa^t aVo
TOV
1 ' It is no exaggeration to say that
Matt. xxiv. is the most instructive
commentary on the chapter before us
[2 Thess. ii.].' Kennedy St PauVs
Conceptions of the Last Things (Lon-
Mt. xvi. 1 8 CTTI TavVr? T>7 TreVpa
oi/co8o/xr;o"oj ttov TT;V KK\rj<TLav.
Mk. ix. 50 tp7yVVT 1> a'XX^-
Xois.
Mt. vii. 21 6 TTOIWV TO OtXriiJia.
TOV TraTpos /xov (cf. xii. 50).
Lk. xx. 35 ot 3e Ka.Tai(aOevT<s
TOV at(oVo? KIVOV TV^(tV.
Lk. xvii. 30 rj ^/xepa 6 vtos TOV
Primarily dependent on the
LXX. (cf. Isai. Ixvi. 5), but see
John xvii. i, 10, 21 ff.
Mt. xxiv. 3 1 eTrio-vya^ovo-iv TOVS
Ovs avTOv 1 .
Mt. xxiv. 6 /a?} OpoeiaOe.
Mt. xxiv. 4 ySXeVeTe fjirj Tts v/xas
Mt. xxiv. 1 2 Sia TO Tr
rrjv
Mt. xxiv. 15 TO )88eXvy/xa T^S
^/X(OO"0>S . . .O"TOS Ct' TO7TO) dyt(t).
Mt. xxiv. 24 eyepO-1/jarovTa.L yap
/cat 8<ucrovo~tv o-ry/xcta /txeya'Xa /cat
TcpaTa WO~T -TrXavao-^at et 8waToi/
Kat TOVS /cXe/cTovs.
Mt. xxiv. 4 /SXcVeTe ^77 Tts
Mt. vi. 13 pvaat -^/xas aVo TOV
don, 1904) p. 56.
2 For possible references to Agrapha
of Jesus see i Thess. iii. 5, v. 4, 21 f.,
2 Thess. iii. 10 with the notes ad
loca.
Ixii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Jesus and Upon the larger question, the relation in which so-called
'Paulinism' stands to the original teaching of Jesus, it is
impossible to enter here 1 . But no one can take account of
the foregoing parallels, and of much that will come before
us in the course of this Commentary, without realizing how
conscious the disciple was throughout of his complete depend-
ence upon his Master. His whole 'gospel/ when not directly
inspired by the living Lord Himself (cf. I. iv. 1 5 lv \6yay Kvpiou
with note ad loc.\ was firmly rooted in his knowledge of the
life and words of the historic Jesus, or, perhaps we should
rather say, upon that knowledge as conditioned by his own
sense of union with the Risen Christ, and interpreted in the
light of his own growing Christian experience.
1 Those who desire to pursue the pamphlet Jesus und Paulus (Tubingen,
subject may be referred to three im- 1906) Kaftan has replied to the Jesus
portant monographs which have ap- or Paul' attitude of Bousset's Jesus
peared lately P. Feine Jesus Christ and Wrede's Paulus in the recent
und Paulus (Leipzig, 1902), M. Goguel German series of Religionsgeschicht-
L'Apotre Paul et Jesus-Christ (Paris, liche Volksbttcher. See also A. Jii-
1904), and E. J. Knowling The Testi- licher's Paulus und Jesus (1907) in
mony of St Paul to Christ (London, the same series, where the writer
1905). See also Dr E. J. Drummond's states his conclusion in the words,
Kerr Lectures on The Relation of the 'Paulus hat also seine Theologie nicht
Apostolic Teaching to the Teaching of an die Stelle der Eeligion Jesu gesetzt,
Christ (Edinburgh, 1900). In his sondern rings um sie her ' (p. 72).
Y.
DOCTRINE.
.'Doctrinae divinae vis confluit in amorem.'
Bengel ad i Thess. iv. 9.
i. The Epistles to the Thessalonians are generally regarded i. The
as the least dogmatic of all the Pauline Epistles, and it is true theology
that there is no mention in them of such distinctive aspects of of * he
' Paulinism ' as the contrasts between law and gospel, faith -
righteousness and work-righteousness, and flesh and spirit
that the term 'justification' is wholly wanting and that even
the Apostle's favourite watchword of 'grace,' which is found
twice as often in his writings as in all the rest of the New
Testament, occurs only in two passages (II. i. 12, ii. 16),
apart from the more formal salutations and benedictions.
This is very far, however, from saying that St Paul had not
by this time reached the definite system of Christian truth
which, even when not expressed, lies at the base of all his
writings. He had now been engaged for a period of nearly
fifteen years in active missionary work, and if he does not find
it necessary to lay special stress here on certain doctrines which
later emerged into prominence bwing to the controversies in
which he found himself engaged, this is mainly due to the
circumstances under which the Epistles were written 1 .
Addressing as he was a small working-class community, Eeasons
composed principally of Gentile Christians, and surrounded for thls *
1 In his recent Essai sur la Christo- the special needs to which they were
logie de Saint Paul i. (Paris, 1906) addressed. 'Paul was above all not
Monteil utters a much-needed warning a doctor and a theologian, but an
on the danger of drawing out a chrono- apostle ; far less occupied with framing
logical chart of the Apostle's growth a system of dogma and theology, than
in Christian truth from, his writings, with announcing the gospel of salva-
which were conditioned throughout by tion' (p. 12).
M. THESS. e
Ixiv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
by all the temptations of a great commercial seaport, St Paul
recognized that what his converts stood most in need of was
encouragement, combined with certain very definite warnings
against the undue excitement they were displaying owing
to a mistaken application of his former teaching. And con-
sequently he fell back upon the main elements of that teaching,
with the view not only of showing in what it really consisted,
but of leading his readers on to the higher truths for which he
had been preparing them. So far, therefore, from the simple
theology which the Epistles contain, as compared, for example,
with the more argumentative methods of the Epistles to the
Galatians or Romans, throwing any doubt on their authenticity,
as Menegoz seems tempted to think 1 , it is precisely what we
should expect in the circumstances 2 , while the many points
of contact which the Epistles exhibit with the language and
teaching of the missionary discourses of Acts afford striking
confirmation of the credibility of both (cf. p. xlii).
2. Doctrine 2. In view then of the surroundings of his Thessalonian
* converts, we are not surprised to find the Apostle laying very
special stress on the doctrine of God or rather of ' the God/
as contrasted with the many and vain gods whom formerly they
worshipped 3 .
It is from this God, as St Paul and his companions are
1 Le Peche et la Redemption d'apres out any further designation, is con-
Saint Paul, p. 4. fined to Christian documents is now
2 It is only from this point of view disproved on the evidence of the
that we can accept such statements as papyri: cf. Wilcken Archiv i. p. 436,
that the Epistles contain 'a first sketeh where such passages are cited as
of Paul's doctrine' (Sabatier L'Apotre E.G. U. 27, 10 ff. ('certainly heathen'
Paul p. 95, E. Tr. p. 109), or that they ii./A.D.) Kal irapede^aro ^uas 6 rb-rros
form 'a kind of Christian primer' cos 6 debs r/deXev, and B. G. U. 246, 12 f.
(Bruce St Paul's Conception of Chris- ('very probably heathen' ii./iii. A.D.)
tianity p. 15). Schmidt's statement wTvyxwu T 0e virtp v^w.
is more exact : ' To sum up : the dog- For similar evidence from the in-
matic system of the Apostle is for scriptions see Kamsay C. and B. i.
obvious reasons not fully unfolded in p. 498 f. , where expressions like ' thou
this Epistle but merely touched on inci- shalt not wrong the God' (<rv /J.TJ
dentally, but this is done in thoroughly dSt/ojo-ets TOV 0e6v), and 'may he not
Pauline fashion' (Der erste Thessa- escape the notice of the God' (/J.TJ
lonicherbrief, p. 78). Xadoiro TOV Oebv], used to prevent the
3 It should be noted, however, that violation of Christian tombs, are
the old view (Letronne (Euvres i. p. 8) shown to be based on pagan models :
that 6 0e6s, taken absolutely and with- see further pp. 147, 150 ff.
DOCTEINE Ixv
never tired of asserting, that they themselves have derived
'the gospel' which they declare (I. ii. 2ff.) 1 , and, as they have
been ' approved ' by God Himself for this purpose (v. 4), so it is
to His verdict that in the last instance they submit themselves
(w. 4, 10). How complete indeed their sense of dependence
is appears in the emphatic manner in which on four distinct
occasions the missionaries turn from the thought of their own
efforts to the true Author of all grace and peace (I. iii. II,
v. 23, II. ii. 16, iii. i6) 2 . And it is to Him similarly that
throughout the Epistles they refer the Thessalonians for all
that concerns their own Christian life. They, who formerly
were amongst those 'who knew not the God' (I. iv. 5 ; cf. II. i. 8),
have now turned to 'a God living and true ' (I. i. 9), and as
their 'faith to God ward ' (I. i. 8) is entirely due to the 'call'
which 'the God' Himself has addressed to them (I. i. 4, II. ii. 13),
so it is of Him that they must continue to walk worthily, if
finally they are to reach the kingdom and glory to which His
'call' is summoning them (I. ii. 12, II. i. 5). Any failure in
this can only be due to themselves, and not to God, for He
is 'faithful' to accomplish the work which He Himself has
begun (I. v. 24; cf. II. iii. 3), and it is 'in the very presence of
God' before His all-seeing and all-searching eye an emphatic
phrase used nowhere else in the Pauline Epistles (cf. 2 Cor.
v. 10), that the highest human hopes are consummated (I. i. 3,
iii. 9, 13; cf. ii. 19).
It is very noticeable too as showing the nature of the
conception which St Paul had already formed of the Deity,
that frequently in these his oldest extant epistles he describes
God as ' Father,' and that too in a way to suggest that the
term was already in general use, and in need of no explanation
(I. i. I, iii. n, 13, II. i. if., ii. 16). Not only does he thereby
forge a fresh link between his own teaching and the teaching
of Jesus (cf. p. lix ff.), but, by the manner in which he associates
1 The actual phrase (TO) evayytXiov would naturally follow on v. 4, the
{roD) 0eou occurs elsewhere in the Apostles interject a prayer.
Pauline Epistles only in Horn. i. i, xv. Bengel (ad I. iii. n) remarks very
16, i Cor. xi. 7; cf. i Tim. i. n. beautifully: ' Utraque epistola ad Thes-
2 Cf. also II. iii. 5 where, before salonicenses fere singula capita singu-
uttering the -rrapayyeXia of v. 6 which lis suspiriis obsignata habet.'
6 2
Ixvi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
the Father with the glorified Lord, he takes what has been
called 'the first decisive step' towards the later Christian doctrine
of the Trinity 1 .
3. Doctrine 3. Nothing indeed can exceed the exalted place assigned
:ist> to the Person of Christ even in these markedly monotheistic
writings. For though, in accordance with general Pauline
practice, He is only once directly spoken of as the ' Son ' of
God 2 , He is united with the Father in a manner which
leaves no doubt as to the essential equality which the writer
regards as subsisting between them. It is ' in the Lord Jesus
Christ ' as well as ' in God the Father ' that the Church's life
consists (I. i. I, II. i. i ; cf. I. ii. 14): to both Father and Son
(I. iii. 1 1) and even to Son and Father (II. ii. 16 ), followed by
a verb in the singular, that the missionaries address their
prayers : and from Both that the highest blessing proceeds
(I. i. i, v. 28, II. i. 2, iii. i8) 3 .
The fact too that Christ, even when standing alone, should
be regarded as the immediate Author of His people's spiritual
growth and establishment in holiness in view of His Second
Coming is most significant 4 , especially when taken along with
1 Sanday, art. 'Jesus Christ' in On the other hand the 'heathen'
Hastings' D. B. ii. p. 648 ; cf. the usage of the terrr may have stamped
same writer's The Life of Christ in itself on the Apostle's mind, and de-
Recent Research (1907), p. 131 f. termined him to recover it to its
2 As a matter of fact, the full term proper use.
(6) vios (TOV) deov occurs elsewhere in 3 In view of the constant tendency
the Pauline Epistles only in Horn. i. 4, to underrate the Christology of St
2 Cor. i. 19, Gal. ii. 20, Eph. iv. 13, Paul's earlier writings, it may be well to
though Christ is referred to as ' Son ' quote the weighty testimony of Bishop
on various other occasions (cf. i Cor. Lightfoot : ' The Christology of the
i. 9, xv. 28, Gal. i. 16, iv. 4, 6, Bom. Colossian Epistle is in no way different
i. 3, 9, v. 10, viii. 3, 29, 32, Col. i. 13). from that of the Apostle's earlier
The comparative rarity of the title letters.... The doctrine is practically
may perhaps be due to the fact that it involved in the opening and closing
had already heen assumed by the words of his earliest extant epistle
Eoman Emperors, as when a papyrus- (i Thess. i. i, v. 28)' (Colossiaw 2
fragment (B.G.U. 174) of the year p. 122).
7 A.D. begins 2rous 2[/c]rou K&1 TDLOLKO- 4 On prayer addressed to Christ in
<rrov [TTJS] Kcu'crct/oos KpaTrjffews deov the Early Church see Zahn Skizzen' 2
vi[6]i> (for viov) with evident reference p. 271 ff., A. Seeberg Die Anbetung
to the Emperor Augustus (Deissmann des 'Herrn' bei Paulus (1891), and
BS. p. 166 f.): cf. Magn. i57 b , 3 f. TOV the short tract in Biblischen Zeit- und
vlov TOV neyiffTov 0e&v, where the /*ey. Streitfragen by A. Juncker Das Gebet
deCjv is Claudius, and his 'son' Nero! bei Paulus (1905) p. 10 ff.
DOCTRINE
Ixvii
the part assigned to Him at that Coming. For though Christ
is never directly spoken of as Judge in our Epistles, and the
final issues are ascribed to God (II. ii. 1 1 f.) in accordance with
the general Jewish belief of the time \ it is clearly implied that
in the work of Judgment the Son also will have a part (I. iii. 13,
iv. 6, 17, v. 2 f., II. i. 7 f., ii. 8) 2 . In this connexion, as constantly
elsewhere throughout the Epistles, He is described as o /cvpios,
a title which was the common term for God amongst the Jews
of the time, but which is here apparently confined to the Person
of the glorified Lord 3 , while the identical expressions, which the
Hebrew prophets were in the habit of using of God, are directly
transferred to Him (e.g. I. v. 2, II. i. 7).
Other evidence, pointing in the same direction, is to be
found in the facts that it is from Christ, no less than from God,
that the Apostles claim to have derived their commission
(I. ii. 7; cf. iii. 2, v. 12), and 'through the Lord Jesus' that
they enforce their charges (I. iv. I f. 4 ; cf. v. 27, II. iii. 6, 12),
1 Cf. e.g. 4 Ezra vi. 6 'facta sunt
haec per me et non per alium, ut et
finis per me et non per alium ' ; Orac.
Sib. iv. 40 ff. d\V 07r6r' Av 5r/ K6<r/u.ov
KO.L BvrjT&v \dri Kiffis rv 6eos avros
Elsewhere, however, more particu-
larly in Enoch, judgment is repre-
sented as entrusted to the Messiah,
cf. xlv. 3, Ixii. 2, Ixix. 27 'And he sat
on the throne of his glory, and the
sum of judgment was committed unto
him, the Son of Man ' : see also Apoc.
Bar. Ixxii. 2, Orac. Sib. iii. 286 f., and,
on the whole subject, Volz Jiid.
Eschat. p. 259 f., Holtzmann Neutest.
Theol. i. p. 262.
2 For the later teaching of the
Apostle to the same effect cf. Rom. ii.
16, i Cor. i. 8, iv. 5, 2 Cor. i. 14, v. 10,
x. 18; and for its significance on the
lips of one who had been brought up
a strict Jewish monotheist see Colani
Jesus -Christ et les Croyances Mes-
sianiques de son temps (1864) p. 155,
'Pour un juif, dire que Jesus pre"sidera
au jugement, c'etait a peu pres dire
qu'il est le createur. Aussi je ne sais
pas de preuve plus eclatante de 1 'im-
mense impression produite par le
Galile'en que ce simple fait...un pha-
risien, comme 1'avait etc" Paul, a pu
voir en lui le juge des vivants et des
morts.'
3 Briggs The Messiah of the Apostles
p. 86 n. 6 , 'The change of usage by
Paul in applying Lord so exclusively
to Christ and in carefully abstaining
from using it for God the Father was
a radical change of an importance
which it is hard for any one to exag-
gerate. It involved the practical
substitution of the sovereignty of the
Messiah for the sovereignty of God
during the Messianic age.' It would
perhaps be more exact to say that
St Paul regarded the Kvpi6rr]s of the
world as exercised ' through ' the
Messiah during the period specified.
See further Addit. Note D, p. 136 ff.
4 On the causal force of did in this
passage cf. WM.p. 474, n. 3 ,' the Apostle
was not acting in his own person, but
as moved through Christ,' and see
Ixviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
while the Thessalonians' prayers are specially asked that 'the
word of the Lord ' Jesus may ' spread rapidly, and be received
everywhere with honour' (II. iii. i).
4 . Doctrine 4. This living activity which the power of God (I. ii. 13),
Hoi/ or of Christ (I. i. 8, II. iii. i), can alone impart to the Word
Spirit. is no less clearly marked in connexion with the part assigned
to the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, as when the Spirit
is made the ground of the 'much assurance' in which the
Thessalonians had received the Apostolic Gospel (I. i. 5), of
the 'joy' which, notwithstanding much affliction, they had been
enabled to display (I. i. 6), and of those charismatic gifts and
utterances which, in view of recent abuses, they were at the
moment in danger of despising (I. v. 19 f.).
On the other hand, to fall into sins of uncleanness was to
reject 'the God,' Whose gift the indwelling Spirit was (I. iv. /f.),
and to come short of that complete sanctification which was the
Spirit's peculiar work (II. ii. 13). '
5. Soterio- 5. When we pass to the region of Soteriology, it is certainly
somewhat surprising at first sight to discover that the great
doctrine of redemption through the Death of Christ is only
once mentioned, and then in the most general way (I. v. 10).
At the same time, if only from what St Paul himself tells
us regarding his contemporary preaching at Corinth (i Cor.
i. i/ff., ii. if.), it is clear that this truth was already fully
present to the Apostle's own mind, and had been previously
proclaimed and accepted at Thessalonica. Else what meaning
could his readers have attached to the indirect but significant
allusion to Jesus as 'the Rescuer' out of the coming Wrath
(I. i. 10), or to the definition of the Christian Faith as rooted
in the historic facts of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus
(I. iv. 14)?
If too the other great Pauline soteriological doctrine of the
union of believers with Christ is not stated here with the same
precision that we find in some of the later Epistles, it is
certainly implied, as, for example, in the description of the
'Church of the Thessalonians (which is)... in the Lord Jesus
A. Schettler Die paulinische Formel 53, 'Hinter seinem schwachen Wort
4 durch Christus' (Tubingen, 1907) p. steht die Autoritat Jesu.'
DOCTRINE Ixix
Christ' (I. i. I, II. i. i), or in the emphatic manner in which
'life with Christ' is shown to be the result of the believer's
redemption (I. v. IO, tva...a/uia avv avrco tyja-ayfjuev) 1 , and the
final goal of all his hopes (I. iv. 17 KCU OVTOJS Trdvrore evv /cvpiqy
6. It is from this latter point of view indeed, as a prize 6. Escha-
awaiting the believer in the future, that the ' obtaining of
salvation' is principally viewed in our Epistles (I. v. 9, II. ii. 14).
The whole outlook is eschatological 2 : and the definite
announcement of the Parousia of the Lord rounds off each
step in the Apostolic argument (I. ii. 19, iii. 13, iv. 15, v. 23,
II ii. i ff.).
Nor can there be any doubt that, in common with all the
other Apostolic writers, St Paul regards this Parousia as close
at hand (I. iv. I5) 3 , though at the same time he is careful
to emphasize that the main fact regarding it is that it will
be unexpected (I. v. i), and even in his second letter, in entire
keeping with the want of system which distinguishes so much
of his eschatology both here and elsewhere 4 , the Apostle finds
1 On this important passage see eschatological hope acquired its in-
further E. Schader Die Bedeutung des tensity first through the oldest Chris-
lebendigen Vhristus fur die Rechtferti- tians, who attached ('hefteten') it to
gung nach Paulus (Gutersloh, 1893) p. the Person of Jesus' (p. 107); but see
33 f. Sanday Recent Research p. 157 ff.
2 Upon ' the vital bearing of St In any case it should be noted that
Paul's eschatological outlook upon his a belief in the near approach of the
theology as a whole' see especially End is naturally characteristic of
Dr H. A. A. Kennedy's valuable mono- apocalyptic writing, cf. e.g. 4 Ezra
graph St Paul's Conceptions of the Last viii. 61 'Quapropter iudicium meum
Things (London, 1904). There are rnodo appropinquat,' Apoc. Bar. xx. 6
some significant remarks in Prof. 'For they [the times] will come and
Shailer Mathews' The Messianic Hope will not tarry ' : see further Volz Jiid.
in the New Testament (Chicago, 1905), Eschat. p. 163 f., Holtzmann Neutest.
Part in. c. ii., 'The Eschatological Theol. ii. p. 188.
Messianism of Paul.' 4 Cf. Deissmann (Theol. Lit. Zeit-
3 Cf. Jas. v. 8, i Pet. iv. 7, Heb. x. ung, 1898, Sp. 14): 'What is called
25, Eev. i. i, and for the teaching of the "Eschatology" of Paul has little
our Lord Himself, on which doubtless that is "Eschatological" about it....
in the last instance this belief rested, Paul did not write denovissimis....0ne
cf. Mt. xvi. 28, Mk. xiv. 62, Lk. xxi. must be prepared for a surging hither
28. Wellhausen in his Einleitung in and thither of great thoughts, feelings,
die drei ersten Evangelien (1905) seeks expectations' (cited by Kennedy op.
to minimize this dependence, e.g. ' The cit. p. 21 n. 2 ).
Ixx THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
room for a parousia of Anti-Christ a supreme manifestation
of the power of evil then at work in the world by which the
Parousia of the Christ will be preceded (II. ii. 3 ff.).
Upon the significance of this picture of 'wickedness in-
carnate' it will be necessary to dwell at length later 1 . In the
meantime it is sufficient to notice that final and complete
victory rests with the returning Lord. As He descends from
heaven accompanied by His ministering angels (II. i. 7,
cf. I. iii. I3) 2 , He is met by His risen and living saints (I. iv. i6f):
they enter into 'rest' (II. i. 7), and 'eternal destruction' falls
upon the ungodly (II. i. 9).
It is only natural that in depicting the events of that Great
Day St Paul should avail himself freely of the figurative
language borrowed from the Old Testament, and the later
apocalyptic writings of the Jews 3 . But this only serves to
set in bolder relief the generally spiritual character of his
conception, and the ' fine tact ' which enabled him to adapt
all that was best in the thought of his time for Christian
service 4 . His whole interest in the Parousia proceeds along
' redemptive ' lines 5 , and his main concern for his converts is
that, having found complete deliverance in Jesus now, they will
be lifted out of the reach of future judgment (I. i. 10), and so
enjoy that uninterrupted ' life ' which, as we have already
1 See Addit. Notes I and J, and to gen, 1888).
the literature cited there add Eamsay 3 A useful collection of Jewish
Exp. vii. iv. p. 417 ff., where the in- parallels will be found in E. Teich-
teresting suggestion is thrown out that mann's Die Paulinischen Vorstellungen
the true key to the cryptic utterance of von Auferstehung und Gericht und
II. ii. 3 ff. is to be found in the two- ihre Beziehung zur Jildischen Apoka-
fold light in which St Paul had already lyptik (Freiburg i. B. 1896).
begun to regard the Eoman Emperor, 4 See A. Titius Die Neutestament-
as the present servant of the Church, liche Lehre von der Seligkeit, ii. Der
in restraining the existing powers of Paulinismus (Tubingen, 1900) p. 47 ff.
disorder, but as no less its future and The above limitation must be kept
irreconcilable foe, when the idolatry of in view in estimating such dicta as
the Imperial cult an Emperor sitting 'On no subject, perhaps, was St Paul,
'in the sanctuary of God, setting him- in his way of thinking, more a man of
self forth as God' had reached its his time than on that of eschatology '
height. (Bruce op. cit. p. 379); 'Everywhere
2 On the Pauline angelology see we recognize the Jewish expectation of
especially 0. Everling Die paulinische the future' (Weinel St Paul p. 44).
Angelologie und Ddmonologie (Gottin- 5 Kennedy op. cit. p. 160 n. 1 .
DOCTRINE Ixxi
seen, he regards as the peculiar possession of Christ's people
(I. v. 10, iv. i/) 1 .
7. Hence, to pass to a last point, the emphasis laid 7- Ethical
throughout on the moral conditions through which alone this
'life' can be reached or enjoyed. St Paul knows nothing of
the crude divorce between religion and morality, which is
sometimes so strangely attributed to him : his whole attitude
is rather ' a shout of triumph ' as to the reality of the alliance
existing between them 2 . It is not the mere ' word of hearing '
that constitutes * the believer,' but the word ' doing its work '
within the heart (I. ii. 13). And, as it is from the personal
relation of the soul to God, that the necessary pleasing of God
can alone spring (I. iv. I, cf. ii. 14 f.), so, on the other hand,
where God teaches, practice must inevitably follow (I. iv. 9 f.,
note the emphatic KOL yap). So far indeed from 'faith' being
separated from ' works,' it is in its results that it is principally
viewed here (I. i. 3, II. i. 1 1), and in immediate conjunction with
the great Christian duty of * love ' (I. iii. 6, v. 8). And as ' sanctifi-
cation' is God's 'will' for His people (I. iv. 3), this 'sanctification'
must extend alike to the entire 'spirit and soul and body' if the
Thessalonians hope to be preserved ' without blame ' at the
Parousia of their Lord (I. v. 23).
1 For the manner in which the book, the student will find much illus-
thought of 'life' dominates the higher trative material in E. Boklen Die
teaching of Jewish Apocalyptic, see Venvandtschaft der Jttdisch-Christ-
W. Bousset Die Religion des Juden- lichen mit der Parsischen Eschatologie
turns im neutestamentlichen Zeitalter (Gottingen, 1902): see also Dr J. H.
(Berlin, 1906) p. 316, and cf. Volz Moulton's art. ' Zoroastrianism ' in
op. cit. p. 306. Hastings' D.B. iv. p. 988 f. Several
The same thought is very prominent of the more striking parallels, such as
in the wonderfully pure faith of Zoro- the foregoing, are noted by Kennedy
aster: cf. Soderblom La Vie Future op. cit., especially pp. 321 n. 1 , 330 n. a ,
d'apres le Mazdeisme (Paris, 1901) p. 336 n. 2 . On the influence of Mazdeism
269, 'Le reve le plus cher de la piete upon pagan thought see especially
mazdeenne etait celui de la vie 6ter- F. Cumont Les Religions Orientales
nelle dans un corps purifie", incorrupt- dans le Paganisme Romain (Paris, 1907)
ible, sur une terre nouvelle, delivree c. vi. with the valuable bibliographical
de tout ce que la souille encore.' notes.
The whole relation of Persian to 2 A. Jiilicher Die Religion Jesu und
Jewish and Christian eschatology is die Anfange des Christentums p. 86 (in
full of interest, but cannot be followed Die Kultur der Gegenwart, i. 4, Berlin,
out here. In addition to Soderblom's 1906).
VI.
THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF
THE EPISTLES.
Hitherto we have been assuming the authenticity of the
Epistles to the Thessalonians in accordance with tradition and
the general verdict of the whole Christian Church up to a
comparatively recent period. Nor, so far as we have come, have
we discovered anything in the Epistles themselves to throw
serious doubt on this conclusion. At the same time it is
impossible any longer to ignore that it is now frequently
challenged, more particularly with regard to the Second Epistle.
And though many of the points raised are dependent on the
exact interpretation of various words and phrases to which we
have still to turn, it may be well in the meantime to set forth
the external evidence on which the claims of both Epistles
to genuineness rest, and to examine as far as possible the
principal objections that have been brought against them. For 1
this purpose it will be necessary to treat them separately.
I. THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF
i THESSALONIANS.
Authen- l - The external evidence in favour of I Thessalonians is
tidty of no t so strong as we might have expected, nor can it be carried
lonians. back to such an early date as in the case of many of the other
ternal*" N.T. writings. Thus, though there is a certain resemblance
evidence, between its eschatological teaching and the Didache, it is by
no means clear that the writer of the latter actually used it.
Nor do the frequently-cited passages from the Apostolic Fathers
amount to much, though two passages in Ignatius, and one in
the Shepherd of Hermas may perhaps be taken as showing
acquaintance with its contents. Much more important testi-
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGEITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxiii
mony in its favour is the fact that it is contained in the Canon
of Marcion (c. 140 A.D.), and in the Syriac Vulgate and Old
Latin Versions. In the Muratorian Fragment on the Canon
(c. I/O A.D.) it is placed sixth in the list of St Paul's Epistles.
Irenaeus (c. 1 80 A.D.) is, so far as we know, the first writer
to quote it by name.
For a possible reminiscence of iv. 15 17 in Didache xvi.
6 f. see the note on iv. 16. The passages from Ignatius are
Rom. ii. I ov yap 0eAa> v^tta? avOpoyrrapea-KfjcraL aXXa ea) dpeVat, cf.
ii. 4 ofy ws dj/$pu>7rois dpeo-KOvrcs, aAAa, #eu), and Eph. x. I <x8x-
AetTTTw? TrpocrevxevOe (where however the reading is doubtful), cf.
v. 17 dStoAeiTTToos irpoo-^v^aOf. 1 : and the passage from Hermas
is Vis. III. ix. 10 TraiScvere ovv dAA^Xous /cat tiprjveveTt fv avrots,
cf. v. I3f. tIprjvevtTe iv eat>TOis* TrapafcaXov/xev Se V/JLO.S, dSeA.<oi,
vovOtTfiTt.... For the evidence of Marcion see Tert. adv.
Marc. v. 15, Epiphan. Haer. xlii. 9. Can. Murat. 'ad
tensaolenecinsis sexta.' In adv. Haer. v. vi. i Irenaeus
quotes v. 23 as the words of the 'Apostle' 'in prima epistola
ad Thessalonicenses'; cf. also v. xxx. 2, Clem. Al. Paed. i.
p. 88 D (ed. Sylburg), Tert. de Res. Cam. c. 24.
It is not necessary to carry the evidence further down, for,
apart from the frequent references to the Epistles which are to
be found in the writings of the Fathers from Irenaeus onwards
(see small print above), the very existence of 2 Thessalonians,
whatever its exact date, implies the recognition of the Pauline
authorship of the First Epistle at a very early period in the
history of the Church a recognition moreover which it con-
tinued uninterruptedly to enjoy until the middle of last
century.
2. The first to raise doubts regarding it was Schrader (Der ? .Ob-
Apostel Paulus, Leipzig 1836), who proceeded on purely sub- the^
jective grounds. And in this he was followed by F. C. Baur, ^^' s
who developed the attack against both Epistles with great ticity.
vigour in his Paulus, der Apostel Jesu Christi (Stuttgart 1845,
Eng. Tr. 2 vols., London, 1873 75). Baur indeed afterwards
saw reason to modify his views regarding the relation of the
two Epistles (in the Theol. Jahrbucher, xiv. 1855, p. 141 ff.,
see his Paul, Eng. Tr. ii. p. 3 14 ff.), but the objections which
1 'The evidence that Ignatius knew N.T. in the Apost. Fathers (Oxford,
i Thessalonians is almost nil.' The 1905) p. 74.
Ixxiv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
he originally raised may still be said to form the principal
storehouse from which arguments against the authenticity of
the First Epistle are drawn, and on that account deserve
mention.
In themselves they are of a somewhat varied character, and
embrace such points as the meagreness of the Epistle's con-
tents, and their close dependence on the narrative in Acts, the
striking similarity to the Corinthian Epistles in thought and
language, the un-Pauline character of such passages as ii. 146.,
iv. 146., and the traces of a later date implied in the description
of the Thessalonian Church.
If, however, the view that has already been taken of
the circumstances attending the writing of the Epistle is
correct (p. xxxiff.), none of these objections should cause much
difficulty. What more natural, for example, than that, writing
as he did to vindicate his own and his companions' character,
St Paul should dwell at considerable length on the nature of
their ministry at Thessalonica ? And if general agreement
in historical details with St Luke's account is only what we
would then look for, the no less striking apparent divergences
(cf. pp. xxvii, xxx) are in themselves strong proof that we have
the work not of a mere imitator, but rather of an independent
and more fully informed narrator. Nor are the frequent
resemblances to the Corinthian Epistles to be wondered at,
when we remember the short interval of time that elapsed
between their composition, and the closely similar situations
that they were designed to meet. The violent polemic against
the Jews (ii. 14 ff.) is no doubt startling in view of the
Apostle's general attitude towards his fellow-countrymen, but
it may be sufficiently accounted for by the strenuous opposition
which at the time they were offering to him in his work (note
the pres. participles dpco-Koi/rwi/, KwAvovron/, and cf. p. xxxif.) 1 .
Nor is there any need to refer v. i6 c to the destruction of
Jerusalem. The language is too vague to be understood of
any such literal and outward event, and, as we shall see again,
clearly refers to the 'judgment' passed upon the Jewish people
in the rejection of their Messiah. Similarly the ' concrete
representation' of the Last Things in iv. 14 ff. is not enough,
as indeed Baur himself admits, to brand the Epistle as un-
apostolic, and may easily be due to an early and apparently
transitory stage in St Paul's eschatological thought. And
1 According to B. Weiss (Apo~kaly- Volke, das den abtriinnigen Vor-
ptische Studien in SK., 1869, p. 24) kampfer des Christentums mit dem
'Es war die Periode der scharfsten wildesten Fanaticismus verfolgte.'
Spannung zwischen ihm und seinem
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxv
finally, the statements regarding the rapid growth and widely-
extended influence of the Thessalonian Church (i. 7 ., iv. 10),
even if no account be taken of the Apostle's constant tendency
to exhibit his converts in the most favourable possible light
(iii. 6, 12, iv. i), are in entire accord with what we know of
the Macedonian character (see p. xlvi), and the natural
advantages Thessalonica enjoyed for an active missionary
propaganda (see p. xxii).
There seems to be nothing therefore in these objections to
cause any serious difficulty 1 . And even if they were much
stronger than they are, they would be more than counter-
balanced by the tone and character of the Epistle as a whole 2 .
There is an unmistakable ring of reality about its more
personal passages, a revelation alike of writer and readers, to
which no imitator could ever have attained. Nor again is it
possible to conceive how any one writing after what had come
to be regarded as the distinctive truths of Paulinism were
widely known could so skilfully have avoided their introduction
into a letter purporting to be written by the Apostle 3 . Only
in such an actual historical situation as we have tried to depict
is an adequate explanation of the Epistle's raison d'etre forth-
coming. And only in St Paul himself can we find a writer
who could have succeeded in so impressing his personality
upon what he wrote, combined with the freedom in thought
and expression which in themselves are so distinctive of an
original author. Is it likely too that any one writing long after
the expectation had been falsified would have endangered his
credibility by ascribing to St Paul language, which certainly on
the face of it implies that the writer looked for the Parousia
during his own lifetime (iv. 15)?
1 Steck's supposed discovery (Jahr- study 'Der erste Thessalonicherbrief '
backer /. protest. Theologie 1883, p. in SK., 1885, P- 263 ff. Cf. Jiilicher
509 ff.) of the \6yos Kvpiov of iv. 15 in Einl. in d. N.T. p. 37, Eng. Tr. p. 58,
4 Ezra v. 41 f. (cited on p. xxxiii, n. 1 ), 'In opposition to the school of Baur
and the consequent carrying forward the genuineness of the Epistle should
of the writing of i Thess. to at least be upheld as unquestionable. In style,
100 A. D., is of no greater weight, as vocabulary and attitude it approaches
the relation between the passages is of as nearly as possible to the four Prin-
the most general kind, and by no means cipal Epistles. '
demands any theory of literary depen- 3 Cf. Knowling The Testimony of
dence: see further Bornemann p. 3 1 o ff . St Paul to Christ (1905) p. 21 f.
2 See especially von Soden's careful
Ixxvi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
3. Present 3- It is only therefore what we should expect, when we find
asTo itf 1 * ^ a t the claims of I Thessalonians to be regarded as an
authen- authentic work of the Apostle Paul are now freely admitted by
practically all N.T. scholars of importance, its opponents being
limited to those who deny the genuineness of all the Pauline
Epistles 1 .
and Nor, apart from the wider question of its authenticity, does
integrity. t nere seem any good ground for doubting the general integrity
of the Epistle in the form in which it has come down to us.
Schmiedel indeed suggests that ii. 15 f. is an interpolation,
and others, who accept the passage as a whole, are inclined to
throw doubt on the last clause of v. 16 as possibly an 'editorial
comment/ added after the destruction of Jerusalem had taken
place 2 . But for neither position is there any real warrant (see
notes ad loca)', while v. 2J, which has also been suspected, is,
whatever the exact interpretation given to it, in thorough
accord with the strained and anxious mood, through which at
the time the Apostle was passing (p. xxxi ff.) 3 .
II. THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF
2 THESSALONIANS.
Authen- On the other hand the authenticity and integrity of 2 Thes-
Thessa sa l n i ans stand on a different footing, and raise questions of a
lonians. more difficult character. And, that being so, it is satisfactory
to find that the external evidence on its behalf is both earlier
and fuller than in the case of the First Epistle.
I. Thus, leaving aside possible references in the Didache
and Ignatius, there are two passages in Polycarp both of which
appear to have this Epistle directly in view. It is true that in
the first the writer supposes himself to be quoting words
originally addressed to the Philippians, but the words (see
below) are only found in 2 Thessalonians, and Polycarp rnay
easily have confused between the two Macedonian Churches,
i. Ex-
ternal
evidence.
1 E.g. van Manen art. 'Paul' in
Encyc. Bibl. See the thorough-
going refutation of such extreme
positions by Knowling op. cit. p. 7ff.,
as well as in his earlier work The
Witness of the Epistles (1892) p. 133 ff.
2 Moffatt Hist. N.T. p. 626.
3 See further C. Clemen Die Ein-
heitlichkeit der paulinischen Briefe
(Gottingen, 1894) p. 13 ff.
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxvii
or possibly in view of their vicinity have looked upon Philippi
and Thessalonica as forming in reality one community 1 . In the
second, it is hardly possible to doubt that he is consciously
adapting a passage of 2 Thessalonians for his purpose, though
unfortunately here, as in the foregoing passage, the Greek
original is lost. Coining further down we find the Epistle
again vouched for in the Canon of Marcion, in the Syriac
Vulgate and Old Latin Versions, and in the Muratorian Frag-
ment, while the references to it in early Christian literature
are both numerous and clear. Thus there seems an obvious
reference to its principal eschatological passage in Justin
Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho, and an interesting passage
in the Epistle Vienne and Lyons points even more strongly in
the same direction. Irenaeus is again the first to mention it
directly by name.
With iii. 8 ff. cf. Didache xii. 3, and with ii. 3 ff. cf.
Didache xvi. 6 ff. The passage from Ignatius is Rom. x. 3
ppcoo-0e 6i9 reAos ev VTTO/AOI/TJ 'I^aov Xpiorov, cf. iii. 5 ets rrjv
v c 7ro/xoi/r)v rov xpia-roi). It is doubtful, however, whether
v-rrofjiovfj is to be understood in the same sense in both passages
(see note ad foe.). With i. 4 wore avrovs tjfjt,a<s ev vfuv ey/cau-
Xacr0ai h r. e/cKA^orcais r. 0eov cf. Polyc. Ep. xi. 3 ' ego autem
nihil tale sensi in vobis vel audivi, in quibus laboravit beatus
Paulus, qui estis in principio epistulae ejus : de vobis etenim
gloriatur in omnibus ecclesiis 2 '; and with iii. 15 KOL //,>/ o>s
)(0pov r;yao-$e dAAa vovOtrtlre cos d8eA.<dV, cf. Ep. xi. 4 'et non
sicut inimicos tales existimetis.' The passage from Justin is
Dial. HO (ed. Otto) orav KOL 6 rrjs txTrocrTacrtas ai/$po>7ros, 6 K<U
ets rov vi/acrrov ef^aAAa A.aAcui', CTTI rrj<s yrjs avo/xa ToA/xrfo-^ ets ^ju,as
TOVS Xpto-navov?, and the passage from the Ep. Vienne and
Lyons (ap. Eus. H.E. v. i) evta-Krjif/ev 6 avTi/cei'/xcvo?, Trpooifiia-
^o/xevos ^Sry TTJV /xeAAoucrav eaecr^at Trap over LO.V avroi;...Xpt(7TOs...
Karapycov rov avTiKi/xi/oi/...ot viol riys ctTrwAetas: cf. ii. 3 ff. In
adv. Haer. in. vii. 2 Irenaeus introduces a quotation from ii. 8
with the words *et iterum in secunda ad Thessalonicenses, de
Antichristo dicens, [Apostolus] ait': cf. also Clem. Al. Strom.
v. p. 554 (ed. Sylburg), Tert. de Res. Cam. c. 24.
2. On external grounds then the Epistle is amply vouched ^ In-
for, but the internal difficulties are here of a much more serious evidence.
1 Cf. Zahn Geschichte des N cutest. also suggests that he is quoting' (The
Kanons i. p. 815. N.T. in the Ap. Fathers p. 95).
2 'The present tense of gloriatur
Ixxviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
character than in the case of I Thessalonians, and have in
recent years been presented with a skill and force that make
the question of the Epistle's authenticity one of the most inter-
esting and keenly debated points in modern N.T. criticism.
The attack was started by J. E. Ch. Schmidt (in his
Bibliothek f. Kritik und Exegese des N.T. Hadamar 1801,
and then in his Einleit. in das N.T. Giesseii 1804), and his
objections were revived by de Wette in the earlier editions
of his Lehrbuch der histor.-krit. Einleit. in die kanonischen
Bucher des JV.T S ., but afterwards abandoned in the fourth
edition (1842), and in his Exegetisches Handbuch (1841) where
the Epistle's authenticity is fully recognized. Meanwhile,
however, doubts had again been raised by Kern (Tubing.
Zeitschr. f. Theol. ii. 1839) who was closely followed by Baur
(Paulus, 1845), both writers seeing in the Epistle a fictitious
writing, dependent on the Apocalypse, and containing features
borrowed from the person arid history of Nero : while
Hilgenfeld (Einl. in d. N.T. 1875, P- 642 ff.) went further,
carrying its composition as far down as Trajan's time, a
position with which in the main Bahnsen (Jahrb. f. protest.
Theol. 1880, p. 68iff.) agreed.
Others in more recent times who have denied the Epistle's
authenticity are Weizsacker, Pfleiderer, Schmiedel, Holtzmann,
and Wrede, and, in part, P. W. Schmidt and Dr Samuel
Davidson. On the other hand it has gained the support of
Harnack, Jiilicher, and Clemen, has been vigorously defended
by Zahn, and is now treated as genuine by the great majority
of commentators in Germany, including its latest expositors
Bornemann and Wohlenberg, as well as by the general con-
sensus of N.T. scholarship both in this country and America 1 .
It cannot be denied however that many who support this
conclusion do so with a certain amount of hesitation, and only
because of the still greater difficulties attending any rival
theory. And it may be well therefore to subject the more
The important arguments that have been urged against the Epistle
E P istle to a fresh examination with the view of seeing how far they are
on the really well-grounded. In the main they are derived from ( I ) its
ground of i an g ua g e an d style, (2) its literary relationship to I Thessa-
lonians, and (3) the character of its doctrinal contents.
1 Dr Charles, who refers to the Isaiah (1900) p. Ixii. On the other
Epistle 'with some hesitation' in his hand Dr McGiffert (Encyc. Bill. art.
Jo wett Lectures on Eschatology (1899) ' Thessalonians' col. 5045) speaks of
p. 380, is now satisfied as to its its genuineness as 'beset with serious
genuineness: see e.g. his Ascension of difficulties ' and ' at best very doubtful/
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxix
(i) In itself the vocabulary of the Epistle is by no means (i) Lan-
remarkable. The words peculiar to it among N.T. writings f^f a
number only 10, as compared with 17 in i Thessalonians, nor
do any of them cause any real difficulty (cf. p. liii). And this is
the more noteworthy when we remember the unique character
of some of its apocalyptic passages, and the marked tendency
observable in other of the N.T. writings towards diversity of
language and style in dealing with similar topics 1 .
But while the vocabulary is thus in the main genuinely
Pauline, various words and phrases are often pointed to as used
in an un-Pauline manner.
Thus it is said that in i. n (Iva. v/xas a^itocny r-fjs /cArfcreoos 6
0eos 77//,a)i/) K\.rja-Ls refers to the final call to participation
in future blessedness instead of, as is usual in St Paul, to
the initial act of the Christian's life. But even if this future
reference be admitted, which is by no means certain, we have
at least a partial parallel in Phil. iii. 14 SIW'KW ets TO f3pa.pti.ov
rrjs avw /cA^'crew? TOV Oeov eV Xpi<TTa> ^Irjaov, and in any case
we can hardly refuse to the word a latitude of application
which St Paul might so naturally have extended to it. Nor
again surely can any one seriously urge that, because on two
occasions the Apostle used the verb e^eAe^aro with reference to
the Divine election (i Cor. i. 27 f., Eph. i. 4), he could not
therefore have used eiAaro in ii. 13 (on ciAaro v/xas 6 6to<s a-rr
a PXV < * e ^ s cramyptav), a verb which, as we know from other evi-
dence (Phil. i. 22), he was in the habit of employing, and which
from its special reference to the destiny or vocation of the chosen
was peculiarly appropriate in the present passage. Still more
idle is the objection to ur^vs in i. 9 (euro T^S 80^5 r-fjs torsos
avTov} for the more usual Swa/xis, for not only is io~xvs vouched
for by Eph. i. 19, vi. 10, but in the Thessalonian passage it is
actually a quotation from Isa. ii. 10. And if any importance is
to be attached to the solitary appearance of ei/Kca>xao-0cu (i. 4)
instead of Kavxao-Qai, which is found more than thirty times in
the Pauline Epistles, or to the combination 6\eOpo<s cuon/tos (i. 9),
which St Paul does not again use, but which is in perfect
keeping with the language of the Old Testament, and more
particularly with that of Jesus, on which in the whole passage
the writer shows himself so dependent, or to the admittedly
difficult construction OTL eirio-TevOrj TO papTvpiov ^/xtov <' v/mas
(i. TO: see note ad loc.) do not these and similar anomalies
. tell at least as much for as against Pauline authorship, for is it
likely that any imitator would have endangered the credibility
of his work by making use of them 1 ?
1 Cf. Lightfoot Notes on Epistles of St Paul p. 72 f.
M. THESS. f
Ixxx THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
The same might be said of the variation that appears in
certain familiar formulas or phrases between our Epistle and
i Thessalonians, even if other explanations of the changes
were not forthcoming. Thus in the opening thanksgiving,
when instead of the simple evxapio-Tovptv of I. i. 2 we find
et>xapio-Tu/ 6(etA.o/Av in i. 3 and again in ii. 13, this, apart
from the added emphasis, is in entire accord with the more
formal style of the whole Second Epistle, to which reference
will have to be made again. And in the closing invocation
the substitution of 6 /cupios rrjs tlprjvr)*; (iii. 16) for 6 $eos T-fjs
dprfvys (I. v. 23), taken along with the similar interchange of
Persons in ii. 13 and I. i. 4, may well be due to the prominent
place which the exalted Lord was occupying at the moment
in St Paul's thoughts in view of His glorious Return. In
any case it seems evident that throughout this Epistle 6 Kvpios
is to be referred to Christ and not to God, so that there is
at least no exception here to the general Pauline practice
(see Add. Note D).
Other examples of so-called inconsistencies with the language
of the first Epistle hardly need to be mentioned. When hostile
criticism has to fall back on minutiae such as these, unless
they are supported by other and stronger evidence than any
we have yet discovered, that is in itself a confession of the
insufficiency of its case. And it will be generally conceded
that this Epistle, taken as a whole, so far as its language and
style are concerned, leaves upon the mind of any unbiassed
reader the impression of a genuinely Pauline work 1 . For not
only are there abundant traces of the Apostle's characteristic
phraseology and manner, as has been clearly shown by Dr Jowett
and others 2 , but the whole Epistle reflects that indefinable
original atmosphere which a great writer imparts to his work,
and which, in this instance, we are accustomed to associate
with the name of St Paul.
(2) Lite- (2) On the other hand, the very closeness of our Epistle's
peiidence resemblance to I Thessalonians has been made the ground of
1 Cf. Jiilicher Einl. in d. N.T. p. 40, ously.'
Eng. Tr. p. 62, 'The least important 2 Jowett The Epistles of St Paul to
of these arguments [against the gen- the Thessalonians, &c., 2nd Ed. i.
uineness of the Epistle] are those re- p. 148 f. According to Eeuss Hist, of
ferring to the phraseology, for on the the N.T., ed. Houghton, p. 75 'For
whole the style is so thoroughly Paul- every "unpauline" expression the
ine that one might indeed admire the concordance shows ten Pauline.'
forger who could imitate it so ingeni-
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxxi
a second objection to its authenticity. For the literary depend- on i Thes-
ence between the two Epistles has been declared to be of such sa
a character that the question comes to be not, 'Could one man
have written both Epistles?' but, 'Is it likely that one man
writing to the same people at what must have been a very
short interval of time would repeat himself to so large an
extent? Or, even if this is conceivable under certain circum-
stances, is it likely in the case of a writer so richly endowed
arid so fertile in thought as the Apostle Paul?'
The first to raise this difficulty pointedly was Weizsacker 1 ,
and his arguments have recently been strongly emphasized by
H. Holtzmann 2 and W. Wrede 3 . And the objection is at least
an interesting one, for, when taken in conjunction with other
peculiarities of the Epistle, it lends itself very easily to the
idea of an imitator or forger, who, in order to gain credence for
certain views he wished to express, encased them, so to speak,
in the framework of a generally accepted Pauline Epistle.
To this supposition we shall have to return later, but in the
meantime before expressing any opinion upon it, we must
notice clearly how far the resemblances between the two
Epistles really extend.
Both Epistles begin with a salutation in almost identical
terms, and marked by a form of address which the Apostle
does not employ again (I. i. i; II. i. i, 2).
This is followed by the customary thanksgiving, expressed
again in a way found nowhere else in St Paul, and based on
practically the same grounds as regards the Thessalonians'
state (I. i. 2 ff.; II. i. 3 .).
A section follows in the main peculiar in thought to the
Second Epistle (i. 5 12), but exhibiting many parallels of
language with the First, while the transition to the great
revelation of chap. ii. is marked by a form of appeal (eptorco/Aev
Se vVas, dSeA.<oi, ii. i) which is found in the Pauline Epistles
outside these two Epistles only in Phil. iv. 3.
The revelation referred to the section regarding the Man
of lawlessness, ii. i 12 stands so entirely by itself as regards
l DasApostolischeZeitalter' 2 p.'24()f., lation to the first letter' p. 295).
Eng. Tr. i. p. 295 f. ('The fact that the 2 Z.N.T.W. ii. (1901), p. 97 ff.
genuineness of the epistle has been 3 Die Echtheit des zweiten Tliessalon-
strenuously assailed is not surprising, icherbriefs (Texte und Untersuchungen,
but inevitable. The reason for this is N.F. ix. 2), Leipzig, 1903.
found, above all, in its striking re-
Ixxxii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
contents, that it is frequently spoken of as constituting the
raison d'etre of the whole Epistle. But, apart from other
Pauline peculiarities of language which it exhibits, it is
interesting to notice in connexion with the point before us,
that we find here the same reminiscences by the writer of a
visit to his readers, and of what he had said when with them,
that we have already met in i Thessalonians (ii. 5 ov fj-vrjfjiovtveTe
on en (Lv TT/DOS v/xcts TavTa. 4'A.eyov vfjuv ] cf. I. iii. 4 Kat yo.p ore
Trpos v/xas ^ev, TTpoeA-eyo/xcv vfuv) : this does not occur again
in the Pauline Epistles.
No sooner, moreover, has the writer of the Second Epistle
finished this, his main theme, than he utters a fervid thanks-
giving and prayer for his readers (ii. i3f.), after the manner
of I. ii. 13, in which several of the characteristic words and
phrases scattered through the First Epistle are re-echoed.
Similar resemblances may also be traced in the exhortation
that follows to stand firm and to hold fast the traditions they
have been taught (ii. 15 ; I. iv. i), and more especially in the
remarkable invocation of ii. 16, which corresponds both in
form and place with I. iii. ii, though there, in accordance
with the usual practice, 6 #eos Kat Trarrjp T/'/XCOV comes before
6 Kvptos r//xuJi/ 'I^o-ovs : while the prayer in iii. 5 6 Se Kvpios
KOLTtvOvvai v/xwi/ TO.S Ka/oSi'as may be compared with I. iii. 1 1
avros Se 6 $eos . . . KarevOvvat TYJV 6Soi/ T^/XWV, the only other
passage in the Pauline writings where the verb KarevOvvtiv is
found, though it is to be noted that it is used in different
connexions in the two passages.
The closing section iii. 6 15, like the closing section
I. v. i ff., is occupied with a practical exhortation, which in
the main follows independent lines, though we are again
struck with the recurrence here of various turns of expression
and thought with which the First Epistle has already made
us familiar such as the warning against disorderly walking
(iii. 6, 7, ii ; I. v. 14) ; the call to imitate the writer's mode of
life (iii. 7, 9; I. i. 6f.); and the reference to the Apostle's
labouring night and day that they might not prove themselves
burdensome to their converts (iii. 8 ; I. ii. 9), to which the
Second Epistle adds the further thought of providing an
example to the restless and idle (iii. 9).
Both Epistles end with an invocation to ' the Lord (God,
i Thess.) of peace,' and with the customary Pauline benedic-
tion (II. iii. 16, 18; I. v. 23, 28).
The resemblances between the two writings are thus very
striking, and justice can hardly be said to have been done to
them as a rule by the upholders of the Pauline authorship of
the Second Epistle. At the same time, care must be taken
that they are not pressed too far. Even our brief review -has
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxxiii
indicated what an examination of Wrede's carefully prepared
Tables makes still more evident, that at most the parallelism
between the two Epistles cannot be said to extend to more
than one-third of their whole contents. And from this, again,
there fall to be deducted such points of contact as are afforded
by the salutation at the beginning, the benediction at the close,
the phrases of transition from one subject to another, and similar
formal expressions, where a close resemblance of language is
not only natural 'but probable 1 .
Nor must it be forgotten that even where certain sections
of the Second Epistle correspond in their general contents to
certain sections of the First, the actual parallelisms in language
are by no means always found within these corresponding
sections, but have frequently to be drawn from the two Epistles
as wholes. And not only so, but they often occur in such
different connexions as to suggest not so much the slavish
copying by one man of another, as rather the free handling
by the same writer of certain familiar words and phrases 2 .
The same may be said of the differences of tone, combined
with the similarities of expression, between the two Epistles of
which certain critics have made so much. It is quite true that
in certain particulars the general tone of Second Thessalonians
is more official and severe than the tone of First Thessalonians,
though warm and personal passages are not wanting (e.g., i. n,
ii. i6f., iii. 3 5), and that at places the writer seems in diffi-
culties as regards both his language and his grammar 3 .
But while these facts, taken by themselves, might be evi-
dence of a later writer clumsily imitating another man's work 4 ,
1 According to Schmiedel (Hand- 3 Commenting on i. 3 10, Borne-
Co mmentar zum N.T. n. i. p. 8), out mann remarks: 'Man hat das Gefiihl,
of not quite 825 words 'in Second als sei er nicht sofort mit seinen
Thessalonians over 150 correspond Worten ins rechte Gleis gekommen und
literally, and over 30, with slight miisse, zum Teil mit den Worten
variations, with the vocabulary of seines friiheren Briefes, zum Teil mit
First Thessalonians : not surely a very alttestamentlichen und liturgischen
large number when the circumstances Wendungen erst den Zug seiner Ge-
of the Epistle's composition are kept danken rangieren und sammeln' (Die
in view. Thessalonicherbriefe p. 328).
2 See further a review by Wernle of 4 ' Kiinstliche oder vielmehr verkiiu-
Wrede's pamphlet in the Gottingische stelte Nacharbeit.' Holtzmann I.e.
gelehrte Anzeigen, 1905, p. 347 ff. (sum- p. 100.
marized in Exp. vn. ii. p. 91 f.).
Ixxxiv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
they may be equally well accounted for by a change in the
mood of the same writer, and in the circumstances of those to
whom he writes.
St Paul was, we know, subject to great alternations of
feeling, and when he wrote 2 Thessalonians, not only was he no
longer under the influence of the same glad rebound from
anxiety regarding the Thessalonians' state that he experienced
when he wrote his First Epistle, but there is also evidence that
at the time he was personally much harassed by 'unreasonable
and evil men' at Corinth (iii. 2; Acts xviii. 12 ff.). Moreover,
as regards the recipients of the letter, there are undoubted
traces in the Second Epistle that, between the time of its
writing and the writing of the First, St Paul had heard of an
increasing restlessness among his converts a business which
was no business (fjLrjbev pyao/j,evov<$ d\\a Trepiepya^ofLevovs,
iii. n) which might well justify more authoritative and
severe warnings on his part, without however implying the
later Church-discipline (' Kirchenzucht ') which Schmiedel tries
to discover in them.
Nor is it quite fair, as is generally done by those who lay
stress on the closeness of the literary dependence between the
two Thessalonian Epistles, to speak of it as without a parallel
in early Christian literature. For, to those who admit their
authenticity, we have within the circle of the Pauline Epistles
themselves the kindred Epistles to the Ephesians and Colos-
sians, exhibiting an identity of thought and language, such as
to make them, notwithstanding their admitted differences in
aim, almost duplicates of each other. And if St Paul could
thus repeat himself in two contemporary Epistles, addressed
if not to the same Church at least to the same district, why
should not a like similarity run through two other Epistles,
written at an interval 'according to the traditional view of at
most a few months, and dealing with a situation which, if
differing in certain particulars, was in the main unchanged
(cf. p. Ivi n. 3 ) ?
A further effort to explain the extent of the resemblances
between the two Epistles has also been made by the suggestion
that St Paul had re-read the First immediately before writing
the Second Epistle, or more precisely that he had in his hands
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGEITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxxv
the rough draft which his amanuensis had prepared of his first
letter a clean copy having been despatched to Thessalonica
and that he drew freely from it in dictating the terms of the
second letter 1 .
One cannot say that this is impossible, and there would
certainly be nothing according to the literary canons of the
time to prevent a writer thus freely borrowing from his own
previous work. But the very ingenuity of the suggestion is
against it, and presupposes that the Apostle attached a greater
importance to his own writings than their strictly occasional
character warrants.
It is safer therefore to be content with such general ex-
planations as have already been offered, or frankly to admit
that the resemblances between the two Epistles constitute an
interesting but, in our present state of ignorance regarding the
exact circumstances of their writing, an insoluble literary
problem. This however in no way militates against the Pauline
authorship of the Second, unless other and more definite grounds
for disputing it can be produced.
(3) Such grounds, it is said, are to be found in the Epistle's (3) Doc-
doctrinal contents, as being, in the first place, inconsistent with con tents.
the clear teaching of I Thessalonians, and, in the second, in These are
. . ., . said to be
themselves of such a character, that it is not possible to think
of St Paul's having written them.
(a) As regards the charge of inconsistency with I Thes- () icon-
salonians, that rests in the main on an alleged change of attitude w ith
with reference to the nearness of the Parousia. In I Thessa- T ^ h( ? s "
salomans,
lonians the Parousia is represented as close at hand, and there
is no mention of any sign by which it is to be preceded ; but
in 2 Thessalonians we are distinctly told that it will not take
place until the Man of lawlessness has been revealed 2 .
To this it is generally replied that the two pictures are not
really inconsistent, and that while there is nothing in the
1 'Fiir den vielbeschaftigten und 2 Th diktirte' (Zahn Einl. in das
seines erregbaren Temperaments be- N.T. i. p. 179).
wussten PI lag gerade in diesem Fall 2 Cf. G-. Hollmann Die Unechtheit
nichts naher, als das Concept des des ziveiten Thessalonicherbriefs in
i Th, wenn ein solcb.es vorhanden war, Z. N. T. W. v. (1904), p. 29 ff.
noch einmal durchzulesen, ehe er den
Ixxxvi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
teaching regarding the Parousia in I Thessalonians to exclude
the prior coming of the Man of lawlessness, there is equally
nothing in his coming as depicted in the Second Epistle to
delay unduly the expected Parousia of the First: all that is
said is that Christ will not come just yet 1 .
But while there is undoubted force in this and parallels
for the conjunction of the two views, or rather for the two
aspects of the same truth may be cited from our Lord's escha-
tological discourse (Mt. xxiv. 296.), and from the Apocalypse
of St John (Rev. iii. I ff., vi. I If.) it is better not to attempt
to reconcile the two positions too literally. There are many
indications that St Paul's eschatological views were at this
time in a state of flux, and that his teaching concerning the
Last Things was determined by practical and not theological
motives, without much regard as to how far that teaching
presented a consistent whole 2 . And it may well have been that
in the short time that had elapsed between the writing of
I and 2 Thessalonians he had heard of circumstances in his
converts' state, which led him to emphasize afresh an aspect
of the Parousia, on which he had dwelt when in Thessalonica
(ii. 5), but of which they had apparently lost sight, and which
may also have gained a new significance in his own mind.
(b) Even, however, if the point be thus turned against the
charge of inconsistency, the question still remains whether it is
at all likely that St Paul, supposing him to have been the
writer, would have so far departed from his general mode of
thought in this particular passage, ii. I 12. In none of his
other New Testament writings do we find him laying stress
on the ' signs ' preceding the end ; nor does the person of
1 Baur admitted this in his earlier different ways ' (Paulus p. 488, Eng.
and, it seems to us, correcter view of Tr. ii. p. 93). On 'how confused a
the relation of the two Epistles on this maze of eschatological conceptions
point. 'It is perfectly conceivable,' could co-exist often in one and the
he says, ' that one and the same writer, same person,' see Wernle Beginnings
if he lived so much in the thought of of Christianity Eng. Tr. i. p. 25.
the parousia as the two Epistles testify, 2 Cf. Vischer Die Paulusbriefe (1904)
should have looked at this mysterious p. 7 1 ' Wo eine uberschwangliche Hoff-
subject in different circumstances and nungspricht, darf manmcht juristische
from different points of view, and so Prazision erwarten.'
expressed himself regarding it in
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRlf Y OF THE EPISTLES Ixxxvii
Antichrist, with whom in general his conception corresponds,
though the actual name is not used, again appear in his Epistles
except in the incidental notice of 2 Cor. vi. 15 (rt? 8e av^wvr]-
0-49 Xpio-Tov 7T/00? J$e\iap ;). But this in itself is not sufficient
ground for maintaining that St Paul can never have shared
what we know to have been a widely spread belief of his time
(comp. i Jo. ii. 1 8, 22, iv. 3, 2 Jo. 7, Rev. xii. 13; Gfrorer
Jahr. des Heils ii. p. 257). And if he did not again lay the
same stress on it, that may have been either because he had
outgrown the belief in this particular form, or because he did
not again find himself confronted with circumstances which
made such teaching either necessary or desirable.
Of course if the historical situation lying at the background
of this teaching is to be sought in the antinomian Gnostic
heresies of the second century, as Hilgenfeld, Bahnsen and
Pfleiderer have from various points of view maintained, or
even in the popular legend of Nero redivivus, which has
been widely believed from Kern and Baur down to P. Schmidt
and Schmiedel, the Pauline authorship of the Epistle at once
falls to the ground.
But, as has already been indicated, the doctrine of Anti-
christ did not come into existence with Montanism, but was
firmly rooted in Jewish soil even before the Christian era;
while, as regards the Nero-hypothesis, the recent researches
of Gunkel 1 , Bousset 2 , and Charles 3 have made clear that it
was at a much later date than the interests of this theory
require, that those traits belonging to Antichrist were trans-
ferred to Nero, which alone could make him a fitting basis
for the Pauline conception.
Nor can this conception be derived from the Johannine
Apocalypse, as was at one time freely held 4 . It is now very
generally admitted by critics of all schools that the 'hindrance'
to the Man of lawlessness, of which the writer speaks, is to be
1 Schopfung und Chaos p. 221 ff. subject' (p. Ixii. n. 1 ).
2 Der Antichrist p. 13 f., Eng. Tr. 4 E.g. Hilgenfeld Einl. in d. N.T.
p. 21 f. See also art. 'Antichrist' in p. 647 ff. Later critics, while regard-
Encyc. Bibl. ing the close affinity of the Thessa-
3 The Ascension of Isaiah p. Ixi ff. Ionian picture with Kev. xiii. &c. as
' Schmiedel's view which regards 2 unmistakable, re careful not to assert
Thess. ii. 112. ..as a Beliar Neronic actual literary dependence; cf. Holtz-
myth (6870 A.D.) is at conflict with mann Neutest. Theologie ii. p. 191,
the law of development as well as with Pfleiderer Urchristentum* i. p. 97 f.
all the evidence accessible on the (Eng. Tr. i. p. 138).
Ixxxviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
found in the influence of the Roman Government, in perfect
keeping with such later Pauline passages as Rom. xiii. I 7.
But if so, it will be at once recognized how wholly different
this is from the description of Rome given in the Apocalypse,
drunk with 'the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all
that have been slain upon the earth ' (Rev. xviii. 24 ; cf. vi. 9 if.,
vii. 14, xiv. 8, xvi. 19)'.
The whole conception indeed, as it meets us here, is purely
religious, not political, and it is in the Old Testament, in the
teaching of Jesus, and, more particularly as regards form,
in certain Jewish apocalyptic beliefs, that its roots are to be
found (see further Add. Note I, p. 158 ff.).
Further than this it is impossible to go at present without
entering on many of the vexed questions of interpretation
which the passage raises. But if what has just been said
is correct, it will be seen that, obscure though the passage
undoubtedly is, there is still nothing in it to make its
Pauline authorship impossible, or even improbable ; while its
genuine Pauline style, and its natural place in the argument of
the Epistle, are strong evidence in favour of the traditional
view.
Kival 3- -"- n this general conclusion we are confirmed by the
Theories unsatisfactory and conflicting nature of the rival theories
the origin which are offered of the origin and intention of 2 Thessalonians
^ f ^7 those who deny its authenticity theories which land us in
2 Thes- greater difficulties than any they serve to remove. Incidental
The* 1 ' ' notice has been taken of some of these theories already, but
Epistle there are three in particular which call for further remark 2 .
(i) to bear (l) There is, in the first place, the theory of Interpolation,
interpola- w ^^ c ^ ^ as been so frequently resorted to lately to explain, or
tion, explain away, difficulties in New Testament interpretation, and
which in the present instance has at least this in its favour,
1 'A representation of Borne as a origin, see Bornernann Komm. p. 478,
protecting power, "restraining" Belial, and cf. Wrede's frank admission, ' Vor
even temporarily, is inconceivable allem darf es nicht bei der blossen
after July, 64 A.D.' (Bacon Introd. to Negation bleiben : es muss gefragt
the N.T. p. 78). werden, wie der Brief positiv als
2 On the necessity of the impugners' pseudonymes Schriftstiick zu begreifen
of the Epistle's authenticity supplying ist ' (p. 3).
us with an intelligible account of its
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGKITY OF THE EPISTLES Ixxxix
that we have abundant signs of its presence in the apocalyptic
literature of the period. May it not then have been at work
here?
May not, as P. Schmidt suggests, i. I 14, ii. I, 2 a , ii.
13 1 8 have formed a true Pauline Epistle, into which a later
writer interpolated the two passages which have caused most
difficulty, i. 5 12 and ii. I 12 1 ?
But apart altogether from the arbitrariness of any such
theory, and the total absence of MS. evidence in support of it,
the result is to leave a letter so shorn of all its distinctive
features that it is difficult to see how St Paul could ever
have thought of writing it 2 . And further, a careful study
of the Epistle as a whole shows that these two sections are so
closely related both to what immediately precedes, and to what
follows, that they cannot be separated from them without
violence.
(2) Of greater interest is the view which Spitta develops (2) to be
in a striking study on the Epistle contained in his Zur O f
Geschichte und Litter atur des Urchristentums i. p. 1 1 1 ff. Start- Tim othy,
ing from the 'inferiority' of the Second Epistle to the First, he
holds that, with the exception of the authenticating paragraph
at the end (iii. 17, 18), it is the work not of St Paul, but of
Timothy. And in this way he thinks that he finds an adequate
explanation both of its generally Pauline character and of its
peculiarities of the former, because it was written by Timothy
in close correspondence with St Paul and by his commission:
of the latter, because the Jewish cast of its apocalyptic pas-
sages is in thorough harmony with what we learn elsewhere
regarding Timothy's Jewish upbringing (Ac. xvi. I, 2 Tim. i. 5,
iii. I4f.).
But, to take the last point first, was Timothy after all
more of a Jew than St Paul ? And difficult though it may be
to reconcile on paper the attitude towards the Jews which
underlies ii. i 2 with that afterwards elaborated in Rom. xi.,
1 Der erste Thessalonicherbrief p. (' Grundlage '), which was afterwards
in ff. (Berlin, 1885). worked up into an Epistle (Neutest.
2 So strongly does Hausrath feel Zeitgesch. 2 iii. p. 198, Eng. Tr. iii.
this, that apparently he regards ii. p. 215).
i 12 as the genuine Pauline fragment
xc THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Dr Moffatt properly insists that 'it would be psychologically
false to deny the compatibility of both positions at different
periods within a single personality 1 .' By the time Romans xi.
came to be written, the Apostle was 'more dispassionate and
patriotic/ or rather had attained to wider views of the possi-
bilities God had in store for the chosen people.
It is in the want, however, of any satisfactory direct evi-
dence in support of it that the real weakness of Spitta's theory
may be seen. For the verse on which he relies so much will
certainly not bear the strain put upon it 'Remember ye not,
that when I was yet (en) with you, I told you these things?'
(ii. 5). The en, so Spitta argues, points to a time very shortly
before that at which the writer is writing 2 . And as Timothy
had been at Thessalonica more recently than St Paul, the
reference is thought to be naturally to his visit. But is there
any need so to restrict en ? All that it implies is the de-
sire on the writer's part to carry his readers back with him
to the time when he was with them, whenever that time may
have been. And further, is it conceivable that e\eyov can be
understood of any other than the leading writer St Paul, more
particularly in view of the admitted reference of the first person
singular to him in II. iii. 17 and I. iii. 5, v. 27, the only other
passages in the two Epistles where it is used? Had Timothy
wished to distinguish himself here from his two companions,
Paul and Silvanus, would he not certainly have added his
name eya* 6 T^u,o#eo<?, or some such expression, and not have
trusted to the Thessalonians' recognizing his handwriting as
different from that of St Paul in the closing paragraph (iii. 17,
1 8), as Spitta is driven to suggest 3 .
That Timothy may on this occasion have acted as St Paul's
amanuensis is of course possible ; and it is perhaps in the
1 Hist. N.T. p. 626. des Paulus in der Schlussbemerkung,
2 'Auf eine Anwesenheit in Thessa- 3, 18. Somit ergiebt es sich mit
lonich, welche bereits langere Zeit ziemlicher Sicherheit, dass der im
vergangen ist, passt der Ausdruck Namen von Paulus, Silvanus und
nicht' (p. 124). Timotheus ausgegangene 2. Thess.-
3 'Ein Missverstandniss war ja fiir Brief von den letzter dieser drei abge-
die Briefempfanger nicht wohl moglich, fasst uud von den ersten nur mit einen
davon zu geschweigen, dass sie des eigenhandigen Schlusswort versehen
Timotheus Handschrift werden ge- ist' (p. 125).
kannt haben im Unterschied von der
AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLES xci
thought of a change of amanuensis from (say) Silvanus in the
First Epistle that some of our Epistle's linguistic peculiarities
may find an explanation (cf. Add. Note A, p. 125 f.). But this is
very different from supposing that Timothy was actually its
author, or that the Apostle set his own seal to views with which
he was not wholly in agreement, as Spitta's theory requires.
(3) If then the writer was not St Paul, there is nothing ( 3 ) to be
left for us but to fall back upon the suggestion which has been for er y-
urged from time to time in various forms, that the Epistle is
the work of an unknown writer, who, anxious to gain currency
for his own views regarding the Last Things, imbedded them in
a framework skilfully drawn from St Paul's genuine Epistle.
We have seen already the objections attending any such
theory, in so far as it is connected with a definite historical
situation such as the expected return of Nero. But apart
altogether from such considerations, is it likely that a fictitious
Epistle addressed on this showing to a Church which had
already an authentic Epistle of St Paul's, and in which many
of the original recipients may well have been alive, would ever
have gained currency as the Apostle's ?
So strongly does Wrede, the latest exponent of the theory,
feel this that he suggests that the Epistle was never intended
for Thessalonica at all, but that the unknown writer simply
made a general use of I Thessalonians, as, owing to its apo-
calyptic character, best serving the purpose he had in view
(pp. 38 ff., 68). So that it comes to this : That this Epistle,
so amply vouched for in antiquity, is nothing but a barefaced
forgery 1 written in the name of St Paul by one who was not
St Paul invested with the authority of the Apostle, though
designed to correct views currently attributed to the Apostle
and addressed to the Church of Thessalonica, though having
another and a very different circle of readers in view. Surely
there are more 'misses' here than any 'hits/ with which,
1 It is unfortunate to have to use his writing. In view of iii. 17, 18,
the word 'forgery' round which such there can be no talk here of a harm-
definite associations have now gathered less pseudonymous writing. Cf. Wrede
in connexion with our problem ; but p. 86: 'Stammt der zweite Thessa-
no other word brings out so well the lonicherbrief nicht von Paulus, so ist
deliberate attempt of one man to use er eine Falschung.'
the name and authority of another in
xcn THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
according to the most charitable interpretation of it, the theory
can be credited !
Nor does the view of forgery, so improbable in itself, derive
any real help from two passages which are often cited in
support of it, and as in themselves conclusive against the
Epistle's genuineness.
The first of these is ii. 2: 'To the end that ye be not readily
shaken from your reason, nor yet be disturbed either by spirit,
or by word, or by epistle as from us, as if the day of the Lord
is now present.' But even if the difficult clause, pyre St?
67ri(TTo\f]<; o>9 &i rj/JLwv, be taken as referring to the possible
existence of a pretended or forged epistle, and is not merely
the exhausting by the writer of the different ways by which
the Thessaloriians might have been disturbed spirit, word,
letter, it represents at most just such a vague suspicion as
might have crossed St Paul's mind (cf. I. v. 27), but which
would have been exceedingly unnatural in one who was him-
self engaged in passing off a spurious letter.
The same may be said of iii. 17: 'The salutation of me
Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle:
so I write.' The particular form of authentication used here is
unique among the Pauline Epistles ; and if it had been the
work of a forger, would he not have been more careful to follow
St Paul's general usage, as it meets us in I Cor. xvi. 21, or
Col. iv. 18? 'But if Paul wrote the words, they express his
intention; and this intention was satisfactorily fulfilled if he
always added the benediction in his own handwriting 1 .'
4. General 4. On the whole then, without any desire to minimize the
Son! U difficulties surrounding the literary character and much of the
contents of this remarkable Epistle, there seems to be nothing
in them to throw undue suspicion on its genuineness; while
the failure of those who reject it to present any adequate
explanation of how it arose, or of the authority it undoubtedly
possessed in the Early Church, is in itself strong presumptive
evidence that the traditional view is correct, and that we have
here an authentic work of the Apostle Paul.
1 Drummond The Epistles of Paul (in International Handbooks to the
the Apostle to the Thessalonians &c. N.T.) p. 13.
VII.
AUTHORITIES FOR THE TEXT.
The text adopted for the following commentary is the Greek Text
text of Westcott and Hort : it approximates therefore closely to f or Com .
the type of text represented by NB. In these circumstances it mentary.
has not been thought necessary to provide a complete apparatus
criticus; but wherever the Editors have shown any doubt as
to the true reading by the use of brackets or the insertion
of marginal readings, the leading authorities on both sides have
been cited. These authorities have as a rule been taken from
the great collection of Tischendorf (Nov. Test. Graec. 8 ii.
Leipzig, 1872), or from Friedrich Zimmer's useful monograph
Der Text der Thessalonicherbriefe (Quedlinburg, 1893), an( ^ ^ ne
citations, more particularly in the case of the versions, have, as
far as possible, been verified, and sometimes corrected, by a
comparison with the best available texts of the originals 1 .
It will be kept in view that the accompanying lists aim Lists of
only at enumerating the authorities actually cited in the c it e d.
apparatus or textual commentary.
I. GREEK MSS.
The text is contained in whole, or in part, in the following i. Greek
MSS.
i. Primary Uncials. i. Primary
N. Codex Sinaiticus, saec. iv. Discovered by Tischendorf
in the Convent of St Catherine on Mt Sinai, and
1 In this connexion I desire to ex- kindly verified the citations from
press my indebtedness to Mr Norman the Syriac, Armenian, and Aethiopic,
M c Lean, Christ's College, Cambridge, and from the Egyptian versions re-
and the Rev. A. E. Brooke, B.D., spectively.
King's College, Cambridge, who have
xciv THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
now at St Petersburg. The MS. has been corrected
by various hands, of which N a is nearly contemporary,
N b belongs probably to the sixth century, and N C
to the beginning of the seventh. Ed. Tischendorf,
Leipzig, 1864.
A. Codex Alexandrinus, saec. v. Originally at Alexandria.
Presented by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople,
to Charles I. in 1628, and deposited in the British
Museum in 1753. Issued in autotype facsimile by
E. M. Thompson, London, 1879.
B. Codex Vaticanus, saec. iv. Generally believed to be the
oldest extant MS. of the Greek Bible. O. von
Gebhardt dates it c. 331, A. Rahlfs (TheoL Liieratur-
zeitung, 1899, p. 556) soon after 367. Probably of
Egyptian origin, though there are also strong grounds
for inclining to a connexion with the Eusebian library
at Caesarea (Kenyon, Text. Criticism of the N.T.,
p. 66 tf. ; cf. SH. p. Ixvii .). The MS. has been one
of the great treasures of the Vatican Library since
shortly after its foundation, and was issued in photo-
type by J. Cozza-Luzi and others (Rome, 1889), and
better in photographed facsimile by Hoepli (Milan,
1904).
C. Codex Ephraemi rescriptus, saec. v. A Palimpsest, much
mutilated. The remains of the Greek Text, under-
lying the works of Ephraim the Syrian (t373), were
deciphered and published by Tischendorf, Leipzig,
1843. Of our Epistles the fragment i Thess. i. i
ii. 9 is all that survives. The original MS. is now in
Paris.
D(D 2 ). Codex Claromontanus, saec. vi. A Graeco-Latin MS.
from the monastery of Clermont, near Beauvais, and
now at Paris. Its type of text is closely akin to
EFG, and 'all probably go back to one common arche-
type, the origin of which is attributed to Italy 7
(Kenyon, p. Si) 1 . Of its correctors D b dates from about
the seventh, and D c from the ninth or tenth century.
Ed. Tischendorf, Leipzig, 1852.
G(G 3 ). Codex Boernerianus, saec. ix. A Graeco-Latin MS.,
so named from Prof. C. F. Boerner, who bought it in
1705; now at Dresden. For the conjectural history
of the MS. see SH. p. Ixiv, and for its relation to D
and the Gothic version, ibid. p. Ixix f. Ed. Matthaei,
Meissen, 1791.
1 A. Souter (J. T. S. vi. p. 240 ff.) argues that D belongs to Sardinia.
AUTHORITIES FOR THE TEXT xcv
H(H 3 ). Codex Coislinianus, saec. vi. Originally in the library
of the Laura on Mt Athos. Forty-one leaves still
exist, scattered through various libraries, and in
addition the text of twenty- two pages has been
recovered from the 'offsets' left by them on the pages
opposite. The fragment at Kieff contains i Thess.
ii. 9 13, iv. 5 ii. The subscription connects the
MS. with Euthalius, on whom see especially Dean
Arrnitage Robinson, Euthaliana (Texts and Studies,
iii. 3), Cambridge, 1895; cf. SH. p. Ixviii f., von
Dobschiitz in Zeitschrift fur Kirchengeschichte, xix. 2,
von Soden, Die Schriften des Neuen Testaments (1902),
i. p. 637 ff, Turner in Hastings' D.B. v. p. 524 ff.,
Conybeare in Z.N.T.W. v. (1904) p. 39 ff., Robinson
in J.T.S. vi. p. 87 ff. The text was edited by Omont,
Notices et Extraits, xxxiii. pt. i. p. 141 ff, with the
St Petersburg offsets, the Paris and Turin offsets by
Robinson (Euthaliana, p. 48 ff.), and the recently
recovered Athos offsets by Prof. Kirsopp Lake,
Facsimiles of the Athos Fragments of Codex H of
the Pauline Epistles (Oxford, 1905).
No account has been taken of E(E 3 ) and F(F 2 ) in accordance
with Hort's judgment that the former in its Greek text is simply
a transcript of D (D 2 ), and the latter, as certainly, a transcript
of G(G 3 ), or 'an inferior copy of the same immediate exemplar'
(Intr* 203).
ii. Secondary Uncials. ii. Second-
K(K 2 ). Codex Mosquensis, saec. ix. Moscow. 'cials. "
L(L 2 ). Codex Angelicus, saec. ix. Rome.
P(P 2 ). Codex Porphyrianus, saec. ix. St Petersburg. Wants
i Thess. iii. 5 ju??KeTi...?7/x.eis ot iv. 17. Ed. Tischendorf
in Mon. Sacr. Ined., Nov. Coll., v., Leipzig, 1865,
PP- 5 8 364-
iii. Minuscules. iii. Minus-
cules.
According to von Soden (Die Schriften des N.T. i. p. 44) there
are now about 630 cursive MSS. available for the Pauline Epistles.
The following are a few of the most important.
4** (= Acts 4) : saec. xv, now in Basle, Univ. A.N. iv. 5.
6 (=Gosp. 6, Acts 6) : saec. xi, in Paris, Bibl. Nat. Gr. 112.
17 (= Gosp. 33, Acts 13) : saec. xi, in Paris, Bibl. Nat. Gr. 14.
Deserves special notice (Hort, Intr. 2 212).
23 : A.D. 1056, in Paris, Bibl. Nat. Coisl. Gr. 28.
M. THESS.
9
THE
UNIVERSITY
xcvi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
31 (=Acts 25, Apoc. 7): A.D. 1087, in London, Brit. Mus.
Harl. 5537.
37 (= Gosp. 69, Acts 31, Apoc. 14): saec. xv, in Leicester,
Library of the Town Council. 'Has many Non-
Alexandrian, Pre-Syrian readings of both kinds' (Hort,
Intr. 2 212). For the history of this interesting MS.
see Scrivener, Codex Augiensis (Cambridge, 1859),
Introd. p. xlff. and Appendix, J. Rendel Harris,
Origin of the Leicester Codex (Cambridge, 1887).
47 : saec. xi, in Oxford, Bodl. Roe 16.
67 (= Acts 66, Apoc. 34) : saec. xi, in Vienna, Imp. Gr.
th. 302.
67**: very ancient readings in the margins of 67, which have
no other cursive attestation. Hort (Intr. 2 212)
regards them as akin to M paul , though they cannot have
been derived from the text of M paul itself.
71 : saec. xii, in Vienna, Imp. Gr. th. 61.
73 (= Acts 68) : saec. xiii, in Upsala, Univ. MS. Gr. i.
116 (= Acts 101) : saec. xiii, in Moscow, Syn. 333.
137 {= Gosp. 263, Acts 117): saec. xiii, in Paris, Nat. Gr. 61*.
154 (= Acts 126) : saec. xi, in Paris, Nat. Gr. 217.
For Athos, Laura 1846. 64 (saec. x) = a 78 of von Soden's
list, see Sect. Ill under Origen.
II. Ver-
sions.
(i) Old
Latin.
II. VERSIONS.
The ancient Versions are as follows.
i. Latin, i. Latin.
(i) Old Latin (Lat Vet Vg or O.L.). The history of the Old
Latin version (or versions) is still involved in many perplexities :
it must be sufficient to refer here to the exhaustive art. by
Dr H. A. A. Kenned}' in Hastings' D.B. iii. p. 47 if., where
Antioch is suggested as its original home. Mr C. H. Turner and
Prof. Souter, on the other hand, are emphatic for Rome, while the
majority of modern critics may be said to favour the theory of an
African origin. The extant fragments of the version have been
collected by the Benedictine, P. Sabatier, in his monumental work
Bibliorum sacrorum latinae versiones sen vetus Italica (Rheims,
1739 49). See also L. Ziegler, Die lateinischen Bibelubersetzungen
vor Hieronymus, Munich, 1879.
AUTHORITIES FOR THE TEXT xcvn
The following authorities for the Pauline Epistles have been
cited. ,
d : Latin version of D (God. Claromontanus). * The genuine
Old Latin character of the text is indicated by its
frequent agreement with the quotations of Lucifer
of Cagliari (tsyo)' (F. C. Burkitt, Encyc. Bibl col.
4995)-
f : Latin version of F (Cod. Augiensis).
g : Latin version of G (Cod. Boernerianus).
m : the so-called Speculum, a treatise falsely assigned to
St Augustine, which contains extracts from a Spanish
text, akin to the Bible used by Priscillian (see Hort
as quoted in Gregory, Textkritik des Neuen Testamentes
(1902), ii. p. 606). Ed. by Weihrich in Vienna Corpus
script, eccles. Lett. xii. 1887.
r 2 : A fragment, belonging to the seventh century, preserved
at Munich. Contains i Thess. i. i 10.
(2) Vulgate (Vg). A revision by Jerome of the Old Latin to (i) Vul-
bring it closer to the Greek text he possessed (* Graecae fidei ate -
auctoritati reddidi Novum Testameiitum '). The authoritative edition
of the Roman Church, issued by Clement VIII. in 1592, has been
reprinted by Nestle (Stuttgart, 1906) in a very convenient form
with a carefully selected apparatus. The great critical edition of
the N.T., which is being prepared by Bishop J. Wordsworth and
the Rev. H. J. White has not yet advanced beyond the Acts
(Oxford, 1889).
The readings of the Vulgate MSS. ( Vg codd ) will be found (partly)
in Nestle, and more fully detailed in Tischendorf.
ii. Syriac. ii. Syriac.
There is naturally no translation of the Bible which has more
interest for us than the Syriac, though we must be careful not to
identify this dialect of the Euphrates valley with the Aramaic
spoken by our Lord : see especially Burkitt, Evangelism da Mephar-
reshe, vol. ii. (Cambridge, 1904). The history of its various versions,
and of the vexed questions raised by them, is fully discussed in the
same writer's art. ' Text and Versions ' in the Encyc. Bibl. col.
4998 5006.
We are here concerned only with two of these versions.
(i) Syr (Pesh) = the Syriac Vulgate or Peshitta, i.e. 'the(i) The
simple,' so named apparently to distinguish it from
subsequent editions ' which were furnished with mar-
ginal variants and other critical apparatus.' Burkitt
regards it as the work of Rabbula bishop of Edessa
(or some one deputed by him) between 411 and
435 A - D - Edd. Leusden and Schaaf (1709); S. Lee
(1816). The new critical edition of Mr G. H. Gwilliam
9 2
xcviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
has not yet advanced beyond the Gospels (Oxford,
1901). For the 'Place of the Peshitto Version in
the Apparatus Criticus of the N.T.' see the same
writer's art. in Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica, v. iii.
Oxford, 1903.
(2) The (2) Syr (Harcl). A recension made by Thomas of Harkel
Harclean. in 616 of the older Philoxenian version of 508. The
text is 'remarkable for its excessive literalness/ and
follows ' almost invariably that of the later Greek MSS/
(Burkitt). It is cited by Tischendorf as S yr 1)[08fcerior] , and
is edited by J. White as Versio Syriaca Philoxeniana,
Oxford, 1778 1803.
Of great importance are certain readings in the margin of
the foregoing version.
(Syr (Harcl mg.)) derived from 'three (v.l. two) approved
and accurate Greek copies' in the monastery of the
Enatonians near Alexandria (Hort, Intr.* 215).
in.Arrne- iii- Armenian.
man ' The existing Armenian Vulgate (Arm) is a revision about the
middle of the fifth century of certain original translations based
upon the Old Syriac (Robinson, Euthaliana, p. 726*'.). The Greek
text used for this revision was apparently closely akin to KB.
Ed. Zohrab, Venice, 1805.
iv. Egyp- iv. Egyptian.
fiTso (*) B nairic (Boh = me (Memphitic) WH., = cop (Coptic)
hairic Tisch.). A very early date has sometimes been assigned
to this version, but recent research points rather to
the sixth or seventh century (Burkitt, Encyc. Bibl.
col. 5008). The Pauline Epistles have been edited
by G. Homer in vol. iii. of his Bohairic N.T., Oxford,
1905.
(2) Sa- (2) Sahidic (Sah = the (Thebaic) WH.). Now believed to
hidic. be older than the Bohairic version, going back at least
to the early part of the fourth century. The N.T.
exists only in fragments, which have not yet been
collected into a formal edition. [It is understood that
G. Horner is preparing one for the Clarendon Press.]
Ciasca's collections have been used in the verification
of the citations in the present volume.
v. Aethi- v. Aethiopic.
The date of the Aethiopic version (Aeth) is again uncertain.
It may be as early as the fourth century, but is more generally
assigned to the end of the fifth (Scrivener, Tntrod. to the Crit. of
the N.T.* ii. p. 154)- The text from an edition printed at Rome in
!,j48 9 is to be found in Walton's Polyglott, also in an edition
prepared by T. Pell Platt (for the Bible Society) in 1830.
AUTHORITIES FOR THE TEXT xcix
vi. Gothic. vi. Gothic.
The Gothic version (Go) was made for the Goths by Ulfilas, who
succeeded Theophilus as their Bishop in 348. The translation
follows with great fidelity a Greek text, evidently closely akin to
the secondary uncials (KLP). It may however have been modified
by the influence of the Latin versions, and 'for textual purposes,
therefore, its evidence must be used with care ' (Kenyon, Text. Crit.
p. 204). Edd. Gabelentz and Loebe, Leipzig, 1836 43.
III. FATHEKS. in.
Fathers.
The following particulars regarding the patristic authorities
cited have been drawn, with additions, from Gregory's Text-
kritik, ii. p. 770 ff. l Migne, P. L., has been used to denote Migne,
Patrologiae Gursus Completes, Latin series, Paris, 1844 64,
and Migne, P.G., the corresponding Greek series, Paris, 1857 66.
Amb = Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 374 397. Ed. Migne,
P. L. xiv. xvii. (1845). A considerable portion of
what will henceforward be the authoritative edition
of his works has already appeared in the Vienna
Corpus, under the care of K. Schenkl, and latterly
of H. Schenkl, Vienna, 1896 .
Ambst (or Ambrstr) = Ambrosiaster (see under List of Com-
mentaries). The text used, pending the issue of the
critical edition by H. Brewer S. J. in the Vienna
Corpus, has been that of Migne, P.L. xvii., but the
text has been critically revised for this edition with
MSS. Bodl. 756 (of the eleventh century) and 689 (of
the twelfth century) by A. Souter. The Commentary
from which this complete text of St Paul's Epistles
is extracted was issued in Rome between 366 and
384 A.D., and contains the (Old-Latin) text commonly
used in Rome at that date, and revised by Jerome to
make the Vulgate. A study of this text has been
published in A. Souter's Study of Ambrosiaster (in
Texts and Studies, vii.), Cambridge, 1905, and the
author's conclusions have been accepted by Prof.
Kirsopp Lake of Leiden (Review of Theology and Phi-
losophy ii. [1906 1907] p. 620 f.).
Ath = Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria (1373). Ed. Migne,
P.O. xxv. xxviii.
1 Eeference may also now be made and Text of the New Testament (Edin-
to the same writer's graphic Canon burgh, 1907).
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Bas = Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia r
1379. The Benedictine edition of his works under
the care of J. Gamier appeared at Paris, 1721 30.
Chr = John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople, 1407.
For the various readings contained in MSS. of Chry-
sostom (Chr codd ) see Tischendorf. Collations of these
were published by Matthaei in his critical edition of
the N.T. (1803 07). See further under List of Com-
mentaries.
Clem = Homilies of the Pseudo-Clement. Ed. P. de Lagarde,
Leipzig, 1865. For the general history of 'The
Clementine Literature' see A. C. Headlam in J.T.S.
iii. p. 41 ff.
Const = Apostolic Constitutions. Edd. P. de Lagarde, Leipzig,
1862 ; F. X. Funk, Didascalia et C onstitutiones Apostol-
orum, Paderborn, 1906.
Cypr = Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, 1258. Ed. W. Hartel
in the Vienna Corpus, 1868 71.
Cyr- Alex = Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, 412 444. Ed.
Migne, P.G. Ixviii. Ixxvii.
Cyr-Hier = Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, 350 386. Edd. Migne,
P.L. xxxiii. ; W. C. Reischl and J. Rupp, Munich,
1848 60; Photius Alexandrides, Jerusalem, 1867 8.
Did Didymus of Alexandria, 1394 or 399. Ed. Migne,
P. G. xxxix.
Ephr = Ephraim the Syrian, 1373. A Latin translation of
the Armenian version of his Commentaries on the
Pauline Epistles was edited by the Mechitarist Fathers,
Venice, 1893. See also F. H. Woods 'An Examination
of the N. T. Quotations of Ephrem Syrus ' in Stud. BibL
et Eccles. iii. p. 105 ff.; Oxford, 1891.
Eus = Eusebius of Caesarea, 1340. Ed. Migne, P.G. xix.
xxiv. A new edition of his works has begun to appear
in the Berlin series of Ante-Nicene Greek Fathers.
Hier = Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus, best known as
Jerome, 1420. Edd. Migne, P.L. xxii. xxx.; Val-
larsi, Verona, 1734 42.
Hipp = Hippolytus of Rome, 1235. Edd. Migne, P.G. x.;
Bonwetsch and Achelis (in the Berlin series), Leipzig,
1897-.
Iren lat = Latin version, not later than the fourth century,
of Irenaeus' work Adversus omnes haereses, written
c. i So. Edd. Stieren, Leipzig, 1853; W. W. Harvey,
Cambridge, 1857.
AUTHORITIES FOR THE TEXT ci
Macar = Macarius, an Egyptian ascetic, f 389. His homilies
are published in Migne, P.O. xxxiv. : cf. J.T.S. viii.
p. 850. This Macarius must be carefully distinguished
from Macarius Magnes, whose date is probably a
quarter of a century later: see J.T.S. ii. p. 6iof.,
viii. pp. 401 ff., 546ff., Schalkhausser, Makarios von
Magnesia (Leipzig, 1907).
Orig = Origen, head of the catechetical school in Alexandria,
1254. Edd. Lommatzsch, Berlin, 1831 48; P. Koet-
schau, E. Klostermann, and E. Preuschen (in the Berlin
series). Leipzig, 1899 . See also von der Goltz,
Eine textkritische Arbeit des 10. bez. 6. Jahrhunderts
(Texte und (Inters., N. F. n. 4, 1899), which describes
MS. Athos, Laura 184. B. 64 (saec. x), a manuscript of
the Acts, Catholic, and Pauline Epistles, which has
preserved for us many interesting readings of Origen.
Orig lat = The free Latin version of Origen's works by Jerome
and others.
Ps-Ath = Writings wrongly ascribed to Athanasius, and con-
tained in the Benedictine edition of Athanasius' works
vol. ii.
Tert Tertullian, fc. 240. Edd. Migne, P. L. i. iii.; Oehler,
Leipzig, 1853 4; A. ReifFerscheid, G. Wissowa and
E. Kroymann (in the Vienna Corpus), Vienna, 1890 .
Thdt = Theodoret, a Syrian monk, Bishop of Cyrus, fc. 457.
See List of Commentaries.
Theod-Mops lat = Latin version of Theodore, Bishop of Mop-
suestia in Cilicia, fc. 429. See List of Commentaries.
Vig = Vigilius, an African bishop, flourished c. 484. Ed.
Migne, P.L. Ixii. The authorship of works under
this name is disputed.
VIII.
SELECTED LIST OF COMMENTARIES.
Literature The literature relating to our Epistles is dealt with very
E Q iaties ^ U ^ ^ Bornemann in his Die Thessalonicherbriefe, which replaces
the work of Ltinemann in the new edition of Meyer's Kritisch-
exegetischer Kommentar : see pp. I 7 and 538 ff. The following
list consists for the most part of those Commentaries which
have been used in the preparation of this volume, the editions
specified being those to which the present writer has had access,
though occasionally for the sake of completeness other works
have been included. For fuller information regarding the
Greek Patristic Commentaries it is sufficient to refer to
Mr C. H. Turner's exhaustive article in the supplementary
volume of Hastings' D.B. The new and valuable facts regard-
ing the Latin writers have been supplied through the kindness
of Prof. A. Souter.
i. Greek I. GREEK WRITERS.
Writers.
(i) Earlier (i) Earlier Period.
ORIGEN (1253). From the list of Origen's works given by
Jerome (Ep. xxxiii.) it appears that Origen wrote a Com-
mentary on i Thess. in 3 books, and on 2 Thess. in i book.
Of these unfortunately only fragments now survive. Jerome
himself (Ep. cxix.) has preserved one relating to i Thess. iv.
15 17 : and from the same source we learn that Theodore
of Heraclea, Apollinaris, and Diodore of Tarsus also com-
mented on i Thess.
CHRYSOSTOM, JOHN (Chrys.). Chrysostoni (f 407) is generally
ranked as the greatest of the early Pauline interpreters, more
particularly on the homiletic side. ' He is at once a true
exegete and a true orator, a combination found in such
perfection perhaps nowhere else' (Swete, Patristic Study,
p. 104). His Homilies on the Thessalonian Epistles appear
to have been preached as episcopal utterances at Constant!-
SELECTED LIST OF COMMENTARIES ciii
nople. They are printed in Migne, P.O. Ixii., and in a
critical edition by F. Field, Oxford, 1855. An English
translation under the editorship of C. M. (Charles Marriott)
was published at Oxford in 1843 * n tne Library of the
Fathers.
THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA (Th. Mops.). Theodore, Bishop of
Mopsuestia (fc. 429), was after the death of Chrysostom
the most influential teacher in the Eastern Church. By his
Nestorian followers he was known as par excellence ' the
Interpreter,' a title which he deserved from his rigid
avoidance of the allegorical method, and constant endeavour
to discover the literal and historical meaning of the Sacred
Writings. The Greek version of his Commentary on the
Pauline Epistles exists only in fragments, preserved in the
Catenae, but a Latin version (sixth century ?) embracing ten
of the Epistles, including i, 2 Thess., is extant. It has been
edited with a valuable Introduction and Notes by Prof.
H. B. Swete (Cambridge, 1880 82).
THEODORET OF CYRRHUS (Thdt.), a third great writer of the
Antiochene school (fc. 457). According to his own state-
ment Theodoret intended his Commentary on the Pauline
Epistles to be little more than an abridgement of the works
of Chrysostom and Theodore, whom he describes as TOVS rfjs
otKOD/Aci/?;? <<o(7T?7|oas. But he has done his work with such
' appreciation, terseness of expression, and good sense ' that,
according to Bishop Lightfoot (Gal. w p. 230), 'if the absence
of faults were a just standard of merit' his Commentaries
'would deserve the first place.' The Commentary on
i, 2 Thess. will be found in vol. v. of the complete edition
of Theodoret's works by J. L. Schulze, Halle, 1769 74.
It was also edited by C. Marriott, Oxford, 1870.
(2) Later Period. (j) Later
Period.
OECUMENIUS (Oecum.), Bishop of Tricca in Thessaly. His date
is uncertain, but Turner (I.e. p. 523) places the Catena on
St Paul as in all probability within the limits 560 640.
The original Catena draws largely from Chrysostom, while
later recensions embody copious extracts from Photius,
Patriarch of Constantinople (c. 820 c. 891). Printed in
Migne, P. G. cxviii. cxix.
THEOPHYLACT (Thphl.), Archbishop of Achridia (Ochrida) in
Bulgaria, c. 1075. His Commentary on the Pauline Epistles
follows Chrysostom in the main, but with 'a certain inde-
pendence': ed. A. Lindsell, London, 1636.
EUTHYMIUS ZIGABENUS (Euth. Zig.), a younger contemporary of
Theophylact, c. 1115. Ed. Nicolas Kalogeras, late Arch-
bishop of Patras, Athens, 1887.
civ THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
ii. Latin II. LATIN WRITERS 1 .
Writers.
AMBROSIASTER (Ambrstr. or Ambst.). Regarding the identity of
the so-called 'Ambrosiaster ' there has been much difference
of opinion, but the view most widely held in the present day
is one suggested by the French scholar Dom Morin of
Maredsous, Belgium, in the Revue d'Histoire et de Littera-
ture religieuses for 1899, pp. 97 121, that he was Isaac,
a converted Jew, who lived in Rome during the pontificate
of Damasus (366 384)*. His Commentary on the Pauline
Epistles, from which a complete Old Latin text can be
derived, has been pronounced by Jiilicher (article 'Ambrosi-
aster' in Pauly-Wissowa's fteal-Encyclopadie) to be the best
on St Paul's Epistles prior to the Reformation, and Harnack
(Sitzungsberichte der Kgl. Preuss. Akad. der Wissenschaften,
1903, p. 212) regards it and the Quaestiones Veteris et
Novi Testamenti, now assigned to 'Ambrosiaster,' though
printed amongst the works of St Augustine (e.g. Migne,
P.L. xxxv.), as the greatest literary product of the Latin
Church between Cyprian and Jerome. For editions see the
note on p. xcix.
PELAGIUS (Pelag.). Amongst the works of Jerome (Migne,
P.L. xxx. p. 670 ff.) there is a series of commentaries on
the Pauline Epistles, which contain some of the quotations
which Augustine and Marius Mercator, his contemporaries,
make from a commentary of Pelagius (fc. 440). The older
scholars were divided in opinion on the subject of the Pseudo-
Jerome commentary. Some regarded it as the work of
Pelagius; others as the commentary of Pelagius after it
had been expurgated by Cassiodorus and his pupils 3 . A
few years ago Prof. Zimmer of Berlin discovered at St Gall
what is a nearer approach to the original commentary than
Pseudo-Jerome, but even this form is interpolated. Ac-
cording to Souter (The Commentary of Pelagius on the
Epistles of Paul [London, 1907] p. 15 ff.) the anonymous
MS. cxix. of the Grand Ducal Library at Karlsruhe (saec. ix)
is the only pure copy of Pelagius extant, the Pseudo-Jerome
commentary being an expansion of the original Pelagius on
the longer epistles. Pending the appearance of his edition,
1 The most valuable guide to Latin by later critics.
commentators 011 the Pauline Epistles 3 This latter view must be given
down to the time of Luther is Denifle's up, as Pseudo-Jerome contains many
Luther und Luthertum, Erster Band Pelagian traces : further, Turner has
(n Abt.), Quellenbelege (Mainz, 1905). suggested (J.H.S.iv. (1902 3) p. 141),
2 The later view of Morin (Revue and Souter has proved (The Com-
Benedictine, 1903, pp. 113 131) that mentary of Pelagius (Proceedings of
he was Decimius Hilarianus Hilarius, British Academy, vol. ii. p. 20) that
a layman and proconsul, supported, we possess Cassiodorus' revision under
with caution, by Souter, Study of Am- the name of Primasius (Migne, P.L.
brosiaster, p. 183 ff., has been rejected Ixviii.).
SELECTED LIST OF COMMENTARIES cv
the student is recommended to correct the corrupt text of
Migne by the help of the collation of the St Gall MS. in
Zimmer's Pelagius in Irland (Berlin, 1901).
III. REFORMATION PERIOD. m. Reform-
ation
(1) Protestant Writers. Period.
ERASMUS, DESIDERIUS (t 1536) issued his first edition of the testant
Greek N.T. (ap. lo. Frobenium) at Basle in 1516. It was Writers,
accompanied by a new Latin translation and annotations.
The more popular Paraphrasis in Epp. Pauli omnes appeared
a few years later.
CALVIN, JOHN (f 1564), ' the greatest of the commentators of the
Reformation' (SH. p. ciii.). His Commentarii in omnes
epistolas Pauli Apostoli was first published at Strassburg in
1539. The numerous citations in the present work are taken
from vol. vi. of Tholuck's complete edition of the N.T.
Commentaries (Berlin, no date).
BEZA, THEODORE (f 1605). Beza's first edition of the Greek
N.T. with translation and annotations was published by
H. Stephanus in 1565 (sine loco), and in 1642 a new edition
'ad quartam (1598) conformata' was issued from Daniel's
Press at Cambridge. The Bible Society's convenient reprint
(Berlin, 1905) of this Cambridge edition has been followed
here.
(2) Roman Catholic Writers. (2) Roman
Catholic
ESTIUS, W. (Est.), Provost and Chancellor of Douay (fi6i3). Writers.
His In omnes beati Pauli... Epistolas commentaria were
published after his death (Douay, 1614 16, new ed. Paris,
1672 76). They form 'a valuable exposition of the Epistles
in the Augustinian spirit' (Reuss).
CORNELIUS A LAPIDE (f 1637). Commentaria in... omnes d. Pauli
epistolas. Antwerp, 1635.
GROTIUS, H. (De Groot, f 1645), Dutch statesman and theologian.
His Annotationes on the whole Bible were first published in
his Opp. theol. (Basle, 1732). The Ann. in N.T. appeared
separately, Paris, 1641. See also the Critici Sacri.
IV. POST-REFORMATION PERIOD. iv. Post-
Reforma-
BENGEL, J. A. (Beng.) 11752. Gnomon Novi Testament^ Ed. 3 tion .
adjuv. J. Steudel, London, 1855. Period.
WETSTEIN, J. J. (f 1754). His edition of the Novum Testamentum
Graecum (Amsterdam, 1751 52) is still invaluable for its
large collection of illustrations drawn from Jewish, Greek,
and Latin sources. A new and revised edition is among the
great desiderata for N.T. apparatus.
cvi THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
v. Modern V. MODERN PERIOD.
Period.
It will be convenient to classify the writers of this Period as
(i) German and (2) English, and to arrange the names in each
section in alphabetical, rather than in chronological, order.
(i) Ger- (i) German Writers.
Writers. BORNEMANN, W. : Die Thessalonicherbriefe in the new edition of
Meyer's Kommentar (Go'ttingen, 1894) the fullest modern
Commentary on the Epistles, and a great storehouse of
materials for all subsequent editors. It has not been trans-
lated into English.
DE WETTE, W. M. L.: Briefe an die Thessalonicher, 3 te Aufl.
von "W. Moeller in Exeg. Handb. zum N. T. n. iii. Leipzig,
1864.
GOEBEL, SIEGFRIED : Die Briefe P. an d. Thess. in Neutest.
Schriften, i. pp. i 37. 2 te Aufl. Gotha, 1897. Brief Notes.
HOFMANN, J. C. K. von : Thessalonicherbriefe in Die heilige
Schrift Neuen Testaments, i. Nordlingen, 1869.
KOCH, A.: Commentar iiber d. ersten Brief d. Apostels Paulus an
d. Thessalonicher. Berlin, 1849.
LUNEMANN, G. : Die Briefe an d. Thessalonicher in Meyer's
Kommentar. Engl. Tr. by Dr P. J. Gloag from the 3rd
German edition. Edinburgh, 1880.
PELT, L. : Epistolae Pauli Apostoli ad Thessalonicenses. Griefs-
wald, 1830. Rich in patristic references.
SCHMIDT, P.: Der erste Thessalonicherbrief. Berlin, 1885. A
small book of 128 pages, but containing, in addition to a
textual commentary, helpful discussions on the language and
historical situation of the Epistle, and an excursus on 2 Thess.,
intended to show that it had been subject to interpolation.
SCHMIEDEL, P. W.: Die Brieje an die Thessalonicher in the
Hand-Commentar zum N.T. n. i. Freiburg im B., 1891.
A marvel of condensation, especially in the very useful
Introductions. The authenticity of 2 Thess. is denied.
SCHOTT, H. A.: Epistolae Pauli ad Thessalonicenses et Galatas.
Leipzig, 1834.
WEISS, BERNARD : Die Paulinische Briefe, 2 te Aufl. Leipzig,
1902. A revised Text with brief but suggestive Notes.
WOHLENBERG, G. : Der erste und zweite Thessalonicherbrief in
Zahn's Kommentar zum N.T. Leipzig, 1903. The most
recent German commentary of importance on the Epistles.
The general line of thought is brought out clearly, and there
SELECTED LIST OF COMMENTARIES evil
is much valuable lexical material contained in the footnotes,
but the Introduction is very brief, and the question of
authenticity is practically ignored altogether.
The German translations of Luther (from Theile and
Stier's N. T. Tetraglottoii) and Weizsacker (Das neue Testa-
ment iibersetzt, 9 te Aufl. Tubingen, 1900) have also been
frequently cited.
It is understood that Prof, von Dobschiitz of Strassburg
is preparing still another edition of the Epistles for Meyer's
Kommentar.
(2) English Writers. (2) Eng-
lish
ALFORD, H. (All) : The Greek Testament, iii. 2nd ed. London, Writers.
1857-
DRUMMOND, JAMES : The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the
Thessalonians in International Handbooks to the N. T. ii.
New York, 1899.
EADIE, JOHN : A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Epistles
of Paul to the Thessalonians. London, 1877.
ELLICOTT, C. J. : St Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians, 4th ed.
London, 1880. Rich in lexical and grammatical material,
with a revised translation and many interesting citations
from the old English Versions. There is practically no
Introduction.
FINDLAY, G. G. : The Epistles to the Thessalonians in the Cambridge
Bible for Schools and Colleges, 1891, and more recently (1904)
in the Cambridge Greek Testament. It is only the latter
book, which is substantially a new work, that has been cited
in the present volume. The Commentary is marked by the
writer's well-known qualities as an expositor careful attention
to the text combined with great theological suggestiveness
and, within the limits imposed by the Series to which it
belongs, this is probably the most convenient edition of the
Epistles for students.
JOWETT, B. : The Epistles of St Paul to the Thessalonians,
Galatians, Romans. 2nd ed. London, 1859. Contains
various striking Essays on such subjects as * Evils in the
Church of the Apostolical Age,' ' On the Belief in the Coming
of Christ in the Apostolical Age,' and * On the Man of Sin.'
LIGHTFOOT, J. B. (Lft.): The Notes on i, 2 Thess. occupy
pp. i 136 of Bishop Lightfoot's posthumously published
Notes on Epistles of tit Paul (London, 1895), and combined
with the same writer's art. * Thessalonians, Epistles to the '
in Smith's D. B. and his Essays on * The Churches of Mace-
donia ' and ' The Church of Thessalonica ' in Biblical Essays
(London, 1893) p. 235 flf. make up a mass of invaluable
material relating to the Epistles, to which subsequent workers
find it difficult sufficiently to express their indebtedness.
cviii THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
VAUGHAN, C. J. : The First Epistle to the Thessalonians. Cam-
bridge, 1865. The first part of an Edition (apparently
never carried further) of the Pauline Epistles for English
readers, containing a literal new translation and short notes.
WORDSWORTH, C. : The New Testament in the original Greek,
Part iii. London, 1859.
In addition to the foregoing, Commentaries on the Epistles
have been contributed by Archbishop Alexander to The
Speaker's Commentary (London, 1881), by Canon A. J. Mason
to Bishop Ellicott's New Testament Commentary for English
Readers (London, no date), by Principal Marcus Dods to
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament (Edin-
burgh, 1882), by Dr P. J. Gloag to The Pulpit Commentary
(London, 1887), and by Dr W. F. Adeney to The Century
Bible (Edinburgh, no date).
In his First and Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
(London, 1899 and 1900) the Rev. G. W. Garrod has
provided careful Analyses of the Epistles with brief Notes
for the special use of students in the Church Training
Colleges.
Amongst more recent homiletical literature dealing with
the Epistles, mention may be made of Dr- John Lillie's
Lectures on the Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians (Edin-
burgh, 1863), of Dr John Hutchison's Lectures on the
Epistles to the Thessalonians (Edinburgh, 1884), an interesting
series of discourses founded on a careful exegesis of the
text, and of Prof. Denney's volume in The Expositor's Bible
(London, 1892), where the theological side of the Epistles
is brought out with great clearness and suggestiveness.
A volume on the Epistles by Professor Frame, of Union
Theological Seminary, JSTew York, is announced by Messrs
T. and T. Clark in connexion with the International Critical
Commentary.
vi. Special VI. SPECIAL STUDIES.
Studies.
Studies or Monographs dealing with particular points in the
Epistles are referred to under the relative sections, but the titles
and aims of a few of the more important may be collected here.
ASKWITH, E. H. : An Introduction to the Thessalonian Epistles.
London, 1892. A defence of their genuineness with a new
view of the eschatology of 2 Thess.
BRUNIG, W. : Die Sprachform des zweiten Tliessalonicherbriefes.
Naumburg a. S., 1903. Aims at showing its truly Pauline
character.
KLOPPER, A.: Der zrveite Brief an die Thessalonicher (from
Theol. Studien und Skizzen aus Ostpreusseri). Konigsberg,
1889. A somewhat discursive plea for the Pauline authorship.
SELECTED LIST OF COMMENTARIES cix
SODEN, H. VON : Der erste Thessalonicherbrief in SK. t 1885,
p. 26 3ff. Contains a full defence of the authenticity of the
Epistle.
SPITTA, F. : Der zweite Brief an die Thessalonicher in Zur
Geschichte und Litteratur des Urchristentums, i. p. logff.
(Gottingen, 1893). Suggests that Paul left the actual com-
position of the Epistle to Timothy, who made use in his work
of a Jewish apocalypse of the time of Caligula.
VIES, A. B. VAN DER : De beiden brieven aan de Thessalonicensen,
historisch-kritisch onderzoek naar hunnen oorsprung. Leiden,
1865.
WESTRIK, T. F. : De echtheid van den tweeden brief aan de Thes-
salonicensen. Utrecht, 1879. 'Especially useful on the
question of style' (Moffatt). The present writer has been
unable to make any use of either of the foregoing.
WREDE, W. : Die Echtheit des zweiten Thessalonicherbriefs (in
Texte und Untersuchungen, N.F. ix. 2), Leipzig, 1903.
A strong attack on the Epistle's authenticity, principally on
the ground of its literary dependence on i Thess.
ZIMMER, F. : Der Text der Thessalonicherbrief e. Quedlinburg,
1893. A revised Text with Critical Apparatus, and discussion
of the characteristics of the various authorities.
ZIMMER, F. : i Thess. ii. 3 8 erklart in Theologische Studien
B. Weiss dargebracht, p. 248 ff. Gottingen, 1897. Designed
to show the rich results of a thoroughgoing exegesis applied
to the Epistles.
OYTCOC ICTAI H n<\poycfA TOY Y'OY TOY AN0pconoY.
ovv TrpocrKapTfpfOfjLfv rrj f\7rt8i fjpwv xat rw appaftatvi TTJS
' OS (TTl XptOTOS I^CTOl'S'.
POLYCABP.
OTI OYK eGero HMAC 6 6eoc eic opfHN AAA<^ eic nepinoiHCiN
C60THpfAC Al<\ TOY KYP^OY HMcTN 'IHCOY
I
EPOS 0ESSAAONIKEIS A
M. THESS.
ANALYSIS.
I. ADDRESS AND GREETING, i. i.
II. HISTORICAL AND PERSONAL, i. 2 iii. 13.
1. THANKSGIVING FOR THE GOOD ESTATE OP THE THESSA-
LONIAN CHURCH, i. 2 10.
2. GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AT
THESSALONICA. ii. i 12.
3. RENEWED THANKSGIVING FOR THE SUCCESS ATTENDING THE
APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AT THESSALONICA. ii. 13 16.
4. SUBSEQUENT RELATION OF THE APOSTLES TO THE THESSA-
LONIAN CHURCH, ii. 17 iii. 10.
(1) Their Desire to revisit Thessalonica and its Cause,
ii. 17 20.
(2) The Mission and Return of Timothy, iii. i 10.
5. PRAYER, iii. n 13.
III. HORTATORY AND DOCTRINAL, iv. i v. 24.
1. LESSONS IN CHRISTIAN MORALS, iv. i 12.
(1) General Exhortation, iv. i, 2.
(2) Warning against Impurity, iv. 3 8.
(3) Encouragement in Brotherly Love. iv. 9, io a .
(4) Call to Quiet Work. iv. io b 12.
2. TEACHING CONCERNING THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP AND THE
ADVENT OF CHRIST, iv. 13 18.
3. TEACHING CONCERNING THE SUDDENNESS OF THE ADVENT
AND THE NEED OF WATCHFULNESS, v. i n.
4. VARIOUS PRECEPTS WITH REGARD TO CHURCH LIFE AND
HOLY LIVING, v. 12 22.
5. PRAYER, v. 23, 24.
IY. CONCLUDING INJUNCTIONS AND BENEDICTION.
v. 25 28.
HPOS OESSAAONIKEIS A
n
AYAOE Kal CiXovavos Kai Ti/u66eos TV 6KK\rj(ria
iKewv eV 6ew Trarpl Kal Kvpico 'Irjcrov
vfjuv Kal
TITLE. The heading IIPO2 0E22A-
AONIKEI2 (B* -NEIK-) A' is found in
KABK 17 Go Boh. I) prefixes APXE-
TAI, while in G this is amplified to
APXETAI IIPO2 0E22AAONIKAIOY2
A' HPQTH EHI2TOAH. In the Can.
Murat. the Epistle is referred to as
* ad tensaolenecinsis.' Beza, to whom,
along with the Elzevir editions, the
received forms of the titles of the
Pauline Epistles are due, has ' Pauli
Apostoli Epistola Prima ad THESSA-
LON1CENSES.'
I. i. ADDRESS AND GREETING,
i. 'Paul and Silvan us and Timothy
to the assembly of the Thessalonians
who acknowledge God as Father and
Jesus Christ as Lord, and are gathered
together in this twofold Name, we
send you the new greeting with the
old. Grace, the source of all good, be
unto yon, and with grace Peace, the
crown of all blessings.'
I. IlavXos K. 2i\ovavos K. Ti/Aotfeos]
For the combination of names see Intr.
p. xxxiv f. In neither of the Thessa-
lonian Epp. nor in the Ep. to the
Philippians does St Paul add, as else-
where, his official title aVooroAor,
doubtless owing to the special footing
of friendship on which he stood to the
Macedonian Churches, and to the fact
that his authority had never been
seriously questioned among them.
2i\ovav6s (2iA/3ai/6s DG, as regularly
in the papyri), the Gentile by-name of
the 2iXa? (for accent, WSchm. p. 74)
of Ac. xv. 22 xviii. 5 (see Deissmann
J3S. p. 315 n. 2 ), and the form always
used by St Paul, is here mentioned
before Timothy, both because he was
already known as 'a chief man among
the brethren' (Ac. xv. 22, cf. v. 32),
and because he had taken a more
prominent part in the founding of the
Thessalonian Church (Ac. xvii. 4, 10).
After St Paul's departure from
Corinth (Ac. xviii. 18) Silvanus does
not again appear in connexion with
him. He is generally identified with
the Silvanus of i Pet. v. 12. For an
attempt to distinguish the Pauline
Silvanus from the Jerusalem Silas, see
Weizsacker . Ap. Zeitalter* p. 256
(Engl. Tr. i. p. 292 f.), and as against
this Zahn Einl. in d. N.T. i. p. 148 ff.
In the traditional lists of the k Seventy/
compiled by Ps. -Dorotheas, Silas and
Silvanus appear as distinct indivi-
duals, the former as Bishop of Corinth,
the latter as Bishop of Thessalonica
(Fabric. Lux Enang. p. 117).
Timothy joined St Paul on his
second missionary journey at Lystra
(Ac. xvi. i ff.), and though he is not
specially mentioned either at Philippi
(Ac. xvi. 19), or at Thessalonica
(Ac. xvii. 4, 10), this was probably
due to his subordinate position at
i 2
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
[I
the time. We read of him as left
behind at Beroea (Ac. xvii. 14).
Apparently he rejoined St Paul at
Athens (i Thess. iii. i), and after a
special mission to Thessalonica fol-
lowed him to Corinth (Ac. xviii. 5): see
further Intr. p. xxx. With occasional
short interruptions he was the Apo-
stle's constant companion to the end of
his life, and is associated with him in
the opening of six of his Epp. (i, 2
Thess., 2 Cor., Phil., Col., Philemon),
and mentioned in the concluding
chapters of other two (Rom., i Cor.) :
cf. also Heb. xiii. 23. Two Epp. were
addressed specially to him. For the
light in which he was regarded by St
Paul see the note on iii. 2.
rf/ KK\r)(r{q Qr(ra\oviK(ov] a form
of address peculiar to these Epp. (cf.
II. i. i), and in which the thought of
the local gathering of believers is still
prominent. In the Corinthian Epp.
St Paul prefers to connect the Ecclesia
with the name of the place where it is
situated T. cKK\r)(riq r. Ocov T. ovcrrj ev
Kopiv6a> (i Cor. i. 2, 2 Cor. i. i, cf. Gal.
i. 2 T. eKK\r)criaiy T. FaXariay), as if he
were thinking rather of the one Church
of Christ as it was represented there
in a particular spot. In the addresses
of the Epp. of the Captivity all mention
of the Ecclesia is dropped, and some
such general designations as naa-i T.
ayiois (Phil.) or r. ay LOIS K. mfrrols
(Eph., Col.) are substituted : cf. how-
ever Philem. 2. For the Biblical
history of the word eV^o-ia, which
meant originally any public assembly
of citizens summoned by a herald, see
especially Hort The Christian Ecclesia
(1898) p ; i ff.
ev #eo> Trarpi KrX.] a defining clause
connected with ex/cX^o-ia, the absence
of any uniting art. (T#) helping to give
more unity to the conception (WM.
p. 169 f.). In themselves the words
bring out the truly Christian origin
and character of the Ecclesia spoken
of as compared with the many KK\rj-
o-t'at, religious and civil, which existed
at the time at Thessalonica. Grot. :
'quae exstitit, id agente Deo Patre
et Christo'; Calv. : 'non alibi quae-
rendam esse Ecclesiam, nisi ubi praeest
Deus, ubi Christus regnat.'
On the formula deos norr/p in the
salutations of the N.T. Epp. see Hort's
note on i Pet. i. 2, and on the union
here of $e<5 Trarpi' and Kvp. 'I^tr. Xp.
under a common vinculum (ev) see
Intr. p. Ixvi.
The whole phrase is an expanded
form of the characteristic Pauline
formula eV Xprr<u 'Irjcrov by which, as
Deissmann has shown (Die neutesta-
mentliche Formel ' in Christo Jesu,'
Marburg 1892), the Apostle empha-
sizes that all Christians are locally
united 'within the pneumatic body
of Christ,' in so far as they together
build up His body.
The different titles applied to the
Lord throughout the Epp. are dis-
cussed in Add. Note D.
^apts vfjiiv K. flprjvT)^ a greeting
doubtless suggested by the union of
the ordinary Gk. and Heb. forms of
salutation (cf. 2 Mace. i. i), though
both are deepened and spiritual-
ized. Thus x a>i P flv ( c *- Ac. xv - 2 3
xxiii. 26, Jas. i. i) now gives place to
Xopts, a word which, without losing
sight of the Hellenic charm and joy
associated with the older formula, is
the regular Pauline expression for the
Divine favour as shown in all its free-
ness and universality ; while eipjvrj, so
far from being a mere phrase of social
intercourse (cf. Judg. xix. 20, 2 Esdr.
iv. 17), is not even confined to its
general O.T. sense of harmony restored
between God and man (e.g. Num. vi.
26), but has definitely in view that
harmony as secured through the per-
son and the work of Christ (cf. Jo.
xiv. 27). On the varied meanings of
\apts in the Biblical writings see
especially Robinson Eph. p. 221 ff., and
for the corresponding growth in the
sense of elpjvrj see SH. p. 15 f.
This same form of greeting is found
in all the Pauline Epp. except i, 2
Tim. where eXeos is added (cf. 2 Jo. 3).
I 2]
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
TCO
6ea
TrvTore irep TrvTiav
fjiveav Troiov/utevoi 67ri TWV Trpocrev^cov
It occurs also in i, 2 Pet. In Jas. we
have the simple x a ip fiv > an d i n Jude
\eos K. (Iprjvr) K. ayairrj. On St Paul's
use of current epistolary phrases see
Add. Note A, and for an elaborate
discussion on the Apostolic Greeting
see F. Zimmer in Luthardt's Zeit-
schrift 1886 p. 4436.
It will be noticed that the T.R.
clause OTTO 6eov narpos KT\. is omitted
by WH. in accordance with BG 47 73.
Its insertion (KAC (?) DKLP) is clearly
due to the desire to assimilate the
shorter reading to the later Pauline
practice: cf. II. i. 2.
I. 2 III. 13. HISTORICAL AND
PERSONAL.
I. 2 10. THANKSGIVING FOR THE
GOOD ESTATE OF THE THESSA-
LONIAN CHURCH.
The Address is followed by the
customary Thanksgiving, which is
found in all the Pauline Epp. except
Gal. and the Pastorals (cf. however
2 Tim. i. 3). At the same time it is again
clear that we have here no mere con-
ventional formula, nor even a captatio
benevolentiae&& in the ancient speeches
intended to win over the readers, but
rather an earnest effort on the part of
the writers to raise the thoughts of
their converts to the God on whom
they are wholly dependent, and in
consequence to rouse them to fresh
efforts. The warmth of the thanks-
giving on the present occasion, which
is most nearly paralleled by Phil. i.
3 ff., is proved by its being a ; constant'
attitude (rrai/rore), and by its including
* all,' irrespective of position or spiri-
tual progress (Trepl navroiv vfjioov).
25. ' We thank the one God at
all times for you all, making mention
of you unceasingly when we are en-
gaged in prayer. And indeed we have
good cause to do so, for the thought
of your Christian life is for us a con-
stant fragrant memory as we recall
how your faith proves itself in active
work, and your love spends itself in
toilsome service for others, and your
hope is directed in all patience and
perseverance to the time when Christ
shall be revealed. Nor is this all, but,
Brothers beloved by God, who know
better than we the true character of
your election to Christian privileges ?
Its reality was proved by the power
beyond mere words with which our
preaching came home to you preach-
ing, moreover, which we felt to be
inspired by the Divine ardour of the
Holy Spirit, and by a perfect con-
viction on our part of the truth of our
message, as indeed you yourselves
know from the manner of men we
proved ourselves to be for your sakes.'
2. Eiv^apioToO/iei/ KrA.] Eu^apioreu',
originally ' do a good turn to/ in the
sense of expressing gratitude is con-
fined to late writers ('pro gratias
agere ante Polybium usurpavit nemo '
Lob. Phryn. p. 18). It is very com-
mon in the papyri, e.g. P.Amh. 133,
2 ff. (ii./A.D.) Trpo Ttov o\(ov aa-7rao/ucu
(re KOI evxapicrrat (rot on eS^Aaxras /ioi
rfjv vyeiav aov. In mod. Gk. it appears
in the form vKapiord).
For fv%. TravTore cf. II. i. 3, ii. 13,
i Cor. i. 4, Eph. v. 20, Phil. i. 3 f., and
for the force of the art. before 6e.w see
Intr. p. Ixiv.
fjiveiav Troiovfievoi *rA.] the first of
three conditional or modal clauses
describing the nature of the perpetual
thanksgiving. For /j.vciav Trotelo-tfot in
the sense of 'make mention of cf.
Rom. i. 9, Eph. i. 16, Philem. 4, and
for an interesting instance of its use in
the papyri in connexion with prayer,
see B. G. U. 632, 5 ff. (ii./A.D.) pvlav a-ov
Trapa rois [eV]#aSe 6tois
'.... The
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 3
3 [JLvriiJLOvevovTes V/ULCOV TOV
KOTTOV
Kat
phrase occurs frequently in the in-
scriptions, e.g. Magn. go, i6f. (ii./B.c.)
[o d^rjfjLos (paivrjTai \ivtiav iroiovpfvos
TU>v...KptvdvT<i)v rds KpiWft]?. In the
passage before us the customary gen.
(v/zeSi/) is not inserted after pveiav,
probably on account of the imme-
diately preceding Trepl iravr^v v/xeoi/:
cf. Eph. i. 1 6.
In the N.T. irpoo-cvxij, when refer-
ring to the act of prayer, is used only
of prayer to God, and is a more general
term than 6V?7o-is-. The prep, eni re-
tains here a slightly local sense 'at,'
' when engaged in,' cf. Rom. i. 10. For
a somewhat similar use of els see the
ancient Christian letter reprinted in
P.Heid. 6, n f. (IV./A.D.) Iva V.VT)-
fj.ov[f]vrjs pot fls ras dyias ffov fu^ds.
aSiaXeiTrroos] The exact connexion
of aStaXetWtts is disputed. WH.
and many modern editors (Tisch.,
Weiss, Nestle) follow Chrys. and
the Gk. commentators in referring
it to the following pvrjiJLovfvovTcs, but
on the analogy of Rom. i. 9 (cf. 2 Tim.
i. 3) it is perhaps better taken as
qualifying fiv. iroiovfj.. (Syr., Vg.), a con-
nexion that is further supported by
the position of corresponding phrases
in the papyri, e.g. P.Lond. i. 42, 5f.
(ii./B.C.) 01 fv ouco> TrdvTfs <rov SianavTos
fjivfiav Troiovpevoi. The word itself
which is confined to late Gk. (e.g.
Polyb. ix. 3. 8) is used in the N.T. only
by St Paul, and always in connexion
with prayer or thanksgiving (ii. 13,
v. 17, Rom. i. 9; cf. Ign. Eph. x. v-n-fp
3. fjivrinovevovTcs] l remembering '
(Vg.memores, Estmemoria recolentes]
in accordance with the general N.T.
usage of the verb when construed with
the gen., cf. Lk. xvii. 32, Ac. xx. 35,
Gal. ii. 10. When construed with the
ace. as in ii. 9, Mt. xvi. 9, 2 Tim. ii. 8,
Rev. xviii. 5, it is rather ' hold in re-
TfJS 7TlCTT6(i)S KCCl TOV
VTTOjJLOvris Trjs e\7T/So5 TOV
membrance.' In Heb. xi. 22 with nepi
it is = 'make mention of,' perhaps also
in the same sense with the simple gen.
in v. 15 (see Westcott ad /.).
This second participial clause intro-
duces us to the first mention of the
famous Pauline triad of graces, viewed
however not in themselves but in their
results, the gen. in each case being
subjective, so that the meaning is
practically, ' remembering how your
faith works, and your love toils, and
your hope endures' (cf. Blass, p. 96).
The whole is thus a 'brevis Christian-
ismi veri definitio' (Calv.), while the
order in which the graces are here
mentioned is not only in itself the
natural order (cf. v. 8 and Col. i. 4, 5
with Lft.'s note, ' Faith rests on the
past ; love works in the present ; hope
looks to the future'), but assigns
to hope the prominence we would
expect in an Ep. devoted so largely
to eschatological teaching : cf. for the
same order of results Rev. ii. 2 oi8a
ra cpya (TO v, KOL TOV KOTTOV /ecu TTJV
V7TO[J.OVT)V (TOV.
vpwv] placed first for emphasis and
to be repeated with each of the three
clauses.
T. fpyov T. 7riWfa>?] not to be limited
to any particular act of faith, but com-
prehending the whole Christian life-
work, as it is ruled and energized by
faith, cf. II. i. ii, Gal. v. 6 (TTIO-TIS 81
dydrrrji fUfpyov/j-fvij), Jas. ii. 1 8 ff.
The meaning of TTLO-TIS in the N.T.
and in some Jewish writings is dis-
cussed by SH. p. 31 ff. : see also the
careful note in Lietzmann Romerbrief
p. 24 f. (in Handbuch zum N.T. in.
i, 1906).
KOI T. KOITOV T. dydirrjs] As distin-
guished from epyov, KOTTOS brings out
not only the issue of work, but the cost
associated with it: cf. its use in the
vernacular for 7701/0$-, e.g. B.G. U. 844,
lof. (i./A.D.) KOTTOVS yap /xo[t] nt
1 4] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 7
Kvpiov rifjialv 'Irjcrov Xpi&Tov ejJLTrpoa'Oev TOV 6eov Kal
TrctTpos riiJLtoV) 4 eJSoT9, d$e\(poi fjyaTrrj/uLevoL VTTO [rov]
I 4 TOV om BDGL al
do-QfvovvTfi. It is thus here the la-
borious toil (Grot, molesti labor es)
from which love in its zeal for others
does not shrink ; cf. Rev. ii. 2 f. For
the use made of the word by St Paul
to describe the character of his own
life cf. ii. 9, iii. 5, II. iii. 8, 2 Cor. vi. 5,
xi. 23, 27, and for the corresponding
verb Koinaa> see the note on v. 12.
'AyaTTT/, not found in class, writers,
is one of the great words of the N.T.,
where it is taken over from the LXX.
to describe the new religious- ethical
principle of love that Christianity has
created (cf. SH. p. 374 ff.). The con-
tention however, that it is a word
actually 'born within the bosom of
revealed religion' can no longer be
rigidly maintained : cf. Deissmann US.
p. 198 ff, and see further Ramsay
Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia i.
p. 492, also Exp. T. ix. p. 567 f.
KOI T. VTTO/iOI/T/y T. tAwi'Sos] 'YTTO/AOVTJ,
though not unknown to profane litera-
ture, has also come like dyaTrrj to be
closely associated with a distinctively
Christian virtue. It is more than
passive 'patience' (O.L. patientia)
under trial, and is rather a 'verbum
bellicum' pointing to the heroic
'endurance,' the manly 'constancy'
(Vg. sustinentia), with which the
Christian believer faces the difficul-
ties that beset him in the world : cf.
II. i. 4, iii. 5, Rom. v. 3 f., 2 Cor. vi. 4,
Heb. xii. i, Rev. i. 9; and for a full
discussion of viropovri and its synonyms
see Trench Syn. liii.
r. Kvpiov rjfj.a>v rA.] The sentence
would naturally have finished with
\7ri8os, but in characteristic fashion
St Paul lengthens it out by the addi-
tion of two clauses, both of which are
best taken as dependent on e\7ri8os
alone, rather than on all three sub-
stantives. The first clause sets before
us the true object of hope
77 /i. 'tyo-. Xp. (gen. obj.), in accordance
with the teaching of the whole Ep.
which centres Christian hope in the
thought of the speedy Parousia of
Christ : cf. Col. i. 27 Xptcrros tv v/ui/,
77 (\n\s TT/P Sor?s, and see Intr. p. Ixix f.
The second clause emphasizes the
Divine presence in which this hope
is manifested epTrpoo-Qev T. 6fov K.
irarpos ^pav, words which may be
rendered either * before God and our
Father,' or 'before our God and
Father/ The latter rendering is
preferable, as the art, in itself un-
necessary, is apparently introduced
to bind the two clauses together, and
to connect both with rj/i<5i/ : cf. Gal.
i. 4 (with Lft.'s note), Phil. iy. 20, the
only other places where the exact
phrase occurs.
The strongly affirmatory f^npoo-dev
T. deov KT\. is characteristic of this
Ep., cf. ii. 19 (T. Kvpiov), iii. 9, 13.
For the more usual cvniriov r. 6tov see
Rom. xiv. 22, i Cor. i. 29 al.
4. ei'fiores...] 'having come to
know...,' a third participial clause,
conveying the writers' assured know-
ledge (contrast yvwvat, iii. 5) f ^ ne
Thessalonians' election, and intro-
ducing a description of the signs by
which that knowledge has been
reached, and is still enjoyed.
do"f\(poi Tjya.7rrjp.6voi xrA.] The ordin-
ary address of deA<pot, which is very
common in these Epp., and seems
always to be used with a certain
emphasis attaching to it (Intr. p. xliv),
is here enriched by the addition of
yycnr. VTTO [TOV] deov (cf. II. ii. l^rjyaTT.
VTTO Kvpiov}, a phrase which in this
exact form is not found elsewhere in
the N.T. (cf. Jude i TO?? tv 0e<y rraTpl
rjyaTrrjfjitvois}, but occurs in the LXX.
Sir. xlv. I r]yairr]p.4vov vrro (dirb N)
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
[15
TO evayye\iov
eh v/uias ev \6yu> fjiovov d\\a KO.I ev
ev Trvev/uLctTi dyito KCLI 7r\rjpo(popia 7ro\\fj,
o
OVK
Kcti
crre
v K. dvdpancov : cf. also its use of
Ptolemy in O.G.I.S. go, 4 al. (ii./B.c.
the Rosetta stone) rjyaTrrj^evov vno
To connect vno [TOU]
with r. cK\oyrjv vfj.. as in the A.V. is
inadmissible both on account of the
order of the words, and because in
St Paul's sense any other eKKoyij than
by God is inconceivable.
The use of ddeXcpoi in the N.T. to
denote members of the same religious
community, fellow-Christians, was
probably taken over from Judaism
(Ac. ii. 29, 37, iii. 17 &c.), and from
the practice of the Lord Himself (cf.
Mt. xii. 48, xxiii. 8) ; but it can also
be illustrated from the ordinary
language of the Apostles' time. Thus
in P.Tor. I. i, 20 (ii./s.c.) the members
of a society which had to perform
a part of the ceremony in embalming
bodies are described as aSeX^ol ot e ras
\ciTovpyias tv rais V<piais Trape^o/^ie-
vot, and in P.Par. 42, i &c. (ii./B.c.)
the same designation is applied to
the * fellows' of a religious corporation
established in the Serapeum of
Memphis. See further Kenyon Bri-
tish Museum Papyri i. p. 31, Ramsay
C. and B. i. pp. 96 ff., 630, and for the
evidence of the inscriptions cf. I.G.S.I.
9566.
According to Harnack, the term,
as a mutual designation by Christians
of one another, fell into general disuse
in the course of the 3rd cent., while,
as applied by ecclesiastics to the
laity, it came to be confined (much
as it now is) to sermons (Mission
und Ausbreitung des Christentums
(1902), pp. 291, 303 (Engl. Tr. ii. pp.
9 f, 3 if.)).
T. K\oyrjv v/zeoi/] There is nothing
in the passage to enable us to decide
whether this K\oyij is to be carried
back to God's eternal decree (cf. Eph.
i. 4), or whether it refers only to the
actual admission of the Thessalonians
into the Church. As however it is
clearly stated to be a matter of the
writers' own knowledge (etSdrey), the
thought of the historical call must
certainly be included. Th. Mops. :
'electi estis (hoc est, quemadmodum
ad fidem accessistis).'
'KnXoyrj itself, which is not found
in the LXX. (cf. however Aq. Isa. xxii.
7, Sm., Th. Isa. xxxvii. 24, and for
the verb Isa. xlix. 7), occurs elsewhere
in the N.T. six times, and always
with reference to the Divine choice
(Ac. ix. 15, Rom. ix. ii, xi. 5, 7, 28,
2 Pet. i. 10). For an apparent in-
stance of its use with reference to
man's choosing see Pss. Sol. ix. 7 rd
fpya yfjuZv cv K\oyfj KOI ct-ovo-iq. rrs
faxfa W^ v (with Rylo and James'
note). The corresponding verb e'icA'-
yeo-dai is found in the Pauline Epp.
only i Cor. i. 27 f., Eph. i. 4.
5. on] i how that,' the demonstra-
tive OTI introducing a description not
of the ground of the Thessalonians'
election, but of the signs by which it
was known to the Apostles these
being found (i) in the power and
assurance with which they themselves
had been enabled to preach at Thessa-
lonica (v. 5), and (2) in the eagerness
and joy fulness with which the Thessa-
lonians had believed (v. 6). For this
use of on with cldevai cf. ii. i, Rom.
xiii. ii, i Cor. xvi. 15, 2 Cor. xii. 3f.
TO cvay yehiov yp.a>v] i.e. ' the gospel
which we preach,' with reference to
the contents of the Apostles' message
rather than to the act of declaring it,
for though the Apostles might be the
bearers of the message (ii. 4, 9, II. ii.
14), in its origin it was God's (ii. 2, 8,
9), and in its substance Christ's (iii. 2,
II. i. 8). In this connexion the use of
16] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
clot eyevr'idtiiuev T VIMV Si v/uas' 6 Kai v^els
5 tfuv KACP 17 31 67** al Boh: iv vfj.lv BDGKL aZ pier dr 2 g Vg Ephr Chr
Thdt Ambst Theod-Mops lat aZ
(for form, WM. p. 102), one of
the characteristic words of the Epp.
(8 times against 13 in the remaining
Pauline Epp. of which two are quota-
tions from the LXX.), is significant as
pointing to a result reached through
the working of an outside force, though
no stress can be laid in this connexion
on the pass, form which in the N.T.,
as in late Gk. generally, is used inter-
changeably with the midd. : cf. e.g.
Eph. iii. 7 with Col. i. 23, 25, and for
the evidence of the inscriptions see
Magn. 105 (ii./B.c.) where yfvrjdrjvai
appears seven times for yeveo-ffat
(Thieme, p. 13). Similarly, in accord-
ance with the tendency in late Gk. to
substitute prepositional phrases for
the simple cases, els v^as can hardly
be taken as equivalent to more than
vp.lv : cf. ii. 9, i Pet. i. 25.
For the history of the word evay-
ye\iov see Add. Note E.
OVK...CV Xoyw ^.nvov KT\.~\ The in-
fluence in which the Gospel came
to the Thessalonians, is now stated
first negatively (OVK *v \6y. n6v.} and
then positively in a series of closely
related substantival clauses, the first
(ev Swa/ift) laying stress on the effec-
tive power with which the Gospel was
brought home to the Thessalonians,
the second and third (ev nvevp.. ay. K.
7T\r]po(p. TroXX^ : note the common pre-
position) on the Divine fervour which
the Spirit had been the means of en-
kindling (cf. Eph. v. 1 8), and of which
' much assurance ' was the character-
istic mark.
For the con trast between \6yos and
Mvapis cf. i Cor. ii. 4, iv. 20, and
for the phrase Tri/eC/xa aytov where
aytov retains its full force as marking
the essential characteristic of the
Spirit spoken of cf. 2 Cor. vi. 6, i Pet.
i. 12 (with Hort's note), and see also
Weber Judische Theologie (1897)
p. 190 ff.
7r\T]po(popia] H\rjpo(popia (not found
in class, writers or LXX.) is here used
in its characteristic N.T. sense of
'full assurance' or 'confidence' ('in
muche certaintie of persuasion ' Gene-
van N.T. 1557), cf. Col. ii. 2, Heb. vi.
II, x. 22; Clem. R. Cor. xlii. 3 pera
7T\T)po(popias TTVCV para s ayiov
The corresponding verb is found
five times in the Pauline Epp., and
elsewhere in the N.T. only in Lk. i. i.
An interesting ex. of its use is afforded
by P.Amh. 66, 42 f. (M./A.D.) in an
account of certain judicial proceed-
ings where the complainer, having
failed to make good his accusation, is
invited by the strategus to bring
forward his witnesses to support it
Iva. Se KOI vvv ir\Tjpo(pop^a(i) eXdeTaxrav
ots ayfts, 'but now also to give you
full satisfaction, let the persons whom
you bring come.' In mod. Gk. TrXrjpo-
(popia denotes simply 'information':
cf. for an approximating use of the
verb in this sense Rom. iv. 21.
KaQws oi'Sare] KaBws (a late form
for Attic KaOd, Lob. Phryn. p. 426,
Rutherford N. P. p. 495) introducing
an epexegesis of what has preceded,
cf. i Cor. i. 6. For the appeal to the
Thessalonians' own knowledge see
Intr. p. xliv.
ofoi f'yfv^0rjij.fv KT\.] l what manner
of men we proved ourselves to you
for your sakes' ofoi pointing to the
spiritual power of the preachers, and
81 vnas (Vg. propter vos, Beza vestri
causd) bringing out the interest and
advantage of those for whom, accord-
ing to God's purpose, that power was
exercised (cf. P.Grenf. i. 15,9 f. (ii./B.c.)
10 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
Kai TOV Kvpiou, %^dfj.evoi TOV Xoyov iv
[I 7
7ro\\rj
yov,
<yeve(r6ai
a 8ta <re [{SfftorjOrjue^vai). For
see above, and for the
general thought cf. 2 Cor. iv. 715.
The omission of ev before v^iiv (see
crit note) may have been due to the
influence of -&7/i>, while its retention
(WH. mg.) is further favoured by the
antithetical 81 vfj-as : see Findlay's crit.
note where iii. 7, iv. 14, 2 Cor. i. 11,
20, iii. 1 8, Rom. i. 17 are cited for the
like Pauline play upon prepositions.
6, 7. 'As regards yourselves fur-
ther, you on your own part also gave
proof of your election by showing
yourselves imitators of us yes, and
not of us only, but of the Lord. We
refer more particularly to your atti-
tude towards the Word, which was
marked by a deep inward joy notwith-
standing much outward affliction. So
unmistakably indeed did you exhibit
this spirit that you became an en-
sample to all Christian believers both
in Macedonia and in Achaia.'
6. Kal i/fj.els p.ifjLr)Tai KT\.] A second
proof of the Thessalonians' e/cXoy^',
which, instead of being thrown into
a second subordinate clause depen-
dent on cidorcr, is stated in a separate
sentence. 'Y/*eIs is emphatic, 'You on
your part,' while the periphrasis with
cyevjdrjTc again lays stress on the
moral responsibility of those spoken
of (cf. Gildersleeve Syntax 61, 141).
Mitral ' imitators' (R.V.) rather than
'followers' (A.V. and all previous Eiigl.
versions) : cf. ii. 14; i Cor. iv. 16, xi. i,
Eph. v. i, Heb. vi. 12, the only other
places where the word is found in
the N.T., and see also Xen. Mem. i.
6. 3 ot diddcTKaXoi TOVS fj.adr}Tas fJ,tfj.r)Tas
favTtHv d7ro8iKvvovo~iv (cited by Koch).
For the corresponding verb see II. iii.
7, 9. The compound 0-vvfj.ip.rjTijs is
found in Phil. iii. 17.
K. TOV KvpLov] Ambrstr. ' ipsius-
Domini} Beng. : 'Christi, qui Patris
apostolum egit, et verbum de coelo
attulit, et sub adversis docuit' a
clause added to prevent any possible
misunderstanding by showing the real
source of what the Thessalonians were
called upon to imitate: cf. i Cor. xi.
i, Eph. v. i, and for the title TOV
Kvpiov see Add. Note D.
dcgdpcvot TOV \6yov] The special
ground of imitation is now stated,
consisting not only in the ' ready re-
ception' (Vg. excipientes, Calv. am-
plexi estis) of 'the word* but in the
interwoven affliction and joy with
which that reception was accompanied.
For dc'xo/zai see ii. 13 note.
<9Xi>] e\fyis (or 6\tyis, WSchm.
p. 68) like the Lat. tribulatio, is a
good ex. of a word transformed to
meet a special want in the religious
vocabulary. Occurring very rarely in
profane Gk. writers even of a late
period, and then only in the literal
sense of 'pressure,' it is found fre-
quently both in the LXX. and N.T. to
denote the 'affliction,' 'trial,' which is
the true believer's lot in the world ;
cf. Rom. v. 3, viii. 35, xii. 12, 2 Cor.
i. 4. For the existence of these afflic-
tions at Thessalonica cf. iii. 3, 7, II. i.
4 ff. ; and see Intr. p. xxxii.
O. ^apcis nvevfj-aTos ayiov] Ylvev-
gen. of originating cause, 'joy
inspired by, proceeding from the Holy
Spirit': cf. Rom. xiv. 17 xapa ev TTVCV-
p,aTi ayi'w, xv. 13, Gal. v. 22. Thdt. :
iravrwv peyio-TOV TO. ..TrvevfJ.aTiKrjs ydovfjs
For this union of suffering and joy as
marking 'a new aeon' in the world's
history, see for St Paul's own case
2 Cor. vi. 10, Col. i. 24, and for the
Macedonian Churches generally 2 Cor.
viii. i, 2; cf. also i Pet. iv. 13.
Mera with gen. to denote manner
is very frequent in the Koii/y, e.g. P.
Oxy. 292, 5f. (i./A.D.) 8u Trapa/caXco <T
l*fTa Trdvrjs Suj/a/uccos (other exx. in
Kuhring, p. 34).
I 7] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 1 1
VJJLO.S r TV7rov~ [ TTacriv
TricTTevovcriv ev
7 rfaov 60*61767** al d r 2 g Vg Syr (Pesh) Sah (?) Boh (?) Arm Aeth Ephr
Ambst Theod-Mops lat al: ruirovs KACGKLP 37 alplerg Syr (Hard) Chr Thdt al
7. JO-T* yfveo-Qai] The inf. intro-
duced by wore is here consecutive,
and points to a result actually reached
and not merely contemplated (Votaw,
p. 13) this result being further
viewed in its direct dependence upon
the previously- mentioned cause, "ficrre
is found with the ind. with a somewhat
similar force in Jo. iii. 16, Gal. ii. 13,
but as a rule when so construed the
conjunction fas in class. Gk., Jelf
863) does little more than draw
attention to the result as a new fact
without emphasizing its connexion
with what went before : see Moulton
Prolegg. p. 209 f.
TVTTOV] 'an ensample,' the use of the
sing, showing that it is the community
as a whole that is thought of: cf. II.
iii. 9> Didache iv. 1 1 v^ds 8e [of] SoCAoi
VTroTay^aftrde rots Kvpiois v/j.a>v toy Tinrtp
6tov.... The v.l. rv7rouy(WH. mg.) pro-
bably arose from assimilation to v/xas.
In itself TVTTOS (rurrrto) meant origin-
ally the 'mark' of a blow (cf. Jo. xx.
25 r. TVTTOV T. TJfXo)!/), and from being
frequently used to denote the 'stamp'
struck by a die came to be applied to
the 'figure' which a stamp bears, or
more generally to any 'copy' or
'image/ Hence by a natural transi-
tion from effect to cause, it got the
meaning of 'pattern,' 'model,' and
finally of 'type' in the more special
Bibl. sense of a person or event pre-
figuring someone or something in the
future. For the history of the word
and its synonyms see Radford Exp.
v. vi. p. 377 ff, and add the interest-
ing use of the word in the inscriptions
to denote the 'models' in silver of
different parts of the body, presented
as votive offerings to the god through
whose agency those parts had been
healed; see Roberts-Gardner p. 161
with reference to C.I. A. u. 403
. 7ri(TTiiov(riv] 'to all believers,'
the part, with the art. being practi-
cally equivalent to a substantive ; cf.
ii. 10, II. i. 10 (r. TricrreiWo-t), and for
the similar technical use of of -maroL
(i Tim. iv. 12) see Harnack Miss. u.
Ausbr. p. 289 (Engl. Tr. ii. p. 6 f.).
fv rrj MaKcdovia KT\.] The repe-
tition of the art. shows that the
writers are here thinking of Mace-
donia and Achaia as the two distinct
though neighbouring provinces into
which after 142 B.C. Greece was
divided, whereas in the next verse
they are classed together as embrac-
ing European Greece as a whole (cf.
Ac. xix. 21, Rom. xv. 26).
For th.e extension of the Gospel
throughout Macedonia cf. iv. 10, and
for the existence of believers in
Achaia see such passages as Ac. xvii.
34, xviii. 8, 2 Cor. i. i. It heightened
the praise of the Thessaloniaris that it
was to 'nations so great and so famed
for wisdom' (Thdt.) that they served
as an ensample.
8 10. Further confirmation of
what has just been stated in v. 7.
' We say this of your ensample, for
indeed our experience has been that
from you as a centre the word of the
Lord has sounded out like a clear and
ringing trumpet-blast in the districts
just mentioned, and not only so, but
your faith in the one true God has
gone forth everywhere. Common
report indeed speaks so fully of this
that it is unnecessary that we our-
selves should add anything. All are
prepared to testify that as the result
of our mission amongst you, you have
turned from many false idols to the
service of one God who is both living
and true, and are confidently waiting
for the return of His Son out of the
heavens. We mean of course Jesus,
whom God raised from the dead, and
12 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [18
Kai ev TIJ 'A%aia. 8 d<p' v/uwv yap
TOV KVpiov ov fjiovov ev Ttj MaK6$ovia Kai '
6 \6yos
d\\'
to whom we all have learned to look
as our Rescuer from the Wrath that is
even now coming.'
8. d0' vp.a>v] 'from you as a centre'
(cf. i Cor. xiv. 36), rather than * by
your instrumentality ' as missionaries,
which would naturally, though not
necessarily (Blass p. 125), have been
e'a>, an. \ey. N.T., is
found in the LXX. Joel iii. (iv.) 14,
3 Mace. iii. 2 V, Sir. xl. 13 ms /Spoi/ri)
peyaXr) ev vera f&xjjo-fi, cf. Philo in
FlaCC. 6 (ii. p. 522 M.) e< Trepieo-
T<0To$ ev KVK\(p TrXr/dovs f^X t ft or l TIS
aroTTos. The Engl. verss. from Tindale
(with the exception of Rheims 'was
bruited') agree in the rendering
' sounded out' (Beza personuit, Erasm.
exsonuit^ivQ ebuccinatus est\ pointing
to the clear, ringing nature of the
report as of a trumpet (Chrys. axrtrep
o~a\7riyyos Xa/ZTrpof rj^oixrr]s}. Lft. finds
the underlying metaphor rather in the
sound of thunder (cf. Sir. xl. 13 quoted
above and Pollux i. 118 fnx r ) (TV
/3poi>rr;), and recalls Jerome's descrip-
tion of St Paul's own words, 'mm
verba sed tonitrua ' (Ep. 48).
o \6yos ro\> Kvpiov] a familiar O.T.
phrase for a prophetic utterance, used
here with" direct reference to the
Gospel-message ('a word having the
Lord for its origin, its centre, and its
end' Eadie) which had been received
by the Thessalonians, and which they
had been the means of diffusing to
others. The exact phrase, though
frequent in Ac., is used elsewhere by
St Paul only II. iii. i. Afterwards he
prefers o \6yos r. $eo, and once, in
Col. iii. 1 6, o \6yos T. xpioroC (mg.
KVpiov).
ov fiovov ev rf) MaKfSoviq KT\.] If we
follow the usual punctuation, the con-
struction of the rest of the sentence
is irregular, as instead of ev TT. TOTTO)
standing in opposition to ev r. Ma*. K.
'AX- we find a new subject introduced.
It has accordingly been proposed to
place a colon after T. Kupi'ou, dividing
v. 8 into two parts. The first part
a0' vfjLwv. . .Kvpiov then gives the reason
of 9. 7, and the second part takes up
the preceding f^xn rat i anc ^ works it
out according to locality. This yields
good sense, but it is simpler to find
here another ex. of St Paul's im-
petuous style. He had meant to stop
at TOTTW, but in his desire to make a
forcible climax he lengthens out the
sentence.
As regards the fact, the situation
of Thessalonica made it an excellent
centre for missionary enterprise (Intr.
p. xxii), while it is possible as further
explaining the hyperbole tv Travrl
roTro) (cf. Rom. i. 8, xvi. 19, 2 Cor.
ii. 14, Col. i. 6, 23) that St Paul had
just heard from Aquila and Priscilla,
who had recently arrived in Corinth
from Rome, that the faith of the
Thessalonians was already known
there (so Wieseler Chronol. p. 42).
The preposition eV following a verb
of motion may have a certain signifi-
cance as indicating the permanence
of the report in the regions indicated
(WM. p. 514), a fact that is also im-
plied in the use of the perf. cgf\ri\v6ev,
but the point cannot be pressed in
view of the frequent occurrence of ev
for sis in late Gk.: see the exx. in
Hatzidakis p. 210, e.g. Acta Joh.
(Zahn) 36 ffXddfiev eV ria TOTT&J, to
which Moulton (Prolegg. p. 234) adds
the early P. Par. 10, 2 f. (ii./B.c.) irais
ava.Kxa>pr)Kfv ev y A\eav8p(ia. For the
corresponding els for ev cf. B.Gr.U.
385, 5 f . (ii. iii./A.D.) 77 6vya\r]r)p p.ov
Is *A\fav8piav etr&i.
'Egfpxopai is used in a similar
connexion in Rom. x. i8(LXX.), i Cor.
xiv. 36, and, like the preceding e^^e'co,
conveys the idea of rapid, striking
progress. Chrys.: <3(nrfp yap nc pi
I 9 ] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
eV TravTi TOTTO) r\ 7r/crTis VJULCLV r\ TTpos TOV 6eov e;
\ a / ^ f tf * ** \ v * 9'
7TjO/ r ri[Ji(av^ a7ra f y f ye\\ov(riv OTroiav eia'oo'ov ecr^o//ei/ TT^OOS
7recrTp6\^aTe Trpos TOI/ 6eoi/ CCTTO TC<;I/
9 ^awy] uyttwv B Z d Sah Thdt al
interrogative onoiav (\VM. p. 209 n. 3 )
points to the nature of that entrance,
how happy and successful it was (v. 5).
For the disappearance of onolos
from common Gk. (elsewhere in N.T.
only Ac. xxvi. 29, Gal. ii. 6, i Cor.
iii. 13, Jas. i. 24) see WSchm. p. 191,
Meisterhans p. 237. It is found in
the curious combination on orroiav in
P. Gen. 54, i ff. (iii./A.D.) ol8as...ori
onoinv Trpoepeaiv e^co ACQI ot'Sa$'...ort
TLVOS 8ia\cyo/j.vns, OVTODS
flTTfV, ' ^f\Tj\vdV ' OVTWS T\V OXpoSpa
Kal evfpyrjs.
77 Tria-Tis v/j.. 77 irpbs T. 6e6v] The
connecting art. ?/ is here inserted
before the defining clause to prevent
ambiguity (Blass p. 160), while the
definite rbv 6tov emphasizes 'the God'
towards whom the Thessalonians' faith
is directed in contrast with their pre-
vious attitude towards ra eidcoXa (v. 9).
coo-re /zi) xpeiai/ *crX.] On coo-re with
inf. see v. 7 note, and for xpeiW e%civ
followed by the simple inf. cf. iv. 9,
v. i, Mt. iii. 14, xiv. 16, also Heb. v. 12.
AaXeti/ can hardly be distinguished
here from Xeyeiv, but in accordance
with its original reference to personal,
friendly intercourse, it perhaps draws
attention to the free and open nature
of the communication thought of.
The verb is especially characteristic
of the Fourth Gospel, where it is
assigned to Christ thirty-three times
in the first person, cf. especially for
the sense Jo. xviii. 20 e'yco irapprja-ia
\e\a\rjKa rep Koor/io)...Kat ev KpvnTto
e\aXr)o-a ov8cv, and see Abbott Joh.
Grammar p. 203.
9. avrol yap] i.e. the men of Mace-
donia and elsewhere. For an ingenious
conjecture that the reading of the
verse ought to be aurot yap oTrayyeX-
Xerf... with reference to a letter sent
by the Thessalonians to St Paul see
Rendel Harris, Exp. v. viii. p. 170 f.,
and cf. Intr. p. xxx.
OTroiav eio-oSoi/] 'what sort of en-
trance' flo-obov being used of the 'act
of entering' (ii. i, Ac. xiii. 24) rather
than of the ' means of entering' (Heb.
x. 19, 2 Pet. i. 11), while the indirect
OTTOla (TTIV.
Kal irats fVeorpe'^are /crX.] 'and how
you turned...' not 'returned' (as in
A.V. 1611), eVi- having here appar-
ently simply a directive force, cf. Rev.
i. 12. For the bearing of the whole
clause on the generally Gentile charac-
ter of the Thessalonian Church see
Intr. p. xlii f. The thought of manner
(Chrys. : evKoXcos, /*era 7ro\\rjs rrjs (T(po-
Sporqros) if not wholly wanting in TTUS
is certainly not prominent, as in late
Gk. the word is practically = ort (Blass
p. 230, Hatzidakis p. 19).
'ETj-ioTpe'cpeii/, while frequent in Acts
of Gentiles turning to God, is not
again used by St Paul in this sense ;
contrast Gal. iv. 9, 2 Cor. iii. 16, the
only other places in his Epp. where it
occurs. To indicate the fact of con-
version the Apostle preferred as a
rule such general terms as Trio-reveti/,
vTraKoveiv, perhaps as emphasizing not
the mere turning away from error, but
the positive laying hold of truth. That
however this latter condition was ful-
filled in the Thessalonians' case is
proved by the description that follows
of their Christian life under the two-
fold aspect of doing and of waiting, of
active service and of confident hope.
14 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 10
KCII
TOV viov avTOV IK TWV ovpavcov, ov ryeipev e/c
10 TUI> om AC al Eus
Aesch. Eutn. 243 dvaiitva reXo? 8iKrjs
(cited by Chase The Lord's Prayer
p. 72 n. 2 ). The leading thought here
seems to be to wait for one whose
coming is expected (Beng. : 'de eo
dicitur, qui abiit ita, ut venturus sit '),
perhaps with the added idea of pa-
tience and confidence (ai/a-, Winer
de verb. comp. pt. iii. p. 15). In Ac.
i. 4 Trfpipeveiv is found in the same
sense. The more general word is
a7Tf<8e'^fo-^at, i Cor. i. 7, Phil. iii. 20.
Calv. : ' Ergo quisque in vitae sanctae
cursu perseverare volet, totam men-
tern applicet ad spem adventus
Christi.'
For TOV viov OVTOV the only place
in these Epp. where Christ is so de-
scribed see Intr. p. Ixvi.
< TWV ovpavav] 'out of the heavens'
(Wycl. fro heuenes: Tind. and the
other EngL verss. preserve the sing.).
The plur. may be a mere Hebraism,
the corresponding Heb. word Dp^
being plur. in form, but it is possible
that St Paul's language here, as else-
where, is influenced by the Rabbinic
theory of a plurality of heavens, gene-
rally regarded as seven in number,
through which ' the Beloved ' ascends
and descends : cf. especially The As-
cension of Isaiah vi. xi., and on the
whole subject see Morfill and Charles
Book of the Secrets oj Enoch p.
xxxff., Cumont Religions orient.(i^oj}
p. 152. This reference must not how-
ever be pressed in view of the fact
that the sing, actually occurs oftener
than the plur. (11 : 10) in the Pauline
writings : note particularly the use of
the sing, in practically the same con-
text as here in iv. 16, II. i. 7.
It may be added as showing the
difference in usage among the N.T.
writers that in St Matthew's Gospel
the plur. is used more than twice as
dov\tviv 0f feoiri /crX.] 'to serve
God living and true,' the absence of
the art. drawing attention to God in
His character rather than in His
person, and dov\fvtiv (inf. of purpose)
pointing to complete, whole-hearted
service: cf. Rom. xii. n, xiv. 18, xvi.
1 8, Eph. vi. 7, Col. iii. 24, and for the
thought Jer. iii. 22 enio-Tpa(pr)Te...io'ov
dov\oi qfjifls etropeda (701, on o~v Kvpios
o faos rjp.a>v et [Eng. Ch. Cat. : ' My
duty towards God is... to serve Him
truly all the days of my life.']
AovXeveii/ is apparently never used
in a religious sense in pagan literature :
cf. however icp68ov\ot as a designa-
tion of the votaries of Aphrodite at
Corinth.
Under f<5i/ in accordance with the
regular O.T. conception (Deut. v. 26,
Jos. iii. 10, Dan. vi. 20, 26 ; cf. Sanday
Exp. T. xvi. p. 153 ff.) must be in-
cluded not merely the being, but the
activity or power of God (Ac. xiv. 15,
2 Cor. iii. 3, Heb. ix. 14 ; cf. Grill
Untersuchungen uber dieEntstehung
des vierten Ecangeliums (1902) L p.
237); while d\r)0ii>(p (here only in St
Paul) is ' true ' in the sense of ' real '
(Jo. xvii. 3, i Jo. v. 20; cf. Trench
Syn. viii.), the 'very' God of the
creeds as distinguished from false
gods who are mere empty shams and
shows (tideoAa, in LXX. for DY^&C
nothings Lev. xix. 4 &c., and D^il H.
breaths Deut. xxxii. 21, Jer. xvi. 19
&C.). Thdt. : <3i/ra pev O.VTOV
d\r)6ivbv tie, as CKfi
IO. Kal dvapevfiv TOV viov
*A.vap.(vciv, air. Xey. N.T., but fairly
frequent in the LXX., e.g. Job vii. 2,
Isa. lix. 1 1 dvffj.fivap,v Kpia-iv, and see
also the instructive parallel from
I 10] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
', 'Iricrovv TOV pvofj.evov *j/>cas IK Trjs opyrjs
often as the sing. (55 : 27), while in the
Apocalypse out of 52 occurrences of
the word only one is in the plur. (xii.
12), and that in a passage under the
direct influence of the LXX. (Isa. xliv.
23, xlix. 13, cf. also Dan. iii. 59), where
the plur. ovpavoi (like our colloquial
heavens] is frequently used of the
visible sky, especially in the Pss. (e.g.
viii. 4, xviii. (xix.) 2 ; cf. F. W. Mozley
The Psalter of the Church ( 1 905) p. 4).
For the use of the art. before ovpa-
va>v in the present passage cf. Mt. iii.
17, Mk. i. ii (WSchm.p. 162).
ov rjyeipev CK \ra>v\ veKpoiv] * whom
He (sc. God) raised out of the dead'
the resurrection of Jesus being traced
as always in the Pauline teaching to
the direct act of God, cf. i Cor. vi.
14, xv. 15, Gal. i. i &c. It is to be
noted that in the present passage the
thought of the resurrection is intro-
duced not as the argumentum pal-
marium for the Divine Sonship (as in
Rom. i. 4), but, in accordance with
the context, as the necessary prelude
to Christ's Return, and the general
resurrection by which it will be ac-
companied : cf. Rom. viii. n, i Cor.
xv. 20 ff., 2 Cor. iv. 14, Col. i. 18, and
especially the words spoken at Athens
so shortly before Ac. xvii. 31. Calv. :
'in hunc finem resurrexit Christus,
ut eiusdem gloriae nos omnes tan-
dem consortes faciat, qui sumus eius
membra.'
For cyeipeiv cf. iv. 14 note, and for
the phrase [T&V] v*pa>v (elsewhere
with art. only Eph. v. 14, Col. i. 18)
see WSchm. p. 163.
'Irivovv rbv pvofj-fvov was] It IS
the historical Jesus (Add. Note D)
Who acts as 'our Rescuer' (cf. Rom. xi.
26 from LXX. Isa. lix. 20), the thought
of deliverance by power being appar-
ently always associated with pveo-dat
in the Bibl. writings (cf. Gen. xlviii. 16,
Rom. vii. 24, xv. 31, 2 Cor. i. 10,
2 Tim. iv. 17 f.), while the following
K (contrast OTTO II. iii. 2) emphasizes
its completeness in the present in-
stance ' He brings us altogether out
of the reach of future judgment'; cf.
Sap. xvi. 8 and see Ps.-Clem. vi. 7
yap TO 6f\r)fj.a TOV Xpiorou
dvcrrravo-iv el de p-ijye ovdev
K Tr/s ala>viov Ko\do-a>s
(cited by Chase The Lord's Prayer
p. 79, where the constructions of
pvfo-dai are fully discussed).
K T. OpyfjS T. pXOfJiVT]s] ' OUt Of
the wrath that is coming ' Tf/s opyfjsj
as in ii. 16, Rom. iii. 5, v. 9, ix. 22,
xiii. 5, being used absolutely of the
Divine wrath, and in accordance
with the context (dvaptv. T. viov ACT\.)
and the general N.T. usage, having
here the definite eschatological refer-
ence for which the language of the
prophetic writings has prepared us,
cf. e.g. Isa. ii. 10 22, Zeph. iii. 8 ff.,
and see further Ritschl Rechtfer-
tigung u. Versohnung* ii. p. 142 ff.
A similar application of the term is
found in Judaistic literature, e.g. Book
of Jubilees xxiv. 30 ('nor one that will
be saved on the day of the wrath of
judgment'), Secrets of Enoch xliv. 2
('the great wrath of the Lord shall
consume him'), and for classical usage
cf. Eur. Hipp. 438 opyal ' els <r 67TC-
tTKt]\fsav deas.
This wrath is further described as
TTJS (pxofj-evTjs (cf. Eph. v. 6, Col. iii. 6),
the repeated art. drawing attention
to ' coming' as its essential feature,
while both verb and tense bring out
the certainty and perhaps the near-
ness of its approach (cf. v. 2 note).
Needless to say it is no angry re-
sentment that is thought of, but the
hostility to sin which is as necessary
a part of God's nature as His love ;
cf. Isa. Ixi. 8, Zech. viii. 17, and see
Lact. de ird Dei 5 : 'nam si deus non
irascitur impiis et iniustis, nee pios
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II i, 2
II. x AVTOI yap oi'Sare, d$e\<poi, TY\V ei
?T|OO9 v/uas OTL ov Kevri yeyovev, *d\\a 7rpo7ra66vT6s
i v/3pi<r6evT6s Ka6cos offiare ev tPiXiTTTrois eTrapprjcrta-
a ev TCO 6ea q/uwv XaXfjcrai Trpos i//xas TO eucryye-
perience (cf. i. 5), as distinguished
from the report of others (avroi emph.),
and strengthened in the present in-
stance by the repetition of the
significant d8f\<poi (cf. i. 4) ; while the
resumptive yap refers back to i. 9 a ,
and in meaning is almost = ' however.'
ov Kfvf) yeyovev] ' hath not been
found vain' the reference being to
the essential content of the Apostles'
preaching rather than to its results.
(Chrys. : OVK dvOpaTrivr), ovde rj TV-
X<>v<ra; Beng.: l non inanis, sed plena
virtutis.') That however an enduring
result was secured is proved by the
perf. yeyovfv. For KCVOS in this sense
cf. i Cor. xv. 10 and see Trench Syn.
xlix., and for the form of the
sentence by which oi'Sare claims in
anticipation the subj. of yeyovev for
its object see WM. p. 781.
2. dXXa irpoira66r>TS KT\.] See
Ac. xvi. 19 flf., Phil. i. 30. Upona-
66vTs (class., air. Xey. N.T.) finds its
full explanation in the second parti-
ciple which is almost = coore Kai v)3-
pio-O^vai : cf. Dem. c. Conon. ad init.
v/3pi(r$ei's, co avdpes dtxacrrat, Kai iradwv
VTTO KOI/COJ/OS (cited by Wetstein).
More than the bodily suffering it was
the personal indignity that had been
offered to him as a Roman citizen
(cf. Cic. in Verr. v. 66 'scelus ver-
berare [civem Romanum]') that had
awakened a sense of contumely in
St Paul's mind. For a similar use
of vfipi&iv cf. Mt. xxii. 6, Lk. xviii. 32,
Ac. xiv. 5, 2 Mace. xiv. 42, 3 Mace. vi. 9.
The somewhat awkward repetition of
Katius oi'Sare after oiSare (v. i) brings
out strongly the writers' desire to
carry their readers along with them
(Intr. p. xliv).
firapprpiao-uiJicOa ev TOO $eoo xrX.] In
itself enapprjviaadfjieda may refer gene-
utique iustosque diligit.... In rebus
enim diversis, aut in utramque par-
tern moveri necesse est, aut in
neutram.'
On the bearing of vo. 9, 10 on the
missionary teaching of St Paul see
Intr. p. xlii f.
II. i 12. GENERAL CHARACTER OF
THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AT
THESSALONICA.
Having borne witness to the reality
of the * election ' of their Thessalonian
converts, the Apostles now turn to
deal more particularly with certain
charges that had been brought against
themselves after their departure from
Thessalonica, and of which they had
heard probably through Timothy
(Intr. p. xxx). This section of the
Epistle accordingly takes the form
of an * apologia,' or a vindication on
the part of St Paul and his com-
panions of their Apostolic claims, in
so far as these were evidenced by
their entrance into Thessalonica
(vv. i, 2), the general character of
their preaching (ov. 3, 4), and its par-
ticular methods (ov. 5 12). Compare
with the whole section, both for lan-
guage and tone, 2 Cor. iv. i 6.
i, 2. 'Why speak however of the
report of others, seeing that we can
confidently appeal to your own ex-
perience as to the effective character
of our ministry. For even though we
were subjected to shameful contumely,
as you well know, at Philippi, never-
theless we boldly declared to you the
Gospel of God. Not that this boldness
was our own. It came to us from
God, and so upheld us in the midst of
the opposition we encountered.'
I. Auroi yap oiSarf KrX.J An appeal
again to the Thessalonians' own ex-
II 3, 4] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS I/
\iov TOV 6eov eV
OVK e'/c TrAaV^s oi/Se
yap
ctKadapcrias ovSe ev So Aw, 4 d\\d
rally to the Apostles' whole attitude,
but as the verb is always used else-
where in the N.T. (Ac. 7 , Eph. 1 ) of the
bold proclamation of the Gospel it is
better to give it the full meaning
* became bold of speech ' (aor. of in-
ception, Kiihner 3 386. 5), the nature
of this boldness being further brought
out by the explanatory inf. XaX^o-ai
(i. 8 note), while the added clause lv
r. 6ftj> rjp.. points to its true source.
Oecum. : 5ia TOV tv&waftovvra 6eov
TOVTO iroirjcrai TeQappTJKafj.fi>.
The expression 'our God' is rare
in the Pauline Epp., occurring else-
where only in iii. 9, II. i. 1 1, 12, i Cor.
vi. 1 1 : it is common in the Apocalypse.
(v 7roXX<5 dya>vi\ 'in much conflict'
the reference, as the context shows,
being to the external dangers to
which the Apostles had been sub-
jected (O.L. in multo certamine)
rather than to any internal fears on
their part (Vg. in multa sollicitudine,
cf. Col. ii. i): cf. Phil. i. 30 TOV avTov
dya>va e^ovTes oiov ti'Serc ev e'juoi, I Tim.
vi. 12 dya)vlov TOV KaXov dyava TT}S
TTLo-Tfws. The metaphor, as in the
case of the allied ddXelv, adXrjo-is
(2 Tim. ii. 5, Heb. x. 32), is derived
from the athletic ground: cf. Epict.
Diss. iv. 4. 30 where life is compared
to an Olympic festival in which God
has given us the opportunity of show-
ing of what stuff we are made e'X0e
rjdr) 67ri TOV dycova, delgov rjp.lv rt
3 7 a . 4 We said that we were bold
in God, and that it was the Gospel of
God we preached, and we said rightly,
for our whole appeal to you is not
rooted in error, neither has it any con-
nexion with licentious and delusive
practices (as was the case with some of
your old religious teachers). On the
contrary, as those who have been
approved by the all-seeing God Him-
self we were entrusted with His
M. THESS.
Gospel. It is this indeed which
makes us independent of all merely
human considerations. And conse-
quently we did not at any time play
the part of flatterers, as you well know,
nor, and here we call God Himself to
witness, did we under any fair out-
ward pretext conceal an inward spirit
of covetousness. On the contrary
worldly glory either at your hands or
at the hands of others was so little in
our thoughts, that we did not even
demand the support and honour to
which as Apostles of Christ we were
entitled.'
3. napdicXrjo-is] Vg. Ambrstr. ex-
hortatio, Tert. aduocatio. Though
closely allied with dida x ri (Chrys.) or
didao-KoXia (Thdt.), Trapd<\rjo-is is not
to be identified with either, but im-
plies something more in the nature of
an appeal (Euth. Zig.: 77 Sifiao-KaXia, r}
TTpos TO 7rio~Tevo~ai TrporpoTTT/), having
for its object the direct benefit of
those addressed, and which may be
either hortatory or consolatory accord-
ing to circumstances: cf. the almost
technical use of \6yos 7rapaK\T]o-a)s in
Ac. xiii. 15. In the present instance
irapdK\r)o-is is what Bengel finely calls
' totum praeconium evangelicum, pas-
sionum dulcedine tinctum.'
A characteristic use of the word in
ordinary life is cited by Wohlenberg
from Polyb. iii. 109. 6 f., where with
reference to the address of Aemilius
Paulus to the soldiers before the
battle of Cannae it is said that for the
hired soldier o TTJS Trapa/cXr/a-fats rpoiros
is necessary, but that for those who
fight for life and country no such ex-
hortation is required vTro/Mi/rJo-ecwy
fjiovov, rrapaK\^cra>s 5' oi>, Trpoerfiet.
For the corresponding verb rrapa-
KaXelv see the note on v. ii.
OVK. f< rrXdvrjs] ' does not arise out
of error,' TrXavr/y, as * (not eV) proves,
being used, as apparently always in
1 8 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 4
VTTO TOV 6eov
ayyeXiov OVTCOS AaAcw/uej/,
the N.T., in the pass, sense of 'error'
rather than in the act. sense of ' deceit.'
In contrast with false teachers who
are not only 'deceivers' but 'deceived'
(ir\ava)VTes K. 7r\avcap,evoi 2 Tim. iii. 13)
the Apostles know whom they have
believed (2 Tim. i. 12), and are con-
fident in ' the word of the truth of the
gospel' (Col. i. 5) which they have been
called upon to declare (cf. Eph. iv. 14 f.,
and see also i Jo. iv. 6).
ov8e eg aKaOapa-ias] ' nor out of un-
cleanness' the reference being not to
'covetousness/ a meaning of aKadapo-ia
for which no sufficient warrant can
be produced, nor even to 'impure
motives,' but to actual 'impurity,'
'sensuality' (cf. iv. 7, Rom. vi. 19), the
* disclaimer, startling as it may seem,'
being not 'unneeded amidst the im-
purities consecrated by the religions of
the day' (Lft.): see further Intr. p. xlvi.
ov8e ev S6Xo>] a new and distinct
negative clause (ov8e, Buttmann p.
366), the ev, as distinguished from the
preceding en (bis) of the originating
cause, drawing attention rather to
the general habit or method of the
Apostles' working. Unlike the epyarai
doXiot with whom at the time they
were confronted (2 Cor. xi. 13, cf. ii. 17,
iv. 2), and with whose 'guile' they
were sometimes charged (2 Cor.
xii. 1 6), they had never used un-
worthy means for ensnaring (86Xos
from same root as 8e\eap a bait,
Curtius Gr. Etym. 271) their con-
verts. Thdt. : OVT p.f)v 86\<o xpco/zei/oi
crvvepycp els o\e6pov vp,as 6r]pevop,ev.
For the absence of 86\os as a mark of
Christ Himself see i Pet. ii. 22 (Isa.
liii. 9) : cf. also Jo. i. 47.
4. aXXa Kado>s 8e8oKip.da-p.e6a <rX.]
'but according as we have been ap-
proved by God.' AoKi/iao> means
originally 'put to the test' (cf. v. 4 b ,
i Cor. iii. 13), but in the N.T. gene-
rally conveys the added thought that
TO ev-
the test has been successfully sur-
mounted (Rom. i. 28, ii. 18, xiv. 22),
in accordance with the technical use
of the word to describe the passing
as fit for election to a public office,
e.g. Plato Legg. vi. 765 c, D ots av <al
^^(pos rj TWV 8oKip,aovT(t>v 8oK.ip,d(rrj '
eav 8e ris aTroSoxi/xao-^ rX., and from
the inscriptions such a passage as
O.I.A. III. 23j 3 ff- vvp-os epav[i(r~}ra)v
]r)v crvvoftov TWV
7r[pi]i> av 8oKip.aa0f) : cf. Magn. 1 13, 9 fl 7 .
dvrjp 8e8oKtp.aa-p.evos rots Be to is KpiTT)-
piois TWV Sf/Sao-rcoi/ eiri re TTJ rex v fl KT ^'
Iii the LXX. the idea of approval is as
a rule wanting, but cf. 2 Mace. iv. 3
did rivos TO>V VTTO TOV 2t/io)voy 8e8oKi-
p.aap.evwv, 'through one of Simon's
tried (or trusted) followers.'
In the present passage the verb is
almost =dioi>v (II. i. ii), though we
must beware of finding here any
suggestion of innate fitness on the
Apostles' part (Chrys. : p,r) eldc
TravTos d7TT)\\ayp.evovs jSicoTi/coC, OVK av
was etXero). The whole point is that
their preaching is to be referred en-
tirely to God as its source, in contrast
with the sources previously disowned:
they had been, and still were, 'en-
trusted' with it ('nicht befunden...
sondern genommen' Hofmann).
TTio-revBr/vai TO evayyeXiov] For
this use of Treo-reuo/mt cf. Rom. iii. 2,
Gal. ii. 7, i Tim. i. ii, Tit. i. 3, and
for the construction see WM. p. 287.
Ilto-reuo/zcu c. gen. as sometimes in late
Gk. (e.g. Polyb. vi. 56. 13 Trio-Tevdels
TaXdvTov] does not occur in the N.T.
oimos] not the antecedent to the
following tas, but = ' in the same
manner,' 'in accordance therewith'
with reference to the Divine com-
mission just spoken of; cf. Mt. v. 16,
Eph. v. 28.
o\>% coy dvQpwrrois dpea-KovTes] not a
mere restatement of the preceding
II 5] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
d\\d 6etL Tto AOKIMAZONTI TAC
ev Xdyw KO\aKia$ e f yvt]6rj]uei' )
5 OVT
offiare, OVTC
clause in another light according to
a favourite Pauline practice (cf. Col.
i. 5 b , 6), but an independent clause
describing the manner of the Apostles'
preaching in contrast with the charge
ofci> SoXo>, and rendered more em-
phatic by the substitution of ov for the
more regular ay with the participle.
On this construction for the statement
of a definite fact see Moulton Prolegg.
p. 231 f., where it is fully illustrated
from the papyri, e.g. P.Oxy. 726, 10 f.
(ii./A.D.) ov dvvdpevos di d[o~]6eveiav
TrXeCo-cu, 'since he is unable through
sickness to make the voyage.' For
the general thought cf. Ps. lii.(liii.) 6,
Pss. Sol. iv. 8 dvaKa\v\lrat 6 debs TO.
epya dvdpwjr&v dvdptorrapeo-Kav. In no
case must dpeo-Kovres be weakened
into ' seeking to please.' The state-
ment is absolute, and the verb here
betrays something of the idea of
actual service in the interests of
others (cf. Rom. xv. i, 3, i Cor. x. 33),
which we find associated with it in
late Gk. Thus in monumental inscrip-
tions the words dpeo-avTes rfi TroXei, rfj
Trarpi'St &c., are used to describe
those who have proved themselves
of use to the commonwealth as in
O.G.LS. 646, 12 (Palmyra, iii./A.D.)
apeo~avTa TTJ re avrfj j3ov\f) KCU TO>
dXXa deep ro) So<a/zd*oi/rt KrX.] Ao/a-
H<i(ovTi chosen here with reference to
the preceding SeSo/a/xaV/ii-tfa (for a
similar word-play cf. Jer. vi. 30) shows
a tendency to relapse into its original
meaning of * prove,' * try ' (Beza Deo
exploranti, Est. ' vtpote cordium
nostrorum inspectorem et explorato-
rem'): cf. Jer. xi. 20 Kvpte Kpivav
&'*ata, 8oKifjid<av ve(ppovs KCU K.apo'ia.s.
KapSia, according to Bibl. usage, is
the focus of the personal life, the
centre of all, intellectual as well as
emotional, that goes to make up the
moral character, and is thus equiva-
lent to the inner, hidden man known
to God alone, cf. i Regn. xvi. 7, Ac. i.
24, Rom. viii. 27, Rev. ii. 23, and see
art. 'Heart' in Hastings' D.B. The
use of the plur. here and of ^u^as
(v. 8) cannot be explained by the
attraction of the plur. verb, but shows
that throughout St Paul is thinking
of his fellow-preachers at Thessa-
lonica as well as of himself (Intr.
p. xxxivf.).
5- ovTe...V Xdyo) KoXa/a'as eyevj-
Orj/jLtv] 'For neither at any time did
we fall into the use of speech of
flattery' Xoyo> being clearly the
preachers' own ' discourse ' or ' teach-
ing' at Thessalonica, and not the
' report * of others regarding it.
KoXaKta (for form, WH. 2 Notes
p. 1 60) cm. \ty. N.T., though common
in class, writers, carries with it the
idea of the tortuous methods by
which one man seeks to gain in-
fluence over another, generally for
selfish ends. Thus Aristotle defines
the KoXa : o &' OTTCOS <a<peXeia TIS avrd)
ylytnjrat (if ^pr/^ara KCU ocra dia xprj/jid-
TO>I>, /coXa (Eth. Nic. iv. 12. 9) : cf.
Theophr. Charact. 2 rr/v de KoXaKeiav
av ns OjUiXiai/ alo~xpav e/at,
rw KO\a.Kfvovri. How
easily such a charge might be brought
against the Apostles is evident from
what we know of the conduct of the
heathen rhetoricians of the day, cf.
Dion Cass. Hist. Rom. Ixxi. 35, Dion
Chrys. Orat. xxxii. p. 403.
For a new work n-epi <o\aKfias by
Philodemus the Epicurean (50 B.C.)
see Rhein. Museum Ivi. p. 623.
For yiveo-tiai ev (versari in) meaning
entrance into and continuance in a
given state or condition cf. Rom.
xvi. 7, i Cor. ii. 3, 2 Cor. iii. 7, Phil,
ii. 7, i Tim. ii. 14, Sus. 8 eyevovro cv
avrrjs.
2 2
20 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [116,7
s, 6eos /mdprvs, 6 ovre
, OVT6 d(p' V/ULCOV OVT6 OLTT aAAfc)!/,
eV /3dpei elvai &S XpicrTOv aTTOCTToXoi' d\\d
7rpo<pao-ei 7r\covfias] i.e. 'the cloak
of which covetousness avails itself/
Had covetousness been the preachers'
motive it would have hidden itself
under some outward pretext (cf. Hor .
Epist. i. xvi. 45 'introrsum turpem,
speciosum pelle decora'). Beng. :
l praetextu specioso, quo tegeremus
avaritiam.'
np6(pao-is (wrongly rendered occasio
Vg., Clarom., Calv., Est.) is the osten-
sible reason for which a thing is done,
and generally points to a false reason
as opposed to the true, cf. <?iW npo-
<pd&ei eeVe d\r]6eia Phil. i. 1 8, and the
class, parallels there adduced by Wet-
stein, and see also P.Oxy. 237. vi. 31,
vii. ii, 13, 1 6 (ii./A.D.); while TrXeo-
yeia, though often associated by St
Paul with sins of the flesh (Eph. iv.
19, v. 3, cf. i Cor. v. 9ff., vi. 9 f., and
see also Musonius p. 90 (ed. Hense) o
v-
7rXeoi/eias), is in itself simply 'covet-
ousness,' being distinguished from
(pi\apyvpia 'avarice' as the wider and
more active sin : see Lft.'s note on Col.
iii. 5 where it is explained as * entire
disregard for the rights of others.'
6ebs pdpTvs] Cf. v. 10, also Rom. i. 9,
2 Cor. i. 23, Phil. i. 8. Chrys.: oirep
r^v dfi\ov t avTovs KaXei p.dpTvpas...o7rcp
de a8r]\ov rjv...6ebv KaXei pdprvpa.
Dr Dods aptly compares Cromwell's
declaration to his first Parliament:
' That I lie not in matter of fact, is
known to very many; but whether
I tell a lie in my heart, as labouring
to represent to you what was not
upon my heart, I say, the Lord be
judge.'
6. ovrf {rjTovvTfs KT\.] Upon the
repudiation of covetousness follows
naturally the repudiation of worldly
ambition (cf. Ac. xx. 19, 2 Cor. iv. 5,
Eph. iv. 2). Calv. : * duo enim sunt isti
fontes, ex quibus manat totius minis-
terii corruptio.' For ^reiv in the
sense of selfish seeking cf. Rom. x. 3,
i Cor. x. 24, 33, xiii. 5, 2 Cor. xii. 14,
Phil.ii. 21, and for Soa in its original
sense of ' good opinion ' see note on
v. 12. In Hellenistic Gk. e| and OTTO
are frequently used interchangeably
(WM. p. 512, Moulton Prolegg. p. 237,
Meisterhans p. 212): in accordance
however with the earlier distinction
between them e' may here point to
the ultimate source, and dno rather to
the more immediate agents (Ambrstr.
ex hominibus . . .a uobis}.
It should be noted that what the
Apostles disclaim is the desire of
popularity. Th. Mops.: 'cautissime
enim posuit non quaerentes ; hoc est,
" non auspicantes hoc," nee hanc ha-
bentes actus nostri intentionem.'
7 a . dvvdpfvoi V /3apei elvai] 'when
we might have been burdensome'
(Wycl. whanne we . . . tny^ten haue
be in charge) a concessive part,
clause subordinate to the preceding
frrovvTes. Most modern editors follow
the A.V. in regarding this clause as
part of v. 6.
Bdpos is here understood (i) in its
simple meaning of 'weight,' 'burden'
(Vg. oneri esse], with reference to the
Apostles' right of maintenance, cf. v. 9,
and see further II. iii. 8, i Cor. ix. 11,
2 Cor. xi. 7 ff., Gal. vi. 6, also Jos. AntL
I. 250 (xvi. 2) ovSe yap earea-Qai ftapiis
...daTrdvais Idiais ^p^o-a/xevoy ; or (2) in
its derived sense of 'authority,' 'dig-
nity' (Clarom. in gravitate [honore]
esse\ pointing to the honour they
might have expected to receive at the
Thessalonians' hands, cf. 2 Cor. iv. 17
/3apos fi6|>7?, Polyb. iv. 32. 7 irpos TO
ftdpos TO A.aKf8aijJLOVL(i)v, Diod. Sic.
IV. 6 1 did TO jSapoy TTJS TroXeo)?. The
two meanings are however compatible,.
II 7 ] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 21
ei/ fJLecrw VJULCOV, o>s eav Tpo<pos 6d\7rrj Ta (
and it is probable that St Paul plays
here on the double sense of the phrase :
cf. the Latin proverb 'Honos propter
onus.'
cos Xpitrrou a.7roo~TO\oi] XpicrroC pOSS.
gen., placed emphatically first to show
whose Apostles they were, and why
therefore they were entitled to claim
honour (cf. Add. Note D). For the
title aTroo-roXoi here including Silvanus
and Timothy almost in the sense of
our missionaries cf. Ac. xiv. 4, 14,
Rom. xvi. 7, 2 Cor. viii. 23, xi. 13,
Phil. ii. 25, Rev. ii. 2, Didache xi. 3 f. ;
and for the wider use of the word
generally see Lft. Gal. p. 92 ff., Har-
nack Die Lehre der zwolf Apostel
p. 93 ff., Hort Ecclesia p. 22 ff.
In class. Gk. airoa-ToXos generally
denotes 'a fleet,' 'an expedition 3 (cf.
Dittenberger Sylloge 2 153, an Attic
inscription iv./B.c., and see Archiv iii.
p. 221), but it occurs in Herodotus in
the sense of ' messenger,' ' envoy ' (i. 2 1 ,
cf. v. 38), and is found with the same
meaning in 3 Regn. xiv. 6 A e'yco et/u
a.7r6o~To\os rrpos Of o~K\rjpus (cf. SlU.
Isa, xviii. 2). See also the interesting
fragment in P. Par. p. 411 f. (ii./B.c.),
where, if we can accept the editor's
restoration of the missing letters, we
read of a public official who had sent
to a delinquent a messenger (drroo-To-
Xov) bearing the orders he had disre-
garded [e7re(r]raXKorcoi> ri^wv irpos vf
TOV a7r[ooroXoi/]. Upon the existence of
* apostles 'among the Jews see Harnack
Miss. u. Ausbr. p. 237 ff. (Engl. Tr.
i. p. 409 ff.), and cf. Krauss Die ju-
dischen Apostel in J.Q.R. 1905, p.
370 ff.
7 b 12. A positive counterpart to
the previously-mentioned hostile
charges.
7 b , 8. ( Nay, we went further, for to
establish a sure bond of sympathy
with you we showed ourselves ready
to act the part of children in your
midst. Or we may put it in this way
we yearned over you with the same
tender affection that a nursing-mother
displays towards her children. With
such deep affection indeed did we
long after you that we shared with
you not only the Gospel of God, but
also our very lives so dear had you
proved yourselves to us.'
7 b . aXXa eyevTjdrjpev vrjmoi JcrX.] The
reading here is doubtful. If vrjirioi
(K*BC*D*G minusc. %.)be adopt-
ed, the whole clause is the avowal on
the writers' part of their becoming as
children to children, speaking what
St Augustine describes as ' decurtata
et mutilata verba ' (de catech. rud. 1 5),
baby-language to those who were still
babes in the faith : cf. Origen on Mt.
XV. 17 6 anoo-ToXos eyeveTo vr/TTios KOI
TTctpaTrXT/'o-ioy rpocpco 6a\Trovo-Tj TO favrfjs
iraiftiov Kal \a\ovo~r] \6yovs a>9 TraiSt'oi/
8id TO TTaidiov. On the other hand, if
the well-attested faun (K c AC b I) c KLP
17 &c.) be preferred, the Apostolic
' gentleness ' is placed in striking con-
trast with the slanders that had been
insinuated against them (vv. 5, 6) : cf.
2 Tim. ii. 24 where TJTTLOS elvai is men-
tioned as a mark of the true pastor.
This agreement with the context leads
most modern editors and commen-
tators to favour rjirioi, especially as
the reading vrj-moi can be easily ex-
plained as due to dittography of the
final v of (yei'rjdrj/j.ev. WH. 2 (Notes
p. 128), on the other hand, point out
that ' the second v might be inserted
or omitted with equal facility,' and
that 'the change from the bold image
to the tame and facile adjective is
characteristic of the difference be-
tween St Paul and the Syrian re-
visers.'
ev fjio-(o vfjiwv] i.e. 'as one of your-
selves,' 'without any undue assump-
tion of authority.' Beng.: 'non age-
bant, quasi ex cathedra.' Cf. our
Lord's own words : 'Eyw de eV /neVw
(as o diaKovav (Lk. xxii. 27).
22 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 8
o) fav Tpo(pbs 6d\irr) KrX.] 'as if
a nurse were cherishing her own
children': cf. Gal. iv. 19. By a sudden
change of metaphor by no means un-
common in the Pauline writings (cf.
v. 2, 4, 2 Cor. iii. i3ff.) the attitude of
the Apostles is now described as that
of a 'nurse,' or rather a 'nursing-
mother' towards her children. Th.
Mops. : ' " nutricem " uero hoc in loco
matrem dixit quae filios suos nutrit' :
cf. Aug. Serm. xxiii. 3. Too much
stress however in this connexion must
not be laid on eavrrjs which in late
Gk. has lost much of its emphatic
force : cf. the common legal formula
in the papyri by which a woman
appears jxera Kvpiov row tavTrjs dvdpos,
e.g. P.Grenf. i. 18, 4f. (ii./B.c.).
Tpo$o?, GOT. Xey. N.T., occurs in the
LXX., Gen. xxxv. 8, 4 Regn. xi. 2,
2 Chron. xxii. u, Isa. xlix. 23 as the
translation of nj53*D; cf. also B.G.U.
297, 12 ff. (i./A.D.) where a nurse ac-
knowledges that she had received ra
rpocpfia Kol TO. e\aia Koi TOV ip.aTKTfJt.ov
/ecu raXXn ocra KaB^Kfi diSo&Oai rpofpw
TOV TTJS ya\ctKTOTpo<pias dierovs xpovov
\vr]vwv e KrX. For
see Kaibel Epigram-
mata Graeca (1878) 247, 7 (i./ii. A.D.).
The poetic 6a\Tra>, elsewhere in N.T.
only Eph. v. 29 (frrptyri K. QdXnfi),
means properly 'to warm,' and
thence, like the Lat. fovere, comes to
signify 'cherish,' 'foster': cf. Deut.
xxii. 6 KOI TI fjLi^Trjp 0a\7rr) eVi T<BI>
roo-o-wi/, and for its metaphorical use
see O.GJ.S. 194, 6 (i./s.c.) TTJV n6\iv
It may be added that, while the
sense seems to favour the use of eaV
as the ordinary conditional particle,
it is possible that we have here an
instance of the late use of cdv for av
(WM. p. 390), o>r edv then implying
l a standing contingency, "as it may
be (may be seen) at any time " ' (Find-
lay). For early instances of this use
of fav from the Koti/r; cf. P.Petr. in.
43 (2), iii. 4 (iii./B.c.) oo-coi eav nXdov
vpr)i, P.Grenf. i. 18, 27 (ii./B.c.)
ov ta.v aipfJTai, and see further Moulton
Prolegg. pp. 43, 234, Mayser p. 152 f.
8. ovrco? op.fip6p.fvoi vfj,<6v] ' even so
being eagerly desirous of you' (Vg.
ita desiderantes vos, Beza ita cupidi
vestri). 'O/iti'po/zat (for breathing,
WH. 2 Notes p. 151) is not found
elsewhere in the Bibl. writings ex-
cept in Job iii. 21 (cf. Sm. Ps. Ixii.
(Ixiii.) 2). The common derivation
from o/ioO and c'tpeiv (hence Thpht. =
/zeVot, Oecum. = dvTxop,voi
is philologically impossible, and
Dr J. H. Moulton suggests rather the
v ' smer 'to remember' (Skt. smirti
' memory ,'smardmi 'I remember,' Lat.
memor] with a prepositional element,
and compares as parallel formations
8vpop,ai and o8vpop,ai, Ke'XXeo and OKe'XXo),
6-p.opyvvp.i, (o-Kfavds (ptc. of (0-Kelfj.ai
' to lie around '). Wohlenberg conjec-
tures that it may here be used ' as a
term of endearment' ('edles Kose-
wort') derived from the language of
the nursery : cf. note on VTJTTLOL (v. 7).
For the construction with the gen. in
the case of verbs of 'longing' see
Kiihner 3 416, 4b.
rJSoKovpLev] The absence of av with
rjvdoKovp,fv (for augment, WH. 2 Notes
p. 169, WSchm. p. 101) points to a
result actually reached, while the verb
itself which is only found in late Gk.
(in LXX. frequently for H^fJ) draws
attention to the hearty goodwill at-
tending the writer's attitude 'were
well-pleased' (Vg. cupide volebamus}.
Cf. the use of cvdonelv in i Cor. i. 21,
x. 5, Gal. i. 15, with reference to God,
and in Rom. xv. 26 f., 2 Cor. v. 8, xii.
10 with reference to man ; see also
the note on ev'So/a'a II. i. 1 1, and for a
full discussion of both words Fritzsche
Rom. ii. p. 369 ff. An interesting ex.
of evdoKflv is afforded by P.Lond. i.
3, 6ff. (ii./B.C.) T)v8oKrj(rds p. TTJS
II 9 ] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 23
ov JJLOVOV TO evayyeXiov TOV 6eov d\\a K.CU
\lsvxds, SLOTI dyaTrrjToi rifjiiv eyevridriTe ' 9
ap, d$e\<poi, TOV K.OTTOV q/uiwv Kat TOV /
T]OV yfiicrovs TOV [rpi'Jrov \oyfias TU>V
KfifjLfvcov i/eicpcoi/, apparently = 'thou
hast granted me the honour of the
half of the offerings collected for the
dead (mummies).' In legal documents
the verb is frequent in the sense of
'give consent,' e.g. in the marriage-
contract P.Oxy. 496, 8 (ii./A.D.) where
the husband is not allowed to dispose
of certain property ^copis evdoKovo-rjs
rfjs ya/zou/ie'i/T/y, ' without the consent
of the bride': see further Gradenwitz
Einfuhrung i. p. 160 ff.
ray cavrwv V^u^as] 'our very lives,'
'our very selves' ^v^as (for plur.
cf. v. 4 note) according to its ordinary
Bibl. usage laying stress on what
belonged essentially to the writers'
personality (Beng. : 'aninia nostra
cupiebat quasi immeare in animam
vestram'): cf. Mk. viii. 35, 2 Cor. xii.
15, Sir. xxxv. 23 (xxxii. 27) ev -rravrl
pyco Trio-rev* TTJ ^fvxii <rov, and for
a full discussion of ^fvxn in the LXX.
see Hatch Essays p. 101 fF.
For the reflexive eavrwv referring
to the ist pers. plur. cf. II. iii. 9 (note),
Rom. viii. 23, 2 Cor. i. 9, iii. 5 &c. (WM.
p. 187, WSchm. p. 204); and see P.Par.
47, 26 (ii./B.O.) avrovs 8eSa>Ka/uei>,
P.Tebt. 47, 30 f. (ii./s.c.) tv ^/-tels pev
a eavT&v (Mayser, p. 303).
dyaTTTjToi /erA.] Out of the
Apostles' intercourse with the Thes-
salonians a relationship of love (ayarr.
used by St Paul of his converts in
all groups of his Epp.) had been de-
veloped once for all (aor. ryeygdgrt)
which had led to the consequent
T)v8oKOV[Jil> KT\.
Atori (propterea quod] has appa-
rently always a causal force in the
N.T. (Wilke nil. Rhet. p. 251), though
in the LXX. and late Gk. generally it
is also frequently found in a sense
differing little from Sri 'that': cf.
2 MaCC. Vli. 37 e'^o/zoAo-yiJo-acrtfcu Siort
fj.6vos avros 0os e<rriz>, B.G.U. IOII.
ii. 1 5 fF. (ii./B.C.) 8i6n yap 7roX[Xa]
\r)ptoi[8rj] KOI ^ev8fj 7rpo0-ay[y]e'A[Xe]rai
Karavoels Kal avros, and for similar
evidence from the Attic inscriptions,
where diort never = ' because,' see
Meisterhans, p. 252 f. On the other
hand in P.Tebt. 24, 34 (ii./B.c.) KOI
dion must have its full causal force.
In mod. Gk. the word is used instead
of ydp, a meaning which Fritzsche
(Rom. i. p. 57) finds even in such
passages as Ac. xviii. 10, Rom. i. 19
(cf. Blass p. 274) ; see also i Pet. iii.
10 where yap is used to introduce a
quotation from the O.T. instead of
dioTt which is preferred in i. 16, 24,
ii. 6. Jebb (in Vincent and Dickson
Mod. G/c. 2 App. p. 338) cites the
passage before us along with Gal. ii.
1 6 to illustrate the ease of the col-
loquial transition.
9. ' That this is no idle vaunt you
yourselves very well know, for you
cannot have forgotten our self-sacri-
ficing labours amongst you, how, even
while working night and day for our
own maintenance so as not unduly to
burden you, we preached to you the
Gospel of God.'
9. fJivijfJLOVfvfTf yap rX.] For p.vr}-
povfva c. acc. see i. 3 note, and for
d8e\(poi see i. 4 note.
KOTTOS (i. 3 note) and ^o^Bos are
found together again in II. iii. 8,
2 Cor. xi. 27, the former pointing to
the ' weariness ' or ' fatigue ' resulting
from continual labour, the latter
rather to the 'hardship' or 'struggle'
involved in it. The similarity in sound
between the words is well brought
out in the rendering 'toil and moil'
(Lft.).
24 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 10
VUKTOS Ka rip.epas epya^ojuevoi Trpos TO fj.ri 67ri/3aprj<rai
TWO. vpwv 6Kripua^ev eis v/ua^ TO evayyeXiov TOU 6eou.
^dpTVpes Kal 6 fleos, o5s ocritos Kal
. K. ??/u. epyaofj.fvoi] An ex-
planatory clause which gains in force
through the absence of any connect-
ing particle. For the fact cf. Ac.
xviii. 3, and for the picture here
presented of St Paul's missionary
activity see Intr. p. xlv.
It may be noted that WKTOS K.
ypepas (gen. of time) is the regular
order of the words in St Paul (iii. 10,
II. iii. 8, i Tim. v. 5, 2 Tim. i. 3). In
the Apocalypse on the other hand we
find always jpepas K. WKTOS (iv. 8, vii.
15 &c.), and so in St Luke (xviii. 7,
Ac. ix. 24). When however St Luke
adopts the ace., the order is changed
K. jpepav (ii. 37, Ac. XX. 31,
irpos TO fir} 7rif3aprjcrai KT\.] 'ill order
that we might not burden any of you':
cf. II. iii. 7 ff. for an additional reason
for these self-denying labours.
The late Gk. w^apc'iv is used only
figuratively in the N.T. (II. iii. 8,
2 Cor. ii. 5) and is nearly = Kara/Sapeii/
(2 Cor. xii. 1 6, cf. 2 liegn. xiii. 25),
though the preposition in eiriftapelv is
mainly directive (onus imponere), in
KaTapapelv rather perfective 'to weigh
a man to the ground.' For its use in
the inscriptions cf. Magn. 113, 15 f.
where a certain physician Tvrannus
is said to have behaved cos prjo'eva vfi
O.VTOV Trapa TTJV diav TOV Kaff f
and for the
simple verb /3apf?t> (2 Esdr. xv. (v.) 15,
i Tim. v. 1 6) in the same sense, cf.
I.G.SJ. 830, 15 (Puteoli ii./A.D.) Iva
P.TJ TTJV TTO\LV /3apo3/^ei>. In the late
P.Oxy. 126, 8 (vi./A.i>.) one Stepbmous
undertakes to 'burden herself (/3a-
pea-ai TO fj.ov oi/o/ta) with certain im-
posts hitherto paid by her father.
On npos TO with inf. signifying not
mere result but subjective purpose see
\VM. p. 414, Moulton Prolegg. p. 2i8ff.
10 12. ' We are not afraid indeed
to appeal alike in your sight and in
the sight of God to the whole charac-
ter of our relations with you. All
believers will be ready to testify how
these were marked throughout by
holiness and righteousness, and how
careful we were to give no offence in
anything. Indeed, as you very well
know, we acted the part of a father
to each one of you, as we exhorted,
and encouraged, and solemnly charged,
according to your several require-
ments, in order that you might re-
spond to your privileges, and your
whole lives be worthy of the God
who is calling you to share in His
kingdom and glory.'
10. vfMfls pdpTvpcs KT\J] The two
former appeals to the witness of men
(v. i) and of God (v. 5) are now united
in confirmation of the whole character
of the Apostolic ministry.
cos do-iW /crX.] In accordance with
the distinction found in Plato (Gorg.
507 B) and other Gk. writers, it has
been common to describe oo-tW as
indicating duty towards God, and
diKaicos duty towards men. But the
distinction, which even in class. Gk.
is sometimes lost sight of, must not
be pressed in the N.T., where all right-
eousness is recognized as one, 'growing
out of a single root, and obedient to
a single law' (Trench Syn. p. 307).
Accordingly oo-itos and diKaicos are
best regarded as descriptive of the
Apostles' attitude towards both God
and man from its positive side, that
attitude being viewed first from a
religious (otrtW) and then from a
moral (8t/cmW) standpoint, while the
following dpcpTTTus from the negative
side emphasizes their general blame-
lessness in these same two respects.
As regards the individual expres-
II ii, 12] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALON1ANS 25
yev^Q^jjiev 9 " Ka6a7rep
TraTrjp T6Kva eavTOv
v/uiv rots 7TL(TT6vov<jiv
cos eva e/cacrroy VJJLMV w
7rapaKa\ovvTes v^as Kai
Kai
sions, oo-ias is found only here in the
N.T., while a/ze^m-co? occurs again in
v. 23 (cf. iii. 13 WH. inarg.). Both
afjif/jLTTTos and -coy are common in the
inscriptions and papyri, e.g. O.G.I.S.
485, 14 ayvwf KOI a/jie/iTrrcos 1 . For the
combination oo-iW K. SiKaivs see further
Apol. Arist. xv. sub fine, also P. Par.
63. viii. 13 f. (ii./B.c.) where a letter-
writer makes a claim for himself as
having ocruos Kat...Si>caicos [7roXi]rev(ra-
pevos before the gods, and for anep-nrais
K. oo-tW cf. Clem. R. Cor. xliv. 4.
On o$s see Blass p. 230, and for the
use of the adverbs instead of the
corresponding adjectives, as bringing
out more fully the mode and manner
of fyfvTjdrjuev (Ambrstr. facti sumus),
cf. I Cor. XVI. 10 iva dfpoftus
rrpos
VfUV T. TTlO-T^VOVO-Lv] Cf. i. 7 '. TllC
clause is not * pointless ' ( Jowett), but
is to be closely connected with eyej/r/-
6r)[jLi> (cf. Horn. vii. 3), as marking
the impression the missionaries made
upon their Thessalonian converts,
whatever might be the judgment of
Others. Thdt. : ov yap etVef,
OV(TL.
ii. Kadcnrep oiSare] The expres-
sive Kadcnrfp ('die scharfste aller
Gleichheitspartikeln ' Meisterhans p.
257) is found in the N.T. only in the
first two groups of the Pauline Epp.
(16 times) and in Heb. iv. 2 : cf.
P.Hib. 49, 6 f. (iii./B.C.) naOcnrep eypa^fa
and the common legal formula Kadcnrep
ey 8i<r]s 'as if in accordance with a
legal decision' (e.g. P.Amh. 46, 13
(ii./B.c.)). In the Decrees ra ^ev aXXa
Kadajrep 6 dclva l was the usual intro-
duction to an amendment proposed
in the Ecclesia to a probouleuma'
(Roberts-Gardner p. 18): e.g. C.I. G.
84, 6 f. Ke0aXoy ewre- ra fj.fv dXXa KaOa-
nep rrj jSouXft' dvaypatyai 6e....
ok eva rX.] The construction is
irregular but, if this is not to be taken
as an instance of the Hellenistic use
of the part, for the ind. (cf. Moulton
Prolegg. p. 222 f.), we may either
resume eyfvijd^fj.fv (v. 10) after eoy,
leaving both eva CK. and v/j,as to be
governed by the following participles,
or still better supply such a finite
verb as evovdeTov^ev which the writer
lost sight of owing to the extended
participial clause.
"Ei/a eKaarrov (Vg. unumquemque),
an intensified form of tKaoroi/, marks
the individual character of the
Apostles 5 ministry. Chrys. : /3a/3ai', Iv
) (J.T) 1T\OV<TIOV, fjL^ 7TVr)T(l.
a>s irarrip icrX.] an appropriate change
from the figure of the nursing-mother
(0. 7) in view of the thought of instruc-
tion which is now prominent. Pelag.:
' parvulos nutrix fovet : proficientes
vero jam pater instituit.'
12. TrapaKoXovvTes v/j.as KrX.] 'ex-
horting you and encouraging and
testifying' a clause which, contrary
to the usual verse-division, is included
by WH. in v. 12. IIapa/<aXeZi/, like
Trapa<\r)(ri5 (o. 3 note), is a favourite
word with St Paul, occurring no less
than ten times in these Epp. with the
double meaning of 'exhort' and 'com-
fort.' The former idea is prominent
here, while the succeeding irapanvQov-
IJLCVOI (elsewhere in N.T. only in v. 14,
Jo. xi. 19, 31, cf. 2 Mace. xv. 9) is
addressed to the feelings rather than
to the will. For a similar combination
of the corresponding nouns see i Cor.
xiv. 3, Phil. ii. i.
Maprvpeo-Oai, properly 'summon to
witness,' and then absolutely ' asseve-
26 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 12
ek TO TrepiTraTeiv u/xas d^icos TOV 6eov TOV
is TY\V eavTOv /SacriXeiav Kat
II 12 /caXoOvTos BDGHKLP 17 af pZer d g Syr (Hard mg) Chr Ambst Ephr aZ :
Ka\t(ravTos KA 23 31 aZ pane Vg Go Syr (Pesh Hard) Sah Boh Arm Theod-Mops lat
rate," protest,' from which it is an easy
transition to the meaning 'conjure/
' solemnly charge ' which suits best
the present passage and Eph. iv. 17:
see Hort on i Pet. i. n who cites
in support of this rendering Plut. ii.
19 B (of Homer) ev 8e r< 7rpo8iaf3d\\fiv
fj,6vov ov papTvperai KOI 8iayopevft pyre
Xprjo-dcu KT\. 'solemnly warns not to
use' a charge as in the presence of
God. An interesting parallel is also
afforded by P.Oxy. 471, 64 f. (H./A.D.)
[taprvpovTai Kvpif rr]v o~r)v TU^TJI', where
however the editors translate 'they
bear evidence,' as if it were the com-
moner fj.apTvpovo-i. According to Lft.
(ad loc., cf. note on Gal. v. 3) fiap-
Tvponai has never this latter sense in
the N.T. any more than in class. Gk.,
but that the two words were some-
times confused in late Gk. is proved
by such a passage as P.Amh. 141, 17 f.
(iv./A.D.) Tocrovro fiaprvpafJLfvr} []ai
diov<ra r?)s irapa o~ov JK&ucttak Tv\fw,
where we can only translate ' bearing
witness to the facts and praying to
obtain satisfaction by you.'
fls TO TrepnraTelv KT\.] On fls TO
with the inf. expressing here not so
much the purpose as the content of the
foregoing charge see Moulton Prolegg.
p. 218 ff., where the varying shades of
meaning attached to this phrase in the
Pauline writings are fully discussed.
Ufpinarelv with reference to general
moral conduct occurs thirty-two times
in the Pauline Epp., and twelve times
in the writings of St John (Gosp. 2 ,
Epp. 10 ). St Luke prefers iropcvea-Qai
(Gosp. 2 Ac. 2 ) for this purpose, as do
St Peter and St Jude. The metaphor
though not unknown in class. Gk. (cf.
Xen. Cyr. ii. 2. 24 T) jrovrjpia 8ta TWV
irapavriKo. rjdovav iroptvopfvr), and the
essentially similar metaph. use of
dvacrTpf(f)O'6ai) dvavrpocpr)) is Hebra-
istic in origin : cf. the early designation
of Christianity as j 686s (Ac. ix. 2 &c.)
in keeping with the common meta-
phorical use of the word in the LXX.
For the use of the pres. inf. Trepi-
Trareti/ (v.l. -rfo-at D C KL) see Blass
p. 1 95 n 1 . For Trcpnrarc'iv ai'eos cf. Eph.
iv. i, and for aiW with gen. of a person
cf. Rom. xvi. 2, Col. i. 10, 3 Jo. 6. The
exact phrase aiW TOV 6co\> is found in
the Pergamene inscription 248, 7 ff.
(ii./B.c.) where Athenaios, a priest of
Dionysios and Sabazius, is extolled
aS (rv[v\TT\ KOTOS TO, ifpfl. . .VO-(f3(S
[^]ey KOI dia>s TOV 6cov (see Deissmann
p. 248).
Thieme (p. 21) cites similar exx.
from the Magnesian inscriptions, e.g.
33, 30 dia>s [r]r?[Y] 0[Y]aff (Gonnos in
Thessaly iii./B.c.), 85, 10 f. a^'co? TTJS re
*ApT^i8os-.-Kai [TOV] 8^ov (Tralles);
but rightly draws attention to the diffe-
rence of spirit underlying the appeal
of the Christian Apostle to his con-
verts to walk worthily of the Gospel,
and the praise which a Greek com-
mune bestows on the ambassadors of
another state for acting dia>s TT/S 0as
KOt TOV 8r)IJLOV.
TOV KaXovvTos] 'who is calling,' the
verb being used in its technical sense
of 'call to the kingdom' with the
further idea, as throughout the Pauline
Epp., that the calling as God's act has
been effectual (Rom. viii. 30, i Cor. i. 9).
The use of the pres. part, instead of
the more common aor. (icaMo-avTos,
WH. mg.) in this connexion (cf. iv. 7,
Gal. i. 6, 15, v. 13, but not v. 8) may
be due to the fact that the whole
phrase is practically = ' our caller' (cf.
i. 10, and see Rom. ix. n where e<
roC KoXovvros is contrasted with c
epyo>j>), but is perhaps sufficiently' ex-
II 12] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 27
plained by the eschatological refer-
ence of the present passage. Believers
are continually being called to an in-
heritance on which they have not yet
fully entered, but of which they are
assured (cf. v. 24).
On the different uses of KaXe'co see
SH. p. 241 f.
ds r. eavrov /3ao-iXetai> *rX.] Though
there are undoubted instances in the
Pauline Epp. of /Sao-iXf/a as the
present kingdom of God's grace
(Rom. xiv. 17, i Cor. iv. 20, Col. i. 13),
its reference in the main is to the
future (II. i. 5, i Cor. vi. 9, xv. 50,
Gal. v. 21, 2 Tim. iv. i, 18), and that
this is the case here is shown by its
inclusion with the eschatological 86ga
under one art. The two expressions
must not however be united as if=
' His own kingdom of glory,' or even
'His own kingdom culminating in
His glory,' but point rather to two
manifestations of God's power, the
first of His rule, the second of His
glory. On eWroG which seems here
to retain its full emphasis see note
on v. 7, and on St Paul's teaching
regarding the 'kingdom' at Thessa-
lonica see Intr. p. xxvii.
Aoa, in class. Gk. = f opinion,' 'good
opinion' (cf.??. 6), through the influence
of the LXX. where it is commonly used
to translate Heb. "fa? 'honour/
'glory,' came to be applied in the
N.T. to the full manifestation of
God's glory ('Gloria, divinitas con-
spicua ' Beng. on Ac. vii. 2), or more
specially to that glory as revealed to
men in the Divine majesty and good-
ness (e.g. Eph. i. 6, 12, 17, iii. 16, Col.
i. ii with Lft.'s note). From this it
was a natural transition to the future
bliss or glory that awaits God's people,
the ethical conception being still
always predominant: cf. Rom. v. 2
eV eXflri'Si r. 86t-r)s T. deov, viii. 1 8 Trpos
T. jMeXXoiKTaz/ 8oai> a7roKa\v<f)6fjvai fls
77 /nay. This sense of the word can also
be illustrated from post -canonical
literature by such passages as Apoc.
Bar. xv. 8 'For this world is to them
a trouble and a weariness with much
labour; and that accordingly which
is to come, a crown with great glory ' ;
xlviii. 49 'And I will recount their
blessedness and not be silent in cele-
brating their glory, which is reserved
for them ' ; and especially 4 Ezra vii.
42 where the state of the blessed is
described as 'neque nitorem neque
claritatem neque lucem ' but only
' splendorem claritatis altissimi '
SH. p. 85].
For the Bibl. history of the word
oa see further Kennedy Last
Things p. 299 ff., and for the possi-
bility that Sda may originally have
had a ' realistic ' meaning in the
ordinary Gk. of the day though no
actual instance of this use has yet
been found, see Deissmann Hellenis-
ierung p. 165 f., where its use as a
name for women and ships (F. Bechtel,
Die attischen Frauennamen (1902)
p. 132) is cited as a partial parallel.
In the passage before us the whole
phrase r. KaXovvros KT\. shows affinity
with the 'invitation' in the Parable
of the Supper, Mt. xxii. i ff., Lk. xiv.
1 6 ff.: cf. Dalman Worte p. 97 (Engl.
Tr. p. 118 f.) where similar exx. are
adduced from Jewish literature.
II. 13 1 6. RENEWED THANKSGIVING
FOR THE SUCCESS ATTENDING THE
APOSTOLIC MINISTRY AT THESSA-
LONICA.
Because their ministry had been
attended with so much toil and zeal
(vv. i 12), the Apostles are now all
the more ready to renew their thanks-
giving to God that the Thessaloniaus
had not come short either in their
ready acceptance of the Gospel-
message (v. 13), or in their endurance
under persecution (v. 14) the latter
thought leading to a vehement con-
demnation of the persecuting Jews
(vo. 15, 1 6).
13, 14. 'Seeing then that we on
our part have bestowed so much
labour and affection upon you, we are
28 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 13
13 K
a Sia TOVTO Kai
ev^apia'TovjUiev TW 6ew
, OTL 7rapa\a/36vT6s \oyov aKOrjs Trap' qjULtov
TOV 6eov eSe^acrde ov \6yov dvdptOTrcov d\\d Ka6ws
d\rj6tos ivrlv \6yov 6eou, os Kai ivepyeiTai ev vjuiiv TCUS
the more unceasingly thankful that
you yourselves have not come short
in the act of receiving. Nay rather
when the "word of hearing" was de-
livered to you, it became something
more than the " word of hearing." We
might be its bearers, but God was its
author. And in welcoming it as you
did, it proved itself no mere human
message, but a Divine power in all
believing hearts. How true this is
your own lives testified in that, after
the example of the Christian Churches
of Judaea, you underwent the same
sufferings at the hands of your fellow-
countrymen that they did at the hands
of the unbelieving Jews.'
13. KOI ?7ju,eis] 'we on our part'
KOI denoting the response of the
Apostles to the favourable character
of the news they had received: cf.
iii. 5, Col. i. 9 (with Lft.'s note). For
a different view according to which
Kai really belongs to the verb see
Lietzmann on Rom. iii. 7 (in Handb.
z. N.T. iii. i (1906)).
on TrapitXajBovTes KrX.] on not SO
much causal (II. i. 10, ii. 13), as intro-
ducing the subject-matter of the
evxapicrn'a, namely that the Thessa-
lonians had not only outwardly
received (napaXapovTes) the Apostolic
message, but had inwardly welcomed
(eoVao-0e) it, and that too not as the
word of men, but as the word of God.
For a similar use of 7rapaAa/ij3ai/o> in
the Pauline Epp. cf. iv. i, II. iii. 6,
Gal. i. 9, 12, i Cor. xv. i, 3, Phil. iv. 9,
Col. ii. 6, and for Se^o/uai of willing,
hearty reception cf. i. 6, II. ii. 10,
i Cor. ii. 14, 2 Cor. viii. 17, Gal. iv. 14.
In the present passage the Vg. makes
no attempt to mark the difference of
the verbs (accepissetis^.accepistis],
but Clarom. has percepissetis...ex-
cepistis, and Ambrstr. accepissetis . . .
suscepistis.
\oyov aKorjf] 'AKofjs may be under-
stood in the active sense of 'a hearing '
(cf. Gal. iii. 2, where it is contrasted
with cpyav) in keeping with the part
here assigned to the Thessalonians
themselves, but it is better taken in
its (ordinary) passive sense of 'a mes-
sage' spoken and heard (Vg. verbum
auditus)-. cf. Rom. x. 16 (LXX. Isa.
liii. i), Heb. iv. 2.
Trap' r)fj.a>v] to be connected with
7rapaXa/3oi/res, notwithstanding the
interjected Xo-y. a/co^r, as indicating
the immediate source of the message
delivered and received, while the em-
phatic TOV tieov is added to point to
its real source lest the Apostles should
seem to be making undue claims (cf.
i Cor. ii. 13).
rX.] To under-
stand toy before Xoy. avQp. (as A.V.,
R.V.) is unnecessary, and fails to
bring out as clearly as the absolute
rendering the real character of the
message here referred to. For (o)
Xo-yos (TOV) Qeov with reference to the
preaching of the Gospel cf. 2 Tim. ii. 9,
Apoc. i. 9, and for the whole clause
cf. Apol. Arist. xvi. ov yap a.i>Qpa>ira>v
prjfjiaTa XaXovcriv [ot ^pioriai/oij, dXXa
TO. TOV Oeov.
os Kai fWpyeTrai] * which also is set
in operation 3 (Clarom., Ambrstr. quod
operator) eWpyetrat being best un-
derstood in the pass, sense in which
it is frequently found in late Gk. (e.g.
Polyb. i. 13. 5, ix. 12. 3), and which
brings out more clearly than the
midd., which is generally found here,
the Divine agency that is at work.
For this energizing power of God's
II i 4 ] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 29
jap pifJLijTai eycwj&prc, d$6\<poi,
KK\ri(TL(jov TOU deov Ttov ov(ru)V iv Trj ' lovSaia V
'Iqcrov, OTL TCL avTci ewdQere KCCI u//e?s VTTO
crv/uiCbvXeTwv KaBcos KCLI avrol VTTO TWV '
(TTp\}/T) (IS TOV tSlOI/ OLKOV I Cf. Mt. XXH.
5, i Cor. vii. 2, and the memorial
inscription found at Thessalonica
'ATroXAom'a Net/ccoj/t ra> Idito dvdp\
pvrjurjs x<*P iV (Heuzey p. 282). See
further l)eissmann#/S'. p. 1 23 f., Mayser
p. 308, and on the danger of pushing
this 'exhausted' i'Stos- too far Moulton
Prolegg. p. 87 ff.
For the thoroughly class, use of vrro
with an intrans. verb to point to the
author cf. such a passage from the
Koivrj as P.Amh. 78, 4f. (ii./A.D.) /St'ai/
word cf. Heb. iv. 12, Jas. i. 21, i Pet.
i. 23, Isa. Iv. ii; and for a valuable
note on the use of evepyelv and its
cognates in the N.T. see Robinson
Eph. p. 241 ff.
fv vfjiiv r. irio-revovo-iv] a clause
added to emphasize that, powerful
though the word of God is, it can
only operate where a believing atti-
tude exists and continues : cf. v. 10,
and for the thought see Mt. xiii. 23,
58, Heb. iv. 2.
14. v/zets ydp KT\.] A practical con-
firmation of the fvepyeia just spoken
of. The Thessalonians in their turn
(vp-fls emph.) had shown themselves
not idle hearers, but active 'imi-
tators' of the Churches of God in
Judaea, which are apparently speci-
ally mentioned here simply because
they were the earliest Christian com-
munities, and had throughout their
history been exposed to severe hos-
tility.
For the added clause eV Xp. 'Irjo:
cf. i. i note, and for similar appeals
to the lessons of past sufferings cf.
i Cor. xv. 32, Gal. iii. 4, Heb. x. 32 ff.
VTTO r. idiav o"u/i<uXera>i/] Accord-
ing to derivation (rvn<pv\eTT)s (air. \ey.
N.T.) means literally 'one belonging
to the same tribe' (Vg. contribulibus),
but is evidently used here in a local
rather than a racial sense (Ambrstr.
conciuibus), and need not therefore
exclude all reference to those Jews
by whom, as we know from Ac. xvii.
5, 13, the persecutions at Thessalonica
were first instigated. If so, this
would seem to be one of the in-
stances where a certain weakened
force must be allowed to ZSiW (cf.
favrrjs, v. 7) in accordance with a not
infrequent tendency in Hellenistic
Gk., e.g. Job vii. 10 ov'S' ou ^ eVi-
eKCKTTOTf VTTO
ws KOI avroi KT\.] AUTOI, i.e. the
persons included in the collective e'/c-
K\rj(ria>v. For the imperfect antece-
dent cf. WM. p. 1 8 1, and for the
repetition of <ai in order to strengthen
the comparison with the immediately
preceding KCU v^cis cf. Rom. i. 13,
Col. iii. 13. 'lovdaia is here used in
its larger sense of all Palestine in-
cluding Galilee, cf. Lk. iv. 44, Ac. x.
37, Jos. Antt. I. 1 60 (vii. 2) els TTJV rore
fifv Xavavaiav \fyo^.lvr]v vvv e 'louSai'ai/,
/zfrajKTjo-f. Of the precise nature of
the sufferings of the Judsean churches
after St Paul began his missionary
labours we have no record in Acts,
but they would doubtless consist in
excommunication and social outlawry,
as well as in actual legal persecution
(cf. Ramsay C.R.E. p. 349). In any
case the mere mention of ' the Jews '
is sufficient to recall to the Apostle
what he himself had suffered at the
hands of his fellow-countrymen, and
accordingly he 'goes off' at the word
into a fierce attack upon them.
15, 1 6. This attack is so different
from St Paul's general attitude to his
fellow-countrymen (e.g. Rom. x. i ff.)
that the whole passage has been pro-
nounced an interpolation but without
30 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 15, 16
I5 T(*)v Kat TOV Kvpiov dTTOKTeivavTOJV 'Irjcrovv Kcti TOI)S
s Kal t]juas eV&o>aWfc>y, Kai 6ea) /m
iratTLV dvQpWJTOis ivavTicov, l6 KO)\vdvT(x)v
any sufficient warrant (Intr. p. Ixxvi).
The sharp judgment expressed is due
rather to the Apostle's keen sense of
the manner in which the Jews had
opposed God's will, both in thwarting
his own missionary work, and after-
wards in seeking to shake the faith
of his Thessalonian converts. It is
however deserving of notice that this
is the only passage in the Pauline
writings in which the designation
1 the Jews' is used in direct contrast
to Christian believers in the sense
which St John afterwards made so
familiar in his Gospel (i. 19, ii. 18 &c.).
For a somewhat similar digression cf.
Phil. iii. 2 ff., and for the light in
which the Jews are here regarded
see Stephen's charge Ac. vii. 5 1 ff.
1 5, 1 6. * Did we speak of the Jews
as persecutors } Why, are they not the
men at whose door lies the guilt of
the death of Jesus, and who in the
past drove out the prophets, even as
they are now driving out us? The
least that can be said of them is that
they do not please God, while their
well-known hostility to all mankind is
shown in the present instance by their
deliberately standing in the way of
the Gentiles' salvation. But in so
doing they are only "filling up the
measure of their iniquity " with the
result that " the Wrath of God " which
they have so fully deserved has reached
its final stage.'
15. TtoV KO.I TOV KVplOV KT\J] The
words are skilfully arranged so as
to lay emphasis on both wpiov and
'ITJO-OVV : it was ' the Lord ' whom the
Jews slew, ' even Jesus ' : cf. Ac. ii. 36
and see Add. Note D. For the guilt of
the crucifixion as lying at the door of
the Jewish people cf. such passages
as Lk. xxiv. 20, Jo. xix. n, Ac. ii. 23,
and Gosp. Pet. 7, and for the general
thought see our Lord's own parable
TOiS
Mk. xii. i ff, which may have sug-
gested his language here to the
Apostle. If this latter connexion can
be established, it is natural to follow
the usual order and place T. 717
also under the government
vdvTo>v. On the other hand, to avoid
the slight anticlimax that is thereby
occasioned by the prophets following
the Lord Jesus, various modern editors
prefer to connect T. Trpocp^ras with
rjfias under the direct government of
e/<Sta>ai>Te0i/, an arrangement which
has the further advantage of com-
bining closely the prophets and the
Apostles as the Divine messengers in
the past and the present : cf. Mt. v. 12
OVTO)S yap f8io>av T. Trpocpr'/ras T. irpo
vpaiv, and see also Mt. xxiii. 31, Lk.
xi. 47.
The reading Iftiovs, which is found
in certain MSS. (D bc KL) before n-po^j/-
ray, is due not to any doctrinal bias
(Tert. adv. Marc. v. 15 'licet suos
adjectio sit haeretici'),but to a desire
for precision of statement : cf. iv. 1 1,
Eph. iv. 28.
Kal r)/ias Ko~ia)dvT(i>v] ' and drove us
out' (Beng. : 'qui persequendo ejece-
runt'). For the fact cf. Ac. xvii. 5 ff,
I3ff, and for the force of eKS/mi>
(air. Xey. N.T. : v.l. Lk. xi. 49) cf. such
passages in the LXX. as Deut. vi. 19
irdvras TOVS c^^pouy crov npo
crov, Joel ii. 20 Kal TOV drro
/Soppa /cStco<a a<p' VJJLWV : see also
Thuc. i. 24 o drjpos avT&v e|fio>e
TOVS dvvaTovs, ol de dnt\Qovrf$ KT\.J
Dem. Or. xxxii. p. 883 ocSuBKo/ievo?
\scil. e navi] piVrft eavrov fls TTJV 6d-
\aao-av.
Kal 6f<a /i)) dpf<TKQVTO)v\ a notable
instance of meiosis, cf. II. iii. 2, 7.
For the expression which is a favourite
one in the Pauline writings cf. v. 4,
iv. i, Rom. viii. 8, 2 Cor. v. 9, Col. i. 10.
Kal Tracriv dvOpntrois eWi/riW} the
II 16] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 3 1
\a\rj(rai *lva crcoBcocriv, ek TO ANATTAHPOCJCAI CLVTCOV
only passage in the N.T. where Ivav-
rios is used of persons. The words
naturally recall the 'hostile odium 7
(Tac. Hist. v. 5) towards all men with
which the Jews have often been
charged : cf. Diod. Sic. xxxiv. i TOVS
'louSaiou? povovs anavTOiv eOv&v aKOiva)-
VIJTOVS eii/at, Philostr. Apoll. v. 33, Jos.
c. Apion. n. 121 (10), and the col-
lection of passages in T. Reinach's
Textes...relatifs au Juddisme (1895)
under the heading 'Misoxenie' in the
Index. The reference here however,
as the following clause shows, is more
limited.
16. Ka>\v6vTo>v TJ/zas KrA.] 'in that
they forbid us to speak to the Gentiles
in order that they may be saved.' The
emphasis lies on r. edveo-iv : it was to
the Gentiles (Wycl. hethen men) that
the Jews did not wish anything said
that had for its object their salvation.
Chrys. : el yap TTJ olKOVpevrj del Xa\^-
<rat, OVTOI 5e KeoAuovcrt, KOIVOL TTS
oiKoviJ,vr)s elo-\v c^OpoL For the fact
cf. Ac. xiii. 45, 50, xvii. 5, 13, xxi.
27 ff. &c., and for a similar instance of
iva with its full telic force cf. i Cor.
*. 33-
On the history of the word edvos,
which is here used in its strict LXX.
sense of all outside the covenant-
people (D^ijin^ see Kennedy /Sources
p. 98, Nageli p. 46, and cf. Hicks in
CM. i. p. 42 f. where it is shown that
eOvos first gained significance as a
political term after Alexander and his
successors began to found cities as out-
posts of trade and civilization. Then
'Hellenic life found its normal type
in the TroAty, and barbarians who lived
Kara Kaj/iay or in some less organized
form were eQvrj.'
The attitude of the stricter Pharisa-
ism towards other nations is well
brought out in such a passage as
4 Ezra vi. 55 f.: 'Haec autem omnia
dixi coram te, domine, quoniam
dixisti quia propter nos creasti primo-
genitum saeculum. Residuas autem
gentes ab Adam natas dixisti eas
nihil esse et quoniam saliuae adsimi-
latae sunt et sicut stillicidium de uaso
similasti habundantiam eorum.'
There are however occasional traces
of a more liberal view, e.g. Pss. Sol.
xvii. 38, 'He [the Messiah] shall have
mercy upon all the nations that come
before him in fear' ; Apoc. Bar. i. 4
'I will scatter this people among the
Gentiles that they may do good to
the Gentiles' (i.e. apparently by
making proselytes of them, Charles
ad loc.).
els TO dva7T\r)pa><rai KrA.] ' in Order
to fill up the measure of their sins at
all times' (Vg. ut impleant peccata
sua semper). There is no need to
depart here from the ordinary sense
of els TO with the inf. to denote
purpose (cf. v. 12 note), the reference
being 'grammatically' to the Jews,
but 'theologically' to the eternal
purpose of God ' which unfolded itself
in this wilful and at last judicial blind-
ness on the part of His chosen
people' (Ellic.) : cf. Rom. i. 24, and
for other exx. of els TO introducing
a purpose contemplated not by the
doer but by God cf. Rom. i. 20, iv.
n. In acting as they were doing the
present Jews were but carrying for-
ward to its completion the work
which their fathers had begun (Beng.:
'ut semper, ita nunc quoque'), and
which had now brought down upon
them God's judicial wrath : cf. Gen.
XV. 1 6 ovna) yap avaireirX^puivTai at
a/iaprtai rail/ 'A/uoppat'ooi/ eW TOV vvv,
and especially our Lord's own words
recorded in Mt. xxiii. 31 f. cm vloi
WV (frovevardvTtov TOVS
TO /zerpoi/ r<i/
7rarepo>i> vfAa>v. The plur. at a/>taprtat
laying stress not on specific acts of sin,
but on sin in the aggregate, is found
in all groups of St Paul's Epp.; c
Westcott Eph. p. 165 f. where the
32 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 16
TAC
S T\09.
16 tyeaaev KAD bc GKLP cet Orig Eus Chr Thdt
r e<pdacrev^ Se eV avrovs 1} opyrj
BD"
137 154
different Pauline words for 'sin' are
classified, and for a non-Christian use
of the word see P.Leip. 1 19, 3 (iii./A.D.)
For the unemphatic
avTwv cf. WM. p. 193.
f(p0ao-ev fie /crA.] 'Tristis exitus '
(Beng.). The wrath which in i. 10
was represented as 'coming' is now
thought of as actually 'arrived,'
thereby marking an 'end' in the
history of God's dealings with the
Jewish people. For this meaning of
(pddvftv, which in late Gk. (perhaps in
accordance with its original meaning,
cf. Thuc. iii. 49 and see Geldart Mod.
Gk. p. 206) has entirely lost the sense
of anticipation, cf. Rom. ix. 31, 2 Cor.
x. 14, Phil. iii. 1 6, and such passages
from the papyri as P.Oxy. 237. vi.
30 f. (ii./A.D.) KOI OTI (pddvfi TO npayna
aKpeiftus [e^Tao-fievov 'and the fact
that a searching enquiry into the
affair had already been held,' P.Fior.
9, 9 f. (iii./A.D.) (pddaravros pov rrpos
rots fivaifjLiois (fj.vr)fjieiois) ' when I had
arrived near the tombs.' There is no
need to treat the aor. as prophetic,
resembling the Heb. perf. of pre-
diction (Findlay) : in accordance rather
with one of its earliest usages it de-
notes what has just happened, and is
thus best rendered in English by the
perf. 'is (or has) come,' cf. Moulton
Prolegg. p. 135, and for the survival
of this ancient aor. in mod. Gk.
(e<p6a<ra = 'here I am') see p. 247.
WH. read ecpOaKev in the margin.
On 77 opyri see the note on i. 10, and
for the wrath coming upon (eVt) the
Jews from above cf. Rom. i. 18 dnoKa-
AvTrrerat yap opyrj 0eov air* ovpavov eVt
rracrav do-efteiav. The phrase (pddveiv
fTri is found elsewhere in the N.T.
only Mt. xii. 28, Lk. xi. 20: it occurs
six times in the LXX. (Hawkins Hor.
i. p. 51).
fls re'Aoy] an adv. phrase = ' finally,'
' to an end ' (Vg. infinem, Weizsacker
zum Ende\ in accordance with the
regular N.T. usage (e.g. Mt. x. 22, Lk.
xviii. 5, Jo. xiii. i) supported by
many passages in the LXX., e.g. Job
xiv. 20, xx. 7, Pss. ix. 7, xlviii. (xlix.)
10 where it represents the Heb. R^,
Some translators however prefer the
intensive meaning 'to the uttermost,'
' completely ' (Hofm. ganz und gar,
Weiss im hochsten Grade), relying
on such passages as 2 Chron. xii. 12
(for PD), xxxi. i (for nbjr-|l>) ; cf.
also Pss. Sol. i. i with Ryle and
James's note. In either case the
sense remains much the same, namely,
that in the case of the Jews the
Divine dpyr (nd\ai 6(pei\ofjLevrj K. Trpoo)-
pia-fJLvrj K. 7rpo(pr)TcvoiJ,evr), Chrys.) had
now reached a final and complete end
in contrast with the partial judg-
ments which had hitherto been
threatened (cf. Jer. iv. 27 o-vi/re'Aemi/
8e ov /LIT) iroirjara)).
In what exactly this 'end' consisted
is not so easy to determine, but in no
case have we here any direct refer-
ence to the Fall of Jerusalem as Baur
and other impugners of the Epistle's
authenticity have tried to show (Intr.
p. Ixxiv). The whole conception is
ethical, the Apostles finding in the
determined blindness of the Jewish
people with its attendant moral evils
an infallible proof that the nation's
day of grace was now over, cf. Rom.
xi. 7ff.
For an almost literal verbal parallel
to the whole clause cf. Test, xii pair.
Levi VI. 1 1 efpOcure de avrovs r) opyrj
rov Beov els re'Aoy, whence St Paul
may have derived it, if it is not to be
regarded as 'a half-stereotyped Rab-
binical formula' (Lock, Hastings' D. B.
iv. p. 746).
II 17] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 33
I7 ' HjULels Se, d$e\<poiy aTropfyavicrBevTes d(p' VJJLWV Trpos
Kaipov WjOas, TrpCHrtoTra) ov KapSia, TrepLcrcroTepcos icnrov-
come to on two separate occasions
it was only to find that Satan had
effectually blocked our path.'
17. a7rop(pavi(r0evTes] The meta-
phor underlying dnop(pavio-6ei>Tes (air.
Aey. N.T., elsewhere Aesch. Choeph.
241, Philo) can hardly be pressed in
view of the latitude with which op-
(pavos is often used (e.g. Pind. Isthm.
7. 1 5 d. eVatpo)!/), though the closeness
of the ties between the Apostles and
their converts (cf. ii. 7, 1 1) makes the
special meaning very appropriate here.
Th. Mops.: 'desolati a uobis ad in-
star orphanorum'; Oecum.: ai>o> p,ei/
fi-rrfv, OTI, eos Trariyp TtKva, KU\ toy rpo(pns-
fvravOa 8e, diTop(pavi(r6evTcs oircp eWt
Trat'Scoi/, Trarepas 1 7Tir)TOvvT(t>v.
Trpos- ttaipuv copas] 'for a space of an
hour' (Vg. ad temp us horae, Beza ad
temporis momentum}, the combina-
tion laying stress on the shortness of
the period referred to(cf. 'horae mo-
mento' Hor. Sat. i. i. 7 f., Plin. N. H.
vii. 52). For the simple Trpos naipov
cf. Luke viii. 13, i Cor. vii. 5, and for
npus topav cf. 2 Cor. vii. 8, Gal. ii. 5,
and for npos c. ace. to denote the
time during which anything lasts cf.
Trpos oXiyov (i Tim. iv. 8), npos TO
napov (Heb. xii. ii), and such a pas-
sage from the papyri as C.P.R. 32, 9 f.
(iii./A.D.) Trpos p-ovov TO evfo-Tos ft' ZTOS
II. 17 III. 10. SUBSEQUENT RE-
LATION OF THE APOSTLES TO THE
THESSALONIAN CHURCH.
II. 17 20. Their Desire to revisit
Thessalonica and its Cause.
From their outburst against their
Jewish opponents the writers return
to their relation to their Thessalo-
nian converts, and in a paragraph
full of deep feeling give expression to
their anxiously-cherished desire to
see them again. The paragraph is
only loosely connected with the fore-
going section, though the emphatic
jpels dc (v. 17) may well stand in
contrast with the Jews just spoken
of. While these had done their ut-
most to prevent the preaching of the
gospel in Thessalonica, the Apostles
on their part had been only the more
eager to resume their interrupted
work. The main stress however is no
longer, as in vv. i 12, on the delivery
of the message, but rather on the
faith by which it had been received,
and which was now in need of en-
couragement and comfort in view of
the sufferings to which the Thessa-
lonians were exposed. In no case
does the passage contain an apology
for the Apostles' absence, as if on
their own account they had deserted
the Thessalonian Church. On the
contrary the vehemence of the lan-
guage employed shows how keenly
they felt the enforced absence.
17, 1 8. 'But as for ourselves,
Brothers, when we had been bereaved
of you for a short season, albeit the
separation was in bodily presence, not
in heart, we were exceedingly de-
sirous to see you again face to face,
and all the more so because of the
hindrances we encountered. For
when we had resolved to revisit
you so far indeed as I Paul was
concerned this resolution was actually
M. THESS.
v /capSi'a] ' a local dative
ethically used' (Ellic. on Gal. i. 22):
cf. WM. p. 270. The same contrast
is found in 2 Cor. v. 12: for the
thought cf. i Cor. v. 3, Col. ii. 5.
Grotius cites by way of illustration
the line descriptive of lovers, ' Ilium
absens absentem auditque videtque.'
Trepio-o-orepcoy eo-rrouSao-a/xez'] ' were
more exceedingly anxious' a sense
of eagerness being present in the
verb eo-TrouSao-a/ie*', which we do not
usually associate with our Engl. ' en-
deavoured' (A.V., R.V.). Tindale,
34 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 18, 19
l8
$LOTi
Kal
TO TTpocrtoTrov V/U.CLV ISeu/ eV 7ro\\tj
ajjiev eXOeiv Trpos v/u.ds, eyco /uev FlavXos
Kai Sts, Kai 6V6KO\jsev rj/mds 6 Carat/as.
followed by Cranmer and the Genevan
versions, has 'enforsed.' For O-TTOU-
Safeti/j which in the N.T. is regularly
constructed with inf. (in 2 Pet. i. 15
ace. and inf.), cf. Gal. ii. 10, Eph. iv. 3,
2 Tim. ii. 15, Heb. iv. n, 2 Pet. i. 10,
iii. 14.
The comparative irfpio-o-oreptos (for
form, WSchm. p. 98) is appa-
rently never used in the Pauline
writings without a comparison, either
stated or implied, being present to
the writer's mind (cf. WM. p. 304 f.).
In the present instance this is best
found not in the preceding drropfp.
('separation, so far from weakening
our desire to see you, has only
increased it' Lft.), nor in what the
Apostles had learned regarding the
persecutions to which the Thessalo-
nians had been exposed (P. Schmidt,
Schmiedel), but in the hindrances
which, according to the next verse,
had been thrown in the way of their
return, and which, instead of chilling
their ardour, had rather increased it
(Bornemann, Wohlenberg).
ev TroAAj; TTi6vp.ia\ 'with great de-
sire* one of the few instances in
the N.T. in which eTntiv/jiia is used in
a good sense, cf. Lk. xxii. 15, Phil. i.
23, Rev. xviii. 14.
1 8. 8i6n TjtfeAtjora/zff] 'because we
had resolved' with the idea of active
decision or purpose which as a rule
distinguishes 0e'Ao> in the N.T. from the
more passive ovAo/uai 'desire/ 'wish.'
It is right however to add that by
many scholars this distinction is re-
versed (see the elaborate note in
Gritnm-Thayer s.v. 0'Ao>), while Blass
(p. 54) regards the two words as
practically synonymous in the N.T.,
though his contention that /SovAo-
pai is 'literary' as compared with
the more 'popular' (so mod. Greek)
0\co cannot be maintained in view of
the frequent occurrences of the former
in the non-literary papyri. For the
form #e'Xa> which always stands in the
N.T. for the Attic ede\a>, and which is
always augmented in r)-, see WSchm.
p. 54. Atort (v. 8 note) is better sepa-
rated only by a colon from the pre-
ceding clause.
cya> p.cv IlaCAos-] For a similar em-
phatic introduction of the personal
name cf. 2 Cor. x. i, Gal. v. 2, Eph.
iii. i, Col. i. 23, Philem. 19. For pcv
solitarium see Blass p. 267.
K. ana% K. dis] 'both once and twice'
i.e. 'twice' as in Phil. iv. 16; cf. Plato
Phaedo 63 r> KCU 8ls KOI rpis. Where the
first KOI is wanting as in Deut. ix. 13,
2 Esdr. xxiii. (xiii.) 20, i Mace. iii. 30,
the meaning may be more general
'once and again,' 'repeatedly.'
Kai VKo\l/'fv <rA.] On /cat here as
not adversative (Hermann Vig.p. 521)
but 'copulative and contrasting' see
Ellic. on Phil. iv. 12 (cf. WM. p.
544 n. 1 ).
'EVKOTTTCO 'cut into' used originally
of breaking up a road to render it
impassable, came to mean 'hinder'
generally (Hesych. : e/*7ro8io>, 5ia/co>-
Aua>); cf. Ac. xxiv. 4, Rom. xv. 22,
Gal. v. 7, i Pet. iii. 7, and see P.Alex.
4, I f. (iii./B.C.) YIIMV evKOTTTfts KaAa.
The exact nature of the hindrance is
here left undefined, but in accordance
with the profound Bibl. view it is re-
ferred in the last instance to Satan,
as the personal force in whom all evil
centres; cf. II. ii. 9, 2 Cor. xii. 7. In
the LXX. a-arav is found in the general
sense of 'adversary' in 3 Regn. xi. 14
without the art., and in Sir. xxi. 27
(30) with the art.: in the N.T. the
name whether with or without the
art., always denotes the Adversary Kar
Elsewhere in this Ep. Satan
II 20] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
\ t ~ j x ^ y\ \ y\ / , /
yap fifj.cov eATT^s v] X a P a *l o"'7"(pai/o? Kav^rjo'ecos
Kal Jjuels eu-TTpocrvev TOV KVQLOV yawis 'Irjcrov ev Trj
' f -s / ^ \'
TrapovcTLa] 20 vjULl^ y a p G"T Y] ooa rifjicov K.CLL r\
35
is described as o neipdfav (iii. 5). For
the development of the Jewish belief
in 'Satan' see Enc. Bibl. s.v., and cf.
Bousset Die Religion des Juden-
tums* (1906) p. 382 ff.
19. 'Nor is this longing on our
part to be wondered at. If any de-
serve to be called our hope or joy or
crown of holy boasting at the time
when our Lord Himself appears, it is
surely you. Yes indeed! you are our
glory and our joy.'
19- TLS yap ij/j.a>v e\rris KrX.J The
warmth of the Apostles' feelings to-
wards their converts now finds ex-
pression in one of the few rhetorical
passages in the Ep. (Intr. p. Ivii) : cf.
Phil. iv. i. With rn*.a>v \iris cf. Liv.
xxviii. 39 'Scipionem...spem omnem
salute inque nostram' (cited by Wet-
stein).
The phrase crre<. Kavx^o-f^s (dyaX-
Xtaa-fooy A, Tert. exultationis) is
borrowed from the LXX. (cf. Prov.
xvi. 31, Ezek. xvi. 12, xxiii. 42, where
it translates the Heb.
and in accordance with the general
Bibl. use of ar^avos is to be under-
stood of the 'wreath' or 'garland of
victory' which their converts would
prove to the Apostles at the Lord's
appearing : cf. for the thought 2 Cor.
i. 14, Phil. ii. 1 6. The distinction
between o-Te(pavos 'crown of victory'
('Kranz') and 8id8rjp.a 'crown of
royalty' ('Krone') must not however
be pressed too far (as Trench Syn.
xxiii.), for irrefpavos is not infre-
quently used in the latter sense, see
Mayor's note on Jas. i. 12, and add
the use of are^avos to denote the
'crown-tax' for the present made to
the king on his accession or some
other important occasion (cf. i Mace.
x. 29, and see Wilcken Ostraka i. p.
295 ff.). In this latter connexion an
instructive parallel to the passage
before us is afforded by P.Petr. n.
39(0), 1 8 (iii./B.c.) where if we adopt
Wilcken's emendation (ut s. p. 275)
and read aXXov (scil. a-Te(pavov) irap-
ovvias, the reference is to an addi-
tional 'crown' given at the king's
irapovaria or visit (cf. Add. Note F).
For 7rapd\r)\lsis TOV ore$ai/ov to denote
entering on the priestly office see
B.C.H. xi. p. 375, and for the general
use of the term to denote a 'reward'
for services performed see P.Cairo 5, 5
(ii./B.c.) where a certain Peteuris offers
a (TT(f)avov XO\KOV (raXavTa) Trevre to
the man who secures his freedom; cf.
P.Grenf. i. 41, 3 (ii./B.c.), P.Par. 42,
12 (ii./B.c.), and see Archiv ii. p. 579.
The figure may also be illustrated
from Jewish sources by Pirqe Aboth
iv. 9, ' R. Qadoq said, Make them [thy
disciples] not a crown, to glory in
them ' (Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish
Fathers*, p. 68).
ij ovxl Koi vp.f'is] a rhetorical pa-
renthesis interjected into the main
sentence to draw special attention
to the position of the Thessalonians.
Chrys. : ov yap einfv, u/ieiv, a'XXa, " Kal
vfieZs-," iJLfTa T>V aAXa>i>.
For the unusual use of the dis-
junctive particle fj (wanting in K*) see
Blass p. 266.
e^Trpoo-flfv TOV Kvpiov KrX.] The first
definite reference to the Parousia of
the Lord Jesus which plays so large
a part in these Epp., cf. iii. 13, iv. 15,
v. 23, II. ii. 1,8; Intr. p. Ixix.
For the meaning of napovo-ia see
Add. Note F, and for ev not merely
'at the time of,' but 'involved in,' 'as
the result of,' cf. i Cor. xv. 23
(with Al ford's note).
2O. v/ueis yap e'crre *rX.] Tap
here introduces a confirmatory reply
'Truly,' 'Yes indeed' (cf. i Cor. ix.
32
36 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III i
III. * Aio /ULr]KTt (TTeyovTes ^i/So/o/cra/zey Kara\L-
10 ; Blass p. 274 f.), while the art.
before Soa marks out the Thessa-
lonians in the language of fond ex-
aggeration as 'the' glory of the
Apostles (WSchm. p. 161). In ac-
cordance with its general meaning
(v. 12 note) and the context (v. 19),
the main reference in d6a must be
eschatological, so that the pres. e'oW
is to be taken as practically = ' you
are now and therefore will be.'
On the depth of affection dis-
played in the whole passage Theo-
doret remarks: eneid
aTTftKaaf Ti6r)vovp.fvrj TO.
avrfjs (pOeyyfTai prj/iara. avral -yap ra
Kopidf) vfa Traidia Kal eXfrida, Kal x a P<*v,
Kal TO. Toiavra npocrayopeveiv eta>$a<ri.
III. i 10. The Mission and Return
of Timothy.
Hindered in his own desire to re-
visit Thessalonica, St Paul now recalls
how he had done the next best thing
in his power by sending Timothy who
had already proved himself so faith-
ful a 'minister in the gospel of Christ'
to establish his beloved Thessalonians
amidst the 'afflictions' which were
proving the inevitable accompaniment
of their Christian calling (vv. i 5):
while at the same time he can find no
adequate words to express his thank-
fulness at the 'good news' of which
Timothy had been the bearer on his
return (vo. 6 10).
i 5. ' Unable to bear the thought
of this continued separation any longer,
we made up our minds I speak of
Silas and myself to be left behind
alone, even though it was in Athens,
a city " wholly given to idolatry," while
we dispatched Timothy, our true
brother in Christ, and called by God
Himself to the ministry of the Gospel,
in order that he might be the means
not only of establishing you more
firmly in your present conduct, but
also of encouraging you in the heart-
possession of the Faith. And there is
the more need of this in view of the
troubles which (so we hear) are now
falling upon you, and by which if you
are not on your guard you may be led
astray. You cannot surely have for-
gotten that these are the inevitable
lot of Christ's disciples. For even
while we were still with you, we
warned you clearly that we are hound
to encounter trouble. And so it has
now proved in your own experience.
So anxious however are we still re-
garding you that let me say it once
more for myself unable to bear the
thought of this continued separation
any longer, I sent Timothy to bring
back a full report of your faith, lest,
as we feared might h;i ve been the case,
Satan had succeeded in tempting you,
and our toil on your account had
come to naught.'
I. AlO p,J]KTl CTTtyOVTfs] ' WhcrC-
fore no longer bearing' (Vg. non
sustinentes amplius] viz. the sepa-
ration referred to in ii. ijf. Sreyetv
originally = ' cover,' and thence either
'keep in' in the sense of 'conceal,'
'hide,' or 'keep off' in the sense of
'bear up under,' 'endure' (Hesych. :
Either meaning yields good
sense here and in v. 5, but the latter,
as Lft. has shown, is to be preferred
in view of i Cor. ix. 12, xiii. 7, the
only other passages in the N. T. where
the verb occurs, and its general use
in later Gk. e.g. Philo in Flacc. 9 (ii.
p. 526 M.) p.r)KTi o-Tfyeiv dvvapevoi ras
evdfias. For the more literal sense of
'ward off' cf. Polyb. iii. 53. 2, Ditten-
berger Sylloge 21 318, 24 (ii./B.c.) e
t KT\.]
Grot. : ' Triste hoc, sed tamen hoc li-
benter, feceramus...vestri causa.' For
r)vdoKTJ<rafj.fv (Vg.placuitnobis') see ii.8
note, and for KaraXfKpd^vai in the sense
of being left behind owing to the
ev
Ill 2] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 37
Ti/uLo6eov, TOV
rto va<yye\iip
TOV -vpiarTOV, ets TO (TTtipt^ai vfjias Kcu 7rapctKa\e<rai
III 2 SHLKOVOV TOV deov NAP 6 67** al Vg Go Boh Syr (Pesh Hard) Aeth Bas
Theod-Mops lat : evvepybv TOV deov D* 17 d Ephr (?) Ambst : avvepybv B Ephr (?)
(f)6fjvai eV 'Adtivcus /ULOVOI, a KCLI
dSe\(f>ov v/uLWV Kal r $ia.KOVov TOV Oeoi
departure of others cf. [Jo.] viii. 9,
Ac. xxv. 14. Hence the verb is
frequently used in connexion with
dying (Deut. xxviii. 54, Prov. xx. 7,
Mk. xii. 19, Lk. xx. 31), and is also
the technical term in wills of the
Ptolemaic period for 'bequeath,' e.g.
P.Petr. i. 1 1, 9 f. (the will of a cavalry
officer) fav 8e ri avOptomvov iraBa) Kara-
AflTTO). ..TOV 17T7TOI/ KOI TO. OTrAd TTToAe-
/Wa>[i]. In the **ame will, according
to MahafFy's restoration, the testator
appoints a certain Demostratus his
executor with the formula KaraAeiVo)
fTTLTpOTTOV.
In the passage before us the ist
pers. plur. j/ufioK^'o-a/ifi/ may be under-
stood of St Paul alone (Add. Note B),
but in view of v. 5 (see note) is best
referred to St Paul and Silas (cf.
Intr. p. xxx). How keenly the two
older Apostles felt the departure of
their younger companion is proved
by the emphatic p.6voi the sense of
loneliness being further deepened by
their position in Athens 'urbe vi-
delicet a Deo alienissima' (Beng.).
[Cf. the now almost proverbial 'Alone
in London.'] Calv.: 'signum ergo
rari amoris est et an xii desiderii, quod
se omni solatio privare noli recusat,
ut subveniat Thessalonicensibus.'
2. K. f7TIJL\lsap.V Tlp,60OV KrA.] Ti-
mothy is described as dd\<p6s by
St Paul in the salutations of 2 Cor.,
Col., and Philein. (cf. Heb. xiii. 23),
but the title dtdicovos is not elsewhere
bestowed on him exc. in i Tim. iv. 6
(KaXoy (ay diaKovos Xp. 'Iqo-oC). Here
the lofty diaK. r. 6fov is further defined
by (v T. fva-yy. r. ^pioroG to mark the
sphere in which the service or mi-
nistry is rendered, viz. 'the Gospel'
which has for its object 'the Christ'
as the fulfiller of the one God's gra-
cious purposes on His people's behalf
(Add. Note D) the whole descrip-
tion being intended not so much
to emphasize the greatness of the
Apostles' sacrifice in parting with
Timothy, as to lay stress on the
dignity of his mission and prevent
the Thessalonians from undervaluing
it (cf. 2 Cor. viii. 18 ff., Phil. ii. 20 ff.).
In contrast with SoCAos or Gepcnrcov,
the servant in his relation to a, person,
diaKovos represents rather the servant
in relation to his work (Trench Syn.
ix), and like CTTIO-KOTTOS (Deissmann,
US. p. 230 f.) is already found as a
term, techn. in pre-Christian times.
Thus iu C.I.G. ii. 3037 along with a
ifpfvs and a itpeta of the 8(odf<a 6(<a>v
we hear of two SIOKOVOI and of a
female SIOKOVOS (cf. Rom. xvi. i), and
in Magn. 109 (c. i./B.c.) in a list of
sacred functionaries there appear pd-
yetpos...did.Kovos (cf. Thieme p. 17 f.).
The reading Sia/c. r. 6fov is however
by no means certain in the passage
before us, and if the marginal arwep-
yov [TOV Qcov] is adopted, the thought
then finds a striking parallel in i Cor.
iii. 9 deov yap (rp.v crvvepyoi) cf. 2 Cor.
vi. i, viii. 23. Weiss (Textkritik der
paulinischen Briefe (in Text. u.
Unter. xiv. 3) p. 13) regards the read-
ing of B (rvvfpyov without TOV deov as
the original, on the ground that the
genesis of the other variants is thus
most easily explained.
fls TO o-TTjpigat *rA.] 2nty>(rM in
its metaph. sense is found only in late
Gk., cf. e.g. Epict. Gnomologium
Stobaei 39 (ed. Schenkl) TOVS fvoucovv-
Tas cvvoia K. Trio-ret AC. (ptAia orr/pi^e.
By St Paul, who uses it only in these
Epp. and in Rom. (i. n, xvi. 25), it is
38 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III
VTrep Trjs 7ri<TTews vfjiwv S TO jji^eva craivecrOai eV
6\i\js(nv Tavrais. avTOL yap oi'Sare OTL ek TOVTO
4 Kai yap ore Trpos v/ma^ YHJLCV, TrpoeXtyofjiev vfj.lv
OTL
6Xi/3ecr6aL 9 Kadcos Kai eyeveTO Kai
again combined with 7rapaKaXe'o-ai (ii.
ii note) in II. ii. 17: for eTrto-Trjpi^eiv
in the same combination cf. Ac. xiv. 22,
xv. 32. Swete (ad Apoc. iii. 2) classes
(TTTjpi^fLv with (3(j3aiovv and 6e^f\io\>v
as technical words in primitive pas-
toralia. For ek TO with inf. see the
note on ii. 1 2.
VTrep TTJS 7TLO-Tf<OS VfMWv] Hot ' COn-
cerning' (A.V., R.V.) but 'for the
furtherance of your faith ' virep here
retaining something of its original
force 'for the advantage or benefit
of: contrast II. ii. I.
3. TO fj.r)8eva (raivfo-Qai *rX.] 'to wit,
that no one be led astray in the midst
of these afflictions.' Ms. evidence is
decisive in favour of TO (not r<a) which
introduces a statement in apposition
to the whole foregoing clause, cf. iv. 6.
Blass (p. 234) regards the art. as quite
superfluous in both passages, but it
may be taken as lending more weight
to the inf. by making it substantival
(cf. iv. i and see WM. p. 402 f.).
2cuW0<u (air. X*y. N.T.) is generally
understood in the sense of ' be moved,'
'be shaken' (Hesych.: Kivflcrdai, traXcv-
cor0at, raparreo-0m), but this is to lose
sight unnecessarily of the original
meaning of the word. Properly it is
used of dogs in the sense of ' wag the
tail,' 'fawn' (e.g. Od. x. 217 or av
dp(pl civaKTa Kvvfs ... craivuxriv)^ and
hence came to be applied meta-
phorically to persons, 'fawn upon,' 'be-
guile' (e.g. Aesch. Choeph. 186 craivo-
pai 8' VTT' eXiri&os). What the Apostles
evidently dreaded regarding the
Thessalonians was that they would
allow themselves to be ' drawn aside,'
' allured ' from the right path in the
midst of (eV) the afflictions (6\tyeo-iv,
i. 6 note) which were then
falling upon them (cf. Zahn EinL i.
p. 159 f.).
For an entirely different rendering
see Severianus (apud Cramer Cat. vi.,
P- 353) l o-aiveo-dai' dna>v TO p.r)8eva
gcvi(fo-6ai. Lachmann reads ^SV
i. For the reading of FG o-ie-
i.e. (riuiv(r6ai 'to be disturbed,
troubled,' which has much to recom-
mend it, see Soph. Lex. (*..), and cf.
Nestle Z.N.T.W. vii. p. 361 f., and
Exp. T. xviii. p. 479.
Keip,f6a] ' we are appointed.' For
Kflp.ai (practically perf. pass, of riOrmi
for the rarely used r'$ei/uru) in this
sense cf. Lk. ii. 34, Phil. i. 16, Josh,
iv. 6, and for the general thought see
Mk. viii. 34, of which we may here
have a reminiscence. The plur., while
referring in the first instance to St
Paul and his companions along with
their Thessalonian converts, embodies
a perfectly general statement. Calv.:
' in hoc sumus constituti, tantundem
valet ac si dixisset hac lege nos esse
Christianos.'
4. *ai yap ore rrpos vfj,as KT\.~\ 'For
in addition to other considerations
when we were with you ' ' yap intro-
ducing the reason, Km throwing stress
upon it' (Ellic.). Ilpoy is here con-
strued with the ace. even after a verb
of rest in accordance with its prevail-
ing use in the N.T. (c. gen. i, dat. 6,
ace. 679, Moulton Prolegg. p. 106).
HpoXeyeti/ is sometimes understood in
the sense of 'tell openly or plainly/
but the ordinary predictive force of
Trpo- (Vg. praedicebamus) is more in
harmony with the following clause:
cf. 2 Cor. xiii. 2, Gal. v. 21.
on fjL\\ofj.fv 6\lfif(r6ai\ l that we
are to suffer persecution' on intro-
ducing the substance of what' the
Ill 5, 6] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 39
5 Sid TOVTO Kay co /urjK6TL crTeycov 67reiu.\lsa ets TO yvcovai
TY\V ir<rriv
TTCOS eTrepacrev
Kcti ek Kevov yevtjTcu 6 KOTTOS rifjuav. 6>f ApTi Se e
5 iriffTiv vfjuZv KADGKLP al pier : v/mw Tricmv B 37 73 116
Apostles foretold, and p,e\\opfv (c.
pres. inf. as almost always in N.T.)
bringing out its Divinely-appointed
character: cf. Rom. viii. 13, 18, Gal.
iii. 23. A striking parallel both in
thought and expression to the whole
passage is afforded by Ac. xiv. 22
where Paul and Barnabas are de-
scribed aS 7Tl<TTr)pioVT(S TCIS ^V\CIS TWV
[ia.6r)T<nv, TrapaKaXovvTey (fjifj.eveiv TJJ
7rio~Ti KOI OTI 8ia 7roAAe5i> 6\L"^fO)V 6ei
els TT/V fta<Ti\eiav rov
5. 8ia TOVTO Kayo) KT\.] So keenly
alive was St Paul to the dangers
threatening his beloved Thessalonians
that he reiterates his eagerness with
regard to the despatch of Timothy,
employing now the emphatic ist pers.
sing. ' I also,' ' I on my part,' to bring
out still more forcibly his own share
in the joint-action already referred to
(v. i). A wholly different turn is
given to the verse by Hofmann's
suggestion (favoured by Spitta Ur-
christentum i. p. 121 ff.) that after
the despatch of Timothy, and the sub-
sequent departure of Silas, St Paul
had still no rest, and in his anxiety
despatched another messenger or
letter on his own account. But if
this were so, the fact and nature of
this second sending would surely have
been more clearly denned, whereas
the actual words of vv. i, 2 seem
rather to be expressly repeated, in
order to show that the same sending
is still in view.
/LIT; TTCOS CTTfipao-ev KT\.] Mrf TTCOS
'lest haply,' a combination found in
the N.T. only in the Pauline Epp.,
and construed here with both ind.
and subj. the former (eVe ipaa-fv] de-
scribing an action that the writers
feared had already taken place, the
latter (ycV^rai) a possible future con-
sequence of that action : see WM.
p. 633 f. and for a similar transition
only this time from the subj. to the
ind. cf. Gal. ii. 2. Findlay prefers to
take the clause interrogatively to
which there can be no grammatical
objection, and which has the advan-
tage of vividness : 'Had the Tempter
anyhow tempted you, and would our
toil prove in vain 1 ' For the thought
cf. Jas. i. 13 and the agraphon as-
cribed to Christ in Horn. Clem. in.
55 P- 5 1 ) 2O TO ~ tS $* OtO/bltJ/Oly OTI O
6fos TTfipdfci, coy at ypctfpai \iyova-iv,
e(pr) o TTOvrjpos fVTiv o TTfipdfav (Resch
Agrapha (1889) pp. 115, 233).
o 7reipacoi/] subst. part, applied to
Satan as in the history of the Lord's
Temptation (Mt. iv. 3) to bring out
his characteristic office ('seine nie
ruhende Anstrengung 'Everling An-
gelologie, p. 78): cf. i Cor. vii. 5 tva
p.r) nfipd(r) vfj.as 6 2arai>ay. For the
distinction between 7Tfipaa> (Att. Tret-
paco) and doKipafa (ii. 4 note) see
Trench Syn. Ixxiv.
ets- Kfvov] ' in vain,' ' to no purpose/
cf. 2 Cor. vi. i, Gal. ii. 2, Phil. ii. 16.
6 10. 'In view then of the fears
just spoken of, imagine our relief
when Timothy brought back to us
as he has at this moment done the
tidings of your faith and love and of
the kindly remembrance which you
are always continuing to cherish of
us, reciprocating our longing desire
to meet again. To us such a report
was a veritable gospel, and through
your faith we ourselves were com-
forted amidst the crushing trials and
cares we are encountering in our
present work. No news could have
40 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 6
TTKTTIV
rivets d<p' V/ULWV Kai evayyeXurafjievov
i Tt\v dyaTrriv VJJLWV, Kai OTI e^ere ij.vei.av
TrdvTOTe 7ri7ro6ovvTes quds iSelv
helped us more, and we seem to be
entering on a new lease of life, so
long as we hear that you are standing
fast in the Lord. Words fail us in-
deed to express our thanksgiving to
God for the joy with which you are
filling our hearts in His sight a joy
that is finding unceasing expression
in our ardent prayers that we may
not only hear of you, but once more
see you face to face, and make good
any shortcomings in your faith/
6. "A/art] may be connected gram-
matically either with f\66vTos or with
the principal verb Trape^cX//'^^, but
the former arrangement is decidedly
preferable. Timothy's return had
been anxiously waited for, and no
sooner had he returned than St Paul
proceeded to give vent to the feelings
of thankfulness and joy that filled his
heart. Beng. : 'statim sub Timothei
adventum, recenti gaudio, tenerrimo
amore, haec scribit.'
For apTi denoting strictly present
time ('just now,' 'at this moment') as
contrasted with time past or future
cf. Jo. ix. 19, 25, Gal. i. 9 f., i Cor.
xiii. 12, i Pet. i. 6, 8, also Epict. Diss.
ii. 17. 15 d(pa>fifv apri rov devrepov
TOTTOV, B.G.U. 594, 5 f. (i./A.D.) /uera
rov 8tpi(TfMo[v /ryoX]u/3f7(ro/Ma[il, apn
yap d(T0va>i: See further Lob. Phryn.
p. 1 8 ff., Rutherford N.P. p. 70 ff.
evayyeXio-apevov] ' Participium in-
signe ' (Beng.). So good was
Timothy's news that to the Apostles
it was a veritable ' gospel.' The point
is lost in the Latin verss. which
give adntmtiante or cum adnun-
tiasset: in the Latin of Th. Mops,
however we find euangelizante.
Chrys. : opqs TTJV nepL^apetav IIovXov;
OVK eiTTfv, dn-ayyeiXai>ros, aXX' ' evay-
y\L<rauVov ' TCHTOVTOV ctyaoov T^yetTo
/3f/3ai' axrii' KOI TT]V aycnrT]i>.
For the history of evayyeX iopai,
which is only found here in the Pauline
Epp. in its wider sense, see Add. Note
E.
r. TriVrti/ K. T. dyanrjv v/i.] Calv.: 'to-
tam enim pietatis summam breviter
indicat his duobns verbis.' The same
combination is found again in v. 8
and several times in the Pastoral
Epp. (i Tim. i. 14, ii. 15 &c.), and
always in this order (cf. however
Philem. 5): on the other hand in Rev.
ii. 19 St John characteristically places
r. dya-rrrjv first.
Kai on ex fTf K^X.] Yet a third
point in Timothy's good news. Not-
withstanding the efforts of the hostile
Jews, the Thessalonians had always
(ndvTOTf) cherished, and were still
cherishing (e^ f7 " 6 ) a ' kindly remem-
brance' towards their former teachers.
For pveiav fx flv 'hold, maintain a
recollection' cf. 2 Tim. i. 3, and for
dyaBos in the sense of ' friendly,' * well-
disposed,' cf. Rom. v. 7 (with Gifford's
note), Tit. ii. 5, i Pet. ii. 18, and see
further on v. 15.
7rnro6ovvTfs rjfJicis ISflv' KrX.] 'long-
ing to see us...': cf. Rom. i. ii, 2 Tim.
i. 4. 'Emrrodelv, a favourite word
with St Paul who uses it seven out of
the nine times in which it occurs in
the N.T. (elsewhere Jas. iv. 5, i Pet.
ii. 2). It seems to be somewhat
stronger than the simple noQelv (not
found in N.T.), eVi- by marking direc-
tion (' idem declarat, quod -noBov e\fiv
eni rira' Fritzsche Rom. i. 1 1) lending
a certain intensity to the idea, though
this must not be pressed in view of
the fondness of late Gk. for com-
pounds which have lost their strong
sense: cf. especially for its use here
Diod. Sic. xvii. IOI cat napovri p,ev ov
For Kaddncp see ii. 1 1 note, and- for
Ill 7 9] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 4 1
d TOVTO 7rap6K\ti6rnuiv, d$e\(f)oi, e(f)
7n Trdarr] TY\ dvdyKr] Kai 6\i\fs6i rfiuwv Sid Ttjs v/mwv
VVV ^JJLV O.V V/uel '
g TLva yap ev-^apiCTTLav SuvdjUieda Tip dew
/cat in sentences of comparison cf.
WM. p. 548 f.
7. old TOVTO TrapdcXr/drjuev KT\.~] 'On
this account ' the sing. TOVTO gather-
ing up as a unity the faith and the
love and the kindly remembrance just
spoken of ' we were comforted over
you,' as the basis on which our rrapd-
K\T)O~IS rested (cf. 2 Cor. vii. 7). Nor
was this all, but the comfort which
the Apostles experienced on the
Thessalonians' account bore also eVl
Trdo-fl T. avayicrj rX., from which at the
time they themselves were suffering
(2 Cor. vi. 4, xii. 10) eVi having again
a slightly local force, which can, how-
ever, hardly be brought out in English.
For dvdyKTj in its derived sense in
Hellenistic Gk. of outw r ard calamity
or distress cf. Lk. xxi. 23, i Cor. vii. 26,
Pss. Sol. v. 8, Dittenberger Sylloge 2
255 23 f. cv dvdyKais Kai Ka.KOTra6ia.is
yevrjTai, and for the combination
with 6\fyis (i. 6 note) cf. Job xv. 24,
Pss. cvi. (cvii.) 6, cxviii. (cxix.) 143,
Zeph. i. 15. How little the Apostles
were disturbed by this 'distress and
affliction' is proved by the emphatic
Bid T. \ifji. Trio-Teas with which they
return to the ground of comfort they
have just received, and in so doing
prepare the way for the striking de-
claration of the next verse.
8. OTI vvv {upe*] In view of the
preceding dpTi (v. 6), vvv is best taken
in its full temporal force, and if so
o>/Aei> can only refer to the present
life lived in the fulness of power and
satisfaction (Calv.: 'vivimus, inquit,
hoc est recte valemus'): cf. 2 Cor. vi. 9
and for the thought see 2 Cor. iv. 7 1 5.
For a similar use of ^v corresponding
to the Heb. IVn in the pregnant sense
of fulness of life in the Divine favour
cf. Deut. viii. 3, Pss. cxviii. (cxix.) 40,
93,cxxxvii. (cxxxviii.)7, Isa.xxxviii. 16.
e'ai> vpfls 0-TrjK.fTf <rX.] 'if ye stand
fast in the Lord* (Beza ** vos per-
statis in Domino ; Est. ' si vos in
fide Cliristi Domini constantes per-
manetis') the condition on which
the Apostles' 'life' depended, and
which is expressed by tdv with the
ind., perhaps to bring out more
strongly the writers' confidence that
it would certainly be fulfilled.
For other exx. of edv with ind. in
the N.T. cf. Lk. xix. 40, Ac. viii. 31,
i Jo. v. 15, and such passages from
the LXX. as Gen. xliv. 30 cav elo-jro-
pevo/iat, Job xxii. 3 e'av (ri> fada. The
same irregularity is frequent in the
papyri, e.g. P.Tebt. 58, 55 f. (ii/B.o.)
fav 8, P.Amh. 93, 24 (ii./A.D.) eai/
</>aii/ereu (Moulton Prolegg. p. 1 68).
For the late form O-T^KCO (mod. Gk.
o-reVco) formed from the perf. eo-TrjKa.
cf. II. ii. 15, i Cor. xvi. 13, Phil. i. 27,
and see WH. 2 Notes p. 176, Dieterich
Untersuchungen p. 219. Bornemann
suggests that in C^M 6 ") * av vpds \
o-rr/Kere ev Kvpia> we may have a cita-
tion, somewhat altered, from a Jewish
or a Christian hymn.
9. Tiva yap ev^apiariav KT\.~\ Thdt.:
VIKO. TT/S ev<ppoo-vvr)s TO p,(yfdos TTJS
y\oiTTijs Ttfv vp.vwo'iav. Eu'^apiorta,
which in the LXX. is confined to the
apocr. books, is used by St Paul
twelve times in a theological sense:
cf. Rev. iv. 9, vii. 12, where it is found
in doxologies, and see Ac. xxiv. 3 for
its only other occurrence in the N.T.
The word, of which I have as yet
found only one ex. in the papyri
P.Lond. in. 1178, 25 (ii./A.D.), is fre-
quent in the inscriptions, e.g. O.G.I.S.
227, 6 (iii./B.C.) dia Trjv TOV dijp.ov eu
42 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 10, 11
I0 i/f/cTos KCLL
7Tp VfJLWV
7rpo<r6ev TOV 6eov
TrepKrcrov c6OjULvoi ei? TO tSeu/ V/ULCJOV TO TrpocrtOTrov KCII
KaTapTicrai TO, va-reprnuLara Trjs Trio-Tews VJJLWV',
iav. For its later Christian usage
see a note by Dr Hort published in
J.T.S. iii. p. 594 ff.
The nirt- in dvraTroSovvai expresses
the idea of full, complete return, cf.
II. i. 6. The verb is used in a good
sense as here in Lk. xiv. 14, Rom. xi. 35
(cf. 2 Cor. vi. 13 avTipurOia), and in a
bad sense in Rom. xii. 19, Heb. x. 30
(both from LXX.).
7Ti 7rd<T7) r. x a P$ "wX.] For C'TTI
pointing to the basis of the thanks-
giving (O.L. super omne gaudium
rather than Vg. in omni gaudio) see
note on v. 7. T H ^aipo/Aei/ is usually
understood as a case of attraction for
TJV xaip.: cf. however the cognate dat.
in Jo. iii. 29 x a P9- x a ^P L - At* vfj.as
'because of you, 3 emphasizing more
pointedly the nepl v/j.a>v of the pre-
vious clause. * Ten times, with an
emphasis of affection, is the pronoun
v^fts repeated in vv. 6 10' (Findlay).
c/Jurpoo-Qev r. 6cov ?)/i.] to be con-
nected with xat'po/ifi/, and deepening
the thought of the joy by referring it
to its true author. It was because
their success in the work entrusted to
them was due to 'our God ' (ii. 2 note)
that the Apostles could thus rejoice
' before ' Him.
10. WKT. K. ^....Sfofiei/oi] a partic.
adjunct developing the main thought
of the preceding verse. For the
phrase WKT. K. T)/H. see ii. 9 note, and
for an interesting parallel, apparently
from a heathen source (Intr. p. Ixiv),
to its use in the present passage cf.
B.G.U. 246, ii ff. (ii. iii./A.D.) ov<
OTl VVKTOS KOI qp.paS
TW $<5 virep vfj.a>v.
'YTrfpfKTrfpKro-ov (O.L. superabun-
dantius, Ambrstr. dbundantissime)
is found elsewhere only in v. 13
and Eph. iii. 20. For the form see
Buttmann p. 321, and for St Paul's
fondness for compounds in inrtp- see
Ellic. on Eph. iii. 20 and cf. the note
on II. i. 3.
Ae6/zei/oi ' beseeching ' stronger than
7rpocrevxo/tez/oi, and embodying a sense
of personal need. Except for Mt.
ix. 38 the verb is confined in the N.T.
to Luke 15 and Paul 6 . It is very com-
mon in petitions addressed to ruling
sovereigns as distinguished from those
addressed to magistrates where a'i<5
is preferred, e.g. P.Amh. 33, 21 (ii./B.c.)
where certain petitioners appeal to
Ptolemy Philometor and Cleopatra II.
to rectify a legal irregularity deopcd*
v/io>i> ro3i> /^eyioTTcoi/ Qtwv xrX. : see
further R. Laqueur Quaestiones Epi-
graphicae et Papyrologicae Selectae
(1904) p. 3 ff.
els TO Idelv /crX.] ' to see your face '
the els phrase doing little more
here than take the place of a simple
inf. as 'obj. of the foregoing verb
(Votaw p. 21).
KaTapTicrai] Karapri^eiv originally to
'fit' or 'join together' (cf. Mk. i. 19
KaTapTi^ovras TO. diKTva) is used in the
N.T. especially by St Paul and in the
Ep. to the Hebrews in the general
sense of * prepare ' or ' perfect ' any-
thing for its full destination or use
(Rom. ix. 22, i Cor. i. 10, Gal. vi. i,
Heb. x. 5 (LXX.), xi. 3), the further
thought in the present passage of
supplying what is lacking being
suggested by the accompanying T.
voreprj/iara T. TTI'OT. vp.. ( the short-
comings (Wycl. the thingis that
fallen] of your faith.' For tioWp^p-a
cf. i Cor. xvi. 17, 2 Cor. viii. 13 f.,
ix. 12, xi. 9, Phil. ii. 30, Col. i. 24,
and for ITLO-TIS see v. 2 note. Calv. :
Ill 12] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
Se 6 6e6s Kal TraTrip rifJiwv Kal 6 Kvpios
43
'Hinc etiam patet quam necessaria
sit nobis doctrinae assiduitas: neque
enim in hoc tantum ordinati sunt
doctores, ut uno die vel mense homi-
nes addueant ad fidem Christi, sed ut
fidem inchoatam perticiant.'
III. 1113. PRAYER.
This section of the Ep. is now closed
with a Prayer which in its two peti-
tions re-echoes the longings of the
constant prayer of v. 10.
ii 13. 'But after all is said and
done, it is to God that we must look
for the success of our efforts. May
He open up our way to return to you.
And in any case, whatever may be the
Divine pleasure with regard to us,
may the Lord Jesus grant you an
increasing and overflowing love not
only towards one another but towards
all men, after the measure of the love
which we on our part are displaying
towards you. It is our earnest prayer
indeed that this love may be the
means of so inwardly strengthening
your hearts that your lives may show
themselves free from reproach and
holy in the sight of the all-seeing God,
when the Lord Jesus comes with all
His holy ones.'
AuVos 8c] There is no need to
seek any definite contrast for the
emphatically placed avros either in
deoftefoi (v. 10) or in Satan who had
hitherto been blocking their path
(ii. 1 8). It arises simply from the
writers' constant habit of referring
everything in the last instance to the
direct agency of God, ' Now may God
Himself...': see Intr. p. Ixv, and for the
apparent weakening of avrbs 6 in
Hellen. Gk. see Moulton Pro^p^.p. 91.
Kal 6 Kvpios TIIIWV KrA.] For the
close union of 6 Kvp. 'lrj<r. (Add. Note
D) with 6 6(6s KT\. followed by a verb
in the sing, see Intr. p. Ixvi.
'make straight' rather
KVplOS
than 'direct' (Vg. dirigat\ in accor-
dance with the original meaning of
the word, and the removal of the
obstacles (eveKo-^fv, ii. 18 note) here
prayed for. The verb occurs else-
where in the N.T. only in a meta-
phorical sense (II. iii. 5, Lk. i. 79), and
for a similar use in the LXX. see
i Chron. xxix. 18, 2 Chron. xix. 3,
Ps. xxxvi. (xxxvii.) 23 napa Kvpiov TO.
dtafirj fj.ara dvOpcatrov KdTv6vvfTai. The
opt. KdTfvdvvcu (WSchm. p. 114) is
here used without av to express a
wish as frequently in these Epp., iii.
12, v. 23, II. ii. 17, iii. 5, 16 (Burton
175,176).
12. upas de 6 Acuptoy...] 'Y/ias em-
phatic, marking the Apostles' desire
that whatever the Lord may be pro-
posing as regards themselves ('sive
nos veniemus, sive minus ' Beng.), the
Thessalonians at least will not come
short in any good gift. C O Kvpios
may apply to God, but in view of the
general Pauline usage, and the appli-
cation of the title to Jesus in the
preceding clause, it is best understood
of Him again : cf. Add. Note D, and
for prayer addressed to the Lord
Jesus see Intr. p. Ixvi.
It is not easy to distinguish between
7r\fovd(rai and nepKrcreixrai (for forms,
WSchm. p. 114), but the latter verb
is the stronger of the two, implying
an overplus of love, and hence is
often used by St Paul in referring to
the Divine grace : cf. Rom. v. 1 5, 20
(virfpTTpifr(Ti>fiv\ 2 Cor. ix. 8, Eph. i. 8,
and see Fritzsche Rom. i. p. 351. For
its use here in connexion with dydnrj
(for dat. cf. Ac. xvi. 5, 2 Cor. iii. 9) cf.
Phil. i. 9 iva T) dydnr) vp.a>v en /iaXXoi/
/cat p,aX\ov nepia'a'evT) V (Triyvaxrft KrA.,
and Bacon's fine saying ' Sola charitas
non admittit excessum' (de augm.
Sclent, vii. 3) cited by Gwynn ad loc.
Chrys.: opas rrjv paviav rfjs dyaTrrjs
44 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 13
7r\eovd(rat Kai 7repi(r<r6vcrai
ek TraWas, Ka6a7rep Kai
vpwv T? KapSi
TOV 6eov Kai. TraTpos ^fjiwv eV Trj Trapovcria TOV Kvpiov
'Irjcrov //era TTCLVTWV TWV dyicov avTOvJ
k d\\ri\ovs
eis V/ULCCS, 13 ek TO <rrriplai
as r djj.ejJL7rTov^ ev dyiuMrvv
Tr]v aKadeKTov, rrjv Sia ra>v
deiKWfjivr)v; 'nXfovao-ai, (prjffi
13 d/j.t}j.irTovs] d/x^uTrrcos BL 17 31 47 137 Boh (?) Ps-Ath avrov solum
K'BD'GKL al pier g Vg c dd a i Go Syr (Pesh Hard) Arm Ephr Chr Thdt Ambst
Theod-Mops lat : atrov d^v K*AD* 37 al pane d Vg Boh Aeth
a/Me'/i7rroiy fv ayiaxrw'jy] ' (so as to
be) unblameable in holiness': cf. WM.
p. 779. For the force of a/ue/iTrroff
This is one of the few passages in (o/*e>Trra>s, WH. mg.) cf. C.P.R. 27 (a
the N.T. where Trepin-aevetv is used marriage-contract ii./A.D.) avTr/s Se
transitively (Lk. XV. 17, 2 Cor. iv. !$(?), TTJS 0. a/Ae/WTOi/ KCU dKarrjyoprjTov nap-
ix. 8, Eph. i. 8): the transitive use of
TrXtoi/afcti/ (contrast II. i. 3) can be
paralleled only from the LXX. (Numb,
xxvi. 54, Ps. Ixx. (Ixxi.) 21).
As regards the objects of this
abounding love on the Thessalonians'
part, they are in the first instance
their fellow-believers at Thessalonica
(ets aXXr;Xovy)> and then all men with-
out distinction (els -rrdvTas), and not
merely those of the same faith else-
where (T. t'fjunritrrovs, Thdt): cf. v. 15,
and for the thought see Rom. xii. 16 f.,
Gal. vi. 10, i Pet. ii. 17.
KaBdtrep K. qpels /crX.] a clause
added to strengthen the Apostles'
prayer by an appeal to their own
example. Thpht. : e\ fre 7P P-* T P OV
TTJS dydnrjs r]p,as. For
see ii. n note.
13. els TO o-TTjpigai KrX.] For els
TO with inf. to denote end or purpose
see note on ii. 12, and for o-TT]pigai
see note on iii. 2. The combination
o-Trjpigai Kapdias is found again in
Jas. v. 8, where however there is an
appeal to human effort, and not, as
generally elsewhere, to the strength-
ening influence of the Divine work-
ing (II. ii. 17, i Pet. v. 10, Ps. 1. (Ii.) 14,
Sir. vi. 37, Pss. Sol. xvi. 12): cf. also
Sir. xxii. l6 (19 f.) Kapdia
firi diavoijpaTos
(for form, WH. 2 Notes
p. 1 59) is used in the LXX. only of the
Divine attributes, e.g. Pss. xxix. (xxx.)
5, xcv. (xcvi.) 6 &c.: cf. 2 Mace. iii. 12
(with reference to the temple) rov?
TrfTTKTTfVKOTas TT] TOV TOTTOV aytUHTVVT).
As distinguished from dyiao-pos the
process oV sanctification (iv. 3 f., 7,
II. ii. 13, Heb. xii. 14, i Pet. i. 2)
dyia>o-vvr) points rather to the resulting
state (Rom. i. 4, 2 Cor. vii. i), and is
thus closely akin to ayiorrjs- (Heb.
xii. 20) in which, however, the thought
of the abstract quality predominates.
An interesting parallel to its use in
the passage before us is afforded by
Test. xii. pair. Levi xviii. 1 1, where it
is said of the saints in Paradise, KOI
Trvevfia dyi(ao-vvT]s eorat eV avTols.
Th. Mops, rightly draws attention to
the connexion with the following
dyiwv: 'per quam (sc. sanctitatem)
poteritis etiam in futuro die fiduciam
ad Deum adsequi, cum ceteris omni-
bus qui placite conuersantur in
uirtute.'
epTTpoadev T. 6eoi> *crX.] Two COn-
ditions of this ' blamelessness in
holiness' on the Thessalonians' part
are now stated (i) that it will be
realized epnpoo-Bev T. 6eov KT\. to
whom it is due, and by whom it will
be tested (cf. ii. 4), and (2) that this
Ill 13] THE FIKST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
45
will take place at the Parousia of the
Lord Jesus, to which throughout these
Epp. the writers point as the goal of
all Christian hope (Intr. p. Ixix).
fjLfra irdvTcov T, dytwv avrov] There
is considerable difference of opinion
as to whether we are to understand
by 01 ayioi (i) 'saints' in the sense of
just men made perfect, or (2) 'angels,'
or (3) a general term including both.
The first reference is rendered almost
necessary by the regular Pauline use
of the term (II. i. 10, i Cor. i. 2 &c.),
and is supported by the place assigned
to holy ' men ' in such passages as
iv. 14, i Cor. vi. 2 (cf. Mt. xix. 28,
xx. 21, Rev. ii. 26 f., xx. 4, and Sap.
iii. 8 Kpivovo-iv [diKaiatv \^u^at] fdvr)
Kal Kpa.rr](rova iv Aaa>i/). On the other
hand, though of a-ytoi is nowhere else
expressly applied to 'angels' in the
N.T., they are so frequently described
in this way both in the O.T. and later
Jewish literature (see especially Zech.
xiv. 5 on which this passage is evi-
dently founded KOI rjfi Kvptos o Bcos
/JLOV, KOL ndvTes oi dyioi /Mer' avrov, and
cf. Dan. iv. 10 (13), viii. 13, Pss. Sol.
xvii. 49, Enoch i. 9 with Charles's
note), and are so expressly associated
with the returning Christ elsewhere
(cf. II. i. 7, Mt. xiii. 41, Mk. viii. 38
fifra TO>V dyyeXtov TU>V ayi'coi/), that it
seems impossible to exclude the
thought of them altogether here. On
the whole therefore the term is best
taken in its widest sense as including
all (note 7raz/ro>z>), whether glorified
men or angels, who will swell the
triumph of Christ's Parousia. As
further illustrating the vague use of
the term, it is of interest to notice
that in Didache xvi. 7 its original
reference to 'angels' in Zech. xiv. 5
(cited above) is lost sight of, and the
passage is applied to risen Christian
believers.
For the general thought cf. such
passages from Jewish apoc. literature
as 4 Ezra vii. 28: 'reuelabitur enim
filius meus lesus [Syr Ar 1 Messias]
cum his qui cum eo, et iocundabit
qui relicti sunt annis quadringentis ' :
xiii. 52 'sic non poterit quisque super
terram uidere filium meum uel eos
qui cum eo sunt nisi in tempore
diei': Asc. Isai. iv. 16, 'But the
saints will come with the Lord with
their garments which are (now)
stored up on high in the seventh
heaven : with the Lord they will come,
whose spirits are clothed, they will
descend and be present in the world,
and He will strengthen those, who
have been found in the body, together
with the saints, in the garments of
the saints, and the Lord will minister
to those who have kept watch in this
world.'
The d^v at the end of the verse
(WH. nig.) is well-attested, and its
disappearance in certain MSS. may
perhaps be traced to the apparent
improbability of its occurrence in
the middle of an Epistle. ' Videtur
aurjv hoc loco interiectum offendisse'
(Tisch.). On the other hand its addi-
tion can be equally readily explained
through the influence of liturgical
usage.
IV. i V. 24. HORTATORY AND
DOCTRINAL.
IV. i 12. LESSONS IN CHRISTIAN
MORALS.
With c. iv. we enter on the more
directly practical side of the Ep.,
exhortation and doctrine being closely
intermingled (Intr. p. Ixxi) with the
view of conveying certain great lessons
in Christian morals of which the
Apostles knew their converts to stand
in need.
The section opens with an exhorta-
tion of a general character.
IV. i, 2. General Exhortation.
i, 2. 'And now, Brothers, to apply
more directly what we have been
saying, we entreat you as friends, nay
we exhort you with authority in the
Lord, to carry out ever more fully the
mode of life which is pleasing to God,
as you have already learned it from
46 THE FIKST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV i
IV. ir Ao*7roV, dSe\(poi 9 epooTCu/uev vjuas Kai Trapa-
ev Kvpiw 'Irjcrov, [iva] Ka0ois 7rape\d(3eTe Trap'
IV i XoiT^ solum B* 17 31 al pane Vg codd ali i Syr (Pesh) Boh Arm Orig Chr
Theod-Mops lat : \onr6v ovv KADG alpler 'iva BD*G 1 7 37 alpauc Lat (Vet Vg) Syr
(Pesh) Boh Arm Go Chr \ Ambst : om KAD C KL al pier Syr (Hard) Aeth Chr % Thdt
Theod-Mops lat al
us. We know indeed that you are
doing this, but there is still room for
progress, as you cannot but be aware
in view of our previous instructions.'
i. Aoiirov] a colloquial expression
frequently used to point forward to
a coming conclusion (cf. 2 Cor. xiii. 1 1,
2 Tim. iv. 8 ; TO XOITT. II. iii. i, Phil,
iv. 8), but in itself doing little more
than mark the transition to a new
subject as in late Gk. where it is prac-
tically equivalent to an emphatic ovv:
cf. Polyb. i. 15. II Xoirrov dvdyKrj crvy-
^copetv, ray dp%ds /cat ray vnodeo'eis
flvai ^euSeTy, Epict. Diss. i. 22. 15
ap^o/iai \OITTOV uiaflv avrov, and the
other passages cited by Jannaris Exp.
v. viii. p. 429 f. : see also Schmid
Attic, iii. p. 135. As showing its fre-
quency as a connecting particle in the
Koti/7? (cf. B.G.U. 1039, 8 (Byz.)),
Wilcken remarks that it has passed
over into Coptic in this sense (Archiv
iii. p. 507). In mod. Gk. \onrov has
displaced ovv altogether.
In the present passage ovv is re-
tained in the text by WH. mg.,
Tischdf., Zimmer, Nestle. It might
easily have dropped out after the -ov
of XoiTToV: on the other hand the
combination XotTroi/ ovv is found no-
where else in the N.T., cf. however
B.G.U. \o-j<), 6ff. (a private letter
L/A.D.) XoiTTOi' ovv e'Xa/3oi> Trapa TO(V)
*Apa/3oy TTJV Trio~TO\T)v /cat dveyvotv Kai
p<oT(>[j.fv vfjias KT\.~\ 'Epcorai/ in
class. Gk. always = ' interrogare ' is
frequently used in the N.T. = 'rogare,'
cf. v. 12, II. ii. i, PhiL iv. 3, the only
other occurrences of the word in the
Pauline writings. This usage is amply
vouched for in the Kotvrj (e.g. P.Oxy.
292, 7 f. (i./A.D.) rjpnrrio-a 8e /eat 'Ep-
p.t'[a]t> rbv dSfXtpop 8ia ypairrov dvrj-
yeTfo-^ai] aoc npl TOVTOV, and the
other exx. below), and need therefore
no longer be traced to the influence
of the Heb. b^ (cf. Deissmann &
pp. 195 f., 290 f.). In this, its later
sense, eparav can hardly be distin-
guished from aireti/, though by laying
greater stress on the person asked
than on the thing asked for, it is more
appropriate in exhortation (Grimm-
Thayer s.v. atV<-'o>). The note of urgency
underlying its use is heightened here
by its conjunction with TrapaKaXov^fv
(ii. ii note), and still more by the
addition of ev Kvpia* 'l^troC, pointing
to the real source of the writers'
authority (cf. Eph. iv. 17).
For the conjunction of the two
words in epistolary phrases cf. P.Oxy.
294, 28 f. (i./A.D.) ep&>r<3 8V ae /cat
7rapaKaX[cS ypatyfi pot dvTi(pa>vr)<Tiv
Trept TWV yvop.v[o)v], 744, 6 f. (J./B.C.)
epcorco <re /cat Trapa/caXoo o~e fTTtfieXT;-
6<rjT>i T<5 TratStG). The latter papy-
rus also supplies an instance of fpa>Taa>
construed with ti/a, 13 f. po>r<5 o-e ovv
iva M ayaivido-rjs ' I urge you therefore
not to worry.'
[ti/a] Kadws TrapeXctjSere] '[that] even
as ye received.' If Iva is read it
should have a comma placed after it
to show that it really belongs to the
last clause of the verse, where, on
account of the long parenthesis, it is
repeated. For this semi-final iva
when the subject of the prayer is
blended with its purpose cf. v. 4, II. i.
n, iii. i, 2, 2 Cor. i. 17, and for the
development of this usage in the later
language see Hatzidakis p. 214 ff.,
Moulton Prolegg. p. 206 ff. A good
IV 2] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 47
TO Tret? Sel vfJLas TrepiTraTeiv Kai dpecrKeiv 6ew, KaBws
repiTraTelTe, *iva TrepKra'evrjTe /uciXXov. a o'/SaT
<ya/o T/i/as TrapcfyyeXias eocoKajuev vjuuv oia TOV KVpiov
Kai
ex. from the Kou/r occurs in the
Christian papyrus-letter already cited
P.Heid. 6, 14 ff. (iv./A.D.) 7rapa<a\<o
[o]ti/, fieo-Trora, ti/a /ji/j/^oi^eji^s /not els
ray ayia? (rou etnas', iva
fjiepos rov (a/i)apTid>i/ KaOap
napaXa/M/3ai/a> as usual lays stress not
so much on the manner of the Thessa-
lonians' receiving, as on the contents
of what they received : cf. note on
ii. 13, and for Trfpnrarelv as the result
of this teaching see II. iii. 6, Col. ii. 6.
ro TTO>S Set vp.as ireparaTflv xrX.] In
accordance with a usage peculiar to
St Luke and St Paul in the N.T. TO
(GTTOJS- without ro FG) is here used to
introduce an indirect interrogative
sentence (cf. Lk. i. 62, Rom. viii. 26 ;
Blass p. 158), while at the same time
in quite class, fashion it binds together
all that follows into a kind of sub-
stantival object to TrapeXa'/Sere (cf. iii.
3, and see further Viteau Etude i.
p. 67 f.). The two infinitives are
consequently best taken as closely
connected, the second stating the
necessary result of the first, ' how to
walk and (so) please God' (cf. WM.
p. 544 n. 1 ). For nepnraTflv cf. ii. 12
note, and for dpeo-Keiv 6f<o cf. ii. 4
note. In Ps. xxv. (xxvi.) 3 the LXX.
rendering for *n??nnn is evrjpea-rrja-a.
KaQas K. TTfpnrare Ire ] a clause amply
vouched for on MS. authority (K ABD*
G 17...)) an( i i n entire accord with the
writers' practice to praise whenever
praise is due (Intr. p. xliv), but which,
by destroying the regularity of the
sentence, leads them to substitute Iva
fj.a\\ov for the OVTWS Kal
which we would otherwise
have expected. For a similar irregu-
larity of construction due to the same
cause cf. Col. i. 6 (with Lft.'s note),
and for the intensive /wiXXoi/ cf. v. 10,
2 Cor. vii. 13, Phil. i. 23, Mk. vii. 36.
2. TrapayyeXi'as] IlapayyeXi'a (for
verb cf. v. 1 1 note) is found elsewhere
in the Pauline Epp. only in i Tim. i.
5, 1 8, where it refers to the whole
practical teaching of Christianity.
Here the plur. points rather to special
precepts (Vg. praecepta) or rules of
living, which the writers had laid
down when in Thessalonica, and which
they had referred to the Lord Jesus
(dto r. Kvp. 'Ir)o-.) as the medium
through, whom alone they could be
carried into effect : cf. Rom. xv. 30,
i Cor. i. 10. Thpht. : OVK tfia yap,
(prjcriv, a Trapr/yyetXa, aXX' CKCLVOV
TOVTO.
ForTrapayyeXi'aas denoting a 'word
of command' received as from a
superior officer that it may be passed
on to others cf. Xen. Hell. ii. i 4,
and for its use more particularly in
connexion with instruction cf. Arist.
Eth. NIC. ii. 2. 4.
IV. 3 8. Warning against
Impurity.
From this general exhortation the
Apostles proceed to recall more defi-
nitely the nature of their former
precepts, laying special stress on the
Christian duty of sanctification in
view of the dangers to which their
Thessalonian converts were exposed
(Intr. p. xlvi). The will of God regard-
ing this is stated (i) generally (. 3),
and (2) particularly as it affected
(a) themselves (vv. 4, 5), and (6) their
relation to others (v. 6 a ). And the
whole warning is enforced by re-
calling the punishment that will follow
its neglect (v. 6 b ), and the opposition
which the offender is in reality offer-
ing alike to his Divine call (v. 7), and
the Divine spirit working within him
(* 8).
3 8. ' In particular we call upon
48 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 3, 4
'Itjo-ov. 3 TOVTO yap e&Tiv 6e\ti/uia TOV 6eov, 6 dyia<r-
/xos v^.a)^j aTre^eo'vai v/utas OLTTO TY\S Tropveias, ^eiSevat
TO eavTov <r/cei/os KTaa"6ai ev dyiacr/ULtt
you to avoid all taint of impurity.
For God's purpose regarding you is
nothing less than this that you lead
a holy life, abstaining from fornication
and learning to gain the mastery over
your bodily passions. Lust with its
dishonour is the mark of Gentile
godlessness. It is a sin which, while
it degrades the man himself, brings
wrong and injury upon others. And
hence, as we have already warned you
in the most solemn manner, it incurs
the just vengeance of the Lord.
Therefore he who deliberately sets
aside this warning is setting aside not
man but God, Who is the bestower
of the Spirit whose distinguishing
characteristic is holiness, and of whose
presence in your hearts you are al-
ready conscious.'
3. TOVTO yap eVrtv xrX.J As re-
gards construction, the emphatic
TOVTO is clearly the subject pointing
forward not only to 6 ayiaa^os which
is in apposition with it, but also to
the succeeding inf. clauses by which
the nature of the dyiao-pos is denned,
while the predicate is formed by
6e\T]p.a T. 6eov, the absence of the
art. before deXrj^a pointing to the
general nature of the conception as
compared with the specific irapay-
yeXiat already spoken of.
QeXrjfjia (almost entirely confined to
Bibl. and late writers), while denoting
properly the result as distinguished
from the act of willing (0\r)o-is), is
here used rather in the sense of the
Divine purpose (cf. Ac. xxii. 14, Eph.
i. 9, v. 17, Col. i. 9, iv. 12) and em-
braces the thought not only of God's
'commanding' but of His 'enabling'
will. ' God works in us and with us,
because our sanctification is His will '
(Denney). In the same way dyiao-^os
retains here the active force which it
always has in the Pauline writings
(cf. iii. 13 note), and is = 'that you lead
a holy life,' a positive injunction re-
stated from the negative side in the
clause that follows.
dnexfo-Bai vpas KT\.] a warning ren-
dered necessary by the fact that in
the heathen world iropvda (for form,
WH. 2 Notes, p. 1 60) was so little
thought of (Hor. Sat. i. 2. 33 ff., Cic.
pro Gael. 20) that abstinence from it,
so far from being regarded as inevit-
able by the first Christian converts,
was rather a thing to be learned : cf.
Ac. xv. 20 (with Knowling's note) and
see Jowett's Essay ' On the Connexion
of Immorality and Idolatry' (Epp. of
St Paulii. p. 70 ff.).
*AWx<r0at (appos. inf., Burton 386)
is here construed with OTTO, perhaps
to emphasize the idea of separation,
cf. v. 22, Job i. i, 8, ii. 3 &c. It is
found with the simple gen., as gene-
rally in class. Gk., in Ac. xv. 20, 29,
i Tim.iv. 3, i Pet. ii. 11.
For the act. an-e^o) = ' have wholly,'
'possess,' cf. Phil. iv. 18, Philem. 15,
and for its technical use in the papyri
and ostraca to denote the receipt of
what was due (e.g. B.G.U. 612, 2 f .
(i./A.D.) aTre'^o) Trap' vfji&v TOV (ftopov
TOV f\a[i]ovpyiov, <av *X T * [/ z ] i; '"
liLcrBao-fi] cf. Deissmann BS. p. 229,
Wilcken Ostraka i. pp. 86, 106 ff.,
Archie i. p. 77 ff.
4. flbevai fKa&Tov KrA.] a second
inf. clause parallel to the preceding,
and emphasizing the truth there stated
in greater detail.
The principal difficulty is the mean-
ing to be attached to TO eavT. VKCVOS.
Does it refer to (i) ' his own body,' or
(2) ' his own wife ' 1 The latter view,
advocated by Theodore of Mopsuestia
(O~K(VOS TTjv Idiav eKaorov yafjifTr/v ovo-
i) and St Augustine ('suunr vas
TVs] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
49
Kct
/mr ev Tr
6ei
Ka
daTrep
Ka TA GNH
possidere, hoc est, uxorem suarn' c.
Jul. Pelag. iv. 10), has been adopted
by the great majority of modern com-
mentators, principally it would appear
on account of the objections that can
be urged against the former. But
though supported by certain Rabbinic
parallels (e.g. Megill. Est. i. 11 'vas
meum quo ego utor') and by the
occurrence of the phrase Kravtiai
ywatKtt = 'ducere uxorem' (e.g. Sir.
xxxvi. 29 (26), Xen. Conv. ii. 10), it is
not, it will be admitted, at first sight
the natural view, arid is suggestive of
a lower view of the marriage-state
than one would expect in a passage
specially directed to enforcing its
sanctity (cf. Titius Neut. Lehre von
der Seligkeit (1900) ii. p. 1 13). On the
whole therefore it seems better to
revert to the meaning ' his own body '
which was favoured by the Gk. com-
mentators generally (e.g. Thdt. e'yco tfe
TO fKaCTTOV OrdtylCL OVTCOS UVTOV
as well as by Ambrstr.,
Pelagius, Calvin, Beza, Grotius; for
though no other instance of O-KCVOS by
itself in this sense can be produced
from the N.T., it is sufficiently vouched
for by such approximate parallels as
2 Cor. iv. 7 e^OfjLev 8e TOV 6r)o~avpbv
TOVTOV ev oo-Tpaicivois (TKevecriv, and by
the use of the word in Gk. writers to
denote the vessel or instrument of the
soul, e.g. Plato Soph. 2 19 A; cf. Philo
quod det.pot. ins. 46 (i. p. 186 M.) TO
rfjs ^vx^s dyyelov, TO o-co/ua.
The most serious objection to this
rendering is that it requires us to take
KTao-dai in what has hitherto been re-
garded as the unwarranted meaning
of ' possess.' But to judge from the
papyri it would seem as if at least
in the popular language this meaning
was no longer confined to the perf.
(KtKTTjvdat). Thus in P.Tebt. 5, 241 ff.
(ii./B.c.) we find it decreed p.rjd' aXXovs
'nor shall any other persons take
possession of or use the tools,' and in
P.Oxy. 259, 6 (I./A.D.) a certain Theon
declares on oath that he ' has ' thirty
days (KTrjcrecrdai j)/i[e]pas rpiaKovra) in
which to produce a prisoner for whom
he has become surety. There seems
no reason therefore why KraaOai
should not be used in the passage
before us of a man's so * possessing '
or 'taking possession of his body, as
to use it in the fittest way for God's
service in thorough keeping with the
general Pauline teaching (i Cor. vi.
J5ff., ix. 17, Rom. xii. i).
Nor further can it be urged as a
1 decisive' objection against this view
that it fails to bring out the pointed
contrast in which KravOat TO eavT.
o-Kciios is placed to iropvela, if only we
give its proper weight to the preceding
cifcVat, for by means of it the condition
of purity spoken of is emphasized
as a matter of acquired knowledge.
(Thpht. : o-rj/iet'ooo-eu Se /ecu TO cidevai-
yap OTI do~r/o~ea>s Kal p,a6ijo~ews
For ddcvai followed by an inf.=
'know how' cf. Lk. xii. 56, Phil. iv.
12, i Pet. v. 9 ; also Soph. Ajax 666 f.
Toiyap TO \onrov elo-6[j.0~6a /zei> deals
5. /i>) ev iradei e7ri6vfj,ias] ' not in
lustfulness of desire' (Vg. non in
passione desiderii, Beza non in morbo
cupiditatis) rraflos, according to the
usual distinction, denoting the passive
state or condition in which the active
7rL0vp.ia rules : cf. Col. iii. 5, and see
Trench Syn. Ixxxvii.
KaOdnep Kal TO. edvrj <T\.] Cf. II. i. 8,.
Gal. iv. 8. This description of TO. WV-TY
(ii. 1 6 note) is evidently founded on the
LXX. (cf. Ps. Ixxviii. (Ixxix.) 6, Jer. x.
25), the use of the art. before /zr eld.
pointing to the Gentiles' ignorance of
the one true God (TOV 6e6v) as their
peculiar property (cf. WSchm. pp. 178,
184), and the cause of their sinfulness.
' Ignorantia, impudicitiae origo. Rom.
i. 24' says Bengel. That, however,
St Paul did not regard this ignorance
M. THESS.
50 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 6
MH
TON GeoN, 6 TO fj.fi V7rep/3aiveiv Kai irXeoveKTelv ev
TTpdryjULaTl TOV d$6\<f>OV CCVTOV, SlOTl GKAlKOC KfplOC 7Tpl
as absolute is proved by Rom. i. 19 ff.,
28 : hence Bengel again, ' Coeli sereni-
tatem adspice : impuritatis taedium te
capiet.'
For KaOairep see ii. 1 1 note, and for
the use of <ai in comparison see WM.
p. 549-
6. TO fjiT] vnepftaivciv /erX.] a third
inf. clause in apposition with o
ayiao-fios, and parallel therefore to
the two preceding clauses, the pre-
fixed TO (see iii. 3 note) leading us to
look for a further explanatory state-
ment of the truths already laid down.
'Yireppalveiv (air. \ty. N.T., cf. II. 1
3 note) may govern d8e\(f>6v in the
sense of ' get the better of, 3 but is
better taken absolutely = ' transgress,'
cf. Plato Rep. ii. 366 A virfpfiaivovres
Kai apiaprai/oirer, Eur. Ale. 1077 V^] vvv
VTrepjSati/', dXX' vai(rip.u>s <$>fpt. In
the present passage the nature of the
transgression is denned by the follow-
ing ir\( ovtKTtlv ' take advantage of,'
' overreach,' any reference to un-
chastity lying not in the word itself,
but in the context (cf. irXeovcgia, ii.
5 note). The verb occurs elsewhere
iii the N.T. only jn 2 Cor. ii. n
(pass.) and in vii. 2, xii. 17 f., where,
though intrans. in class. Gk., it is
followed as here by a direct obj. in the
ace. : cf. for the sense P.Amh. 78, 12 ff.
[v]dd8r]s, Rader-
macher). The gravity of the charge
in the present instance is increased
by the fact that it is a (Christian)
* brother' who is wronged : cf. ii. 10.
The expression tv ro> Trpcry/zari has
caused difficulty. In the Vg. it is
rendered in negotio (Wycl. in chaff ar-
inge, Luth. im Handel, Weizs. in
Geschafteri), and in accordance with
tbis the whole clause has been taken
as a warning against defrauding one's
brother in matters of business or
trade. But no other adequate ex. of
in this sense in the sing, has
been produced, and the words are too
closely connected with what precedes
and what follows (. 7 aKadapo-ia} to ad-
mit of any such transition to a wholly
new subject. In tv r. Tvpay^art there-
fore we can only find a veiled reference
(Corn, a Lap. ' honesta aposiopesis ')
to 'the matter' on hand, viz. sins of
the flesh; cf. 2 Cor. vii. ii, and see
LS. s.v. 7rpais II. 3. In no case can it
be rendered 'in any matter' (A.V.).
Of this enclitic ro> (for rti/i) there is
no clear instance either in the LXX.
or N.T. (WSchm. p. 71).
diori fKdiKos Kvpios *rX.] The fore-
going warning is now enforced l?y
recalling the punishment which will
follow upon its neglect in terms clearly
suggested by Deut. xxxii. 35 (Heb.):
cf. Rom. xii. 19, Heb. x. 30, and for a
class, parallel see Horn. Batrach. 97
e'^et deos ZK^IKOV o/zjua. There is 110
reason however why, as ordinarily in
these Epp., Kvpios should not be re-
ferred directly to the Lord Jesus
through whom God will judge the
world : cf. II. i. 7 ff. and see Intr.
p. Ixvii.
"EicdiKos, elsewhere in N.T. only
Rom. xiii. 4, denoted primarily 'law-
less,' 'unjust,' but later passed over
into the meaning of 'avenging,' 'an
avenger,' in which sense it is found in
the apocr. books of the O.T. (Sap. xii.
12, Sir. xxx. 6, cf. 4 Mace. xv. 29). In
the papyri it is the regular term for a
legal representative, e.g. P.Oxy. 261,
14 f. (i./A.D.) where a certain Demetria
appoints her grandson Chaeremon ey-
8iKOV 7Ti re Trda-rjs egovo-ias ' to appear
for her before every authority': see
further Gradenwitz Einfilhrung i.
p. 1 60, and for a similar use in the
inscriptions = 'advocatus' (cf. Cic. ad
Fain. xiii. 56) see Michel Recueil
459, 19 f. (ii./B.C.) vrrefjLeiVfV e
IV 7, 8] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
TOVTCOV Ka
Bcos
TTpoeLTTafjiev vfjiiv Kai
TVpdjuteBa. 7 oi/ 'yap etcdXecrev yj/zas 6 6eos eirl
d\\' ev dyiacrjuicu. ^TOiyapovv 6 ddeTcov OVK dvdpcojrov
dBerel d\\a TOV 6eov TOV AIAONTA TO HNGYMA A^'TOY TO dyiov
Seeberg (Der Katecltismus der
Urchristenheit (1903) p. icf.) points
to this verse as a proof of a tradi-
tional catalogue of sins lying at the
basis of the Pauline lists, for though
only two sins are directly mentioned
here, judgment takes place irepl
Cf. iii. 4 note, and for
the aor. in -a see WH. 2 Notes p. 171 f.,
WSchm. p. 1 1 1 f.
diefj.apTvpdfj.fda] Ata/xaprupo/nai, a
word of Ionic origin (Nageli p. 24)
and stronger than the simple paprv-
pofjiai (ii. 1 1), is used of solemnly testi-
fying in the sight of God (evaTnov r.
$eou) in i Tim. v. 21, 2 Tim. ii. 14,
iv. i, the only other passages in the
Pauline writings where it occurs. It
is found frequently in the LXX. in this
sense (e.g. Deut. iv. 26, viii. 19, i Regn.
viii. 9), and is used absolutely by St
Luke as here in Lk. xvi. 28, Ac. ii. 40;
cf. also Heb. ii. 6. Calv.: ' Obtestati
sumus: tanta enim est hominum tar-
ditas, ut nisi acriter perculsi nullo
divini iudicii sensu tangantur.'
7- ov yap eKaXevev KrX.] The em-
phasis lies on endXeo-ev (cf. ii. 12 note),
the thought of the definite Divine call
being introduced as an additional
reason for the foregoing warning,
or, perhaps, in more immediate con-
nexion with the preceding clause,
as a justification of the vengeance
there threatened.
The interchange of the prepositions
eVri and ev is significant, the former
pointing to the object or purpose of
the call (cf. Gal. v. 13, Eph. ii. 10, Sap.
ii. 23 o Beos eKTto~ev TOV dvdpa>Trov eV
d(p6apo-iq}, the latter to its essential
basis or condition (cf. Eph. iv. 4 with
Abbott's note), dyiao-fj.6s being used in
the same active sense as in vv. 3, 4.
8. Totyapovv 6 a&T<H>v /<rX.] 'Where-
fore then the rejecter rejects not
man but (the) God' the compound.
roiyapovv (class., elsewhere in N.T.
only Heb. xii. i) introducing the con-
clusion 'with some special emphasis
or formality' (Grimm-Thayer *..).
'A&rfii/ literally = ' make adcTov,' or
'do away with what has been laid
down,' refers here to the action of the
man who of his own will ' rejects ' or
' sets aside ' the calling just mentioned
(v. 7): cf. especially Lk. x. 16 of which
we may here have a reminiscence.
The verb, which is not approved by
the Atticists (frequent in Polyb. e.g.
viii. 2. 5 d6. T. trivTiVi xv. i. 9 dd. r.
opKovs KOL T. a-vvdiJKas), occurs other
four times in the Pauline writings,
always however with reference to
things, not persons r. crvveo-iv (i Cor.
* J 9)) T - X<*pw (Gal. ii. 2l), diadt]Kr)v
(Gal. iii. 15), T. TTLO-TIV (i Tim. v. 12).
In the LXX. it represents no fewer
than seventeen Heb. originals. For
its use in the papyri see P.Tebt. 74,
59 f. (ii./B.C.) epftpoxov TTJS ev TTJI 77-
OeTTj/jLevrji lepa (cf. 6 1 (b), 207 note), and
in the inscription^ see O.G.I. S. 444,
1 8 edv de Tives TU>V iroXeav a#er[o>(n] TO
(TVfJ,(p(i)VOV.
The absence of the art. before dv-
6pa>nov followed as it is by TOV 6e6v
deserves notice (cf. Gal. i/io), while
the contrast is further heightened by
the use of the absolute negative in the
first conception, not to annul it, but
rhetorically to direct undivided atten-
tion to the second (cf. Mk. ix. 37, Ac.
v. 4, i Cor. i. 17; WM. p. 622 f.).
TOV Si'Soi/ra icrX.] The reading here
is somewhat uncertain, but the weight
of the MS. evidence is in favour of the
pres. part. (K*BDG as against AKL
for Soj/ra), the aor. having probably
42
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 9
ec
llepi
ov
ypdcbeiv v/uuv, avTOi yap v/uLels 6eoSiSaKToi ecrre ets TO
arisen from its occurrence elsewhere
in the same connexion (e.g. 2 Cor. i.
22, v. 5). As regards the meaning,
the pres. may be taken as pointing to
the ever 'fresh accessions of the Holy
Spirit' (Lft.) which God imparts, or
perhaps better as along with the art.
constituting another subst. part. ' the
giver of His Holy Spirit.'
For the emphatic TO TTV. TO ay. where
the repeated art. lays stress on the
ay. in keeping with the main thought
of the whole passage cf. Mk. iii. 29,
xiii. IT, Eph. iv. 30; while if any
weight can be attached to els v^a? in-
stead of vfjuv (cf. i. 5 note) it brings
out more pointedly the entrance of
the Spirit into the heart and life : cf.
Gal. iv. 6, Eph. iii. 16, Ezek. xxxvii.
14 0)O~a> TO 7TVVfJ,d pOV fiS VjJLCiS KCU
fto-co-Of, also the interesting reading
of D in Mk. i. 10 and parallels, where
it is stated that at the Baptism the
dove entered into Jesus (fls OVTOV),
and did not merely rest upon Him
(eV ai>Tov\ (Nestle Exp. T. xvii.
p. 522 n. 1 ).
IV. 9, io a . Encouragement in
Brotherly Love.
From impurity, which is at root so
cruel and selfish, the Apostles pass by
a subtle link of connexion to the
practice of brotherly or Christian
love, admitting frankly at the same
time the Thessalonians' zeal in this
respect.
9, io a . ' And so again with regard
to love of the brethren, that is a sub-
ject on which it is not necessary to
say much, seeing that as those who
are filled with God's Spirit you have
already been taught to love: and
not only so, but you are actively prac-
tising what you have been taught
towards all Christian brethren through-
out Macedonia.'
9. Ilept de TTJS (piXaSeX(piay] For
i Se introducing a new subject cf.
v. i. In profane Gk. and the LXX.
<ptXaSeX<pi'a is confined to the mutual
love of those who are brothers by
common descent (e.g. Luc. dial. dear.
xxvi. 2, 4 Mace. xiii. 23, 26, xiv. i)
but in the N.T. the word is used in the
definite Christian sense of 'love of
the brethren,' of all, that is, who are
brethren in virtue of the new birth :
cf. Rom. xii. 10, Heb. xiii. i, i Pet. i.
22, 2 Pet. i. 7 iv df rfi (piXadfXcpia TTJV
ayaTrrjv. The last passage is interest-
ing as showing how readily this mutual
love amongst believers passed over
into the wider ayaTn?, love for all man-
kind (cf. iii. 12 note).
ov xP*' Lav Kr M n t an instance of
paraleipsis, or a pretending to pass
over what in reality is mentioned for
the sake of effect (Chrys. : ra> ei
ciTi-ci'), but a simple statement of fact.
The use of the act. inf. (ypa<eu>) for
the pass. (ypd<txo-6ai, cf. v. i) is too
amply vouched for in similar com-
binations to cause any difficulty : see
WM. p. 426, Buttmann p. 259 n. 1 .
tfeoStfiajeroi] The word is an. Xey.
in the N.T. (cf. Barn. Ep. xxi. 6, Tat.
Orat. C. 29 p. 165 B 6fodi8a<Tov de IJLOV
yevopevrj? rrjs ^^X^^ Theoph. ad
Autol. ii. 9 01 de TOV faov a
\>ir avTov TOV 6fov f
o~o(f)icr6cvTes eyevovTo 0o8ida<Toi), and
like the corresponding phrase 8i8aKTol
TOV 6fov points not so much to 'one
divine communication' as to 'a divine
relationship' established between be-
lievers and God (see Westcott on Jo.
vi. 45) : hence it is as those who have
been born of God, and whose hearts
are in consequence filled by God's
spirit that the Thessalonians on their
part (avTol . . v^cls) can no longer help
loving; cf. Isa. liv. 13, Jer. xxxviii.
(xxxi.) 33 f., Pss. Sol. xvii. 35. Calv. :
' quid divinitus edocti sint : quo sig-
IV io, 1 1] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 53
d\\rt\ovs' *Kai yap Trotelre avTo ek
I)? d$6\<povs [TOWS] ev o\ri Trj MctKeSovia. Flapa-
Se iJ/uas, d$e\(poi, TrepHrcreveiv judXXov, "/ca*
<J)i\OTiiui6Lcr6ai tja'V'xd^eiv Kai Trpda'creiv TO, iSia Kcti ep-
10 TOVS N c BD bc HKL cet Chr al : om K*AD*G Chr cod
nificat insculptam esse eorum cordibus
caritatem, ut supervacuae sint literae
in charta scriptae.' Beng. : 'doctrinae
divinae vis confluit in amorem.'
On els TO as here acting for the
epexegetic inf. see Moulton Prolegg.
p. 219.
IO. KCU yap Troielre avro KrA.] ' for
indeed ye do it... ' KCU not losing its
force as in the classical KOI yap = 'ete-
nim,' but marking an advance on the
preceding statement (Blass p. 275) :
the Thessalonians have not only been
taught, but, looking to the fact that
God has been their teacher, they
practise (Troielre) what they have been
taught, cf. i Jo. iii. i6ff.
If rovs is omitted before the de-
fining clause ev 0X17 r. Ma*., these
words are best connected directly
with TroteTrf, as denoting the region
' in ' w hicli the love of the brethren
was displayed. For the extent
of the region thus referred to ('all
Macedonia ') see Intr. p. xlv.
io b 12. Call to Quiet Work.
A continued exhortation to the
Thessalonians to advance in increas-
ing measure in the practice of the
(pi\a8e\(pia whose presence in their
midst has just been so fully recognized
(r. io b ), and at the same time to avoid
that spirit of restlessness and of in-
attention to their daily work, of which
apparently they had already begun to
show traces, and which, if not checked,
could not fail to create an unfavour-
able impression on the minds of un-
believers (VV. TI, 12).
io b 12. 'This however is not to
say that we do not urge you to still
further efforts in the practice of this
love, while there is one point' to which
you will do well to pay heed. Instead
of giving way further to that restless
spirit of which you are already showing
signs, make it your earnest aim to
preserve a quiet and orderly atti-
tude attending to your own business,
and working with your hands for your
own livelihood, even as we directed
while still present with you. By so
doing you will not only convey a
good impression to your unbelieving
neighbours, but you will yourselves
maintain an honourable indepen-
dence.'
I0 b . TlapaKaXovfjifv 8e KrA.] For a
similar appeal see v. i, though here the
more regular inf. is used after irapa-
KO.\. instead of the mi-construction :
cf. P.Oxy. 292, 5ff. 8tb napaKoXu o-e
pern Trdo-rjs dwdfj-ecos fX lv O-VTOV avve-
<TTClfJLVOV. For 7Tfpl(T(rVll> SCC HOtC
on iii. 12, and for /zaAAoi/ see note on
v. i.
II. Kai <pi\OTifjif'io'Qai ri<TV\a.^fiv\
For a certain amount of restlessness
amongst the Thessalonians, apparently
owing to their eschatological expec-
tations, see Intr. p. xlvi f.
The verb ^lAort^eifr^ai is found
again in Rom. xv. 20, 2 Cor. v. 9, and
in all three passages seems to have
lost its original idea of emulation ('be
ambitious'), and to mean little more
than ' be zealous,' ' strive eagerly,' in
accordance with its usage in late Gk. :
cf. Aristeas 79 airavra (f)i\OTifji,r}devTs
fls VTTfpoxrjv 86rjs TOV /3ao-iAf'cor Trotfj-
o-ai, and see P.Petr. in. 42 H (8) f., 3 f.
(iii./B.C.) c(pi\OTifj.ov lie irapay([t>e<T6ai
Trpos <T Km] rj'Xdov, P.Tebt. 410, io
(i./A.D.) e'(iAo7-[i]fioi) <rvv epol fjLflvat, and
for the corresponding adj. P. Petr. i. 29,
54 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 12
TCUS
VJJLWV,
I3 mx TrepLTrarrJTe
Xpeiav
Trpos
vfj.v
TOVS
Kai
12 (Ptol.) where a steward writes to
his employer that he had borrowed
four artabae of wheat which a certain
Dynis had offered and ' was pressing '
(<pi\oTifjiov OVTOS) to lend. Along with
(piXori/iia, (pi\oTip.cl(r6ai, is very com-
mon in Gk. honorary decrees where
its general meaning is 'to act with
public spirit,' e.g. C.I.A. n. 444, 23 ff.
(ii./B.C.) O7TO)S ovv Kai 77 /3ovX?) Kai o
8fjp.os iJ.vrffiovevovTfs (paivcavTai raiv els
eavTovs <pi\oTifjiovp,V(av, See also Field
Notes p. 165, Hicks C. R. i. p. 46.
With rfo-vx^fiv (a favourite Lukan
word, e.g. Lk. xiv. 3, Ac. xi. 18) con-
trast irfpiepydgfcrOai II. iii. 1 1, and with
the striking oxymoron (Beza et con-
tendatis quieti esse) cf. Rom. xii. 11
TTJ cnrovdrj /z;) OKvrjpoi, Phil. iv. 7 *7
flprjvij...(j)povpi]O'(i ) Heb. X. 24 (is irap-
ov(rp.bv dydrrrjs.
KOI irpdo'o'fiv TO. i'ia] The commen-
tators draw attention to the similar
juxtaposition found in Plato Rep. vi.
496 D where the philosopher who has
escaped from the dangers of political
life is described as rjavxiav e^coi/ Kai
ra avTov 7rparrG>z>, while the general
thought is illustrated by another pas-
sage from the same book iv. 433 A, TO ra
CLVTOV irpaTTCw Kai prj TroKvirpayiioveiv
diKawo-vvrj eari : cf. also Dion Cass. LX.
27 rr/if 8e 8r) gcrvg&il' uytoi/, Kai ra eavroi)
Trparra)!/, fVco^ero. In all three passages
the more correct ra cavrov for ra i'Sta
(cf. Lk. xviii. 28) may also be noted
(cf. Lob. Phryn. p. 441).
icai epydc(T0ai rX.] For the bear-
ing of these words on the general
standing of the Thessalonian converts
cf. II. iii. 10 f., and for the new dignity
imparted by the Gospel to manual
labour see Intr. p. xlvii.
In accordance with a tendency of
transcribers towards greater precision
of statement certain MSS.(K*AD C KL)
insert Idiots here before xepo-iV. cf.
note on c. ii. 15.
K<i6a>$ vp.lv iraprjyydXaiJLfv] i even
as we charged you' the use of the em-
phatic Trapayye'XAeti', which is specially
used in class, writers of the orders of
military commanders (cf. note on napay-
yf\ia v. 2), bringing out the authority
with which the Apostles spoke, cf. II.
iii. 10 ff. The verb is a favourite with
Luke (Gosp. 4 Ac. 11 ), and outside these
Epp. and i Tim. is found elsewhere
in the Pauline writings i Cor. vii. 10,
xi. 17.
12. tva nepurarfTf xrX.] The pur-
pose of the foregoing 7rapaK\r)<ns. By
avoiding undue interference with the
affairs of others, and paying diligent
attention to their own work, the
Thessalonians would not only present
a decorous appearance to their un-
believing neighbours, but themselves
enjoy an honourable independence.
Evo-xrjfj-ovajs, ' decorously,' ' becom-
ingly,' corresponding to the old Eng.
' honestly ' (Vg. honeste) of the A. V.
here and in Rom. xiii. 13, is found
combined with Kara rdgiv in i Cor.
xiv. 40 to express the beauty and
harmony that result in the Church
from every member's keeping his own
place : cf. Aristeas 284 ra TOV /3iou
/Mfr* fV(r\r}fj.na"6vT)s Kai KaraoToXrJs yivo-
neva, and especially the use of the
adj. to denote the Egyptian magis-
trates who had charge of public
morals, e.g. B. G. U. 147, i (ii. iii./A.D.)
dpx(p68ois Kai fvo-xvp-oa-t KW/J.T]S^ and
Wilcken Ostraka no. 1153 (Rom.)
TOVS V(rx^fMovas TOVS eVt ra>v
(where see note).
TOVS e&> a phrase derived
from the Rabbinical DTl^nn (cf.
Schottgen on i Cor. v. 12), and em-
bracing all outside the Christian com-
munity whether Gentiles or unbeliev-
IV 1 3] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 55
13 Ov 6e\ofj.ev Se vfjias dyvoelv, d$6\(f)oi, Trepi
ing Jews, cf. Mk. iv. u, i Cor. v. i2f.,
Col. iv. 5, i Tim. iii. 7 (aVo TK>V -
6ev). 'It is characteristic of St Paul
to ask, "What will the Gentiles say of
us?" a part of the Christian prudence,
which was one of the great features
of his life' (Jowett). For a similar
exhortation with the same end in
view cf. i Pet. ii. 1 1 ff. Chrys. thus
applies the reproof to his own age :
fl yap ol irap rnj.1v arKav8a\ioj>rai TOV-
TOIS, TToXXci) [J.a\\OV Ol C^OideV. . .8lO KO.I
XptO-Tf^JLTTOpOVS Ka\OVO-lV Tj^LCLS.
Kal fjLr)o"v6s KrX.] Mr)8ev6s may be
either masc. or neut. The former in
view of the context yields good sense
(Wycl. of no marines 30 desire ony
thing}: cf. Hieron. in Gal. n. c. iii.
'They are sharply censured because
they go round idly from house to
house, expecting food from others,
while they try to make themselves
agreeable to this person and that
(singulis).' On the other hand the
use of xpetai/ fx ftv elsewhere with
the gen. of the thing (e.g. Mt. vi. 8,
Lk. x. 42, Heb. v. 12 ; cf. Rev. iii. 17
ovdev xpci av ^X") points rather to the
rendering 'have need of nothing'
(Beza et nullins indigeatis): by their
own work they would be placed in a
position of avrdpKfta, cf. II. iii. 8, 12.
IV. 13 V. ii. From the foregoing
practical exhortations St Paul turns to
two difficulties of a more doctrinal
character, which, from the manner in
which they are introduced, would
seem to have been referred directly
to him by the Thessalonians, or more
probably were brought under his
notice by Timothy in view of what
he had heard at Thessalonica (Intr. p.
xxxiii f.). The first relates to the lot of
those dying before the Lord's Return,
the second to the time when that
Return might be expected. The two
sections are closely parallel, each con-
sisting of a question (iv. 13, v. i) : an
answer (iv. 14 17, v. 2 10) : and
a practical exhortation (iv. 18, v. 1 1).
IV. 13 1 8. TEACHING CONCERNING
THEM THAT ARE ASLEEP AND THE
ADVENT OP CHRIST.
13, 14. ' With regard moreover to
that other matter which we under-
stand is causing you anxiety, the fate
namely of those of your number who
are falling on sleep before the coming
of the Lord, we are anxious, Brothers,
that you should be fully informed.
There is no reason why you should
sorrow, as those who do not share
in your Christian hope cannot fail
to do. For as surely as our belief
is rooted in the death and resurrection
of Jesus, even so we are confident that
God will bring along with the return-
ing Jesus those who have fallen on
sleep through Him/
13. Ov BeXofjLfv 8e *rX.] a phrase
used by St Paul to introduce a new
and important topic, and always with
the impressive addition of aSeX^oi ;
cf. Rom. i. 13, xi. 25, i Cor. x. i, xii.
i, 2 Cor. i. 8, and for a near parallel see
P.Tebt. 314, 3 (ii./A.D.) 7noreua> <r /ZT)
ayvoflv. The corresponding formula
yivao-Keiv ve 0e'X<a is very common in
the papyri, especially in opening a
letter after the introductory greeting,
e.g. B.G.U. 27, 3 ff. (ii. iii./A.D.) Kal
8ia 7r[a]iros fv^ofJiaL o~e vyievev KOI
O.VTOS vyieva). Ttv(ao~Kftv o~e
KT\.
l TOJV KoifjLo>fj.vo)v] ' concerning
them that are falling asleep ' (Vg. de
dormientibus) the pres. part, not
only indicating a state of things that
was going on, but also lending itself
more readily to the thought of a
future awakening than the perf. would
have done (cf. Lft. ad loc.}. It
was doubtless indeed the extreme
appropriateness of the word /cot/xao-^ai
in the latter direction (Thdt. : ro> yap
{JTTVW eyp^yopais en-ercu, Aug. Serm.
xciii. 6, 'Quare enim dormientes
vocantur, nisi quia suo die resusci-
tantur 1 ?') that led St Paul to prefer
it to a-rroOvijo-Kciv in speaking of the
56 THE FIKST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 13
twt fur) \VTrfjo'6e Ka6ws KO.I oi \OLTTOI ol uri
death of believers who alone are
thought of here, though in no case
must the underlying figure be pressed
as if descriptive of his idea of their
intermediate state.
The same metaphor frequently
occurs in the earlier O.T. and apoca-
lyptic literature without any reference
to the resurrection-hope, e.g. Gen.
xlvii. 30, 2 Regn. vii. 12, Jer. xxviii.
(li.) 39 (VTTVOV aluviov), Jubilees xxiii.
i, xxxvi. 18, Ass. Mas. i. 15, x. 14,
Apoc. Bar. xi. 4, Test. xii. pair.
Jos. XX. 4 (fKoiy^dr) vnvov alaviov) ;
on the other hand as preparing us for
the later Christian use of the term
cf. Dan. xii. 2, 2 Mace. xii. 44 f., 4
Ezra vii. 32 ' et terra reddet qui in ea
dormiunt, et puluis qui in eo silentio
habitant.'
On the varied connotation of the
term in Jewish eschatology see Volz
Jild. Eschat. p. 134, and for the
occurrence of the figure in pagan
literature, cf. Callim. Epiyr. x. i,
Horn. II. xi. 241, Soph. Electr. 509,
Verg. A en. vi. 278 (' consanguineus
leti sopor'). See also the striking
saying of Gorgias (V./B.C.) in his ex-
treme old age tfor) p. 6 VTTVOS apftfrai
TrapaKaTaridfa-dat Ta8f\<p<p (Aelian
V.H. ii. 35).
The verb (especially eicot/ujtfip') is
very common in Christian inscriptions,
e.g. I. G.S.I. 549, v I <rvv 6t$...ttQifi[y0rj]
r) SouAi) roG [tfeov] 2a/3cli/a, 68, I encoi-
\jJ\Qr] r\ deoKoiprjTos Aryeia. The allied
subst. KoiprjTripiov appears by the
middle of the 3rd cent, if not earlier.
Thus the formula of dedicating TO KOL-
p\r]Jr[r]]piov 0>s dvao-Tao-(t)s is found in
an inscription at Thessalonica (C.I.G.
9439) which Kirchhoff thinks may be-
long to the 2nd cent., though Ramsay
carries it forward to the middle of the
4th (C. and B. i. p. 495). The word
is often thought to be exclusively
Christian, but Roberts-Gardner (p.
513) quote two inscriptions which by
the figures of a seven-branched cande-
labrum are shown to be of Jewish
origin. The first of these (C.I.G.
9313) runs Koip.T]T^piov EvTv\l_t]as rfjs
Hrjrpos 'AdtyWov K QeoKTio-Tov. For
the existence of a Jewish colony in
Athens cf. Ac. xvii. 17, and see art.
* Athens ' in Hastings' D.B. by F. C.
Conybeare.
Ka6a>s KOI ol AOITTOI] * even as also the
rest,' i.e. 'all who are not believers/
synonymous with of e'^co (v. 1 2) : cf.
Rom. xi. 7, Eph. ii. 3. The clause is
often interpreted as = 'to the same
extent as the rest ' (Thdt. : rrjv dfjierpiav
l\inrr]v] cKftdXXei), but this is to strain
the Gk. unduly, and we have rather
one of the constantly recurring in-
stances in which St Paul 'states his
precept broadly, without caring to
enter into the qualifications which
will suggest themselves at once to
thinking men' (Lft.). On the force
of KO.I see ii. 14 note.
oi M f'xovres *rA.] The general
hopelessness of the pagan world in the
presence of death is almost too well-
known to require illustration, but see
e.g. Aesch. Eum. 618 a7ra tiavwros,
OVTIS eVr' arao-rao-ty, Theocr. Id. iv.
42 eXnides fv faolcriv, ai>e'A Trio-rot 8e
6av6vTfs, Catull. v. 5 f. 'nobis cum
semel occidit breuis lux, nox est
perpetua una dormienda,' and the
touching letter of Cicero adFam. xiv.
2, which was dated Thesaalonicae.
The inscriptions tell the same tale, e.g.
I.G.S.I. 929, 13 Koiparai TOV ULMVIOV
i>irv(ov), 1879, ll tyvx<a...oo-rt9 OVK
r\\xr\v teal yevo/j,r)v, OVK elpl KOL ov
\vnov fj,ai.
14. No mention has been made of
the reason of Gentile hopelessness, but
it is clearly traceable to ignorance of
the revelation of the one God (cf. Eph.
ii. 12 \nida pr} e^oi/rey K. adeoi tv T.
Koo7i&>), and accordingly the Apostles
proceed to lay down the real ground
of Christian hope. That ground is
the death and resurrection of the
historic Jesus (cf. Add. Note i)),
IV i 4 , 15] THE FIKST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 57
e^oi/res e\7riSa. I4 el yap Tria-Tevojuiei/ OTL 'ltj<rovs aTre-
Oavev KCLL di/ecTTrj) OVTCOS Kai 6 6eos TOI)S Koi/uriBevTas Sid
TOV 'lri(rov a^ei arvv avTa. I3 TovTO <ydp
which, by an impressive irregularity
of grammatical structure, are here
brought into direct relation not with
the resurrection of believers, but, in
keeping with the general drift of the
Ep., with their return with Christ in
glory.
fl yap irio-Tevopev /crX.] The use of
fl in the opening clause of the syllogism
instead of throwing any doubt on the
belief spoken of, rather makes it more
definite, cf. Rom. v. 15, Col. iii. i, and
for the conjunction airiQ. K. dveo-Tr) see
Rom. xiv. 9, where it is said in the
same sense as here els TOVTO yap
Xpio-Tos djredavfv KOI fr](Tv iva Ka\
vfKpwv KOI WVTO>V Kvpifvar). The use
of ' aiff6avev in the present passage is
specially noticeable in contrast with
Koipdadai applied to believers (v. 13) :
it is as if the writers wished to em-
phasize that because Christ's death
was a real death, ' a death of death/
His people's death has been turned
into 'sleep.' Chrys. : encidrj de r/X6ev
6 XpKTTOJ, Ktt\ Vrrp (tifj$ TOV KOfTfJLOV
d-rrtOavf, OVMTI Qavaros KoAtlrai \OITTOV
o fldvaros, aXXa VTTVOS KOI Koifj.r)o~is (d&
Coemit. et Cruce, Op. ii. 470 ed.
Gaume).
It may be noted that only here and
in v. 1 6 does St Paul employ dvio-Tao-0ai
with reference to resurrection from
the dead ; cf. also the metaph. use in
Eph. v. 14. As a rule he prefers
yip(tv, cf. i. 10 and other forty
occurrences in his Epp. The subst.
dvdorao-ts is found eight times. It is
frequent in the inscriptions for the
* erection ' of a statue or monument,
e.g. Magn. I79> 28 f. CTTI rf) ai/aoracrei
TOV avdpiavTos.
ovTtos KOI 6 Of 6s] ' so also (we believe
that) God/ OVTUS virtually resuming
the protasis and Km, which belongs
not to the single word 'God' but to
the whole clause, serving to strengthen
still further the comparison stated in
the apodosis (cf. ii. 14 note). '0 6e6$
is emphatic : it is the one true God
who, as the raiser-up of Jesus, will
raise up His people along with Him,
cf. i Cor. vi. 14, 2 Cor. iv. 14. In
order, however, that He may do so
there must be a certain oneness be-
tween the Head and His members, and
it is to the existence of this connecting
link in the case of the Thessalonian
believers that the next words point.
TOVS Koip,r)devTas did. TOV 'l^troC]
'those that are fallen asleep through
Jesus/ Koifj,T]06VTa$ being used with
a purely midd. sense, and the instru-
mental did pointing to Jesus as the
mediating link between His people's
sleep and their resurrection at the
hands of God (cf. did. T. CVOKOVVTOS
avTov TrvevfiaTos in a similar connexion
in Rom. viii. ii). Stated in full the
argument would run : ' so also we
believe that those who fell asleep
through Jesus, and in consequence
were raised by God through Him,
will God bring with Him.' This is
better than to connect did T. 'Ii/o-oG
directly with a. Such an arrange-
ment, while grammatically possible,
is not only contrary to the parallelism
of the sentence ('1/70-. a7r<f#....r. Koi^d.
did T. 'If/a-.) and to the analogy of the
closely following of veitpol cv Xp. (v. 16),
but gives a halting and redundant
conclusion to the whole sentence :
' God will bring through Jesus along
with Him.'
For Koifj.r)dfjvai see the note on
v. 13, and as further illustrating its
midd. sense cf. P.Cairo 3, gff.
(iii./B.C.) TJi/iKd TJfj.e\\ov KOiprjdrjvai,
eypcn/m eVioroAia 0. Dr W. F. Moul-
ton has proposed that in the verse
before us the verb may be a true
58 THE FIEST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 15
ev
Kvpov, OTI /zes o wi/Tes o
TYIV Trapovcriav TOV Kvpiov ov jurj
TOIS
passive 'were put to sleep' (see
Moulton Prolegg. p. 162). But how-
ever beautiful the sense that is thus
obtained, it is not the one that
naturally suggests itself.
aei\ l ducet, suave verbum : dicitur
de viventibus' (Beng.). With the
thought cf. Asc. Isai. iv. 16 quoted
above on iii. 13.
15 1 8. 'Regarding this, we say,
we are confident, for we have it on
the direct authority of the Lord
Himself that we who are surviving
when the Lord comes will not in any
way anticipate those who have fallen
asleep. What will happen will rather
be this. The .Lord Himself will
descend from heaven with a shout
of command, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the trumpet-call
of God. Then those who died in
Christ, and in consequence are still
living in Him, shall rise first. And
only after that shall we who are sur-
viving be suddenly caught up in the
clouds with them to meet the Lord in
the air. Thus shall we ever be with
the Lord. Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.'
15. ev Xoyo> Kvpiov] The 'word'
is often found in some actual saying
of the Lord while He was upon the
earth, such as Mt. xxiv. 3of. ( = Mk.
xiii. 26 f., Lk. xxi. 27), xvi. 27, Jo. vi.
39 f., but none of these cover the
statement of the present verse, which
must certainly be included in the
teaching referred to (as against von
Soden who finds it only in v. 16) ;
while again this very want of similarity
with any 'recorded' saying should
make us the more chary of postulating
an 'unrecorded' one (cf. Ac. xx. 35,
and see Ropes Spruche Jesu p. 1 52 ff.).
On the whole, therefore, it is better
to fall back upon the thought of a
direct revelation granted to the
Apostles to meet the special circum-
stances that had arisen (cf. i Cor. ii.
10, 2 Cor. xii. iff., Gal. i. 12, 16,
Eph. iii. 3), or more generally to
find in this and the following vv.
the interpretation which, acting under
the immediate guidance of the Lord's
own spirit ('quasi Eo ipso loquente,'
Beza), St Paul and his companions
were able to put upon certain current
Jewish apocalyptic ideas. On a
subject of such importance they
naturally felt constrained to appeal
to the ultimate source of their
authority : cf. i Cor. vii. TO OVK cy<o
dXXa 6 Kvpios. Thdt. : ov yap otKeiois
XoyioyxoTs, aXA' CK Oeias r^iiv
? 77 8tdao-/caXia yeyei/r/rai.
On Steck's discovery of the Xoyos in
4 Ezra v. 41 f. see Intr. p. Ixxv, and
on the use made by Resch of this verse
to prove ('auf das Deutlichste') St
Paul's dependence on the Logia (Der
Paulinismus u. die Logia Jesu
(1904) p. 338 f.) see Kirsopp Lake in
Am. J. of Th. 1906 p. io7f., who
finds in it rather the suggestion of
a smaller and less formal collection of
sayings.
on TJ/zeis- KrX.] 'that we who are
alive, who survive unto the Parousia
of the Lord.' These words must not
be pressed as conveying a positive
and unqualified declaration on the
Apostles' part that the Lord would
come during their lifetime, if only
because as we learn elsewhere in
these Epp. they were well aware that
the time of that coming was quite
uncertain (v. i, II. ii. i if.). At the
same time there can be no doubt that
the passage naturally suggests that
they expected so to survive (cf. i Cor.
xv. 5 1 f.), and we must not allow the
fact that they were mistaken in this
belief to deprive their words of their
proper meaning, as when ij/ms is
referred generally to believers who
shall be alive at Christ's appearing, or
IV 16] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 59
* 6 ori CIVTOS 6 Kvpios ev KeXevcr/uLariy iv
the participles are taken hypotheti-
cally 'if we are alive,' 'if we survive.'
How far indeed an interpreter may go
in the supposed interests of Apostolic
infallibility is shown by the attitude
amongst others of Calvin who thinks
that the Apostles used the first
person simply in order to keep the
Thessalonians on the alert ('Thessa-
lonicenses in exspectationem erigere,
adeoque pios omnes tenere suspen-
ses') ! Asa matter of fact the near
approach of the Parousia here im-
plied would seem, notwithstanding
many statements to the contrary, to
have been held by St Paul throughout
his life : see Kennedy Last Things
pp. i6ofl'., where the evidence of the
Epp. down to the closing statement
Phil. iv. 5 6 Kvpios eyyvs is carefully
examined.
On iTpi\f'nrfo-dai see below on v. 17,
and on napovo-ia see Add. Note F.
ov fj,r) (pdao-apfv xrX.] ' shall in no
wise precede them that are fallen
asleep.' So far from the living having
any advantage at the Parousia over
those already dead, it would rather
be the other way, an assurance which
was the more required in view of the
prevalent Jewish belief that a special
blessing attached to those who sur-
vived the coming of the Kingdom :
see Dan. xii. 12, Pss. Sol. xvii. 50, Asc.
Isai. iv. 1 5 (with Charles's note), and es-
pecially 4 Ezra xiii. 24 ' scito ergo quo-
niam magisbeatificatisunt qui derelicti
super eos qui mortui sunt ' ; while as
showing how the same difficulty con-
tinued to linger in the early Christian
Church cf. Clem. Recogn. i. 52 (ed.
Gersdorf ) ' Si Christi regno fruentur
hi, quos iustos invenerit eius adventus,
ergo qui ante adventum eius defuncti
sunt, regno penitus carebunt ? '
Qdavfiv (ii. 1 6 note) reappears here
in its generally class, sense of ' antici-
pate,' 'precede,' old Engl. 'prevent'
(Wright Bible Word-Book *.*.), cf.
Sap. vi. 13, xvi. 28, where, as here,
it is followed by an ace.
The double negative ov ^ is found
elsewhere in the Pauline Epp., apart
from LXX. citations, only in v. 3, i Cor.
viii. 13, Gal. v. 16, always apparently
with the emphatic sense which it has
in class. Gk., and which can also be
illustrated from the Koii/rJ : see e.g.
the well-known boy's letter to his
father P.Oxy. 119, 14 f. (ii. iii./A.D.)
ap, p.r) TTfJ.\lf7js ov fti) 0ayo>, ov fir] ircivco.
ravra ' if you don't send, I won't eat,
I won't drink ; there now ! ' On the
general use of ov /; in the Gk. Bible
see Moulton Prolegg. pp. 39, 187 ff.
1 6. on] not parallel to the pre-
ceding on, and like it dependent on
Xtyojuef, but introducing a justification
of the statement just made (ov /m)
<p#ao-.) by a fuller description of the
Lord's Parousia.
avros o Kvpios KrX.] AVTOS (' Ipse,
grandis sermo' Beng.) draws atten-
tion to the fact that it is the Lord in
'His own august personal presence'
(Ellic.) Who will descend, and thereby
assure the certainty of His people's
resurrection (cf. i Cor. xv. 23).
For the thought cf. Ac. i. ii, and
for Karaftaivfiv in a similar eschato-
logical sense cf. Rev. iii. 12, xxi. 2, 10,
also Mic. i. 3 I8ov Kvpios e/C7ropeuerat
K TOV TOTTOV avTov, Koi Kara/37/o~eTai
e.Tri ra v\lrrj rfjs yrjs.
On air ovpavov see i. 10 note.
cv Kf\vo-p.a.Ti KT\.] ' with a shout of
command, with an archangel's voice
and with God's trumpet ' accompani-
ments of the descending Lord, evi-
dently chosen with special reference to
the awaking of those who were asleep.
The three clauses may represent
distinct summonses, but the absence
of any defining gen. with /ccXevtr/nart
makes it probable that it is to be
taken as the general idea, which is
then more fully described by the two
appositional clauses that follow. In
60 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 16
ev
air ovpavov, Kai ol veKpol ev XpurTto dvaa~Tr]<rovTai
any case it must be kept in view that
we are dealing here not with literal
details, but with figures derived from
the O.T. and contemporary Jewish
writings, and that the whole is coloured
by the imagery of our Lord's eschato-
logical discourses, especially Matt,
xxiv. 30 f.
For the use of ev to denote the
attendant circumstances of the Lord's
descent cf. Lk. xiv. 31, Eph. v. 26, vi.
2, Col. ii. 7; Blass p. 118.
Ke'Xeuoyict (enr. \eyop,evov in the
N.T., in LXX. only Prov. xxiv. 62 (xxx.
27)) is frequently used in class. Gk. with
reference to the ' word of command '
in battle (Hdt. iv. 141) or the 'call'
of the KeXeuo-n)? to the rowers (Eur.
Iph. in T. 1405) : cf. also for a close
parallel to the passage before us Philo
de praem. et poen. 19 (ii. p. 928 M.)
avBpanrovs ev etr^artaTs aTraxKTiievovs
paStW av ev\ KeXeva-fiaTL crvvaywyoi
6eos diro nepaTuv. It is not stated by
whom the KeXevafia in the present
instance is uttered, perhaps by an
archangel, more probably by the Lord
Himself as the principal subject of
the whole sentence. Reitzenstein
(Poimandres, p. 5 n. 3 ) recalls a pas-
sage from the Descensus Mariae in
which Michael (see below) is described
as TO Kf\vcrp.a TOV ayiov Trvevparos.
ev (fxavfj oLpx a yy-\ ^ niore specific
explanation of the preceding Ke'Xevo>ia.
The word dpxdyye\os is found else-
where in the N.T. only in Jude 9,
where it is directly associated with
Michael, who is generally supposed
to be referred to here; cf. Lueken
Michael (Gottingen, 1898), Volz Jud.
Eschat. p. 195 for the part played by
Michael in Jewish eschatology, and
see also Cheyne Exp. vn. i. p. 289 ff.
The absence of the artt., however, be-
fore (fxovg and apxayyeKov makes it
very doubtful whether any special arch-
angel is thought of, and for the same
reason the gen. both here and in 0-0X73-.
6eov is best treated as possessive ' a
voice such as an archangel uses,' 'a
trumpet dedicated to God's service'
(WM. p. 310).
ev a-aXniyyi deov] In I Cor. xv. 52
this accompaniment is twice referred
to as a distinguishing sign of Christ's
approach ev rfj ca^arr) adXiriyyi' traX-
iria-ei yap *rX., the figure apparently
being drawn from the parallel des-
cription in Joel ii. I o-aXniaaTf craX-
niyyi fv Seiuv,... Start Trapearti/ ijfJ-epa
Kupi'ov, on eyyvs.
For similar exx. of trumpet-sounds
accompanying the revelations of God
cf. Ex. xix. 16, Isa. xxvii. 13, Zech.
ix. 14, Pss. Sol. xi. i, 4 Ezra vi. 23
(' et tuba canet cum sono, quam cum
omnes audierint subito expauescent ; ),
and for the speculations of later
Judaism on this subject see Weber
Jud. Theologie p. 369 f.
KOI ot veicpoi KrX.] ' and the dead
in Christ shall rise first.' The whole
phrase ot vcicpol ev Xp. forms one
idea in antithesis to ?)/*. ot ^wvres of
the following clause, the significant
formula ev Xptoro) (cf. note on i. i)
pointing to the principle of life.which
was really at work in those who out-
wardly seemed to be dead.
The resurrection of all men does
not here come into view, if indeed
it is ever taught by St Paul (cf. Titius
Seligkeit ii. p. 51 f.). All that the
Apostles desire to emphasize, in
answer to the Thessalonians' fears,
is that the resurrection of ' the dead
in Christ' will be the first act in
the great drama at the Parousia, to
be followed by the rapture of the
' living ' saints : cf. especially Didache
xvi. 6f. where a 'first' resurrection
of the saints alive is similarly assumed,
ai/ao-rao-ts veKpoiv' ov TTCLVTOIV 8e, a'XX*
<as eppetir)' "H^et o Kvpios KOI irdvres ol
dyioi /xer' avrov.
IV i;] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 61
OL toI/T9 OL 7rplei7rO/Ui6VOl afJ.0,
crvv avTols dpTrayrjcrdiuLeOa iv ve(pe\ais ek dTra
The v.l. Trpwroi (D*G) may perhaps
be due to the desire to assimilate the
passage to the wholly different Trpcorr)
dvdo-Tcto-is of Rev. XX. 5.
17. errfira ripels KT\.] 'then we who
are alive, who survive' the qualify-
ing clauses being repeated from v.
15 for the sake of emphasis. HeptXei-
TTopai is found only in these two vv. in
the N.T., but occurs several times
in the apocr. books of the LXX. (e.g.
2 Mace. i. 31, 4 Mace. xiii. 18), and
in the later Gk. verss. (e.g. Sm. Ps.
xx. (xxi.) 13). The word is class.
(Horn. II. xix. 230 oa-a-oi S' av TroXe'/Lioto
Trept (TTuyepoto AiVcoimu), and survives
in the Koivr, e.g. P. Par. 63, 168 f.
(ii./B.C.) dyewpyrjTos TrepiXeKpdtjarfTai-
The thought of the present passage
finds a striking parallel in 4 Ezra
vii. 28 'reuelabitur enim filius meus
lesus cum his qui cum eo, et iocun-
dabit qui relicti sunt annis quadrin-
gentis ' : cf. also xiii. 24 cited above
(v. 15 note).
For eTTfiTa (eV eira, Hartung Partik.
i. p. 302) denoting the speedy follow-
ing of the event specified upon what
has gone before, cf . i Cor. xv. 6 (with
Ellicott's note).
apz] to be closely connected with
a-vv avrols 'together with them,' 'all
together,' in a local rather than in a
temporal (Vg. simul) sense : cf. v. 10,
and for the studied force of the ex-
pression see Deissmann US. p. 64 n. 2 .
dpTrayr/o-o/ze^a] ' shall be caught up '
'snatched up' (Vg. rapiemur), the
verb in accordance with its usage both
in class. Gk. and the LXX. suggesting
forcible or sudden seizure, which, as
the context proves, is here due to
Divine agency (cf. Ac. viii. 39, 2 Cor.
xii. 2, 4, Rev. xii. 5), the effect being
still further heightened by the mys-
terious and awe-inspiring accompani-
ment ev i/c^eXacff as the vehicle by
which the quick and dead are wafted
to meet their Lord (Grot. ' tanquam in
curru triumphali '). According to
Thackeray Relation of St Paul to
Contemporary Jewish Thought ( 1 900)
p. 109 f. no adequate illustration of
this use of the 'clouds' has yet been
produced from contemporary Jewish
or Christian literature, but tor partial
parallels cf. Mt. xxiv. 30, xxvi. 64
(eVi r. vf(f)(\vv}, Rev. i. 7 (p,(Ta r.
ve$eAa>i>), passages which point back
ultimately to Dan. vii. 13 idov eVt
(juera Th.) T<i3i> ve(p\a>v rov ovpavov (os
vlos dv6pa>TTov rjfpxero, where the con-
nexion with the present passage is all
the closer owing to its primary refer-
ence to the glorified people of Israel
Cf. also the description of the taking
up of Enoch : ' It came to pass when
I had spoken to my sons these men
(the angels A) summoned me and took
me on their wings and placed me on
the clouds ' (Secrets of Enoch iii. i).
els aTrdvTijo-iv KT\.] lit. 'for a meet-
ing of the Lord into (the) air' (Vg.
obmam Christo in aera, Beza in
occur sum Domini in aero}. The
thought is that the ' raptured ' saints
will be carried up into 'air,' as the
interspace between heaven and earth,
where they will meet the descending
Lord, and then either escort Him down
to the earth in accordance with O.T.
prophecy, or more probably in keeping
with the general context accompany
Him back to heaven. In any case, in
view of the general Jewish tendency
to people the 'air ' with evil spirits (cf.
Eph. ii. 2, and see Asc. Isai. vii. 9,
Test. xii. patr. Benj. iii. 4 rov dcpiov
irvevfjiciTos TOV /SeAiap), it can hardly
be regarded here as the abode of final
bliss: cf. Aug. de civ. Dei xx. 20. 2
' non sic accipiendum est, tanquam in
aere nos dixerit semper cum Domino
esse mansuros; quia nee ipse utique
ibi manebit, quia veniens transiturus
est. Venienti quippe ibitur obviam,
62 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [IV 1 8
TOV Kupiov eJs depa- Kai OUTWS Travrore crvv
non manenti.' It will be noted that
nothing is said here of the physical
transformation with which according
to St Paul's teaching elsewhere (i Cor.
xv - 35 53 2 Cor - v - i4, Phil- i".
20 f.) this * rapture ' will be accom-
panied.
The phrase els dndvTrja-iv (frequent
in LXX. for Heb. nN^kY) is found c.
gen. in Mt. xxvii. 32 (WH. mg.), c.dat.
in Ac. xxviii. 15, and is used absolutely
in Mt. xxv. 6 : cf. also Mt. xxv. i els
V7rdvTr)o-iv TOV vvp,<piov where the
closely-related vTrdvrrjo-iv lays stress on
'waiting for' rather than on actual
* meeting.' An interesting instance of
the phrase is furnished by Polyb. v.
26. 8 fiy TTJV dndvTrjo-iv ' at his re-
ception,' with reference to the pre-
parations made for the welcome of
Apelles in Corinth, with which may
be compared P.Tebt. 43, 7 (ii./B.c.)
Trapfyfvijdrjuev els a.TrdvTrjo'iv of the
formal reception of a newly-arriving
magistrate. E.G. U. 362. vii. i7(iii./A.D.)
TTpos [d]7raiT77[o-ti/ ToC] ijyffj-ovos and the
Pelagia-Legendewp.ig (ed. Usener) els
a-navrr](Tiv TOV 6<riov dvdpos illustrate
the genitive-construction of the pas-
sage before us. See further Moulton
Prolegg. p. 14 n. 3 .
KOI ovTvs KT\.] It was towards this
goal, a life of uninterrupted (ndvTOTc)
communion with his risen and glorified
Lord that St Paul's longings in think-
ing of the future always turned : cf.
v. 10, II. ii. i, 2 Cor. v. 8, Col. iii. 4,
Phil. i. 23 (TVV XpioTO) flvai.
Christ is the end, for Christ was the
beginning,
Christ the beginning, for the end is
Christ.
The contrast with the generally
materialistic expectations of the time
hardly needs mention (see Intr. p. Ixx),
but, as showing the height to which
even Pharisaic belief occasionally rose,
Cf. Pss. Sol. iii. 1 6 ot 5e (fropovnevot
[TOV, Gebhardt] Kvptoy dvaarT^o~ovrai els
farv at&vtov, KOI 17 far/ avT^v ev 0o)rt
Kvplov KOI OVK cK\cfy(i en, and 4 Ezra
viii. 39, 'sed iocundabor super ius-
torura figmentum, peregrinationis
quoque et saluationis et mercedis
receptionis.'
1 8. cS(TT TrapaKoXflTf fcrX.] Aug. :
'Pereat contristatio, ubi tanta est
consolatio' (Serm. clxxiii. 3). For
TrapaKaXelv here evidently in its se-
condary sense of ' comfort' see ii. 1 1
note ; while, as showing the difference
between Christian and heathen sources
of comfort, reference may be made
to the papyrus-letter of ' consolation '
(P.Oxy. 115 (ii./A.D.)) where, after ex-
pressing his grief at the news of a
friend's death, the writer concludes
aXX' ofjLtos ovdev dvvaTai TIS Trpos TO.
ToiavTa. rraprjyopeiTe ovv eavrovs, l but
still there is nothing one can do in the
face of such trouble. So I leave you
to comfort yourselves.' For the whole
letter see Add. Note A, and cf. Deiss-
mann New Light on the N.T. (1907)
p. 76.
fv Tols \6yots TovTots] 'with these
words' viz. vv. 1517. This is ap-
parently one of the instances where
a full instrumental sense can be given
to *v in accordance with a usage not
unknown in classical (Kiihner 3 431,
3 a), and largely developed in later
Gk., cf. Lk. xxii. 49, i Cor. iv. 21,
and for exx. from the Koivrj see
P.Tebt. 48, i8f. (ii./B.c.) AVKOS o~vv
aXXois Iv oir\ois and the other in-
stances cited by the editors on p. 86.
On the consequent disappearance of
another of the so-called 'Hebraisms'
from the N.T. see Deissmann 8.
p. n8ff., Moulton Prolegg. pp. 12,
61 f., and cf. Kuhring p. 3 if.
V i, 2] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 63
ov
V. x riepl Se TWV %p6vo)v Kcti T(Lv KatpcoVy d$6\<poi,
vfMV f ypd(f>ea'6ai, *avTOi yap aKpi/3ws
porro de temporibus et opportuni-
tatibus. The two words (cf. Ac. i. 7,
Dan. ii. 21, vii. 12, Eccles. iii. i, Sap.
viii. 8 ; P.Lond. i. 42, 23 f. (ii./B.c.)
TOCTOVTOV XP OVOV fTTtyfyOVOTOf KCtl TOl-
ovrtov Kaipnv) are often distinguished
as if they referred to longer and
shorter periods of time respectively
(Beng. : xP OVO)V p^rtes^ Kcupoi), but
Xpovos rather expresses simply dura-
tion, time viewed in its extension, and
Kaipos a definite space of time, time
with reference both to its extent and
character : cf. Tit. i. 2 f. where this
distinction comes out very clearly, fy
(sc. forjv al&viov) eV^yyeiXaTo o d\^ev-
8f]S 6eos Trpc xP ova)V alwviatv e<ai>6pa><rez/
Se Kaipols idiots. In the present in-
stance therefore xpovov may be taken
as a general description of the ' ages '
that may elapse before the Parousia,
while Kaipwv draws attention to the
critical 'periods' (articuli) by which
these 'ages' will be marked.
In the N.T. Kaipos is very common
with an eschatological reference, pro-
bably, as Hort suggests (i Pet. p. 51),
owing to the manner of its use in
Daniel (ix. 27 &c.) : cf. Mk. xiii. 33,
Lk. xxi. 8, 24, Ac. iii. 19, Eph. i. 10,
i Tim. vi. 15, Tit. i. 3, Heb. ix. 10,
Rev. i. 3, xi. 18, xxii. 10. It should
be noted however that it is by no
means limited by St Paul to its
special use, but is also used of time
generally, e.g. Rom. iii. 26, viii. 18,
i Cor. vii. 29, Eph. v. 16 (with Robin-
son's note). See further Trench Syn.
Ivii., and for an interesting dis-
cussion of the Gk. idea of Kaipos see
Butcher Harvard Lectures on Greek
Subjects (1904) p. ii7ff. The dis-
tinction alluded to above survives in
mod. Gk. where xP ovos ' y ear >' an( l
Kaipos = l weather.'
On dSeXcpm' see i. 4 note, and on
ov xp- *x- see i y ' 9 n te-
2. avrol yap aKptjB&s /crX.] ' For
V.i ii. TEACHING CONCERNING THE
SUDDENNESS OP THE ADVENT AND
THE NEED OP WATCHFULNESS.
The second difficulty or danger of
the Thessaloniaus was closely con-
nected with the first. So long as
they had thought that only those
who were actually alive at the time
of Christ's Parousia would share in
His full blessedness, they had been
doubly impatient of any postpone-
ment in His coming, lest they them-
selves might not survive to see that
Day. And though the principal
ground of their disquiet had now
been removed (iv. 13 17), the pre-
vailing restlessness and excitement
were such (see Intr. p. xlvi f.), that the
Apostles were led to remind their
converts of what they had already
laid down so clearly in their oral
teaching, that ' the day of the Lord '
would come as a surprise (DO. i 5),
and consequently that continued
watchfulness and self-restraint were
necessary on the part of all who would
be found ready for it (ov. 6 n).
15. 'We have been speaking of
Christ's Return. As to the time
when that will take place, Brothers,
we do not need to say anything
further. For you yourselves have
already been fully informed that the
coming of the Day of the Lord is as
unexpected as the coming of a thief
in the night. It is just when men
are feeling most secure that ruin
confronts them suddenly as the
birth-pang a travailing woman, and
escape is no longer possible. But as
for you, Brothers, the case is very
different. You are living in the day-
light now : and therefore the coining
of the Day will not catch you un-
awares.'
I. Ufpl Se T. xpovcav *crX.] Vg. de
temporibus autem et momentis, Beza
64 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V 2
oi$aT6 OTL rifjiepa Kvpiov ws K\67TTrjs ev VVKTI OVTWS
yourselves (A.V. 1611 'your selues')
know accurately' a further appeal
to the Thessalonians' own experience
(cf. ii. i note), the addition of a*picSs
being due not only to the stress laid
by the Apostles on this point in their
oral teaching, but perhaps also to the
fact that then as now (see below) that
teaching had been based on the actual
words of the Lord. For a somewhat
similar use of aKpipvs cf. Ac. xviii. 25
where it is said of Apollos cdi'dao-jccp
aKpifiais ra nepl rov *Ir)(rov, though it
is going too far to find there with
Blass a proof that Apollos made use
of a written gospel ('accurate... vide-
licet non sine scripto euangelio ' : cf.
Knowling E.G.T. ad loc., and see
J. H. A. Hart J.T.S. vii. p. 176.).
In Eph. v. 15, the only other Pauline
passage where the word occurs, it can
mean little more than ' carefully ' if we
follow the best-attested reading /3Xc-
TTcre ovv dupipas (N*B) : if however
with N C A aicpipus belongs to nepi-
Trarelrf, the thought of strict con-
formity to a standard is again
introduced. The same idea under-
lies the old Engl. use of 'diligently'
by which the word is rendered in
the A.V. of Mt. ii. 8 (cf. JKpi&axrev
'inquired diligently' v. 7), as is shown
by the translators' own description of
their version as 'with the former
Translations diligently compared and
revised.'
'A/cpt<5s is found with olda as here
in P.Cairo 3, 8f. (iii./B.c.) oira>$ anpi-
s, P.Petr. n. 15 (i), 1 1 (iii./B.c.)
aKpi/3o>s ; cf. P.Hib. 40, 6 f.
(iii./B.C.) Tri<rraaro pevroi anpift(t>s.
on rfpepa Kvpiov KT\.] an evident
reminiscence of the Lord's own teach-
ing Mt. xxiv. 43, Lk. xii. 39 : cf. Rev.
iii. 3, xvi. 1 5, and for a similar use of
the same figure 2 Pet. iii. 10. The
absence of the art. before i/pcpa is
due not only to the fact that the
expression had come to be regarded
as a kind of proper name, but to the
emphasis laid on the character of the
day, a day of the Lord. It ' belongs
to Him, is His time for working, for
manifesting Himself, for displaying
His character, for performing His
work His strange work upon the
earth ' (A. B. Davidson, Tluol of the
0.7! (1904) p. 375).
The phrase is first found in the
O.T. in Amos v. 18 ff., where the
prophet criticizes the popular ex-
pectation that the 'day' was to be a
day not of judgment but of national de-
liverance (perhaps in connexion with
phrases like the ' day of Midian ' Isa.
ix. 4 recalling the victory of Israel
over her foes, see W. R. Smith
Prophets of Israel 2 p. 397 f.). It is
very frequent in the later prophecies
(e.g. Isa. ii. i2ff., Zeph. i. 7ff., Mai.
iii. 2, iv. i), and always with a definite
eschatological reference to the term
fixed for the execution of judgment :
see further A. B. Davidson op. cit.
p. 3748"., and Art. ' Eschatology ' in
Hastings' D.B. i. p. 735 ff., also the
elaborate discussion in Gressmann
Der Ursprung der israelitisch-jii-
dischen Eschatologie (1905) p. 141 ff.
The actual comparison toy /cXeVrT/s
is not found in the O.T. (but cf. Job
xxiv. 14, Jer. xxix. 10 (xlix. 9), Obad.
5), while the addition of eV wicri,
which is peculiar to the present
passage, may have led to the belief
so widely prevalent in the early
Church that Christ would come at
night (Lact. Instt. vii. 19 'intempesta
nocte et tenebrosa,' Hieron. ad Mt.
xxv. 6 ' media nocte '). "Epxercu, pres.
for fut., lends vividness and certainty
to the whole idea (cf. Blass, p. 189).
For Jewish apocalyptic speculations
as to the nearness of the End, com-
bined with uncertainty as to its exact
date, see Volz Jud. Eschat. p. 162 ff.
V3] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
KCZI acr>ae*a, Tore
eTriorraTai oXeOpos co(nrep Y\ taSlv Trj iv
V 3 OTO.V solum K*AG 17 alpauc d g Go Syr (Pesh) Boh Arm Aeth Iren lat Tert
Cypr Orig lat Ambst Hier Theod-Mops lat al: 6rav 5t K C BD al Syr (Hard) Eus Chr Tbdt
3. orai/ \eyvcriv KrX.] There is
good authority for inserting 8e(WH.
nig.) after orai>, but on the whole MS.
evidence is against it, and the verse
must be regarded as standing in close
(asyndetic) relation to the preceding
clause. The subject is left indefinite,
but can only be unbelieving men
(Beng. : 'ceteri, quisunt tenebraruiri},
while the pres. (instead of the aor.)
subj. after orav points to coincidence
of time in the events spoken of: it is
'at the very moment when they are
saying' &c., cf. Rev. xviii. 9, and see
Abbott Joh. Gr. p. 385.
ElprjvTj KT\.] a reminiscence of Ezek.
xiii. 10 (XeyovTCS Elprivrj, Kai OVK r\v
fipriVTj), aacpaXfia (Vg. securitas,
Clarom. munitio, Ambrstr. firmitas)
being added here to draw increased
attention to the feeling of security.
The latter word is rare in the N.T.
occurring elsewhere only twice in Lk.
(Go. 1 Ac. 1 ) : in the papyri it is found
as a law-term = ' bond/ ' security,' e.g.
P.Tebt. 27, 73 f. (ii./B.c.) avev TOV
dovvai Trjv do~(pd\fiav.
Tore al<pvidios KT\.] Cf. Lk. xxi. 34
e eavTol.s .r 7rore...
v/J-as
Al(e}(pviSios is found only in these
two passages in the N.T., but it
occurs several times in the O.T.
apocrypha, Sap. xvii. 15 (14) atyvidios
yap avTols KOI drrpocrdoKrjTos (pojBos
fTrrjXQev, 2 Mace. xiv. 17, 3 Mace. iii.
24; cf. also O.G.I.S. 339, 18 (ii./B.c.)
CK TTJS ai(pvi8iov TTfptarao-ecoy. For the
form see WH. 2 Notes p. 1 57 f., and for
the use of the adjective, where we
would expect an adverb, to give point
and clearness to the sentence see
WM. p. 582 f. The adverb is found
M. THESS.
in P.Fay. 123, 21 f. (c. A.D. 100) aXXa
al(pvi8 t'[[']Jo> s f'ipTjxfv TJ/JUV crr/juepoi/.
In eTTio-rarai (Vg. superveniet, Beza
imminet} the idea of suddenness does
not belong to the verb itself, though
frequently, as here, it is suggested by
the context, cf. Lk. xx. i, Ac. vi. 12,
xvii. 5, where tyUmjfu is used simi-
larly of hostile intent. It occurs
elsewhere in the Pauline writings
only in 2 Tim. iv. 2, 6. The un-
aspirated form eVio-Tarai may be due
to confusion with the other verb eVi-
0-Tap.ai (WH. 2 Notes p. 151, WSchm.
P- 39)-
"OXedpos (class., LXX.) is confined in
the N.T. to the Pauline Epp., and,
while not necessarily implying anni-
hilation (cf. i Cor. v. 5), carries with
it the thought of utter and hopeless
ruin, the loss of all that gives worth
to existence (II. i. 9, i Tim. vi. 9) : cf.
Sap. i. 12 and especially 4 Mace. x. 15
where TOV aiwviov TOV rvpdvvov oXedpov
is contrasted with TOV do/di/top ro>i/
euVe/3a>i/ /Stov. The word is thus
closely related to dnaXeia (Mt. vii.
13, Rom. ix. 22, Phil. iii. 19) : see
further J. A. Beet The Last Things
(ed. 1905) p. 1 22 if.
ojo-Trep r) coS/i/ KrA.] Another remi-
niscence of our Lord's teaching, Mt.
xxiv. 8, Mk. xiii. 8, cf. Jo. xvi. 21.
The same figure is frequent in the
O.T. e.g. Isa. xiii. 8, Jer. iv. 31, Hos.
xiii. 13, 2 Esdr. xvi. 38 f. passages
which doubtless suggested the Rab-
binic expectation of the n^^n'^^rij
see Schiirer GescMchte 3 ii. p. 523 f.
(E.Tr. Div. n. ii. p. 154 f.), Weber Jud,
Theol. p. 350 f. The expression is
never however used by St Paul in
this sense (for the idea cf. i Cor. vii.
26), and in the present passage the
66
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V 4, 5
<ya(TTpi exovcrri, Kal ov pr) 6K<pvytx)oriv. 4 viueis Se,
(poi, OVK eVre ev crKOTei, iva Y\ v/mepa v/uas ok r /cAe7rTas n
KaTa\d/3tj, 5 7rai/T5 yap i^uels viol (pwTOS ecrre Kal viol
4 KA<?7rras AB Boh:
KDGr ce /ere onm
Ephr Chr Theod-Mops 1 **
figure must not be pressed to denote
more than the suddenness of the
coming
For suddenly
It comes; the dreadfulness must be
In that ; all warrants the belief
'At night it cometh like a thief.'
(B. Browning ' Easter-Day.')
The late aJ&V (for o>6\'s) is found in
the LXX. Isa. xxxvii. 3; cf. in the
Koii/T? nom. evdvpiv, P.Grenf. n. 35, 5
(i./B.c.). In ov w eKcpvy. we have
probably another reminiscence of Lk.
xxi. (see above), Iva Karto-xvo-qre eK(pv-
yelv ravra iravra (v. 36). For the
absolute use of the verb in the
present passage cf. Ac. xvi. 27, Heb.
ii. 3, xii. 25, Sir. xvi. 13 (14), and for
ov M see the note on iv. 15.
4. vfuls be *rX.] 'Y/ieis emphatic,
and conjoined with the following
d8e\(pol. suggesting a direct contrast
to the unbelieving men of v. 3 : cf.
Eph. iv. 20. Whatever the past state
of the Thessalonians may have been,
in the eyes of the Apostles they are
no longer (OVK. eVre) in darkness, the
reference being not merely to mental
ignorance (Thdt. rrjv ayvoiav), but, as
the sequel shows, including also the
thought of moral estrangement from
God (Chrys. rov o-KOTfivov Kal aK.d6ap-
rov ftiov). For the general thought
cf. 2 Cor. vi. 14, Eph. v. 8, Col. i. 12.
To (for o) O-KOTOS, rare in good Attic
writers, is the regular form in the
N.T. : cf. LXX. Isa. xlii. 16.
im 77 ^e'pa *crX.] It is possible to
give Iva here its full telic force (cf. ii.
1 6) as indicating the Divine purpose
for those who are still eV O-KOTCI, but
it is simpler to find another instance
of its well-established late ecbatic use,
'so that the day...': see the note on
iv. i. 'H 7/piepa can only be 'the day'
already referred to (v. 2), the day par
excellence, the day of judgment, while
for KaraXdpr) (Vg. comprehendat, Beza
deprehendat] of 'overtake' in a hostile
sense cf. Mk. ix. 18, Jo. xii. 35, and
the saying ascribed to the Lord ev ols
av vp,as KaraXa/3a), ev TOVTOIS Kal Kpiv<o
(Just. M. Dial. 47).
a5y K\7rras\ By an inversion of
metaphor by no means uncommon in
the Pauline writings (cf. ii. 7 b note),
the figure of the 'thief is now trans-
ferred from the cause of the surprise
(o. 2) to its object, the idea being that
as the 'day' unpleasantly surprises
the thief who has failed in carrying
through his operations, so 'the day'
will 'overtake' those who are not
prepared for it. The reading how-
ever, though well-attested, is by no
means certain, and the dependence
of the whole passage on Mt. xxiv. 43
(Lk. xii. 39) may be taken as sup-
porting the easier KXeVr/y? (WH.mg).
Weiss (Textkritik p. 17) regards v^as
cor KXen-ra? as a 'purely mechanical
conformation.'
5. TrdvTcs yap v^els *rX.] a restate-
ment of what has just been said from
the positive side, but extended to em-
brace all, and deepened by the relation
now predicated of the Thessalonians.
They are not only ' in ' light, but are
'sons of light,' sharing in the being
and nature of light, and also ' sons of
day,' rjpepas being used apparently not
so much generally of the enlightened
sphere in which light rules, as with
special reference to the 'day' of
Christ's appearing already spoken of,
in which the Thessalonians in virtue
of their Christian standing will have
part. On the connexion of light with
V6] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS
6 7
cncoTOfs-
\oi7roi, d\\d
6 apa ovv fjiri
Kai VYI<p(tifJiV.
the day of the Lord in O.T. prophecy
see such passages as Hos. vi. 5 TO
Kp[fj,a fj.ov u>s (peas e^\vo~eTai, Mic. vii.
S f. fCLV K.aQi(T<i> fV TO) CTKOTft, KuplOff
(pamei /iot...Kat fdeis pe fls TO (peas,
and cf. Enoch xxxviii. 4 (with Charles's
note), cviii. n f.
For the 'New Testament' idiom
underlying vi. (pcor. and vi. T//Z. cf. Lk.
xvi. 8, Eph. v. 8 and see Deissmann
BS. p. 161 if., and for the chiasmus
O-KOTOVS corresponding to (pcoroy, and
VVKTOS to jpepas see Kiihner 3 607,
3. Lft. cites by way of illustration
Eur. Iph. in Taur. 1025 6 I<l>. cos-
drj cr KOTOS Xa/SoVrey eKcrcoOelpev av; OP.
/cXeTrrcov yap j) vv, TTJS fi' dXrjdeias TO
ipcoy, but the passage is wanting in
the best MSS., and is probably a
Christian interpolation.
5 b 1 1 . ' Surely then, as those who
have nothing to do with the darkness,
we (for this applies to you and to
us alike) ought not to sleep, but to
exercise continual watchfulness and
self-control. Night is the general
time for sleep and drunkenness. But
those who belong to the day must
control themselves, and put on the
full panoply of heaven. That will not
only protect them against sudden
attack, but give them the assurance
of final and complete salvation. Sal-
vation (we say), for this is God's
purpose for us, and He has opened
up for us the way to secure it through
our Lord Jesus Christ. His death on
our behalf is the constant pledge that,
living or dying, we shall live together
with Him. Wherefore comfort and
edify one another, as indeed we know
that you are already doing.'
5 b . OVK eo~p,ev VVKTOS KrX.] For the
substitution of the ist for the 2nd
pers. see Intr. p. xliv n. 2 , and for the
gen. with co-pev pointing to the sphere
to which the subjects belong see WM.
p. 244.
6. apa ovv] introduces emphatically
the necessary conclusion from the
preceding statement, ' the illative apa
being supported and enhanced by
the collective and retrospective ovv'
(Ellic.). The combination is peculiar
to St Paul in the N.T., and always
stands at the beginning of sentences,
cf. II. ii. 15, Rom. v. 18, vii. 3, 25 &c.,
Gal. vi. 10, Eph. ii. 19, and see WM.
p. 556 f.
JUT) Kadevdco/Jiev AcrX.] For Ka6evSa>
in its ethical sense of moral and
spiritual insensibility cf. Mk. xiii. 36,
Eph. v. 14, and contrast the usage in
v. 7 and again in v. 10. For cos of
XOITTOI see the note on iv. 13.
aXXa yp^yopcu/zej/ *crX.] Cf. I Pet.
v. 8 where the same combination of
words is found though in a different
connexion. In the present passage
the words are probably echoes of our
Lord's own eschatological teaching;
thus for yprjyopwfjifv cf. Mt. XXIV. 42,
xxv. 13, Mk. xiii. 35, and for i/^co/nei/
cf. Lk. xxi. 34, where however the
word itself does not occur.
Tp^yopeo) (a late formation from
eyprjyopa, Lob. Phryn. p. 118 f.,
WSchm. p. io4ii. 2 ) is found twenty-
three times in the N.T., and occasion-
ally in the later books of the LXX.,
e.g. Jer. xxxviii. 28, i Mace. xii. 27
TTTaev 'l&vaOav Tols Trap' avTov ypf]-
yopflv...di oX^s TTJS VVKTOS', cf. also
Ign. Polyc. i. yprjyopei a.Kolp.rjTOV
7rvevp.a KeKTrj/jievos. From it was
formed the new verbal noun ypy-
y6pr)o-is Dan. TH. v. n, 14: cf. also
the proper name rp^yopios-.
In addition to this v. and v. 8 vrj(pco
is found in the N.T. only in 2 Tim. iv.
5 (j>?7<pe ev Traa-iv) and three times in
i Pet. (i. 13, iv. 7, v. 8). As dis-
tinguished from -ypT/yopeco, a mental
attitude, it points rather to a con-
dition of moral alertness, the senses
being so exercised and disciplined
52
68 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V 7, 8
7 ol yap KadevSovres VVKTOS KaBevSovcriv, Kat ol
juevoi VVKTOS
q/uLels e q/uepas oes
7Ti(rT6a)S Kat
Kai
that all fear of sleeping again is re-
moved (Chrys. : yprjyopya'ecas entrains
7 v^is eVni>) : cf. Aristeas 209 where
the Tponos jSaoriXeiay is said to consist
in TO (TVVTr)pflv...eavTov ddwpodoKTjrov
KCU Vl](plV TO 7T\doV fJLCpOS TOV ftlOV .
7. of yap Ka0(v8ovTs *rX.] There
is no need to look here for any figura-
tive reference of the words (e.g. Clem.
Al. Paed. II. ix. 80, I rovrea-Ttv ev TO>
rrfs dyvoias o-Koro), Aug. ad Ps. CXXxi.
8) : they are simply a statement of the
recognized fact that night is the
general time when men sleep and
are drunken; cf. 2 Pet. ii. 13 rjdovrjv
ijyovfj,i>oi rr)v ev yfJ-epq rpvcpr/v for the
deeper blame associated with revel-
ling in the day-time, and see Mt.
xxiv. 48 ff. for the possible source of
the passage before us.
The verbs /uedvo-jca lit. 'make drunk '
and p.eOva> 'am drunk' are here virtu-
ally synonymous ('ohne merklichen
Unterschied,' WSchm. p. 129), and
nothing is gained by trying to dis-
tinguish them in translation (Vg.
ebrii sunt... ebrii sunt, Clarom., Beza
inebriantur . . . ebrii sunt}. NVKT-OS,
gen. of time, cf. x l ^ v s Mk. xiii.
1 8, and see WM. p. 258.
8. Tjufls Se /crX.] ' But let us, since
we are of the day, be sober' the
part, having a slightly causal force
almost = on rjfjifpas ecr^ev. On the
other hand the aor. part. ei/Suo-ajuei/oi
is to be closely connected with the
principal verb as indicating the
manner in which the vrjfaiv is ac-
complished, ' having put on ' once for
all, whether as an antecedent or a
necessary accompaniment : cf. i Pet.
i. 13 dvaa>(rdfji6voi...vr)(povTs reAeiW,
eXTTitrare CTTI r. (pepop.ei>r)V vfuv X<*P IV
fv diroK.a\v\l/i Irj&ov Xptarroi).
$o0pa/ca niarecos /<rX.] The first OC-
currence of the favourite Pauline
figure of armour: cf. Rom. xiii. i2f.
(where there is the same connexion
of thought), 2 Cor. vi. 7, x. 4, and for
a more detailed account Eph. vi. 13 ff. r
where however the particulars of the
figure are applied somewhat differ-
ently, showing that the imagery must
not be pressed too closely. For the
origin of the simile in each case see
the description of Jehovah in Isa.
lix. 17 Kal evediHTaro diKaio(rvvrjv a5$-
(TOOTIJplOV 67Tt rf)S K(pa\fjs (cf. Isa. Xi.
4f., Sap. v. i7ff.), though in his use
of it St Paul may also have been in-
fluenced by the Jewish conception of
the last great fight against the armies
of Antichrist (Dan. xi., Orac. Sib. Hi.
663 f., 4 Ezra xiii. 33, Enoch xc. 16) as
suggested by SH. p. 378.
It should be noted however that
in the present instance the weapons
spoken of are only those of defence
in view of the trials which beset be-
lievers. Thus we have in the first
place 6(op. nio-Teus KT\. ' a breastplate
of (or, consisting in) faith and love'
(gen. of apposition, Blass p. 98) a
significant complement to the #o>p. r.
diKaio<rvi>T)s of Eph. vi. 14: 'by faith
we are able to realise the Divine will
and the Divine power and by love to-
embody faith in our dealings with
men : this is righteousness' (Westcott
ad loc.}. This is accompanied by
7T(piK<p. e\nida (TtoTrjpias 'an helmet
the hope of salvation,' where from its
eschatological reference o-cor^pms can
only be gen. obj. 'hope directed to-
wards salvation,' the mention of 'hope'
which does not occur in the Isaian
and Ephesian passages being in accord
with the dominant teaching of the
whole Epistle.
The Hellenistic 7repi/c6<paXeu'a is
found eleven times in the LXX., else-
V 9, io] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 69
\7ri$a cooTHpiAc' 9 OTi ovK 606TO r >7'//as eo 45 opyrjv
d\\a ek TrepiTroirjeriv crwTrjpias Sid TOV Kvpiov ri
[XpurTOv], IO TOV a.7rodav6vTOS r
iva
9 -^ytias 6 debs] 6 debs fytcas B 37 116
virep K C ADG cet Chr Thdt al
where in the N.T. only in Eph. vi.
1 7. For the growth in the Bibl. con-
ception o-am/pt'a, which in the Kounj
is frequently = ' health' e.g. B.G.U.
380, 19 ff. (a mother's letter, iii./A.D.)
fj,r] ovv dp,\TJo~r)s, Te%vov, ypdtye /not
TTfpi rfjs crajTTjpias [0"]ot;, see SH. p. 23 f.
The title cr&TJp is discussed by Wend-
land Z.N. T. W. v. (1904) p. 335 ff., and
<rca(ii> and its derivatives by Wagner
Z.N,T.W. vi. (1905) p. 205 ff., where
it is shown that in the N.T. the
positive conception of deliverance to
new and eternal life is predominant.
9. OTi OVK eQfTO KT\.] *Ort, ' be-
cause,' introducing the ground not so
much of the hope as of the completed
salvation just referred to, which is
now described under its two essential
aspects of (i) deliverance from wrath,
(2) the imparting of eternal life. It
is with (i) only that the present v.
is concerned and that from (a) a
negative (OVK e&cro rX.) and (6) a
positive standpoint (aXXa els ireparoi-
KT\.}.
While the 'somewhat vague'
fdero must not be pressed too far, it
clearly carries back the deliverance
of the Thessalonians to the direct
purpose and action of God, cf. i. 4,
ii. 12, II. ii. 13 f., and see Intr. p. Ixv.
For a similar use of rtTfy/u cf. Jo. xv.
1 6, Ac. xiii. 47, i Tim. ii. 7, 2 Tim. i.
n, and i Pet. ii. 8 (with Hort's note).
For opyr; cf. i. io note.
fiy TTpnroLr)o~iv (TGOTrjpmy] a difficult
phrase from the doubt whether Trept-
noirja-iv is to be understood actively
of the ' winning ' of salvation on the
part of man, or passively of the
' adoption ' of (consisting in) salvation
bestowed by God. In support of the
XpioroO om B Aeth
latter view appeal is made to i Pet.
ii. 9 and Eph. i. 14, but the sense of
the former passage (which is taken
from Mai. iii. 17) is determined by the
use of the word Xao'y, 'people for a
possession,' and in Eph. i. 14 the
passive sense, though undoubtedly
more natural, is not necessary (cf.
Abbott 'a complete redemption which
will give possession '). And as in the
only other passages where the word
occurs in the N.T. (II. ii. 14, Heb. x.
39), the active sense is alone suitable,
it is better to employ it here also, all
the more so because, as Findlay has
pointed out, it is the natural sequel of
the 'wakeful, soldierlike activity' to
which the Thessalonians have already
been summoned (vv. 6 8).
The thought of this activity on the
part of true believers is not however
allowed to obscure the real source of
all salvation, namely 8ia T. Kvp. r)/i.
'ir/o-. [XptoroG], where emphasis is laid
not only on the Divine side (Kvpiov)
of the historic Jesus, but, if Xpto-rou
(omit B aeth) is read, on the fulfilment
in Him of God's redemptive purposes.
On how this is effected, and the full
blessing of salvation as eternal life
secured, the next v. proceeds to show.
io. rov dnodavovTos rX.] a re-
lative clause emphasizing that it is
specially to the Lord ' who died ' that
we must look as the medium of our
salvation, the intimate character of
the relation between His 'death' and
our 'life' being brought out still more
clearly if we can adopt the v.l. virep
(WH. mg.) for the more colourless irepi,
which is found elsewhere in the Pau-
line Epp. in a similar connexion only
in Rom. viii. 3 (apaprias), cf. Gal. i. 4
70 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V u
iT rypivyopto/uiev eiVe
ii
fjia <rvv avTto
Aio TrapaKaXeiTe d\\ii\ovs Kai oiKoSo]UL6iTe els TOV
ei/a,
Kai
WH. nig. The point cannot however
be pressed in view of the ' enfeebling '
of the distinction between the two
prepositions in late and colloquial Gk. :
cf. Moulton Prolegg. p. 105.
It will be noticed that there is no
direct mention here of the accom-
panying Resurrection of Christ as in
i. 10, iv. 14, and generally throughout
the Pauline Epp. (Rom. iv. 25, v. 10
&c.), but it is implied in the follow-
ing apa (rvv avro) r/cr<BjMei>. For the
doctrinal significance of this whole
verse see Intr. p. Ixviiif.
tra eire ypj/yopeS/uei/ *rX.] 'in Order
that whether we wake or sleep ' the
verbs being used no longer in the
ethical sense of v. 6, but by a slight
change of figure as metaphorical de-
signations of life and death. Thdt. :
eyprjyopoTas yap eKoXccrf rovs en KCIT'
CKCIVOV TOV KaipOV TTeplOVTaf ' KttdfV-
dovras de TOU? rereXeurTjKoray.
To this particular use of yprjyopect)
no Bibl. parallel can be adduced, but
Kadevda), as denoting death, is found
in the LXX., Ps. Ixxxvii. (Ixxxviii.) 6,
Dan. xii. 2. Wohlenberg suggests that
some proverbial saying may underlie
the phrase (cf. i Cor. x. 31), and cites
by way of illustration Plato Sym.
203 A where it is said of Eros dia
TOVTOV ncKni ecrnv rj o/uXta KOI rj 8td-
XeKroy 6eols Trpos avflpwrrovs, Kai eypf]-
yopoa-i Kai icaQevdovo-i. In its use here
the Apostles were doubtless influenced
by the perplexity of the Thessalonians
which their previous teaching had
been directed to meet (iv. 136.).
Eire...ir6 with the sub]., though
rare among Attic prose-writers (cf.
Plato Legg. xii. 9580 fire ns apprjv
fire TIS 6f)\vs ft), is common in Hellen-
istic and late Gk. In the present
instance the subj. may be the result
of attraction to the principal verb
, but is perhaps sufficiently
explained by the nature of the
thought, the 'waking' or 'sleeping'
being presented in each case as a
possible alternative (Burton 253).
a/za o-vv avrco ^aro)fj,ev] 'we should
live together with Him' the use of
the aor. ija-a>pv pointing to this 'life'
as a definite fact secured to us by the
equally definite death (T. dnodavovTos)
of our Lord. It may be noted how-
ever that Blass (p. 212) prefers the
reading tfa-ofjiev (A) on the ground
that the aor. tfo-atpcv (K al) would
mean ' come to life again ' as in Rom.
xiv. 9.
The question whether this 'life' is
to be confined to the new life which
belongs to believers here, or to the
perfected life that awaits them here-
after, can hardly be said to arise. It
is sufficient for the Apostle that
through union with (a/xa crvv, iv. 17
note) their Lord believers have an
actual part in His experience, and
that consequently for them too
'death' has been transformed into
' life ' ; cf. Rom. xiv. 8 f.
For ' to live ' as the most universal
and pregnant description of 'salvation '
in the apocalyptic teaching of St Paul's
day see Volz Jud. Eschatologie p. 306.
II. Aio TrapaxaXelre KrX.] Cf. iv.
1 8, 816 here taking the place of Jo-re,
as serving better to sum up the
different grounds of encouragement
contained in the whole section iv.
13 v. 10.
Kal otKoSo/zeire KT\.] 'and build up
each the other' (Vg. aedificate al-
terutrum, Beza aedificate singuli
singulos] the first occurrence of a
favourite Pauline metaphor, perhaps
originally suggested by our Lord's
own words (Mt. xvi. 18, cf. vii. 24 ff.),
and here used in its widest spiritual
V 12] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 7 1
ev VJJLLV Ka 7rjOoi'o"T/>teof9 V/ULCOV ev Kvpio Kai
sense (cf. i Cor. xiv. 4). Blass (p. 144)
traces the unusual combination els TOV
eva ( = aXXr/'Xouy) to Semitic usage, but
it finds at least a partial parallel in
Theocr. xx. (xxii.) 65 els evl x ~ l P a *
ciftpov. The nearest N.T. parallel is
I Cor. iv. 6 iva fj,rj ei? vnep rov evbs
(pv(novo~de Kara rov erepou, ' St Paul's
point there being the dividing effect
of inflatedness or puffing up, as here
the uniting effect of mutual building
up' (Hort Ecclesia p. i25n. 1 ): cf.
also Eph. v. 33 oi KaB' eVa, and in
mod. Gk. the phrase o evas TOV aXXov.
KO^OOS- KOI Trotelrf ] Grot. : ' Alternis
adhibet hortamenta et laudes : quasi
diceret, o-nev8ovTa KOI UVTOV orpvi/eo
festinantem hortor et ipsum.'
V. 12 22. VARIOUS PRECEPTS WITH
REGARD TO CHURCH LlFE AND
HOLY LIVING.
1 2 1 5. From the general exhorta-
tion contained in the preceding section
(iv. i v. n) the Apostles now turn
to define more particularly the duties
of their converts (i) to their leaders
(ev. 12, 13) and (2) to the disorderly
and faint-hearted in their number
(vv. 14, 15) the counsels in both
instances being addressed to the com-
munity at large, as shown by the
repeated dde\<pol (vv. 12, 14) without
qualification.
12, 13. 'And now to pass before
closing to one or two points in this
life of mutual service, we call upon
you, Brothers, to pay proper respect
to those who exercise rule over you
in the Lord. Hold them in the
highest esteem and love on account
of their Divine calling, and thus pre-
serve a spirit of peace in the whole
community.'
12. cldevat] evidently used here
in the sense of 'know in their true
character,' 'appreciate' (Calv. : ' Ag-
noscere hie significat Habere rationem
aut respectum ') a usage of the word
for which no adequate parallel has
yet been produced from class, or
Bibl. Gk. : cf. however i Cor. xvi. 18
e7riyiv(0(TK(T ovv TOVS TOIOVTOVS, and
see Ign. Smyrn. ix. Ka\a>s ?x Qeov
KOI CTTIO-KOTTOV cldevcu. Bornemann well
remarks on the 'Feinheit' displayed
in the choice of the word in the
present passage : it is knowledge
founded on 'Einsicht' that the writers
have in view.
TOVS KOTritoVTas *rX.] ' them that toil
among you, and are over you in the
Lord, and admonish you.' In view of
the common art. the three participles
must be referred to the same persons,
in all probability the 'presbyters/ their
work being regarded from three dif-
ferent points of view, cf. i Tim. v. 17
and see Intr. p. xlviif.
K.omatVTas\ KoTTiao) in class. Gk. =
'grow weary,' a sense which it also
retains in the LXX. (e.g. 2 Regn. xvii.
2, Isa. xl. 30), is generally used in the
N.T. (contrast Mt. xi. 28, Jo. iv. 6,
Rev. ii. 3) with the derived meaning
of 'toil,' 'work with effort,' with re-
ference to both bodily and mental
labour (cf. KOTTOV, i. 3 note). It is a
favourite word with St Paul (Epp. 14 ),
who frequently employs it with re-
ference to the laborious character of
his own ministerial life (i Cor. xv.
10, Gal. iv. 11, Phil. ii. 16, Col. i. 29,
i Tim. iv. 10). Lft. (ad Ign. Polyc.
vi.) derives the metaphor from the
toilsome training for an athletic con-
test. By the use of the word here,
as Calvin characteristically remarks,
the Apostle excludes from the class
of pastors ' omnes otiosos ventres.'
TrpoYora/xeVovf] not a technical term
of office as shown by its position be-
tween KOTTtwvTas and vov0TovvTas, but,
in accordance with the general usage
of the verb in the N.T. (Rom. xii.
8, i Tim. iii. 4, 5, 12, cf. Tit. iii. 8,
72 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V 13
ret? v/uLas, I3 Kai rjyeicrdcu avrovs r v7rep6K7repi(ra'ov^ iv
SLOL TO epyov avriav. eiprjveveTe eV eavTols.
v KAD b vel cet Chr Thdt : virepeKirepi<rff&s BD*G Orig
commentators render 'hold them in
love exceeding highly,' connecting ev
dycnrrj closely with r}-yetcr0ai Oil the
ground of such partial parallels as
riva ev rivt (Rom. i. 28, Thuc.
13
14), pointing rather to the informal
guidance in spiritual matters which
the Thessalonian elders exercised ' in
the Lord' towards individual members
of the Church : cf. Hort Ecclesia p. 126,
and for the later ecclesiastical use of
the verb see Just. M. Apol. i. 67,
Hennas Vis. n. iv. 3.
For an ' official ' sense attaching to
TrpotVracr&u in the papyri see P.Tebt.
5, 58 (ii./B.c.) where it is applied to
' the superintendents of the sacred
revenues ' (rols TrpofcrT^Koai TWV lepwv
7rpoo-o$co[i/]), cf. 53, 8 (ii./B.c.) ; and for
a similar use in the inscriptions see
Dittenberger Syttoge* 318, 8 f. (ii./B.c.),
where, in an inscription found close to
Thessalonica, a certain Maapxos is
described as 7rpo'iaTdp.evos rcoi/ re Kara
K.OLVOV Traariv MaKeoo"ii> (TvvfpepovTwv'.
cf. also O.G.I.S. 728, 4 (iii ./B.C. from
the Thebaid) Trpoe'crr?; rStv K.a[ff avrov]
diW TTJS TroXecos. The word = ' to
practise in business' is discussed by
Field Notes p. 223 f. : in P.Petr. in.
73, 4f. (undated) it is used of 'the
landlord' of a lodging-house (ro{5
TrfpoJeoTTyKoros 1 rrjs. . .(rvvoiKtas).
vovBcTovvras] Nou^ereTi/ (lit. 'put
in mind') has apparently always a
sense of blame attached to it, hence =
'admonish,' 'warn,' cf. v. 14, II. iii.
15. In Col. i. 28 it joined with 8idd-
<TKCIV, as presenting complementary
aspects of the preacher's duty ' warn-
ing to repent, instructing in the
faith' (Lft.). Outside the Pauline
Epp. the word is found in the N.T.
only in Ac. xx. 31 ; cf. i Regn. iii. 13,
Sap. xi. 10 (ii), xii. 2, Pss. Sol. xiii. 8,
also Plato Gorg. 479 A p^'re vovdere'i-
crdai p-T/re KoAa^'eo'&u /x^re di<rjv di-
dovai.
13. KOL yye1<r6ai KT\.] The exact
construction of these words is not
unattended with difficulty. Many
ii. 1 8. iii. 9). But it is simpler to
take the words in the order in which
they stand, and to translate with the
R.V. 'esteem them exceeding highly
in love,' ev dyiing being then a loose
adjunct to the whole phrase ijy. avr.
. : cf. Job xxxv. 2 Tt roCro
ev Kpia-ei; The only difficulty is
the somewhat strong sense ' esteem '
(Thdt. : rrXeiovos diovv Tifj.f)s) that is
thus given to the generally colourless
qyflo-Qai, and for which Lft. can find
no nearer parallel than Time. ii. 42 TO
dfj.vv(r6ai KOI naOelv p.aAAoi' rjy/ycra/uei'ot
77 ro cvSovTfs vto&vdai 'preferring
rather to suffer in self-defence &c.'
It is supported however by the
analogous use of ddevai (v. 12), and
by the general warmth of tone of the
whole passage: cf. II. iii. 15 note.
For VTTfpfKTTfptO'O'OV (\)TTfpfK1Tfpl(T-
(rws, WH. mg.) see note on iii. 10.
810. T. epyov avrav] ' for their work's
sake,' i.e. both because of their ac-
tivity in it, and its own intrinsic
importance. Calv. : ' Huius operis
inaestimabilis est excellentia ac dig-
nitas : ergo quos tantae rei ministros
facit Deus, nobis eximios esse opor-
tet.'
flpT)VfveT KT\.] ' be at peace among
yourselves' a precept not to be
dissociated from the preceding, but
implying that by their affectionate
loyalty to their leaders the Thessa-
lonians were to maintain the peace
of the whole community (Beza pacem
colite inter vos mutuo). For flpr}-
vfvfiv in this sense cf. Mk. ix. 50,
Rom. xii. 18, 2 Cor. xiii. n, Sir.
xxviii. 9, 13 (15).
V 14, is] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 73
Se u^cas, d$e\(>oi, vovOerelTe roik
, Trapa/uvBeTo'Oe TOI)S
dcrQevwv, jj.aKpo6vfJLelTe Trpos TraVras. ^opdre JJLYI
If the more difficult but well-
attested eV avrois (ND*GP) is pre-
ferred, the meaning will then be 'find
your peace through them ' i.e. ' through
their leadership.' In no case can we
render 'be at peace with (i.e. in
your intercourse with) them' (Vg.
cum eis\ which would require fj.fr
avTuv (cf. Rom. .xii. 18).
14, 15. A fresh series of instruc-
tions still addressed like the pre-
ceding to the whole company of
believers, and calling upon the
(stronger) * brethren ' to extend their
aid towards those who are 'weak/
' Further we call upon you, Brothers,
to warn those who are neglecting their
proper duties. Let the despondent
be encouraged, and those who are still
weak in faith be upheld. Cherish a
spirit of forbearance towards all men,
and take special care that, so far from
yielding to the old spirit of revenge,
you make it your constant effort to
seek the good of all.'
14. vovOfTflTf r. drciKTovs] Beza
monete inordinatos rather than Vg.
COrripite inquietos. "Arafcror (an. Xey.
N.T.) primarily a military term ap-
plied to the soldier who does not
remain in the ranks, and thence used
more generally of whatever is out of
order. In the present passage the
special reference would seem to be
to the idleness and neglect of duty
which characterized certain members
of the Thessalonian Church in view of
the shortly-expected Parousia (Intr.
p. xlvi f.). Contrast the unbroken front
over which St Paul rejoices in Col. ii.
5 \aipo)v Koi f3\firo)v vfj-wv TTJV ra^iv
Kdl TO (TTfpeCOjLta T?j4 els XptOTOl/ TTl&TfCOS
D/iCOJ/.
For the meaning of UTCKTOS see
further Add. Note G.
rBf KrX.] ' encourage the
faint-hearted' (Yg. consolamini pusil-
lanimes, Wycl. counforte j>e men of
litil herte), whether from over-anxiety
regarding their departed friends, or
from fear of persecution, or from any
other cause leading to despondency.
'O\iy6\lsvxos, air. Xey. N.T., occurs
several times in the LXX. (e.g. Isa.
Ivii. 15 6\iyo\lfvxois didovs paKpoOv-
lilav\ as do the corresponding subst.
(o'Xtyox^u^ta) and verb (o\iyo'fyv\iv).
For the verb cf. also P.Petr. n. 40 (a),
I2f. (iii./B.C.) fj.r) ovv o\iyo\lrvx 1 l<rr)T
aXX* tti>Spi'eo-$e.
dvTcxto-0 KrX.] 'lay hold of the
weak' with the added idea of sup-
porting them (Beza suUevale in-
firmos}. For ai/re^eo-^at (N.T. only
midd.) in its more primary sense
'hold firmly to' cf. Mt. vi. 24, Lk.
xvi. 13, Tit. i. 9, Isa. Ivi. 4 ai/re'x<ai>rat
rfjs 8ia6t]Kr)s p.ov ; and from the Kotvij
such passages as P. Par. 14, 22 f.
(ii./B.C.) ovdevos diKaiov avrf^o/xevot,
P.Amh. 133, I iff. (ii./A.D.) KO.I /zera
TroXXcoj/ KOTTCOV dvrjKa.o'a^.fv avrtov avra-
rf)s Tovrtov evepyias eVl ra>
e<(popiov, 'and with great
difficulty I made them set to work
at the former rent.'
The weak here can only be the
spiritually weak (Thdt. TOVS w edpaiav
KfKTrj/jievovs Trurrii/) : cf. Rom. XIV. I,
i Cor. viii. 9, u, ix. 22.
ILaKpodvuflre rX.] 'be long-suffering
toward all,' i.e. do not give way to a
'short' or 'quick' temper (6o6vn'ia)
towards those who fail, but be patient
and considerate towards them : cf.
i Cor. xiii. 4, Gal. v. 22, and especi-
ally Eph. iv. 2 where paKpodvpia is
explained as dvx6fj.evoi dXXijXw *v
dyairr]. In this sense jj.aKpo6vp.La is
assigned as an attribute to God Him-
self, Rom. ii. 4, ix. 22, i Pet. iii. 20.
Th. Mops, (who confines the reference
74 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V 16
TiS KO.KOV aVTl KCtKOV Tivl aTToSw, d\\d TTCCVTOTe TO
d*ya6ov SiwKeTe T ek crAAf;A.oi/s /ecu ek Trai/ras. I<5 /7aV-
15 5tc6/rere solum N*ADG 17 37 67** alpauc d g m Vg (?) Go Boh (?) Syr (Pesh)
Arm Aeth Ambst Theod-Mops ut : 5tc6/cere /cai K C B al pier Vg (?) Syr (Hard) Ephr Baa
Chr Thdt
to the Church-leaders) : 'patientes
estate ad omnes, eo quod hoc neces-
sarium ualde est magistris, ita ut non
facile desperent propter peccata, pa-
tienter uero suam impleant doctrinam,
expectantes semper ut discipuli me-
liores sui efficiantur.'
15. oparc M TIS KrA.] 'see that
none pay back evil in return for evil
to any one': cf. Rom. xii. 17, i Pet.
iii. g. The saying, whicli reflects the
teaching of our Lord in such a passage
as Mt. v. 43 ff., is often claimed as a
distinctive precept of Christianity,
and, notwithstanding such isolated
maxims from the O.T. as Ex. xxiii.
4, Prov. xxv. 21 f., and the lofty spirit
occasionally found in heathen philo-
sophers as in a Socrates (see Plato
Rep. i. 335), it is certainly true that
Christianity first made 'no retaliation '
a practical precept for all, by providing
the 'moral dynamic' through which
alone it could be carried out.
On the durative opaco (cognate with
our 'beware') see Moulton Prolegg.
p. nof., and for opare /J.TJ with the
subj. cf. Mt. xviii. 10 (Burton 209),
also P.Oxy. 532, 15 (ii./A.D.) opa ovv
M aXAoos- Trpd&s. If aVoSoi (N*D b G)
is read, it also must be taken as
a subj., formed after the model of
verbs in -oo> (WM. p. 360 n. 2 ). Both
forms can be illustrated from the
Koivrj, e.g. P. Par. 7, II (i./B.C.) eav Sc
pr) dnodw, B.G.U. 741, 27 (ii./A.D.) eai>
8 W [aJTrodoI: see further Cronert
p. 216. The simple Sol is found in
an illiterate fragment of the iii./B.c.,
P.Petr. II. 9 (5), 5 OTTOJS dot
d\\a Train-ore /crX.] ' but always pur-
sue after that which is good ' ayaOov
being used in the sense of 'beneficial,'
'helpful' (utile) as opposed to the
preceding KUKOV, rather than of what
is morally good (honestum] : cf. iii.
6 note. For the favourite Pauline
diwKfiv iii the sense of ' pursue,' ' seek
eagerly after' (Thpht. : firirfTa^v^s
o-7rou&ae/ n) cf. Rom. ix. 30, Phil,
iii. 12, where in both passages it is
associated with the correlative /mra-
: see also Ex. XV. 9 fl-rrfv 6
OS Atcoa? KaraXr/jM-v/^o/zat. Outside
tlie Pauline Epp. the metaphorical
use of the verb in the N.T. is con-
fined to Heb. xii. 14, i Pet. iii. n
(from LXX.) ; cf. Plato Gorg. 507 B ovre
duoKfiv OVT (pfvyeLv a ^17 npoarjKci.
1 6 22. From social duties the
Apostles now pass to inculcate cer-
tain more directly religious duties.
'At all times cherish a spirit of
joyfulness ; in unceasing prayer make
known your every want; under all
circumstances give thanks to God :
for only in these ways can God's
purposes for you in Christ Jesus be
fulfilled. With regard to the gifts of
the Spirit, see to it that you do not
quench them, or make light of pro-
phesyings. At the same time do not
accept these without discrimination.
Rather bring everything to the test,
and thus keep firm hold of the
genuine, while you abstain from evil
in whatever form it appears.'
1 6. iravroTf x a ' L P* Tf ] an injunction
striking the same glad note that is
so often repeated in the Ep. to the
other Macedonian Church (Phil. ii.
1 8, iii. i, iv. 4), its significance in the
present instance being much increased
in view of the sufferings already
spoken of (i. 6, ii. 14, iii. 2ft'.). For
the paradox cf. Rom. v. 3, 2 Cor. vi.
10, and for the true source of this joy
see our Lord's own words Jo. xv. n,
xvi. 24, xvii. 13. Leighton's words
(cited by Dods) may be recalled": 'All
Vi; 20] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 75
TOT6 %aipeT6 7 ' aoia\L7TTU)s Trpocrev^ecrue^ ev
ev^apLCTTeiTe" TOVTO <ydp 6e\r]/uLa deov ev XpKTTw 'Irjcrov
ek vfj-as. I9 TO TrvevjJia /mrj (r/3evvvTe, *7rpo<prjTeias /ur}
spiritual sorrows, of what nature so-
ever, are turned into spiritual joy :
that is the proper end of them ; they
have a natural tendency that way.'
An interesting ex. of the spirit of
joy ruling in the early Church is
afforded by the names found in the in-
scriptions Victor, Nice, Gaudentius,
Gaudiosus, Hilaris, Hilaritas (Ramsay
C. and B. i. p. 493). See also Stanley
Christian Institutions (1881) p. 250!".
17. dftiaXeiTTTws Trpocr evxeo~6e\ a
second precept, not to be interpreted
merely as showing how the former
precept may be fulfilled, but an in-
dependent injunction in thorough
accordance with St Paul's constant
teaching, cf. Rom. xii. 12, Eph. vi. 18,
Col. iv. 2. For the absolute manner
(oSiaXeiTrrcos 1 , i. 3 note) in which the
precept is expressed see the note on
iv. 13, and for a striking commentary
on it note the constantly interjected
prayers in this and the later Ep.
(Intr. p. Ixv).
For prayer as a part of Church-life
cf. Didache xv. 4 ray 8e evxas V/J.MV...
noiijaaTe <os e'x ere *v ra> evayye\ia> rov
Kvpiov 77foi>, and for the conditions
under which the whole life of the
saint becomes p.iav o~vvcnrTO[j.vr]v p.e-
yd\r)v...evx^v, see Orig. de Oral. xii. 2
(ed. Koetschau) 'afiiaXeiVrcos' 8e TTpocr-
epyois TTJV
1 8. eV Travrl e^^apioreTre] Vg. in
omnibus gratias agite ev TTCLVTI not
being ' on every occasion ' (Chrys. :
dei), but 'in all circumstances,' even
in persecutions and trials. Thdt. : w
fjiovov tv rols QvfMijpeo-iv, dXXa Kav rois
fvavriois. oiSe yap TO av/JLCpepov 6 /ue-
yaXoStopof. For a similar stress laid
by St Paul on universal thanksgiving
cf. Eph. v. 20, Phil. iv. 6, Col. iii. 17.
For evxapLo-Tfiv see i. 2 note, and
add the late use of the verb by which
it is practically = cvxeo-dai, as in the
interesting Christian amulet (VL/A.D. ?)
reproduced by Wilcken (ArcMv i.
p. 43 iff.) where after an invocation
to God and Christ and the holy
Serenus the writer proceeds ev^a-
ptoT<5...Kat K\iva> TTJV K(pa\ijv [/xo]u...
OTTOOS dia>rjs air p.ov...Tov baipova
Trpoftaa-Kavias. May we not have an
earlier trace of this usage in P.Tebt.
56, 9 (late ii./A.D.) where the render-
ing 'pray' seems to suit the context
better than the editors' 'give thanks' ?
TOVTO yap KrA.] ToCro, collective
with reference to the foregoing pre-
cepts, while the ^eX7;/za Qeov (iv.
3 note) regarding them is specially
defined as resting ev Xp. 'IT/O-. not
only as their supreme manifestation,
but also as the means through whom
alone they can be made effective.
For the absence of the art. before
els vfiay ' with regard to you ' as well
as for the hyperbaton cf. Lk. vii. 30
rr)v ftov\r)V rov Beov rjOeTijcrav els
eavTovs (Field Notes p. 60).
19. TO TTvev/Jia firj a/SeVfure] in itself
a perfectly general precept but, in
view of the TrpocprjTeias of the next
clause (see note), employed here with
special reference to the charismatic
gifts which had shown themselves at
Thessalonica as afterwards at Corinth
(i Cor. xii., xiv.). Against these ap-
parently a reaction had arisen owing
to a certain amount of arai'a in their
exercise (see Intr.p.xxxiv and cf. I Cor.
xiv. 29 ff), and consequently the
Apostles found it necessary to warn
their readers lest in their dread of
over-enthusiasm the ^apiVjuara should
be extinguished altogether : cf. 2 Tim.
i. 6 dvap.ifivrjo-KU> are dvaa)7rvpelv TO
TOV deov.
76 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [2123
TTANTOC
7rotWa [Se
TTONHpof ATiexecee
TO
23 Airrds Se d 0eos Tf
2i irdvra solum N*A al Boh Syr (Pesh) Orig Ephr Bas Chr g Thdt Tert
5^ K C BDG al d g Vg Go Syr (Hard) Aeth Clem Bas -f Chr \ Ambst
Theod-Mops lat
put to the test (cf. i Jo. iv. i).
Nothing is said as to how this 8id-
Kpio-is TrvfvpaTwv (i Cor. xii. 10, xiv.
29) is to be effected, but it can only
be by a 'spiritual' standard (cf. i Cor.
ii. 13), and not by the 'rational' in-
quiry which is sometimes found here,
and to which the 'prove' of A.V.,
R.V. lends a certain colour.
For 6\>Kt/zaa> see the note on ii. 4,
and for the thought cf. Rom. xii. 2,
Phil. i. 10.
TO KaXov KdTf'^eTc] It is not easy
to find an adequate English equiva-
lent for TO KaXoV, but when used in
its moral sense the word denotes
generally what is good in itself (cf.
Arist. Rhet. i. 9- 3 Ka X6i> JJLCV ovv e'oriV,
6 av 81 avTo aipcTov ov tnaivtrbv y) as
distinguished from TO ayaOov what is
good in virtue of its results. Thus
it is used of genuine as opposed to
counterfeit coin (cf. Xen. Mem. iii. i
8iayiyv<>Jo-Kiv TO TC <a\bv [dpyvpiov]
Kal TO KL@8r)\ov), and is very appro-
priate here to denote the goodness
which passes muster in view of the
testing process just spoken of: cf.
the noble comment of the historian
.Socrates on this verse TO yap xaXot/,
vBa av ?;, i8iov TTJS dXrjdeias eWiV
(H.E. iii. 1 6).
For /caTe'xco = ' hold fast ' cf. Lk. viii.
15, i Cor. xi. 2, xv. 2, Heb. iii. 6, 14,
x. 23, and see Add. Note H.
22. OTTO TravTos c'ldovs KrX.] 'from
every form of evil abstain.' This
rendering may be criticized on two
grounds (i) it takes euW in its
quasi-philosophical sense of 'kind,'
' species,' which though frequent in
class, writers and more especially in
Plato, is not found elsewhere in the
N.T., and (2) it treats irovrjpov, though
anarthrous, as a subst. But -as re-
The use of aftevwrf (for (orm,
WSchm. p. 124) is in accord with
the frequent application of the meta-
phor of fire to the Spirit in Scripture
(Ac. ii. 3, xviii. 25, Rom. xii. n ; cf.
Plut. de defect, orac. 17, p. 4193
drroo-ftfjvat TO Tivevpa) : while /XT/ with
the pres. imp. instead of the aor. subj.
points to the necessity of desisting
from a course of action already going
on, as distinguished from avoidance of
similar action in the future (Moulton
Prolegg. pp. i22f., 247).
2O. 7rpo(prjTfias pr) e^ovdevflre] ail
injunction closely related to the fore-
going (cf. I Cor. xiv. I r)\ovT( 8e ra
TTvev/jLaTiKd, /noXXoi/ 8e 'iva TT po(j)r]Tvr)Tc),
and pointing to the impassioned ut-
terances regarding the deep things
of God which so frequently showed
themselves in the Early Church under
the direct influence of the Spirit : cf.
Ac. ii. 17, xix. 6, i Cor. xii. 10, Rev. i.
10, and see further McGiffert Apost.
Age p. 526 ff.
The strong verb cgovOfvev 'set at
naught,' ' make of no account ' (Suid. :
avr ov8evbs Xo-yi'fo/Mai) is found in the
N.T. only in Lk. 3 and Paul 8 , and
under the form cov8cvelv in Mk. 1 .
In the LXX. it occurs in four forms
Lobeck Phryn. p. 182.
21. TrdvTa [de] 6\)/a/iaere] The con-
necting particle 6V, which is amply
vouched for, ought probably to be
retained here, its omission being
easily explained through the in-
fluence of the following So-. In any
case whether 6V is retained or not,
the whole clause stands in a certain
limiting relation to the foregoing
precepts: important as 'gifts' and
' prophesyings ' are, they cannot be
accepted unhesitatingly, but must be
V23] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 77
eipqvrjs d'yido'ai vjuas dAoTe/VeZs, Kal 6\OK\rjpov
TO
gards (i), apart from such passages
as Jos. Antt. vii. 80 (iv. 2), x. 37 (iii. i)
eldos peXovs, Trovrjpias, we have now
confirmation of this more popular use
of eiSos from the papyri as when in
P.Tebt. 58, 20 f. (ii./B.c.) a taxgatherer
undertakes to collect a wheat-tax drro
iravros e'tiovs ' from every class ' ; cf.
P.Oxy. 237. viii. 42 f. (ii./A.D.) Kara
K(op,r)v Kal /car' eidos 'under villages
and classes,' and see P.Fay. 34, 6f.
(ii./A.D.) where a'XXa e'i8rj may be used
not of 'other taxes' but of 'other
kinds ' of produce on which a certain
tax (fj.ovo8ea-ij.ia) was levied (see
editors' note ad loc.). While with
reference to (2), the anarthrous use
of the neut. sing, to denote abstract
ideas is too frequent to cause any
real difficulty, e.g. Gen. ii. 9 TO gv\ov
TOV eldevat yv<oo~Tov KaXov K. jrovrjpoiij
Heb. V. 14 rrpos bidicpio-LV KaXov re Kal
KCIKOV, and cf. Didache iii. i, appa-
rently a reminiscence of the present
passage, <pe>ye UTTO iravTos Trovrjpov K.
dno iravTos G/JLOLOV avrov.
The alternative rendering 'abstain
from every appearance of evil ' (R.V.
marg.) has the advantage of taking
eldos in the same sense as elsewhere
in the N.T. (Lk. iii. 22, ix. 29, Jo. v.
37, 2 Cor. v. 7), but, if it is preferred,
care must be taken not to impart into
the word the idea of ' semblance ' as
opposed to ' reality ' : it is rather ' ap-
pearance' in the sense of 'outward
show,' 'visible form.'
On djrexto-Qai dn6 see iv. 3 note,
and on the more active idea of evil in
os ' malignant ' as compared with
OS ' base' see Trench Syn. Ixxxiv.
Commentators generally draw at-
tention to the change from TO <aX6v
to Travrbs e'idovs Trovrjpov, for while the
good is one, evil has many forms ; cf.
Arist. Eth. Nic. ii. 5. 14 en TO ^v
a/zaprai/etf TroXXa^cos eo"TiV,...To 8e Kar-
opQovv fjLova^djs.
It is also of interest to notice that
vv. 21, 22 are frequently connected
by early Christian writers with the
agraphon ascribed to our Lord yl-
veo~6e doKipoi Tpane^lrai (for reff. see
Suicer Thesaurus s.v. TpaTreCiVj??), and
it is at least possible that the writers
of our E$. had this saying of Jesus
in mind here: see further Resch
Agrapha pp. n6ff., 233 ff., Pauli-
nismus p. 408 f., Ropes Spruche
p. 142 f.
V. 23, 24. PRAYER.
From these several injunctions the
Apostles turn in characteristic fashion
to the Divine power in which alone
they can be fulfilled. Beng. : 'non
meo studio, inquit Paulus, sed divino
praesidio muniti eritis.'
23, 24. ' As however without God
all your strivings must be in vain we
pray that the God of peace Himself
will sanctify you through and through,
that the whole man may become
God's, each part preserved entire and
without blame, and found so at the
Parousia of the Lord Jesus. Nor
need you have any fear regarding
this. The very fact that it is God
Who is calling is to you the pledge
that He will not suffer His calling
to become null and void.'
23. 6 debs rrjs elprjvrjs] a frequent
title at the close of the Pauline Epp.
(Rom. xv. 33, xvi. 20, 2 Cor. xiii. 1 1,
Phil. iv. 9, (Heb. xiii. 20) ; cf. II. iii.
1 6 o Kvp. T. tip.), and intended to
bring out 'the peace' which is not
only the one God's characteristic at-
tribute, but which it is His peculiar
privilege to bestow, and which in the
present passage gains in significance
in view of the dragta just spoken of.
For 'Peace' as a Talmudic Name
of God see Taylor /Sayings 2 p. 25 f. ;
while as further illustrating the per-
sonal application of the term it may be
noted that in P.Oxy. 41, 27 (iii./iv. A.D.)
the prytanis at Oxyrhynchus is popu-
larly acclaimed as f lpr)vrj TroXecoy.
dyido-cu i>fj,ds KTX.] 'sanctify you
78 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [23
Kat t
Kai TO
wholly' aytao-at not being limited
to the initial act of consecration,
but (as in Rom. xv. 16, Eph. v. 26)
pointing to the actual inward sancti-
fication of the Thessalonians ' in their
whole persons' (Vg. Ambrstr. per
omnia, Luth. Weizsacker durch und
durch}.
For this ethical sense of ayia&iv
cf. Lev. xi. 44 ayiao-8ij<rfO-6e KOI ayioi
(Tcrdf t OTI ayios elp-t c'yoo, and for a
full discussion of the word and its
synonyms see Westcott Heb. p. 346 f.
For oAorfArjy (air. Aey. N.T.) cf. Plut.
Mor. ii. 9098, Dittenberger Sylloge*
376, 45 dvfi<r(popiav, yv ovdels rc5i/ 77po-
repov 2e/3a(rrc3i/ oAoreA?/ e5a>Kei/. The
adv. oAoreAwy, by which Suidas defines
the common oAoo-^pdis, is found in
ACL. Deut. xiii. 16 (17).
6\oK\r)pov] a secondary predicate to
be taken closely along with Trjprjdfir], and
as belonging to all three substantives
(WM. p. 661). As regards meaning,
6\oK\r]pos can hardly be distinguished
from oAoreAr/s though, in accordance
with its derivation, it draws more
special attention to the several parts
to which the wholeness spoken of
extends, no part being wanting or
lacking in completeness. Thus in the
LXX. the word is used of \i6oi as yet
untouched by any tool (Deut. xxvii. 6,
i Mace. iv. 47), and it is the regular
expression in Philo (de anim. 1 2, ii.
p. 836 M.) and Josephus Antt. HI. 278
(xii. 2) to denote the integritas re-
quired both in priests and victims.
From this the transition is easy to the
metaphorical sense of mental and
moral completeness which the word
has in the apocr. books of the O.T.
(Sap. XV. 3 6\oK\rjpos SiKaioavvr),
4 MaCC. XV. 17 TTJV fvaefieiav oAofcAjj-
pov\ and in Jas. i. 4 where it is
joined with re'Aeto? (for distinction be-
tween them see Trench Syn. xxii.)
and explained as eV p.r)dcvl AeiTro/zei/os.
An interesting parallel to the use
ev TY\ Trapov-
of 6\oK\r)pos in the present passage
is afforded by the magical papyrus
P.Lond. i. 121, 589 f. (iii./A.D.) 8ia(pv-
Aa<rcre fiov TO o-ca/xa TTJV 4 fv XV v O\OK\T]-
pov, while its original meaning is seen
in P.Oxy. 57, 13 f. (iii./A.D.) virep rov
6\OK\r)pov (sc. Troi^crai) rr/v eVar/ce^ii/
TO>V ^co/iara)!/. The allied subst. oAo-
K\r)pia (cf. Ac. iii. 1 6) occurs in the
sense of physical wholeness, health,
e.g. B.Gr. U. 948, 2 ff. (iv./v. A.D.)
/M6...ra 7rept T^? vyas arov <a
6XoK.\Tjpia$ <rov "xalpLv, and for the
verb see P.Grenf. i. 53, 4f. (iv./A.D.)
OTTCOJ oAoKA^poOi/ra ere a7roAa^3o/xei'.
V^LCOV TO 7rvvp.a KrA.] The precedent
gen. VP.WV is uuemphatic (cf. Abbott
Joh. Gr. p. 416), and belongs to each
of the following substantives, .'your
spirit and your soul and your body/
but this triple subject must not be
pressed as if it contained a psycho-
logical definition of human nature.
St Paul ' is not writing a treatise on
the soul, but pouring forth, from the
fulness of his heart, a prayer for his
converts' (Jowett), and consequently
all appeals to the verse in support of
a Pauline system of Trichotomy as
against the Dichotomy found else-
where in his Epp. are beside the
mark. At the same time it will not
do to regard the three subjects as
of 'mere rhetorical significance' (de
Wette): they are evidently chosen
in accordance with the general O.T.
view of the constitution of man to
emphasize a sanctification which shall
extend to man's whole being, whether
on its immortal, its personal, or its
bodily side : cf. Heb. iv. 1 2 with
Westcott's Add. Note p. 1146".
The trichotomist arguments based
on the passage will be found fully
stated by Ellicott The Destiny of the
Creature, Serm. v. with the accom-
panying Notes. For the more im-
portant inquiry how far St Paul
may have been influenced here by
V24, 25] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 79
cria TOV Kvpiov ^JULCOV 'lr]<rou XpicrTov Trjprjdeui. 24 7r*(TTos
6 KaXwv vjua^ 9 os Kal Troirjcrei.
Trepi
25 Kal BD* 4** 6 17 31 37 al pauc Go Syr (Hard) Arm Orig Chr Theod-Mops lat :
om KAD C G cet f g Vg Boh Syr (Pesh) Aeth That Ambst al
Pharisaic theology see Wohlenberg
ad loc. t and cf. Jos. Antt, I. 34 (i. 2).
For the occurrence of the same tri-
chotomy in Egyptian rites in the order
* soul, body, spirit ' see the interesting
note by Rev. F. E. Brightman in
J.T.S.'u. p. 273 f.
a/Ae>7rTa>s] an adverbial adjunct
(ii. 10 note) qualifying the whole
expression o\6K\r}pov...TT}pii$iu): cf.
Clem. R. Cor. xliv. 6 e< rfjs ajut'/z7rra>y
avroZ? rtriiujfuvrff (TeTrjpijpcvrjs, Lft.)
Xetroupytas 1 .
It is not without interest to notice
that dpfpiTTas, which in the N.T. is
confined to this Ep., occurs in certain
sepulchral inscriptions discovered at
Thessalonica, e.g. an inscription of
50 A.D. Eto-taSi rfj (ruv&ian fytrcurfl a-
ff.fjLrrT<os TT] KT)...[pV]ias x<*P iV ( no - 3
Duchesne et Bayet Mission au Mont
Athos p. 29).
cv rfj Trapovcria rrX.] a temporal
clause marking also the condition
under which the blameless oXo/cXr/pia
will be made manifest (cf. ii. 19 note).
Wohlenberg prefers to connect the
words more closely with TrjprjBfir),
the thought then being that in the
judgment following upon Christ's ap-
pearing, while others find themselves
the subjects of God's wrath, those who
have undergone this triple sanctifica-
tion will be preserved in bliss. The
difference in meaning is not very
great, but under no circumstances
can the A.V. 'unto (as if els) the
coming 3 be accepted, however true
the thought underlying it (cf. Phil,
i. 6). For Trapovcria see Add. Note F.
24. 7rt(rros o KaXeSi/ *rX.] Chrys. :
"Opa TTJV TdTreivocppoo-vvrjv. ''ETreidrj yap
fJLT) VOfJiio'TJTe, 17 (Til/, OTl CLTTO
TWV e/xcSi/ (vx&v TOVTO yivercu, aXX*
< rfjs npodea-eais, ys v/JLas fKoXfa-fv.
Beng. : ' magnam hie versiculus exul-
tationem habet.'
For 6 <a\. lip. which, as always in
St Paul, can only refer to God cf. ii.
12 note, and for TTIOTOS in a similar
connexion cf. II. iii. 3, i Cor. i. 9, x.
13, 2 Cor. i. 1 8, 2 Tim. ii. 13, Heb. x.
23, xi. ii, Dent. vii. 9, Isa. xlix. 7,
Pss. Sol. xiv. i. The absolute use of
TToiijaei is very striking, and sets in
bold relief the doing with which God
accompanies His calling : cf. Num.
xxiii. 19 CLVTOS finas ov^l nonjo-ei ; Ps.
xxxvi. (xxxvii.) 5 eXmo-ov eV auroj/,
/cal avroy Troiija-ei. For a similar certi-
tudo fidei on the part of St Paul cf.
Rom. xvi. 25, Phil. i. 6, and for a like
spirit in later Jewish theology see
Apoc. Bar. xiii. 3, ' Thou shalt there-
fore be assuredly preserved to the
consummation of the times.'
V. 2528. CONCLUDING IN-
JUNCTIONS AND BENE-
DICTION.
2528. 'Meanwhile, Brothers, in
your prayers do not forget us. Con-
vey our greetings with the customary
holy kiss to all the Brothers. As
regards this letter I charge that it
be read aloud to all the Brothers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you.'
25. *A8eX<pot, Trpoo-evxeo-Qe KrX.] Cf.
II. iii. i, and for a similar request see
Rom. xv. 30, Eph. vi. 19, Col. iv. 3,
Heb. xiii. 18. If /cat is read, it intro-
duces the feeling of reciprocity 'as
we have prayed for you, do you also
pray for us.'
80 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [V 26, 27
26 ' f AorTrdcracrGe TOVS d$e\<povs TTGLVTCLS ev (piXy/man
dyiw. 2?t ,vopKL^ct) vfuds TOV KVQIOV dvayvcocrBfjvai Trjv
eTTia-ToXriv Trdcnv TO?? T a'J
27 rots] add aylois K C AKLP al pier Vg Go Boh Syr (Pesh Hard) Arm Chr That
Theoa-Mops lat
26. 'A(T7rao-a<r0e KrX.] an exhorta-
tion addressed like the preceding to
the whole Church, and not only to
those to whom the Ep. was directly
sent, presumably the elders. Had
any such restriction been intended,
it could hardly fail to have been
clearly notified, while any difficulty
in the general application of the in-
junction owing to the use of r. dd.
Travras is met by the want of stress
here attaching to rravras (WSchm.
p. 189), the whole phrase being
practically equivalent to the more
customary aXX^Aous.
'Ao-7rab/iai is of constant occurrence
in the papyri for conveying the greet-
ings at the end of a letter, e.g. P. Fay.
119? 25 ff. (c. i./A.D.) d(mdov y ^7raya6ov
KOL TOVS (piXovvTes r)/j.as Trpos dXrjOiav.
f'v (piXrjuaTi dyia>] ' with a kiss that
is holy,' as a token of friendship and
brotherly love, cf. Rom. xvi. 16, i Cor.
xvi. 20, 2 Cor. xiii. 12, in each case
the attribute ayiov being added to
bring out the true character of the
(pi\r)fj.a : see also i Pet. v. 14 ev
<pi\ijp.aTi dyaTrrjs. The practice may
have arisen from the customary mode
of saluting a Rabbi, Wiinsche Neue
Beitrdge p. 339 ; cf. also F. C. Cony-
beare in Exp. iv. ix. p. 4606!.
For the first mention of the 'kiss
of peace' as a regular part of the
Christian service see Just. M. Apol.
i. 65 dXXj/Xovy <f)i\r)fJiaTi dar7ra6p.e6a
Travadfjifvoi ra>v ev^ajj/, and for full
particulars of its liturgical use see
art. 'Kiss' in Smith's D.C.A., and
Hauck RE. 3 vi. p. 274. In some
parts of Greece the Easter-greeting
(Xpioros di/ecm;) is still accompanied
by the brotherly kiss.
27.
not found elsewhere in the Bibl.
writings except as a variant in
2 Esdr. xxiii. (xiii.) 25, is apparently
a strengthened form of dpja'o> (for
form, Rutherford NP. p. 466 f.), and
like it (Mk. v. 17, Ac. xix. 3) is here
construed with two accusatives : cf.
LM.A. in. 1238 (Christian) fvopxifa
V/J.CLS rov cofie e^ecrrcora apyeXo?, /LIT/ ris
Trore To\fj.ij((rr)) /<rX., and see also Ram-
say C. and B. i. p. 734. For a similar
usage of e'op/a'o> see P.Leid. V. 4. 31
(iii./A.D.) ft-opKia) ere TTJV 8vva/j,iv (rov,
and for opx/fa TWO, see Deissmann JBS.
p. 274 ff.
The presence of the adjuration in
the present passage has been explain-
ed as due either to the Apostle's deep
sense of the importance of his Ep. to
all without exception, or to a pre-
sentiment that a wrong use might be
made of his name and authority as in
II. ii. 2, iii. 17, or to the fact that the
reading of such letters had not yet
been officially established. But after
all no special reason need be sought.
Writing as he did to explain his
continued personal absence, and to
enforce truths which he felt to be
of vital importance to his converts,
St Paul naturally took precautions to
ensure that his letter should be read
and circulated as widely as possible :
see Intr. p. xxxiv, and for the change
to the ist pers. sing, to give the appeal
a more personal character cf. ii. 18,
iii. 5.
dvayvaxrdTJvat] 'Avayvcoo-flr/vai (for
construction, Blass p. 241) a time-
less aor., and hence lending no sup-
port to Alford's view that a special
assembly was to be held for this
purpose. At the same time it is
clear from the context that it is a
V28] THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 8 1
' 8 * H ^ 1 ^ T v Kvpiov q/uLcov ' Irjcrov XpurTOv
V/ULCOV.
public reading or a reading aloud
that is alone thought of here. For
this sense of dvayiyvato-Keiv (almost
universal in class. Gk., Butcher Har-
vard Lect. p. 230, n. 1 ) cf. Lk. iv. 16, Ac.
xiii. 27, xv. 21, 2 Cor. iii. 15, Col. iv.
1 6, Rev. i. 3 (with Swete's note), and
for the result of this reading aloud in
giving the N.T. writings an authori-
tative character see Sanday Inspira-
tion p. 360 f.
Tertullian is sometimes quoted as
mentioning Thessalonica and Philippi
as churches where the letters of the
Apostles were read in the original
( 4 apud quas ipsae authenticae literae
eorum recitantur ' de praescr. 36), but
the reference to Thessalonica (' habes
Thessalonicenses ') is plainly an in-
sertion, clumsy in form, and wanting
in the best MSS.
In the papyri dvayiyvma-Kciv is
found = both 'read' and 'read aloud.'
Thus for the latter sense cf. P.Grenf.
I. 37, 1 5 (li./B.C.) TTi\eyp.aTos dvayva-
a-Sevrof of the reading aloud of a
petition, and P.Cairo 29. 3. i (U./A.D.)
$s dvayvuMrQeio-rjs of the reading aloud
of a will. On the other hand the
word must mean simply 'read' in
B.G. U. 1079 (cited iv. i note), and in
P.Fay. 20, 23 (iii. IV./A.D.) where it
refers to copies of an edict set up in
public places a-vvoirra rots dvayiyva-
o-Kova-iv 'in full view of those who
wish to read.'
TTJV fTTio-ToXijv] obviously the present
letter now drawing to a close, cf. II.
iii. 14, Rom. xvi. 22, Col. iv. 16
(WSchm. p. 149).
rraa-iv TOLS aSeXtpois] Ilacriv em-
phatic (contrast iravras v. 26), but
not necessarily including others than
the combined members of the Thessa-
lonian Church. 'AyiW, if read before
aSfX0oTs (WH. mg.), would produce a
combination occurring nowhere else
in the Pauline Epp. (cf. however Eph.
iii. 5 T. ayiots aTTooroXois), and is better
omitted.
28. 'H x^P ls KT ^'] a concluding
benediction in which the favourite
Pauline conception of 'grace' takes
the place of the ordinary epistolary
eppoxro (eppoxr$e) or e'ppcotr&u ere (u/za?)
fvxo/j-ai: cf. II. iii. 18, Rom. xvi. 20,
1 Cor. xvi. 23.
A shorter form T) \"P IS P*' vn&v is
found in Col. iv. 18, i Tim. vi. 21,
2 Tim. iv. 22, Tit. iii. 1 5 (add TTCIVTUV),
while this is expanded in various ways
in Gal. vi. 18, Eph. vi. 24, Phil. iv. 23.
The full trinitarian benediction occurs
in 2 Cor. xiii. 13.
The liturgical dp.r)v is found in
AD bc KLP &c.: cf. iii. 13 note.
M. THESS.
AeT f^P TAYT* reNec9Ai npcoTON, <\AA' OYK e^Gecoc TC X reAoc.
Ta avayKoia -jravra dr\a.
CHRYSOSTOM.
Ae GCTIN c K^pioc, 6c crnpfSei Y M <^C KA!
HPOS 0ESSAAONIKEIS B
62
ANALYSIS.
I. ADDRESS AND GREETING, i. i, 2.
II. HISTORICAL AND DOCTRINAL, i. 3 ii. 17.
1. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER FOR THE THESSALONIANS' STATE.
i. 3i2.
2. TEACHING CONCERNING THE EVENTS PRECEDING THE LORD'S
PAROUSIA. ii. i 12.
3. RENEWED THANKSGIVING AND EXHORTATION, ii. 13 15.
4. PRAYER, ii. 16, 17.
III. CONSOLATORY AND HORTATORY, iii. i 16.
1. REQUEST FOR THE THESSALONIANS' PRAYERS, iii. i, 2.
2. CONFIDENCE IN THE THESSALONIANS' PROGRESS, iii. 3 5.
3. CHARGE WITH REGARD TO THE DISORDERLY, iii. 6 12.
4. EXHORTATION TO THE LOYAL MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH.
iii. 1315.
5. PRAYER, iii. 16.
IV. SALUTATION AND BENEDICTION, iii. 17, 18.
HPOS 0ESSAAONIKEIS B
nAYAOS KCLI CiXovavos K.O.I TijuioOeos Trj 6KK\rj(ria
OecrcraXoviKecov eV 6ea
'Irjorov XpiorTCt'
TraTpt /ULMI/ KCCI
K.al eirivn OLTTO 6eov
Kvpw
KCtl KVpLOV 'lrj(TOV XplCTTOV.
I. i, 2. ADDRESS AND
GREETING.
1. IlavXos KT\.] The address cor-
responds word for word with the
address in I. i. i (where see notes)
except in the addition of j/jiwv after
irarpl emphasizing that it is the Divine
fatherhood in relation to man and not
to Christ that is specially in view.
2. OTTO 6fov Trarpos KT\.] These
words, though unauthentic in Li. i,
form part of the true text here, and,
as in all subsequent Pauline Epp.,
carry back the customary greeting
Xapis K- elpjvri to its ultimate source.
Both subjects 6fov Trarpds- and <vp.
'IT/O-. Xp. are under the government of
the same preposition OTTO, and any
distinction between them therefore as
the 'ultimate' and the 'mediating'
channel of grace and peace (as Find-
lay), however true in reality, is out of
place here. In 2 Jo. 3 the same
relation is brought out by the repeated
Trapa.-.Trapa, which can hardly be dis-
tinguished from a in this connexion,
though in accordance with its general
sense it may help to draw attention
to the passage from the giver to the
receiver (cf. Lft. on Gal. i. 12).
The addition of -q^v after Trarpos is
well attested (KAG. . . Vg Go Boh Syrr),
but in accordance with BDP 17 is
omitted by WH. Its insertion was
doubtless due to its frequent presence
in corresponding Pauline formulas.
I. 3. II. 17. HISTORICAL AND
DOCTRINAL.
I. 3 12. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER
FOR THE THESSALONIANS' STATE.
Following upon the Address comes
the customary Thanksgiving which,
while again closely recalling the
Thanksgiving of the First Epistle,
presents certain independent features.
Thus special stress is now laid on
the progress of the Thessalonians'
faith and love with the consequent
boasting of the writers on their be-
half (vv. 3, 4), while the mention of
the afflictions from which at the
time the Thessalonian Church was
suffering is a natural starting-point
for an emphatic appeal to the righteous
judgment of God, by which the perse-
cuted will be recompensed and the
persecutors condemned (vv. 5 10).
The whole is crowned by a character-
istic reference to the Apostles' con-
tinual intercession for their converts
(vv. n, 12).
3, 4. * We count it a duty, as well
as a privilege, Brothers, to give thanks
to God at all times for you, as indeed
your own conduct fully merits, in view
86 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 3, 4
6(f>ei\oiuLv TW 6etu TrdvroTe Trepi v[
d$e\(f>oi, Ka6cl)s d^iov eorTiv, OTL vTrepav^dvei r\ TT'HTTIS
V/ULCUV Kal 7r\ovd(^i >j dydirri evos eKa&TOV TravTiav VJULWV
eis a'AAfjAoi's, W<TT CIVTOVS f//zas iv vfjuv evKav%d(r6ai iv
of the marvellous growth of your faith
and the abounding love which you are
all displaying towards one another.
So marked indeed are these, that we
on our own part are able to make
a boast of you in the churches of God,
as we think of the endurance and the
faith which you have continued to
show even among the persecutions and
afflictions which are falling upon you
at this time.'
3. Ev^apioTf Iv ofpfiXopev] Cf. I. i.
2, the addition of c<pei'Xo/iei/ in the
present passage bringing out the
Apostles' sense of thanksgiving as
actually a debt owing to God in view
of their converts' rapid growth in
spiritual things (see below). As con-
trasted with del l an obligation in the
nature of things,' o0eiXo> expresses ' a
special, personal obligation J (Westcott
on i Jo. ii. 6). It is found combined
with evxapurTelv as here in ii. 13 ; cf.
Clem. R. Cor. xxxviii. 4, Barn. Ep. v.
3 (vTrepevxapioreti') vii. I.
Kttflcos agiov earn] not a mere tauto-
logical repetition of o0eiXo/xei/ for the
sake of emphasis (as Jowett), but
bringing out the duty of the evxapio--
rla from the human standpoint ' it
is also merited by your conduct'
(Lft.) : cf. Phil. i. 7, and for a similar
use of agios see i Cor. xvi. 4.
on] referring back to the principal
statement ev^. o^eiXo/tei/, and in view
of the emphatic o(pei\op.ev (see above)
best given its full causal significance
'because,' cf. ii. 13 and contrast
I. ii. 13.
virfpavgdvei] ' groweth exceedingly '
(Vg. supercrescit, Beza vehementer
augescat, Wycl. ouer wexith], as
compared with the vo-Tepfaara T.
Trurrfcos, I. iii. 10.
The verb is another of the verbs
compounded with vnep- for which St
Paul shows such a marked predi-
lection, cf. V7rep/3cuVa> (I. IV. 6),
v7TpevTvyx av <i* (Rom. viii. 26), vnep-
viKaa) (Rom. viii. 37), VTrepKTfi'i>a> (2
Cor. X. 14), vircpn\eova(o> (i Tim. i. 14),
all, like VTrfpav^avw, being air. Xeyo/xeva
in the N.T. : see also the note on
I. iii. 10. Like the simple avgdva)
in the N.T. (except i Cor. iii. 6f.,
2 Cor. ix. 10), the verb is here used
intransitively.
Kal ir\ovdfi KT\.] a fulfilment of
the prayer of I. iii. 12. As dis-
tinguished from inrcpavgdvet, TrXeoi/a^t,
which is found in the N.T. outside the
Pauline Epp. only in 2 Pet. i. 8, points
to diffusive rather than organic
growth, and hence is fittingly used of
dydirr), while this love is further
characterized as not only individually
manifested (ei>os e/caorou, cf. I. ii. n),
but as extended to the entire
Christian community at Thessalonica
(ndvTtov vyiwv els aXXf;Xovy). Chrys. :
Kal opa dydnrjv' ov TOV /*ei> riydn&v,
rov 8e ov, aXX' i'en; r\v -rrapa 7rdvT<av.
4. coo-re avrovs was AcrX.] ' SO
that we on our part...,' the emphati-
cally placed avrovs not being simply
reflexive, but serving to draw atten-
tion to the fact that the Apostles,
as well as the Thessalonians, have
ground for boasting, inasmuch as it
was through their agency, humanly
speaking, that the foundations of
the Thessalonians' faith were laid.
For wo-re with inf. cf. I. i. 7 note.
evKavxdo-dai] *EvKavx<*o-6ai (for form,
WH. 2 Notes p. I56f.) instead of the
favourite Pauline Kavxao-Qai (Epp. 35 )
does not occur elsewhere in the N.T.,
but is found with the same con-
struction as here in Pss. Ii. (Iii.) 3,
xcvi. (xcvii.) 7 (e'y*-), cv. (cvi.) 47. For
I.'5] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 87
eKK\t](riai<z TOV 6eov vTrep Trs viTOfAOvfj* VJULWV KCLI
eV Trdcriv Tols S^wy/zcus VJULCOV Kai TCUS 6\i"^secriv
TOV 6eov
the thought cf. I. ii. 19 c
Kav^o-eaK, and for lv indicating the
ground of the boasting see WM.
p. 292.
fv r. KK\rjcriais T. $eov] 1.6. in
Corinth and its neighbourhood, cf. 2
Cor. i. i. For a similar instance of
boasting cf. 2 Cor. viii. i ff., and for
the use made of the present passage
by Polycarp see Intr. p. Ixxvif.
VTrep rfjs VTrofjiovrjs KT\.] 'YTro/ioi/rJ
(I. i. 3 note) is usually found associated
with eXrrtr, and its close union here
with irtoris under a common art. has led
to the latter's being taken in the sense
of 'faithfulness' (Beng. : ' fidelem
constantiam confessionis '). But this
passive significance of irioris is, to say
the least, very rare in the N.T. (cf.
Rom. iii. 3, Gal. v. 22), and the occur-
rence of the word in its ordinary
active sense of 'faith' in the im-
mediately preceding verse makes it
more natural to give it the same
meaning here. Nor need the added
clause fv TTCHTIV T. 8icoyfj.ois rA. cause
any difficulty in this respect. It was
the very point of the Apostles' boast
that the Thessalonians had maintained
a true religious 'faith' even in the
midst of the 'persecutions' and
' afflictions' which had been both
numerous (naa-iv) and continuous
(di>e'xeo-0e pres.).
For the combination Sieoy/u. K. 0\ty.
cf. Mt. xiii. 21, Mk. iv. 17, the former
being the more special term, with
reference to the external persecutions
inflicted by enemies of the Gospel (cf.
Ac. viii. i, xiii. 50, 2 Mace. xii. 23),
the latter (cf. I. i. 6, note), more com-
prehensively, afflictions of any kind.
als dvfxfo-df] ' which ye are endur-
ing.' ALS is generally regarded as an
attraction for <u ai/e'^eo-tfe, as elsewhere
in the N. T. ai/e'xo/Luu is found with the
gen. (e.g. 2 Cor. xi. i, 19, Eph. iv. 2).
But such an attraction as this would
be unique (WM. p. 204 n. 2 ), and it
is simpler to regard als as directly
governed by ai/e'x 60 "^ 6 for which we
have class, authority, e.g. Eur. An-
drom. 980 v/^0opats 8* ^veixo^v.
Findlay suggests that the gram-
matical anomaly may have led to the
otherwise interesting variant als
cvexco-Ge (WH. mg.) 'in which you are
involved,' als being then regularly
governed by eV- : cf. Gal. v. i w
naXiv vya dovXeias eVe^ecr^e, P.Fior.
57, 30 (iii./A.D.) ve\fcrde rals Xeirovp-
yais.
5. ' We have spoken of your heroic
faith under persecution, and we gladly
dwell upon it, because in itself it affords
a proof of what awaits you in the day
of God's final judgment, and will then
result in your being found worthy of
the heavenly Kingdom, for which you
are now suffering.'
5. evfteiypa KT\.] ' a plain token of
the righteous judgment of God ' (Beza
quae res indicium est iusti iudicii
Dei}. "Evdfiypa (an. Xey. N.T.) in
accordance with its passive form
denotes strictly a result that has been
reached, 'a thing proved,' but as
frequently in similar cases where the
abstract gives place to the concrete
can hardly be distinguished from
v8cits the actual proof by an appeal
to facts, cf. Rom. iii. 25 f., 2 Cor. viii.
24, and especially the closely parallel
passage Phil. i. 28 pf) irrvpo^voi *v
.T8ev\...fTis ecrrlv avrols
As regards construction, the analogy
of this last passage has led to the
treating of ei/Seiy/ia as a nominative,
some such ellipsis as o eanv being
88 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 5
ek TO KaTa^tcoBfjvai v/ud^ Trjs /3aa~i\eias TOV 6eov, VTrep
supplied (Blass p. 293). But it is
more in keeping with class, usage to
regard such noun-phrases as ac-
cusatives, in apposition to the whole
idea of the foregoing sentence (cf.
Rom. viii. 3, xii. i, i Tim. ii. 6, and
see further Kiihner 3 406, 6, Riddell
The Apology of Plato (1877) p. 122).
In the present instance, therefore, the
meaning is that the heroic faith of the
Thessalonians under persecution is in
itself a 'proof,' a 'sign' (Est. 'argu-
mentum et indicium ') of what God's
final judgment in their case will be.
For SiKaias KptcreoK, a phrase not
found elsewhere in the Pauline Epp.
cf. Rom. ii. 5 diKatoKpio-ias which, how-
ever, denotes * not so much the charac-
ter of the judgment as the character
of the Judge' (SH. p. 56), and for the
whole thought see Rom. viii. i8ff.,
2 Cor. iv. i6ff.
As a literary parallel Garrod aptly
cites the lines from Browning's ' Abt
Vogler '
And what is our failure here but a
triumph's evidence
For the fulness of the days?
And as still better illustrating the
confident appeal to the supreme judg-
ment by which all present sufferings
will be set in their true light, Dante's
great lines (Parg. x. 109 in) may
be recalled
Non attender la forma del martire :
Pensa la succession ; pensa che, a
peggio,
Oltre la gran sentenza non puo ire.
els TO Karaia>6r)vai KT\.] Cf. the
common Rabbinic expression 'To be
worthy of the future aeon' (Dalinan
Worte p. 97, E. Tr. p. 119).
Karai6o>, like the simple dioa> (v.
n), denotes not 'make' but 'count
worthy,' and is found elsewhere in the
N.T. only in Lk. xx. 35 01 8e Karato>-
6(VTCS TOV llltoVOS fKflVOV TV^eiV, AC.
V. 41 ort KaTT)ia>6r)o~av inrep TOV 6v6fj.aTos
In the LXX. it is confined
to Maccabees 4 ; cf. Aristeas 175 TOVS
Se rJKovras Tifj.fjs KdTa^iatv pcifovor. It
is frequent in Polybius (e.g. i. 23. 3,
iv. 86. 8) ; see also C.I. A. in. 690, 9 f.
For fls TO with inf., and for the
meaning of r. /Sao-iA. r. 0eoO see the
notes on I. ii. 12.
VTrep ys KOI Trac^cre] cf. Rom. viii.
17, 2 Cor. i. 7, Phil. iii. 10, and
Dante Purg. xix. 76 f.
eletti di Dio, Ii cui soffriri
E giustizia e speranza fan men duri.
6 10. From the thought of the
future recompence awaiting the per-
secuted Thessalonian Church the
Apostles proceed to describe more
fully the issue of the Lord's Parousia
in an apocalyptic passage closely based
on the O.T. as regards both language
and imagery (see Intr. p. lix). The
form is largely rhythmical, so much
so that Bornemann (pp. 329, 336) con-
jectures that vv. 7 b io a may be an
adaptation of some primitive Christian
psalm or hymn.
' We are the more confident of this
because it is in accord with God's
righteous law to mete out trouble
to troublers, and to the troubled
rest a rest which we hope to share
along with you at the revelation from
heaven of the Lord Jesus attended by
the angels, as the instruments of His
power, and surrounded by a "fire
of flame." Then will He inflict full
justice upon all who in wilful ignor-
ance oppose themselves to God, and
in consequence disobey the Gospel of
Christ. All such shall suffer a fitting
penalty. Nothing less than eternal
ruin will fall upon them banishment
from the presence of the Lord and
from the glory of His might. Yes,
from that glory the wicked, your
persecutors, will be shut out, for the
object of the Lord's coming is to
be glorified in His saints and revered
168] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 89
^5 Kai Tra'cr^ere, 6 i7rep SIKCUOV Trapd 6eto d
Tols 6\iftovcriv v/uias 6\i\lsiv 7 Kai vfjiiv T
av(riv /ued' rifJLMV eV Trj CLTT OKaXv^sei TOV Kvpiou ' Iqcrov
OLTT oupavov /UT dyye\u>v Suva/mews avTOv S GN nypi 4>Aoroc,
in all believers (amongst whom we
may reckon you, for you received our
testimony) in that great Day.'
6. fi-rrep diKaiov <rX.] EiVtp (' si
quidem ') an intensive form, confined
in the N.T. to the Pauline writings,
which, without implying doubt as to
the truth of the condition assumed,
lays some stress on it as a condition
(cf. Rom. iii. 30, viii. 9, 17; SH. p.
96). That condition is here the exer-
cise of the strict righteousness of God
conceived as &jus talionis.
For diKaiov cf. diKatas Kpicrfcas (v. 5)>
and for napa Ota ('judice Deo') see
WM. p. 493-
dvTcnroftovvat KrX.] Th. Mops, retri-
buere his qui tribulant uos retribu-
lationem. For ai/ra7ro8ifio>/u see I.
iii. 9 note, and for 0An//>t? I. i. 6 note.
The language as well as the thought
(cf. Rom. ii. 6 if.) is clearly suggested
by O.T. prophecy, cf. especially Isa.
Ixvi. 4, 14 ff., and for a terse descrip-
tion of the close connexion between
sin and its 'other half punishment
see Sap. xi. 16 (17)81* <av TIS dfj-apravfi,
dlO. TOllTdHV KoA af T<U.
7. avtaiv] "Averts, lit. 'loosening,'
'relaxing' of the cords of endurance
now tightly drawn (cf. Plato Rep. i.
349 E c>1/ T ?7 tmfotftt Kai avfcrei TWV
vis], is, with the exception of Ac.
xxiv. 23 ('indulgence' R.V.), used in
the N.T. only by St Paul, and always
with the contrast to OXfyis either
stated or implied; cf. 2 Cor. ii. 13
(see v. 4), vii. 5, viii. 13. In the
apocryphal books of the O.T. it is
found also in the more general senses
of 'liberty' (i Esdr. iv. 62) and of
'licence' (Sir. xv. 20 (21), xxvi. 10
(13)): cf. also Aristeas 284 eV rals
dve<T((ri Kai pa6\)p.iais^ P. Tebt. 24, 73
(ii./B.C.) V dv[e]a-i yeyovoras ' becom-
ing remiss.'
In the present passage the 'rest'
spoken of (Est. : ' remissionem, relaxa-
tionem, scilicet a pressuris hujus mun-
di ') is practically synonymous with
the Kaipol dva\l^v^(i)s of Ac. iii. 19,
where the context again determines
the eschatological reference of the
phrase: cf. also Asc. Isai. iv. 15 'And
He will give rest to the godly whom
He shall find in the body in this
world.'
fj.e& ij/zav] i.e. with Paul and his com-
panions, rather than with Christians
in general : cf. 2 Cor. i. 7, Phil. i. 30.
Oecum. : eVayft ro fif$' JjfJioctv, Iva
KOIVWVOVS OVTOVS Aa/S KOI rwv
ev TTJ drroKaXv^ei /trA.] Cf. I Cor. i.
7, and for the original suggestion of
the phrase see Lk. xvii. 30 fi "npfpq o
VIOS TOV dvOpWTTOV djrOKO\V7TTTai. 'El/
is not purely temporal but 'in and
through' (cf. I. ii. 19 note), the dvTmro-
doo-is being not only associated with
the diroKaXv^is but actually forming a
part of it : cf. i Pet. i. 7 (with Hort's
note), and on the distinction between
drroKaXv^is and Trapovaia see Add.
Note F.
For similar language from Jewish
Apocalyptic cf. 4 Ezra vii. 28 (quoted
I. iv. 17 note) ; xiii. 32 'et erit cum
tient haec...tunc reuelabitur filius
meus quern uidistiuirumascenden tern.'
P.CT dyyeXtov *rA.] 'accompanied by
angels of His power' Svi/a/xeooy not
being a mere epithet of ayye'Awi/, but,
as the accompanying CLVTOV shows,
pointing directly to the power of the
Lord Himself, of which the angels (cf.
I. iii. 13 note) were the exponents and
ministers. Calv. : * an gelos potentiae
90 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 9
AlAONTOC eKA/KHCIN TO?C MH lAOCI 660N Kal Tofc MH
TW evayyeXia) TOU Kvpiov rifjLwv 'Iqcrov, 9 OLTives
vocat, in quibus suara potestatem
exseret.'
8. ev irvpl (pXoyos] a common figure
in O.T. theophanies, and frequently
associated as here with the thought
of judgment, e.g. Isa. Ixvi. 15 I8ov
yap Kvptof cos irvp rjfi,...a7rodovvai ev
6v/j.<a K8iKT)(riv avrov KOI diroa-KopaKicr-
fjiov avrov (v <p\oyl Trvpos. See also
Apoc. Bar. xlviii. 39, 'Therefore a fire
will consume their thoughts, and in
flame will the meditations of their
reins be tried; for the Judge will
come and will not tarry,' where as
elsewhere in the same book (xliv. 15,
lix. 2 (with Charles's note), Ixxxv. 13)
material fire seems to be intended.
In St Paul's hands on the contrary
the figure has become entirely spiri-
tualized, and there is certainly no
thought here of 'fire' as the actual
instrument for the destruction of the
ungodly, as Kabisch appears to sug-
gest (Eschatologie des Paulus (1893)
p. 246).
The v.L ev (p\oyl nvpos (BDG 47 71)
appears to be a conformation to Isa.
Ixvi. 15 (cited above); on the other
hand in ev irvp\ (p\oy6s (KAKLP) we
may have a reminiscence of LXX. Ex.
iii. 2, where however AF read ev (j>\.
irvp. : cf. Ac. vii. 30 where there is a
similar variation of reading.
didovros e<8iKr)o-Lv] not to be con-
nected with Trvpos but directly with
r. wp. 'Irjo-ov, and serving to bring out
further the judicial aspect under which
this dnoKaXv^is is here presented.
'EKdUrjo-is from enducos (I. iv. 6 note)
is full, complete punishment, cf. i Pet.
ii. 14 els eKdiKTjo-iv KQKOTroteGf : elsewhere
it has the meaning of 'avenging,' 'vin-
dication' (e.g. Lk. xviii. 7 ff.). The
exact phrase dovvai 3*&iiafmv is found
only here in the N.T., but it occurs
several times in the LXX., e.g. Ezek.
xxv. 14: cf. Isa. Ixvi. 15 dirodovvtu
, and more particularly for
the thought Deut. xxxii. 35 ev
e\8iKrj<reo>s ai>ra7roS&>cra>. On the power
of judgment here ascribed to the Lord
Jesus see Intr. p. Ixvii.
The v.l. 8i8ovs (D*FG and some
Latin authorities) for didovros, if it
were better attested, would be an
instance of the indifference to con-
cord which we find so frequently in
the Apocalypse, and in the less
educated papyri (Moulton Prolegg.
pp. 9, 60).
TOLS fj,rj eiSocn icrX.] 'to them that
know not God and to them that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus.'
The two clauses (note repeated art.)
are often referred to the Gentile
(I. iv. 5 note) and Jewish (Rom. x.
1 6 ff.) opponents of the Gospel re-
spectively. But it is doubtful whether
any such distinction was in the writers'
minds at the time, nor can it be strictly
applied, for Gentiles as well as Jews
can be taxed with disobedience
(Rom. xi. 30), while the wilful
ignorance of God which alone can
be thought of here (cf. Rom. ii. 14)
is elsewhere directly ascribed to Jews
(cf. Jer. ix. 6 ov< ^6e\ov eldevai /xe).
On the whole therefore it is better,
and more in keeping with the He-
braistic strain of the whole passage
(Findlay), to take both clauses as
referring to the same general class,
viz. all who as the result of wilful
ignorance or disobedience oppose
themselves to God: cf. Jer. x. 25
K)(eov TOV 6vp.6v <rov eVl edvr] TO. fj,ri
fidoTa ere Kal enl yeveas at TO uvop.d
(TOV OVK eVe/caXeVai/ro, where again the
two closely parallel clauses form one
extended category.
The substitution of r. evayy. r. Kvp.
Tjfj.. 'lya. for r. evayy. T. deov (I. ii. 2
&c.) is in accordance with the promi-
nence given to the Lord Jesus
throughout the section.
9. oirt ves] ' men who ' (' quippe qui '),
I 10] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 91
b\.6pov aiwviov ATTO npocoonoy TOY Kypioy KA'I And
THC AO'IHC THC ICXYOC AYTOY, IO OTAN eA6H eNAolAC0HNAi N TO?C AP'OIC
the qualitative character of
though generally lost in late Gk.,
being apparently maintained in the
Pauline Epp., cf. Rom. i. 25, i Cor.
iii. 17, Gal. iv. 24, 26, Phil. iv. 3, and
see Blass p. 173, Moulton Prolegg.
p. 91 f.
In the papyri of the Ptolemaic
period ocm? has almost wholly dis-
appeared, its place b'eing taken by
the simple os, and in the plural often
by 00-01 (Mayser p. 310).
&IKTJV rio-ova-iv] 'shall pay a penalty.'
A/K//, originally 'custom,' 'usage,' and
hence 'right' considered as established
usage, came to be extended to a ' pro-
cess of law' or 'judicial hearing' (e.g.
P.Hib. 30, 24 (iii./B.c.) ) 81*17 <roi
dvaypa(pija-T[a]i 'the case will be
drawn up against you,' P. Reinach 1 5,
21 (ii./B.C.) avev 8iKr)? Kcii Kpiafws KCU
Trao-tjs evpeo-iXoyias ' sans proces, con-
testation, ni chicane d'aucune sorte '),
and then to the result of the lawsuit,
'execution of a sentence,' 'punish-
ment': see Jude 7, Sap. xviii. 11,
2 Mace. viii. 1 1, and cf. P.Fay. 21, 24 f.
(ii./A.D.) TT)V TTpOO-rJKOVO-dV 8lKTj[v yJTTO-
o-^coo-i 'may pay the fitting penalty.'
The exact phrase SI'K^I/ riveiv does
not occur elsewhere in the N.T. though
it is very common in class, writers, cf.
Soph. Electro, 330 dXX' 'io-tii rot r/o-ovo-a
y aiav StKyv, and the other exx. cited
by Wetstein. For the verb cf. Prov.
xxvii. 1 2 frfjiiav riaovo-iv, B.G. U. 242,
7 f. (ii./A.D.) [TrXjiyyais TrXiorais pe
[eV]fto-aro.
oXetfpoi/ altoviov] a phrase not found
elsewhere in the N.T., but cf. 4 Mace.
X. I 5 TOV alatviov TOV rvpavvov oXfBpov.
As o\c6pov (I. v. 3 note) does not
necessarily imply annihilation, so in
itself alwviov need not mean more than
* age-long,' 'age-lasting,' the period
over which it extends depending on
the nature of the object with which
the aeon has to do. Thus in both
papyri and inscriptions it is of fre-
quent occurrence with reference to
the span of a Caesar's life, cf. B.G. U.
362. iv. 1 1 f. virep <T<0TT)pii> KOL ala>[viov]
8ia/^o[^]? TOO Kvpiov 7)/LUBi> (Severus),
and for a similar weakened sense of
the word see Magn. 188, 12 f. (ii./A.D.)
where reference is made to the monies
spent by a certain Charidemos during
his 'life-long' tenure of the office of
gymnasiarch (ds yvfj.vaariap^iav cuo>-
VLOV). On the other hand, in view of
St Paul's consistent teaching regard-
ing 6 altov o n\\a>v which is once and
for ever to supplant o ala>v ovros, the
thought of 'finality' is necessarily
present in the passage before us : the
destruction is an 'eternal' one. See
further Kennedy Last Things p. ^i6K,
and the passages cited by Volz Jiid.
Eschat. p. 286 f. to show that the
eternity of woe was the ordinary
tea.ching of Jewish writers.
Lachmann's reading oXedpiov is only
supported by A 17 47 73 ; cf. Tert. adv.
Marc. v. 16 'quos ait poenam luituros
exitialem, aeternam.'
O.TTO Trpoo-ooTTou icrX.] The words are
borrowed, as Tertullian had already
remarked (adv. Marc. v. 16 'verbis
usus Esaiae'), from Isa. ii. 10, 19, 21,
and hence drro is best understood
neither temporarily nor causally but
locally in the sense of separation from
the face of the Lord. For this preg-
nant use of the preposition cf. ii. 2,
Rom. ix. 3, 2 Cor. xi. 3, Gal. v. 4, and
for the thought such passages as
Mt. vii. 23, xxv. 41, Lk. xiii. 27 con-
trasted with Mt. v. 8, i Jo. iii. 2,
Rev. xxii. 4.
Ao?7p, as in I. ii. 12, is the visible
glory which is the symbol of the
Divine presence, while Icrxvos (gen.
orig.) is the strength by which the
Lord is characterized, and from which
His glory radiates ; cf. Ps. cxlvi. (cxlvii.)
5 /Jifyas 6 Kvpios 7J^<uz>, KOI peyaXr] j;
92 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 10
v 7r(riv TO?
^ TO /uaprvptov VJULCOV & vjULas, EN TH H
OTL r 7Ti-
vs avTov. For the distinction be-
tween lo-xvs strength absolutely and
Kpdros might, strength in relation to
an end to be gained, see Westcott
Eph. p. 25 f.
10. orai/ c\07} *rX.] 'whenever He
has (or, shall have) come...,' the aor.
subj. with orai/ describing a completed
action 'future by virtue of its mood,
punctiliar by its tense' (Moulton
Prolegg. p. 186).
y Ev8oa<r6r)vai is found elsewhere in
the N.T. only in v. 12, but is common
in the LXX., cf. Ex. xiv. 4 cVSo^ao-^o-o-
fiat iv <l>apaft>, and especially Ps.lxxxviii.
(Ixxxix.) 8 o Of os fv8oa6fjivos iv (3ov\f)
dytW, a verse which may have sug-
gested its use in the present passage.
iv T. ayiois] In accordance with
the context these words can refer
here only to redeemed men (cf. I. iii.
13 note), the preposition marking
them out not as the agents of the
Lord's glorification (Chrys. : eV, 8id,
Wt), but as the sphere or element
in which this glorification takes
place; cf. Jo. xvii. 10 Se6Y>ao>iai
iv avTots.
*rX.] parallel to the
preceding clause and with the same
wide sweep, cf. Ps. Ixvii. (Ixviii.) 36
6avfj.a.(TTos o debs ev rot? oaiois avrov.
Bengel's proposal to limit r. dyiois to
converted Jews and nao-tv T. Trio-rfv-
o-ao-ii/ to converted Gentiles is quite
untenable.
For o Trio-revo-as as an almost
technical title for 'one who has ac-
cepted the Gospel,' 'a believer,' cf.
Ac. iv. 32, xi. 17.
on fTrio-TevOr) /crX.] a parenthetical
clause catching up the preceding r.
7no-reuo-ao-ii/,andexpressingthe writers'
conviction that in the Thessalonians'
case the testimony addressed to them
had secured the desired result.
While however the general sense is
3'
clear, the construction of this clause
is admittedly difficult. The words
60' vp,as are usually connected directly
with ro papTvpiov TJ/A., as the order of
the sentence naturally suggests, but
no other instance of ^aprvpiov with
6Vi in this sense is forthcoming (in
Lk. ix. 5 eV/ 'against') and Findlay's
idea of a 'testimony accosting (assail-
ing, challenging) you' for which he
compares i Tim. i. 18, Eph. ii. 7, Rev.
xiv. 6 is, to say the least, somewhat
far-fetched. We must be content
therefore either to regard this as a
unique construction, intended to em-
phasize the direction the testimony
took, or (with Lft.) connect e$' r/iay
with enio-revdr] in the sense 'belief in
our testimony directed itself to reach
you.' WH. 2 (Notes p. 128) favour
this latter connexion, but despairing
of then finding a proper meaning for
fTTio-revOr] propose the conjectural
emendation emo-radr) (read in cod.
min. 31) 'was confirmed': 'the Chris-
tian testimony of suffering for the
faith had been confirmed and sealed
upon the Thessalonians.'
iv TTJ rfp-fpa fKfivTj] a predicate of
time connected with Savfjiao-drjvai and
rendered emphatic by position. For
77 T//M. fKfivT) as denoting the day of
Christ's final coming cf. Mk. xiii. 32,
xiv. 25, Lk. xxi. 34, 2 Tim. i. 12, 18,
iv. 8, and for the general meaning of
the phrase see note on I. v. 2.
n, 12. A characteristic reference
to the writers' consent prayers on
their brethren's behalf.
'And now that all this may be
brought to pass, our earnest prayer
is that our God will count you worthy
of the heavenly rest for which you are
looking. To this end may He mightily
animate you with all delight in good-
ness, and with a whole-hearted activity
inspired by the faith you profess. Thus
In] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 93
o Kai
rs
a TrvTOTe Trepi v/ucov, 'va
6eos
O
ayaucocrvvtis Kai
the full glory of the Lord Jesus will
be displayed in you, as you in your
turn derive your glory from Him in
accordance with the gracious purposes
of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.'
ii. Els o] 'to which end' with
reference to the whole contents of
vv. 5 10.
Iva vp,. dgiaxry] 'Aioo> 'count worthy'
(cf. Karatoo> 0. 5) occurs seven times
in the N.T., and is usually associated
as here with the thought of reward
(e.g. i Tim. v. 17, Heb. iii. 3), cf. how-
ever Heb. X. 29 d^idnBTjcreTai Tip.(t)pias.
The verb is frequent in the papyri
in the sense of 'beg,' 'entreat,' e.g.
P.Tebt. 28, I 5 (ii./B.C.) d^tov^v epfiXe-
^avra els TO. V7ro8f$iyp.eva 'we beg you
to look into the matters indicated
and...'
For iva following trpoo-evxopai cf.
Mk. xiii. 1 8, xiv. 35, 38, Phil. i. 9, and
for its semi-final force here see the
note on I. iv. i.
(cXr/'o-fo)?] Usually in the N.T.
K\fjo-is is applied to the initial act
of salvation as a Divine invitation
(Rom. XL 29, i Cor. i. 26) carrying
with it great responsibilities (Eph.
iv. 1,2 Pet. i. 10), and that meaning
is by no means impossible here in the
sense that on the day of Christ's
return the Thessalonians' whole life
may be found to have been in har-
mony with the call once addressed to
them. There seems no reason how-
ever why the word should not be
definitely extended to include the
final issue of the calling, much in
the sense of TTJS ava> K^ya-cus in Phil,
iii. 14 or K\r/(Tfa)s enovpaviov in Heb.
iii. i : cf. the similar use of KaXeo> in
I. ii. 12, and see further Intr. p. Ixxix.
6 deos rfp.<uv] For the expression cf.
I. ii. 2 note, and for the change from
the 2nd pers. pron. (i5/nas) to the ist
cf. I. v. 5 b note.
epyov
Kai
Tro-Tews e
KT\.] 'and may fulfil
every delight in goodness and work
of faith in power.' The almost tech-
nical use of cvdoKta in the Bibl.
writings to denote the good-will of
God to man (e.g. Ps. cv. (cvi.) 4, Lk.
ii. 14, Eph. i. 5, 9, Phil. ii. 13; cf. Pss.
Sol. viii. 39, Enoch i. 8 KOI TTJV v8o<iav
[fvodiavj Charles] doxm avTois) has led
to the translation of the A.V. 'all the
good pleasure of his goodness' (Beza
totum suae bonitatis libitum). But if
this had been intended we should
have expected the art. before eu'So-
Kiavy while the further considerations
that dya&ta<rvvrjs is never used else-
where of God (cf. Rom. xv. 14, Gal.
v. 22, Eph. v. 9) and that the accom-
panying parallel clause K. tpyov nicr-
To>s must refer to the Thessalonians
are both in favour of extending vSo-
Ktav to them also. The word can then
only mean the 'good pleasure,' 'de-
light' in 'goodness' (dya0a>(Tvvr)s, gen.
obj.), which it was the prayer of the
Apostles that their converts might
evince in full measure.
For fvdoicia (not found in class. Gk.)
in this sense cf. Sir. xxix. 23 (30),
xxxv. 14 (xxxii. 1 8), Pss. Sol. xvi. 12
ta 8e /xera IXaporj/ros crT^piaov
i/ /MOW, and see the note on
ea* I. ii. 8. The corresponding
subst. cvdoKqa-is- occurs O.G.l.S. 335,
122 (Perg.) Kara rr)[v TOV
rjv Kai rr]v /3a<riX<0]* evdo
'Ayadacrvvr) a late form
* Notes p. 159, WSchm. p. 134)
found only in the LXX., N.T., and
writings derived from them. It is
always rendered 'goodness' in A.V.,
R.V., and 'represents the kindlier, as
diKaioo-visr] represents the sterner ele-
ment in the ideal character: comp.
Rom. v. 7' (Robinson Eph. p. 200).
See further Trench Syn. Ixiii., and
cf. the valuable note on di<aios and
94 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [I 12
dya06s in Lft. Notes on Epp. oj
St Paul p. 286 f.
For fpyov Trt'orcas 'activity inspired
by faith' cf. I. i. 3 note.
an adv. adjunct to
"OTTOOC CNAOIAC0H TO ONOMA TOV KVpLOV Y\]Ji(tiV ' IrjCTOV N Y
\ * ~ > > ~ \ \ f ~)~~ \
Kai vjuieis ev avT(v, KCITO, TV\V ^apiv TOV veov rifjuav Kai
Kvpiov 'Irjcrov XpicrTOv.
should be noted however that very
frequently uvopa can mean little more
than 'person,' e.g. B.G.U. 113, n
(ii./A.D.)eKa(rra> oi/6/xari 7rapay(evop.fV(o) '.
see further Deissmann BS. p. 196 ff.,
Reitzenstein Poimandres p. 17 n. 6 ,
and cf. the note on iii. 6.
Kara rrji/ ^apii/ KrX.] not merely the
norm but the source of the glorifica-
tion spoken of in accordance with a
common derived use of Kara (WM.
p. 501). Pelag. : 'Expetit a nobis,
quod possumus: ut quod non pos-
sumus, largiatur.'
The fact that the art. is not repeated
before Kvpiov would seem at first sight
to imply that both deov and Kvpiov
refer to the same person, '(grace) of
our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.'
But this cannot be pressed in view
of the frequent occurrence of Kvpios
without the art. as practically equiva-
lent to a proper name, and it is more
in keeping with general Pauline usage
to distinguish between the Father as
6f6s and Jesus Christ as Kvpios, cf. in
these Epp. I. i. i, II. i. i, 2, ii. 16.
We translate therefore as in the R.V.,
'according to the grace of our God
and the Lord Jesus Christ': see
further Middleton On the Greek
Article (ed. Rose) p. 379 ff.
II. i 12. TEACHING CONCERNING THE
EVENTS PRECEDING THE LORD'S
PAROUSIA.
We have seen already what were
the circumstances leading up to the
writing of this remarkable section
how, on the one hand, St Paul had to
do his utmost to allay the restless
excitement of which there were in-
creasing signs amongst the Thessa-
lonians, and, on the other, to guard
against saying anything to discourage
their belief in the near approach of the
Lord (Intr. p. xxxviii f.). And it must
arrj to bring out the manner
of God's working, cf. Rom. i. 4,
Col. i. 29, and the Prayer-Book collect
for Monday in Easter- week: 'That, as
by Thy special grace preventing us
Thou dost put into our minds good
desires, so by Thy continual help we
may bring the same to good effect.'
12. oVcoy] rare with St Paul, and
used here probably to vary the pre-
ceding u>a, cf. i Cor. i. 29, 2 Cor. viii.
14 (Blass p. 211).
v8ogao-6ri] cf. v. 10 note, and for
the reciprocity here implied (eV V/A. K.
vp.. ev avrw) resting on the essential
union between the Lord and His
people see Jo. xvii. 9 f., 20 flf.
TO oVo/ia T. Kvp. T//X. 'irjo-ov] The use
of ovopa here goes back to the O.T.,
where in accordance with its most
characteristic usage 'the name of
Jehovah' is to be understood as em-
bodying His (revealed) character (see
B.D.B. s.v. D$, and cf. Art. 'Name' in
Hastings' D.B. iii. p. 478 ff.). The
glorification of the name of the Lord
Jesus thus implies the showing forth
of the Lord Jesus as He really is, in
all the fulness of His person and
attributes (cf. Phil. ii. 9 f., Heb. i. 4).
With this may be compared the
well-established Gk. usage of uvo^a
as a title of dignity or rank, e.g.
P.Oxy. 58 (iii./A.D.) where the writer
complains of the expense caused to
the treasury by the number of persons
who have devised 'offices' for them-
selves (6vofj.ara cavrols e^eupozTey), and,
after providing for a single trust-
worthy superintendent, ordains that
the remaining 'offices' shall cease
(ra fie AoiTra ovofjLaTa Travo^rai). It
II i] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 95
II.
crias TOU Kvpov
Se vjjias, d$e\<poi, vTrep
'lrj(rov XpurTov Kai YI
II i T][jiv om B Syr (Harcl)
Trapov-
eTricrvva-
be at once admitted that the manner
in which he proceeds to do so is at
first sight both strange and bewilder-
ing. For, instead of conveying his
warning in a clear and definite form,
the Apostle prefers to embody it in
a mysterious apocalyptic picture,
which has not only no parallel in his
own writings, but is unlike anything
else in the N.T., unless it be certain
passages in the Revelation of St John
(e.g. xiii. 5 8, 12 17, xvi. 9 11).
Nor is this all, but the difficulties of
the passage are still further increased
by the grammatical irregularities and
frequent ellipses with which it abounds,
and even more by the manifest reserve
with which the whole subject is
treated.
In the following exposition there-
fore we shall try and discover as
clearly as possible with the aid of the
O.T. and the apocalyptic writings of
the Apostle's time the meaning of the
different words and phrases, leaving
the general teaching of the passage to
Add. Note I, and the history of the
various interpretations that have been
offered of it to Add. Note J. The
arguments against the authenticity
of the Ep. to which it has given rise
have already been discussed Intr.
p. Ixxxv f.
The section opens with an appeal
to the Thessalonians not to be led
astray by false ideas regarding the
coming of the Lord (vv. i, 2). So far
from His Parousia being ' upon them,'
it will not take place until after the
great Apostasy, culminating in the
'parousia' of the Man of lawlessness
(vv. 3, 4). The signs of that 'parousia'
are already at work, and it only re-
quires the removal of the presently
restraining influence for its full revela-
tion to take place (vv. 5 7) a revela-
tion which, though it will end in the
complete destruction of the 'lawless
one,' will bring judgment on all who
have set themselves against the Truth
(vv. 812).
i 4. 'We have been speaking of
the great Day of the Lord, but that
you may not fall into any mistake as
to the Parousia of the Lord by which
it will be ushered in, and the as-
sembling of believers by which it will
be accompanied, we beg of you,
Brothers, not to allow your minds to
be unsettled for little or no reason,
or to be kept disturbed by any pro-
phetic utterance, or teaching, or letter,
any or all of them purporting to come
from us, to the effect that the Day of
the Lord has actually arrived. Do
not, we beg of you, let any man lead
you completely astray in this or any
other way. For in no case will this
Parousia take place until after the
great Apostasy, and the consequent
revelation of the Man of lawlessness,
that son of perdition. So terrible
indeed will be his revolt that, as the
embodiment of Satanic power, he will
be found exalting himself against
every one that is spoken of as god, or
that is an object of worship. Yes, he
will even go the length of seating him-
self in the Temple of God, and claiming
to be God.'
I. 'EpcorcSfiei/ de rX.] For cpcorao)
see I. iv. i note, and for dde\(poi see
I. i. 4 note.
vnp T. TTapovo-ias] 'as regarding the
Parousia/ the original meaning of
vTrcp 'on behalf of,' ' in the interest of *
being here almost wholly lost sight of,
cf. Rom. ix. 27, 2 Cor. i. 8, viii. 23,
xii. 8, and such a passage from the'
Koivr] as P.Tebt. 19, 9 f. (ii./B.C.) inrep 8e
a>v (nj/zaiVeis Kco/^ioypctyi/zareeoi/ fjLoXis a>s
rfjs <f ^eopio-^o-ovreu, 'regarding the
96 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 2
e avrov
TO
craXevdfjvai
a.7ro TOV i/oos juri^e 6poeT(r6ai (j.r]Te Sia
komogramateis whom you mention,
they will hardly depart until the 25th.'
In no case is there any warrant for
the A.V. rendering 'by' as an adjura-
tion (Vg. per adventum).
For irapovo-ia see Add. Note F, and
for the full title T. Kvp. 'irjar. Xp. see
Add. Note D.
7ri<Tvvay<oyfjs] The word goes back
to such a saying of the Lord as
Mk. xiii. 27 KCU 7rio~vvdei TOVS
K\KTOVS avTov, and is found elsc-
where in the N.T. only in Heb. x. 25
where it is applied to the ordinary
religious assembling of believers as an
anticipation of the great assembling
at the Lord's Parousia : cf. 2 Mace. ii. 7
CMS av crvvdyr) o 6eos fTTio-vvaywyfjv TOV
\aov with reference to the gather-
ing of the tribes into the temporal
kingdom of the Messiah. For the verb
see Deut. xxx. 4, Ps. cv. (cvi.) 47, Zach.
xii. 3, 2 Mace. i. 27, Didache ix. 4,
and cf. O.G.I.S. 90, 23 (ii./B.c. the
Rosetta stone) rois rfrtowAx&tow (Is
avTTjv [AVKMV TroAii/] artftfot*.
2. fls TO pr) Tax- o-a\ev6f)vat] ' to
the end that you be not readily driven
away ' from your sober sense, as a ship
from its safe anchorage. For this
use of o~a\eviv cf. especially Plut.
Mor. ii. 493 D (cited by Lft.) where
op(iv TOV KOTO. (pvo~iv d7roo~aXfvovo~av
is followed almost immediately by a>s
eV dyKvpas TT/S <pvo~<i)s o~a\evi.
The verb (from o-oAor, Lk. xxi. 25),
which is very common in the LXX. in
its literal sense of the motion pro-
duced by winds and storms, is found
also figuratively, as here, especially in
the Pss. (e.g. ix. 27 (x. 6), xxix. (xxx.)
7): cf. i Mace. vi. 8, Pss. Sol. viii. 39,
xv. 6, Ac. xvii. 13 (where it is joined
with Tapao-(TfLv\ Heb. xii. 26 f., also
O.G.I.S. 515, 47 (iii./A.D.) o-aAevei yap
a>s a\rj[6<os r) aoorqpi'a Trjs TroXeJcos C'K
KaKovpyias.
' hastily, 5 ' readily,' the refer-
ence being not so much temporal as
modal: cf. Gal. i. 6, i Tim. v. 22.
drrb TOV vooy] 'from your reason'
(Wycl. from your witte) voos (for
form, WSchm. p. 84) being used in its
regular Pauline sense of the reasoning
faculty, especially on its moral side,
the highest part of man's own nature,
through which he is most open to
Divine influences : cf. i Cor. xiv.
14 ff., Phil. iv. 7. The word, which is
rare in the LXX. (usually for 27 or
3^), is found in the N.T. outside
the Pauline writings only in Lk. xxiv.
45, Rev. xiii. 18, xvii. 9. Thpht. :
dno TOV voos ov
TOV vvv fx eTe opws o-Tap,Vov.
H^fte dpoela-dai] ' nor yet be dis-
turbed' in accordance with the re-
gular Bibl. use of dpoelo-dai : cf. Cant.
V. 4 Ka * */ KoiXi'a p,ov edpoijdrj eV avTov,
and especially Mt. xxiv. 6, Mk. xiii. 7
where, as here, it is used with refer-
ence to the Parousia. The present
tense should be noted as pointing to
a continued state of agitation follow-
ing upon a definite shock received
(J.T]T 8ta TTVeV/JLttTOS KT\.] The
Apostles now proceed to distinguish
three ways in which the 0p6r)o-ts just
spoken of may have been caused, the
thrice repeated WTC dividing the
foregoing negation (woe GpoelaQai)
into its component parts : ' neither
by spirit (i.e. ecstatic utterance, cf.
I. v. 19), nor by (reasoned) discourse,
nor by letter.'
So far the meaning seems clear,
but the introduction of the following
words (os fit' jp.a>v has been the cause
of much difficulty. As usually under-
stood, they are regarded as a kind of
adjectival clause appended to firia-To-
Ar/s^'as though (coming) from us' or
'as though we had written it' (Blass,
p. 253, and cf. B.G.U. 884, 6f. (ii./iii.
II 3] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 97
Sid \o<yov jJL^Te $i e7ri<rTO\fjs ok Si ii/mcou, ws OTI evec
n rifJLepa TOV r KVpiov.^ 3 ]mr] TIS v/uids ea7raTti(rti KCITO.
i Kvpiov, sic distinguere conati sunt WH
A.D.) TO. 8ia TCOV 67r[i]crToXc5i/ avrov).
But if so, in view of the close
parallelism of the preceding clauses,
it seems impossible not to extend
the qualification to them also. The
general meaning would then be that
in the event of false teachers arising
and appealing in support of their
views to some revelation or teaching
or letter purporting to come from
the Apostles, the Thessaloriians were
not to be disturbed as if they (the
Apostles) were in reality in any way
responsible. (Erasm. : ' Paulus non
vult eos commoveri, neque per
spiritum tanquam a Paulo pro fee-
turn, neque per sermonem Pauli no-
mine allatnm, neque per epistolam
illius iussu aut nomine scriptam.')
A modification of this view, suggest-
ed apparently first by Dr Marcus Dods,
and since advocated on independent
grounds by Askwith (Introd. p. 92 ff.)
and Wohlenberg, by which cos 81*
THJ.WV, instead of being dependent on
the noun-clauses, is rather to be re-
ferred back to o-aXevOijvat and Bpoel-
o-0ai as a separate statement, has
the advantage of giving did the same
force as in the preceding clauses.
But the former connexion is on the
whole simpler, nor is there any real
difficulty in the use of diet in the
qualifying clause instead of Trapd or
duo. In a friendly letter the use of the
prepositions must not be judged with
the same strictness as in a classical
treatise, more especially when, as
here, no important doctrinal issue is
at stake. In any case there is no need
to fall back on the conjectural reading
cos 617 THJLWV ' as pretending to be ours,'
Field Notes p. 202.
It is only necessary to add that the
anarthrous emo-ToXfjs cannot be re-
ferred directly to i Thess. (as by Paley
Hor. Paul. x. 3), although the
M. THESS.
knowledge that passages in their
former Ep., such as iv. 13 ff., had
been misunderstood may have been
the cause of the writers' referring to
' a letter' at all as amongst the possible
sources of error.
coy OTI eveo-TrjKev KT\.] ' as if the day
of the Lord is now present' (Vg.
quasi instet dies Domini] cos on
being equivalent to the Attic cos
c. gen. abs. (cf. 2 Cor. v. 19, xi. 21,
and see Blass 2 , p. 235 f.), and evea-Trj-
Kev denoting strictly present time as
in Rom. viii. 38, i Cor. iii. 22, Heb.
ix. 9. Beng. : ' inagna hoc verbo pro-
pinquitas significatur; nam eWo-rco?
est praesens.' The verb is very
common in the papyri and inscrip-
tions with reference to the current
year, e.g. P.Oxy. 245, 6 (i./A.D.) $ TO
eveaTos i(B (e'ros), Magn. loob, 26 ev TCOI
fVffTTCOTt ViaVT(i)l.
It may be added that in late Gk.
cos on also appears in a sense hardly
differing from the simple on, e.g.
Dion. Hal. Antt. ix. 14 emyvovs cos
[om. coy, Kiessling] ort ev eo-xdrois flvlv
ol KaTa.K\fio~0evTS ev rols Xoc^ois 1 ,
C.P.R. 19, 3 (iv./A.D.) irpcorjv |8t/3Xta
em8e8(OKa rrj erf) eTrt/^eXfta cos OTI
efiov\r]dr]v riva vndpxovTfi pov dirodocr-
6ai (Jannaris, 1754, Moulton, Pro-
legg. p. 212).^
3. \*.r] TLS lip. e^aTrarj/o-?/] A general
warning leading up to the statement
of the following clause. In their
margin WH. suggest placing a comma
at Kvpiov, and thus connecting the
words elliptically with what has gone
before '(we say this) lest any one
should....' But the ordinary con-
nexion is simpler, and more in keep-
ing with our Lord's saying which may
well have been in the writers' minds :
/SXeVere /JLTJ TIS v/zas irXavijo-r)' TroXXoi
yap f\evo-ovTai KT\. (Mt. XXIV. 4 f.).
a strengthened form of
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 3
TpoTrov OTI eav
e\6rj r\
d7TOKa\v<p6rj 6 av6pa)7ros rfjs r dvofJLLa<i', 6 vios
3 dvofj.las KB al pane Sah Boh Orig Cyr-Hier al : d/tpHas ADG al pier Lat
(Vet Vg) Syr (Pesh Hard) Go Iren lat Orig Hipp Eus Ephr Chr Orig lat Ambst
Theod-Mops lat al plur
o-ia<ra>o-ii>), cf. also 2 Chron. xxix. 19,
Jer. ii. 19; while in Ac. xxi. 21, the
only other passage in the N.T. where
it occurs, we read of a7rooTacn.'ai/...d7ro
Mtouo-ecoy, with which may be com-
pared the use of the corresponding
verb d(pio-TaiJiai in i Tim. iv. i, Heb.
iii. 12; cf. M. Anton, iv. 29 oTTo
KocrfjLov 6 d<picrTd/jifvos KOI
eavrov TOV TTJS KOLVTJS (f)vo~a>s Xoyov.
Whatever then the exact nature of
the apostasy in the present connexion,
it must at least be a religious apo-
stasy, and one moreover, as the use of
the def. art. proves, regarding which
the Apostles' readers were already
fully informed. In this conclusion
we are confirmed when we pass to the
next words.
KOI drroKa\v(p6fi] ( and (so) there be
revealed (the man of lawlessness)'
a second historical condition pre-
ceding the Lord's Parousia, or rather,
giving Kai its full consecutive force
(I. iv. i note), the sign in which the
just-mentioned dnoo-Tacria finds its
consummation.
The emphatic diroK.a\v^6i) by which
the appearance of this sign is de-
scribed is very significant, not only as
marking the ' superhuman ' character
of the coming spoken of, but as
placing it in mocking counterpart
to the anoKaXvij/is of the Lord Jesus
Himself, cf. i. 7 and note the repe-
tition of the same verb in -CD. 6, 8 of
this chapter. For other exx. of hostile
powers assuming the semblance of
what they oppose see 2 Cor. xi. 13 ff.,
Rev. ii. 2, and cf. Asc. Isai. iv. 18
where it is said of Beliar that he
' manifested himself and acted openly
in this world.'
. dvop.ias\ the man, that
(i Tim. ii. 14), is confined in
the KT. to the Pauline writings, cf.
Rom. xvi. 1 8, i Cor. iii. 18. For the
rare use of the prohibitory subj. in the
3rd pers. cf. i Cor. xvi. 11 (Burton,
166).
Kara fj.rj8eva rpoirov] i.e. not only
not in any of the three ways already
specified, but ' in no way 'evidently
a current phrase, cf. P.Amh. 35, 28
(ii./B.c.), P.Lond. in. 951, 4f. (iii./A.D.).
Thdt. : irdvTa Kara ravrov TO. rfjs diraTrjs
ee/3aXei/ e'idr),
on edv M \6rj KT\.] an elliptical
sentence, the apodosis being lost
sight of in view of the length of
the protasis, but too clearly implied
in what precedes to occasion any
difficulty : ' because the Parousia of
the Lord will not take place unless
there come the Apostasy first/
It is not so easy, however, to deter-
mine in what this Apostasy consists.
In late Gk. diroo-raa-ia is found as an
equivalent of aTroorao-t? (Lob. Phryn.
p. 528) in the sense of political de-
fection or revolt, e.g. Plut. Galba i.
KttXXrroi> epyov 8iaj3a\(&v ro> fa<r$a),
Trfv dno Nepoovoy dirofrraviav irpoboa-'iav
yevopevrjv, and the same meaning has
been attached to it here, as when
it has been referred to the revolt of
the Jews from the Romans (Schottgen
Hor. Heb. i. p. 840). But the usage
of both LXX. and in N.T. is decisive
against any such interpretation. Thus
in Josh. xxii. 22 the word is directly
applied to rebellion against the
Lord (eV oTroo'Tao'ia eVX^jM/zeXr/tra/zei/
evavTi TOV <vpiov\ and in i Mace. ii. 1 5
to the efforts of the officers of An-
tiochus Epiphanes to compel the
people to sacrifice to idols (01 *ara-
TJV diro<TTaa-iav...'lva. 6v-
II 4] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 99
, 4 d avTiKeip-evos KAI r'nepAipo'MeiMOc eni TTANTA Ae-
OeoN // o"e/3aoyza, wcrre ai/TOi> eic TON i/aoy TOY
is. of whom ' lawlessness ' is the true
and peculiar mark dvopias being
used here, as elsewhere in the N.T.,
to describe the condition not of one
living without law, but of one who
acts contrary to law, and thus as prac-
tically equivalent to the v.l. a/xaprtas
(WH. mg.) : cf. I Jo. iii. 4 77 a/zapria
77 ai/o/^im, and as illustrating
the active sense belonging to the
word cf. P. Par. 14, 27 f. (ii./B.c.)
dfpopijTU de dvo/J-iq f^evf^O^vrfS. The
lawless one is thus none other than
Belial (cf. 2 Cor. vi. 15) in accordance
with the Bibl. usage by which /Pv?
is rendered by dvo^^a (Deut. xv. 9),
ai/o/ua (2 Regn. xxii. 5), or aTroorao-ia
(3 Regn. xx. (xxi.) 13 A), and in keeping
with the (erroneous) Rabbinical deri-
vation of the word from ^3 ' without '
and Viy ' yoke,' i.e. one who will not
accept the yoke of the law (see Jew.
EncycL s.v. 'Antichrist'). 'Law, in
all its manifestations is that which he
[the Antichrist] shall rage against,
making hideous application of that
great truth, that where the Spirit is,
there is liberty' (Trench Hulsean
Lectures p. 136; cf. Syn. Ixvi.
p. 227 f,).
o vlos r. aTrcoXetas] a second dis-
tinguishing epithet : so completely
has the lawless one fallen under the
power of 'perdition' (cf. Jo. xvii. 12)
that it may be regarded as his ulti-
mate destination, cf. i Regn. xx. 31
vlos Qavdrov OVTOS i.e. ' destined to .
death.' The thought of final doom
is, however, only indirectly present in
the description (cf. note on oXetfpoy,
i. 9). Here rather, as elsewhere in
his Epp. (Rom. ix. 22, Phil. i. 28, iii.
19, i Tim. vi. 9), St Paul employs airw-
Xem in direct antithesis, either stated
or implied, to o-oorrjpta, full and com-
plete blessedness, in harmony with
the usage of the word (and its allied
terms) in the LXX. and the later
writings of the Jews : cf. I. v. 3 note,
and see further Kennedy Last
Things p. 119 ff., Volz Jud. Eschat.
p. 282 f.
The phrase ' sons of perdition '
(=fn3&$n ^|) is found in Jubilees
x. 3, with reference to those who
perished in the Flood.
4. o dvTiKfip.fvos K. vnepaipofjicvos
KT\.] a continued description of the
lawless one in two participial clauses
bound together under the vinculum
of a common article. The first clause
is generally taken as a participial
subst. = 'the adversary' (cf. Lk. xiii.
17, Phil. i. 28, i Tim. v. 14), but if
so, care must be taken not to refer
the description to Satan himself.
Rather, as v. 9 shows, the being
spoken of is the tool or emissary of
Satan, working in his name and
power (KCIT' cvepyeiav T. 2arai/a), and,
as such, is further distinguished as
'the exalter of himself against every
one called god or object of worship.'
Beng. : 'effert se corde, lingua, stilo,
factis, per se, per suos.'
'Ynepaipop.ai IS found in the N.T.
only here and in 2 Cor. xii. 7 (bis);
cf. 2 Chron. xxxii. 23, and see the
note on i. 3. For iravra \ty. 6e6v cf.
i Cor. viii. 5, and for the compre-
hensive (repaarpa (Vg. quod Colitur,
Beza numeri) denoting everything
held in religious honour, see Ac. xvii.
23, and cf. Sap. xiv. 20, xv. 17,
Bel 27 Th., also Apol Arist. xii.
ov yap TJpKeo-Qrja-av [ol AlyvirTioi]
rols TOV XaXSai'o)!' KCLI 'EXXr/i/coi/ a~-
a>o-re] See note on I. i. 7.
T. vaov T. &ov\ These words were
understood of the actual temple at
Jerusalem by Irenaeus (adv. Haer. v.
30. 4), but this view was modified by
Chrysostom and the Antiocheues who
extended them metaphorically to the
72
100 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 5, 6
KA0icAi,
eavTOv
ear T IV
OTL <ETL wv
6 Kal VVV TO
Church or Churches of Christ: Chrys.:
OV TOV V 'lepOO-oXu/iOlS fJ,OVOV, aXXa KOL
KaO' K<i(rTrjv fKK\r)o-iav (v.l. el? ray
iravTa\ov KK\rjo~ias} ; Tlldt. : ' vaov '
de ' dfov ' ray KK\r)o~ias KaAeo~ez> ;
Th. Mops.: '"in Dei templis," hoc
est, et in domibus orationum'; cf.
Hier. Ep. 121 'in templo Dei uel
lerosolymis, ut quidam putant, uel
in ecclesia, ut uerius arbitramur.'
In favour of the latter interpretation
is the undoubtedly figurative use of
the expression elsewhere in the
Pauline Epp., e.g. i Cor. iii. 16 f.,
vi. 19, 2 Cor. vi. 16, Eph. ii. 21. On
the other hand, the nature of the
context, the use of such a local term
as KaOio-ai, and the twice-repeated
def. art. (TOV vaov TOV deov) all point
to a literal reference in the present
instance, a conclusion in which we
are confirmed when we keep in view
the dependence of the whole passage
upon the description of Antiochus
Epiphanes in Dan. xi. 36 f. (see below),
and upon the language of the Parousia-
'discourses in Mt. xxiv. 15, Mk. xiii. 14
(cf. Dan. xii. n).
Katiia-ai] ' takes his seat.' The verb
is intrans. as generally in the N.T.
(contrast i Cor. vi. 4, Eph. i. 20, and
cf. Ev. Pet. 3). For the construction
with els cf. Mk. xiii. 3 (WM. p. 516).
eavTov *rX.] 'ATTO-
lit. 'show off,' 'exhibit,' is
frequently used in late Gk. = ' nomi-
nate ' or ' proclaim ' to an office, e.g.
Jos. Antt. VI. 35 (iii. 3) IKCTCVOV aVo-
8clai Tiva avT&v /3a(rtXea, O.Gr.I.S. 437,
92 (i./B.C.) oi Tuft eKare'pa)!/ TO>V 8rjp.(t>v
eedc . sQv
TTjOos i/^uas TavTa eXeyov vjuuv' y
o'/Sare, ek TO a,7roKaXv<p6rivai CLVTOV
We translate therefore 'proclaiming
himself that he is god.' For the
suggestion of this trait in the character
of the lawless one cf. Ezek. xxviii. 2
dvff ov v\lsa>6Tj arov T? KapSi'a, /cat eirraff
0eos ei/it e'-yw, and for the whole
description see Dan. xi. 36 f. *a!
This gives excellent sense in the
present passage, and, while simpli-
fying the construction of the follow-
ing on clause (WM. p. 781), draws
more pointed attention to the impious
nature of the claim advanced in it.
en TravTa
$eoi>,
Kai en TOV
TOVS 6eovs TWV naTepcov CIVTOV ov /XT) TT/JO-
vorj6r}...oTi ev rravTl vx/^co^'crerai KrA.
5 7. ' You cannot have forgotten
that while I was still with you, I was
in the habit of telling you these
things. And since then you have
had experience for yourselves of the
working of that power by which the
full revelation of the lawless one is
kept in check until his appointed time
shall have arrived. The full reve-
lation we say for the spirit of law-
lessness is already at work, though in
secret, until he who at present is
keeping it in check is taken out of
the way.'
5- Ov [j.vr)iJ.ovevfT ori /crX.] Est.:
'Tacita obiurgatio.' Calv. : 'Obser-
vanda etiam Pauli mansuetudo, qui
quum acrius excandescere posset,
tan turn leniter eos castigat.'
For p.vTj^ovevfiv cf. I. i. 3 note, and
for the construction elvai npos cf.
I. iii. 4 note. The use made of en as
against the Pauline authorship of the
Ep. is discussed Intr. p. xc.
6. Kal vvv TO Ka.Tf%ov oi&are] ' and
now you know that which restrained! '
vvv having its full temporal sense
in keeping with the emphasis laid in
the context on the present working
of the power of lawlessness (cf. v. 7).
It must not, however, be taken as
if it actually belongs to Kare'^ov (cf.
however Jo. iv. 18 Kal vvv ov e^ety), or
be opposed to the preceding eVt Ji/
which yields no good sense, but
rather be placed in contrast with the
116] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS IOI
following UTTOKaXv^/lS eV TO) dVTOV
Katpai : * for the present (i.e. prac-
tically 'so far as regards the present')
the Thessalonians know only the re-
straining power : what is restrained
is not yet revealed.' See further
Bornemann's elaborate note ad loc.
It is more difficult to determine
what we are to understand by TO
Karexov. That the verb is here used
in the sense of 'restrain,' 'hold back,'
rather than of ' hold fast ' (as in I. v.2 1 ),
is too generally admitted to require
further proof (see Add. Note H):
while, as we have just seen, whatever
is intended must clearly be some-
thing which was actually at work at
the time when the Ep. was written,
and of which moreover its readers
had personal knowledge. Nor is this
all, but, as the occurrence of the same
phrase in the masc. (6 tcarexov, v. 7)
proves, this impersonal principle or
power is capable also of manifesting
itself under a personal form. When
these different considerations are
taken into account, it will be recog-
nized how much is to be said for the
view that goes back as far as Ter-
tullian (' quis nisi Romanus status ? '
de Resurr. c. 24; cf. Apol. c. 32),
and which has since won the support
of the great majority of ancient and
modern scholars, that we have here a
veiled description of the restraining
power of law and order, especially as
these were embodied at the time in
the Roman Empire or its rulers.
And in this view we are farther con-
firmed when we remember that St
Paul had already found a ' restraining
power' in the Roman officials both
at Paphos (Ac. xiii. 6 ff.) and at
Thessalonica itself (Ac. xvii. 6 ff.),
and that it was doubtless these and
similar experiences that afterwards
led him to write to the Romans of
'the powers that be' as 'ordained of
God,' and of 'rulers' as ' not a terror
to the good work, but to the evil'
(Rom. xiii. i, 3). There is nothing
unlikely, then, to say the least, in his
having the same thought in his mind
on the present occasion, while the
fact that he does not give more de-
finite expression to it is not only in
accord with the generally cryptic
character of apocalyptic writings, but
may also be due to prudential motives,
seeing that afterwards he is to speak
of this power as being ' taken out bf
the way ' (v. 7).
This last particular indeed appears
to be decisive against the only other
interpretation of TO Korfgon which
requires to be mentioned, namely
that it refers to the working of the
Holy Spirit (Severianus ap. Cramer
Cat. VI. 388, 'TO KCtTe'^oi/,' (17 <n, TTJV
TOV 'A-yi'ou TlvevfJ-aros ^apii^), or more
generally to a limit of time fixed by
Divine decree (Thdt.: o TOU 6eov
TOLVVV avTov opos vvv eVe'^et (fravr/vai ;
Th. Mops.: TOV 6eov \\eyatv] TOV opov)
with special reference (so Thdt.) to
Mt. xxiv. 14, as indicating one of the
limits by which this condition will be
attained. For then o KaTex^v (v, 7)
can only be God Himself, and it
seems impossible to conceive of any
adequate sense in which the words
coos f< pearov ycvrjTai can be applied
to Him (cf. Swete's note on Th. Mops.
ad loc.}. That however this restrain-
ing power acts in accordance with the
Divine purpose is proved by the
words that follow.
[For a modification of this view
according to which the Man of law-
lessness is the imperial line with its
rage for deification, and the restrain-
ing power the Jewish State, see
Warfield Exp. in. iv. p. 30 ff.; and
cf. Moffatt Hist. N. T. p. 143.]
els TO anoKa\v(pd^vai KT\.] The
'revelation' (v. 3 note) of the lawless
one is not immediate (Chrys.: OVK
fi7T6i> ort Ta^ecos eo-Tai), but like the
revelation of the Lord Jesus Himself
(cf. i Tim. vi. 14 f.) will take place in
the 'season' (I. v. i) appointed for
him by God, and which can therefore
be described emphatically as 'his'
(avTov N*AKP, eavTov K'BDGL).
102 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 7, 8
e Tco avTOV Kaipco" r <yap jmvcrTripiov rri evepyeTcu
dvo/mias' JJLOVOV 6 Kare^cov apn eo>s e'/c jU(rov
c Tore d7roKa\v<p6ticr6Tai 6 ANOMOC, ov 6 Kvpios
8 'I-rjffovs KAD*G al pane Lat (Vet Vg) Sah Boh Syr (Pesh Hard) Arm Aeth
Iren lat Hipp Orig f Const Ath Cyr-Hier Bas Chr That f al Tert Hil Ambst Orig lat
Theod-Mops lat : om BD C al pier Orig Macar Ephr Thdt f Vig
For the insertion of / before Kaip<5
cf. Rom. iii. 26, xi. 5, 2 Cor. viii. 14 ;
and for similar language applied to
the coming of the Messiah cf. Pss.
Sol. XVli. 23 els rov Kaipov ov oldas
<rv, o 6eos.
7. TO yap uvo-TTjpiov KT\.] a con-
firmatory explanation of the pre-
ceding statement, in which the main
stress is evidently laid on TO uvanjpiov
both on account of its isolated and
emphatic position in the sentence,
and from its contrast with the pre-
ceding a7roKa\v(pdfjvai : the revelation,
that is, of the lawless one, just spoken
of, will be a revelation only, for, as a
matter of fact, the principle of which
he is the representative is already at
work, though as yet only in secret.
For this the regular Bibl. sense of
Hvcmjpiov pointing to a secret to be
revealed see Robinson Eph. p. 2346.,
where the different shades of meaning
attached to the w r ord in the Pauline
writings are fully discussed, and for
fVfpye'irai cf. I. ii. 13 note.
P.OVOV] There is no need to find a
case of ellipsis here as in v. 3, povov
belongs to cW, and introduces the
limitation in the present working of
., while the order of
the following words is rhetorical, o
Kare'x<>i> apn being placed before ea>s
for the sake of emphasis (cf. Gal. ii.
IO \IGVOV TG>I> TTTCO^O)!/ IVU ^VT]^LOVe\)U)^fV^
and see WM. p. 688, Buttmann
P- 389).
For the meaning of o Kare'^coj/ see
note on v. 6, and for apn, strictly
present time, as compared with the
more subjective r/8r) 'already/ see the
note on I. iii. 6, and cf. Kiihner 3
498, 499-
K fie'o-ou yevrjTai] Nothing is said
as to how the removal spoken of is
to be effected, nor can the absence
of av with the subj. in this clause be
pressed, as if it lent additional cer-
tainty to the fact, in view of the
general weakening of av in later Gk.,
leading to its frequent omission,
especially after such temporal par-
ticles as eW, ecoy ov &c. : see WM.
p. 371, and add such passages from
the KOLVTJ as P.Oxy. 259, 30 (I./A.D.)
ecos eavrov avr[o]v TTOIJJO-CO, 294, 15 f.
(i./A.D.) eW o.Kova-0) (pacriv Trapa crou
For ex peo-ov cf. i Cor. v. 2, Col. ii. 14.
8 10. 'Then indeed the lawless
one will be revealed, only however
to find himself swept away by the
breath of the Lord's mouth, and
brought utterly to naught by the
manifestation of the Lord's Parousia.
In what mocking counterpart will his
parousia then appear! With what
activity on the part of Satan will it
be accompanied! How it will make
itself known by all manner of false
miracles and false signs and false
wonders, as well as by every kind
of unrighteous device calculated to
deceive those who are already on the
path of destruction, seeing that they
have no affinity with the Truth by
which alone they can be saved ! '
8. KCLI roTf aTroKa\v(p6TJo~(Tai 6
avopos] Not until o KUTexvv has been
removed, can the revelation of o
avouos take place, but 'then' it will
no longer be delayed. For the
solemn and emphatic K. TOT* cf.
Mt. xxiv. 10, 14, 30, i Cor. iv. 5.
'O avoaos is clearly to be identified
with o avdp. T. dvouias (v. 3), while
II 8] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 103
O"Oi/s
Tc TTNeyMATi TOY CTOMATOC AYTOY Kat
dve\ei] dvaXoi fc\* Orig (non semper)
recalls airoKa\v($)6r)
(o. 3) and a7roKa\v(p6f)vai (v. 6). ' Thrice,
with persistent emphasis, dTroKa\v7r-
readai is asserted of 6 avopos, as of
some portentous, unearthly object
holding the gazer spell-bound'
(Findlay).
For the idea of a world-crisis on
the fall of the Roman Empire in
Jewish apocalyptic literature see Apoc.
Bar. xxxix. 7, 'And it will come to
pass when the time of his consum-
mation that he should fall has ap-
proached, then the principate of My
Messiah will be revealed': cf. 4 Ezra
v. i ff. Similar evidence from Rab-
binical sources is given by Weber
Jud. Theologie p. 366.
ov 6 Kvptos KT\.] a relative sentence
describing the fate of 6 oVo/ios in
language borrowed from Isa. xi. 4
7raraei yfjv ra> Xoy<u roC oro/Maros-
avroi), KOI ev TrvevpaTi dta ^eiXe'cow
dvf\el do-fprj. 'Ai/fXet is a post-class,
fut. from di/cupeco, the verb, which is
very common in Acts, not being found
elsewhere in the Pauline Epp., but
occurring in Heb. x. 9 in the sense
of 'remove,' 'do away with.' Beza
renders it in the passage before us
by absumel, while the Lat. verss.
have interficiet.
The marginal reading oVaXoT has
the advantage of offering a ready
explanation of the genesis of certain
other variants dvaXaxrfi (D c KL al
pier} being then due to grammatical
emendation, and the unusual dve\oi
(D*G 17 67**) to a simple interchange
of a and e, or to a mingling of amXot
and ai/eXet (see Zimmer). But the
evidence for aixrXet (ABP 23 31 al} is
too strong to be easily set aside, even
with the further possibility of its being
a conformation to LXX. Isa. xi. 4 (cited
above).
r. TTvevp,. T. (rrop,. our.] a perfectly
general statement not to be limited
to any actual 'word' of the Lord
(Thdt. : <p#e'yerai povov ; Th. Mops. :
'spiritu oris, hoc est, uoce'), still less
to the work of the Third Person of
the Holy Trinity (as Athan. ad /Scrap.
i. 6 ad fin.}, but emphasizing that,
terrible as was the power of the
lawless one, the mere 'breath' of the
Lord's mouth will be sufficient for his
destruction. In addition to Isa. xi. 4
(cited above), where according to the
old (incorrect) Jewish interpretation
the 'wicked' is the future arch-enemy
of the Jews, cf. Job iv. 9 d-rrb 8e TTVC \i-
fjLaros opyr/s avrov (sc. Kvpiov) d(pavi(r-
6r)<rovTm, and see also Sap. xi. 20 (21),
Pss. Sol. xvii. 27, 41, Enoch Ixii. 2,
4 Ezra xiii. 38 ('perdet eos sine
labore').
Kal Karapyrjo-ei KrX.] Karapyeco,
rare in class. Gk. and the LXX.
(2 Esdr. 4 ), occurs twenty-five times
in the Pauline writings (elsewhere in
N.T. only Lk. 1 , Heb. 1 ), and in accord-
ance with its derivation (Kara caus-
ative and dpyos = dcpyos) means
literally 'render idle or inactive,' and
hence 'abolish,' 'bring to naught':
cf. especially with the present passage
2 Tim. i. 10 Xp. 'l^troO, Karapyijo-avros
fjiev rov Qavarov (pomVai/roff Se fayv Kat
dtydapffiav 8ta rov evayyf\iov. As
showing the different shades of mean-
ing that may be attached to the word,
Vaughan (on Rom. iii. 3) states that
the A.V. gives it no less than seven-
teen different renderings in the
twenty-seven places of its occurrence
in the N.T. It is found also in the
K.OIVIJ in a much weakened sense, e.g.
P.Oxy. 38, 17 (i./A.D.) Karapyovvros p.f
Xfiporexvov ovra 'hinders me in my
trade.'
For the thought in the present
passage cf. Isa. xxvi. 10 ap$rjro> o
clcrf/S^y, tva /AI) t8r) TTJV 86av Kvpi'ou,
and for the meanings to be assigned
to errKpdvfia and Trapovcria see Add.
104 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 9, 10
TV] eTTKpaveia rfjs 7rapov(rias CIVTOU, 9 ov ecrTiv ri Trapovaia
KCLT evepyeiav TOV CaTavd ev Trdorrj Swa/mei Kal crri^e'iois
Kai Tepaviv ^sev^ovs IO Kai ev Tracrrj dirccTy dowlas TO??
d7ro\\v/uievois, dv& cov Trjv dydirrjv Trjs d\ri6eias OVK
rrjv
Note F. Chrys.: dpx.e'i Trapclvai
xai navra raCra aTroXooXe- or^o-
airaTTjv KOI (pave\s povov.
9. ov f(TT\v TI rrapovcria KrX.J a
second relative clause resuming the
ov of v. 8, and describing the working
of the lawless one, as the former had
described his doom. As the Lord
Jesus has His Parousia, the lawless
one has his (cf. Rev. xvii. 8 TO 0r/piov. . .
Trdpeo-rcu), in which he shows himself
the representative and instrument of
Satan. Th. Mops. : 'adparebit ille
Satana sibi inoperante ornnia.' Beng. :
'ut ad Deum se habet Christus, sic e
contrario ad Satanam se habet anti-
christus, medius inter Satanam et
perditos homines.'
As distinguished from Sui/a/ii?
potential power, eWpyeta is power
in exercise, operative power ('potentia,
arbor: efficacia, fructus,' Calv. on
Eph. i. 19), and except here and in
v. ii is always confined in the N.T.
to the working of God; cf. especially
with the present passage Eph. i. 19?.
Kara rrjv evepyciav...r)v cvijpyr)Kfi> fv ro>
Xpto-ra>, and for a similar use in the
inscriptions with reference to the
pagan gods cf. O.G.I.S. 262, 4 (iii./A.D.)
Trpo&evf %6svTos p.oi Trepi TTJS evepyeias
6fov Ato? BairoKatK^ff.
ev TTCKTT) 8vvdnti...\lf(v8ovs^ the sphere
in which the parousia of the lawless
one makes itself known; cf. Mt. xxiv.
24, Mk. xiii. 22, also Rev. xiii. 14,
xix. 20. As regards construction both
Traa-r) and \jsevdovs belong to all three
substantives, ^fi>8ovs being best
understood as a gen. of quality (cf.
Jo. viii. 44), without however ex-
cluding the further thought of effect,
aim. False in themselves, the works
spoken of lead also to falsehood.
For the combination dw. K. O-T//Z. K.
rep. cf. Ac. ii. 22, Rorn. xv. 19, 2 Cor.
xii. 12, Heb. ii. 4, and for the dis-
tinction between them see Trench
Syn. xci., SH. p. 406. Similar
portents are ascribed to the Beliar-
Antichrist in Asc. Isai. iv. 4 ff., Orac.
Sib. iii. 63 ff.
10. anaTrf] 'deceit,' 'deceitful
power/ in accordance with the regular
N.T. use of the word, e.g. d-n-drr] T.
TT\OVTOV (Mk. iv. 19), T. anapTias (Heb.
iii. 13); cf. 4 Mace, xviii. 8 Xv/zewi/
aTra.Tr)s o(pts. If in 2 Pet. ii. 13 we
can read andrciis (but see Bigg ad
loc.) we seem to have an ex. of the
word in its Hellenistic sense of 'pas-
time,' 'pleasure'; cf. Polyb. ii. 56, 12
and see Deissmann Hellenisierang
p. 165 n. 5 . Moeris: 'Andr^ -f} 77X01/77
Trap' 'ArrtKoIs'...?) re'p^is Trap' "EXX^ati/.
ddiKias] 'unrighteousness,' 'wrong-
doing' of every kind, cf. Rom. i. 18,
ii. 8 where, as here and in v. 12, it is
opposed to a'X^fia, and Plato Gorg.
477 c where it is coupled with o-vfi-
Trao-a ^U^T/J novrjpLa. By its union
with aTrdrrj, ddiKia is evidently thought
of here as an active, aggressive power
which, however, can influence only
T. aTToXXu/ze'i/ois, the use of the 'per-
fective' verb marking out those so
described as having already ideally
reached a state of oVcoXeta; cf. i Cor.
i. 1 8, and see Moulton Prolegg.
p. ji4 f:
dv6' w i/] 'in requital that,' 'for the
reason that' a class, phrase occurring
several times in the LXX., but in the
N.T. only here and in Luke (Gosp. 3 ,
Ac. 1 ): cf. dvr\ TOVTOV Eph. v. 31.
rrjs dfyQeias] may be understood of
truth generally as contrasted with
ro ^fOdoy (v. ii), but is better limited
II ii, 12] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 105
TO
"/ecu
ToTs 6 6e6s evep^eiav 7r\dvr]s eJs TO
TOVTO 7refj.7rL
O.VTOVS
__ ( OL
d\f]6eia d\\a
12 Trdi/res BD alplur Orig Hipp Chr Thdt : dVaires SAG 12 17 31 Orig f Cyr-
Alex
result (I. ii. 12 note) being undoubt-
edly uppermost here in accordance
with the leading thought of the main
sentence.
For r<u ^fvdei 'the lie' as con-
trasted with TTJV d\r)6fiav (v. 10) cf.
Rom. i. 25 ciLTivfs p.fTij\\aav rr\v
d\r)6fiav TOV 6eov Iv r<5 x/^evSf t. ' Among
the Persians "the Lie" (Drauga, akin
to the Avestan demon Druj] is a com-
prehensive term for all evil' (Moulton
Exp. T. xviii. p. 537).
12. tva KpiBuxrtv irdvrfs} 'in order
that they might all be judged,' any
idea of condemnation being derived
from the context, and not from
KpiQwcri per se: see Lft. Fresh Re-
vision of Engl. N.T. 3 p. 69 ff. for a
full discussion of Kpiveiv and its com-
pounds. For Kpiva) in its wider sense
of ' resolve ' cf. P.Grenf. i. 30, 5 f.
(ii./B.C.) 8ia ypa/x/Marcoi/
to 'the truth' KO.T f^ox^v, the truth
of the Gospel, in accordance with its
use elsewhere with the art. (2 Cor.
iv. 2, xiii. 8, Eph. iv. 24), while the
insertion of r. dydn^v shows that those
spoken of had not only not 'welcomed'
(fSegavro, I. ii. 13 note) this truth, but
had no liking for it, no desire to
possess it.
According to Westcott (on i Jo.
ii. 5) this is the only instance in the
N.T. where the gen. after dydnrj
'marks the object of love'; Abbott
(Joh. Gr. p. 84) adds Lk. xi. 42
TTCtpep^fcr^e rr\v Kpidiv KOL TTJV dyd-m^v
TOV Oeov '[just] judgment and love
toward God.'
ii, 12. 'That is why God uses
Satan as His instrument in punishing
them, visiting them with a fatal
delusion in believing this (great) Lie.
False belief becomes thus the proof
of falseness, and sentence is passed
upon all who refused to believe the
truth, and made evil their good.'
ii. Tre'/uTrei] pointing not merely
to the permissive will of God (Th.
Mops.: 'concessionem Dei quasi opus
eius'), but to the definite judicial act
by which, according to the constant
teaching of Scripture, God gives the
wicked over to the evil which they
have deliberately chosen, cf. Ps. Ixxx.
(Ixxxi.) 12 f., Rom. i. 24, 26, 28, and
for similar teaching in Gk. drama see
Aesch. Pers. 738 aXX* orav a-nevdrj TIS
avTos, x<w 0eos (ruraTrrercu, FTdgm. 2Q4
(ed. Nauck) dndrris 8iKaias OVK QTTO-
OTarel 6e 6s.
i? ro TTiffTeixrai r<u ^evdei] 'to the
end that they should believe the lie'
the thought of purpose, and not mere
The reading irdvres is well-attested,
but the stronger and rarer dnavres
(WH. mg.) has good grounds to be
considered, both as less likely to be
substituted by the copyists, and as
better suiting the emphatic position
here assigned to it. Beng. : ' late ergo
et diu et vehementer grassatur error
ill* 1
For the evidence (by no means
decisive in the N.T., Blass p. 161)
that in the Koivrj, as in Attic writers,
the use of nds or arras was determined
on the ground of euphony, nds being
found after a vowel, and anas after a
consonant, see Mayser p. 161 f.
of fir/ irto-TfixravTcs KT\.] Cf. I Cor.
xiii. 6. By a usage characteristic of
Bibl. writers (but cf. Polyb. ii. 12. 3)
106 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 13
Se 6(pei\o]ULv
Trepi v/ucov, dSe\(pot
ynd Kypioy,
6eco
ei\aTO
(I. ii. 8 note) is generally
construed with V, but here according
to the best texts (N*BD*G as against
N c AD c KLP)it is folio wed by the simple
dat. as in i Mace. i. 43, i Esdr. iv.
39, Rom. i. 32 (o-vi/evSoKeti/), and late
writers generally (e.g. Polyb. ii. 38. 7,
iii. 8. 7). The verb is found c. ace.
Mt. xii. 1 8, Heb. x. 6, and with els
2 Pet. i. 17.
For the general thought of the
verse in Jewish literature cf. Apoc.
Bar. liv. 21 'For at the consumma-
tion of the world there will be ven-
geance taken upon those who have
done wickedness according to their
wickedness, and Thou wilt glorify the
faithful according to their faithful-
II. 13 15. RENEWED THANKS-
GIVING AND EXHORTATION.
From the terrible picture they
have been conjuring up the Apostles
turn with a sigh of relief to give God
thanks on their converts' behalf in
view of the salvation which He has
worked for them a salvation begin-
ning in His eternal choice, and to
be completed by their sharing in the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself (vv. 13, 14). The two verses
thus form 'a system of theology in
miniature' (Denriey), and in character-
istic Pauline fashion lead up to the
practical exhortation to the Thessa-
lonians to hold fast to what they have
been taught (v. 15).
13 15. 'But not to dwell on this
melancholy picture, what a different
prospect opens itself up before \i&\
What an unceasing debt of gratitude
we owe to God on your behalf,
Brothers beloved not only of us but
of the Lord! Is it not the case that
from the beginning God purposed
your salvation, and not only purposed,
but accomplished it through the
sanctifying influence of the Holy
Spirit, and your belief in the Truth 1
It was to this salvation indeed that
He called you by the Gospel-message
of which Ave were privileged to be
bearers, and those who finally obtain
it will obtain also the glory which
belongs to it the glory which is
Christ's own. Such then being the
Divine purpose regarding you, see to
it that you on your own part, Brothers,
stand firm, keeping fast hold of all
sound doctrine and practice as you
have learned them from us both by
word and by letter.'
13. 'H/Afis fie *rX.] See the notes
on i. 3, the emphatic facls in the
present passage lending additional
stress to the writers' keen sense of
indebtedness to God for the good
estate of the Thessalonian Church.
For a'fi. rjy. v. Kvp. see I. i. 4 note.
OTI tiXaro *rX.] EtXaro (for form,
WH. 2 Notes p. 172) is used of the
Divine election in Deut. xxvi. 18
Kvpios etXaro a~e...\aov Trepioixriov (cf.
7rpofi\e(a)To Deut. vii. 6f., x. 15), but
does not occur elsewhere in the N.T.
in this connexion: cf. Phil. i. 22 and
see Intr. p. Ixxix. In the present
instance the reference would seem to
be to the eternal choice or purpose
of God (i Cor. ii. 7, Eph. i. 4, 2 Tim.
i. 9), as otherwise (cf. note on e'/cXoy^
I. i. 4) the qualifying aV dpxrjs would
almost have required some distin-
guishing addition such as r. evayyeXiov
(cf. Phil. iv. 15).
It is possible however that the
real reading is not a??' dpxys but
airapxnv (WH. mg.), a thoroughly
Pauline word (Rom. viii. 23, xi. 16,
xvi. 5, i Cor. xv. 20, 23, xvi. 15),
which might fairly be applied to the
Thessalonians as the 'first-fruits' (Vg.
primitias) of Macedonia, seeing that
their conversion followed that of the
Philippians by only a few weeks, and
II 14, is] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS IO/
6 deos r a.Tr dp^rj^ ek (rcoTrjpiav ev
Kai TT ferret d\rj6eias, I4 ek o eicdXearev VJJLO.S Sid TOV evay-
ye\iov rfiucdv, ek TrepLTroi^cnv So^rjs TOV Kupiou
'Irja'ov XpicTTOv. I5> 'Apa ovv,
Kparelre ra? Trapa&ocreis as
crr/cere, /ecu
eire Sta \6you
13 dir
Mops lat aZ
pier d g Syr (Pesh) Arm Aeth Chr Thdt Ambst Vig Theod-
BG al pauc Vg Syr (Hard) Boh Did Amb aZ
was attended by such striking results
(cf. I. i. 8, iv. 10).
For o-aTTjpia as denoting completed
blessedness see I. v. 8 note.
ev aytaoyio) mvv/MtfOf KOL iricnti
dXrjdfias'] In view of the obvious
parallelism of the clauses it is natural
to understand the two genitives in
the same way, and if so they may be
taken either objectively, a 'sanctifica-
tion' having for its object the 'spirit 7
and a 'faith' that has for its object
'truth,' or as genitives of the causa
ejftciens, 'sanctification by the Spirit
and faith by the truth.' In the former
case Trvfv/jLa can only be the human
spirit: in the latter it must be the
Holy Spirit of God. To this latter
rendering the absence of the art. is
no real objection, and it is supported
by the recurrence of the same phrase
in i Pet. i. 2 where the Third Person
of the Trinity is clearly intended
(see Hort ad loc.}.
For ayiao-fjios cf. note on I. iv. 7,
and with TTICTTIS aXrjdeias contrast ot
fir) mo-revo: T. d\r)6eia (v. 12).
14. eKoXeo-fv] the historical fulfil-
ment of the Divine purpose expressed
in fiXaro: cf. I. ii. 12, v. 24, notes.
(is TTfpnroirjO'iv So^T/s 1 ] 'unto the
obtaining of the glory' (Vg. in acqui-
sitionem gloriae, Weizs. zum Erwerb
der Herrlichkeif). For nfpiTroirjo-is
cf. I. v. 9 note, and for doga I. ii. 12
note.
1 5. *Apa ovv, d8c\<f)oi, trr^ere KT\.]
The practical conclusion from what
has just been said. The work of God,
so far from excluding all human
effort, rather furnishes the reason for
it and the pledge of its final success :
cf. Phil. ii. 12 f., iii. 12.
For apa ovv see I. v. 6 note, and
for ori/iccre I. iii. 8 note.
K. Kpare'iTf r. Trapadocrfis] Cf. I Cor.
xi. 2 T. Trapadoa'fis KaT%eT } and for
the relation of Kparclv and Kare'^e/
see Add. Note H. The construc-
tion of Kparelv with the ace. (as
generally in the N.T. ace. 38 , gen. 8 )
may be due simply to the tendency
to enlarge the sphere of the ace. in
later Gk. (Hatzidakis p. 220 ff.), but
serves also in the present instance to
lay emphasis on the rrapa86<Tis as
being already in the Thessalonians'
possession; cf. Rev. iii. ii Kparet o
fX fts > Beng.: 'tenete, nil addentes,
nil detrahentes.'
In themselves these rrapadoacis
(cf. iii. 6) included both the oral and
written teaching on the part of the
Apostles (Thdt.: \oyovs, ovs /cat
Trapoi/res- i5/z> fKrjpv^ap.ev, KOI dirovrts
ypd\l/anv) with the further thought
imbedded in the composition of the
word itself of the ultimate authority
whence that authority was derived:
Cf. I Cor. XI. 23 ey<a yap irapeXaftov
OTTO TOV KVpLOV, O KOi TTapfdatKO. l5/LUJ/.
In the inscriptions Treasure Lists
and Inventories are frequently known
as TrapaSocrety, the articles enumerated
being 'handed over' (7rape8o<rav C.I. A.
i. 170, 2 (v./B.o.))by one set of officers
to their successors; see Roberts-
Gardner p. 256.
For the fact and contents of a
Christian 'tradition' in the Apostolic
IOS THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [II 16, 17
6LT6
67rL(TTO\*]S tf/UKjOV. l6 Al/TO9 Se 6 KVplOS
'lrj(rovs XpKTTOS Kai [d] 6eos 6 TraTrip rjjucov, 6 dycnrtjcras
Kai Soik Trapa.KXrja'iv aiwviav Kai e\7riSa dyadriv ev
7rapaKa\crai vfJL&v Tck KapSias Kai (rTrjpi^ai ev
Kai \6<y(jp d<ya6(Jo.
Travr
1 6 6 om BD*K 17 37 Orig Chr cod
Age see Mayor Jude pp. 23, 61 ff., and
for the possibility that we have here
(cf. Rom. vi. 17, xvi. 17) a reference
to an early catechism or creed, based
upon the sayings of Christ, which was
used by the first missionaries, see
Seeberg Katechismus pp. i ff., 41 f.
The title of ol Kparovvres, applied
by eccles. writers to Christians, is
probably due to this passage (LS.
S.V. Kpareoo).
II. 1 6, 17. PRAYER.
A prayer is again interjected that
the exhortation spoken of may be
fulfilled in the Thessalonians' case.
Chrys. : naXcv ev^r) pera 7rapaive(riv
TOVTO yap f(mv OVT&S (3or)6flv.
16,17. 'May our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself and God our Father Who
loved us, and in His Divine bounty
bestowed upon us abiding comfort and
good hope, comfort your hearts and
strengthen you to do and to say
everything that is right.'
1 6. AVTOS 8e 6 Kvpios yp.. *rX.]
The invocation is identical with I. iii.
1 1 except that 6 wp. 'Irjcr. Xp. is now
placed first, and that the def. art. is
substituted before Trrmjp for the more
ordinary /cat, while the first 6 before
6cos is doubtful. The order (cf.
2 Cor. xiii. 13, Gal. i. i) may have
been determined by the immediately
preceding reference to the glory of
the Lord Jesus (v. 14), or be due
to the fact that He is the inter-
mediary through whom the purposes
of God for His people are carried
out. In either case we have another
striking e?. of the equal honour
ascribed to the Son with the Father
throughout these Epp. (Intr. p. Ixvi).
Chrys. : TTOU vvv daiv ol rbv vlov
; Thdt. : rfj rfjs roea>
fi T^V 6p.OTip.iav 8eiK.vva>v.
6 dya.Trijo'as ijp.. K. 8ovs KrX.] The
two participles under the vinculum
of the common art. belong to o Qe6$
alone, and the use of the aor. shows
that the reference is to the definite
historical act in which the Gospel
originated.
For 7rapaK\r)o-is see I. ii. 3 note, and
for alvvlav (for form, WSchm. p. 96)
as bringing out the 'final and abiding'
character of this 'comfort 5 compared
with the transitory joys of earth see
i. 9 note. 'AyaOr/v 'good' both in its
character and results; cf. I. iii. 6,
v. 15, and for the phrase dyafir) f\nis
in Gk. literature see Dem. Cor. 258
( I2O) del de TOVS dyadovs avdpas
p,ev airacriv del rots
rjv 7rpof3a\\op,vovs
not the human disposition
in which the gifts just spoken of were
received, but the Divine favour or
bounty by which the 'consolation of
Israel' was freely extended to those
who were Gentiles by birth, cf. i. 12
note.
17. 7rapa.Ka\O~ai KrA.] For irapa-
I. ii. n, iii. 2 notes, and for
see I. iii. 2 note.
Tlavri and dyada refer to both the
intervening nouns (cf. . 9), and the
whole expression is of the most general
character 'whatever you may do or
say,' any attempt to limit \oya to
specific Christian doctrine (Chrys.:
doyp-ara, Calv.: 'sana doctrina') being
quite out of place.
Ill i, 2] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 109
III. X To \017TOV
t f < / ~ f
iva o Aoyos TOV Kupiou
u^uas, *Kai iva pucrdcopev
III. i 1 6. CONSOLATORY
AND HORTATORY.
The writers now pass to teaching
of a more directly consolatory and
hortatory character, and, as in their
former Epistle (I. v. 25), accompany it
with the request for their readers'
prayers.
III. i, 2. REQUEST FOR THE
THESSALONIANS' PRAYERS.
i, 2. 'Nor do we only pray for you,
we ask further that you, Brothers,
should pray for us, and especially that
the word of the Lord may have the
same swift and glorious course every-
where that it has already had amongst
you. To this end do you pray that
we may be rescued from the perverse
and evil men who are at present
placing obstacles in our path for it
is not every one who has a true faith
in Christ.'
I. To XOITTOI/ Trpoo-fvxo~6e KrX.]
The request is another proof of the
closeness of the bond which the
Apostles recognized as existing be-
tween their 'brethren' and them-
selves (Intr. p. xliv), while as regards
its contents (for the sub-final Iva see
note on I. iv. i) it is significant that
in the first instance it is of the further-
ance of their work rather than of any
ease or advantage to themselves that
they think.
For TO Xowroi/ cf. I. iv. i note, and
for 7rpoo~vx*o~@ rrepi I. V. 25 note,
o Xoyos T. Kvpiov] 'the word of the
Lord' Jesus in accordance with the
general practice of the Epp. (Add.
Note D). The use of the title in
the present section is very marked,
occurring as it does four times in
m. i 5.
T P*Xli\ <ma y rlln ' emphasizing the
living, active nature of the word in
rj Kai So^dtyTai
aTTO TCOV CCTOTTCOV Kai TTOVr\-
the Apostles' eyes, and their ardent
desire that it may speed ever onward
on its victorious course: cf. I. i. 8.
The figure, which falls in with St
Paul's well-known fondness for meta-
phorical language from the stadium
(Rom. ix. 16, i Cor. ix. 24 f., Gal. ii. 2,
v. 7, Phil. ii. 1 6, 2 Tim. iv. 7), is
derived from the O.T., see especially
Ps. cxlvii. 4 (cxlvi. 15) eo>s ro^ous
Spa/if Zrai o Xoyoy avroC, and the
splendid imagery of Ps. xviii. (xix.)
directly cited in Rom. x. 18. Findlay
aptly recalls Vergil's lines on Fama
beginning 'Mobilitate viget, viresque
adquirit eundo' (Aen. iv. 175 ff.X
Kai So^aj^rai] the inner recognition
following on (KOI consec.) the outward
progress of the word: cf. Ac. xiii. 48
aKovovra Se ra edvrj e^aipoz/ Kai edofafof
TOV \oyov TOV 6fov, and for the thought
see Tit. ii. 10. On the deepened
significance of dogafa in Bibl. Gk.
see SH. p. 44, and for the slightly
stronger eVSoafo> cf. i. 10, 12. As
illustrating the N.T. usage, the follow-
ing invocation from the long magical
papyrus P.Lond. i. 121, 5026. (iii./A.D.)
is noteworthy : Kvpta *Io-is. ..dogaorov /*e
(p.oi Pap.), as eoao"a TO ovo/j,a TOV
vtoO(s) o-ou "Qpov (cf. Reitzenstein
Poimandres p. 22 n. 6 ).
Ka&os K. Trpos vftas] For this use
of Trpos with ace. cf. 1. iii. 4 note, and
for the fact see I. i. 5 ff., ii. i, 13.
2. Kai Iva pvadca/Jicv KrX.] a second
and more personal need for which the
prayers of the Thessalonians are asked,
and which, though independent of the
first, is closely connected with it: cf.
Rom. xv. 30 f., and note the striking
verbal parallel in Isa. xxv. 4 oVo
dvdpwnav Trovrjpoov pvo~rj avTovt. Thdt. :
a'iTr](Tis fivai SoKet, p,ia 8e
O~TL. TU>V yap TTOVTJpWV dvOpdOTTtoV
evvv, aKcoXureos Kai 6 rou Kijpvy-
1 10 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 3
paiv dvOpwirttiv, ov yap TrdvTwv Y\ TricrTis. 3 /7wTOS Se
For the meaning of pvarQupev (late
pass, aor., WSchm. p. 131) = eripiainur
(Beza) rather than liberemur (Vg.),
see the note on I. i. 10, and contrast
the construction with OTTO, not e/c, in
the present passage, laying stress
perhaps on the deliverance itself
rather than on the power from which
it is granted, cf. Rom. xv. 31, 2 Tim.
iv. 1 8, and from the .LXX. Ex. ii. 19
(ppvcraTO ^/j,as O.TTO TO>I> iroifjievatv. For
a late instance of pveo-Qai drro see
P.Lond. II. 413, 3f. (1V./A.D.)
pV(Tl (Tat OTTO....
T. a.Toira>v K. Trovrjpwv
"ATOTTOS, originally = * out of place,'
'unbecoming,' is used in class. Gk.
especially in Plato in the sense of
' marvellous,' 'odd' (e.g. Legg. i. 6468
T. 8aV/J.a(TTOV TC KO.I drOTTOf), from which
the transition is easy to the ethical
meaning of 'improper,' 'unrighteous'
in later Gk., e.r. Philo Legg, Alleg.
i\\. 17 (i. p. 97 M.) Trap' o KOI Srorros
Xtyerai clvai o (pav\os- aronov de eori
KUKUV dvo-Qerov, and such a passage
from the Koivj as P.Petr. in. 43 (3),
17 f. (iii./B.c.), where precautions are
taken against certain discontented
labourers Iva /j.f} aroTrfo]^ TI 7rpd(0o~iv '.
cf. also B.G.U. 757,21 (L/A.D.) where
Tcpa aroTra are ascribed to certain
marauders who had pulled to pieces
a farmer's sheaves of wheat, and the
very interesting public notice con-
tained in P.Fior. 99 (i./ii. A.D.) to the
effect that the parents of a prodigal
youth will no longer be responsible
for his debts or for UTOTTOV n 7rpa??[i].
It is in this sense accordingly,
implying something morally amiss,
that, with the exception of Ac.
xxviii. 6, the word is found in the
LXX. and the N.T. (Job iv. 8, xi. 1 1 &c.,
Prov. xxiv. 55 (xxx. 20), 2 Mace. xiv. 23,
Lk. xxiii. 41, Ac. xxv. 5), and in the
passage before us it is best given some
such rendering as 'perverse' or 'fro-
ward' rather than the 'unreasonable*
of A.V., R.V.
Similarly irovrjpos (as frequently in
the LXX., e.g. Gen. xxxvii. 20, Ps. Ixxvii.
(Ixxviii.) 49, Esth. vii. 6; cf. Hatch
Essays p. 77 f.) is used not so much
of passive badness as of active harm-
fulness, while the prefixed art. shows
that the writers have here certain
definite persons in view, doubtless the
fanatical Jews who at the time were
opposing their preaching in Corinth
(Ac. xviii. I2ff.), as they had already
done in Thessalonica and Beroea
(Ac. xvii. 5, 13): cf. I. ii. 14 ff.
ov yap irdvTo>v r) TTLO-TIS] 'for not to
all does the Faith belong' (Luth. denn
der Glaube ist nicht jedermanns
Ding}. For a similar meiosis cf. Rom.
X. 1 6 tiXX' ov navres vTrijKovo-av TO>
fvayye\ia. As illustrating the form
of the sentence, Wetsteiu quotes the
proverbial saying, ov TTUVTOS dvdpos cs
Kopivdov eo-0' d rrXovs (Strabo viii. 6. 20).
III. 3 5. CONFIDENCE IN THE
THESSALONIANS' PROGRESS.
From the want of faith on the part
of men, the Apostles turn to the
thought of the faithfulness of the
Lord Jesus (cf. 2 Tim. ii. 13) with the
view moreover of reassuring not them-
selves, but their converts.
3 5. ' We have spoken of the want
of faith in certain quarters. However
this may be, know assuredly that the
Lord is faithful. He will set you in a
firm place. He will protect you from
the attacks of the Evil One. And
seeing that He will do this, we have
confidence that you on your part will
not come short, but will continue as
at present to do the things which we
are enjoining. May the Lord direct
you into the love of God and into the
patience of Christ.'
3. Hi error] recalling the irians of
the previous verse. For a similar
word-play cf. Rom. iii. 3.
Ill 4, 5] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 1 1 1
ecTTiv o KvpLOS, os (rTripi^ei vjuias Kai (pvA^a^ei airo TOV
Trovrjpov. 4 TreTToidafjiev Se eV Kvpico e<p' vjuias, OTI a TTO.-
pay<y\\ofJLv [fcaz] TroielTe Kal TroiqcreTe. S 'O oe Kvpios
III 4 K al om HAD* d (g) Boh
cussion by Chase The Lord's Prayer
p. 112 ff.
4. TrfTroLBa}ifv 6V KrX.] The assur-
ance that it is the Lord Who is
protecting the Thessalonians gives the
Apostles a corresponding confidence
that the Thessalonians themselves will
faithfully fulfil their part. Chrys. :
del /zet> yap TO nav eV OVTOV piirTfiv,
aXX' evfpyovvTas KCU CIVTOVS, To?y novots
ep.(3f(3r]K6Tfi$ Kai Tols dyraa'i.
For tv Kvpia (see I. iv. i), as the
ground with correspondingly new
resources in which all St Paul's hopes
and desires are centred, cf. Gal. v. 10,
Eph. iv. 17, Phil. ii. 19, 24, and for
e<p' vfjids, instead of the class, dat., as
marking the direction of the con-
fidence displayed cf. Mt. xxvii. 43,
2 Cor. ii. 3, Ps. cxxiv. (cxxv.) i.
ort a Trapayye'XXo/xei/ KTX.j For a
similar use of ort introducing the
objective statement of the Apostle's
confidence cf. Phil. ii. 24. Under a
7rapayye'XXo/uei> must be understood
not such injunctions as had already
been given (e.g. I. iv. 112), but
rather, as the resumption of the same
verb in v. 6 proves, those that im-
mediately follow, and which, on
account of their hardness, are further
prefaced by a short ejaculatory
prayer.
For TrapayyeXXo) see I. iv. ii note,
and as bringing out the idea of
transmission contained in the word
cf. P.Grenf. i. 40, 6 f. (ii./B.c.) citpwov
ypd-^rai aroi OTTCOS etScoy irapayyeiXrjs
Kal T[oiy] aXXoty tepe(ri.
5- 'O de Kvpios KaTfvOvvat /crX.] 'O
Kvpios can only be the Lord Jesus as
in vv. i, 3, 4, any reference to the
Holy Spirit (as Basil de Spiritu sancto
c. 21 and most of the Gk. commen-
tators) being outruled if only on the
os crTTjpigei vp,. KT\J] Not only will
the Lord 'set them in a firm place'
(oTJ7pi, for form, WM. p. no), but
He will also 'protect' ((puXafi, Vg.
custodiet] them there from external
assaults : cf. for the thought Jo. xvii.
12. For o-rrjpi&iv (I. iii. 2 note) cf.
I Pet. V. IO 6 de deos ndcrTjs xdpiTos...
avTos KdTapTto-ei, o-Tr)piei, o-devaxrei,
and for the constr. <pv\d<ro-eiv dno cf.
Ps. cxi. (cxli.) 9 (puXa^oV p,f drro ndyidos
ys o-vvea-rrja-avTo pun, and See Butt-
mann p. 192.
aVo r. TTovrjpov] The precise sense
to be attached to these words is best
determined by the meaning assigned
them in the petition of the Lord's
Prayer pCerai yp,as OTTO TOV Trovrjpov
(Mt. vi. 13), of which we have
apparently a reminiscence here (cf.
Col. i. 13, and see Feine Jesus Christ
und Paulus p. 252 f.). As the
general consensus of modern scholar-
ship is to understand irovrjpov there
as inasc. rather than as neut. in
accordance with the predominant
usage of the N.T. (Mt. v. 37, xiii. 19,
38, Eph. vi. 1 6, i Jo. ii. 13 f., iii.
12% v. 1 8 f. as against Lk. vi. 45, Rom.
xii. 9), and the unanimous opinion
of the Gk. commentators, we follow
the same rendering here, and trans-
late 'from the evil one': a rendering,
it may be noted further, which forms
a fitting antithesis to o Kvpios of the
preceding clause, and is moreover in
thorough harmony with the pro-
minence assigned shortly before to
the persons of Satan and his represen-
tative (ii. i 12), and more especially
to the evil men (irovypav dvOpwTrwv)
of the preceding clause. See further
Lft.'s note ad loc. and the same writer's
Revision of the Ertgl. N. T. 3 p. 269 if.,
and especially the exhaustive dis-
112 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 6
KCCT6v6vVai V/ULCOV
KCtl ek TY\V VTTOIUOVrV TOU
6 HapayyeXXofJiev Se v
ground that 6 Kvpios is never so
employed in the N.T. (not even in
2 Cor. iii. 18).
For KarevOvvo) see I. iii. 11 note:
its metaphorical use is further illus-
trated by Aristeas 18 Karevdiivfi ras
Trpd^fis Kal ras eVifSoAas 6 Kvpievcoi/
arravrtov dtos.
fls r. dydrrrjv T. 6eov K. (Is T. tnro-
fj.ovr)v T. xpio-Tov] The close parallelism
of the two clauses makes it natural
(as in ii. 13) to understand the geni-
tives in the same way, and as the
subjective interpretation of the second
clause is rendered almost necessary
by the regular meaning of vrrojuoi^z/
in the N.T., ' constancy,' ' endurance '
(I. i. 3 note) not 'patient waiting'
(ava/xoi/T/V, cf. I. i. 10), we are similarly
led to think of T. dyairr)v T. Qeov as
the love which is God's special
characteristic, and which He has
displayed towards us ; cf. Rom. v. 5,
viii. 39, 2 Cor. xiii. 13, Eph. ii. 4, and
see Abbott Joh. Gr. p. 84.
The use of the art. before xpto-roC
is significant as emphasizing the con-
nexion of the * patience ' spoken of
not merely with the earthly trials of
the Saviour, but with these trials as
the inevitable lot of the suffering
servant of Jehovah. Cf. for the
general thought Heb. xii. i f., Rev.
iii. 10, and see Ign. Rom. x. 3 cppa>o-0e
els Tf\os fv VTropovfl 'irjfrov XpicrroC,
where however Lft. (ad loc.} inclines
to the meaning 'patient waiting for
Christ.'
III. 6i2. CHARGE WITH REGARD
TO THE DISORDERLY.
It is * in the Lord,' as has just been
shown, that the Apostles' trust for
their converts is centred. At the
same time they are anxious that these
should not forget the responsibilities
S TY\V dyaTrriv TOU 6eov
5 d$e\(poi, ev ovo/mari TOV
resting on themselves. And accord-
ingly in a section, in which the
severity of the language shows the
serious nature of the evils com-
plained of, they once more (cf. I. v.
14 f.) rebuke the idle and disorderly
behaviour, which at the time certain
members of the Thessalonian com-
munity were displaying.
6 12. 'In order, however, that
this happy result may be attained,
we again on our part urge you and
yet not we, but the Lord not in any
way to associate with a brother who
is not living a well-ordered life in
accordance with our teaching. For
you yourselves cannot but be conscious
that you ought to follow our example.
When we were with you, we did not
depend on others for our support.
Rather in toil and moil, night and
day, we worked that we might not
lay an unnecessary burden upon any
of you. You must not indeed sup-
pose that we have not the right to
maintenance, but we waived our right
in order to set an example for you to
follow. And not only so, but we gave
you a positive precept to this effect.
For you cannot have forgotten that
while we were with you, we were in
the constant habit of urging upon you
that " if any will not work, neither let
him eat." And we are the more led to
go back upon this, because information
is reaching us regarding certain of your
number who are living ill-ordered lives,
and, instead of attending to their own
business, are busy with what does not
concern them. It is such as these
that we urge and entreat in the Lord
Jesus to attend quietly to their own
work and earn their own living-.'
6. TIapayye\\ofj.fv fie vplv, a5eA(poi]
In introducing their 7rapayye\ia the
Apostles adopt a tone at once of
affection and of authority of affec-
Ill 7] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 1 13
KVpiov T ' lrj(TOv XpKTTOv (TTeXXecrQai VJULCIS diro
d$e\<f>ov CLTCIKTW
Socriv r)v r 7rape\dfieT } Trap
ak Se? JLiJLeia-Qai fjuas, ore OVK
KO.I
otre
, and see the old gloss quoted
in Steph. Thesaur. s.v. where oreX-
\ea-6ai is explained by a^/o-Taor&u,
dvaxtopfw. This gives the clue to its
meaning here (Vg. ut subtrahatis vos)
and in 2 Cor. viii. 20 orr?XXojuei/oi
(Vg. devitantes] TOVTO pr) TIS r^ias
na>M<rr)Tai, the only other place where
it is found in the N.T. Thdt.: TO
<rreXXe<r$at dirt TOV
KaTa Trjv Trapa-
t \ \ tf^
yap oioaTe
^raKT^crajuiev eV vfjlv
6 Kvpiov solum BD* d Cypr : add r)/j.uv KG cet g Vg cet verss Ambst Theod-
Mops lat TrapeXdjSere BG al pane g $ Go Syr (Hard) Arm Orig \ Bas (?) Thdt :
irape\apo<ra.v K*A 1 7 Bas (won semper)
tion, because it is to their ' brethren '
that they appeal, and of authority,
because it is as the representatives of
one Jesus, Who had been made known
both as Lord and Christ, that they
enforce their charge.
v 6v6p.ari T. Kvp. 'l^(r. Xp.J prac-
tically synonymous here with 8ia r.
Kvp. 'Irjo-. (I. iv. 2 note), though the
introduction of the common O.T. peri-
phrasis (cf. Ex. v. 23, Deut. xviii. 22,
Jer. xi. 21) lays greater stress on the
personality and consequent authority
of the person spoken of: cf. i. 12 note,
and for a full discussion of this and
similar expressions see the exhaustive
monograph by W. Heitmiiller Im
Namen Jesu (Gottingen, 1903).
A similar usage occurs in the Koivij
where oi/o/xa with the gen. often stands
for the dat. of the name of the person
addressed, e.g. Ostr. 670 Uavio-Kos...
6v6(p,aTi) \_6if6(fj,aTos), Wilcken] Uacr^-
fjiios xrX. (other exx. in Herwerden).
o-re'XXe<r$ai vp,as /crX.] Sre'XXeti/
originally =--' set,' 'place,' and hence
' bring together,' ' make compact ' as
e.g. of shortening the sails of a ship
(Horn. II i. 433, Od. iii. n), by a
natural transition came to denote
generally 'restrain,' 'check,' and is
found in the midd. in the sense of
' draw or shrink back from ' anything,
whether from fear (Hesych. : crre'XXe-
rat- <po/3emu) or any other motive
as in Mai. ii. 5 a ^ irpoirwTrov ovo-
p,aTos /U.GV crre'XXeo^at auroi', 3 Mace,
i. 19 at Se KOI Trpo<rapTiO)9 eVraXfiei/at
('die sich ganz zuriickgezogen halten '
Kautzsch, and cf. Grimm's note ad
loc.}\ cf.Hipp. F^.m^.io(ed.Foesius)
M. THBSS.
The compound
(-o/xat) is used in the same sense in
Ac. xx. 20, 27, Gal. ii. 12, Heb. x. 38;
cf. Deut. i. 17, Job xiii. 8, Sap. vi.
7(8).
navTos d8c\<pov] Notwithstanding
his faults, the title of ' brother' is not
denied to the disorderly person, even
while duty to the ' brotherhood ' re-
quires that he be avoided; cf. i Cor.
v. ii.
draKTwy] See Add. Note G.
Kara r. 7rapd8o(riv xrX.] For napa-
doa-iv see ii. 1 5 note, and for ?rapeXa-
/3ere see I. ii. 13 note.
The marginal reading TrapeXa-
ftoo-av is well-attested, and, if adopted,
must have its subj. supplied from the
collective oVo TTCWTOS ddeXcpoO. The
termination in -oarav receives how-
ever scanty warrant from the papyri
(Moulton Prolegg. p. 52), and in the
present instance may have originated
'in an ocular confusion with -oa-tv
(trapadocriv) in the corresponding place
of the line above ' (WH 2 Notes p. 172).
7. auroi yap oi&are] Cf. I. i. 5> ii-
i, 5, ii &c. ; Intr. p. xliv.
fj-ifjiflcrdai rjpas] The verb pinf op.cu,
repeated in v. 9, is found elsewhere in
8
114 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 8 10
8 ovSe Scopedv dprov 6<pdyoiu6v Trapd
Kal fji6*)(Qu> WKTOS Kal ti/mepas
67ri(3aprj(rai TWO, vfjiwv 9 ov% on OVK
a'AA' 'iva eavTovs TVTTOV Sajjmev vfjuv ek TO
d\\' iv KOTTW
Trpos TO fjiri
e^ovariav,
Kai yap OTe rj/mev TTpos
the N.T. only in Heb. xiii. 7, 3 Jo.
ii ; it occurs several times in the
apocr. books of the O.T., cf. also
Aristeas 188 jjLijj.nvp.fvos TO rov 6eov
8ia iravrbs eVieiKe's. For the thought
of the present passage see I. i. 6 note.
OVK r/raKr^o-a/iei/] another instance
of meiosis (cf. v. 2, I. ii. 15), embody-
ing the ground of the Thessalonians'
knowledge just spoken of. For draK-
re'a> see Add. Note G.
8. &peai/] 'gratis' as frequently
in the LXX. (Gen. xxix. 15, Ex. xxi.
2 &c.): cf. Rom. iii. 24, 2 Cor. xi. 7,
also P.Tebt. 5, 249 ff. (ii./B.c.) eVt-
piiTTeiv...pya 8ti>peav p.rj8f fjnaOwv v<pei-
Hfvuv ' to impose labour gratis or at
reduced wages.' In Jo. xv. 25 (LXX.),
Gal. ii. 21 the word has the further
sense of ' uselessly,' ' without sufficient
cause.'
apTov e<pdyofj.v] a general expression
for taking food of any kind (cf. Mk.
iii. 20, Lk. xiv. i), corresponding
to the Heb. Dn^pK (Gen. iii. 19,
4 Regn. iv. 8).
aXX' ev K07TO) KrX.] See the notes on
I. ii. 9, and as further illustrating the
meaning of the phrase WKT. K. ij/n.
cf. Magn. 163, 7 f. aStaXeiVro)? Qivra
TO eXaiov )/xe'pas re KCU VVKTOS-
limitation introduced to avoid any
possible misconception as to the
Apostolic claim to gratuitous sup-
port : cf. I. ii. 6 and especially i Cor.
ix. 4, 7 14 where St Paul traces this
same 'right' (eovo-iai/, v. 4) to the
enactment of the Lord Himself (v. 14,
Lk. x. yf.); see also i Tim. v. 18,
Didache xiii. I iras 8e irpo(pijTT)s d\rj-
6ivbs...aios eori Trjs Tpo(p^s avrov.
For this later sense of cov<ria
(primarily ' liberty of action ') to de-
TOVTO 7rapr]yye\\ojJiv
note a definite 'claim' or 'right,'
with the further idea of 'authority'
over others, cf. its frequent technical
use in the papyri in connexion with
wills and contracts, e.g. P.Oxy. 491, 3
(ii./A.D.), e'(p' ov /xei> Treptet/u \povov
'so long as I survive I am to have
power over my own property,' 719,
25 (ii./A.D.) e^ovtrias (roi ovarjs cTcpois
TrapiaxcopeTi/J ' the right resting with
you to cede to others.'
For the use of ov^ ort = ov Xe'yo/iej/
on (...aXXa) in the N.T. for the pur-
pose of avoiding misconception cf.
2 Cor. i. 24, iii. 5, Phil. iv. 17; WM.
p. 746
aXX' Iva eavrovs TVTTOV KrX.] a second,
and in the present instance, the main
reason of the Apostles' self-denying
toil: not only did they desire to
remove any hindrance from the free
diffusion of the Gospel (cf. I. ii. 9),
but also by their own daily lives and
conduct to impress more forcibly
upon their converts' hearts the real
significance of their message.
For eavrovs with reference to the
ist pers. plur. cf. I. ii. 8 note. It is of
interest to notice that this usage does
not seem to have extended to the
sing, except in the case of very
illiterate documents, e.g. B.G. U. 86,
5 (ii./A.D.) <rwx<*>pG> fiera TT/V eavrov
reXevr?)i/ rols yeyovocrt a[vr]e3 e*K TTJS
(rvvovarji avrou yvvaiKOS (cf. Moulton
C.R. xv. 441, xviii. 154). With rvTroy
(I. i. 7 note) cf. the use of vn-orvTrwo-ts
in i Tim. i. 16, 2 Tim. i. 13, the meta-
phor there, according to Lft. (on
Clem. R. Cor. v. ad Jin.), being due
to the art of sculpture, 'the first
rough model.'
10. Kal yap ore foev KrX.] . Cf. I.
Ill 1 1, 12] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 1 1 5
OTL
el TIS ov 6e\ei ep f yd(^6a'6ai /x^Se eo~6ieT(x).
yap Tivas TrepnraTOVVTas eV v/uuv GCTGC/CTWS,
d\\d Trepiepya^o/uievovs' I3 TO?s Se
TOLOVTOLS f irapa < y t ye\\oiJLv Kat 7rapaKa\ov/uev eV KVptw
iii. 4, the only difference being that,
ill view of #. 6, TOVTO 7rapr)yy\\ofjiv
is substituted for TrpoeXeyo/zei/. For
similar references by St Paul to his
previous public teaching cf. i Cor. xi.
23, xv. i.
or* i TIS ov 6e\ci KT\.] ' that if any
one is not willing (Beng. : ' nolle vitium
est') to work, neither let him eat.'
Pelag. : ' Haec sit inquietudinis non
solum poena, sed etiam emendatio.'
For on which is here equivalent
to little more than our inverted
commas see WM. p. 683 ii. 1 , and for
illustrations of the maxim, which was
apparently a proverbial Jewish say-
ing based on Gen. iii. 19, see the
passages cited by Wetstein, especially
Bereschith R. ii. 2 'ego vero si non
laboro, non edo,' xiv. 12 ' ut, si non
laborat, nou manducet': cf. also
Didache xii. 3 el e tfe'Xei irpbs vp.ds
KaOfjcrai) Tf^virrjs OOP, epyaecr$a> /cat <pa-
ye'ra>. According to Resch (Agrapha,
p. 240 ff., Paulinismus, p. 409 f.) the
saying in its present form may have
been derived from a logion of the Lord
Himself.
For et...oi5 see WM. p. 599, Jannaris,
i8o7 b , and for the strong negative
p.T]de (ne quidem) with the imperative
cf. Eph. v. 3.
1 1. aKovopev yap KT\.~] Fresh news
from Thessalonica had reached the
writers since the despatch of their
first Epistle, perhaps through the
bearer of that Epistle on his return,
of such a character as to lead them
to single out the offenders, who were
evidently known to them, for direct
rebuke.
For the pres. cuutvofifv instead of
the perf. cf. i Cor. xi. 18 (Burton,
1 6, Gildersleeve Syntax 204),
and for its construction with the ace.
and part, to describe an actually
existing state see Buttmann p. 302 f.
fj.r]8fv epyaop.vov$ dXXa irfptepya-
ofj.vov$] ' doing no business but being
busy bodies ' a translation suggested
by Ellic. which has the merit of pre-
serving the play of words in the
original: cf. Beza 'nihil agentes, sed
inaniter satagentes,' Est. ' nihil oper-
autes, sed circumoperantes,' and
amongst more modern renderings
Ew., Schm. 'keine Arbeit treibend,
sondern sich herumtreibend/ Zockl.
'nicht schaffend, sondern vielge-
schaftig,' Jowett 'busy only with
what is not their own business.'
The same play on the original Gk.
words is found in Dem. Phil. iv.
150 (rot fjLtv f toy epydfci KCU Tre-
piepydei rovs ea-\drovs ovras Kivdv-
vovs. For other exx. of paronomasia
from the Pauline Epp. see v. 13,
Rom. i. 20, xii. 3, i Cor. vii. 31,
2 Cor. iv. 8, Phil. iii. 2 f. (WM.
p. 794 f., Blass, p. 298 ).
nepiep-ya^o/^cu, air. \ey. N.T. (cf.
irepifpyos Ac. xix. 19, i Tim. v. 13), is
found in the same sense as here in
Sir. iii. 23 (24) *" Toils Trcpio'o'ols r<ov
epyav o~ov p,rj Trepicpydfrv : cf. Plato
Apol. 19 B, where it is said of Socrates
in an accusatory sense, 7repiepydercu
friTutv rd re VTTO yfjs /cat ra eVoupdi/ta,
and for a significant ex. from the
inscriptions see C.I. A. in. 74, 14 f. os
av de 7ro\virpay[jiovij(Tr) ra rov 6eov f)
TTcpiepyda-rjTou, a/zapri'ai> o(piXera> *crX.
Quintilian defines Trepiepy/a as 'super-
vacua operositas' (viii. 3. 55): cf.
M. Anton. X. 2 TOVTOIS drj Kavotri
^pw/zei/oy, fj.r)8ev irepiepydov.
12. T. de TOIOVTOIS 7rapayye\\o(j.fv
KT\.] The TrapayyeXi'a is now addressed
directly to the araKroi themselves in
so far as they possess the above-
82
Il6 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [11113,14
'Irjcrov XpKTTco *iva /uera i;<TV^ia5 epya^o/uevoi TOV eavrcov
e&diuxriv. ^'V^Ltels Se, d$e\(poi, /ULrj
TCO
mentioned characteristics rots TOIOV-
Toi?, cf. Mt. xix. 14, Rom. xvi. 18,
i Cor. v. ii.
For irapaKaXovpfv cf. I. ii. 12 note,
and for iv vp. 'Ljtr. Xp. cf. I. iv. i
note.
tva pera y<rvxias KT\.] It is not
enough that they should not be dis-
orderly, they must also work, and
that too 'with quietness' for their
own maintenance.
'Horvxia (elsewhere in N.T. only
Ac. xxii. 2, i Tim. ii. 1 1 f. ; cf. rj<rvxd-
civ I. iv. n, and for a class, parallel
[Dem.] Exord. Or. 1445 ex lv ^a-vxiav
KOI TO. vfjifTcpa. OVTWV Trparreii') differs
from i7pc/ita in denoting tranquillity
arising from within rather than from
without (Ellic. on i Tim. ii. 2).
For the force of fierd see the note
on I. i. 6, and cf. P.Lond. i. 44, 17 f.
(ii./B.C.) [JLfB' fjo-vxlas dvaXveiv.
III. 13 15. EXHORTATION TO THE
LOYAL MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH.
After the digression caused by the
rebuke of the disorderly, the writers,
fearing that their example may have
a bad effect, address a special word
of exhortation to the main body of
their readers.
13 15. 'On the other hand as
regards the rest of you, Brothers, we
exhort you not to fail in doing the
right thing, but to persevere in your
honourable course. And in order
that you may do this, there is nothing
for it but to mark the man who is
disregarding what we have said in
this Epistle, and not in any way to
associate with him, in order that
thereby he may be shamed. And
yet in saying this, we need hardly
caution you that you are not to treat
him as if he were in any sense an
enemy, but rather to counsel him as
a brother.'
13.
But you' what-
ever may have been the conduct of
others. Thdt. : pr) viKijo-y TTJV vpc-
rcpav <piAoTtp,t'ai/ 77 fxeivtov /io^^^pi'a.
p.?) eWaKT/oTjre] 'Ei/KaKeco (for form,
WH. 2 Notes p. 157 f.) from KUKOS
'cowardly' is found elsewhere in
N.T. only in Lk. xviii. i, 2 Cor. iv. i,
1 6, Gal. vi. 9, Eph. iii. 13: cf: Polyb.
IV. 19. IO TO ftei/ iTfuirciv ras ftorjfoias
...eveKaKT](rav 'they omitted through
cowardice to send assistance.'
For the use of the aor. subj. in
2nd pers. after p.^', which is compara-
tively rare in Paul, see Moulton
Prolegg. p. 122 ff.
Ka\o7roiovvTs] ' doing the fair, the
noble thing ' rather than ' conferring
benefits ' (ayatfoTroiovi/res-) : cf. the
double exhortation in i Tim. vi. 18
dyadoepyelv, TrAourety ev epyois KCI-
Aois.
The verb KaAoTroie'co is not found
elsewhere in the N.T. (for similar
compounds, Lob. Phryn. p. 199 f.),
but for the thought see Gal. vi. 9 TO
KO\OV 7TOLOVVTS /AT) eVKO.KWfJ.fV) Where,
as here, KO.\OS carries with it the
thought not only of what is right in
itself (I. v. 21 note), but of what is
perceived to be right (i Tim. v. 25 ra
KaXa TrpoSj/Xa), and consequently
exercises an attractive power. See
further for this sense of KaAos the
interesting discussion by Lock, St
Paul p. 117 ff.
14. TO> Aoyw yfjiwv dtarfjs 7ricrTO\fjs]
'our word (sent) through the (present)
epistle' (Th. Mops, interpr.: 'uerba
quae per epistolam loquimur'). The
interpretation favoured by some of
the older commentators by which 8ia
. is rather to be connected with
what follows in the sense ' by means
of a letter (from you) do you notify '
(cf. Tind. sende vs worde of him by a
letter) is exposed to the well-founded
Ill is] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS 1 1/
Sid Trjs eVf(TToAf/s, TOVTOV
/) ~ / ~
vvcrvai.
objections that it is inconsistent
with the natural order of the words,
and with the use of the demonstrative
Trjs (I. v. 27 note), which points to an
existing letter rather than to one to
be written afterwards.
TOVTOV 0-rjjj.eiova-Se] 'of this man take
note' (Vg. hunc notate). 2r)fj.ei6op.ai
(an-. \ey. N.T.) means to 'mark or
notify for oneself, 3 and from being
used in a neutral or even favourable
(Ps. iv. 7) sense came also to have the
idea of disapprobation connected
with it, e.g. Polyb. v. 78. 2 (of a
sinister omen) o-^/uetaxra/zei/oi TO ye-
yovos. The ordinary usage of the
word is illustrated by Aristeas 148
TrapadedtoKfv 6 vop.o6eTT)s crq/mouo-tfai
rots o-vveTolf elvai diKaiovs, O.G.I.S.
629, 1 68 (Palmyra, ii./A.D.) o KPOTKTTOS
earrjfj,(e)i(ao~aTO ev TTJ Trpos Bapftapov
It may be added that with the
grammarians o-qpciWat is used in the
sense of 'nota bene,' and that in the
ostraca and papyri o-eo-jjfiei'w/im is the
regular term for the signature to a
receipt or formal notice, as when in
P.Oxy. 237. vii. 29 (ii./A.D.) the prefect
-gives legal validity to the
paTto-[j,6s by the words dvcyvcov
fjirj crvvava/JiiyvvcrOai avro>] lit. 'not
to mix yourselves together up with
him' (Vg. ne commisceamini cum illo,
Beza ne commercium hdbete cum to)
the expressive double compound
being found elsewhere in the N.T.
Only in I Cor. V. 9 pr) o-vvavapiywo-Oai
iropvois : cf. Hos. vii. 8 A 'Etppcu/*, ev
Tols \aols O.VTOV (rvvavepiyvvTo. For
the corresponding adj. in the
see P.Oxy. 718, 16 f. (ii./A.D.) dpov
TTJS (3ao-i\iKfjs (rvvavafjiiyovs fivai TTJ
j)irap[xovo-r) p.oi yrj\.
Iva fVTpairr{\ ' in order that he may
be put to shame' (Vg. ut confun-
datur, Beza ut erubescat\ following
the late metaphorical sense of eV-
Tpe'7ra>, cf. Ps. xxxiv. (xxxv.) 4, i Cor.
iv. 14, Tit. ii. 8, and from the Koivrj
such passages as P. Par. 47, 3 f.
(ii./B.C.) [e]i pr) piKpov TI evT pen opal,
49, 29 f. (ii./B.C.) yivfTai yap fVTpa-
i. The corresponding subst. V-
-alo-xvvr)) 18 found in I Cor.
vi. 5, xv. 34. For its sense of mdcos as
in class. Gk. (e.g. Soph. Oed. Col. 299)
cf. the late magical papyrus P.Lond.
I. 46, 1 6 f. (iv./A.D.) 8bs evrpoirrjv TO)
(pavcvTi irpb Trvpoy.
In the midd. the verb = * reverence,'
and contrary to class, usage is construed
in the Bibl. writings with the ace., e.g.
Sap. ii. 10, Mk. xii. 6, Heb. xii. 9.
15. fat w a>s fx@P v * r ^] a clause
added to prevent any possible mis-
understanding of the foregoing.
Throughout the conduct enjoined
has in view the final amendment of
the offender (Th. Mops.: 'ut modis
omnibus increpatione, obsecratione,
doctrina reducatis eum ad id quod
honestum eat'): cf. Didache xv. 3
\cy\T Se d\\j\ovs p,rj ev opyfj a'XX'
ev flpyvri, and Clem. R. Cor. xiv. 3
Xpr)0-Tevo-wiJ.e6a avTols [roly dp^rjyols
TTJS arTaarecos] Kara TTJV evam\ayxviav
KOI yXvKVTrjTa TOV irot^o-avTos Ty/Liay.
For the softening effect of as 'as
if he were an enemy' cf. Blass
p. 246 n. 1 , and for jyeopai and vov-
6cTea> see the notes on I. v. 13, I. v.
12, respectively. As further illus-
trating the ' stronger ' sense of rjyeo-
pat in the former passage see M.
Anton, iv. i where the best texts
read op/*a pev Trpos ra yyovpeva.
('moves towards things preferred')
in the sense of npor)yovfj.eva in the
parallel passage v. 20 (see Crossley's
note ad loc.}.
III. 1 6. PRAYER.
1 6. 'May the Lord, from whom
all peace comes, Himself give you His
1 1 8 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS [III 16 18
d\\d vov6eTelT6 ok d$e\(f>6v. l6 AVTOS Se 6
eipiivrjs Scarj v/uuv TY\V eipqvrjv Sid TTCLVTOS ev TTCCVTI
f \ t ~
O KVplOS fJLTa TTCLVTtoV VfJifaV.
17 'O dcnraarfjios Trj e/u*/ x L P* f1av\ov, o ecrTiv
ev Trdcrri eTTiarToXr]' OVTCOS ypdcpa). I8 7J xdpis TOV Kvpiou
'Irjcrov XpKTTOu jjLeTa TrdvTwv VJJLWV.
peace at all times and in all ways.
The Lord be with you all.'
1 6. AVTOS 8e KrX] For avros 84
see I. iii. n note, and for o *vp. T.
dp., here evidently the Lord Jesus
(cf. v. 5), see I. v. 23 note. The
Hellenistic opt. &; (for 80117) is found
again in the N.T. in Rom. xv. 5,
2 Tim. i. 1 6, 18 (WSchm. p. 120). For
8ia 7rain-os 'continually,' as distin-
guished from Trai/rore 'at all times'
see Westcott's note on Heb. ix. 6, and
cf. P.Lond. i. 42, 6 (cited in note on
I. i. 3).
The v.l. eV Travrl TOTTW (A*D*G 17
Vg Go) doubtless arose through the
desire to conform a somewhat awk-
ward phrase (cf. navrl rpoira Phil. i.
1 8, Kara travra rpofruv Rom. iii. 2) to
the more common expression (cf. I. i.
8, i Cor. i. 2, 2 Cor. ii. 14, i Tim.
ii. 8).
pcra TravTaiv v/i<5i>] even with the
disorderly brother, cf. v. 18 and for
TrdvTvv used with a similar emphasis
see the Benedictions in i Cor. xvi. 24,
2 Cor. xiii. 13.
III. 17, 1 8. SALUTATION AND
BENEDICTION.
17, 1 8. 'I add this salutation with
my own hand, signing it with my name
Paul, as I am in the habit of doing.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you all.'
17. 'O d<nraorp.os rfj cfifj x ct P* 1
navXov] Cf. i Cor. xvi. 21, Col. iv.
1 8, and for a similar use of oWao-fios
in the Koivij see P.Oxy. 471, 67 f.
(H./A.D.) dvafj.v6vTa>v...Tov dajrao'fjiov
'waiting to salute him,' and cf. the
note on d0irdo[j.ai I. v. 26.
is gen. in apposition with
cp.fi in accordance with a common Gk.
idiom (Kiihner 3 406, 3).
o ftrriv <rrifj.flov rX.] namely the fact
of St Paul's writing the salutation
with his own hand, and not merely
the insertion of the immediately pre-
ceding words, which as a matter of
fact are found elsewhere only in two
of his Epp. (i Cor., Col.). Because
however St Paul does not always
pointedly direct attention to the
autographic nature of the salutations
is in itself no proof that he did not
write them: cf. Intr. p. xcii and see
Add. Note A. In the present instance
he may have considered a formal
attestation of the clearest kind the
more necessary in view of the false
appeals that had been made to his
authority in Thessalonica (see note on
ii. 2).
ourcoy ypa$o>] with reference to the
characters in which vv. 17, 18 were
written, which the Thessalonians
would henceforth recognize as his%
cf. Gal. vi. ii. Any reference to an
ingeniously-framed monogram (Grot.:
' certum quendam nexum literarium ')
used by the Apostle for his signa-
ture is quite unnecessary.
1 8. 77 ^api? TOU Kvpiov KT\.] The
substance of the Pauline ao-Trao-^ds-,
embodying the Apostle's favourite
idea of 'grace,' and by the significant
addition of TTCIVTUV extending it to
'all' alike, even those whom he had
just found it necessary to censure (cf.
v. 1 6 note).
As in the First Ep. (cf. I. v. 28 note)
a liturgical ap,^v has found its way
into certain MSS. (N C ADGKLP).
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Ka#a><? Kal 6 dyaTnjTbs ri/JL&v aSeX<>05 IlaOXo? Kara
rrjv So06i(rav avra) o~o(f)iav eypatyev vp.lv, co? Kal eV Tracrat?
XaXwv eV avra*? Tre/ot TOVTCOV, ev afc ecrrlv
nva.
2 Pet. iii. 15, 16.
NOTE A.
St Paul as a Letter-Writer.
is ydp TIS jSotfXercu elvat TJ tiriffToXi] <n5j'ro j uos, KOA. irepi air\ov
/cat tv 6v6/j.affi.v &TT\OIS.
Demetrius de Elocutione 231 (ed. Eoberts, p. 176).
'Als einen Ersatz seiner personlichen Wirkung schreibt er seine Briefe.
Dieser Briefstil ist Paulus, niemand als Paulus; es ist nicht Privatbrief und
doch nicht Literatur, ein unnachab.mlicb.es, wenn auch immer wieder nach-
geahmtes Mittelding.'
U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff Die Griechische Literatur des Altertums
p. 157 (in Die Kultur der Gegenwart i. 8, Berlin, 1905).
We have already seen that the Thessalonian Epistles are true * letters,' The
and not doctrinal treatises, and that, in adopting this method of com- Pauline
municating with his scattered Churches, St Paul found a means of^^*^|
communication admirably suited alike to his own temperament, and to letters
the circumstances under which he wrote. The use of a 'letter' indeed
for religious purposes was not altogether without precedent. It was by
a letter that Jeremiah communicated God's will regarding them to the
Jewish captives in Babylon (Jer. xxix.) 1 , and by a letter again, to come
down to Christian times, that the Council at Jerusalem announced their
decision to the Gentile Churches (Ac. xv.) 2 . But, notwithstanding these
partial parallels, St Paul was apparently the first to recognize the full
possibilities that lay, in a letter as a means of conveying religious in-
struction 3 . And as there is good reason to believe that in the Thessalonian
Epistles we have the earliest of his extant writings (see p. xxxvif.), this is
a fitting opportunity for trying to form as clear an idea as possible of the
outward form and method of the Pauline correspondence.
Towards this, recent discoveries in Egypt have lent most valuable aid.
For though it is somewhat remarkable that no copy of a Pauline Epistle, n)
or any part of one, on papyrus, belonging to the first three centuries, has re cent dis-
yet come to light 4 , the ordinary papyrus letters of the Apostle's time enable coveries of
papyri.
1 Cf. in the Apocrypha the so-called trroXal <rv<rTariKai) were common, Ac.
Epp. of Jeremiah and Baruch, and ix. 2 (xxii. 5), xviii. 27 ; cf. Kom. xvi.
2 Mace. i. i, 10. Eenan (Saint Paul i, 2, 2 Cor. iii. i, and for a pagan
(1869) p. 229 n. 2 ) refers also to the. example see the first of the papyrus-
iggeret or risdlet, which the Jewish letters reproduced on p. 127.
synagogues were in the habit of 3 An exception is sometimes made
addressing to one another on points in favour of the Epistle of James ; but
of doctrine or practice. see Sanday Inspiration p. 344 f.
2 ' Letters of recommendation ' (4irt- 4 There are various fragments be-
122
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
us to picture to ourselves with great distinctness what must have been the
exact format of the Pauline autographs.
Papyrus as Thus there can be no doubt that, like other letter- writers of his time,
a writing
papyrus.
g^ p au j wro t e his letters on papyrus. The costlier pergament, which was
used for copies of the O.T. books 1 , was not only beyond the Apostle's
slender means, but would have been out of keeping with the fugitive and
occasional character he himself ascribed to his writings 2 . And he would
naturally fall back upon a material which was easily procurable, and whose
use for the purposes of writing had already a long history behind it 3 .
Themanu- l n itself papyrus is derived from the p&pyYus-p\a,nt(Cy per us papyrus L.) 4 ,
Twrnvrnn an( ^ was P re P are d f r the purposes of writing according to a well-
established process, of which the elder Pliny (N.H. xiii. 11 13) has left
a classical account).
According to this, the pith (|3i5j3\os) of the stem of the papyrus-plant
was cut into long strips (philyrae\ which were laid down vertically to form
a lower or outward layer. Over this a corresponding number of strips
were then placed horizontally ; and the two layers were pressed together
to form one sheet (scheda\ the process being assisted by a preparation
of glue, moistened, when possible, with the turbid water of the Nile, which
was supposed to add strength to it 5 . After being dried in the sun, and
longing to the fourth and fifth
centuries, amongst which Dr Kenyon
(Hastings' D.B. v. p. 354) includes
one containing 2 Thess. i. i ii. 2
(Berlin Museum P. 5013) ; but, in a
private communication to the present
writer, he states that, in reality, this
is not on papyrus, but on vellum. The
important papyrus containing about
one-third of the Ep. to the Hebrews
(P.Oxy. 657) is certainly not later
than the fourth century, perhaps the
end of the third.
1 These are probably referred to in
T&S nepppdvas of 2 Tim. iv. 13, as
compared with ra /SijSXte, the ordinary
papyrus-rolls.
2 The very fact that Josephus
mentions that the letter of the Jews
to Ptolemy Philadelphus was written
on parchment (5t00e/>af, Antt. xii. 89
(ii. n)) shows that this was unusual.
3 The earliest extant papyrus- writing
is a statement of accounts, dated in
the reign of Assa, the last King of the
fifth dynasty in Egypt, about 3580
3536 B.C. (Kenyon Palaeography of
Greek Papyri p. 14). According to
Sir E. M. Thompson (Greek and Latin
Palaeography p. 33), papyrus continued
to be manufactured in Egypt for
writing purposes down to the tenth
century of our era. Recently attempts
have been made to supply charta
according to the ancient model from
the papyrus - plants growing near
Syracuse. In addition to the authori-
ties quoted, see the essay on ' Ancient
Papyrus and the mode of making
paper from it ' by Prof. Ezra Abbot,
reprinted in his Critical Essays
(Boston, 1888) p. i37ff.
4 The most probable derivation of
the word ' papyrus ' is from the
Egyptian pa-p-yor, ' the (product) of
the river,' i.e. ' the river-plant ' (see
Encycl. Bibl. col. 3556). The plant is
mentioned in Job viii. 1 1 ; in Ex. ii. 3
the KJpjl n3ri was a ' chest of paper-
reed,' or a papyrus-boat, cf. Isa. xviii.
2 cTrtcrroXas pvfiXivas. For tbe Gk.
word irdirvpos of. P.Leid. S p. 97
col. i a , 8, u (ii./B.c.), and (irairijpovs)
P.Par. 55 bis col. i and 2 (ii./B.c.),
and for the adj. P.Leid. U col. 2 a , 6 f.
(ii./B.c.) irXoiov irairijpivov, 3 KaXeirai
AlyviTTHrd 'Pti^. See further Mayser
P- 37-
5 This appears to be the correct
interpretation of Pliny's ' turbidus
ST PAUL AS A LETTER-WRITER
123
rubbed down with ivory or a smooth shell to remove any roughness, the
sheet was ready for use a scripturdbilis facies.
The size of the sheets thus formed would obviously vary according Size of
to the quality of the papyrus ; but Dr Kenyon has shown that for non- papyrus-
literary documents the size in ordinary use would be from 5 to $ inches in s
width, and from 9 to n inches in height 1 .
For a brief note, like the Epistle to Philemon, a single sheet would
therefore suffice, but, when more space was required, it was easily pro-
curable by fastening the requisite number of sheets together to form
a roll 2 , the beginning (TrpeordicoXXov) and the end (fV^aroKoXXtoi'), as the
parts most usually handled, being not infrequently strengthened by
attaching extra strips of papyrus at the back. These rolls would seem
to have been generally sold in lengths of twenty sheets (scapi\ the cost of
two sheets being at the rate of a drachma and two obols each, or a little
over a shilling of our money 3 .
As a rule the original writing was confined to one side of the papyrus- Recto and
sheet, that side being chosen on which the fibres lay horizontally (recto\ Verso.
which was therefore smoother for the purpose. But occasionally, when
space failed, recourse was had also to the back (verso}*. The verso was
also frequently used for some other writing of less importance, or for
scribbling purposes, much as we use the back of an old letter 5 .
The matter was arranged in columns (o-eXto'es, paginae) of from two to Width of
three inches wide, which were as a rule placed close together, so that there columns.
liquor vim glutinis (dat.) praebet,' as
elsewhere he recognizes only the form
glutinum, and not gluten, according to
which glutinis would be a genitive :
cf. Birt Das antike Buchwesen (1882)
p. 231 f., and for the whole of Pliny's
description see Gardthausen Griech-
ische Palaeographie (1879) p. 31 f.,
Thompson op. cit. p. 30 f., Kenyon op.
cit. p. 15.
1 Op. cit. p. 16 ff.
2 Cicero (ad Fam. xii. 30. i) speaks
of so delighting in his correspondence
with Cormfieius, that he desires to
send him 'not letters but rolls.'
3 Thompson op. cit. p. 28 ; cf.
Karabacek Fiihrer durch die Papyrus-
sammlung (1904) of the Earner Museum
at Vienna, p. xvi. Karabacek also refers
(p. xv) to the different qualities of
papyrus-paper, such as the Charta
claudia, a very white paper, and the
Charta salutatrix, & favourite form
for ordinary correspondence. The
finest of all was the Hieratica, while
tlaeEmporetica, made out of the rougher
layers served much the purposes of
brown paper amongst ourselves.
4 Cf. Ezek. ii. 9 f . ' a roll of a book
...written within and without,' and
Kev. v. r j3i,8\{oi> yeypa.fj.fji.frov Zaudev
K<d Sirtffdev, the roll was so full that
the contents had overflowed to the
verso of the papyrus (but see Nestle
Text. Grit, of the Gk. N.T. p. 333).
A similar peculiarity distinguishes the
long magical papyrus P.Lond. i. 121
(iii./A.D.). On the distinction between
Recto and Verso see especially Wilcken
in Hermes xxii. (1887) p. 487 ff. : cf.
Archiv i. p. 355 f.
5 The letter P.Gen. 52 is written on
the verso, the writer explaining
X<ipTTf]v (xdpTiov, Wilcken Archiv iii.
p. 399) Kadapbv fjiT] evpu>v TTpbs rr)v upav
els TOV\T]OV fypa\j/a. See also the
interesting caricature from the back
of a papyrus (ix./s.c.) reproduced in
Erman and Krebs Aus den Papyrus
der Koniglichen Museen [zu Berlin],
Berlin, 1899, p. 6.
124
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Ink and
pen.
A papy-
rus-roll.
Mode of
reading.
would be little room for the marginal annotations St Paul is sometimes
credited with having made, unless we are to think of these as inserted at
the top or bottom of the sheet.
To complete our survey of the writing-materials, it is sufficient to notice
that the black ink (/xeXai/, or /ze'Xav ypa(piKov} ordinarily used was prepared
from a mixture of soot and gum-water 1 and that a rush or reed (^aXa/nor,
or KaXapos ypcxpiKos) served as a pen (cf. 3 Jo. 13 8ta /tte'Xapo? *at
St Paul's
employ-
ment of an
amanueii-
When finished, the roll was rolled round upon itself, and fastened
together with a thread 3 , and in ordinary letters the address or title was
then written on the back of the roll. In the case of more important
literary works, which would be preserved in libraries, a o-t'XAv/So?, or small
strip of papyrus containing the title, was frequently attached to the end of
the roll for the purpose of identification 4 .
In order to ascertain its contents, the reader held the roll with two
hands, unrolling it with his right, and with his left hand rolling up what he
had finished reading 5 : a practice which enables us to understand the
imagery of Rev. vi. 14 o ovpavbs aTre^ojpicrtf?; toy /St/SAtoi/ \i(T(r6fj.ci>ov
(eAwro-o/iei/os K), where the expanse of heaven is represented as parting
asunder, 'the divided portions curling up and forming a roll on either hand'
(Swete ad loc.}.
From these more general details that help to throw light on the
outward method of the Pauline correspondence, it is necessary now to turn
to one or two particulars that affected its contents. Amongst these a
first place must be given to the fact that as a rule St Paul, following a
well-established custom (Norden Kunstprosa ii. p. 954 ff.), seems to have
1 Pliny N.H. xxxv. 6. The excellent
quality of this ink is shown by the
way it has preserved its colour after
the lapse of so many years. At the
same time by not sinking into the
texture of the paper like our modern
inks, it readily lent itself to being
washed completely off: hence Col.
ii. 14 efaXet^as Tb...xfipbypa.<t>ov (see
Williams' note ad loc. in C.G.T.).
2 Directions for buying papyrus,
pens, ink &c. will be found in P. Grenf.
ii. 38 (cf. Witkowski Epp. no. 55),
a letter of i./B.c. For illustrations
of the ordinary writing-materials see
Erman and Krebs op. cit. p. 8 f. , and
the above-cited Fiihrer through the
Kainer collection at Vienna p. 6.
3 The wooden-roller (<5/u0ctX6s, um-
bilicus) with projecting knobs or tips
(K^para, cornua) would seem to have
been confined to the costlier editions
of literary works (Gardthausen op. cit.
p. 52 f., Kenyon op. cit. p. 23). And
the same would be the case with the
<paiv6\T)s or 001X61/77$, the 'cover' by
which more valuable works were pro-
tected. Birt (op. cit. p. 65) finds a
reference to this ' cover,' and not to
the Apostle's ' travelling-cloke,' in the
<eX6v77 of 2 Tim. iv. 13.
4 Specimens of these <ri\\vftoi have
been recovered: see P.Oxy. 301, 381.
5 Cf. Lucian imag. c. 8 pifiMov tv
TOIV xe/JotV clxev, ^s dtio ffweiXtj^^vov'
Kal t($Kei TO fJL^v TI dvayvii}(T<j'6ai avrov,
rb de rfdi) aveyvuKtvcu (cited Gardthausen
p. 52). Seneca, who prided himself
on his brevity, breaks off a letter with
the remark that no letter should ' fill '
the left hand of the reader (Ep. 45
' quae non debet sinistram manum
legentis implere '), implying that, were
it longer than a single sheet, the reader
would require to use both hands (Birt
p. 62).
ST PAUL AS A LETTER-WRITER 125
dictated his letters. This at least is the most obvious interpretation of
such a passage as Rom. XVi. 22 do~rrdop.ai vp.as eyw Tepnos 6 ypd^as TTJV
firKTToXrjv cv Kupiw, where, unless we are to think of Tertius' writing a
copy of the letter the Apostle had previously penned, we can only regard
him as the actual scribe. Further confirmation of this practice is afforded
by 2 Thess. iii. 17, a verse which sets the authenticating signature of
the Apostle in direct contrast with the rest of the letter as written by
someone else: cf. i Cor. xvi. 21, Col. iv. 18.
To such a mode of procedure the Egyptian papyri again offer striking
confirmation, the signature being often in a different hand from the body
of the document itself, as when a letter on land-distribution by three
officials, Phanias, Heraclas, and Diogenes, is endorsed at the bottom by
the second of these ( c HpacX(as) ereo-^/Aeieo/zat)), the letter itself having no
doubt been written by a clerk (P.Oxy. 45 (i./A.D.) with the edd. note) 1 .
In speaking of St Paul's amanuensis, we must not however think of Signifi-
a professional scribe (raxuypacpos, notarius), but rather of some educated cance of
friend or companion who happened to be with the Apostle at the time *
(cf. Rom. xvi. 21). The writing would then be of the ordinary, non-literary
character, though doubtless more than the usual care would be taken
in view of the importance of the contents. The words, in accordance with
general practice, would be closely joined together. Contractions, especially
in the way of leaving out the last syllables of familiar words 2 , would be
frequent. And, as a rule, accents and breathings would be only sparingly
employed. The bearing of these facts upon the various readings that crept
later into the Pauline texts is at once obvious. But for our present
purpose it is more important to ask, How much was St Paul in the habit
of leaving to his amanuensis ? Did he dictate his letters word for word,
his scribe perhaps taking them down in some form of shorthand 3 ? Or was
1 Mahaffy (P.Petr. i. p. 48) finds established custom in ancient times,
here the clue to the correct interpre- 2 Kenyon's statement (Palaeography
tation of the ir^Xtxa ypd^ara of Gal. p. 33) that the omission of the middle
vi. ii the large, irregular characters portion of words is not found in Gk.
of the man who wrote but little, as papyri now requires modification : cf.
compared with the smaller, cursive P.Amh. 35, 55 (ii./s.c.) pa(<ri\i)Kwv,
hand of his more practised amanuensis: where the editors point out that the
cf. for a striking illustration of this the scribe first wrote /3 L , and then added
facsimile of Pap. 215 in the Filhrer to KUV to distinguish it from p*-=pa-
the Rainer collection (p. 68), where (<n\^ws) in the previous line, and see
the rude, uncial signatures of two also Kenyon himself (P.Lond. in. p. 91)
consenting parties are clearly dis- where K* /<<>< = K\-/ipov KO.TOIKOV is allowed
tinguishable from the more cultured as one of the very few exceptions ' to
hand in which the body of the contract his own above- stated rule.
is written. But Ramsay (Hist. Comm. 3 For the practice of shorthand
on Galatians p. 466) is probably nearer amongst the ancients see art. ' Nota '
the mark in saying that by the use of in Smith's Diet, of Gk. and Bom. Antt.,
' large ' letters the Apostle desired and cf. Kenyon op. cit. p. 33. To the
rather to draw special attention to the literature there adduced may be added
' importance ' of the following sen- an art. by F. G. W. Foat On old Greek
tences, in accordance with a well- Tachygraphy in J.H.S. xxi. (1901)
126
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
he content to supply a rough draft, leaving the scribe to throw it into
more formal and complete shape ? It is true that to these questions no
definite answer can be given. In all probability the Apostle's practice
varied with the special circumstances of the case, or the person of the
scribe whom he was employing. More might be left to the discretion
of a Silvanus or a Timothy, than of a Tertius. But, in any case, the very
fact that such questions can be put at all shows how many of the difficulties
regarding the varied style and phraseology of the different Epistles might
be solved, if we had only clearer knowledge of the exact conditions under
which they were severally written 1 .
Possibility Nor can we leave out of sight the possibility that, when dictating,
of quota- st Paul may frequently have held some letter he was answering in his
hand, and that consequently quotations from his correspondents' language,
which we should now in print at any rate distinguish by the use of inverted
commas, may have found their way into his answer, or at any rate suggested
the exact form of the language employed 3 .
In a suggestive paper in the Expositor (v. vi. p. 65 ff.) Dr Walter Lock
has applied this possibility to the elucidation of i Cor. viii. i 9, and more
recently Dr Rendel Harris (Exp. v. viii. p. i69ff.) has tried in the same way
to disentangle from our existing i Thessalonians traces of a lost letter
previously addressed by the Thessalonians to St Paul. Some of the points
raised may perhaps seem to the ordinary reader over-subtle, and capable
of simpler explanation. But the idea is a fruitful one, and may yet be found
to do good service in the explanation of various Pauline linguistic and
grammatical anomalies 3 .
Another possibility is that what were originally marginal annotations
now form part of the Pauline Epistles. What more natural, it has been
argued, than that St Paul should have read over his letter, after his scribe
had finished writing it, and jotted down in the margin explanatory
comments or additions, which afterwards found their way into the text 4 .
That marginal annotations of this kind were added later is well known ;
and
marginal
annota-
tions.
p. 238 ff., which contains a general
re'sume' of the present state of the
question.
1 Cf. Sanday Inspiration p. 342, and
for the possibility that in the ' dicta-
tion ' and ' revision ' of the fourth
Gospel, which early tradition asserts
(especially Can. Murat. p. ioa.), we
may have a key to the differences
between it and the Apocalypse see
Swete Apoc. p. clxxixf.
In an art. in the Churchman for
June 1906 (summarized in Exp. T.
xvii. p. 433) Bishop Moule cites a mode
of procedure from the modern mission-
field which may have some bearing on
the point before us. According to
this when a European missionary in
China desires to send a message, he
first writes it down in his own Chinese,
and then submits it to a ' writer,' who
drafts it afresh into the correct classical
phraseology. After revision it is then
sent out by the missionary, 'as his
own authentic message.'
2 Cf. Weizsacker Apost. Age ii.
p. 102 ff.
3 For its application to the Ep. to
the Philippians see Kennedy Phil.
p. 403 in E.G.T.
4 See especially Laurent Neutest.
Studien (Gotha, 1866) p. 3^., and cf.
Kenan Saint Paul (1869) p. 232.
ST PAUL AS A LETTER-WRITER 1 27
but it is very doubtful whether any of them can be traced back to St Paul
himself. The general form of an ordinary papyrus-letter left, as we have
already seen, little room for them. And such a phrase for example as
epirpoo-flfv TOV Kvpiov ij/ieoi/ 'irjcrov ev rfj avrov trapova-ia (l Thess. ii. 19), which
Laurent (p. 28 f.) cites in support of this view, may just as readily have
formed part of the original writing.
We are on surer ground when we turn to the undoubted light which General
the correspondence of the time throws upon the general form of the form
Pauline letters. That form, as is well known, consists as a rule of an pjJjJQ e
Address or Greeting, a Thanksgiving, Special Contents, Personal Salu- letters.
tations, and an Autographic Conclusion. And when full allowance has
been made for difference in character and tone, it is remarkable how
closely this structure resembles the structure of an ordinary Greek
letter.
This will perhaps be best shown by giving one or two specimens of Examples
the latter. We begin with a short letter from Oxyrhynchus, of date of P a P v -
A.D. 1 6, in which the writer Theon recommends to the notice of his [ u ,l"
brother Heraclides the bearer of the letter Hermophilus. A letter of
P.Oxy. 746. recom-
> * N j. ~ menda-
HpcucXetoqi ran aoeX<paH tion.
TrXelara gaipw /cat vytaivftv.
vs (rot rrjv
tov, Kal rpcarrja-ev fJi ypd^ai aroi.
\V Trji] Kepxe/^ouvi. TOVTO ovv eav
(rot 0a[i]w;rai (mov8d(Teis Kara TO
diKaiov. TO. 8' aXXa veavTov eVt/ieXov
Iv vyiaivys.
eppcoo-o.
(erovff) y Tiftcpiov Kaicrapoy 2e/3aaro{) $aa><pt y.
On the verso is written the address :
the round brackets indicating the resolution of the abbreviations
employed.
The general similarity of , the Address and the closing Salutation to A letter of
the ordinary Pauline practice is at once obvious, and the same may be invitation.
said of the following letter of invitation from the Faiyum, belonging to the
year A.D. 84.
TL (TOt TO 7r[t](rr[o]XtOJ/, OTTtoS
128
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
A letter
from a
mother
to her
children.
A letter of
iS T7)V Q)pTT)V (SIC) 7Tpl(TT-
yp.e1v dyopdoTjt,
epd)TrjOf\s
Tour[o] ovv TTOITJ-
cras ecrrj /xot
Xapirav (sic)
"AcrTrao-tu TOVS crovs irdvras.
"Epp a>o-o.
(erovs) rpirov Avro/eparopoff
Kcu'crapos Ao/uriavoG
Sf^aorou TfppaviKov ITa^(coi') if.
The address is again on the verso :
Els BaKxiaSa [anodes 'ATroXXowau] reoi Tt/ita)r[a(ra>i)].
Our next example still more closely recalls a Pauline letter, as, in
addition to more formal resemblances, it contains an earnest prayer to the
writer's god Serapis for the welfare of her children. This letter was also
discovered in the Faiyum, and belongs to the end of the second, or the
beginning of the third, century of our era.
roils TCKVOIS ITroAf^cua) Kai 'ATroXtfapta /cat
ITroXe/iai'a) TrXeiora \aipeiv.
IIpo ILCV TrdvTGw ev^o/xai r^tas vyiaiviv, o fj.oi irdvTa>v
0"rii> dvavKaioTcpov. To 7rpo[cr]Kvvi]fj.a i;/Lieoi/ TTOICO jrapa TW
/cvpi'a) 2fpa?rtSt, fv^o/zeV^ ijp.as vyiaivovres aTroXa^eti/,
a>s eu^o/nat eVirerev^oTay. 'E^ap/;i/ KOyMOVyiany ypa/i/xara,
ort /cnXcos 8i<rw0r)Tf. 'Ao-rra^ou 'A/i/ia)[i/]oi)i' o-ui> TCKVOIS KOI
o'v/i./Siw /cat TOUS (pi\oi>vrds o*e. 'Ao"7ra^erat )/ias KuptXAa
/cat 17 tivyd-nyp 'Eppias 'Eppias (sic), c Ep[p,]ai/oi}j3is TI rpo(pos, 'A&jvats j SeV<a-
Xoy, KvpiXXa, Kao-ta, [. .]fi . . vis, 2[. . .Jai/os 1 , "E/iTTis 1 , oi evOdde TTavres.
'EpaTrjOcls ovv 7rp[ay/z]a Trpdvcris yp\o.^r}e /MOI, ftSeoy ort, eav ypa/zpara
o-ov XajSo>, IXapd et/ni Trepi T^S o~Q)Tr)pias r^iStv.
'Eppwa'dai rjfjLas fv%op.at.
On the verso this letter has two addresses, one in the original hand to
the effect
ElroXe X /Wo> rw
and the second in a different hand
'ATroS(os') IlroXe/zaio) X d8e(X)0w 'A
It would appear therefore that the first recipient Ptolemaios had after-
wards forwarded his mother's letter to his brother of the same name, and
his sister Apolinaria.
To these three letters I am tempted to add in full the pagan letter
f consolation already referred to (see I. iv. 18 note) as, apart from
similarity in outward form, its contents stand in such striking contrast to
the bright and hopeful character of the Epistles before us.
ST PAUL AS A LETTER-WHITER 1 29
P.Oxy. 115 (ii./A.D.):
~Elprjvr]
ourcos eXvn^drjv e/cXautra
a>s e
Km Traira otra 771; KO-
6r)Kovra eiroirjcra Kal ircivrcs
oi fp-oi, 'E7ra0poSeiroy KCU Gep/xov-
Kai IlXairay. aXX* ofj.a>s ovdev
8vvarai riv TTpbs TO. roiaCra.
fv TrpaTTfTc. 'Advp a.
On the wr^o
Nothing would be easier than to multiply examples 1 , but these must Current
suffice to show the amount of truth there is in Deissmann's dictum that the epistolary
Pauline letters ' differ from the messages of the homely Papyrus leaves p rases -
from Egypt not as letters, but only as the letters of Paul' (SS. p. 44) :
while they also make clear how frequently the actual phrases employed
are drawn from the current epistolary language of the Apostle's time 2 .
This is naturally most noticeable in the more formal parts of the letter
such as the address or the closing salutation 3 ; but it is by no means
confined to these, as will be seen from the preceding Notes on such passages
as I. i. 2, 3, ii. 9, iv. i, 13, II. ii. 3, iii. 2 4 .
Similarly with the authenticating signature. Reference has already St Paul's
been made to the fact that this was apparently generally added in St Paul's signature.
own hand in accordance with general practice 5 . And it is enough to add
1 An excellent collection of the i. 2 : TO 5 kv 06w irarpC ZOIKW T Trap'
letters belonging to the Ptolemaic JHJLUV v rats ^7ri<rroAa?s ypa^o^vif- Kal
period will be found in Witkowski's yap rj/teis eu60a/ue/ ypafaw '6 8eiva r<p
Epistulae Privatae Graecae (Leipzig, 8eivt 4v Kvpiy ^cupeii/.' On the original
Teubner, 1906). formula see Dr G. A. Gerhard's dis-
2 For the existence of similar ex- sertation ' Die Formel 6 dewa T<# Seivt
pressions in Latin letters see Tyrrell xaipeiv ' forming the first part of his
and Purser The Correspondence of Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des
M. T. Cicero (ycdi ed. Dublin, 1904)1. griechischen Brief es (Philologus Ixiv.
p. 56 ff. (N. F. xviii.), 1905, p. 27 ff.).
3 This point did not escape the notice 4 Further evidence pointing in the
of the older commentators. Thus same direction will be found in the
Theodore of Mopsuestia writes with Dean of Westminster's Note On some
reference to I. i. i (ed. Swete) : rd current epistolary phrases ' in his great
\apts vjjuv otfrws rlQ-^aiv wtnrep r//iets commentary on St PauVs Epistle to
r6 x.apiv v rats Trpoypatpats T&V the Ephesians.
du6afj.ev TO cv Sew irarpl 5 Cf. Cic. ad Attic, viii. i, Suet.
ws Kal rj/jt-els TO ev Kvpty Tib. 21, 32, Dion Cass. Iviii. n.
ypa<f)0fjiv. Cf. also Theodoret on II.
M. THESS.
130
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Mode of
despatch
of the
Pauline
letters.
that the ovreos- ypa(f>ot> (like our 'signed') with which the Apostle draws
attention to it in II. iii. 17 finds a ready parallel in the o-eo-ij/Lteuo/iai (generally
contracted into treo-q), with which so many of the Egyptian papyrus-letters
and ostraca close.
The only other point requiring notice is the mode of despatch of the
Pauline letters. By this time the Imperial Post, established by Augustus 1 ,
was in full operation, but its use was strictly limited to state and official
needs, and ordinary correspondence could only be sent by special messenger,
or by favour of some friend or passing traveller 2 . Even had it been
otherwise, it is obvious that many of the Apostle's communications could
only have been entrusted with safety to a Christian messenger in full
sympathy with their object 3 . The messenger's part would thus be an
important one. And there can be little doubt that to St Paul's messengers
there often fell the task of reinforcing and supplementing the Apostolic
message to the Churches addressed 4 .
1 Suet. Aug. 49. In this, as in so
many other customs of his court,
Augustus doubtless followed a Persian
model (Friedlaender Sittengeschichte
Eoms z ii. p. 8, cf. i. p. 395).
2 Cic. ad Attic, i. 9. i, Pliny Ep. vii.
12, Mart. iii. 100. i.
3 According to a modern traveller,
even to this day, in view of the perils
attending correspondence at the hands
of the Turkish postal authorities,
Christians in Macedonia ' are forced
to employ private couriers of their
own creed and nationality ' (G. F.
Abbott Tale of a Tour in Macedonia
p. 275).
4 For the union of messenger and
letter cf. P.Grenf. i. 30 (ii./B.c.),
B.G.U. 1009 (ii./B.c.).
NOTE B.
Did St Paul use the Epistolary Plural ?
The question of whether St Paul ever uses the epistolary plural is one The ques-
of some general interest, and has also a direct bearing upon the interpreta- tion not
tion of several passages in our Epistles. It is a question which has some- ^ c ^ e( j
times been answered very definitely in the negative, as when it has been categoric-
maintained that St Paul never uses the ist pers. plur. except with reference ally,
to more than one person (Hofmann Die heil. Schrift neuen Testaments
(1862) i. p. 147 and passim), or, more guardedly, that in those Epistles
where several names occur in the address all subsequent ist persons plur.
must be referred to them, except where the context demands a still wider
reference, as e.g. to Christians in general (Zahn Einl. in d. N. T. i. pp. 1 50 ff.,
2 1 9 f.). Laurent, on the other hand, as positively declares (SK. 1 868 p. 1 59 ff.,
Neatest. Stud. p. 117 f.) that, so far at least as the Thessalonian Epistles
are concerned, the ist pers. plur. is always to be referred to St Paul alone
as a kind of pluralis maiestaticus, being used by the Apostle when he
speaks in his official capacity, while as a private individual he uses the
singular. As a matter of fact, however, as Karl Dick has shown in his
elaborate monograph Der schriftstellerische Plural bei Paulus (Halle,
1900), no such hard and fast rule on either side can be carried consistently
through without doing constant violence to the sense. And the general con-
clusion at which Dick arrives after a complete survey of the evidence is
that St Paul uses the ist pers. plur. with such a wide variety of nuances
and shades of meaning, that the pluralis auctoris may well have a place
amongst them, wherever it is found to be most in keeping with the con-
text, and the circumstances of writing at the time.
Nor in this would the Apostle cause any undue difficulty to his readers, but in the
For if the use of the ist pers. plur. for the ist pers. sing, seems only to
have existed to a very limited extent in classical Gk. (cf. Kiihner 3 n. i.
37 1 - 3) Gildersleeve Syntax 54), in later writers it is very common (e.g. classical
Polyb. i. 41. 7 TTLpaa-op.f6a, Jos. Vita IO (2) ^ov\^Brjv...f'irro[j.V...<Sp.r}v). and later
And, what is still more pertinent to our present inquiry, this plural can Greek,
now be illustrated from the ordinary correspondence of St Paul's time.
We must be careful indeed not to overstrain the evidence in this andespeci-
direction, as some of the instances which are usually cited are by no means
certain, owing to the possibility that the writer may be including those
around him, members of his family or friends, in the plural reference, pondence
Thus in the first of Dick's two examples B.G.U. 27 (not 41, as Dick), 5 ff. of the
i$- yfjv \TJ\v6a...Koi e'e[c]eV(B(ra p.ev (or eeKei>a>cra/iej/)...Kai 7rape&earo j//iny ~^ {
<> TOTTOS, the corn- merchant, who is its author, seems undoubtedly to be
92
132 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
thinking of his comrades as well as of himself, when he uses the plural 1 ,
and similarly in the illiterate B.G.U. 596, i ff. (I./A.D.) KO\US
KaT\6a>v (Tvvev<t>xn6ri\i\ r/pfiv. TO{)T[O] ovv TroirjO-as far) pot fj.yd\r]v ^
(sic) Kar[a]r6^ei/i[e]fo($ i ), there is again no reason why the reference in
and pot should be identical' 2 .
Other examples can however now be cited in which it seems impossible
to establish any distinction between the two numbers. For example, in the
opening salutation of P.Par. 43 (ii./B.c.) we find el eppo>o-0at, eppwpai 8*
Kdvroi, the plur. reading Kavroi being here regarded as ' certain ' by
Witkowski (Epp. p. 55) as against KUVTOS (Letronne); and with this may
be compared such documents as P.Tebt. 58 (ii./B.c.) fvpr^<ap.fv...fvpov...
fifftovXci/fjLfda, P.Hib. 44 (iii./B.C.) eypm/mpei>...6^(i/Tes...ei>ipJ7i/, and, from a
much later date, P.Heid. 6 (iv./A.D.) 7ri<rTevonv...ypd(j)a> KOI (pXvpap^o-o)...
8wT)6a>fjii>. Evidence to the same effect is afforded by the Inscriptions,
as in O.G.I.S. 484, possibly a rescript of Hadrian, in which the sing.
and plur. are interchanged in a truly astonishing manner, e.g. i ...Xovp.fi/,
2 [p>6T67rf/z]\/^a/A7;i/, ftovXrjQeis, 13 e'So^ey T/peu/, 27 e'SoKipacra/zei', 31 eVurreuoz/,
41 diKatov rjyrja-dfjirjv^ 54 I/O/LU'G> (see Dittenberger's note ad loc.).
The con- It is unnecessary to go on multiplying instances. These are sufficient
sequent ^ p rove the possibility, to say the least, of the use of T/pels for eyo> in
of such 1 ^ a wr ^ er f St Paul's time. And if, accordingly, we find passages in his
a usage Epistles where the ist pers. plur. seems to be best understood of the
in the Apostle alone, we need not hesitate so to apply it.
Pauline Q n tne O t ne r hand in view of the fact that in several of his Epistles
]. es> (i Cor., Gal., Phil., Philemon) St Paul, after starting with an address from
cScum severa l persons, employs the ist sing, throughout in the body of the letters,
stances to tne continued use of the ist pers. plur. throughout the Thessalonian
be taken Epistles is surely significant, and may be taken as indicating a closer and
into more continuous joint-authorship than was always the case at other times.
thecaseof And as we are furtner 8U PP<>rted in this conclusion by all that we know
r, 2 Thes- regarding the special circumstances under which the two Epistles were
salonians. written (see Intr. p. xxxiv f.), we shall do well to give its full weight to this
normal use of the plural in them, and to think of it as including St Paul's
two companions along with himself wherever on other grounds this is-
possible.
1 Cf. Moulton Prolegg. 2 p. 246 as against p. 86 of the ist edition.
2 See the whole letter on p. 127 f.
NOTE C.
The Thessalonian Friends of St Paul.
In view of the strength of the ties which bound St Paul to the
Thessalonian Church, it is not surprising to find that several of its
members were afterwards reckoned amongst his close personal friends.
Amongst these a first place is naturally given to Jason who was his i. Jason.
host at Thessalonica, and who must subsequently have joined St Paul
on his missionary journeyings, if, as is generally thought, he is to be
identified with the Jason who unites with the Apostle in sending greetings
from Corinth to the Roman Christians (Rom. xvi. 21). In this case too we
get the further information regarding him that he was a Jew by birth (cf.
01 a-vyytvels pov I.e.}, and his name consequently is to be explained as the
Grecized form of the Heb. Jesus or Joshua 1 .
More prominently mentioned in connexion with St Paul's later history 2. Aris-
is a certain Aristarchus of Thessalonica (Ac. xx. 4). He was with the tarchus.
Apostle on his last journey to Jerusalem, and afterwards accompanied him
and St Luke on the voyage to Rome (Ac. xxvii. 2). Bishop Lightfoot thinks
that on this occasion he did not accompany St Paul all the way, but that,
when the Apostle's plans were changed at Myra, Aristarchus continued in
the Adramyttian vessel to his own home in Thessalonica (Philipp. 2 p. 34 f.).
But if so, he certainly rejoined St Paul later in Rome, and apparently
shared his captivity, to judge from the language of Col. iv. 10 'ApiVrap^os
6 o-vi/aix/uaXcoro? /nov. It is possible however that his captivity was voluntary,
as in Philemon 24 he is spoken of simply as St Paul's fellow-worker
(o-wepyos), while the title o-uixux/iaXcoros- is transferred to Epaphras (v. 23)
a circumstance that lends a certain colour to the suggestion that St Paul's
companions took turns in sharing his captivity with him 2 .
It is sometimes thought that Aristarchus is included in the ot ovres
f< TreptTo/xfjs of Col. iv. ii, and that consequently he was a Jew by birth;
but that clause is better understood as referring only to Mark and Jesus
Justus. The fact that Aristarchus was one of the deputation bearing
the offerings of the Gentile Churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem
(Ac. xx. 4) points rather to his own Gentile origin (cf. Klopper, Peake
ad loc.}.
As illustrating the connexion of the name with Thessalonica, it may be
1 Cf. Jos. Antt. xii. 239 (v. i) 6 fih in a spiritual sense (cf. Eom. vii. 23,
o$v 'I^croCs 'Idffova avrbv yueru'j'6 J wcwei', 2 Cor. x. 5, Eph. iv. 8) like
and see Deissmann BS. p. 315 n. 2 . (Col. i. 7, iv. 7), and
2 It is of course possible that the title (Phil. ii. 25, Philem. 2): see Lft.
<7wcux/ud\a>Tos is applied to Aristarchus Philipp? p. n n. 6 .
134 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
mentioned that in an inscription containing a list of politarchs recently
discovered at Thessalonica the list begins with 'Apicrrapxov rov 'Apio-rap^ou :
see Dimitsas C H Majccdoiu'a (Athens, 1896) p. 428, iuscr. 368 (cited by Burton
Am. Journ. of Theol. ii. p. 608).
3. Secun- Closely associated with Aristarchus in Ac. xx. 4 is another Thessalonian,
Secundus, of whom we know nothing further, though again it is not without
interest to notice that the same name occurs among the Thessalonian
politarchs in the list on the triumphal Arch (C.I.G. u. 1967; cf. Intr.
p. xxiii), and is also found on a memorial inscription of the year 15 A.D.,
discovered in a private house in the Jewish quarter of Thessalonica, which
runs *A'rrc\\a>vi(p...'EvTvxos Ma//u,ou KOI Seicovvda. ol BpeTrrol rov /3a>/xoi/ p.vfias
xapiv KT\. (Duchesne no. 59, p. 43), and with which may be compared rdi'os
'louXtOS 2CKOVV80S E[pt/M0) TfO IdltO TCKVCOl /il/TJ/MJ/ff \aptV (ibid. HO. 78, p. 50).
4. Gaius. This last inscription recalls yet another Macedonian friend of St Paul,
the Gaius of Ac. xix. 29 Talov KOI 'Apiarapxov MaKcSoVay. Beyond however
this juxtaposition with Aristarchus, there is no evidence definitely connecting
Gaius with Thessalonica, though again we may notice the occurrence of the
name in the list of politarchs (C.I.G. 11. 1967). The name was evidently
a common one even in the Gk. world, and is borne by two other friends
of St Paul, Gaius of Derbe (Ac. xx. 4), and Gaius of Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23,
i Cor. i. 14), as well as by 'Gaius the beloved' to whom St John addresses
his Third Epistle (3 Jo. i).
5. Demas. There remains still a fifth possible Thessalonian as holding a place for
a time in the circle of St Paul's more immediate friends. In Philem. 24 a
certain Demas is described along with the Thessalonian Aristarchus as a
<rvvpyof of the Apostle (cf. Col. iv. 14). And when later this same man in
the hour of his defection is described as going to Thessalonica (2 Tim. iv. 10)
it is at least a fair surmise that he did so, because this was his native
town 1 . His name at least is not Heb. but Gk. (see Meyer on Col. iv. 14,
and cf. C.I.G. in. 3817 Aijuas icai Tatos), and under its full form Demetrius 2
appears twice in the already frequently cited list of politarchs (C.I.G. n.
1967), as well as in that other list referred to under Aristarchus IloXirap-
XOVVTCOV * Apiarapxov rov 'Apio-rdpxov,...Ar)p.r)r[piOv] rov 'Avriyovov, which,
according to Dimitsas, is to be dated between 168 B.C. and the Christian
era (see Burton ut s. p. 608).
A later instance of the name is aiforded by the martyr Demetrius who
perished at Thessalonica in the persecution under Maximian (Intr. p. xxiv).
1 Chrys. Horn. X. in II ad Tim. 2 For the simple A^as cf. P.Petr.
etXero paXXov olVcoi Tpv<f)iii> 'he chose in. 49, 7, B.G.U. 10, 12 (ii./A.D.).
to live in luxury at home.'
NOTE D.
The Divine Names in the Epistles.
Kal o 0eo5 atrbv virepfywvev, KOI t-xapicaro avrig rb ovo/j-a rb virtp irav
ovofjia, iva ev T 6v6/J.aTL 'I^crou HAN f~O N Y KAMVffl ewovpavLuv Kal tiriyelwv
Kal KaraxOoviuv, Kal TTACA r^CCA eSOMOAOTHCHTAI fln KTPIOS IHSOTS
XPI2TOS eis 36av 0eoy *aTp6s. Phil. ii. 911.
The early date of the Epp. to the Thessalonians, combined with the
generally undogmatic character of their contents, makes their evidence
as to the view taken of the Person of Christ in the Apostolic Church
specially significant. It is of importance therefore, as helping us to under-
stand that view, to examine more closely than was possible in the Com-
mentary the Names by which the Lord is here spoken of.
We begin naturally with the human Name Jesus which, standing by r. Jesus.
itself, is found only in two passages :
I. i. IO ov rfyfipev e< [T<BI>] vfKpwv, 'irjaovv rbv pvup-cvov jp.as fK r. opyrjs
T. CpXOIJLVT)S.
I. iv. 14 I yap TTto-Teuo/ifi' on 'ir/trovs aufdavev K. aviarr), ovras Kal 6
0cb$ T. Kotp-rjOevras 8ia rou 'l^croC a^ei o~vv avrw.
This rare occurrence of the Name by which the Saviour was familiarly
known during His earthly life may seem at first sight somewhat surprising,
but is in entire accord with the general trend of Pauline teaching, the centre
of which is to be found not in the earthly but in the heavenly and exalted
Christ 1 . Only when, as in the foregoing passages, the reference to the
historic facts of the Saviour's life is so direct as to make any other Name
less suitable does St Paul use it alone without any other title.
Thus, to refer briefly to his later usage, in the four principal Epp. the
name 'Iijo-ovs is found alone ten times, five times with (2 Cor. iv. 10 (bis), i r,
xi. 4 (a\\ov 'Irjcrovv), Gal. vi. 17), and five times without (Rom. iii. 26,
i Cor. xii. 3, 2 Cor. iv. 5, 11, 14) the article. In the Epp. of the Captivity
it is found only twice, Eph. iv. 21 (with art.), Phil. ii. 10 (without art.). In
the Ep. to the Colossians and the Pastoral Epp. it is not found at all.
Its use is characteristic of the Ep. to the Hebrews, and of the Apo-
calypse of St John where, except in the opening Greeting (i. 5) and in
the Benediction (xxii. 21), 'Irjaovs always stands alone.
1 Thus Deissmann, while insisting the central point of his Christian
on the identity between the historical thoughts' (In Christo Jesu p. 80).
and the exalted Chiist, says: 'Christ See also a suggestive passage in Dean
is for him [Paul] first of all a present Robinson's Ephesians p.
living Being: the "exalted" Christ is
136
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
i. Christ, The Name Christ by itself is also comparatively rare, occurring four
the Christ. timeg a i to gether:
I. ii. 6 Swdpevot ev ftdpei elvai (as XptoroO aTrdoroXot.
I. iii. 2 Tin60ov...8idKovov TOV 6eov ev ra> evayye\ia> TOV xpi<rrov.
I. iv. 1 6 ol vekpol ev Xpi<rra> dvaoT^o-ovTai irpa>Tov.
II. iii. 5 o $ Kvptos KaTevdvvai VJJLWV ray Kap8ias...els TTJV VTrop.ov^v TOV
;. Christ
Tesus.
4. Lord,
the Lord.
On two of these occasions the Name is accompanied by the def. art.,
and, as generally, when this is the case, is used in its official sense of
'the Christ,' 'the Messiah' (I. iii. 2, II. iii. 5: see notes ad loca) 1 . On the
other hand in I. ii. 6 the anarthrous Xpiorov must have its full force as
a Proper Name: it is as emissaries of 'Christ,' belonging to Him, and
despatched on His service, that the Apostles might, had they so willed
it, have claimed their full right of maintenance. Similarly in I. iv. 16
the phrase ol veicpol ev Xpto-roi forms in reality a single idea 'the-dead-
in-Christ. J
The combination Christ Jesus, which denotes the Saviour alike in
His official and personal character, and whose use in the N.T. is con-
fined to St Paul 2 , occurs twice, both times in the characteristic formula
ev Xpio"nj) 'lr)o~ov '.
I. ii. 14 T&V eKK\r)o~i<ov TOV deov TcSi> ov<re3i/ ev TTJ 'louSeu'a ev XpioraJ
Irja'ov.
I. V. 1 8 TOVTO yap 6e\rjp.a 6eov ev Xpiorw 'I^aoC els vp.as.
The early Christian formula 'lyo-ovs Xpioros, where the Names follow
the historical order, and in which stress is laid on the religious significance
Jesus has for believers, is not found in these Epp. at all.
We now come to Lord, or the Lord, the frequency of whose occurrence
entitles it to be regarded as the distinctive Name of these Epp. 3 . It
is found in all twenty-two times, eight times with, and four times without
the article. And though the two usages cannot be so clearly distinguished
1 On the history of the title 'the
Christ ' see Westcott Epp. of St John
p. 189 ff., where it is shown that,
unless in the disputed passage Dan. ix.
25 f., the name is not applied to the
expected Divine King and Saviour of
Israel in the O.T., but is so used in
some of the later books of the Jews.
3 Of. Ac. xvii. 3, where, in accord-
ance with AD, WH. read X/JKTTOS
'ITJO-OUJ in the margin : also xviii. 5,
28 TOV xptcrrdj' 'IijcroOi'.
3 The history of the title ' the Lord'
as a designation of Jesus is attended
with much difficulty, and cannot be
followed out here, but for the Jewish
and Synoptic usage reference may be
made to Dalman Worte p. 266 ff.
(E. Tr. p. 324 ff.), while the new im-
port attaching to 6 fctfptos as a Divine
title, in contrast with its pagan use,
is well brought out by Deissmann in
his New Light on the N.T. p. 79 ff.
Whether St Paul himself intended it
so or not, Deissmann thinks that his
first readers can hardly have failed to
find in the designation, as applied to
Jesus, 'a tacit protest against other
"Lords," or even against the "Lord,"
as the Eoman emperor was beginning
to be called' (p. 81). Cf. the in-
sidious plea addressed to Polycarp on
his way to trial: 'Ti yap K.O.KOV <TTIV
ie Kal<rap, Kal 6v<rcu Kal 5ia-
;' (Eus. H.E. iv. 15. 13).
THE DIVINE NAMES IN THE EPISTLES 137
as in the case of XptoToy and o ^pio-roy, the fact that almost two-thirds
of the occurrences are anarthrous is sufficient to show how completely by
this time the word had come to be recognized as a Proper Name 1 . The
passages are as follows:
I. i. 6 p,ip.rjTal quay eycvT]0r)T Kal TOV Kvpiov.
8 f^rjX 1 ! Xoyos TOV Kvpiov.
iii. 8 eav vp.e'is (TTrjKeTe ev Kvpia.
12 vfj.as 8e 6 Kvpios TrXeovcKrai.
IV. 6 dion eKAlKOC KyplOC rrepl iravruv rovratv.
15 \eyop.ev ev \6ya) Kvpiov.
01 7repi\ei7rop,evoi els rrjv napova-iav TOV Kvpiov.
1 6 avTos o Kvpios ev Ke\evo-p.aTi...Ka.Ta[Biio~Tai.
17 els dTrdvTr)o~iv TOV Kvpiov eis aepa.
OVT<i)S TtdvTOTC O~VV KVpi<p eO~OfJ.fda.
V. 2 T/p-e'pa Kvpiov <as K\nTr)s...epx.eTai.
12 Tovs...7rpo'io-Tap,4vovs vp.a>v ev icvpia).
27 evopitifa vfj.as TOV Kvpiov.
II. i. 9 oXeOpov alvviov ATTO npoctinoy TOY KypfoY-
ii. 2 (as on eveo-TT]KV y jjfie'pa roO Kvpiov.
13 aSeX<pol Hr&TTHMeNOi YTTO Kyp^OY'
iii. I rrpoo~evxfo-0e...'iva 6 \6yos TOV Kvpiov Tpe'^Ty.
3 TTIO-TOS de eo-Tiv 6 Kvpios.
4 7re7roi6ap.v de ev Kvpta) e'(p' V/JMS.
5 o 8e Kvpios KaTevdvvai vfjuav rap Kapo'ias.
1 6 auros 8e o Kvpios Trjs elpr/vrjs.
O KVptOS fJLCTa TTClVTOiV Vp.Q>V.
In some of these passages the Name may seem at first sight to refer
to God rather than to Christ, as e.g. in the passages derived from the LXX.
(I. iv. 6, II. i. 9, ii. 13), but as in the vastly preponderating number of
instances it can only apply to the Son, it is better so to refer it through-
out, in accordance with St Paul's general usage elsewhere 2 .
When we do so, the varied connotations in which we find it used throw
a flood of light upon the depth of meaning which thus early in the
history of the Church had come to be read into the simple title. It
stands no longer, as apparently it generally did for the disciples during
the earthly lifetime of Jesus, for Rabbi or Rabboni, a title which from
St John's interpretation they must have understood in a sense differing
1 In addition to the passages cited 'guardian' (cf. Arcliiv iv. p. 78 ff.),
above, the anarthrous Kvpios with re- Kijpios is very common as a general
ference to Christ is used by St Paul title of respect in addressing officials,
in such passages as Eom. xiv. 6, xvi. or near relatives, e.g. P.Leip. no, i f.
2, r Cor. vii. 22, x. 21, xvi. 10, 2 Cor. (iii.-iv./A.D.) 2apaTrlb)~\v rfj K\y]plq. fji.ov
iii. 16 ff., Eph. ii. 21, &c. It is found ^Tpt'...24 f- T ^ v Kvpiav (JLOV &8e\<pi)v
as a title of address (/ctf/ne) to a super- TTO\\CL irpo<ray6peve laij^cv.
human person in Rev. vii. 14, with 2 Perhaps uniform usage, if we
which Swete (ad loc.) compares such except quotations from the O.T., e.g.
passages from O.T. Apocalyptic as 2 Cor. vi. r;f. : see Stanton Jewish
Dan. x. i6f., Zech. iv. 5, 13. In the and Christian Messiah p. 158 n. 7 .
ri, apart from its legal sense of
138 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
little from 'Master' (xx. 16, cf. Mt. xxiii. 8, xxvi. 25, 49, Mk. x. 51). But,
in accordance with a tendency of which we find clear traces very shortly
after the Resurrection (Ac. ii. 36 Kvptov avrov KOL xpio-roi/ ciroirjo-tv 6 6c6s,
TOVTOV TOV 'Irjo-ovv ov vpels eWavpwo-are), it is now employed as a brief
and comprehensive description of Jesus as the Divine Lord, risen, glorified,
and exalted 1 .
This is seen most clearly in the use of the title in connexion with the
actual Parousia of the Lord and the events associated with it (I. iv. 1 5 ff.,
v. 2, II. ii. 2). But it comes out also in the other references to which the
foregoing passages bear witness.
Thus it is 'the word' of the 'Lord' which the Apostles find to be
sounding forth in every place (I. i. 8, cf. II. iii. i), and to which they look
as embodying a direct communication to themselves (I. iv. 1 5 note). It
is 'in the Lord,' in whom their ideal 'Christian' life is actually lived out 2 ,
that the Thessalonians are encouraged to stand firm (I. iii. 8, cf. II. iii. 3 f.),
and to the same 'Lord' that the Apostles pray to perfect in their converts
the graces (I. iii. 12, II. iii. 5, 16), of which He Himself is the perfect
example.
Nothing indeed can be more significant of the hold which this 'aspect
of Christ has taken of St Paul than that when calling upon the Thessa-
lonians to be 'imitators' of himself and of his fellow-writers, he does not
add, as we might have expected, 'and of Jesus,' or even 'and of the
Christ,' but 'and of the Lord' (I. i. 6), thereby pointing not merely to
the supreme pattern to be copied, but to the living power in which alone
this 'imitation' could be accomplished, and man's highest end successfully
reached 3 .
How completely however the Apostle recognized that the earthly
'Jesus' and the heavenly 'Lord' were one and the same is proved by the
next combination that meets us.
5. Lord That combination is the Lord Jesus, and the first occasion on which
Jesus. it is used throws into striking relief at once the Divine glory and the
human character of Him to whom it refers:
I. ii. 1 5 T<Sit Kai rov Kvpiov a.7roKTivdvT(0v 'irjo'ovv.
He whom the Jews had slain was not only 'the Lord' 'Him whom
1 According to Kennedy E. G. T. ad Christ we are in heaven, in the Lord
Phil. ii. 6: 'This position of Ktfptos we must live on earth' (Kobinson
is the reward and crowning-point of Eph. p. 72).
the whole process of His voluntary 3 ' Paul craved in a perfect Example
Humiliation.' And later (ad ii. n) one who was not only in the graces of
the same writer well remarks : ' The human character all that man should
term "Lord" has become one of the be, but who had attained to that
most lifeless words in the Christian destiny for which man was made,
vocabulary. To enter into its mean- This he found in the Christ in whom
ing and give it practical effect would Man had overcome death, and been
be to recreate, in great measure, the ' crowned with everlasting life ' (Somer-
atmosphere of the Apostolic Age.' ville St Paul's Conception of Christ
2 'The Christ of the privileged posi- p. 291).
tion is the Lord of the holy life : if in
THE DIVINE NAMES IN THE EPISTLES 139
they were bound to serve' (Jowett) He was moreover 'Jesus/ their
Saviour.
And so, from another point of view, when in their Second Ep. the
Apostles refer to the revelation in and through which God's righteous
ai/raTTodoo-ip will be accomplished, it is pointedly described as :
II. i. 7 V TT) CLTTOKaXv^fL TOV KVplOV 'irjO-QV Q7T* OVpaVOV.
The other passages in which the same combination occurs, and which
are equally deserving of study, are:
I. ii. 19 TIS yap T7/ie5i> c\7rls...eij.7rpoo~6V TOV Kvpiov ^a>v 'lr)o~ov fv rfj
avTov 7rapovo~iq;
iii. II o Kvpios fin<H>v 'Irjcrovs Karcv&vvai rfjv odov TJpwv.
13 cv TT) Trapovo-iq TOV Kvpiov 7)/xc5i/ 'irjo-ov,
IV. I TrapaKaXovpev ev Kvpia *Irjo~ov.
2 Tivas irapayyeXias e'8a>Ka/xei/ vfiiv 8ia TOV Kvpiov 'irja-ov.
II. i. 8 T<B vayy\ia> TOV Kvpiov yp.av 'Irjo'ov.
12 OTTCOC 6NAolAC0H TO ONOMA ToC KVplOV Tjjiwi/ 'Ljcrot) N yM?N.
ii. 8 6 ANOMOC, ov 6 Kvpios ['fyaous] <\NeAeT.
Apart from any special considerations which may have led to the use
of this compound Name in the above passages, we cannot forget that in
itself it formed the shortest and simplest statement of the Christian creed
(Ac. xvi. 31, Rom. x. 9) a statement moreover 'so completely in defiance
of the accepted dogma about the Christ, so revolutionary in its effects on
the character of the believer, that it was viewed as springing from Divine
inspiration. " No man," said Paul in writing to the Corinthians, " can say
that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit" (i Cor. xii. 3)V
On the other hand, this makes the comparative rarity of the title in
the Pauline Epistles, other than those to the Thessalonians, all the more
remarkable. In the Ep. to the Galatians it is not found at all. In the
relatively much longer Epp. to the Corinthians it occurs only seven times
(i Cor. v. 4 (bis), 5, xi. 23, xii. 3, 2 Cor. iv. 14, xi. 31), while only a single
instance of its use can be produced from each of the Epp. to the Ephesians
(i. 15), Philippians (ii. 19), and Colossians (iii. 17), the explanation probably
being a growing preference on St Paul's part for the still more compre-
hensive and expressive combination, the Lord Jesus Christ 2 .
Already, indeed, in our Epp. we find this full Name completely estab- 6. Lord
lished, occurring as it does five times in the First and no less than nine
times in the short Second Epistle.
1 Somerville op. cit. p. 12 f. For v^wv, the words being a quotation
the idea of the suffering Messiah as from Isa. viii. 13 with T&V XpurTov
not pre-Christian see Stanton op. cit. substituted for the original avrov. Cf.
p. 122 ff. also xP iffT fc Ktfptos used of an earthly
2 The combination /ctfpios xP LffT0 ^ or king in Lam. iv. 20, and the descrip-
Xpta"r6s Kfyios is not found in the tion of the Messianic King in Pss. Sol.
Pauline Epp. : to the Apostle it would xvii. 36 /cat /ScuriXeus avruv xP lffT os
have been a pleonasm. The latter Kijptos, and in xviii. 8 x/atoroO Kvpiov
form is however found in Lk. ii. ii, all passages, however, where we may
and in i Pet. iii. 15 we read KypiON 5 have a mistranslation of the Heb.
rbv Xpi<rTbi> <\[-iAC<yre 4 rats /caucus r\\ (V^P, 'the Lord's anointed.'
140 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
I. i. I, II. i. I rfj (KK\r)criq Qt(T(raXoviK.ea>v ev...Kvpia> 'ir/o-ov Xpiorou.
3 fJLVT)[J.OVVOVTCS...rfis VTTOfJLOvfjS TTJS \7TtdoS TOV KVplOV TJ/tZO)!/ 'lT)(TOV
Xpiarov.
V. 9 els TTfpnroirjaiv (rc^njpias 8ia rov Kvpiov ijfjLwv 'Irjaov [Xptoroi)]:
cf. II. ii. 14.
23 ev rfj napovo-iq rov Kvpiov yp,wv 'Irjaov Xpiarov : cf. II. ii. I.
28, II. iii. 1 8 rf X^P iS r v Kvpiov yfj.a>v 'l^croC Xptorov fj.(6' (/nera
TTCIVTWV) vpwv.
II. i. 2 XP l? vp-iv KOI flpijvr) airo... Kvpiov 'l^troO Xptorov.
12 Kara rrjv \apiv... Kvpiov 'Irjcrov Xprrou.
ii. 1 6 avroff 8e 6 Kvpios yp,wv 'irj&ovs Xpioros'.
iii. 6 Trapa-yye'XXo/zej/. ..e'i/ ov6p.a.Ti rov Kvpiov 'Irjcrov Xptcrrov.
12 napaKaXovfifv cv <vpiq> 'lr}<rov Xptora).
None of these passages call for special remark beyond the evidence
which they afford of the appropriateness of the full Name with all its
associations for Addresses, Benedictions, and solemn Charges of any kind
a usage which the testimony of the later Epp. abundantly confirms 1 .
i There is a useful paper on ' The apostolischen Zeitalters an der evange-
Chief Pauline Names for Christ ' with lischen Geschichte (in Theologische
Tables by F. Herbert Stead in Exp. Abhandlungen Carl von Weizsacker
in. vii. p. 386 ff. Cf. also von Soden's gewidmet) p. 118 f.
famous Essay on Das Interesse des
NOTE E.
On the history of evayye\iov,
' Euagelio (that we cal the gospel) is a greke worde, & signyfyth good, mery,
glad and ioyfull tydinge, that maketh a mannes hert glad, and maketh hym
synge, daunce, and leepe for ioye.'
Tindale (after Luther) Prologue to N.T., 1525.
EvayyeXtov and fuayyeXi'o/ucu are two of the great words of the
Christian vocabulary, and in view of the facts that the former occurs
eight times in our Epistles, forming indeed the key-word of one of their
most important sections (I. ii. 112), and that the latter is found here
(I. iii. 6), and nowhere else in the Pauline Epistles, in its earlier or more
general sense, a brief Note may be devoted to recalling one or two facts
in their history.
The subst. evayye'Xioi/, which is very rare in the singular in classical Gk. 1 , Usage in
means originally the reward for good tidings (Horn. Od. xiv.,152, 166), classical
and is used with greater frequency in the plural in the sense of thank-
offerings made on behalf of such tidings, e.g. Aristoph. Eq. 654 evayyeXia
Qveiv, Xen. Hell. IV. 3. 14 efiovtivTei <os evayye'Xia; cf. O.G.I.S. 4, 42 f. w-
ayye'Xia K. crayn/pia f[6]v(re.
Afterwards in later Gk. it came to be extended to the good tidings and later
themselves, as in Lucian Asin. 26, and on several occasions in Plutarch.
In the LXX. it is found only once, where it reverts to its original Homeric The LXX.
meaning (2 Regn. iv. 10 o> e'Set /xe dovvai euayyeXia) 2 , while the verb, apart
from the passages in which it is -specially associated with good news
(of victory i Regn. xxxi. 9, of the birth of a son Jer. xx. 1 5), is also found
on several occasions with reference to tidings of any kind (2 Regn. xviii.
19, 20 (bis\ 26), following in this the Heb. "1B>3, which in i Sam. iv. 17
is actually used of mournful tidings (cf. Dalman Worte p. 84 (Engl. Tr.
p. 103) ) 3 .
1 It would appear to have dropped ye\[iui>] (0. G.I.S. 458, 40).
altogether out of general use in the 2 In 2 Eegn. xviii. 22, 25 we should
KOH^. At least I have been able to probably read euayyeXi'a ' (not evay-
find no instance of it in the papyrus y^Xta), in view of v. 20 avty evayyeXias.
collections to which I have access. In 3 It is a curious fact, in view of its
his art. on the title EuayyeXio-Tifc in later history, that evayyeXtfa should
Z.N.T.W. i. p. 336 ff. A. Dieterich be the word used by Agrippina to
cites an inscription from Asia Minor convey to Nero the 'good news' (!)
in which, with reference to the birth- that his attempt upon her life had
day of the <ruTf)p Augustus, it is said failed /cat on <r6otro eu-rjyytXiKe S^ei/
rjp&v 5 T$ /c6o>iy TUV 5i' avrbv wait- aury (Dion Cass. Ixi. 13).
142 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
In addition to these passages, however, evayycXifo/zac is used in the
Psalms to herald the righteousness and salvation of God, as in Ps. xxxix.
(xl.) 10 vr}yye\i(rdfjLr]v diKaioorvvyv, a phrase which Keble renders
Thy righteousness aloud,
Good tidings of great joy I tell.
Of. also Ps. XCV. (xcvi.) 2 evayyeXifco-Qf... <r(*TTJpiov avrov.
And more especially in Deutero-Isaiah we find it in contexts which
pave the way for its full Christian meaning.
Thus in Isa. xl. 9 the prophet summons a messenger to ascend a high
mountain, and proclaim to Sion and Jerusalem the glad tidings of God's
appearing (eV opos v\l/r)\ov avaftidi, 6 evayy\i6ij.(vos 2eicov...o evayye\i6-
p.vos 'lepovo-aXij/u.) 1 , and similarly in Hi. 7 (cf. Nah. i. 15 (ii. i)) we are
called upon to admire the swift-footed messengers, as they carry their
joyful message over the t mountains- of Judah and Jerusalem (OK rrodts
evayyc\ioiJ.evov aKorjv flpjvrjs, coy evayyeXi6/Aei/oy ayaBa). And still more
pointedly this same ' evangelic' office is claimed by the servant of the
Lord himself Hvcvpa Kvpi'ov eV e'/ze, ov ftveKfv expiorev p.e vayy\io'ao'6ai
7TTQ)Xols (lXL i).
The This last passage indeed from our Lord's own use of it in Lk. iv. 18 f.
Gospels. ma y fc e gaid to have set the stamp upon evayye\iop.ai as the most fitting
term to describe the true character of the message of the new Messianic
King. And it is in special relation to that message accordingly that we
find it repeatedly used by St Luke (viii. i, ix. 6 &c.).
It can only be an accident, therefore, that he finds no occasion to use
the corresponding subst. in his Gospel (but cf. Ac. xv. 7 speech of Peter,
xx. 24 speech of Paul), as do both St Mark and St Matthew.
St Mark's usage in this respect is very instructive, as apart from i. i
where we seem to have a trace of fvayyeXiov in its later meaning of
a * record' of the Lord's life and words (see below), the word is used in
v. 14 to draw attention to the nature of the proclamation of Jesus (Krjpva-
aa>v TO cvayycXiov TOV 0eo{5), as contrasted with the proclamation of His
forerunner (v. 4 icrjpvo-o-wv /SaTrrttr/xa /xerai/oias), and again in v. 1 5 to indicate
the ' nucleus' of Christian teaching embodied in this proclamation (mo-revcTf
ev T ei5ayyfXio>: see Swete's notes ad loco). And in the same way St
Matthew employs it with reference to the glad news of the 'kingdom' in
which the Messianic hopes and blessings are centred and fulfilled (iv. 23,
ix. 35, xxiv. 14, cf. xxvi. 13).
Other It is all the more surprising, therefore, that in the case of the other
N.T writers of the N.T., with the exception of St Paul, the use of the
writings. ^ wo wor( j s j s by no means so common as we might have expected.
Neither St James in his Epistle, nor St John in his Gospel and Epistles,
uses either term, though the latter in the Apocalypse employs the subst.
once (xiv. 6), and the verb in the active twice (x. 7, xiv. 6) 8 . St Peter
i In the original Heb. it is Sion and Pss. Sol. xi. 2 tcrjpv&Te ev '
Jerusalem who act as 'evangelists': <^WVT\V eiJa-yyeXt^o/x^vou, Sri
cf. Aq. Sin. Th. evayye\io/j.frr) Sta^. 6 0e6s 'Icrpar/X v rfj e7rt<r/co7r^ aftruiv.
For an echo of the LXX. rendering see 2 For the rare active
ON EYAfTEAION, EYArTEAIZOMAI 143
in his First Epistle has the subst. once (iv. 17), and the verb three
times (i. 12, 25, iv. 6): and in the Epistle to the Hebrews the verb occurs
twice (iv. 2, 6).
In the case of St Paul, however, both words occur with a frequency, St Paul,
which shows how strongly he had been attracted by them, as the most
fitting terms to describe the message with which he had been entrusted :
and it is to his influence accordingly that we must look for the prominence
which they and their equivalents have since gained in the language of
Christendom 1 .
Thus the subst. cvayye\iov is found no less than sixty times in his
Epistles, occurring in all except the Epistle to Titus : while the verb, apart
from its exceptional usage in i Thess. iii. 6, is found twenty times (once
in a quotation from the LXX.) in its distinctive Christian sense.
Naturally in so widely extended a list of examples, the two words
are used with a considerable variety of application, as when the subst.
is used absolutely as a convenient summary of the whole contents of the
Christian message (Rom. x. 16 &c.), or defined more particularly in its
relation to God (i Thess. ii. 2 &c.), or to Christ (i Thess. iii. 2 &c.), or to the
Apostle himself as entrusted with its proclamation (i Thess. i. 5, 2 Thess.
ii. 14 &c.). In another important set of passages St Paul draws attention
to characteristic aspects of this message by such phrases as T) aXrjBeia r.
vayye\iov (Gal. ii. 14), or 77 Trurris r. evayyeXiou (Phil. i. 27).
Of the later usage of evayyeXiov to denote the ' book' in which Ecclesi-
Christ's teaching is recorded, as distinguished from that teaching in
itself, there is no instance in the N.T., unless perhaps in Mk. i. i dp* 1 ?
r. evayyfXiov 'irjcrov Xpio-roC (cf. Hos. i. 2 apx*) \6yov Kvpiov ev 'Qafjf} 2 , and
we must look for the earliest witnesses in this direction to such passages
as Didache viii. 2 cos eWXevtrei/ 6 Kvptos ev ro> evayyeXicp aurov, XV. 4 cos fX ere
fv rip fvayyc\ico TOV Kvpiov r^nov^ where a written Gospel (apparently
St Matthew's from the nature of the accompanying citations) seems to
which is found only in later Gk., see version of Bede's Eccl. Hist. 122),
the passage already cited from Dion and in Aelfric's Homily on Mt. xi. 4 ff.
Cassius, and cf. P.Amh. 2, 16 (a 'and ftearfan bodiaft godspel.' For
Christian hymn, iv./A.D.) ircucrlv 5' other examples of this use of the word
[e]vyyt\i{e X^ywp, Ilrcoxot f3acn\c-iav see A. S. Cook Biblical Quotations in
Note also the interesting use of the Old English Writers (1898) Index s.v.
adj. with reference to the Lord's 'godspell.' According to Skeat (Con-
Prayer in the Christian amulet B.G.U. cise Etym. Diet., 1901) the A.S. god-
954, 13 ff. (vi./A.D.) STTWJ vy(.a.vu...eiTreiv spell ' was originally * good spell,' a tr.
ev of eiJ ayy\(,ov.
TTjv cvayyeXiiciiv (ayye\iKrjv Pap.) e&xh" z In Kev. xiv. 16 (&\\ot> ayye\ov...
[oirrws? Ilarep r}fj.Qv ...']: cf. Wilcken fyovTa etayytXiov alwvtov etayycXicrai),
Archiv i. p. 431 ff. which is also cited in this connexion,
1 The ordinary Engl. rendering g t John has in view not the Gospel
'gospel' is the modern form of the as a whole, but rather a gospel which
Anglo-Saxon 'godspell' = ' God (i.e. i s a particular aspect of it, the gospel
Christ) story,' as may be seen in King o f the Parousia and the consumma-
Alf red's translation of 2 Cor. iv. 4 t ion which the Parousia will bring'
'onllhtnes Crlstes godspelles' (in his (Swete ad loc.).
144 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
be clearly intended, or Ign. Philad. v. TT poo-fay wv r (vayye\ia> as
'iqo-ou /cat roTs drroo-roXois a5s 7rpeav3vrepia> KK\r)aria$, where Ignatius dis-
tinguishes between two classes of writings included in our N.T. ro ei5-
ayyeXiov the Gospel or Gospels, and ot airocrroXoi the Apostolic Epistles 1 .
The plural fvayycXia with direct reference to our four canonical Gospels
is first found in the well-known passage in Just. M. Apol. i. 66 ol yap airo-
(TTciXoi tv rols yfvo^fvois V7T* avTwv dnoiJ.VTjfjLovfVfjLao'iV) a KoXelrai cvayyeXia.
In the same way the title evayytXio-r^s, which in the N.T. describes
the man who brought the first news of the Gospel-message to any new
region (Ac. xxi. 8, Eph. iv. u, 2 Tim. iv. 5; cf. Ens. H.E. v. 10. 2 of
Pantaenus), was afterwards applied to the 'writer' of a 'Gospel,' as by
Hippolytus and Origen 2 .
1 For a different interpretation of i. p. 336 ff. Curtius (Ges. Abhand-
the passage, according to which rb lungen i. p. 532 f.) recalls, as illustrat-
evayytXiov retains its original sense of ing the Hellenistic practice of laying
'the teaching,' not 'the book,' see special stress on the first proclamation
Bishop Ligktfoot's note ad loc. of a happy discovery, that the shepherd
2 Cf. Encycl.Bibl.s.v. 'Evangelist,' Pixodaros, who accidentally found the
and on the heathen use of the title see stone-bridge at Ephesus, received the
especially Dieterich's art. in Z.N.T.W. heroic name Euangelos (Vitruv. x. 7).
NOTE F.
Ilapovcria. '
The three words napova-ia, enxpdvc m, airoKaXv^is are used in our Epistles
with reference to the return of the glorified Lord. All have interesting
histories. And it may be well briefly to recall these, in order to determine
as exactly as possible the different shades of meaning between them.
In classical Gk. the word" irapova-ia denotes generally presence, e.g. Classical
Aesch. Pers. 171 o/i/za yap So/za>i/ vopifa deo-TTOTOv 7rapov<riav, Thuc. vi. 86 Gk.
TroXei fie /j,(iovi rfjs ^/Jicrepas Trapovcrias ( = ^fj.c^v rS>v irapovTa>v\ but it is also
found in the closely-related sense of arrival, e.g. Eur. Ale. 209 aXX' dpi
KOI TTJV cryv ayyeXeS irapovo-iav, Thuc. i. 128 BvdvTiov yap f\a>v rf) Trpore'pa
Trapovcria.
The same usage may also be illustrated from later Gk. Thus in Polyb. Later Gk.
iii. 41. i certain events are summarized as having taken place from the
beginning of the war eW els rfjv 'A.WI&OV napovo-iav l until the arrival of
Hannibal,' and further on in the same chap. (8) Publius, when informed
of the arrival of the enemy (irapflvat, rovs vrrfvavriovs) is said not to have
believed it 8ia TO rd^os rr/s napovo-ias. In xviii. 31. 4, on the other hand,
the reference is rather to a coming that has not yet taken place, C. Cor-
nelius counselling Philip to send ambassadors to Rome Iva ^ 0/07 TOIS
Kaipols e(pcdpev<j>v dnoKapadoKflv rr)v 'Avrto^ov Trapov(riav l .
With this general usage of the word may be compared such a passage The
from the Kotvij as P.Oxy. 486, 1 5 (ii./A.D.), where a certain Dionysia, who Papyri.
is engaged in a lawsuit, petitions for leave to return home as the care
of her property demands her 'presence' (XPJJ&I p-ov T^S 7rapova-ia[s]):
cf. P.Par. 45, 5 (ii./B.C.) KO. avrbs TrapeVo/xru ra^v, 46, 18 (ii./B.C.) Trapa-
^p^/na Trape'tro/iai Trpos <rc.
But along with this it is important to notice that irapova-ia occurs
frequently in the papyri as a kind of terminus technicus with reference
to the 'visit' of the king, or some other official. Thus in P.Petr.
ii. 39 (e), 1 8 (iii./B.c.), as emended (see note on I. ii. 19), it is used of
a royal visit by a Ptolemy to a district which was mulcted to provide a
1 Cf. the verb in Diod. Sic. xvii. 8 told him ' a passage that is of signi-
Trepl ravra 5' SVTOS O.VTOV, TrapTj<rav rives ficance for Lk. xiii. i (Field Notes.
dirayyeXXovrcs TTO\\OVS TU>V 'EXXiyvwi' p. 65).
'there came some that
M. THESS. 10
146
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Greek
O.T.
Jewish
apoca-
lyptic
writings.
y, and similarly in P.Tebt. 48, 13 f. (ii./B.c.) we hear of an extra
levy of wheat imposed rrpbs TTJV TOV /3a<nXeooy Trapovo-iav: see also P.Tebt.
116 (ii./B.c.), an account including items incurred lv TO(IS-) /3a(o-tXeW)
jrapovo-ias (57), and P.Grenf. n. 14 (b), 2 (iii./B.c.) announcing preparations
eVi rf)v irapovarlav TTJV Xpv<ri7nrov, and cf. Dittenberger Sylloge 2 226, 84 if.
(iii./B.C.) rc5i/ 6e apxovroiv vvvayayovTuv cK\rjo-iav KOL TTJV re -rrapovo-iav t/z-
(pavio-avTcw TOV /SatriXeW 1 .
Other instances might easily be given, but these are sufficient to
suggest an interesting comparison with the N.T. usage of the word to
denote the Parousia of their King or Lord for which His people are
to make ready. And we fall back upon them the more gladly because
for this particular sense of the word the Jewish sacred writings give
us little help.
In the LXX. napovo-ia is found only once as a variant for nopfia (BS)
in the A text of 2 Esdr. xii. 6 ( = Neh. ii. 6) ens TTOTC ea-rai 77 Trapovo-ia (Tou,
and the same untechnical sense marks its few occurrences in the Apo-
crypha, as when in Judith x. 18 the report is spread of the 'arrival' or
'presence' of Judith (; Trapovcria avrrjs) in the camp of Holofernes, or as
when Judas, on hearing of the inroad of Nicanor, communicates to his
followers Triv napovo-iav TOV orparoTre'Sou (2 MacC. viii. 12; cf. 2 Mace. XV.
21, 3 Mace. iii. 17).
Nor is the case substantially different in the later apocalyptic writings.
It is true that in Apoc. Bar. xxx. i 'And it will come to pass after these
things, when the time of the advent of the Messiah is fulfilled, and He
will return in glory,' Dr Charles draws attention to the fact that the word
translated 'advent' (^&u^\*^n) was an ordinary rendering of napovaia,
which may therefore have been found in the Gk. version of the book.
And with this there may be compared two passages in the Test. xii. pair.
in the first of which the word is used with reference to God (Jud. xxii. 3
<os irapovo-ias TOV 0eov TTJS 8i<aiouvvr)s\ and in the second with reference
to John Hyrcanus regarded as the prophet of the Highest, i.e. the
Messiah (Lev. viii. 15 j 6*e irapovo-ia avTOv dyairr]Trj eVni/ as npocp^Trjs).
But these instances and I have not been able to discover any others 2
are hardly sufficient in themselves to suggest an established use of the
term with reference to the Messiah in Jewish writers 3 .
1 As showing the burden that these
and similar 'visits' often imposed, the
petition of the priests of Isis at Philae
may be recalled in which they com-
plain that the officials resorting to
the temple avayKa^ovai ^/*as Tra/joucr/as
atrrois iroieiffdai ot/x fK6vras (C.I.G. iii.
4896 (ii./B.c.)): see further Wilcken
Ostraka i. p. 274!!., and for an ad-
ditional ex. of the word cf. Wilcken
Ostr. 1372 (i./A.D.) 7rupo0...oi5 Xa/3ej
dTTO df)ffavpov els TTJV Trapovfftav <J>X</cos
(for 3>\dKKOV Tjycfji&vos) .
2 In the interesting passage in Test.
Abraham xiii. A where Abel is ap-
pointed judge fJ.^xP L T ^ s fteydXys Kal
vob% v avTov [.sc. 6eov\ irapovdlas, we
read also of a devT^pa rrapovvia when
all souls Kpid-f)<rovTai virb T&V 5c65e/ca
<j>v\CJv TOU 'I<rpa-/i\, but a Christian
interpolator has evidently been at
work here (see James The Testament
of Abraham p. 50, in Texts and
Studies ii. 2).
3 Cf. Teichmann Paul. Vorstel-
lungen von Auferstehung u. Gericht
TTAPOYCIA. ETTI<t>ANEIA. ATTOKAAYYIC H7
In these circumstances it would seem as if for the definite N.T. The
usage of the term to describe the coming of the glorified Christ, we Gospels.
must look directly to the impression produced upon His disciples' minds
by the words of the Lord Himself. For though neither in St Mark nor
in St Luke is He represented as having used the term, it is found four
times in the great eschatological discourse in Matt. xxiv. (vv. 3, 27, 37, 39).
And without discounting the possibility of the hand of a later redactor,
there is after all no reason why the first Evangelist should not on this
occasion supply the word, which most faithfully represents the original
language of Jesus.
If so, we have at once a full and satisfactory explanation of the fact The N.T.
that the term -napovo-ia is definitely employed as a term, techn. by all the Epistles.
Apostolic writers. St James uses it twice in this sense (v. 7, 8), St Peter
or whoever wrote the Second Epistle of that name thrice (2 Pet. i. 16,
iii. 4, 12), St John once (i Jo. ii. 28), while by St Paul, apart from several
occurrences with the more general meaning of ' presence' as opposed to
'absence' (i Cor. xvi. 17, 2 Cor. vii. 6f., Phil. i. 26, ii. 12; cf. 2 Cor. x. 10),
the word is used seven times of the ' Parousia' of the Lord Jesus (i Thess.
ii. 19, iii. 13, iv. 15, v. 23, 2 Thess. ii. i, 8, i Cor. xv. 23), and once of its
mocking counterpart (2 Thess. ii. 9). And though in all these passages the
primary reference is eschatological, to a definite coming that had not yet
been fully manifested, it is impossible not to notice how appropriate the
word was to emphasize the nearness and the certainty of that 'coming.'
So near was it that it was not so much a 'coming' as already a 'presence'
of the Lord with His people, a permanent presence moreover, which not
even absence from sight for a little while could really interrupt, and which,
when fully re-established, would last for ever 1 .
To complete our survey of the history of the word it may be added Ecclesi-
that this technical use of the term has become firmly established in astical
the ecclesiastical writers, though by them it is extended also to the wnters -
First Coming of the Lord, a use which is never found in the N.T.
Thus Ignatius Philad. ix. writes calpcrov e ri e^fi TO euayye'Atoi/, TTJV
7rapovo~iav TOV craTrjpos rjfjiwv Irjcrov Xpio-rov, TO 7rd6os, avrrjv rr]V avao'Taa'iv,
where the position of Trapoucri'ai/ shows that the Incarnation must be
intended, while in Justin Martyr the teaching regarding the double
Parousia is fully developed: see Dial. 14 (Otto ii. 32 D), 49 (n. 158 B), and
especially 31 (n. 98 E) 8vo Trapovo-ias avrov yevTjcr(r6ai fr)yrj(rap.r)v, fj.iav pev
p. n n. 1 . According to Volz Jud. of the King, where His people ever
Eschat. p. 189, the term, techn. for behold Him, and are ever shielded
the coming of God on the Great Day by Him. During the present im-
seems rather to have been ^Tricr/coTr??. perfect state He is not so actually
1 Cf. Ewald Die drei ersten Evan- and fully present as His people hope
.gelien p. 333 (though it should be and long for;... even when the expres-
noted that the actual expression sion more immediately denotes the
.Shekinah never occurs in the O.T.) : advent, it still always includes the
' The irapova-ia Xpio-roD perfectly cor- idea of a permanent dwelling from that
responds with the n3*3tp of God in coming onwards' (quoted by Cremer
the O.T. the permanent dwelling ? 2 3 8 )-
IO 2
148
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
tv rj f^CKfVTijdrj v<p* i/'/utor, dfvrepav Se ore em.yvuxr(rdf els ov
Cf. also Tertull. Apol. 21, Clem. Recogn. i. 49, 69.
Later Gk.
The
Inscrip-
tions.
Greek
O.T.
The subst. f-mcpdveia is not found at all in classical, but is frequent in
later Gk. to denote any sudden appearance or manifestation (e.g. of the
dawn Polyb. iii. 94. 3, of the enemy i. 54. 2), and is used more particularly
with reference to the intervention of the higher powers on behalf of their
worshippers. Thus in Diodorus Siculus we read of the honours due to
Isis dm TTJV *v TCUS OepaTreiais enKpavfiav (i. 25), and in Dion. Hal. Antt.
ii. 68. i it is declared to be a worthy act rfjv firi<f>dvetav io-Toprjo-ai rrjs &as,
fjv fTredeit-aro rais ddiKws ey&rjQeicrais napdevots.
A similar use is found in the inscriptions where the word is employed
not only of divine assistance (e.g. O.G.LS. 331, 52 rds e avrov [TOV Atos
TOV 2a/3aiov] yevopcvas enKpavcias), but is extended in characteristic fashion
to the accession of a Roman Emperor as in Inscriptions of Cos 391 [fji/iavroC
TTpaJrov ray [Faijou Kai<rapos...c7ri(pavfias. In Magn. 1570, 6 the predicate
of f/jxpaveo-TciTos [deus] is bestowed on Claudius 1 .
In the canonical books of the LXX. the word is found only three times,
in passages (2 Regn. vii. 23, Esth. v. i, Amos v. 2) none of which throws much
light on its special meaning. But in 2 and 3 Maccabees it occurs several
times with reference to God's supernatural interpositions ras e ovpavov
yfvo/jLfvas eiTKpavcias (2 Mace. ii. 21) on behalf of His people. Thus in
2 Mace. iii. 24, on the appearance of Heliodorus to confiscate the money
in the Treasury, 'the Sovereign of spirits and of all authority caused
a great manifestation (errKpaviav /zf-yaX^i/),' so that all who had presumed
to come in with him were stricken with fear; and in xiv. 15 the Jews are
represented as making solemn supplication to Him "Who, alway ' making
manifest His presence, upholdeth them that are His own portion' (per
firicpavcias dvnXa^avop,vov rfjs eavTOv /nfpi'Sos): cf. also 2 Mace. xii. 22,
3 Mace. ii. 9, v. 8, 51. In 2 Mace. v. 4 the word is used of an apparition
announcing misfortune 2 .
With this use of the subst. there should also be compared the fre-
1 See farther Thieme Die Inschrif-
ten von Magnesia p. 34 ff. Moulton
(Prolegg. p. 102 n. 3 ) has pointed out
that eTri<f>avr)5 as the regular appella-
tion of Ptolemy V. can no longer
be translated 'illustrious,' but is
= ' manifest,' much in the sense of
the Sanskrit Avatar; cf. O.G.I. S. 90,
6 (Rosetta stone) 0eoD 'Ewi^avovs Ei>xa-
piffTov with Dittenberger's note, where
a number of parallel passages are cited.
See also Schiirer 3 i. p. 192 f.
2 In his valuable note on the use of
^Trt^aveia with reference to God in the
Journal of Biblical Literature and
Exegesis i. p. i6ff. (reprinted in Criti-
cal Essays (Boston, 1888) p. 454 ff.),
Prof. Ezra Abbot draws attention to
the instructive example from the
Additions to Esther Text B vii. 6
(Fritzsche Lib. Apocr. Vet. Test. p.
71) where the sun and light of Morde-
cai's dream are said to represent eTri-
(f)dvLa TOV deov in the deliverance of
Jews. Similar instances of the word
are also quoted from Josephus, as
when in connexion with the dividing
of the waters of the Red Sea Moses is
described as opuv r^v eTTL^avetav TOV
deov (Antt. n. 339 (xvi. 2)).
TTAPOYCIA. EHI^ANEIA. ATTOKAAYYIC 149
quent use of the verb in the Psalms to denote God's making His face to
shine upon His people, e.g. Ps. xxx. (xxxi.) 17, cxvii. (cxviii.) 27; while the
corresponding adj. enifpav^s is applied by the LXX. translators to the
great day of the Lord in. Joel ii. 31 (iii. 4), Hab. i. 7, Mai. i. 14 (cf. Judg.
xiii. 6 A) evidently in the sense of ' manifest' of all, through a misunder-
standing on their part of the original Hebrew K"VU, * terrible.'
In the N.T. errxpavfia is used only by St Paul, and, with the ex- The
ception of 2 Thess. ii. 8, only in the Pastoral Epp. (i Tim. vi. 14, 2 Tim. Pauline
i. 10, iv. i, 8, Tit. ii. 13). In all these passages it is rendered 'ap- pp *
pearing,' both in A.V. and R.V., and except in 2 Tim. i. 10 (cf. Tit. ii. n,
iii. 4 eTTffpdvr)), where it is used of Christ's First Coming (8ia T. cnKpavcias
r. o-wrrjpos 77/i&>i/ Xpio-rov 'lr)aov\ has a definite eschatological reference.
The same is the case in 2 Thess. ii. 8 KaTapyjo-ei T. emfpavfiq T. Trapovcrias
aurov, where the A.V., probably on account of the following napova-ias,
wrongly renders it 'brightness' (Vg. illustration*) 1 , for which the Revisers
have substituted 'manifestation.' This last is probably as accurate a ren-
dering as we can get for the word in English, involving as it does the
idea of something striking a conspicuous intervention from above 2 .
In ecclesiastical writers errKpdveia has the same double reference as Ecclesi-
7rapov<7i'a, and when referring to the First Coming of Christ is sometimes astical
distinguished by a characterizing epithet such as evaapicos (Eus. Demonstr.
Evang. viii. p. 226) 3 . Hence too it came to be applied not only to the day
sacred to Christ's Nativity (e.g. Epiphan. de Haer. ii. ad fin. OVTC eV rfj
V^epa TWV enKpavitov, orf fyevrjdr) fv vapid o Kvpios), but also to the day of His
Baptism as in the oration of Gregory of Nazianzus inscribed els TO. 'EnKpdvia.
For its reference to the Second Coming it is sufficient to refer to the letter
of Dionysius, preserved in Eus. If. E. vii. 24, where in close connexion with
TTJS evdo^ov Kcil d\r)6a}s evdeov TOV Kvpiov rj/juav 7ri<pavfia$ we are assured
of TTJS ijfJifTepas < vfKputv dvao'Taa'cuts KOL TTJS irpos avrov tTncrvvaywyfis Kal
o/xoicoo-fcoj. From Greg. Naz. Orat. iii. p. 77 A it would appear that the word
was also applied by ecclesiastical writers to saints or martyrs.
iii.
'ATToxaXv^is-, though not wholly 4 , is distinctively a Biblical word, and is Greek
used euphemistically for HpV in i Regn. xx. 30 (ets ala-x^v dnoKaXv^e^s - T *
fji-qrpos a-ov\ and metaphorically in the apocryphal book of Sirach, where it
is applied to the revelation of a man's deeds in the hour of death (xi. 27
fv (rvvT\fiq dvdptoTrov d7roKd\v\l/is Zpytov avrov), and to the revealing of
secrets (xxii. 22 /zwrnypiou aTroKaXv^fcoy, xlii. I dnQKaXv^fW \6ycov Kpvcpiav}.
The corresponding verb dnoKaXvirTfiv is however much more common,
1 Alford aptly recalls Milton's fine 4 It occurs a few times in Plutarch
line, 'far off His coming shone.' (e.g. Mor. 70 F). To the class, and
2 Chrys. Horn. ix. in II. ad Tim.: late Gk. instances of the verb given by
'ETri^areia 5e X^yercu 5ta TO etrdvw the dictionaries may now be added the
0cuVe<70cu, /cat avudev dvar^XXftv. new class, fragment in P.Oxy. 413,
3 Suid.: 'ETTt^ciJ'eia...^ roD (rwr^pos 166 f. a[7ro/c]aXvi/'OJ' IVa l'5w avrrjv.
rjffov XpicrroO ^cra/3/cos oiKOvo/j-ia.
ISO THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
and is already definitely applied to the revelations of God to men, e.g.
I Regn. ii. 27 rdde Aeyft Kuptos 'ATTOKoXvfpdcls dTTKa\v(pdrjv, iii. 21 aVe-
Ka\v(f)0T] Kvpios Trpos 2a/iou?;X, and especially such passages from the
Theodotion version of Daniel as ii. 19 ev opa/uart rr/s WKTOS TO /j.va-r^piov
a7TCKa\v<p6r), 22 aVoKaAvTrret /3a$ea KOI aVoKptKpa, 28 debs fv ovpava> diro-
N.T. These passages, combined with our Lord's own words Lk. xvii. 30
Kara TO. aura carat 77 rj^epa 6 vibs rov dvdpccTrov aVoKaAvTrrerai, give
the key to the use of the subst. in the N.T., where it is applied ex-
clusively to communications that proceed from God or Christ, or to
the Divine unveiling of truths that have been previously hidden. It is
thus the exact correlative of /Ltvo-rrjptoi/ as that word is used in the
N.T. 1 , as when in .the Gospels it is employed with reference to our Lord
Himself as the light given to dispel heathen darkness (Lk. ii. 32 <pe3? fls
aTroKoXv^iv *6v<i>v\ or sums up the visions granted to St John on Patmos
under the significant title 'ATTOKOXV^LS 'tyo-oC Xpto-roC (Rev. i. i). Similarly
in i Pet. we read of the 'praise and glory and honour' which are to be
made known ev drroKaXv^ci 'Irjo-ov Xpio-Toi> (i. 7; cf. v. 13, iv. 13), where,
as in i Thess. ii. 19 (see note), the preposition is not to be understood
simply as referring to a contemporaneous event, but rather as implying
the means 'in and through' which the finding unto praise spoken of is to
be brought about (cf. Hort i Pet. p. 44).
Pauline The word is, however, pre-eminently a Pauline one, occurring in all the
Epp. groups of the Epp. except the Pastorals, and always in its higher or spiritual
sense. Thus it is 8t drroKaXv^ew 'Ir/o-oG Xpto-roC (Gal. i. 12) that the
Apostle himself received the Gospel, and it is through a similar revelation
that he elsewhere claims to have been entrusted with the Divine secret of
the extension of that Gospel to the Gentiles (Eph. iii. 3 Kara aVo/<aAv\//'ii'
eyvupio-Or} poi rb pvcrTripiov, cf. Gal. ii. 2). The whole of Christianity indeed
according to the Pauline view may be summed up as 'a revelation of
a mystery' (Rom. xvi. 25 diroKahv^nv pvaTrjpiov}, and consequently oVoKa-
\v^is is in its turn the means by which men enter into the knowledge
of its highest truths (Eph. i. 17 nvevp-a ao<j)[as KOI aTTOKoXv^eus fv eVtyz/too-et
auroO, cf. i Cor. xiv. 6, 26, 2 Cor. xii. i, 7). As however this knowledge
is at present necessarily limited, it is to the final ' revelation of our Lord
Jesus Christ' (i Cor. i. 7 T. diroicaXv\lsiv T. Kvpiov r)/i. 'l^o-oO XpioToC) that we
are taught to look for the complete fulfilment of the work begun now.
Then, in accordance with the 'revelation of the righteous judgment of
God* (Rom. ii. 5 diroicdXfyfas SiKaioKpiorias T. 6eo\)\ justice will be meted
out to all (2 Thess. i. 7), and the whole creation will rejoice in ' the revelation
of the sons of God' (Rom. viii. 19 r. diroK.d\vtyiv T. viuv T. Beov} 2 .
In all these passages it will be noticed that, notwithstanding a con-
siderable latitude of application, the fundamental idea of the word is
always the same an unveiling of what already exists, though hitherto
1 Eeference may again be made to to the Study of the Gospels 6 (1881) p. 9
Dean Armitage Robinson's valuable n. 1 , on which the above summary
note, Eph. p. 234 ff. is based, also the same writer's Eph.
2 Cf. Westcott's note, Introduction p. i;8f.
TTAPOYCIA. ETTI<t>ANEIA. ATTOKAAYYIC 151
it has been hidden, or at best only imperfectly known: an unveiling
which, though it may pass through a long and varying process, finally
reaches its climax in the full revelation of the now unseen, though ever-
present Lord.
The religious history of the word outside the Canon need not detain Jewish
us. In view of what has been said, it will be obvious how readily it lent 1 . 1
itself as a title to the large class of writings, both Jewish and Christian,
which, dealing with what lay outside the immediate range of human ex- lypses.
perience and knowledge, aimed at exhorting and consoling those to whom
they were addressed in the dark days on which they had fallen. ' Tracts
for the Times,' as they have been called, they were also ' Tracts for Bad
Times 1 ,' and with widely-differing degrees of insight sought by the aid of
symbolism and eschatological speculation to disclose to men the hidden
but ever-present rule and purposes of God 2 .
iv. Summary.
If we have been correct in the foregoing distinctions between the General
three words, it will be seen that, while all may be used to describe d . is '
the Return of the now exalted and glorified Lord, they do so from three
distinct points of view.
The first, irapova-la, lays stress on the 'presence' of the Lord with His irapov<ria
people, which, while existing now, will only at that Return be completely
realized.
The second, eVi^ai/eta, draws attention to His 'presence' as the result
of a sublime 'manifestation' of the power and love of God, coming to
His people's help.
The third, dnoKaXv^ts, reminds us that the 'manifestation 7 is also and d
a "'revelation' of the Divine plan and purpose which has run through
all the ages, to find its consummation at length in the ' one far-off divine
event,' to which the whole Creation is slowly moving.
1 Cf. C. A. Scott, Revelation (in Full particulars, with references to the
The Century Bible) p. 27. relative literature, will be found in
2 For a brief account of these Schiirer 3 iii. p. 181 ff.
' apocalypses ' see Swete Apoc. p. xviiiff .
NOTE G.
On araKTeco and its cognates.
i . "Ara/c-
The three words dra/ereo), araKros-, and draKrws are only found in the
Thessalonian Epistles amongst the writings of the N.T. In these cir-
cumstances it may be well to bring together a few passages illustrating
their usage both from classical and from later Gk., more particularly
as the exact meaning to be attached to them has an important bearing
upon the view we form of a certain section of the Thessalonian Church
at the "time of St Paul's writing.
In doing so we begin with the adj. arafcros, which means primarily
'out of order,' 'out of place/ and hence, like the Latin inordinatus, is
TOS.
writS^ 1 readily employed as a military term to denote a soldier who does not
keep the ranks, or an army advancing in disarray. It is found in this
sense in Xen. Oec. viii. 4, where an O.TO.KTOS is contrasted with a TfTay^evrj
o-rpcmd, and a suggestive example of the same usage is afforded by Dem.
Phil. i. 50, where the great orator indignantly condemns the want of
preparation with regard to the war ara*mz d&op&ora dopto-ra a-navra
compared with the care bestowed ovdev di>ee'rao-roi/ ov' doptoroi/ upon
games and festivities.
From this the transition is easy to disorderly or irregular living of
any kind as in Plato's reference to UTUKTOI rjdovai (Legg. ii. 660 B, cf. vii.
806 c), or in Plutarch's rebuke of those who, neglecting a ' sane and well-
ordered life' (vyiaivovTos K. TfTa.yp.evov /3tou), hurl themselves headlong into
'disorderly and brutal pleasures' (TCIS OTOKTOVS K. dv8pcnroo'a>o'fi$ r/Soi/ds-,
de lib. educ. 7 p. 5 A; cf. d/coXao-ra AC. ara*ra, de def. orac. 20
p. 420 E).
Greek The word is not found in the canonical books of the LXX., but in
O.T. Sap. xiv. 26 the corresponding subst. occurs in the phrase ydjueoi/ dra^'a,
with which are associated /iot^em K. aVe'Xyeta. On the other hand the
more primary sense of the adj. is well illustrated in 3 Mace. i. 19,
where it is used to describe the 'disorderly rush' (8p6p.ov UTUKTOV} of the
newly-married brides into the street at the siege of Jerusalem 1 .
1 An interesting use of #TO,KTOS,
though it throws no light on the
meaning of the word in our Epp. , is
afforded by the Tribal Lists in the
Inscriptions, where it is applied to a
city that has been granted, but has
not yet exercised the privilege of self-
assessment (e.g. C.I. A. i. 243, 36 &TO.K-
TOS 7r6Xt$ : see Eoberts-Gardner p.
290). E#TCIKTOS is found as a proper
name in an inscription discovered at
Thessalonica A(oikioj) 2^rtos EtfraK-
TOS (no. 114, Heuzey et Daumet p.
280).
ON ATAKTEH AND ITS COGNATES 153
The usage of dra/trco? naturally follows similar lines, as when in Thuc. 2. 'Ara/c-
iii. 1 08 we read that many of the Peloponnesians, after the defeat of Olpae,
perished when hurrying ara/crwy K. ovfavl KOO-/XQ) to reach their camp,
whereas the Mantineans through the excellence of their order (/zaXto-ra
gwreraynevoi) were able to effect a retreat 1 : while for the more meta-
phorical sense we can point to such a phrase as ^X^/neXeS? K. arcucrus in
PlatO Tim. 30 A, or to Isocr. Evagr. 197 E ovde TTpos ev dramas ovtf dvu-
/za'Xcoy diaK.tfjLvos, aXX' o/uotW ras ev rols e'pyois 6fMo\oyias (Zanep ras ev rols
\6yots <jia<pv\aTTO>v.
A late example to much the same effect is afforded by the dis- Late Gk.
covery in the Fayum of the fragment of a philosophic work concerning
the gods, belonging to the second century, in which the words occur del
TO>V \av\6pwTTtov apx^iv [ro>f] Trpdgecov lfflfVov}f 8e evdvs ccpeTreo-Oai, OVK
draKTtos fj-evroi aXX' ei(JLa[p'\iJ.e[va)s]. roO yap aVro^<BS...(P.Fay. 337, l6ff.).
We come now to aram-cu. Like its adj., it is frequently applied 3- 'Ara/c-
to soldiers marching out of order, or quitting the ranks (e.g. Xen. Cyr. classical
vii. 2. 6), and hence is extended to every one who does not perform his writers.
proper duty, as in Xen. Oec. v. 15 where the draKTovvres are contrasted
with rols TTOIOIHTIV a del irotelv. Cf. P.Par. 26, 15 (ii./B.C.) vne$fiav 009 av
rfjiv TU>V
In later Greek this ethical sense is very common, as when, by Philo- Later Gk.
stratus I., the verb was applied to children who dreaded punishment
'if they had done any thing amiss' (e'i n draKTrja-eiav Vit. Soph. p. 230,
ed. Kayser), or generally speaking to any irregularities on the part of
men (01 yap inrep TOIOVTW aTUKTovvres Vit. Ap. p. 17, ^i^ai araKTOucrat
P- 338).
In these circumstances we are prepared to take both the verb and its Thessa-
cognates metaphorically in the Thessalonian Epp., as indeed the context
clearly demands. And the only question that remains is whether they are
to be understood positively of actual wrong-doing, or in a more negative
sense of a certain remissness in the conduct of life.
Of the Gk. commentators Chrysostom apparently inclines to the
former view, as when in his Homily on I. v. 14 he describes the araxroi
as Trdvres ol irapa TO r<a 6ea> doKovv 7rpa.TTOVTes...7rdvTes ol dfiaprdvovres.
On the other hand Theodoret confines the oYat'a complained of to idle-
ness draKTOvs TOVS dpyiq (Tva)VTa.$ eKaXeaev (ad I. V. 18): TTJ dpyia (TV^OHTIV
(ad II. iii. n).
And of this latter view, at least in a slightly modified form, we have The
lately received unexpected confirmation in two striking examples of the Papyri.
use of draKTea in the Row/?;, much about the time of St Paul's writing.
The first occurs in P.Oxy. 275 (A.D. 66) in a contract of apprenticeship,
according to which a father binds himself not to take away his son during
a certain specified period, with the further condition that if there are any
days on which the boy 'fails to attend,' or 'plays the truant' (oo-as 8' edv
tv rot uTaKTija-r] ripepas, 24 f.), he is to produce him for an equivalent
number of days after the period is over.
1 Symmachus uses the word in of Jehu dra/mos dyei (Heb.
4 Eegn. ix. 20 to describe the driving madly).
154 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
The second also comes from Oxyrhynchus in a similar contract, dated
about one hundred and twenty years later, P.Oxy. 725, according to which
a weaver's apprentice is allowed twenty holidays in the year, 'but if he
exceeds this number of days from idleness or ill-health or any other reason'
(eav de TrAe/cray TOVTWV apy^arj [77 ao\]$6 1/77077 77 draKTijcrrj 77 di a\\r)v r>[a
at\riav 39 ff.), he has to make his absences good without wages.
If then these instances can be taken as typical of the ordinary colloquial
sense of the verb, we can understand how readily St Paul would employ
it to describe those members of the Thessalonian Church who, without
any intention of actual wrong-doing, were neglecting their daily duties,
and falling into idle and careless habits, because of their expectation of
the immediate Parousia of the Lord.
NOTE H.
On the meanings of
The verb Kare'xw is found in our Epistles in two distinct senses :
(1) < Hold fast':
I. V. 21 TO KaXov
(2) 'Holdback':
II. ii. 6 vvv TO Kare^ov o'l
7 fjLovov o Kare^o)!/ apri ecop CK /ieVov yevrjrai.
Both meanings are well-established, but in view of the importance of
the passages in which they occur, it will not be out of place to bring
together a few passages from the Koii///, which may help to illustrate
them.
The first meaning ' hold fast ' is best reached through Kare^ta as a i. Kar
perfective of e^o> = ' possess,' as in i Cor. vii. 30, 2 Cor. vi. 10 toy prjdev 'hold
e^oi/re? K. irdvra /car^oi/res 1 , with which may be compared P.Amh. 30, 26 f.
(ii./B.c.) where, in an official report regarding the ownership of a house,
proofs were adduced to establish that a certain Marres Kareo-x^j^vai
TT)V olKiav ('had become owner of the house'), and the corresponding
use of the subst. KOTOX^ = bonorum possessio in E.G. U. 140, 24 ff. (c. i./A.D.),
Ofj,as KaT[o]xr)[v] \>[Trd\pxovT<*>v c eKfivov TOV /ue[p]ovs row biarayp-aros.
From this the transition is easy to the sense * take possession of,' * lay
hold of,' and accordingly in the interesting rescript regarding the Third
Syrian War, ascribed with all probability to Ptolemy III. himself, the King
narrates how certain ships, acting in his interest, sailed along the coast
of Cilicia to Soli, and took on board TO. CK[ei1]<re Karao-Ke0eVr[a xpr/Juara
'the money that had been seized there' (P.Petr. n. 45, ii. 3 f., cf. P.Petr.
m. p. 335 f.).
In this passage, it will be noticed, the verb is practically *pareiz/.
And, as a matter of fact, we find it used interchangeably with Kparelv in
the long Petition of Dionysia (P.Oxy. 237 (H./A.D.)) regarding the 'right
of ownership' (Karoxn) of a property (ovo-ia) which she claimed : see especially
col. viii. 22 f. and 34f-> r ^ AlyvnTtaKas yvvaiKas...KaTe^fiv ra inrdp^ovra r<Hv
avbptov and Kara riva CTri^topiov i/d/zoi/ Kpareirai TO. virdp^ovra.
Other examples of the more legal or technical uses of the terms, which
cannot be discussed here, are for the verb, P.Tebt. 5, 47 (a Royal ordinance,
ii./B.C.) [Kparei]v a>v KaTfcrx^Ka<ri /tA^po)!/), and for the subst., P.Oxy. 713, 36
(i./A.D.), where an applicant declares for registration his 'right'
1 Cf. Magn. 105, 51 (ii./A.D.), where tory is expressed by the formula "tV
the right of possession in certain terri- %x wffiv KaTfyuffiv re KapTrt[]wvTai re.'
156 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
to certain arourae that had belonged to his mother. Cf. also the important
legal rescript, P.Strass. 22 (iii./A.D.).
More important for our present purpose are the instances of the verb
in a slightly metaphorical sense, as when a letter-writer of the second
century accuses his correspondent of 'being oppressed by an evil con-
science' (vno KO.KOV o-vvfidoTos (care^o/iei/or, P.Oxy. 532, 22 ff.), or as when
a would-be purchaser of confiscated property declares that in a certain
contingency she will not be 'bound' by her promise (P.Amh. 97, 17 f.
(ii./A.D.) ov KaTao-xe[$]j7<ro/*ai rfj [vjTroo-xeo-et) 1 .
And if we accept the view, which has recently found strong support,
that the /taro^oi of the Serapeum are to be regarded as those 'possessed'
by the spirit of the god 2 , we have further evidence pointing in the same
direction.
If, on the other hand, we incline to the older view, according to which
they are to be thought of as a species of monks, living for the time being
'in retreat' (v aro^) within the temple-precincts 3 , we are prepared for
the further modifications in the meaning of /care^co, according to which
it gains the sense of ' detain,' ' arrest,' while Karoxn signifies ' the place
of custody/ 'the gaol.'
Thus in P.Lond. u. 342, 7 f. (ii./A.D.) a charge is laid against one
Sempronius of attempting to lay hands on the relatives of the petitioner as
eViTrXdovs or boat-Overseers (irpotyda-i TOV Kare'^ai/ eTrnrXoovs TOVS avvyevfls
/uov), while in a fragmentary letter in the same collection (422), belonging
to the fourth century, directions are given to arrest a certain individual
and ' put him in irons' (o-io^poio-at avrov) for selling stolen camels, and it
is added Kare'xerai 17 yvirf ('his wife is already arrested'). Similarly in
B.G.U. 372, 16 (ii./A.D.) we read of a man who is 'arrested' (KCLTCXO-
p.fvov} as a tramp: while /car o^ / = ' custody' appears in such passages as
P.Amh. 80, 9 (iii./A.D.) \f\y\va-axriv pe [TTJS Kajro^^y, B,G. U. 323, 1 1 f. (BjZ.)
[]$ KdToxrjv TroiTJa-o) iravra ra ovr[a fv rw] /xov X^P'V & va ""potrcoTra.
ii. Acar^xw These last examples bring us to the second main use of Kare'^w which
= 'hold we se t ou t t illustrate, in which the thought of 'holding fast,' 'arresting,'
passes into the thought of ' holding back,' ' detaining/ as may be seen from
a single papyrus in which the verb occurs with both meanings.
A beneficiarius of one village addresses a letter to the comarchs of
1 Cf. Jo. v. 4 $ S^Trore Kareixero a vita coenobitarum nonnullorura
voo"f)fj.aTi (A). haud multum di versa ' (Herwerden
2 See especially E. Preuschen Lex. s.v. Karoxri)- With this view
Monchtum und Serapiskult 2 te Aufl. Kenyon (British Museum Papyri i. p.
Giessen, 1903. Wilcken (Archiv iv. 295.) in the main agrees, nor does it
207) cites in support of this view an seem possible to attach any other
inscription from Priene to the effect meaning to such a phrase as virep TOV
dirb TUV Tpairef&v v &v 5?}/i[os ^0074771, aTroXeXOcrtfcu <re e/c TTJS Karons (P.Lond.
5e56<r0w] [r]ois /carexo^vois VTTO TOV deov i. 42, 26 f. (ii./B.c.)), than that the
(Priene 195, 28 f. (ii./B.c.)). Cf. also person spoken of had been 'released
Dittenberger, 0. G. I. S. ii. Addenda from his seclusion.' See also the
p. 549 f. references to the use of
3 'Inclusio voluntaria in Serapieio Mayser p. 22 f.
ON THE MEANINGS OF KATEXH 157
another, bidding them deliver up to the officer whom he sends a certain
Pachoumis ov Kareo-xr/Kare, 'whom you have arrested,' and then, after
enjoining them if they have anything to say in his favour to come along
with him and say so, the writer adds opa /i?) Karaa-xnre rov v7rr)peTr)<v>,
'see that you do not detain the officer' (P.Oxy. 65 (iii. IV./A.D.)).
Earlier examples of the same usage are afforded by P. Fay. 109, n
(i./A.D.) w KaraaxV* KAWa, P.Tebt. 315, 19 f. (ii./A.D.) eav 8e ae TI Karexn,
and the illiterate B.G.U. 775, 12 (ii./A.D.) /z?} Kard<Txii[s] oZv TO xXeiSiV /iou.
It is hardly necessary to carry the evidence further, but, for the sake
of its intrinsic interest, reference may be made to the heathen (Archiv
ii. p. 173) Charm which Crum prints in his Coptic Ostraca no. 522
beginning Kpovos 6 Ka.Tex.atv TOV 6vp.ov o\o>v TO>V avdpactTratv KctTfx f T v
NOTE I.
The Biblical Doctrine of Antichrist 1 .
IIcu5/a, ^ffxo-Ttj wpa <TTtv, Kal Kadus i7/coi5<rare ort avrixpi-O'Tos ^px^rai, xai vvv
TroXXot yey6va<nv odev yiv&<rKo/u.ev 6rt tvxfa" 1 } wpa <TT'LV. i Jo. ii. 18.
The whole subject of Antichrist is surrounded with difficulties, and
raises many questions which are altogether outside the scope of this
Commentary. The utmost that can be attempted here is to supply a few
Notes, tracing the historical growth of the idea in the sacred Scriptures
and in the apocalyptic writings of the Jews, with the view of further
illustrating and confirming the interpretation given to the Man of law-
lessness in the foregoing pages 2 .
The name I - The actual name Antichrist is first found in the Johannine Epistles
Anti- (i Jo. ii. 1 8, 22, iv. 3, 2 Jo. 7), but the main idea underlies St Paul's
christ. description of the Man of lawlessness in 2 Thess. ii. i 12, while, from the
manner in which both writers refer to this mysterious figure, it is evident
that they had in view an oral tradition current at the time (i Jo. iv. 3
a/tT/Koare, 2 Thess. ii. 6 oiSare). Any attempt therefore to understand the
doctrine of Antichrist as it meets us in the N.T. must naturally begin with
this tradition, so far as it is now possible to trace it.
Possible 2> Here, according to the latest view, we are carried very far back.
connexion Gunkel in his epoch-making book Schopfung und Chaos (1895) would
with a have us find the roots of the Jewish doctrine of Antichrist in the primitive
Babylonian dragon myth of a monster (Tiamat) who opposed the Creator
myth. (Marduk) in the beginning and was overcome by Him, but who, it was
believed, would in the last days again rear his head in rebellion only to
1 The following Note in a condensed Encyclopaedia, and by Sieffert in
form appears in The Standard Die- Hauck RE. S , and to the Excursuses
tionary of the Bible under the title in their Commentaries on the Thessa-
* Antichrist and the Man of Sin.' Ionian Epistles by Bornemann and
2 On the whole subject, in addition Findlay. Thackeray has a useful
to the special literature cited in the Note in his Essay on The Relation
course of the Note, reference may be of St Paul to Contemporary Jewish
made to the articles on ' Antichrist ' by Thought (1900) p. 136 f., and the
Bousset in the Encycl. BibL, by James elaborate study Zur Lehre vom Anti-
(under the title 'Man of Sin') in christ by Schneckenburger-Boehmer
Hastings' D.B., by Moffatt (under the in the Jahrbucher fur Deutsche Theo-
title 'False Christs') in Hastings' logie iv. (1859) p. 405 ff. may still be
D.C.G., by Ginsburg in the Jewish consulted with advantage.
BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF ANTICHRIST 159
be finally crushed. And more recently this view has been adopted and
developed on independent lines by Bousset in his elaborate monograph
on Der Antichrist (1895, translated into English, with a new Prologue by
A. H. Keane, under the title The Antichrist Legend, 1896).
It is impossible here to examine in detail the evidence adduced by
those writers, but their investigations have made it practically certain
that this myth had reached Palestine, and is alluded to in the O.T. (see
artt. 'Rahab' and 'Sea-Monster' in Hastings' D.B.}. At the same time
its influence must not be exaggerated. Whatever part it may have had
in familiarizing the Jews with the idea of an arch-enemy of God, it
exercised little influence on the development of the idea amongst them,
and many of the traits ascribed to Antichrist, which are to be found in
the eschatological commentaries of Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and other early
writers, and which, because unsupported by anything he can find else-
where, Bousset is inclined to refer back to some such esoteric doctrine,
are more naturally explained as the result of the imaginations of these
commentators themselves, working on the data supplied to them by the
Scriptures.
3. In any case we are on surer ground when we turn to those data, Anti-
and, in proceeding to examine them, we may start from the general christ in
Jewish belief in a fierce attack that would be directed against Israel in the ' T -
the end of the days by some hostile person or power, but which would
be finally frustrated by the action of Jehovah or His Messiah. The con-
ception which the Jewish writers formed of the exact nature of this
attack was naturally largely influenced by their particular circumstances
at the 'time, but, as it first meets us, it is generally thought of as pro-
ceeding from the heathen nations of the world.
Thus in Ps. ii., winch Friedlander regards as the real source (' Quelle') Psalms.
of the later Antichrist legend 1 , we have a graphic picture of the rebellion
of the world-kingdoms 'against the Lord and against His Anointed,'
coupled with the assurance that all such rebellion, because directed against
Jehovah Himself, is hopeless, and, if persevered in, can only result in the
complete overthrow of the nations: while in the exilic Psalm xciii. (xciv.)
the Psalmist comforts the oppressed Israelites with the reminder that the
Lord cannot have any alliance with ' the throne of lawlessness' (o. 20 ^
avvTrpoa-eo-Tai <roi 6p6vos dvopias), but will cause their lawlessness to recoil
upon all evil-doers (v. 23 a7ro8o><rfi avrols rr/v avopiav auraii/) 2 .
The thought of the same contest ending in the same way meets us Post-exilic
also in the post-exilic prophets, as for example in the description of the Prophets.
onslaught by Gog from the land of Magog, as the type of the world's
i Der Antichrist in den vorchrist- that during the last century B.C.
lichen judischen Quellen (1901) p. 128 Beliar was the embodiment of the
an Essay in which much valuable antinomian spirit which pervaded the
evidence is gathered together both from Jewish sect of D^D.
the O.T., and the later data of the 2 Of. also the striking linguistic
Midrash and Talmud, in proof of the parallels bet ween Ps. Ixxxviii. (Ixxxix.)
Jewish doctrine of Antichrist, what- and 2 Thess. i. and ii. adduced by
ever may be thought of its main thesis Bornemann p. 356 f.
i6o
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Daniel.
Anti-
christ in
later
Jewish
writings.
Psalms of
Solomon.
power, against God's people who 'dwell securely' (Ezek. xxxviii., xxxix.) 1 ,
or of the final assault against Jerusalem to which all nations of the
earth go up, and which again ends in the intervention and universal head-
ship of God (Zech. xii. xiv.).
It is however in the visions and prophecies of the Book of Daniel
(B.C. 1 68 165) that we find the real starting-point of many of the later
descriptions of Antichrist, and especially in the picture that is there
presented of Antiochus IV., called Epiphanes 2 . No other foreign ruler
was ever regarded by the Jews with such hatred on account both of his
personal impieties (l Mace. i. 24 KV f\d\r)<rV inrcprj^aviav fj.fya\T)v), and of
his bitter persecution of their religion, and, accordingly, he is here por-
trayed as the very impersonation of all evil. Some of the traits indeed
ascribed to him are of such a character (see vii. 8b, 20 b, 21, 25, xi. 36 45)
that it has often been thought that the writer had not so much Antiochus
as the future Antichrist directly in view. And, though this is not exegeti-
cally possible, it is easy to understand how his description influenced the
Apostolic writers in their account of the arch-enemy of God and man
(cf. e.g. 2 Thess. ii. 4 with Dan. xi. 36 f., and Rev. xiii. i 8 with Dan. vii.
8, 20, 21, 25, viii. 24, xi. 28, 30; and see Driver Daniel p. xcvi flf.).
With the fall of Antiochus and the rise of the Maccabean kingdom,
the promise of deliverance, with which Daniel had comforted God's people
during their dark days, received its proximate fulfilment. But when the
nation again fell under a foreign yoke, the old fears were once more
revived, and received a fresh colouring from the new powers by which the
Jewish nation now found itself opposed.
4. In determining the Jewish views regarding Antichrist during this
period, much difficulty is caused by the uncertainty regarding the exact
date of some of the relative writings, and the possibility of their having
received Christian interpolations in the form in which they have come
down to us. The following references, however, deserve notice.
In the Pharisaic Psalms of Solomon (48 40 B.C.) Pompey as the re-
presentative of the foreign power that had overthrown Zion is described
as the personification of sin (ii. i o d^aprcoXos), and even as the dragon
(v. 29 6 SpaKcov}, perhaps an unconscious survival of the dragon-myth 3 :
and in Ps. xvii. 13 if we may adopt Ewald's conjectural reading, which has
been generally approved by the editors, of o avopos (6 avepos in all the
1 For the later connexion of Gog
and Magog with the story of Anti-
christ cf. Eev. xx. 7 f. The actual
identification of Gog with Antichrist,
however, does not occur till the seventh
century, and even then only in Jewish
sources (Bousset art. 'Antichrist' in
Encycl. BibL 1 2).
2 The epithet Epiphanes is generally
rendered the illustrious,' but its real
meaning, as seen when the title is
stated in full Qebs eTTKpav^s, is the ' god
made manifest' (cf. Add. Note F, p.
148). For a graphic description of
the circumstances of his reign see
E. Bevan, Jerusalem under the High
Priests (1904), and for the general
interpretation of the visions of Dan.
vii. xii. see Porter The Messages of
the Apocalyptical Writers (1905) p.
1256*.
3 See Charles The Ascension of
Isaiah p. liv.
BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF ANTICHRIST l6l
MSS.)J we have another epithet applied to Pompey which, if used techni-
cally, is proper to the Beliar-myth (see below). It may, however, in the
present instance mean no more than ' heathen' as in i Cor. ix. 21.
Similarly in the Apocalypse of Baruch which, though belonging to Apoca-
the last decade of the ist cent. A.D., is in the main a true Jewish writing, l VP se f
we have a description of the destruction of the ' lost leader'' of the enemies
of Israel by the Messiah on Mount Zion (xl. i, 2), where again Pompey
may be thought of. And in 4 Ezra v. i 6, belonging to about the same 4 Ezra.
time, after an enumeration of the signs of the last times, and the coming
of the fourth (Roman) Empire, after the third (Greek) Empire has passed
away in disorder ('post tertiam turbatam' ed. Bensly) 1 , we read of one
who ' shall rule whom they that dwell upon the earth look not for' (' et
regnabit quern non sperant qui inhabitant super terrain'), a mysterious
being, who is generally identified with the future Antichrist 2 .
In none of these passages, it will be noticed, have we more than a God-
opposing being of human origin, but it has recently been pointed out with
great cogency by Dr Charles (Ascension of Isaiah p. Ivff.) 3 that, in the
interval between the Old and the New Testaments, a further develop-
ment was given to the Jewish belief in Antichrist through the influence
of the Beliar-myth.
In the O.T. 'belial' is never strictly speaking a proper name, but
denotes ' worthlessness,' 'wickedness 4 .' From its frequent occurrence,
however, along with another noun in such phrases as 'daughter' (i Sam.
i. 16), 'man' (i Sam. xxv. 25), and especially 'sons' (Deut. xiii. 13, Judg.
xix. 22 &c.) of ' belial,' it is obvious how readily the idea lent itself to
personification, while it is not without significance in our present inquiry
that in those latter passages it is rendered in the LXX. by irapavo^os (e.g.
Deut. xiii. 13 e^Xdocrav avdpes 7rapdvop,oi).
In the later pseudepigraphical literature of the Jews this humanizing or
rather demonizing process is carried still further, until the title regularly
appears as a synonym for Satan or one of his lieutenants.
Thus in the Book of Jubilees (ii./B.c.) we read ' Let Thy mercy, O Lord, Jubilees.
be lifted up upon Thy people... and let not the spirit of Beliar rule over Testa-
them' (i. 20, cf. xv. 33, ed. Charles). And similar references to Beliar as
a Satanic spirit are frequent in the Testaments of the xii Patriarchs
(ii./B.o., in part at least): see e.g. Reub. iv. 7, vi. 3, Levi iii. 3, xviii. 12. archs.
1 Gunkel (in Kautzsch Pseudepi- 3 See also Friedlander op. cit. p.
yrapha p. 359) prefers to supply 'diem' 1 18 ff.
after 'post tertiam' ( = fj.eT& TTJV rpirriv 4 The origin of the word
7]/u.tpai>, Blass), and understands the disputed, but the old derivation from
three 'days,' as the secret apoca- ^^ < without ' and }i ' profit ' is still
lyptic number, which denotes the strongly supported. ~For an interest-
world-rule until its destruction: cf. ing discussion, in which Dr Cheyne
the three-and-a-half 'days 'of Eev.xi. finds in the word a modification of
9, and see Schopfung u. Chaos pp. 268 tne Babylonian Bililu in the sense of
n. 1 , 369 n. 1 . the <land without return,' i.e. the
2 Cf. L. Vaganay Le Probleme Es- underworld, see Exp. T. viii. and ix.
chatologique dans le iv e Livre d'Esdras S>17> 'Belial' in the Indices.
(Paris, 1906) p. 86 f.
M. THESS. II
1 62
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Sibylline
Oracles.
Rabbi-
nical
writings.
Anti-
christ in
our Lord'
teaching.
The most interesting passage, however, for our purpose is contained
in the third book of the Sibylline Oracles, in a section which in the main
goes back to the same early date, where Beliar is depicted as a truly
Satanic being accompanied by all the signs that are elsewhere ascribed
to Antichrist 1 . The passage is as follows:
fK 6 Se/Sao-rqi/toi/ 2 rjgfi BeXiap /ueroTTto-tfev
Kal (TTija'ei, 6pf<av v^fogj OTfjtrei 8e 6a\a(rcrav
yjfXiov jrvpofvra peyav Xapirpdv re creXijvrjv,
KOI veitvas <mj<rci /cat cr7/zara TroXXa Trotr/o-et
dvdpanois '
#****
Kai dvvafjus <p\oy6f(ro'a 6V otS/iaros e's yalav
xat BeXi'ap <pXeei /cat vTTp<pid\ovs dvOpvirovs
irdvraS) otroi TOVT& TT'LITTIV cvfTroiijo-avTo.
Orac. Sib. iii. 63 ff. (ed. Rzach).
With this passage should also be compared Orac. Sib. ii. 167 f. where
it is stated that ' Beliar will come and do many signs to men'
/cat BeXiap
dvdpwnois,
KOI
TroXXa 7roir)<rfi
though here the originally Jewish origin of the passage is by no means
so certain.
In the same way it is impossible to lay too much stress in the present
connexion on the speculations of Rabbinical theology regarding the person
of Antichrist in view of the late date of our authorities 3 . But we may
accept, as in the main reflecting the views of the Jews about the beginning
of the Christian era, the general conception of a powerful ruler to be
born of the tribe of Dan 4 and uniting in himself all enmity against God
and hatred against God's people, but whom the Messiah will finally slay
by the breath of His lips 6 .
5. We can see how readily this idea would lend itself to the political
and materialistic longings of the Jews, and it is only therefore what
we should expect when we find our Lord, true to His spiritual ideals,
saying nothing by which these expectations might be encouraged in the
1 Cf. 4 Ezra v. 4 'et relucescet
subito sol noctu, et luna interdie,'
Asc. Isai. iv. 5 'et eius verbo orietur
sol noctu, et luna quoque ut sexta
hora appareat, efficiat.' For later
Christian references to the wonders of
Antichrist see Bousset The Antichrist
Legend p. i75ff.
2 This reference to the 2,epa<rTr)vol,
by whom we naturally understand
'the race of Augustus,' has caused
difficulty in accepting this as a purely
Jewish picture, but, unless it is to be
regarded as a later interpolation
(Schiirer 3 iii. p. 441, Engl. Tr. 11. iii.
p. 284), it is probably to be under-
stood of the inhabitants of Sebaste-
Samaria.
3 None of these are earlier than the
second century A.D.
4 Support was lent to this view by
such passages as Gen. xlix. 17, Deut.
xxxiii. 22, Jer. viii. 16; cf. the omis-
sion of Dan in Rev. vii. 5 ff., and see
further Friedlander op. cit. c. ix Die
Abstammung des Antichrist aus Dan.
5 See Weber Jiid. Theologie p. 365.
BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF ANTICHRIST 163
minds of His hearers, but contenting Himself with warning them against
false teachers, the 'false Christs' and the 'false prophets' who would be
ready 'to lead astray, if possible, even the elect' (Alt. xxiv. 24, Mk. xiii. 22).
Even too, when in the same discourse He seems to refer to a single Anti-
christ, the reference is veiled under the mysterious figure derived from
Daniel of the 'abomination of desolation standing (eW^Kora) where he
ought not' (Mk. xiii. 14; cf. Mt. xxiv. 15). A similar reticence marks His
words as recorded by St John, if here again, as is most probable, He
has Antichrist in view: 'I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive
me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive'
(v. 43)-
6. Slight, however, though these references in our Lord's recorded Anti-
teaching are, they would naturally direct the attention of the Apostolic christ m
writers to the traditional material lying to their hands in their treat- Apostolic
ment of this mysterious subject, and, as a matter of fact, we have clear writers.
evidence of the use of such material in the writings of at least two
of them.
Thus, apart from his direct reference to the Jewish belief in Beliar St Paul
in 2 Cor. vi. 15 ('And what concord hath Christ with Beliar?'), St Paul
has given us in 2 Thess. ii. i 12 a very full description of the working
of Antichrist, under the name of the Man of lawlessness, in which, as
we have already seen (comm. ad loc.\ he draws freely on the language
and imagery of the O.T. and of the speculations of later Judaism. It is
unnecessary to recapitulate the evidence, but for the sake of completeness
it may be well to summarize briefly the leading features in the Pauline
picture.
(i) 'The mystery of lawlessness* is already at work, though for the
moment it is held in check by a restraining person or power, probably
to be identified with the power of law or government, especially as these
were embodied at the time in the Roman State. (2) No sooner has
this restraining power been removed (cf. 4 Ezra v. 4, Apoc. Bar. xxxix. 7)
than a general 'apostasy' results, which finds its consummation in the
'revelation' of 'the Man of lawlessness.' (3) As 'the opposer' he 'ex-
alteth himself against all that is called God' (cf. Dan. xi. 36 f.) and actually
'sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God' the de-
scription being again modelled on the Danielic account (cf. Dan. viii. 13,
ix. 27, xi. 31, xii. n), and the 'lying wonders' by which his working is
distinguished being illustrated by such passages as Orac. Sib. iii. 64 f.,
Asc. Isai. iv. 5 (see above). (4) Powerful as this incarnation of wicked-
ness seems to be, the Lord Jesus at His Parousia will 'slay him with
the breath of His mouth,' the words being a quotation from Isa. xi. 4,
a passage which the Targum of Jonathan afterwards applied to the de-
struction of Armilus the Jewish Antichrist 1 , and whose use here St Paul
1 For Armilus (DI^DIK) i.e. Romu- Tr. n. ii. p. 165); cf. Bousset The
lus, as the name of the chief adversary Antichrist Legend p. 105, Castelli II
of the people of Israel, in later Rab- Messia secondo gli Ebrei (1874) P-
binism see Schiirer 3 ii. p. 533 (Engl. 239 ff.
II 2
164 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
may well have drawn from the Jewish tradition of his time (cf. the use of
the same passage in Pss. Sol. xvii. 27, 39, 4 Ezra xiii. 10).
The whole description, it will thus be seen, is of a very composite
character 1 , though at the same time it is so definite and detailed 2 , that it is
hardly to be wondered at that there has been a constant endeavour to find
its suggestion in some historical personage of the writer's own time 3 . But
though the sacrilegious conduct of Caligula (Jos. Antt. xviii. 261 (viii. 2),
Tac. Hist. v. 9, Suet. Calig. xxii. 33) may have influenced the writer's
language in v. 4, the real roots of the conception lie elsewhere, and it is
rather, as we have seen, in the O.T. and in current Jewish traditions
that its explanation is to be sought 4 .
7. The same may be said, in part at least, of the various evil powers
which meet us in the Johannine Apocalypse. The first wild Beast of the
Seer (Rev. xiii. xx.) vividly recalls the horned wild Beast of Dan. vii., viii.,
and the parallels that can be drawn between the language of St John and
of St Paul (cf. Rev. xii. 9, xiii. i f. with 2 Thess. ii. 9 f.; xiii. 5 ff., xiv. 1 1
with ii. 4, 10 12; xiii. 3 with ii. gS.) point to similar sources as lying at
the roots of both. On the other hand the Johannine descriptions have
now a direct connexion with contemporary secular history which was largely
wanting in the earlier picture. This is seen noticeably in the changed
attitude towards the power of Rome. So far from this being regarded
any longer as a restraining influence, it is rather the source from which
evil is to spring 5 . And we can understand therefore how the city of Rome
and its imperial house supply St John with many of the characteristics
under which he describes the working of Antichrist, until at length he
sees all the powers of evil culminate in the Beast of c. xvii., who, according
to the interpretation of Bousset (adopted by James in Hastings' D.B.\
is partly representative of an individual who 'was, and is not, and shall
be present' (c. 8 ^v KOI OVK eorni/ KCU Trapeorcu), that is a Nero redivivus ;
partly of a polity, namely that of Rome.
1 ' The avcytos-expectation of 2 Thes- Handcommentar n. i. p. 30 f.) ; see
salonians is not the arbitrary inven- further Add. Note J.
tion of an individual, but only the 4 'We have here a Jewish-Christian
expression of a belief which had a dogma, which is to be understood by
long historical development, and was means of the history of religious re-
at the time universally diffused' flexion, and very indirectly by means
(Gunkel Schopfung u. Chaos p. 221). of the history of the Caesars' (Gunkel
2 'There is scarcely a more matter- Schopfung u. Chaos p. 223).
of- fact prediction in the Bible' (Find- 5 For the effect of the imperial per-
lay Thessalonians p. 219). The whole secutions, initiated by Nero in A.D. 64,
Appendix on 'The Man of Lawless- in leading St John to regard their
ness ' is a clear and well-balanced authors as the direct vassals of Satan,
statement on this difficult subject, see Swete Apoc. p. Ixxviii ff. The
to which the present writer gladly whole of this interesting section Anti-
acknowledges his indebtedness both christ in the Province of Asia' should
in this and the following Note. be studied in connexion with the sub-
3 E.g. Caligula (Spitta Urchristen- ject of this Note.
turn i. p. 294 ff,), Nero (Schmiedel
BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF ANTICHRIST 165
8. There remain only the references in the Johannine Epistles to The
which, it will be remembered, we owe the name of Antichrist. In these, E P ist ^ es
conformably to the writer's main object, the spiritual side of the con-
ception is again predominant. Thus, after indicating some of the main
elements in Christian Truth, St John passes in I. ii. 18 to the conflict into
which at 'a last hour' Truth will be brought with Falsehood, and in token
of this points to the decisive sign by which this crisis will be known,
namely, the coming of 'Antichrist,' the absence of the article in the
original showing that the word has already come to be used as a technical
proper name. Nor does 'Antichrist' stand alone. Rather he is to be
regarded as 'the personification of the principle shown in different anti-
christs' (Westcott adloc.\ who, by their denial that 'Jesus is the Christ,'
deny in like manner the revelation of God as Father (ii. 22), and, con-
sequently, the true union between God and man (iv. 3).
It is, therefore, into a very different atmosphere that we are intro- Present
duced after the strange symbolism of the Apocalypse, and the scenic si 8 ni -
re presentation of the Pauline description. And one likes to think that Anti-
the last word of Revelation on this mysterious topic is one which leaves christ.
it open to every one to apply to the spiritual workings of evil in his own
heart, and in the world around him, a truth which has played so large
a part in the history of God's people in the past, and which may still
pass through many varying and progressive applications, before it reaches
its final fulfilment in the 'dispensation of the fulness of the times'
(Eph. i. 10).
NOTE J.
On the interpretation of 2 Thess. ii. I 12.
Varied
interpre-
tations
of the
passage.
i. The
Ante-
Nicene
Church.
General
view.
8 rbv per ^repov TWV axpwv Kal f3t\Ti<TTOV vlov avayopeije<T0ai TOV Qeov dia.
T v ^e roirnp /card SiafteTpov tvavrLov vlbv TOV Trovrjpov daipovos Kal
Sarava Kal 8ia[36\ov.
Orig. c. Gels. vi. 45 (ed. Koetschau n. 116).
There are few passages in the N.T. for which more varied interpretations
have been proposed than for 2 Thess. ii. i 12. It is impossible to attempt
to give a full account of these here 1 . But it may be well at least to
indicate the main lines along which the exegesis of the passage has run. In
doing so we shall follow as far as possible the historical order, for, though
the different schools of interpreters cannot be rigidly distinguished according
to periods of time, there have been on the whole certain clearly marked
cycles in the method of interpretation applied to this difficult and mysterious
passage.
i. The Ante-Nicene Church.
In the Early Church the ecclesiastical writers, amidst considerable
differences in detail, agreed in regarding the whole passage as a prophecy
which, at the time when they wrote, was still unfulfilled. Rightly inter-
preting the Parousia as the personal Return of the Lord for the Last
Judgment, they saw in the Man of lawlessness an equally definite personality,
who was to be manifested at the close of the world's history, but who for the
time being was held in check by a restraining influence, generally identified,
from the time of Tertullian 2 onwards, with the power of the Roman Empire.
1 Special excursuses are devoted to
the passage in most of the commen-
taries: see especially those of Liine-
mann, Bornemann and Wohlenberg
among the German expositors, and
of Eadie, Gloag, and Findlay among
the English. The article on 'Anti-
christ ' by Bev. F. Meyrick in Smith's
D.B. contains many interesting details.
Cf. also Dollinger The First Age of
Christianity (tr. by Oxenham, 4th ed.
1906) Appendix i., and W. Bousset
The Antichrist Legend (Eng. Tr. by
Keane, London, 1896), where the
patristic evidence is given very fully.
E.Wadstein has collected much curious
material in his essay on Die escha-
tologische Ideengruppe : Antichrist-
Weltsabbat-Weltende und Weltgericht
(Leipzig, 1896) p. 81 ff., and for the
conceptions of Antichrist from the
xvth to the xxth century see H. Preuss
Die Vorstellungen vom Antichrist im
spdteren Mittelalter, bei Luther, und
in der Konfessionellen Polemik (Leip-
zig, 1906).
2 De Eesurr. c. 24 'quis nisi Bo-
manus status? ' Elsewhere Tertullian
INTEKPRETATION OF 2 THESS. ii. i 12 167
Of this line of interpretation we find traces already in the Didache xvi., Early
and in Justin Martyr Dial no, and it is clearly enunciated by Irenaeus
who presents a vivid picture of a personal Antichrist 'diabolicam apostasiam
in se recapitulans,' and 'seducens eos qui adorant eum, quasi ipse sit
Christus' (adv. Haer. v. 25. i). Elsewhere (v. 30. 2) he ascribes to Anti-
christ a Jewish origin, tracing his descent, in accordance with O.T.
prophecy (Jer. viii. 16), to the tribe of Dan a view that was shared by
Hippolytus (de Antichristo c. I4) 1 . Origen is equally definite in looking for
a single being, viov TOV Trovijpov $aip.ovos KOI "Sarava KOL Sia/3oAoi>, who is to be
opposed Kara dtafjifrpov to the Christ (c. Celsum vi. 45 f. ed. Koetschau n.
1156.), and similarly Cyril of Jerusalem speaks of Antichrist as Satan's
* organ,' who will take his place in the Temple of Jerusalem, when not one
stone of the old building has been left standing upon another, and adds the
pious wish that he himself may be spared from seeing the horrors of that
day (Catech. xv. 7).
The Latin commentators follow on much the same lines 2 . By The Latin
'Ambrosiaster' the Antichrist is not named, but, arising out of the circum- commen-
cision he is to kill the saints and restore liberty to Rome. The working of a
this mystery of iniquity had already begun with Nero, who had killed
the Apostles, and from him it had passed on to Diocletian and Julian.
'Ambrosiaster' appears to identify o avopos with the devil.
Pelagius says pointedly 'Nisi Antichristus uenerit, non ueniet Christus,'
and then goes on to describe how the 'homo peccati' ('diaboli scilicet') will
attempt to revive the Temple and its worship with the view of persuading
the Jews to accept him 'pro Christo 3 .' For this the false doctrines already
at work were preparing the way: the only restraining influence was the
'regnum, quod nunc tenet.'
Differences in this general view were naturally caused, according as TO
fis dvofjiias was found in the political or in the religious sphere 4 :
says that Christians should pray for et sacramenta culturae diuinae corri-
the Emperor, because ' clausulam sae- gere uel augere se dicet, et templum
culi acerbitates horrendas comminan- Hierusolymae restaurare temptabit
tern Romani imperil commeatu scirnus omnesque legis caerimonias reparare
retardari ' (Apol. c. 32). tantum ut ueritatis Christi euangelium
1 Cf. c. 6, ev irepiTo/j.fj 6 SWTTJ/J $\6ei> soluat, quae res ludaeos eum pro
els TOV Kba^ov, KO! aurds [i.e. the Anti- Christo suscipere persuadebit, in suo,
christ] 6/j.olws eXetfo-ercu. Elsewhere non in dei, nomine uenientem.'
(c. 15) Hippolytus describes the Anti- 4 In Chrysostom we find again the
christ as rvpawos /ecu /SaaiXetfs, /C/)ITT?S attempt to associate Nero with Anti-
deivds, vibs TOV 5ia/36Xov. christ : Nep&va 4vTav0d <$>-r\<nv uvavel
2 For 'Ambrosiaster' and Pelagius TTJTTOV ovra TOV di>TLXpi<rTov...Kai
see the List of Commentaries. elire, TO ^varfjpiov' TOVT&TIV,
3 The passage may be given in full ws <fret'os, ovdt a.irripvdpia.<T[jitvus (Horn.
according to the correct reading of the iv. in II. ad Thess.). Theodoret, on the
Karlsruhe MS., kindly supplied by Prof. other hand, thinks that the Apostle
Souter; in this short extract it differs has in view the heresies that were
in nine places from the text of the beginning to spring up (rds dva0ue/<ras
Pseudo-Jerome in Migne : ' Supra omni- cup&rets) within the Church itself.
potentiam et aeternitatem se iactabit According to Ephrem Syrus (Comm. in
1 68
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
while it is further significant to notice, in view of later developments, that,
according to the testimony of Augustine 1 , there were already some who,
despairing apparently of finding a consistent literal interpretation for the
different details, had come to apply it in a general way to all forms of evil
as they arose in the Church.
ii. The
Middle
Ages.
The
Eastern
Church.
The
Western
Church.
First hints
of the
possibility
of a Papal
Anti-
christ.
Develop-
ment of
ii. The Middle Ages.
During the earlier portion of the Middle Ages this prophetic interpreta-
tion of the passage as an inspired description of what was actually to happen
in the great Day of the Lord continued to prevail, not however without such
modifications as were required by the changing relations between Church
and State, and the divisions that were arising within the Church itself.
Already too there were increasing signs of the tendency, afterwards to
become so marked, to find at least partial fulfilments of the prophecy in
contemporary historical events.
Thus in the Eastern Church, struggling for bare existence against the
forces of Islamism, Muhammad was readily identified with Antichrist, while
in the Western Church the arrogant pretensions of some of the Church's
own rulers had already begun to lead to whispers of the possibility of
a Papal Antichrist. It is a curious fact indeed that the first traces of such
a view seem actually to have come from an occupant of the Papal See itself,
when, towards the close of the sixth century, Gregory I., in denouncing the
claims of the contemporary Byzantine patriarch, went the length of saying
that whoever arrogates to himself the title of 'universal priest' is a pre-
cursor of Antichrist and described the title as 'erroris nomen, stultum
ac superbum vocabulum, perversum, nefandum, scelestum vocabulum,
nomen blasphemiae 2 .' Four centuries later Arnulph, Bishop of Orleans,
declared much to the same effect at the Council of Rheims(A.D. 991) that if
the Roman Pontiff was destitute of charity, and puffed up with knowledge,
he was Antichrist. It was only therefore giving statements such as these a
general application when in the twelfth century Joachim of Floris in his
Enchiridion in Apocalypsim began to trace a correspondence between the
warnings of the Apocalypse and the evils of his time a mode of interpre-
tation which another Franciscan, John Oliva, followed up by asserting that
in the opinion of some Antichrist would be a 'pseudo-papa 3 .'
When such hints were thrown out within the Church itself, one can
readily understand that they were eagerly laid hold of by all who, on grounds
Ep. Pauli, Venice 1893, p. 193) Anti-
christ is to be a circumcised Jew of
the tribe of Judah ('ex ipso populo et
ex tribu Judae, neque in praeputio, sed
in circumcisione ') who, imitating the
coming of the Lord, is to take his
place in the Church itself, but who for
the time being is ' restrained ' by the
Jewish Temple-worship and afterwards
by the preaching of the Apostles (see
further Wohlenberg, p. 194 f.).
1 De Civ. Dei xx. 19 'alii...non
putant dictum, nisi de malis et fictis,
qui sunt in Ecclesia.' Augustine him-
self despaired apparently of finding a
correct interpretation for the passage :
' Ego prorsus quid dixerit, me fateor
ignorare' (ut s.).
2 Ep. xxxiii. lib. vii. p. 891, Opera
in. Migne.
3 See Swete Apoc. p. ccviii f.
INTERPRETATION OF 2 THESS. ii. 112 169
of liberty or morality, found themselves obliged to oppose the Roman this view
hierarchy, and that the identification of the Papacy with Antichrist amongst
gradually became a commonplace amongst the sects. At first apparently of^^ en
it was only an individual that was thought of, but from this the transition jjier-
was easy to a succession of individuals or a polity, as when Wycliffe asserted archy.
of the Pope generally that he did not seem to be 'the vicar of Christ,
but the vicar of Antichrist 1 ,' and in the last year of his life (1384) wrote a
treatise De Christo et suo adversaria Antichristo, in which he identified
the Pope with Antichrist for twelve reasons, many of these being applicable
to the Pope as such.
iii. Tlie Reformed Church.
The reference of Antichrist to the Papal Hierarchy "continued to be the iii. The
prevailing view of the Reformers. And such stress was laid on it by Reformed
Luther in the great controversial writings of 1 520 and succeeding years 2 that ^ hurc ^:
it found a place in the Articles of Smalkald which, under his influence, were v j ew
adopted in 1537 by a number of evangelical theologians as their rule of Papacy =
faith 3 . In England both Houses of Convocation decreed in 1606 that Anti-
'if any man shall affirm that the intolerable pride of the Bishop of Rome, clmst *
for the time still being, ... doth not argue him plainly to be the Man of Sin,
mentioned by the Apostle, he doth greatly err 4 .' And a few years later the
Translators of our A.V. complimented King James for having by means of
his tractate Apologia pro Juramento Fidelitatis 'given such a blow to that
man of sin, as will not be healed.' A section of the Westminster Confession
of Faith is devoted to defending the same view. And, with a few honourable
exceptions, the equation ' the Pope, or the Papacy, is Antichrist ' may be
said to have been the prevailing view of Protestant exegetes for a period of
.about two hundred years 5 .
1 Dial. 31. 73 'videtur papam non praeclare ostendit, papam esse ipsum
esse Christi vicarium, sed vicarium verum Antichristum, qui supra et
antichristi.' Elsewhere he goes the contra Christum sese extulit et evexit,
length of saying that no man is better quandoquidem Christianos non vult
fitted to be the vicar of Satan than the esse salvos sine sua potestate, quae
Boman pontiff himself (' ut sit vicarius tamen nihil est, et a deo nee ordinata
principalis Satanae et praecipuus anti- nee mandata est. Hoc proprie lo-
christus ' de Blasphemia c. 3), and quendo est se efferre supra et contra
characterizes his legates as 'a latere deum, sicut Paulus 2 Thess. ii. lo-
antichristi.' quitur.'
2 On nth Oct. 1520 Luther writes, 4 Cardwell Synodalia i. p. 379.
' Jetzt bin ich um vieles freier, nach- 5 The position of Calvin (Comm. ad
dem ich endlich gewiss geworden bin, loc.) is interesting. While agreeing in
dass der Papst der Antichrist ist ' the general reference of Antichrist to
(Briefwechsel, ed. Enders ii. 491), and the Papacy (' Quid, obsecro, est se
to this conviction he clung to the end efferre supra omne quod numen repu-
of his life; see Preuss op. cit. p. 145 ff. tatur, si hoc Papa non facit?'), he
3 In the later authoritative Latin finds the restraining influence in the
translation of these Articles the refer- limited diffusion of the Gospel. Not
ence runs as follows : ' Haec doctrina till the Gospel was preached to the
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
Rise of But not to dwell further on a system of interpretation which has nothing
new to commend it except the ease with which it lends itself to partisan
oTinter- Purposes 1 , it is of more importance to trace the rise of certain new methods
pretation. of apocalyptic interpretation, which have powerfully affected the view taken
of this passage in modern times.
ideal view.
iv. Modern Views.
iv. Modern (i) Amongst these a prominent place must be given to the tendency to
Views. regard the whole conception in a purely ideal manner. Unable to agree
( i) The w ^ n a method of interpretation in which personal references and animosities
played so large a part, the followers of this system understood the passage
in a general or spiritual sense. The concrete individual traits of the Pauline
picture were wholly ignored, or else treated simply as symbolic representa-
tions of certain great principles always at work in the Church and the world.
Of this tendency C. L. Nitzsch is a striking example 2 . In the Appendix
to his Essays De Revelatione (1808), starting from the assumption that the
Trapova-ia is a 'factum ideale,' not to be looked for at any definite time
or place, but whenever and wherever faith needs to be strengthened, he
goes on to say that, as regards the Man of lawlessness, no such man ever
has existed or apparently will exist ('nusquam quisquam fuit nee in
posterum futurus esse videtur'). St Paul, that is to say, in his whole re-
presentation was influenced by subjective considerations, and without any
regard to the historic truthfulness of his picture desired only the edifica-
tion of his readers.
Others who followed in this direction, without perhaps going the same
length, or losing sight so entirely of objective realities, were such expositors
as Pelt in Germany, who lays down as a preliminary condition to his whole
discussion that St Paul was looking for no visible Return of Christ 3 , and
Jowett in England, who for a guide to the Apostle's meaning in this
particular passage lays stress on his 'habitual thought' as revealed in such
passages as Col. ii. 8, 16, or the spiritual combat of Horn. vii.
Later
modifica-
tions.
whole world, would the Man of Sin be
manifested (' Haec igitur dilatio erat,
donee completus esset Evangelii cur-
sus: quia gratuita ad salutem invitatio
ordine prior erat ').
1 It is hardly to be wondered at that
many Eomanist scholars (e.g. Estius
^1613) should adopt the methods of
their opponents, and retaliate by as-
serting that the Pauline apostacy was
rather to be found in defection from
Borne, and that consequently Luther
and his followers were the real Anti-
christ. At the same time it is right
to notice that to the Jesuit scholars
Ribeira (fi6oi) and Alcasar (fr6i3)
belongs the credit of inaugurating
more scientific methods in the inter-
pretation of the Apocalypse : see Swete
Apoc. p. ccix f.
2 On Nitzsch's position see especi-
ally Bornemann p. 428 ff.
3 P. 185 '...tenentes, ilium Christ!
adventum a Paulo non visibilem habi-
tum.' De Wette is even more explicit
in declaring that ' whoever finds more
than a subjective outlook of the Apostle
into the future of the Christian Church
from his own historical position falls
into error, 3 and that to expect any
actual embodiment of Satan is 'con-
trary alike to the reflective under-
standing and the pious feeling*'
INTERPRETATION OF 2 THESS. ii. 112 171
The practical advantages of this view are at once apparent. The
prophecy is made universally applicable, and lessons can be drawn from it
for all succeeding generations of readers, whatever the special circumstances
in which they find themselves. But this result is only reached by depriving
the very literal and precise statements of the passage of all definite
meaning, and consequently we are not surprised to find that a large
and influential body of English expositors, while applying the truths of the
prophecy continuously throughout the whole course of the world's history
lay stress at the same time on their final and complete embodiment at the English
end of the days. Amongst supporters of this view it is sufficient to expositors,
mention such names as Alford, Ellicott, Eadie, Alexander, Dods, and most
recently Findlay, according to whom, 'The ideal Antichrist conceived
by Scripture, when actualized, will mould himself upon the lines of the
Antichrists whose career the Church has already witnessed' (p. 231). But
however true this may be as an application of the Apostle's words, it
contributes little or nothing to their interpretation 1 , or to the exact
meaning they must have conveyed to their first writer or readers. So far
from their conceiving an 'ideal' Antichrist, 'there is scarcely,' in Findlay's
own words already quoted elsewhere (p. 164), 'a more matter-of-fact
prediction in the Bible.' And it is not until the expositor has succeeded
in forming some idea of the genesis and reference of its varied details, that
he can hope to apply with any degree of success the underlying law or
principle to present-day needs. It is only therefore in keeping with the
growth of the historical spirit that alongside of this more subjective school
of criticism, there should have been a determined attempt to find the real
key to the passage in the historical circumstances of the time when it was
written.
For the rise of this method of interpretation, which is generally known (2) The
as the praeterist or historical to distinguish it from the futurist or historical
predictive method, we can go back as far as Grotius who in his Annotationes f} e gj n _
(Paris, 1644), starting from the untenable position that the Epistles were nings of
written in the second year of Caligula, found the fulfilment of the passage in this view,
that Emperor's desire to set up a statue of himself in Jerusalem (Jos. Antt.
xviii. 261 (viii. 2), cp. Suet. Calig. xxii. 33), the restraining power being the
proconsul Vitellius, 'vir apud Judaeos gratiosus et magnis exercitibus
imperans,' and the ai/o/zos, who was wrongly dissdciated from the Man of
lawlessness himself, Simon Magus. Wetsteiu on the other hand identified
the Man of lawlessness with Titus, on the ground that his army brought
their standards into the Temple, offered sacrifices to them, and proclaimed
the Emperor as avTOKpdrup (Jos. B.J. vi. 6. i), while Dollinger preferred to
think of the youthful Nero, restrained by the efforts of the dull Claudius.
Apart too from these distinctive references to the Imperial House Varieties
another important band of scholars sought the apostasy referred to rather in its ap.
in the revolt of the Jews from the Roman yoke the restraining power p lca lon *
being found either in their leaders who were against the revolt (Le Clerc),
or in the prayers of the Christians who warded off for a time the destruction
1 For some good remarks on the two very different things see Denney
difficulty caused by confusing these Thess. p. 31 7 f.
THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS
of Jerusalem (Schottgen), or, if an individual had to be sought, in the
influence of such a man as James the Just (Wieseler).
It soon became obvious indeed that this system lent itself to almost end-
less modifications and combinations in accordance with the predilections of
its supporters. And we can understand therefore the relief with which in
the beginning of last century an application of it was hailed, which for
a time seemed to command widespread assent.
The Nero Its author was Kern 1 who, starting with the postulate that the whole
Eedivivus p assa <r e was written under the influence of the Apocalypse, found the Man
of lawlessness in the widespread belief in Nero Redivivus, the restraining
power in Vespasian and his son Titus, and the apostasy in the wickedness of
the Jews in their war against the Romans. This line of interpretation was
adopted by Baur 2 , Weizsacker 3 , Holtzmann 4 , and Schmiedel 5 , to mention
only a few representative names. But apart from the consideration that, if
accepted, it would be fatal to the authenticity of the Epistle, in which we
have already found good reason for believing (Intr. p. Ixxvi ff.), it is wrecked
on the fact that the napovo-ia referred to by St Paul cannot be understood
of the period of the destruction of Jerusalem, as the theory requires, but
only of the second and personal coining of the Lord Jesus Himself. On this
the evidence of the Epistles is quite decisive. And in view of it it is
unnecessary to spend time in showing that, even were it otherwise, the
precise traits of the Pauline picture are not fulfilled in Caligula, Nero 6 , or
- any other Emperor of the period, though we must not lose sight of the fact
that some of the actions of the first-named may have influenced the
Apostle's language 7 .
The real roots of his delineation are however, as we have already
had occasion to notice, to be sought elsewhere. And it is one of the great
services of what may be known as the traditional view to have drawn
(3) The
tradi-
tional
view.
1 Tiibinger Zeitschrift filr Theologie
ii. 1839, p. 145 ff.
2 Theol. Jahrbiicher xiv. 1855, p.
141 ff., translated as Appendix in. to
the Engl. ed. of Paul, His Life and
Work* (Lond. 18735).
8 Das apost. Zeitalter p. 521, Engl.
Tr. ii. p. 193 f. ' It is impossible that
anything else can have been meant
than the Neronic Antichrist, who at
present is delayed by the living Em-
peror, and who in his own time will
be supported by the deceit of false
prophecy (cf. Rev. xiii).'
4 EinL* p. 217 'Zur Conception
eines Bildes wie Apoc. 13... hat Nero
5 Hand. Comm. zu 2 Thess. ii. i 12
' Nur die zeitgeschichtliche Deutung
hat wissenschaftliches Recht.'
6 So strong an opponent of the
Epistle's authenticity as Wrede says
pointedly, 'Die Deutung der Stelle
auf Nerd ist jedenfalls griindlich er-
schuttert' (Echtheit p. i). Similarly
Pfleiderer (Urchristentum 2 p. 97 f.,
Engl. Tr. i. p. 138 f.) while postulating
the close affinity of the Pauline repre-
sentations with Rev. xiii., xvii., xix.,
xx., admits that ' the distinctive
features which in the Johannine
apocalypse point to the legend of the
return of Nero are completely wanting
in 2 Thess.'
7 For the relation of the Pauline
picture to Caligula see Klopper Der
zioeite Brief an die Thess. p. 53, and
cf. Spitta Urchristentum i. p. 148
' Es handelt sich hier eben um die
Anwendung der Caligula-Apokalypse
auf eine neue Zeit.'
INTERPRETATION OF 2 THESS. ii. 112 173
attention afresh to how largely the whole delineation grew out of the Jewish
experiences of the Apostle. For not only did the uncompromising hostility
of his Jewish fellow-countrymen suggest to St Paul the source whence the
crowning development of evil was to manifest itself (see pp. xxviii, xxxi f.),
but he was led to fall back on O.T. prophecy and current Jewish Apocalyptic
for the actual details which he worked up into his dread picture.
This line of interpretation is by no means new. From the earliest times
the dependence of many traits in the Pauline Antichrist upon the godless
king in Daniel have been clearly recognized. But it is only in more recent
years that increasing knowledge of the sources has made it possible to trace
systematically the Jewish tradition lying at the base of the N.T. passage.
According to Bousset (Encyc. Bibl. col. 179) the credit of breaking fresh
ground in this direction belongs to Schneckenburger l . And now Bousset Possible
himself has endeavoured to carry the tradition still further back, and relation to
to find in the Antichrist legend 'a later anthropomorphic transformation'
of the old Babylonian Dragon myth, which he regards as ' one of the
earliest evolved by primitive man 2 .' The data on which this theory is built
up are too uncertain to make it more than a very plausible conjecture
(cf. p. 1 59), nor, after all, even if it were more fully established, would it
have any direct bearing on our inquiry, for certainly all thought of any
such mythical origin of the current imagery was wholly absent from
St Paul's mind 3 . In the meantime, then, we must be content with re- General
emphasizing that it is to the Jewish apocryphal and pseudepigraphic conclu-
writings, and especially to the prophetical books of the Greek O.T., and sion -
the eschatological teaching of Jesus, that we must principally look for light
on the outward features of the Pauline representation.
1 See the survey of his writings by 2 The Antichrist Legend p. 13 &.
Bohmer in the Jahrbucher fur Deutsche 3 Cf. Preuschen Z.N.T.W. ii. p.
Theologie iv. (1859) p. 405 ff. 169 n. 1 .
INDEXES
I. SUBJECTS.
Achaia, xlv, n
Acts of Apostles, parallels with, xlii
Agrapha of our Lord, 39, 66, 77, 115
Amanuensis, St Paul's employment of
an, xc f., 124 ff.
Analysis of the Epistles: i These., 2;
2 Thess., 84
Angels, Ixx, 45, 89
Antichrist, Biblical doctrine of, 158 ff.;
views regarding, at different periods
in the history of the Church, 166 ff.
Aorist: of inception, 17; expressing
immediate past, 32
Apostle, title of, 21
Armilus, 163
Article: emphatic, 13, 49, 105, 112;
demonstrative, 81, 117; absence of
the, 4 , 14, 48, 51, 64, 75, 94
Authenticity of the Epistles: i Thess.,
Ixxii ff. ; 2 Thess., Ixxvi ff.
Benediction, 81
Brother, xliv, 8; brotherly-love, 52 f.
Cabiri, xlvi
Call, the Divine, 26, 51, 79, 93
Chiasmus, 67
Christ, the title of, 136; the doctrine
of, Ixvi ff.
Church, St Paul's use of the term, 4
Church-life in Thessalonica, xlvi ff.,
71 ff.
Commentaries on the Epistles, cii ff.
Compound- verbs, St Paul's love for, liii,
~ 4
Conversion, 13
Crown, 35
Date of the Epistles, xxxv ff.
Day of the Lord, 64
Death: of Christ, 57, 69 f.; of believers,
55 ff-
Destruction, eternal, 91
Dichotomy and trichotomy, 78 f.
Divinity of our Lord emphasized, Ixvi f.
Election, 8, 106
Emphasis in the N. T., Mi
Epistolary formulae, 129
M. THESS.
Eschatology, Ixix ff.
Ethical teaching, Ixxi
Faith, 6 ; and works, 6, 94 ; and love,
40, 68
Friends, St Paul's Thessalonian, 133 f.
Gentiles, 31, 49
Glory, 27
God, doctrine of, Ixiv ff.
Gospel, the Apostolic, Ixv, 8 f., 17 ff. ;
see also p. 141 ff.
Grace, 4, 81
Greeting, Apostolic form of, 4 f.
Heart, 19
Heathen- world : its immorality, 48 ff. ;
its hopelessness, 56
Heavens, the, 14 f.
Hellenism, St Paul and, Iv, Ivii
Hope, 7
Impurity, 48 ff.
Infinitive : consecutive with u)<rre, 1 1 ;
explanatory, 17; articular, 38, 47;
with 7r/)6s TO, 24; with ei's TO, 26, 31,
4*, 53
Inscriptions, Greek, use made of,
viii f . ; see Index III. i (a)
Integrity : of i Thess., Ixxvi ; of
2 Thess., Ixxxviii f.
Jesus, the name of, 135; the words
of, lix ff. ; Jesus and Paul, Ixii
Jews, opposition of, to St Paul,
xxviii f., xxxi f.; condemnation of,
29 ff.
Joy, 10, 74 f.
Judaea, 29
Judaistic literature, use made of, ix ;
see Index III. 2
Judge, Christ as, Ixvii
Judgment, the Last, 88 ff.
Kingdom, xxviii f., 27
Kiss, 80
Letter-writer, St Paul as a, xxxiv,
xliff., 121 ff.
12
INDEXES
Life with Christ, Ixviii f., Ixx .,62, 70
Lord, the name of, Ixvii, 1 36 ff . ; the
word of the, 12, 58, 109
Love, 7
Macedonia, xlv, u
Man of lawlessness, 98 ff.
Manual labour, xlvii, 54, 114 f.
Manuscripts, Greek, of the Epistles,
xciii ff.
Meiosis, 30, no, 114
Metaphors derived from the way, 13,
26, 43; the athletic ground, 17, 71,
109; the home, 21 f., 25, 33; build-
ing, 37, 70; warfare, 68; inversion
of metaphors, 22, 66
Michael, 60
Morals, lessons in Christian, 45 ff.
Muhammad and Antichrist, 168
'Name,' significance of, 94, 113
Nero redivivus, Ixxxvii, 172
Old Testament, Greek, relation of
language to, liv, Iviii f.
Order of the Epistles, xxxix
Papacy and Antichrist, i68f.
Papyrus, manufacture of, 122 f . ;
examples of papyrus-letters, 127 ff.
Papyri, Greek, use made of, viii f . ; see
Index III. i (6)
Parousia of Christ, Ixix f., 591!.; of
Antichrist, 98 ff.
Participle: present part, with art., n,
15, 26, 39, 79; with 01), 19; for the
ind., 25
Patristic authorities for the text,
xcix ff.
Paul as a man, xliii f . ; as a mis-
sionary, xlivff. ; 'I Paul,' 34, 39
Peace, 4 , 77
Persecution at Thessalonica, xxxii, 10,
%
Philippians, Epistle to the, coin-
cidences with, liii
Place of writing of the Epistles, xxxv,
xxxix
Plays on words, 19, 54, no, 115
Plural, epistolary, 131 f.
Prayer : instances of, in the Epistles,
Ixv ; addressed to Christ, Ixvi ; the
duty of, 75
Prepositions, uses of, in late Greek,
12, 20, 38, 62, 95, 109
Prophesyings, 76
Quotations in Pauline Epistles, 126
Rabbinical literature cited, 35, 49, 54,
77, 88, 115
Readings, some variant, discussed, 5,
10, 21, 30, 37, 38, 45, 51, 66, 85,
90, 92, 103, 105, 106, 113
Resurrection of Jesus, 15, 57; of be-
lievers, 60
Retaliation forbidden, 74
Rhythm, supposed, in Pauline Epp., Ivi
Roman Empire as the restraining
power, Ixx, Ixxxviii, 101
Salvation, 69
Satan, 34 f., 39, in
Sayings of Jesus, reminiscences of,
lixff.
Signature, authenticating, xcii, 129 f.,
and see Index IV. s.v. ypd<j>b)
Silvanus, 3
Sleep, figurative use of, 55 ff.
Son, Christ as, Ixvi
Soteriology, Ixviii f.
Spirit: doctrine of the Holy Spirit,
Ixviii; spiritual gifts, 75 f., 96; spirit
of man, 78
Structure, general, of the Epistles,
xlviii ff.
Studies, special, on the Epistles,
cviii f .
Style of the Epistles, Ivi f.
Text, Greek, adopted, vii f. ; authorities
for, xciii ff.
Thanksgiving : the Apostolic, 5, 27,
41, 86, 1 06; the duty of, 75
Thessalonica, the city of, xxi ff . ; St
Paul's connexion with, xxvi ff. ;
general character of Church of,
xlvi ff.
Timothy, 3 f., 37; as supposed author
of 2 Thess., Ixxxix ff.
Title of the Epistles, 3
Tradition, 107 f.
Truth and falsehood, 104 f.
Type, n
Verse -divisions, unusual, in the WH.
text, 6, 20, 25
Versions, ancient, of the Epistles,
xcvi ff .
Versions, renderings from various : early
English, 9, 10, 12, 14, 20, 33 f., 50, 55,
73, 86; A.V. of 1611, 13, 64; German,
32, 50, 78, 107, no, 115; Latin, 6,
7, 12, 17, 22, 28, 40, 41, 42, 55, 68,
73, 78, 86, 107, 115
Vocabulary of the Epistles, lii ff. ; of
2 Thess., Ixxix f.
Will of God, 48
Women, position of, in Macedonia,
xxvii
Wrath, Divine, 15
Zoroastrianism, Ixxi
II. AUTHOES.
The main object of this Index is to supplement the lists of authorities in the
Table of Abbreviations and in the Introduction vn and vm. As a rule, there-
fore, no references are given to the grammatical, lexical, and textual works
that are there described, or to the commentators on the Epistles, though
occasionally, in the case of works most frequently cited, a general reference has
been added for the sake of completeness. It should be noted further that the
majority of references are to actual quotations, and not to mere citations of the
authors specified.
Abbot, Ezra, 122, 148
Abbott, Edwin A., 13 and passim
Abbott, G. F., xxi, xxv, 130
Abbott, T. K., 51, 69
Aeschylus, 14, 38, 56, 105, 145
Antipater of The'ssalonica, xxi
Antoninus, Marcus, 98, 115, 117
Aristides, 25, 28, 99
Aristophanes, 141
Aristotle, xlvii, 19, 47, 76, 77
Arnulph, 168
Athanasius, 103
Augustine, 21, 48, 55, 61, 62, 168
Bacon, 43
Bacon, B. W., xxxviii, xlii, Ixxxviii
Bahnsen, Ixxviii
Barnabas, 52, 86
Bartlet, xxxvii, xliii
Basil, in
Baur, F. C., xxxix, Ixxiii ff., Ixxviii,
Ixxxvi, 172
Bechtel, 27
Beet, J. A., 65
Bevan, E., 160
Bigg, xlvii, 104
Birt, 123 f.
Blass, viii, xxix, Ivi, 6 and passim
Boehmer, see Schneckenburger
Boklen, Ixxi
Bousset, Ixii, Ixxi, Ixxxvii, 35, 158,
159, 162, 163, 166, 173
Briggs, Ixvii
Brightman, 79
Brooke, A. E., xciii
Browning, K., 66, 88
Bruce, A. B., Ixiv, Ixx
Bruckner, xxxvi
Burton, xxiii, 134
Butcher, 63, 81
Cameniata, xxiv, xxvi
Carr, A., Iv
Castelli, 163
Catullus, 56
Charles, E. H., ix, Ixxviii, Ixxxvii;
and see Index III. 2
Chase, 14, 15, in, 193
Cheyne, 60, 161
Chrysostom, xlvi, 57, 82, 134, 149
Cicero, xxii, 16, 48, 56, 123
Clemen, xxxi, xxxvi, xxxvii, Ixxvi,
Ixxviii
Clement of Alexandria, 68
Clement of Borne, 9, 79, 117 ; Pseudo-
Clement, 15
Clementine Homilies, 39
Clementine Recognitions, 59
Colani, Ixvii
Conybeare, F. C., 56, 80, and see
Index IV. passim
Cook, A. S., 143
Cousinery, xxi
Cromwell, 0., 20
Cumont, F., Ixxi, 14, 193
Curtius, E., Iv, 144
Cyril of Jerusalem, 167
Dalman, 27, 88, 136, 141
Dante, 88
Davidson, A. B., 64
Davidson, S., Ixxviii
Deissmann, viii, liii, Ivi, Ixix, 3, 4,
62 and passim
Delitzsch, F., xlvii
Demetrius, 121
Demosthenes, 16, 30, 108, 115, 116,
152
Dick, K, 131
Dieterich, A., 141
Dimitsas, 134
12 2
i8o
INDEXES
Diodorus Siculus, 20, 31, 40, 145, 148
Dion Cassius, 19, 54, 141
Dion Chrysostom, 19
Dion Halicarnassus, 97, 148
Dobscbiitz, von, xlv, Iv
Dollinger, 166
Driver, 160
Drummond, K. J., Ixii
Duchesne and Bayet, xxi, xxiii, and
see Index III. i (a).
Edersheim, xlvii
Ellicott, 33, 78, 116
Ephrem Syrus, 167
Epictetus, 17, 37, 40, 46
Epiphanius, 149
Epistle Vienne and Lyons, Ixxvii
Erman and Krebs, 123 f.
Euripides, 15, 50, 67, 87, 145
Eusebius, 149
Everling, Ixx, 39
Ewald, xxxix, 147, 160
Fabricius, 3
Feine, Ixii, in
Firmicus, xlvi
Foat, 125
Friedlander, L., 130
Friedlander, M., 159, 161, 162
Fritzsche, 22, 23, 40, 43
Gardner, see Roberts
Gardthausen, 123 f.
Geldart, 32
Gerhard, G. A., 129
Gfrorer, Ixxxvii
Gibbon, xxiv
Gifford, 40
Ginsburg, 158
Goguel, Ixii
Gorgias, 56
Gregory, C. E., xcix
Gregory of Nazianzen, 149
Gregory of Nyssa, lii
Gressmann, 64
Grill, 14
Gunkel, Ixxxvii, 158, 161, 164
Harnack, xxxvi, xlv, Ixxviii, 8, u,
21, 193
Harris, Eendel, xxx, 13, 126
Hart, ix, 64
Hartung, 61
Hatch, 23 and passim
Hausrath, Ixxxix
Hawkins, 32
Heinrici, Ivii
Heitmiiller, W., 113
Hermas, Ixxiii, 72
Herodotus, xxi, 21
Heuzey and Daumet, xxi, and see
Index III. i (a)
Hicks, E. L., Iv, 31, 54, 192
Hilgenfeld, Ixxviii, Ixxxvii
Hippocrates, 113
Hippolytus, 167
Hollmann, Ixxxv
Holtzmann, Ixvii, Ixix, Ixxxi, Ixxxiii,
172
Homer, 38, 50, 61, 113, 141
Horace, 20, 33, 48
Hort, xxvii, xlviii, 4, 9, 21, 26, 42,
63, 7i, 7 2 89, 193, 194
Ignatius, Ixxiii, Ixxvii, 6, 67, 71, 112,
144, 147
Irenaeus, Ixxiii, Ixxvii, 99, 167
Isidore of Pelusium, xlvi
Isocrates, 153
James, M. E., 158, and see Index
III. 2
Jannaris, 46
Jebb, E. C., 23
Jerome, xlvii, 12, 55, 64, 100
Joachim, 168
Josephus (ed. Niese), 20, 29, 77, 78,
ipo, 122, 131, 133, 148, 164
Jiilicher, xxxi, Ixii, \xxi, Ixxv, Ixxviii,
Ixxx
Juncker, Ixvi
Justin Martyr, xxix, Ixxvii, 66, 72,.
144, 147
Kabisch, 90
Kaftan, Ixii
Karabacek, 123
Kautzsch, ix
Keble, 142
Kennedy, H. A. A., Ixix, Ixx, 27, 31,
59, 91, 99, 126, 138
Kenyon, F. G., 8, 122 ff., 156, and
see Index III. i (b)
Kern, Ixxviii, 172
Klopper, xxxix, 133
Knowling, xxvii, xxxvi, Ixii, Ixxv,
Ixxvi, 48, 64
Krauss, 21
Krebs, see Erman
Lactantius, 15, 64
Lake, Kirsopp, 58
Laqueur, E., 42
Laurent, xxxix, 126, 131
Leake, xxi
Leighton, 75
Lietzmann, 6, 28
Lightfoot, J. B., Ivii, Ixvi, Ixxix, 6, 20,,
21, 71, 94, 105, in, 114, 133 and
passim
Livy, 35
Lobeck, xlvi
Lock, W., xli, xlv, 32, 1 1 6, 126
Locke, John, xlii
II. AUTHORS
181
Lucian, xxiii, 52, 124, 141
Lueken, 60
Luther, 169
Mahaffy, xxvi, 125, and see Index III.
i (6)
Manen, van, Ixxvi
Mathews, Shatter, Ixix
Mayor, J. B., 35, 108
M c Clellan, 193
M c Giffert, xxxvi, xxxvii, Ixxviii, 76
M c Lean, Norman, xciii
Menegoz, xxxvi, Ixiv
Meyrick, 166
Middleton, 94
Moft'att, xxxvi, Ixxvi, xc, 101
Mommsen, xlvi
Monteil, Ixiii
Moule, 126
Moulton, J. H., viii, ix, Ixxi, n, 22,
105 and passim
Moulton, W. F., 57
Mozley, F. W., 15
Musonius, 20
Myers, 62
Nageli, Iv and passim
Nestle, 38, 52, 123
N. T. in Ap. Fathers, Ixxiii, Ixxvii
Nietzsche, xliv
Nitzsch, C. L., 170
Oliva, 1 68
Origen, xxxiv, 21, 166, 167
Paley, xxx, 97
Peake, 133
Pelagia-Legenden (ed. Usener), 62
Pfleiderer, Ixxxvii, 172
Philo (cited by sections and by Man-
gey's pages), 12, 36, 49, 60, 78
Philodemus, 19
Philostratus, 153
Pindar, 33
Plato (ed. Stallbaum), 18, 24, 34, 50,
54, 70, 72, 74, 104, no, 115, 152,
153
Pliny, xxii, 33, 122 ff.
Plutarch, 26, 76, 78, 96, 98, 152
Pollux, 12
Polybius (ed. Schweighauser), 17, 18,
20, 46, 51, 62, 105, 116, 117, 131,
r 45
Polycarp, Ixxvii, ex
Porter, F. C., 160
Preuschen, E., 156, 173
Preuss, H., 166
Purser, see Tyrrell
Quintilian, 115
Eadford, n
Eamsay, W. M., xxvii, xxix, xxxvi,
xli, xlv, Iv, Ixiv, Ixx, 7, 29, 125
and passim
Eeinach, T., 31
Eeitzenstein, 60, 94, 109, and see
Index IV. passim
Eenan, xli, xlvi, 121, 126
Eendall, xxxvii
Eesch, A., Ix, 39, 58, 77, 115
Eeuss, Ixxx
Eiddell, 88
Eitschl, 15
Eoberts and Gardner, 1 1 and passim
Eobinson, J. Armitage, 4, 29, 93, 102,
^ 129, 135, 138
Eopes, 58, 77
Eound, Douglass, xxxvii
Sabatier, xlii, Ixiv
Sanday, xxxiv, Ivi, Ixvi, Ixix, 14, 81,
121, 126
Sanday and Headlam, 4 and passim
Sandys, xxiv
Schader, E., Ixix
Schettler, Ixviii
Schmidt, J. E. C., Ixxviii
Schneckenburger-Boehmer, 158, 173
Schottgen, 54, 98, 172
Schrader, Ixxiii
Schiirer, 65, 148, 151, 162, 163
Scott, C. A., 151
Seeberg, Ixvii, 51, 108
Seneca, 124
Severianus, 38, 101
Steffert, 158
Skeat, 143
Smith, W. E., 64
Socrates, 76
Soden, von, xxxiv, Ixxv, xcv, 140
Soderblom, Ixxi
Somerville, 138, 139
Sophocles, 49, 91, 117
Souter, A., ix, xciv, xcix, cii, civ
Spitta, Ixxxix ff., 39, 164, 172
Stanley, A. P., 75
Stan ton, V. H., 137, 139
Stead, F. H., 140
Steck, Ixxv, 58
Strabo, xxi, xxiii, no
Suetonius, 130, 164
Swete, 38, 81, 101, 126, 137, 142,
143, 151, 164
Tacitus, xxix, 31, 164
Tafel, xxi, xxii
Tatian, 52
Taylor, xlvii, 35, 77
Teichmann, Ixx, 146
Tertullian, 30, 81, 91, 101, 166
Thackeray, St John, 61, 158
Theocritus (ed. Ziegler), 56, 71
Theodoret, xxiv
182
INDEXES
Theophilus, 52
Theophrastus, 19
Thompson, E. M., 122 ff.
Thucydides, 30, 145, 153
Thumb, A., ix, 193
Tindale, 141
Tischendorf, xciii
Titius, Ixx, 49, 60
Trench, B. C., 7, 99 and passim
Turner, C. H., xxxvi, cii
Tyrrell and Purser, 129
Vaganay, 161
Vaughan, 103
Vergil, 56, 109
Vischer, Ixxxvi
Volz, Ixvii, Ixix, 56, 60, 64, 70, 91,
99, H7
Wadstein, 166
Wagner, 69
Warfield, 101
Weber, F., 9, 60, 65, 103, 162
Weber, V., xxxvii
Weinel, xlv, xlviii
Weiss, B., xxxii, Ixxiv, 37, 66
Weiss, J., Ivi
Weizsacker, Ixxxi, 3, 126, 172
Wellhausen, Ixix
Wendland, 69
Wernle, xlv, Ixxxiii, Ixxxvi
Westcott, 6, 31, 52, 68, 78, 86, 105,
118, 136, 150
Wette, de, Ixxviii
Wieseler, 12, 172
Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 121
Wilcken, Ixiv, 35, 4 6, 48, 75, 123, 143
Wilke, 23
Williams, A. L., 124
Wilson, A. J., Ivii
Witkowski, 129, 132, and see Index IV.
passim
Wrede, Ixii, Ixxxi ff.
Wright, 59
Wiinsche, 80
Wycliffe, 169
Xenophon, 10, 26, 47, 49, 76, 141,
152, 153
Zahn, xlv, Ixvi, Ixxvii, Ixxviii, Ixxxv,
3 and passim
Zimmer, F., xciii, 5
III. REFERENCES.
I. INSCRIPTIONS AND PAPYRI.
(a) INSCRIPTIONS.
C.I. A.
Corpus Inscriptionum Atticarum (Berlin, 1873 ).
PAGE
PAGE
PAGE
I. 170
243
II. 403
. 107
II
n. 444
m. 23
: 8
m. 74
690
'. 88
C.I.G.
Corpus
i. 84
n. 1967
3037
Inscriptionum
134
37
Graecarum, ed. A.
111.3817
4896 .
Boeckh
' I34 ;
. 146
(Berlin, 1828).
iv. 9313
9439
'- 56
Cos
Inscriptions of Cos, by W. B. Paton and E. L. Hicks (Oxford, 1891).
no. 391 . . 148
Crum
Coptic Ostraca, by W. E. Crum (London, 1902).
no. 522 . . 157
Duchesne et Bayet
Memoire sur une Mission au Mont Athos, by L'Abbe Duchesne and M. Bayet
(Paris, 1876).
p. 29 . . . 79 | p. 43 . . . 134 | p. 50 . . . 134
Heuzey
Mission Archeologique de Macedoine, by L. Heuzey and H. Daumet (Paris,
1876).
p. 280 . . 152 | p. 282 . . 29
I.G.S.I.
Inscriptiones Graecae Siciliae et Italiae, ed. G. Kaibel (Berlin, 1890).
no. 549 . 56 I no. 929 . 56 I no. 1879 5^
830 . 24 | 956 . . 8 I
I.M.A.
Inscriptiones Graecae Insularum Maris Aegaei, edd. H. von Gaertringen and
W. B. Paton (Berlin. 1895).
111.1238 . . 80
1 84
INDEXES
J.H.S.
Journal of Hellenic Studies.
PAGE PAGE
xviii. 333 . . xxvii
Kaibel
Epigrammata Graeca, ed. G. Kaibel (Berlin, 1878).
no. 247 . . 22
Magn.
Die Inschriften von Magnesia am Maeander, ed. 0. Kern (Berlin, 1900).
PAGE
no.
33
85
90
IOO
26
26
6
97
no. 105
109
113.
157
9. 155
37
18, 24
Ixvi, 148
no. 163
179
1 88
II 4
57
9 r
Michel
Recueil d' Inscriptions Grecques, ed. Ch. Michel (Paris, 1900).
no. 459 . . 50
O.G.I.S.
Orientis Graeci Inscriptions Selectae, ed. W. Dittenberger, 2 vols. (Leipzig,
190305).
no. 335
339
437
444
484
4
90
194
227
262
331
. 141
. 8, 96, 148
22
41
. I0 4
. . I 4 8
93
no. 485
25
- 65
5'5
. . 96
. IOO
629
. xxix, 117
5i
646
.19
xxix, 132
728
. 72
Pergamene
Die Inschriften von Pergamon [in Altertiimer von Pergamon viii.], ed.
M. Frankel (Berlin, 1900 ).
no. 248 . . 26
Priene
Die Inschriften von Priene, ed. H. von Gaertringen (Berlin, 1906).
no. 195 . . 156
Revue des Etudes Grecflues.
xv. 142 . . xxix
Sylloge 2
Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum, 2nd Edit., ed. W. Dittenberger, 2 vols.
and Index (Leipzig, 1888 1901).
110. 153
no. 318
36,
no. 376
Wilcken Ostr.
Griechische Ostraka, ed. U. Wilcken, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1899).
ii. no. 670 . . 113 | ii.no. 1153 . 54 | ii.no. 1372 . . 146
(b) PAPYRI.
P.Alex.
Bulletin de la Societe archeologique d' Alexandrie ii., ed. G. Botti (Alex-
andria, 1899).
no. 4 . 34
III. REFERENCES
I8 5
P.Amh.
The Amherst Papyri, edd. B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt (London, 190001).'
PAGE PAGE PAGE
Part i. nos. i 9.
no. i . 143
Part ii. nos. 10 201.
. 156
5' 73
26
Ixiv, 42
22
. 156
128
4 s
5
H3
130
Vol. iv. (in progress).
no. 1039 46 | no. 1079 4*>i 81
P.Cairo
Greek Papyri from the Cairo Museum, ed. E. J. Goodspeed (Chicago, 1902).
no. 3 . 57, 64 i no. 5 . 35 | no. 29 . .81
C.P.R.
Corpus Papyrorum Eaineri archiducis, i. Griechische Texte, ed. C. Wessely
(Vienna, 1895).
no. 19 . 97 I no. 27 . . 44 I no - 3 2 33
P.Fay.
Fayum Towns and their Papyri, edd. B. P. Grenfell, A. S. Hunt, and
no. 30 . . 155
no. 66
9 no. 97
33 4 2
78
29, 50 133
35 98, 125
80
156 H 1
46 . . 25
93
. 41
B.G.U.
Griechische Urkunden, from the Berlin
Museum.
Vol. i. nos. i 361 (1895).
no. 10 . -134
no. 140
. 155 no. 246
27 Ixiv, 55, 131
147
54 297
86 . . 114
174
Ixvi 323
113 . . 94
242
9 1 332
Vol. n. nos. 362 696.
no. 362 . 62, 91
no. 385
12 no. 612
372 . . 156
594
. 4 o 632
380 . . 69
596
127, 132
Vol. in. nos. 697 1012.
no. 741 . -74
no. 844
6 no. 954
757 -no
884
96 1009
775 ' i57
948
78 ion
D. G. Hogarth (Egyptian Exploration Fund, London, 1900).
81
no. 109
119
80
no. 123
337
65
no. 20
21
34
P.Fior.
Papiri Fiorentini, ed. G. Vitelli (Milan, 1905 06).
Part i. 135.
no. 9 . . 32
Part ii. 36 105.
no. 57 . 87 | no. 99 . .no
P.Gen.
Les Papyrus de Geneve, i. Papyrus Grecs, ed. J. Nicole (Geneve, 18961900).
no. 52 . . 123 | no. 54 13
1 86
INDEXES
P.Grenf. I.
An Alexandrian Erotic Fragment, and other Greek Papyri, chiefly Ptolemaic t
ed. B. P. Grenfell (Oxford, 1896).
PAGE PAGE PAGE
18
30
22
105, 130
no. 37
40
8 1
ur
no. 41
53
35
P.Grenf. II.
New Classical Fragments, and other Greek and Latin Papyri, edd. B. P.
Grenfell and A. S. Hunt (Oxford, 1897).
no. 14 . . 146 | no. 35 . 66 | no. 38 . .124
P.Heid.
Heidelberger Papyrus- Sammlung, i. Die Sept uaginta - Papyri und andere
altchristliche Texte, ed. A. Deissmann (Heidelberg, 1905).
no. 6 . 6, 47, 132
P.Hib.
The Hibeh Papyri i., edd. B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt (Egypt Exploration
Fund, London, 1906).
no. 30
4 o
f
6 4
no. 44
132 no. 49
P.Leid.
Papyri graeci Musei antiquarii publici Lugduni-Batavi, ed. C. Leemans,
2 vols. (1843, 1885).
no. S . . 122 | no. U . . 122 I no. V . .80
P.Leip.
Griechische Urkunden der Papyrussammlung zu Leipzig, i., ed. L. Mitteis
(Leipzig, 1906).
no. no . . 137 | no. 119 . . 32
P.Lond.
Greek Papyri in the British Museum, 3 vols. (London, 1893, 1898, 1907).
Vol. i. nos. i 138, ed. F. G. Kenyon.
116
no. 121 . 78, 109, 123
no. 3 . 22 I no. 44
42 . 6, 63, 118, 156 I 46 .. 117
Vol. ii. nos. 139 484, ed. F. G. Kenyon.
no. 342 . . 156 | no. 413 . .no
Vol. in. nos. 485 1331, edd. F. G. Kenyon and H. J. Bell,
no. 951 . . 98 | no. 1178 . . 41
P.Oxy.
The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, edd. B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt (Egyptian
Exploration Fund, London, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1904).
Part i. nos. i 207.
no. 38 . . 103
41 . 77
45 125
Part ii. nos. 208 400.
no.237 20,32,77,117,155
245
259
97
49, 102
no. 57
I!
no. 261
275
292
78
94
50
' ' * 153
. 10, 46, 53
no. 115
"9
126
no. 294
301
62, 129
59
. 24
46, IO2
. I2 4
. I2 4
III. REFERENCES
PAGE
Part in. nos. 401 653.
no. 413 . . 149 I no. 486
471 . 26, 118 I 491
Part iv. nos. 654 839.
no. 657
713
718
122
155
117
no. 719
725
726
H5
114
114
154
1 9
no. 496
532
no. 744
745
74 6
1 8 7
PAGE
74 156
46
xxiii
127
P.Par.
Paris Papyri in Notices et Extraits xvm. ii., ed. Brunet de Presle (Paris,
1865).
no. 7
10
74
12
73
T53
no. 42
43
45
47
.8,35
. 132
23,
no. 49
117
122
61
P.Petr.
The Flinders Petrie Papyri (in the Proceedings of the Koyal Irish Academy
" Cunningham Memoirs," nos. viii., ix., xi.), 3 vols. (Dublin, 1891, 1893).
Part i. nos. i 30, ed. J. P. Mahaffy.
no. ii . 37 | no. 29 . . 53
Part n. nos. i 50, ed. J. P. Mahaffy.
no. 9 . 74 I no. 39 . 35, 145 I no. 45 . . 155
15 . . 64 | 4 o . . 73 |
Part in. nos. i 146, edd. J. P. Mahaffy and J. G. Smyly.
no. 42 . . 53 I n <>- 49 134 I no - 73 . . 7
43 22, no |
P.Reinach
Papyrus Grecs et Demotiques, ed. Th. Reinach (Paris, 1905).
no. 15 91
P.Strass.
GriechiscTie Papyrus der Kaiserl. Universitdts- und Landesbibliothek zu
Strassburg i., ed. Fr. Preisigke (Strassburg, 1906).
no. 22 . . 156
P.Tebt.
The Tebtunis Papyri, 2 vols. (University of California Publications, London,
1902, 1907).
Part i. nos. 1264, edd - B - p - Grenfell, A. S. Hunt, and J. G. Smyly.
no. 5 49,72,114,155
19
24
27
28
23,
65
93
no. 43
56
. 62
no. 58
. 41,77, 132
23
62, 146
61
74
. 51
51
75
116
. . 146
Part ii. nos. 265 689, edd. B. P. Grenfell, A. S. Hunt, with the assistance
of E. J. Goodspeed.
no. 314 . . 55 | no. 315 . . 157 | no. 410 . . 53
P. Tor.
Papyri graeci regii Taurinensis Musei Aegyptii, ed. A. Peyron, 2 vols. (Turin,
1826, 1827).
no. i 8
1 88
INDEXES
II. JUDAISTIC WRITINGS.
Apoc. Bar.
The Apocalypse of Baruch, ed. E. H. Charles (London, 1896).
i. 4
xi. 4 .
xni. 3
xv. 8
xx. 6
Aristeas
Aristeae ad Philocratem Epistula, ed. P. Wendland (Leipzig, 1900).
PAGE
PAGE
31
XXX. I
. I 4 6
xlviii. 49
56
xxxix. 7
103, 163
lix. i
79
xl. i, 2 .
. 161
Ixxii. 2
27
xliv. 1 5
90
Ixxxv.i3
Ixix
xlviii. 39
. 90
PAGE
27
. 9P
Ixvn
90
no. 79
148
53
117
no. 1 88
209
n 4
68
no. 284
Asc. Isai.
The Ascension of Isaiah, ed. E. H. Charles (London, 1900).
iv. 16 . 45, 58
18 . .98
iv. 4 ff.
5
. 104
162, 163
59.
vi. xi.
vii. 9
Ass. Mos.
The Assumption of Moses, ed. E. H. Charles (London, 1897).
i. 15 . . 56 | x. t 4 . .56
Bel
27 . . 99
Didache
The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, ed. H. de Eomestin, 2nd Edit.
1885); and ed. A. Harnack (Texte und Untersuchungen ii.
Leipzig, 1884).
in. i
ix. 4
xii. 3
xiii. i
xv. 3
4
114
117
75
xvi. 6 f.
(Oxford,
i and 2,
. 60
45
Enoch
The Book of Enoch, tr. from the Ethiopia and ed. by E. H. Charles (Oxford,
1893).
i. 8
xxxviii. 4
xlv. 3
1 Esclras
iv. 62 .
2 Esdras
xii. 6 ,
93
i 6l
Ixvn
146
Ixii. 2
Ixix. 27
xvn, 103
. Ixvii
xc. 16
cviii. 1 1 f.
68
67
4 Ezra
The Fourth Book of Ezra, edd. E. L. Bensly and M. E. James (Texts and
Studies iii. 2, Cambridge, 1895).
59, 61
103
45
V. I ff .
103, 161
vii. 28
. 45, 61, 89 xiii. 24
4
162, 163
32
56
32
41 f.
. xxxiii, 58
42
. 27
33
vi. 6 .
Ixvii
viii. 39
. 62
38
1$
. 60
61
. Ixix
5 2
55 f-
3 1
xiii. 10
. . 164
III. REFERENCES
189
Jubilees
The Book of Jubilees, ed. E. H. Charles (London, 1902).
PAGE PAGE
i. 20 . . . 161 I xxiii. i . 56 I xxxvi. 18
xv. 33 . . . 161 | xxiv. 30 . 15 |
Judith
x. 18 . . . 146
PAGE
56
1 Maccabees
vi. 8 .
2 Maccabees
96 | xii. 27
i. 27 . . .96 vii. 37 .
23
xii. 44 .
56
31 . . .61
Vlll. II .
9 1
xiv. 15 .
. 148
ii. 7 . . .96
12 .
146
17 .
65
21 ... 148
xii. 22 ..
148
23 .
. no
iii. 24 . . . 148
23 .
87
XV. 21 .
. 146
v. 4 . . .148
3 Maccabees
i. 19 . . . 157
iii. 17 .
146
v. 8, 51
. 148
ii. 9 . . 148
,24
65
4 Maccabees
x. 15 . . 65, 91
xv. 17 . .
78
xviii. 8.
. 104
xiii. 1 8 . . . oi
Orac. Sib.
Oracula Sibijllina, ed. A. Ezach (Vienna, 1881).
ii. 167 f. . . 162
iii. 64 f.
163
iii. 663 f.
. 68
iii. 63 ff. . 104, 162
286 f.
Ixvii
iv. 40 ff .
. Ixvii
Pss. Sol.
The Psalms of Solomon, edd. H. E. Eyle and
and ed. 0. von Gebhardt (Texte und
M. E. James (Cambridge, 1891);
Untersuchungen xiii. 2, Leipzig,
1895).
ii. i, 29 . . 160
xiii. 8
72
xvii. 27, 41 .
103, 164
iii. 16 62
xiv. i
79
36 .
J 39
iv. 8 . . 19
xv. 6 .
96
38
viii. 39 . 93, 96
xvi. 12 . 44, 93
39
; Ji
ix. 7 8
xvii. 13
1 60
5
59
xi. i, 4 . . 60
23
102
xviii. 8
139
2 . I 4 2
Sap.
The Wisdom of Solomon.
i. 12 . . . 65
vi. 13 .
59
xiv. 20
. 99
ii. 10 . . . 117
viii. 8 .
63
26
. 152
23 -5^
xi. 10 .
72
xv. 3
78
iii. 8 . . -45
16 .
89
17
. 99
v. 17 . . . 68
20 .
103
xvi. 28
59
vi. 7 . . .113
xii. 2 .
72
xvii. 15
65
Sayings 2
Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, 2nd Ed., by C. Taylor (Cambridge, 1897).
p. 25 . . . 77 | p. 68 . . .35
190
INDEXES
Secrets of Enoch
The Book of the Secrets of Enoch, tr. from the Slavonic by W. E. Morfill, and
ed. by R. H. Charles (Oxford, 1896).
PAGE PAGE PAGE
6 1 | xliv. 2 . . . 15
Sir.
The Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus.
in. 23
xi. 27
XV. 20
xvi. 13
"5
149
89
66
xxii. 1 6
22
xx vi. 10
xxviii. 9,
44
149
89
72
xxix. 23
xxxv. 14
xlii. i
93
93
23
149
Testament of Abraham
Ed. M. E. James (Texts and Studies ii. 2, Cambridge, 1892).
xiii. A . . 146
Test. xii. patr.
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, ed. E. H. Charles (Oxford, 1908).
Benj . iii. 4
Jos. xx. 4
Jud. xxii. 3
Levi iii. 3
61
56
146
161
Levi vi. 1 1 .
viii. 15 .
, xviii. ii
44
Levi xviii. 12
Eeub. iv. 7 .
,, vi. 3 .
161
161
161
IV. GEEEK WOEDS.
This is intended to be primarily an Index to the Greek words discussed in
the Introduction and Notes, and not a Concordance to the Epistles : in the case,
however, of characteristic words and phrases, references have sometimes been
given to passages which are not directly annotated. A few additional references
have also been inserted, principally to lexical and grammatical authorities, in the
hope that they may prove useful to the student. The abbreviations employed
for this purpose are explained in the list of abbreviations, p. xiii ff.
ay ados, I. iii. 6, v. 15, II. ii. 16
dyaducrtivr], II. i. n
dyaTrdk), I. iv. 9 ; rjyaTrrifjievos u?r6,
I. i. 4 , II. ii. 13
dyaTnj, I. i. 3, iii. 6, II. iii. 5 (ay. r. deov)
dyaTrrjTos, I. ii. 8
AyyeXos, II. i. 7; cf. Nageli p. 38
dyidfa, I. v. 23
dyiaafj.6s, I. iv. 7, II. ii. 13
cfyios, I. i. 5 f., iv. 8 ; ol ayi.oi, I. iii.
13, II. i. 10
dyiua-uvri, I- iii- J 3 J f- Nageli p. 43
dyvotu, I. iv. 13
&yw, I. iv. 14
dyuv, I. ii. 2
d5eX06s, I. i. 4 ; p. xliv, cf. Witkowski
Epp. p. 38
ddia\eiTTT<j)s, I. i. 2, ii. 13, v. 17
ddiKia, II. ii. 10
drip, I. iv. 17
ddertw, I. iv. 8
'AOrjvat, I. iii. i
alptofMi, II. ii. 13; cf. Nageli p. 19 f.
al<pi>idios, I. v. 3
aitovtos, II. i. 9, ii. 16
dKadapcria, I. ii. 3, iv. 7
d/co?7, I. ii. 13
d/cotfw, II. iii. ii
dK/sijSws, I. v. 2
dXrideia, II. ii. 135 ^ dX?J0eia, II. ii.
10, 12
d\r]dt.v6s, I. i. 9
dXyd&s, I. ii. 13
a^a crtfj/, I. iv. 17, V. 10
d/j-apria, I. ii. 16, II. ii. 3
s, I. iii. 13
s, I. ii. 10, iii. 13, v. 23
p. 45
7, I. iii. 7
dvaipeu, II. ii. 8
dva(j.Vb}, I. i. 10
dva.Tr\rip6w, I. ii. 16
, II. i. 4
, I. ii. 4; 6 cu/flp. r.
II. ii. 3
dvi(TTri/Ju, I. iv. 14, 16
II. ii. 3, 7
, II. ii. 8
dvTaTTo5ld(dfj.i, I. iii. 9, II. i. 6
dvrexpiJ.a.1, I. V. 14
di'rt, I. v. 15 ; di^' wy II. ii. 10
aj'Tt/cet/Acu, II. ii. 4
a^ios, II. i. 3
d^tow, II. i. ii
,d|tws T. ^eoO, I. ii. 12
6,Trayy\\(ji}, I. i. 9
dTrdisrrjcris, I. iv. 17
aVa /cat 5is, I. ii. 18
d-n-apx-rj, p. 106; cf. Wilcken Ostr. i.
P- 345 f -
arras, II. ii. 12
dirdTTj, II. ii. 10
d?rexw, I. iv. 3, v. 22 ; cf. Nageli p. 54 f.
diro, I. i. 8, ii. 6, II. i. 9
Ct7ro5et'/o'y / tu, II. ii. 4
, I. v. 15
w, I. iv. 14, v. 10
;, II. ii. 3, 6, 8; p. 149 f.
s, II. i. 7; p. 149 ff.
, I. ii. 15
d7r6\Xu/xt, II. ii. 10
dirop<f>aviofjiat., I. ii. 17
aTroo-rao-ta, II. ii. 3
a7r6<TTo\os, I. ii. 6
dTTtoXeta, II. ii. 3
a/m GUI', I. v. 6, II. ii. 15
dpttTKw (0ey), I. ii. 4, 15, iv. i
dpTrdfw, I. iv. 17
apn, I. iii. 6, II. ii. 7
a/>Tos, II. iii. 8, 12
I. iv. 16 ; cf. Nageli
p. 48 f.
xri, II. ii. 13
S, I. v. 14
192
INDEXES
I. v. 26
dcr7raa>i6s, II. iii. 17
dcr0dXeta, I. V. 3
, II. iii. 7; p. 153 f.
S, I. V. 14 ; p. 152
, II. iii. 6, n; p. 153
OLTOTTOS, II. iii. 2
ai)r6s, 6, I. iii. u, iv. 16, v. 23, II. ii.
1 6, iii. 1 6
'Axata, I. i. 7 f. ; p. xlv
/Sdpos, I. ii. 7
, I. ii. 12, II. i. 5
70/3, I. ii. i, 20; /cal 7dp, I. iii. 4
700-7-77/3, I. v. 3
yli>o/j,ai' ytyova, I. ii. i; tyev6fji.rit>, I. i.
7, iii. 4 f., II. ii. 7 ; tyevrjdrjv, I. i. 5
(6i's), 6, ii.^5, 7, 8, 10, 14
yLvwaKd), I. iii. 5
7pd0co, OUTOJS, II. iii. 1 7 ; for the
authenticating signature cf. Mel.
Nic. p. 130 ff.
ypTjyoptw (ethical), I. v. 6, (meta-
phorical) I. v. 10
Set, p. 86
S^ojucu, I. iii. 10
5^XA""> I- i- 6, ii. 13, II. ii. 10
5?/yu,os, 6, p. xxiii
5td, c. gen. I. iii. 7, iv. 2, 14, II. ii. 2
(ws 5i' 77/uov) ; c. ace. I. i. 5 (cV tyxas)
5icUoi/os, I. iii. 2
Stctyuapriypoyucu, I. iv. 6
5ldu/uu, I. iv. 2, 8; cfy'?7, II. iii. 16
SiKcuos, II. i. 5, 6 ; cf. Lft. Notes
p. 286 f.
5t/ccu'ws, I. ii. 10
diK-rjv rivd), II. i. 9
5t6, I. iii. i, v. ii
cH6ri, I. ii. 8 ; cf. Mayser p. 161
5tory/x6s, II. i. 4
5iw/cw, I. v. 15
doKifAdfa, I. ii. 4 (Ms), v. 21
56Xos, I. ii. 3
56a, I. ii. 6, 12, 20, II. i. 9, ii. 14
5od^o/u, II. iii. i
dov\ev<a, I. i. 9
dtivafjLis, I. i. 5, II. i. 7; Iv Swdyiiei,
II. i. n, ii. 9
dwpedv, II. iii. 8 ; cf. Nageli p. 35 f.
tdv, I. ii. 7; with ind. iii. 8; eav ^77,
II. ii. 3 ; for &v, p. 22; cf. Conybeare
Selections p. 91 f.
eatrrou, I. ii. 7, 12; eavruv (for ist
pers. plur.) I. ii. 8, II. iii. 9; cf.
Schmid Attic, i. p. 82
eyeipu, I. i. 10
t'7w (emphatic), I. ii. 18, iii. 5
Zdvos, I. ii. 1 6, iv. 5 ; cf. Nageli p. 46
t, I. iv. 14; ei o^, c. ind., II. iii. 10, 14
et'S^ccu, I. iv. 4
etSoy, I. v. 22
etSwXoi', I. i. 9'
el/j.1 Trp6s, I. iii. 4, II. ii. 5
, II. i. 6
, I. V. 13
7, I. i. i, v. 3; 6 ^e6s (/ctf/uos) T.
yvris, I. v. 23, II. iii. 16
ei's, I. i. 5, iv. 8 ; eis r6 c. inf. (result),
I. ii. 12, (purpose) II. ii. n
els ^/caorros, I. ii. n, II. i. 3; els rbv
^a, I. v. ii
ei'<ro5os, I. i. 9, ii. i
ei're (with the subj.), I. v. 10
eK, I. ii. 6
KdlKr)<TLf dovvat, II. i. 8
&c5t/cos, I. iv. 6; cf. Soph. Lea;, s.v.,
Hicks C.E. i. p. 44
e/<5tu>Ka>, I. ii. 15
KK\Tjffia Qeaa'aXovt.K^wv, I. i. i , II. i. i ;
fKK\r)<ria.i r. 0eou, I. ii. 14, II. i. 4
K\oyr), I. i. 4
4x(f)ijyu, I. v. 3
^XTT/S, I. i. 3, ii. 19, iv. 13, v. 8;
7, II. ii.
ii. 16
e/i6s, II. iii. 17
ZlJiirpoffOev r. deov (icvpiov), I. i. 3, ii. 19,
iii. 9, 13
&/ I. iv. 7, 16; for els, i. 8; instru-
mental, iv. 1 8 ; 6e$ irarpi, i. i ; Xp.
'l77<Toi5, ii. 14 ; Kvpiy, iii. 8 ; X67^>
Kvpiov, iv. 15; 6i>6jj.a.Ti T. Kvpiov,
II. iii. 6
evavrios, I. ii. 15
, II. i. 5
wcu, II. i. 10, 12
tfw, I. v. 8
evtpyeta, II. ii. 9, ii
evepyfa, I. ii. 13, II. ii. 7
L ) II. ii. 2; cf. Mayser p. 371
), II. iii. 13
i) II. i. 4
tj, I. ii. 18
evopntfa, I. v. 27
i., II. iii. 14; cf. Anz Subsidia
p. 13 f., Witkowski ^. p. 47
w, II. ii. 3
i, I. i. 8
^0;, I. i. 8
, I. v. 20 ; cf . Soph. I/ea;. s.v.
tt-ovffia, II. iii. 9 ; cf . Eeitzenstein
Poimandres p. 48
w, ot, I. iv. 12
^Treira, I. iv. 17
^TT, c. gen. I. i. 2 ; c. dat. iii. 7, 9,
iv. 7; c. ace. ii. 16, II. i. 10, iii. 4
eTrtjSap^w, I. ii. 9, II. iii. 8
eiridv/j-ia, I. ii. 17, iv. 5
7mrod<j), I. iii. 6
, I. v. 27, II. ii. 2, 15, iii. 14,
17
IV. GREEK WORDS
193
w, I. i. 9; cf. Anz Subsidia
P- 33 f -
i, II. ii. i
, II. ii. 8 ; p. 148 f.
Tri(pa.vr)s, pp. 148, 160
epydofj.ai, I. ii. 9, iv. ii, II. iii. 8, 10,
II, 12
epyov (Trio-rews), I. i. 3, II. i. n; 5tot
r. ^70^, I. v. 13
epwrdw ' rogo,' I. iv. i, v. 12, II. ii. i ;
cf. Thumb Hellen. p. 12 r
eV0to>, II. iii. 10
efrt, II. ii. 5
evayye\iofji.ai, I. iii. 6; p. 141 ff.
evayyeXiov, TO, I. ii. 4 ; Tj/uDi', I. i. 5,
II. ii. 14 ; T. 0eov, I. ii. 2, 8, 9 ;
T. xpio-roO, I. iii. 2 ; r. Kvptov T\p.
'I?7<roD, II. i. 8 ; p. 141 ff.
evdoKew, I. ii. 8 ; iii. i ; c. dat. II. ii.
12
evdoicta., II. i. ii
s, I. iv. 12
w, I. i. 2 ; ev iravrl &X-i L
v. 18
eu%api<rria, I. iii. 9
, I. v. 3
(conj.), II. ii. 7
, I. iii. 8, v. 10; debs &v, I. i. 9
, I. ii. 6
?} oi^x^ ! ii- 19
yyeofjiai, I. v. 13, II. iii. 15
7)577, II. ii. 7
i]fj.epa, 77, I. v. 4 ; Tj^pa Kvpiov, v. 2 ;
77 T//*^pa e'tfelvT], II. i. 10; vioi 7)/jt,pa$,
I. v. 5
, p. 21 ; cf. Herwerden Lea;, s.v.
>, I. iv. ii
ia., II. iii. 12
0dX7rw, I. ii. 7; cf. Thumb Hellen.
p. 215, .MeL Me. p. 249
dav/uidfa, II. i. 10
0t\r)(j.a (dead), I. iv. 3, v. 18; cf. Hort
i Pet. p. 142 f.
0Aw, I. ii. 18, II. iii. 10 ; ov 0Aw
dyvoeiv, I. iv. 13
deodiddKTOS, I. iv. 9
0eos, 6, p. Ixiv; debs TrctTTjp, p. Ixv
Qe<r<ra\oi>iK(:fa, I. i. i, II. i. i
0M/3w, I. iii. 4, II. i. 6, 7
d\tyts, I. i. 6, iii. 3, 7, II. i. 4, 6
8poeoiJ.aU) II. ii. 2
0o>pa (THO-TCWS), I. v. 8; for the
' militia Christi ' see Harnack's
Essay (1905), and cf. Cumont Relig.
orient, p. xiii ff.
fStos, I. ii. 14; rd tdta, iv. TI
iep6dov\oi, p. 14; cf. Herwerden Ap-
pendix s.v.
M. THESS.
'l77<Tous, p. 135 ff. ; cf. Chase Credibility
of Acts p. 205 f.
IKO.VOV \a/3eiv, p. xxix
IVa final, I. ii. 16, v. 10; semi-final,
iv. i, v. 4, II. i. n, iii. i; iva /A??,
I. iv. 13
'louScuos, I. ii. 14
ts, II. i- 9
Kadd-rrep, I. ii. I [ ; naddirep Kdi, iii. 6,
12 ; iv. 5
Kadevow (ethical), I. v. 6; (literal) v. 7;
(metaphorical) v. 10
Kadlfa, II. ii. 4
Ka<9c6s, Li. 5; Ka6. oidare, p. xliv
/cat in comparison, I. ii. 5; contrasting,
ii. 1 8
/ccup6s- Trpos Kaipbv wpas, I. ii. 17 ;
ev T CL{)TOV /catpy, II. ii. 6 ; XP VOL K -
Kaipoi, I. v. i ; cf. Revue d. Etudes
grecques xv. p. 4
/ca/c6s, I. v. 15
/caX^w, I. ii. 12, iv. 7, v. 24, II. ii. 14
KokoiroLew, II. iii. 13; cf. Soph, and
Herwerden Lex. s.v.
xaX6s, I. v. 21
Kapdia, I. ii. 4, 17 (irpo<Tu>7ry ou Kapdiq.),
iii. 13 (<rrT7pcu KapdLas)
KaTa\a/j.^dv(ii}, I. v. 4
/caraXetTrw, I. iii. i
Kara^iow, II. i. 5 ; cf. Anz Subsidia
p. 38
Karapyeu, II. ii. 8
w, I. iii. 10 ; cf. Mayser p. 20 f.
ijvu, I. iii. ri, II. iii. 5
, I. v. 2i ; II. ii. 6, 7; p. 155 ff.
, I. ii. 19
Kel/u.ai, I. iii. 3
Ke\ev(TfJ.a, I. iv. 16
/cei'6s, I. ii. i ; es xevbv, iii. 5
Krjpti(r(r<i), I. ii. 9
K\eTTT1JS, I. V. 2, 4
K\TJ(TLS, II. 1. II
i, I. iv. 13 ff.
act, I. ii. 5
;, I. v. 12
iros, I. i. 3, iii. 5 ; /COTTOS /c. ftbxdos,
ii. 9, II. iii. 8
parew, c. ace., II. ii. 15; p. 155
pivw, II. ii. 12
puris, II. i. 5
rdofJiai, I. iv. 4
tfpios, p. 136 ff. ; cf. Hort i Pef.
p. 30 ff., and for the legal use of
Kijpios in the papyri see Archiv iv.
p. 80 ff.
, I. ii. 1 6
XaXefw, I. i. 8; cf. M c Clellan Gospels
p. 383 ff.
\byos, I. i. 5; 6 X67os, i. 6; deov, ii. 13;
Kvpiov, i. 8, iv. 15, II. iii. i ; yfjiuv,
194
INDEXES
II. iii. 14; KoXaKtas, I. ii. 5;
ii. 13 ; ev T. X67ois, iv. 18 ; 5id \6yov,
II. ii. 2, 15 ; p7y K. X67y, ii. 17
Xoi7r6s- oi XOITTOI, I. iv. 13, v. 6; \onr6v,
iv. i ; TO Xoi?r6j>, II. iii. i
, I. i. 7 f., iv. 10; p. xlv
fjt,a.Kpo6vfji.fa, I. v. 14
yuaXXop (intensive), I. iv. i, 10
fJMpT6pl01>, II. i. IO
fj.apr<jpo/j.at, I. ii. 12
s, I. ii. 5, 10
t, I. v. 7
w, I. v. 7 ; cf. Reitzenstein
Poimandres p. 240 f.
w, I. iii. 4
fdv (solitarium) , I. ii. 18
/<ie<ros, I. ii. 7; ^*c /*eVou, II. ii. 7
, I. i. 6, II. iii. 12
radtdwfjLi, I. ii. 8
7 with pres. imp., I. v. 19; with aor.
subj., II. iii. 13 ; ^ TTWS, I. iii. 5
, II. iii. 7, 9
S, I. i. 6, ii. 14
iroieiffdai, I. i. 2 ; fj.veiav ^x eiv t
iii. 6
rj/movevci}, c. gen. I. i. 3 ; c. ace.
II. ii. 9
vov, II. ii. 7
s, I. iii. i
. /CGTTOS
ripiov, II. ii. 7 ; cf. Hatch Essays
p. 57 ft.
i/a6s, II. ii. 4
vexpbs, I. i. 10, iv. 16
ve0<?X?7, I. iv. 17
v-fjTTios, I. ii. 7
, I. v. 6, 8 ; cf. Hort i Pet. p. 65 f.
, I. v. 12, 14, II. iii. 15
vovs, II. ii. 2
vuj/, I. iii. 8, II. ii. 6
i/tf, I. v. 2, 5, 7 ; VVKTOS K. i)fj.pas,
I. ii. 9, iii. 10, II. iii. 8
6 demonstrative, I. v. 27, II. iii. .14
656$, I. iii. ii
ol5a, I. i. 4 ; /catfws oiSare, I. i. 5, p. xliv
oiKo5ofj.<a, I. v. ii
ofos, I. i. 5
6'Xe0pos, I. v. 3 ; 6X. alamos, II. i. 9
6X176^x0$, I. v. 14
6X6KX?7pos, I. v. 23
6'Xos, I. iv. 10
6XoTeX?7s, I. v. 23
6/j.elpo/j.ai, I. ii. 8
6'vojua, II. i. 12, iii. 6; cf. Herwerden
s.v., and Mel. Nic. p. 253
OTTOtOS, I. 1. 9
6'7TOJ5, II. 1. 12.
opare id], I. v. 15
i, i], I. i. 10, ii. 16
oo-iws, I. ii. 10
oVris, II. i. 9 ; cf. Dieterich U liter -
sucluingen p. 199 f.
STOLV with aor. subj., II. i. 10
6're, I. iii. 4, II. iii. 10
6'rt demonstrative, I. i. 5, ii. 13, iii. 4
causal, I. iv. j6, v. 9, II. i. 3, ii. 13
ou with part., I. ii. 4 ; ov /-CT), L iv. 15 ;
oy% 6Vt, II. iii. 9
ou6V, I. ii. 3
oupaj'os, I. i. 10, iv. 16, II. i. 7
otfre, I. ii. 5, 6
otfrws, I. ii. 4, iv. 14, II. iii. 17 (oi'rws
ouxi, I. ii- 19
60e/Xw, II. i, 3, ii. 13
7rci0os, I. iv. 5
irdvTore, I. i. 12, ii. 16, iii. 6, iv. 17,
v. 15, 16; II. i. 3, ii, ii. 13
Trd-rrvpos, p. 122
Trapd c. gen.. I. ii. 13, iv. i, II. iii. 6,
8; c. dat. II. i. 6
Trapayye\ia, I. iv. 2
Trapayye\\w, I. iv. ii, II. iii. 4, 6, 10, 12
TrapdSocrts, II. ii. 15, iii. 6
Trapa/caXew, I. ii. 12; c. IVa, I. iv. i;
c. inf. iv. ro
jrapdK\r](ris, I. ii. 3, II. ii. 16
7rapaXa y uj3di'w, I. ii. 13, iv. i ; TrapeXd-
fioffav p. 113, cf. Conybeare Selections
P- 3 2
Trapa/j.vd^o/j.aL, I. ii. ii, v. 14
irapovcrla, I. ii. 19, iii. 13, iv. 15, v. 23,
II. ii. i, 8, 9; cf. p. 145 ff.
TrappTjcridfoucu, I. ii. 2
?ras, I. iii. 12, 13, v. 26, II. iii. 16, 18;
ev Trajtri, I. v. 18; 5td Trairos, II. iii.
16
7rd<rxw, I. ii. 14, II. i. 5
7rar?7p, I. ii. n; (of God) I. i. i, 3,
iii. ii, 13, II. i. i, 2, ii. 16, cf.
p. Ixv f.
HaOXos (emph.), I. ii. 18
Treidw, II. iii. 4
Treipdfw, I. iii. 5
TT^TTW, II. ii. 1 1
trepl 5^, I. iv. 9, v. r
jrepiepydfo/mcu, II. iii. ii
7repi/ce0aXata, I. v. 8
TreptXenro/icu, I. iv. 15, 17
TreptTrarew, I. ii. 12
, I. v. 9, II. ii. 14
di}, I. iii. 12, iv. i, 10
, I. ii. 17
^a?, I. iv. 14 ; 6 irio'Tevui', I. i. 7,
ii. 10, [3; 6 Tncrrei/cras, II. i. 10;
Tri(TTvofj.ai c. ace. I. ii. 4
Tritrrts, r;, II. iii. 2 ; Trpos r. ^eov, I. i. 8 ;
Zpyov Trtcrrews, I. i. 3, II. i. 1 1 ; TTL<TTLS
K. dydirr), I. iii. 6, V. 8
7rtoT6s, I. v. 24, II. iii. 3
IV. GREEK WORDS
195
j, I. ii. 3, II. ii. 1 1
d^cu, I. iii. 12, II. i. 3
), I. iv. 6
Tr\eoi>ej;ia, I. ii. 5
ir\r)po(f)opia, I. i. 5
7TA?7p6cO, II. 1. II
irvev/jLa, I. v. 19, 23, II. ii. 2, 13 ; of
Christ, II. ii. 8 ; irvev^a ayiov, I. i.
5, 6, iv. 8
Troteco, I. v. 24
Trovrjpds, I. v. 22, II. iii. 2, 3
ia, I. iv. 3
, I. iv. 6
), I. iv. 1 1
L, I. v. 12
, I. iii. 4, iv. 6
7rpo7rdo'xw> I. ii. 2
?rp6s c. ace. after verb of rest, I. iii. 4,
II. ii. 5, iii. i ; irpbs TO c. inf., I. ii. 9
irpoo-evxy, I. i. 2
Trpocrei'xoyUcu, I. v. 17; irpocrfV'xofj.a.L
if a, II. i. ii, iii. i
7rpo<rc67rcp ov Kapdig., I. ii. 17
7rp60ct<m, I. ii. 5
., I. V. 20
?7T?7S, I. ii. 15
', I. iv. 1 6
TrCp, II. i. 8
TTCJS, I. i. 9 ; TO TrcDs, iv. i
pto/jLai (e/c), I. i. 10, (a7r6) II. iii. 2 ;
cf. Anz Subsidia p. 19 f.
ffa.ivofj.ai, I. iii. 3 ; see also crialvofjicu
craAetfco, II. ii. 2
ffd\Triy, I. iv. 1 6
Sarai/as, I. ii. 18, II. ii. 9
er/3eVi>iyu, I. v. 19
0-e/3ao>ta, II. ii. 4
ffrj/me'cov, II. ii. 9, iii. 17
(rr}fj.i6ofj.ai, II. iii. 14
(TicuVoyuai, p. 38; cf. also Z.N.T.W.
viii. p. 242
StAovcwos, I. i. i, II. i. i
tr/cevos, I. iv. 4
(T/COTOS, I. V. 4 f.
<77rof5dcv, I. ii. 17
o-T^yw, I. iii. i, 5
<rrAAo/xcu, II. iii. 6
OT^CWOS, I. ii. 19 ; cf. Herwerden
Lex. s.v.
ffTyKu, I. iii. 8, II. ii. 15; cf. Conybeare
Selections p. 42
<rr?7pi'fw, I. iii. 2, 13, II. ii. 17, iii. 3;
cf. Anz Subsidia p. 20 f.
cru/i0uA^T77s, I. ii. 14
ffijv v. a/u.a
(Tvi>ava/j.Lyvv/ji.a.i, II. iii. 14
<rwepy6s, p. 37
(rww, I. ii. 16, II. ii. 10
, I. v. 23
la, I. v. 8, 9, II. ii. 13
s, II. ii. 2
, I. ii. 7, ii
els, I. ii. 16
repas, II. ii. 9
T77p^aj, I. v. 23
Tidrj/jii, I. V. 9
Ti/wfr, I. iv. 4
Ttytt6^os, I. i. i, iii. 2, 6, II. i. n
rtpw, II. i. 9
r6 with inf., I. iii. 3
rotyapovv, I. iv. 8
Totouros, II. iii. 12
T67TO?, I. 1. 8
rore, II. ii. 8
rpx w , II- "^ J
rp67ros, II. ii. 3, iii. 16
rpo06s, 1. ii. 7
T^TTOS, I. i. 7, II. iii. 9 ; cf. Herwerden
Lear. s.v.
vfipifa, I. ii. 2
vi6s (of Chiist), I. i. 10 ; 0wr6s AC.
17/x^pas, v. 5 ; r. aTrwAeias, II. ii. 3
vircLKotw, II. i. 8, iii. 14
UTT<?P, I. iii. 2, II. i. 4, 5, ii. i ; p. 69
UTrepai'po/xat, II. ii. 4
virepav^dvu, II. i. 3
virepfiaivu), I. iv. 6
vTrepeKwepi<T(rov, I. iii. 10, V. 13
U7r6, I. ii. 14
v-fi, I. i. 3, II. i. 4, iii. 5
, I. iii. 10
00CU/U, I. ii. 16, iv. 15
0iAa5eA0ta, I. iv. 9
0tA77/xa, I. v. 26
QlXtinroi, I. ii. 2
0iAort/^o/xcu, I. iv. ii
0A6, II. i. 8
<pv\d<ra-(i), II. iii. 3
0WI/77, I. iv. 1 6
0ws, I. v. 5
, I. iii. 9, v. 16
, I. i. 6, ii. 19 f., iii. 9
dpts, I. i. i, v. 28, II. i. 2, 12, ii. 16,
iii. 18
%eip, I. iv. n, II. iii. 17
Xpeiai' x ea/ > I- i- 8
Xpt(rr6s, p. 136 ff.
oi/os, I. v. i ; see also Kcup6s
, II. ii. 9, u
I- " 8, v. 23
w8ii>, I. v. 3
wpa, I. ii. 17
cos edv, I. ii. 7 ; ws 6'rt, II. ii. 2
coo-re consecutive, I. i. 4
PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A.
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
Works by the Rev. Professor H. B. SWETE.
THE APPEARANCES OF OUR LORD
AFTER THE PASSION.
A STUDY IN THE EARLIEST CHRISTIAN TRADITION.
Crown 8vo. 25. 6d. net.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST MARK.
THE GREEK TEXT,
WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES.
8vo. 1 5 j.
Critical Review. " Undoubtedly the best English commentary we possess
on Mark. For fulness of information, mastery of the Greek of the LXX and
the New Testament, expert knowledge of textual criticism, exact grammatical
exegesis and general sobriety of judgment, Dr Swete's work has few to rival it.
It is the fruit of long-continued and most painstaking study, and one feels that he
can always turn to it with confidence. "
THE APOCALYPSE OF ST JOHN.
THE GREEK TEXT, WITH INTRODUCTION, NOTES,
AND INDICES.
8vo. 155.
Church Times. ' ' We may at once say that no student of the Apocalypse will
in the future be able to do without it. Dr Swete's treatment is exhaustive and
impartial, his personal modesty with regard to expressions of opinion is great,
while his knowledge is wide and varied, and his method is characterised by
intense reverence. . . . The commentary is a model of painstaking care and
thought, and particularly strong on its linguistic side."
THE AKHMIM FRAGMENT OF THE
APOCRYPHAL GOSPEL OF ST PETER.
8vo. 55". net.
Critical Review. "The text of the Petrine fragment is accompanied by
admirable notes which give light on many passages. A Translation is also
furnished, and an Introduction of forty-seven pages deals in an interesting and
instructive way with a variety of matters connected with the find. . . . The book
is most scholarly, most useful, and worthy of the scholarship of Cambridge."
ESSAYS ON SOME THEOLOGICAL
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY.
BY MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.
Edited by H. B. SWETE, D.D.
8vo. i2s. net.
Gitardian. "The volume is one which must engage the attention of all
who are interested in theological speculation in English-speaking countries, for
the men who have contributed chapters to it are specially qualified to judge of
the direction in which religious thought is moving."
MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD, LONDON.
WORKS BY BISHOP LIGHTFOOT.
NOTES ON EPISTLES OF ST PAUL FROM UN-
PUBLISHED COMMENTARIES. 8vo. i.
ANALYSIS OF CERTAIN OF ST PAUL'S EPIS-
TLES. Reprinted from Bishop LIGHTFOOT'S Commentaries. With Preface
by the BISHOP OF DURHAM. Fcap. 8vo. is. net.
ST PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. A
Revised Text, with Introduction, Notes, and Dissertations. 8vo. iis.
ST PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. A
Revised Text, with Introduction, &c. 8vo. i-zs.
ST PAUL'S EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS AND
TO PHILEMON. A Revised Text, with Introductions, Notes, and Disser-
tations. 8VO. I2J.
DISSERTATIONS ON THE APOSTOLIC AGE. Re-
printed from the editions of St Paul's Epistles. 8vo. 14*.
THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. Reprinted from Disser-
tations on the Apostolic Age. Crown 8vo. y. net.
THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. PART I. ST CLEMENT
OF ROME. A Revised Text, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations, and
Translations. 2 vols. 8vo. 32^.
THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. PART II. ST IGNATIUS,
ST POLYCARP. Revised Texts, with Introductions, Notes, Dissertations,
and Translations. 2 vols. in 3. 8vo. 48*.
THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS. Abridged Edition. With
short Introductions, Greek Text, and English Translations. 8vo. i6s.
ESSAYS ON THE WORK ENTITLED "SUPER-
NATURAL RELIGION." Re-issue. 8vo. 6s. net.
ON A FRESH REVISION OF THE ENGLISH NEW
TESTAMENT. Crown 8vo. 7*. 6d.
LEADERS IN THE NORTHERN CHURCH. Durham
Sermons. Crown 8vo. 6s.
ORDINATION ADDRESSES AND COUNSELS TO
CLERGY. 'Crown 8vo. 6s.
CAMBRIDGE SERMONS. Crown 8vo. dr.
SERMONS PREACHED IN ST PAUL'S. Crown
8vo. 6s.
SERMONS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. Crown 8vo.
6s.
BIBLICAL ESSAYS. 8vo. I2s.
HISTORICAL ESSAYS. Globe 8vo. 4*. net.
[Eversley Series.
INDEX OF NOTEWORTHY WORDS AND PHRASES
FOUND IN THE CLEMENTINE WRITINGS, commonly called the
Homilies of Clement. 8vo. 5*.
A CHARGE, delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of
Durham, November 25, 1886. 8vo. Sewed. T.S.
BISHOP LIGHTFOOT. Reprinted from The Quarterly
Review. With a prefatory note by the BISHOP OF DURHAM. With Portrait.
Crown 8vo. y. 6d.
MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD., LONDON.
WORKS BY BISHOP WESTCOTT.
A GENERAL SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF THE
CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT DURING THE FIRST FOUR
CENTURIES. Crown 8vo. los. 6d.
THE BIBLE IN THE CHURCH : A popular account of the
Collection and Reception of the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Churches.
Pott 8vo. 4-5-. 6d.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE FOUR
GOSPELS. Crown 8vo. 10*. 6d.
THE GOSPEL OF THE RESURRECTION. Thoughts
on its Relation to Reason and History. Crown 8vo. 6s.
THE REVELATION OF THE RISEN LORD. Crown
8vo. 6s.
THE HISTORIC FAITH : Short Lectures on the Apostles'
Creed. Crown 8vo. 6s. Also 8vo. Sewed. 6d.
THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER. Short
Lectures on the Titles of the Lord in the Gospel of St John. Crown
8vo. 6s.
CHRISTUS CONSUMMATOR and other Sermons. Crown
8vo. 6s.
SOME THOUGHTS FROM THE ORDINAL. Crown
8vo. is. 6d.
SOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY. Crown
8vo. 6s.
GIFTS FOR MINISTRY. Addresses to Candidates for
Ordination. Crown 8vo. is. 6d.
THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. The Greek Text,
with Notes and Essays. 8vo. 14^.
ST PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. The
Greek Text, with Notes and Addenda. 8vo. IQS. 6d.
THE EPISTLES OF ST JOHN. The Greek Text, with
Notes and Essays. 8vo. 12$. 6d.
THE INCARNATION AND COMMON LIFE. Cr. 8vo. 9*.
CHRISTIAN ASPECTS OF LIFE. Crown 8vo. >js. 6d.
THE GOSPEL OF LIFE: Thoughts introductory to the
Study of Christian Doctrine. Crown 8vo. 6s. Also 8vo. Sewed. 6d.
ESSAYS --THE HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS
THOUGHT IN THE WEST. Globe 8vo. 4 s. net. [Eversley Series.
ON SOME POINTS IN THE RELIGIOUS OFFICE OF
THE UNIVERSITIES. Crown 8vo. 4*. 6d.
THOUGHTS ON REVELATION AND LIFE. Being
Selections from the Writings of Bishop WESTCOTT. Arranged and Edited by
Rev. STEPHEN PHILLIPS. Crown 8vo. 6s.
THE OBLIGATIONS OF EMPIRE. A Sermon. Crown
8vo. $d. net.
LESSONS FROM WORK.- Cr. 8vo. 6s.
ADDRESS TO MINERS, July, 1901. Cr. 8vo. Sewed. 6d.
WORDS OF FAITH AND HOPE. Crown 8vo. 4*. 6d.
CHRISTIAN SOCIAL UNION ADDRESSES. Crown
8vo. is. net.
COMMON PRAYERS FOR FAMILY USE. Cr. 8vo. is. net.
VILLAGE SERMONS. Cr. 8vo. 6s.
PETERBOROUGH SERMONS. Crown 8vo. 6s.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE
ENGLISH BIBLE. Revised by WILLIAM ALDIS WRIGHT. 8vo. iis.6d.
LIFE AND LETTERS OF THE RIGHT REV. BISHOP
WESTCOTT. By his son, the Rev. ARTHUR WESTCOTT. With Portraits
and other Illustrations. 2 vols. Extra crown 8vo. ijs. net. Abridged
Edition. Ex. Cr. 8vo. 8s. 6d. net.
MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD., LONDON.
By the Rev. F. J. A. HORT, D.D.
TWO DISSERTATIONS. I. On MONOFENH2 EO2.
In Scripture and Tradition. II. On the " Constantinopolitan " Creed and
other Eastern Creeds of the Fourth Century. 8vo. 7^. 6d.
THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE. The Hulsean
Lectures for 1871. With prefatory note by the Right Rev. Bishop
WESTCOTT. Crown 8vo. 6s.
LECTURES ON JUDAISTIC CHRISTIANITY. Crown
8vo. 6s.
PROLEGOMENA TO ST PAUL'S EPISTLES TO THE
ROMANS AND THE EPHESIANS. Crown 8vo. 6s.
SIX LECTURES ON THE ANTE-NICENE FATHERS.
Crown 8vo. y. 6d.
THE CHRISTIAN ECCLESIA. A Course of Lecture-
on the Early History and Early Conception of the Ecclesia, and Four
Sermons. Crown 8vo. 6s.
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST PETER, I. i II. 17.
With Commentary. 8vo. 6s.
NOTES INTRODUCTORY TO THE STUDY OF THE
CLEMENTINE RECOGNITIONS. Crown 8vo. 4*. 6d.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. Miscellanies (Stroma-
teis). Book VII. With Introduction, Translation, Notes, etc. by the late
Rev. F. J. A. HORT, D.D., and Prof. J. B. MAYOR. 8vo. 15*. net.
By the Rev. Dr W. MILLIGAN.
THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD. Crown 8vo. 5.9.
THE ASCENSION AND HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD
OF OUR LORD. Crown 8vo. 7*. 6d.
DISCUSSIONS ON THE APOCALYPSE. Crown 8vo. 5*.
ST PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. A
revised Text and Translation, with Exposition and Notes. By J. ARMITAGE
ROBINSON, D.D. 8vo. us.
THE EPISTLE OF ST JUDE AND THE SECOND
EPISTLE OF ST PETER. Greek Text, with Introduction, Notes, and
Comments. By JOSEPH B. MAYOR, M.A., Litt.D. 8vo. 14^. net.
THE EPISTLE OF ST JAMES. The Greek Text, with
Introduction and Notes. By JOSEPH B. MAYOR, M.A., Litt.D. 8vo. 14^. net.
ST PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. A new
translation. By W. G. RUTHERFORD, M.A. Svo. %s. 6d. net.
MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. LONDON.
RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
TO""^ 202 Main Library 642-3403
LOAN PERIOD 1
HOME USE
2
3
4
5
6
ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS
1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405
6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk
Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date
DUE AS STAMPED BELOW
!NOV3H976
FORM NO. DD 6, 40m, 6'76
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
BERKELEY, CA 94720
40962