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Toward Understanding Thessalonians
Written permission to publish this book in digital formats has been given to Reformation Publishers by the copyright holder, Alice Blackwelder Allen.
New Edition, Including New Material and photographs by Reformation Publishers October 2014.
There are important reasons why the Epistles to the church at Thessalonica are a challenging area of investigation. They occupy a unique chronological position in the formation of the New Testament. With the possible exception of the Epistle to the Galatians, First and Second Thessalonians are the earliest extant letters of Paul, and as such they may well be the first canonical New Testament writings to come down to us (unless possibly they are antedated by the Epistle of James). Therefore all that we can learn about these earlier literary productions of the Apostle of the Gentiles will contribute to our understanding of the later and more complex Pauline letters.
The Thessalonian correspondence gives us a vivid insight into the personality of Paul. These letters reflect his zeal as a tireless missionary of Jesus Christ. They disclose Paul’s lofty estimate of human personality and especially his deep concern for the well-being of young converts. They portray him not only as a courageous thinker and a fearless evangelist, but also as a man of strong affection, capable of loneliness and anxiety. Even as the teacher of the Thessalonians, Paul longed for their fellowship and love as well as for the support of their prayers.
The Thessalonian letters indicate the transformation of character which God’s Word and Spirit produce in persons who hear and obey the gospel of Christ, and they give us a glimpse of the corporate life and worship of an early Christian congregation.
New Edition, Including New Material and photographs by Reformation Publishers October 2014.
There are important reasons why the Epistles to the church at Thessalonica are a challenging area of investigation. They occupy a unique chronological position in the formation of the New Testament. With the possible exception of the Epistle to the Galatians, First and Second Thessalonians are the earliest extant letters of Paul, and as such they may well be the first canonical New Testament writings to come down to us (unless possibly they are antedated by the Epistle of James). Therefore all that we can learn about these earlier literary productions of the Apostle of the Gentiles will contribute to our understanding of the later and more complex Pauline letters.
The Thessalonian correspondence gives us a vivid insight into the personality of Paul. These letters reflect his zeal as a tireless missionary of Jesus Christ. They disclose Paul’s lofty estimate of human personality and especially his deep concern for the well-being of young converts. They portray him not only as a courageous thinker and a fearless evangelist, but also as a man of strong affection, capable of loneliness and anxiety. Even as the teacher of the Thessalonians, Paul longed for their fellowship and love as well as for the support of their prayers.
The Thessalonian letters indicate the transformation of character which God’s Word and Spirit produce in persons who hear and obey the gospel of Christ, and they give us a glimpse of the corporate life and worship of an early Christian congregation.
164 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 13, 2013
BOOK DESCRIPTION:
An introduction, translation, and commentary of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The introduction "is an attempt to reconstruct the general features of the background of Paul's communications to the church at Thessalonica, to ascertain the character of the first readers, and to see clearly the purpose which the Apostle and his co-workers had in mind when they wrote."
The "exegetical translation of First and Second Thessalonians...[follows] the Greek text edited by Professor Eberhard Nestle, fourth edition, 1904...In the translation, I have used brackets to enclose words inserted in an effort to convey deeper meanings implied by the Greek vocabulary and sentence structure."
And the commentary part is "a terse commentary based on the Greek text....no attempt was made to be exhaustive, but rather to discuss terms or passages which I felt might be of special interest to a wide range of readers."
MY REVIEW:
"Toward Understanding Thessalonians" is a Bible commentary on 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians. The tone is scholarly and formal, especially in the commentary.
The introduction covered where Thessalonica was located, what the city was like, and details about Paul's journey and visit to Thessalonica--including details like the distances between the cities. He then covered what we know about the church established in Thessalonica and what problems Paul appears to have been writing in response to. He also discussed the authenticity, occasion, place, date, analysis, and outlined both books.
He included a translation of each letter. The commentary mainly focused on the meaning of Greek words based on their tense and placement in the sentence so we can better understand what is being said. I found it interesting and could follow his points even though I don't know anything about Greek. However, someone who has at least a basic knowledge of biblical Greek would be able to follow his arguments better. I just took it on faith that he was accurately interpreting the significance of the words, tense, and placement.
I picked up this book because I was interested in the information in the introduction--mainly details about Paul's journey and the dating of 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians. I liked getting a sense of what his travels were like. The rest was also interesting, but it may have a limited audience due to the scholarly focus.
An introduction, translation, and commentary of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The introduction "is an attempt to reconstruct the general features of the background of Paul's communications to the church at Thessalonica, to ascertain the character of the first readers, and to see clearly the purpose which the Apostle and his co-workers had in mind when they wrote."
The "exegetical translation of First and Second Thessalonians...[follows] the Greek text edited by Professor Eberhard Nestle, fourth edition, 1904...In the translation, I have used brackets to enclose words inserted in an effort to convey deeper meanings implied by the Greek vocabulary and sentence structure."
And the commentary part is "a terse commentary based on the Greek text....no attempt was made to be exhaustive, but rather to discuss terms or passages which I felt might be of special interest to a wide range of readers."
MY REVIEW:
"Toward Understanding Thessalonians" is a Bible commentary on 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians. The tone is scholarly and formal, especially in the commentary.
The introduction covered where Thessalonica was located, what the city was like, and details about Paul's journey and visit to Thessalonica--including details like the distances between the cities. He then covered what we know about the church established in Thessalonica and what problems Paul appears to have been writing in response to. He also discussed the authenticity, occasion, place, date, analysis, and outlined both books.
He included a translation of each letter. The commentary mainly focused on the meaning of Greek words based on their tense and placement in the sentence so we can better understand what is being said. I found it interesting and could follow his points even though I don't know anything about Greek. However, someone who has at least a basic knowledge of biblical Greek would be able to follow his arguments better. I just took it on faith that he was accurately interpreting the significance of the words, tense, and placement.
I picked up this book because I was interested in the information in the introduction--mainly details about Paul's journey and the dating of 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians. I liked getting a sense of what his travels were like. The rest was also interesting, but it may have a limited audience due to the scholarly focus.
Displaying 1 of 1 review