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  • From: Richard Fellows <rfellows AT intergate.ca>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Dating 1 Thessalonians
  • Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 10:18:40 -0700



David Inglis wrote:
>As
>I agree with Richard Fellows that a later date for 1 Thess seems much more
>likely (IMHO during Paul's 3rd journey), why is there "such a consensus
>for the earlier date?"

Some people object to the term "3rd journey", so for their benefit I'll
phrase the question without reference to Acts. The question is whether the
visit to Athens in 1 Thess 3:1 was part of Paul's first visit to Achaia, or
his second. That is to say, was it his initial, evangelistic, visit, or was
it the visit referred to in 2 Cor 2:1; 12:14; 13:1: 13:2? This question
really concerns the interval between the evangelization of Thessalonika and
the writing of 1 Thess. How long was that interval and what happened in it?

Donfried and Hurd have addressed a rather different question, which
concerns the absolute dating of the evangelization of Macedonia. Donfried
argues from Phil 4:15 that Paul's visit to Macedonia was early in his
career. This question is worthy of discussion, but has only marginal
bearing on the first question.

David, what are your thoughts? Why do you place 1 Thess after Paul's
evangelistic visit to Achaia? Most telling for me is 1 Thess 1:7-9, which
speaks of the example of the Thessalonians becoming known 'not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place' 'so that we have no need to speak
anything'. These verses make good sense if Paul, in the intervening period,
had visited established, largely Jewish churches outside Achaia and
Macedonia. It makes very poor sense if Paul had remained the whole time in
Achaia.

1 Thess 5:12 can also be marshaled. It shows some organizational structure
in the church. As much, it seems to me, as Corinth had at the time of 1
Corinthians, so a similar interval should be assumed.

For me the evidence of Acts provides a further argument. The movements of
Timothy in Acts 17:14-15 fit ill with those in 1 Thess. It can be shown
that the Aegean sequences and itineraries in Acts are quite accurate, and
it would be hard to argue that he altered the movements of Timothy because
of some supposed 'tendency'.

Richard Fellows





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