Page 112 - Computer Basics- Student Textbook

In 42 BC, after the battle at Philippi, Thessalonica was made a free city. Today the modern city of Thessaloniki is the
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second most important city of Greece and 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 of one of their four newly
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created districts,” namely; Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica .
With the population of about 100, 000 people, it kept
growing both numerically and in prosperity due to two factors;

possession of the best natural harbor in the entire Aegean Sea
and its location “on the juncture of the Via Egnatia which was the

major east-west highway that extended from Asia Minor all the
way to Rome.” As a result, Thessalonica was “situated in the path

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of both commercial and military enterprises.”
Religiously, it had a plethora of gods. The prominent god

was known as “Cabirus,” “a martyred hero, murdered by his two
brothers . . . expected to return” in order “to help the oppressed

poor in general and the citizens of Thessalonica in particular.”
“The imperial cult with its worship of Rome and the emperor also

played a key role in the religious life of Thessalonica.” It also served “to ensure the ongoing favor of the current
Roman emperor by visibly” demanding “the city’s allegiance to his leadership.” It is no wonder that Paul’s

proclamation of “another king. . .Jesus” would lead to accusation that he was violating “Caesar’s decrees” (Acts
17:7). The church at Thessalonica believed and “turned to God from idols” (1 Thess. 1:9; cf. 2:14).
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Paul (with Silas and Timothy) came to Thessalonica from Philippi on his second missionary journey,

stopping in Amphipolis and Apollonia before arriving here (Acts 17). He preached in the city’s synagogue, the chief
synagogue of the region, for at least three weeks. His ministry was strong, and he established a Jewish-Gentile
church, although it was more heavily Gentile (1 Thess. 1:9).

The Author of the book
Grounded on internal evidence, it is fair to conjecture that Paul or Silas or Timothy were the authors. Most

orthodoxy scholars ascribe the primary authorship to Paul. Apparently, the mentioning of Silas and Timothy in the

6 https://www.bibleplaces.com/thessalonica/

7 Barry J. Beitzel, The New Moody Atlas of the Bible (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 259.

8Jeffrey A. D. Weima, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Romans to Philemon, Vol. 3. ed., Clinton
E. Arnold (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002), 405-07.
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