Page 3 - Pauline Epistles Student Textbook

Pauline Epistles II – 1 and 2 Thessalonians
nd
st
By Justin Siame

Study Section 1: Significance of Studying Introductory Matters of the
First (1st) Thessalonians.

1.1. Connect.

Every written work has an author, date of writing, and purpose for writing. All authors
write with at least three goals in mind. They write to “inform,” “persuade,” or
“entertain.” Most readers of works would like to know who the author is. How can you
1
appreciate the work of someone you do not know? How can you know whether what you
are reading is coming from a reputable writer? Today as we begin our study, we want to
know some background information about who wrote the books of Thessalonians, to whom it was
written, where they lived, and why this book was penned. This information will better help us
understand the actual text. So let’s get started….

1.2. Objectives

1. The student should be able to identify the author of 1 Thessalonians and the date of
st
writing.

2. The student should be able to explain why Paul wrote this book and in which missionary
journey did Paul and his companions visit Thessalonica.

1.3. Historical Backdrop of Thessalonica

The book of Thessalonians was written to a church located in Thessalonica, on the
northeastern seaboard side of Greece. Today it is called Thessaloniki. It is located at
the intersection of two major Roman roads, one leading from Italy eastward call the
Ignatia Way, and the other from the Danube to the Aegean. Thessalonica’s location and
use as a port made it a prominent city. In 168 BC it became the capital of the second
district of Macedonia and later it was made the capital and major port of the whole
Roman province of Macedonia (146 BC). In 42 BC, after the battle at Philippi, Thessalonica was made
a free city. Today the modern city of Thessaloniki is the second most important city of Greece and
2
home to a million inhabitants .

Thessalonica was founded by “Casander, a former general of Alexander the Great and later king of
Macedonia . . . in 315 B.C.” It was named after Thessalonica , his wife, who was the half-sister to
Alexander the Great. Subsequent to its capture by the Romans in 167 B.C., it was “made the capital

th
1 Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 12 ed. (Boston:
Pearson, 2013), 49.
2 https://www.bibleplaces.com/thessalonica/

2