The Letters to the Thessalonians (The Pillar New Testament Commentary

Pillar New Testament Commentary

by Gene L. Green

In this commentary Gene Green reads Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians in light of the canon of Scripture and of new knowledge about the first-century world of Thessalonica. This fruitful approach helps illuminate the impact of the gospel on its original readers and, in turn, shows how potent a force it can be for the church and society today.

The book begins with an in-depth study of the Thessalonians themselves -- their history, land, socioeconomic conditions, and religious environment. This fascinating discussion gives the necessary context for fully appreciating the circumstances surrounding the founding of the city's first church and the subsequent struggles of the Thessalonian believers to live out their Christian faith.

The main body of the book provides informed verse-by-verse commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians that extracts the fullest possible meaning from these important New Testament texts. As Green's exposition shows, the Thessalonian scriptures are especially valuable as letters of friendship and for showing Paul's pastoral concern for the many areas in which the Thessalonians needed guidance. Some of Paul's purposes are to thank the new believers for their steadfastness amid suffering, to encourage them in their trials, to urge them not to neglect their daily work, and, no less important, to teach them about the future of believers who die before Christ returns. Indeed, the matter of the last things and the second coming of Christ so permeates these texts that they are often called Paul's eschatological letters.

Filled with new information about ancient society, this commentary will fast become a standard reference work for Bible study. By carefully bridging the biblical and modern worlds, Green shows with clarity and warmth the continuing relevance of 1 & 2 Thessalonians for contemporary readers.

Genres: Theology, Reference, New Testament, Biblical Studies

440 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Gene L. Green (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen) is professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. He has written commentaries on 2 Peter and Jude (Baker Exegetical series) and the Letters to the Thessalonians (Pillar series).

Reviews

[Kristopher Schaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians. I ended up taking Green's position concerning the background of the disorderly idle. Green is especially helpful when it comes to historical/cultural background info, though I think he can sometimes rely too heavily on this information when forming his conclusions.

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic work. Excellent exegesis and research. Green kept the focus narrow to the situation at Thessalonica and avoided all the theological rabbit trails. His explanation of the verses dealing with idleness was eye-opening. According to Green, those verses reveal something about the patron/client (clientela) relationships whereby a person would receive financial support in exchange for some show of gratitude or praise offered to the patron. This has some similarities to certain economic and social structures of our day. Reading this commentary just for those verses alone would do you a lot of good.

[Rachel Zehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Green's commentary is solid and deserves a more careful reading than I gave it. His writing is clean and accessible.

[Jacob O'connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the third book I read for my research paper. I'm beginning to detect a pattern: no one is disturbed as much as I am by the delay of the parousia. Maybe I'm making a big deal over nothing.

[Rose Stubblefield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously a commendable work. I chose this because from the bit of online research I did, it was highly rated. He lists comparatively long lists of Scripture references throughout his commentary. Interspersed with them he includes Apocryphal books. He quotes a lot of secular writings which are historically relevant. I've never read a commentary that does such a good job of bringing in the cultural context (except the Bible Background Commentaries). I liked how he would guide us all through the different options for how to interpret and then he would share his take at the end. (His style in doing this was quite engaging.) I did not like his talk about "moral progress" (pp. 184-185) or "wish prayers" (pp. 333, 339). Often I wished I could have replaced a worldly word like optimism with a more biblical word like hope. I thought he spoke too much about the Thessalonians identifying with the apostles instead of identifying with Christ. In commentating on a verse, he begins by connecting it to the previous verse. This was helpful but also made it less dense/longer. This commentary did a good job of getting the conversation going for me in regard to interpreting First and Second Thessalonians. (I did not read much of the Introduction.)

[Anja Noordam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great background information to understand the setting

[Travis Agnew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians unpacks a lot of helpful material. The balance is really good by digging in without getting lost in the nonessentials.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful technical commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians. At times I found it overly technical and dependent on background information. But it mostly manages to stay grounded and useful.

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

phenomenal work. concise, engaging, paying close attention to the Greek, and brings wealth of socio-historical insights.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talbot Course: Exegesis in the Epistles

Excellent Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians