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  • From: "David Inglis" <david AT colonialcommerce.com>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Dating 1 Thessalonians
  • Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 22:44:27 -0400


Richard Fellows wrote:
> 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?"
[snip]
> 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.

Richard,

My line of reasoning largely follows yours. I think the evidence in 1 & 2
Thess and Acts 'dovetails' very nicely only if the letters were written on
Paul's 3rd journey (referring to the journeys as recorded in Acts).

If 1 & 2 Thess were written while Paul was in Corinth, at the ‘far end’ of
his 2nd journey, then the following applies. Paul had sent Timothy from
Athens to Thessalonica (1 Thess 3:1-2), after which Timothy and Silas
returned from Macedonia to Corinth (Acts 18:5, the last reference to Silas
in Acts), bringing with them a good report from Thessalonica (1 Thes 3:6).
It was as a result of this good report that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians.
However, there are a number of things in 1 & 2 Thess that do not fit well
with the report that Paul had only spent “three Sabbath days” (Acts 17:2)
in Thessalonica by that time, and that instead suggest a later date for
both of these letters.

Paul’s first visit to Thessalonica

Paul’s first visit ended with him and Silas being taken “off to Berea at
once, during the night” (Acts 17:10). While they were in Berea Jews from
Thessalonica came and stirred up the people, causing Paul to be taken to
Athens while Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. Then, “Those who
accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, and after receiving an
order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left”
(Acts 17:11-15). Note that there is no suggestion here that Paul sent
Timothy from Athens to Thessalonica, as recorded in 1 Thess 3:1-2 – almost
the reverse in fact. Timothy (and Silas) are in Berea and are to come to
Paul in Athens as soon as possible.

From the report in Acts 17 it definitely seems as though Paul was not at
all well received during his initial short (3-4 weeks) stay in
Thessalonica. Consequently, if Paul wrote 1 Thess from Corinth not long
afterwards then it would be very strange for him to be able to report that
he recalled “your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope”,
and that “you became imitators of us and of the Lord, when you received
the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit, despite great
affliction. As a result you became examples to all the believers in
Macedonia and in Achaia” (1 Thess 1:3,6-7).

There is also a suggestion that Paul already knew the Thessalonians well
by this time: “with such affection for you ... because you had become dear
to us” (1 Thess 2:8). Finally, it perhaps seems strange that the
Thessalonians “always think of us with affection and long to see us just
as we also long to see you!” (1 Thess 3:6) after less than a month.

Paul’s second visit to Thessalonica

Paul visited Thessalonica for the second time on his 3rd journey. He was
again passing through Macedonia on his way to Corinth, but this time his
stay in Greece lasted three months (Acts 20:3). It seems much more likely
that 1 Thess (and hence 2 Thess as well) was written after this second
visit to Thessalonica, around six years after Paul was smuggled out of
Thessalonica by night at the end of his first (short) visit. By this time
Paul was able to write to the Corinthians: “Now we make known to you,
brothers and sisters, the grace of God given to the churches of
Macedonia.” (2 Cor 8:1)

Where is Silas?

One problem with associating 1 & 2 Thess with Paul’s 3rd journey is that
Silas (who was with Paul and Timothy when these letters were written) is
not mentioned anywhere in Acts after Paul’s 2nd journey. It’s almost as
though Silas disappeared into thin air straight after he arrived in
Corinth on the 2nd journey, only to reappear with Peter (1 Pet 12) around
10 years later. However, we do know that Paul, Silas and Timothy all
preached in Corinth (2 Cor 1:19), so it is at least possible that Silas
stayed in Corinth after Paul and Timothy left. If he did, then Luke would
not have had any reason to mention Silas in Acts until Paul returned to
Corinth during the 3rd journey.

So, what does Luke say about Paul’s return to Corinth? Actually,
virtually nothing! All we know from Acts is that Paul arrived in Greece
from Macedonia, that he stayed in Greece for three months, that he decided
to return to Macedonia after the Jews plotted to kill him, and that on his
return he was accompanied by Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius,
Timothy, Tychicus and Trophimus (Acts 20:2-4).

On the face of it this is an amazing lack of detail for such an important
part of Paul’s life (for example he wrote Romans during this time in
Greece), but there is a very simple explanation. Luke stayed in Asia
(probably Ephesus or Troas) when Paul set out for Macedonia, and they met
up again in Philippi when Paul returned with Timothy and the six other men
named by Luke. Luke simply wasn’t with Paul during this period, and the
lack of detail reflects both this and the fact that the period is amply
described in the letters Paul wrote at the time. What this tells us is
that Luke’s failure to mention Silas during this period is simply
irrelevant, because he doesn’t provide any detail of Paul’s travels during
this time at all.

Paul’s other letters

It is worth pointing out that in 2 Thess 3:17 Paul writes “I, Paul, write
this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter”,
which suggests that by this time he had already written several others.
If 1 & 2 Thess were written during Paul’s 2nd journey then the only known
letters preceding 2 Thess would be Galatians (on the south Galatian
theory) and 1 Thess, making the reference to “every letter” very odd.

However, if Paul wrote these letters during his 3rd journey, then we can
add at least 1 & 2 Cor and Romans to the list. There are in addition
other letters that Paul wrote, letters that have not been preserved. For
example, Paul refers to two more to Corinth (in 1 Cor 5:9 and 2 Cor
2:3-4). It is also possible that Philippians was originally two letters
(split between 3:1a and 3:1b), a view supported by Polycarp who reported
that Paul had written "letters" to the church in Philippi. In this
scenario Paul’s use of “every letter” makes complete sense.

One interesting point concerns Marcion. His collection of Paul’s letters
contained (in this order) Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans, 1 & 2
Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians. Under the
south Galatian theory, with the exception of 1 & 2 Thess this fits the
generally accepted view of the order in which Paul wrote the first ten of
his letters (or at least the extant ones). However, if 1 & 2 Thess were
written in Corinth on Paul’s 3rd journey, not his 2nd, then the order
matches exactly that in Marcion’s collection.

Dave Inglis
david AT colonialcommerce.com
3538 O'Connor Drive
Lafayette, CA, USA






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