The Form Critical Study of Paul's Letters. I Thessalonians as a Case Study

Boers, Hendrikus

doi:10.1017/s0028688500009371

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is because ever since the work of Baur (2003: 87-88), a branch of scholarship has advocated the position that 1 Thess. 2.13-16 reflects a post 70 ce historical and theological position and is thus a post-Pauline interpolation (Pearson 1971;Boers 1976;Koester 1979;Schmidt 1983;Richard 1995;Ascough 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So Baur (2003: 87-88, 96) denied Pauline authorship of 1 Thessalonians because he understood 2.13-16 to be non-Pauline. A decision about the extent of the thanksgiving and thus the literary structure of the letter is heavily influenced by the interpolation debate (Boers 1976). The verses are important for a reconstruction of the historical situation behind the letter so a decision about their originality has significant implications (Still 1999: 25).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The (In)authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16: A Review of Arguments

Jensen

2019

Currents in Biblical Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article critically reviews the arguments for and against the view that 1 Thess. 2.13-16 is a post-Pauline interpolation. It starts with the four arguments that are forwarded to promote the view that it is an interpolation: form-critical/literary, grammatical/syntactical, historical, and theological. After this, a briefer second section outlines the four arguments defending the authenticity of the verses: textual, contextual, traditional, and rhetorical.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The (In)authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16: A Review of Arguments

Jensen

2019

Currents in Biblical Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Idle in 2 Thess 3.6–12: An Eschatological or a Social Problem?

Russell¹

1988

New Testam. Stud.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Much of the scholarly attention given the Thessalonian epistles has been devoted to various debates. These polemics have included the epistles' authenticity, with some arguing that 1 Thess 2. 13–16 and Thessalonians are post-Pauline, often by appealing to letter structure. Lack of agreement exists as well with the interpretation of Paul's eschatology–the letters' main concern - and difference of opinion also characterizes the function of Paul's apology in 1 Thess 2. 1–12 and his paraenesis, particularly in 1 Thess 4. 1–12. While scholars have actively pursued the pros and cons of these issues, most have been rather passive when it comes to discussing ‘the idle’ (l Thess 4. 11–12; 5. 14; 2 Thess 3. 6–13) – the second most significant theme in the epistles. They usually continue the traditional eschatological explanation for the origin of the problem. This study will survey the history of this interpretation, investigate 2 Thess 3. 6–13 and recommend that a social explanation best satisfies the evidence. This study also seeks to demonstrate the fallacy of explaining historical phenomena from just theological structures and the importance of the interaction between the world of ideas and social structures for interpretation – the importance of which has been shown by redaction criticism's concern for the Sitz im Leben and by recent social descriptions of early Christianity.

show abstract

Inventing Tradition in Thessalonica: The Appropriation of the Past in 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16

Rollens

2016

Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The socio-ethnic constitution of the Thessalonian ekklesia is notoriously difficult to pin down, but one consistently argued position is that the group was comprised largely of Gentiles. The only passage that presents a problem for this theory is 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16. Rather than focus on philological and theological issues to identify whether this passage is “Pauline” or not, this article treats 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 as an “invented tradition” (à la Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger) whic links the social experience of the Thessalonians to the nascent ekklesia in Judaea. Instead of acting as a mouthpiece for Paul's theology concerning Jews, the point of this passage may instead be to invent a coherent “past” for the Thessalonians, who may have had few other social features in common upon which to base their group identity. By appropriating an “already in place” framework for identity (Deuteronomistic theology) and by connecting the Thessalonians' experience to both the ekklesia in Jerusalem, as well as to past prophets, 1 Thess 2:14–16 attaches the Thessalonians to an identity that extends beyond their local group.

show abstract

The Form Critical Study of Paul's Letters. I Thessalonians as a Case Study

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

The (In)authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16: A Review of Arguments

The (In)authenticity of 1 Thessalonians 2.13-16: A Review of Arguments

The Idle in 2 Thess 3.6–12: An Eschatological or a Social Problem?

Inventing Tradition in Thessalonica: The Appropriation of the Past in 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About