1 and 2 Thessalonians (13) (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)($28.77Value)

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Concentrate on the biblical author's message as it unfolds. Designed to assist the pastor and Bible teacher in conveying the significance of God's Word, the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series treats the literary context and structure of every passage of the New Testament book in the original Greek. With a unique layout designed to help you comprehend the form and flow of each passage, the ZECNT unpacks: The key message. - The author's original translation. - An exegetical outline. - Verse-by-verse commentary. - Theology in application. While primarily designed for those with a basic knowledge of biblical Greek, all who strive to understand and teach the New Testament will benefit from the depth, format, and scholarship of these volumes. Gary Shogren (Ph.D., Kings College, Aberdeen University) was raised in small-town New England, in a family that had roots back to the founding of Rhode Island in the 1600s and to the Puritan movement in England. He grew up in the Baptist church and came to believe in Christ at the age of 6. When he was a teenager, a series of experiences led him to a deeper walk with God and a sense that God was calling him into ministry. He served as a pastor and then for 25 years as a professor of New Testament. In 1998 he and his family moved to Costa Rica to learn Spanish, so that he could teach at ESEPA Bible College and Seminary in San José, Costa Rica (esepa.org). He has written a number of articles and several books, including articles in the Anchor Bible Dictionary, Novum Testamentum, and Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels; a Greek grammar textbook by Stylus Publishing; Running in Circles, a guide for people who suffer from addiction (available from his blog); a commentary on 1 Corinthians that will be published in Spanish (CLIE) and English (Logos Software, also available on his English blog). He is married to Karen and has four grown children. Dr. Shogren has a missionary website (shogrens.com), and theology blogs in English (justinofnablus.com) and Spanish (razondelaesperanza.com). 1 and 2 Thessalonians Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament ZONDERVAN Copyright © 2012 Gary S. Shogren All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-310-24396-0 Contents Series Introduction.......................................7Author's Preface..........................................11Abbreviations.............................................13Introduction to 1 and 2 Thessalonians.....................17Select Bibliography.......................................41Commentary................................................49Theology of 1 and 2 Thessalonians.........................344Scripture Index...........................................355Other Ancient References..................................367Subject Index.............................................368Author Index..............................................373 Chapter One 1 Thessalonians 1:1–10 Literary Context Letters have always followed conventional forms; such predictability allows the reader to grasp the message with less need for conscious interpretation. In this letter, Paul's opening address to the readers (1:1) resembles the standard Greco-Roman form. Nevertheless, one can also speak of a Pauline style—he amplifies the standard form with theological meaning, thus "Christianizing" it. The church exists "in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1:1c). As in many letters of the day, the apostle gives them a greeting, but again, he expresses himself in familiar gospel terms, "grace" and "peace" (1:1d). In the trove of ancient letters we now possess, the author might then give brief thanks to the gods before moving on. Here in 1:2–10, Paul shows gratitude to heaven precisely because of the Thessalonians' relationship to God and because of God's working in them through Christ. The thanksgiving ceases to be a formality and reveals itself at the very heart of the message. This extended giving of thanks also functions as an exordium . In ancient rhetoric, the exordium was a section of short to moderate length in which an author called to mind the positive aspects of their mutual relationship. In an age when time and distance might have a chilling effect on a friendship, an author did well to reestablish the reality and the value of their attachment before going on to deal with new issues. In Paul's hands, this exordium not only sets the tone of the letter (in the case of 1 Thessalonians, gratitude and appreciativeness), it also foreshadows how the new disciples have abandoned their previous Gentile conduct and how they now hope in the Lord's return. Some debate exists over the extent of the exordium in this letter, whether it is 1:2–5 or 1:2–10.2 Nevertheless, what matters for today's reader is the content of this exordium , not its precise boundaries. More so than in the typical Pauline letter, 1 Thessalonians should be read "from the inside out." That is