Bible Commentaries

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. Paul's Defence of his Missionary Work.—Paul had been charged by his opponents with being a wandering sophist making money out of his followers. He rebuts the charge and incidentally gives us a picture of the ideal missionary.

1 Thessalonians 2:2. at Philippi: the reference is to the scourging and imprisonment described in Acts 16:22-40.

1 Thessalonians 2:3. "Our preaching was not the result of mental delusion, nor of an impure character, nor was it with intent to deceive." Each phrase refers to a charge which had been brought against Paul.

1 Thessalonians 2:4. pleasing men: Paul's object was not that of the professional sophist, to captivate his audience with a display of rhetoric.

1 Thessalonians 2:7. gentle: the addition of a single letter to the Greek word meaning "gentle" makes it mean "babes" (cf. mg.). If "gentle" is right (and the context seems to support it) the verse gives us a beautiful picture of Paul as the gentle apostle caring for his converts "as a nursing mother cherisheth her children."

1 Thessalonians 2:9. working day and night: Paul replies to the charge of covetousness by stating that he earned his livelihood (cf. Acts 18:3*, 1 Corinthians 4:12, Ephesians 4:28, p. 768).

1 Thessalonians 2:11. father: a variation of the metaphor used in 7, where Paul describes himself as a nursing mother.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-20. Paul and the Thessalonian Church.—The next two paragraphs describe (a) the effect of Paul's preaching at Thessalonica, (b) his anxiety with regard to the fate of the Church under stress of persecution.

1 Thessalonians 2:14. Juda: i.e. Palestine. We have no details regarding the persecution of the Palestinian Churches apart from the account of the recurring attacks made upon the Church at Jerusalem.

1 Thessalonians 2:16. the wrath is come upon them: this seems to have been a stock phrase, and was probably borrowed by Paul from "The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs" (Levi 6:11). We need not assume, as some scholars do, a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem.

1 Thessalonians 2:17. endeavoured, etc.: Paul's heart was evidently set upon returning to Thessalonica, which he meant to make the base of his missionary campaign in Greece.

1 Thessalonians 2:18. Satan hindered us: the particular kind of obstacle is uncertain. It may have been (a) illness or (b) the continued opposition of the civic authorities, but whatever it was Paul has no hesitation in ascribing it to Satan.